Marvel Comics and Toy Biz free essay sample

Were the problems caused by bad luck, bad strategy or bad execution? Marvel had six principle lines of business i. e. Sports Entertainment Cards, Toys, Childrens Activity Stickers, Publishing, Confectionery Consumer Products and Licensing of characters. While carrying on operations in these lines of business, Marvel ignored the alternative means of entertainment which were trending e. g. video games. Moreover, interest of collectors in comic books was reduced which was not addressed by Marvel. So it was the bad strategies of Marvel which caused it to file for Chapter 11. Question 2 a)Will the new restructuring plan solve the problems that caused the Marvel to file for Chapter 11? The plan suggested by Perlman has three parts: Investment of $350 million by Andrew Group Investments made by Andrew group will relax the Cash flow position of Marvel. It will increase its net cash reserves, after acquisition of Toy Biz, by $33. 5 million Acquisition of Toy Biz Toy Biz is engaged in business of manufacturing toys based on Marvel characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Marvel Comics and Toy Biz or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It generates cash flows of approximately $60 million per annum which can be used to service Marvel’s debt. Moreover, profits of Toy Biz help to offset more than 100 million of net operating losses of Marvel. Exchange of public debt Third part is to exchange $894 million debt for equity. This will relax the burden of interest payments. Marvel is facing problems of decreased revenue profits and there is a risk that it may violate some bank loan covenants. Acquisition of Toy Biz will help Marvel in setting off losses. Moreover, by converting loans to equity it will reduce debt servicing which will help to reduce risk of bankruptcy. New investment by Andrew group will help it to resolve current cash flow problems. b)As Carl Icahn, would you vote for the proposed restructuring plan? After announcement of proposed restructuring plan and sale of bonds by Fidelity and Putnam, price of Marvel stock and zero coupon bonds fall significantly. Although, Carl Icahn purchased bonds at deeply discounted prices yet, after announcement of restructuring plan price of bonds further decreased. Since revised plan caused the bond prices to fall and will cause loss to Carl Icahn, he should not vote in favor of this plan. Question 5 a)Why Fidelity and Putnum sold their bonds? After meeting with chairman of Andrew group, both investors realized that after the restructuring of Marvel, market value of shares will drop. Since bonds were secured by equity, forecasted fall in value of equity created a risk that collateral will not be sufficient to pay off debts. So both investors sold bonds in order to avoid anticipated losses. b)Why did Marvel’s zero coupon bonds drop on Nov 12, 1996? Sale of bonds by Fidelity and Putnum right before the announcement of restructuring plan gave a message to other bond holders that these two investors must be having some insider information that an unsuccessful restructuring plan will be announced. Due to this market sentiment, price of Marvel’s bonds fall.

Lost Sister Essays

Lost Sister Essays Lost Sister Essay Lost Sister Essay There is a specific design of words, images, and metaphors involved in the creation of a poem, and this stands true for Cathy Song’s poem Lost Sister.   Even the title of the work suggests to the reader the importance of family, for the poem is a dedication to heritage in the word ‘sister’ and the idea that the sister is somehow lost (here with the title of the poem the reader does not yet know in what way the sister is lost) the poet Song suggests an idea of Diaspora, but in this instance not necessary a separation from place but a definite separation from home since the sister is lost.   The poem then, at the very beginning tells of family and the poem itself extrapolates the concept of Diaspora of home tied in with family.The poem tells of heritage, of two generations of Chinese women.   This is a common theme in many other Chinese works of literature as in Gish Jen’s work and Amy Tan, and in Song’s case, the theme of family and Diaspora is what wields power in the poem and allows the readers to feel a sense of empathy for the characters.   The characters in Song’s poem are dichotomized between the generation of women who have chosen to leave China in hopes of finding a new life in a different land, and the group of women who choose to stay in China, to maintain their heritage in their native land.   Thus it is clear that the poem exemplifies how these two groups of women, although separated by time, and distance somehow stay true to their heritage and thus they maintain their familial ties with one another through their culture.The poem goes on to mark the difference between lifestyles of these two generations of women who have made different choices:   in China, the women are treated as second class citizens, and they maintain their culture through icons such as being quiet as in the line â€Å"gathered patience† (Song Lost Sister).   In the next generation, and the continuation of Song’s poem, the women break away from this traditional Chinese way of thinking, and their lives are westernized from living in America.   This westernization evolves into the women being treated as equals, as having a voice finally (this is very important in Song’s poem, the concept of a Chinese woman having a voice).   However, tension does arise in the poem between these two generations and the judgments the former more traditional Chinese cultured women make on these westernized women as can be read in Song’s line, â€Å"diluting jade green with the blue of the Pacific† (Song Lost Sister).The poem further dichotomizes as Song tells of the difference between these two generations and how the first generation compromised freedom for their traditional Chinese lifestyle and how the second generation however loses some of their culture because of their lack of exposure to traditional Chinese ways, as Song writes, to walk in shoes the size of teacups, without breaki ng† in respect to the Chinese American woman gaining freedom and she simultaneously states that these women are lost from their familial ties.One main motif of the poem can be found in the element of jade which is referenced many times in Song’s poem, even the peasants named their first daughters Jade (Song Lost Sister) and again, a jade link   (Song Lost Sister) which is in reference to the tie between these two generations.   Thus, both generations are lost to one another and in Song’s poem there seems to be no restitution between the two.   They are both lost from their culture, from their needed experience of finding freedom and stepping out of their ‘teacup’ shoes and walking in the same line as men instead of maintaining their silence.Song’s poem gives the reader a dichotomized view of Chinese women in a generational sense, a culture, and the space in between the two of not only an ocean but the change of thoughts in the exposure o f new western traditions.   The ‘jade link’ between these two women is their strongest bond, despite their differences, the expansion of time between them and the distance of an ocean.BibliographySong, Cathy.   Lost Sister Online.   http://mclibrary.nhmccd.edu/lit/catsong.html