Analysing the various financial risks to companies - Free Essay Example

Derivatives It is a kind of financial Security whose price is derived from or dependent upon one or more underlying assets.  The derivative itself is simply a contract between two or more parties. Its  value is determined  by variations  in the underlying asset.  Some common underlying assets include  stocks, bonds,  commodities,  currencies and interest rates. Derivatives are mostly characterized by high leverage.  Forward contracts, Future contracts, swaps and options  are the most common types of derivatives. Derivatives are generally used as a mechanism to hedge  risk, but can also be used for  speculative purposes. For example, an American investor buying shares of a European company  of a European exchange (using Euros to do so) would be exposed to exchange-rate risk while holding that stock. To hedge this risk, the investor could buy currency futures to lock in a specified exchange rate for  the future stock sale and currency conversion back into US Dollars. Hedging is the process of taking a short-term position in the futures market that is equal to, yet opposite, ones position in the cash market in order to prevent that cash position against loss due to adverse price fluctuations. This form of risk management can be achieved through various types of futures and options contracts traded on a several exchanges, and are usually used by corporations, money managers the ability to hedge means that industry can decide on the amount of risk it is prepared to accept. It may wish to eliminate the risk entirely and can generally do so quickly and easily using the Mismanaging price risk means achieving greater control of either the cost of inputs, or revenues from sales, or both; planning for the future based on assured costs and revenues; and eliminating concerns that a sharply adverse move in a metals price could turn an otherwise flourishing and efficient business into a loss maker. Hedging is the opposite of speculation and is basically under taken in order to reduce an existing physical price risk, by taking a compensating position in the futures market. Speculators come to the futures market with no initial risk. They assume risk by taking futures positions. Hedgers reduce or eliminate the chance of further losses or profits, while the speculators risk losses in order to make profits. Speculation Speculation  is an action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum. Speculation typically involves the purchase of  equity or lending of money,  assets  or  debt  but in a way that has not been given thorough analysis or is thought to have low  margin of safety  or a significant risk of the loss of the principal investment. Speculators may rely on an asset appreciating in price because of number of factors that cannot be well enough understood by the speculator to make an investment-quality decision. Some such factors are shifting consumer tastes, buyers changing perceptions of the worth of a stock  security, fluctuating economic conditions, economic factors associated with  market timing, the factors associated with solely chart-based analysis, and the many influences over the short-term movement of securities. There are also some financial vehicles that can be classified as speculation. For example, trading  commodity futures contracts, such as for oil and gold, is, by definition, speculation. Short selling is also, by definition, speculative. Financial speculation can involve the  buying, selling, holding, and  short-selling  of  stocks, commodities,  bonds,  currencies,  collectibles,  real estate, derivatives, or any valuable  financial instrument  to profit from fluctuations in its price, irrespective of its underlying value. Arbitrage An  arbitrage  is a type of transaction or portfolio. Actually, the term is used in two different ways, so it refers to either of two very different types of transactions or portfolios. People also speak of arbitrage as an activity the activity of seeking out and implementing either of the two types of arbitrage transactions or portfolios. An  arbitrageur  is an individual or institution who engages in such arbitrage. An arbitrage is a portfolio or transaction that makes a profit without any  risk. For example if a  futures contract trades on two different exchanges. If, at one point in time, the contract is bid at  USD  45.02 on one exchange and offered at USD 45.00 on the other, a trader could buy the contract at one price and sell it at the other to make a risk-free profit of a USD 0.02. Such arbitrage opportunities reflect minor pricing differences between markets or related instruments. Profits per transaction tend to be small, and they can be consumed entirely by  transaction costs. Accordingly, most arbitrage is done by institutions that have very low transaction costs and can make up for small profit margins by doing a large volume of transactions. Option Strategies   Option strategy  is the buying and/or selling of one or range of  option positions and possibly an  underlying  position. Options strategies can support movements in the underlying that are bullish, bearish or neutral. In the case of neutral strategies, they can be further divided into those that are bullish on volatility and those that are bearish on volatility. The option positions taken can be  long  and/or short  positions in  calls  and/or  puts  at various strikes. Before you purchase or sell options you need a strategy, and before you choose an options strategy, you need to be aware of how you want options to work in your portfolio. A particular strategy is victorious only if it performs in a way that helps you meet your investment goals. If you expect to increase the income you receive from your stocks, for example, youll choose a diverse strategy from an investor who wants to lock in a purchase price for a stock shed like to own. One of the advantages of options is the flexibility they offer; they can complement portfolios in many different ways. So its worth taking the time to recognize a goal that suits you and your financial plan. Forwards A forward  is a non-standardized contract between two parties to purchase or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed today.   It costs nothing to enter a forward contract. The party agreeing to purchase the underlying asset in the future assumes a  long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the future assumes a  short position. The price which is agreed upon at the inception of the contract is called the  delivery price, which is equal to the  forward price  at the time the contract is entered into. The price pertaining to underlying instrument, in whatever form, is paid before control of the instrument changes. This is one of the many forms of purchase/sell orders where the time of trade is not the time where the  securities themselves are exchanged. Futures A standardized exchange-traded contract that requires delivery of a commodity, currency, bond or stock index, at a specified price, on a specified future date. Unlike options, futures require an obligation to buy. The risk to the holder is infinite, and because the pay off pattern is symmetrical, the risk to the seller is unlimited as well. Money lost and gained by each party are equal and opposite in a future contract. In other words, futures trading is a zero-sum game. Futures contracts are forward contracts, meaning they represent a promise to fulfill a certain transaction at a future date. The exchange of assets occurs on the date mentioned in the contract. Futures are different from generic forward contracts in that they contain standardized terms, trade on a formal exchange, are regulated by overseeing agencies, and are guaranteed by clearinghouses. In order to make sure that payment will occur, futures have a margin requirement that must be settled daily. Currency Risk Many Corporations use derivatives for hedging foreign-currency risk, or foreign-exchange risk, which is the risk that a change in currency exchange rates will  adversely impact business results.   Lets consider an example of foreign-currency risk with XYZ Corporation, a hypothetical U.S.-based company that sells widgets in Germany. During the year, XYZ Corp sells 100 widgets, each priced at 10 euros. Therefore, our constant assumption is that XYZ sells 1,000 euros worth of widgets:   When the dollar-per-euro exchange rate increases from $1.33 to $1.50 to $1.75, it takes more dollars to purchase one euro, or one euro translates into more dollars, meaning the dollar is weakening or depreciating. As the dollar weakens, the same number of widgets sold translates into greater sales in  dollar terms. This shows how a weakening dollar is not all bad: it can boost export sales of U.S. companies.    The above example shows the good news event that can occur when the dollar depreciates, but a bad news event happens if the dollar appreciates and export sales end up being less. In the above example, we made two very important simplifying assumptions that affect whether the dollar depreciation is a good or bad event:   (1) we assumed that XYZ Corp. manufactures its product in the U.S. and therefore its inventory or production costs is in  dollars. If instead XYZ manufactured its German widgets in Germany, production costs would be incurred in euros. So even if  dollar sales increase due to weakening of the dollar, production costs will go up too! This effect on both sales and costs is called a  natural hedge: the economics of the business provide their own hedge mechanism. In such a case, the higher export sales are likely to be mitigated by higher production costs.   (2)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   We also assumed that all other things are identical, and often they are not. For example, we ignored any secondary effects like whether XYZ can adjust its prices and effects of inflation. Most multinational corporations are faced with some form of foreign-currency risk even after natural hedges and secondary effects.   Now lets illustrate a simple hedge that a company like XYZ might use. To minimize the effects of any USD/EUR exchange rates, XYZ purchases 800 foreign-exchange futures contracts against the USD/EUR exchange rate. The gain in each futures contract has a value equal to above the $1.33 USD/EUR rate. (Only because XYZ took this side of the futures position, somebody   the counter-party will take the opposite position):   If the dollar were to depreciate instead, then the increased export sales are mitigated (partially offset) by losses on the futures contracts. Hedging Interest-Rate Risk   Companies can hedge  interest-rate risk  in various ways. Consider a company that wants to sell a division in one year and at that time to receive a cash windfall that it wants to park in a good risk-free investment. If the company believes that interest rates will drop between now and then, it could buy (take a long position on) a  Treasury  futures contract. The company is effectively locking in the future interest rate.  Here is an example of a perfect interest-rate hedge used by XYZ Corporation. The Company had two interest rate swaps outstanding at September 30, 2004,  designated as a hedge of the fair value of a portion of fixed-rate bond. The change in fair value of the swaps exactly offsets the change in fair value of the hedged debt, with no net impact on earnings.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   XYZ is using an  interest rate swap. Before it entered into the swap,  the company was  paying a  floating interest rate  on some of  its bonds. For example, a common scenario would be to pay  LIBOR  plus something and to reset the rate every six months. We can illustrate these floating rate payments with a down-bar chart:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Now lets look at the impact of the swap, illustrated below. While receiving floating-rate payments the swap arrangement requires XYZ to pay fixed rate of interest. The received floating-rate payments as shown in the upper half of the chart below are used to pay the pre-existing floating-rate debt.   XYZ is then left only with the floating-rate debt, and has therefore managed to convert a variable-rate obligation into a fixed-rate obligation with the addition of a derivative. The variable-rate coupons that XYZ received exactly compensates for the companys variable-rate obligations. Commodity or Product Input Hedge   Companies that depend on raw-material inputs or commodities are sensitive, sometimes significantly, to the price change of the inputs. Airlines, for example, consume lots of jet fuel. In the past, most airlines have given a great deal of consideration to hedging against crude-oil price increases. For example XYZ ltd produces agricultural products, herbicides and biotech-related products.  It uses futures contracts to hedge against the price increase of olive and corn inventory. XYZ ltd uses futures contracts to prevent itself against commodity price increases; these contracts hedge the committed or future purchases of, and the carrying value of payables to growers for  olive and corn inventories. Pension funds Many pension funds are starting to like the idea of derivatives. As funds and their sponsors search for more effective ways to manage risk, they are realizing that derivatives can alter the nature of that risk in ways that are not possible in the cash markets. Pension funds are exposed to many risks, some of which they take actively while others they may be taking passively. Funds actively take equity and credit risk, for example, because they feel they are being adequately rewarded. Passive risks include movements in the present value of their liabilities due to changes in interest and inflation rates. Many funds do not believe they are being adequately compensated for these risks. The importance of derivatives is that they can be used to improve the return profile of their active risks, and to neutralize unwanted passive risks. These passive risks are usually created by a mismatch between a funds assets and its liabilities. A pension fund can use interest rate swaps, for example, to remove the risk that a change in interest rates will have an impact on its funding level. Or it can enter into an inflation-linked swap so that it is no longer exposed to changes in the experienced rate of inflation. The up-front costs of neutralizing these risks can be low. But as with any investment strategy, there is a downside as well as an upside. A pension fund that enters into an interest rate swap is no longer vulnerable to a fall in interest rates but neither will it benefit from a rise. Similarly, if a fund uses inflation swaps to protect itself against a rise in inflation it will no longer benefit from a fall. Another passive risk pension funds face is that of corporate sponsor default. An interesting possibility for some funds would be to neutralize this risk by buying protection for any funding deficit in the credit default swap (CDS) market. This strategy would entail paying an annual premium to counterparty, and receiving a pre-agreed sum of money that would cover the deficit if the sponsor defaulted. The size of the premium would depend on the credit quality of the sponsor. Hedge funds A  hedge fund  is not highly regulated  investment fund  that is typically open to a limited range of investors who pay a  performance fee  to the funds  investment manager. Every hedge fund has its own investment strategy that basically determines the type of investments it undertakes and these strategies are highly individual. As a class, hedge funds embark on a wider range of investment and trading activities than traditional  long-only investment funds, and invest in a broader range of assets including  long  and  short  positions in  shares,  bonds  and  commodities. Hedge funds often try to  hedge  some of the risks inherent in their investments using a variety of methods, notably  short selling  and  derivatives. Hedge funds dominate certain specialty markets such as distressed debt and trading within derivatives with high-yield ratings. Modern portfolio theory segregates the return on an investment portfolio into market related component multiplied by beta, a measure of volatility, and alpha, the specific return associated with portfolio that is independent of the market. Alpha measures a Hedge fund managers skill in creating excess return over the market benchmark. Alpha does involve leverage, but the risk can be mitigated with the cash freed up by the use of derivatives is invested in assets that have no correlation with the passive part of the alpha. A market neutral hedge fund, for example, should offer an Alpha return with no correlation to the stock market. Advantages of Hedge Fund Investing Mostly hedge funds bank on the prosperity of only one investment and are not overly diversified investments. Aggressive investment strategies such as short-selling or borrowing money to purchase more assets (leverage buying) can legally be utilized Extremely huge gains in the millions are the potential reward for investing in hedge funds Disadvantages of Hedge Fund Investing Hedge funds are extremely risky and huge sums of money can be lost in the blink of an eye The performance fee for the hedge fund manager may encourage them to take bigger risks with investors money which may result in large losses There are very few government regulations regulating hedge fund investments

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Phaedo Summary Essay Example For Students

Phaedo Summary Essay George Waszczuk9/25/2000Wed: 6:30-9:30pmPhaedo SummarySocrates stands now before his disciples telling them he is not afraid of dying because he says death is what the true philosopher waits for all his life. The philosopher must have lived a good life, and when death is presented upon him, he should take the opportunity. Socrates formed a conclusion that: That the real philosopher has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die, and after death he may hope to obtain the greatest good of the world. Socrates is saying that when death is presented upon him, he should have no reason but to be happy, and when that death comes; he will have achieved the best gift in the world. Socrates states evidence of why he is not afraid of dying through multiple mini-conclusions. Socrates says to Simmias, Why when his time comes should he repine at which he has always been pursuing and desiring? Socrates is saying why should philosophers grieve at death when that should be the goal of their whole lives. He believes only philosophers can understand because he believes philosophers will be truly alive after death, and normal men will just die. Normal men do not know that true philosophers have always been pursuing death and dying, and the desire of death has been with them all their lives. Through out his whole testimony, Socrates states questions to his disciples already knowing the answers, but he wants to hear Simmias agree to all of them. Do we believe that there is such a thing as death, states by Socrates. When Simmias agrees this he brings out all his support. Socrates believes Death is the separation of the body and soul. The soul is the biggest part of the death. The soul goes on living and doesnt have to deal with any of the bad commodities of the body attached. You are only dead when this separation has been completed. Therefore death is when the body exists in herself, and is released from the soul. Through out the life of a philosopher or any other person there are fruits of life. There are many unnecessary pleasures and treasure in which we could live without. Instead of caring about them, shouldnt he rather despise anything more than nature needs.? Socrates is saying that to go as the true philosopher, you have to live life with only the bare essentials needed and pass the opportunities for the unnecessary pleasures and treasures like costly clothing, sandals etc and other adornments. The philosopher who is indifferent about bodily pleasures is as good as dead. Socrates is saying that if a philosopher goes through life passing up pleasures not needed, he will definitely get his chance at death. The philosopher is only concerned with the soul and not the body, and as soon as possible would like get rid of his body and turn to his soul. 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He has been waiting all his life, and now it is his time to go. He states to his disciples that life is all about waiting to die. The soul is the only important thing about the body only because the body holds it for a while and when death has become, the soul will separate and the philosopher will live the real life he has been waiting for. All the body does is get in the way. The body has to deal with pains and pleasures, diseases, weather etc. When the separation is complete, the philosopher will then become a true philosopher and will be able to acquire knowledge without any obstacles that the body would have to go through. Words/ Pages : 775 / 24

Nuclear Power Essays (789 words) - Nuclear Technology,

Nuclear Power Nuclear Power Nuclear energy in California has produced 36,186 million Kilowatt/hours of electricity in 1995. The total dependable capacity of Californias nuclear-supplied power is 5,326 megawatts, including the two operating nuclear power plants in California and portions of nuclear plants in other states owned by California electric companies. There are two ways to release energy from nuclear reactions: fission and fusion of atomic nuclei. Electricity generating technologies are available, whereas fusion is still in the early stages of research and development. Nuclear fission is the process of splitting the nuclei of atoms, which releases energy from within those atoms. Nuclear fusion is the process of joining, rather than splitting, these atoms with similar releases of energy. There are several types of fission reactors in the United States but the most common is light water reactors. The reason they are called light water reactors is because normal (light) water is used to cool the reactor core; some reactors use heavy water, which contains hydrogen atoms with an additional neutron in the nucleus. Pressurized water reactors (PWR) and boiling water reactors (BWR) use uranium-235, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of uranium, as a fuel. As the nucleus of a uranium-235 atom is hit by a neutron, it splits into smaller atoms of other elements, and releases energy and extra neutrons. Those neutrons hit more atoms of the original uranium-235 creating a fission chain reaction that releases more energy and neutrons. In a PWR, water passes through the nuclear core and is heated. The power plants primary circulating system passes water through the reactor core, where the water is heated by the nuclear reaction. That water (under high temp and pressure to prevent boiling) is passed through a steam generator, where it releases its heat to the secondary circulating system. Water in secondary circulating system is allowed to boil, and the resulting steam is used to drive a steam turbine-generator. In a BWR, there is no need for a steam generator and a secondary circulating system, as the water in primary circulating system is allowed to boil before exiting the reactor and is then routed directly to a steam turbine-generator. There are only two nuclear power plants out of six that are still used in California. The first one is owned by PG&E named Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near San Luis Obispo. The Plant has two units; the first unit is a 1,073-megawatt PWR, which began operation in May 1985. The second unit is 1,087-megawatt PWR, which began operation in March 1986. The second plant is owned by Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric named San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Unit two of that station is a 1,070-megawatt PWR that began operation in August 1983, while unit three is a 1,080-megawatt PWR that began operation in April 1984. Below is a chart of nuclear power plants in California: Nuclear Power Plants in California Name of Plant Capacity (MW) In Service Owner Diablo CanyonUnit 1Unit 2 1,0731,087 19851986 PG&EPG&E San OnofreUnit 1Unit 2Unit 3 4361,0701,080 1968 - 199219831984 SCE/SDG&ESCE/SDG&ESCE/SDG&E Humboldt Bay Unit 3 * 65 1963 - 1976 PG&E Rancho Seco 913 1975 - 1989 SMUD Vallecitos 30 1957 - 1967 PG&E/GE * Units 1 and 2 are natural gas-fired thermal power plants on the same site. There are many reasons and issues why we dont have a lot of nuclear power plants in California here are a few: ? Nuclear plants may not be economically feasible in the United States. No American utility has proposed to construct a new nuclear power plant since the late 1970s. ? Need for a spent fuel disposal facility and a decommissioning plan ? Use of large amounts of water for cooling purposes (if wet cooling ? towers are used) ? Biological impacts on the ocean due to thermal discharge (if seawater cooling is used) ? Designing for seismic safety ? Public safety concerns ? Transportation issues associated with the development of an emergency evacuation plan ? Changes in visual quality due to the power plant structures, including the reactor vessel containment structure, and cooling towers (if applicable) ? Potentially significant amounts of land ? Potentially significant public opposition Nuclear power plants produce a lot of energy but they serious environmental problems. I think that these plants are

Free Essays on World War I

The United States Enters the War (1914-1917) Summary When war broke out in 1914, America's traditional isolationist tendencies took Hold. President T. Woodrow Wilson charted a neutral course, focusing on the maintenance of the rights of neutral countries on high seas. Sea rights were crucial to the United States because neutrality allowed American businessmen to trade with needy Allies and, to a lesser extent, Germany. By 1916, US trade with the Allies had jumped from US$825 million just two years before to US$3.2 billion. If the American merchant marine was in jeopardy, American business could make no profit. That is probably why the unrestricted submarine warfare practiced by Germany U-boats angered Wilson so much. In late 1915, a German U-boat sunk the merchant ship Lusitania, killing one hundred and twenty Americans. One year later, the Sussex was sunk, similarly without warning, as had been the custom prior to World War I. Americans were outraged at the violation of their rights on the high seas and enmity toward Germany increased considerably. Still, isolation ruled the day. In November 1916, President Wilson was re-elected to a second term under the slogan "He kept us out of war", suggesting the continued appeal of neutrality in the face of German harassment in the Atlantic Ocean. However, during the campaign, Wilson, a Democrat and admitted novice at military affairs, sought to placate the right by standing firm against Berlin, demanding that unrestricted submarine warfare end, or Washington would terminate all diplomatic relations with the German Empire. The United States was just a few steps away from war. Still locked in Monroe Doctrine-style isolation, America was slow to react. However, early 1917 witnessed the proverbial last straw. German Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmermann, in attempt to eliminate America as a direct military threat to the war in Europe, offered Mexico Germany's assistance in recovering the fo... Free Essays on World War I Free Essays on World War I The United States Enters the War (1914-1917) Summary When war broke out in 1914, America's traditional isolationist tendencies took Hold. President T. Woodrow Wilson charted a neutral course, focusing on the maintenance of the rights of neutral countries on high seas. Sea rights were crucial to the United States because neutrality allowed American businessmen to trade with needy Allies and, to a lesser extent, Germany. By 1916, US trade with the Allies had jumped from US$825 million just two years before to US$3.2 billion. If the American merchant marine was in jeopardy, American business could make no profit. That is probably why the unrestricted submarine warfare practiced by Germany U-boats angered Wilson so much. In late 1915, a German U-boat sunk the merchant ship Lusitania, killing one hundred and twenty Americans. One year later, the Sussex was sunk, similarly without warning, as had been the custom prior to World War I. Americans were outraged at the violation of their rights on the high seas and enmity toward Germany increased considerably. Still, isolation ruled the day. In November 1916, President Wilson was re-elected to a second term under the slogan "He kept us out of war", suggesting the continued appeal of neutrality in the face of German harassment in the Atlantic Ocean. However, during the campaign, Wilson, a Democrat and admitted novice at military affairs, sought to placate the right by standing firm against Berlin, demanding that unrestricted submarine warfare end, or Washington would terminate all diplomatic relations with the German Empire. The United States was just a few steps away from war. Still locked in Monroe Doctrine-style isolation, America was slow to react. However, early 1917 witnessed the proverbial last straw. German Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmermann, in attempt to eliminate America as a direct military threat to the war in Europe, offered Mexico Germany's assistance in recovering the fo... Free Essays on World War I World War 1 began in 1914 and ended in 1918. Until about 1939, especially in England, World War 1 was called the Great War because it was the most destructive and widespread war that the world had ever seen before. The First World War was less destructive than World War II to civilian life and property, but in other ways it was worse. This is because the world was not prepared for the outcome of the war, and large amount of effects, and all of the loses that came from the Great War. There were different reactions to the end of the war. The immediate reaction to the end of the conflict was one of relief. Everyone was satisfied that the war was finally over after four long years. All over Europe people were celebrating and having parties in the streets. When the celebrating stopped, thousands of men and women started trying to find the spot where their loved one or loved ones had died. There was a numbness after the war that seemed to put everyone into a kind of paralysis. Then everyone felt a need to justify what took place in the war and they wanted revenge. There was a great amount of people who died in the years between 1914 and 1918. There were also a lot of creative and talented people that were killed in that time too. There are approximately seven hundred and fifty names of poets, playwrights, writers, artists, architects, and composers listed in an anthology by Tim Cross who died as a result of the First World War. The people on that list are only people who had already accomplished something in their fields. Out of the ten million men who died in this war, there could have been a lot more men who could have gone on to do great things in the arts, sciences, medicine, and in politics. There was a lot lost in the war. There were approximately ten million men that died in the war; this did not include the twenty million that were wounded. Out of all the countries, Russia lost the most. There was also a lot of m...

The Philosophy of St. Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Philosophy of St. Augustine - Essay Example As such, St. Augustine himself brought the ‘City of God’ to proposition, synthesizing conception of justice and state under Plato’s theory or that it occurs rather disposed to resemble it. Since ‘justice’ is an entity on which the ‘state’ must be founded, its presence is essential in determining how a good kingdom is like or should be. For St. Augustine, the applicability of justice in this sense may be extended to the measure of happiness for the ruler within a state or kingdom. He concretizes moreover: â€Å"For neither do we say that certain Christian emperors were therefore happy because they ruled a long time, or dying a peaceful death ... or subdued the enemies of the republic ... But we say that they are happy if they rule justly.† On a biblical context, St. Augustine claimed that rulers can satisfy being just if they are capable of delaying punishment yet are ready to pardon and if they necessitate having to employ such pun ishing act upon the government in favor of defending the republic. In ‘The Republic’, this well coincides with Plato’s argument explicating that the elements namely – reason, appetite, and spirit must consist in justice just as they must in state (Ebenstein & Ebenstein, 1990). According to St. Augustine, two cities emerge out of love of self or the earthly love and love of God or the heavenly love. While the love of self is sought based on the approval of men, regardless of God’s judgment, the love of God exists in an individual who primarily seeks God’s glory despite harsh criticisms by other men. As a consequence, the earthly city is composed of nobilities and subjects that are governed by the exercise of authority where pleasing the state seems to form the sole basis and cause either of anxiety or of contentment among people. In the heavenly city, however, it is the Lord’s command that matters most for the people who fear or delight in following his will. The truth behind divine forces or the ways by which God communicates to men in the city of God may, to a certain extent, raise doubts requiring support via evidences that are less abstract than intangible conviction, Nevertheless, St. Augustine’s proposition quite matches the remarkable portion of world history when kingdoms indeed found triumph over all others because they, rulers and subjects alike, had hopes that rested highly on God’s power to vanquish the enemies. When St. Augustine further elaborates that the absence of human wisdom enables godliness and genuine worship of God in the heavenly city, such idea may be perceived to bear consistent thought and agreement with the conception of justice in state. A godly nation with a just king or emperor discerns justice that places no distinction between the rich and the poor or the strong and the weak, only between right and wrong by sensible law, for by the fundamental meaning of the term, it is intended to be carried out at times unjust situations transpire. With the city of God, this condition especially holds for the Lord is considered the supreme being so that all else under him are made equal with each other in view of justice and its righteous function as God himself exhibits no partiality in rendering proper justice on anyone through Christian faith. Much as St. Augustine distinguished between the two cities with opposing characteristics he more so argued about the two types of man