XYZ Ltd. is a large retail company listed on a major stock exchange, and its reported net income for the year ended December 31, 2019, is $5 million. The earnings were announced to the public on March 31, 2020. Just before the release of the 2019 earnings on March 31, 2020, financial analysts had predicted the company’s net income for 2019 to be $7 million.

Assumptions

■ No other news about XYZ Ltd. was released to the public on March 31, 2020.

■ No significant economy-wide events affecting share prices occurred on March 31, 2020

Consider the two situations below:

i The $2 million deviation of forecasted earnings from actual earnings is completely accounted for by XYZ Ltd.’s having closed down a number of its retail outlets.

ii The $2 million deviation of the forecasted earnings from actual earnings is completely accounted for by a fire in XYZ Ltd.’s largest retail outlet, which had caused

the outlet to be closed temporarily for six months.

A. Which event would likely cause the largest impact on the share price in an efficient market – a loss from a fire disaster that disrupts business for a short period of time, or a similar size loss from closing a large number of stores?

B. Would the market reaction to the fire disaster be positive or negative? Would you expect the market reaction to the store closings to be positive or negative? Defend and explain each answer.

[assume that the market was unaware of the fire disaster or the store closings, as the case might be, prior to the earnings announcement. Thus, when the company reported earnings, it also disclosed for the first time the cause of the earnings shortfall. The assumption means that we have a scenario where the disclosure of the earnings shortfall and the simultaneous disclosure of the reason for the shortfall is both news to the market.]

What is “collective defense?” If, when and how do you believe "collective defense" should be used?

An empty tin can with height of 30cm and a diameter of 15cm is open at one end and closed at the other end. If the vertical can, with open end down, be slowly immersed in water, how far the water will rise inside the can when the closed end is 10 cm below the water surface?

define the collective bargaining process. Include economic pressures and employer pressures used in the collective bargaining process.

Question 1 In our lectures, we have discussed different insights of understanding the distinction between fintech and financial innovation. Briefly discuss the difference between fintech and financial innovation using your own words. (Max. 250 words) You are required to use an academic referencing convention. The word count does not include citations.

Question 2 Name the different banks and NBFCs in the Saudi market. List four different innovations that are incorporated in some of these institutes that have disrupted previous services.

Question 3 is an opportunity to explore and refine an idea or area that is of interest to you. Address the following points in your answer: • What is the innovation, technology, or sector you believe is most interesting in financial services? • What are the reasons why you think the context of your choice has the potential to be disrupted by your idea? • What are the potential implications of this new idea within your context? • Justify your response with your own opinion as well as research.

1. At CES 2019, L’Oreal won the award for best innovation in wearable technology for their product, My Skin Track pH. The scientific and medical communities have long known the link between skin pH and common skin concerns, yet there has never been a consumer-friendly way to measure it. My Skin Track pH is the first-ever, wearable sensor and companion app to measure personal skin pH levels and create customized product regimens to better care for skin. Using microfluidics technology, the sensor captures trace amounts of sweat to provide an accurate skin pH reading. Conventional methods for reading pH levels include swabbing the skin for sweat and using a bulky digital pH meter. Researchers know that both methods provide accurate data,but were not sure which would provide results faster. A sample of seven subjects were brought in and each tested both methods. The data is shown below.

Using a significance level of 0.05, does one method provide results that are significantly faster?

Threaded Discussion:

Technology Technological changes have led to economic growth. Just ask the ticket person at the Thruway toll booth... unless of course you use EZpass. Then, just wave to the few remaining toll collectors as you whiz by. I drove through New Jersey in December and 1 booth allows you to continue travel at 60 MPH while going through.) How has this led to growth? More travelers on the highway with less congestion. More goods and services can travel to and fro faster. Costs? Sure it's expensive for that technology. Savings? Some by reducing labor at the toll booths. The good news? Someone has to design the new technology, so they are hiring.

Now, you come up with your own technological innovation that has led to economic growth.

1. One of the major themes of the course thus far has been the double-edged nature of technology, scientific approaches, and “modernity. On one hand these concepts helped bring the United States into the modern world; spurring innovation, firing the modern industrial economy, and largely building the society that still is the basis for this country today. On the other, technology and scientific approaches inflicted terrible consequences as well; fueling racism, driving conquest, and making war much more costly. In your essay, first explain why “modernity” and the thinking that drove it presented so many potential pitfalls. Then provide three concrete examples that illustrate how technology, scientific approaches and modern thinking manifested in dangerous and even regressive ways. (Focusing on the Gilded Age, Imperialism, World War I, and the Twenties may be helpful here)