...Duke energy has recently released news that it plans to acquire Piedmont Natural Gas Company in a $4.9 billion cash deal. Duke Energy is one of the largest electric power companies in the United States and is headquartered in Charlotte N.C. Duke Energy is a fortune 250 company, has been in business for 150 years, and has approximately 7.3 million electric customers and 500,000 natural gas customers. After preforming a brief SWOT analysis on Duke Energy two factors became very evident which relate directly to the plans to acquire Piedmont. A big strength of Duke Energy is the strong market position accompanied by an extensive infrastructure within the United States. Energy is very capital intensive industry which give Duke Energy a large advantage...
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...Hydroelectric is a form of energy that’s used as a renewable resource. Hydropower provides about 96 percent of the renewable energy in the United States. Other renewable resources include geothermal, wave power, tidal power, wind power, and solar power. Hydroelectric power plants do not use up resources to create electricity nor do they pollute the air, land, or water, as other power plants may. Hydroelectric power has played an important part in the development of this Nation's electric power industry. Both small and large hydroelectric power developments were instrumental in the early expansion of the electric power industry. Hydroelectric power comes from flowing water winter and spring runoff from mountain streams and clear lakes. Water, when it is falling by the force of gravity, can be used to turn turbines and generators that produce electricity. Hydroelectric power is important to our Nation. Growing populations and modern technologies require vast amounts of electricity for creating, building, and expanding. In the 1920's, hydroelectric plants supplied as much as 40 percent of the electric energy produced. Although the amount of energy produced by this means has steadily increased, the amount produced by other types of power plants has increased at a faster rate and hydroelectric power presently supplies about 10 percent of the electrical generating capacity of the United States. Hydropower is an essential contributor in the national power grid because of its ability...
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...Earnings Per Share during the year will NOT happen again, it is stated to be an extraordinary item. 5. In this entire workbook, information can be input/changed in any box shaded yellow. While you are still in the Forecasting Assumptions sheet, change the “Effective Tax Rate” to 32% for both 2015 and the terminal year. Note the resulting valuation here: $66.93 6. Note the resulting “Implied Return on Equity” for 2015 here: .072 7. Is this sufficient for Duke to be adding value for its common shareholders? Yes, because by lowering the effective tax rate, that would mean Duke would have more cash to give to their shareholders OR to purchase assets that would increase their overall value in the future. 8. Now increase “Ending Net PP&E/Sales” to 305% for 2015 and the terminal year. Note the resulting valuation here: $57.24 9. What did the value go down? The cost and amortization of keeping those assets on the books decrease the overall value of the company. 10. Turning to Piedmont Energy – What are the primary drivers of the earnings decline in...
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...Integrity Yiyang Zheng BUSA 552 Dr. Kerlin May 7th, 2015 INTRODUCTION This paper will review the ethical business practices of Duke Energy in the light of the recent Coal-Ash spill. It will review ethical principles, business considerations, stakeholder impact, and the company’s internal policies related to preventing environmental damage. The thesis of this research essay is that Duke Energy did not only suffer financial loss due to being made to pay a fine for environmental damage, but also the company’s actions negatively affected its reputation and share price. Therefore, companies should carry out ethical practices and risk assessments to best serve the needs of all stakeholders. BACKGROUND INFORMATION In February, 2014, Duke Energy released a high amount of coal ash into the Dan River, Rockingham County, N.C., which violates the Clean Water Act (CWA) (1972). The CWA is a waste-water and pollution reduction programs, setting guidelines and regulatory standards for different industries (EPA). Specifically, The CWA of 1972, amended in 2002, states that “it is the national policy that the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts be prohibited” (Clean Water Act, SEC. 101.3). Duke Energy was found guilty on nine misdemeanor violations (Smith) and was ordered to pay compensation. As a result, Duke Energy’s leadership agreed to pay $102.2 million for the damages caused, and the CEO confirmed that the company took responsibility for its actions...
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...Duke Energy makes life better for millions of people every day by providing electric and gas services in a sustainable way - affordable, reliable, and clean (quote www.duke-energy.com/about-us ). They became America's largest electric utility with 7.2 million suscribers after a merger with Progress Energy according to the New York Times. The article Duke Energy's Corporate Incompetence - or Fraud? consists of charges that Duke Energy gained hundreds of millions of dollars from charging improper rates and passing inappropriate expenses on to its small user customer base. The introduction of the article starts, either Duke Energy's accountants are grossly incompetent or the corporation has deliberately sought to improperly charge North Carolina's customers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The first point of analysis is Duke Energy's attempt at overcharging customers and the North Carolina Utilities Comission Public Staff allowing them to circumvent penalties. Duke Energy ended up negotiating a secret deal with the public staff in which they overlooked the overcharges they caught, set minimum profit range higher than needed, and gave money back that they overcharged. The issue being raised is how this unethical deal-making is an abuse of the customers that the company is supposed to service. Another point of scrutiny is Duke Energy has a rate rigging scheme that charges small customers unfairly each year for power plants and power lines used by Duke's largest customers...
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...understanding Duke Energy’s financial strength and to evaluate whether or not it will be a good fit for my professional career and lifestyle. Although a companies financial strength is more than the financial information you see in their financial statements like; company relations, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction. However, for the purposes of this evaluation I will focus on the company’s actual Financial Performance measures to close out my evaluation to make a decision. Within this evaluation I will look at areas of Duke Energy’s company history and their current financial statements. The History of Duke will include how the company got started, their goals and mission and how long the company has been in business. The history will also include the economy’s major Boom’s and how Duke Energy managed to pull through and maintain in business. Because the information found on a company’s financial statement itself does not give a complete understanding of the company’s financial performance and strength, I will transform the numbers and use financial ratios. Using financial ratios will provide a better comparison platform to compare and evaluate Duke Energy within their relative industry benchmarks. Upon Completion of this evaluation, I will be able to make a sound decision on the financial stability of Duke energy, and whether or not I will be accepting the management position. Evaluation of Duke Energy’s Financial...
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...White Man’s Burden (Handout) Summary & Annotation: A straightforward analysis of the poem may conclude that Kipling presents a"Euro-centric" view of the world, in which people view society from only a European cultures point of view. This view proposes that white people consequently have an obligation to rule over, and encourage the cultural development of people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways. The term "the white man's burden" can be interpreted simply as racist, or taken as a metaphor for a condescending view of non-Western national culture and economic traditions, identified as a sense of European ascendancy which has been called "cultural imperialism". A parallel can also be drawn with the charitable view, common in Kipling's formative years, that the rich have a moral duty and obligation to help the poor "better" themselves whether the poor want the help or not until according to Europeans, "they can take their place in the world socially and economically." The term "white man's burden" is a phrase that became current in the controversy about the United States acquisition of the Philippines after the Spanish-American war of 1898. It was a concept that was the responsibility of white Europeans to bring "proper" European civilization to the nations (mostly brown, black, red or yellow) that did not have it. The underlying thought was that Europeans were correct in their beliefs and...
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...Christine Merrill Chapter One ‘Of course, you know I am dying.’ His mother ex- tended slim fingers from beneath the bedclothes and patted the hand that he offered to her. Marcus Radwell, fourth Duke of Haughleigh, kept his face impassive, searching his mind for the appropriate response. ‘No.’ His tone was neutral. ‘We will, no doubt, have this conversation again at Christmas when you have recovered from your current malady.’ ‘Only you would use obstinacy as a way to cheer me on my deathbed.’ And only you would stage death with such Drury Lane melodrama. He left the words unspoken, struggling for decorum, but glared at the carefully arranged scene. She’d chosen burgundy velvet hangings and dim lighting to accent her already pale skin. The cloying scent of the lilies on the dresser gave the air a funereal heaviness. ‘No, my son, we will not be having this conversation again. The things I have to tell you will be said today. I do not have the strength to tell them twice, and certainly will not be here at Christmas to force another 6 The Inconvenient Duchess promise from you.’ She gestured to the water glass at the bedside. He filled it and offered it to her, supporting her as she drank. No strength? And yet her voice seemed steady enough. This latest fatal illness was probably no more real than the last one. Or the one before. He stared hard into her face, searching for some indication of the truth. Her hair was still the same delicate blonde cloud on the pillow...
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...circumstance may be. One way that the authors of both stories show just how much people can be affected by the personality of a man is by creating strong leading men as the main characters. The main character of “Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cow Wife” is named Johnny Lingo, who is a rich, smart businessman who has a caring heart towards the one he loves. The main character in “My Last Duchess” however, is an wealthy Duke who owns much land and believes that his duchess should have been more proud of the name he had given her while she was alive. One of the striking similarities about the two men is that their names held honor and recognition. However, it is their attitudes toward the people around them and their significant others that differ greatly. Johnny Lingo is humble, and is willing to sacrifice eight cows in order to make the love of his life feel beautiful and confident. On the other hand, the Duke considers himself higher in importance than everyone else, and found it silly and unattractive when his duchess smiled and gave thanks to everyone. Both Johnny Lingo and the Duke are compelling characters, and we care about them...
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...Origin and history Geroldsgrün, Faber-Castell works Faber-Castell works in Stein, Nuremberg Founded in 1761 at Stein near Nuremberg by cabinet-maker Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), the enterprise remained in the Faber family for eight generations.[6] It opened branches in New York (1849), London (1851), Paris (1855), and expanded to Vienna (1872) and St. Petersburg (1874).[6] It opened a factory in Geroldsgrün where slide rules were produced. It expanded internationally and launched new products under Kaspar Faber's ambitious great-grandson, Lothar (1817–1896).[6] In 1900, after the marriage of Lothar's granddaughter with a cadet of the Counts of Castell, the A.W. Castell enterprise took the name of Faber-Castell and a new logo, combining the Faber motto, Since 1761, with the "jousting knights" of the Castells' coat-of-arms.[7] The Castell family were mediatised counts of the old Holy Roman Empire, and as such ranked with the reigning dynasties of Europe.[8] In 1901 the head of the family was granted the hereditary title of Prince by Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria.[8] A descendant of the first prince, Count Alexander Friedrich Lothar von Castell-Rüdenhausen (1866–1928) married Baroness Ottilie von Faber (1877–1944), heiress of the Faber pencil "dynasty" in 1898.[8] Although the immensely wealthy Lothar had been ennobled in 1861 and made Baron von Faber in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1881,[6] in the German Empire his daughter's marriage to a mediatised nobleman would have been...
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...PERSONAL PROFILE; A professional and friendly individual with excellent customer service skills with experience in working with different people every day. I consider myself a versatile and hard working individual with excellent punctuality keen to flexible team member with good communication and interpersonal skills. I have completed a Duke of Edinburgh Award, which helped me gain so countless skills concluding 6 months of voluntary work. During completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award, I successfully combined my studies with voluntary work and other commitments showing to be self-motivated, organized, and capable of working under pressure. I enjoy working on my own initiative or in a team. I also like considering everyone's opinions while working as a team. In short, I am reliable, trustworthy, and eager to learn new things. I have a clear, logical mind with a practical approach to problem solving and a drive to see things through to completion. I am skilled with hands on approach that perseveres to achieve best results. I am able to quickly grasp training and am a fast learner. I am a good team player, paying meticulous attention to detail and an understanding of targets and tight deadlines. I am currently studying 3 A Levels at New College and I am prepared to multitask if I need to. Looking for a role where excellent customer service skills and a strong work ethic can put to use. EDUCATION; School; Churchfields Academy Subject | Qualification | Achieved Grade | English...
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...Comparative essay on ‘My last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s lover’ Robert Browning was born in May 1812 and died at the age of seventy. Browning was an English poet who has become known as the person to invent and popularise the dramatic monologue. This made him the foremost Victorian poet; two of his most successful dramatic monologues are those of ‘My last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. The reoccurring theme within the two monologues is murder as they show the idea of men killing a lover Dramatic monologues are significant in that there is only one point of view expressed throughout. In Victorian times dramatic monologues were very popular; Browning was seen as the innovator of this style of writing along with other eminent Victorian poets such as Rossetti and Tennyson. The dramatic monologue takes its style from Shakespeare’s soliloquies were a character speaks their thoughts and feelings aloud. This idea and style has been extended to the preset day, with Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads.’ The speaker in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is the lover himself, residing in a cottage in the countryside at the beginning of the poem. The mood of the narrator is established right at the start as he talks about “the sullen wind’ ‘tore,’ ‘vex’ and ‘spite.’ He is clearly angry and unhappy. However as soon as Porphyria ‘glided’ in, the mood changes and she ‘ shut the cold out and the storm.’ The narrator feels warmed by her presence. At once the reader sees that Porphyria has taken control...
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...understanf their friendship as close- as they banter between each other- we seee values and ideas to the society they belong to. Some characters choose not to Belong Meaning: Where most people choose to belong to a place or a person, some people choose not to belong at all. Quote: Jacques to Duke Senior "So to your pleasures; i am for other than for dancing measures" Jacques refuses Dukes invite to stay with him and his men and chooses to leave to go find the self-exiled Duke frederick. Jacques is seen to belong to himself rather than anything else. Belonging to a society or place Meaning: A person that finds pleasure or enjoyment in where they are rather than who they are with. Shown in As You Like It as a bad lifestyle. Technique: Shakespeare shows his discomfort to this lifestyle. This is shown through the murderous intentions of Duke Frederick and Oliver, who at first find their belonging to the court, until they are changed in the Forest of Ardern. Belonging to family Meaning: Where someone feels a sense of attachment to someone due to a family connection. Example: When Oliver is about to be attacked by a lion, Orlando his brother saves him, even though he knew Oliver had been sent by Duke Frederick to kill him. Oliver then sees the strength Orlando's love for Oliver and finds the same...
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...Shakespeare won’t have included this scene just as a way to present the disturbed characters; he will have included it to impress the people watching the play. Religious believers in that time believed in the idea of the religious order, which was the belief that God has created an ordered system for both nature and human kind, every creature/person has a place and the order should not be disrupted. Including the porter scene in the play would of reinforced this belief, as the King was seen to be at the top of this ordered system, meaning once he was murdered this order had been disrupted. This scene showed some the effects of the link between man and God being severed through Pathetic Fallacy. Another way in which Shakespeare would have tried to impress his audience, mainly the monarch at the time (King James 1st) was through the character Banquo. King James believed himself to be a descendent of Banquo, therefore he was written to be a noble, wise and regal man whose good qualities tended to make some of the other characters, particularly Macbeth, envy him. King James 1 considered himself to be an expert on witchcraft, he wrote a book which stated that witches made a pact with the devil, so including the evil ways of the witches and showing them to be dark creatures that turn good loyal men into murderers would have pleased the King as that is how he viewed them himself. If you continue to look into Macbeth’s character, he starts to spiral out of control very quickly. He starts...
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...will not revolve partly around corruption amongst many other themes. Middleton starts this play on a strong note as corruption starts to flow right from the beginning of the text. Vindice a character filled with anger and bitterness opens the play holding the skull of his fiancée who the Duke poisoned upon her refusal to sleep with him. His hatred of the Duke is shown as he describes him saying: “Duke, royal lecher; go, grey-haired adultery.” Vindice talks about lustfulness, which is a form of corruption. His anger and harsh tone towards the Duke is expected as he feels hurt and he even goes as far as to call the Duke myself, adultery. Vindice is also angry about the discrimination his father faced before his death. Middleton uses his character as an immediate way to reflect the unjust treatment during that period and how corruption was almost seen as the norm. It equally shows how power drunk kings got. Lustfulness is a form of corruption present in the play. The first time we come across lust is when Vindice pours out his feelings towards the Duke. He first of all refers to the Duke as committing adultery as quoted earlier on. He also refers to Spurio, the illegimate son of the Duke as “thou his bastard,” which identifies him as being born of wedlock. This reflects the Duke’s lustfulness even further. Hippolito is another character who draws attention to the acceptance of lustfulness as Lussurioso sends him to look for a pander. Hippolito accepts to carry out the future...
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