Oil Price Fluctuations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Oil Price Fluctuations - Case Study Example During 2008 world witnessed the growth in the prices of crude oil reaching a new high threatening the world economy at large, thanks the financial crisis, the recession has brought it down again. It may be exaggerated that increase and decrease in the oil price effects the world economy which is makes it necessary to study its impact on the world economy and how it effects the alternative energy resources. OPEC reports that the recent surge in the oil prices occurred at the time when there was absolutely no shortage of oil at all. The price upsurge accompanied with volatility has been recognized in all commodity groups including energy, metal or agricultural products with prices doubled since 2005. OPEC reports that it has increased the supply of crude oil by 4 mb/d since 2003 and further increased it by more 1 mb/d with absolutely no shortage of crude oil in the market. (World Oil Outlook, 2008)1 Many elements have led to this volatility in crude oil prices. Keeping aside the demand and supply elements, fluctuations in the dollar value has been the main cause for increase in the prices of crude oil. ... Some factors that have helped the price upsurge include US occupying Iraq, Saudi Arabia being attacked by terrorist temporarily affecting oil supplies, speculative investments by financial investors.3 Decline in OPEC's Surplus Oil Production Capacity Increases in global demand for the crude oil have forced the oil producing nations to produce more crude oil in order to meet the demands. The above figure shows that there has been drastic decline in the oil production of OPEC countries; this demand/supply factor is the main reason for increase in crude oil price touching $140 per barrel.(Hiromi Kato, 2005)4 As per the BPs Statistical Review of World energy for the year 2007, it is revealed that demand for the world touched 83.7 million barrels/per day or 3.9 billion tons/year which is equal to five times the annual household water consumption. The above figure shows that the increasing demand has led to upsurge in crude oil price which rocket from mid 2005 till 2008. As per the figure, oil price didn't had any upsurge till late 2000 but due to increased demand in Asian countries, the crude oil price escalated. Trends in Oil Prices Roncaglia using Hotelling theory explains that the equilibrium price of the scarce resource net of extraction costs rises over time at the rate that is equal, year after year, to the interest rate.5 It is understood from this statement that price of the scarce commodity increases at the rate year after year with the added interest rate. The crude oil is an important ingredient in the growth of world economy. It is learnt that commodity traders are responsible for oil prices who bid on oil futures contracts by looking into current supply of oil in terms of output, oil

Kosovo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Kosovo - Essay Example Thorough investigations will be carried out to find the technical process that goes behind in making these visual designs. The investigation also explores the successful factors of using visual designs, such as logos and identifying their processes, techniques and development. In contrast the not so effective visual designs will also be investigated, to find out what went wrong in the process and development. For this project it was essential to undertake a motive and start experimenting to what can be done with visual design. Moreover to see the impact of how these techniques change the perception of a country. The chosen country for this experiment is Kosovo. Kosovo proved to be more of a challenge to experiment with as many still view Kosovo as a war torn country. The experiment on designing for Kosovo is an attempt to replicate the development and effort that goes behind branding to engage the audience to a visual design. 1. Definition of Visual Design Visual design is not about what the message is through the word. The design is supposed to show both emotions and visuals. The graphics elements must incorporate visual art skills prior to any graphic elements are applied to a design. Visual art includes works which are primarily visual in nature using anything from traditional media to state of the art logo design. Majority of basic visual design concept include colour, contrast, typography, composition, lie, texture, space and shape. Lines are used to guide the viewer thought a composition also the use of type in a visual design can add visual interest. A logo is a name or trademark of a company. Logos are used by companies o represent a concise image of the company. Our eyes are drawn to visual objects; people generally find it easier to remember a simple image over works alone. A logo is also graphical mark that’s used to identify an organization, company, production or brand even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. A logo ca n either be purely graphic as a symbol/Icon or it can be composed of the name of the company/brand etc. 2. The importance of visual design and their effects in nation branding Visual design symbolizes the establishment and provides a quality image, representing one of the missed elements needed the nations’ nation branding factors. Either the country doesn’t have one or it isn’t good enough. The research conducted will provide some in depth details of the process that is done in the background on how to make a logo that can help Kosovo stand out it a fears completion when it comes to branding. There are countries, cities and tourist resorts that are facing increasing competitions to attract tourists, possibly inhabitants and various companies to visit their regions or to promote exports, according to Teemu Moilanen and Seppo Rainisto (2009). Figures compiled by Teemu Moilanen and Seppo Rainisto, show that there are more than 300 cities in the world with over a m illion inhabitants. Most of the cities want to stand out from the other competing cities, in terms of attracting the tourists to visit the city’s tourist attractions. Indeed there is more to branding a country than visual design. However, the visual design is the first step to promoting the country at its core. 3. The successes and failures of visual identities The destinations that are going to be investigated for this research are four distinct country tourism destinations. The research