Discussion: Describe the following two articles, explain how they are related an
ID: 364474 • Letter: D
Question
Discussion: Describe the following two articles, explain how they are related and state how YOU feel the articles are relevant to students studying finance.
Note: (Do not attempt if you can not fulfill all the requirements.)
Your submission should be a minimum of 500 words, clearly written, with sources cited. Students should use their own words and should not just "copy and paste" responses from Internet sources or the newspaper.
Article 1: Hawaii Oceanfront Home Asks $21.995 Million
On the Kohala Coast, the contemporary-style home was the presidential suite of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
An oceanfront home on the Big Island of Hawaii is seeking $21.995 million.
On the Kohala Coast, the northwestern edge of the island that’s a focus of high-end development, the contemporary-style home was the presidential suite of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The home is currently undergoing a $2 million renovation that is scheduled to be finished in January, said Kevin Hayes, president of West Point Investment.
Originally built in 1994, the house is being expanded to more than 9,200 square feet from 8,400 square feet, said Mr. Hayes. It will include four bedrooms and 5½ baths spread over two floors. Plans show a circular staircase, a media room and an open floor plan for entertaining. There are also 2,018 square feet of outdoor living space.
The home, which has its own gated driveway, sits right next to the hotel at the northern end of the development. On more than 1½ acres with a pool, it fronts the ocean—there is a small beach in front of the house at low tide, Mr. Hayes said—and is a short walk from the main section of Hapuna Beach. The home has views of the mountains, the ocean and Maui. Owners will have access to hotel amenities like room service.
West Point and its partner investment firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. bought part of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel in 2016. West Point plans to convert 96 of the hotel’s 350 rooms into 62 condominiums, Mr. Hayes said.
Mr. Hayes said the company would like to use the home as a marketing center for its condo conversion, and would sell the property for $18.995 million if a buyer would allow West Point to lease the property for a year.
Tomoko Matsumoto of Hapuna Realty has the listing.
Article 2: The Dollar May Not Be Stronger for Much Longer
Dollar bulls beware: The U.S. currency’s comeback is on shaky ground, analysts warn.
The dollar has been rebounding since September as investors have grown more optimistic about the prospects for U.S. interest-rate increases and a tax overhaul. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against 16 others, has gained 2% over the last two months, narrowing its loss for the year to 6%.
Hedge funds have also pared bets against the dollar recently, with the net position betting against the greenback falling to $13 billion last week from $18 billion at the end of September, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.
As we noted in the Journal’s Morning MoneyBeat newsletter Thursday, the dollar’s climb has big implications for global markets. This currency’s weakness has bolstered profits for U.S. multinationals by making their products cheaper abroad, helping drive the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to new records. A sustained rally in the dollar could weigh on U.S. stocks, while commodities such as oil–which are priced in dollars and become cheaper when the currency declines–could also face pressure.
Still, analysts warn the dollar’s resurgence is unlikely to last.
“Two factors have helped the dollar – speculation about a new more hawkish Fed Chair and the possibility of U.S. tax cuts,” said Bilal Hafeez, head of G10 foreign-exchange strategy at Nomura. “We do not think these factors will persist, and so would caution on turning bullish on the dollar.”
President Donald Trump is considering several candidates for the job of Fed chair, including current Fed governor Jerome Powell, current chairwoman Janet Yellen and Stanford University economics professor John Taylor. Speculation that Mr. Trump could pick Mr. Taylor–who has criticized the Fed for keeping rates too low–energized the dollar this week, but betting markets still show Mr. Powell as the most likely pick. Investors believe Mr. Powell would maintain the Fed’s cautious approach to raising U.S. interest rates, which could weigh on the dollar.
A U.S. tax overhaul also may not boost the dollar as much as some investors expect.Republicans have disagreed with the White House over parts of the plan, raising the level of uncertainty around whether the bill will pass this year. Analysts warn that even if the bill does pass, it could widen the deficit, which has historically been negative for the dollar.
Scotiabank analysts are also sticking to their bearish dollar view.
“We continue to view the U.S. dollar as looking quite ‘rich’, with a Fed hike fully priced for December and a lot of uncertainty regarding the President’s tax plans remaining,” said analysts in a research note this week.
Explanation / Answer
i oppose with the statment of the scholor that US dollor is going to be weaker. there are some factors to be considered in this issue, not only internal issues. when we observes that, are there alternatives for US dollar in coming near future, our question remains without answer. there are no close substitutes for US dollars in any aspect. hence, there is no problem for domination of US dollar in the business world.
the issues like interest rate hike in US, and other factors, all these helps US dollar to become more stronger. when funds availability is less, the supply of funds is limited, it leads to increase the demand of funds. the same happens to US dollar too. people will deposits their currency with banks at higher interest, and they may not go for further foreign investments. they supply of US dollars will be down in the market, but the demand continues in the same way and it leads to increase in the value of dollar in global market.
hence i can say that the domestic and global factors are helping to US dollar to become more stronger. and there are no currencies wich dominates in the world in near future. the nearest alternative currency is EURO which facing many problems in recent days. many of the EU nations are suffering with many problems, and all these are lagging them to come forward. so, i feel US dollar will carry its weight in global market in the same way.