Stock Portfolio Analysis - Coke and Pepsi Term Paper

Stock Portfolio Analysis - Coke and Pepsi - Term Paper Example The annual expected return for Coke is 0.1307, while the annual expected for Pepsi Company is 0.0482. This means that Coke offers an expected higher return for an investor that Pepsi Company. However, the investment that an individual is willing to make is also measured by the risk attached to the investment. The risk that is attached to an investment means the potential variation of actual returns from expected returns, a factor that is measured by the variance and standard deviation of an asset or portfolio. From an analysis of Coke and Pepsi Companies, it is evident that Pepsi has a higher standard deviation and variance, albeit by a small percentage. The standard deviation and variance for Pepsi are 0.048 and 0.0024 respectively, while the standard deviation and variance for Coke are 0.046 and 0.0027 respectively. This means that Pepsi’s stock has a higher deviation from expected return, so an investor who is risk averse would prefer to invest in Coke. The other factor tha t is used to determine the expected return of a stock is the beta, which refers to the relative volatility of the stock to the market. From the analysis, it is evident that Coke has a higher beta of 0.54 compared to Pepsi’s beta of 0.52, which indicates that Coke’s Stock is more volatile in the market. The covariance of two stocks in a market indicates that extent to which the returns for the two investments move in relation to each other. The covariance for Coke and Pepsi is low at 0.002, which means that the stocks co-vary. An investor with an aim of diversifying stock should not invest in the two stocks together. The correlation of stocks refers to the extent to which the prices of the two stocks affect each other, and from the analysis, a correlation of 0.7 indicates that the prices of the two stocks are strongly correlated, since the two stocks are strong competitors. Coke and the Market The annual return for Coke is higher than the annual return displayed by the market, which indicates that Coke is performing better than the market. The annual return for coke stands at 0.1307, while the annual return for the market is -0.009. However, the market has a lower risk than Coke, as can be seen from the standard deviations of the two portfolios. The variance and standard deviations for the two are 0.0027 and 0.0467 respectively for Coke and 0.0030 and 0.0214 respectively for the market. This indicates that Coke has a higher chance of risk than the market, which would be the ideal choice for a risk indifferent investor. The covariance of

Rap music's effect on American culture Research Paper

Rap music's effect on American culture - Research Paper Example Corporate brands such as Nike, Coca cola, Sprite, McDonalds, in addition to many more corporate giants have been able to capitalize on this phenomenon. Despite the fact that hip hop and rap culture critics seem to be fixated on messages like violence, harsh language, and sex, the genre has a plethora of positive tenets ascribed to it. This art form has substantial potential of mending ethnic relations (Dill 2009). Between 1950 and 1960, the ‘beat culture’ acted in challenge of the status quo in a manner that has greatly unified individuals (the youth in particular), across a diverse ethnic spectrum. Recent years have seen mounting controversy surround rap music, and at the heart of the American media. From the West Coast-East Coast hype that marked the murders of rappers Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur, to the castigation of modern music in light of Littleton Colorado’s school shootings, it appears that media and political groups have quickly blamed rap for an ap parent trend of youth violence. Rap music, in a similar fashion to other music forms, cannot be comprehended until it is studied minus the frame of its social and historical context. Today, rap music ascribed its origin to the hip hop culture of urban, working-class, young African-Americans, and its roots in the oral traditions of Africans. Its function is seen as the voice of an otherwise underrepresented group, and its popularity has grown along with appropriation and commercialization by the music industry. The paper herein discusses the rap music as a genre and its influence on America (Dill 2009). Rap’s commercial history can be traced back to 1979, the year during which ‘the Sugar Hill Gang’ released the considerably successful song known as ‘Rappers Delight’. Contemporary rap music’s beginning can be traced back to the mid-1970s in the Bronx. Rap music was a way for the urban black youth to express themselves rhythmically. Rap music together with