Paul Mackay

The interview took off by talking about how people perceive economics and how it has changed . Mackay said that today's idea is to manage limited resources in a sensible and sustainable way so that it can fulfill humans needs. Then, they continue the talk to investments and finance. He said that a lot of values are not real value. It is virtual value because it does not require add-on values from other resources. For example, a farmland would be valuable if the farmer grow on it, but in a development project only the land is valuable without any add-on value. He also explains that money sometimes becomes stuck and there is no real creation of value anymore such as in the stock market. He believes in the idea to make the money become gift money, these are money that are invested for research in education, health, and social issues. This interview talks about what investments are and the idea of economics that are vital to the world.

A Window into Transparency

This chapter talks about how perception of money by society has changed. It talks about how financial relationships between entities differs between those in the same community and those that don't share the same affinity. In a community, money managers such as those involved in a bank or a hedge fund has additional attachments. When they talk about losing money, they also suffers personal loss. Their reputation, their own equity and their own relationships are at risk of losing. This means that they are more inclined to be careful or be more honest in their management of money.

On further discussion, it talks about how these community based relationships can be implemented in other sections. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is the example they used. CSA model is where a farmer adopts a community that conforms with his practices or values. Then he would determine how much food can be grown and how many families it can feed. The farmer then compute a budget for the farm with the community which will then be divided to come out at a price per share which will then be sold to the community.

I felt that what it discusses about is true to some extent. Banks have grown from small localized institutions to giants banks over the decades. It has lost personal connections to its customers but it has also given its customers a much larger reach. It is unthinkable for someone in another country to be able to safely travel to another country without cash in previous times. Community is important but the era of globalization has required banks and communities to adapt to include the whole world at the expense of personal relationships.

Chapter 14

Money has the power to buy material goods, but it is abstract and metaphorical.Bloom uses the labyrinth and the touchstone as a metaphor of how we understand money. The labyrinth "hosts a personal pilgrimage, the journey one takes reflectively". And the "touchstone is used to measure the quality and purity of gold". Both of which will combine at then end. It is a medium of exchange and a measure of value we used as we walked the world.

 The issue that Bloom highlights now is the fact that people just sees money as money. Not as a medium or as a representation of value. The common masses no longer realizes that the value of money is actually pegged to Gold. Value of money has become invisible, making people unable to perceive the importance of it and feel it.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Below is a painting done by Gabriel Metsu, and its description is the framework for this chapter. The painting is titled Usurer with a Tearful Woman, and like many other famous Dutch artists in the 17^th century, the paintings serve as “social commentary” or to “deliver moral lessons.” In this painting, we assume the woman is at some sort of debt to the usurer. As she holds a note in one hand, the usurer looks at her scornfully, as it is likely she does not have the money to pay what is likely her husbands debt.

It is also very important to draw attention towards the woman’s purse. When first looking at it, it simply appears to be a loose handkerchief or piece of cloth. But, Metsu had some deeper meaning behind it, as you look closer it appears to be a floating hand reaching into her purse. This shows the view of the usurer who see that he can and will take advantage of this desperate lady. This painting carries some relevance today, as America is almost now a society that places more value on debt that we do on equity, causing a lot of economic heartache.

AMDP Investment Memo-- Draft

To: Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP

From: Albert Wijaya, R&D Consultant, AMDP

Date: March 1, 2016

Subject: Potential Investment Opportunity—Toyota Motor Corporation

After extensive research during the week, I believed I have found a potential news that might require further attention on Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota has been one of the leading car manufacturer in the world for the past decades. It has been renown for its cars' design, compactness and efficiency. What I would like to focus right now is on the concept of Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles. It has a chance to be the future of the car industry. Last but not least, this perfectly aligns with AMDP's principles.

AMDP’s Guiding Principles

AMDP wants to make investments would leave a positive lasting impact on the world. These principles provide the foundation of our company’s mission, vision and values. The following four principles in the nature of Anima Mundi, are important in analyzing potential investments: 

Triple Bottom Line

Triple bottom line is an accounting framework used to evaluate performance to create a better business value. It consists of three parts:

• People: The approach the company uses to its employees and community where it resides

• Planet: The use of sustainable environmental practices for minimizing harm to the environment

• Profit: The economic value of the company including its impact on the environment

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is the idea that companies has “social” responsibilities that their business may or may not create. They are committed to positively impact society while improving the company’s stakeholders position.

Social Enterprise

Social enterprises are businesses that maximizes the common good. These entities are businesses that are committed to maximize social, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of their businesses.

Carbon Footprint

"The total amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere each year by a person, family, building, organization, or company.”(EPA) We measure it by estimating the amounts of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) that we emit.  It is important to reduce our carbon footprint in order reduce the effects of global warming.

Toyota Motor Corporation

History

Toyota Motor Corporation is an international Japanese car manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Toyota is the world's first car manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a subsidiary to his father's company, Toyota Industries. Since then, it has grown to be a major player in the automotive industry. It produces vehicles under 5 brands: Toyota, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Scion. It also has significant relationships with other players in the industries that include Yamaha, Daihatsu, and Tesla. 

Toyota has been a major proponent of the environment, as one of the first firms to establish a comprehensive CSR policy. Not only that, Toyota has been a forerunner in several technologies, such as: Robotics, Aerospace, and Biotechnology. In fact, Toyota is one of the first to introduce the first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Toyota Mirai in 2015.

Hydrogen: Fuel for Our Future

Hydrogen fuel cell is not an recent invention. It was invented as late as 1838, and was mostly used by the NASA for their space programs. It has been there for a long time, and it has a lot of different applications. The most recent being the fuel-cell vehicles. In these vehicles, the hydrogen cells's waste will only be water, making it one of the most environmentally friendly solution. But hydrogen fuel cell has its own limitations. One of the most comprehensive problem it must solve is definitely the infrastructure needed to deliver these fuel cells to customers. Another one is the fact that to produce these fuel cells and transport them, we would still need carbon-based fuel and will still leave carbon print. 

A Futuristic, Super-Smooth Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car

The Toyota Mirai was a sensation. With a range of 300 miles and a top speed of 111 mph, the Mirai is definitely a car worth driving. Compare that with Tesla Model S' 265 miles and Nissan Leaf's 107 miles range. Not only that hydrogen fuel cell has a really fast recharge rate, with only an average of 5 minutes per charge. If we compare this to electric based cars' average of 5-6 hours for it max charge, then the Mirai is definitely at the top of the league.

Final Reccomendation

In spite of its flaws, I believe in the future of hydrogen fuel cell cars. It is a more viable solution to our problem. Beside, with the likes of Toyota backing and promoting it, I am sure it will not be long before hydrogen cars be a reality. Therefore, I strongly recommend AMDP to take this opportunity to invest in Toyota.