European union competition law practice and implementation Essay

European union competition law practice and implementation - Essay Example European competition law has been developed over the years to overcome these fears and provide legal guidelines for fair implementation of business practices. The European Union authority believes that open competition in Europe is important as it results in lower prices and also increases the choice for consumers across Europe. Competition within European Union is regulated by the European Commission, along with national competition Authorities. (Goyder : 2003). A fair set of norms has been evolved to include action to be taken against business practices which restrict competition, monitor mergers to ensure that these are not designed to reduce fairness and open competition in previously state run monopolies.(Lowe : 2004) The European Union has set out a very transparent competition policy, which is easily accessible. This paper attempts to examine the issues set forth in the European Competition policy as it affects growth of monopolies particularly that of public service providers. Services of general economic interest have been identified as those market services which discharge broad interest tasks and are therefore subject to specific obligations related to public service in respective member states. These services need to be of a universal nature such as postal and telecommunications services. It is therefore essential that these function effectively to provide continuous and responsive facilities to the community. These also have to be at an affordable price. Thus Article 16 of the Treaty has specified that these services, "Without prejudice to Articles 73, 86 and 87, and given the place occupied by services of general economic interest in the shared values of the Union as well as their role in promoting social and territorial cohesion, the Community and the Member States, each within their respective powers and within the scope of application of this Treaty, shall take care that such services operate on the basis of principles and conditions which enable them to fulfill their missions." The European Commission has a duty to ensure that these services are supported and duly fostered and that these are not subjected to the likely impact of markets which are open to competition and thus which act beyond the purview of public interest. (Whish: 2003). The European Commission has three main objectives which govern the functioning of the services of general economic interest these are to ensure that these function efficiently, that those which are not within the purview of SGEIs are not classified as such and that it does not have any adverse impact on markets which are open to competition but out side the ambit of public services. (Non Paper : 2002). Classification of the SGEIs has to be made very carefully to ensure when applied to services which are operated by private operators these are intended to meet an individual's general requirements and not a specific category of consumer. There has been a monetary ceiling which has since been laid down of payments of up to 30

Opportunities & Threats in Gold & Oil Investments Research Paper

Opportunities & Threats in Gold & Oil Investments - Research Paper Example According to the research findings with the ever increasing uncertainties regarding the overall global economic and fiscal outlook, the investment strategies have also experienced some major changes. It is actually belief and confidence of the people that changes as the time and situation changes. As a result, the real value of the investment changes with the perception of the people. The real worth or substance remains the same, however, the other party to the transaction perceives it to be either on a higher side, lower side or at a stable level. In short, the substance of the investment remains the same but what actually changes is the worth of that investment in the eyes of other person as per his/her perception, belief and confidence. The change in the perception of the people leads to the change in the worth of the investment as a result the investors actually face a risk that their investments can experience significant fluctuations associated with the unpredictable behavior o f the people. Over the years, there have been different patterns and trends that represent the psyche of the people regarding the riskiness of different types of investments. From bonds to stocks, commodities to metals, currencies to real estates, each different class has different sorts of risks associated with it. The risk appetite of individual investors also varies which in turn contributes significantly in the variation of the values of the investments. (Fabozzi, Gupta & Markowitz, 2002). The above mentioned asset classes can be broadly split into two categories namely as paper money investment and real substance based investment. For instance, currencies, bonds, stocks are considered as paper money as the investor ultimately do not acquire a physical substance or matter when he or she purchases investment. For example, by buying some shares of a company cannot actually allow a common stockholder towards entitling a specific asset of the company. Similarly the bonds or other pa per money instruments do not allow entitlement to the investors on a particular asset of the issuer of that instrument. On the other hand, the non-paper money instruments provide a possession of the investment in the form of goods, property or any other physical substance. The term â€Å"physical delivery† for these kinds of investments is vastly associated as they entitle the investor for the taking the actual physical delivery of the form of their goods (Shefrin & Statman, 2000). For instance, in case of metals, gold, silver or platinum, the physical delivery is possible and the investor can keep the possession of the metals with himself. Similarly, in case of real estate property, the investor can actually take the possession of a particular property after transferring the property documents. The above two categories of investments have some specific risks associated with them due to which the non-paper money based investments are considered as safe heavens for the investo rs as the investor enjoys the possession of those investments and later on can make the use of those goods for his/her personal needs unlike paper money investments which are intended to be returned to other investors or the issuers of those investments because they cannot be used for personal needs. On the basis of usage or consumption as well as holding the possession of those investments, this particular assignment deals with the opportunities and threats that rest with the investments that are movable in nature (FinanceSpain, 2012). Particularly the investment in gold and oil are highlighted in the discussion. Gold is a precious metal which is the most highly recognized and consumed metal especially used in the jewelry and ornaments. Oil is the commodity which is used as an energy resource for varieties of different purposes. Both of these investment classes have distinct opportunities and threats which are discussed separately in further sections. The first section emphasizes o n the opportunities