For years when it comes to inventory, landlords have had always the upper edge in property damage disputes. This was because the right was with the property owner making him the jury, judge and executioner. This fact made tenants fell deceived by their landlords. So some changes where in order, that is why for some time now the system allows the tenants to be able to take to court their landlords if they feel that they where cheated. The downside of this common right is the small amount of reimbursement, or the lack of evidence to back up their claim. That is why the amateur approach in rental deals changed with the implementation of the property inventory. With a signed by both parties property inventory the landlord no longer has the full control, and the tenant has a solid back to defend himself from false claims. The inventory documents are important to both sides of the rental contract; they provide strong proof if the property assets have suffered structural damage during the period of tenancy. This way domestic damage disputes will end long before the court, with the help of arbitrary services. Since the introduction of the property inventory London in inventories disputes have dropped in number.

Here comes another question whether landlords should prepare those inventory documents by themselves using written record books, inventory software and even video footage. Although it is not the most complicated job in the world, to be sure that every angle is covered is better to use the assistance of firms specialized in property inventory services. But in case that landlords decide to create assets inventory list it is important that it is done well, and that they include all the necessary elements in the inventory. They are a lot of popular approaches on how to make the inventory list, the best method is to catalogue every item room by room. For the property itself the best approach is to describe the conditions of the flooring, walls, roofing, furnishings, windows, doors, appliances, wood works and etc.

The short answer to the main question of whether a central bank is a necessity is that it is not.  For the first hundred or so years of the United States there was not a central bank issuing a national currency.  Thousands of banks existed in the United States, and they operated largely on the trust of the local bank owners.  People would deposit their gold or silver at the bank and were issued a gold or silver certificate, which operated like money in the country.  If one were traveling from one town to another, the other town might not accept a certificate from a neighboring bank so the individual would often carry gold or silver coins, which were recognized nationally.  This gold or silver based system did not contribute to an expansion of commerce.  Banks would make loans, but were largely very conservative in order to keep the gold or silver at the bank for withdrawal.  On occasion there would be bank failures because borrowers would default due to crop failures or national disasters where borrowers could not pay the bank back, and the depositors wanted their deposits.   Without deposit insurance, there were frequent bank failures.  Accordingly, people did not keep all of their money in the local bank.   In short, there is not an absolute need for a central bank.

The benefits of central banking are the facility it provides for commerce.  Everyone is by law required to accept the banks notes — in the U.S. in the form of dollars — for transactions.  This makes it easy for anyone to engage in commerce with one uniform currency respected everywhere in the country.  This provides the foundation for credit cards, and other mechanisms of commerce built on a single accepted currency, like checks and ATM cards.  A second benefit is that the central bank deposit insurance encourages deposits and therefore encourages lending by banks.  The banks can take some risk and the depositors can take some risk because there is insurance for the deposits.

However, the central bank’s benefits are balanced against some obvious drawbacks.  The central bank is a political organization and is therefore sensitive to the needs of the federal government.  The central bank will print more money if needed to finance the deficits of the government.  This cheapens the currency and causes it to buy less than prior to the printing of more money.  This is especially acute in a global world where there is competition among currencies based on stability and independence from the central government.  Another drawback is that banks are centrally controlled, chartered, and managed so that the banking industy resembles any regulated industry: it is hard to enter, there is an oligopoly in major markets, and banks do not compete on price and service alone.  Finally, deposit insurance brings people to the hazard of making deposits but because they are insured, the depositors do not rely on the reputation of the bank.  Deposit insurance fosters some sloppiness among depositors, perhaps excessive risk-taking by the bank owners, and a cost shouldered by society to bail out failed banks.

It is not self-evident that modern industrial societies need a robust central bank.  There are costs and benefits. 

Often, it happens so that developing nations do not have enough money in order to develop themselves. The money they would require could be for any major developmental project in that country. These developing countries ask for international aid in order to facilitate the implementation of these projects.

Organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are organizations that mainly give aid. Its loans are given by developed and rich countries who deposit their money into these banks from time to time. This money is what goes as international aid.

There are advantages as well as disadvantages of getting international aid. International aid helps facilitate many developmental programs in developing countries. These could help in improving the country’s position in the world. International aid can contribute to fighting global poverty, hunger and help get access to medical care. It can also provide to solve problems like refugees, terrorism, rehabilitation and many other problems. International aid when given in the form of loans can earn interest. In these ways, it has been very advantageous for both the donor and the receiving countries as the receiving countries get improved credibility in their respective financial markets.

However, international aid can also be a bane. Donor countries with selfish interests will go and donate to countries especially the ones with bountiful natural resources and try to exploit them. They would provide funds to bring a particular country to get influenced and force them to serve military interests and other interests to the interest only of the donor nation.

Donor nations may do evil things like dump toxic wastes, dump e-wastes, harm their environment, destroy their local culture and many other things.

Receiving countries could also misuse international aid. Money coming to feed the hungry of the receiving nation could use the money to fund illegal activities and the strengthening of their armed forces when actually they are supposed to spend the money for more important issues like hunger and combating poverty.

There are numerous advantages as well as numerous disadvantages of international aid. International aid should be given mainly in loans of whose allocation should be carefully monitored. When given in the form of loans, the countries, will strive hard to repay the loan and in the meantime, they will prosper.

When international aid comes in, there is always a sign of progress. But international aid should be used very wisely and judiciously, only then can we eliminate poverty and hunger and other problems in the world.

The Great Depression (1929)

The Big Crash

After the extravagance of the Roaring Twenties, the American stock market was getting shaky amidst speculative fears. Between 1 September and 21 October, the market fell by 40 percent. On 24 October 1929, the stock market began to drop drastically. It was known as Black Thursday.  By July 1932, it was down by 90 per cent.

By 1933, a quarter of the American workforce was out of job. Widespread unemployment and misery followed. It caused the world to plunge into a global depression that lasted for more than a decade until World War II.

People could be seen everywhere on the streets on Black Thursday, 24 October 1929, as the stock market crashed. (Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Recovery

World War II was declared in 1941 and the preparations brought the economy back on track.

Importance

The Great Depression, which is the worst that the world has ever seen, is still being used as a benchmark for how far the economy can fall.

The Oil Shock (1973)

The Big Crash

It began when the world’s oil producers quadrupled oil prices. On 17 October, they announced that they would stop shipping oil to the United States, its allies in Western Europe and Japan. It was a move to retaliate against US for supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Iraq, Syria and Egypt in 1973.

The surge in oil prices caused a jump in inflation which led to the first instance of stagflation (people were out of jobs but prices remained stubbornly high). It was the worst thing that could happen to an economy.

Recovery

Oil prices stabilised in the late 1970s, but rose to a new peak when war broke out in 1981 between Iran and Iraq. However, it declined gradually again after the war.

Importance

The Oil Shock is brought up as a warning to the economy each time oil prices shoot up to new records.

Black Monday (1987)

The Big Crash

A dark cloud loomed across the nation as the trade deficit continued to widen and there was a rash of investigations into insider trading. On 19 October 1987, jittery investors who were hit by confidence moved en masse out of stocks into safer bonds. Computers automatically cut their traders’ losses by issuing a large number of sell orders. This caused the system to lag, creating mass panic among investors. They reacted by dumping stocks in the darkness before they fell by more.

That day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw the biggest percentage drop in history by 22.6 per cent, wiping out US$500 billion in one day.

Panic selling swept through Wall Street as the Dow dropped by more than 500 points. (Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Recovery

Global markets restricted trading. Liquidity was pumped into the system. Recovery was fairly rapid and the Dow rebounded to its previous level within a year.

Importance

Though macro-economic factors played a part, this was the first instance of computer trading systems contributing to such a huge loss. Also, no one knows the exact cause despite the US stock market losing almost a quarter of its value in one day.

The Asian Financial Crisis (1997)

The Big Crash

The Thai government ended the baht’s peg to its US dollar due to the speculative attacks to its currency. As a result, it caused the baht to halve in value and the Thai economy to come to a halt.

Most of Asia was affected as currencies buckled, stock markets crashed and asset price fell. The Thai stock market fell by 74 per cent, followed by Hong Kong’s 23 per cent and South Korea’s 7 per cent in a single day. Asian economies went into recession, causing global growth to slow down.

Local residents rushed to buy bags of government discounted rice with the little money they had in Jakarta, Indonesia, which was one of the countries hardest hit by the Asian Financial Crisis. (Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Recovery

The road to recovery was slow and painful despite help from the International Monetary Fund. It suffered more economic shocks along the way. But the economies in the region got back on track when they were boosted by a global boom.

Importance

Asian governments have learnt their lessons from the financial crisis and built up hefty reserves. Thus, it helps them to be better insulted from the current downturn.

The Dot.com Bust and 9/11 (2001)

The Big Crash

With the rise of internet in 1995, a completely new online market was created. Companies and investors greedily invested into it but their dreams were dissolved as newly listed start-ups folded quickly for having spent and borrowed more than what they could earn in time.

The US Nasdaq lost nearly 9 per cent within a week in March 2000. Furthermore, the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 caused The Dow to suffer its worst losses which weakened the economy even further.

Recovery

Western countries such as the United States and the European Union were worst hit. They went into recession. However, the market rebounded in 2003.

Importance

The crisis is the most recent example of what happens when a healthy stock market abruptly crashes when it is being pushed up by speculative activity.

SARS and Iraq War (2003)

The Big Crash

The world was badly hit by the Sars epidemic and the Iraq war. Asian economies were forced back into slower growth and recession fears, just when they were starting to recover from the financial crisis of the 1990s.

Recovery

After Sars was contained, many economies including Singapore and China embarked on an economic expansion which was fuelled by the long-delayed property booms, as well as growing demand in exports.

Importance

People remember the downturn as it is still fresh in their minds. Much has been experienced and learnt during the Sars period. As such, countries will be more prepared to combat future epidemics.

The Current Global Economic Crisis (2008)

The Big Crash

The US sub-prime mortgages became worthless when home owners defaulted on their loans. This caused the housing and property market to collapse, which wiped out Wall Street’s revered investment banks. It pulled down companies, stock markets and economies around the world along with it.

On 29 September, the Dow posted its biggest loss in history by falling 777.68 points. As a result, more than US$1 trillion was lost in a single day in the US.

The powerful Group of Seven finance chiefs discussed ways to fight the global economic crisis and to restore confidence in the financial system. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Recovery

Countries around the world have come up with drastic measures to counter the financial crisis but recovery is nowhere in sight yet.

Importance

According to experts, this is the closest the world has come in rivalling the Great Depression. With the complex financial system still unwinding by the day, the crisis is nowhere near over. Countries have to stay united to combat it together.

The world has come a long way and has learnt its lessons from past stock market crashes of the century. I am confident it will pull through the current financial meltdown. Let us pray the crisis will end soon. Let us remain as optimistic as we possibly can. Let us stay united together!