The Financial Performance Of Barclays Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2088 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The following report is aimed at comment the findings of Barclays PLC financial performance analysis. The first section presents an internal and external analysis. The second comments a series of financial ratios. Finally, the last section concludes. Introduction Banks are an important part of the financial system. They channel financial resources from individuals who have surpluses to individuals who lack capital. Banks transfer these assets in the form of loans. Loans are evaluated and classified according to the default probability (risk). In this manner, Banks assure that lenders invest their wealth in trustable projects, that is, economically viable (Arnold, G., 2008). Banks, then, subside the research task from lenders and allow them to get a safe and constant return rates in a determined timeframe and conditions (Valdez, S., 2007). As any business, Banks are aimed at increasing the wealth of the owners. Banks employ accounting systems and economic models to measure their financial performance. Accounting and economic models evaluate: 1) whether the wealth of the owners is augmenting, and 2) at what extent (Atril, P., McLaney, E., 2008). They provide several financial indicators which help business management to control the enterpr ise performance; among them, the financial ratios are widely used. The purpose of this report is to comment the findings discuss how bank (Barclays PLC) overall performance should be evaluated. The first section presents a review of Barclays internal and external performance. The second section evaluates Barclays financial performance. Finally, the last section concludes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Financial Performance Of Barclays Finance Essay" essay for you Create order A review of Barclays internal and external performance Barclays is one of the worldwide leaders in financial services. It was founded in 1690 in the UK. Barclays has operations in 50 countries spanning over Europe, the US, and Africa. Its headquarters are located London, UK and employs 153,800 people worldwide (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays retail banking includes personal customers, home finance, local business, consumer lending and financial planning (DATAMONITOR, 2010). Internal performance Barclays capital strength has provided the company with resilience to cope adverse market conditions. For example, the companys liquidity pool increased to pound;127 billion at 31st December 2009 from pound;43 billion in 2008. Hence, cash flows allow the bank to negotiate better selling conditions in their product portfolio (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays has kept its lending growth volume regardless global economic situation. The bank has reduced its derivative assets; therefore, its balance sheet size has been reduced (BARCLAYS, 2009). However, Barclays operations are threatened by its weakness in cost management. Its subsidiaries in Western Europe registered detrimental costs in 2009. Thus, the bank may face difficulties in its expansion plans (BARCLAYS, 2009). On the other hand, Barclays mobile banking services have experienced a significant growth due to smart phones popularization. This new service portfolio is likely to reduce workload in banks branches; therefore a sign ificant cost reduction may be achieved during the fiscal year 2010. Even though, internet and credit transaction fraud has also risen. Hence, information security investments may undermine cost management accomplishments (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays is pursuing to expand its operation in India and UAE. Even the bank has been present in both countries since 1970s; it does not have a considerable penetration. These markets have attractive conditions to increase the bank market share. Therefore, an expansion strategy for India an UAE is foreseeable (BARCLAYS, 2009). External performance Barclays impairment losses in 2009 affected banks profitability. This effect was present despite balance sheet size reduction. Disposal of these legacy assets is one of the main banks objectives for fiscal year 2010 (BARCLAYS, 2009). UK government legislation regarding Asset Protection is aimed at improving customers trust by clearing up banks balance sheets. However, there is no a complete strategy on this matter. These uncertainties add pressure on financial markets, making difficult banks capitalization. Besides, a more competitive environment will be roomed (BARCLAYS, 2008). Finally, mergers and consolidation in banking industry will make more difficult, for Barclays, to adjust pricing levels and protect their market position. However, Barclays has the resources and skills to tackle challenging business environments (BARCLAYS, 2009). Barclays financial performance ROE ROE ratio presents negative trend in the last three years. The cause of this behaviour was the increase in the operation costs, 25%, plus a drop of 25% in the interest income. The net effect was a drop of drop of 77% in the net income in 2009. In 2008, Barclays acquired Lehman Brothers, thus, the total financial figures of the bank were affected. This buy clarifies the abrupt changes in costs and interest incomes. Positive results of this acquirement may be reflected in one or two years; it can be said that this normal behaviour of acquirements (BARCLAYS, 2008). ROA ROA was also hit by the Lehman Brothers effect; the indicator fell 50% from 2007 to 2009. Total assets were duplicated during 2008 and the net income after taxes was a little bit higher than in 2007. However, in 2009, Barclays made a restructuration in its total assets and was able to reduce them a 44%, that is, total asset were almost the same than in 2007. Unfortunately, net income after taxes also dropped 44%. ROA indicator was, then, almost the same than in 2008. ROA hid the company efforts to align the bank to the pre-acquisition levels (BARCLAYS, 2009). Net Interest Margin Net interest margin improved in 2009. It surpassed 2007 value. Assets are producing more Interest profit than in 2007. This can be interpreted as a positive effect of the Lehman Brothers acquisition, since the asset combination is generation more income. However, the increment in operation costs undermined the net effect of these results (BARCLAYS, 2009). DuPont This indicator clearly shows the Lehman Brothers acquisition effects. The equity multiplier registered a growth during 2008. The net profit margin was almost 300% higher than in 2007. However, the asset utilization went down 518%. The net effect was a low ROE (BARCLAYS, 2008). In 2009, the equity multiplier, and net profit margin felt down 49.48%, and 63.45% respectively; whereas, asset utilization grew 281%. Even though, ROE ratio was the lowest one in the studied period. This erratic behaviour was caused by the total asset amount. Each indicator by itself does not provide enough information regarding how well the company is doing it. For instance, asset utilization seems to be worst than in 2007, therefore, the implication would be that acquisition was a bad deal for the bank. In the case of the Equity multiplier, the conclusion would be the same. But, the net profit margin figure seems more realistic and clearly shows that a growth of 10% in two years justify the buy (BARCLAY S, 2008). The ultimate result is indicating that the new company is expected to have a return in equity of 6.28%. However, this metric does not include dividend amounts; thus, investing in the new Barclays firm may still be attractive. DuPont exercise shows that any indicator does not have all information at glance, thus, they should be used in combination in order to provide relevant and useful information. By decomposing ROE in three different ratios, it is possible to understand the effect of total assets and the operating revenue into the companys investing profile. Besides, it is clear the effect of the increment in the cost of the sales and operations. From the graph, it can be seen that Lehman Brothers firm made a massive sales and their expenses were under control. However, it can be inferred that liquidity may be one of the relevant factors that pushed former owners to sell it. This thesis is aligned to the main causes of the 2007s global financial crisis. Therefore, the acquisition was justified and was a good opportunity to improve the banks financial performance (BARCLAYS, 2009). Net Interest Margin This ratio shows a negative trend. The lowest value was registered in 2008. However, during this year the interest income registered the highest value during the period. In 2009 the interest income dropped 24.18% but asset were reduced almost 50%. Even though, they continued 12.34% above the 2007 value. The net effect was 25.24% below the 2007 mark. It is important to say that 2009 is a good result and shows how the bank is trying to move the new company to the levels in which the former one was operating. It can be inferred that the strategy is to stabilize the bank and then increase the profits. Acquisition was, again, the event that impacted the ratio behaviour (BARCLAYS, 2009). Earning base Earning base is indicating that bank is acquiring more assets which are directly implied with the profit generation, that is, that it is lending more money to customers. It is clear that in 2008, due to acquisition, the bank owned a series of assets which were overloading the cost structure. In 2009, the situation improved since assets were re-structured and their number was reduced. This indicator should not be higher than 50%. The rational is that banks earning assets are loans, thus, bank should ensure they payment of those loans whit its assets. Therefore a healthy ratio level may be around 50% (BARCLAYS, 2009). Operating Efficiency Ratio and Wage ratio The operating efficiency ratio shows that bank is struggling with its operating expenses. In 2007, the ratio was 187%, which means that bank was investing two resource units to produce one. In 2008, this indicator grew almost 2.5 times. However, the bank made a very good effort and reduced the figure 32%. When wage ration is included in the analysis, it presents a drop in 2008, due to redundancy. However, the operation expenses did not diminished; therefore the operation efficiency ratio did not improve. It can be implied that work force is not the biggest expense, as many author claim, but a combination of inefficient process and asset sub-utilization. Unfortunately, annual reports did not provide deep information (BARCLAYS, 2008, 2009). Interest Income / Total Assets and Interest Rate Risk Ratio The first ratio provides information regarding how much interest income is produced by the total assets that bank owns. This indicator shows a growing trend with a little drop in 2008 due to the total assets acquired from Lehman Brothers. Thus, Barclays is improving its asset utilization. Talking about interest risk ratio, this indicator should be ideally around 100% to ensure that all loans are backed up with assets. However, the bank registered values below 10%. On the other hand, this indicator also shows a growing trend, which means that this figure is going to improve in the future. This indicator also supports the 2008 acquisition (BARCLAYS, 2009). Liquidity Risk Ratio Cash is the blood of the business. This ratio is relevant because indicates the capacity of the bank to convert its asset in cash. This indicator showed a negative trend with a peak in 2008. Its value has never been below 90% which indicates that bank has no cash flow issues. However, it highly depends in the asset restructuration. According to the 2009 annual report, asset management is one of the key objectives of the current management board. Thus, liquidity risk ratio will improve during the next years (BARCLAYS, 2008). Capital Risk Ratio Capital risk ratio shows at what extent the bank is prepared to afford its long term compromises. Values on this indicator shows that bank is in a very good position since its long term compromises do not represent a high percentage of its total assets; the lower this indicator the best. However, it shows a growing trend accelerated by the 2008 acquisition. It can be inferred that management team is trying to either improve the bank resource availability, by long-term instruments, or restructuring the acquisition cost. The peak in 2008 can be explained by the heterogeneous asset combination post-acquisition (BARCLAYS, 2008, 2009). Conclusions After analysing Barclays bank ratios, it can be inferred that the acquisition of Lehman Brothers was an organic growth during crisis times. Thus, Barclays took advantage of the economic situation in 2008. Its solid cash figures allowed the bank to reject the bail-out plan from the UKs government. This action increased the customer preference for the bank. After acquisitions, the ratios tend to show bad results. However, this is somehow expected, since new components are added to the operation and a new organization is created. In the case of Barclays, these variations were not significant to the overall company performance. Finally, internal and external performance measurement is a complementary part of the ratio analysis. Ratio analysis is highly dependent on accounting information and the standards to gather that info. Thus, the results may vary if another set of accounting rules is applied. Internal and external performance measurement provides the background information to understand the number, trends and behaviours of the ratio result. Hence, both analyses are complementary rather than exclusive. Ratios provide a standard and normalized way to compare and analyze information, but they are meaningless by themselves. Ratio value is important, but it adds nothing to management process if it is not translated into coherent and relevant series of events which explain the root cause of that percentage. Thus, a good selection of indicator and measurements will guide the company to better results.

The Black Death Of The Bubonic Plague - 1304 Words

The Black Death The Black Death also known as the Bubonic plague was a deadly disease that swept through Europe in the late 1340s to the early 1350s, wiping out over twenty five to forty million people. It is called the Black Death because when victims got sick, they developed massive bulges on their bodies that turned purple and black. The bubonic plague originated in the arid plains of Central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea by 1343. From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that would often get on merchant ships. In around 1347, the bubonic plague entered Europe through the cities of Constantinople, Genoa, and most famously the island of Sicily. Infected people came on ships and infected others in the city, the fleas from rats moved on to other animals, like horses and dogs that were often found living alongside humans, spreading that disease even more. And people leaving those cities, carried the disea se with them to other cities in northern Europe through trading routes. By 1349, the plague had reached England and Norway. The plague scared people making them believe it was the end of humanity. The Black Death was a turning point in history because it killed one-third of the western European population, making it one of the most deadly diseases in the world. In the previous years, a large majority of Europe was already suffering, the Great Famine and local food shortages weakened people,Show MoreRelatedThe Black Death And The Bubonic Plague1949 Words   |  8 PagesPursell The Black Death Reassessed What really happened to Europe during Black Death? For years, the accepted version of the event has been that a plague from the East, carried by rodents who were infected by fleas, traveled by trade routes and subsequently infected Europeans. 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This plague outbreak was extremely deadly and killed 30-60% of the European population at the time of the outbreak. The outbreak is commonly believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, but modern evidence suggests that the Black Death was caused by pneumonic plague, a much more contagious and deadly infection. The Black Death was the second major plague outbreak in history, theRead MoreThe Plague Of Bubonic Plague1714 Words   |  7 Pagescharacteristics. The diffusion, history, and cure are just a couple universal aspects that contribute to the well known, yet unforgiving disease known as the Bubonic Plague. The Bubonic Plague diffused to many people during its time of dominance. To start, the Bubonic Plague is transmitted to other living organisms in a distinct way. The plague bacteria circulates among different populations of certain rodents without causing an excessive amount of rodent die-off (â€Å"Centers for Disease Control andRead MoreQuestions On The Black Death1336 Words   |  6 PagesSTUDIES TERM 4 HISTORY Name: Jemimah Hulme THE BLACK DEATH 1. HOME PAGE Introduction: in a few sentences, summarise What Is the Black Death? (WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHO, HOW, WHY) The Black Death, also known as ‘The Bubonic Plague’ was a devastating pandemic in the 14th century, affecting mainly Europe. It was caused by a deadly bacteria, ‘Yersinia Pestis’ that caused large, pus-filled swellings on the victim’s body. In the space of 5 years, the plague spread rapidly and claimed the lives of 25 million

The Story of Salt Free Essays

The book suggested for this book report is â€Å"The story of salt† written by the author Mark Kurlansky. The book in whole educates people about the significance of a simple element â€Å"salt†. This book is not just for the adults but also for the teenagers and the primary level students. We will write a custom essay sample on The Story of Salt or any similar topic only for you Order Now This book introduces the readers with the common facts that had been off-beat. This book is reviewed on a large scale and recommended by many of its readers. About the author: The author of this book Mark Kurlansky is well-known among the book lovers. He has been awarded with the James Beard Award for Excellence in Food Writing. His many writing includes â€Å"A biography of fish which changed the view. And this is an achievement in itself, if a book writer really changes one’s perspective towards any subject (The Random House Group, 2009). The most common feature in his books is salt. Just for the sake of knowing the facts about salt and how does this substance can really change the contemporary picture of the world, he travelled to many countries in the world. The countries he visited are China, Middle East, and Africa. Mark Kurlansky writing pieces includes, â€Å"The big oyster†, â€Å"The last fish tale†, â€Å"1968 (the year when the world was rocked) and many more† (Random House, INC, 2009). These writing pieces by the author have focused the food and greatly salt. In this paper will discuss his book â€Å"The story of the salt† About the book: This book deals with the ubiquitous and such a simple substance, salt. How salt helped the civilizations to evolve and how it bring change in the economy in the World. Salt is the substance which can make a country become the most powerful. In this book the significance of the salt tells all the facts and secrets has been revealed. Salt is most important to superpowers like America to control the world. This book reveals that how important salt is for the human body. Illustrations: This book contains many vibrant, attention-grabbing and supportive illustrations with text which made it easy for the readers to understand the importance of the simple substance salt. There are illustrations symbolizing the different civilization and the use of the salt in their era. Main Idea: At first when salt was used in the meals with meat and other types of meat (white meat, beef) but its industrial use got raise when salt was discovered as the best preservative. And that’s when the use of the salt became more common. Almost every state’s economy is greatly affected (in raise or loss) by the frozen food because of the new trends of intake of food. America in particular has the industry of frozen food selling on the highest score (Kurlansky, 2006). The question that arises in our minds is that if the salt was not discovered as a preservative, then how it would be the state of the frozen food cultured economies? This shows the evident importance of the salt in the economic affairs of the state. Did you ever thought about when using the table salt? In this book Mark provided records of the first use of salt different countries. For example, China started its production for salt nearly 8000 B. C before. Mark introduces to the foodie culture of China that they sprinkle salt rightly on their food (Kurlansky, 2006). This book also deals with many famous bodies from the history involved in the history of salt. For example, Gandhi was the one who broke the law of Britain regarding salt which damaged their trade of salt. Another example from the book is of Clarence Birdseye. He is the biggest name in the market of frozen foods (Kurlansky, 2006). This book also tells about the phenomenon of colonialism which was greatly affected or being revolutionized by the salt. The salt trade helped those states which had their salt sources on the list. And when war broke out, the colonists had to find their mass of salt in order to track back their colonialism (Kurlansky, 2006). Mark in this book takes us back to the beginning of the time when prior to civilizations, men as a vagrant and rolling stone use to wonder in the world to find the salt masses which was and is necessary for the human bodies. In the search men discovered many other natural resources so titling that salt was the reason behind the discoveries of world’s many important land recourses (Kurlansky, 2006). This book holds record from all the international history as well as political history of different states and how these states gathered their sources on the basis of mass of salts. Salt is called as the key for the explorations era. Salt was used by many countries for different purpose. For example, how the people of Egypt used salt as a preserver for keeping the bodies of their kings and emperors fresh and preserved. Salt was greatly consumed for this reason (Kurlansky, 2006). Ketchup is commonly used with every food, especially in the regions America, Europe and Mexico. A very interesting point to note from the book is that how salt helped making the ketchup. Because Mark was a food writer too, he included ketchup in a very witty style in his book with the right illustrations to go with it. Therefore reading the text from the book it is quite evident that choosing such a topic and to describe it in such a good way really help him deserves the best outcome of the hard work. This book â€Å"The Story of Salt† is the best seller by Mark. Moreover the author’s goal specifically in this book is to educate people about the little facts that are of less importance to them. And he is successful in this regard. How to cite The Story of Salt, Papers

Duties of Seamen in a Ships Deck Department free essay sample

Duties of Seamen in Ships Deck Department Officers, Bos’n, Able Seamen and Ordinary Seamen run this department The many and varied duties of the deck department are probably the most important and interesting aboard a merchant ship. Upon those who spend their working hours topside falls a burden that ranges from chipping and scaling paint to the actual navigation of the vessel. Merchant ships differ in size and complement, but the average ship that sails the seven seas today, bringing war material to our armies and those of our allies, generally conforms to a single pattern of manpower.The duties of those men also run true to form, more or less, but as the saying goes among seamen â€Å"different ship, different long splice. † All of which is translated as meaning that different ships and masters have their own way of doing things. Generally, however, they are similar. Starting at the bottom is the Ordinary Seaman (OS) whose duties actually are to assist the able seaman. In reality, however, he is the deck utility man and may be called upon to do any one of many tasks.The ordinary may be called upon to stand a lookout, to scale and chip paint, to paint, handle lines in the mooring of the ship, and to assist in the actual tying up and letting go of the vessel. The ordinary also assists in the handling and operation of all deck gear such as topping, cradling and housing of booms and he may also be asked to aid the carpenter in repair work. It is likely that the ordinary may be allowed to act as helmsman, to read the draft markings or to act as cargo watch in the loading and discharging of cargo. Calling the watch (the awakening of men, including officers, who are slated to go on watch or to so remind them if they are awake) is another of the important duties of the ordinary. He also assists in emergency drills (lifeboat, abandon ship and fire) and keeps the passageways and heads in shipshape condition on the 4 to 8 watch. He may also work aloft or over the side. The Able Seaman (AB), by law, must be able to perform any deck duties aside from the actual navigation of the vessel.In general his duties include the ability to splice wire or fibre line, to work aloft and over the side of the ship, to operate the deck machinery such as the windlass or winches, to paint and mix paint, to know the principles of cargo stowage, to be a good wheelsman and competent lookout, to overhaul and install any running or standing rigging on the ship, and to be able to sew, repair and mend canvas. The AB must be a competent and certified lifeboatman, able to handle a lifeboat under oars or sail. He must know lifeboat equipment and be able to assume the duties of the cox’n or man in charge of the lifeboat. It will also be the duty of the AB to maintain the bridge in a clean and shipshape condition. Next on the way up the deck department ladder is the Bo’sn (Boatswain), senior unlicensed man on the ship. He is the direct contact between the crew and the chief mate and he may be likened to a foreman in any industrial plant. The Bo’s’n must be an experienced seaman and is held responsible for anything and everything in the maintenance, care and protection of deck equipment and deck cargo. He also supervises the securing of the ship for sea and the loading and discharging of cargo.In addition, the Bos’n assists the chief mate in ordering the deck stores. The duties of the ships Carpenter (Chips) are numerous. He is likely to be called upon to perform work which, in many cases, is beyond that which the term carpenter implies ashore. In short, he is both a seaman and a mechanic. In addition to doing temporary or permanent wood construction aboard ship with hand tools, he is responsible for the operation of the anchor windlass, seeing that hatch wedges are driven properly, that the deck cargo is properly lashed and that the hatch battens are in place and secure.The carpenter also repairs blocks, keeps the lifeboat davits in good order, builds temporary or permanent partitions, shores or braces weakened or damaged bulkheads, rigs a collision mat, builds a soft patch in the event of bulging or collision, replaces broken rivets and he will assume command of an emergency crew to repair damage in event of a collision. A Quartermaster is not a fixture on all vessels. On the larger ships, he is primarily a wheelsman and maintains the bridge and its equipment in shipshape order.He is conversant wit h signaling procedure, stands a gangway watch in port (responsible for the safety and security of the ship as well as escorting persons aboard who have business) and he is able to perform the duties of an able seaman (splicing line, reaving a halyard, etc. ). â€Å"Day men,† those who work with the Bo’s’n, are usually picked for outstanding ability. They work from 0800 to 1700 and stand no night watches. Their duties are the maintenance of the ship, which includes operating the anchor windlass, winches and other deck machinery.The Third Mate is the junior deck officer and normally stands the 8 to 12 watch. He is responsible for all life-saving equipment. In addition, the third mate keeps the ship’s log, follows the captain’s orders, and assists in the navigation of the vessel. In port, he will assist or supervise in the loading and discharging of cargo. His place is on the bridge with the captain while docking. The Second Mate, usually the navigation officer, plots courses and takes celestial and terrestrial fixes.In peacetime he is the communications officer but the Naval officer in charge of the armed guard crew is rapidly assuming those duties because many of the messages now received are in secret code. The second mate also handles the after deck when tying up. He stands the 12 to 4 watch. The First or Chief Mate is responsible for the maintenance of the ship and proper stowage of cargo. He handles the fore deck in tying up, is a good navigator, a thorough seaman, possesses the necessary qualities of leadership and will assume command of the vessel in the event of the master’s death or inability to command the ship.He stands the 4 to 8 watch. This brings us to the Captain who is lord and master of all he surveys. Actually his title is â€Å"Master. † He is in charge of everything and everyone aboard ship. He must be as closely acquainted with the steward’s department and the engine department as he is with the bridge and he must know the reason for every job performed aboard his vessel. It should be remembered that the Master is the agent of the company which owns the ship and is not a member of the crew. He represents the company in every operation of the ship under his command.His is the full responsibility of the ship. Although he stands no watches he will always be found, in the event of foul weather or fog, on the weather side of the bridge until the danger is over, even though such foul weather lasts for 24, 48 or even 72 hours at a stretch. In any emergency the captain will be up on the bridge conning his ship, despite the fact that he may have sunk exhausted on his bunk after a long vigil just three hours ago. The captain also may act in the Shipping Commissioner’s capacity in signing off a crew after a coastwise trip.It is required of a master, as well as all his mates, that he have a first aid certificate and be capable of administering, if necessary, to the medical needs of the crew. Any one of the deck officers from the Third Mate up will be in charge of any one of the lifeboats in abandoning ship. When a ship is at sea, the watches are usually four hours on and eight hours off, but the crew may be broken out at any time in the event of an emergency. While in port, watches are usually broken. The crew works from 0800 to 1700 with an hour for chow.The ordinary or able seamen agree among themselves, as a general rule, as to which will stand the gangway watch at night. It is important to remember that although every man in the deck department has specific duties, he must be absolutely familiar with the duties of the men who rank above him. [edit] Deck department [edit] Chief officer/chief mate Main article: Chief mate The chief officer (often called the chief mate in the United States) is the head of the deck department on a merchant vessel, second-in-command after the ships master.The chief mates primary responsibilities are the vessels cargo operations, its stability, and supervising the deck crew. The mate is responsible for the safety and security of the ship, as well as the welfare of the crew on board. Additional duties include maintenance of the ships hull, cargo gears, accommodations, the life saving appliances and the firefighting appliances. The Chief Mate also trains the crew and cadets on various aspects like safety, firefighting, search and rescue, and various other contingencies.On most vessels, the chief officer and first officer (or first mate) are synonymous, but passenger vessels often carry a separate first officer who is junior to the chief officer. [citation needed] [edit] Second officer/second mate Main article: Second mate The second officer (or second mate) of a merchant vessel is usually in charge of navigation and is the next licensed position above third officer and below chief officer. The second mate typically stands the 12-4 navigation watch. That is, the second mate will stand watch from 1200 to 1600 at noon and again from 0000 to 0400 in the night s. The second mate is typically the navigation officer aboard a ship. The navigation officer is responsible for maintaining the charts and navigational equipment on the bridge. The duties also usually entail developing the voyage plans under the direction of the ships master. In the United States system, it takes 360 days of sea service as a licensed Third Officer before one can become a Second Officer. [citation needed] The other duties of this position often depend upon the type of ship worked aboard.He planned to destroy the Earth’s sun, giving him access to a powerful energy source and annihilating the human race in the process. In order to destroy the sun, he needed a massive device buried somewhere in Egypt. But his brothers were loyal to the human race and wouldn’t let him destroy the world. Instead, they sacrificed their lives to protect the key—the only object that would engage the device. Sam (Shia Labeouf) is heading off to college 3000 miles away from his girlfriend MacKayla (Megan Fox), his overprotective and emotional mother, and his anxious father.While packing, he finds a sliver of the energy cube (which was destroyed in the previous film) attached to his sweatshirt. When he touches it, the sliver sends signals into his mind, causing him to see symbols which he later discovers are the lost language of the Primes. These symbols lead him, his girlfriend, his cowardly roommate, and a robot expert to Egypt in search of the key that will engage the sun-destroying device. The Decepticons set out in search of Sam, planning to probe his mind for the symbols and then destroy him. The Autobots come to his rescue, but Optimus Prime, the last member of the Prime family, pays the ultimate sacrifice. With Optimus Prime gone, the fallen can rise again and set forth his plan to destroy the planet. Now both Sam and the Fallen seek the key; not only does it have the power to engage the sun-blasting device, but it can also resurrect Optimus Prime. Review The first Transformers movie was a smashing success, proving to all the sceptics that films about transforming robots could be serious and satisfying.Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen did not fair so well. The actors, particularly Sam’s mother (played by Julie White), took more liberties than their roles allowed, making the opening scenes particularly corny. Julie White acted over the top and embarrassingly silly. The film redeemed itself with mind-blowing action sequences and special effects. There were more robot fight scenes, more destruction of world famous landmarks, and more dynamic and creatively constructed Autobots. For the fight scenes alone, this movie is worth seeing in theatres.