Hello and welcome to the session. This is Professor Farhad and this session we would look at an actual CPA simulation Why do I say actual because this CPA simulation is released by the AI CPA? The AI CPA is the organization that administer the CPA exam specifically this simulation will be a far simulation as Always I would like to remind you to connect with me on LinkedIn if you haven't done so YouTube is where you would need to Subscribe I have one thousand six hundred plus accounting auditing finance and tax lectures that cover all topics on the CPA exam I do also cover hundreds of questions of CPA Questions on my website. You will have access to additional materials such as PowerPoint slides notes true false multiple choice and 2000 plus CPA questions So I'm gonna go ahead and pull the The CPA simulation and we'll work on it together. Okay, let's take a look at this CPA simulation This CPA simulation initially it looks very intimidating But you're gonna see that once we boil it down to it boils down to one simple concept that you need to learn Before you set for the exam. So this is another opportunity to remind you to just by answering multiple choice questions That's not gonna be enough for you to pass the exam. You have to understand the concept Although you might answer a Multiple choice question by mistake correctly when it comes to the simulation if you don't have understanding and what I mean by understanding It doesn't mean how it does it has to be difficult You just have to understand the concept and once you understand the concept you can easily easily answer these Questions actually they are sometimes easier than the multiple choice. So basically in this problem Let's go ahead and see what we are giving you are giving exhibits Letter from outside legal console, let's take a look at it This is we're gonna revisit them first. Just I want to show you you have you have a letter of credit as well. We just This is a letter of credit will look at it You have an email regarding a loan guarantee basically an email between two individuals email regarding letter of credit letter from the state health and The safety agency that's fine. That's fine. We have all of those. Let's see what we are at what we are being asked to do We're a company is reviewing the accounting and disclosure requirement for its significant guarantees Commitment and contingency including litigation as of December 31st year three So the dates are very important The financial statements are expected to be to be to be available to be issued February 10th year for So the balance sheet date is December 31st year three The report will be issued February 10th year four. So dates are very important here Use the following information and the exhibit above to determine the amount if any to be recognized and whether disclosure is required and financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31st year three unless otherwise specified assume that no amount related to these guarantees commitment and contingency including litigation Have been recognized in the financial statements as of December 31st year three So simply put they're giving you a bunch of information about Contingencies commitments loan guarantees and they want you to know they didn't do anything about them They want you to tell us whether you should disclose disclose them and whether you should recognize Any amount simply put this is based on a contingent losses. When do you recognize contingent losses? Remember we have three probabilities You know what I think I should I should go over the rules real quick because if I go over the rules It's it's gonna trigger You know, it's gonna help you feel a little bit more comfortable when you get a problem like this So all you have to do is this When it comes to loss contingencies here what you have to do the company will have to determine They have to estimate the probability of losing. So there is basically to have three probabilities remote possible and Probable Okay, now you don't want to be doing this on the exam day I'm just telling you what you need to do if the if the contingency is remote No disclosure. We don't do anything. We don't even disclose. So if you're on disclose, we don't recognize So basically if the if we said there's no there's the case without a merit or there's no chance of losing We don't even disclose. So the possibility is remote The if the possibility is remote if it's possible we are going to lose if it's past possible Possible we will disclose now. How do you know it's possible from the language? They'll tell you it's possible if you see the word probable then you have to be very careful when it's probable okay You have to determine whether we know the dollar amount or we don't know the dollar amount if we it's a probable And we don't know the dollar amount. We don't know the we cannot estimate the loss. We simply disclose So when do we accrue? Well, if it's probable and we know the dollar amount we disclose Obviously we have to disclose and The crew so this is what you need to know for this for this simulation once you know these rules Which I think very simple rules it takes five ten minutes to learn those rules then you have to apply them So that's why understanding is extremely important I cannot emphasize this enough and that's my philosophy when it comes to the CPA exam You have to understand you really have to know you have to take your time You cannot just wing it because the way they ask the questions they test your understanding not your memory anymore, okay so For each graph guarantees commitment and contingencies including litigation in the table below so they have you know We have we're gonna have to deal with one two three four five Six different things okay in column B indicate whether disclosure is required by clicking in the associated cell and selecting Yes, or no is appropriate. So for this question We're either we're either have to answer yes or no So it's either yes or no for the first question whether we disclose or Or we don't have to disclose and in C If we have an asset or a liability if we have a liability put the liability in parentheses be careful basically the amount and if there's none you put zero enter zero That's what they're asking you So the first thing is being familiar with those with those simulation on the exam day It will not intimidate you so when you look at something like this for the first time It's a little bit intimidating but as you look at them and as you as your confidence level go up before the exam They're not as intimidating as they are So let's go ahead and dive into the information The first thing is they're talking about a copy of copyright infringement now What you have to do you have to go up to these exhibits and look for information for the copyright for the copyright infringement to determine based on our rules do we have to disclose yes or no and If we don't have to disclose obviously We don't have to do anything if we have to disclose we have to determine whether we have to a crew Liability a crew ally ability. Okay. It's a copyright infringement. Let's start with the letter from the outside legal counsel Let's see if there's anything about this copyright infringement The following is an update on four matters for which we retain we retain to represent rev So this letter from from a and B LLP, which are the our lead console. Okay, so Rev is a defendant and a six million copyright infringement. So we at least now we we zoomed in on what we need to do Rev is a defendant and a six million copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Beach Company in October year three Okay, so it started in October year three. So it might be relevant to us Rev we offered Rev has has offered 1.5 million to settle the lawsuit But Beach made a counteroffer of five million The case is not expected to go to the trial and we believe that the loss is probable Hold on. This is a key word. Did you tell you at least here? You have a disclosure. So immediately now disclosure is yes Now we need to know if we can estimate the loss as of the date of this letter negotiation are ongoing Although we cannot determine the exact amount of the loss We believe that the reasonable amount of the loss is between two million and five million No amount within this range is more likely outcome than any other outcome Okay, this is basically enough for me to answer the first question Very simple straightforward. That's it. I mean you can scan the other information make sure there is no updated information But if this letter January 31st, look this letter January 31st 10 days before we're gonna issue the report That's practically the latest information. The first thing we already determined the answer is yes So let's go ahead and the answer the answer is yes So for as far as this we're gonna have to disclose. That's it. You you you you gain some points the question is do you have to Book a liability and the answer is yes, you have to book a liability Here they're giving you an estimate two million and five million and they're saying There is no No amount within the relevant range is more likely than not now here.  You'd go with the lower amount Therefore you would book a liability of two million now if it was IFRS you would you would find the average Therefore remember also to put the liability in parentheses. You don't want to do all this work then show them the Answer incorrectly. That's it That's it. It should take you like two minutes once you look at this. It's probable. Definitely. I'm gonna disclose and There's an estimate and we're gonna go with the lower estimate because it's it's no amount within this range It's more likely than not if there's any amount more likely you would use that amount, but there's not so we're done with this The second the second question is about loan guarantee So let's see if there's anything in the in the legal letter about the loan guarantee on September 15 product liability I'll skip this on October 15 ref facility sustained significant damage. That doesn't look like a loan guaranteed and Something from the health and safety. I closed this exhibit. I don't need it. So I'm looking for the exhibit that deals with loan guarantee Email regarding loan guaranteed. Let's see what we have here. Okay now We have an email and we have to interpret the email basically to determine what happened. We have two email We have two individual replying. So you want to make sure you start with the first email They're both on January 16th January 16th year for January 16th year for which is after year end and This email was at 945 and this email was at 1150 a.m. So we're gonna start with this email obviously just I want you to understand how you approach this That's why because some people don't pay attention to these things. You have to pay attention. So controller Raff company has fully guaranteed. So this is to to ref company and this is from Birko the CFO at Birko. Okay, chief financial officer of the other company Raff company has fully guaranteed our Outstanding half a million loan from Sunnytown Bank due to our deteriorating Deuteriorating financial condition. We were unable to repay the loan which was due on December 31st year 3 Okay, on January 15th year 4th Sunnytown Bank deliver us a notice of default in accordance with the terms of our loan as a result of our default on the loan and our Enability to pay it's probable that Sunnytown will require ref to perform as guarantor now here You have to know if you guarantee the loan of others Okay, the minimum you have to do is to disclose so the minimum so immediately once you guaranteed the loan I'm gonna close this and say yes to the disclosure I'll tell you why so if you guaranteed the loan you always have to disclose that You always have to disclose that now the question is Whether you had to book a liability. Well, guess what? Do you think you have to book a liability? Of course, you're gonna have to book a liability. Okay, but the question we're gonna determine how much okay? So simply put you'll always disclose when you have a loan now. Do you have to book a liability in for how much? Let's see what the response was accounting manager We just receive a notice from the cup from their company and unrelated third party with respect to our long guarantee We provided for the company at the inception of the guaranteed. We recognize a $150,000 liability for this guaranteed. Thank you now Okay, they said we upfront we recognize 150 as a liability But now the whole amount is responsible for the whole amount and this is before we are issuing the financial statement So notice we know about this January 16th. Okay, so what does that mean? We have to book a liability for the whole amount now. Why because we are responsible For the half a million. Therefore, it's a liability. We're aware of it before the issuance of the report We have a liability. We have to recognize it. We are required to perform now We are required to perform. We are responsible for half a million In my opinion pretty straightforward Let's look at property insurance claim. I believe I saw something in the Exhibit from the outside console about this issue. Let's come come up here So it was about property insurance claim So this is about product liability It looks like this that look it looks here. Okay property insurance claim on October 15th year three so with the year That's relevant for us One of ref facility sustained significant water damage. Okay at your request We can we contacted the property insurance at your request means the lawyer is speaking on your behalf We contacted the property insurance carrier to check on the status of the 2.5 million claim that ref filed on November the 15th year Three so we filed a claim a month later to get 2.5 million on December 27th year three The property insurance carrier acknowledges that the laws appear to be covered by the insurance policy However, the property insurance Stated that its adjuster is still reviewing the claim and does not expect to settle it until March 4 The property insurance Further indicate that any payment is subject to one hundred and twenty five thousand dollar deductible including in the property insurance policy Okay, that's fine. Okay now Do you have to disclose something like this? You're not losing you're basically you're expecting to receive money. Yes, you can disclose if you want to disclose You can disclose so yes, you can disclose now Why do I say yes, you can because if you don't disclose it's not a big deal, but If they're saying you yes or no, you have to say yes, okay, but you I mean in the real world Let's assume you did not disclose it. That's good news. It doesn't matter. You didn't really you're not It's okay to hide hide to hide good news in a sense that you're not really cheating anyone But it's better to disclose it now. We are waiting to receive money Do you do you accrue anything if you're waiting to receive money and the answer is never?  You don't do anything. So simply put accrued gain. There's no such thing as accrued gain You don't accrue game. Okay, if you're waiting to receive the money wait until March you receive the money And you'll book it you debit cash credit whatever insurance proceeds whatever you want to credit Okay, but you do not book it before year-end. So there's no such thing as Contingency gain. Okay or accrued gain. Okay Good now we need to deal with the penalty from the state from the state Health and safety agency. So we have to find out, you know information about this topic. So let's go up here and I do believe this is the long guarantee letter from the state health and and safety agency Let's take a look at this letter and It's dated February 5th. So this is five days before we issue the financial statement This is as good as it's gonna get. Okay, this is letter from this state agency The letter serve as a notice that you are being assessed the fine of 150,000 related to the violation of the state health codes that were identified on November 28th year 3 So it's relevant for us at your manufacturing facilities located blah blah blah our follow-up inspection on December 15th Indicate that the violation were appropriately remediated and were no outstanding code violation at that time. That's fine Guess what? Are we responsible for this 150? Yes, they told us they assessed the fine and They find the problem and they now we fixed it. So we still have to pay 150 Do we have to accrue this and do we have to disclose? Sure, we have to disclose the loss is definitely 100% Guaranteed that we're gonna lose therefore. We're gonna have to say yes For the disclosure do we have to accrue it? Of course, we have to accrue a loss because it happens But it happens during year 3. So that's 150 Now we move to product lawsuit liability. We have to find out where do we have information about this topic? So let's go up here Looks like the letter from the outs outside console. There was something about this. So let's go back here Okay on September 15th and September 15th year 3 6.5 million product liability lawsuit was brought against our company by a customer who sustained injuries while using one of our product On the date of this letter. We have completed our initial discovery and believe that the lawsuit is without merit What does it mean without merit? No chance. We are going to lose it Just basically they're trying to get money out of us given that the lawsuit lack a merit We believe the possibility that rev will be required to pay any amount We'll be required to pay any amount and the lawsuit is remote. They even give you the keyword remote Companies get sued all the time. So if they say if the lawyer tells you there's no chance a remote possibility You don't even have to even disclose So let alone if once you have the answer is no here the answer is zero here If you don't disclose, obviously, you don't recruit the minimum you have to do is disclose So here because we're not we're not gonna be responsible for anything. So forget about it. There is no liability. Okay Letter of credit. Let's talk about let's look what we have for letter of credit We have letter of credit and email recording letter of credit. So we have to look at both A letter of credit here Issue date 1231. This is from mega bank or this is from the bank Exploration date a year later practically. We have this letter of credit for one year. The beneficiary is the supply company Amount available 1.5 million. So basically letter of credit is when we guarantee the trade of others, okay? What the beneficiary is supply company the beneficiary may present this letter of credit upon providing the following document Documentation within 21 days of the purchase transaction the bill of lading that indicate that the inventory has been properly boarded for Transportation to the applicants address packaging solic packaging slip signed influence Now if you don't know what a letter of credit is then right there, you need to know what that is what this is basically we're guaranteeing That the bank will finance the transaction for supply because we're guaranteeing this okay Please examine this instrument carefully if you are unable to comply with the terms and the condition Please communicate with the applicant to arrange for an amendment. So this is basically what the letter is they could they could We're backing them up for 1.5 million. All right, that's fine. Now. We know what the issue is email regarding the letter of credit Let's see what we have here This is from the Treasury Manager at Traffco to the purchasing agent at Traffco, which is Traffco is the company. So let's let's look at this January 3rd year for so this is basically Post year end in the afternoon. That's fine per your request mega bank issued 1.5 million letter of credit They did December 31st for the purchase from supply company of raw material that are expected to be received in February of year 4 Please let me know if you need any additional information. All right. So basically what happened is we have a letter of credit But as of December 31st there was no activity against that letter of credit if there's no activity We don't really have to do anything in terms of accruing because there's no transaction The question becomes do we have to disclose a letter of credit is very similar to to to loan guarantee So it's very similar to this idea right here Loan guaranteed and what did you say about loan guarantees? If you're guaranteeing someone else you have to disclose minimum You have to disclose. Okay, and since there's no nothing happened. There was no delivery. We're not really responsible for anything Therefore, we don't have to accrue anything. The answer is zero. Okay, so this is basically a simulation now It took me longer than to to to resolve this simulation But on the exam day if you know the rules, you know remote probable possible, you know When do you have to accrue when do you have to disclose then it should not take you that much that much to to complete To complete something like this always. I'm gonna go back to my always. I'm gonna go back to my Website to remind you look all these topics are covered in detail in my intermediate accounting course So if you go to my website, it's not only you have access to the lectures and make specifically intermediate accounting, too You'll have access to PowerPoint slides Notes true false multiple choice. You'll be able to understand this topic very well So when you see that simulation on the exam, you're like bring it on I can do this I strongly suggest you subscribe you study for your CPA one time It's a lifetime investment subscribe invest this money in your career. Good luck, and I'm here to help


I am looking at a possible drug for Alzheimer's disease. The interesting thing about this drug is that it's actually really found in your brain but when you get older or when you get Alzheimer's, the levels drop hugely. So what we want to do is to be able to put it back in because we know it's good to be in there. The only thing is that we don't know how it works or what it actually does in the brain so I'm looking at how it affects protein synthesis and protein synthesis is what happens normally in the cell, it's the production of molecules which do the work of the cell but they can do good things or they can do bad things so we need to understand what our drug is actually doing in order to consider it as a possible treatment. I went over to Germany to learn a new technique which lets you actually look at protein synthesis happening in the cell so normally your cell in this condition is just sitting around and it might have a few examples of protein synthesis but when we put this drug on, it really lights up it's like the sun going down at the end of the day and the stars popping up, it's very, very pretty to look at. Alzheimer's as you know is a horrific problem and it's just going to get worse with the baby boom generation aging so I think it's really critical for us to really start considering some options for drugs. Nothing's worked so far so this might be the breakthrough we're looking for.


What's going on everyone? Sam here with late in sports cards rip in at 23 bowman chrome baseball hdh choice 12 box case number 20 random team stuff So look again at your random results as always you can find those on the website under the results tab Well as link in chat Good luck. Yeah, I've got a draft king's lineup with the Oriole Put one baker mayfield 2023 highlights on replay Get them out man All right, I'll tell you guys my draft king's lineup real quick Let's see what you guys said. I cooked up a hell of a draft king's lineup today in my opinion. Yeah, I took uh I've got marsh too. We are rooting for brandon marsh right there. Sean rooting for brandon marsh Um, let's see my lineup here really quick and that's burn five two Uh, I got yvaldi tanner hawk jonaheim hose abrayu marcus simian Oh two of these guys aren't even playing. Oh, I could that I checked that Geez man, what a bot I'll throw gunner in and an outfielder And bot out. Oh, I got it. I got it. I got I got to work on that Westburg and in the z kill durian aren't playing like oh geez dude. That ain't good I'll throw How's that in our full case? Or my 30 30 2019 season highlights instead I would ask foris marcus That's blake blade tidwell going to the mets first base auto Oh, we got a red. We got a red shun. We got a red wave too early Uh, freddy michelle first base auto for the twins Come on. Let's see something huge dude. Let's see somebody huge It is gonna be junsak shim three of five going to the pirates Yeah, that is gonna work just fine. Congrats pittsburgh chuck Picking that one up. Let's go man Oh the last for uh Merlin, yeah, we had because we moved a couple breaks from the night before so I think we yeah, we Didn't do that merlin break I'm sure we'll do more merlin in the future though for sure marcus Ludwig Espinosa first base for the cubs Really, uh, Luis Espina first base auto for the Yankees And michael harris on the ascension's auto going to the braves the 150 nice one there Not bad branded marsh That's it jack panetta first base auto for the royals Uh, willfredo and tunas first base auto for the guardians nice one there, uh, gleeblond And went the wrong way there Refractor first, uh, auto is bj cook. Absolutely lost it for a second there Geez man. We're good.  It's a gold shimmer though of jacob rimer to 50 Let's go to the mets congrats mets And kate hunter the 499 going to the reds First refractor auto nice one there congrats Sincy and cosmic coming up after this everybody. That's gonna be a good sign Yo, yeah, you got everything. Yeah That's true That that's what i'm that's what i'm excited about junior franco going to the diamond backs For saturdays That is going to be a anthony guero first base auto for the marlins And nice one here. That's going to the diamond backs the 299 devison de los santos Congrats on that diamond backs. Arizona is jeffree Congrats jeffree. There's joey orteez Let's go into the uh Orioles Pull the red devour supernova nice Dude, that's awesome vaughn hell yeah, dude That is a jesus galleese to 150 on a choice exclusive For the dodgers and a purple anderson de los santos the 250 going to the orals Yeah, and that's when i would say 10 bucks I feel like i think that's the next one that needs That has spots anyway chris newell He ain't a fool it's chris newell Going to the dodgers Uh another wilfredo and tunez going to the guardians Nice one there congrats cleveland and a 499 henry chevilly chili chevilly Congrats on that minnesota that face just makes it worth it every time I know oh i know dude that's what i'm going for here Yeah There's louise guanipa For the braves But that's the kicker. He's just said if they get me down exactly That's going to be roiber selenus first base auto My sister Purple louise torrez going to the angels. Nice one there. I'm gonna have you just dust this one real quick. Sean a little speck the left of him Which are cool that yeah, that is actually pretty awesome vaughn. That is really awesome Yeah, that'd be huge um Where does let me see where marsh bats so this we know No, I think the cunea just hit. Oh, did he? Yeah Dang Yeah, marsh bats e cunea. Yeah cunea He has a hit does he cunea has a hit. Yeah Yeah, they've already been through the line up. Yeah, dude. Yeah There's louise reyes First base arm God bottom of three. Okay Diego mosquera nice one there for the mats. Congrats mats And christopher torren to 2.99 for the diamond backs. I don't think what's his face as a hit Private oh, sorry Marshall had one at that and one strike up Cunea two at that's one hit one rbi. I know you have a homework.  We live sports betting in Florida very soon very soon Daniel Mateo first base auto for the rangers it is There's riccardo olivar to 150 choice exclusive for the twins Yeah, it is gonna get ugly in here to 499 junior maren for the royals I've been googling it literally every day what the progress is All right, we've got base first auto. Yeniel yaboy laboy green lava to 99 Diego mosquera for the mess And true green nice brett baby rookie auto to 99 for the mats. Congrats on that new york. That'll work Jonathan picking up a the chiefs and a plates and patches Tom be with the astros in 32 and duke with the Rockies in dual case Base auto we've got yeniel yaboy, of course, daniel mateo, louise reyes, robert selenos, louise guanipa, welfredo entunes, chris nul, joey orteez, anthony figuero jr franco, victoris turrez, riccardo perez, Juan benjamin, welfredo entunes, jack penata, louise serna, blood ring aspenosa Freddie michel, blade tidwell, uh refractors, bj cook, jacob rhymer, kade hunser, andry chevilli and junior maren Got two 99 white speckles christopher toran, devison de los santos to 250 louise torrez, anderson de los santos to 150 riccardo olivar, Diego mosquera, jesus gallees and michael harris to 99 brett baby Diego mosquera, gold shimmer to 50 jacob rhymer, and we had a red wave three of five john soxion I'll do it for great guys. Thanks again for the built up next cosmic


What's up everybody Jason here for Jackson's case breaks calm 2020 tops chrome black baseball just sold out This is hobby edition four box break random teams number two again for 3499 you get a random team in the MLB all-card ship I really like this product guys. I love that they created tops chrome black nice base cards autographs as well Remember you get one refractor could be numbered and one in case chrome autograph per box guys So really not too much here, but again if you do hit you get some nice stuff Dice roller here. Here's a customer names from Gregory down to Jeremy port last fall mojo Then you got d-backs down to the nationals Alrighty, let's roll it and we got ourselves a 301 four times one two three four Nick Stover down to Simon two three and four White socks down to the Phillies So Nick you got the white socks Richard K new customer mojo. Good luck reds Jeremy with the twins Taylor with the Marlins Matt with the red sox Nick with the Rangers Darren with the Indians Mike with the Rockies Justin with the Mariners next over with the Angels Gregor with the Rays Jacob with The Dodgers Nick with the Nationals and A's Jarell with the Cardinals We have Nicholas with the Royals. That's Nicholas and via senior Dylan Yankees Jarell with the Cubs Alec with the Mets Dylan With the Orioles J with the Tigers Taylor with the Pirates next over with the Braves Gregory with the d-backs Dan Margo with the Padres Jeremy Shorts hell with the Giants Zach with the Astros Nick with the Blue Jays Richard with the Brewers and Simon with the Phillies All right, you guys want to make any traits as Michael saying Rockies for trade if anybody wants to trade I'll give you guys a quick minute and we'll continue on Alrighty guys, let's just close the trade window then sorry Michael stick with you Got all right. We can also post back another one of these. There's only like four boxes left So of course just random random stacks. They're not numbered. I think Joe just put X's all over and letting you know They're from the same case It's just a four box break again. We could post up another one run it back if you guys want Let's get it rolling rolling rolling Here we go guys. Good luck. Oh, is that right Nick another customer new customer mojo nice Save the autograph card. We'll do the pack really quick Well, they go a little yard on Alvarez right away to start off Houston Astros going to Zach Paul Yeah, Gavin Lux and Louise Castile. That's a green. I believe to 99 Also Richard new customer mojo already getting a numbered card. There you go, man. Very nice Dodgers gonna Jacob I guess it's that with Astros Beautiful looking cards guys. This is a sharp Very sharp. Let's go to the auto. Good luck guys. We got Paul de Jong The same those Cardinals to start us off Jarell there you go Cardinals There you go first box in the books Reese Hoskins Pete Alonzo for the Mets going to Alec and Seth Brown For the ace number to 199 a little something Let's go with the auto now. Good luck. Next one For the Boston Red Sox, that's Alex Verdugo Boston Red Sox went to Matt Medlin. How do you go? Very nice Next one There's such quick breaks I've boost our grader all we got Tim Anderson for the White Sox and for the A's that is AJ puck A is going to next over to 199 also going to next over here White Sox and Dodgers going to Jacob. All right, we got a rookie And it is Shogo Shogo rookie autograph for the Cincinnati Reds They go Richard new customer mojo striking a little autograph coming your way. All right last one Trevor Bauer We got Quang Young Kim rookie and nice Kyle Lewis little color match Seattle Mariners going to Justin That's a really nice looking card 97 and 99 our last one guys. Good luck We got another rookie another rookie and it is for the Toronto Blue Jays Sean Yamaguchi Sean Yamaguchi Blue Jays going to Nick Stober. There you go And just like that guys quick little four box break again We have another four box break that we can post up again, which I will right now as soon as I'm done with this video Appreciate it guys. Jaspy's casebricks.com


So I'm here with LaPoy who's the executive head of Ned Bank Home Loans Digital and She just given a great talk at the show and I'd like to find out what kind of advice can you give people that are wanting to come To a show what can they expect at the property buyer show in K-Tar? So I was Amazed I think I told you guys earlier that I came here this afternoon Thinking that I would be the graveyard shift and I'm gonna be speaking to five people There is a lot of interest and a lot of first for knowledge in as far as what people need to consider We're buying the home for the first time. So I think there's a lot of activity in the exhibition hall And there are lots of people who can give really insightful feedback around some of the things to consider And I think from a bank's point of view This is the perfect opportunity for any bank to be involved in this kind of initiative because now we actually can Answer the real questions that people are asking. So when you come here ask lots of questions Make sure that you are Interrogating all those speakers. So give us a hard time And really kind of immerse yourself in the wealth of information that is available around us So that you have a better way of making informed decisions when buying your home. Awesome. Very good. So What are your top three tips for someone that's looking to bar? Right now So I would say first off do your research and use the available online tools that are available On various bank sites as well as all the originator sites the state agency sites things like calculators Pre-approval bond indicators estimators those really are going to give you the insights that you need to check How much you qualify for when it comes to a bond. The second thing I would focus on is knowing what the costs are All the costs up front costs like the banks fee the attorney fees Sauses fee everybody gets a cut out of this make sure you know what you're liable for and then lastly Make sure that you have enough money to cover for any incidental costs that occur after you move in So when you move in you got to find the mistakes You're gonna need the money to make sure that you can fix them And then you're also going to need ongoing income to support things like rates and taxes Which you might not have paid for Thank you so much for talking to us and give us some advice at the property by a show. It's an absolute pleasure. Thanks for having me Private property a home for everyone


Okay, good afternoon everybody. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you especially to those who made it into the premises but also thank you for those who are joining us online. It's my great pleasure to chair this event, this hybrid event at the IIEA and we're delighted to welcome David Hennig today. David is the director of UK Trade Policy Project at the European Center for International Political Economy and we're really pleased that he's made time for us today in his very busy schedule. David's going to talk for about 20 minutes and there's going to be lots of time for questions at the end. If there were issues to be clarified we can probably take them during the talk but we leave the questions to the end. People online can share their questions with their questions and answers function on the Zoom and I'm going to be able to read those out when we get to that. One reminder is that this event is on the record so that it should be born in mind. Some events that we've had at the IIEA previously might have been off the record on Chatham House Rules. This is on the record. For anyone who's on Twitter there's a Twitter handle IIEA which you might want to use if you want to share some of your impressions of today's talk online. I'm going to just say a few words about David before I hand over to him. David, as I said, is the director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the Think Tank European Center for International Political Economy and I've actually followed David a little bit on Twitter. He doesn't know that and he's been giving very, very interesting analysis both on Brexit, UK's trade policy and also on the UK economy and I think today's talk will look at all three. David has served as expert advisor to the UK Trade and Business Commission and the House of Lords so he's really well placed to give us some very interesting insights and prior to joining the ECI PE he was actually working in the UK government so again that puts him into an extremely good position to give us some very valuable insights. With that I'm going to hand over to David, 20 minutes or so and then we'll do questions and answers. David. Thank you, I guess. Thank you Barry for the invite to come here and talk. We were actually talking a few months ago I think it was during the very short Prime Ministerial reign of Liz Truss. We were talking about doing an event on the UK economy but I think that things just moved a bit too fast then. By the time we thought well when should we do this? Liz Truss had ceased to be Prime Minister and that's kind of in the story of the UK economy for the last few years is that whenever we were worried that we were doing badly we couldn't need to worry because there's some worse news was coming on the way and when I compare it to the Irish economy judging by what I see from over the water and what I've seen wandering around this morning you know it is quite the contrast or I will say that it does appear that finally the you found a way to keep the Brits out of Ireland by making it too expensive for us to come here. So let me talk about the UK economy, let me talk about whatever happened to global Britain, let me talk about a little bit about Brexit, let me talk about what might come next because we are quite likely to have a change of government so what does the new government think about the economy? So let me try and package that up there's lots of different directions that I'm happy to answer questions on from details of the Windsor framework which I have to look at for my work to broader questions of globalization and what's happening next and so I kind of cover all bases there therefore I don't quite have time to have the kind of detailed study so I haven't actually carried out the kind of detailed modelling studies that many others have done there so this is necessarily a sort of big picture overview and what I would say to start with is this is probably the gloomiest moment for the UK economy since the late 1970s inflation higher than G7 average growth forecast generally lower trade performance disappointing this is not the Brexit brochure um you know it's not it's not the end of the UK I mean and we're not writing off the UK as a global uh player we've still got the south power we're still a services superpower we're still significant in defence diplomatic networks um we still have many global global companies but we're clearly not in a great place economically for for future growth and there is not there's not a good a great degree of positive positivity around so yeah let's let's look at Brexit and the change in globalization and what that's going to what's that that's going to mean the UK talked about being a global leader as a result of Brexit clearly that is dissipating that's just disappearing from from from from view it's now very much around damaged limitation but yeah we're not rejoining we can't relitigate 2016 so where does the UK realistically go from here and we have to start with brexit there is no question that the last seven years of brexit politically has shaken UK confidence profoundly it's almost become an unmentionable in UK politics neither the conservative party but not even labour can really speak openly about the effects of brexit you could not get a political a leading politician from either main party to talk about what's been happening on the on the economy we get now make brexit work as kind of profound um this next part the most obvious part you will not get many politicians to say that the greater the trade barriers the lower the trade especially with your nearest neighbour i mean it seems so obvious and yet um the last few years have shaken any discussion of it even more so when most trade is now carried out in supply chains and that's where the service is all goods trade it's all part of larger transactions and when many of those supply chains are regional wealth and global you are putting up barriers to those supply chains operating you are particularly putting them up on manufacturing where uh you're not only threatening to have different regulations on everything you have potential tariffs you have a lot more border paperwork it's easy relatively easier if you're a large company if you are a small company that was supplying an industrial product to a german end manufacturer you've just suddenly increased your costs compared to competitors you're also finding it a lot more difficult now to find any new customers that is is very much what what's happening there um all of our neighbours now every single one if you've got a company in that in in 30 or so countries they will face less barriers to trade than a uk company and that's quite a a shocking thing to to say so you're disadvantaged by being based in the uk which is why a lot of uk companies are setting up facilities elsewhere they say they may set them up in in northern island many are setting them up in the netherlands germany wherever it is um that doesn't cover all uk trade because there is a large part of uk trade that involves um that is services and that doesn't the barriers don't really matter so much university students we're now sold some estimates higher education is now is one of the uk's two or three largest exports financial services it doesn't matter so much the english premier league however defined that's a huge revenue earner in various ways not affected it is the manufacturing there is a relative shift going on in the uk from manufacturing into into services um and none of this feels in the remotest part sustainable how can you have the uk kind of in a bubble on its own when all of our neighbours have but have more integration with with each other um you now start to see the barriers if somebody wants to sell a product from the from the uk or from great britain really more specifically to europe they will come across barriers we're coming across barriers when we travel to to to europe young people are starting to to find the problem of not being able to to do the jobs and the demand for mobility for the youth mobility is growing and is again not really being picked up within uk politics um and the uk's never really been in this situation of being excluded from from europe perhaps in the nineteen in the 1960s but the world's economy and the way economies worked was much was very different then um and that means that really all of this the politics and the economics ultimately are going to point towards the uk trying to find ways to to reduce those barriers um the overall hit various discussions various methodologies around as to how you would calculate this but we are i think common consent is we are somewhere in the region of between four and six percent of gdp as an economic hit and these that number is off the scale there is no policy intervention that in in today's economy that anybody can think of that delivers a four to six percent here or four to six percent uh uh growth in in in gdp an average trade deal might on forecast deliver you 0.1 percent of gdp um labor mobility which is probably the the thing that delivers you the most maybe has uh contributed perhaps one percent to uh to uk gdp because we have kept relatively open open borders but um it is a huge hit now it was supposed to be offset by global britain i think you may have come across that phrase and i think a lot of people were finding it quite a humorous phrase with a lot of people from outside the uk quite a lot inside the uk even before uh recent months when it quite clearly wasn't happening so the idea is we would offset losses from EU trade uh we'd have new trade deals would reduce tariffs we'd have more nimble regulation and what's interesting in the last few months is how that's not not a lot of that is not being heard so much any anymore because it's not working um yes we've got trade deals with australia and new zealom but they're not they're not going to deliver much and they're already running into problems over unhappy farmers trade deals tend to lead to unhappy farmers because the remaining tariffs in place that they reduce are on agricultural produce um we've joined the comprehensive and progressive agreement for the trans-specific partnership the cptp 11 countries but we already had trade deals with uh nine of them malaysia is the the major new country there so that will deliver a little bit um but there's a problem there as well so that's a mega regional with um which is designed to encourage regional value chains to emerge between asia pacific countries the uk is not going to be part of those value chains by and large those supply chains because we're too far away so we're more likely to be a customer so if you like it may give us the benefit of having an alternate source of goods from china but it is not going to do much for our manufacturing so if anything it's going to continue the trend away from manufacturing towards services which was not what brexit was supposed to deliver um goods exports anyway are going down from the from the uk service exports are performing okay um we've lost half our car production since 2016 now a lot of european countries have lost car production since 2016 but the difference was that in most cases they've started there's been a little bit of a bounce back in the last couple of years but not in the uk we're down from 1.6 million to just under 800 000 and no obvious way that's going to increase we're kind of behind on electric vehicles we don't we only have one geiger factory sport our nissan plant um so our car industry is looking is looking tricky honda closed in 2021 that was a major source of exports to the us of goods because they export their cars there um so and we don't have a large goods exporter to the to the to the us a car exporter uh once once they once they've gone and the us itself is a problem of course because the us is turning to protectionism at the very moment when the uk would like to export more there so the whole inflation reduction act biden but it started with trump of course trump was already turning away from trade and saying free trade agreements are bad for the us biden has made it even more obvious that that's what he believes the uk doesn't have that opportunity so as part of the conservative right there were backing brexit they felt that the us was the the sort of the replacement for the eu well that's not only not happened that looks in no prospect of ha of happening um meanwhile you've got the eu basically trying to regulate the net zero uh transition for the world through carbon border adjustment mechanisms uh various grip deforestation various green um uh regulations which uk companies are going to have to follow so the idea of being more nimble doesn't really work we can have choose to not have regulations on for example deforestation but our companies are going to have to follow the eu ones anyway um and there's not much of an agenda beyond uh what we've already had there is there are ongoing trade talks with india there it's not clear what's going on but it's not likely to lead to a particularly ambitious trade deal as far as we can tell there's a few renegotiations with the likes of switzerland south korea canada again not clear that will lead to a lot more than we already that we already have and so global britain is now surrounded by a kind of a gloom almost oh you know that that was an idea but it's all gone wrong even among the brexit supporters you now get this idea brexit was never tried properly we might pick that up again later um what happens next there's a labor probably a labor government um probably a general election in october next next year um trade and international economics are barely labor issues labor is normally going to focus more on social policy public uh public services um but to do that they're going to need to find some growth from somewhere um so there's a certain inevitability and labor is more instinctively pro eu they don't have a large proportion of uh back bench and member opinion that the eu is somehow wrong and bad so labor will in some way want to rebuild ties the eu and try to rebuild supply chains but without talking about it as i mentioned earlier um so they'll try i think to deepen the trade incorporation agreement to uh make trade and food products for example easier with a veterinary agreement some mutual recognition of uh manufactured products conformity assessment um possibly something about professional qualifications various easements of barriers but the barriers will still be there they will not change the fundamentals that the UK will companies in the UK will face higher barriers than companies outside the UK in all of our neighbours um they may be a little bit of a benefit from labour just from stability just from not being a conservative party that seems intrinsically anti-business anti anti-eu that may help a little bit in terms of in terms of investment um but there is a limit how much this is likely to to deliver we are back to trade agreements that might deliver 0.1 or 0.2 of GDP as against the 4 loss and the loss was not just from the trade barriers it was also from the kind of uncertainty and poor handling um what's they were going to do about regulation i think it will just align now and say we're going to align with EU regulations where possible which will at least be some stability there but again it doesn't feel like a stable outcome so what i'm expecting to happen is that by the late 2020s we will be back in the disc we finally will be able to have the discussion well what does the UK now do about the EU in the meantime of which i suspect the economy will have changed a little bit it will be more even more services dominated than it was before because that is where um it's easier to do business internationally than in manufacturing where there are obvious barriers um so this government has slowed up already i mean just some concluding thoughts this government has already slowed up on their on their agenda and what labour is planning to do doesn't quite look adequate to a UK economy that is is in this state of state of bloom there's nothing that seems to suggest that we're going to turn this round and suddenly become a star performer you do have some idea that labour will do something around the green economy but so everybody's doing something about the green economy um we've got serious problems with manufacturing there is a possibility that that transformation that is already going on with the UK economy from manufacturing services actually maybe we've already taken most of the hit the economic hit and that actually a government that focused on UK strengths and but this would be politically difficult and basically less on manufacturing that the economy might be able to strengthen from that but that is going to be probably politically impossible um so yeah whereas for example in the UK expanding universities would seem an obvious policy which had economic benefit will labour be able to actually to do that um we'll certainly need greater better infrastructure regionally i think that we will carry on on the road back towards closer relations with the EU but i don't think i don't know there'll be a conversation about rejoining the EU in the next five years but i think we'll start to they'll start to be more conversations about the single market and the customs union um and for the moment um we are back to the UK gloom that was around in the 1970s before Margaret Thatcher became prime minister of kind of uh what was called declineism the UK in in permanent decline um and it's not yet clear that we've got the answers to coming out of that decline and brexit and the politics of the last seven years and the kind of almost a collective nervous breakdown that we've had is going to make it awfully difficult in the next few years to find our path out but that is the challenge the UK has i'll stop there again


s this had given Alexander great confidence in Clitus. It happened, shortly after the death of Parmenio, that the governor of one of the most important provinces of the empire resigned his post. Alexander appointed Clitus to fill the vacancy. The evening before his departure, to take charge of his government, Alexander invited him to a banquet, made partly at least in honour of his elevation. Clitus and the other guests assembled. They drank wine as usual with great freedom. Alexander became excited and began to speak, as he was now often accustomed to do, boasting his own exploits, and to disparage those of his father Philip in comparison. Men, half intoxicated, are very prone to quarrel, and not the less so for being excellent friends when sober. Clitus had served under Philip. He was now an old man, and like other old men, was very tenacious of the glory that belonged to the exploits of his youth. He was very restless and uneasy at hearing Alexander claim for himself the merit of his father Philip's victory at Caronia, and began to murmur something to those who sat next to him, about King's claiming and getting a great deal of glory which did not belong to them. Alexander asked what it was that Clitus said. No one replied. Clitus, however, went on talking, speaking more and more audibly as he became gradually more and more excited. He praised the character of Philip, and applauded his military exploits, saying that they were far superior to any of the enterprises of their day. The different parties at the table took up the subject, and began to dispute. The old men taken the part of Philip and former days, and the younger defending Alexander. Clitus became more and more excited. He praised Parmenio, who had been Philip's greatest general, and began to impunge the justice of his late condemnation and death. Alexander retorted, and Clitus, rising from his seat, and losing now all self-command, reproached him with severe and bitter words. Here is the hand, said he, extending his arm, that saved your life at the Battle of Granicus, and the fate of Parmenio shows what sort of gratitude and what rewards faithful servants are to expect at your hands. Alexander, burning with rage, commanded Clitus to leave the table. Clitus obeyed, saying, as he moved away, he is right not to bear free-born men at his table, who can only tell him the truth. He is right, it is fitting for him to pass his life among barbarians and slaves, who will be proud to pay their adoration to his Persian girdle and his splendid robe. Alexander seized a javelin to hurl at Clitus's head. The guests rose in confusion, and with many other outcry pressed around him. Some seized Alexander's arm, some began to hurry Clitus out of the room, and some were engaged in loudly criminating and threatening each other. They got Clitus out of the apartment, but as soon as he was in the hall he broke away from them, returned by another door, and began to renew his insults to Alexander. The king hurled his javelin and struck Clitus down, saying at the same time, go then and join Philip and Parmenio. The company rushed to the rescue of the unhappy man, but it was too late. He died almost immediately. Alexander, as soon as he came to himself, was overwhelmed with remorse and despair. He mourned bitterly for many days the death of his long-tried and faithful friend, and excreted the intoxication and passion on his part which had caused it. He could not, however, restore Clitus to life, nor remove from his own character the indelible stains which such deeds necessarily fixed upon it. After the events narrated in the last chapter Alexander continued for two or three years his expeditions and conquests in Asia, and in the course of them he met with a great variety of adventures which cannot be here particularly described. He penetrated into India as far as the banks of the Indus, and, not content with this, was preparing to cross the Indus and go on to the Ganges. His soldiers, however, resisted this design. They were alarmed at the stories which they heard of the Indian armies, with elephants bearing castles upon their backs, and soldiers armed with strange and unheard-of weapons. These rumours, and the natural desire of the soldiers not to go away any further from their native land, produced almost a mutiny in the army. At length Alexander, learning how strong and how extensive the spirit of insipordination was becoming, summoned his officers to his own tent, and then, ordering the whole army to gather round, he went out to meet them. He made an address to them, in which he recounted all their past exploits, praised the courage and perseverance which they had shown thus far, and endeavoured to animate them with the desire to proceed. They listened in silence, and no one attempted to reply. This solemn pause was followed by marks of great agitation throughout the assembly. The army loved their commander, notwithstanding his faults and failings. They were extremely unwilling to make any resistance to his authority, but they had lost that extreme and unbounded confidence in his energy and virtue, which made them ready, in the former part of his career, to press forward into any difficulties and dangers whatever, where he led the way. At last one of the army approached the king, and addressed him somewhat as follows. We are not changed, sir, in our affection for you. We still have, and shall always retain, the same zeal and the same fidelity. We are ready to follow you at the hazard of our lives, and to march wherever you may lead us. Still we must ask you most respectfully to consider the circumstances in which we are placed. We have done all for you that it was possible for man to do. We have crossed seas and land. We have marched to the end of the world. And you are now meditating the conquest of another, by going in search of new Indias, unknown to the Indians themselves. Such a thought might be worthy of your courage and resolution, but it surpasses ours, and our strength still more. Look at these ghastly faces, and these bodies covered with wounds and scars. Remember how numerous we were when first we set out with you, and see how few of us remain. The few who have escaped so many toils and dangers have neither courage nor strength to follow you any further. They all long to revisit their country and their homes, and to enjoy, for the remainder of their lives, the fruits of all their toils. Forgive them these desires so natural to man. The expression of these sentiments confirmed and strengthened them in the minds of all the soldiers. Alexander was greatly troubled and distressed. A disaffection in a small part of an army may be put down by decisive measures, but when the determination to resist is universal, it is useless for any commander, however imperious and absolute in temper, to attempt to withstand it. Alexander, however, was extremely unwilling to yield. He remained two days shut up in his tent, the prey to disappointment and chagrin. The result, however, was that he abandoned plans of further conquest, and turned his steps again toward the west. He met with various adventures as he went on, and incurred many dangers, often in a rash and foolish manner, and for no good end. At one time, while attacking a small town, he seized a scaling ladder and mounted with the troops. In doing this, however, he put himself forward so rashly and inconsiderately, that his ladder was broken. And while the rest retreated, he was left alone upon the wall, once he descended into the town, and was immediately surrounded by enemies. His friends raised their ladders again and pressed on, desperately to find and rescue him. Some gathered around him and defended him, while others contrived to open a small gate, by which the rest of the army gained admission. By this means Alexander was saved, though when they brought him out of the city there was an arrow three feet long, which could not be extracted, sticking into his side through his coat of mail. The surgeons first very carefully cut off the wooden shaft of the arrow, and then, enlarging the wound by incisions, they drew out the barbed point. The soldiers were indignant that Alexander should expose his person in such a full, hardy way, only to endanger himself, and to compel them to rush into danger to rescue him. The wound very nearly proved fatal. The loss of blood was attended with extreme exhaustion. Still in the course of a few weeks he recovered. Alexander's habits of intoxication and various excess of all kinds were, in the meantime, continually increasing. He not only indulged in such excesses himself, but he encouraged them in others. He would offer prizes at his banquets to those who would drink the most. On one of these occasions, the man who conquered drank, it is said, eighteen or twenty pints of wine, after which he lingered in misery for three days and then died. And more than forty others, present at the same entertainment, died in consequence of their excesses. Alexander returned toward Babylon. His friend Ephesdeon was with him, sharing with him everywhere in all the vicious indulgences to which he had become so prone. Alexander gradually separated himself more and more from his old Macedonian friends, and linked himself more and more closely with Persian associates. He married Statera, the oldest daughter of Darius, and gave the youngest daughter to Ephesdeon. He encouraged similar marriages between Macedonian officers and Persian maidens as far as he could. In a word, he seemed intent in merging in every way, his original character and habits of action, in the effemency, luxury, and vice of the Eastern world, which he had at first so looked down upon and despised. Alexander's entrance into Babylon, on his return from its Indian campaigns, was a scene of great magnificence and splendour. Ambassadors and princes had assembled there from almost all the nations of the earth to receive it to welcome him, and the most ample preparations were made for processions, shows, parades, and spectacles to do him honour. The whole country was in a state of extreme excitement, and the most expensive preparations were made to give him a reception worthy of one who was the conqueror and monarch of the world, and the son of a god. When Alexander approached the city, however, he was met by a deputation of Chaldean astrologers. The astrologers were a class of philosophers who pretended, in those days, to foretell human events by means of the motion of the stars. The motions of the stars were studied very closely in early times, and in those eastern countries by the shepherds, who had often to remain in the open air through the summer nights to watch their flocks. The shepherds observed that nearly all the stars were fixed in relation to each other. That is, although they rose successively in the east, and passing over set in the west, they did not change in relation to each other. There were, however, a few that wandered about among the rest in an irregular and unaccountable manner. They called these stars the Wanderers, that is, in their language, the Planets, and they watched their mysterious movements of great interest and awe. They naturally imagined that these changes had some connection with human affairs, and they endeavoured to prognosticate from them the events, whether prosperous or adverse, which were to befall mankind. Whenever a comet or an eclipse appeared, they thought it portended some terrible calamity. The study of the motions and appearances of the stars, with a view to foretell the course of human affairs, was the science of astrology. The astrologers came, in a very solemn and imposing procession, to meet Alexander on his march. They informed him that they had found indubitable evidence in the stars that, if he came into Babylon, he would hazard his life. They accordingly begged him not to approach any nearer, but to choose some other city for his capital. Alexander was very much perplexed by this announcement. His mind, weakened by effeminacy and dissipation, was very susceptible to suspicious fears. It was not merely by the deliberating influence of vicious indulgences on the nervous constitution that this effect was produced. It was, in part, the moral influence of conscious guilt. Guilt makes men afraid. It not only increases the power of real dangers, but predisposes the mind to all sorts of imaginary fears. Alexander was very much troubled at this announcement of the astrologers. He suspended his march, and began anxiously to consider what to do. At length the Greek philosophers came to him and reasoned with him on the subject, persuading him that the science of astrology was not worthy of any belief. The Greeks had no faith in astrology. They foretold future events by the flight of birds, or by the appearances presented in the dissection of beasts offered in sacrifice. At length, however, Alexander's fears were so far allayed that he concluded to enter the city. He advanced accordingly with his whole army, and made his entry under circumstances of the greatest possible parade and splendour. As soon, however, as excitement of the first few days had passed away, his mind relapsed again, and he became anxious, troubled, and unhappy. Hephaestion, his great personal friend and companion, had died while he was on the march toward Babylon. He was brought to the grave by diseases produced by dissipation and vice. Alexander was very much moved by his death. It threw him at once into a fit of despondency and gloom. It was some time before he could at all overcome the melancholy reflections and forebodings which this event produced. He determined that, as soon as he arrived in Babylon, he would do all possible honour to Hephaestion's memory by a magnificent funeral. He accordingly sent new orders to all the other cities and kingdoms around, and collected a vast sum for this purpose. He had a part of the city wall pulled down to furnish a site for a monumental edifice. This edifice was constructed of an enormous size and most elaborate architecture. It was ornamented with long rows of prowls of ships, taken by Alexander and his victories, and by statues and columns and sculptures, and gilded ornaments of every kind. There were images of sirens on the entablatures near the roof, which, by means of a mechanism concealed within, were made to sing dirges and mournful songs. The expense of this edifice, and of the games, shows and spectacles connected with its consecration, is said by historians of the day, to have been a sum which, on calculation, is found equal to about ten millions of dollars. There were, however, some limits still to Alexander's extravagance and folly. There was a mountain in Greece, Mount Athos, which a certain projector said could be carved and fashioned in the form of a man, probably in a recombinant posture. There was a city on one of the delklivities of the mountain, and a small river issuing from springs in the ground came down on the other side. The artist who conceived this prodigious piece of sculpture said that he was so shaped the figure that the city should be in one of its hand, and the river should flow out from the other. Alexander listened to this proposal. The name Mount Athos recalled to his mind the attempt of Xerxes, a former Persian king, who had attempted to cut a road through the rocks upon a part of Mount Athos in the invasion of Greece. He did not succeed, but left the unfinished work a lasting memorial both of the attempt and the failure. Alexander concluded at length that he would not attempt such a sculpture. Mount Athos, said he, is already the monument of one king's folly. I will not make it that of another. As soon as the excitement connected with the funeral obsequies of Hephaestion were over, Alexander's mind relapsed again into a state of gloomy melancholy. This depression caused, as it was, by previous dissipation and vice, seemed to admit of no remedy or relief, but in new excesses. The traces, however, of his former energy so far remained that he began to form magnificent plans for the improvement of Babylon. He commenced the execution of some of these plans. His time was spent, in short, in strange alternations, resolution and energy in forming vast plans one day, and utter abandonment to all the excesses of dissipation and vice the next. It was a mournful spectacle to see his former greatness of soul still struggling on, though more and more faintly, as it became gradually over-born by the resistless inroads of intemperance and sin. This scene was at length suddenly terminated in the following manner. On one occasion, after he'd spent a whole night in drinking and carousing, the guests, when the usual time arrived for separating, proposed that, instead of this, they should begin anew, and commence a second banquet at the end of the first. Alexander, half intoxicated already, entered warmly into this proposal. They assembled accordingly in a very short time. There were twenty present at this new feast. Alexander, to show how far he was from having exhausted his powers of drinking, began to pledge each one of the company individually. Then he drank to them all together. There was a very large cup, called the Bowl of Hercules, which he now called for, and after having filled it to the brim, he drank it after the health of one of the company present, a Macedonian named Proteus. This feat being received by the company with great applause, he ordered the great bowl to be filled again, and drank it off as before. The work now done. His faculties and his strength soon failed him, and he sank down to the floor. They bore him away to his palace. A violent fever intervened, which the physicians did all in their power to allay. As soon as his reason returned a little, Alexander aroused himself from his lethargy, and tried to persuade himself that he should recover. He began to issue orders in regard to the army and to his ships, as if such a turning of his mind to the thoughts of power and empire would help bring him back from the brink of the grave toward which he had been so obviously tending. He was determined, in fact, that he would not die. He soon found, however, notwithstanding his efforts to be vigorous and resolute, that his strength was fast ebbing away. The vital powers had received a fatal wound, and he soon felt that they could sustain themselves but little longer. He came to the conclusion that he must die. He drew off his signet ring from his finger. It was a token that he felt that all was over. He handed the ring to one of his friends who stood by his bedside. When I am gone, said he, take my body to the temple of Jupiter Amon and inter it there. The generals who around him advanced to his bedside, and one after another kissed his hand. Their old affection for him revived as they saw him about to take leave from them forever. They asked him to whom he wished to leave his empire. To the most worthy, said he. He meant doubtless, by this evasion, that he was too weak and exhausted to think of such affairs. He knew probably that it was useless for him to attempt to control the government of his empire after his death. He said, in fact, that he foresaw the decision of such questions would give rise to some strange funeral games after his decease. Soon after this he died. The palaces of Babylon were immediately filled with cries of mourning at the death of the prince, followed by bitter and intermeable disputes about the succession. It had not been the aim of Alexander's life to establish firm and well-settled governments in the country that he conquered, to encourage order and peace and industry among men, and to introduce system and regularity in human affairs, so as to leave the world in a better condition than he found it. In this respect his course of conduct presents a strange contrast with that of Washington. It was Washington's aim to mature and perfect organizations, which would move on prosperously of themselves without him, and he was continually withdrawing his hand from action and to control in public affairs, taking a higher pleasure in the independent working of the institutions which he had formed and protected, then in exercising himself a high personal power. Alexander, on the other hand, was, or his life, intent solely on enlarging and strengthening his own personal power. He was all in all. He wished to make himself so. He never thought of the welfare of the countries which he had subjected to his sway, or did anything to guard against the anarchy and civil wars which he knew full well, would break out at once over all his vast dominions as soon as his power came to an end. The result was, as might have been foreseen, the whole vast field of his conquest became, for many long and weary years after Alexander's death, the prey to the most ferocious and protracted civil wars. Each general and governor seized the power which Alexander's death left in his hands, and endeavored to defend himself in the possession of it against the others. Thus the devastation and misery which the making of these conquests brought upon Europe and Asia were continued for many years during the slow and terrible process of their return to their original condition. In the exigency of the moment, however, at Alexander's death, the generals who were in his court at the time assembled forthwith, and made an attempt to appoint someone to take the immediate command. They spent a week in stormy debates on this subject. Alexander had left no legitimate heir, and he had declined to wear an honest death-bed, as we have already seen, to appoint a successor. Among his wives, if indeed they may be called wives, there was one named Roxanna, who had a son not long after his death. This son was ultimately named a successor, but in the meantime a certain relative named Aridaus was chosen by the generals to assume the command. The selection of Aridaus was a sort of compromise. He had no talents or capacity whatever, and was chosen by the rest on that very account. Each one thinking that if such an imbecile as Aridaus was normally the king, he could himself manage to get possession of the real power. Aridaus accepted the appointment, but he was never able to make himself king in anything but the name. In the meantime, as the tidings of Alexander's death spread over the empire, it produced very various effects, according to the personal feelings in respect to Alexander, entertained by the various personages and powers to which the intelligence came. Some, who had admired these greatness and the splendourous exploits, without having themselves experienced the bitter fruits of them, mourned and lamented his death. Others, whose fortunes had been ruined, and whose friends and relatives had been destroyed, in the course or in the sequel of his victories, rejoiced that he, who had been such a scourge and curse to others, had himself sunk, at last under the judgement of heaven. We should have expected that Cisengambis, the bereaved and widowed mother of Darius, would have been among those who would have exalted most highly it to the conqueror's death. But history tells us that, instead of this, she mourned over it with a projected and inconsolable grief. Alexander had been, in fact, though the implacable enemy of his son, a faithful and generous friend to her. He treated her, at all times, with the utmost respect and consideration, had supplied all her wants and ministered in every way, to a comfort and happiness. She had gradually learned to think of him and to love him as a son. He, in fact, always called her mother. And when she learned that he was gone, she felt as if her last earthly protector was gone. Her life had been one continued scene of affliction and sorrow, and this last blow brought her to her end. She pined away, perpetually restless and distressed. She lost all desire for food and refused, like others who were suffering great mental anguish, to take the sustenance which her friends and attendants offered and urged upon her. At length she died. They said she starved herself to death. But it was probably grief and despair at being thus left in her declining years, so hopelessly friendless and alone, and not hunger that destroyed her. In striking contrast to this mournful scene of sorrow in the palace of Cisngambis, there was an exhibition of the most wild and tumultuous joy in the streets, and in all the public places of resort in the city of Athens, when the tidings of the death the great Macedonian king arrived there. The Athenian Commonwealth, as well as all the other states of Southern Greece, had submitted very reluctantly to the Macedonian supremacy. They had resisted Philip, and they had resisted Alexander. Their opposition had been at length suppressed and silenced by Alexander's terrible vengeance upon Thebes, but it was never really subdued. Demosthenes, the orator, who had exerted so powerful an influence against the Macedonian kings, had been sent into banishment, and all outward expressions of discontent were restrained. The discontent and hostility existed still, however, as inverterators ever, and was ready to break out anew with redoubled violence, the moment that the terrible energy of Alexander himself was no longer to be feared. When, therefore, the rumour arrived at Athens, for at first it was mere rumour that Alexander was dead in Babylon, the whole city was thrown into a state of the most tumultuous joy. The citizens assembled in the public places, and congratulated and harangued each other with expressions of the greatest exultation. They were for proclaiming their independence and declaring war against Macedon on the spot. Some of the older and more sagacious of the councillors were, however, more composed and calm. They recommended a little delay, in order to see whether the news was really true. Phocion, in particular, who was one of the prominent statements of the city, endeavoured to quiet the excitement of the people. Do not let us be so precipitate, said he. There is time enough, if Alexander is really dead to-day, he will be dead to-morrow, and the next day, so that there will be time enough for us to act with deliberation and discretion. Just and true as this view of the subject was, there was too much of rebuke and satire in it, to have much influence with those to whom it was addressed. The people were resolved on war. They sent commissioners into all states of the Peloponnesus, to organise a league, offensive and offensive, against Macedon. They recalled demoscenes from his banishment, and adopted all the necessary military measures for establishing maintaining their freedom. The consequences of all this would doubtless have been very serious, if the rumour of Alexander's death had proved false. But fortunately for demoscenes and the Athenians it was soon abundantly confirmed. The return of demoscenes to the city was like the triumphal entry of a conqueror. At the time of his recall he was at the island of Agina, which is about forty miles south-west of Athens, in one of the goals of the Aegean sea. They sent a public galley to receive him, and to bring him to the land. It was a galley of three banks of oars, and was fitted up in a style to do honour to a public guest. Athens is situated some distance back from the sea, and has a small port called the Piraea set to the shore, a long straight avenue leading from the port to the city. The galley by which demoscenes was conveyed landed at the Piraeus. All the civil and religious authorities of the city went down to the port, in a grand procession, to receive and welcome the exile on his arrival, and a large portion of the population followed in the train, to witness the spectacle, and to swell by their acclamations the general expression of joy. In the meantime the preparations for Alexander's funeral had been going on. Upon a great scale a magnificent sans splendour. It was two years before they were complete. The body had been given, first to be embalmed, according to the Egyptian and Shaldean art, and then had been placed in a sort of sarcophagus, in which it was to be conveyed to its long home. Alexander, it will be remembered, had given directions that it should be taken to the temple of Jupiter Amon, in the Egyptian Oasis, where he had been proclaimed the son of a god. It would seem incredible that such a mind as his could really admit such an absurd superstition as the story of his divine origin, and who must therefore suppose that he gave this direction, in order that the place of his interment might confirm the idea of his superhuman nature in the general opinion of mankind. At all events, such were his orders, and the authorities who were left in power at Babylon after his death, prepared to execute them. It was a long journey. To convey a body by a regular funeral possession, formed as soon after the death as the arrangements could be made, from Babylon to the eastern frontiers of Egypt, a distance of a thousand miles, was perhaps as grand a plan of interment as was ever formed. It has something like a parallel in the removal of Napoleon's body from St Helena to Paris. There was not really an interment but a transfer. Alexander's was a simple burial procession, going from the palace where he died, to the proper cemetery, a march of a thousand miles, it is true, but all within his own dominions. The greatness of it resulted simply from the magnitude of the scale, on which everything pertaining to the mighty here was performed. For it was nothing but a simple passage from the dwelling to the burial ground in his own estates, after all. A very large and elaborately constructed carriage was built to convey the body. The accounts of the richness and splendour of this vehicle are almost incredible. The spokes and knaves of the wheels were overlaid with gold, and the extremities of the axles, where they appeared outside at the centre of the wheels, were adorned with massive golden ornaments. The wheels and axel trees were so large and so far apart, that there was supposed to be a large number of axles in the center of the wheel. That there was supported upon them a platform or floor for the carriage, twelve feet wide and eighteen feet long. Upon this platform there was erected a magnificent pavilion, supported by iconic columns, and profusely ornamented, both within and without, with purple and gold. The interior constituted an apartment, more or less open at the sides, and resplendent within with gems and precious stones. This space of twelve feet by eighteen forms a chamber of no inconsiderable size, and there was thus ample room for what was required within. There was a throne, raised some steps, and placed back upon the platform profusely carved and gilded. It was empty, but crowns representing the various nations over whom Alexander had reigned were hung upon it. At the foot of the throne was the coffin, made to set a solid gold. And containing besides the body, a large quantity of the most costly spices and aromatic perfumes which filled the air with their odor. The arms which Alexander wore were laid out in view, also between the coffin and the throne. On the four sides of the carriage were base reliefers, that is, sculptured figures raised from the surface, representing Alexander himself, with various military concomitants. There were Macedonian columns and Persian squadrons, and elephants of India, and troops of horse, and various other emblems of the departed hero's greatness and power. Around the pavilion, too, there was a fringe or network of golden lace, to the pendants of which were attached bells which toiled continually, with a mournful sound to the carriage moved along. A long column of mules, sixty-four in number, arranged in sets of four, drew this ponderous car. These mules were all selected for their great size and strength, and were splendidly comparisonned. They had collars and harnesses mounted with gold, and enriched with precious stones. Before the procession set out from Babylon, an army of pioneers and workmen went forward to repair the roads, strengthen the bridges, and remove the obstacles along the whole line of root, over which the train was to pass. At length, when all was ready, the solemn procession began to move, and passed out through the gates of Babylon. No pen can describe the enormous throngs of spectators that assembled to witness its departure, and that gathered along the route, as it passed slowly on from city to city, in its long and weary way. Notwithstanding all this pomp and parade, however, the body never reached its intended destination. Ptolemy, the officer to whom Egypt fell in the division of Alexander's empire, came forth with a grand escort of troops to meet the funeral procession as it came into Egypt. He preferred, for some reason or other, that the body should be interred in the city of Alexandria. It was accordingly deposited there, and a great monument was erected over the spot. This monument is said to have remained standing for fifteen hundred years, but all vestiges of it have now disappeared. The city of Alexandria itself, however, is the conqueror's real monument, the greatest and best perhaps that any conqueror ever left behind. It is a monument, too, that time will not destroy. Its position and character, as Alexander foresaw, by bringing it to continued renovation, secured its perpetuity. Alexander earned well the name and reputation of the Great. He was truly great in all those powers and capacities, which can elevate one man above his fellows. We cannot help applauding the extraordinary energy of his genius, though we condemn the selfish and cruel ends to which his life was devoted. He was simply a robber, but yet a robber on so vast a scale that mankind, in contemplating his career, have generally lost sight of the wickedness of his crimes, in their admiration of the enormous magnitude of the scale on which they were perpetrated. End of Section 12 End of Alexander the Great by Jacob Abbott