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The Roles and Responsibilities of the Federal Reserve – The federal reserve board: Also known as the Board of Governors, the Reserve Board is composed of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The job of the board, which convenes in Washington, D.C., is to guide the Fed and strive to fulfill the five key functions of the Federal Reserve:
What's the future of the Federal Reserve? | World Economic Forum – Still others, like Richard Fisher, the outgoing president of the Dallas Fed, have inveighed against the special role of the Federal Reserve Bank.
The barriers to the euro’s global role are found at home – European resentment at the global role of the dollar goes back more than 50 years. in complete economic meltdown was the dollar swap lines issued by the US Federal Reserve to counterpart central.
Why We Need the Fed – The Atlantic – If you eliminate the central bank, its responsibilities would have to be. been on a crusade to reduce the influence of the Federal Reserve.. He explains that the supervisory function of the Fed is important for a few reasons:.
Trump recommends Herman Cain for Federal Reserve – Former kansas city fed president thomas Hoenig described the role of fed directors like Cain as representatives of "Main Street business, community development, organized labor and financial services.
The Structure and Functions of the Federal Reserve System – The Structure and Functions of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. It was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. Over the years, its role in banking and the economy has expanded.
Borrowing Money From 401K For Home Purchase Can I take my 401(k) to buy a house? – Investopedia – For example, if you leave $10,000 in your IRA or 401(k) instead of using it for your home purchase, that $10,000 could potentially grow to become $54,000 in 25 years with a 7% annualized return.
What Is the Role of the Federal Reserve? : NPR – · What Is the Role of the Federal Reserve? The Federal Reserve extended a $30 billion credit line to help JP Morgan Chase buy out investment giant bear stearns over the weekend.
Home Payment Calculator With Pmi Fha Loan Down Payment Is It Good To Refinance Your Home 5 Reasons Not to Refinance Your Mortgage | SmartAsset – home mortgage rates are near historical lows and despite rising more. you pay your loan off faster but it does you no good if you don't have.FHA Down Payment Grants for 2019 – Common FHA Questions. Purchase or refinance your home with an FHA loan. You can get one with a down payment as low as 3.5%. Browse through our frequent homebuyer questions to learn the ins and outs of this government backed loan program.
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Business process automation is a technology-driven aspect that aims at achieving the desired task in a cost-efficient, error-proof, and streamlined manner. In traditional systems, business process integrated with computer systems is found to be time consuming and repetitive. Moreover, the traditional dynamic methods and techniques used to perform manual actions require human interpretation to interact with the computer. It is incompatible in today’s digital era and can create a substantial dislocation with technological revolutions. These limitations can be minimized by implementing a technique comprising an advanced level of intelligence, repetitive task automation, deploying machine learning and NLP to achieve context awareness and self-aware intelligence protocols in real-time applications.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software protocol developed to customize the industry and business practices by automating the existing policies and rules, which comprises of day-to-day routine tasks, analytical data, and deterministic outcomes. In business sectors, substantial time will be consumed by ERP and CRM authorities in maintaining the records, exchanging, and processing the data amongst multiple resources. This process comprises of several repetitive tasks such as extracting, copying, merging and transferring colossal amount of data amongst the resources. Sometimes, human errors may lead to substantial financial losses for the organization. Deploying RPA and allowing robots to handle this repetitive process benefits a business to handle highly structured processes of departments including finance, HR, and procurement efficiently.
Furthermore, a step toward RPA comprises of several stages such as identification, which involves real-time images captured from user interface systems. Activity trigger engine determines the activities on the basis of extracted unique features from images. Moreover, individual activity recognized will demonstrate the current status of the system. In certain design practices, the screenshot of the screen is considered for generating activity information. In some instances, the key input such as a sensor-touch or a foreground change is considered to capture the activity. The pre-processed data is forwarded to the definition generator, which processes the information and sends electrical signals to the robot to automatically perform the derived task efficiently.
Deployment of RPA in business sector helps reduce the overall staffing cost and losses due to human errors. Interaction and services from bots are typical examples of RPA, where the total cost spent on the implementation is low with customized high user integrity and deep systems integration software. The prediction done by Forrester Research has showcased that deploying RPA software in business automation may threaten around 230 million livelihoods of losing jobs or even more, which is approximately nine percent of the global workforce. Furthermore, an increase in the maintenance cost, complexity, control, and governance challenges has put several robotic programs being deployed in organizations on hold.
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Finnish Tax Administration
Tax revenue is the public sector’s most significant source of income
Decisions concerning Finnish taxation are made by the Finnish Parliament and European Union. Tax legislation is drafted by the Ministry of Finance and enacted by Parliament.
The Tax Administration collects approximately 95 % of all taxes and tax-like payments in Finland. In addition to the Tax Administration, taxes and tax-like payments are also collected by Finnish Customs and the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Traficom).
The purpose of the Tax Administration is to collect the right tax at the right time, so as to ensure our society has the financial resources it needs to function. It is for this reason that we seek to minimise the tax gap through credible tax control; and it is why it is important to maintain a culture of tax compliance, by impressing on people the importance of taxation in society.
Proactive guidance, excellent service and credible tax control ensure the accrual of tax revenues. The goal is to have taxpayers handle tax-related transactions independently and in the correct manner.
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Despite difficult challenges, entrepreneurs are “the engines of growth” that are transforming the American economy. Health supplement the Small Business Administration, entrepreneurs start more than 600,000 businesses in the united states every year.
How important are companies to the U.S. economy?
Let me share with you some of the current information (September, 2009) published by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Loyality. Small businesses.
Represent 99.7% of all employer enterprises.
Employ more than half of private sector employees.
Pay 44% of total U.S. private payroll.
Generate 64% (net) of the latest jobs during the past 10 years.
Create more than 50% for the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
Hire 40% of advanced workers, pertaining to instance scientists, engineers, and software engineers.
Are 52% home-based and 2 percent franchises.
Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.
Since companies have such an important have an effect on the business cycle, john spencer ellis images what drives entrepreneurs to create something, regarding your nothing? For that matter, what an entrepreneur, and are plenty of him or her beat? Consider Sam Walton, just one of the greatest entrepreneur’s of the 20th century who once said, “I continually been driven to buck the system, to innovate, and to take things beyond a place where they’ve been.”
What can be an entrepreneur?
The French word, entrepreneur, means an enterpriser. An enterpriser is person who undertakes a business or business, with opportunity to of profit or difficulties. An entrepreneur is another person who uses venture capital to start and finance a new enterprise, and who assumes the financial risks connected with owning, operating, and operating a enterprise.
Entrepreneurs are available as many varieties and tend to develop innovations and create jobs. To be a result, according to the SBA, they are vital to a stable and robust American monetary climate. While many consider entrepreneurs to be visionaries, dreamers, and charismatic leaders, not every entrepreneurs share these personality.
Most entrepreneurs are those who march at their own drums, and possess the drive, determination, and perseverance to obtain ideas and opportunities your. Entrepreneurs usually possess a clear, communicable vision, a passion for their areas of interest, the motivation to their vision to market, and the perseverance carry on in spite of obstacles and setbacks.
The entrepreneurs are, your doubt, horses of a different breed. Entrepreneurs are mavericks with vision and determination to develop a company that takes the vision to market.
Entrepreneurs, as a group, in order to architect and control pretty own destinies. Are usually inspired to file for their own home based business ventures are generally driven in order to and exploit high-potential, businesses. They are typically obsessed with all aspects their own chosen area of expertise. Entrepreneurs have an itch create a a new life, be their own boss, follow their own path, and shed the restrictions of the 9-to-5 work world.
Entrepreneurs move forward ideas-ideas that are often generated by a flash of inspiration knowning that are frequently overlooked by others. Entrepreneurs are able to change directions quickly as conditions advance. They can navigate transitions, tolerate uncertainty, and can balance continuity with switch. Most importantly, they are tenacious! To follow projects by way of completion and never give up easily, even the toughest of period.
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A Brief History of Dos Pinos
The California laws for creating limited equity housing cooperatives were put in place in 1979. In 1985, the Dos Pinos development was the brainchild of Sweetwater Development company (Lou and Karen Fox). They owned a great swath of land that they wanted to develop with market rate homes, apartments, a shopping complex, etc. Their goal was to get the appropriate building permits from the city. The city required the developers to satisfy the low-to-moderate income requirement for a part of their proposed developments to get permits of the rest. Both parties agreed on the option of a limited equity housing cooperative model. Hence, Dos Pinos!
The developers built the project according to their specifications, with only their own ideas, intentions and visions on the table. Contrary to some people’s belief that Dos Pinos was “created as an intentional community” or “has always been an intentional community,” there was no intent of the original shareholders or technically the shareholders-to-be—they weren’t included in this process. In intentional communities, the most common characteristic is the extensive, pre-development activities in which future resident/owners participate.
Concrete evidence is even found in our physical plant. Common design features of co-housing housing and intentional communities usually include buildings clustered around a large common house with large kitchen or doors facing each other and opening into a large communal space. Instead Dos Pinos has a small community room, which is not centrally located and which has a very small kitchen. Our front doors all open to one direction–south—not toward each other. The window facings—mostly north and south–were chosen for passive solar design and energy conservation.
During the building of Dos Pinos, the developer started selling shares to prospective members through a sales agent hired for the task, i.e., the builders started the project and then, as any developer must, went out to find buyers. Committed shareholders-to-be were able to move in from the fall of 1985 as renters. During this time, the developer hired the first management company and a lawyer to write the Bylaws according to state law that created limited equity cooperatives in preparation for the turnover to the members of the cooperative.
Per the California law, by the time the developer sold 80% of the available shares (48 shares out of 60), we legally became a cooperative and “kicked out the landlord.” The real work of creating the guts and soul of the cooperative began. Henceforth, our monthly assessments were no longer rents, but monthly assessments paid to the corporation.
The developer still held the shares of the 12 other units, rented them out, and paid monthly assessments to the cooperative. But the limited equity model required the builder to sell at a price close to building costs, and because the price of a share made it a good economic decision for potential buyers, eventually all of the shares were purchased and the developer was totally out of the picture.
The original member/shareholders were not a cohesive self-defining group of people who knew each other and planned the development. Rather they were a group of individual households that bought into the concept of affordable housing and the appeal of some level of self-determination vs. renting with a landlord fully in control. Since the limited equity housing cooperative model is required by law to be organized and incorporated as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, the concept of consensus decision-making was never an option and is not an option now.
Yes! There were meetings of “shareholders-to-be” during the time we were renters and even a little before some people moved in. There were considerations of policies of the most practical type – parking: who gets to park where?, pets: how many are OK? what type?, etc. and community room use: how do we allow member use that works for the individual as well as for the community? These were just the first policies that needed to be determined, even as people were still moving in. Because there was no board during this period, these policies were agreed upon loosely and then somewhat revised and adopted by the actual board once the coop was established. Even here, there was never any consensus.
As a corporation, most decisions of Dos Pinos must be made by the elected board of directors. Of course, a few very important ones are left to the whole membership such as Bylaws changes, but the board of directors model is required.
The first Board of Directors was elected in early 1986. They had weekly meetings that often went past midnight. There was a lot to figure out and a lot to do including hiring its first coop management company (remember, the complex as rental housing was being managed by a management company that had been hired by the developer). As of spring 2012, Dos Pinos has had six management companies including the initial one hired by the developer.
The continuing evolution of the Dos Pinos community is a real tribute to members, past and present, who may not have come here with any expectation beyond finding an affordable place to live, but have worked hard to make it much more than that. The hard work of the original members and all other past and present members results in what Dos Pinos is today, arguably the longest operating, most successful limited equity housing cooperative without government subsidy in California.
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The Energy Transition Model calculates the total cost of the yearly energy supply for a scenario. This is the sum of depreciation costs, cost of capital, operation and maintenance costs, and fuel costs of various components of the energy system.
In this section you can find a general explanation of the ETM's cost calculation, as well as more in-depth articles on specific subjects.
The cost calculation in the ETM adheres to the following principles:
The ETM uses a 'greenfield' approach: In calculating the costs of a future energy system, the ETM disregards any existing assets and investments. Only investment costs of assets required in the future are taken into account. This means that the ETM does not include 'transition costs' for moving from the current energy system to the future system (such as stranded assets, disposal costs etc.)
The ETM calculates the social costs of the future energy system, not the prices of energy for specific stakeholders. Taxes, subsidies, levies etc. are therefore not taken into account.
The cost calculation only encompasses costs that are directly related to the energy system, i.e. the production and distribution of electricity, heat, gas, hydrogen and various other energy carriers. This means that the ETM takes into account investments for heating and cooling technologies but not for other applications, such as cars, lighting, household appliances etc. Only the fuel costs of these applications are accounted for. An overview per sector can be found here.
All costs are expressed in real terms. This means that inflation is not taken into account.
All investment costs are depreciated using the straight line depreciation method.
The ETM was not created for in-depth cost analyses, but for scenario creation. Since its focus is energy, rather than costs, the ETM makes no claim to be exhaustive in the scope of its cost calculation. The resulting energy system costs are therefore best compared to those of other scenarios created with the ETM. Please be cautious when comparing the outcomes to cost estimates from other models.
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Today legislation will be laid in Parliament committing the UK to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, following a report from the Committee on Climate Change published last month. The report calls for extensive electrification of the economy and a quadrupling of low-carbon power generation by 2050.
Chris Hewett, chief executive at the Solar Trade Association (STA), said: “Enshrining net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 into law is a vital step in tackling the climate emergency, but long-term targets are meaningless without action. In the case of solar and energy storage the government must move quickly to remove barriers that have needlessly slowed progress. In contrast to the view of the Treasury, the whole country will benefit from the energy transition if government creates a level playing field for all clean energy generation technologies to compete on. Solar and wind are now the lowest cost forms of power generation in the UK, yet there is no route to market and government is continuing to subsidise the fossil fuels it is aiming to phase out.
“A 100% renewable energy system, including powering heat and transport, is entirely possible but only with the integration of energy storage which represents a notable industrial opportunity for the UK. The sector is yet another example of the tremendous potential economic opportunities in clean energy if the government gets pathways to commercialisation and mass market deployment right.
“Solar can not only provide clean electricity, but that low cost power can also be used to produce hydrogen and green ammonia, both of which could contribute greatly to the decarbonisation of our homes, transport and shipping sectors. Solar has been key to driving innovation in battery storage and electric vehicles, and it can be scaled to power one home or an entire city. The popularity, affordability and accessibility of solar means it can play a major role now in delivering Net Zero.”
STA analysis published last month reveals the solar industry is set to deploy 4-7GW of subsidy-free solar over the next four years as things currently stand. There is significant scope to increase future deployment levels, with the STA backing a floor-price Contract for Difference mechanism as one particular way in which this could be achieved.
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It’s hard to imagine a life without the internet. It’s ubiquitous. From the moment we wake to the moment our heads hit the pillow, almost all of us have it at our fingertips. It’s how we work, play, shop, manage our finances, stay informed and communicate.
It connects us to what’s most important.
But it’s in a world where everything is connected that the next frontier of payment awaits. Soon, the Internet of Things (IoT) could take users out of the payment picture altogether. Our devices will do the talking — and the spending — and merchants will need to be ready for what comes next as users become more comfortable shopping via smart home technology.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
Broadly speaking, the term “Internet of Things” covers everything that can be connected to the internet. Increasingly, however, the definition has zeroed in on objects and devices that can “speak” to one another across networks.
When these connected devices are combined with automated systems, it’s possible to gather and analyse data, and use that data to create an action, routine or process.
For example, an individual could set a GPS perimeter boundary around their property using their smartphone. When they leave that area, their smartphone “tells” their thermostat to lower the temperature. And when they re-enter the area, the thermostat knows to increase the temperature, meaning they return to a nice warm home. That is the IoT in action.
Where do payments fit with the IoT?
To make the shopping experience easier for customers, merchants need to find ways to further promote frictionless spending. Removing obstacles and objections and minimising the steps to payment will always be key to converting a browser into a buyer, online and off.
And thanks to advances in technology, consumers now have a smarter way to pay at their fingertips. They have the option of leaving their card in their wallet and paying with their smartphone or smartwatch, smoothing the payment process. This has proven popular, but even this streamlined approach could appear outdated in the not-too-distant future.
The interconnectivity of the IoT could lead to transactions taking place via all manner of objects and devices, such as a buyer’s car, smartspeaker, or even their fridge — and sometimes without any human intervention.
Right now, consumers in the US can order their favourite pizza through their voice-activated devices. Pizza Hut and Domino’s both support ordering via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, meaning the user can simply say “OK Google, talk to Domino’s” and they’re guided through the ordering process. And once they’re ready to purchase, the transaction is handled by Google Pay, making the entire payment process seamless and invisible.
Likewise, there are refrigerators on the market today, like those built by Samsung, that can tell if you’re running low on food, and place orders on your behalf to keep your fridge full.
And we envisage a near future where connected cars will pay for their own petrol and parking by “talking” to the petrol pumps and parking meters. Yet this minor leap from science fiction to science fact is merely scratching the surface when it comes to the IoT’s payment potential.
The future of IoT payments
It’s estimated that by the end of 2020, some 30 billion devices will be connected to the internet.
For context, the world’s population stands at 7.5 billion, and 3.5 billion of us have smartphones. This clearly suggests that many people will have multiple connected devices, and will in time come to expect a seamless user experience across all of them.
A streamlined payment experience will also be crucial to the success of the IoT. It’s expected to generate $13 trillion in revenue by 2025, but this will only come to fruition if users are convinced of the security and convenience of IoT payments.
Less cash = smoother spending
While a completely cashless society may still be some way off, a society that uses far less cash is just around the corner. Merchants need only look at the initial success of Amazon Go to witness the potential of IoT payments in action.
Amazon’s cashless convenience store turns the shopping experience on its head. By using cameras, sensors, smart shelves and algorithms to track customers and monitor their purchases, the very idea of queuing, checkouts or cashiers is consigned to the past. Shoppers simply pick up the products they want and walk out the store; Amazon’s IoT technology knows what they’ve taken and charges them automatically.
As consumers become more comfortable with the idea of using less cash for everyday purchases, cashless spending will become more appealing. Confidence, therefore, will grow in its security and convenience, and this can only represent good news for merchants; some $37.7 billion a year is lost to customers walking out due to long checkout lines.
And when they can safely make purchases from the comfort of their car — or just have their fridge handle the grocery shopping — that’ll be a significant boost to the bottom line.
At its core, the infrastructure to facilitate these invisible payments already exists. The exciting element of the IoT is the sheer number of creative payment avenues opening up, now and in the future.
For most companies, the flexibility and convenience of IoT payments will be a win-win scenario, and a potential increase in revenue. And for consumers, they’ll be empowered to spend how, where and when they like, free of the restrictions of time and physical locations.
So, get ready for a future where you’ll take orders from a connected car, smart fridge or digital assistant. It’s closer than you think. For more information about future-proofing your business.
To learn more about the latest payment innovations, including payments and IoT, download our free annual trends report
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The early months of 2014 saw the passing of the long-stalled farm bill, along with its implications for the next decade on anti-hunger organizations nationwide.
On February 7 in front of a crowd of farmers and local officials gathered at Michigan State University, President Obama signed into law the new $956 billion farm bill—the Agriculture Act of 2014—marking the end of nearly four difficult years of heated congressional negotiations over the bill’s provisions. Reauthorized every five years, the farm bill regulates policy for both federal food and nutrition assistance programs and agricultural programs. With food and nutrition programs comprising around 80% of the bill’s total spending, policy regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—previously known as the food stamp program—stood at the forefront of the farm bill debates.
SNAP is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, receiving 100% of its program benefit funding from the federal government, with administrative costs split between the federal and state governments. One in seven Americans participates in SNAP annually; data from the USDA reveals that more than 47.5 million low-income individuals participated in SNAP in FY2013. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, around 72% of SNAP participants live in households that include a child, and more than one-quarter live in households that include an elderly or disabled member.
Under the new farm bill, cuts to the food stamp program amount to $8.6 billion over the next decade. Changes to SNAP benefit calculations were the target of this bill as many conservatives looked to tighten program policy by closing a proclaimed loophole, known as “Heat and Eat,” among other minor policy reforms. “Heat and Eat” refers to the SNAP provision that allows states to coordinate food stamp benefits with aid received from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federally funded program designed to assist low-income Americans with energy costs. Roughly 850,000 households receiving LIHEAP benefits—4% of food stamp recipients—are expected to face a benefit reduction of $90 a month, on average, as a result of the new bill. However, since “Heat and Eat” is not recognized nationwide, the new legislation will affect only participants living in Washington, D.C., and the fifteen states where it is practiced.
The process for determining food stamp eligibility is complex and relies on various financial and non-financial factors. Special rules apply immediately to legal immigrants, ex-criminals, college students, lottery winners and unemployed childless adults. As explained by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, three criteria must be met in order for a household to qualify for benefits:
- Gross monthly income must be at or below 130% of the federal poverty line. (For single-person households living in either Washington, D.C., or one of the 48 contiguous states, the federal poverty line for 2014 is set at $11,670. The level varies for Hawaii and Alaska.)
- Net monthly income must be equal to or less than the federal poverty level.
- Total assets cannot exceed $2,000. (Asset levels vary for households containing elderly (age 60 and older) or disabled members, where only the net monthly income level must be met.)
On top of the federal regulations, some states also implement their own asset tests, commonly factoring in car ownership when determining eligibility. Program administrators calculate a household’s net income by subtracting federal and state-authorized deductions—medical expenses for elderly and/or disabled members and child support payments, among others—from its gross income. More deductions mean a lower net income, and a lower net income means higher benefits. Most influential of these deductions is the Excess Shelter Deduction, encompassing such shelter costs as rent or mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities. In order to be eligible for this deduction, a household’s shelter and utility expenses must collectively amount to more than half of that household’s net monthly income after all other authorized deductions have been taken into account. (Again, levels differ here if the household includes either an elderly or disabled member.)
Initially, SNAP administrators collected and examined a household’s utility bills to determine if it qualified for the Excess Shelter Deduction. However, the process was eventually streamlined by allowing each state to set its Standard Utility Allowance (SUA), a fixed dollar amount reflecting a state’s average utility costs for that given year. The SUA is awarded only if a household pays for its utility expenses out of pocket and not by the landlord directly. So, instead of reviewing multiple utility bills for a particular household, that household is now required to provide only one bill as proof that it pays for its own utilities. Once that bill is provided, the household automatically qualifies for the SUA, which is then factored into the calculations for determining eligibility for the shelter deduction. Qualifying for the SUA increases shelter expenses and usually boosts a household’s food stamp benefits.
However, a caveat exists here: If a household receives LIHEAP benefits, it also automatically qualifies for the SUA—the rationale being that if a household receives help to pay for its energy bills, then is must pay for them out of pocket in the first place. (This is the federally authorized practice known as “Heat and Eat,” discussed in paragraph 4 of this article.) Realizing that LIHEAP and SNAP benefits frequently come up short by the month’s end, “Heat and Eat” states began identifying which SNAP beneficiaries were not currently getting the SUA; they were then provided with a very small LIHEAP benefit—as little as $1 a year—in order to automatically qualify for the SUA. This is the heart of why “Heat and Eat” is contested, since it is believed that the practice enables SNAP households to receive credit for utility costs that they do not actually pay. Considered a loophole by both the House and Senate, the new farm bill amends this practice by requiring a household to receive at least $20 of LIHEAP assistance a year in order to automatically qualify for the SUA.
These latest program cuts follow a significant benefit reduction for all participants that took effect only a few months ago when SNAP funding from the 2009 stimulus package expired. The Recovery Act that was established in April 2009 funneled an estimated $45.2 billion into the food stamp program in order to stimulate the economy by increasing the purchasing power of the growing number of food-insecure households. That kind of boost meant an increase of 15% (on average) in monthly benefits, or $80 each month to most four-person SNAP households, according to research from the USDA. When that funding expired on October 31, 2013, it put into effect an automatic $5 billion cut over FY2014, and an $11 billion cut spread over fiscal years 2014-16. Monthly benefits lost totaled $11 for a household of one and $36 for a household of four. In more tangible terms, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains that cuts of this magnitude meant that SNAP households had to learn to get by on less than $1.40 per person per meal (on average) for FY 2014.
Though SNAP advocates may have difficulty seeing funding cuts to a program that already struggles to meet high demand as a positive outcome, the terms of this bipartisan compromise are far more favorable than those of earlier proposals. In a program many conservatives believe to be rampant with fraud, SNAP has remained the ongoing target for many Republicans in Congress throughout these farm bill negotiations. In June 2013, House Republicans rejected a farm bill that would have cut $20.5 billion from food stamps, claiming that the cuts were not severe enough. In September, the House passed a nutrition-only bill—having split the bill’s farm and nutrition titles back in July—that would have cut nearly $40 billion from food stamps over ten years. The bill also called for implementing a number of extreme provisions that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would have caused the number of food stamp recipients to decline by 30% over the next decade.
Cutting only $8.6 billion versus a proposed $40 billion is, in some respect, a win for liberals. But advocates of the “Heat and Eat” policies and the overall food stamp program still believe difficult times are ahead for food-insecure households. Many feel that the benefit boost received through these policies is necessary since federal funding to LIHEAP is too low to effectively support the number of low-income households requiring utility assistance. It is widely known that food stamps don’t last most recipients the whole month; statistics from the hunger-relief charity Feeding America reveal that 90% of SNAP benefits are redeemed by the third week of the month, and that 58% of SNAP participants resort to food banks at least six months out of the year. The “Heat and Eat” provision helps alleviate the difficult choice nearly 48 million Americans must make each month between buying food and paying utility bills.
At a time when anti-hunger organizations are already stretched too thin, what can be expected for the next decade? The services provided by these nonprofits will be critical to managing the fallout from the new food stamp legislation. A steadily recovering economy will help ease the burden, but the results will not be seen immediately. In reaction to the new farm bill, Julie Zaebst, policy manager for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, explains, “Food banks and other charities in our state already can’t keep up with the skyrocketing need, and they certainly can’t fill the $136 million gap in food aid left by this Farm Bill.” Ms. Zaebst’s statement reinforces the plight that many anti-hunger organizations and food-insecure Americans face in the coming years.
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A credit card is a type of payment card issued by a bank or another financial institution that provides the holder with different financial services. It consists of a plastic card of standard size that shows the name of the holder, his signature, a number, expiration date, a magnetic stripe and a microchip. Unlike other bank cards, the amount is deducted from the bank account after the purchase is made.The transaction involves three parties: the card-issuer, or the institution that issues the card and receives a commission on each payment, the merchant, or the business adhering to the circuit, and the cardholder, who commits to return to the issuer the amount as indicated the contract. The use of credit cards is beneficial both for the customer, who can make purchases quickly and without the use of cash, and for the supplier, who is not subjected to the risk of a payment by check. In addition to to make payments, the credit card can be used to withdraw cash by entering a secret code. The first credit card was introduced in 1950 in the US by the Diners Club to buy products and services related tourism, food and entertainment. This card allowed members to pay for the purchased services even after two months. In 1951 the Franklin National Bank of New York became the first bank to implement this system with the introduction of its "charge-it-card".
The boom of credit cards happened over the coming years: the competitors are mainly the Bankamericard of Bank of America and the MasterCharge, founded by four banks from California. Since the 70's the industry of credit cards began spreading in the international market: the most popular systems become VISA and Mastercard. In 1974, the International Bankcard Corporation (IBANCO) was founded to manage and support a worldwide program of bank cards. In 1979, the credit cards were equipped with the magnetic stripe, which increases the speed and security of identification. In order to improve the security of payments, the credit card industry is nowadays moving towards the application of the fingerprint-recognition technology to credit cards.
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Origins of the UK’s six biggest energy companies can be traced back to 1989 when the Electricity Act was introduced. This broke up the Central Electricity Generating Board into three generating companies and one transmission firm, that were privatised in the 1990s. The gas market was privatised in 1986 too and these combinations, separation and privatisation of supply resulted in the big six energy companies who control around 95% of the UK’s energy supply. This is who they are:
Originally formed in 1973, the British Gas Corporation was privatised in 1986 and floated on the stock market as British Gas PLC. Then in 1997 it was brought under the ownership of Centrica and has grown to become the largest supplier of gas in the country with 11 million customers. Plus, it supplies electricity to a further six million.
EDF Energy was founded in 2002 after the acquisition and merger of various regional and national energy companies. It is owned by the French state-controlled EDF and also acquired nuclear generator British Energy back in 2009. Currently EDF Energy provides gas and electricity to six million people in the UK.
Formerly known as Powergen, it became E.ON in 2007 after being acquired by E.ON AG, a German energy company. With around seven million customers in total across the UK, it is the third largest energy provider, employing around 12,000 staff and 79,000 across the world.
First known as National Power and emerging after the 1989 Electricity Act, it then became Innogy PLC in 2000 and was demerged. Until 2002 when German utilities company RWE bought it and rebranded as npower. It currently has around five million UK customers and has previously operated under Northern Electric and Yorkshire Electricity.
After the privatisation of Scottish energy supply in 1990, Scottish Power emerged. It was then acquired by Spanish energy company Iberdrola in 2006, under Europe’s third largest energy company. It has about five million customers across all of the UK, and still owns a big percentage of Scotland and the north of England’s distribution network.
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is the UK’s second largest provider of electricity, with around nine million customers. It was formed after the merger of Scottish Hydro and Southern Electric, before incorporating South Wales Electricity Board (Swalec) later on.
Along with the big six, there are many smaller energy firms that households can turn towards. Comparing energy suppliers with Utilitywise in your area can help you find the cheapest option, whether it’s with one of the big six or someone else.
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Airports have the goal of maintaining fee and rental structures that will make them as financially self-sustaining as possible. To accomplish this, airports are now exploring non-traditional revenue sources. At the same time, utility service providers have recently begun looking for opportunities to purchase energy generated from renewable sources to meet state, regional, and federal environmental and energy goals. Since airports often have available property and facilities to host and generate clean and renewable energy sources, there may be opportunities for them to generate revenue.Nevertheless, the use of renewable energy as a revenue source is a complex issue, requiring an understanding of emerging technologies, financing mechanisms, regulatory frameworks, and operational factors. There is limited guidance to help airports identify, evaluate, select, and successfully implement renewable energy projects for revenue generation. Research is needed to develop a guidebook and evaluation tool to help airports understand the feasibility, opportunities, and challenges of renewable energy projects and their implementation for revenue generation.
The objective of this research is to prepare a guidebook, with an associated evaluation tool, to help airports identify and develop viable renewable energy opportunities for increasing net revenues.
The guidebook should include:
1. An introduction to renewable energy as a potential airport revenue source, including descriptions of renewable energy options for airports.
2. Evaluation factors for each renewable energy option, including (but not limited to): operational considerations, safety considerations, regulatory compliance requirements, environmental issues, capital and maintenance costs, funding sources, incentives, benefit/cost, and return on investment.
3. A flow chart or process map illustrating key decision-making steps.
4. Guidance on key implementation steps, including (but not limited to): stakeholder coordination, contractor selection (including sample relevant RFP language and advertising options), contracting (including sample relevant contract language), project management, regulatory coordination and processes, and public outreach (including education and promotion).
5. A minimum of 10 project summaries where renewable energy is used to generate airport revenue, documenting the decision-making process, project scope, and lessons learned. The project summaries should be representative of different airport sizes, geographies, and renewable energy technologies.
6. A glossary.
The evaluation tool should be designed to help airports identify and conduct an initial evaluation of the most appropriate renewable energy generation options to create revenue. The evaluation tool should allow users to input site-specific data and should produce output showing potential revenue stream and a benefit-cost summary in tabular and graphical forms. A user guide should also be included.
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understand the meaning of supply.
understand what determines supply.
get an insight into the law of supply.
know the difference between movements on the supply curve and shift of the supply curve.
understand the concept of elasticity of supply.
As the term ‘demand’ refers to the quantity of a good or service that the consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a period of time, the term ‘supply’ refers the amount of a good or service that the producers are willing and able to offer to the market at various prices during a period of time. Two important points apply to supply :
(i) The supply refers to what firms offer for sale, not necessarily to what they succeed in selling.
(ii) Supply is a flow. The quantity supplied is so much per unit of time, per day, per week, or per year.
Supply is defined as “how much of good will be offered for sale at a given time”. Prof. McConnell defines supply in the following term: “Supply may be defined as a schedule which shows the various amounts of a product which a producer is willing to and able to produce and make available for sale in the market at each specific price in a set of possible prices during some given period”.
3.1 DETERMINANTS OF SUPPLY
Although price is an important consideration in determining the willingness and desire to part with the commodities, they are many other factors which determine the supply of a product or a service. These are discussed below :
(i) Price of the good : Other things being equal, the higher the relative price of a good the greater the quantity of it that will be supplied. This is because goods and services are produced by the firm in order to earn profits and, ceteris paribus, profits rise if the price of its product rises.
(ii) Price of the related goods : If the prices of other goods rise, they become relatively more profitable to the firm to produce and sell than the good in question. It implies, that if the price of Y rises, the quantity supplied of X will fall. For example, if price of wheat rises, the farmers may shift lands to wheat production and away from corn and soyabeans.
(iii) Price of the factors of production : A rise in the price of a particular factor of production will cause an increase in the cost of making those goods that use a great deal of that factor than in the costs of producing those that use relatively small amount of the factor. For example, a rise in the cost of land will have a large effect on the cost of producing wheat and a very small effect on the cost of producing automobiles. Thus a change in the price of one factor of production will cause changes in the relative profitability of different lines of production and will cause producers to shift from one line to another and thus supplies of different commodities will change.
(iv) State of technology : The supply of a particular product depends upon the state of technology also. Inventions and innovations tend to make it possible to produce more or better goods with the same resources, and thus they tend to increase the quantity supplied of some products and to reduce the quantity supplied of products that are displaced.
(v) Government Policy : The production of a good may be subject to the imposition of commodity taxes such as excise duty, sales tax and import duties. These raise the cost of production and so the quantity supplied of a good would increase only when its price in the market rises. Subsidies, on the other hand, reduce the cost of production and thus provide an incentive to the firm to increase supply. (vi) Other Factors : The quantity supplied of a good also depends upon government’s industrial and foreign policies, goals of the firm, infrastructual facilities, market structure, natural factors etc.
3.2 LAW OF SUPPLY
This refers to the relationship of quantity supplied of a good with one or more related variables which have an influence on the supply. Normally, the supply is related with price but it can be related with the type of technology used, scale of operations etc. The law of supply can be stated as : Other things remaining constant, the quantity of a good produced and offered for sale will increase as the price of the good rises and decrease as the price falls.
This law is based upon common sense, for the higher the price of the good, the greater the profits that can be earned and thus greater the incentives to produce the good and offer it for sale. The law is known to be correct in large number of cases. There is an exception however. If we take the supply of labour at very high wages, we may find that the supply of labour has decreased instead of increasing. Thus, the behaviour of supply depends upon the phenomenon considered and the degree of possible adjustment in supply.
The behaviour of supply curve is also affected by the time taken into consideration. In the short run, it may not be easy to increase supply but in the long run supply can be easily adjusted in response to changes in price. The law of supply can be explained through supply schedule and supply curve. Consider the following schedule.
Table 8 : Supply Schedule of Good ‘X’
|Quantity supplied (kg)|
The table shows the quantities of good X that would be produced and offered for sale at a number of alternative prices. At Re. 1, for example, 5 kilograms of good X are offered for sale and at Rs. 3 per kg. 45 kg. would be forthcoming.
We can now plot the data from Table 8 on a graph. In Figure 21, price is plotted on vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal axis, and various price-quantity combinations of the schedule 8 are plotted.
Fig. 21 : Supply Curve
When we draw a smooth curve through the plotted points, what we get is the supply curve for good X. The curve shows the quantity of X that will be offered for sale at each price of X. It slopes upwards towards right showing that as price increases, the supply of X increases and vice-versa.
The market supply curve for ‘X’ can be obtained by adding horizontally the various firms’ supply curves.
3.3 SHIFTS IN THE SUPPLY CURVE – INCREASE OR DECREASE IN SUPPLY
When the supply curve bodily shifts towards right as a result of a change in one of the factors that influence the quantity supplied other than the commodity’s own price, we say there is an increase in supply. When these factors cause the supply curve to shift to left we call it decrease in supply [See Figures 22(i) and (ii)].
Fig. 22 : Shifts in supply curves
3.4 MOVEMENTS ON THE SUPPLY CURVE – INCREASE OR DECREASE IN THE QUANTITY SUPPLIED
When the supply of a good increases as a result of an increase in its price we say that there is an increase in the quantity supplied and there is a upward movement on the supply curve. The reverse is the case when there is a fall in the price of the good. (See Figure 23).
Fig. 23 : Figure showing change in quantity supplied as a result of a price change
3.5 ELASTICITY OF SUPPLY
The elasticity of supply is defined as the responsiveness of the quantity supplied of a good to a change in its price. Elasticity of supply is measured by dividing the percentage change in quantity supplied of a good by the percentage change in its price i.e.,
a. Suppose the price of a commodity X increase from Rs. 2,000 per unit to Rs. 2,100 per unit and consequently the quantity supplied rises from 2,500 units to 3,000 units. Calculate the elasticity of supply.
Elasticity of Supply = 4.
3.5.0 Type of Supply Elasticity : The elasticity of supply can be classified as under :
(i) Perfectly Inelastic supply : If as a result of a change in price, the quantity supplied of a good remains unchanged, we say that the elasticity of supply is zero or the good has perfectly inelastic supply. The vertical supply curve in Figure 24 shows that irrespective of the price change, the quantity supplied remains unchanged.
Fig. 24 : Supply curves of zero elasticity
(ii) Relatively less-elastic supply : If as a result of a change in the price of a good its supply changes less than proportionately, we say that the good is relatively less elastic or elasticity of supply is less than one. Figure 25 shows that the relative change in the quantity supplied (Δq) is less than the relative change in the price (Δp).
Fig. 25 : Showing relatively less elastic supply
(iii) Relatively greater-elastic supply : If elasticity of supply is greater than one i.e., when the quantity supplied of a good changes substantially in response to a small change in the price of the good we say that supply in greatly elastic. Figure 26, shows that the relative change in the quantity supplied (Δq) is greater than the relative change in the price.
Fig. 26 : Showing relatively greater elastic supply
(iv) Unit-elastic : If the relative change in the quantity supplied is exactly equal to the relative change in the price, the supply is said to be unitary elastic. Here coefficient of elasticity of supply is equal to one. In Figure 27, the relative change in the quantity supplied (Δq) is equal to the relative change in the price (Δp).
Fig. 27 : Showing unitary elasticity
(v) Perfectly elastic supply : The supply elasticity is infinite when nothing is supplied at a lower price but a small increase in price causes supply to rise from zero to an indefinitely large amount indicating that producers will supply any quantity demanded at that price. Figure 28 shows infinitely elastic supply.
Fig. 28 : Supply curve of infinite elasticity
3.5.1 Measurement of supply-elasticity : The elasticity of supply can be considered with reference to a given point on the supply curve or between two points on the supply curve.
Point-elasticity : Just as in demand, point-elasticity can be measured with the help of the following formula :
(Ed) The Supply function is given as q = -100 + 10p. Find the elasticity of supply using point method, when price is Rs. 15.
Where dq/dp is differentiation of the supply function with respect to price and p and q refer to price and quantity respectively.
Arc-Elasticity : Arc-elasticity i.e. elasticity of supply between two prices can be found out with the help of the following formula :
Where p1 q1 are original price and quantity and p2 q2 are new price and quantity supplied. Thus, if we have to find elasticity of supply when p1 = Rs. 12, p2 = Rs. 15, q1 = 20 units and q2 = 50 units. Then using the above formula, we will get supply elasticity as :
The term ‘Supply’ refers to a schedule of the quantities of a good that will be offered for sale at different prices. The supply curve is a graphic presentation of the supply schedule. The laws of supply explain the relation between the quantity supplied of a good or service and the various factors on which the supply depends like price of the product, technology used, scale of operations etc. Most important is the relation of the quantity supplied of a good with its price. It has been observed that quantity supplied of a good increases with a rise in its price and falls with a fall in its price.
Elasticity of supply is the responsiveness of quantity supplied of a good as a result of a change in any of the factors on which supply depends. Most important is the responsiveness of the quantity supplied to a change in the price of the good. Elasticity of supply can be considered with reference to a given point on the supply curve (point elasticity) or between two points (arc elasticity).
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Cost Of Carry
Cost to carry may not be an extremely high financial cost if it is effectively managed. For example, the longer a position is made on margin, the more interest payments will need to be made on the account. When making an informed investment decision consideration must be given to all of the potential costs associated with taking that position.
Investment dictionary. Academic. 2012.
Look at other dictionaries:
Cost of carry — This article is about the financial term. For the marketing term, see Carrying cost. The cost of carry is the cost of carrying or holding a position. If long, the cost of carry is the cost of interest paid on a margin account. Conversely, if… … Wikipedia
cost of carry — (or carry) For physical commodities such as grains and metals, the cost of storage space, insurance, and finance charges incurred by holding a physical commodity. In interest rate futures markets, it refers to the differential between the yield… … Financial and business terms
Cost of carry — Related: Net financing cost * * * The difference between the interest generated on a cash instrument such as a bond or a Treasury bill and the cost of funds to finance the position. ► See also Positive Carry, Negative Carry … Financial and business terms
cost-of-carry — noun Finance the difference between the cost and the financial benefit of holding a particular asset for a specified period … English new terms dictionary
cost of carry — The degree to which the costs of holding a financial position exceed the return from it … Accounting dictionary
cost-of-carry market — Applies to derivative products. futures contracts trade in a cost of carry market where the underlying commodity can be stored, insured, and converted into the future easily and inexpensively. arbitrageurs, because of the ease of switching from… … Financial and business terms
Carry (investment) — The carry of an asset is the return obtained from holding it (if positive), or the cost of holding it (if negative) (see also Cost of carry). For instance, commodities are usually negative carry assets, as they incur storage costs or may suffer… … Wikipedia
Carry — or carrying may refer to: *Carry (arithmetic), when a digit becomes bigger than limit and the extra is moved to the left **Carry flag, the equivalent in calculation in a computer *Carrying (basketball), a rule breach in basketball *Carry… … Wikipedia
carry — [kar′ē] vt. carried, carrying [ME carien < Anglo Fr carier < NormFr carre, CAR1] 1. to hold or support while moving [to carry a package] 2. to take from one place to another; transport, as in a vehicle [to carry the mail] 3. to hold … English World dictionary
Carry-save adder — MotivationA carry save adder is a type of digital adder, used in computer microarchitecture to compute the sum of three or more n bit numbers in binary. It differs from other digital adders in that it outputs two numbers of the same dimensions as … Wikipedia
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that governs how a credit reporting agency (CRA) handles your credit information. It is designed to protect the integrity and privacy of your credit information. The FCRA requires creditreporting agencies–and the entities that report your credit information to them and others–to ensure that your information is fair and accurate, and kept private. The FCRA protects your right to access and correct any inaccuracies in yourcredit report and provides you with remedies if a credit reporting agency or information furnisher violates your rights.
For articles on your credit report, credit score, cleaning up your credit report, and more, see Nolo’s Credit Repair topic area.
Who/What is a CRA?
A CRA is any entity that collects and furnishes credit information about you. A common type of CRA is a credit bureau, such as Transunion, Equifax or Experian. A CRA also includes a company or person who collects and sells your creditinformation (often in the form of background checks) to landlords, employers, or anyone else who makes a credit decision about you.
Obligations of a CRA
A CRA is obligated to:
- upon your request, provide you with the information it has on file about you (called your “file disclosure”), often for free (to learn how to get your credit report, see Credit Reports & Credit Scores)
- provide you with your credit score upon your request (you’ll most likely have to pay a fee; see Credit Reports & Credit Scores )
- investigate disputed credit information in your file (there are a few exceptions to this rule; see When the CRA Does Not Have to Investigate Your Complaint.)
- correct or delete any inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information within 30 days of the receiving notice of your dispute (for more on this, see How to Correct Errors on Your Credit Report)
- refrain from reporting old credit information, usually more than seven to ten years old (see How Long Does Negative Information Stay on Your Credit Report)
- limit disclosure of your credit file to third parties who have a “valid need” (such as a creditor, landlord, or employer), and
- withhold disclosure of your credit information to employers unless you consent.
Who/What is an Information Supplier?
An “information supplier” is any entity that submits your credit information to a CRA. Usually, that means your creditor. But it could also mean any other third party that you have even a loose credit relationship with, such as a government entity to whom you owe taxes, costs, or fines.
Obligations of an Information Supplier
Under the FCRA, your creditor and any other information supplier:
- must not report to a CRA any information about you that it knows — has “reasonable cause” to know — is inaccurate
- has a duty to promptly update and correct any inaccurate information that it previously supplied to the CRA
- must tell you about any negative credit information it reports to a CRA within 30 days
- must notify the CRA when you voluntarily close an account with it, and
- must maintain a “reasonable procedure” to respond to identity theft notices by a CRA, and refrain from reporting information about an account that you previously reported was the result of identity theft.
If you dispute the inaccurate information with your creditor, in writing, it cannot continue to report the wrong information to the CRA until it investigates. It must also notify the CRA of your dispute. To learn more about information supplier’s duties, see How to Dispute Credit Report Items With the Creditor.
Users of Credit Information
In addition to CRAs and your creditors, anyone who uses your credit information for employment, credit, or insurance purposes is covered by the FCRA. They must:
- notify you if they turn you down based on what they found in your credit report, and identify the CRA or information supplier who provided the report.
If any of these three types of entities (CRA, information supplier, or user) violates the rules in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may be able to sue them in state or federal court for damages. If you are in the military, you might have additional protections and remedies. Your state’s laws may also offer additional relief and remedies. For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s section on the FCRA at www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm.
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This business game exposes your students to all the aspects of business including:
- Product Development
- Fundamentals of Manufacturing
- Fundamentals of Finance
- Financial Analysis
- Business Partner Negotiations
- Human Resource Management
In the Venture Strategy simulation, your students are provided with the seed capital to start up their new venture. They have limited financial resources and complete accounting responsibility. They build a factory, open up distribution channels, design brands, as well as advertising and web marketing campaigns. They hire workers and decide on the compensation packages, deal with demand projections and the basic concepts of production scheduling. After several quarters in business, your students’ firms can receive additional funding from the Venture Capitalists. They can invest this money in new R&D, bring out improved products, expand their distribution and production capacity in order to maximize their business performance.
- New ventures
- Business policy
- Capstone business courses.
6 rounds, with each round taking 1½ to 2 hours per student.
Grading is based on the balanced scorecard that measures profitability, customer satisfaction, market share in the targeted market segments, human resource management, asset management, financial risk, preparedness for the future and wealth.
Your students can compete against their peers or against computer-generated competitors.
The "play against computer" option allows everyone to work at his or her own pace and there is no need to coordinate the progress of all of the students.
English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Brazilian-Portuguese, Korean, Polish, Chinese(simplified), and German - "Play against Peers" option
English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Brazilian-Portuguese, Korean, Polish, Chinese(simplified), and German - “Play against computer” option
Read Dr. Ernest R. Cadotte's chapter from the Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy.
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Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey recently announced that 117 Iowa farmers took advantage of changes this year to the Iowa Financial Incentives Program, which is commonly called state cost share, to install 4,660 acres of cover crops across the state.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship made the rule change in August that included cover crops as an eligible practice under the state cost share program.
Through the program Iowa provided up to $25 per acre for the establishment of the cover crop. In total the Department's $104,253 investment was matched by farmers and landowners in 24 different Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state.
Research has shown that cover crops can be an effective management tool to control erosion from wind and water and ties up the nitrogen in the soil and reduces the potential for nitrate to leach into our surface water and groundwater.
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The Future of Gas: Golden Age or Lost Opportunity?
Outlining the state of the natural gas industry and assesses the implications of emission strategies for the future.
The increasing focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is encouraging us to consider the most effective ways to transition from high carbon energy sources, such as coal and oil, to carbon-free renewable energy. The Paris Agreement demands a reduction in GHG emissions to ensure the global average temperature increase is less than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. However, while the importance of renewables is increasing, current estimates suggest it will take a generation before they dominate our energy landscape. Over the past decade, gas has been growing in both abundance and accessibility. Today, gas stands on the verge of a golden age, but this will only be realised if questions regarding adequate infrastructure provision, to support growth, market flexibility and security of supply, are answered. If not, we risk bypassing not only a clear economic opportunity now, but also of throwing into doubt our responsibility to meet the world’s energy requirements in the future.
A Commercial Opportunity and a Moral Duty
The Paris Agreement defined the contribution each participating country will make to mitigate global warming and thereby implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This year, all participating members have been asked to take stock of their progress.
Each country has specified its individual Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the agreement. However, the combined current INDCs of all parties will not achieve the 2ºC cap on temperature increases.
Demand for energy is forecasted to rise by approximately a third to 2040 (BP Energy Outlook 2018). Although total energy demand in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries is declining, it is increasing in the emerging economies of India, Southeast Asia, China, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
While renewables are the fastest growing energy source accounting for 40% of the increase in primary energy by 2040, wind and solar will still only make up 14% of global primary consumption by that time (BP Energy Outlook 2018).
The Growth of Gas
Gas has a vital role to play in our transition to a global low carbon economy. Consumption will grow at a much faster rate than oil or coal, to just under 30% of the total energy share by 2040 (BP Energy Outlook 2018).
The main centres of demand growth will be China, the Middle East and the US. China and Europe will increasingly become dependent on imported gas. Meeting this demand will require the transport of gas over long distances.
Over 80% of the world’s gas continues to be supplied through pipelines. However, liquefying gas reduces its volume by a factor of 600 and provides an economic alternative with several advantages over pipelines. For example:
- The capital investment for LNG is less costly per unit for longer distances.
- Gas pipelines are linear and lack flexibility once installed – LNG cargoes can be rerouted in response to supply and demand fluctuations.
- LNG can have multiple clients and is more flexible than the pipeline alternative.
LNG becomes more economical than a pipeline system when the transport distance is greater than approximately 3000 miles (Ulvestad & Overland, 2012). However, below 3000 miles, pipelines still have the disadvantage that they are relatively limited in the commercial flexibility they provide to suppliers and consumers of natural gas.
LNG supplies are forecasted to more than double over the next 20 years, led by the US and Australia. Australian LNG supplies are likely to be absorbed within Asia, the largest destination for LNG. US LNG exports are likely to provide the marginal source of gas for markets in Europe, Asia and South and Central America.
New technologies are making smaller LNG projects more economic and increasing flexibility in the supply chain. For example, floating LNG (FLNG) can eliminate the cost of bringing gas onshore to an LNG plant, which can add as much as 40% to the total cost. Of the 670 million tpy in projects that have been announced pre-final investment decision (FID), 171 million tpy of these are FLNG projects. In many cases, they are seeking to commercialise otherwise stranded gas resources, avoiding lengthy onshore regulatory and permitting processes and reducing costs through offsite construction.
The installation of gas infrastructure can be the catalyst for regional economic development.
Floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) have been a key technology in opening up LNG to wider markets. They are now the most common pathway for new markets to access LNG. There are several reasons for this:
- FSRU’s can be constructed and commissioned more quickly than onshore facilities.
- Their location is not subject to the typical onshore constraints nor do they require ports.
- They can operate further offshore than conventional terminals via subsea pipelines and buoys.
- They generally require much less CAPEX as the vessels are often leased.
Greater flexibility in LNG contracting structures is another key factor in the growth of the sector. Traditionally, LNG has been traded under long-term (i.e. 20 year), fixed destination contracts. However, the recent increase in the number of exporters and importers of LNG has increased the complexity of the market and created opportunities for short-term/spot contracts. Another driver has been the historically large disparity between prices in different regions creating arbitrage opportunities.
Because of these changes, the number of LNG importing countries has tripled over the past 15 years and LNG will increase in importance as a source of energy supply.
Pipeline Gas: The Need for Infrastructure
For onshore natural gas, there is a risk that development will be impeded by a lack of sufficient investment in pipelines and infrastructure. This issue is keenly felt in many non-OECD countries where lack of access to reliable energy sources can inhibit regional or national economic growth. By contrast, the installation of gas infrastructure can be the catalyst for regional economic development. The challenges to the development of greater gas infrastructure can include access to finance, government legislation, development of markets and, in some instances, a lack of clarity or appreciation of the environmental benefits gas can deliver, compared to coal and oil.
The Environmental Benefits of Greater Natural Gas Usage Compared to Coal
Natural gas emissions are 40 – 50% lower than coal when used for power generation and approximately 25% lower than diesel. In addition, natural gas generally has almost no SO2, 80% less NO2 and almost no mercury, so non-carbon emissions are much lower. As an alternative energy source to oil and coal, natural gas is significantly cleaner.
Two key areas where gas could replace coal and oil are power generation and transport.
Based on current forecasts, the energy required for power generation will grow to 8.0 billion toe in 2035 with coal representing 30%. Substituting coal-fired power generation with natural gas could have a significant impact on overall GHG emissions, which were estimated at 48 billion t of CO2 in 2013 (World Resources Institute, 2017). Power generation alone was responsible for 32% of this or 15 billion t of CO2. Hypothetically, if all coal-fired power generation was switched to natural gas, it could result in a reduction of approximately 5 billion t of CO2 or 10% of total global GHG emissions.
The fastest growing use of natural gas today is for transport, which is forecast to grow at 15% per year, although it represents only 1% of current consumption. Switching natural gas for diesel in the transport sector represents another significant opportunity for gas.
Using compressed natural gas (CNG) or LNG for trucks is already a proven and reliable technology. The global fleet of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) is over 24 million, of which 20% are located in China (NGV Global, 2017). The economics of natural gas vehicles are particularly positive for fleet vehicles. Although it requires investment in specialised fuel systems and tanks, operating costs are lower because natural gas is cheaper than diesel or gasoline on an energy equivalent basis. For fleets of greater than 50 trucks and buses, CNG can have a payback period of as little as four years (NREL, 2015).
Switching medium and heavy-duty vehicles to NGVs can help to reduce emissions. Using natural gas in trucks instead of diesel could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 17% in the US (NGV America, 2016) and up to 16% in Europe (NGVA, 2017).
On a global scale, the impact could be very significant. In 2015, 55% of all oil produced was used for transport – cars, trucks, ships, trains and planes (BP, 2017). Of the oil used for
transport, 43% or 1 billion toe was used for trucking which generated approximately 3 billion t of CO2. Therefore, switching from diesel to natural gas for trucking could reduce GHG emissions by up to 0.5 billion t of CO2 per year.
The energy required for power generation will grow to 8.0 billion toe in 2035.
Capturing the Opportunity
Historically, the dominance of coal in power generation has been driven by its cheapness. However, natural gas has become as competitive, or cheaper in some cases, due to the increase in global supply.
Security of supply has been another key factor in historic decisions to use coal, and if natural gas is to replace it then concerns regarding this issue need to be addressed. The two ways to do this are to increase the flexibility in natural gas markets and to ensure the infrastructure for its transportation and distribution is in place.
As spot markets for LNG develop, this will give natural gas consumers greater confidence that they will be able to meet demand requirements over the long-term, similar to the way that crude oil markets work today. The indications are that LNG markets are already moving in this direction. To maintain this, investment in natural gas supply chain infrastructure is critical.
Installing greater natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure will both facilitate the development of more flexible and responsive markets, and broaden the range of customers and applications for which it can be used. Investment in flexible facilities such as FLNGs and FSRUs will open up access to emerging economies that have had to rely on coal in the past. They will also facilitate the use of CNG or LNG for transport in these countries.
Over the last few years, the majority of new regasification capacity was in established LNG countries such as China, India and Japan. However, many new entrants to the market will be building regasification capacity, such as in Bahrain, Russia and the Philippines. Many of these new projects are using FSRUs to gain quicker access to the market and to take advantage of flexibility in supply – for example in Abu Dhabi, Turkey and Colombia.
There are indications that the roll-out of this infrastructure and greater access to flexible supplies is prompting LNG customers to use natural gas for short and medium-term goals. China is using more gas for power and heating in its coastal provinces as a result of its push to improve air quality standards. In Japan, LNG imports have filled the gap during the uncertainty around the restart of its nuclear power plants. In the Middle East, there has been a rapid expansion in gas demand for power and industrial projects, as these economies seek to diversify.
The Energy to Change
The requirements for reductions in GHG emissions set by the Paris Agreement are clear. However, equally clear is that, for the foreseeable future, our global energy demand cannot be fulfilled by renewables alone. In these circumstances, gas represents the only viable and acceptable bridging energy source between hydrocarbons and cleaner energy.
With appropriate policies, incentives to develop markets and infrastructure and a global willingness to create an improved and sustainable environment for future generations, natural gas can displace dirtier fossil fuels, such as coal and oil in power generation and transportation, and have a significant impact on the reduction of emissions.
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IN simple terms, a merger is when one company agrees to combine with another to cut costs, getting access to certain markets or reducing competition.
From a business point of view, benefits of such mergers can be manifold in view of the ever-changing market boundaries and elusive business targets in the contemporary business world.
Corporate mergers have become a critical task for management to create organisations capable of infusing products with irresistible functionality or better still, creating products that are needed by end users.
While the business case for mergers is often well-articulated, this is clearly a deceptive difficult task requiring radical change in the management of an organisation. What is harder to see or even harder to acknowledge is how the added momentum to companies actually impacts on employees.
Top American companies NEC and GTE are among the comparative cases that were analysed to understand the changing basis for such a merger in the 1970s. NEC articulated a strategic intent to exploit the convergence of computing and communications and called it “C&C”. Management adopted the appropriate strategic architecture, which C&C communicated to the whole organisation and the outside world during the mid 1970s.
However, years later it was evident that no strategic intent and architecture appear to exist at C&C. Although senior executives discussed the implications of the evolving technology industry, no commonly accepted view of which competencies would be required to compete in that industry were communicated widely. While significant work was done to identify key technologies, managers continued to act as if they were managing independent business units.
The C&C scenario revealed that poor management of the prerequisites of mergers has an impact on employees. Mergers have served as positive significant predictors of staff morale. On the other hand, working environment corporate governance policies have had a significant effect on employee engagement retention, job satisfaction, and workers’ zeal to take up new tasks.
For that reason, the study concluded that mergers have a significant effect on staff morale. If you are a staff member you have got two things to worry about. Losing your job:
There is no merger without layoffs because there are always redundancies when companies combine. Second worry to employees is that of losing their minds.
A merger can be well-thought-out and executed or the strategists can be mindless, resulting in time, resource and energy wastages. With most mergers an intense battle for control likely ensues. The excess staffs from each of the company are going to challenge each other for the right to remain in the new organisation and sometime it isn’t that good.
In addition to these tangles, there is a big challenge of corporate culture when a merger happens. Whose culture will prevail; think of NEC and GTE mentioned above. They ended up being run as two separate entities instead. There is need to be alert to the cultural and social issues and try to keep their sanity which is rarely done. Workers have in the majority been caught in the cross fire. For example, one employee was shocked when they were told one day that they were wearing a wrong pair of shoes. According to whom they wondered!
For mergers to be successful, there is also a need to focus on training all employees to be aware of the new processes, procedures and policies and again employees often find themselves in the hullabaloo.
Employees feel that mergers need to fully prepare staff for a cultural shift. More often than not the new culture impacts negatively on employees because they will not have been enculturated into it. Such uncertainty has often led employees to seek employment elsewhere or other employees to take an unmotivated attitude.
Employees often bemoan lack of communication on the new company’s vision and mission. If changes are mapped out in a clear manner, it keeps them informed, reduces uncertainty and minimises disruption. Employees feel doing it may even help them view the changes as positive.
Clearly mergers are not the most optimal time for employees. The time is filled with uncertainty even on new employment terms, new management style and competences required in the new organisation. Employees would want management to set aside time to discuss issues and seek clarity over roles and responsibilities. They feel there is not enough recognition and rewarding for employees in their roles of managing change.
Employees feel that such rewards do not have to be in the form of bonuses but can be small gifts or recognition among peers. They would want time set aside for them to connect with the new organisation.
Jinda is the managing consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of professional human resources and management services locally, regionally and internationally. Tel: 263 773004143 or 263 242 772778 or visit our website at www.proservehr.com
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I was invited to share my views on governance and its importance in a modern society at Masjid Al Iman, Kemensah. This was my second appearance in a masjid to discuss about governance and integrity, topics which are rarely discussed from the societal perspectives in mosques.
Given the audience, I thought it was appropriate to simplify my thoughts into the following points:
- A modern society relies heavily on the services provided by various agencies, organisations and institutions in the public and private sectors such as utilities, education, health and security;
- The quality of leadership, management and governance practices in these organisations would determine the policies and strategies they formulate, the service levels they offer and the prices charged or cost recovered from the public;
- The government is not an alien structure but a representative body elected by the Rakyat to govern and administer our funds, resources and affairs on our behalf;
- Government's funds consist of taxes which we pay, proceeds from our assets which they sold, royalties etc from resources extracted from our lands and borrowings made on our behalf. Hence, if development and operating expenditures are not made prudently, we may need to pay more taxes or government may need to borrow money to pay for these additional expenditures;
- Borrowings by the government involve cost, the interest or financing charges paid. For example, if government's borrowings are RM 100 billion, cost on these borrowings wound be approximately RM 4 billion, which is a huge sum of money and is deducted from the amount otherwise would be spent for the benefits of Rakyat;
- Governance in the public sector is equally important as in the private sector although the Code on Corporate Governance was conceived in 2000 for the application in the capital market;
- Management involves activities and processes to move organisations towards their missions and visions. This include strategy formulation, operations, marketing, financial management, talent management and development as well as compliance with rules and regulation;
- Governance on the other hand is the process to oversee management and the running of organisations and to ensure their objectives are met and risks managed. This involve stewardship, roles and functions of the board, risk management, internal control, assurance and culture;
- While governance and management could involve the application of various systems, processes and policies, their effectiveness is dependent upon the people who are given the trust and responsibilities;
- Corporate governance failures occur not due to the lack of people with knowledge, skills and values required to perform their duties but when they do not have the courage to do the right thing at the right time. Good people simply look the other way when transgressions happen; and
- Doing the right thing requires courage and the willingness to confront the adverse consequences which come with it.
I appealed to the audience to continue to demand good governance for the sake of their children and our future generations.
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Editor’s Note, 9/19/2016: There is now “talk” that perhaps the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) will raise the “fed funds rate” in December 2016. Here’s a discussion of possible effects of such a rate hike: CNBC on Fed Rate Hike
Should the Fed respond to International economic conditions when contemplating its policy moves? This is a dilemma for its FOMC committee to ponder. Here’s the “mandate” of the Fed:
“The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply “the Fed,” is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Today, the Federal Reserve’s responsibilities fall into four general areas.
- Conducting the nation’s monetary policy by influencing money and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of full employment and stable prices.
- Supervising and regulating banks and other important financial institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation’s banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers.
- Maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets.
- Providing certain financial services to the U.S. government, U.S. financial institutions, and foreign official institutions, and playing a major role in operating and overseeing the nation’s payments systems.”
Here’s a link to the website: http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_12594.htm
According to the Federal Reserve Act, here’s the monetary policy objectives:
Section 2A. Monetary policy objectives
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy’s long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.
[12 USC 225a. As added by act of November 16, 1977 (91 Stat. 1387) and amended by acts of October 27, 1978 (92 Stat. 1897); Aug. 23, 1988 (102 Stat. 1375); and Dec. 27, 2000 (114 Stat. 3028).] Website link: http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section2a.htm
International monetary “agencies” such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have suggested that the Federal Reserve be cautious in its rate hiking policy decisions. Here are some background articles on this subject:
Fortune Magazine: http://fortune.com/2015/06/04/imf-interest-rates/
A quote from The Straits Times: “In a report on global economic issues prepared for the Nov 15-16 Group of 20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, the IMF singled out the prospect of higher US rates as a particular challenge to the slow-growing world economy.” Website: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/imf-urges-fed-to-delay-rate-hike-until-inflation-evident
Some do use the argument that the purpose of the Federal Reserve Bank is intended to look “internally” at the U.S. economy and make any adjustments accordingly. In other words, keep unemployment down to a specific per cent, keep interest rates at an optimum level, and keep prices stable (monitor inflation). Others, of course, want the elimination of the Fed totally. We, the people, however, do live in a world today that is so interconnected that a “sneeze” in one country can “infect” the economy of another country!
My savings are getting “killed” by the low interest rate policy we have been experiencing. There are thousands of other’s savings in the same boat as I. For me personally, I would love the Fed to raise savings interest rates; interestingly, (pun intended), savings rates are controlled by the banks not the Fed. They are indirectly affected by the Fed Funds Rate, (as I currently understand the complicated nature of interest rate manipulation).
So, getting back to my question at the beginning of this posting, “Should the Fed respond to International economic conditions when contemplating its policy moves?” I hate to say it but it’s not the Fed’s job according to its monetary policy mandates. I tend to take things literally, so my interpretation of the Fed’s responsibilites would probably cause unintended consequences for someone. But then again… would I be any different than anyone who has messed around with our economy, economic policies, enacted poorly thought-out or “special-interest’ intended laws?
I could say “we’re only human” but look how far that reasoning has gotten us!!!
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Consumer Debt – A Quick History Lesson
10 Fun Facts:
About 50% of Americans carry credit card debt each month. But, despite the ubiquity of credit card debt, it is actually a relatively new phenomenon. Learn more about the history of consumer debt below:
- Consumer debt didn’t begin with credit cards. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people would have credit accounts with individual stores. This was frequently used by farmers to keep up day to day living expenses while waiting for the year’s harvest to come in. Generally, credit was extended on the basis of a relationship; there was no formal nationwide system to determine credit worthiness.
- Pawn shops as holders of debt have existed since ancient Greece. While there was always the potential for usury, pawn shops also sometimes acted as charities. In Peruga, Italy in 1450 CE, a Franciscan monk began a pawn organization where interest-free loans were secured with possessions.
- Modern Americans are not the first to be held down by out of control consumer debt. Public opinion in pre-Revolutionary France turned against the previously popular Marie Antoinette due to her high gambling debts, lavish parties and expensive fashion clothing. Although she became less extravagant with age, she was still convicted of treason.
- While having an account with a store could be a boon to individuals, there was also potential for abuse in the era before credit regulation and consumer protections. In mining towns, for instance, prices of goods from the company store were often inflated and carried interest rates high enough that workers would wind up owing money even after wages were paid.
- When Bank of America offered the first credit card in the early 60s, they would just send out fully functioning credit cards in the mail, unsolicited. The first widespread case of identity fraud soon followed. Organized crime groups in Chicago bribed Postal workers to reroute cards. Thousands of area residents soon got bills for cards they’d never seen.
- In 1950, household debt was close to nil. In 2012, it was nearly $13 trillion.
- Consumer debt grew in the post-War era as more people moved to urban areas and purchased more luxury goods.
- Between the years of 1982 and 2000, household debt rose from 43 to 62 percent of the country’s GDP.
- Some low-income people who cannot qualify for credit cards carry consumer debt in the form of payday loans. In 2012, there were over $2 billion in payday loans serviced in the US. These loans have a hefty cost; annual interest rates can go over 3000 percent.
- Studies show that people who carry large amounts of credit card debt are more likely to go through bankruptcy, have less in retirement savings and are less likely to make moves like starting a small business.
Don’t let consumer debt keep you from your dreams. Talk to us about how to manage your spending and put your home ownership ambitions into action. Call 877-842-5215 today or request a free consultation below.
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A study due to be released later this year suggests that thanks to rising sea levels the area of flood plains in the U.S. is likely to increase by as much as 45% over the next 90 years. The three year study looks at the possible impacts of a changing climate on the federal flood insurance scheme and concurs that there will be a huge increase to the amount of land that could be covered by water during floods.
FEMA are overseeing the study which is trying to assess the impact to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from a predicted rise in sea levels of between 0.75 and 1.9 metres by 2100. They conclude that the huge increase in the nations flood plains could bring millions of new homes under the NFIP’s remit for federal flood insurance. By 2100 the study suggests that the number of flood insurance policies issued by the NFIP may have to double to account for the increasing flood plain area.
The results of the study are bound to stir up some controversy when released due to the debate over climate change and how/when the impacts will be felt. However the risk of flooding looks set to rise significantly meaning that it is important for the reinsurance and risk transfer sector to be prepared to assist in offering coverage.
With all the issues and debate surrounding the NFIP, many of which we’ve covered here before, and the opportunity for risk transfer techniques to be applied to the problem if it is indeed privatised, it seems likely that the skills of the risk transfer market will be needed to help tackle this growing risk.
It’s also possible, if the studies projections are correct, that hurricane coverage will need to take coastal flooding much more seriously if sea level rises and flood plain growth is as expected. Risk models will need to be updated to account for an increased risk of storm surge causing devastating coastal flooding. U.S. hurricane catastrophe bonds may have to place much higher risk weighting on coastal flooding in future as they threaten to contribute much larger portions of the losses suffered.
More details and commentary on the forthcoming study can be found in this NY Times article.
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What people eat has important implications for their health, and ultimately for what gets spent on healthcare. New research suggests improving the quality of the average American's diet could substantially reduce costs associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other major health problems.
The study touts itself as the first to comprehensively analyze the potential cost implications of improved adherence to healthy dietary patterns -- as measured by the Healthy Eating Index and the Mediterranean-style diet score -- among U.S. adults across major chronic disease types. Previous research has focused on specific populations or specific conditions, such as heart disease.
Increasing adherence to those dietary patterns even by 20 percent could save more than $20 billion in direct and indirect costs, according to the research. What's more, the authors think it's attainable.
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And it's not the first time food has been viewed as a means of achieving potential cost savings. Prior research has shown that meal delivery programs, such as Meals on Wheels, reduce the cost of healthcare in dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Food has also been proposed as a possible means of cutting treatment costs for diabetes patients.
The team estimated cost savings under two scenarios, with the 20 percent increase in health dietary patterns representing the more more conservative scenario. The more ambitious scenario projects savings that could result if adults achieved an 80 percent adherence score on the same metrics.
Both the HEI, the healthy eating index, and the MED, the Mediterranean-style diet score, are markers of what are considered healthy dietary patterns. The HEI is used frequently to evaluate a U.S.-style diet and reflects adherence with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The MED was first used to describe the diet of countries in the Mediterranean region and emphasizes components such as fish, nuts and fruits, along with olive oil as a healthy fat source.
The average American adult currently shows about 60 percent adherence to the HEI. If this were increased to 72 percent adherence (a relative increase of 20 percent), the analysis shows the U.S. could save $30-47 billion in health-related costs annually. Under the more ambitious scenario, if the average adult increased their adherence to 80 percent of the HEI, the researchers project an annual savings of $52-82 billion.
Close to half of these savings result from a reduction in costs associated with heart disease alone, with additional savings from cost reductions associated with cancer and type 2 diabetes. Because heart disease in the U.S. is so prevalent, so costly and so heavily influenced by diet, a small improvement in diet quality can result in meaningful cost savings, researchers said.
The average American adult currently scores a 3.5 out of 9 possible points on the MED score used to assess adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet. If this adherence were raised by 20 percent, the researchers project an annual savings of about $21-26 billion. The lower estimate includes only breast, colorectal and prostate cancer along with five other health outcomes (coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, hip fractures and Alzheimer's disease) while the higher estimate includes savings related to all cancer types along with the same five other health outcomes. Annual savings could reach $112-135 billion if Americans increased their MED adherence to 80 percent by incorporating more components of the Mediterranean-style diet.
The research was driven by the increasing understanding of the importance of overall dietary patterns rather than individual nutrients or foods. While it's unlikely that Americans could change their dietary patterns overnight or that the projected health improvements would immediately reduce health-related costs, the numbers provide a reference point for understanding the potential benefits of adopting a healthier diet, authors said.
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The National Minimum Wage Act has reached the grand old age of 20. The national minimum wage (NMW) was introduced in April 1999 with the aim of reducing poverty pay. Back then, the NMW was just £3.60 per hour (£3.00 for 18 to 21-year olds). Estimates at the time suggested that 1.9 million workers were paid less than the NMW.
Since its introduction, the Low Pay Commission - an independent body established as a result of the National Minimum Wage Act - has reported annually on NMW and made recommendations to the government. The latest LPC report shows that there are 1.6 million jobs paying the NMW (around 6.5% of all jobs). Almost half of those jobs are in retail, hospitality and cleaning or maintenance occupations. Three fifths of those jobs are held by women.
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Check you are paying NMW
You should check you are paying your staff at least the NMW or National Living Wage. It is payable to almost all workers and different rates apply, depending on the age of the worker. The government has recently published updated guidance on the GOV.UK website on when potential recruits on work trial periods should be paid after increasing concern on the use of unpaid interns.
It is a criminal offence if you fail to pay your workers the correct rates of pay. If HMRC find that you have underpaid your staff, they can require immediate payment of wage arrears. You may also be issued with a substantial fine and be 'named and shamed'.
Besides avoiding back payments and substantial fines, there are other benefits to paying the NMW. Responding to the LPC, the Living Wage Foundation argued that raising pay helps bolster recruitment and retention. Its survey found that more than half of accredited firms reported improvements in recruitment into entry level roles (53%) and staff retention (52 per cent).
National minimum wage increases
The rates of NMW go up each year on 1 April based on the recommendations of the LPC. From April 2019 the new rates of NMW will be:
- National Living Wage (25 years and over) - £8.21 per hour
- adult rate of National Minimum Wage (21 to 24-year-olds) - £7.70 per hour
- 18 to 20-year-olds - £6.15 per hour
- 16 to 17-year-olds - £4.35 per hour
- apprentice rate - £3.90 per hour (under the age of 19, or older than this but in the first year of the apprenticeship period)
Copyright 2019, Fiona Prior, Donut Blog Team
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A blockchain is, from social and computer science perspective, a database that is owned not by whoever runs the server, but instead follows predetermined rules set out in advance, and whose validity and integrity can be verified from scratch by any member of the public who wishes to run a full node.
The most impactful use case for this technology, and the one that has really taken off, is using the blockchain as the basis for money - the so-called cryptocurrency. However, it is also a fantastic means to store any sort of digital ownership information (e.g. equities and stocks), as well as the core building block of the so-called decentralized finance, which gives companies the ability to do business internationally and cheaply according to rules specified within the smart contracts instead of using costly lawyer and banker services.
The beauty of open source allows one to customize Ethereum and build other blockchains that can leverage the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Ethereum tooling. This compatibility magic hides behind three letters - EVM, which stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. It means that the code that developers write gets compiled into EVM bytecode and is then the blockchain runs EVM and executes these smart contracts. You could say that today EVM is the leading industry standard.
We are happy that we foresaw this back in 2017 when we announced that we plan to release all our products - our decentralized exchange, our dApp wallet, and our upcoming Ethereum Dapp Kit - on all EVM compatible blockchains. Currently our project is actively fundraising to bring this plan to life.
Which begs the question: what are those EVM compatible blockchains and which ones would be best suited for our products? Let's have a look at some of the top contenders and discuss their security models, transaction speed and how they differ from each other.
EVM Smart Contract Blockchain Overview
Our EVM Smart Contract blockchain overview is broken down into separate articles covering each chain in detail, articles will be linked here as they are published
- Proof of Work
1.1 Ethereum (ETH)
1.2 Ethereum Classic (ETC)
1.4 Callisto (CLO)
- Proof of Authority
2.1 POA Network (POA)
2.3 VeChain (VET)
- Other Consensus Algorithms
3.2 Cardano (ADA)
3.3 GoChain (GO)
3.4 TomoChain (TOMO)
3.5 TRON (TRX)
3.6 ThunderCore (TT)
3.7 Loom Network (LOOM)
3.8 Volume Network (VOL)
New to Saturn Network?
Read more about Saturn Protocol V2 below, an upcoming major exchange protocol upgrade which will bring token to token pairs, automatic market making, DAO activation, dividend payments and much more!
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Supply chains are complex systems that typically involve a multitude of actors and activities, and it can be extremely difficult to capture one entire chain, let alone the networks of criss-crossing and interlinked chains. A platform of some sort is needed to put suchlike chains together. The concept of platform economy as we understand it, involving digital platforms and advanced accessory technologies such as blockchain, offers in this context vast opportunities to more efficiently managed supply chains and logistics. Information over chains and networks can be gathered and processed in platforms, which not only helps steering and monitoring of entities but may facilitate optimisation of chains, produce reliable accounts, inspire new business innovations, etc.
In this signal post we explore possibilities with platforms for supply chains and logistics and take a look at examples from forerunner industries.
Information management in multi-actor supply chain networks
Digital platforms allow information management throughout the supply chain, enabling data to accumulate from each step of the chain. Simultaneously, access to data can be granted to any involved actor, including the end user. In essence, a product or service can be accompanied by a digital twin, i.e. a virtual counterpart for gathering data and information over the lifecycle from design and manufacturing to use and final disposal.
One practical example comes from diamond business, where platforms and blockchain technologies are used for the digital record for diamonds, especially to verify origins and authenticity. Similarly, Walmart among others is piloting tracking of food products to support food safety. Suchlike information platforms serve especially the end customer, who can be sure of, for example, the origins, fair production conditions or undisrupted cold chain of the product or service that they buy. But also supply side actors benefit, and one well established example of using backfeed information comes from elevator industry, where Kone has successfully deployed IoT-type solutions to make use of real-time information collected from their products to serve maintenance services as well as product development.
Research on this area is intensive, see for example a study from our project on platforms being used in service-driven manufacturing to orchestrate networks.
Platform innovations in freight and logistics
Logistics constitutes one specific chain of activities in supply chains. Platforms and blockchain have huge potential in this area; a fact acknowledged lately in the Transport Sector Growth Programme by the Finnish Government (full report in Finnish). Firstly, information stored on digital platforms can make the logistics chain faster and more efficient, for example by providing real-time information from one phase to the next or by replacing manual bureaucratic processes with digitalised and automated equivalents. Information of movements but also information of transport related emissions could be recorded reliably.
Secondly, platform economy enables new types of business models for logistics services, as information of material flows is available to construct centralised as well as decentralised delivery streams in new ways. For example, in urban freight novel app-based logistics services have emerged, especially as a response to growing e-commerce. Suchlike commercial and peer-to-peer services can connect demand and supply for instant deliveries via a digital platform in just a few hours. A more large-scale example is the free web-based freight brokerage platform Drive4Schenker that functions as a European-wide marketplace for deliveries and supports digital handling of documentation.
Selected articles and websites
CBINSIGHTS: How Blockchain Could Transform The Way You Buy Your Groceries
Dablanc Laetitia et al. (2017): The rise of on-demand ‘Instant Deliveries’ in European cities, Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal
DB Schenker: Drive4Schenker
Eloranta, Turunen (2016). Platforms in service-driven manufacturing: Leveraging complexity by connecting, sharing, and integrating, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol 55, pp. 178-186
Finnish Government: Transport Sector Growth Programme will give companies a boost in the international market
Forbes: IBM Forges Blockchain Collaboration With Nestlé & Walmart In Global Food Safety
Fortune: The Diamond Industry Is Obsessed With the Blockchain
Fortune: Walmart and IBM Are Partnering to Put Chinese Pork on a Blockchain
Kone: Taking elevator services to the next level
Ministry of Transport and Communications: Applying blockchain technology and its impacts on transport and communications
Techncrunch: Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the supply chain
Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö: Liikennealan kansallinen kasvuohjelma 2018 – 2022
World Economic Forum: The digital transformation of logistics: Threat and opportunity
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- Private Equity
- Equity capital that is not quoted on a public exchange. Private equity consists of investors and funds that make investments directly into private companies or conduct buyouts of public companies that result in a delisting of public equity. Capital for private equity is raised from retail and institutional investors, and can be used to fund new technologies, expand working capital within an owned company, make acquisitions, or to strengthen a balance sheet.
The majority of private equity consists of institutional investors and accredited investors who can commit large sums of money for long periods of time. Private equity investments often demand long holding periods to allow for a turnaround of a distressed company or a liquidity event such as an IPO or sale to a public company.
The size of the private equity market has grown steadily since the 1970s. Private equity firms will sometimes pool funds together to take very large public companies private. Many private equity firms conduct what are known as leveraged buyouts (LBOs), where large amounts of debt are issued to fund a large purchase. Private equity firms will then try to improve the financial results and prospects of the company in the hope of reselling the company to another firm or cashing out via an IPO.
Investment dictionary. Academic. 2012.
Look at other dictionaries:
Private Equity — (deutsch Außerbörsliches Eigenkapital) ist eine Form des Beteiligungskapitals, bei der die vom Kapitalgeber eingegangene Beteiligung nicht an geregelten Märkten (Börsen) handelbar ist. Die Kapitalgeber können private oder institutionelle Anleger… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Private-Equity — (deutsch Außerbörsliches Beteiligungskapital) ist eine Form des Beteiligungskapitals, bei der die vom Kapitalgeber eingegangene Beteiligung nicht an geregelten Märkten (Börsen) handelbar ist. Die Kapitalgeber können private oder institutionelle… … Deutsch Wikipedia
private equity — A term which covers a range of transactions in which the source of finance is usually a fund established to invest specifically in unquoted securities rather than in publicly quoted securities or government bonds. The range of transactions… … Law dictionary
private equity — ➔ equity * * * private equity UK US noun [U] ► FINANCE company shares that are not available for sale on a stock market: »Some public companies have been bought out by private equity firms … Financial and business terms
private equity — ˌprivate ˈequity 8 [private equity] noun uncountable (finance) investment made in a company, usually a small one, whose shares are not bought and sold by the public • private … Useful english dictionary
Private equity — In finance, private equity is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange. There is a wide array of types and styles of private equity and the term private equity has… … Wikipedia
Private equity — Capital investissement Le capital investissement est une activité financière consistant pour un investisseur à entrer au capital de sociétés qui ont besoin de capitaux propres. Le terme de capital investissement concerne généralement l… … Wikipédia en Français
private equity — UK [ˌpraɪvətˈekwɪtɪ] / US noun [uncountable] business money invested in private companies whose shares cannot be bought on the stock exchange a private equity firm private equity investment funds … English dictionary
Private Equity — eine Private Equity Finanzierung stellt im Normalfall eine mittel bis langfristige Eigenkapitalfinanzierung eines i.d.R. nichtbörsennotierten Unternehmens in einer fortgeschrittenen Entwicklungsphase dar. Findet die Finanzierung in einer frühen… … Lexikon der Economics
private equity — Acquisizione di partecipazioni in società non ancora quotate da parte di investitori istituzionali … Glossario di economia e finanza
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The Profit & Loss is the most critical of the three core financial statements for a business. It shows how much money the business earned, and how much money the business spent to earn it.
A Profit & Loss, or Income Statement, displays the total revenue and total expenses for a business for a given period of time. If the amount of revenue is higher than the amount of expenses, a business is profitable; if the reverse is true, it’s running at a loss.
Viewing your Profit & Loss Statement
A Profit & Loss Statement can be viewed for a specific period of time. Your Wave Profit & Loss statement allows you to filter by pre-set date ranges, or by a custom date range. You can also choose Compare to prior period to look at two different periods side by side. This is an excellent tool to see how your business is performing over time.
The Profit & Loss statement can be viewed in either Cash Basis or Accrual mode. Cash basis only includes income that has been received from customers and expenses that have been paid to vendors. The exceptions to this are certain non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization, which are still included in cash basis expenses. Accrual basis reporting includes income that has been invoiced or earned but not received, and expenses that have been billed or accrued but not paid.
You can choose to view your Profit & Loss statement in either the Summary or Detailed mode. Use the Summary view to see only the Total Income, Total Cost of Goods Sold, Gross Profit, Total Operating Expenses, and Net Profit. The Summary view is an excellent way to quickly compare periods, before drilling down into the report details. The Detailed view can be used to see the accounts & categories which make up the aforementioned sections.
Understanding your Profit & Loss Statement
The first section of a Profit & Loss shows total revenue less cost of goods sold, or gross profit.
This means how much revenue was earned, and how much it cost the business to make the products or deliver the services that were sold. Purchases of inventory, manufacturing costs, and other direct costs like a per-item raw materials charge would be included in cost of goods sold.
Gross profit as a percentage of total income, or gross margin is a metric that shows the percentage of sales that the business keeps to pay operating expenses, after paying to produce their products or services. It’s calculated by dividing gross profit by total revenue. Gross margin can also be used by determining a target for gross margin, and adjusting prices or cutting cost of good sold to meet it.
The section following gross profit is Operating Expenses. These are all expenses for the business that aren’t directly part of the cost of a product or service. This includes payroll and wages, rent, interest, advertising, depreciation, insurance, supplies, and much more. Although these expenses are all necessary in order to have revenue - for example, you buy internet advertising in order to promote your product - they’re not directly attributable to each sale.
Below operating expenses is Net Profit or Net Loss. This is the “bottom line,” and answers the question of whether a business is making or losing money. It’s useful to compare the profit & loss reports over time to track trends such as whether a company is becoming more profitable as it matures, if sales are growing or shrinking, if expenses are growing or shrinking, and much more.
When you compare periods in your Wave Profit & Loss statement, you’ll see an arrow indicating whether each line item increased or decreased between the two periods so you can see what changed at a glance, and easily see what’s impacting your bottom line.
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What is a Reserve Bank?
Central, or reserve, banks are not-for-profit public policy agencies that stand between governments and banks. They issue bank notes and provide banking services to the government and commercial banks. Reserve banks have oversight of the banking system and may act as an emergency lender of last resort. They are a primary source of bank reserves, and have the ability to influence monetary conditions and spending in the economy by operating in financial markets or through regulation. By controlling the supply of money in the economy they can influence both interest rates and inflation.
Before the Reserve Bank
Before the creation of the Reserve Bank each trading bank in New Zealand issued its own bank notes. Most of the banks also operated in Australia. They held the bulk of their reserves in British pounds and British government securities in London.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s the financial situation in Australia was much worse than it was in New Zealand. Trading banks in New Zealand (four out of six of which were Australian-owned) were also losing reserves because of the Australian crisis – basically the Australian banks were running out of money. Since banks’ New Zealand and Australian reserves were indistinguishable, their capacity to sustain business in New Zealand was reduced.
Dragging at Australia’s coat-tails?
In 1932 Montagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England, had discussions with William Downie Stewart, the New Zealand minister of finance. According to Norman’s notes, he ‘suggested that the first and most important thing for New Zealand was to determine their attitude as an economic unit: were they to be dragged at the tail of Australia or to face their own affairs: in short, did his Government intend to form a Central Bank?’1
Forming the Reserve Bank
Sir Otto Niemeyer, a senior official of the Bank of England, went to Australia in 1930 to discuss the financial crisis with the Australian government. The New Zealand government took this opportunity to ask Niemeyer to advise New Zealand on exchange-rate policy. The Bank of England’s policy was to promote central banking in other parts of the world, and Niemeyer recommended the establishment of a central bank in New Zealand. By encouraging the spread of central banking, the Bank of England hoped to bolster the financial network based in London, to ensure that other governments serviced and repaid their sterling debts, and to deter the adoption of unconventional monetary policies.
First governor of the Reserve Bank
Leslie Lefeaux, the first governor of the Reserve Bank, was a stuffy Englishman who had been deputy chief cashier and assistant to the governors at the Bank of England. He did not adapt well to life in Wellington. When Labour achieved power in 1935, with plans to take the Reserve Bank into full state ownership, Lefeaux was outraged and considered resigning. But his former colleagues at the Bank of England persuaded him to remain at his post.
Neither the Bank of England nor the New Zealand government believed that a central bank would solve the depression, however, and the formation of a central bank was not regarded as a matter of urgency in Wellington. Gordon Coates, who became minister of finance in January 1933, was the main supporter of the scheme, which finally secured parliamentary endorsement later that year. The Reserve Bank opened for business in 1934 and by 1935 it had 60 staff. It was two-thirds owned by the government and one-third by private shareholders. At the request of the New Zealand government, the first governor, Leslie Lefeaux, was recommended by the Bank of England. The Reserve Bank became the main source of reserves for the trading banks. Monetary separation from Australia was reinforced, but the central bank did not initiate New Zealand’s recovery from the depression – recovery was already in progress by 1934.
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Texas’ General Appropriations Act (GAA) contains a vast amount of information. Indeed, literally every dollar that the state spends is, by definition, accounted for in the state budget. This is necessarily a vast amount of information because in the current biennium, the legislature appropriated $216 billion in all funds, or approximately $7,600 for every person residing in the state. These appropriations come from four main sources of revenue:
State general revenue (GR): tax revenues collected by the state that are not dedicated for a specific purpose
Dedicated general revenue (GR-D): tax revenues collected by the state that are collected for a specific purpose
Federal funds: funds received from the federal government for specific purposes or programs
Other funds: funds that do not fall into any of the other criteria listed above (this includes revenue such as trust funds, bond proceeds, and interagency contracts)
Click here to read the entire testimony.
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When speaking about mentoring, the first thing that comes to mind is a one-on-one relationship between a younger protégé and an older mentor who meet regularly, electronically or in-person. However, modern mentoring occurs in a variety of forms in different types of organizations and environments.
Mentoring has been hailed as an important human resource management strategy, a career tool, and a workplace learning activity. Individuals may join the private sector with the expectation that significant funds exist to allow for training opportunities. Many groups use mentoring in organizational settings, including: hospitals, large corporations, schools, universities and government departments. Training decisions made by human resources managers reveal that the private sector is market-driven competitively, whereas government agencies tend to have legislated mandates. These factors influence the challenges the sectors face when deciding whether to use resources to mentor employees.
Mentoring Programs Face Different Challenges
The impact of resources in both the private and public sectors can affect the way a mentoring program is delivered. Some differences between public and private organizations that influence mentoring include how programs are funded, organizational structure, and employee demographics.
Mentoring Programs in the Public Sector
The public sector is composed of organizations which are owned and operated by the government.
- Government agencies like the Department of Justice are awarding millions in grants to public sector mentoring programs.
- The size, dollar value, and complexity of many government programs exceed that in the private sector, and are more likely to pay all project cost and/or cover indirect costs.
- Often requires institutional cost-sharing and matching.
- Changing political trends affect security and continuity of some programs and availability of funds can change rapidly.
- It is sometimes difficult to sell new ideas to government leadership.
Mentoring Programs in the Private Sector
Private sector refers to companies and entities which are not part of government and are privately owned.
- The smaller number of decision makers allows private companies, for the most part, to avoid time-consuming, bureaucratic requirements for administering grants and programs.
- Leadership decisions in the private sector are not open to the public to scrutinize in the same way public agencies are. Therefore, the private sector tends to be more willing to take risks and add start-up or experimental funds to start a new mentoring program.
- In more volatile markets, priorities can change rapidly and continuing support of a mentoring program can be difficult to predict.
- Less likely to cover all project costs and most do not cover indirect costs.
- A mentoring program has a harder time competing for funds when the private company is in a market-driven, highly competitive, rapidly changing business landscape.
Depending on the environment, whether public or private, there are several different approaches that can be used to overcome these challenges. If working in the private sector, remain flexible to shifting priorities that can shape the direction of a growing organization. In the public sector, patience and resilience is key since many of the processes will require protocols and procedures to work through internal processes.
Most mentoring programs are implemented by training development specialists or human resource managers. See what Coley & Associates is doing to help professionals in private and public organizations to implement successful mentoring programs.
What other mentoring program challenges do you see in the Public Vs Private Sectors?
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The Internal Revenue Service Code allows U.S. taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions of money or property made to qualified organizations as long as they file an itemized tax return.
The general rule is that a tax payer may deduct up to 50% of adjusted gross income if the gift is made to a “qualified” organization. There is a 30% deduction limit for gifts to some private foundations. Examples of “qualified organizations” include a community chest, corporation, trust, fund or foundation organized or created in the United exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, scientific or literary purposes.
If you donate property other than cash to a qualified organization, you may generally deduct the fair market value of the property. The IRA issues letters to qualified charitable organizations so if you have any doubts about whether a charity is “qualified”, you should ask for a copy of the charity’s IRS letter. And always get a receipt when you make a charitable donation. Contributions must actually be made before the close of the tax payer’s tax year to be deductible.
So, what caused the United States to offer a tax deduction for charitable contributions in the first place? The story begins in 1913 with the passage of the 16th Amendment which gave Congress the power to levy an income tax on individuals. Before the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the US government needed additional income, causing Congress to raise the lowest tax rate from 1% to 2% and imposing new taxes on estates and business profits.
It was the War Revenue Act of 1917, adopted October 3, 1917 just a few months after the US entered the war, which authorized the first tax deduction for charitable giving. According to the Act’s sponsors, this new charitable deduction was necessary if charities were to survive the war. It was feared that an increase in income tax would cause wealthy givers to cease making charitable contributions, especially to institutions of higher education.
At Strategic Wealth Planning, we encourage charitable giving throughout the year as a way to keep qualified charitable organizations strong and viable. The income tax deduction is certainly an added bonus.
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“No other investment yields as great a return as the investment in education. An educated workforce is the foundation of every community and the future of every economy” – Brad Henry
Education is a tool for sculpturing our life into what we want it to be like. It is a resource for both individual and society. Also it can said as a fundamental driver and medium to enhance your knowledge, abilities and skills. Training and experience are always lack behind without proper education. When one is investing in providing a child an education, he is investing in developing a human capital that would give a worthy citizen for a nation.
Now education can be seen as an investment and on the other hand also as an expense. If we treat education as an expense, we focus on price and want a “quid pro quo”, that is to get return on investment. With this perspective, while investing on education one’s might feel expensive. On the other hand, when they see education as an investment, price is never the main filter.
Education holds the youth to higher standard and expertise. It is said that the road to better jobs, more money and improved lifestyles is paved by education. Youth being the future of a nation, their education needs to be the priority. It not only empowers an individual but helps in global development. Overview in the sector of an education needs to be of long run, where investment needs to done focusing on both quality and quantity measures, with the successful outcomes and outputs.
In today’s world people are aware of the fact of education being crucial part and tend to invest, send children to better school as per their capacity. The literacy rate is rising and younger generations are progressively better educated than the older ones. Since more is yet to come. In the future, new information and communication technologies are expected to stimulate the expansion of educational opportunities and to improve educational quality.
Hence, education is basic and government needs to look after this aspect in the long run.
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China regularly takes its fair share of heat for its pollution problems, tainted seafood and lead-based toys, but maybe it’s time to give it some credit too. While the country is on pace to pass the U.S. as the world’s top emitter of carbon dioxide, it might also be on its way to becoming the global leader in renewable energy.
According to a report released this week by the Worldwatch Institute, if China keeps heading down the path it’s on, the nation could see 30 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2050. In the nearer term, China aims to get 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. If if keeps moving forward as it has, though, it might even exceed that target, according to the Worldwatch report.
“China is poised to become a leader in renewables manufacturing, which will have global implications for the future of the technology,” said Eric Martinot, a senior fellow at Worldwatch who authored the report with Li Junfeng, vice chair of China’s Renewable Energy Society.
This year, China is expected to spend more than $10 billion in building new renewables capacity. Its wind and solar-energy sectors are growing especially rapidly (both doubled last year), so much so that China is likely to pass solar and wind leaders in Europe, Japan and North America in the next three years.
For comparison’s sake, only Germany is likely to invest more in new renewables this year. Total global spending on renewables in 2006 was $50 billion-plus.
Martinot pins China’s success so far on “a combination of policy leadership and entrepreneurial savvy.”
As of this year, China can boast of four major domestic makers of wind turbines, as well as six foreign wind-power subsidiaries. Another 40-plus companies are in the development stage of commercial wind-turbine production. The country has also seen its production capacity for solar photovoltaic cells more than quadruple over the past three years, from 350 megawatts in 2005 to an expected 1,500 megawatts this year.
China’s also surging ahead in other ways, expanding its production of solar hot-water systems, generating 2 gigawatts of energy from agricultural waste and dominating the small-hydropower market.
“China’s position provides a strong example for other developing countries, while helping to drive down renewable energy costs to become competitive with fossil fuels for all countries the world over,” said Li Junfing
With concern that the latest U.S. energy bill might come up for a vote without a renewable portfolio standard, perhaps some developed countries could take China as an example in this regard, too.
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There are four main types of marketing channels. The consumer goes directly to the producer to buy the product without going through any other channel. This type of marketing is most beneficial to farmers who can set the prices of their products without having to go through the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
It is important to consider every point on the path in order to create a full picture of how goods are actually made and sold. Take breakfast cereal for example. The channel begins on a field of wheat where the most basic ingredient in cereal is produced.
Marketing channel grain then travels to a grain dispensary, then to the cereal factory, through a grocery distributor and finally it ends up on the shelves at the store.
Once the cereal ends up in a bowl on someone's kitchen table the channel is complete. The channel encompasses every point in the life of that box of breakfast cereal.
Channel marketing involves finding new partners to help transfer goods from producers to consumers. Very few producers actually sell the goods they produce themselve, which are instead sold through an intermediary.
Consider the cereal once again. There is no cereal store; producers rely on grocery stores to sell their products. Levels of Channel Marketing Some companies produce and sell all of their own products through their own internal channels. Others utilize multiple Marketing channel channels to get goods to consumers.
Below is an illustration of how this process works: It is primarily a business to business B2B marketing strategy, involving businesses marketing themselves to other businesses rather than individual consumers. For example, an account executive at company A will try to convince a manager at company B that they would benefit if they started selling Company A's products.
See also B2B Marketing The marketing channel that a company chooses affects many aspects of the way a product is sold. A product's price point will depend largely on the type of environment it is sold in. Training and advertising efforts will have to be tailored to meet the needs of the seller.
Ultimately, the entire perception of a product will be influenced by the way channel partners present it. Who Employs Channel Marketing?
Channel marketing is primarily a strategy employed by large firms that offer many products across a wide sales territory. The benefits of channel marketing are best realized in economies of scale where the burdens of production, distribution and retailing are sometimes significant.
However, there are exceptions to the rule. Even small producers are always looking for new outlets to sell their products.
Think of a jewelry maker with an opportunity to sell on a TV shopping channel. Their sales potential is now much greater than it would be selling just in boutique jewelry stores.
Typically, larger marketing departments are better equipped to handle the demands of channel marketing. Creating and maintaining relationships with channel partners takes a lot of time, negotiation, and evaluation.
The more resources a marketing department has to dedicate to a relationship with a channel partner, the more smoothly it will run. The best channel marketing relationships happen between complimentary partners.
Software developers will work better with electronics retailers than they would with shoe stores. But the partners do not need to be identical.
A producer might develop a relationship with a retailer that is much larger than it or vice versa. Similarly, companies which seem unrelated can form successful channel partnerships. A toy company might work out an agreement to sell their product in sports stadiums. The only hard and fast requirement is that both partners find value in the relationship.Given the breadth of channel availability for marketing, it is not necessary to distinguish multichannel and omnichannel.
How do you choose relevant marketing channels? Please do review the channel list and let me know if any channel is missing. Following the Digital Marketing Channels: The Landscape, this course aims to give you a deeper understanding of core processes of planning a digital marketing campaign and the role of various digital channels in an integrated marketing communication.
Marketing channels are the ways that goods and services are made available for use by the consumers. All goods go through channels of distribution, and your marketing will depend on the way your.
A seismic shift has been the introduction of affiliate partners and programs in the strategy of distribution channel marketing and channel sales management. It’s about bringing product to market When life was a lot simpler, tradesfolk would bring their goods to a central market where the local villagers would come to either buy the goods or.
The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the blog-mmorpg.com includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing: (1) identification, selection and development of a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.
Marketing Channel Strategy shows students how to design, develop, maintain and manage effective relationships among worldwide marketing channels to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by using strategic and managerial frames of reference/5(3).
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Sustainable development requires fairer economic systems that foster social cohesion and protect the environment. CDE generates new forms of knowledge and integrates them with the experience of relevant actors to address issues such as:
- how profits and risks of globalization are distributed between regions and social groups and what form of distribution is socially sustainable;
- how structural change impacts people’s opportunities and scope for action;
- how economic and trade policy can be shaped internationally, regionally, and locally to overcome power asymmetries between the global North and South; and
- how alternative development pathways can be forged that enable greater social justice and individual life quality – while respecting planetary boundaries.
Poverty and inequality
Poverty and inequality are drivers and outcomes of unsustainable development. There is a need to distribute resources and opportunities more fairly. CDE researchers work to shed light on the causes and consequences of global inequality. They examine key poverty factors at the household level and link them with analyses of trade and the economy.
Labour and production
Technical and sociopolitical developments open up new opportunities for transformation to a sustainable society in the area of work and employment. CDE examines forms of work and social innovations that could alter our relationship to consumption and prosperity. This approach is complemented by studies on global value chains and rural labour markets in countries of the global South.
Trade, taxes and finance
Trade and financial flows can serve as important levers for change towards sustainable development. But it depends on how the corresponding rules are structured. CDE looks for new ways of shaping trade relations, financial flows from resource-rich developing countries, and international commodity investments such that they are fair and promote sustainable development.
Land rights and investments
Access to land is crucial to people’s food security, livelihoods, well-being, and cultural identity. But land is becoming ever scarcer. International land deals are one reason. CDE is working to make access to land fairer and more secure for affected populations, among other things by developing transparent information systems.
Consumption serves to satisfy our needs. In its current form, however, it has strong negative impacts on the environment and climate – and often on labour conditions in producer countries. CDE researches innovative and just solutions that enable fair, environmentally friendly consumption and lifestyles within a low-impact economy.
Human well-being is much more than material prosperity: It is an overarching goal of sustainable development. CDE develops concepts and indicators that make it possible to capture and measure sustainable quality of life and well-being. It also investigates what a good and simultaneously low-impact life might look like.
Sufficiency is about the conscious reduction of material and energy needs. The goal of the concept is to bring our consumption and economic activity in line with the limits of our planet. CDE explores how sufficiency can be anchored in our individual lives as well as in education, business, work, and society.
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One of the most useful features of Ethereum technology is its ability to host sub-currencies, known as ‘tokens’, directly on its blockchain. These tokens are each ruled by a smart contract, which self-executes commands based on a unique, immutable code.
There are several different types of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, and multiple sub-categories exist within those types. We’ll take a quick look at the interesting variations of tokens, and address some aspects of their uses.
The most common type of token launched on the Ethereum blockchain follows the ERC20 standard. ERC stands for ‘Ethereum Request for Comment’, which is basically a development proposal for the framework of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is decentralized, so developers suggest new requests that are either abandoned or accepted by the community – the latter leading to widespread adoption of the protocol.
ERC20 tokens are the kind you see the most frequently. They can be seen as a sub-currency of Ether, each having a pre-specified supply and purpose while still relying on ETH for the gas (transaction fees) they use to deploy the contract. These tokens hold their own value separate from the ETH, and they are generally used for more nuanced purposes. Anyone can build a token on the Ethereum blockchain, and there are many different reasons to do so. For example, there is a token called Maker (MKR) specifically used to manage another token called the DAI stablecoin.
Wait, stablecoin? What’s that?
For an in-depth look at stablecoins, check out our stablecoin explainer article. But the very concise summary is that stablecoins are a sub-genre of ERC20 tokens that maintain the same value, generally tied to a fiat currency like the US dollar. It creates a safe space for investors and those looking to decentralize their financial lives to explore crypto in a less volatile, more familiar way.
Some stablecoins are backed directly by real fiat currencies, some are backed by physical assets like gold, and some are managed by smart contracts to keep the value stable at a predetermined price. DAI, for example, is managed by smart contracts that keep its value at $1 USD. This process allows DAI to remain fully decentralized, while other types of stablecoins have been criticized for using a centralized foundation to maintain their stability.
It’s important to make the distinction that not all stablecoins are ERC20 tokens. Some are full fledged coins on their own blockchains, separate from Ethereum (one well-known example is Tether), and they can’t be stored in an ERC20/ETH wallet.
Tokens Moving to Mainnet
Occasionally a project with an ERC20 token can get too large or ambitious to stay on the Ethereum blockchain. They may want to change the framework of the technology that their currency runs on, or they may just simply want more control over what they can and can’t do. When this happens, the team can decide to transition to mainnet.
This means the team is building their own separate blockchain for the token, attempting to graduate it to a full-fledged coin. It is no longer bound to Ethereum in this case, but instead becomes a currency on a different blockchain. These currencies can not be kept in Ethereum wallets, so generally the token’s team will hold a swap on an exchange like Binance. The exchange takes the ERC20 tokens and swaps them for the new coins which are placed into a different wallet on the new blockchain. It’s important to follow updates on all your token investments to see if they plan to transition to mainnet in the near or far future, since getting left behind could have negative consequences to your assets.
Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are one of the most brilliant and understated uses of Ethereum technology. Each token represents a single, unique thing. No two NFTs are alike, so holding one proves without doubt that you are the true owner of whatever it represents. Whether that’s a digital collectible character (like CryptoKitties) or the deed to your house, NFTs are ground-breaking for their individualized properties that can be applied to an infinite amount of tangible objects.
The (Possible) Future: ERC223, et al.
In all aspects of life, things change. The Ethereum blockchain is no exception, and it benefits from an active community of ambitious developers always working on improvements to the ecosystem as a whole. One such improvement in the works is the ERC223 token standard.
ERC20 tokens have many functions, but one thing you should never do is send them directly to a smart contract. Remember, each token is tied to a smart contract that governs its actions through code. One shortcoming of ERC20 smart contracts is that if they receive tokens directly to the contract address, they cannot send them back out again.
ERC223 seeks to fix this issue with a fallback ‘return to sender’ function, where these misplaced tokens can be refunded or returned, instead of stuck permanently in a smart contract. Since the Ethereum blockchain is immutable, this only applies to contracts that will be created after the widespread adoption of this new code. All tokens that are currently stuck in smart contracts will remain there indefinitely.
New token standards are constantly being innovated by the Ethereum community – ERC777, ERC1155, and others. If this is something that interests you, a good place to explore new Ethereum proposals is the Fellowship of Ethereum Magicians, an active discussion board for Ethereum developers. For now, ERC20 and ERC721 are the most widely used and accepted token standards for Ethereum, but as other proposals become fully implemented, MEW is committed to integrating the latest Ethereum technology with the platform.
That’s all folks!
Now you’ve been acquainted with the basic categories of tokens that exist on the Ethereum blockchain at this time. Take this information with you when searching for cryptocurrencies to invest in, because the choices can get overwhelming. New tokens are being launched daily, but it’s up to the investor to determine if their vision and goals align with the token’s purpose.
If you feel strongly about these subjects, join the discussion on Reddit or Twitter. Make yourself heard! The Ethereum community is very accepting of new ideas. While you’re at it, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Reddit for updates and more educational articles, like this one.
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Publication Date: January 2006
Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Research Area: Banking and finance
This report provides a general description of price determination in major U.S. agricultural commodity markets for wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, and cotton. Understanding the fundamentals of commodity market price formation is critical to evaluating the potential effects of government policies and programs (existing or proposed), as well as of trade agreements that may open U.S. borders to foreign competitors. In addition, an understanding of the interplay of market forces over time contributes to flexibility in making policy for what may be short-term market phenomena. The general price level of an agricultural commodity, whether at a major terminal, port, or commodity futures exchange, is influenced by a variety of market forces that can alter the current or expected balance between supply and demand. Many of these forces emanate from domestic food, feed, and industrial-use markets and include consumer preferences and the changing needs of end users; factors affecting the production processes (e.g., weather, input costs, pests, diseases, etc.); relative prices of crops that can substitute in either production or consumption; government policies; and factors affecting storage and transportation. International market conditions are also important depending on the "openness" of a country's domestic market to international competition, and the degree to which a country engages in international trade.
A distinguishing feature of U.S. commodity markets is the importance of futures markets. Unlike cash markets which deal with the immediate transfer of goods, a futures market is based on buying (or selling) commodity contracts at a fixed price for potential physical delivery at some future date. A futures exchange provides the facilities for buyers and sellers to trade commodity futures contracts openly, and reports any market transactions to the public. As a result of this activity, futures markets function as a central exchange for domestic and international market information and as a primary mechanism for price discovery, particularly for storable agricultural commodities with seasonal production patterns.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays a critical role in monitoring and disseminating agricultural market information. Commodity markets rely heavily on USDA reports for guidance on U.S. and international supply and demand conditions. The release of USDA supply and demand estimates has the potential to substantially alter market expectations about current and future commodity market conditions and are, therefore, closely watched by market participants.
In general, certain characteristics of agricultural product markets set them apart from most non-agricultural product markets and tend to make agricultural product prices more volatile than are the prices of most nonfarm goods and services. Three such noteworthy characteristics of agricultural crops include the seasonality of production, the derived nature of their demand, and generally price-inelastic demand and supply functions. In addition, wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, and cotton each have certain unique structural characteristics that further differentiate the nature of market price formation from each other. This report will be updated as conditions warrant.
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According to a new study co-authored by Stanford professor David Lobell, the chance of a worldwide slowdown in agricultural yield growth in the next two decades is significantly higher due to global warming.
Lobell and co-author Claudia Tebaldi, a senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, set out to estimate the odds of a steep drop in global wheat and corn yield progress under several climate scenarios. The study, “Getting caught with our plants down: the risks of a global crop yield slowdown from climate trends in the next two decades” appeared in Environmental Research Letters.
Lobell said he was motivated to pursue the study based on questions posed by stakeholders and decision makers in governments and the private sector.
“I’m often asked whether climate change will threaten food supply, as if it’s a simple yes or no answer,” Lobell said. “The truth is that over a 10 or 20 year period, it depends largely on how fast the Earth warms, and we can’t predict that very precisely. So the best we can do is try to determine the odds.”
Lobell and Tebaldi calculated the chance of a 10 percent global yield loss from climate change over the next 20 years, which would represent a severe impact on food supply, enough to roughly halve the rate of yield growth.
The short time frame of the study was deliberate, Lobell said. “Many studies have looked at climate and agriculture trends over the coming 50 or 100 years. But the next two decades are when most of the global population growth, and dietary shifts driven by a growing middle class, will occur. The growth rate of food demand will be higher during this time than at any other time in the next century.”
Without human-induced global warming – in other words, in a world with only natural climate variability – the likelihood of a yield drop that large is only 1 in 200. But when the team accounted for global warming, they saw the odds jump to 1 in 10 for corn and 1 in 20 for wheat. “In this study, we did not try to estimate the most likely impacts of climate change on crops,” Lobell said. “Rather, we estimated the likelihood of a really major impact, not because we want to scare people, but because there are many people who want to be prepared for all contingencies.”
“The point of the paper is to move from hand-waving about scenarios of what could go wrong, to specific and transparent estimates of the actual odds,” Lobell said. “The odds are not very high, but they are significant and a lot bigger than they used to be. The people asking these questions are accustomed to planning for scenarios with much less than a 10 percent chance of happening, so it will be interesting to see whether this study has any effect on how they operate.”
Lobell adds that organizations working toward global food security, and related issues such as conflict prevention, are most interested in the next 20 years because their decisions rarely consider the more distant future. “As scientists, we might prefer to work on time scales in which the answers are clearer, but we also want to be responsive to the actual concerns and questions that decision makers have.”
Lobell is associate professor of Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford and associate director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment. He is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
David Lobell: [email protected]
Laura Seaman, Communications and External Relations Manager, Center on Food Security and the Environment: [email protected]
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What is a equilibrium price? In a state of equilibrium, the supply of a product can meet the demand for a product as a particular price. (8 for the price)
How many units will be demanded/supplied at that price? There will be eight units.
The market for the good is flooded by more supply. In response producers will decrease prices encourage consumers to buy. As this happens, demands for the product should increase. As demands increase, consumers will buy up the product and the supply should start to decrease. As supply decreases, this drives the price of the product increase as consumers begin to compete for the remaining supply. As the prices increase, this should decrease demand. With fewer consumers purchasing the product, supply will start to increase.
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European Environmental NGOs have expressed concern about ongoing discussions on the implementation of the separate collection of single-use plastic bottles as regulated by the EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).
The Directive requires member states to ensure that 90% of plastic bottles are collected as a “separate waste stream” by 2029 at the latest.
In Austria and the Czech Republic, however, there are now discussions suggesting that this separate collection target could be met by including bottles from post-sorted residual waste, according to the NGOs.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany, DUH) and the Rethink Plastic alliance (RPa), both members of the global Break Free from Plastic (BFFP) movement, warn that “misguided interpretation” of the SUPD could “dramatically undermine” its main objectives – which is to reduce pollution from single-use plastic and support the transition towards a circular economy.
The introduction of deposit return systems (DRS) can largely contribute to achieving these objectives, the NGOs state.
DUH Deputy Executive Director Barbara Metz, said: “Plastic bottles are among the top items polluting European water bodies and beaches. This is why the introduction of deposit return systems all over Europe is particularly important.
“In Germany, the deposit on single-use beverage containers has had a drastic anti-littering effect. That is reflected by the very high collection rate of 98.5%. If plastic bottles were still collected via curbside collection, the collection rate would be considerably lower.
“In addition, pulling plastic bottles out of mixed packaging or residual waste would jeopardise all efforts to enable the desired bottle-to-bottle recycling. The required material quality cannot be achieved with those modes of collection, due to impurities and adhesions.
It is alarming that certain stakeholder groups, for example in Austria, are trying to sabotage this step towards more high-quality recycling in Europe
“It is alarming that certain stakeholder groups, for example in Austria, are trying to sabotage this step towards more high-quality recycling in Europe.”
The NGOs state that member states will only achieve the recycled content targets set in the Directive, if plastic bottles are collected as a “clean, separate waste stream”.
By 2025, single-use PET bottles have to contain a minimum recycled content of 25%, and by 2030, all single-use plastic bottles must contain a minimum recycled content of 30%.
With the Plastic Strategy and the Single Use Plastics Directive, the EU has made an “unprecedented commitment” to reduce waste and pollution and protect the environment, DUH and the Rethink Plastic alliance says.
The NGOs are calling on national governments to transpose and implement the legislation as it is intended, to reach maximum positive environmental impact.
Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Coordinator of the Rethink Plastic alliance and BFFP Europe, said: “The European Commission and EU governments must resist attempts made by some interest groups to water down the Single Use Plastics Directive.
“Citizens across Europe have praised the new measures on reducing single-use plastics and have shown support for Deposit return systems, for recycling but also for reuse.
“DRS have successfully existed for many years in some EU countries like Germany and now others, such as Portugal, Latvia and Romania, are setting the course for their implementation, since DRS is the most effective way to ensure high collection of beverage containers and reduce pollution.”
The European Commission and EU governments must resist attempts made by some interest groups to water down the Single Use Plastics Directive
The NGOs states that in addition to their contribution to pollution reduction and meeting the targets laid down in the Single Use Plastics Directive, deposit return systems for single-use beverage containers can serve as an “intermediate step towards more refillable beverage containers”.
Deposit systems for single-use and refillable beverage containers largely rely on the same infrastructure, they state, and consumers are more likely to choose refillables over single-use beverage containers if they have to return both types of packaging to the same return points.
Compared to single-use beverage packaging, refillables cause less greenhouse gas emissions, protect resources and support the local economy, they state.
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The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is on its way to ratification in the U.S. Congress, marking a critical and historic opportunity to modernize the United States’ economic relationship with Canada and Mexico – two of its largest trading partners. This landmark agreement is essential for all businesses to compete in today’s economy.
Global commerce has changed dramatically since North America’s current trade pact, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was signed 25 years ago. In 1994, less than 0.4 percent of the global population used the internet, compared to more than 58 percent in 2019. In 2016 alone, the economic impact of the internet was $4.2 trillion – the equivalent of the world’s fifth largest national economy – and the ability to transfer, store, and process data across borders has increased global GDP by 10.1 percent. Half of all value created in the global economy over the next decade will be created digitally.
Despite these fundamental shifts, the United States’ current trade agreement with Mexico and Canada – which sets rules covering 29 percent of the United States’ total international trade – has failed to keep pace with the rapidly changing global economy. Look no further than the text: the NAFTA mentions the telegraph but not the internet.
Fortunately, the USMCA will address that disparity. Following months of bipartisan negotiations, the U.S. Congress is now poised to enact legislation that will make the USMCA law. The agreement recognizes that data and innovation are foundational components of the world’s economy and establishes a first-of-its-kind digital trade chapter. That’s why the tech industry strongly urges policymakers to ratify the USMCA, thereby setting the gold standard for modern trade provisions and helping businesses in the United States innovate and compete in the 21st century economy.
It’s not only tech companies that benefit from the USMCA’s digital trade provisions. U.S. companies across all industries rely on data, technology, and digital services to optimize their operations, enable their employees to collaborate, and boost their ability to meet customer needs. The USMCA creates a better environment for all of them. Here’s how:
- Enables Free Cross-Border Data Flow. Seventy-five percent of the value created by cross-border data flows accrues to traditional industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, finance, hospitality, logistics, and tourism. For example, manufacturers rely on data flows to optimize their inventory and ensure that they don’t leave unsold finished products gathering dust on warehouse shelves. The USMCA ensures the ability of U.S. companies both large and small to transfer data across borders.
- Addresses Data Localization. Governments throughout the world are instituting measures that impose restrictive, and at times explicitly protectionist, requirements for in-country storage of data. The USMCA prohibits these requirements, ensuring that companies can store their data where it makes the most technical and commercial sense, and where that data is most secure. This ensures that companies of all sizes can continue to take advantage of digital services and compete more effectively at home and overseas.
- Prevents Discriminatory Trade Barriers. The ability to digitally deliver products has contributed to an enormously positive transformation in the way we consume goods and services and access information. The status quo is increasingly at risk as countries explore ways to use tariffs to discriminate against U.S. digital products. The USMCA makes prohibitions against digital tariffs permanent, maintaining a duty-free internet and sending a clear message to other trading partners.
It also makes certain that testing and certification procedures for physical goods in the North American market are consistent, reducing expensive and unnecessary local testing requirements while enabling regulators to more effectively do their jobs. These and other provisions directly address trade barriers faced by companies in the United States today, which reduce U.S. exports and dampen job creation.
- Protects Vital Company Tools. The USMCA protects companies from being required to share source code, encryption keys, or algorithms as a condition for market access, protecting the proprietary tools and formulas that make U.S. tech companies the most competitive in the world.
- Protects Privacy and Personal Information. The USMCA includes state-of-the-art provisions committing the United States, Mexico, and Canada to protect citizen privacy by implementing internationally recognized principles in a non-discriminatory manner.
- Promotes Risk-based Approaches to Cybersecurity. The USMCA strengthens cybersecurity capabilities and intergovernmental cooperation – protecting critical infrastructure and other key systems – by encouraging governments to use non-prescriptive, interoperable, and risk-based approaches for domestic regulations.
- Provides Appropriate Protection to Innovative Online Services. The USMCA protects providers of online and cloud services so that they can host or process content of others at scale and thereby facilitate trade and improve U.S. competitiveness across many industries that rely on the internet.
Through the USMCA, the United States has a critical opportunity to update trade provisions to harness the benefits of digital technology for all businesses and strengthen its trading relationships for the 21stcentury. Policymakers should seize this opportunity to affirm U.S. leadership in the global economy by supporting the USMCA and setting a new global benchmark that will ensure a thriving, innovative U.S. economy.
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The affordable housing is defined as the housing which is legally restricted for the use of individual or household who meet the requirement of income stated by the government. The development of the affordable housing schemes recognises the needs and requirement of households where their household incomes is not sufficient to own a house without any assistance from the government. In the Malaysian context, the pricing of affordable homes must not exceed RM300,000 per unit. The exact selling price will vary across different states based on the household average income and construction cost in each area.
Table 1 : Pricing for affordable homes 2019
Source : Housing and Local Government Ministry
From the ministry of housing and local government’s perspective, affordable homes may not only refer to homes at low price but the home must also provide comfortable and safe living environment. In other word, they must be quality homes for the lower income group which includes the minimum built up area, bedrooms, parking as well as required facilities.
The standard built up area of low cost housing units gradually increases from 400 sf in the 1st Malaysia Plan to 650 sf in the 8th to 9th Malaysia Plan, with the current standard area of increased to 700 sf in the 10th to 11th Malaysia Plan. The medium cost affordable homes current standard built up area is between 800 – 850 sf.
Table 2 : Standard built up area for affordable housing
Source : Malaysia Plan (1966 -2020)
The World Bank in 1989 stated that Malaysia’s high standards for land use and infrastructure (e,g the road width requirements and the large area set-aside for public areas) contribute to the high cost of land for housing. The time taken to get relevant approvals also contributes to the overall costs of building homes.
With the constantly rising house prices, the government has came out with many plans and programs to help those who can’t afford to buy housing units offered by the private developers. The current government’s approach to affordable housing has been to built more public housing through PR1MA and other government agencies as well as to impose quotas that require developer’s to built low cost housing.
The 11th Malaysia Plan outlines a target of 653,000 units of affordable homes to be built during the Plan period (2016-2020), or an average of 130,000 houses built a year. RM1.5bil was allocated by the government to build and complete affordable homes under the People Housing Scheme, Civil Servant Housing Project, PR1MA and Syarikat Perumahan Negara (SPNB). Bank Negara Malaysia has set-up a fund for those first time buyers earning under RM2,300/- per month to buy affordable houses at interest rate of 3.5% through selected banks to own their first house priced up to RM150,000. For civil servants, to help them acquire homes, the Public Sector Housing financing board will extend loan repayment period from 30 years to 35 years for the first loan, and from 25 years to 30 years for the second loan.
There are seven government housing schemes available for the low and middle income group under the affordable housing program as follows:-
Table 3 : Affordable schemes by the government
Source : Star Online 13 Aug 2018
However, with all the incentives given by the government to developers and many government’s public housing schemes, there are still many people especially in the urban area who can’t afford to own a house due to the extremely high price of houses. Even the affordable units has now become unaffordable to many urban dwellers due to the high cost of living in the urban area.
PR1MA has had its share of challenges while developers have been blamed for the construction of low cost housing in remote places or place that lack of connectivity, subsequently attracting poor take-up.
Closer examination of the latest statistic from NAPIC shows that the addition of new supply in this range is against the back-up of a rising overhang in the affordable price below RM300,000. This overhang of properties priced below RM300K from the biggest slice (31% to 52%) of the overhang. The overhang which is defined as unsold units that have been launched for more than 9 months, runs across all the 3 categories of completed, under construction and those launched but not constructed. Kuala Lumpur city center had 8,008 units of not constructed, comprising largely flats and apartments in Q1 of 2019, despite the public outcry over lack of affordable housing. So what is actually the real problem here, not enough affordable units?, the price is not affordable enough? or the affordable units are not suitable to many prospective buyers??
Source: NAPIC, 2014-2018
We strongly believes that a market study must be conducted by any developer to determine the suitable location, type and size of housing units and also the proposed selling price of the housing units. The market study should also covers the current market demand, supply, current market trend and facilities to be included in the scheme even if its affordable housing scheme. This is to ensure a good take-up rate of the units offered.
On the other hand, apart from incentives to developers building affordable housing, the government must also play an important role to make it more ‘marketable’ to the market at large such as providing good infrastructure, connectivity to the proposed site as well as building more amenities to the community living in the scheme.
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On the current trajectory, greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trains, ships and airplanes may become one of the greatest drivers of human-induced climate change, according to a draft of the forthcoming U.N. fifth assessment report on mitigation of climate change.
Authors project with high confidence that continued growth in emissions from global passenger and freight activity could "outweigh future mitigation measures," says a preliminary version of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) study obtained by ClimateWire.
Lacking improvements in fuel efficiency combined with a comprehensive mitigation policy, the report finds that transport emissions could double by 2050 from 6.7 gigatons of emitted carbon dioxide in 2010, which represents 22 percent of the world's total.
Demand for personal vehicles and consumer goods in fast-growing economies like China, India and Brazil is fueling the use of motorized transport across all modes. The transportation sector's almost complete reliance on energy-dense, high-carbon fuels, like gasoline and diesel makes reducing emissions an even greater challenge.
"[Transportation] could actually become one of the biggest sectors of emissions ... because you can mitigate the other sectors more easily," said an expert familiar with the draft report.
The electricity sector can reduce emissions relatively easily by adopting renewables like solar and wind, while cars and trucks can't harness these zero-emissions energy sources without sophisticated and expensive energy storage technologies.
But the report adds that there are still opportunities for change.
Could cities be part of the solution?
The upcoming report finds that technical improvements and behavioral changes, combined with new infrastructure and urban development investments, could reduce energy demand from the transport sector by up to 40 percent below the base line in 2050, a greater reduction potential than shown in the fourth assessment report.
According to transport exports, urban centers represent both the greatest potential source of transport emissions and the greatest opportunity to mitigate them.
"We're at a really important crossroads," said Manish Bapna, executive vice president of the World Resources Institute, on a recent call with reporters. "Will cities be part of the solution or the problem?"
According to the World Health Organization, the urban population will double from 2.5 billion in 2009 to nearly 5.2 billion in 2050. In China alone, 300 million people are expected to move into cities over the next 15 years.
Building cities in a way that slows vehicle demand while delivering high accessibility could prove to be a low-cost option for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a solution to pressing problems for policymakers like local air pollution and poor public health.
Addressing transport emissions in a more comprehensive manner through urban design is one of the main themes at the U.N. World Urban Forum being held this week in Medellin, Colombia.
"We are already struggling with the number of cars we have in the streets of our cities; congestion, air pollution, road safety issues, health impacts from people driving all the time," said Luc Nadal, technical director for urban development at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). "This is an absolutely unsustainable development model."
Unsustainable habits and designs
Motorized transport makes up almost a quarter of global man-made emissions, most of which stem from personal vehicles. Nadal said it would be "an absolute disaster" if the 20th century model of car-centric transport development, which has characterized many cities in the United States and Europe, were to continue into the 21st century.
"The way buildings are built, the streets are laid, urban forms that will be with us for a long, long time, decades certainly, centuries probably. We have streets in some places that are several millennia," he said. "Once these patterns are on the ground, it's very difficult to change them."
ITDP today unveiled a new policy guide at the Urban Forum to evaluate real estate developments that integrate sustainable transport and land-use planning to connect people conveniently and safely to jobs, education, shopping and other opportunities.
The TOD (transit-oriented development) Standard is based on eight elements: walkability; bicycle-friendliness; a connected network of streets and paths; a robust transit system; a balanced mix of activities; dense, vertical building; compact development; and a shift away from personal motorized transport.
These principles are understood by urban planners and architects, but policymakers still lack awareness of them, said Nadal. In rapidly urbanizing parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, cities are still being built to accommodate motorists, even where they represent a fraction of the urban population.
The IPCC draft report finds that institutional, legal, financial and cultural barriers may limit the adoption of low-carbon transport technologies and changes in transport demand. A comprehensive analysis on the extent to which these barriers can be overcome is outside the scope of the report.
A final version of the complete IPCC study is set for release Sunday.
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500
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What is CryptoNote Technology?
CryptoNote is a technology that is designed to be an improvement for modern cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The underlying technology of CryptoNote is very similar to that of many standard cryptocurrencies.
With that said, there are also a few major differences between CryptoNote and the underlying technology behind many other digital currencies. The most important of these differences is that CryptoNote technology is designed to be more private and anonymous than traditional cryptocurrencies.
Open-Source Blockchain with Anonymous Transactions
CryptoNote technology uses a universal open-source public ledger like Bitcoin. However, unlike the blockchain technology that powers many other cryptocurrencies, CryptoNote currencies make it essentially impossible to tell which party sent money and which party received money on the blockchain. All that can be seen is an approximate amount of money that was sent in the transaction.
CryptoNote technology also relies on a hash-based proof-of-work algorithm that is significantly different than that of Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies. Unlike Bitcoin, which uses an SHA256 system, CryptoNote uses a memory-bound function called CryptoNight. CryptoNight makes it a lot more difficult for miners to use ASIC devices to boost mining power. This can help mining to remain a lot more distributed, as opposed to centralized.
The algorithms behind CryptoNote technology also enable protection against double spending, blockchain analysis resistance, egalitarian proof of work, and adaptive parameters. Essentially CryptoNote technology works by being a cryptocurrency protocol that approaches certain features differently in order for the currencies that rely on it to be even more “crypto” than other cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies That Use CryptoNote Technology
There are a number of cryptocurrencies in existence today that use the CryptoNote technology, despite the fact that it is just a few years old. The most popular cryptocurrencies built with CryptoNote include Monero, Bytecoin and Karbo. Of the three of these, Monero is the most popular and well known. As of December 2017, Monero had a market cap of about $4,873,692,247 USD. The price of one Monero coin was $314.80 and XMR was the 11th largest cryptocurrency in the world by overall market cap.
As a comparison, at the same time Bytecoin was the 31st largest cryptocurrency in the world by overall market cap, had a total value of $533,102,858, and costed $0.002909. Even though Monero is larger and more popular than Bytecoin, both cryptocurrencies are relatively high up in the pecking order for cryptocurrencies. Of course, they are both still far below behemoths like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. However, if increased privacy is something that grows in demand, then both of these cryptocurrencies could rise in popularity.
Full List of CryptoNote Coins
Why is Privacy So Important with Cryptocurrencies?
Privacy is something that has been desired by many cryptocurrency users since Bitcoin was first introduced. There is a variety of reasons why people value privacy when it comes to cryptocurrency. Some value it because they are very wealthy and want to hide their transactions to avoid being targeted for hacking. Others value it because they believe it gives them a competitive advantage for business.
Privacy is also valued by liberty loving people who simply do not want the government or anyone else tracking their spending. Many of these people believe that private currency transactions are a right that people deserve.
The level of privacy that CryptoNote technology provides is far superior to standard fiat currencies or even other cryptocurrencies. Fiat currencies are easy to track because they often leave paper trails. This is especially true when purchases are made online, with credit cards, or with checks. However, many cash transactions can be difficult to track.
Standard cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer more privacy than fiat currencies do. Their privacy, however, is limited because cryptographic identities are revealed with each transaction on the blockchain. This means it is possible to see which account sent money to another account with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
The cryptographic identities still need to be decoded, which is a large challenge. However, it is possible. With Monero, and other Cryptonote technologies, discovering the identity of people making transactions is the cryptocurrency is much, much more difficult, if not completely impossible.
Is Privacy Always a Good Thing When it Comes to Money?
Considering that many transactions are now made over the internet, having cryptocurrencies that are based on CrypoNote can help to make transactions more secure. So, this is a very good thing. However, private cryptocurrencies also present major opportunities for criminals who want to keep their transactions a secret.
This is a major potential problem for CryptoNote-based currencies. Anonymous transactions being done by the wrong people can make easier for drugs, weapons, and other dangerous substances to be transported around the world, and make it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to catch criminals.
Because cryptocurrencies are often the preferred method of payment on dark web sites such as the former Silk Road, there is an opportunity for law enforcement agencies to create sting operations on these sites using the cryptocurrencies to make transactions. This could be a new potential avenue for law enforcement to catch the criminals who create these sites and use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero to make transactions on them.
Will CryptoNote Become Mainstream?
The CryptoNote technology is pioneering and is still just a few years old. This makes it very difficult to tell just how popular it will become. Judging by the soaring value of Bitcoin and many altcoins which do not use CryptoNote, it appears that the cryptocurrency market is very comfortable relying on the current blockchain technology.
If a few high profile Bitcoin hacks take place in the next few years, then it is quite possible that coins associated with higher levels of privacy and security such as Monero and Bytecoin could rise in popularity and make their way higher up the cryptocurrency pecking order.
If this happens, then it could trigger a domino effect in which new ICO’s start incorporating CryptoNote into their underlying technology. Ultimately, the market will decide just how popular CryptoNote will become. Alternatively, if it turns out that governments start having a lot of trouble with crime due to increasing levels of CryptoNote cryptocurrencies, then there could actually be significantly heavier regulations put on these cryptocurrencies. In some nations, they could even be banned outright.
How Much Control Should Central Authority Have?
CryptoNote technology brings up several philosophical and political questions. One of the most important of these is exactly how much control and oversight should governments have over the financial transactions of their citizens. It also forces governments to try to figure out how they would even regulate these currencies if they did decide to place stricter regulations on them.
After all, the law enforcement is busy tracking the large amount of crime that already take place with dollars, gold, and other units of exchange, such as foreign currencies.
Another question that is raised by CryptoNote technology is whether or not national fiat currencies are even good enough to function as widely used money any more. After all, if there were no problems with national fiat currencies, then cryptocurrencies probably never would have been invented.
But, many people would argue that the fact that an infinite amount of dollars can be created at any time and then given to any large company who is in financial trouble is a serious flaw in a currency. This is because unlimited money printing has proven throughout history to lead to inflation and then hyperinflation.
It is understandable that governments such as the U.S. government would want to be able to print out unlimited amounts of currency so that they can afford to pay for more things. However, doing so effectively reduces the value of every dollar held by every person with a dollar-based bank account. So, CryptoNote-based cryptocurrencies could serve an important role in providing citizens an alternative to inflation-prone national fiat currencies. It is possible that one day, CryptoNote-based cryptocurrencies, or other types of cryptocurrencies could become even more widely used than national paper-based fiat currencies. This would represent a paradigm shift.
Final Thoughts on CryptoNote and Anonymity
CryptoNote technology is a very important privacy breakthrough for cryptocurrencies. As of right now however, this technological advancement has not proven enough for cryptocurrencies that have it to overtaken the market leaders who do not. However, given the improved privacy that can be achieved with CryptoNote, it is even possible that one day, the main cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum could implement it.
Due to the first move advantage, it is difficult for other cryptocurrencies to catch up with the market cap that Bitcoin has already accumulated. Currently, Bitcoin’s market cap is $298,932,523,180. However, if anything is going to help other cryptocurrencies catch Bitcoin, it could be technological breakthroughs such as CryptoNote.
Important Breakthrough for Privacy and Anonymity
For people who value privacy, CryptoNote is a very important breakthrough, and one that is very encouraging for the future of cryptocurrencies. For people who think privacy-based currencies are negative thing for society, CryptoNote technology may be seen as a concerning development.
However, regardless of how you feel about it, CryptoNote is here to stay unless the government decides to make it illegal. The fact that cryptocurrencies have grown so popular in general, means that large numbers of people value cryptography and currencies that implement it. Seeing as how CryptoNote technology is the cutting edge of cryptographic currencies, it is possible that early investors in currencies that have CryptoNote could make substantial gains from buying currencies like Monero.
But, if the government does decide to ban these currencies, then this investment could quickly turn out very bad. As with all cryptocurrency investments, there are substantial risks associated with investing in CryptoNote coins. This means that if you are planning to invest in CryptoNote-based currencies, then you should always practice caution and make sure that you only invest what you can afford to lose. Otherwise, you could find yourself deep in a hole that is difficult to get out of.
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The European Union’s F-gas Regulation became law this week when it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, replacing an older, ineffective version with several new and ambitious measures.
The new law, which controls the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases throughout the EU, will reduce emissions of F-gases by two-thirds of current levels by 2030.
F-gases are super greenhouse gases many hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). The EU is the first major political structure to take such ambitious action to get them under control.
The science and acronyms can be a little off-putting, so EIA has assisted in the production of this short film explaining F-gases:
The European Commission estimates cumulative emissions savings from the F-gas Regulation will be 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2030 and five billion tonnes by 2050 – this latter figure representing more than the emissions from one billion return flights between Paris and New York.
The F-gas Regulation will achieve this through a combination of a phase-down of bulk quantities of F-gases, mainly hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), sold on the EU market, and by effectively banning the use of equipment containing HFCs in specific sectors, including most commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning. There will also be a ban on servicing and maintaining refrigeration equipment with HFCs which have a Global Warming Potential higher than 2,500 (ie, more than 2,500 times as potent as CO2) as of 2020.
Now the law is on the books, the focus will shift to making it operational. This will be a huge challenge – it’s not enough to just have a good piece of legislation, the real key to its success lies in effective implementation and enforcement.
One of the biggest priorities in the immediate term will be putting the word out to ensure industry and end-users are aware of their obligations. EIA’s climate team will be working to that end in the months ahead.
Of course, the real prize in terms of climate mitigation lies in reaching a global deal to phase out HFCs. EIA is hopeful that the EU F-gas Regulation will help demonstrate that Europe is willing to play its part, as well as opening up new opportunities for the development of climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs around the world.
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Understanding Economic Term Paper TopicsEconomics term paper topics cover a broad range of topics related to the economy. These are the topics that a student should be familiar with in order to write an original and thought-provoking piece of writing. While you may have an idea on the topic you want to research, sometimes it will take you some time to find out what is actually being discussed by the people that write. These topics that students commonly research include the following:
In order to solve the economic problem, there is need to first look at the root cause. A good starting point for doing this is to ask yourself how much you earn and how much the other person earns. When you do this, you will understand the problem clearly and it will be easier for you to figure out the solution. Another way to arrive at the root cause is to check out the economic statistics. There are different statistics which have been developed by the government and these will help you figure out the main problem.
There are many reasons why an economic problem can arise. The main reason is because of the recession and high unemployment rates. For instance, if there is an increase in prices due to a shortage of raw materials, the prices of products may go up. If you think that the person who sold the product is suffering from the shortage, it may lead to a rise in their prices and the prices of the other products too.
One of the most talked about economic term paper topics is the global market. This is because the world has become a large market for all of us to get involved in. If you want to study the economy in detail, you can use this term paper topic to help you. This type of topic is very general and it also covers many different aspects.
There are many people who still consider the price as the main factor that matters in determining the price of goods. However, there are other factors that can affect the price of a particular product or service. As a result, it is important to look at the economic terms when dealing with this topic. These include supply and demand, cost, quantity, time and competition.
How people feel about the economy can be determined by looking at the economy through the eyes of other people. In this way, you can study the market to see what people think. Through this, you will be able to understand what the major problems are. This will help you understand the causes and solutions to these problems.
Economics term paper topics also cover financial management. This involves the organization of various assets and liabilities. It involves money, credit and other assets. It is used to study the basics of this subject and it is also used in many applications including real estate planning, insurance and finance.
In conclusion, there are many examples of economic term paper topics that can be used to research the different issues that arise in the economy. You will have to choose a topic that is useful for you. It is important to choose something that is within your sphere of interest. Although the topics presented above may seem easy to follow, they are not. It will take some time for you to get to grips with these topics but it will definitely pay off in the end.
There Are A Number Of Blog Examples For StudentsThere are a number of blog examples for students that are available online. It is important to note that not all of them are created equal.
Many of the free websites that are available will only provide you with some basic information about how to write content. What they do not show you is how to start and get a blog going. While it is important to learn how to get a blog going, the content is what will draw in your readers.
To make sure that you are doing the right thing with your blog, it is important to understand what kind of content is needed. This can be as simple as writing about a daily fact or as complicated as creating a blog that gives tips and advice on various topics. What you are trying to do is attract readers to visit your blog and find out more about your blog.
There is a very good example of this right on your computer screen right now. You are probably aware of how to get a blog going, but that is not what your blog is going to be used for. The blog examples for students site that I am referring to is called Blogs Through Text.
This website will walk you through the steps necessary to create a blog using HTML, which is a programming language. With the step by step instructions, you will be able to build a blog that will attract people who are interested in learning more about blogging.
In addition to this, you will also find that there are a number of free blog examples for students that are available online. While some of them will provide you with a great platform to start from, others will offer you just a couple of articles. What you need to do is to ensure that you find one that offers more than just some information.
There are many great blogs that are online and you can find a free blog in the Google search engine. Once you have found a good site, you should use this search engine to find a blog to use to create your blog. If you can't find one, you can find one on the internet but keep in mind that you can never really be too sure when it comes to search engines.
After you have created your blog, you will need to find a way to promote it. If you don't have the money to spend on advertising, you can try to create traffic by writing articles. If you have some knowledge in writing and some knowledge in SEO, then you can start writing articles.
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I only see "Quartal" being used for "the quarter of a year". Never seen it in a different context and I also only use it in this context. (I am a german native speaker). I guess this "im neuen Licht sehen" part is what made you think Quartal is for something abstract? It basically means that you look back at the last Quartal and now see aspects that you haven't seen before (e.g. it wasn't as bad as you thought it was). Hope that helps.
A season is a quarter of a year too but when you speak about "Quartal" you don't mean a season. The first "Quartal' for ex. is January, February and March (the first three months of the year) but a season is three different months for ex. winter is December, January and February. So a new "Quartal" starts is a new year but not a season.
At least in American English, I only see trimester used (perhaps inappropriately) to refer to divisions into three parts. For example, each academic "trimester" would cover roughly four months (including breaks), typically September--December, January--April and May--August. This usage does conflict somewhat with the "three-months" Latin etymology mentioned by Wikipedia. I suspect it developed as a bastardization of semester ("six-months" in Latin, but commonly interpreted as division into two parts), perhaps influenced by the division of pregnancy into three trimesters.
Anyway, if "trimester" and "quarter" are synonymous in Britain, Ireland, Australia, etc., then I would suggest reporting it as an alternative that should be accepted.
Is it completely inconceivable that Quartal could mean season? I think there is a little bit of an overlap between season and quarter in english in the way a season can just be a time span in the year (holiday season, hunting season) as can a quarter in terms of a financial year, the Tax year doesn't start from January everywhere in the world.
Just in case (as it was explained before in this thread): According to Google Dictionary, a quarter is a period of three months regarded as one fourth of a year, used especially in reference to financial transactions such as the payment of bills or a company's earnings. In German, Quartal [n] has the same meaning.
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Today the International Energy Agency (IEA) has released an energy-focussed COVID-19 recovery plan identifying actions that will “move the world towards a cleaner and more resilient future.” Investment in existing nuclear plants, new nuclear build and supporting innovation in small modular reactors are among measures proposed to support a broad range of clean energy technologies.
Responding to the launch of the report Agneta Rising, Director General of World Nuclear Association, said;
“This IEA report confirms that extending the operations of existing nuclear plants will support thousands of jobs and avoid more emissions per GW than other low-carbon options.
“Governments stimulus packages should also accelerate the deployment of new nuclear build, to bring immediate employment and economics benefits through policies aimed at delivering a clean energy future.”
The report says that extending the lifetimes of nuclear power plants would improve electricity security by lowering the risk of outages, boosting flexibility, reducing losses and helping integrate larger shares of variable renewables such as wind and solar PV. Additionally, extending the operation of existing nuclear plants would reduce fossil fuel imports, improve electricity security by adding to power system flexibility, and improve the affordability of electricity to consumers.
The IEA also conclude that modernising and upgrading existing nuclear facilities would avoid a steep decline in low-carbon electricity generation; new construction would further boost low-carbon generation.
The report identifies small modular reactors (SMRs) as offering the possibility of providing low-carbon nuclear power with lower initial capital investment and better scalability with the potential to provide a large number of jobs in design, manufacturing, supply and construction activities. The report recommends that governments provide investment support, foster cost-sharing agreements and supporting regulatory authorities in the validation of innovative safety features and factory assembly.
The IEA’s recovery plan also includes investment in new nuclear build. However, the report underestimates the number of new nuclear power projects ready to start construction, as well as the thousands of supply chain jobs that would be created years before construction would begin on later reactor projects.
Agneta Rising commented;
“For a sustained transition to a clean energy future, new nuclear plants must play a substantial role. With more than 100 new reactors already planned to be in operation in the 2020s, strong governmental policy support could stimulate hundreds of billions of dollars of investment and tens of thousands of jobs in the supply chain long before construction begins.
“In addition to construction, the operation phase of nuclear power plants, lasting 60 years or more, would create a large number of long-term high-skilled jobs that would particularly benefit local communities.
“This acceleration of nuclear new build would support sustainable economic growth, and would make a major contribution to the global nuclear industry’s Harmony goal, which targets 1000 GWe of new nuclear capacity by 2050.”
Source: World Nuclear Association
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Tata: the industrial conglomerate that lies at the heart of India’s success on the global business stage.
For almost two centuries, the Tata Group has pioneered multiple industries in India and remains a market leader in most of them.
You’ve probably heard of Tata Motors, their car division, but as you’ll soon find out, their reach extends far beyond that one subsidiary.
In this video, we’ll go through through three generations of Tata businessmen to see how they built one of India’s most successful companies.
This video is brought to you by Skillshare, where I just released my second class on investing that dives much deeper into how stocks work and how you can value them.
The story of Tata begins during the reign of the British Empire.
India back then was a huge exporter of cotton, but the brutal regime of the British East India Company left little room for local entrepreneurs to develop.
The poor treatment by the British eventually resulted in a rebellion against them, in 1857, which ended the power of the British East India Company and replaced it with the British Raj.
Now, compared to its ruthless predecessor, the Raj was much more focused on keeping the peace. The Raj didn’t exploit the Indian population quite as harshly and it also invested a lot of money in building India’s first railways for example.
Of course, at the end of the day, the British Raj was still an oppressive colonial power, but at least it finally gave the local population the economic opportunity to develop themselves.
Because India was an exporting country, the first Indian entrepreneurs came from exactly that sector and one of them was Jamsetji Tata. He was the son of an exporter in Mumbai and he graduated in 1858, exactly the perfect time to take advantage of the economic reforms of the British Raj.
Because his father’s export business was growing, in 1859 Jamsetji went to Hong Kong to develop a subsidiary there and upon seeing the sheer scale of British commerce there, he realized that the Tata export business had truly global potential.
Over the course of the next decade he would travel to Japan, China and Great Britain, establishing a network of distribution for his father’s business. He’d eventually create his own exporting company in 1868 and using the money he made, he started building textile mills of his own, effectively creating a vertically-integrated business.
From the very start, Jamsetji’s philosophy was find the best practices used across the world and to bring them back to India.
In his textile mills he enacted policies that were virtually unknown to most of India, like offering sickness benefits and pensions to his employees.
But Jamsetji wasn’t content with just the textile industry: he saw the wonders the Industrial Revolution had created in Europe and he wanted to recreate them back home.
He began working on a steel production plant in 1901, modeled after the ones he had seen in Germany. Even more ambitious was his hydroelectric project, inspired by his visit to the Niagara Falls power plant in 1903.
Jamsetji realized the incredible power of tourism and so he also created a chain of hotels, starting with the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which even today is one of the most recognizable buildings in Mumbai.
Jamsetji was truly a man dedicated to business and to helping people through it: he valued education to the point where he donated land and buildings towards the creation of the Indian Institute of Science, the eminent university of India.
He would not, however, live to see most of his projects realized, because he died while on a business trip in Germany in 1904, leaving the already sizable Tata company to his two sons.
Together they consolidated their ownership into a single holding company, which in turn is owned by the charitable trusts they created for future generations.
Jamsetji’s sons fulfilled many of their father’s ambitions: they oversaw the creation of India’s first steel works in 1907, India’s first cement plant in 1912 and the first indigenous insurance company in 1919.
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24-09-2019 | | By Nnamdi Anyadike
Wireless charging technology is fast transforming the demand outlook for e-bikes and other electric vehicles (EVs). It involves the transmission of energy from a power source to a device, without wires or cables and is comprised of two parts: a transmitter (the actual charging station itself) and a receiver (which is inside the device to be charged). Charging a device by this means has a number of advantages including convenience and the fact that it is maintenance free. Key players are IDT, Texas Instruments, NXP/Freescale, ADI/Linear Tech, Qualcomm, Broadcom, STMicroelectronics, On Semiconductor, Semtech, ROHM, Toshiba, Panasonic, Maxim, Generalplus, E-Charging Inc. (CPS), CVSMicro, Xiamen Newyea Tech, ZoneCharge and BOEONE.
In September, Würth Elektronik eiSos GmbH & Co. KG the manufacturer of electronic and electromechanical components for the electronics industry announced that it is now offering support to companies wishing to exploit the advantages of wireless charging for e-bikes and small Evs. Sven Lerche, Business Development Manager for New Mobility at Würth Elektronik eiSos, explained: "Wired charging requires about 2,000 to 5,000 mating cycles per battery life. Especially because users usually load partially discharged batteries to secure their mobility, charging sockets and connectors often wear out faster than the battery cells. Repairing charge sockets or chargers are rarely economical. Wireless charging is definitely an extremely interesting alternative."
Credit: Würth Elektronik
Würth Elektronik dismisses what it claims are the three most widespread prejudices against wireless power: low efficiency; fear of electric shocks or burns; and the belief that wireless power is expensive. In the first instance, the company asserts that efficiency rates can be “around 95 percent.” Any concerns about electric shocks or burns have so far proved to be unfounded. And in the case of cost, although the slightly more complex electronics of replacing plugs and sockets with wireless power coils have an initial cost, over time wireless charging is cost-neutral.
Norway’s capital city, Oslo is about to become the world’s first metropolitan area to install wireless, induction-based charging stations for electric taxis. The move is in a bid to create a zero-emission cab system by 2023. This is being done as part of a government mandate that all new cars sold in the country be all-electric by 2025. The taxi charging system will be installed by the Finnish utilities firm Fortum, which is working with US Momentum Dynamics and the municipal government of Oslo. Charging plates will be installed in the road that will connect to energy receivers in the vehicles themselves. This allows for charging up to 75 kilowatts. Using this induction method, the taxis can be charged as they wait in a taxi rank or a slow-moving queue.
Fortum ‘Charge & Drive’ has long been working with the taxi industry to enable electrification of the taxi fleet. However, the existing charging infrastructure has proved to be the greatest hurdle to electrification due to the length of time it takes for taxi drivers to find a charger, plug in and then wait for the car to charge. The wireless fast-charging project aims to use Oslo as a test case before solve rolling out the system in other countries. Annika Hoffner, Head of Fortum Charge & Drive commented, "We will install the wireless chargers at taxi stands, such as the one at the Oslo Central Station. Taxis will be able to drive up to the charger and a wireless charging session will automatically start. This allows the taxis to charge in a place where they would anyway be waiting for new customers."
Qualcomm Inc, which in May 2017 launched Dynamic EV Charging (DEVC) through its subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies Inc, was taken over earlier this year by WiTricity. The takeover has given WiTricity access to some of Qualcomm's wireless charging technology, such as Qualcomm’s ‘Halo’. This technology relies on resonant magnetic induction to transfer energy between a pad on the ground and another under the floor of a compatible EV. WiTricity is pitching the acquisition as a way for the wireless electric car industry to get the tech to consumers faster than if both companies had continued working as separate entities on the same problem.
In a statement, WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen said, "WiTricity's wireless charging technology is key to the future of mobility which is clearly electric, and increasingly shared and autonomous. Electric vehicle drivers and fleets demand a simple, effortless charging experience. Bringing the Qualcomm Halo technology into the WiTricity portfolio will simplify global interoperability and significantly accelerate commercialization."
There is a huge potential for wireless EV charging and a raft of new players are beginning to enter the market. A recent study expects the wireless EV charging market to reach a value of $4.96 billion by 2024, from $191.57 million in 2016. This is a CAGR of 50.21%. The fastest growing segment of this market is in the >50 KW power supply range.
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(Montel) It is cheaper to build new renewable capacity than to continue operating 39% of the world’s existing coal capacity, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The report – published by Carbon Tracker, a research organisation dedicated to the financial implications of climate change – found the share of uncompetitive coal plants worldwide would increase rapidly to 60% in 2022 and 73% in 2025.
Outside the US, a third of the global coal fleet was already more costly to continue operating than building new renewables with storage today, it said.
EU coal uncompetitive
It noted 81% of the EU’s coal fleet was uncompetitive already, with the percentage set to reach 100% by 2025 and 43% of China’s plants were uncompetitive at present but likely to reach nearly 100% by mid-decade.
The word’s second-largest thermal coal importer, India, however lagged somewhat behind, with 17% of its coal fleet currently uncompetitive, rising to 85% in 2025.
“Replacing the entire global coal fleet with clean energy [including battery storage] can be done at a net savings to society as early as 2022,” the organisation said, adding this was before considering coal’s “dire health, climate, and environmental impacts”.
“Currently, coal phase-out hasn’t kept pace with eroding economics,” it said.
To keep the Paris Agreement’s temperature targets within reach, global coal use must decline by 80% below 2010 levels by 2030, requiring rapid transition in OECD countries over the next decade and phase-out in the rest of the world by 2040, it noted.
09:08, Tuesday, 30 June 2020
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What is a credit rating versus a credit score? The terms credit rating and credit score might be used interchangeably in some cases, but there is a distinction between these two phrases. A credit rating, often expressed as a letter grade, conveys the creditworthiness of a business or government. A credit score, usually given as a number, is also an expression of creditworthiness that can be used for businesses or individual consumers.
Certain credit scores (for instance, the Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX, Experian’s Intelliscore Plus, or the FICO LiquidCredit Small Business Scoring Service) apply exclusively to businesses.
As a consumer, your credit score is a number based on information from your credit reports at the three major credit reporting bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. When it comes to applying for a personal loan, a mortgage, or a new credit card, you’ll be interested in your personal credit score.
Credit Rating vs. Credit Score
Both ratings and scores are designed to show potential lenders and creditors a borrower’s likelihood of repaying a debt. They are created by independent third parties, rather than by creditors or consumers. These services are paid for by the entity requesting the credit score as well as by the creditor.
- Credit ratings are expressed as letter grades and often used for businesses and governments.
- Credit scores are numbers most often used for individuals.
- An individual’s credit score is based on information from the three major credit reporting agencies and scores range from 300 to 850.
- A FICO (commonly used) score takes information from all three major credit bureaus to credit an individual’s credit score.
- Credit ratings are produced by credit rating agencies, such as Standard and Poor's.
When creating a credit rating, all agencies can set their own scales, but the ratings most popularly used are produced by Standard & Poor’s. It uses triple-A ratings for corporations or governments that have the strongest capacity for meeting financial commitments, followed by double-A, A, triple-B, double-B, B, triple-C, double-C, C, and D for default. Pluses and minuses may be added to distinguish differences between ratings from “AA” to “CCC.”
To calculate these ratings, S&P looks at a business’s or government’s history of borrowing and repaying loans. Fitch and Moody’s are two other companies that also create credit ratings. The three organizations also assign outlook ratings (negative, positive, stable, under review, and default) to countries. These indicate the potential trend in a country’s rating over the next six months to two years.
Consumer Credit Scores
In contrast to credit ratings, credit scores are usually expressed in numbers. The most commonly used credit score in consumer lending decisions is the FICO, or Fair Isaac Corporation, score. FICO takes information from the three major credit reporting bureaus and uses it to calculate an individual’s credit score.
The three bureaus also generate their own credit scores for individuals. These will give you a general idea of where your credit stands and the factors affecting it, but most lenders look at a FICO score rather than these scores when assessing the creditworthiness of a consumer.
Credit factors such as your payment history, the amount you owe, how long your credit accounts have been open (your credit history), new credit, and the mix of credit types go into a FICO score. These scores range from 300 to 850; the higher a consumer’s score, the better.
Credit scores are typically grouped into ranges like excellent, good, fair, and poor.
Each lender will have its own guidelines for granting credit, but generally, scores higher than 720 are considered to be excellent, while scores between 690 and 720 are considered good and express that the borrower is relatively safe. Scores lower than 690 but greater than 650 are fair. Borrowers with scores in this range may have a few delinquencies in their credit histories. Scores below 650 are considered poor.
The Bottom Line
Although scales may vary, the most commonly used scales for both credit ratings and credit scores consider borrowers ranked on the bottom two-thirds of the scale to be risky. Borrowers with FICO scores from 300 to 650, for example, are considered risky, while those with scores ranging from 650 to 850 are considered fair to excellent.
Similarly, on the S&P credit rating scale, borrowers with ratings under triple-B are considered “junk,” while those that fall between triple-B and triple-A on the scale are considered acceptable.
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Community and business leaders can take immediate action to both save money and better prepare for climate change impacts, according to a study released this month by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.
“Everyone thinks that climate change adaptation is expensive,” said Manomet Senior Program Leader Eric Walberg. “The truth is, it will cost a lot more in the long run if you don’t prepare for climate change.”
Among the Manomet recommendations
- Plan for resilient coastlines by including sea level rise and storm surge projections in decisions on the location and character of new development. Climate smart decisions in the coastal zone will protect health and safety of citizens, limit future tax burden and protect the health of costal ecosystems.
- Keep existing green infrastructure in place to minimize flood threat and protect water quality. Maintaining forested riparian buffers and protecting headwater streams is among the most cost effective flood control measures. Attempting to replace these services with gray infrastructure is costly and often ineffective. In the case of the Sebago Lake Watershed in Maine the green infrastructure network provides filtration savings of $70 million.
- Size new storm water infrastructure to handle increased precipitation intensity. “Much of the existing infrastructure was designed for the climate we used to have, not the one we have now and certainly not the one we’ll have in the future,” Walberg said.
“The decisions we make now are going to have ramifications for many years in terms of cost, health and safety and ecosystem function,” Walberg said. “We identified several clear ways that communities can save taxpayer dollars and become more resilient to climate change.”
The Manomet climate change adaptation work supports many of the adaptation goals that President Obama articulated in his speech on June 25th.
Specifically, the White House plan will “support climate-resilient investments,” “maintain agricultural productivity” and “provide tools for climate resilience” – all priorities that are identified in the Manomet reports.
“The president’s speech brought much needed attention to climate change adaptation,” said Manomet Senior Program Leader Eric Walberg, who headed up the research. “We need to be making smart decisions now and hopefully more communities will pay attention to the critical issue.
The full reports can be accessed at http://www.manomet.org/climate_solutions.
For more than 40 years, the Manomet Center has used science and partnerships to build a more sustainable world. The Center is a non-profit research organization headquartered in Massachusetts with scientists working across North and South America.
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Full Text: The Practice of the "One Country, Two Systems" Policy in the HKSAR
Updated: 2014-06-10 15:55
II. Statistics of Exchanges and Cooperation Between the Mainland and Hong Kong
1. The mainland is the largest trading partner of Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong statistics, in 2013 the trade volume between Hong Kong and the mainland reached HK$3.8913 trillion, 3.49 times over 1997 and accounting for 51.1 percent of Hong Kong's external trade.
2. Hong Kong is the most important trading partner of the mainland and one of the mainland's major export markets. According to the data from the General Administration of Customs, the mainland's exports to Hong Kong in 2013 totaled US$384.79 billion, constituting 17.4 percent of the mainland's total exports.
3. The mainland is the largest source of overseas direct investment for Hong Kong. By the end of 2013, direct investment from the mainland to Hong Kong had exceeded US$358.8 billion, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the mainland's total outbound direct investment.
4. Hong Kong is also the mainland's largest source of overseas direct investment. According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce, the mainland had approved nearly 360,000 projects with Hong Kong investment by the end of 2013, with US$665.67 billion paid-in investment, accounting for 47.7 percent of the total overseas investment in the mainland. Hong Kong is the largest recipient of the mainland's overseas investment as well as the mainland's largest financing center. By the end of 2013, the mainland's non-financial direct investment in Hong Kong had reached US$338.669 billion, taking up 59 percent of the mainland's total outbound non-financial direct investment.
5. By the end of 2013, the number of mainland enterprises listed in Hong Kong had reached 797, accounting for 48.5 percent of the total number of companies listed in Hong Kong. Their total market value had reached HK$13.7 trillion, accounting for 56.9 percent of the total value of the Hong Kong stock market.
6. By the end of 2013, RMB deposits and depository receipts in Hong Kong amounted to RMB1.05 trillion, an increase of 46 percent over 2012. RMB loans totaled RMB115.6 billion, and outstanding RMB bonds totaled RMB310 billion.
7. The Mainland/Hong Kong Science and Technology Co-operation Committee has, with the support of institutions of higher learning, research institutes and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, established 16 Partner State Key Laboratories, one Hong Kong branch of the Chinese National Engineering Research Center, and two National High-tech Industrialization Bases in Hong Kong. The Committee supports Hong Kong's institutions of higher learning in setting up research institutes in Shenzhen, Hong Kong's neighboring city on the mainland, and encourages Hong Kong's participation in key national science and technology programs.
8. Since 2010, four projects under the national 973 Program have been undertaken by Hong Kong's science and technology professionals and institutes, and have received total research and development funding of RMB160 million.
9. China's Chang'e-3 lunar lander and its Yutu rover landed on the moon in December 2013. The camera pointing system on Yutu was developed by experts from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
10. By the end of 2013, the number of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering from Hong Kong had reached 39, including foreign nationals. In addition, 88 Hong Kong scientists had won 44 state science and technology awards, including the State Natural Science Award, State Scientific and Technological Progress Award and State Technological Invention Award.
11. Mainland students studying at institutions of higher learning in Hong Kong numbered 22,000 in the 2012/13 academic year. By October 2013, the number of Hong Kong students studying at institutions of higher learning in the mainland topped 14,000.
12. The University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Baptist University and City University of Hong Kong have worked with mainland universities in jointly holding academic programs and running institutions of higher learning. Universities in cities and provinces of Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Fujian on the mainland have established over 400 pairs of sister-school partnerships with Hong Kong universities.
13. In 2009, Yueju opera, jointly nominated by Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong Province, was officially inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
14. In September 2011, with the support of the central government, Hong Kong Global Geopark was listed by UNESCO as part of its Global Geoparks Network.
15. Since the mainland and Hong Kong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong and the mainland have worked together in producing 322 films, accounting for 70 percent of mainland's total in such area. Moreover, 61 of the 322 co-productions topped RMB100 million each in box office receipts.
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When kids read that America’s $18 trillion+ debt is accepted by many experts as ‘business as usual’, I wonder how that news will affect their future personal finance decisions. Do they understand the consequences of unbalanced budgets? The quandary of infinite wants vs. finite dollars? Or do they think money grows on some fiscal tree that always blooms? The good news is: Half of the nation’s schools require a financial literacy course. The bad new is: Only half require a financial literacy course.
If your school doesn’t teach a course about personal economics, there are many online sites that address the topic as mini-lessons. Some are narrative; others games. Here are eight I like. See if one suits you:
Banzai is a personal finance curriculum that teaches high school and middle school students how to prioritize spending decisions through real-life scenarios and choose-your-own adventure (kind of) role playing. Students start the course with a pre-test to determine a baseline for their financial literacy. They then engage in 32 life-based interactive scenarios covering everything from balancing a budget to adjusting for unexpected bills like car trouble or health problems. Once they’ve completed these exercises, they pretend that they have just graduated from high school, have a job, and must save $2,000 to start college. They are constantly tempted to mis-spend their limited income and then must face the consequences of those actions, basing decisions on what they learned in the 32 scenarios. Along the way, students juggle rent, gas, groceries, taxes, car payments, and life’s ever-present emergencies. At the end, they take a post-test to measure improvement in their financial literacy.
The program is free, takes about eight hours (depending upon the student), and can include printed materials as well as digital.
Rich Kid Smart Kid is a collection of four games where three children–Ima, Jesse, and Reno–struggle with real-life scenarios such as running an ice cream stand, raising money for a personal goal, the importance of allocating earned money to varied needs, (such as charity, investments, and savings), and the difference between good debt and bad debt. Games are leveled for age groups from Kindergarten to high school. They include thorough lesson plans, learning objectives, classroom activities, and discussion questions, as well as companion websites with more resources.
The program is free, online, and can be completed in four sessions–one for each game. There are also add-on low-tech options like board games.
Financial Football is a collaboration between the National Football League, the NFL Players Association, and Visa to use the sport of football to promote financial literacy among high school and middle school students. It is a fast-paced, interactive game that engages students in football strategy while teaching money management skills. Teams compete by answering financial questions to earn yardage and score touchdowns. Players pick their NFL team and the opponent, the level of difficulty, skill level, their age-group, and the length of play. Play takes gamers through all the steps of a football game–from the coin toss on–with progress defined by how students answer financial questions.
The program is free, online, with stunning graphics and authentic NFL music. If you’re a fantasy football fan, this is a winner.
This game-based website covers budgeting, needs vs. wants, savings vs. checking, credit, banks, and where money comes from. Each lesson starts with an introduction, then an in-depth discussion on the topic. At the completion, students model the discussed activity. Instructions are both written and audio, making them accessible to lots of learners. Students finish the program with an assessment of knowledge and certificates. Despite the space-themed adventures and the friendly aliens with goofy voices, the vocabulary is sophisticated and a calculator may be required. This one is geared for 4th and 5th graders. Teens have a different version called Hands-on Banking: Teens and young adults play Hands-on Banking: Young Adults.
The program is free, online (it does have a non-flash version for iPads), and is best completed over a series of sessions.
EconEdLink provides hundreds of free online lesson plans on personal finance, economics, and entrepreneurship for grades K-12. Part of this is a large library of online interactive tools including videos and game-like activities. These can be searched by concept, grade level, and type of activity (i.e., flash, a story, a game, a quiz, and more). As a test, I searched ‘games’ ‘all ages’ and got twenty interactives, including ‘You’re going to college’, ‘Savings and investing blitz’, and ‘Budget odyssey’. Using the interactive game on how to develop good credit habits as a sample, students learn how long it can take to pay off a credit card balance. The objective is to deplete debt and maintain a good credit rating by making payments on time and accumulating as many consumer goods and services as possible without running up debt. Students select a profile, follow daily activities, and then see how their financial habits affect their lives.
All resources are free, well-constructed, and differentiated for varied student learning styles. There is also free, online professional development videos that allow teachers to gain mastery over challenging content and learn to use the site’s resources in their classrooms.
The Stock Market Game (by SIFMA) is an online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students in the world of economics, investing and personal finance. Students set up market accounts and make decisions about buying and selling based on research and real-life events. It is played by over 600,000 students every year. In the 35 years it has been around, 15 million students in all fifty states have used it to promote their financial literacy. Once registered, teachers have access to lesson plans and other resources to help unpack the Stock Market Game experience for their students.
The Game is free, suggested for grades 4-12, and delivered via website or mobile app.
Developed for middle school and high school students, this online game helps students learn important personal finance skills as they compete against classmates. The game includes sixteen Missions in which students attempt to help people in financial trouble. To get started, students join the Gen i Revolution, select their Operatives, and begin to earn points as they work to complete each Mission.
The games are free and can be played as part of a class (with a class code) or an individual. Each mission is about thirty minutes, which means all sixteen can be completed in about eight hours, or over a series of classes.
It’s just money, until you don’t have it. Spent postulates that you’ve lost your job, had your house foreclosed, and are down to your last $1,000. It asks, Can you make it through the month? You start by selecting one of several jobs and then evaluating net pay vs. ongoing expenses. It discusses the selection of health insurance, an apartment, travel expenses, the family pet’s sickness, and more. You make decisions and the program tells you the consequences of that choice. The game ends when you run out of money. The learning is as much about empathy and social awareness as it is about the proper spending of limited funds.
This program is web-based and geared for middle school and high school.
These eight personal financial tools provide a wide variety of options. Pick one that works best for your students–better yet, let them pick the approach that fits their learning style.
More on economics:
Jacqui Murray has been teaching for 35 years, technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, CSG Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
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Sometimes, I venture out into the world and meet new people, not very often, but it happens. Inevitably, someone asks what I do. The conversation goes like this:
“What do you do?”
“I’m an archivist.”
“Oh, an architect!”
“No, an archivist. It’s like a librarian but with unpublished papers instead of books.”
“Oh, you mean an arCHIVist.”
[Suppressing a sigh] “Sure.”
Then my new friend says how interesting it must be and ask what I’m working on, and lately, I’ve been working on records from turnpike companies. This gets more questions, and many people are surprised to learn that many roads were built by private companies. They were toll roads, operated privately, and usually ran as corporations with stock holders and dividends.
The earliest turnpike to come through Montgomery County was the first in Pennsylvania. It was built in 1792 and ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster, passing through four miles of Lower Merion along the way. Germantown Pike was built by the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike Company, beginning in 1801.
According to Frederick C. Swinehart’s article “The Turnpikes of Pennsylvania” (HSMC Bulletin, V. IX, April, 1955), by 1821 there were 146 turnpikes authorized in Pennsylvania. Not all of them would be built, however. It was not uncommon for the companies to fail to sell all their stock.
The Historical Society has records from several of the turnpike companies, including the Norristown, Bridgeport and King of Prussia Turnpike Road Company, now DeKalb Pike. Originally chartered in 1848, construction began in 1853. Shares in the company were sold for $10 apiece. Investors didn’t see a dividend until 1885. Soon after that, the road was “freed,” meaning it was transferred to public ownership (the company received $11,000 in this case) and tolls were no longer collected.
We also have records for the Plymouth and Upper Dublin Turnpike (Butler Pike). Started in 1853, it wasn’t until 1857 that the company was ready to collect tolls. Charles Dewees was paid $5 a month and use of a house and two acres for manning the tollgate at Broad Axe.
A toll house on York Road in Cheltenham
When automobiles began appearing on the roads, some of the turnpike companies decided to take advantage of what was then a luxury only the very rich could afford. The Chestnut Hill and Springhouse Turnpike (now Bethlehem Pike) raised the toll from 1 or 2 cents a mile to 25 cents a mile. When the Springhouse and Sumneytown Turnpike did the same, drivers in Norristown went to court. The company settled outside of court. Rates were lowered to 2 cents a mile for a 1 seat car and 3 cents for a two seat car.
The tolls on the Springhouse and Hilltown Turnpike in 1917
Cars brought new problems as well. In 1913, an automobile accident on the Springhouse and Hilltown Turnpike caused headaches for the company. Soon after the accident, correspondence of the board of managers begins to question if the company could be maintained much longer. It was freed in 1921.
The last privately held turnpike on our county was the Springhouse and Penllyn Turnpike. It was freed in 1923.
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The global risks landscape
The 15th edition of the Global Risks Report draws on feedback from nearly 800 global experts and decision-makers who were asked to rank their concerns in terms of likelihood and impact for countries or industries. All existing global risks were grouped into five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal, and technological.
The global threats landscape, as presented in the report, includes the following:
- geopolitical instability,
- economic concerns,
- climate response shortcomings,
- biodiversity loss impacts,
- technological governance,
- creaking health systems.
Short-term risk outlook
The Global Risks Report forecasts a year of increased domestic and international divisions with the added risk of economic slowdown. 78% of survey respondents said they expect «economic confrontations» and «domestic political polarization» to rise in 2020. Global experts also see the risk of extreme heat waves and destruction of natural ecosystems increasing, as well as a rise in cyber-attacks targeting operations and infrastructure and data/money theft. Over 87% of Global Shapers (members of The Global Shapers Community the World Economic Forums network of young people driving dialogue, action and change) expect an increase in risks of extreme heat waves, destruction of ecosystems, health impacted by pollution.
A sharper focus on environmental threats
Concerns about environmental risks have been rising over the last decade. For the first time in the history of the surveys 10-year outlook, environmental threats dominate the top five long-term risks by likelihood and occupy three of the top five spots by impact. The remaining two risks in the top five in terms of impact are weapons of mass destruction and water crises.
A need for adaptive geopolitics
As the outlines of the next geopolitical era start to emerge, there is still uncertainty about where the distribution of power will settle and from where influence will emanate, but a snap back to the old order appears unlikely. Instead, longstanding institutions must adapt to the present and be upgraded or reimagined for the future. One example is the Franco-German «Alliance for Multilateralism», a group of nations working to boost international cooperation in areas such as disarmament, digitalization and climate change.
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Many states and local governments impose a direct tax on consumption when you purchase goods and services.
A sales tax is a direct tax on consumption that many states and local governments impose when you purchase goods and services. The amount of tax you pay is typically figured as a percentage of the sale price. As of 2019, 45 states and an array of counties and cities charge a sales tax.
Paying sales tax
As of 2019, five states, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, do not have a sales tax. Since sales taxes are based on fixed percentages, the only way to avoid paying it is to reduce your consumption or to make all of your purchases in one of the five states that don't impose it.
Sales tax exemptions
States usually exempt certain purchases such as prescription and nonprescription drugs and food items from sales tax. Of all the states that impose a sales tax, only Illinois charges the full rate of tax on these items. Just seven states charge sales taxes on food purchases. However, all seven offer a reduction in the rate rather than a full exemption, only charging from one to five percent on food purchases.
Collecting sales tax
Since sales taxes are imposed at the point of sale, merchants and service providers are responsible for collecting the tax and submitting it to the state. This requires many businesses that are likely to collect sales taxes to register with a state agency for a permit. This imposes an obligation on all merchants and service providers within a state to maintain records of all sales taxes collected and to make periodic payments to the government.
The collection of sales taxes for online purchases has been a controversial topic over the years. Federal law prohibits a state from requiring a business to collect sales tax from customers in that state when the merchant has no connection with the state. For example, if a California company makes an online sale to a California resident, the company must collect sales tax. However, if the customer is a Wisconsin resident, then no sales tax is collected as long as the company doesn't have a location in Wisconsin. Alternatively, some states request consumer information from online retailers so the states can pursue the consumer directly and collect taxes for bring products into the state.
Get every deduction
TurboTax Deluxe searches more than 350 tax deductions and credits so you get your maximum refund, guaranteed.
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In early 2012, the European Commission began to draw a new plan for data protection reform that would apply to the European Union.
After over four years of debate, an agreement was made and the(GDPR) was approved and unveiled in mid-2016. All nations of the European Union have transferred the rules and regulations of the GDPR into their own laws, and it will officially go into effect at the end of May in 2018.
What is the purpose of the GDPR? In essence, it’s designed to give the citizens of the European Union more control over their personal data. The law applies to any business physically located in the EU, as well as to any businesses and companies outside of the EU who offer their products or services to citizens of the EU.
This means that even if your business is located in the United States, if you sell products and services to EU citizens, you will need to be compliant with the rules outlined in the GDPR.
Here are the five biggest things you need to know about the new General Data Protection Regulation:
1. Businesses Will Need A Data Protection Officer
Once the GDPR officially goes into effect in May 2018, all businesses impacted by it will need to hire a data protection officer (DPO).
The role of the DPO will be to teach you about meeting GDPR requirements and making sure you are compliant with them. They will report directly to the highest level of management in your company and to the regulatory authorities.
2. Fines For Non-Compliance Are Large
Even if you are aware of the fact that your company needs to be compliant with the GDPR, purposefully deciding not to be compliant will be a major mistake assuming you still want to dowho reside in the EU.
The highest fine for non-compliance is the higher between twenty million euros or four percent of your total global revenue. There are additional fines you may face as well, such as a two percent find for failing to notify the regulatory authority about a breach.
3. You Must Gain Customer Consent To Store Data
Are you going to be storing important personal data from your EU customers? If so, you must now get their consent to store that data. This is different from before, where you didn’t have to gain consent but customers were allowed to opt-out of allowing you to store their data.
In addition, you must also keep a record of when the customer gave their consent. The customer also has the right to withdraw their consent whenever they choose.
4. The Definition of Personal Data Has Changed
Alright, so you need to gain consent from an EU customer to store personal data. But what even counts as personal data in the first place?
The definition of personal data under the GDPR rules is more broad in contrast to how it was before. IP addresses, card payment info, names, addresses, cultural information, medical information, and virtually any kind of data that can be used to help identify a person now counts as personal data (which again, you must gain consent to store).
5. You Must Report Any and All Data Breaches
If you have any data breaches of any kind, it is your sole responsibility to report them to your data protection authority within seventy-two hours at the most.
Yes, it’s likely that you won’t know all of the details concerning the breach within that narrow of a time frame. Nonetheless, you will still need to at least make contact with your data protection authority and tell them everything you know at the present time. As you continue to gain more information, you’ll need to communicate that information to the authority as soon as possible.
Specific information that the data protection authority will definitely want to know include the time of the breach, how many of your customers are affected by it, and any actions you have already taken or plan to take to respond to it.
What To Know About GDPR
So long as your business either is located in the EU or sell your products or services to citizens within the EU, you will need to be compliant with theput in place by the GDPR.
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A capital expenditure includes all costs incurred on the acquisition of a fixed asset along with subsequent expenditures that increase the asset's earning capacity, while revenue expenditure only includes costs that are aimed at maintaining fixed assets and not enhancing earning capacity. The distinction between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure is important because only capital expenditures are included in the cost of a fixed asset.
Capital expenditure includes all costs of acquisition, such as delivery, legal charges, installation, upgrade and replacement costs. Capital expenditure is generally of a one-off expense, and its benefit is derived over several accounting periods. For example, the cost of replacing a conveyor belt on an assembly line is a capital expenditure. For accounting purposes, a capital expenditure requires a debit to the fixed asset account and a credit to accounts payable.
Revenue expenditure includes the costs of maintaining a fixed asset, such as repair, repainting and renewal costs. These costs are incurred on a regular basis, and their benefits are obtained over a relatively short period of time. Since revenue expenditures do not show up in the cost of a fixed asset, they are expensed in the income statement for the period in which they are incurred. Therefore, a revenue expenditure requires a debit to the income statement and a credit to accounts payable.
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How to Write an Effective Executive Summary
What is an Executive Summary?
An executive summary is a document that efficiently summarizes a larger business plan while communicating key findings and takeaways from research, as well as proposed courses of action.
For example, if a company performs a competitor analysis prior to deciding whether or not to move in different strategic direction, a business plan would be put together to articulate findings and suggest next steps. This business plan would open with an executive summary.
As such, an executive summary quickly becomes the most important element of any business plan.
Executive summaries should include the following components:
- An explanation of why the research was performed
- The results that the research yielded
- Proposed suggestions for how management or leadership should best alter strategies based on the findings of research
Writing an executive summary can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to know where to start, what to write about, or how it should be structured.
In this article, we’ll walk you through how to write an effective executive summary.
How to Write an A+ Executive Summary
Write it last.
Research is only truly valuable when it’s able to inform business decisions and strategies.
Once research is performed, there is work to be done in terms of packaging findings in a way that easily communicates the need for an altered strategy to leadership. The most straightforward way to do this is to create a business plan that includes all of your research, findings, and suggestions. This business plan naturally requires an executive summary.
Crafting the executive summary of your business plan after every other part of the report is best practice. This ensures that you can build out a summary that represents the remainder of the plan as accurately as possible.
Capture the reader’s attention.
While an executive summary should be informative in nature, it should also capture the audience's attention immediately so that they are motivated to read the remainder of the document.
The objective presentation of your research findings, and the proposed direction that your business should move in should inspire excitement in your audience!
At the end of your executive summary, your audience — whether they be an investor, banker, advisor, or executive — should be eager to read on.
Your executive summary should be thorough, but it should not reveal everything. Your audience should be encouraged by the summary to read the remainder of your report if they want the full story.
Make sure your executive summary can stand on its own.
With a clearly defined structure, an executive summary can be a standalone piece. Without one, however, it would need the support of the entire report to make an impact. Strive for the former, not the latter.
If your executive summary can’t stand on its own, consider revising it until it can.
A tightly informative introduction, body, and conclusion should allow someone with no prior knowledge of your business or industry to read your executive summary and understand the key findings from your research, and the primary elements of your business plan.
Think of an executive summary as a more condensed version of your business plan.
Your executive summary should be directly aligned with the rest of your larger business plan.
While writing your executive summary, read through your business plan and take the most vital information from each section. Numbers, facts, and goals in your business plan should be congruent with your executive summary.
Your executive summary should highlight the best features of your business plan. For example, if you’ve identified a primary advantage that your plan proposes you should be leveraging, your executive summary should include this advantage.
Include supporting research.
Support the claims you make in your executive summary with research, and cite this research via footnotes in your business plan.
Boil it down as much as possible.
One of the most essential aspects of an executive summary is succinctness. You should condense your summary as much as possible, with the goal of getting all of your vital information onto one page.
The more succinct you are, the clearer your message will be, and the more confidence your readers will have in your plan.
Start with a BANG.
Including a thought-provoking statistic, or an inspiring and relevant quote at the beginning of your summary will capture the reader's attention and get them thinking on the track that you want them to.
Keep things positive.
Your executive summary should focus only on the positive elements of your research and business plan. Leave the discussion of risks, obstacles, and challenges for the body section of your plan.
Try to use a positive tone and language in your summary.
The 5 Paragraph Formula for an Effective Executive Summary
An effective executive summary can be broken down into five paragraphs.
Paragraph 1: Provide an overview of your business.
As mentioned, you can get your readers thinking along the track you’d like them to by including a quote or statistic in the first paragraph of your executive summary.
This first paragraph is also where you should provide the name and nature of your business, and relevant insights about your industry.
Paragraph 2: Discuss target market, competition, and marketing strategy.
Your second paragraph should include a clear and concise definition of your target market, and the need or pain point that your business will aim to solve.
Next, outline the competitive landscape of your industry, and the advantage that your particular business possesses.
Your marketing strategy should hinge on the three primary ways that you plan on reaching your target market. Focusing on just the three strongest points of your marketing strategy will maintain precision, and get your readers excited to explore the rest of your plan.
Paragraph 3: Provide an overview of operational highlights.
The third paragraph of your executive summary should provide operational highlights such as where your company offices will be located, whether or not you will incorporate or remain a sole proprietor, or whether you will serve as a brick and mortar or online business.
Paragraph 4: Show forecasting.
Here you should make sales forecasting projections for one and two years after your business plan has been implemented. Calculate your break even point, and inform your audience of when you project to turn a profit.
Paragraph 5: Detail your investment needs.
If your business requires financing, this is where you should go into detail about the investment needs of your business. The number you include here should be clear, and should align with your projections from the previous paragraph.
You should now have the tools and knowledge to draft an effective executive summary. Hopefully this article has alleviated some of the overwhelming feelings that come with getting the ball rolling.
Do you have tips or advice for creating an effective executive summary? If so, we’d love to hear them! Drop us a line in the comments below.
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What should you know about dividends?
Starting your own company is an exciting venture, but you may quickly become overwhelmed with all the new terminology. In this article you’ll find explanation of one of the most important, money related terms - dividends.
What are dividends?
When you are a shareholder of a company, you may receive money for the shares you own in a form of dividend. A dividend is a payment from the company to its shareholders made out of profits after corporation tax and VAT.
Receiving payment in dividends can be an effective way to draw money from your company as they do not attract any National Insurance contributions. Dividends are distributed accordingly to percentage of the company owned (shares held) by each shareholder.
When company is owned by two shareholders, each owning 5 shares (50% of the company), with a dividend amount of £100 per share, each will receive total dividend of £500 (5 shares x £100).
How often can you be paid dividends?
Dividends can be paid at any time, assuming there are funds in company’s bank account to support it. The amount and frequency of the payment are decided by the owners of the business.
What company must do to pay a dividend?
Company must hold a board meeting to agree dividends declaration and must record the meeting minutes in company’s records. Once dividends are distributed, confirmation of distribution, called dividend voucher, has to be provided to each of the shareholders and it must include the following details:
Date of dividend
Name and address of the recipient
Total number of shares owned by the shareholder
Total dividend payable to the shareholder
Signature of company’s director
How is a dividend taxed?
A dividend is paid out of company’s profit after corporation tax and VAT. It doesn’t affect company’s tax position, which means it is not tax allowable expense. As it is payable to shareholders after taxes, the company is not liable to any additional costs.
The shareholders are liable to pay income tax on any dividends received. Currently, the first £2,000 (tax year 2019/20) of dividends is taxed at 0%, then the dividends within Basic Rate threshold are taxable at 7.5%, within Higher Rate threshold at 32.5% and above that in Additional Rate threshold at 38.1%. Please check the latest tax tables for updated thresholds and tax bands.
What is a dividend waiver?
When company has more than one shareholder, some shareholders may waive their right to receive a dividend. This means that a dividend will only be distributed to other shareholders. It is very important to proceed with this scenario for genuine commercial reasons and it is advisable to consult with your accountant.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
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A financial market according Brealey etal (2004) is a market in which financial assets such as shares and bonds can be bought or sold. One party transfers funds to the financial market by purchasing a financial asserts previously held by another party. Largely financial institutions aid this type of transaction. A financial institution is an institution whose assets are financial assets or financial claims e.g. stocks, bonds and loans. Financial institutions serve the purpose of facilitating the accumulation and allocation of capital by channelling individual savings into loans to governments and businesses. The transactions of financial institutions therefore consist of making loans to customers and the purchase of investment securities in the market place. They also offer a wide range of other financial services such as insurance protection and managing pension funds. In addition they provide a mechanism for making payments, transferring funds and storing financial information.
Financial market theories
Several theories have emerged in the field of financial markets. Irving Fisher (1906, 1907, 1930) was one of the early pioneers in this field. In his works ‘Nature of Capital and Income’ (1906) and ‘Rate of Interest’ (1907) he argued that all capital is ‘circulating’ capital and that, all capital is used up in the production process, and thus a “stock” of capital K did not exist. Rather, all “capital” is, in fact, investment. This assumption did not go down well with other experts likes Friedrich Hayek (1941). He argued that how Fisher could reconcile his theory of investment with the Clarkian theory of production, which underlies the factor market equilibrium.
Harry Markowitz (1952, 1959) also did not see eye to eye with Fisher and so came out with what became known as the theory of “Modern Portfolio Theory”(MPT. Markowitz argued that investors try to minimize risk while striving for the highest return possible. According to him investors will act rationally, always making decisions aimed at maximizing their return for their acceptable level of risk. The theory emphasized the importance of portfolios, risk, the correlations between security and diversification. His work changed the way people invested. It actually shows us that it is possible for different portfolios have varying levels of risk and return. It is up to each investor to decide how much risk they can handle and then allocate their portfolio according to this decision. Prior to Markowitz’s theories, earlier studies placed emphasis on picking single high-yield stocks without any regard to their effects on portfolios as a whole. Markowitz’s portfolio theory became a stepping-stone towards the creation of what become known as the Capital Asset Pricing Model. (CAPM)
Samuelson and Mandelbrot later introduced the “Efficient Market Hypothesis” (EMH): They agued that if markets are working properly, then all public information regarding an asset will be channelled immediately into its price. If price changes seem random and thus unforecastable it is because investors are doing their jobs: The investment theory that states that it is impossible to “beat the market” because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information. According to the EMH, this means that stocks always trade at their fair value on stock exchanges, and thus it is impossible for investors to either purchase undervalued stocks or sell stocks for inflated prices. Thus, the crux of the EMH is that it should be impossible to outperform the overall market through expert stock selection or market timing, and that the only way an investor can possibly obtain higher returns is by purchasing riskier investments. (http://envy/cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles)
Restructuring of the financial market
Financial markets have become vital tools for sustaining the economies of developing countries. Due to this, many developing countries have embarked on a number of financial sector development programs in mid 1980’s in order to revamp their economies. Ghana is no exception to this new wave of development. The country has undergone a process of financial sector restructuring and transformation in the 1990s in order to achieve emerging financial market status. The reforms aimed at moving the financial sector from an era characterised by controls to a market-based regime. The government of Ghana as part of the structural adjustment programme launched the Financial Sector Adjustment Programme (FINSAP) to address the deterioration problems in the financial sector. Years of mismanagement and government interference in the administration of credit rendered most banks uncompetitive and technically insolvent.
As part of the restructuring, monetary policy reforms was instituted and market for securities was created for monetary policy purposes. In 1986 a weekly auction in treasury bills was introduced. Again in 1988 Bank of Ghana bills was introduced to take care of excess liquidity in the system especially in the rural areas and also to provide an avenue of investment for banks. Around this time, there had been schemes (e.g. SAF) to allow government to put its house in order and to move away from borrowing from the banking sector. The central bank of Ghana shifted gradually from a direct system of monetary controls to an indirect system that utilized market-based policy instruments. As part of the process, the Bank of Ghana rationalized the minimum reserve requirements for banks, introduced new financial instruments, and open market operations for liquidity management. (Bank of Ghana Consultation Paper October 2007).
Results of the restructuring
The restructuring of the financial sector resulted in the creation of the financial market in Ghana. The market in Ghana is made up of the bond, equity, foreign exchange and the derivative markets. Unfortunately the money market dominates the financial markets in Ghana, bringing with it all the problems associated with it. The major participants in the money markets are the Central banks, brokers or discount houses, corporate, banks and other financial institutions. The money market provides a market for the banks where they can lend when they have excess liquidity and also borrows when they are in short of liquidity.
The central bank also uses the money markets to manage liquidity in the financial system as a whole and also ensuring stability in the banking system. When there is too much money in circulation, it escalates the rate of inflation leading to high interest rates and consequently making the markets unstable and unattractive to investors. In order for the central bank to ensure stability, it issues more securities in the money markets in order to reverse the situation. (West Africa Magazine, 23 Sept 1996)
The bond market
One remarkable achievement of the restructuring is creation and growth of the bond market in Ghana. According to R E Bailey (2005) a bond is a contract that commits the issuer to make a definite sequence of payments until a specific time. He further explained that bonds are special forms of loans, which is commonly an agreement between a borrower and a lender (R. E Bailey- 2005 p282.) The bond market in Ghana has shown a tremendous improvement since the first trading of Ghana Stock Exchange Commemorative Registered Stock of 1990. These bonds were a 5-Year debt instruments issued to provide a foundation for active bond trading on the newly created Ghana Stock Exchange. This was followed by the by HFC dollar Housing Bond Series. The government’s aim of developing the bond market in Ghana cannot be over emphasis. Every attempt was made to sustain the market. In recent times the government inundated the market with forty-eight, 2, 3 & 5-year bonds worth a little over GH¢1 billion. This acts as boost to the primary market and was described by the GSE as ‘a significant landmark in the history of the Exchange’.
The government’s listings enhanced the bond market in Ghana and also showed the government’s commitment to the development of the bond market. As of December 2006, total outstanding government bonds stood at GFC 2,400 bn (USD 260 mn). Another major boost to the market was the listing of Standard Chartered Bank’s three year Medium Term Notes worth ¢350billion as well as preference Shares. The introduction of government of Ghana’s golden Jubilee bond in 2008 also signified a major transformation in the financial markets as well. This 5-year bond was listed in a bid to enhance the secondary trading on the market and to ensure liquidity. This has been viewed as a positive development in the market. (Bank of Ghana Consultation Paper October 2007)
Finally one other major boost to the bond market is the issuing in October 2006 of cedi dominated Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Bond. This is a two year bond linked to the Ghanaian cedis and its worth GHC 414.9 billion. The AfDB is reported to have plans of issuing cedi denominated bonds on the Ghanaian market. The purpose of this issue is to provide long-term local currency financing to support development projects. According to AfDB report this would be done by the means of direct project lending as well as lines of credits to financial institutions. Such a transaction simultaneously aims to deepen the bond market in Ghana. (Africa Development Bank (AfDB) report 2007)
This remarkable achievement of the market continued way into the later part of 2007. GSE described 2007 as the “golden” year for Ghana’s capital market including the Ghana Stock Exchange. According to GSE reports Market Capitalization shot up by 22.38% to close 2006 at ¢112,415.68 billion from a previous value of ¢91,857.28 billion in 2005. Volume and value of shares traded were 98.29 million shares and ¢476 billion respectively as against 81.40 million shares valued at ¢464 billion recorded in 2005. Trading in listed bonds recorded values of ¢1.6 billion compared to ¢0.1billion in 2005. The report went on to say that in 2007 secondary trading on the floor of the Exchange saw, a tremendous improvement over the recent past where secondary market trading of government securities, which were done over-the-counter through a network of primary dealers, saw a tremendous improvement. The volume of shares traded rose by 193% from 98million in 2006 to 287million in 2007, the value of total shares traded rose from GH¢47.60million to GH¢140.71million. Also as of March 2007, the GSE had some 32 listed companies, with a market capitalisation of approximately GHC 112 trillion (USD 12 bn). (GSE Review 2006)
With the above achievement not withstanding this could be regarded as insignificant compare to the market capitalisation of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) where listed companies of the FSTE 100 as at 2006 must reach the threshold of £1.9 billion. And also the six biggest companies of the FSTE100 as at 2006 were each valued at over £60 billion giving and combined market capitalisation of £360 billion. Also a look at the ownership structure of equities on the GSE indicate that with the exception of 9 equities (out of the current 22), non-resident foreign investors (NRF) own more than 50% of the total shares issued. These NRF are usually institutional investors who want to immunise losses in their investment portfolios by investing in emerging markets where returns are usually higher than that of their local markets. As a result, a greater part of returns on the GSE accrue to foreign investors.
The derivative market in Ghana
A derivative instrument according to (Glen Arnold 1998) is an asset whose performance is based on (derived from) the behaviour of the value of an underlying asset (usually referred to simply as the underlying). The most common underlying are the commodities (e.g. tea pork bellies), shares, bonds, share indices. Glen Arnold explained that derivatives are financial contracts, which do not represent ownership rights in any asset, but have their values based on the value of some other underlying commodity or other asset. This underlying variable can be referred to as underlying asset. These may include crude oil, bond, equities, exchange rate, interest rate gold, wheat, just to mention a few. Usually, derivatives are contracts to buy or sell the underlying asset at a future time, with the price, quantity and other specifications defined in the present. Contracts are binding for both parties or for one party only, with the other party reserving the option to exercise or not. Derivatives contracts include futures, options, swap, forward rate agreement (FRA), and forwards. Derivatives are traded in organized exchanges as well as over the counter (OTC derivatives). (Glen Arnold1998)
Ghana has a fairly new derivative market, which is developing steadily. The swap was introduced in 1997. At its inception it had only CAL merchant bank and Barclays bank of Ghana engaging in Forward Rate Agreements (FRA). Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd. also used options, futures and FRA to hedge against price fluctuations in gold on the commodity market. For example Ashanti Gold sold 4.1m ounces forward at an average of $432 an ounce and also sold call options covering 1.1m ounces to expire over 5 years at an average strike price of $459. Total hedging position of 5.4 represented less than 2.5 of its gold reserve. (Glen Arnold, 1998) The situation is differently today with more companies involved in the derivative market.
According a Bank of Ghana report (Bank of Ghana WP/BOG-07/02) the derivative market would improve the capital structure and profit-making ability of the commercial banks, as well as corporate bodies in Ghana. It would strengthen the effect of monetary policies and absorb more international capital into the country, thus accelerating the economy’s future growth prospects. Derivative contracts provide an easy and straightforward way to both reduce risk (i.e. hedging), and to bear extra risk (i.e. speculating). Derivatives could also be used by equity investors to serve as protection against risk (i.e. insurance against price volatility) in the market. With the establishment for instance credit derivatives market in Ghana, whose primary purpose is to enable the efficient transfer and repackaging of credit risk that otherwise would have been borne by commercial banks and other entities. In their simplest form, credit derivatives could provide banks and other users with a more efficient approach to replicate in a derivative form the credit risks that would otherwise exist in standard cash instrument. In their more exotic form, credit derivatives can enable the credit profile of a particular asset or group of assets of participating banks and other end-users to be split up and redistributed into a more concentrated or diluted form that appeals to the various risk appetites of investors. (Bank of Ghana reports 2007 WP/BOG-07/02).
The equity market
Government and Institutional shareholders dominate the equity market. For example, as of 2003, four of the six bonds listed on the Ghana stock exchange belonged to the Home Finance Company and the remaining two belonged to the government. Also in 2007, two of the three shares offer on the Ghana Stock Exchange belonged to the Government. The remaining one belongs to Ghana Star Resources. The only right issue for the period was offered by Ghana commercial bank, which is owned by the government. For the market to expand government must encourage more private participation just like any market in the developed world.
The size of capital market in Ghana in the 1990s in terms of instruments traded and the number of participants was small relative to that of other developed markets. However the market has leap frogged from its embryonic state since its creation into a force in the sub region. From 2000 onwards there were significance increase in trading on GSE. A study conducted by IMF in 2006 revealed the stock market under performed in the first 4 years of its establishment. In the mid 1990s the story was different. In 1994 the stock market capitalization in proportion to GDP reached a record peak of 35 percent. This, according to the study is close to the world average of 38.2 percent. (I MF Working Paper 2006 WP/06/201)
Major players on the markets
Comparatively the equity and the bond markets in Ghana are small with less foreign or private participants. The major players in the capital markets are the government, investment banks and Corporations. The bond market is dominated by corporate and government bonds. Currently apart from the government bonds the other bonds available on the market are the corporate bonds from Standard Charted, Barclays bank and Home Finance Company. Governments plan to lift restriction on borrowing by metropolitan and municipal authorities (AMA, KMA & TMA) and also to launch their own bonds on the market to fund their medium and long term financial needs would be a plus to the market. This would create access to cheaper and long-term funding for these local authorities.
Besides the proposed revision of the SSNIT law to allow other private pension funds to compete with SSNIT is likely to boost the bond market if it is implemented
The above achievement not withstanding, fluctuations in interest rates, high rate of inflation and instability of the cedi, have made it difficult for traders to predict the long- term effects of the capital market and as a result find it difficult to either invest or borrow from the market. According to Bank of Ghana report, for the fifth consecutive month, headline inflation went up from 12.8 percent in January 2008 to 13.2 percent in February 2008.This was attributed to price increases in the first two months of the year. This increase the report said is driven by surges in food prices and rising crude oil prices. (Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Report: Vol. 3 NO. 2: 2008 1)
This condition one would argue flies in the face of the argument put forward by Samuelson and Mandelbrot in their “Efficient Market Hypothesis” (EMH): They are argued that when markets are working properly, then all public information regarding an asset will be channelled immediately into its price. If price changes seem random and thus unforecastable it is because investors are doing their jobs: The investment theory that states that it is impossible to “beat the market” because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information. According to the EMH, this means that stocks always trade at their fair value on stock exchanges, and thus it is impossible for investors to either purchase undervalued stocks or sell stocks for inflated prices
Unpredictability of the market
The capital market in Ghana is small in terms of instruments traded and the number of participants relative to that of the UK. Fluctuations in interest rates, high rate of inflation and instability of the cedi, have made it difficult for traders to predict the long- term effects of the capital market and as a result find it difficult to either invest or borrow from the market. An evaluation on the real return on the stock exchange by the Bank of Ghana revealed “the total annual returns on stocks listed on the Ghana stock exchange have followed an undulating pattern since 1991 falling every two years and rising every two years”. (Bank of Ghana report)
Unstable Prices has been the bane of the market over the period of its existence. Prices of goods and services are so volatile. The same can be said of interest rates, inflation and foreign exchange rates. These conditions make its very difficult for any meaningful forecast or prediction for share prices thus reducing investor confidence in the market. Interests on government securities on the money markets are higher than securities on the capital markets such as bonds. Even though Samuelson and Mandelbrot in their “Efficient Market Hypothesis” (EMH): argued share prices are unforecastable and that stocks always trade at their fair value on stock exchanges, many investors would want to be sure of where they put their hard earn money
For the derivative market to thrive it requires strong legal systems for enforcement of contracts. The legal system in Ghana could not be said to have the capability to enforce such contracts. Aside of this there is also the lack of enough financial regulation to ensure the disclosure of adequate information by participants in the capital markets. There is also not enough information available to investors to make investment decisions about the markets. These unfavourable conditions create lack of investor confidence.
One big boost to the financial market is the re-denomination of the Ghanaian cedi in July 2007. Expert predicts this would strengthen the financial market in Ghana. This is because it would reduce high transaction costs and also reduce the inconvenience and high risks involved in carrying loads of currency for transaction purposes. It would further ensure compatibility with data processing software and the strain on payments system, particularly Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Above all it would reduce the difficulties in maintaining financial and statistical records. (Ghana News Agency report 2008)
Non-resident foreign investors can now hold more than ten percent (10%) of any security listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Some few years ago they were only allowed a limit up to ten percent. For the first time in the non-resident foreigners are permitted to invest in money market instruments of a tenor of three or more years. For instance non-resident foreigners are allowed to invest in the Government of Ghana’s listed 5-Year Bond due December 2011. Again non-residents are also allowed to maintain foreign currency accounts with local banks, which can be credited with transfers in foreign currency from abroad or other foreign currency accounts. These are very positive changes that will go a long way to boost the market
Another positive development is a new regulation, which offers a temporary exemption on capital gains on securities listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. This exemption would be in place till the end of 2010. Venture capital companies Ghana have been offered a 5-year tax holiday. Financial institutions investing in venture capital subsidiaries may deduct 100% of their equity investment from their taxable income for the year of investment.
The market in Ghana has down tremendously well for the last few decades is it robust enough to withstand the shocks from external factors such as the slow down of the USA economy as well as the credit crunch across the globe. What of fluctuation in oil price prices? Some few months ago crude oil prices breached the US$130 per barrel. Though the crude is currently trading $48 per barrel there indications that this could go higher because of the cuts of crude production by member countries of OPEC.
Also indications on the world market show that food prices are rising and are causing souring inflation as well as instability in developing economies. UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report has predicted higher food prices may prolong as demand from developing countries and production costs rises. The report was also concerned about the increasing use of crops for bio fuels. If these problems persist for a long period of time it would likely ruffle the market.
Credit: Francis Kwaku Egu
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The most common way to protect one’s economy from import competition is to implement a tariff structure i.e. a tax on imports. In generally, a tariff is any tax or fee collected by a Government of the importing nation. Sometimes the term “tariff” is used in a non-trade context, however, the term is much more commonly used to refer to a tax on imported goods.
Tariffs are worth defining early in an international trade course since changes in tariffs represent the primary way in which countries either liberalize trade or protect their economies. It isn’t the only way, though, since countries also implement subsidies, quotas, and other types of regulations that can affect trade flows between the countries.
When people talk about trade liberalization, they generally mean reducing the tariffs on imported goods, thereby allowing the products to enter at lower cost. Since lowering the cost of trade makes it more profitable, it will make trade freer. A complete elimination of tariffs and other barriers to trade is what economists and others mean, by free trade. In contrast, any increase in tariffs is referred to as protection, or protectionism. Because tariffs raise the cost of importing products from abroad but not from domestic firms, they have the effect of protecting the domestic firms that compete with imported products.
Governments generally impose tariffs to raise revenue and protect domestic industries from foreign competition caused by factors like government subsidies, or lower priced goods and services.
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dApps are decentralized applications, which are distributed apps that do not use central servers in order to keep sensitive user data safe.
Traditional apps run on centralized servers, while dApps differ in that they operate through a decentralized, peer-to-peer network where no entity has full control.
Juniper analyst Lauren Foye said:
“DApps will pool resources across numerous machines globally. The results are applications which do not belong to a sole entity, [but] rather are community-driven.”
It is precisely for these reasons that dApps represent a real innovation in the field of applications and are currently classified into 3 types:
- Type 1 dApps: they have their own blockchain and they need the native asset to function; a classic example is Ethereum;
- Type 2 dApps: they rely on a type 1 dApp blockchain protocol for their functionality, but with a proprietary token;
- Type 3 dApps: they use the same protocol as Type 2 dApps.
The dApps on the Ethereum and TRON blockchains
DApps based on blockchains, usually on TRON or Ethereum, but also often on EOS, offer a substantial advantage which consists of self-sustainability over time, both financially and in terms of development.
The same people who use dApps are often involved in improving the decentralized application, which often rewards these users in tokens.
Tokens can be used on dApps or exchanged for cryptocurrencies.
These decentralized apps are open-source and the revenue goes to the devs involved in the project, but also to users and those who invest in the dApp by contributing to the improvement of the system.
In detail, the gain consists of:
- For developers, in reference to the work done in programming, in observing the growth and spread of the application to a greater number of users;
- For marketers, in relation to promotion and growing sales;
- For users who pay to use the service and then collaborate in maintaining the dApp itself.
App vs dApp
Comparison of WhatsApp and Status, messaging app and dApp, respectively.
The messages and media that we exchange through WhatsApp are encrypted and when registering with the application, it is necessary to enter the phone number that is recorded on a server.
All of this is stored on centralized servers that by their nature are subject to possible hacker attacks and censorship.
With the Status app, messages and multimedia exchanged are encrypted and saved on users’ mobile phones and on a non-accessible offline server. The dApp application code, being open-source, works thanks to smart contracts and Ethereum.
Both applications are free for users. WhatsApp finances itself through the Business part where companies are placed and advertised.
Status, on the other hand, requires payment for users who use additional internal functions that allow them to exchange cryptocurrencies, surf the Internet, do surveys, etc..
Currently, dApps can process about 15 transactions per second and are labelled as very slow, although those on EOS seem to be faster than those on Ethereum, for example.
For their use, in addition to the registration and the creation of a simple account, it is necessary to create a cryptocurrency wallet, so it is clear that they are more user-friendly for an audience that knows the sector. It will probably take a long time until they reach the so-called mass adoption.
Since they are linked to the blockchain, the only way to remove them is to close the network; which could also be considered an advantage in that they are more difficult to shut down and hack.
In addition, the creation of dApps follows its own programming languages that require specific training, which means that there’s a demand for specialized blockchain developers.
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The Latest in Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Charging
October 25, 2017
October 25, 2017
Despite the positive impact energy policy has on the planet, it leaves some issues that must be immediately addressed. As of 2016, over 25% of Europe has quit coal-burning power stations, with plans to end the fossil fuel usage by 2020 in Austria and 2025 in Britain. Although the plant closures will have significant effects of lessening CO2 emissions, it leaves many countries wondering how they will fill the energy gap.
According to a recent report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Britain may face an energy gap of up to 55% at the end of a decade. Energy demand and efficiency must be considered now so that solutions can be developed prior to the total loss of the power grid. In other words, the UK (amongst other coal-reliant countries) soon faces an energy supply crisis, if they do not take the proper measures.
One solution suggested to curb the loss of coal as a power source, is to tap into the potential of the electric vehicle market and how the switch can be reversed to power the grid.
What is Vehicle to Grid Charging?
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) describes a system in which there is reciprocal, bi-directional electrical energy flow between plug-in electric vehicles, such as electric cars (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and the power grid. This is done through selling demand response services by throttling the charge rate or returning electricity to the grid.
Studies show that most vehicles aren’t typically in use for up to 95% of the time so owning an electric vehicle is an untapped power source that many people have yet to explore. BEVs tend to have the highest capacity onboard storage system and when the grid requires energy, the power flows in the opposite direction to support things like peak hours or spinning reserves.
Other types of V2G technology consists of load-sharing sources with the power grid. This can include subsets of V2G like vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-building (V2B), both of which draw power directly from the EV rather than through the power grid.
Owning an electric vehicle already has a variety of benefits from tax breaks to rebates and grants, but now, with V2G technology, it can also be used to power your house. The following are some of the biggest advantages to V2G technology:
According to a recent study by the National Grid and global engineering firm Ricardo, V2G could provide £600 to £8,000 of income each year for Britain’s electric vehicle owners. Energy stored in the vehicle can be used to avoid peak tariffs at times of demand and an extra strain on the power grid. V2G can also optimize the value of energy generated from home renewables (like solar panels) to reduce monthly bills. All of these cost savings are in addition to the savings bundled into owning an EV in the first place.
Home Energy Storage
According to the RAC Foundation, a 4kWh electric battery has the power to provide a third of the energy needs for a typical home in the UK. Products for home battery energy storage are currently being developed to offer the opportunity to scale-up dispersed energy storage capacity.
Maximizing resource use through a fully connected home energy network can help homeowners save thousands on costs each year. Additionally, the energy can be saved from the power grid by using EVs when people are at work and running errands to power other buildings as part of a new grid infrastructure.
V2G is intended to put more electric vehicles on the road in an attempt to give back to the power grid and save from any lapses in the power supply. Inevitably, this has an incredibly positive impact on the environment and the air. Not all vehicle owners have to invest in expensive technology, either.
Hyperdrive Innovation’s battery energy storage systems (the intelligent Li-on battery) are helping make the V2G more accessible to consumers. These modular battery products are quickly being adopted by a variety of vehicle manufacturers. They can be used alongside stationary energy storage structures to work as a component of a smart home energy network.
Whenever disruptive technology is introduced, there are always a few obstacles and learning curves to overcome. In order to use an electric vehicle to charge your home, you have to make sure you have a pretty strong charger nearby. As homeowners learn the best methods to employ V2G, they should be careful no the leave themselves without a vehicle by borrowing too much power from the car.
Another obstacle V2G faces is the fact that when batteries are overused, they become less effective at storing energy. However, as the stronger lithium-ion batteries are getting cheaper to manufacture (and more disposable), this issue is quickly becoming less of a problem.
Business cases for V2G still need to be made in a variety of local economies and governments. In the UK, domestic-based charging applications can become an obstacle. Fuel cell technologies company Cenex is leading a project to begin integrating V2G into the existing energy infrastructure in cities like Berlin, Valencia, and Birmingham.
The Current Models That Offer V2G
V2G is fairly new but each year more car companies are jumping on board to harness the potential of the technology. This type of hardware helps to balance supply and demand when used in addition to smart chargers.
Nissan and Mitsubishi are currently the leaders in manufacturing EVs with V2G capabilities. The following are some of the models and companies that offer V2G capabilities:
Not all companies are building their own models. BMW and Honda are pairing with commercial partners and research development hubs to ensure the technology is in top shape when released. Tesla announced last September that they plan to release V2G “very, very soon” but are just making some final tweaks.
In summary, although V2G is vital to close the energy gap in some countries, there are still quite a few issues to overcome before implementing the technology en masse. A commitment to developing a cleaner energy infrastructure, advances in research, and strong economic incentives for consumers are all benchmarks that must be in place for V2G to come to full fruition.
A holistic and smart approach to EV use, storage, and energy generation will ensure that the supply and demand gap is filled before an energy crisis even forms on the horizon.
Eric Schmidt is the Marketing Manager of EV Ecosystems at FleetCarma, a division of Geotab. He has over 10 years of experience helping Canadian technology companies tell their stories to the world. His work in marketing, design, communications, public relations, print, video, advertising, data analysis, and research has helped increase the awareness of FleetCarmas unique set of products and services. Prior to becoming interested in business, technology, and new energy Eric graduated with Honors in Graphic Design and Advertising from George Brown College.
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Biobetters: The Advantages and Challenges of Being BetterJune 2015
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) was passed as part of health reform signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010. The BPCIA created an abbreviated pathway for Food and Drug Administration approval of biologic medicinal products that are ‘‘biosimilar’’ to an already FDA-approved product. Because biologic drugs, also referred to as biologics, are complex molecules made in living organisms rather than chemically synthesized, biosimilars are not copies of an approved biologic product. Instead, the BPCIA requires a biosimilar to be ‘‘highly similar’’ to the approved product without any clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity and potency.
To continue reading Irena Royzman and Andrew Cohen’s article from Bloomberg BNA’s Life Sciences Law & Industry Report, please click here.
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Jonathan Jay and colleagues draw lessons from the the global HIV response that could help guide the universal health coverage movement.
Universal health coverage (UHC) has gained prominence as a global health priority. The UHC movement aims to increase access to quality, needed health services while reducing financial hardship from health spending, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
As a policy agenda, UHC has been identified primarily with prepayment and risk-pooling programs. While financing policies provide important benefits, increasing access to health services will require broader reforms.
For lessons, the UHC movement should look to the global HIV response, which has confronted many of the same barriers to access in weak health systems. Considerable success on HIV has resulted from innovative approaches that UHC efforts can build upon, in areas including governance, financing, service delivery, political mobilization, accountability, and human rights.
UHC and HIV efforts must capitalize on potential synergies, especially in settings with a high HIV burden and major resource limitations.
Universal health coverage (UHC) has gained prominence as a global health objective. United Nations (UN) member states endorsed UHC in a 2012 resolution and adopted it as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target in 2015 .
These global agreements conceptualize UHC as ensuring all people’s access to the health services they need, with sufficient quality to be effective, while protecting against the financial risk of out-of-pocket health spending. Global health agencies have proposed monitoring countries’ UHC progress by the proportion of the population whose financial protection and health service needs are met, at prespecified levels . Countries would determine which services they measure, except for a set of core global indicators.
Contemporary formulations of UHC dispense with the idea that countries can “achieve” UHC simply by enrolling a large proportion of the population in financing programs. Rather than nominal coverage—the formal entitlement to services—the accepted approach implies effective coverage, in which people actually receive all the services they need and experience better health as a result . Recognizing that effective coverage gaps exist even in the highest-performing health systems, this approach considers UHC an aspirational end state, pursued as “a direction rather than a destination” .
To operationalize the current understanding of UHC through public policy, normative guidance must keep pace. To date, health financing reforms have received primary attention as drivers of UHC . These reforms are central: government-led prepayment and risk-pooling mechanisms can significantly reduce out-of-pocket spending, catastrophic health spending, and impoverishment . They are associated with increased utilization of health services, especially among the poor .
Improving access to services, however, requires UHC efforts to lift many more barriers. Discrimination, poor quality of care, low capacity, and other resource limitations undermine health service provision in many settings. Lifting these barriers requires significant political commitment and, often, vastly improved performance from government and other service providers.
The best example of global expansion in needed health services is the HIV response. This effort continues to face setbacks and shortcomings, including high rates of new infection among young women and marginalized groups, discriminatory laws, and approximately 22 million people in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) . However, it has achieved a 35% reduction of new HIV infections since 2000 and delivered ART to 15 million people —three-quarters in Africa, where skeptics once doubted large-scale ART coverage was possible. As a result, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 42% since peaking in 2004 .
Scaling up HIV treatment and prevention services worldwide involved transformative change . Following early years of confusion, misinformation, and inaction, the movement pioneered models of political activism and mobilization, reshaped institutions and norms for health governance, advanced human rights, tackled social and economic determinants of health, dramatically increased external and domestic financing for health, and revitalized critical aspects of health systems in high-burden countries [10,11].
As the UHC movement confronts major deficits in access, such as 400 million people lacking basic health services , we propose looking to the HIV response for lessons. Below, we recommend approaches from the HIV response that UHC efforts can adapt and repurpose. We focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) because the HIV response has been concentrated there and because UHC strategies may be most catalytic in these settings . We also offer guidance for aligning programs in settings with a high HIV burden.
Governance: Include the Public and Civil Society
The HIV response has established paradigms for including citizens in health governance at all levels, with unprecedented participation through mechanisms such as the Global Fund Board, Country Coordinating Mechanisms, and the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Programme Coordinating Board. Community groups and networks, often operating outside the formal health system, have strengthened community systems to extend services to marginalized and stigmatized populations. Alongside ministries and parliaments, civil society organizations engage in formal arrangements for monitoring HIV programs .
UHC proponents should conceptualize UHC reforms as a partnership between government and the public . Inclusive governance brings the public into processes such as (a) priority-setting for benefits packages and other resource allocation; (b) oversight for health services, including quality and adherence to copayment policies; and (c) monitoring performance against stated goals . The HIV experience suggests that improving public involvement and accountability is a wise step to address common UHC challenges such as a gap between de jure and de facto benefits packages and could help accelerate coverage for high-priority populations and interventions.
Financing: Situate Pooled Financing Mechanisms within Broader Reforms
As discussed above, prepayment and risk-pooling arrangements can improve equity, increase utilization, and reduce impoverishment; they should not, however, represent the full extent of new budgeting towards UHC. As the HIV response encountered, where health systems are weak, new funds cannot go towards purchasing alone. Scaling up HIV services required financial investments in the health workforce, facilities, the pharmaceutical supply chain, and other needs . Many investments simultaneously advanced broader health aims : for example, in Ethiopia, external HIV funding contributed to the Health Extension Program, which has recruited, trained, and supported over 35,000 community health workers providing primary health care, including HIV services, in rural settings .
New UHC financing offers potential synergies with HIV financing: when UHC reforms invest in health systems, HIV budgets can focus on HIV-specific interventions. One option is to fund HIV-related health services through the broader pool devoted to UHC. HIV treatment, however, represents a large share of health spending in LMICs with a high HIV burden; it might be necessary to protect the pool, at least in its early stages, with supplemental external or domestic financing earmarked for HIV. Otherwise, high demand for HIV treatment could make the pool fiscally unsound. Ghana, for example, funds ART outside its national health insurance pool ; Brazil and Thailand did so until fairly recently.
Funding all HIV services through broader financing pools may bring efficiency gains. A well-governed pool can become an appropriate recipient for health assistance grants, as in Rwanda. Countries growing towards middle-income status and away from external financing could potentially self-finance HIV services through increased allocations to UHC financing pools, as long as necessary public health programs retain funding.
Service Delivery: Build on Effective Platforms without Compromising Access
Build on effective platforms
In countries with large HIV programs, UHC efforts must interface with those programs to maximize common platforms and avoid inefficiency and duplication. Integration of HIV programs with other interventions is not new, particularly with services for directly related coinfections such as tuberculosis, blood-borne infections, maternal and child health, and sexual and reproductive health. Increasingly, HIV programs incorporate interventions for chronic diseases and conditions, particularly those whose risk is increased by HIV infection and those that require similar delivery platforms .
Scaling up needed services will require further integration . Efforts should be guided by a pragmatic principle: build on whatever works best. In Zambia, for example, delivering antimalarial drugs through the ART supply chain system was found significantly more effective and less costly than a system designed de novo .
Preserve focused service delivery programs for marginalized groups
Many HIV prevention and treatment efforts focus on marginalized populations who face barriers (mostly nonfinancial) to health system access. Key populations have typically been men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use drugs, and sex workers and their clients; they can include young women, migrants, ethnic minorities, and prisoners, among others, in different contexts . Ensuring effective coverage of services among these groups should be considered essential to a pro-UHC approach; however, less-targeted UHC strategies, such as insurance, are not structured to achieve this aim. Elevated HIV risk and uncertain access to public services require tailored interventions . While focused programs are often controversial and rarely a political priority, they are absolutely critical for human rights, sexual and reproductive rights, and public health.
At the same time, prepooling programs should be as inclusive as possible. Thailand, for example, adapted to the transition away from Global Fund support partly by creating mechanisms for undocumented migrants to obtain national health insurance .
Decentralize service delivery and engage communities
For increasing access in LMIC settings, the HIV response has demonstrated the effectiveness and responsiveness of decentralized, community-based primary care platforms, as in Rwanda (see Box 1 below). Involving communities themselves and building bridges to community institutions is key to create demand, ensure quality, and facilitate utilization among rural populations and informal sector workers. Additionally, empowering women and community-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to assist in service delivery can complement necessary public services, create employment, and significantly improve access for marginalized populations [27,28].
Health workforce gaps represent a major obstacle to UHC efforts . The HIV response, facing the same challenge, experimented with task shifting at multiple levels, generating significant evidence on what works, what does not, and how to assess those programs . UHC research should investigate opportunities for smart task shifting, especially for priority interventions.
Box 1. Coordinating HIV and UHC Investments in Rwanda
Between 2000 and 2013, Rwanda achieved dramatic progress in effective health coverage, including for HIV. AIDS-related mortality dropped approximately 80%, and UNAIDS targets for universal prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and ART coverage were achieved . Meanwhile, national health insurance plan coverage surpassed 90% .
While this success is well documented, the interdependence of the HIV and UHC agendas in Rwanda deserves attention. Both are central to the Rwandan government’s Vision 2020 strategy, implemented since 2000. This cross-sectoral strategy has aligned contributions from multiple ministries and through public–private partnership and civil society participation.
Rwanda has coordinated programs to increase synergies between HIV and UHC, including through its management of development assistance funding. The ministry of health has prioritized integrated, community-based platforms and evidence-based practice: HIV-specific interventions were integrated into efforts to strengthen primary care and provide all Rwandans more equitable access and more comprehensive health services . Supply chains established to deliver drugs for HIV were used to deliver all types of products. Information systems designed to track HIV treatments were modified to track all treatments. Health workers in maternity wards are trained through PMTCT programs and deliver infants irrespective of maternal HIV status.
Governance approaches have also been inclusive. Rwanda’s HIV national response formalized civil society’s governance role through reserved seats on the board of the former National AIDS Control Commission (2001–2010) and the ongoing Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism. Within UHC efforts, the biannual Joint Health Sector Review convenes government, development partners, and civil society to assess all national health programs. Ten civil society representatives join this review on behalf of a range of key populations and constituencies.
Political & Social Mobilization: Develop Narratives and Demand Action
The HIV response succeeded not just because its agenda was technically sound but because it tapped larger narratives and built political demand. The public must demand UHC.
Although respondents in LMIC surveys prioritize quality health care , grassroots activism for comprehensive, affordable health services has been limited. Such activism can help create pressure for UHC reforms: in Thailand, for example, civil society organizers collected thousands of signatures supporting equitable health care access prior to enactment of the reforms .
Communications campaigns can tap into larger political narratives. AIDS campaigns argued that it is unfair that some people should die, and others survive, based simply on income, place of birth, sexual orientation, or gender identity . UHC can connect to related movements concerning justice across geographical boundaries (for example, global North–South), socioeconomic justice within LMICs, intellectual property regimes, labor policies and social protection initiatives, and the women’s movement, as well as many others.
UHC advocates can also draw from AIDS campaigns by connecting UHC to economic growth and national security. They can cite evidence on the economic benefits of health reform, including the estimate that health system investments will generate 9- to 20-fold returns in LMICs by 2035 .
Weak, unjust health systems pose security concerns. HIV advocates established political momentum by highlighting societal and economic threats, resulting in the first UN Security Council resolution on a health issue, in 2000 . Ebola was the second, in 2014 ; UHC proponents have argued that UHC reforms can improve resilience against infectious disease threats like Ebola, through stronger service delivery systems and financing arrangements and increased public trust . Targeted capacities for controlling outbreaks, such as disease surveillance and response, can be packaged with health financing reforms, as in Mexico’s 2003 legislation .
In the HIV response, calls to action were not limited to the community level. Champions such as former Presidents Festus Mogae of Botswana and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan led major national and international efforts. Similarly, top political leaders have been critical to successful UHC legislation. The UHC movement should recruit them actively. Advancing UHC not only is an obligation but may provide political benefits .
Targets and Monitoring: Ensure Equity for Marginalized Groups
Whether led by communities or politicians, emphasizing human rights or socioeconomic security, a focus of the HIV response has been clear, bold ambition with messages and arguments that resonate from the “elevator speech” to in-depth analysis. For UHC, robust data—extensive, credible, and disaggregated by subgroup—are necessary to drive ambition and accountability . Data can empower decision makers in ministries and parliaments, along with civil society as watchdogs. UHC monitoring should quantify not just inputs, such as individuals enrolled, but also process indicators, such as the utilization and quality of key services, and disease-specific health outcomes, including for HIV .
Moreover, monitoring should measure equity across multiple dimensions of vulnerability and marginalization. While UHC proponents have suggested disaggregating by income, gender, and geography , we recommend countries strengthen their health information infrastructure so policy makers can also track access by age, disability status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other locally relevant dimensions of health equity.
Social Determinants of Health: Lift Access Barriers through Rights-Based Policies and Programs
The health system alone cannot achieve UHC : as the HIV response has illustrated, many barriers to access lie beyond the health sector. For example, discriminatory laws and policies, including criminalization, can severely undermine access to health services for marginalized groups . The AIDS movement has argued for inclusive and protective laws and policies and decriminalization, to hold governments accountable for creating an enabling environment for people at particular risk.
Such multisectoral actions should be part of a UHC reform agenda cutting across government divisions—a “health in all policies” approach . Additionally, civil society and communities can identify, and help eliminate, barriers to access; empowering civil society and communities in governance, therefore, may help mitigate adverse social determinants of health.
We have argued that UHC programs cannot concern themselves exclusively with financial measures—they must address all of the barriers to effective coverage and coordinate with existing health initiatives, including the HIV response.
This approach could help accelerate global HIV efforts . While the HIV response has achieved enormous progress, there remain critical shortfalls in prevention and treatment services and the struggle for social inclusion and equity. An historic effort has only taken us partway, leaving an urgent need for sustainable, forward-looking strategies.
UHC reforms provide a vehicle for governments to increase their health investments. Alongside continued support from international partners, these much-needed investments could bolster the financial sustainability of HIV programs by strengthening health systems, promoting economic growth, and, over time, reducing reliance on external financing. UHC reforms could also expand access to the other health services required by the millions of people who are already accessing ART.
These potential synergies demand further collaboration. With 169 SDG targets—13 in health alone —sharing lessons and resources will be vital. The UHC and HIV movements could provide a model for coordinated action in the next era of global health.
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By: Mark Leon Goldberg on July 17, 2015 What if I told you every country on the planet just agreed to finance the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030–and do so in an environmentally sustainable way? You’d think it would be front page news, right? This is exactly what happened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday at a hotly anticipated UN meeting, known as the Third International Conference in Financing for Development. The meeting may not have made the front pages of the New York Times, but its outcome is certainly of world-historic importance. 192 UN member states signed a document called the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, that had been negotiated over the last several months. The document is sweeping in its ambition, but perhaps most remarkable for the fact that it spells out concrete measures that the international community agrees to take to improve living conditions and quality of life around the world. The context of the meeting is important. At the UN Summit in September, the international community will adopt the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 international development priorities that will replace the Millennium Development Goals that expire this year. The SDGs are ambitious. They call for the total eradication of extreme poverty–as defined by people living on less than $1.25/day; ending hunger; and promoting gender equality. But beyond that, it calls for a global commitment to support social end economic development in an environmentally sensible and sustainable way. A few weeks after the SDG summit comes the Paris Climate Talks to finalize an international climate agreement. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda describes in detail how this vision of sustainable development will become manifest. And what is revolutionary about this document is that it treats international development assistance less as alms giving by wealthier countries to poorer ones, but rather as a partnership between wealthy countries, developing countries and the private sector to help countries help themselves. This is a profound shift from the ways the UN has historically approached questions of financing for development. A good example of this is this is in the area of “domestic resource mobilization,” — which includes tax collection. Weak governments in the developing world sometimes have limited ability to collect taxes, which is how most countries in the world fund social spending. The Action Agenda very clearly places improved tax collection systems as a central mechanism through which the developing world is expected to fund its own development. “We commit to enhancing revenue administration through modernized, progressive tax systems, improved tax policy and more efficient tax collection. We will work to improve the fairness, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of our tax systems, including by broadening the tax base and continuing efforts to integrate the informal sector into the formal economy in line with country circumstances.” The document also affirms the developed world’s commitment to help developing countries achieve this goal. And at a side event in Addis a number of multi-lateral financial institutions, including the World Bank and the IMF offered their backing with a $400 million commitment for “capacity building in the area of taxation.” To be sure, official development assistance is still important. The Action Agenda recommits donor governments to the target of 0.7% of Gross National Income for foreign aid. It also, crucially, commits donor countries to devote more of that aid to the poorest countries. (Right now, only about one third of foreign aid goes to least developed countries — and that percentage has been steadily declining.) Implementing this vision of sustainable development is going to cost money and take political will from the entire international community, including donor countries, governments of the developing world, the NGO sector and private enterprise. The meeting in Addis this week was a profound demonstration that the world is ready to rally behind these goals. Money and mouths are staring to converge. Bonus For a good overview of that this conference is all about, listen to my conversation with Minh-Thu Pham of the United Nations Foundation. We discuss the big points of convergence and contention between countries as they were negotiating the outcome document and we have a deeper discussion of how this conference signals a profound shift away from thinking about international development as driven primarily by foreign aid.
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Since the economic downturn, one might think that more people are wary about using credit cards and using them wisely. More educational opportunities and articles are put out there on a regular basis, seeking to protect consumers from the traps and complexities of the banking system, including credit cards.
Fox Business reports the findings of a study called “Financial Literacy and Credit Cards: A Multi Campus Survey.” The study researched college students’ credit card use and their knowledge regarding their credit cards. Researchers hoped to get good news out of the survey, but it turns out that credit card debt will likely have to be another thing for graduates to deal with who will already have a hard time finding work and paying off college loan debt.
Among various findings from the survey are the following points:
- 70 percent of college students have credit cards
- Among those with cards, 70 percent of those students have multiple cards
- Five out of six don’t know the interest rates on their credit cards
- 90 percent of college students with credit cards have credit card debt from month to month
The survey also revealed that compared to a decade ago, significantly fewer students are paying off their credit card balances in full every month. Sources suggest the reason could simply be because of the economic times we are in. There are still as many things to pay for as before, but there is just less income to cover the payments every month.
While the numbers above are worrying enough, another point behind the campus survey is that the majority of students who were surveyed were majoring in business. They weren’t students studying biology or Shakespeare. They are the exact students whom would be expected to understand the basics of money and business.
The survey makes it seem clear that more education needs to be provided to consumers, beginning at a young age and on, about the basics of and risks associated with credit cards. Though credit cards can be and are helpful tools, they can also be the very tools that chip away at one’s dreams.
Source: Fox Business, “Survey: Students Fail the Credit Card Test,” Martin Merzer, April 16, 2012
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As enterprises are quickly learning, blockchain is not only about currency. Ever since the Ethereum platform, created three years ago, developers have been testing it by building decentralized applications (Dapps) that are different from their centralized counterparts – centralized applications.
‘D’ for Decentralization
If you are wondering why Dapps have become such an interesting prospect for Dapp developers, you should know that much of the appeal lies precisely in the decentralization aspect.
The “d” in Dapps plays a crucial role in distinguishing between Dapps and apps. Dapps pull the focus and the practical execution of an application away from a centralized network, distributing it to a decentralized network. The decentralized network consists of users with no central authority over any aspect of Dapp performance.
Most of the standard web apps we use on a daily basis assume the existence of a central server and a central company (or several companies). The central authority manages, controls and makes critical decisions about the app’s functions. The majority of the app resources are centrally managed and distributed according to the will of a central power.
Dapp development turned the tables in favor of end users, who can now access the blockchain network from a decentralized server network and affect the decision-making process in a more democratic way.
How Trust Is Created in Dapps
Another essential difference between apps and Dapps is the process of creating trust in the network. Traditional apps build trust between users on the basis of past performance and business reputation. It is often supported by intermediaries that partially serve as a guarantee for the quality of the service while also implementing their own business model. Most card payment processors can be placed in the intermediary category.
The process of creating trust in Dapps is based on the technology itself. Blockchain technology enables developers to create immutable, permanent software solutions, applying across-the-network consensual decision-making processes. In this way, the trust is ingrained in the technology and doesn’t require reputational or legal proofs.
Dapps are open-source, which means that the code is available to be freely shared among the dApp developers. In contrast, most centralized apps are commercial projects that don’t allow code sharing.
In contrast to apps, Dapps use different financial models. Dapps don’t rely on external monetary value. Instead, they store value in the application itself, enabling the creators to issue currencies as tokens, generate value by work invested in the application, and enable trading of the tokens on financial markets.
In a way, Dapps use internal finance models established not simply as a means of exchange, but also as a motivator for investing work. This aspect doesn’t mean that Dapps only have a financial purpose. In fact, many Dapp development projects are concentrated on finding alternative solutions to building user chains, for instance, in supply chains, without numerous intermediaries and unnecessary fees, not having the token as a primary objective.
App vs. Dapp Security
Dapps operate on a peer-to-peer network, taking away the security vulnerabilities of a central point. One central point can be more easily attacked by hackers, creating security issues with the whole app. Dapps, on the other hand, have distributed security and are less likely to suffer serious consequences from attacks.
As a new type of business organization, Dapps have the potential to transform the way we trade currency, purchase goods and services, and exchange value in general. Whether Dapps will dethrone traditional web apps is a question that needs to be further examined. However, Dapps’ capacity to self-sustain through incentivizing participation can change the way we do payment processing, as well as use computing power and data storage. The most exciting potential of Dapp development is in the creation of peer-to-peer marketplaces where users can complete transactions in a cheaper, safer, and faster way without the need for third parties that simply add more fees and longer, more cumbersome processes.
Latest posts by Michael Kordvani (see all)
- Dapp Development FAQs: How Different Are Dapps and Apps? - June 4, 2018
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Miranda Lane offers a brief explanation of why interest rates are so low (and even negative in some markets).
A couple of years ago, we expected interest rates to start to rise as the global economy recovered from the after-effects of the financial crisis and started to grow again. However, 2 years down the line, there are still serious doubts about growth.
The US and the UK are growing at around 2%. The Eurozone is not growing. China is growing much more slowly and there is lots of talk about a possible debt crisis. India is growing but this is not enough to drive the world economy. The other countries that we relied on previously were Brazil (now in recession) and Russia (suffering from sanctions re Ukraine and low oil prices).
Further evidence for lack of long-term growth can be seen in the commodities market where prices are very low (suggesting lack of demand, particularly from places like China). Oil prices are also ultra-low which is probably partly due to lack of demand, partly over-supply.
Following in the footsteps of the USA and the UK, the Eurozone is now in the midst of a quantitative easing (QE) programme. Japan is also doing QE. The impact of this is to drive bond prices up (central banks buy high quality government and corporate bonds, which pushes up prices). Higher bond prices means that the coupon (interest payment) looks lower as a % of the value so it pushes the yield (the effective interest rate) down.
The idea is that low interest rates should stimulate the economy by encouraging investment. It doesn’t seem to be working very well as the lack of global growth combined with general economic uncertainty are not a proving to be a compelling backdrop for investment.
However, on the other hand, ultra-low interest rates are very bad for savers and long-term may create a bigger problem with pensions than we already have.
The other aim of QE is to weaken the currency (e.g. the Euro) as it makes investment in Euros less attractive than, for example dollars. However, if many countries implement QE, it becomes a zero sum game (and there is talk in the markets about the US actually implementing further QE instead of raising interest rates further as we expected a few months ago).
In many countries interest rates are now negative, not just short-term interest rates but up to 10 year money (e.g. Swiss and Japanese 10-year government bonds). Fitch Ratings estimates that there are currently around $10tn of negative yielding government bonds, costing investors about $24bn annually.
This is a problem for businesses that need to invest regularly in bonds (e.g. life insurance companies and pension funds). Of course the bonds that such companies bought some time ago will still be paying the coupon that was available at the time of purchase, but new bonds will be paying nothing or worse!
Here is a link to a good FT article on negative interest rates:
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[This article is updated from one that originally appeared in the Mercury News.]
Several years ago I participated in a colloquium whose title was something like “Advancing Technology: Thinking Outside the Box.” The presentations ranged from the ever-more imaginative uses of robots (fascinating!) to irrigating the Sahara Desert for growing crops that by mid-century could sustain the planet’s burgeoning population (unconvincing).
My lecture was the most mundane: I proposed that better government regulation would act as what people in the military call a “force multiplier” (a tool that increases the effectiveness of your force) for technological advancement. I also argued that at present, excessively burdensome regulation blunts technological innovation.
Progressive Policy Institute economists Michael Mandel and Diana Carew observed in a 2013 policy memo that “for each new regulation added to the existing pile, there is a greater possibility for … inefficient company resource allocation, and for reduced ability to invest in innovation.”
The regulatory burden
The economic burden of America’s accumulating mountain of regulatory requirements is almost unimaginable: According to a study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University covering the years from 1977 through 2012, regulation’s drag on the US economy has made the economy a whopping $4 trillion smaller than it otherwise would have been.
One of the reasons for this massive effect is that, as regulations become more and more complex and burdensome, prospective entrepreneurs and managers must expend more resources on issues related to regulation and thus have less available for innovation and corporate growth.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s report Ten Thousand Commandments 2016 examines many of the government’s own cost estimates (which are notoriously low, because bureaucrats tend to lowball the costs and overstate the benefits of their rules). Nevertheless, the study found that federal regulation alone costs consumers and businesses at least $1.9 trillion every year in compliance costs and lost economic productivity — more than 11 percent of current GDP. According to the author, federal regulation is, in effect, “a hidden tax that amounts to nearly $15,000 per U.S. household each year.”
The “gatekeeper” regulatory agencies, whose affirmative approvals are necessary before new innovations can be commercialized, are the source of much of the massive burden of regulation. The Food and Drug Administration alone regulates products that account for more than a trillion dollars annually — 25 cents of every consumer dollar.
The average cost to develop and bring a new drug to market is now about $2.6 billion, but many of the largest drug companies spend significantly more than that — for pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, the figure is almost $12 billion per drug, and for GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Roche, it is around $8 billion.
It might seem counterintuitive that some of the behemoth companies spend the most per approved product; after all, they have the most experience with the processes of clinical testing and negotiating the regulatory maze. The reason is that the biggest companies take the most risks in drug development and, consequently, experience the most failures.
Too few mistakes
And that’s not a bad thing; as Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, put it, “The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few.”
What he meant is that to discover the Next Big Thing, you need to think outside the box — and inevitably, many of the projects attempted will fail, whether we’re talking about nuclear fusion, new pharmaceuticals, techniques for sequestering CO2, or software to assure the safety of self-driving cars.
Much existing regulation is superfluous or fails to be cost-effective. In his excellent book Breaking the Vicious Circle, written shortly before he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer cited an example of expensive, non-cost-effective regulation by the EPA: a ban on asbestos pipe, shingles, coating, and paper, which the most optimistic estimates suggested would prevent seven or eight premature deaths over 13 years — at a cost of approximately a quarter of a billion dollars.
Breyer observed that such a vast expenditure on regulating uses of asbestos that confer such tiny risks would cause more deaths than it would prevent from the asbestos exposure, simply by reducing the resources available for other public amenities. Nevertheless, political pressures from environmental activists pushed the EPA into making a decision whose net effect was actually to increase health risks.
Regulatory excesses make it less likely that in any of the sectors in which American scientists and companies have excelled — nanotechnology, materials science, nuclear power, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotech and agriculture, to name just a few — we will discover the Next Big Thing.
The refinement of regulation to make it more evidence-based and cost-effective isn’t as sexy as growing crops in the Sahara, but it could yield tremendous humanitarian and economic benefits in the near-term and for generations to come.
Regulators won’t do it without significant prodding, so maybe major health-related philanthropies like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Gates Foundation, and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative should make it part of their agenda. As wealthy as they are, they and their grantees would benefit from the “force multiplier” effect of smarter, more streamlined, more efficient regulation.
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The Impact of the BRICS Countries on Africa’s Socioeconomic Development in the Post-Cold War Era
The post-Cold War era has seen an evolution of new players in global politics-notably Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-which came to be known as the BRICS countries. Their infl uence is evident in the political economy, trade, investment, and decision-making spheres; in international bodies; and in the aff airs of other countries beyond their continents. The term BRICS, coined by the fi rm Goldman Sachs in 2001, refl ects the changes of the post-Cold War era that compelled developing countries to begin working together as an economic bloc and thus to counter the monopoly of the western European countries in the global economy. Although such collaborations can be traced back to 2001, the fi rst formal summit of the BRICS countries took place only in 2009, in Russia, to rival the infl uence of the G8 countries.
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Industrial Economics is the research of firms, industries, and markets. It considers companies of all dimensions from regional edge stores to international giants . And also it thinks about an entire variety of sectors, such as electrical power generation, vehicle manufacturing, and also dining establishments. It gives insights into how firms organise their activities, as well as considering their motivation. In many micro courses, profit maximisation is taken as given, but many industrial economics courses examine alternative objectives, such as trying to grow market share. Click here for Business and Economics
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I was working on my income tax return last spring when I noticed something new: the banks in which I had stuffed my pitiful savings were not bothering to send me forms indicating how much interest I had earned. It was so little it was not worth reporting! Look at any savings account and you’ll see you are getting 0.02% annual interest (or something like that). Even CDs and most T-bills are around 1%. What’s a thoughtful, savings-minded person to do? You can go into the stock market and see higher returns, but you can also lose your shirt, which will make retirement chilly.
For homeowners and coop and condo boards, as well as solvent building owners, there is a reasonably secure alternative, and (of course) it’s energy efficiency, which amounts to a CD returning real interest, just like the old days, of 3% to 10% or more.
To see how this works, think about a CD. You invest some amount of capital, say $1000, at some specified interest rate, for some fixed period of time, normally a few years. You can’t touch the money during that time without penalties, but at the end you get back your capital plus the earned interest. The only problem is that these days the earned interest isn’t worth your time going to the bank.
With energy efficiency, the structure’s a little different, but the result is much better. You invest some amount of capital, say $1000, in better lighting that will use less electricity. Because it uses less electricity, you save money on your electric bill every year. If your bill is $200 less than it would have been without the improvement, we say there was a simple payback period of $1000/$200 or five years. So after five years you have gotten your investment back. But the new lights are still working and still saving $200 per year (or more if the electric rates go up). Suppose the lights will last for ten years – you will pick up another $1000 in the second five years of their life, for a total of $2000 in savings on a $1000 investment. Ask your banker (or check the equations below) and you’ll see you got a 10% return on your investment over the ten years. It’s not taxable, and you can’t get a return like that anywhere without selling your immortal soul.
Here’s the general formula: suppose you have an energy efficiency investment that pays for itself in P years. (P= payback period.) And suppose the installed system has a life expectancy of at least L years. (L = minimum system life.) Then the equivalent after tax interest is I = 1/P – 1/L. This includes the obvious requirement that you get your capital back, just like with a CD.
Got CFLs? Payback P = 1 year, often. Lifetime L = 3 years. The interest rate on these 3-year CD equivalents is 67%!! (I = 1/1 – 1/3 = 0.67.)
Of course, to actually end up with money, the way you do with a CD, you must have the fortitude to stick the savings into a bank and let them add up over the “L” years of the technology you have chosen. Even better, take the savings and invest them in some other energy efficiency improvement, and you will be compounding your interest in a way CDs can’t possibly duplicate. But I digress.
Again, maybe the nicest feature is that there is no 1099-INT, despite the serious levels of interest being earned!
K = capital cost ($)
A = Annual savings ($/year)
P = Payback period (years) = K/A
L = System lifetime (years)
Total income = L x A = L x K/P
Net income after capital = L x K/P – K
Net income after capital per year = (L x K /P – K)/L = K/P – K/L
Interest = net income after capital per year as fraction of capital
Interest = (K/P – K/L)/K = 1/P – 1/L
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capital flight - Investment & Finance Definition
The exodus of large sums of money from a country that is experiencing political or economic turmoil. Funds typically flee to a safe haven, such as the U.S. Treasury bond market. Capital flight is very disruptive because it tends to multiply on itself. That is, if one country is experiencing turmoil, then there is the danger that investors will pull their funds from other countries in the region to avoid potential future losses. The term is associated with smaller, emerging market economies, such as Asia Pacific in 1997 and 1998, Russia in 1998, and countries in Latin America at many different times. In contrast, an investment outflow indicates that money is leaving a country in a more orderly fashion.
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Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.
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Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 262 but lower than or equal to 335 on the PISA reading scale. Tasks at level 1B require the reader to locate a single piece of explicitly stated information in a prominent position in a short, syntactically simple text with a familiar context and text type, such as a narrative or a simple list. The text typically provides support to the reader, such as repetition of information, pictures or familiar symbols. There is minimal competing information. In tasks requiring interpretation the reader may need to make simple connections between adjacent pieces of information. 2000, 2003, and 2006 PISA assessments used a different reading proficiency scale (Below Level 1 to Level 5) than later assessments, which use a reading scale from Below Level 1B to Level 6. Because an equivalent proficiency level to "Below Level 1B" and Level 1B were not calculated for the 2000, 2003, and 2006 PISA Reports, the data are not currently available for those years. Use caution in comparing proficiency scores across years. For more information on comparability of results, consult the PISA website: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/
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The failure of organization to provide perceived equity for employees results in a lot of resentment (especially when there is secrecy and people overestimate each other’s pay) and resulting inefficiencies. The failure of extrinsic rewards is even more obvious in executive positions as incentive systems had very weak or negative correlations to corporate profits as at higher incomes, prospect of more money fails to be a motivator. Locke’s (1960) research suggests a reason for such results – incentives actually discourage risk-taking and people perform easier tasks to complete as much work as possible. Employees look at short-term benefits (monetary rewards) rather than long-term organizational interests. Another research proved that in the long-term, even the removal of a financial incentive system that has been long in place could not drive down productivity. Merit pay has also failed as a motivator of performance as few managers feel that higher pay would make them work harder.
Therefore, intrinsic rewards such as training and goal-setting is a much stronger motivator of performance. To treat workers with respect and appreciation is what motivates them to stay at an organization and higher pay has failed to reduce employee turnover in the longer-term.
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When water is allowed to flow over running turbines there is the generation of electrical energy which is referred to as the hydroelectric energy. The use of hydroelectric power as a source of renewable energy dates back to the 1940s where the hydroelectric energy contributed a third of U.S energy needs.The exploration and investment in other energy sources has reduced the dependence of hydropower in the united states to around 6%.
The hydroelectric energy has its economic and environmental pros and cons and therefore it is crucial that these aspects are understood before investing in the energy source.
Investing in hydroelectric energy has the following advantages. First,it uses water a free and readily available resource and therefore there is virtually no cost to be incurred when getting the resource unlike the use of fossil fuels whose price is high and keep on fluctuating. Secondly the hydroelectric energy generation is highly efficient in conversion of energy where about 90% of the tapped energy is converted to electrical energy.The third attractive thing about hydroelectric power generation is that it has no water,air or land pollution which makes it better as compared to other forms of energy which contributes to global warming and causes other environmental pollution.Fourthly.the hydroelectric energy is renewable since water that is used to run turbines evaporates and rains naturally hence it is always available. Fifthly,the hydroelectric power generation has proven to be highly useful in improving the environmental quality through the provision of high quality water that can be used to irrigate farms and the process also creates large habitats for fish and other aquatic life.The sixth advantage of investing in hydroelectric power generation is because of its capacity to keep up with demand by enabling the investor to set up more power plants in addition to the existing dams. The seventh pro of investing in hydroelectric energy is that alongside power generation, you can set up recreational amenities for holidaymakers such as camping, water sports and fishing.The cost-effectiveness of hydroelectric power generation makes it more advantageous than alternative sources of energy like coal or natural gas.
The disadvantages of investing in hydroelectric energy has the following disadvantages.The first disadvantage is that hydroelectric power generation process can seriously lead to the destruction of natural habitats. Secondly,the process of hydropower generation can emit significant amount of methane and carbon IV oxide when trees and plants in the power plant rots in absence of oxygen. The other disadvantages of investing in hydroelectric energy are the facts that it relies on heavy rainfall to generate maximum power,it poses great danger to the neighbouring people and structures due to its flood riskiness and that the cost of installation is high.
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With so much commentary swirling around out there about the acceptance of various types of cards, it is difficult, yet helpful to condense all the card chatter. The question that just does not sink well soon, is – Why do we need this shift?
As for India’s case, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular in 2015, which contained the clause –
“Banks are advised that with effect from September 01, 2015 all new cards issued – debit and credit, domestic and international – by banks shall be EMV chip and pin based cards.”
However, the deadline was later extended to September 2016, and banks were informed to replace the magnetic stripe cards issued, by December 31, 2018.
But why? What is so inefficient about existing magnetic stripe cards? The jump from traditional magnetic cards to the advanced chip & pin cards have raised numerous questions in the minds of business owners and customers.
Usage of EMV chip technology has been adopted by many countries as it is far more secure than the magnetic stripe
Magnetic stripe cards – The end of an era?
The history of Magnetic stripe cards date back to the early 1950s.A magnetic stripe card is so called because the customer’s data is stored in the magnetic stripe affixed to the back of the card. It can be retrieved by swiping it through any card swiping device.
The magnetic stripe card contains three tracks – he first two tracks are encoded with information about the card holder’s account, such as their credit card number, full name, the card’s expiration date and the country code. Additional information may be stored in the third track.
The flaw is that the information contained in the magnetic stripe is static. Hence, it is possible for fraudsters to duplicate the data.
What are chip and pin cards?
Payment cards that comply with the EMV standard (EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa – the three companies that originally created the standard) nowadays store the data on the integrated circuit or the ‘chip’.
The data retrieved from the chip is unique.
Unlike Magnetic Stripe cards, every time a chip and pin card is used for payment, the chip creates a unique transaction code which cannot be used again.
Imagine a hacker stole the chip information from one specific point of sale. Typical card duplication would not work, as the stolen transaction number created in that instance wouldn’t be usable again. As a result, the card would just get denied!
The claim is not without any proof – In March 2017, chip-enabled merchants in the United States saw a 58 percent drop in counterfeit fraud compared to a year earlier, according to Visa!
In short, EMV technology will not prevent data breaches from occurring, but it will make it much harder for criminals to successfully profit from what they steal. (To rip it off, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information!)
A new wave – Contactless cards
The shift to chip and pin cards will be a thing of the past quite soon. The new entrant is maybe more interesting – Contactless cards.
Enabled with RFID technology, banks have started issuing contactless cards. Card data is retrieved through Near Field Communication. Tap and pay, is apparently closing the gaps (not literally!).
However, a lot of infrastructural issues needs to be addressed before the shift can actualize. POS terminals, needs to be able to accept these technologies in the first place. Given that many of the providers have completely enabled acceptance of EMV cards, it is certainly a near field possibility!
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Over the past few months there been a lot of news about Bitcoins and the whole new concept of crypto currency. Bitcoin is now touted as the future of currency and many celebrities like Bill Gates have called it as “Bitcoin is a techno tour de force”. All these things have created a lot of curiosity but when one tries to understand what Bitcoin is then we get a lot of complex answers. “Satoshi Nakamoto” is presumed as the one who introduced this whole concept of Crypto Currency when he published this concept paper.
Let’s try to simplify what a Bitcoin is and this whole concept of crypto currency.
Traditionally when we need to buy a product or service we use our currency to purchase it. This currency is different for each country and is centralized based on specific economic policies of any particular country. In simple words the money of a respective country is managed by their Central Banks which does a close watch on the currency and based on that the interest rates, cash reserve ratios are calculated.
Bitcoin works in a different manner, It’s a digital currency stored in a web wallet and can be transferred in a peer to peer basis. This means Bitcoins can be used for transactions across the world and does not need a bank to verify it.
Consider a person having a single dollar bill, in traditional currency he can do a transaction for a product or a service. Let’s see how the same transaction happens in Bitcoins, instead of a physical dollar bill the person will have a digital currency which he can trade. Now the problem is, how will we check the legitimacy of the digital currency? Whenever a transaction happens in Bitcoins, an encrypted code is generated and the transaction is sent across Bitcoin miners across the world, who can verify the legitimacy of the transaction and store the details of the transaction anonymously in the Bitcoin network across the world.
Now who are these Bit Coin miners? The whole software of Bitcoin is open source anyone with specific hardware mentioned by Bitcoin can become a Bitcoin miner.
And what does the miner get in return? Pretty simple more Bitcoins, This is how the Bitcoin is generated into the system.
Also the maximum number of Bitcoins that can be generated is set as 21 million and as of now 12 million Bitcoins have already been mined. Maintaining a controlled amount of bitcoins helps to maintain the currency value.
Now how do I get Bitcoins?
Some common methodologies to get Bitcoins are
- Buying through Bitcoin exchanges like CoinBase or BitStamp
- Accept Bitcoins as a payment for goods or services
- Become a Bitcoin Miner
If there are no banks where do I store my Bitcoins?
- Web Wallets like Blockchain, Coinbase
- Software Wallets like Armory and Multibit
- Mobile Wallets like Coinjar and Blockchain
The following video from Bitcoin explains things in an even simpler manner
The most persistent problem in Bitcoin is hacking, Mt.Gox one of the famous Bitcoin exchanges was hacked and majority of the Bitcoins were stolen. Since there’s no centralized watchdog for Bitcoins the currency is now used for illegal activities in the deep web.
Though these issues have tarnished the image of Bitcoins, the major belief is that concept Crypto currency is here to stay. Many experts believe that the concept is still evolving and is in its very nascent stage and even if Bitcoin falls, its fall would sow in seeds for a very rigid concept of crypto currency. A centralized currency devoid of all the political, economical, geographical barriers bestows upon the world.
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At an early age, children don't always understand the value of money. They do understand that money is used exchange for food, or better yet toys, but they don't have a clear understanding how difficult it is to earn, manage and save money. Therefore it is important to teach children how to save and manage money in their early years so they learn to value it.
There are some major benefits to saving money while you are young. Because life is full of uncertainties and everything is going to cost more in their future, it's crucial to save money for unexpected emergencies, future loan payments or unforeseeable circumstances. Head of Marketing for Reliance Bank, Joanna Spencer, said that their financial literacy app "Chore Scout" helps parents and their children to prepare for the financial challenges of adulthood by teaching them valuable financial skills from an early age.
With Chore Scout, you can teach children the basics of how to budget, spend and save, helping them establish good money habits.Joanna Spencer, Reliance Bank
"With Chore Scout, you can teach children the basics of how to budget, spend and save, helping them to establish good money habits, which will help prepare them for making good financial decisions in the future," she said. "The hardest thing to teaching kids about money is learning how to save and that money is not easy to come by. So we are also teaching them to value being disciplined and that it takes hard work and determination to make their dreams come true".
This advertising feature is sponsored by the following business. Click the link to find out more.
Apart from banking and teaching kids about money, Reliance Bank also supports children in regional areas in a variety of other ways. They provide children access to branches and banking systems in towns that where some of the larger banks no longer offer services, including small agencies in towns like Gulargambone which combines their local rural transaction centre with banking facilities that they wouldn't otherwise have access to. They also support regional community events and many local groups through sponsorship and community funding such as the Community Youth Awards. If anyone would like to know more about how to join Reliance Bank, visit www.reliancebank.com.au.
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While some lack the necessary resources to become rich, many have the ability, but simply do not purchase assets that have the potential to appreciate in order to eventually make them rich. Instead, money is often spent as soon as it is earned for immediate need or gratification. This article outlines how to earn and acquire assets like the rich and spend like the poor.
- approximately 40% identify themselves as poor,
- about 44% label themselves as middle-class, and
- only about 15% consider themselves to be upper-class or rich.
The average person might think the rich were born into their money, but studies have shown only 30% of billionaires actually inherited their wealth. Instead, many rich citizens have stemmed from humble middle-class families, and have simply learned what it takes to acquire wealth.
While some lack the necessary resources to become rich, many have the ability, but simply do not purchase assets that have the potential to appreciate in order to eventually make them rich.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD ASSETS AND BAD ASSETS
When one learns basic accounting in college, professors explain that a balance sheet is made up of assets, liabilities, and equity but, hardly ever, is the student taught that there is a dramatic difference between good assets and bad assets, especially in the context of earning money.
In their most basic form, good assets earn a positive cash flow while bad assets end up costing you money (or at the very least constricting your cash flow). As an example,
- a car, based on accounting principles, is typically a bad asset. Once you buy a car, it tends to start depreciating in value, not to mention it also costs you money in insurance, gas, and maintenance. More importantly, it is unlikely to generate any cash flow, unless you rent it out in one of today’s many car-sharing businesses.
- a rental property, however, can be a good asset because if rented to a responsible tenant, it will repeatedly put money in your pocket each month. Other possible examples of good assets are dividend paying stocks, bonds, and businesses because these assets have the potential to earn positive cash flow during the duration of ownership.
WHAT ASSETS DOES EACH CLASS TYPICALLY OWN?
Although the ability to earn money and create wealth is not the same for everybody due to circumstance, America provides one of the greatest platforms for people to move forward. We’ve got a stable government, a working legal system, strong employee rights, and public infrastructure that enables people with enough determination to get ahead.
The poor have a limited ability to purchase assets due to most of their income going toward basic necessities. The difficulty of having to survive on a low income may tempt some to uproot themselves from poverty through get-rich actions like gambling or purchasing lottery tickets. Very few come out ahead this way and a great majority of those already in poverty may unfortunately stay in poverty. It can be a very vicious cycle that requires a confluence of education and time.
The middle-class tend to have jobs that are consistent and pay well from week to week or month to month, which gives them the ability to purchase assets. However, simply having an ability to purchase assets may not result in a sensible investment, especially if buyers spend beyond their means. Examples of waste include buying McMansions, expensive cars on payment plans, and boats. Unfortunately for such spenders, these types of assets aren’t going to earn them money. Instead, these items are likely eating away at their cash flow each month, especially if they are purchased on unfavorable credit terms. Without a healthy cash flow, it is difficult to acquire good assets, which can contribute to keeping the middle-class in their respective societal position for life.
The rich have an entirely different story. Instead of buying bad assets that generate no revenue, the rich have the opportunity to delay gratification and purchase assets that produce income or a higher principal value down the road, perhaps on more favorable terms. This process is repeated again and again, which, in an opportunistic situation can result in their asset income exceeding their work income. The rich may continue to get richer, and it may be because they are making timely investments in the proper assets.
ASSET ALLOCATION VARIANCES BY WEALTH
It is interesting to look at how asset composition varies amongst wealth classes in the chart below.
Notice how large the principal residence weighting is for the Middle 60% compared to the weighting for the Top 1% in the chart below. When the housing downturn hit in 2008-2010, the middle class got crushed in part because they lacked the diversification of income from good assets to be able to compensate for their short-term expenses. How can the Middle 60% try to reduce their principal residence exposure to get more inline with the Next 19% and Top 1%? One possibility is purchasing smaller, more affordable homes to free up more funds for investing in financial securities.
Another significantly lower weighted asset class for the Middle 60% is business equity and other real estate. This is likely a challenging category for the Middle 60% to expand due to greater difficulties obtaining loans to launch a company, buy a rental property, and come up with cash necessary to invest in private equity. Paying down debt to improve their debt to income ratio can help with their ability to be flexible with taking advantage of opportunities that arise, such as qualifying for a loan to acquire a rental property or new business endeavor.
THE PROCESS OF BECOMING RICH
Discipline is a key word in becoming rich. There are countless examples of people making millions of dollars and ending up broke due to a lack of discipline. The temptation to spend is ubiquitous to the point of complete exhaustion.
In order to start down the road to riches, consider some common examples from those who have already met their goal:
- Maxing out your 401k and IRA.
- Saving an additional 20% or more of your after-retirement, after-tax income.
- Invest your additional savings in a portfolio of stocks and bonds appropriate to your risk tolerance and financial objectives.
- Accumulate real assets, such as real estate property, to further diversify your net worth
- Track your net worth so you know where your money is going.
- Do not let your spending increase faster than the rate of your income growth.
[The above article is presented by Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com and www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here – register here) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]
Source: *http://sparkline.motifinvesting.com/acquire-assets-like-rich/8309 (© 2014 Motif Investing, Inc. All rights reserved. Motif Investing offers flexible investment products and services to prepare you for retirement and help you build your wealth. Select motifs that suit your investment needs and let Motif Investing help you achieve your financial goals.)
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Money is part of life and sometimes it allows you to make a decision out of love…Perhaps you save to give to a specific charity, or to help an animal or take your family on a special trip every year. It’s not the money, it’s what it adds to the fabric of your life and the good you do with it based on strong feelings and beliefs. Are you saving for what and who you love for tomorrow and most important, today? Read More »
How many billionaires are there and how much wealth do they control? Read More »
Here are some ways you can reach millionaire status but… it’s going to take some patience. Few things of value happen overnight. Read More »
The reason you are not a millionaire (or even on your way to becoming one) is really quite simple. You probably assume it’s because you aren’t earning enough money but the truth is that, for most people, it does not matter how much money you make… [but, rather,] the way you treat money in your daily life. [Let me explain.] Words: 866
Many people assume they aren’t rich because they don’t earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say. The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it’s how you treat money in your daily life. The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn’t end at 10. [Here are 10 more.] Words: 842
Saving money isn’t all about whether or not you know how to score screaming bargains. It has more to do with your attitude toward money. Many millionaires, in fact, have frugal ways and understanding how personal traits can influence your finances is an essential ingredient for building wealth. Do you have the 10 key traits to become rich let alone very, very rich? Words: 815
Visit wsj.com – HERE – to find their calculator which shows where your household income stands compared to others in the U.S.. $506,000 puts you in the top 1%; the much talked about $250,00 in the top 6%; $200,000 in the top 10% while an annual salary of $43,000 puts you in the top/bottom 50%. Where do you stand?
How do Americans spend their money and how do budgets change across the income spectrum? The graph below answers these questions. Words: 240
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Cant pay your energy or water bill?
“Energy poverty” is a new word!
“Definition is …..a situation in which a household must spend more than 10% of its disposable income on energy bills.
Low income households (including pensioners) are the most vulnerable to this kind of poverty, because their energy bills take a large proportion of their disposable income.
Many disadvantaged households are experiencing discomfort and ill-health as well as other forms of material and social deprivation because of the need to choose between essential household items, and rising electricity to maintain a decent standard of living.
Energy poverty needs to be especially recognised as a distinct and growing social problem for Australia’s 2.8 million households who fall in the 2 lowest income quantities as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
We are aware of the Government concessions which include-
- Annual electricity concession
- Winter gas concession
- Water and sewerage concessions
While helpful, they in no way provide relief to thousands of Australian families.
At Make A Difference families arrive with unmanageable utility bills, and we are constantly writing cheques for these families to avoid disconnection.
And – you are wondering why we are called “Make A Difference!”
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VAT and corporation tax is two different taxes administered by HM Revenue and Customs.
Your limited company is legally required to pay corporation tax if your company has made a profit and submit your corporation tax return with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
If your limited company is registered for VAT with HMRC then your company is legally required to charge VAT to your customers and submit VAT returns to HMRC.
Let say, your company is selling children clothing, the applicable VAT rate is zero percent, your price for a pair of child’s trouser is £20 and the VAT rate for children’s clothing is zero percent. Your customer will pay you £20.
If your are selling website coding services, you would charge a standard VAT rate of 20% to your customers. Say, your project fee is £1000 and your invoice to your customer would be £1000 + 20% VAT and the final invoice price is £1200. The £200 collected is VAT. This amount is called output tax.
The £200 belongs to HMRC. Thus, your company is technically collecting the VAT on behalf of HMRC. Then, you report this output tax collection in your VAT return.
Your company pay corporation tax on when there is a profit. Let use the website coding services business to illustrate how corporation tax is computed. Let say, your company only have one sale that is £1000 + 20% VAT equal to £1200.
When preparing your company account, you book only £1000 as your sale not the whole £1200 because the £200 of VAT belongs to HRMC and it is not your earning. Then you deduct any expenses you incurred to deliver the website coding services, say stationery cost of £150 (excluding VAT). Your profit is £850 (£1000 less £150). The current corporation tax rate is 20%, your corporation tax liability would be £170. Your company would report this tax liability in your corporation tax return called CT600 and submit it to HMRC.
HMRC published the current corporation tax rates .
No double counting of taxes
As you can see from the illustration above, your company would not pay double taxes on your business income. Basically, you collect VAT on behalf of HMRC from your customers. And, your VAT is excluded from your corporation tax computation.
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New study details growth of income inequality across US
4 December 2012
A new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities details the explosive growth in income inequality throughout the United States over the past three decades. The report, entitled Pulling Apart, is unique in that it breaks down data regarding inequality to the state level, demonstrating that “the growth in income inequality since the late 1970s has not been a geographically isolated phenomenon.”
“Nationwide, income gaps between the richest households and both the poorest households and middle-income households have widened significantly since the late 1970s,” the study’s authors conclude. “The incomes of the country’s richest households have climbed substantially over the past three decades, but middle- and lower-income households have seen only modest increases or actual declines after adjusting for inflation.”
“In no state did inequality fall by a statistically significant amount,” the report emphasizes.
The study uses US Census Bureau data to compare income inequality between the richest fifth, the middle fifth, and the poorest fifth of households at four periods in time: 1977-1979, 1998-2000, 2005-2007, 2008-2010, allowing three-year averages to be taken at each point. The first three time periods were chosen as “peaks” in the economic cycle while the latter point is the last for which full data is available. All data is adjusted for inflation to represent values in 2009 dollars.
The study did not include realized capital gains, which form a substantial portion of the income of the wealthy, due to data limitations. “As a result,” the authors warn, “our results show somewhat less inequality than would be the case were we to include realized capital gains.”
Even so, the findings are staggering: “Nationally, the richest fifth of households enjoyed larger average income gains in dollar terms each year ($2,550, after adjusting for inflation) than the poorest fifth experienced during the entire three decades ($1,330).”
When the trend is viewed from the state level, it shows that in the late 1970s, the richest fifth of households had 5.2 times the income of the poorest fifth. But by the mid-2000s this ratio had grown to 8.3. The authors note that “in seven states—Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wyoming—the average income of the bottom fifth fell” over this period.
The report shows that the growth of inequality was accelerating between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s, before the eruption of the economic crisis in 2008. The greatest jump in inequality over this period occurred in President Obama’s home state of Illinois, where the top 5 percent saw a 23 percent increase ($58,687) in income compared to a decline among the bottom fifth of 15 percent ($3,539).
While the study did not attempt to analyze the effects of the current economic crisis on inequality due to data limitations, it did point out that the current data suggests income inequality is deepening. They note that in 2011, “each of the bottom three income quintiles had its smallest share of national income on record, while the top quintile had its largest share on record.”
The most recent data available shows that the top fifth of households earn on average eight times that of the bottom fifth, or $164,490 compared to $20,510. At the same time, the average income of the top income quintile was 13.3 times the average income of the bottom fifth.
In New Mexico, which has the highest income inequality of any state, the ratio between the top fifth and the bottom fifth is 9.9. Tellingly, the richest households in the nation’s capital earn 14.6 times the poorest.
According to the report, three major factors have contributed to the growth of inequality: the growth in wage inequality, government policies, and the expansion of investment income. The growth in wage inequality was identified as the biggest factor, as wages at the bottom and middle of the wage scale have remained stagnant or grown very little.
The decline in the real value of the federal minimum wage since its peak in the 1960s has played a role in this process. The study notes that the “impact of this reduction in the minimum wage since 1979 on wage inequality has been, by many accounts, very substantial, especially for low-wage women workers.”
The role played by globalization and technological advances in the depression of wages is also noted. The study demonstrates that under capitalism, where the productive forces are privately held, the tremendous advances made in production and technique over the past decades have been monopolized by the wealthy at the expense of the majority of the working population.
The authors highlight the role played by government policy in promoting inequality, such as changes to the tax code favoring the wealthy and extended periods of high unemployment over the past three decades. Since taking office, the Obama administration has continued the most recent tax breaks, encouraging this inequality, and has failed to introduce any serious measures to address the nation’s high unemployment rate. The administration is strategically using the persistent levels of high unemployment as a means of lowering the wages of workers to enable American business to better compete on the world market.
Finally, the report points to the shift in sources of income over the past three decades away from labor and towards investment-based sources, which tend to benefit the wealthiest households. This process is bound up with the long-term decline of American capitalism and its turn away from industrial production in favor of speculation and evermore parasitic forms of wealth accumulation.
Data compiled by the study shows not only that the growth of inequality has its source in the protracted decline of American capitalism, but that it is also a process that has been encouraged and exacerbated by the deliberate policies of Democratic and Republican administrations alike.
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Climate Change is a global challenge and impacts Ontario farmers. OFA has been working with the provincial government to recognize Climate Change’s current and pending impact on Ontario farm businesses, the importance of adaptation within the agricultural sector to the impacts of Climate Change and to provide research and investment to help farmers adapt.
As legislations are introduced to address Climate Change, like reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a carbon offset credit system, OFA is calling on the Ontario government to consider ways to reduce the financial burden to Ontario farmers that will result from new rules like a legislated price on greenhouse gas emissions. OFA recognizes the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but a legislated increase to the cost of agriculture and food production to a price-taking, high risk industry is ill-advised.
OFA is committed to working with the government and industry to ensure a new carbon offset credit system recognizes agriculture’s role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and includes a flexible, realistic and simple path to agricultural offset credits from farmers.
OFA acknowledges that Climate Change is happening as global temperatures rise, and is evidenced by more frequent extreme weather events and patterns. We recognize this as a global challenge requiring action and investment from governments, communities, businesses, and individuals.
OFA believes that policies, programs, and research initiatives must be developed with government and society to reduce the causes (mitigation) and to enable farmers to cope with the effects (adaptation) of climate change. Furthermore, we believe that no provincial or federal climate change policies should have the effect of negatively impacting the ability of farmers in Ontario to compete in domestic or international markets.
Carbon tax policies attempt to recognise the external costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on our environment and in theory are intended to provide an economic incentive to emitters to change practices and lower emissions rather than pay an increased cost for their emissions. However, energy use in agriculture is often highly price inelastic – a legislated increase to the price of fuels because of a carbon tax will have a relatively small effect on the quantity of the fuels demanded for food production.
There are currently no replacements for fossil fuels in agricultural production, and major efficiencies in fuel use have already been achieved. Furthermore, the majority of agricultural products are marketed in a global marketplace where farmers have little or no ability to pass the cost of a carbon tax on to the consumer. Ultimately, this makes the application of a carbon tax in the agricultural sector an ineffective instrument to drive emissions reductions.
OFA believes that a carbon tax is not appropriate or effective in the agricultural sector, and that all on-farm fuels used in agricultural production (including but not limited to gas, diesel, natural gas, and propane) should be exempt from a carbon tax policies. We believe that in a highly competitive marketplace, where margins are very tight, a carbon tax represents a legislated increase in the cost of production that hurts competitiveness and ultimately threatens our ability to provide the local food products Ontarians want.
We believe a more effective approach would be to focus on promoting further emissions reductions through incentivising the adoption of beneficial management practices (BMPs), investing in the adaptation of precision agricultural technologies at multiple farm scales, and developing programs that recognise the environmental goods and services (EG&S) provided by farming activities.
Agricultural adaptation to the impacts of climate change is vital to maintain provincial and national food security, to support rural livelihoods, and grow a strong economy. Farmers need tools to apply on their own farm operations to reduce the effects of rising global temperatures and extreme weather events. OFA urges government to make significant investments to develop the tools, strategies, and research needed to ensure the Ontario agricultural can adapt to a changing climate.
We know the effects of climate change will be highly variable, impacting farmers differently across commodities and locations. Variable planting and harvesting conditions each year make for highly unpredictable farming schedules and yields. OFA believes that both the provincial and federal governments should considerably increase investment in climate change research, with a focus on short-term and long-term agricultural adaptation strategies that will strengthen the resilience of food production in the face of increased climate variability.
Increased agricultural resilience can be achieved through developing substantially improved weather forecasting and warning systems; research and development of improved plant and animal breeding programs; having an effective and dynamic process to respond to emerging threats from new pest and invasive species; the investment in energy, transportation, and digital infrastructure; and the enhancement of agricultural insurance programs that address new risks associated with climate change.
OFA believes farmers are part of the solution to climate change. As effective managers of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, farmers are in a unique position to provide further greenhouse gas mitigation opportunities. Continued research is needed to both develop and expand the scope of these opportunities and develop acceptable programs that will incentivise adoption.
OFA believes that farming makes the best use of arable land in Ontario, and that agriculturally managed landscapes provide EG&S while producing food, fibre, and fuel. The EG&S farmers provide represent a significant opportunity for voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reductions if properly incentivised. OFA supports the creation of incentive-based programs to drive emissions reductions in our sector rather than through regulations. Cost-shared funding programs, carbon offset credit programs, and performance-based incentive programs have all proven effective at reducing greenhouse gases, and often result in added environmental co-benefits.
While the agriculture sector has already taken great efforts to create efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there remains great untapped potential. Ontario’s farmers have a valuable opportunity to contribute to the growing bio-economy that seeks to replace fossil fuel-based products with those derived from renewable plant-based sources. In order to reach provincial emission reduction goals, OFA believes governments need to provide significant long-term support to the bio-economy to develop markets and drive further innovation.
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For multiple-choice and true/false questions, simply press or click on what you think is the correct answer. For fill-in-the-blank questions press or click on the blank space provided.
If you have difficulty answering the following questions, learn more about this topic by reading our Standard Costing (Explanation).
Manufacturers have the cost of their inventories in several general ledger accounts. One of the accounts is Stores. Which of the following inventories would be in the Stores account?
The supplies used in the manufacturing process would likely be
The standard cost of direct materials is the cost the manufacturer should have used to make the good output.
Which of the following terms would NOT be considered a price variance in a standard cost system?
Which of the following terms would NOT be considered a quantity variance associated with a product's inputs under a standard cost system?
The most advantageous time to recognize a variance in the standard cost of a product's direct material is at the time the material is put into which of the following inventories.
If a company's amount of good output is less than the amount required to absorb its fixed manufacturing overhead costs, which variance will be unfavorable?
A company assigns its variable manufacturing overhead to its products on the basis of direct labor hours. The actual direct labor hours exceeded the standard direct labor hours for the products manufactured during the year. Which variable manufacturing overhead variance will disclose the amount of this unfavorable situation?
A company applies or assigns its variable manufacturing overhead costs on the basis of machine hours (MH). The variable manufacturing overhead spending variance is the difference between the actual variable manufacturing overhead costs incurred by the company and
A company manufacturers a plastic tray. Its standard cost for the direct materials included in one tray is 2 pounds of material at the standard cost of $3 per pound. The company produced 100 trays and used 210 pounds of material. The material's actual cost was $3.10 per pound. The direct materials usage or quantity variance is
Use the following information in answering Questions 17 - 18:
During a recent accounting period a company produced 1,000 units of Item Q and 400 units of Item R. The standard direct labor is 4 hours for each unit of Item Q and 6 hours for each unit of Item R. The standard cost for one hour of direct labor is $20 per hour. The actual direct labor for the accounting period was 6,500 hours at $19 per hour.
The direct labor efficiency variance for the accounting period was:
The direct labor rate variance for the accounting period was:
Assuming that the unfavorable variance of $8,000 is a significant (material) amount for this company, how much of the variance would be charged to the finished goods inventory?
Assuming that the unfavorable variance of $8,000 is an insignificant (immaterial) amount for this company, what is the maximum amount of the variance that can be charged to the cost of goods sold?
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In the United States, healthcare is more than big business – it is enormous. The $3.2 trillion industry makes up 17.8% of the country’s GDP, making it nearly 1/5 of the American economy. The U.S. healthcare industry employs 13 million people – more than any other industry.
Other wealthy countries pay far less per person for healthcare that the $10,348 the United States spends. Other wealthy countries spend about half as much per person. And that’s because almost everything costs more in the U.S.
American Healthcare Prices vs Other Wealthy Countries
|Procedure||Cost in U.S.||Other Countries||Cost|
|A Day in the Hospital||$5,520||Spain||$424|
|Delivering a Baby||$10,808||Switzerland||$7,751|
|Heart Bypass Surgery||$78,318||UK||$24,059|
In the U.S. per capita spending on prescription drugs is $1,443
In some countries healthcare is paid for with taxes so there is no out of pocket expense to individuals. In the U.S. it is quite different.
In the U.S. healthcare expenses are paid by the individual, by health insurance, or a blend of both. In almost all cases in the U.S. when a person gets sick, they will owe money for the medical treatment they receive. The sicker they get, the more they owe.
42.9 Million Americans have unpaid medical bills. The average medical debt is $1,766.
Most workers must pay a hefty deductible out of pocket before insurance pays anything. Most personal bankruptcies are considered “Medical Bankruptcies.”
More than 30% of Americans living in these states have medical debts:
- West Virginia
- South Carolina
Over 11% of Americans have no health insurance. Even those who do often delay medical care due to out of pocket costs. About 1 in 7 Americans do not get their prescriptions filled because of the expense.
Quite simply, most Americans can’t afford to get sick. Recovering physically from an injury or illness may be much easier and faster than recovering financially.Graphic Source: QuickApply
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Cryptocurrencies have become such a success that I’m sure even the inventor – Satoshi Nakamoto – didn’t dare to dream about. There were many past attempts to create a digital cash system that is decentralized but never before has the idea been able to attract so many followers. There is just something about Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherium, and all the other cryptocurrencies that provokes unprecedented enthusiasm and fascination. Sometimes it comes off as a religion rather than technology!
However, looking past all the buzz and press releases, you’ll be surprised to know that a majority of individuals (even scientists, consultants, and bankers) have very limited knowledge on digital currencies and the underlying blockchain technology.
Here’s what you need to know about digital currencies
A cryptocurrency is a virtual currency that uses cryptography and works across a P2P network, making it difficult to counterfeit. Perhaps its most defining feature is the fact that it is not issued or controlled by any central authority, making it resistant to government manipulation.
A much simpler way of looking at cryptocurrencies is in the form of limited entries in a database that no one can alter without passing certain conditions.
Let’s dive deeper and look at the mechanism controlling the database of digital currencies. A cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin works across a network of peers. Every computer on the network is called a block. Every peer has an immutable record of all the previous transactions and the balances in every account.
Every transaction must be signed by two parties before it is confirmed by use of a basic public key cryptography. Once it has been signed, the transaction is broadcasted across the network using basic p2p technology. Nothing complicated.
The transaction completes almost instantaneously and is known by the whole network. One more thing, only miners have the power to confirm transactions. Miners are simply powerful computers tasked with stamping the transaction as legit before spreading it on the network as well as creating valid bitcoins.
So, why all this buzz about this money systems? Here are the characteristics of digital money that make it so alluring:
1. Irreversible transactions
No transaction can be reversed after confirmation. If you chose to send money, you send it, and that’s it. This is especially handy in the sense that it helps merchants to avoid fraud through chargebacks.
Neither accounts nor transactions are linked to true identities. It’s all pseudonymous. While it is possible to examine the flow of transactions, it is impossible to link it to the real world identity of the bearer of the address.
Since the transactions occur on a global blockchain network, they can work anywhere so long as you are connected to the internet.
4. Fast and cost-efficient
Because there is no central clearing authority, digital currencies are transmitted much faster than a typical bank would. The exact time it takes to complete a transaction will depend on the digital currency that you are working with, but still, it beats the banking system.
The public key cryptography system ensures that only you (the holder of the private key) can send the cryptocurrency.
Now that you know how Bitcoin works, let’s look at other related developments that you might want to know about.
Bitcoin IRA is a relatively new concept that helps individuals to set up a retirement account. Also, if you already have an IRA, you can transfer the funds and change it into cryptocurrency. If you choose this type of IRA, you get to enjoy minimal fees and possibly have your investment grow because cryptocurrencies are becoming more valuable with each passing day.
Bitcoin teller machines
BitAccess is among the very first bitcoin teller machines that we got. It tries to make cryptocurrencies more accessible by allowing you to deposit cash and get a digital wallet with the equivalent in bitcoin, as well as put cryptocurrency in and receive conventional money. How cool is that!
Presently, Bitcoin is expanding into lending. Companies are emerging to offer this service after addressing the legal framework. For instance, Bitbond and Kiva. These companies help entrepreneurs from all over the world gain access to microfinance.
Money transfers and payments
Bitcoin is going on to prove to us that banks are a thing of the past by being able to handle money just the same way as your bank does. The only difference is that transferring cryptocurrencies is much cheaper and faster.
Even developing countries are already embracing the idea. Kenyans, for example, have BitPesa which works almost the same way as Western Union. Users in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria can receive cryptocurrencies via wire transfer and then convert them into local currencies via mobile money platforms.
Another example of an innovative digital currency payment platform is CashU. It was developed for people to pay their bills without the need for a bank account or credit card. It also enables consumers in developing countries to shop online.
Getting excited yet? Here are a few examples of cryptocurrencies that you might want to try (other than Bitcoin):
1. Litecoin (LTC)
This digital cash system launched in 2011 and was among the first cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin. As of October 5th, 2018, it had a total market capitalization of $3.4 billion and $58.09 per token value.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Etherium became active in 2015. It enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications (DApps) to be created and run without fraud, downtime, or interference from third parties. Ether has a market cap of $22.97 billion and per token value of $224.42.
3. Zcash (ZEC)
Zcash was created in late 2016 and aims to provide extra security/privacy by keeping the details of the sender and recipient as well as the amount private. Its market cap is at about $633.64 million and the value per token is $128.08.
4. Monero (XMR)
Monero is a secure, private, and untraceable open-source cryptocurrency. Monero puts a major emphasis on decentralization, scalability, and privacy by using a unique technique called “ring signatures.” Monero has a market capitalization of over two billion US dollars and per token value of $142.21.
5. Ripple (XRP)
Launched in 2012, Ripple is a real-time global settlement network which enables, instant, sure, and low-cost international payments. Its structure does not require mining, and this reduces the amount of computing power that it requires. Their market capitalization as of October stood at $20.07 billion and per token value at $0.518.
Now, these are just but a few of the popular cryptocurrencies out there. For more information on Blockchain technology, BitFortune has been kind enough to put together a meticulous infographic detailing industries that are benefiting from blockchain as well as current and future trends.
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Legislation and Regulations - Offshore Oil and Gas
Canada has a set of four principal Acts which govern oil and gas activities in the offshore:
The Canada Petroleum Resources Act governs the lease of federally owned oil and gas rights on 'frontier lands' to oil and gas companies that wish to find and produce the oil and gas. 'Frontier lands' include the 'territorial sea' (12 nautical miles beyond the low water mark of the outer coastline), and the 'continental shelf' (beyond the territorial sea). It is the statute under which the federal government must first give permission for oil and gas exploration to occur on frontier lands; and it provides opportunity for the federal government to protect the environment by attaching exploration restrictions when leasing rights or by stopping work if there is an environmental problem.
Under the Act, subsurface oil and gas rights in unexplored areas are issued during a 'public call for bids' and the Minister may attach conditions to the transfer of rights (including conditions for protecting the environment). For each right issued, the successful oil and gas company must pay a royalty to the federal government.
The Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act governs the exploration, production, processing, and transportation of oil and gas in marine areas controlled by the federal government. These areas include the 'territorial sea' (12 nautical miles beyond the low water mark of the outer coastline), and the 'continental shelf' (beyond the territorial sea). They do not include areas controlled by the provincial government. The purpose of the Act is to promote safety, protection of the environment, the conservation of oil and gas resources, and joint production agreements.
The Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act, otherwise known as the Accord Acts, implement agreements between the federal and provincial governments relating to offshore petroleum resources. The Accord Acts mirror both the COGOA and CPRA, and outline the shared management of oil and gas resources in the offshore, revenue sharing, and establishes the respective offshore regulatory boards.
- Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA)
- Canada Petroleum Resources Act (CPRA)
- Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act
- Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act
- Oil substitution and Conservation Act
Energy Safety and Security Act (Part 1)
Financial Requirements Regulations
- Canada Oil and Gas Operations Financial Requirements Regulations
- Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Financial Requirements Regulations
- Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Financial Requirements Regulations
Cost Recovery Regulations
- Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Oil and Gas Cost Recovery Regulations
- Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Oil and Gas Cost Recovery Regulations
Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations
- Date modified:
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Promissory Note Domiciliation
Domiciliation of a bill of exchange - is an appointment of a special place of payment (domicile) on a bill of payment, other than the location of the person who is indicated as a payer on this bill of exchange, by means of applying the domicile formula.
The bill drawer, when drawing up a bill of exchange, may appoint not only a special place of payment, but also a person who will pay the bill at the place of domiciliation (domiciliary). If case such a person is not appointed, it means that the one can be appointed by the drawee (payer) upon acceptance of the bill. If the latter does not do this, it is considered that the acceptor will make the payment himself at the place of domiciliation.
In case when the payer has appointed a payment place (settlement) to pay the bill other than his location, the bill is considered domiciled, and the person who is appointed to make the payment is considered a domiciliary agent.
If the location of the payer and the place of payment are the same, the bill of exchange is not considered domiciled, while the person who is to make the payment is a special payer.
Payment of bills by which the Bank acts as a special payer (domiciliary agent) is the Bank’s execution on behalf of a principal payer on bills (domiciliary) of bills operations based on the instructions received from the principal, specifically:
- Acceptance of bills of exchange from the bill holder.
- Making payment on bills of exchange.
- Transfer of bills to the bill payer after the full payment of bills.
A bank can be appointed as a special payer (domiciliary) for both ordinary bills and transfer bills of exchange.
If a special payer (domiciliary) is not specified by the drawer, it may be appointed by the payer upon acceptance. However, the payer cannot change the place of payment (settlement). Changing the place of payment upon the bill acceptance is equivalent to a refusal to accept it. If the bill of exchange is payable at the place of the payer’s residence, he may, upon its acceptance, indicate another address in the same location (settlement).
Given the instructions of the principal, the Bank may accept bills of exchange for payment and make payment on them at the expense of the principal. The principal may be the drawer, the bill acceptor, or the payer of the transfer bill of exchange.
In this setting, the Bank becomes a special payer (domiciliary) and pays a bill of exchange only if the principal had preliminarily paid him the bill amount.
Operations on domiciliation of bills of exchange are carried out on the grounds of an agreement between the principal and the Bank.
When performing an operation, the Bank is responsible only for the proper execution of the principal’s instructions specified in the agreement.
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Common Agricultural Policy
Since the Second World War, our rural landscape has changed dramatically. The result is a countryside which is significantly less diverse than it once was.
Why was the Common Agricultural Policy introduced?
Farming practices have become increasingly intensive.
Field size has increased, there are high levels of chemical inputs including fertiliser and pesticides. There has also been a move to specialisation with farms concentrating on either livestock or crop production.
Farmers have been able to achieve an almost fourfold increase in crop yields since 1945 and while food production is a critically important function of our land, a 'maximum output' approach has had serious environmental consequences.
There has been a dramatic reduction in landscape and environmental quality, with widespread declines in the populations of many farmland bird species and other wildlife. We're also facing serious problems with water pollution and soil degradation.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was a significant factor driving the intensification of farming. Created in 1962, it aimed to provide farmers in the European Economic Community with a reasonable income and a secure, affordable supply of food to European citizens.
Through subsidies and price guarantees the CAP was so successful in stimulating higher levels of production that soon the EU had to contend with massive surpluses in certain commodities – the infamous butter mountains and wine lakes of the 1980s and 1990s.
The policy had to change. It was becoming unacceptably expensive. A problem which would only worsen as more countries joined the EU. The policy was also having a huge impact on agriculture outside the EU, particularly developing countries that couldn't compete with EU produce dumped on world markets at below production costs. Finally, the serious and widespread harm to the environment being driven by the CAP had to be addressed.
Outlining the RSPB's interest, information about budgets, and more. PDF, 79Kb.The RSPB's views on the Common Agricultural Policy
BirdLife International’s vision for the future of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. PDF, 600Kb.New challenges, new CAP
This study reviews the potential effects on biodiversity of the 2007-2013 Rural Development Programmes across the European Union. PDF, 1.4Mb.Could do better: How is EU Rural Development policy delivering for biodiversity?
Tarnhouse Farm is a shining example of the RSPB’s vision of moving towards more sustainable upland management. PDF, 1.3Mb.Tarnhouse Farm - Cumbria
Reform of the CAP began in the 1980s with the introduction of production limits, and continued through the 1990s with steps to encourage more environmentally sustainable farming practices.
In 1999, the CAP was split into the two 'Pillars' we have today: Pillar 1 which consists of income-support 'direct payments' to farmers, and Pillar 2, the Rural Development pillar. The 1999 reforms were particularly important as they required every Member State to introduce agri-environment schemes under the Rural Development Pillar, which farmers could then join voluntarily, and be financially rewarded for implementing more wildlife-friendly farming methods.
Further reforms in 2003 introduced the important principle of decoupling subsidies from production, removing the incentive to over-produce and allowing farmers to be more responsive to market conditions. The 2003 CAP reform also introduced 'cross-compliance', a set of minimum environmental, animal welfare and safety standards which farmers have to meet to receive their payments.
Proper funding for the management of Natura 2000 sites, the EU network of sites for nature conservation, can also be supported by CAP funds, and are available to all Member States.
Farming after Brexit
Following the decision in June 2016 for the UK to leave the European Union, major decisions will need to be made about how all governments across the UK support the environment, farming and rural development to replace the Common Agricultural Policy.
A vital role for nature
The CAP has considerable influence on how our land is managed – perhaps to be expected considering the money involved - more than €50bn every year, entirely paid for by the public through their taxes.
Elements of the CAP are crucial to help address biodiversity declines and other environmental challenges, particularly through agri-environment schemes in each of the four UK countries.
There have been some successes with schemes targeted at specific species. For example, the national breeding population of cirl buntings increased from 118 pairs in 1989 to 862 in 2009 following a special agri-environment project – essentially preventing the species from being lost from the UK altogether.
However, despite these efforts many farmland bird species such as the skylark, corn bunting, grey partridge and turtle dove continue to decline.
Room for improvement
The CAP has improved significantly since the early days of maximised production, but there is still a long way to go before the policy truly meets the needs of farmers, consumers and the environment.
Across the UK and wider EU, farmers' payments are still often linked to past production levels with the highest payments going to intensively managed farms whilst extensive, wildlife-friendly farming systems often get a much poorer deal.
Cross-compliance standards, although an important concept, are fairly undemanding, and have not yet met their potential to provide genuine benefits for the environment and wildlife.
The CAP represents an enormous public investment in agriculture and rural areas and yet the majority of its budget is spent on direct payments, which have no clear policy aim and bring limited social and environmental benefits. Only 25 per cent of the CAP spending goes to rural development, with less still (just 4 per cent) spent on agri-environment schemes.
The trajectory of reform, kick started in the early 1990s, also appears to have stalled, with a deeply disappointing 'reform' agreement in 2013.
The RSPB believes that protecting farmland wildlife, cherished European landscapes, and conserving the natural resources needed for long-term food production, must be the core objective of the CAP.
By rewarding farmers who integrate environmental protection and enhancement into their day to day business, the CAP can provide benefits not just for the environment, but for farming incomes and the long-term sustainability of the farming sector, and ultimately ensure the policy is in line with society's expectations from the countryside.
Working with BirdLife partner organisations and other stakeholders across the UK, the RSPB advocates this policy change to EU governments and decision makers.
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A country like with 9 months of prolonged summer and heat climate, India’s plans of realizing Solar Power for All by 2022 is only possible by making the solar power infrastructure simple and affordable for all.
Welcoming Green Projects: Indian Real Estate has witnessed the rise and fall and about-to-rise of the housing industry in the last 10 years. One of the key lessons they have learned or willing to learn is to make the optimising cost of construction and building communities with optimal maintenance.
Building green projects are not just a thing of brand appeal or marketing differentiator, but the need of the hour.
The building sector in India consumes 30% of the total conventional power in India, as per the quote by Mr. PK Pujari, former secretary of Power in the Energy Conservation Building Code Manual.
Energy demand is nowhere to be stopped or controlled owing to the growing population or the technology-intensive life patterns. Thanks to the framework of Ranked 2 in the world after China in the Solar energy production, India, as a country – till some years before, hasn’t figured the road to 100% utilization of solar energy. The mission to generate 20 GW of solar power capacity by 2020, as per the National Solar Mission ( 2010) has taken a great stride with the power generation has increased from 10 MW in 2010 to 16,00 MW in September 2017.
ECBC, Government has mandated the renewable energy for water heating or power production across the building segments – be it residential, corporate or hotels.
Hospitals, hotels, hostels, lodges, community centers and even residential buildings proposed on plots of more than 500 square meters will be required to make provision for solar infrastructure to light up public spaces and corridors
A dedicated REGZ (Renewable Energy Generating Zone) equivalent to at least 25 % of roof area or area required for the generation of energy equivalent to 1% of total peak demand or a connected load of the building, whichever is less, shall be provided in all buildings, as per the Manual.
Challenging yet welcoming: This pacing progress towards a clean renewable energy-driven country has to be majorly endorsed and implemented by Real Estate companies, who carve the housing structure of India.
Apprehensions from various ends about the initial infrastructure set-up cost are being cleared with welcoming subsidies and slashed pricing on solar infrastructure set-up.
“More awareness and thereby creating openness among the Real estate community to adopt the change right at the design level is highly critical. Designers like us to take that responsibility. In the end, this paradigm shift is about the benefit for everyone, including the earth”, says, Mr. Dhamodaran, Director FHD Group.
Mr. Indrasen Reddy from Four Solar opines.
What is the key driver that triggered this great shift, where now solar production is becoming mainstream and at end-user base
”The key driver for the integration of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar with real estate or adoption of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar by customers is Free Power while the undercurrent of clean energy is recognized and technology proven. Customers were wary of the technology first, but have now embraced it with a condition that there should be a clear return on investment. Since the solar power system is expensive, “saving the world” sounds good on paper; only when it is translated to saving money then customers adopt. We see the rise in technology adoption because customers have enough successful case studies on Saving Money and Free Power.”
What are the benefits that this change will foresee – numbers, estimates in savings – abit quantified
”The government of India has an ambitious target of 40 GW for Rooftop Solar by 2022. Though the adoption rate has been lower than expected, the market is positive and is expecting more installations than ever during this and next fiscal years.”
The benefits are ‘Saving Money’ and ‘Free Power’. A customer investing in a 100 KW grid-connected rooftop solar system will get his Return on Investment in about 3.5-5.5 years (based on the tariff); this means, after the RoI period, a customer consumes free electricity for 20-22 years with minimal maintenance costs.
What are the challenges that builders or users have to be kept in mind?
“There are no challenges as such apart from paperwork for Subsidy Clearance and Net Meter Installation, which anyhow is under the solar company’s scope.”
“The main challenge in rooftop solar is ‘rooftop space availability’. Though many customers want to go for rooftop solar, few of them have to scale down the capacity to meet the roof area and few have to drop the idea altogether due to roof-facing. The roof must face South to North for a maximum generation but we have come across several roofs especially tilted ones that were facing east or west.“
“ Design Firms like FHD Group, who always believed and acted in green and sustainable design has believed that Net-Zero Living is the ultimate destination: Beyond cost-saving and profit maximization lies immense responsibility for each of the real estate developers is to create self-sustaining communities
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You are here
Today, the Energy Department released two new reports highlighting record highs for U.S. wind energy production and manufacturing and demonstrating America’s continued leadership in this rapidly growing global industry. Wind energy is now the fastest growing source of power in the United States – representing 43 percent of all new U.S. electric generation capacity in 2012 and $25 billion in new investment. The reports were prepared in partnership with the Department’s Lawrence Berkeley and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories.
In the first four years of the Obama Administration, American electricity generation from wind and solar power more than doubled. President Obama’s Climate Action Plan makes clear that the growth of clean, renewable wind energy remains a critical part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that cuts carbon pollution, diversifies our energy economy and brings the next generation of American-made clean energy technologies to market. The Administration has committed once again to doubling renewable electricity generation from energy resources like wind power.
As the graphic above illustrates, America’s wind industry is booming. In 2012, over 13 gigawatts of new wind power capacity was added to the U.S. grid – nearly double the wind capacity deployed in 2011. This tremendous growth helped us surpass 60 gigawatts of total capacity at the end of 2012 – enough capacity to power all the homes in California and Washington State combined. As energy production goes, so does manufacturing. The 2012 Wind Technologies Market Report estimates that 72 percent of the wind turbine equipment – including towers, blades and gears – installed in the U.S. last year was made in America. This growth in domestic wind manufacturing is creating thousands of new jobs across the country. Industry estimates the wind sector employs more than 80,000 American workers across a variety of sectors, including finance, engineering, construction and project development .
Nine states now rely on wind for more than 12 percent of their total annual energy consumption, and in Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas, wind is contributing more than 20 percent. At the same time, technological innovation and lower maintenance and hardware costs are spurring near-record low prices for wind power. In 2011 and 2012 the price of wind under long-term power purchase contracts averaged just 4 cents per kilowatt hour.
Still, as these reports make clear, wind energy projections for future years are uncertain, due in part to policy uncertainty. That’s why the Obama Administration has called for the extension of the production tax credit which has played a vital role in the development of this clean, renewable energy source. We’re also working to upgrade our electric grid to provide reliable, affordable clean energy to more and more Americans.
This Thursday, at 3pm ET, the Energy Department is hosting a special Google+ Hangout on wind energy in America where you can ask the experts how wind energy projects, technologies and policies are driving U.S. leadership in this competitive industry. I invite you to join the conversation and learn more at energy.gov/windreport.
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Our Green Gas customers can rest safe in the knowledge that the gas they purchase is carbon neutral. We do this by sourcing biomethane produced here in the UK, and then by purchasing and retiring carbon credits from verified carbon mitigation projects around the world that prevent carbon emissions. "Retiring the credits" takes them out of circulation, which is important in showing genuine, one-off carbon reduction as those credits cannot ever be used again. One of these mitigation projects is an innovative biogas scheme in Vietnam.
We asked Jonathan Shopley, Managing Director of our partnering company Natural Capital Partners, to reflect back on his visit to the Vietnamese biogas project earlier this year, and to share his view on the difference it is making both to the global climate challenge and to livelihoods in rural Vietnam.
How did the Vietnamese biogas project start?
Vietnam has a methane problem.
A country known for its delicious and fresh cuisine, it is home to millions of smallholder farmers producing rice, chicken, pork and beef for local and worldwide consumption. Those agricultural activities release large quantities of methane emissions, and the country’s greenhouse gas emissions grew nine-fold from 1991 to 2012, giving Vietnam an economy-wide carbon intensity almost triple the world average.
Why is this important?
Methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a hundred year period (and 70 times more potent in the first 20 years) and it accounts for about 20% of the warming potential of all greenhouse gas. This is why the benefits of this project stretch far beyond the rural areas of Vietnam where it operates.
Back in 2003, Vietnam’s Department of Livestock Production within its Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development partnered with the SNV Netherland Development Organisation to develop a long-term plan to capture methane from animal slurry across the country’s rural population. The project itself began in 2006 and is now in the third of three phases, with the aim of becoming self-sufficient from 2020 onwards.
So how does it work?
Small-scale biogas plants are constructed beneath rural households with livestock operations to collect and contain animal slurry. The biogas plants capture methane gas that arises from the decomposing slurry and use it in households for lighting, heating and cooking. It’s a win-win because it captures animal waste and converts it into crop fertiliser and biogas, saving families time and money.
It is really exciting that the project will soon become self-sufficient...it's a great model for similar projects in other countries to emulate
What was it like to visit first hand?
What struck me on meeting the project team in Hanoi was the unique partnerships that are at the heart of the project’s continuing success – partners, which include the Vietnamese government, SNV and other development agencies, the project developers and the local bricklaying masons who build and maintain the biogas collectors. Together they play a critical role in building a vibrant biogas sector right across Vietnam. Carbon finance, provided in part by Good Energy’s Green Gas customers, has enabled the project to consolidate and expand.
It was a particular pleasure to visit the project at this time because it has made great strides since it began over a decade ago and has had a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the 64 Vietnamese provinces where it now operates. It is really exciting that the project will soon become self-sufficient, and I think that’s a great model for similar projects in other countries to emulate.
It was deeply impressive to see the difference this type of project makes to local families and communities. Some of the rural homes I visited had gas lighting as well as gas cook stoves, and it became clear to me that the project delivers a significant lifestyle upgrade to more modern, convenient, efficient, lighter and cleaner households.
How is the project helping the local community? What is it achieving?
The beauty of funding a biogas project like this is that it delivers both emission reductions and wider benefits to local communities. When I visited the project it had chalked up some impressive statistics:
- 158,000 digesters installed across 64 provinces benefitting 790,000 people
- Greenhouse gas emissions reductions totalling 3.6 million metric tonnes CO2e
- 830 technicians and 1,670 mason teams trained and qualified
- €2,422,000 operating income from the sale of carbon credits
- 8 tonnes CO2ereduced per installation per year
- 83 minutes saved per day, mainly by women, by reduced time for manure management and cooking
- Biogas replaces 6kg of firewood per day per household
What you think about Good Energy supporting the project through its Green Gas?
It really captures the impressive range of supportive actions by Good Energy, its customers and the project, to promote clean, green gas both here in the UK and in Vietnam.
Would you encourage consumers to switch to Good Energy’s Green Gas?
Absolutely, for three reasons:
- Good Energy has developed into a widely respected, pioneering energy company offering UK citizens high quality and cost effective alternatives to fossil fuels.
- Good Energy’s Green Gas is fully carbon neutral through its support of biomethane production in the UK and this biogas project in Vietnam
- Good Energy’s funding to the biogas project in Vietnam is delivering positive impact to rural communities across the country that goes way beyond just preventing carbon emissions, and delivers material economic and health benefits to participating households.
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Do you like earning money? And, at the same time contribute to saving the planet? What if I prove to you Solar Business is the next booming field having plenty of opportunities in coming decades, with plus point of reducing our carbon footprint.
You’d argue…Really? But solar installations are so expensive! They are not even efficient! Why would anyone even install them?
Ah! Let me correct you, solar installations ‘were’ expensive and ‘were’ inefficient. It’s like almost everyone right now is working on driving down the cost of solar power and increasing it’s efficiency. This is what got me interested and I started doing some analysis in this field. Please read on to know more.
Since this was my first R project, excitedly I started looking for some datasets with solar installations and found an interesting dataset on Kaggle for Google Project Sunroof – an impressive concept where data from Google Earth is used to get the pictures of your house roof to analyze how much energy from sunlight you can harvest and further calculate the monetary benefits you can yield from solar installation. The dataset had most of the information I needed for my analysis. I also, downloaded data for Coal and Natural Gas consumption for electricity from U.S. Energy Information Administration, to see how much Coal and Natural Gas is actually being used by various states. Another missing piece in the puzzle was financial angle; for this I used Photo Voltaic Cell cost data from National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
I processed the datasets in R language using Dplyr, TidyR and StringR packages. I used Ggplot, Leaflet, Plotly and Googlevis libraries to plot the graphs. Finally, I created an application of all the graphs using R Shiny package.
1. Solar Energy Share in Electricity Generation:
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2016, about 65% of electricity generation was from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases), about 20% was from nuclear energy, and about 15% was from renewable energy sources, out of which only 0.9 % was from Solar Energy.
2. Coal and Natural Gas Consumption:
From the above graph we can see, largest sources of electricity are Coal and Natural Gas. I wanted to further analyze, how different states in US consume these 2 sources to generate electricity. I created an animated graph in Googlevis to show animation for all the years from 2001 through 2017. Below is the snapshot of the animation graph for the year 2001. The graph for coal could be little biased. In reality, Texas consumes largest coal. The values for Texas were so high, that I had to normalize it to make other states visible on the map. I did not normalize the Natural Gas Texas value as other states were still visible on this map.
3. Total Sunlight Received by US:
US is a large land mass and I always wondered, how much sunlight do we really get. I was curious to find out which states get most sunlight and how can we harness it. I plotted below graph using leaflet by adding shape file for counties. Notice the ranking on the right table clearly shows that states in the southern part of the country get most sunlight. Let’s quickly compare data for Texas: It uses 95 M tonnes of coal annually on average. It receives about 117, 568, 363, 600, 000 KWH solar energy annually on average. If we actually harness this solar energy, we could save large amount of green house gas emissions caused by burning tonnes of coal. Also see this.
4. Solar Installation Cost Analysis:
I plotted below graph using Dygraph package. It shows how cost of Photo Voltaic Cells / watt has reduced in last 7 years.
US department of energy has an initiative – the SunShot Initiative, focussed entirely on driving down the cost of electricity generated by solar panels. And the average cost of solar energy generation has dropped 82% in the past decade. US Government is supporting the solar installation by giving federal investment tax credits (up to 30%), rebates and even forming laws such as ‘Go Solar California‘. All these facts mean, more and more people would want to benefit from installing solar panels. Since not too many homes have solar panels installed yet, solar panel installation is going to be huge in coming time. According to an article in Forbes, there could be almost trillions dollars up for grabs. Exciting isn’t it?
5. Reduce our Carbon Footprint:
Further, let’s not forget the environmental perspective. Did you know, if we do not dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, the global sea level is likely to increase ‘several meters over a timescale of 50 to 150 years’, which could drown 50% of NYC under water. Oh No!
However, Solar Energy, unlike any other non renewable energy sources does not produce harmful pollutants in the air. And yes, it is high time we understand it’s benefits and reduce our carbon footprint.
Below graph, plotted using leaflet shows us top 50 cities that can contribute to the carbon offset (radius of red circles showing the amount of carbon offset). Notice how most of the cities are in the southern part…hmm.
6. Solar Installation Opportunities:
So, with all this said, aren’t we excited to plunge into harnessing the benefits? I know you’d say – Yes! But where do we start? I have plotted below graph in ggplot, to research the top 15 states with highest opportunities. I have scaled the ‘Existing Installs’ by 10 times to make it visible on the graph. This graph clearly shows there is plenty of opportunity to try our luck doing some business in this field.
There’s so much more to research here. I really want to work to find how the solar power generation efficiency is improving, and so is the average capacity factor of utility-scale. I would also like to research on how much investment firms are keen in this field. After that, I want to use some R packages such InsolaR and SolaR to get some numerical data for some numerical conclusions.
Given above insights, I believe Solar Business is in for a vast transformation.The road ahead won’t be without its challenges, but we must keep the long-term in mind. For the long run we can positively say Solar Energy is way to go. With further detailed analysis on more data we can definitely solidify some numerical conclusions for both financial and environmental gains.
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