Bussiness

Forex Exchange Reserves

2009-08-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

History

Official international reserves, the means of official international payments, formerly consisted only of , and occasionally silver. But under the , the US functioned as a reserve currency, so it too became part of a nation's official international reserve assets. From 1944-1968, the US dollar was convertible into gold through the Federal Reserve System, but after 1968 only central banks could convert dollars into gold from official gold reserves, and after 1973 no individual or institution could convert US dollars into gold from official gold reserves. Since 1973, no major currencies have been convertible into gold from official gold reserves. Individuals and institutions must now buy gold in private markets, just like other commodities. Even though US dollars and other currencies are no longer convertible into gold from official gold reserves, they still can function as official international reserves.

Purpose

In a flexible exchange rate system, official international reserve assets allow a to purchase the domestic , which is considered a for the central bank (since it prints the money itself as IOUs). This action can stabilise the value of the domestic currency.Central banks throughout the world have sometimes cooperated in buying and selling official international reserves to attempt to influence exchange rates.

Changes in reserves

The quantity of foreign exchange reserves can change as a central bank implements monetary policy. A central bank that implements a fixed exchange rate policy may face a situation where supply and demand would tend to push the value of the currency lower or higher (an increase in demand for the currency would tend to push its value higher, and a decrease lower). In a flexible exchange rate regime, these operations occur automatically, with the central bank clearing any excess demand or supply by purchasing or selling the foreign currency. Mixed exchange rate regimes ('dirty floats', target bands or similar variations) may require the use of foreign exchange operations ( or unsterilized]) to maintain the targeted exchange rate within the prescribed limits (China has been repeatedly accused of doing this by the USA).Foreign exchange operations that are unsterilized will cause an expansion or contraction in the amount of domestic currency in circulation, and hence directly affect monetary policy and inflation: An exchange rate target cannot be independent of an inflation target. Countries that do not target a specific exchange rate are said to have a , and allow the market to set the exchange rate; for countries with floating exchange rates, other instruments of monetary policy are generally preferred and they may limit the type and amount of foreign exchange interventions. Even those central banks that strictly limit foreign exchange interventions, however, often recognize that currency markets can be volatile and may intervene to counter disruptive short-term movements.To maintain the same exchange rate if there is increased demand, the central bank can issue more of the domestic currency and purchase the foreign currency, which will increase the sum of foreign reserves. In this case, the currency's value is being held down; since (if there is no the domestic money supply is increasing (money is being 'printed'), this may provoke domestic inflation (the value of the domestic currency falls relative to the value of goods and services).Since the amount of foreign reserves available to defend a weak currency (a currency in low demand) is limited, a foreign exchange crisis or could be the end result. For a currency in very high and rising demand, foreign exchange reserves can theoretically be continuously accumulated, although eventually the increased domestic money supply will result in inflation and reduce the demand for the domestic currency (as its value relative to goods and services falls). In practice, some central banks, through open market operations aimed at preventing their currency from appreciating, can at the same time build substantial reserves.In practice, few central banks or currency regimes operate on such a simplistic level, and numerous other factors (domestic demand, production and productivity, imports and exports, relative prices of goods and services, etc) will affect the eventual outcome. As certain impacts (such as inflation) can take many months or even years to become evident, changes in foreign reserves and currency values in the short term may be quite large as different markets react to imperfect data.Costs,

benefits, and criticisms

Large reserves of foreign currency allow a government to manipulate exchange rates - usually to stabilize the foreign exchange rates to provide a more favorable economic environment. In theory the manipulation of foreign currency exchange rates can provide the stability that a gold standard provides, but in practice this has not been the case.There are costs in maintaining large currency reserves. Fluctuations in exchange markets result in gains and losses in the purchasing power of reserves. Even in the absence of a currency crisis, fluctuations can result in huge losses. For example, China holds huge U.S. dollar-denominated assets, but the U.S. dollar has been weakening on the exchange markets, resulting in a relative loss of wealth. In addition to fluctuations in exchange rates, the purchasing power of decreases constantly due to devaluation through . Therefore, a central bank must continually increase the amount of its reserves to maintain the same power to manipulate exchange rates. Reserves of foreign currency provide a small return in interest. However, this may be less than the reduction in purchasing power of that currency over the same period of time due to , effectively resulting in a negative return known as the "quasi-fiscal cost". In addition, large currency reserves could have been invested in higher yielding assets.

Excess reserves

exchangeare important indicators of ability to repay foreign debt and for currency defense, and are used to determine credit ratings of nations, however, other government funds that are counted as liquid assets that can be applied to liabilities in times of crisis include , otherwise known as . If those were included, would rank higher on these lists, and 's $1.3 trillion would be second after . Singapore also has significant government funds including is also planning to create its own investment firm from its foreign exchange reserves.

Advance Forex Techniques.

2009-08-16T03:51:00.001-07:00

Forex is a potential platform for earning substantial profit. In fact it is one of the largest trading markets of the world. Featuring an average daily trade of US$ 2 trillion and above, this market is best known for its high scale trading volume and intense liquidity. Adding to this, today with the advancement of technology it can be done from anywhere of the world. Backed up by world-wide web, you can easily trade in the forex market at the comfort of your own home. However, it is important to understand that fx trading is based hugely on speculation. You must be smart enough to guess exactly when the rate of a certain currency pair will rise and go down, and then buy or sell based on that. Indeed it is said that if you learn to study the speculation of this market, you will have a better chance of getting profit.

Today, it is more advanced and turned into an active investment arena, where only a factual understanding of the intricacies and complexities can make your capital grow every day. Moreover, like any other business, it also involves some amount of risks. There is no shot fx trading technique for success in the currency trading market, but there are some well-known techniques that can assist you formulate a good advanced foreign exchange trading strategy. Here are few essential techniques that can help you cut your losses and increases profits

Forex Scalping: It is a latest technique of trading where profits are taken after relatively small moves in the forex market. It is a technique where trading is done over small time frames, and smaller profits are taken more frequently. As the position exposed to the market is shorter, it automatically reduces the risk of adverse market events causing the price to go against the trade. It is a different approach to most other forex strategies, but still requires you to analyze the market to ensure that the set up for a trade is present. This type of trading greatly appeals to day traders and those who look to reduce the risk involved in trading currencies

Forex Hedging: It is a technique that helps in reducing some of the risk involved in holding an open forex position. It decreases the risk by taking both sides of a trade at once. If your broker allows it, a simple way to hedge is just to initiate a long and a short position on the same pair. Advanced traders sometimes use two different pairs to make one hedge, but that can get very complicated.It is important to understand that much of the risk involved in holding any forex position is market risk; i.e. if the market falls sharply, your losses may escalate dramatically. So if you have an open Forex position with fine projection but you think the currency pair may reverse against you, it is advised to hedge your position.

Forex Position Trading:Forex position trading approach is yet another trouble-free technique to boost your position size without increasing your risk. This trading tactic is very effective with mini lots. The major highlight with this technique is that - with forex position trading your exposure to the market is less and so therefore is no need to monitor the market continuously. Moreover, you may even earn profit with negligible loss that can further boost your trading confidence. For Example- you might make a short trade on EUR/USD at 1.40. If the pair is ultimately trending lower, but happens to retrace up, and you take another short at say 1.42, your average position would be 1.41. Once the EUR/USD drops back below 1.41, you will be back in overall profit.Today forex trading is all about watching your options when you make a trade. Aside from using effective risk management and extreme vigilance, advanced trading can be an alternate way to make profits and control losses. Nevertheless, these above mentioned advanced trading techniques are more about using the market behavior to your advantage. Utilizing these advanced techniques can give you the edge from other average trader.Find more information about latest forex trading technology at STIFXOnline.com. STIFX is a leading forex broker, offers fx trading along with currency trading, commodities trading, futures and options trading, and stock trading with a single trading platform. Open forex trading account with stifx and get the latest analysis report, forex updations, education, training and more.

emerigency cash loan:Emergency cash loans can provide you help to fulfill all your urgent requirements. It offers you the good amount in your urgency so; you can tackle all your problems easily. These financial help does not involve any lengthy procedure and the borrowed amount is provided to you within 24 hours of applying. You can simply use the borrowed amount to fulfill all your urgent needs like paying your electricity bills, medical bills, child’s examination fees, home installments or loan installments. The best facility offered by these financial help is that these are faster in approval and the sanctioned amount will be deposited directly in your bank account. In order to qualify for the required amount you just have to fulfill the certain criteria set by the loan providers. However, these are quite simple requirements, which are:1. Your age should be above 18 years of age2. Should have a regular employment with the monthly income of at least $1,0003. Must also have a personal bank accountAfter qualifying on it, you can simply borrow the amount ranging from $100 to $1500. These funds can be borrowed for the short period of time and the repayment period varies from 14-31 days only. This financial deal charges slightly high rate of interest because of their short duration.google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);These finances are credit check free and therefore, it will give you relief from lots of troubles. You can easily borrow the amount with any credit history. Your bad credit records are not a hurdle now, all your credit problems like CCJ, arrears, late payment, defaults, bankruptcy or skipping of installments are accepted in it. helps when you are in critical situations.If you want to take the most affordable deal according to your financial circumstances then you must research for the suitable deal through the online mode. There you can ask for the quotes from different loan providers that are absolutely free. And then compare them and go for the most affordable deal.Daniel Dexter is an expert financial analyst and has been offering his valuable advice for quite sometime now.Please visit here for more information on emergency cash loans, online emergency cash loans, emergency payday loans, emergency money loan, emergency cash advances. Tags: This article is free for republishing

EASY LIFE INSURANCE

2009-08-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Parties to contractThere is a difference between the insured and the policy owner (policy holder), although the owner and the insured are often the same person. For example, if Joe buys a policy on his own life, he is both the owner and the insured. But if Jane, his wife, buys a policy on Joe's life, she is the owner and he is the insured. The policy owner is the guarantee and he or she will be the person who will pay for the policy. The insured is a participant in the contract, but not necessarily a party to it.The beneficiary receives policy proceeds upon the insured's death. The owner designates the beneficiary, but the beneficiary is not a party to the policy. The owner can change the beneficiary unless the policy has an irrevocable beneficiary designation. With an irrevocable beneficiary, that beneficiary must agree to any beneficiary changes, policy assignments, or cash value borrowing.In cases where the policy owner is not the insured (also referred to as the celui qui vit or CQV), insurance companies have sought to limit policy purchases to those with an " in the CQV. For life insurance policies, close family members and business partners will usually be found to have an insurable interest. The "insurable interest" requirement usually demonstrates that the purchaser will actually suffer some kind of loss if the CQV dies. Such a requirement prevents people from benefiting from the purchase of purely speculative policies on people they expect to die. With no insurable interest requirement, the risk that a purchaser would murder the CQV for insurance proceeds would be great. In at least one case, an insurance company which sold a policy to a purchaser with no insurable interest (who later murdered the CQV for the proceeds), was found liable in court for contributing to the of the victim (Liberty National Life v. Weldon, 267 Ala.171 (1957)).Contract termsSpecial provisions may apply, such as suicide clauses wherein the policy becomes null if the insured commits within a specified time (usually two years after the purchase date; some states provide a statutory one-year suicide clause). Any misrepresentations by the insured on the application is also grounds for nullification. Most US states specify that the contestability period cannot be longer than two years; only if the insured dies within this period will the insurer have a legal right to contest the claim on the basis of misrepresentation and request additional information before deciding to pay or deny the claim.The face amount on the policy is the initial amount that the policy will pay at the death of the insured or when the policy , although the actual death benefit can provide for greater or lesser than the face amount. The policy matures when the insured dies or reaches a specified age (such as 100 years old).Costs, insurability, and underwritingThe insurer (the life insurance company) calculates the policy prices with intent to fund claims to be paid and administrative costs, and to make a profit. The cost of insurance is determined using mortality tables calculated by Actuaries are professionals who employ actuarial science, which is based in mathematics (primarily probability and statistics). Mortality tables are statistically-based tables showing expected annual mortality rates. It is possible to derive life expectancy estimates from these mortality assumptions. Such estimates can be important in taxation regulation.The three main variables in a mortality table have been age, gender, and use of . More recently in the US, preferred class specific tables were introduced. The mortality tables provide a baseline for the cost of insurance. In practice, these mortality tables are used in conjunction with the health and family history of the individual applying for a policy in order to determine premiums and insurability. Mortality tables currently in use by life insurance companies in the United States are individually modified by each company using pooled industry experience studies as a starting point. In the 1980s and 90's the SOA 1975-80 Basic Select & Ultimate tables were the typical reference points, while the 2001 VBT and 2001 CSO tables were published more recently. The newer tables include separate mortality tables for and non-smokers and the CSO tables include separate tables for preferred classes. Recent US select mortality tables predict that roughly 0.35 in 1,000 non-smoking males aged 25 will die during the first year of coverage after underwriting Mortality approximately doubles for every extra ten years of age so that the mortality rate in the first year for underwritten non-smoking men is about 2.5 in 1,000 people at age 65Compare this with the US population male mortality rates of 1.3 per 1,000 at age 25 and 19.3 at age 65 (without regard to health or smoking status).The mortality of underwritten persons rises much more quickly than the general population. At the end of 10 years the mortality of that 25 year-old, non-smoking male is 0.66/1000/year. Consequently, in a group of one thousand 25 year old males with a $100,000 policy, all of average health, a life insurance company would have to collect approximately $50 a year from each of a large group to cover the relatively few expected claims. (0.35 to 0.66 expected deaths in each year x $100,000 payout per death = $35 per policy). Administrative and sales commissions need to be accounted for in order for this to make business sense. A 10 year policy for a 25 year old non-smoking male person with preferred medical history may get offers as low as $90 per year for a $100,000 policy in the competitive US life insurance market.The insurance company receives the premiums from the policy owner and invests them to create a pool of money from which it can pay claims and finance the insurance company's operations. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the money that insurance companies make comes directly from premiums paid, as money gained through investment of premiums can never, in even the most ideal market conditions, vest enough money per year to pay out claims.Rates charged or life insurance increase with the insurer's age because, statistically, people are more likely to die as they get older.Given that adverse selection can have a negative impact on the insurer's financial situation, the insurer investigates each proposed insured individual unless the policy is below a company-established minimum amount, beginning with the application process. policies are an exception.This investigation and resulting evaluation of the risk is termed and lifestyle questions are asked. Certain responses or information received may merit further investigation. Life insurance companies in the United States support the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) which is a clearinghouse of information on persons who have applied for life insurance with participating companies in the last seven years. As part of the application, the insurer receives permission to obtain information from the proposed insured's physiciansUnderwriters will determine the purpose of insurance. The most common is to protect the owner's family or financial interests in the event of the insurer's demise. Other purposes include estate planning or, in the case of cash-value contracts, investment for retirement planning. Bank loans or buy-sell provisions of business agreements are another acceptable purpose.Life insurance companies are never required by law to underwrite or to provide coverage to anyone, with the exception of compliance requirements. Insurance companies alone determine insurability, and some people, for their own health or lifestyle reasons, are deemed uninsurable. The policy can be declined (turned down) or rated Rating increases the premiums to provide for additional risks relative to the particular insured]Many companies use four general health categories for those evaluated for a life insurance policy. These categories are Preferred Best, Preferred, Standard, and Tobacco Preferred Best is reserved only for the healthiest individuals in the general population. This means, for instance, that the proposed insured has no adverse medical history, is not under medication for any condition, and his family (immediate and extended) have no history of early , or other conditions. Preferred means that the proposed insured is currently under medication for a medical condition and has a family history of particular illnesses] Most people are in the Standard category. Profession, travel, and lifestyle factor into whether the proposed insured will be granted a policy, and which category the insured falls. For example, a person who would otherwise be classified as Preferred Best may be denied a policy if he or she travels to a high risk country] Underwriting practices can vary from insurer to insurer which provide for more competitive offers in certain circumstances.Death proceedsUpon the insured's death, the insurer requires acceptable proof of death before it pays the claim. The normal minimum proof required and the insurer's claim form completed, signed (and typically If the insured's death is suspicious and the policy amount is large, the insurer may investigate the circumstances surrounding the death before deciding whether it has an obligation to pay the claim.Proceeds from the policy may be paid as a lump sum or as an , which is paid over time in regular recurring payments for either a specified period or for a citation needeInsurance vs AssuranceThe specific uses of the terms "insurance" and "assurance" are sometimes confused. In general, in these jurisdictions "insurance" refers to providing cover for an event that might happen (fire, theft, flood, etc.), while "assurance" is the provision of cover for an event that is certain to happen. "Insurance" is the generally accepted term, however, people using this description are liable to be corrected. In the United States both forms of coverage are called "insurance", principally due to many companies offering both types of policy, and rather than refer to themselves using both insurance and assurance titles, they instead use just one.

Forex in Japan

2009-08-16T03:44:00.000-07:00

FXOnline Japan is pleased to introduce PureDeal - our new browser-based trading platform, offering both FX and CFDs.The award-winning PureDeal platform is the first to provide Guaranteed Stops in Japan, alongside a plethora of other products and features, such as a free Reuters news feed. In addition to 65 tradable currency pairs; PureDeal offers CFDs (Contracts For Difference) on shares, stock indices and Binary Options, which are another first in Japan.Existing FXOnline customer? You will be able to log in to MyFX as usual via the MyFX tab. Even if you have migrated to PureDeal, you can still access MyFX to view historical trading details. To find out more about migrating to PureDeal, New to FXOnline? To try a demo of our new PureDeal trading platform, please click on the 'Demo Platform' button above, or if you wish to open an account please click on the 'Apply for an Account' button.24-hour Phone SupportWe now offer 24-hour phone support. The toll free number is 0120-25-7734 and our operating hours are:Monday, 6am - Saturday, 6am (UK Summer Time) / Monday, 7am - Saturday, 7am (UK Winter Time)Important Notices:PureDeal MaintenanceSystem maintenance is planned for 7th July, and should last approximately 20 minutes from 6:00am until 6:20am. This is in order to rectify a problem in some of the 24H Connect services that has been preventing deposits from the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ.Please note, during this maintenance access to PureDeal will be restricted and we won’t be able to take orders by telephone. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.Margin RequirementsPlease note that due to recent instability in financial markets and the fact that the Hong Kong Dollar is a fixed currency, we will be increasing the required margin for USD/HKD and HKD/JPY.Initially the margin requirement will be increased from 1% to 2%, but please be aware that it may be increased further in the future. We will, of course, provide ample notice of any future increases.While this does not affect the cost of trading, higher margin requirements may result in some of your positions being liquidated if you do not maintain a sufficient level of margin on your account. To avoid this happening, please be sure to check any open positions in these two currency pairs and either reduce the size of your positions or add extra funds to your account.Also, please be advised that Guaranteed Stops on new positions in USD/HKD will not be allowed and the minimum non-guaranteed Stop distance from market levels will be increased to 1%. Guaranteed Stops on positions opened before this date will remain at the level you chose, but any editing of the Stop will be from a minimum of 1% from market.We will also no longer be able to offer reduced margin requirements on USD/HKD trades with non-guaranteed Stops.We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, should you have any questions about margin requirements, or any other aspect of trading, please don’t hesitate to contact us.Live PricesIt is important that you (hereinafter “Client”) take special note of the matters listed in this Statement with respect to the practice of CFD Trading including Foreign Exchange Margin Trading (hereinafter “CFD Trading”). Please ensure that you read carefully and fully understand this Statement when considering using the trading services of FXOnline Japan Co., Ltd (hereinafter “FXONLINE”), and then please commence or continue the trading only when you find it appropriate in light of your own financial resources, trading experiences, purposes of trades and other relevant factors.CFD Trading is high-risk, high-return and return of principal is not guaranteed. In CFD Trading, loss may be incurred due to fluctuations in the prices of currencies, shares, stock indices, which are the subject of trading. In CFD Trading, the transaction size can be greater than the margin which is deposited by you with FXONLINE as collateral, and accordingly, it is possible that the loss will be greater than the margin.

FOREX HISTORY

2009-07-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

FOREX ONLINE BUSINESS.

In 1967, a Chicago bank refused a college professor by the name of Milton Friedman a loan in pound sterling because he had intended to use the funds to short the British currency. Friedman, ho had perceived sterling to be priced too high against the dollar, wanted to sell the currency, then later buy it back to repay the bank after the currency declined, thus pocketing a quick profit. The bank's refusal to grant the loan was due to the Bretton Woods Agreement, established twenty years earlier, which fixed national currencies against the dollar, and set the dollar at a rate of per ounce of gold.
The Bretton Woods Agreement, set up in 1944, aimed at installing international monetary stability by preventing money from fleeing across nations, and restricting speculation in the world currencies Prior to the Agreement, the gold exchange standard--prevailing between 1876 and World War I--dominated the international economic system. Under the gold. exchange, currencies gained a new phase of stability as they were backed by the price of gold. It abolished the age-old practice used by kings and rulers of arbitrarily debasing money and triggering inflation. But the gold exchange standard didn't lack faults. As an economy strengthened, it would import heavily from abroad until it ran down its gold reserves required to back its money. As a result, money supply would shrink, interest rates rose and economic activity slowed to the extent of recession. Ultimately, prices of goods had hit bottom, appearing attractive to other nations, which would rush into buying sprees that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, and drive down interest rates and recreate wealth into the economy. Such boom-bust patterns prevailed throughout the gold standard until the outbreak of World War I interrupted trade flows and the free movement of gold.
After the Wars, the Bretton Woods Agreement was founded, where participating countries agreed to try and maintain the value of their currency with a narrow margin against the dollar and a corresponding rate of gold as needed. Countries were prohibited from devaluing their currencies to their trade advantage and were only allowed to do so for devaluations of less than 10%. Into the 1950s, the ever-expanding volume of international trade led to massive movements of capital generated by post-war construction. That destabilized foreign exchange rates as set up in Bretton Woods.
The Agreement was finally abandoned in 1971, and the US dollar would no longer be convertible into gold. By 1973, currencies of major industrialized nations became more freely floating, controlled mainly by the forces of supply and demand which acted in the foreign exchange market. Prices were floated daily, with volumes, speed and price volatility all increasing throughout the 1970s, giving rise to new financial instruments, market deregulation and trade liberalization.
In the 1980s, cross-border capital movements accelerated with the advent of computers and technology, extending market continuum through Asian, European and American time zones. Transactions in foreign exchange rocketed from about billion a day in the 1980s, to more than .5 trillion a day two decades later.

HOW TO EARN MONEY WITH FOREX
Since it might be a bit complicated for a beginner to figure out how to make money in Forex, we offer you this example:
You believe that the Euro to US Dollar (EURUSD) rate will increase. In your account you have 2000 USD (eGlobal-standard). At a price of 1.2750 you buy 150,000 Euro for 150,000*1.2750 = 191,250 USD.
This is possible because of the credit, which allows you to make transactions worth 100 times more than funds you have in your account (in this specific case, the maximum sum available for transactions is 2000*100 = 200,000 USD).
After a period of time, the exchange rate increases. You sell 150,000 Euro at the rate of 1.2850 and get 150,000*1.2850 = 192,750 USD.
Thus, after buying at a low rate and selling at a high rate, the difference 192,750 - 191,250 = 1500 $ is your gain. You have earned 75% of initial funds in your account, while the rate increased by 0.8%.
Another way of making a profit on Forex is based on the decrease of the quotation rate of the EURUSD currency pair:
Having created a real account with 200 USD in it (eGlobal-mini), you determine the upper and lower limits on the Euro to Dollar chart and sell 15,000 Euro (0.15 lot) at the upper limit for a price of 1.2850 (bid price) USD for 1 Euro, which equals 19,275 USD (15,000 Euro multiplied by the rate of 1.2850).
You have funds in USD in your account, but you can sell Euro using the automatic borrowing system. Hence, the company lends you 15,000 Euro free of charge, which you can sell by sending a selling request. Due to the leverage, the actual deposit is 100 times less than the sum sold: 15,000/100 = 150 euro. At a rate of 1.2850 this equals 192,75 USD. This very sum is going to be a deposit for a credit (marginal) transaction for your account. The maximum possible deposit in this case equals 200 USD.
Then during the day the price drops to the lower limit and you decide to buy 15,000 Euro at a price of 1.2750 (ask price) USD for 1 Euro, which equals 19,125 USD. The 15,000 Euro that you have bought are written off your account towards the repayment of the company loan, while the difference is left in your account.
Thus, due to the fall in the exchange rate you earn the difference between sold and bought, which is 19,275 - 19,125 = 150 USD. You managed to earn 75% (150 dollars) of your initial sum of 200 USD due to a rate decrease by 0.8% (from 1.2850 to 1.2750) in only one day.
The company takes a commission in the form of the difference between the ask and bid prices or spread, which in this example is 3 USD (spread of EuroDollar pair equals 0.0002 or 2 pips). More detailed information on terminology is in the .In these examples, the spread is not taken into consideration while calculating percentages of rate changes because of its non-essential influence on the results. In the case of mircoForex or eGlobal-standard the calculations are similar with a difference only in account currency US cents for micro, USD for mini & standard. The consecutive use of the transactions shown gives the income of 75%+75% = 150%. In actual practice a much greater return may be achieved by using corresponding money management methods. Risk management methods also play an important role in trade.

2009-05-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Forex is a trading 'method' also known as FX or and foreign market exchange. Those involved in the foreign exchange markets are some of the largest companies and banks from around the world, trading in currencies from various countries to create a balance as some are going to gain money and others are going to lose money. The basics of forex are similar to that of the stock market found in any country, but on a much larger, grand scale, that involves people, currencies and trades from around the world, in just about any country. Different currency rates happen and change every day. What the value of the dollar may be one day could be higher or lower the next. The trading on the forex market is one that you have to watch closely or if you are investing huge amounts of money, you could lose large amounts of money. The main trading areas for forex, happens in Tokyo, in London and in New York, but there are also many other locations around the world where forex trading does take place. The most heavily traded currencies are those that include (in no particular order) the Australian dollar, the Swiss franc, the British pound sterling, the Japanese yen, the Eurozone eruo, and the United States dollar. You can trade any one currency against another and you can trade from that currency to another currency to build up additional money and interest daily. The areas where forex trading is taking place will open and close, and the next will open and close. This is seen also in the stock exchanges from around the world, as different time zones are processing order and trading during different time frames. The results of any forex trading in one country could have results and differences in what happens in additional forex markets as the countries take turns opening and closing with the time zones. Exchange rates are going to vary from forex trade to forex trade, and if you are a broker, or if you are learning about the forex markets you want to know what the rates are on a given day before making any trades. The stock market Is generally based on products, prices, and other factors within businesses that will change the price of stocks. If someone knows what is going to happened before the general public, it is often known as inside trading, using business secrets to buy stocks and make money - which by the way is illegal. There is very little, if any at all inside information in the forex trading markets. The monetary trades, buys and sells are all a part of the forex market but very little is based on business secrets, but more on the value of the economy, the currency and such of a country at that time. Every currency that is traded on the forex market does have a three letter code associated with that currency so there is no misunderstanding about which currency or which country one is investing with at the time. The eruo is the EUR and the US dollar is known as the USD. The British pound is the GBP and the Japanese yen is known as the JPY. If you are interested in contacting a broker and becoming involved in the forex markets you can find many online where you can review the company information and transactions before processing and becoming involved in the forex markets. Forex trading is a ‘method’ also known as FX or and foreign-exchange market. The actors in the foreign exchange markets are some of the largest companies and banks from around the world, trading in currencies from various countries to strike a balance, because some go to raise money and others are losing money. The basics of forex are similar to that of the stock in each country, but on a much larger, big, that people, currencies and trade from around the world in just about any country.Different currency rates happen and change every day. What the value of the dollar may be one day could be higher or lower the next. Trading on the forex market is one that you have to be closely monitored, or if you are investing enormous sums of money, you can lose a lot of money. The main trading for forex, happens in Tokyo, London and New York, but there are also many other places around the world where forex trading is taking place.
The most commonly traded currencies are those that are (in no particular order) the Australian dollar, Swiss franc, British pound, Japanese yen, the euro eruo and the United States dollar. You can trade one currency against another, and you can trade from that currency into another currency for additional money and interest daily.
The areas where forex trading is taking place, opens and closes, and the next open and close. This is also reflected in the stock exchanges from around the world, the different time zones to ensure the processing of and trade in different periods. The results of the forex trading in one country can see the results and the differences in what happens, additional forex markets as the countries that open and close with the time zones. Exchange rates, according to Forex trading Forex trading, and if you are a broker, or if you learn about the forex markets you want to know what the prices are on a given day, before they act.
The stock market is usually on the basis of products, prices and other factors in the businesses, the price of the shares. If anyone knows what will happen before the general public, it is often so-called insider trading, using business secrets to buy stocks and make money - which by the way is illegal. There is very little, if at all inside information in the forex markets. The monetary trade, buys and sells are all a part of the forex market but very little on business secrets, but more on the value of the economy, currency and one country at this time.
Each currency in the Forex market has a three letter code associated with that currency so there is no misunderstanding about the currency or the country in which you are concerned with investment in time. The eruo is the EUR and U.S. dollar is known as the USD. The British pound is the GBP and the Japanese yen is known as the JPY. If you are interested in contacting a broker and becoming involved in the forex markets you can find many online where you can find information and transactions before processing and the entry into the Forex market.Forex trading is a ‘method’ also known as FX or and foreign-exchange market. The actors in the foreign exchange markets are some of the largest companies and banks from around the world, trading in currencies from various countries to strike a balance, because some go to raise money and others are losing money. The basics of forex are similar to that of the stock in each country, but on a much larger, big, that people, currencies and trade from around the world in just about any country.Different currency rates happen and change every day. What the value of the dollar may be one day could be higher or lower the next. Trading on the forex market is one that you have to be closely monitored, or if you are investing enormous sums of money, you can lose a lot of money. The main trading for forex, happens in Tokyo, London and New York, but there are also many other places around the world where forex trading is taking place.
The most commonly traded currencies are those that are (in no particular order) the Australian dollar, Swiss franc, British pound, Japanese yen, the euro eruo and the United States dollar. You can trade one currency against another, and you can trade from that currency into another currency for additional money and interest daily.
The areas where forex trading is taking place, opens and closes, and the next open and close. This is also reflected in the stock exchanges from around the world, the different time zones to ensure the processing of and trade in different periods. The results of the forex trading in one country can see the results and the differences in what happens, additional forex markets as the countries that open and close with the time zones. Exchange rates, according to Forex trading Forex trading, and if you are a broker, or if you learn about the forex markets you want to know what the prices are on a given day, before they act.

Forex is a trading ‘method’ also known as FX or and foreign market exchange. Those involved in the foreign exchange markets are some of the largest companies and banks from around the world, trading in currencies from various countries to create a balance as some are going to gain money and others are going to lose money. The basics of forex are similar to that of the stock market found in any country, but on a much larger, grand scale, that involves people, currencies and trades from around the world, in just about any country.
Different currency rates happen and change every day. What the value of the dollar may be one day could be higher or lower the next. The trading on the forex market is one that you have to watch closely or if you are investing huge amounts of money, you could lose large amounts of money. The main trading areas for forex, happens in Tokyo, in London and in New York, but there are also many other locations around the world where forex trading does take place.
The most heavily traded currencies are those that include (in no particular order) the Australian dollar, the Swiss franc, the British pound sterling, the Japanese yen, the Eurozone eruo, and the United States dollar. You can trade any one currency against another and you can trade from that currency to another currency to build up additional money and interest daily.

2009-05-27T20:36:00.001-07:00

2009-05-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

HISTORY OF BARAK OBAMA

2009-05-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama Biography
Barack Hussein Obama,
Born: August 4, 1961 (Hawaii)
Lives in: Chicago, Illinois
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Height: 6′ 1″ (1.87m)
Family: Married wife Michelle in 1992, 2 daughters Malia and Sasha
Parents: Barack Obama, Sr. (from Kenya) and Ann Dunham (from Kansas)
Religion: United Church of Christ
Drives a: Ford Escape hybrid, Chrysler 300C
Education:– Graduated: Columbia University (1983) - Major: Political Science– Law Degree from Harvard (1991) - Major: J.D. - Magna Cum Laude– Attended: Occidental College
Career:–U.S. President - inaugurated January 20, 2009 –U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2005-2008
Government Committees:– Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee– Foreign Relations Committee– Veterans Affairs Committee– 2005 and 2006: served on the Environment and Public Works Committee
Related Works
Books
1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
2006 The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
2006 It Takes a Nation: How Strangers Became Family in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
Related People
Abraham Lincol
Related Site
in the news…
May 21, 2009
President Barack Obama spoke out on Thursday (May 21, 2009) about his hopes to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, and his efforts to remove many of the Bush presidency'santi-terrorismpolicies.Obama made his case after a recent Senate decision denied the funding needed to close the prison. The Senate—consisting largely of fellow Democrats—refused to provide any financing until Obama presents a detailed plan on what to do with the 240 terrorism suspects held there.
Obama vowed to close the detention center, located at a U.S. Naval base in Cuba, within a year in an effort to repair America's tarnished image abroad. Seeking to calm fears that Guantanamo detainees could eventually be released on U.S. soil, Obama insisted anyone endangering national security would not be released. But he said some terrorism suspects could be tried in U.S. courts and be held in maximum-security U.S. prisons.
May 18, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet on Monday (May 18, 2009) to discuss tensions in the Middle East. This is Netanyahu's first visit to Washington since taking office on March 31 of this year.A Netanyahu advisor says Iran's nuclear ambitions are on the top of the meeting's agenda. "There is a sense of urgency on our side," Israeli national security adviser, Uzi Arad said Sunday about Iran's current activities.
"The prime minister will emphatically emphasized the element of urgency."Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said this month that world powers should take action against Iran if it does not curb its nuclear activities by August. Obama says he hopes to persuade Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, to take a diplomatic approach to dealings with Iran. "I can make an argument to Israel as an ally that the approach we are taking is one that has to be given a chance and offers the prospect of security, not just for the United States but also for Israel, that is superior to other alternatives," Obama said. If diplomacy fails, Israeli leaders have not ruled out military strikes against Iran, which maintains it is enriching uranium for power generation. Any call by Netanyahu to put a time limit on diplomatic overtures toward Iran could pose a challenge to Obama's intentions to engage Tehran on issues ranging from its nuclear program to Afghanistan.
Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.
Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.
Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.
His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).
He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.
In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.
It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his father and paternal grandfather.
Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. Obama graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. And he helped organize voter registration drives during 1992 presidential campaign.
Obama published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. And he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book.
Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996 from the south side neighborhood of Hyde Park.
During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. And after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Obama was an early opponent of President push to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza in October 2002.
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne."
"He's a bad guy," Obama said, referring to Iraqi dictator . "The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."
"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences," Obama continued. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda."
The war with Iraq began in 2003 and Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he won 52 percent of the vote, defeating multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes.
That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of john kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.
"We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states," he said. "We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

NASA

2009-05-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Space race
The worm logo used from 1975 to 1992.
After the s launch of the world's first human-made) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. The, alarmed by the perceived threat to U.S. security and technological leadership (known as the "), urged immediate and swift action; President and his advisors counseled more deliberate measures. Several months of debate produced an agreement that a new federal agency was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) was also created at this time and many of DARPA's early space programs were soon transferred to NASA.
officially Satellite 1958 Alpha, was the first Earth artificial satellite of the United States, having been launched at 10:48 pm EST on January 31, 1958. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA consisted mainly of the four laboratories and some 80 employees of the government's 46-year-old research agency, the (NACA). A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space race was the technology from the, led by who became a of the United States after He is today regarded as the father of the United States space program. Elements of the (of which von Braun's team was a part) and the were incorporated into NASA.
NASA's earliest programs involved research into and were conducted under the pressure of the competition between the U.S. and the (the) that existed during the, initiated in 1958, started NASA down the path of human space exploration with missions designed to discover simply if man could survive in Representatives from the U.S. Army (M.L. Raines, LTC, USA), Navy (P.L. Havenstein, CDR, USN) and Air Force (K.G. Lindell, COL, USAF) were selected/requested to provide assistance to the NASA Space Task Group through coordination with the existing U.S. defense research and defense contracting infrastructure, and technical assistance resulting from experimental aircraft (and the associated military test pilot pool) development in the 1950s. On May 5, 1961, astronaut—one of the seven astronauts selected as pilot for this mission—became the first American in space when he piloted on a 15-minute suborbital flight. became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962 during the 5 and a quarter-hour flight of After the Mercury project, was launched to conduct experiments and work out issues relating to a moon mission. The first Gemini flight with astronauts on board, was flown by and on March 23, 1965. Nine other missions followed, showing that long-duration human space flight was possible, proving that rendezvous and docking with another vehicle in space was possible, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on human beings.
During this time NASA also began to explore the solar system with unmanned probes. As with the manned program, the Soviets had the first successes, such as the first photographs of the lunar far side, but NASA's was the first space probe to visit another planet, Venus, in 1962.
Apollo program
The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. ended tragically when all the astronauts inside died due to fire in the command module during an experimental simulation. Because of this incident, there were a few unmanned tests before men boarded the spacecraft. and tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photographs. On July 20, 1969, landed the first men on the moon, did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but did return photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included, and solar wind experiments.
Skylab
Skylab was the first the United States launched into orbit. The 75 station was in Earth orbit from 1973 to 1979, and was visited by crews three times, in 1973 and 1974. Skylab was originally intended to study gravitational anomalies in other solar systems, but the assignment was curtailed due to lack of funding and interest. It included a laboratory for studying the effects of, and a. A Space Shuttle was planned to dock with and elevate Skylab to a higher safe altitude, but Skylab reentered the atmosphere and was destroyed in 1979, before the first shuttle could be launched, landing over parts of Western Australia and the Indian Ocean, with some fragments being recovered.
Apollo-Soyuz
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (or ASTP) was the first joint flight of the U.S. and. The mission took place in July 1975. For the United States of America, it was the last flight, as well as the last manned space launch until the flight of the first in April 1981.
Shuttle era
The became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Planned to be a frequently launchable and mostly reusable vehicle, four space shuttles were built by 1985. The first to launch, , did so on April 12, 1981The shuttle was not all good news for NASA – flights were much more expensive than initially projected, and the public again lost interest as missions appeared to become mundane until the 1986 again highlighted the risks of space flight. Work began on as a focus for the manned space program, but within NASA there was argument that these projects came at the expense of more inspiring unmanned missions such as the probes.
Nonetheless, the shuttle launched milestone projects like the (HST). The HST is a joint project between NASA and the (ESA), and its success has paved the way for greater collaboration between the agencies. The HST was created with a relatively small budget of $2 billion but has continued operation since 1990, delighting both scientists and the public. Some of its images, such as the groundbreaking, have become famous.
In 1995 Russian-American interaction resumed with the missions. Once more an American vehicle docked with a Russian craft, this time a full-fledged space station. This cooperation continues to today, with Russia and America the two biggest partners in the largest space station ever built – the (ISS). The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS during the two year grounding of the shuttle fleet following the 2003, which killed the crew of six Americans and one Israeli, caused a 29-month hiatus in space shuttle flights and triggered a serious re-examination of NASA's priorities. The U.S. government, various scientists, and the public all reconsidered the future of the space program.
Costing over $100 billion, it has been difficult at times for NASA to justify the ISS The population at large has historically been hard to impress with details of scientific experiments in low earth orbit, preferring news of grand projects to exotic locations such as During much of the 1990s, NASA was faced with shrinking annual budgets due to Congressional belt-tightening in Washington, D.C. In response, NASA's ninth administrator, , pioneered the "faster, better, cheaper" approach that enabled NASA to cut costs while still delivering a wide variety of aerospace programs That method was criticized and re-evaluated following the twin losses of in 1999. Yet, NASA's shuttle program had made 116 successful launches as of December 2006.
NASA's future
It is the current that NASA, "execute a sustained and affordable human and robotic program of space exploration and develop, acquire, and use civil space systems to advance fundamental scientific knowledge of our Earth system, solar system, and universe NASA's ongoing investigations include in-depth surveys of and studies of the and the Other NASA spacecraft are presently en route to and. With missions to in planning stages, NASA's itinerary covers over half the solar system.
An improved and larger planetary, is under construction and slated to launch in 2011, after a slight delay caused by hardware challenges, which has bumped it back from the October 2009 scheduled launch. The mission to Pluto was launched in 2006 and will fly by in 2015. The probe received a from in February 2007, examining some of Jupiter's inner moons and testing on-board instruments during the fly-by. On the horizon of NASA's plans is the as part of the to study the.
Vision for space exploration
On January 14, 2004, ten days after the landing of the Mars Exploration Rover, US announced a new plan for NASA's future, dubbed the. According to this plan, will return to the by 2018, and set up outposts as a testbed and potential resource for future missions. The will be retired in 2010 and will replace it by 2015, capable of both docking with the (ISS) and leaving the Earth's orbit. The future of the ISS is somewhat uncertain – construction will be completed, but beyond that is less clear. Although the plan initially met with skepticism from Congress, in late 2004 Congress agreed to provide start-up funds for the first year's worth of the new space vision.
Hoping to spur innovation from the private sector, NASA established a series of, technology prizes for non-government teams, in 2004. The Challenges include tasks that will be useful for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration, such as building more efficient astronaut gloves.

American Bank

2009-05-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

History
The first official engraver of the young, began the company that would eventually grow into the nation’s premier high security and printing firm, the American Bank Note Company.
Founded in 1795 as Murray, Draper, Fairham & Company (after Scot's three partners), the company prospered as the young United States population expanded and financial institutions blossomed. Its products included superior quality and certificates, paper currency for the nation’s thousands of state-chartered banks, postage stamps (from 1847 to 1894), and a wide variety of other engraved and printed items.
Following the, seven of the nation’s most prominent security printers merged to form the American Bank Note Company on April 29, 1858. The new company made its headquarters. Less than two years later, a handful of the remaining independent bank note printers merged to form the National Bank Note Company.
To be close to the stock exchanges, brokerage firms, and banks in lower Manhattan, the American Bank Note Company established its New York City headquarters in the Merchants Exchange Building at 55 Wall Street. The company moved its office and plant to 142 Broadway (at the corner of Liberty Street) in 1867, to another new facility at 78-86 Trinity Place in 1882, and again to in 1908.
The first paper currency was circulated by the following the outbreak of the Congress passed authorizing legislation for $60 million worth of these “Demand Notes” on July 17 and August 5, 1861. Under contract with the government, the novel paper money, called “greenbacks” by the public, was produced by the American Bank Note Co. and the National Bank Note Co. A total of 7.25 million notes were produced in denominations of $5, $10, and $20. In an interesting historical sidelight, American and National were also producing paper money for the Confederacy at the same time.
Following the initial production of U.S. currency by the government’s in 1862, ABNCo sought a new source of demand for its services. They found it in foreign lands. By the latter part of the 19th century the company was engraving and printing currency and other high-security items for 48 countries.
In 1879, the security printing industry’s second major consolidation took place. American absorbed the National Bank Note and Continental Bank Note companies.
In 1887, ABNCo won the second four-year contract to engrave and print Postal Notes for the U.S. post office. (New York’s produced these notes during the first contract period.) American assigned Thomas F. Morris, its Chief Designer, the task of re-designing this early money order. The paper for this contract (as for all Postal Notes and a massive number of official U.S. high security documents) was produced by Crane and Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts.
In 1891 the American Bank Note Company began producing a new form of money for a longtime customer: the American Express "Travelers Cheque." In its first year, American Express sold $9,120. worth of its new invention. During 2000, sales of totaled $24.6 billion.
In 1894, ABNCo completed the final contract for the private printing of American stamps. Perhaps their most popular stamps were the one cent to $5 issues commemorating the 1892-93 in Chicago. On July 1, 1894 American delivered its entire stamp-producing operation to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in, where U.S. stamps are still printed.
In 1943-1944 American Bank Note Company was contracted by the United States Government's to produce the stamps.
American Bank Note
The history of American Bank Note Company can be traced to the earliest days of our nation. The year was 1795. In the wake of her newfound independence, America was experiencing rapid growth. The adoption of the Constitution, the regulation of interstate commerce, and the rise in international trade all increased the demand for banks and bank note currency.Enter Robert Scot. As the first engraver to the federal mint, he brought experience, artistry, and innovation to the new government and the bank note industry. He also established one of the first bank note businesses, which, over the course of many decades, would become American Bank Note Company. American Bank Note Company’s success reflects the dynamic economic history of the country. As America expanded its borders and broadened its influence, American Bank Note Company did the same. We were among the first to print currency, postage stamps, war bonds, and stock certificates. We were pioneers in the production of our own secure papers, inks, and presses.During the past 200 years, our leaders have served as advisers to governments both local and foreign, thwarted counterfeiters with stringent security measures, and developed technology to support innovative ideas. Today, American Bank Note Company continues its tradition of excellence, craftsmanship, and leadership in the field of secure document printing. With an outstanding record of service to this country and the industry as a whole, we have earned the confidence of corporations, governments, and financial institutions around the globe. We believe in creating the most secure document possible, while preserving the artistic heritage of the craft. As a result, we have assembled the expertise, experience, and resources necessary to meet the challenges of printing secure documents in the 21st century.

American Life Insurance

2009-05-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

The American General Life And Accident Insurance Company, now commonly termed American General, was named so because they offer many different services to millions of Americans. They offer a host of different 'general' life insurance policies, which offer a range of policies to choose, by customers who want to buy a term life insurance policy. Today, more than 4 million people in America actually use American General for an insurance policy or cheap insurance quote, and this includes both personal and business policy holders. The individual cover held by these two parties differs immensely and not just between the two groups. Business terms are much different to personal terms held by the organization.
Is AG stable?
There are indeed many different life insurance companies throughout the US that can offer a life insurance policy such as those offered. Many of these companies also offer great rates and incentives to potential policy holders; however, this doesn't mean to say that these companies are going to be around for ever - such as the recent injection of capital by the US government into AIG. This did help stabilize the company as a whole, but you should be cautious when looking to 'invest' your money for yourself and your family. You should make a decision on a company that you choose on reputation, but you should also look at their financial rating and status, which will provide you with a current picture of how the market view the company (AIG in this case) and its assets within the larger economy. There are many different independent financial rating watchdogs out there that act as a source for consumers on the financial world.
Some of these top rated companies include Standard & Poors, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service; all of these provide ratings on a number of companies which are freely available to the general public. There is also a general system to grade any company that is trading, which has been compared to the American school grading system; A is considered very, very good, whilst F means that the company is in a bad position and it could default 'fail' in the near future - the latter company wouldn't get my investment, period. The American General Life and Accident Insurance Company has in the past received A++'s and a gold rating, which means that the company is stable; however, the recent intervention by the US government to some companies in this broad insurance market will give some people a hesitant reaction to entering into a 'deal' with such companies.
How did they form?
American General was formed at the start of the last century in 1900, first trading in Tennessee. The original name of the organization was "The National Sick And Accident Association of Nashville," and for some time many shortened this to the NLT Corporation. Later on, the company decided that in order to grow and establish itself in the market, it would need to partner with another similar firm in the market, and so it decided to establish a joint venture with a Texas-based company called the American General Corporation, in 1982. Since then, the organization has adopted a whole host of different names, whilst acquiring some smaller insurance firms. This has enabled the company to build a growing client based all over the country, with a progression over the last 30 years.
The company is focused on the insurance needs of individuals in the market, and although they do offer services to their workforce, some do consider these 'offers' to not be overly forthcoming. The main direction that the firm has gone in is to establish within the "middle market" (in insurance lingo), by offering term insurance, universal coverage and their trade-marked "Quality of Life Insurance".
The latter policy above, is a new type of insurance that is offered to the public. This process involves giving money to your family and close ones before you actually die and has become a hit with many Americans across the country. This money paid but will help pay any bills should you come down with an illness, whether this be serious or life threatening. This money would also help should you become disabled during your retirement, or even retire early because of it, and can pay for any assistance that you may need.
Ray Devine is an online life insurance policy specialist, reviewing explaining and advises what is term life insurance - visit his blog to read more.

American Life Insurance
American life insurance policy is regarded as a contract between the insurer and the policy owner, whereby the insurer guarantees to pay death benefit to the owner vis-à-vis the payment of policy premiums.
Life insurance in US is a popular resource of financial investment. Two basic types of American life insurance schemes are temporary policy and permanent policy.
Types of American Life Insurance
A temporary or term life insurance policy provides financial cover for a specified period of years against a fixed amount of premium. This kind of insurance policy is beneficial only upon a policy holder’s death. The obvious disadvantage is that it does not earn any cash value and repays principal amount with minimal interest by the end of the policy tenure.
Factors to consider include the death benefit amount, premium to be paid and the term of the policy before you go ahead and buy a term life insurance. Different US insurance companies provide term life insurance varying on the basis of above factors.
A permanent American life insurance refers to an insurance scheme that continues over the years until the policy has paid back the total amount. These policies earn cash value and the policyholder is entitled to the cash value generated by the policy. There are three different types of permanent life insurance policies:

Whole-life insurance: This policy covers the policyholder’s entire life span and ensures fixed death benefits. Definite premium amount and guaranteed cash value make this American life insurance policy a good choice.
Universal life insurance: A universal American life insurance policy offers greater flexibility vis-à-vis a whole-life insurance policy. In this policy, you determine both the insurance amount and the premium. A variable policy is a type of universal life insurance policy which offers no guaranteed benefits. So, a policy owner decides where the amount will be invested. If investment does well, cash benefits will be extended otherwise policy can lapse due to insufficient funds.
Most premiums that are paid for an American life insurance policy are not considered for tax deductions. However, the cash value generated by the policy is free from tax.
To capitalize on savings amount without tax deductions, check the tax deduction clause with care before you purchase a policy.

First United American Life Insurance Company is a New York subsidiary of United American Insurance Company. Since its inception more than 20 years ago, it has maintained its financial stability, while experiencing tremendous growth and it offers quality writing quality products in the areas of individual Medicare Supplements and Flexible Premium Annuities. Apart from the various insurance products, the firm also offers eservices which are essential insurance related services offered through the internet such as verify coverage, check claim status or reaching the customer service.

Auto Car Insurance

2009-05-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Managing Your Risks
Americans own more cars per capita than any other nation. Automobiles are the most dangerous property you own and can subject you to a variety of risks. With just one accident, you can find yourself involved in lawsuits, death, major medical expenses, and extreme property damage. We do not think of driving as exposing us to all of these risks, but it does. These risks are what make it so important that we have taken the time to set up a thorough program to prevent excessive financial losses should a serious auto accident occur.
Automobile insurance is complicated and a responsible driver should be certain that he has adequate coverage to protect him and his family in the event of an accident. Premiums can be very high depending on many variables including the driving record of the owner and the make and model car that is being insured. When considering the purchase of a specific make and model, have your agent check on the insurance rating for the automobile of your choice. There can be a very large difference in insurance rates determined by safety testing and repair costs for each model. It may be in your best interest to purchase a different car that can save you money on insurance over the years. Even the owner’s credit rating is instrumental in determining the rates charged. All of these things have to be taken into consideration before purchasing a specific vehicle, if finances are an issue in your budget.
There are many choices to be made when evaluating an automobile policy. You must make a decision about the amount of liability coverage and property damage you want to carry. This coverage pays for the damage you do to other drivers, vehicles, and property. It is important that you carry sufficient amounts to pay for any accident or injuries you may cause. These policies are available in either a single limit or a split limit. With split-limit policies, the first limit applies to injury per person for each accident, while the second limit is the total that will be paid for injuries per accident. The third limit shown refers to the maximum amount the policy will pay for property damage. For example, 50/100/25 translates to $50,000 per person injury limit, $100,000 for injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. With single-limit policies, one total dollar amount is applied to the total claim for a specific accident. The split-limit policy is the most common form available.
In the event of damage to your automobile, your policy provides coverage for repairs under the collision section of the policy. If repair costs exceed the book value of the automobile, the car will be declared “totaled” and you will receive the dollar amount stated as the current value, regardless of the cost of repairs. There are times when people are paying more for the premium for this coverage than they would receive should the car be involved in an accident. For this reason, it pays to check the book value of your car, especially an older one. This can easily be done online and should be checked annually if you are continuing your collision coverage. Many people purchase collision coverage when they buy their car. Years later, the policy continues to renew with the collision coverage still in force and they are actually paying for something which is no longer worthwhile for them.
Collision coverage is sold with “deductibles”, generally ranging from $50 to $1,000. A deductible is the amount you pay towards the loss and then the insurance company pays the balance. When an accident occurs and your car is damaged, you will generally want to have it repaired immediately so that it will be available again as soon as possible. We all depend on our automobiles for transportation to work, school, medical appointments, and family visits. Being without your transportation is very inconvenient. Your collision insurance is available to you immediately after an accident, before “at fault” has been determined. If an investigation results in your being “at fault”, then your policy will have paid for your auto repair, after you have met your deductible. If, however, the other driver is determined to be “at fault”, your insurance company will seek reimbursement from that driver’s insurance company through a system referred to as “subrogation”. If your company is successful in obtaining reimbursement from the other company, you will be refunded the amount of your deductible.
If your car is stolen, or damaged in some manner other than collision, your policy will provide repairs or replacement under the Comprehensive coverage section. This is very similar to the Collision coverage discussed above, because the amount available to you will again be based on the blue book value of your automobile. Repairs will be made up to this dollar value, but not in excess of it. Deductibles also apply to this coverage and you will be required to choose how high you want your deductible to be. Remember, though, that the higher the deductible, the lower the premium cost. You should, however, only choose higher deductibles it you can comfortably afford them in the event of an accident, theft, or other damage to your vehicle.
If you have financed your automobile purchase through a bank or finance company, be aware that they will most likely require that you carry collision and comprehensive coverage on your auto, they will dictate the amount of your deductible, and they will want to be named as the “loss payee” on your policy in the event of a loss. This is a normal practice as they are protecting their investment in your car. They can be removed from the policy and deductibles adjusted, after the loan has been paid in full.

New Yourk Times

2009-05-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

The New York Times was founded on September 18, 1851, by journalist and politician the second chairman of the and former banker as the New-York Daily Times. Sold at an original price of one cent per copy, the inaugural edition attempted to address the various speculations on its purpose and positions that preceded its release: We shall be Conservative, in all cases where we think Conservatism essential to the public good;—and we shall be Radical in everything which may seem to us to require radical treatment and radical reform. We do not believe that everything in Society is either exactly right or exactly wrong;—what is good we desire to preserve and improve;—what is evil, to exterminate, or reform.
The paper changed its name to The New York Times in 1857. The newspaper was originally published every day but Sunday, but during the Times, along with other major dailies, started publishing Sunday issues. One of the earliest public controversies in which the paper was involved was the, an affair that was the object of twenty editorials in the Times alone.
The paper's influence grew during 1870–71 when it published a series of exposés of that led to the end of the 's domination of In the 1880s, the Times transitioned from supporting candidates to becoming politically independent; in 1884, the paper supported in his first presidential election. While this move hurt the Times's readership, the paper regained most of its lost ground within a few years.
The Times was acquired by publisher of The in 1896. The following year, he coined the paper's slogan, "All The News That's Fit To Print";this was a jab at competing papers such as the and the which were known for lurid. Under his guidance, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, and reputation. In 1904, the Times received the first on-the-spot transmission from a naval battle, a report of the destruction of the at the in the from the press-boat during the. In 1910, the first air delivery of the Times to began. The Times' first trans-Atlantic delivery to London occurred in 1919. In 1920, a "4 A.M. Airplane Edition" was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening.
In the 1940s, the paper extended its breadth and reach. The began appearing regularly in 1942, and the fashion section in 1946. The Times began an international edition in 1946. The international edition stopped publishing in 1967, when it joined the owners of the and publish the in Paris. The paper bought a classical radio station) in 1946. In addition to owning WQXR, the newspaper also formerly owned its AM sister, (1560 AM). he classical music format was simulcast on both frequencies until the early 1990s, when the big-band and standards music format of WNEW-AM (now moved from 1130 AM to 1560. The AM station changed its call letters from WQXR to WQEW. By the beginning of the 21st century, the Times was leasing WQEW to for its format, which continues on 1560 AM. became the owner of WQEW in 2007.
The Times had a separate television guide from 1988 to 2006, and was the last major newspaper to outsource its television guide's editorial to a service such as Tribune Media Services, which compiled the guide's TV grids. Theatrical and movie listings were based on the opinions of Times critics and edited by former film critic from the section's inception in 1988 until a year before his death in 2002, then by, Gene Rondinaro, , and Anita Gates. The New York Times trails in circulation only to and. The newspaper is owned by, in which descendants of Adolph Ochs, principally the, maintain a dominant role. In March 2007, the paper reported a circulation of 1,120,420 copies on weekdays and 1,627,062 copies on Sundays. In the, the paper costs $1.50 Monday through Saturday and $4 on Sunday. Elsewhere the Sunday edition costs $5. New home delivery subscribers receive a discount. The Times has won 101, more than any other newspaper. In addition to its New York City headquarters, the Times has 16 news bureaus in New York State, 11 national news bureaus and 26 foreign news bureaus. At the end of 2005 it had approximately 350 full time reporters and 40 photographers, in addition to hundreds of freelance contributors. In 2006, The New York Times Co. laid off 500 employees (about 4% of its workforce), among them 45 in the Times newsroom, in common with a general trend among print news media. The New York Times reduced its page width to 12 inches (300 mm) from 13.5 inches (340 mm) on August 6, 2007, adopting the width that has become the US newspaper industry standard. The newspaper's first building was located at 113 in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 it moved to, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use. The paper moved its headquarters to in 1904, in an area called Long Acre Square, which was renamed to The top of the building is the site of the tradition of lowering, which was started by the paper (though there has been London's since 1833, and another at the in . since 1845). The building is also notable for its electronic, where headlines crawled around the outside of the building. It is still in use, but is not operated by the Times. After nine years in Times Square, an Annex was built at 229 West 43rd Street. After several expansions, it became the company's headquarters in 1913, and the building on Broadway was sold in 1961. Until June 2007, The Times, from which Times Square gets its name, was published at offices at West 43rd Street; the paper stopped printing papers there on June 15, 1997.
The newspaper remained there until June 2007, when it moved three blocks south to 620 between West 40th and 41st Streets, in The new headquarters for the newspaper,
The paper's involvement in a 1964 libel case helped bring one of the key decisions supporting. In it, the established the "" standard for press reports about public officials or to be considered. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high on the plaintiff, and difficulty in proving what is inside a person's head, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.
The Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the United States' political and military involvement in the from 1945 to 1971, were given ("leaked") to of The New York Times by former State Department official, with his friend assisting in copying them. The Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. Controversy and lawsuits followed. The papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over, raids along the coast of and offensive actions taken by well before the public was told about the actions, and while President had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and hurt efforts by the to fight the on-going war. When the Times began publishing its series, President became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor included "people have gotta be put to the torch for this sort of thing..." and "let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail." After failing to get the Times to stop publishing, and President Nixon obtained a federal court injunction that the Times cease publication of excerpts. The newspaper appealed and the case began working through the court system. On June 18, 1971, began publishing its own series. Ben Bagdikian, a Post editor, had obtained portions of the papers from Ellsberg. That day the Post received a call from the Assistant Attorney General, , asking them to stop publishing. When the Post refused, the sought another injunction. The U.S. District court judge refused, and the government appealed. On June 26, 1971 the agreed to take both cases, merging them into. On June 30, 1971 the Supreme Court held in a 6–3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the burden of proof required. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it a lukewarm victory, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security were at stake.
financial challenges
The company's dual-class ownership structure has deterred outside investors from pushing for change in Ochs-Sulzberger control. As of 20 Two Harbinger Capital and Firebrand Partners, bought 19 percent of The Times. On September 10, 2008, it was reported that one of the world's wealthiest men, had acquired a 6.4 percent stake for $120 million. These moves put pressure on the company, whose advertising and circulation have faltered recently, to improve its return to shareholders. The downturn in print advertising sales has recently spread to the Internet, and the recent acquisitions of Times Company stock might put increasing pressure on the family to sell or take the company private to escape attention. The newspaper is currently over one billion dollars in In December, 2008, the Times Co. said it planned to borrow up to $225 million against its new building, in which it has a 58 percent stake. The company retained, the real estate firm, to act as its agent to secure financing, either in the form of a mortgage or a sale-leaseback arrangement, said James Follo, the Times Company's chief financial officer. The developer owns the rest of the building. In March, 2009, a 15-year sale-leaseback for $225 million with . on the Times' share of the building was announced. The NYT Co. will have the right to buy back its part of the building, covered under the arrangement, for $250 million in 10 years, and will pay rent in the interem. The NYT Co. paid more than $600 million for its share of the building, in 2007. Both parties to the sale-leaseback expect the Co. to repurchase its space. Carey Gordon DuGan said "We’re willing to trade a low purchase price and good yield for future appreciation," in a Bloomberg report. "Basically it’s a secured loan," said Craig Evans, a broker with, a New York-based real estate services firm (affiliate of, in the report. "It’s a way for them to borrow significant amounts of money against the value of their offices. And they’re paying a pretty significant price to do that." In a footnote to the current building transaction, Bloomberg reported that The NYT Co. sold "its former headquarters to LP for $175 million in 2004. Tishman Speyer later sold the building to Ltd. for $525 million." The older building is now known as On January 19, 2009, the Times Co. announced that it had accepted a $250 million loan from Slim. Slim will receive a 14 percent interest rate and that are into Times Company shares on the loan. He has lost tens of millions on his original investment. Under the new financial arrangement, the equity stake could grow to 17 percent, though he will receive no representation on the company’s board and no shares with special voting rights. Bankers representing The Times approached Mr. Slim with the investment opportunity, Slim advisers say. Those bankers, at the firm Robinson Humphrey, had first approached The Times with the idea of a deal with Mr. Slim, said a Times spokeswoman, Catherine Mathis The loan will help ease the company's immediate cash flow problems, which have been reported to include a $400 million credit-line maturity in May. The notes have a six year maturity. The company's continuing financial problems and Slim's ongoing interest, as evidenced by his two interventions in the course of five months, has led to speculation that he might be contemplating an outright takeover of the Times Company. On January 28, 2009, as the Times Co. reported its earnings plunged 48 percent in the fourth quarter because of lower advertising revenue in a weak economy, he also said it "had retained investment firm to help explore a sale of its stake in the company that owns the Investors have been pressuring the company to sell assets .... The company holds a 17.8 percent stake in which owns the Boston baseball team as well as a portion of a cable sports network and other properties. The Times reported in December that its parent company was exploring a sale." On January 28, 2009, The New York Times itself ran an piece by, the author of Pioneering Portfolio Management and chief investment officer at, and Michael Schmidt, a financial analyst at Yale, entitled "News You Can " The column took note of the challenging financial circumstances of the nation's newspapers, and proposed "another option: Turn them into nonprofit, endowed institutions — like colleges and universities." In the face of the impact of digital, Internet distribution of news, the change would "free [newspapers] from the strictures of an obsolete business model and offer them a permanent place in society." of The New Yorker and, previously, the Washington Post, responded to the idea, as did the Post's and, in opposition,

INSURANCE

2009-05-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. An insurer is a company selling the insurance. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.Principles of insurance1. A large number of homogeneous exposure units. The vast majority of insurance policies are provided for individual members of very large classes. Automobile insurance, for example, covered about 175 million automobiles in the United States in 2004.[2] The existence of a large number of homogeneous exposure units allows insurers to benefit from the so-called “law of large numbers,” which in effect states that as the number of exposure units increases, the actual results are increasingly likely to become close to expected results. There are exceptions to this criterion. Lloyd's of London is famous for insuring the life or health of actors, actresses and sports figures. Satellite Launch insurance covers events that are infrequent. Large commercial property policies may insure exceptional properties for which there are no ‘homogeneous’ exposure units. Despite failing on this criterion, many exposures like these are generally considered to be insurable.2. Definite Loss. The event that gives rise to the loss that is subject to insurance should, at least in principle, take place at a known time, in a known place, and from a known cause. The classic example is death of an insured person on a life insurance policy. Fire, automobile accidents, and worker injuries may all easily meet this criterion. Other types of losses may only be definite in theory. Occupational disease, for instance, may involve prolonged exposure to injurious conditions where no specific time, place or cause is identifiable. Ideally, the time, place and cause of a loss should be clear enough that a reasonable person, with sufficient information, could objectively verify all three elements.3. Accidental Loss. The event that constitutes the trigger of a claim should be fortuitous, or at least outside the control of the beneficiary of the insurance. The loss should be ‘pure,’ in the sense that it results from an event for which there is only the opportunity for cost. Events that contain speculative elements, such as ordinary business risks, are generally not considered insurable.4. Large Loss. The size of the loss must be meaningful from the perspective of the insured. Insurance premiums need to cover both the expected cost of losses, plus the cost of issuing and administering the policy, adjusting losses, and supplying the capital needed to reasonably assure that the insurer will be able to pay claims. For small losses these latter costs may be several times the size of the expected cost of losses. There is little point in paying such costs unless the protection offered has real value to a buyer.5. Affordable Premium. If the likelihood of an insured event is so high, or the cost of the event so large, that the resulting premium is large relative to the amount of protection offered, it is not likely that anyone will buy insurance, even if on offer. Further, as the accounting profession formally recognizes in financial accounting standards, the premium cannot be so large that there is not a reasonable chance of a significant loss to the insurer. If there is no such chance of loss, the transaction may have the form of insurance, but not the substance. (See the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board standard number 113)6. Calculable Loss. There are two elements that must be at least estimable, if not formally calculable: the probability of loss, and the attendant cost. Probability of loss is generally an empirical exercise, while cost has more to do with the ability of a reasonable person in possession of a copy of the insurance policy and a proof of loss associated with a claim presented under that policy to make a reasonably definite and objective evaluation of the amount of the loss recoverable as a result of the claim.7. Limited risk of catastrophically large losses. The essential risk is often aggregation. If the same event can cause losses to numerous policyholders of the same insurer, the ability of that insurer to issue policies becomes constrained, not by factors surrounding the individual characteristics of a given policyholder, but by the factors surrounding the sum of all policyholders so exposed. Typically, insurers prefer to limit their exposure to a loss from a single event to some small portion of their capital base, on the order of 5 percent. Where the loss can be aggregated, or an individual policy could produce exceptionally large claims, the capital constraint will restrict an insurer's appetite for additional policyholders. The classic example is earthquake insurance, where the ability of an underwriter to issue a new policy depends on the number and size of the policies that it has already underwritten. Wind insurance in hurricane zones, particularly along coast lines, is another example of this phenomenon. In extreme cases, the aggregation can affect the entire industry, since the combined capital of insurers and reinsurers can be small compared to the needs of potential policyholders in areas exposed to aggregation risk. In commercial fire insurance it is possible to find single properties whose total exposed value is well in excess of any individual insurer’s capital constraint. Such properties are generally shared among several insurers, or are insured by a single insurer who syndicates the risk into the reinsurance market.IndemnificationThe technical definition of "indemnity" means to make whole again. There are two types of insurance contracts; 1) an "indemnity" policy and 2) a "pay on behalf" or "on behalf of"[3] policy. The difference is significant on paper, but rarely material in practice.An "indemnity" policy will never pay claims until the insured has paid out of pocket to some third party; for example, a visitor to your home slips on a floor that you left wet and sues you for $10,000 and wins. Under an "indemnity" policy the homeowner would have to come up with the $10,000 to pay for the visitor's fall and then would be "indemnified" by the insurance carrier for the out of pocket costs (the $10,000)[4].Under the same situation, a "pay on behalf" policy, the insurance carrier would pay the claim and the insured (the homeowner) would not be out of pocket for anything. Most modern liability insurance is written on the basis of "pay on behalf" language[5].An entity seeking to transfer risk (an individual, corporation, or association of any type, etc.) becomes the 'insured' party once risk is assumed by an 'insurer', the insuring party, by means of a contract, called an insurance 'policy'. Generally, an insurance contract includes, at a minimum, the following elements: the parties (the insurer, the insured, the beneficiaries), the premium, the period of coverage, the particular loss event covered, the amount of coverage (i.e., the amount to be paid to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss), and exclusions (events not covered). An insured is thus said to be "indemnified" against the loss events covered in the policy.When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a 'claim' against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the 'premium'. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims—in theory for a relatively few claimants—and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (i.e., reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit.Insurers' business modelProfit = earned premium + investment income - incurred loss - underwriting expenses.Insurers make money in two ways: (1) through underwriting, the process by which insurers select the risks to insure and decide how much in premiums to charge for accepting those risks and (2) by investing the premiums they collect from insured parties.The most complicated aspect of the insurance business is the underwriting of policies. Using a wide assortment of data, insurers predict the likelihood that a claim will be made against their policies and price products accordingly. To this end, insurers use actuarial science to quantify the risks they are willing to assume and the premium they will charge to assume them. Data is analyzed to fairly accurately project the rate of future claims based on a given risk. Actuarial science uses statistics and probability to analyze the risks associated with the range of perils covered, and these scientific principles are used to determine an insurer's overall exposure. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected and the investment gains thereon minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. Of course, from the insurer's perspective, some policies are winners (i.e., the insurer pays out less in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income) and some are losers (i.e., the insurer pays out more in claims and expenses than it receives in premiums and investment income).An insurer's underwriting performance is measured in its combined ratio. The loss ratio (incurred losses and loss-adjustment expenses divided by net earned premium) is added to the expense ratio (underwriting expenses divided by net premium written) to determine the company's combined ratio. The combined ratio is a reflection of the company's overall underwriting profitability. A combined ratio of less than 100 percent indicates underwriting profitability, while anything over 100 indicates an underwriting loss.Insurance companies also earn investment profits on “float”. “Float” or available reserve is the amount of money, at hand at any given moment, that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not been paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest on them until claims are paid out.In the United States, the underwriting loss of property and casualty insurance companies was $142.3 billion in the five years ending 2003. But overall profit for the same period was $68.4 billion, as the result of float. Some insurance industry insiders, most notably Hank Greenberg, do not believe that it is forever possible to sustain a profit from float without an underwriting profit as well, but this opinion is not universally held. Naturally, the “float” method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards. So a poor economy generally means high insurance premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the "underwriting" or insurance cycle. [6]Property and casualty insurers currently make the most money from their auto insurance line of business. Generally better statistics are available on auto losses and underwriting on this line of business has benefited greatly from advances in computing. Additionally, property losses in the US, due to natural catastrophes, have exacerbated this trend.Finally, claims and loss handling is the materialized utility of insurance. In managing the claims-handling function, insurers seek to balance the elements of customer satisfaction, administrative handling expenses, and claims overpayment leakages. As part of this balancing act, fraudulent insurance practices are a major business risk that must be managed and overcome.History of insuranceIn some sense we can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. Should the same thing happen to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. This type of insurance has survived to the present day in some countries where modern money economy with its financial instruments is not widespread (for example countries in the territory of the former Soviet Union).Turning to insurance in the modern sense (i.e., insurance in a modern money economy, in which insurance is part of the financial sphere), early methods of transferring or distributing risk were practised by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively. Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel's capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC, and practised by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the lender's guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen.Achaemenian monarchs of Iran were the first to insure their people and made it official by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. The insurance tradition was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year); the heads of different ethnic groups as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.The purpose of registering was that whenever the person who presented the gift registered by the court was in trouble, the monarch and the court would help him. Jahez, a historian and writer, writes in one of his books on ancient Iran: "[W]henever the owner of the present is in trouble or wants to construct a building, set up a feast, have his children married, etc. the one in charge of this in the court would check the registration. If the registered amount exceeded 10,000 Derrik, he or she would receive an amount of twice as much."[1]A thousand years later, the inhabitants of Rhodes invented the concept of the 'general average'. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage.The Greeks and Romans introduced the origins of health and life insurance c. 600 AD when they organized guilds called "benevolent societies" which cared for the families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the Middle Ages served a similar purpose. The Talmud deals with several aspects of insuring goods. Before insurance was established in the late 17th century, "friendly societies" existed in England, in which people donated amounts of money to a general sum that could be used for emergencies.Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, a separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance. Insurance became far more sophisticated in post-Renaissance Europe, and specialized varieties developed.Toward the end of the seventeenth century, London's growing importance as a centre for trade increased demand for marine insurance. In the late 1680s, Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house that became a popular haunt of ship owners, merchants, and ships’ captains, and thereby a reliable source of the latest shipping news. It became the meeting place for parties wishing to insure cargoes and ships, and those willing to underwrite such ventures. Today, Lloyd's of London remains the leading market (note that it is not an insurance company) for marine and other specialist types of insurance, but it works rather differently than the more familiar kinds of insurance.Insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, which in 1666 devoured 13,200 houses. In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England's first fire insurance company, "The Fire Office," to insure brick and frame homes.The first insurance company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732. Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize and make standard the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin's company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. Not only did his company warn against certain fire hazards, it refused to insure certain buildings where the risk of fire was too great, such as all wooden houses. In the United States, regulation of the insurance industry is highly Balkanized, with primary responsibility assumed by individual state insurance departments. Whereas insurance markets have become centralized nationally and internationally, state insurance commissioners operate individually, though at times in concert through a national insurance commissioners' organization. In recent years, some have called for a dual state and federal regulatory system (commonly referred to as the Optional Federal Charter (OFC)) for insurance similar to that which oversees state banks and national banks.

ONLINE MONEY MAKING

2009-05-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

A successful website for making online money
A website with lots of visitor everyday is certainly desirable. Such sites can easily be monetized by using affiliate programs or pay per click advertisements. Then you’ll be able to enjoy an extra source of making online money. In this article you will be able to build a successful website from scratches.
I start assuming you have nothing needed to build up a website. Follow the procedure below and own a successful website to make money online.
Step 1. Decide your site theme
Think about what you are passionate about or hot topic right now. It is better to chose a theme that you know more and can perform better. If you are aware of any current hot topic it can work better since many people might be searching for information about the hot topic.
Step 2. Decide your website name
The name of your website should be related to the theme you’ve decided and better if it contains the keywords of your theme. Try to make your domain name as short, meaningful and easy to remember as possible. I recommend you to take help or Google Keyword Tool to find appropriate popular keywords. You can find many domain name suggestion tools to decide your website name so that you will rank higher in search engines.
Step 3. Register you domain name
You can find many domain registrars that register your domain for &7 to $15 for global domains such as .com, .net, org. You can find cheap domain name like .info for about $1.5 and some other like .TV are bit expensive. If you can not pay for domain name or wish to obtain a free global domain name then I suggest you to participate. There you can post and reply in forum to earn ddpoints and later exchange that ddpoint into your requested domain name. It took 20 days for me to collect 3000 ddpoint to exchange my domain name. You can get .info domain name for about 1500 ddpoints. There are some other forums too that give away free domain names (not subdomain). I mentioned ddboard because I successfully used it.
Step 4. Obtain hosting for your site.
Now, you need some space on the server computer in internet where you could store your website files so that people can access it. There are many free and premium hosting available. When you choose a hosting provider consider the space provided, bandwidth, supporting features such as php, mysql, POP, SMTP, domain support and most important of all uptime/downtime. If you wish to obtain a best free hosting I recommend you. They provide you premium like free hosting but you need to post 5 genuine posting in their forum and remain active to continue hosting with them. I suggest remaining active in forum which is much necessary for promoting your site too! After you obtain a hosting, point your domain name to the hosting by updating name servers in domain manager.
Step 5. Install Content Management System in your hosting
After you’ve got your domain name pointing to your hosting, you need some CMS (Content Management System) that makes you able to publish your content without you coding anything. If you can write codes and develop your system its good. If you wish to use CMS, I would refer to use Joomla 1.5. It is free, powerful, flexible and search engine friendly system where you can create sections, categories and publish your contents dynamically. You can find many professional and free themes for your site, plug-in and components that is good for personal or business sites. You can download latest version of Joomla and its extensions from .
Step 6. Fill your site with great content
Now, your site is up and running. Its time to fill it up with some great content related to your theme. Write useful, short, clear and interesting stuffs and publish them on your site. Update your site or add more contents on it in regular basis. Though it is most favored your original contents for your site, If you don’t know how to write or wish to use free articles you can Careful, choose most interesting and most matching to your site theme.
Step 7. Perform Search Engine Optimization and promote your site
Your next step now is to perform Search Engine Optimization. This step makes your website more visible to the search engines and listed on their search result pages. Perform a search on Google with SEO keyword, you’ll be presented with lot of information about SEO. Continue optimizing your site. Promote your site as much as possible using free as well as paid advertisements. Submit your URL and sitemap to all of the major search engines. Among paid advertisement Google adword is one of the best method to drive genuine traffic to your site. Use forums, message boards, emails, tell your friends. Include your site domain name in signature of your e-mail and forums. Use yahooAnswers, stumbleUpon, link referral and all other means from where you and promote your website.
Step 8. Enjoy!
Don’t get hurried! Keep on promoting your site and updating it with more and more contents. You’ll find your site gradually rising up. Your site starts getting good number visitors everyday. Don’t you think about making money from your site now? Contact free discussion and help.
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Description:
Proven 8 steps guide to build successful website from scratch. Learn from my experiences, completely free professional dynamic website with free domain name, premium like best free hosting, free Joomla 1.5 CMS. Your website will certainly help you make money online or promote your business!

WORLD ECONOMICS

2009-05-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

The world economy can be evaluated in various ways, depending on the model used, and this valuation can then be represented in various ways (for example, in 2006). It is inseparable from the, and is therefore somewhat of a misnomer, since, while definitions and representations of the "world economy" vary widely, they must at a minimum exclude any consideration of resources or value based outside of the For example, while attempts could be made to calculate the value of currently unexploited mining opportunities in unclaimed territory in, the same opportunities on would not be considered a part of the world economy – even if currently exploited in some way – and could be considered of latent value only in the same way as uncreated, such as a previously unconceived invention.
Beyond the minimum standard of concerning value in production, use, and exchange on the planet Earth, definitions, representations, models, and valuations of the world economy vary widely.
It is common to limit questions of the world economy exclusively to, and the world economy is typically judged in monetary terms, even in cases in which there is no efficient market to help valuate certain goods or services, or in cases in which a lack of independent research or government cooperation makes establishing figures difficult. Typical examples are and other, which by any standard are a part of the world economy, but for which there is by definition no legal market of any kind.
However, even in cases in which there is a clear and efficient market to establish a monetary value, economists do not typically use the current or official exchange rate to translate the monetary units of this market into a single unit for the world economy, since exchange rates typically do not closely reflect worldwide value, for example in cases where the volume or price of transactions is closely regulated by the government. Rather, market valuations in a local currency are typically translated to a single monetary unit using the idea of .This is the method used below, which is used for estimating worldwide economic activity in terms of. However, the world economy can be evaluated and expressed in many more ways. It is unclear, for example, how many of the world's have most of their economic activity reflected in these valuations.
Economy – overview
2007–2008
Current account balance 2006
Global output) (GWP) rose by 3.2% in 2008, led by China (9%, equal to 21% of global growth), the US (1.1%, or 12% of growth), the European Union (0.9%, for a 10.5% share of growth) and India (7.3%, equal to 5.6% of the total rise). The 12 largest economies (the US, Japan, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Spain, Brazil, Canada and India) contributed just over half of all economic growth in 2008. in the wealthy, or “advanced” economies, slowed by two-thirds, from 2.7% in 2007 to just 0.9% in 2008. Emerging Asia slowed from 9.8% to 6.8%; Emerging Europe from 5.4% to 2.9%; the Commonwealth of Independent States from 8.6% to 5.5%; the (non-OECD) Western Hemisphere from 5.7% to 4.2%; the Middle East from 6.3% to 5.9%; and Africa from 6.2% to 5.2%. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows goods, funds, and technology. Central governments are losing decision making powers and enhancing their international collective power thanks to strong economic bodies of which they democratically chose to become part, notably the EU. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations.
Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada.
Industries
Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2002 est.)
Energy
Yearly electricity - production: 15,850,000 GWh (2003 est.), 14,850,000 GWh (2001 est.)
Yearly electricity - consumption: 14,280,000 GWh (2003 est.), 13,930,000 GWh (2001 est.)
- production: 79.65 million bbl/day (2003 est.), 75.46 million barrel/day (12,000,000 m³/d) (2001)
Oil - consumption: 80.1 million bbl/day (2003 est.), 76.21 million barrel/day (12,120,000 m³/d) (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 1.025 trillion barrel (163 km³) (2001 est.)
- production: 2,569 km³ (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 2,556 km³ (2001 est.) James OakleyShot the economy then spat on its dead body Natural gas - proved reserves: 161,200 km³
Cross-border
Yearly exports: $6.6 trillion (f.o.b., 2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners: US 17.4%, Germany 7.6%, UK 5.4%, France 5.1%, Japan 4.8%, China 4% (2002)
Yearly imports: $6.6 trillion (f.o.b., 2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners: US 11.2%, Germany 9.2%, China 7%, Japan 6.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4% (2002)
Debt - external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.)
Gift economy
Yearly economic aid - recipient: (ODA) $50 billion...
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 843,923,500 (2007)4,263,367,600 (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,300,000,000 (Nov. 2007)
(ISPs): 10,350 (2000 est.)
users: 1,311,050,595 (January 18, 2008 est.), 1,091,730,861 (December 30, 2006 est.), 604,111,719 (2002 est.)

MIDICAL

2009-05-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

HistoryA physician visiting the in a hospital. German from 1682.In ancient cultures, religion and medicine were linked. The earliest known institutions aiming to provide cure were temples. dedicated to the healer-god might admit the sick, who would wait for guidance from the god .The adopted his worship. Under his Roman name Æsculapius, he was provided with a temple (291 BC) on an island in the where similar rites were performed. The) are perhaps responsible for introducing the concept of dedicated hospitals to the world. According to the, the ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty written in the 6th century A.D., King Pandukabhaya (4th century BC) had lying-in-homes and hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country. This is the earliest documentary evidence we have of institutions specifically dedicated to the care of the sick anywhere in the world. Hospital is perhaps the oldest in the world. Ruins of ancient hospitals in are still in existence in and Medirigiriya. Institutions created specifically to care for the ill also appeared early in. King is said to have founded at least 18 hospitals ca. 230 BC, with physicians and nursing staff, the expense being borne by the royal treasury. Stanley Finger (2001) in his book Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function cites an translated as: "Everywhere King Piyadasi (Asoka) erected two kinds of hospitals, hospitals for people and hospitals for animals. Where there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted However Dominik Wujastyk of the disputes this, arguing that the edict indicates that Ashoka built rest houses (for travellers) instead of hospitals, and that this was misinterpreted due to the reference to medical herbsThe first where students were authorized to methodically practice on patients under the supervision of physicians as part of their education, was Medieval IslamThe earliest recorded hospital in the was that of (ruled 705-715 CE) which he built in 86 AH (706-707 CE). It somewhat resembled the Persian and Byzantine nosocomia, but was more general as it extended its services to, invalid and destitute people. All treatment and care was free of charge and there was more than one physician employed in this hospital. In the, the word "" was used to indicate an establishment where the ill were welcomed and cared for by qualified staff. In this way distinguished between a hospital and a or -house, all of which were more concerned with isolating the and the from society than offering them a cure. Some thus consider the medieval Bimaristan hospitals as "the first hospitals" in the modern sense of the word. The first free was opened in Baghdad during the. The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from and the. As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to and issued to those who were considered qualified to practice - in essence the first medical schools. Between the eighth and twelfth centuries CE hospitals developed a high standard of care. Hospitals in in the ninth and tenth centuries employed up to twenty-five staff physicians and had separate wards for different conditions. Al-Qairawan hospital and mosque, in were built under the rule in 830 CE and was simple but adequately equipped with halls organized into waiting rooms, a and a special bath. The hospital employed female including nurses from, a sign of great breakthrough. In addition to regular physicians who attended the sick, there were Fuqaha al-Badan, a kind of religious group of religious scholars whose medical services included bloodletting, bone setting, and cauterisation. During rule, when hospitals reached a particular distinction, Sultan built a and medical, and a number of other early hospitals were also built in Turkey. The clerics working in these facilities employed far beyond that of their contemporaries in their treatment of patients.Medieval Europewas the largest hospital in colonial America. InThe church at in France showing the often close connection between historical hospitals and churches.Medieval hospitals in followed a similar pattern to the Byzantine. They were religious communities, with care provided by (An old French term for hospital is "hostel of God.") Some were attached to monasteries; others were independent and had their own endowments, usually of property, which provided income for their support. Some hospitals were multi-functional while others were founded for specific purposes such as leper hospitals, or as refuges for the poor or for not all cared for the sick. The first Spanish hospital, founded by the Catholic bishop in 580 at, was a xenodochium designed as an inn for travellers (mostly pilgrims to the shrine of as well as a hospital for citizens and local farmers. The hospital's endowment consisted of farms to feed its patients and guests.founded the two earliest hospitals in: the Immaculate Conception Hospital and the Saint Lazarus Hospital. The oldest was the Immaculate Conception, now the, founded in 1524 to care for the poor. The first hospital in North America north of Mexico was the. It was established in in 1639 by three from l'Hôtel-Dieu de Dieppe in France. The project of the niece of was granted a royal charter by King and staffed by colonial physician CriticismWhile hospitals, by concentrating equipment, skilled staff and other resources in one place, clearly provide important help to patients with serious or rare health problems, hospitals are also criticised for a number of faults, some of which are endemic to the system, others which develop from what some consider wrong approaches to health care.One criticism often voiced is the 'industrialised' nature of care, with constantly shifting treatment staff, which dehumanises the patient and prevents more effective care as doctors and nurses are rarely intimately familiar with the patient. The high working pressures often put on the staff exacerbate such rushed and impersonal treatment. The architecture and setup of modern hospitals is often voiced as a contributing factor to the feelings of faceless treatment many people complain about. Another criticism is that hospitals are in themselves a dangerous place for patients, who are often suffering from weakened either due to their body having to undergo substantial surgery or because of the illness which placed them in the hospital itself. As an example, it is estimated that as much as 10% of all patients in the United States contract a Due to the environment in which are used in large quantities, the infections are also often multi-resistant to various treatment methods, such as the relatively common infection, making them especially dangerous.FundingIn the modern era, hospitals are, broadly, either funded by the government of the country in which they are situated, or survive financially by competing in the private sector (a number of hospitals are also still supported by the historical type of charitable or religious associations).In the United Kingdom for example, a relatively comprehensive, "free at the point of delivery" healthcare system exists, funded by the state. Hospital care is thus relatively easily available to all legal residents (although as hospitals prioritize their limited resources, there is a tendency for 'waiting lists' for non-emergency treatment in countries with such systems, and those who can afford it often take out private healthcare to get treatment faster). On the other hand, many countries, including for example the USA, have in the 20th Century followed a largely private-based, -approach to providing hospital care, with few state-money supported 'charity' hospitals remaining today. Where for-profit hospitals in such countries admit uninsured patients in emergency situations (such as during and after the in the USA), they incur direct financial losses, ensuring that there is a clear disincentive to admit such patients.While for-profit-based systems have produced some of the best hospitals in the world, a proportion of the populace may have little or no access to healthcare services of adequate quality As quality of healthcare has increasingly become an issue around the world, hospitals have increasingly had to pay serious attention to this. Independent external assessment of quality is one of the most powerful ways of assessing the quality of healthcare, and is one means by which this is achieved. In many parts of the world such accreditation is sourced from other countries, a phenomenon known as, by groups such as Accreditation Canada from Canada, the from the USA, The in the, showing the utilitarian architecture of many modern hospitals.ArchitectureModern hospital buildings are designed to minimize the effort of medical personnel and the possibility of contamination while maximizing the efficiency of the whole system. Travel time for personnel within the hospital and the transportation of patients between units is facilitated and minimized. The building also should be built to accommodate heavy departments such as radiology and operating rooms while space for special wiring, plumbing, and waste disposal must be allowed for in the design.However, the reality is that many hospitals, even those considered 'modern', are the product of continual and often badly managed growth over decades or even centuries, with utilitarian new sections added on as needs and finances dictate. As a result, Dutch architectural historian has called many hospitals:"... built catastrophes, anonymous institutional complexes run by vast bureaucracies, and totally unfit for the purpose they have been designed for ... They are hardly ever functional, and instead of making patients feel at home, they produce stress and anxietySome newer hospital designs now try to reestablish design that takes the patient's psychological needs into account, such as providing for more air, better views, and more pleasant color schemes. These ideas harken back to the late 18th century, when the concept of providing fresh air and access to the 'healing powers of nature' were first employed by hospital architects in improving their buildingsAnother major change which is still ongoing in many parts of the world is the change from a ward-based system (where patients are treated and accommodated in communal rooms, separated at best by movable partitions) to a room-based environment, where patients are accommodated in private rooms. The ward-based system has been described as very efficient, especially for the medical staff, but is considered to be more stressful for patients and detrimental to their privacy. A major constraint on providing all patients with their own rooms is however found in the higher cost of building and operating such a hospital, which causes some hospitals to charge for the privilege of private rooms.

MOBILE

2009-05-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

History
In 1908, for a wireless telephone was issued in to. He applied this patent to "cave radio" telephones and not directly to as the term is currently understood. Cells for mobile phone base stations were invented in 1947 by engineers at and further developed by Bell Labs during the 1960s. have a long and varied history going back to 's invention and shore-to-ship demonstration of radio telephony, through the with military use of radio telephony links and civil services in the 1950s, while hand-held cellular radio devices have been available since 1973. A patent for the first wireless phone as we know today was issued in of Euclid, Ohio on June 10, 1969.
In 1945, the zero generation of mobile telephones was introduced. 0G mobile phones, such as, were not cellular, and so did not feature "" from one base station to the next and reuse of radio frequency channels] Like other technologies of the time, it involved a single, powerful base station covering a wide area, and each telephone would effectively monopolize a channel over that whole area while in use. The concepts of frequency reuse and handoff, as well as a number of other concepts that formed the basis of modern cell phone technology, are first described in, issued May 1, 1979 to Charles A. Gladden and Martin H. Parelman, both of and assigned by them to the United States Government.
This is the first embodiment of all the concepts that formed the basis of the next major step in the Analog cellular telephone. Concepts covered in this patent (cited in at least 34 other patents) also were later extended to several satellite communication systems. Later updating of the cellular system to a digital system credits this patent.
researcher and executive is widely considered to be the inventor of the first practical mobile phone for hand-held use in a non-vehicle setting. Cooper is the inventor named on "Radio telephone system" filed on with the and later issued as US Patent 3,906,166. Using a modern, if somewhat heavy portable handset, Cooper made the first call on a hand-held mobile phone.
The first commercial citywide cellular network was launched in Japan by in 1979. Fully automatic cellular networks were first introduced in the early to mid 1980s (the generation). The (NMT) system went online in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 1981.
mobiles and modems used in Japan around 1997-2003
In 1983 was the first approved mobile phone by in the United States. In 1984, developed modern commercial cellular technology (based, to a large extent, on the Gladden, Parelman Patent), which employed multiple, centrally controlled base stations (cell sites), each providing service to a small area (a cell). The cell sites would be set up such that cells partially overlapped. In a cellular system, a signal between a base station (cell site) and a terminal (phone) only need be strong enough to reach between the two, so the same channel can be used simultaneously for separate conversations in different cells.
Cellular systems required several leaps of technology, including, which allowed a conversation to continue as a mobile phone traveled from cell to cell. This system included variable transmission power in both the base stations and the telephones (controlled by the base stations), which allowed range and cell size to vary. As the system expanded and neared capacity, the ability to reduce transmission power allowed new cells to be added, resulting in more, smaller cells and thus more capacity. The evidence of this growth can still be seen in the many older, tall cell site towers with no antennae on the upper parts of their towers. These sites originally created large cells, and so had their antennae mounted atop high towers; the towers were designed so that as the system expanded—and cell sizes shrank—the antennae could be lowered on their original masts to reduce range.
mobile phone
The first "modern" network technology on digital 2G (second generation) cellular technology was launched by (now part of in 1991 in on the GSM standard which also marked the introduction of competition in mobile telecoms when Radiolinja challenged incumbent (now part of who ran a 1G NMT network.
The first data services appeared on mobile phones starting with person-to-person SMS text messaging in Finland in 1993. First trial payments using a mobile phone to pay for a Coca Cola vending machine were set in Finland in 1998. The first commercial payments were mobile parking trialled in Sweden but first commercially launched in Norway in 1999. The first commercial payment system to mimic banks and credit cards was launched in the Philippines in 1999 simultaneously by mobile operators Globe and Smart. The first content sold to mobile phones was the ringing tone, first launched in 1998 in Finland. The first full internet service on mobile phones was i-Mode introduced by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 1999.
In 2001 the first commercial launch of (Third Generation) was again in Japan by on the standard. Until the early 1990s, following introduction of the most mobile phones were too large to be carried in a jacket pocket, so they were typically installed in vehicles as With the of digital components and the development of more sophisticated batteries, mobile phones have become smaller and lighter.
Handsets
A Nokia phone with box.
A inside a mobile phone
There are several categories of mobile phones, from basic phones to feature phones such as musicphones and cameraphones, to smartphones. The first smartphone was the in 1996 which incorporated PDA functionality to the basic mobile phone at the time. As miniaturisation and increased processing power of microchips has enabled ever more features to be added to phones, the concept of the smartphone has evolved, and what was a high-end smartphone five years ago, is a standard phone today. Several phone series have been introduced to address a given market segment, such as the RIM focusing on enterprise/corporate customer email needs; the SonyEricsson Walkman series of musicphones and Cybershot series of cameraphones; the Nokia
N-Series of multimedia phones; and the Apple which provides full-featured web access and multimedia capabilities.
Some phones includes The total value of mobile data services exceeds the value of paid services on the Internet, and was worth 31 billion dollars in 2006 (source Informa] The largest categories of mobile services are music, picture downloads, videogaming, adult entertainment, gambling, video/TV.
Applications
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants 1997-2007
The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging, with 74% of all mobile phone users as active users (over 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion total subscribers at the end of 2007). SMS text messaging was worth over 100 billion dollars in annual revenues in 2007 and the worldwide average of messaging use is 2.6 SMS sent per day per person across the whole mobile phone subscriber base. (source Informa 2007). The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993.
The other non-SMS data services used by mobile phones were worth 31 Billion dollars in 2007, and were led by mobile music, downloadable logos and pictures, gaming, gambling, adult entertainment and advertising (source: Informa 2007). The first downloadable mobile content was sold to a mobile phone in Finland in 1998, when Radiolinja (now Elisa) introduced the downloadable ringing tone service. In 1999 Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo introduced its mobile internet service, i-Mode, which today is the world's largest mobile internet service and roughly the same size as Google in annual revenues.
The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000. services are expanding with many organisations providing "on-demand" news services by SMS. Some also provide "instant" news pushed out by SMS. also facilitates and public journalism being explored by and and small independent news companies such as in Sri Lanka.
Companies like are starting to offer mobile services such as job search and career advice. Consumer applications are on the rise and include everything from information guides on local activities and events to mobile coupons and discount offers one can use to save money on purchases. Even tools for creating websites for mobile phones are increasingly becoming available.
Mobile payments were first trialled in Finland in 1998 when two Coca-Cola vending machines in Espoo were enabled to work with SMS payments. Eventually the idea spread and in 1999 the Philippines launched the first commercial mobile payments systems, on the mobile operators Globe and Smart. Today mobile payments ranging from to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets. For example in the Philippines it is not unusual to have one's entire paycheck paid to the mobile account. In Kenya the limit of money transfers from one account to another is one million US dollars. In India paying utility bills with mobile gains a 5% discount. In Estonia the government found criminals collecting cash parking fees, so the government declared that only mobile payments via SMS were valid for parking and today all parking fees in Estonia are handled via mobile and the crime involved in the activity has vanished.
Mobile Applications are developed using the Six M's (previously Five M's) service-development theory created by the author Tomi Ahonen with Joe Barrett of Nokia and Paul Golding of Motorola. The Six M's are Movement (location), Moment (time), Me (personalization), Multi-user (community), Money (payments) and Machines (automation). The Six M's / Five M's theory is widely referenced in the telecoms applications literature and used by most major industry players. The first book to discuss the theory was Services for UMTS by Ahonen & Barrett in 2002.

COMMERCIAL BANK

2009-05-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

A commercial bank is a type of and a type of Commercial banking is also known as business banking. It is a bank that provides checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts and that accepts time deposits. After the the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S. law, some use the term "commercial bank" to refer to a bank or a division of a bank primarily dealing with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses. In some other jurisdictions, the strict separation of investment and commercial banking never applied. Commercial banking may also be seen as distinct from which involves the provision of financial services direct to consumers. Many banks offer both commercial and retail banking services

Possible meanings
Commercial bank has two possible meanings:
Commercial bank is the term used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank.
This is what people normally call a "bank". The term "commercial" was used to distinguish it from an . Since the two types of banks no longer have to be separate companies, some have used the term "commercial bank" to refer to banks that focus mainly on companies. In some English-speaking countries outside North America, the term "trading bank" was and is used to denote a commercial bank. During the great depression and after the stock market crash of 1929, the U.S. Congress passed the 1933-35 (Khambata 1996) requiring that commercial banks engage only in banking activities (accepting deposits and making loans, as well as other fee based services), whereas investment banks were limited to capital markets activities. This separation is no longer mandatory.
It raises funds by collecting from businesses and consumers via . It makes to businesses and consumers. It also buys and Its primary are deposits and primary are loans and bonds.
Commercial banking can also refer to a bank or a division of a bank that mostly deals with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses, as opposed to normal individual members of the public
Origin of the word
The name bank derives from the word banco "desk/bench", used during by bankers, who used to make their transactions above a desk covered by a green tablecloth.However, traces of banking activity can found even in ancient times.
In fact, the word traces its origins back to the Ancient Roman Empire, where moneylenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called macella on a long bench called a bancu, from which the words banco and bank are derived. As a moneychanger, the merchant at the bancu did not so much invest money as merely convert the foreign currency into the only legal tender in Rome- that of the Imperial Mint.
The role of commercial banks
Commercial banks engages in the following activities:
processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, internet banking, or other means
accepting money
lending money by installment loan, or other means
providing documentary and standby , guarantees, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off balance sheet exposures
safekeeping of documents and other items in safe
with or without advice, of and similar financial products as a “financial supermarket”
traditionally, large commercial banks also bonds, and in currency, interest rates, and credit-related securities, but today large commercial banks usually have an investment bank arm that is involved in the mentioned activities.

Types of loans granted by commercial banks
Secured loan
A is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g., a car or property) for the loan.
Mortgage loan
A is a very common type of debt instrument, used to purchase real estate. Under this arrangement, the money is used to purchase the property. Commercial banks, however, are given security - on the title to the house - until the mortgage is paid off in full. If the borrower on the loan, the bank would have the legal right to repossess the house and sell it, to recover sums owing to it.
In the past, commercial banks have not been greatly interested in real estate loans and have placed only a relatively small percentage of their assets in mortgages. As their name implies, such financial institutions secured their earning primarily from commercial and consumer loans and left the major task of home financing to others. However, due to changes in banking laws and policies, commercial banks are increasingly active in home financing.
Changes in banking laws now allow commercial banks to make home mortgage loans on a more liberal basis than ever before. In acquiring mortgages on real estate, these institutions follow two main practices. First, some of the banks maintain active and well-organized departments whose primary function is to compete actively for real estate loans. In areas lacking specialized real estate financial institutions, these banks become the source for residential and farm mortgage loans. Second, the banks acquire mortgages by simply purchasing them from mortgage bankers or dealers.
In addition, dealer service companies, which were originally used to obtain car loans for permanent lenders such as commercial banks, wanted to broaden their activity beyond their local area. In recent years, however, such companies have concentrated on acquiring mobile home loans in volume for both commercial banks and savings and loan associations. Service companies obtain these loans from retail dealers, usually on a nonrecourse basis. Almost all bank/service company agreements contain a credit insurance policy that protects the lender if the consumer defaults.

Finance

2009-04-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

The main techniques and sectors of the financial industry
An entity whose income exceeds its expenditure can lend or invest the excess income. On the other hand, an entity whose income is less than its expenditure can raise capital by borrowing or selling equity claims, decreasing its expenses, or increasing its income. The lender can find a borrower, a financial intermediary such as a or buy notes or bonds in the .The lender receives interest, the borrower pays a higher interest than the lender receives, and the financial intermediary pockets the difference.
A bank aggregates the activities of many borrowers and lenders. A bank accepts deposits from lenders, on which it pays the interest. The bank then lends these deposits to borrowers. Banks allow borrowers and lenders, of different sizes, to coordinate their activity. Banks are thus compensators of money flows in space.
A specific example of corporate finance is the sale of stock by a company to institutional investors like investment banks, who in turn generally sell it to the public. The stock gives whoever owns it part ownership in that company. If you buy one share of XYZ Inc, and they have 100 shares outstanding (held by investors), you are 1/100 owner of that company. Of course, in return for the stock, the company receives cash, which it uses to expand its business; this process is known as "equity financing". Equity financing mixed with the sale of bonds (or any other debt financing) is called the company's Finance is used by individuals, by governments by businesses as well as by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments and methodologies, with consideration to their institutional setting.
Finance is one of the most important aspects of Without proper financial planning a new enterprise is unlikely to be successful. Managing money (a liquid asset) is essential to ensure a secure future, both for the individual and an organization.
Personal finance
Questions in personal finance revolve around
How much money will be needed by an individual (or by a family), and when?
Where will this money come from, and how?
How can people protect themselves against unforeseen personal events, as well as those in the external economy?
How can family assets best be transferred across generations (bequests and inheritance)?
How does tax policy (tax subsidies or penalties) affect personal financial decisions?
How does credit affect an individual's financial standing?
How can one plan for a secure financial future in an environment of economic instability?
Personal financial decisions may involve paying for education, financing such as and cars, buying e.g. health and property insurance, investing and saving for Personal financial decisions may also involve paying for a loan, or debt obligations.
Corporate finance
is the task of providing the funds for a corporation's activities. For this is referred to as. It generally involves balancing risk and profitability, while attempting to maximize an entity's wealth and the value of its stock.
Long term funds are provided by and long-term often in the form of The balance between these forms the company's Short-term funding or is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit.
Another business decision concerning finance is investment, or An investment is an acquisition of an in the hope that it will maintain or increase its value. In choosing a – one has to decide what, how much and when to invest. To do this, a company must:
Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual goals, time horizon, risk aversion and tax considerations;
Identify the appropriate strategy: active v. passive – hedging strategy
Measure the portfolio performance
Financial management is duplicate with the financial function of the However, is more concerned with the reporting of historical financial information, while the financial decision is directed toward the future of the firm.
Capital
in the financial sense, is the money that gives the business the power to buy goods to be used in the production of other goods or the offering of a service.
The desirability of budgeting
Budget is a document which documents the plan of the business. This may include the objective of business, targets set, and results in financial terms, e.g., the target set for sale, resulting cost, growth, required investment to achieve the planned sales, and financing source for the investment. Also budget may be long term or short term. Long term budgets have a time horizon of 5–10 years giving a vision to the company; short term is an annual budget which is drawn to control and operate in that particular year.
Capital budget
This concerns fixed asset requirements for the next five years and how these will be financed.
Cash budget
Working capital requirements of a business should be monitored at all times to ensure that there are sufficient funds available to meet short-term expenses.
The cash budget is basically a detailed plan that shows all expected sources and uses of cash. The cash budget has the following six main sections:
Beginning Cash Balance - contains the last period's closing cash balance.
Cash collections - includes all expected cash receipts (all sources of cash for the period considered, mainly sales)
Cash disbursements - lists all planned cash outflows for the period, excluding interest payments on short-term loans, which appear in the financing section. All expenses that do not affect cash flow are excluded from this list (e.g. depreciation, amortisation, etc)
Cash excess or deficiency - a function of the cash needs and cash available. Cash needs are determined by the total cash disbursements plus the minimum cash balance required by company policy. If total cash available is less than cash needs, a deficiency exists.
Financing - discloses the planned borrowings and repayments, including interest. Ending Cash balance - simply reveals the planned.

Forex in India.

2009-04-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Online Forex Trading
In FOREX trading there are two common types of analysis that most traders utilize, they are fundamental and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis attempts to predict currency movement based off of political and economy indicators. Technical analysis uses historical economic information to predict changes in the FOREX market.
Fundamental Analysis:
Political and economic changes are the basis of fundamental analysis. These can frequently affect currency prices. Traders that take advantage of fundamental analysis will gather their information from a variety of news sources. They are looking for information about unemployment forecasts, political ideologies, economic policies, inflation and growth rates.
Fundamental analysis will provide you with an overview of currency movements and a broad picture of the economic conditions. Most traders then will combine their fundamental analysis with technical analysis to plot actual entrance and exit points as well as confirming the information provided by their fundamental analysis.
Interest Rates – can cause a currency to either strengthen or weaken depending on the direction of movement. In some cases high interest rates will attract foreign money, however high interest rates will frequently cause stock market investors to sell of their portfolios. They do this believing that the higher cost of borrowing money will adversely affect many companies. If enough investors sell of their holdings in can cause a downturn in the market and negatively affect the economy.
Which of these two affects will take place depends on many complex factors, but there is usually an agreement among economic observers as to how the current change in interest rates will affect the general economy and the price of the currency.
International Trade – If there is a trade deficit (more items imported than exported) it is usually considered a negative indicator. When there is a trade deficit it means that more money is leaving the country to buy foreign goods than is entering the country and this can have a devaluing effect on the currency. Usually though trade imbalances are already factored into the market consideration. If a country normally operates with a trade deficit then there should not be an affect on the currency price. The currency price will normally only be effected by trade differences when the deficit is greater than the market expected.
Technical Analysis:
The other common form of analysis is technical analysis. Technical Analysis is based on the following assumptions:
1. Price movements are a result of combined market forces. Political events, economic conditions, seasonal fluctuations, supply and demand are all things that can effect currency prices. Technical analysts do not concern themselves with why the market moves, they are only interested in the movements themselves. 2. Currency prices on the FOREX market follow trends. Predictable consequences have been linked with many recognized market patterns.
3. Historical trends can be used to predict current price movements. Data on the FOREX market has been collected for the last 100 years, over that time certain patterns have become emergent. Human psychology and the way people react to certain circumstances are the basis of these patterns.
Most traders consider technical analysis to be of critical importance even though they may also use fundamental analysis to support and confirm the strategy suggested by technical analysis.
Unlike fundamental analysis technical analysis can be applied to many different currencies and markets at the same time. Since fundamental analysis requires detailed knowledge of the economic and political conditions of a certain country it is nearly impossible for any single trader to perform proper fundamental analysis on more than a few countries.
For the beginning trader the complexities of technical analysis may seem overwhelming and they may even wonder if it is actually necessary. If you wish to be successful at FOREX trading you must have a strategy. Any strategy can work but technical analysis has been proven as a reliable and effective method of predicting market changes. Many forces can affect currency prices though so technical analysis is no guarantee, most successful traders utilize a combination of technical and fundamental analysis.

Juggle-Bandhi

2009-04-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

sick jokes can be healthy Juggle-BandhiAs a humorist I'm often asked by people: What are the limits of humour? When does humour become bad taste? In reply, I quote an old 'sick' joke: "Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" The reference, of course, is to Abraham Lincoln who was assassinated while watching a stage performance. Lincoln was shot in 1865, in the politically surcharged atmosphere following the end of the American Civil War. I heard that joke some 40 years ago, though its provenance is probably much older; the colloquialism 'his name is mud' is believed to be derived from a contemporary reference to a Dr Mudd, a Confederate sympathiser who treated Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, who was injured while escaping.'Black' or 'sick' jokes seem to spawn spontaneously at times of trauma. Though P G Wodehouse was pilloried for his humorous broadcasts during World War II when he was held captive by the Germans, his 'sin' was seen to be not his inappropriate recourse to jocularity but his apparent collaboration with the enemy. In fact, blitz-ravaged Britain kept its morale up with laughter in the dark: A bombed-out, roofless establishment would bear the sign, "More open for business than usual".The wars in West Asia, African famines, the death of Princess Diana all fomented a sub-cultural bacillus of gallows humour. Within a few hours of the royal massacre in Kathmandu palace, a 'sick' story was doing the rounds: Prince Charles tells his mother, "OK, so you won't let me marry Camilla; why don't you and the rest of the family come round to my place for dinner Friday night".Sickening as it undoubtedly is, 'sick' humour is like a toxic titration prescribed to cure or alleviate a deeper malaise; it is a psychic alka seltzer taken for a mass emotional hangover. It's based on the homeopathic principle that a judiciously administered dose of the poison that made you ill can make you better.Like ethnic jokes, 'sick' humour is deplored as being 'politically incorrect'. This is to understate the case. 'Sick' jokes are meant to illustrate the incorrectness of the politics that have brought you to the grief from which you now seek deliverance.The more incorrect the politics, the blacker the corrective humour. War is the ultimate in incorrect politics -- 'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent' -- as Isaac Asimov says -- and the most effective anti-war antidote is not pious bromides but black humour. Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is a classic example. The protagonist, Yosarian, takes off all his clothes and goes around naked on the army base. He hopes that he will convince his superior officers that he is insane so that, by virtue of his insanity, he is discharged from service. However, the army psychiatrist turns down this plea on the grounds that since only madmen would want to fight a war, madness is not a valid argument for dismissal from combat service. That's the Catch-22 underlying the war conducted by other means that we call the human condition.Sex and death are the primal polarities of our lives. Both have long been the subjects of subversive humour. But while The Rationale of the Dirty Joke has been discussed at length in the best-seller of that name, death -- particularly violent or untimely death -- has largely been deemed to be too close-to-the-bone for humour. There have, of course, been dissidents from this conventional view. Osho, for instance, was only one of a long line of Eastern sages to treat death as a juvenile practical joke -- like pulling a chair out from beneath someone about to sit on it -- and greet it with an indulgent chuckle.Graveyard humour has its recognised place in many societies. I remember as a child returning from the burning ghat where we'd gone to consign the mortal remains of an ancient grand-aunt. Some prankster broke the solemn silence by exclaiming "Hey! Haven't we left someone behind?" Initially shocked, I laughed when the adults began to laugh. I learnt early that, like sex, death fills us with shame, from which we seek release in laughter. It's a psychological defence mechanism.Ramakrishna told the story of the itinerant sage who came across a village terrorised by an aggressive poisonous snake. He sought out the snake and forbade it from biting people. Months later, the sage returned to the village. The villagers were well and happy, but the snake was badly battered and dying. "What happened?" asked the sage. "You stopped me from biting, so the villagers lost their fear and attacked me", complained the snake. "You fool", the sage replied, "I told you no biting. Did I say anything about hissing?"Black humour is the hiss of the safety valve on the pressure cooker. You can plug it, but only at your own risk. And that's not said with a forked tongue

A more humbel America

2009-04-29T23:36:00.000-07:00

Consumer Confidence in U.S. Jumps More Than Forecast Consumer Confidence in U.S. April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer confidence jumped more than forecast in April as stocks rallied, mortgage rates dropped and Americans thought more jobs will become available, adding to signs the recession may be easing.The Conference Board’s sentiment index climbed to 39.2, the highest level since November, from 26.9 in March, the New York- based research group said today. The gain was the biggest since November 2005.The improvement raises the odds that recent gains in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, will be sustained. The report indicates efforts by Federal Reserve policy makers, meeting today and tomorrow, to lower borrowing costs and unclog lending may be starting to pay off.“People are tentatively hoping that the worst is over,” said adam york, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina, who had forecast a gain. “Hopefully, it means we’ll get some gains in consumption.”Confidence was projected to rise to 29.7, from an originally reported 26 in March, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 62 economists. Forecasts ranged from 26 to 35. The index averaged 57.95 last year.Home PricesA report from S&P/Case-Shiller today showed that the slide in home prices in 20 U.S. cities slowed in February for the first time since January 2007. Prices fell 18.6 percent in February from the same month last year after dropping 19 percent the previous month.Stocks rose after the reports, paring earlier losses, and Treasury securities fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.4 percent at 861.27 at 10:48 a.m. in New York after dropping as much as 1.2 percent earlier. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.94 percent from 2.91 percent late yesterday.The Conference Board’s measure of present condition rose to 23.7 from 21.9 the prior month. The gauge of expectations for the next six months surged to 49.5, the highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September.The share of consumers who said more jobs will be available in the next six months gained to 13.9, the most since June 2007.The outlook for current employment was more mixed. Fewer Americans said jobs were plentiful, at the same time those that said employment was hard to get also dropped.‘Nearing a Bottom’“Consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom,” Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center, said in a statement. Still, the index “remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth.”The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has gained 7.5 percent so far this month, leaving it poised for its first two month advance in a year. The benchmark index for American equities is up 27 percent since March 9, helped by unexpected increases in U.S. home sales and durable goods orders and a bigger-than- forecast jump in the University of Michigan’s survey of consumer sentiment.The rally has been led by industries most reliant on economic growth. Shares of banks and brokeraged in the S&P 500 added 70 percent since the March low, while a group of retailers automakers and restaurant chains climbed 41 percent, industrial companies surged 40 percent and raw-materials producers increased 35 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Lehman ImpactToday’s confidence figures corroborate other reports. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose for a second month in April, advancing to the highest level since Lehman’s bankruptcy in September pushed the U.S. deeper into a slump.The increase in consumer confidence parallels strong approval ratings for President Barack obama. A CBS News-New York Times poll taken April 22-26 put the president’s approval rating at 68 percent, higher than the 56 percent mark recorded by predecessor, George W. Bush, at his 100-day mark in office.A USA Today-Gallup poll taken April 20-21 found 56 percent of respondents saying Obama was doing an excellent or good job, while 63 percent of those questioned by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press from April 14-21 approved of his performance in office. All three surveys had margins of error of 3 percentage points.Economists have said the Conference Board’s index tends to be more influenced by attitudes about the labor market.The economy has lost 5.1 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg in early April predicted unemployment will rise to 9.5 percent by the end of the year.Government EffortsAt the same time, recent reports show government efforts to support housing and revive lending may be starting to work. Combined purchases of new and existing houses have hovered around a 5 million annual pace since November, and sales at retailers improved in the first two months of the year.The Libor-OIS premium that indicates banks’ reluctance to lend to each other fell to 0.84 percentage point today, the lowest level since before Lehman collapsed in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Amazon.com Inc., the world’s biggest Internet retailer, posted a jump in first-quarter sales and profit, bolstered by free shipping offers. Restaurant chains Cheesecake Factory Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc. reported quarterly income that fell less than analysts forecast.In a sign the plunge in car sales may be easing, AutoNation Inc, the largest publicly traded U.S. car retailer, this month reported a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter earnings.“We saw in the first quarter the first signs of stabilization,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Jackson said in an interview on April 23. Sales improved in the last 10 days of March as banks offered better lending terms, he said.The average rate on auto loans is 2.67 percentage points above one-month Libor. While that is more than the average of 1.84 percentage points over the past decade, it’s down from about 8 percent in December

Financial Industry

2009-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

The main techniques and sectors of the financial industry.An entity whose income exceeds its expenditure can lend or invest the excess income. On the other hand, an entity whose income is less than its expenditure can raise capital by borrowing or selling equity claims, decreasing its expenses, or increasing its income. The lender can find a borrower, a financial intermediary such as a bank, or buy notes or bonds in the bond market. The lender receives interest, the borrower pays a higher interest than the lender receives, and the financial intermediary pockets the difference.A bank aggregates the activities of many borrowers and lenders. A bank accepts deposits from lenders, on which it pays the interest. The bank then lends these deposits to borrowers. Banks allow borrowers and lenders, of different sizes, to coordinate their activity. Banks are thus compensators of money flows in space.A specific example of corporate finance is the sale of stock by a company to institutional investors like investment banks, who in turn generally sell it to the public. The stock gives whoever owns it part ownership in that company. If you buy one share of XYZ Inc, and they have 100 shares outstanding (held by investors), you are 1/100 owner of that company. Of course, in return for the stock, the company receives cash, which it uses to expand its business; this process is known as "equity financing". Equity financing mixed with the sale of bonds (or any other debt financing) is called the company's capital structure.Finance is used by individuals (personalfinance, by governments public finance, by businesses corporate finance, as well as by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments and methodologies, with consideration to their institutional setting.Finance is one of the most important aspects of business management. Without proper financial planning a new enterprise is unlikely to be successful. Managing money (a liquid asset) is essential to ensure a secure future, both for the individual and an organization.Personal financeQuestions in personal finance revolve aroundHow much money will be needed by an individual (or by a family), and when?Where will this money come from, and how?How can people protect themselves against unforeseen personal events, as well as those in the external economy?How can family assets best be transferred across generations (bequests and inheritance)?How does tax policy (tax subsidies or penalties) affect personal financial decisions?How does credit affect an individual's financial standing?How can one plan for a secure financial future in an environment of economic instability?Personal financial decisions may involve paying for education, financing durable goods such as real estateand cars, buying insuranc, e.g. health and property insurance, investing and saving for retirement.Personal financial decisions may also involve paying for a loan, or debt obligations.Corporate financeManagerial or corporate finance is the task of providing the funds for a corporation's activities. For small business, this is referred to as SME finance. It generally involves balancing risk and profitability, while attempting to maximize an entity's wealth and the value of its stock.Long term funds are provided by ownership equity and long-term credit, often in the form of bond. The balance between these forms the company's capital structure. Short-term funding or working capital is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit.Another business decision concerning finance is investment, or fund management. An investment is an acquisition of an asset in the hope that it will maintain or increase its value. In investment management – in choosing a portfolio– one has to decide what, how much and when to invest. To do this, a company must:Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual goals, time horizon, risk aversion and tax considerations;Identify the appropriate strategy: active v. passive – hedging strategyMeasure the portfolio performanceFinancial management is duplicate with the financial function of the Accounting profession. However, financial accounting is more concerned with the reporting of historical financial information, while the financial decision is directed toward the future of the firm CapitalFinancial capitalCapital, in the financial sense, is the money that gives the business the power to buy goods to be used in the production of other goods or the offering of a service.The desirability of budgetingbudget is a document which documents the plan of the business. This may include the objective of business, targets set, and results in financial terms, e.g., the target set for sale, resulting cost, growth, required investment to achieve the planned sales, and financing source for the investment. Also budget may be long term or short term. Long term budgets have a time horizon of 5–10 years giving a vision to the company; short term is an annual budget which is drawn to control and operate in that particular year.Capital budgetThis concerns fixed asset requirements for the next five years and how these will be financed.Cash budgetWorking capital requirements of a business should be monitored at all times to ensure that there are sufficient funds available to meet short-term expenses.The cash budget is basically a detailed plan that shows all expected sources and uses of cash. The cash budget has the following six main sections:Beginning Cash Balance - contains the last period's closing cash balance.Cash collections - includes all expected cash receipts (all sources of cash for the period considered, mainly sales)Cash disbursements - lists all planned cash outflows for the period, excluding interest payments on short-term loans, which appear in the financing section. All expenses that do not affect cash flow are excluded from this list (e.g. depreciation, amortisation, etc)Cash excess or deficiency - a function of the cash needs and cash available. Cash needs are determined by the total cash disbursements plus the minimum cash balance required by company policy. If total cash available is less than cash needs, a deficiency exists.Financing - discloses the planned borrowings and repayments, including interest.Ending Cash balance - simply reveals the planned ending cash balance.Management of current assetsCredit policyCredit gives the customer the opportunity to buy goods and services, and pay for them at a later date.Advantages of credit tradeUsually results in more customers than cash trade.Can charge more for goods to cover the risk of bad debt.Gain goodwill and loyalty of customers.People can buy goods and pay for them at a later date.Farmers can buy seeds and implements, and pay for them only after the harvest.Stimulates agricultural and industrial production and commerce.Can be used as a promotional tool.Increase the sales.Modest rates to be filled.Disadvantages of credit tradeRisk of bad debt.High administration expenses.People can buy more than they can afford.More working capital needed.Risk of Bankruptcy.Forms of creditSuppliers credit:Credit on ordinary open accountInstallment salesBills of exchangeCredit cardsContractor's creditFactoring of debtorsCash creditFactors which influence credit conditionsNature of the business's activitiesFinancial positionProduct durabilityLength of production processCompetition and competitors' credit conditionsCountry's economic positionConditions at financial institutionsDiscount for early paymentDebtor's type of business and financial positionsCredit collectionOverdue accountsAttach a notice of overdue account to statement.Send a letter asking for settlement of debt.Send a second or third letter if first is ineffectual.Threaten legal action.Effective credit controlIncreases salesReduces bad debtsIncreases profitsBuilds customer loyaltyBuilds confidence of financial industryincrease company capitlisationSources of information on creditworthinessBusiness referencesBank referencescredit agenciesChambers of commerceEmployersCredit application formsDuties of the credit departmentLegal actionTaking necessary steps to ensure settlement of accountKnowing the credit policy and procedures for credit controlSetting credit limitsEnsuring that statements of account are sent outEnsuring that thorough checks are carried out on credit customersKeeping records of all amounts owingEnsuring that debts are settled promptlyTimely reporting to the upper level of management for better management.StockPurpose of stock controlEnsures that enough stock is on hand to satisfy demand.Protects and monitors theft.Safeguards against having to stockpile.Allows for control over selling and cost price.StockpilingMain article: Cornering the marketThis refers to the purchase of stock at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities.There are several advantages to the stockpiling, the following are some of the examples:Losses due to price fluctuations and stock loss kept to a minimumEnsures that goods reach customers timeously; better serviceSaves space and storage costInvestment of working capital kept to minimumNo loss in production due to delaysThere are several disadvantages to the stockpiling, the following are some of the examples:ObsolescenceDanger of fire and theftInitial working capital investment is very largeLosses due to price fluctuationRate of stock turnoverThis refers to the number of times per year that the average level of stock is sold. It may be worked out by dividing the cost price of goods sold by the cost price of the average stock level.Determining optimum stock levelsMaximum stock level refers to the maximum stock level that may be maintained to ensure cost effectiveness.Minimum stock level refers to the point below which the stock level may not go.Standard order refers to the amount of stock generally ordered.Order level refers to the stock level which calls for an order to be made.CashReasons for keeping cashCash is usually referred to as the "king" in finance, as it is the most liquid asset.The transaction motive refers to the money kept available to pay expenses.The precautionary motive refers to the money kept aside for unforeseen expenses.The speculative motive refers to the money kept aside to take advantage of suddenly arising opportunities.Advantages of sufficient cashCurrent liabilties may be catered for.Cash discounts are given for cash payments.Production is kept movingSurplus cash may be invested on a short-term basis.The business is able to pay its accounts timeously, allowing for easily-obtained credit.LiquidityManagement of fixed assetsDepreciationDepreciation is the decrease in the value of an asset due to wear and tear or obsolescence. It is calculated yearly to enforce the matching principle.InsuranceInsurance is the undertaking of one party to indemnify another, in exchange for a premium, against a certain eventuality.Uninsured risksBad debtChanges in fashionTime lapses between ordering and deliveryNew machinery or technologyDifferent prices at different placesRequirements of an insurance contractInsurable interestThe insured must derive a real financial gain from that which he is insuring, or stand to lose if it is destroyed or lost.The item must belong to the insured.One person may take out insurance on the life of another if the second party owes the first money.Must be some person or item which can, legally, be insured.The insured must have a legal claim to that which he is insuring.Good faithUberrimae fidei refers to absolute honesty and must characterise the dealings of both the insurer and the insured.Shared ServicesThere is currently a move towards converging and consolidating Finance provisions into shared services within an organization. Rather than an organization having a number of separate Finance departments performing the same tasks from different locations a more centralized version can be created.Finance of statesCountry, state, county, city or municipality finance is called public finance. It is concerned withIdentification of required expenditure of a public sector entitySource(s) of that entity's revenueThe budgeting processDebt issuance municipal bonds for public works projectsFinancial economicsFinancial economics is the branch of economics studying the interrelation of financial variables, such as prices, interest rates and shares, as opposed to those concerning the real economy. Financial economics concentrates on influences of real economic variables on financial ones, in contrast to pure finance.It studies:Valuation - Determination of the fair value of an assetHow risky is the asset? (identification of the asset appropriate discount rate)What cash flows will it produce? (discounting of relevant cash flows)How does the market price compare to similar assets? (relative valuation)Are the cash flows dependent on some other asset or event? (derivatives, contingent claim valuation)Financial markets and instrumentCommodities - topicsStocks - topicsBonds - topicsMoney market instruments- topicsDerivatives - topicsFinancial institutions and regulationFinancial Econometrics is the branch of Financial Economics that uses econometric techniques to parameterise the relationships.f Financial mathematicsFinancial mathematics is a main branch of applied mathematics concerned with the financial markets. Financial mathematics is the study of financial data with the tools of mathematics, mainly statistics. Such data can be movements of securities—stocks and bonds etc.—and their relations. Another large subfield is insurance mathematics.Experimental financeExperimental finance aims to establish different market settings and environments to observe experimentally and provide a lens through which science can analyze agents' behavior and the resulting characteristics of trading flows, information diffusion and aggregation, price setting mechanisms, and returns processes. Researchers in experimental finance can study to what extent existing financial economics theory makes valid predictions, and attempt to discover new principles on which such theory can be extended. Research may proceed by conducting trading simulations or by establishing and studying the behaviour of people in artificial competitive market-like settings.Behavioral financeBehavioral Finance studies how the psychology of investors or managers affects financial decisions and markets. Behavioral finance has grown over the last few decades to become central to finance.Behavioral finance includes such topics as:Empirical studies that demonstrate significant deviations from classical theories.Models of how psychology affects trading and pricesForecasting based on these methods.Studies of experimental asset markets and use of models to forecast experiments.A strand of behavioral finance has been dubbed Quantitative Behavioral Finance, which uses mathematical and statistical methodology to understand behavioral biases in conjunction with valuation. Some of this endeavor has been lead by Gunduz Caginalp (Professor of Mathematics and Editor of Journal of Behavioral Finance during 2001-2004) and collaborators including Vernon Smith (2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics), David Porter, Don Balenovich, Vladimira Ilieva, Ahmet Duran, Huseyin Merdan). Studies by Jeff Madura, Ray Sturm and others have demonstrated significant behavioral effects in stocks and exchange traded funds. Among other topics, quantitative behavioral finance studies behavioral effects together with the non-classical assumption of the finiteness of assets.Intangible Asset FinanceIntangible asset finance is the area of finance that deals with intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, goodwill, reputation, etc.Related professional qualificationsThere are several related professional qualifications in finance, that can lead to the field:Accountancy:Qualified accountant: Chartered Accountant (ACA - UK certification / CA - certification in Commonwealth countries), Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA, UK certification), Certified Public Accountant (CPA, US certification)Non-statutory qualifications: Chartered Cost Accountant CCA Designation from AAFMBusiness qualifications: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Business Management (BBM), Master of Commerce (M.Comm), Master of Science in Management (MSM), Doctor of Business Administration(DBA)Generalist Finance qualifications:Degrees: Masters degree in Finance (MSF), Master of Financial Economics, Master Financial Manager (MFM), Master of Financial Administration (MFA)Certifications: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA), Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT), Certified Market Analyst (CMA/FAD) Dual Designation, Corporate Finance Qualification (CF)Quantitative Finance qualifications: Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE), Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF), Master of Computational Finance (MCF), Master of Financial Mathematics (MFM)

HEALTH INSURANCE

2009-04-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

History
Accident insurance was first offered in the United States by the Franklin Health Assurance Company of Massachusetts. This firm, founded in 1850, offered insurance against injuries arising from railroad and steamboat accidents. Sixty organizations were offering accident insurance in the US by 1866, but the industry consolidated rapidly soon thereafter. While there were earlier experiments, the origins of sickness coverage in the US effectively date from 1890. The first employer-sponsored group disability policy was issued in 1911.
Before the development of medical expense insurance, patients were expected to pay all other health care costs out of their own pockets, under what is known as the business model. During the middle to late 20th century, traditional disability insurance evolved into modern health insurance programs. Today, most comprehensive private health insurance programs cover the cost of routine, preventive, and emergency health care procedures, and also most prescription drugs, but this was not always the case.
Hospital and medical expense policies were introduced during the first half of the 20th century. During the 1920s, individual hospitals began offering services to individuals on a pre-paid basis, eventually leading to the development of organizations.The predecessors of today's(HMOs) originated in 1929, through the 1930s and on during World War II.
Public health care coverage
Public programs provide the primary source of coverage for most seniors and for low-income children and families who meet certain eligibility requirements. The primary public programs are Medicare, a federal social insurance program for seniors and certain disabled individuals; Medicaid, funded jointly by the federal government and states but administered at the state level, which covers certain very low income children and their families; and, also a federal-state partnership that serves certain children and families who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private coverage. Other public programs include military health benefits provided through and the and benefits provided through the Some states have additional programs for low-income individuals.
Medicare
In the United States, Medicare is a federal social insurance program that provides health insurance to elderly workers and their dependents, individuals who become totally and permanently disabled, and end stage (ESRD) patients. Some health care economists (Uwe Reinhardt of and Stuart Butler among others) assert that the third-party payment feature of this program has had the of distorting the price of medical procedures. As a result, the Health Care Financing Administration has set up a list of procedures and corresponding prices under the Recent research has found that the health trends of previously uninsured adults, especially those with chronic health problems, improves once they enter the Medicare program.
Medicare Advantage
expand the health care options for Medicare beneficiaries. The option for Medicare Advantage plans is a result of the with the intent to better control the rapid growth in Medicare spending, as well as to provide Medicare beneficiaries more choices.
Medicare Part D (Prescription Drugs)
provides a private insurance option to allow Medicare beneficiaries to purchase subsidized coverage for the costs of It was enacted as part of to 2003 (MMA) and went into effect on January 1, 2006.
Medicail
Medicaid was instituted for the very poor in 1965. Despite its establishment, the percentage of US residents who lack any form of health insurance has increased since 1994. It has been reported that the number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased in recent years due to relatively high administrative costs and low reimbursements.Medicaid is a social welfare or program rather than a social insurance program.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a joint state/federal program to provide health insurance to children in families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The statutory authority for SCHIP is under title XXI o SCHIP programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set by the federal and may be structured as independent programs separate from Medicaid (separate child health programs), as expansions of their Medicaid programs (SCHIP Medicaid expansion programs), or combine these approaches (SCHIP combination programs). States receive enhanced federal funds for their SCHIP programs at a rate above the regular Medicaid match.
Military health benefits
Health benefits are provided to active duty service members, retired service members and their dependents by the Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS). The MHS consists of a direct care network of Military Treatment Facilities and a purchased care network known as Additionally, veterans may also be eligible for benefits through the
Indian health service
The (IHS) provides medical assistance to eligible American Indians at IHS facilities, and helps pay the cost of some services provided by non-IHS health care providers.
State risk pools
In 1976, some states began providing guaranteed-issuance risk pools, which enable individuals who are medically uninsurable through private health insurance to purchase a state-sponsored health insurance plan, usually at higher cost. Minnesota was the first to offer such a plan; 34 states now offer them. Plans vary greatly from state to state, both in their costs and benefits to consumers and in their methods of funding and operations. They serve a very small portion of the uninsurable market—about 182,000 people in the US as of 2004.In best cases, they allow people with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illnesses to be able to switch jobs or seek self-employment without fear of being without health care benefits.However, the plans are expensive, with premiums that can be double the average policy, and the pools currently cover only 1 in 25 of the so-called "uninsurable" population.Efforts to pass a national pool have as yet been unsuccessful, but some federal tax money has been awarded to states to innovate and improve their plans.
Private health care coverage
Private health insurance may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. Most Americans with private health insurance receive it through an employer-sponsored program. According to the some 60% of Americans are covered through an employer, while about 9% purchase health insurance directly.
The US has a joint federal/state system for regulating insurance, with the federal government ceding primary responsibility to the states under the States regulate the content of health insurance policies and often require coverage of specific types of medical services or health care provider.State mandates generally do not apply to the health plans offered by large employers, due to the preemption clause
Employer-sponsored
Employer-sponsored health insurance is paid for by businesses on behalf of their employees as part of an package. Most private health coverage in the US is employment based. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nearly 100% of large firms offer health insurance to their employees The employer typically makes a substantial contribution towards the cost of coverage. In 2008 the average employee contribution was 16% of the cost of single coverage and 27% of the cost of family coverage. These percentages have been stable since 1999. Health benefits provided by employers are also tax favored. Employee contributions can be made on a pre-tax basis if the employer offers the benefits through a section 125
Costs for employer-paid health insurance are rising rapidly: since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78%, while wages have risen 19% and inflation has risen 17%, according to a 2007 study by Employer costs have risen significantly per hour worked, and vary significantly. In particular, average employer costs for health benefits vary by firm size and occupation. The cost per hour of health benefits is generally higher for workers in higher-wage occupations, but represent a smaller percentage of payroll.The percentage of total compensation devoted to health benefits has been rising since the 1960s.Average premiums, including both the employer and employee portions, were $4,704 for single coverage and $12,680 for family coverage in 2008 However, in a 2007 analysis, the Employee Benefit Research Institute concluded that the availability of employment-based health benefits for active workers in the US is stable. The "take-up rate," or percentage of eligible workers participating in employer-sponsored plans, is falling. The percentage of workers actually covered has fallen somewhat, but not sharply. EBRI interviewed employers for the study, and found that others might follow if a major employer discontinued health benefits. Public policy changes could also result in a reduction in employer support for employment-based health benefits.
Although much more likely to offer retiree health benefits than small firms, the percentage of large firms offering these benefits fell from 66% in 1988 to 34% in 2002.

PERSONAL COMPUTER

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PERSONAL COMPUTER
Personal Computers, microcomputers were made possible by two technical innovations in the field of microelectronics: the integrated circuit, or IC, which was developed in 1959; and the microprocessor, which first appeared in 1971. The IC permitted the miniaturization of computer-memory circuits, and the microprocessor reduced the size of a computer's CPU to the size of a single silicon chip.
The invention of the microprocessor, a machine which combines the equivalent of thousands of transistors on a single, tiny silicon chip, was developed by Ted Hoff at Intel Corporation in the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, California, an area that was destined to become known to the world as Silicon Valley because of the microprocessor and computer industry that grew up there. Because a CPU calculates, performs logical operations, contains operating instructions, and manages data flows, the potential existed for developing a separate system that could function as a complete microcomputer.
The first such desktop-size system specifically designed for personal use appeared in 1974; it was offered by Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS). The owners of the system were then encouraged by the editor of a popular technology magazine to create and sell a mail-order computer kit through the magazine. The computer, which was called Altair, retailed for slightly less than $400.
The demand for the microcomputer kit was immediate, unexpected, and totally overwhelming. Scores of small entrepreneurial companies responded to this demand by producing computers for the new market. The first major electronics firm to manufacture and sell personal computers, Tandy Corporation (Radio Shack), introduced its model in 1977. It quickly dominated the field, because of the combination of two attractive features: a keyboard and a cathode-ray display terminal (CRT). It was also popular because it could be programmed and the user was able to store information by means of cassette tape.
Soon after Tandy's new model was introduced, two engineer-programmers—Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs—started a new computer manufacturing company named Apple Computers.
In 1976, in what is now the Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created a homemade microprocessor computer board called Apple I. Working from Jobs’ parents’ garage, the two men began to manufacture and market the Apple I to local hobbyists and electronics enthusiasts. Early in 1977, Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple Computer, Inc., and in April of that year introduced the Apple II, the world’s first personal computer. Based on a board of their design, the Apple II, complete with keyboard and color graphics capability, retailed for $1290.
Some of the new features they introduced into their own microcomputers were expanded memory, inexpensive disk-drive programs and data storage, and color graphics. Apple Computers went on to become the fastest-growing company in U.S. business history. Its rapid growth inspired a large number of similar microcomputer manufacturers to enter the field. Before the end of the decade, the market for personal computers had become clearly defined.
In 1981, IBM introduced its own microcomputer model, the IBM PC. Although it did not make use of the most recent computer technology, the PC was a milestone in this burgeoning field. It proved that the microcomputer industry was more than a current fad, and that the microcomputer was in fact a necessary tool for the business community. The PC's use of a 16-bit microprocessor initiated the development of faster and more powerful micros, and its use of an operating system that was available to all other computer makers led to a de facto standardization of the industry.
In the mid-1980s, a number of other developments were especially important for the growth of microcomputers. One of these was the introduction of a powerful 32-bit computer capable of running advanced multi-user operating systems at high speeds. This has dulled the distinction between microcomputers and minicomputers, placing enough computing power on an office desktop to serve all small businesses and most medium-size businesses.
Another innovation was the introduction of simpler, "user-friendly" methods for controlling the operations of microcomputers. By substituting a graphical user interface (GUI) for the conventional operating system, computers such as the Apple Macintosh allow the user to select icons—graphic symbols of computer functions—from a display screen instead of requiring typed commands. Douglas Engelbart, invented an "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System": the prototype of the computer "mouse" whose convenience has revolutionized personal computing. New voice-controlled systems are now available, and users may eventually be able to use the words and syntax of spoken language to operate their microcomputers.

FOREX TRADING

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Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the foreign exchange market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. Within the inter-bank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and usually unavailable, and not known to players outside the inner circle. The difference between the bid and ask prices widens (from 0-1 pip to 1-2 pips for some currencies such as the EUR). This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the foreign exchange market are determined by the size of the “line” (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. After that there are usually smaller investment banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail FX-metal market makers. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size” Central banks also participate in the foreign exchange market to align currencies to their economic needs.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems. The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
Commercial companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants. Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high—that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–9 collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.