meta
dict | text
stringlengths 224
571k
|
|---|---|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9323997497558594,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/sezs-infrastructure-development-and-official-development-aid/",
"token_count": 2721,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:29a6ade7-e415-40ff-b225-6a3b8bc0de81>"
}
|
SEZs need infrastructure to connect with neighbouring countries, improve quality of life, and promote trade and investment.1 Both soft and hard infrastructure is needed. Soft infrastructure includes institutional components such as education, healthcare and human capital, whereas hard infrastructure is the physical ones such as roads, bridges, and telecommunications.2 Usually the former can help to develop the later. However, when promoted as a link to outside economies, as it has been in the Lower Mekong Countries, additional work needs to be done to actually use the SEZ as a bridge that connects the rest of the country it is in to bordering countries.
For example, in Tak SEZ of Thailand, the local economy and the enterprises located in the SEZ appears to be poorly connected, and the goal of improving connectivity has not been fully reached. It is highly reliant on low-cost labour (regardless of origin) – about 8000 of the employees are foreign workers, compared with less than 2300 domestic workers, and most of the workers are semi-skilled, with training not usually provided.3 Tak SEZ produces mainly for the domestic market, with few linkages to the global market – for two thirds of the firms in the SEZ, over 90% of their export and import goes to or comes from domestic market.4 Yet, few of the firms in Tak SEZ use foreign investments for capital mobilization and technology upgrades.5 When interviewed by ADB about the perceived quality of business environment in Tak SEZ, one common concern which stands out is safety and consistency of government policy.6
A similar pattern is found in other SEZs in the LMCs, such as in Cambodia. Only 12% of inputs for production at SEZs are from domestic resources, and 27% of outputs go to domestic market.7 Governance, a form of soft infrastructure, is often poor. At the same time, hard infrastructure to link the SEZ to other parts of the country is missing. Since firms investing in Cambodia’s SEZ are only responsible for investing in infrastructure inside the SEZ, the infrastructure outside of the SEZ lacks. ADB calls such SEZs without any link to domestic economy “little more than export-processing zones”.8
In some LMC SEZs, poor hard infrastructure is an impediment to foreign investment. In Myanmar, development of SEZs is faced with a key challenge, sustainable electricity. While the price of electricity is low and therefore perhaps a benefit for investors, the price is financially unsustainable for Myanmar, with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy running on a loss; this situation has not changed over the years.9 A lack of staff housing in the SEZ poses another challenge, deterring many labourers from entering the SEZ.10
The infrastructure in SEZs may be poorly managed by the local government, with the result that these SEZs seem like segregated places with limited access to public services like power and roads. For example, because SEZs in Cambodia are almost entirely privately operated and managed, basic infrastructure in the SEZ such as electricity is being charged at a higher price than outside the SEZ, creating friction.11 Power interruptions occur often, requiring expensive backup generators.12 Myanmar SEZ are similar: 65% of the foreign firms in Thilawa SEZ report energy shortage to be a constraint.13 This gap in infrastructure also acts as a deterrent to potential investors. For instance, investors turn away from Myanmar since its infrastructure connecting to the neighbouring market Thailand is poor, and electricity supply is unstable.14
Aid contributions go some way to fill the infrastructure gap in SEZs. For instance, a bridge across the Mekong River connecting Phnom Penh to Kandal Province in Cambodia is being opened, with the financial assistance of South Korea.15 Villagers expect that this bridge will enable them to sell their products in Phnom Penh. However, while some SEZs are located where ports can easily be developed, lagging infrastructure holds them back. For instance, inland waterway and sea routes in Vietnam are not optimally used due to inadequate investment.16These waterways have the potential to connect the inland to seaport SEZs such as Van Don SEZ. Only 1% of the investment in infrastructure in this SEZ went to developing inland waterway transport.17 This can lead to unbalanced development between coastal SEZs and inland parts of the country.
However, new roads, waterways and bridges are only a part of an efficient transportation network. These networks operate only as well as the capacity of those working on it. Even though a newly built bridge had the potential to reduce the shipping time between Bangkok and Hanoi from two weeks to three days, limited capacity, along with bureaucratic and administrative bottlenecks, delayed the process by weeks.18 Procedural issues are another problem. There are frequent stops at customs by the police and as a result, long border delays.19 Thus, customs officials have requested more training related to one stop service centers for customs, single stop inspections, and e-custom procedures.20
These trainings, another type of soft infrastructure, can become a potential focus for aid. However, there is limited information disaggregated to this level of detail about aid flows to this kind of training. Yet there is a need: according to a survey conducted by the Mekong Institute, the most needed capacity building related to infrastructure for firms in LMC SEZs is on customs infrastructure, and cross-border issues.21
In addition, training is also needed to upgrade skills of the local labour force. Two successful models have been developed in the LMCs to enable skills upgrades. The first is the Thailand Plus One model, which was developed by Japanese companies in Thailand’s industrial zones. This model enables Japanese firms in Thailand to transfer technology as well as increase capital per worker to neighboring LMCs.22 The second is the Vietnam Plus One model, which features a “train the trainer” program, to help develop skills transfer and retention of skilled labour.23 These programs have been positive for countries that are low in skilled labour, such as Laos.24
Despite these programs, challenges remain, including the lack of technology infrastructure, low R&D spending, and limited vocational and technical skills.25 The LMCs have also had difficulty attracting foreign investment due to a lack of skilled labour. In Myanmar, insufficient skilled labour prevents advanced manufacturing industries and import substitution business from flourishing.26 Improving such soft infrastructure can help to better link SEZs with the neighboring countries, including by promoting investor and trade confidence.
Infrastructure relevant to health, from physical structures to skills and knowledge, is also needed. However, this is frequently neglected by investors in SEZs. For example, in Myanmar’s Thilawa SEZ, only two out of the 82 approved investors do business related to managing health risks, one in medicine and one in waste management.27 None of Cambodia’s four SEZs (Phnom Penh SEZ, Sihanoukville SEZ, Poipet O’neang SEZ and Koh Kong SEZ) have yet approved an investor conducting business in health-related industry. However, ADB indicates that SEZs can bring health risks such as hazardous waste for local communities in the Mekong Region.28 Since most SEZs are located in outlying areas, both hard infrastructure such as roads, and soft infrastructure such as waste management are less developed than in urban areas.29 Infrastructure that needs more investment includes disease data collection systems, water sanitation systems, waste management facilities, good-conditioned roads, and health services.30
Even though there are some international and local NGOs that aim to fill the gap between the high demand of sanitation and small proportion of ODA devoted to health, their impacts are still limited due to insufficient funding. Mismanagement of funds can be another challenge. In Myanmar, organizations helping local communities in sanitation improvement are faced with the challenge of layered accounting procedures, since they have limited funding and capacity to develop a financial management team.31 Donor benchmarks sometimes do not take into account these on the ground realities. These benchmarks are set to assess the success of the aid in health, but not effectiveness or sustainability. For example, WTO has multiple targets for aid in sanitation and health, including coverage for drinking-water supply, hygiene promotion and sanitation.32 While Myanmar turns out to be doing quite well in terms of meeting the target, the human capital and financial management of healthcare, as mentioned above, is still lacking. Thus, more programs emphasising monitoring is needed. For example, the Vietnam Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Program implemented by UNICEF seeks to ensure that infrastructure necessary for the sustainability of aid is in place. This includes training materials, standards for open defecation free (ODF) verification and certification, and capability of staff.33 Such programs could help SEZs be more sustainable and beneficial for local communities.
- 1. Thailand Board of Investment. 2018. A Guide to Invest in the Special Economic Zones. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 2. The World Bank. 2010. Export Performance and Trade Facilitation Reform: Hard and Soft Infrastructure Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 3. Ibid.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. ADB. 2018. THE ROLE OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION ECONOMIC CORRIDORS, p.18 Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 6. Ibid.
- 7. ADB. 2015. Cambodia’s Special Economic Zones. p.9. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 8. ADB. 2018. THE ROLE OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION ECONOMIC CORRIDORS Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 9. Myanmar Real Estate & Construction Monitor. 2019. Myanmar Industrial Zones Review. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 10. Myanmar Times. 2019. Industrial zones hampered by poor infrastructure but demand remains. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 11. ADB. 2015. Cambodia’s Special Economic Zones. p.9. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 12. Ibid.
- 13. International Growth Centre. 2016. Special Economic Zones for Myanmar. Accessed July 18th, 2019.
- 14. Bui Thi Minh Tam. 2019. SEZ Development in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and the regional value chains. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 15. Khmer Times. 2018. South Korea to help build bridge across Mekong. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 16. Viet Nam News. 2017. Infrastructure to aid Mekong development. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 17. Ibid.
- 18. Japan International Cooperation Agency. 2009. Roads, Bridges, Ports and People. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 19. ADB. 2018. THE ROLE OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION ECONOMIC CORRIDORS Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 20. Mekong Institute. 2018. Joint Study and Survey of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Cross Border Economic Zones (CBEZs) to match Complementary SEZs and Identify Prioritized Areas. Accessed July 18th, 2019.
- 21. Mekong Institute. 2018. Joint Study and Survey of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Cross Border Economic Zones (CBEZs) to match Complementary SEZs and Identify Prioritized Areas. Accessed July 18th, 2019.
- 22. Bui Thi Minh Tam. 2019. SEZ Development in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and the regional value chains. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 23. ADB. 2018. THE ROLE OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION ECONOMIC CORRIDORS Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 24. Ibid.
- 25. Ibid.
- 26. Ibid.
- 27. Thilawa SEZ Management Committee. List of Approved Investors in Thilawa SEZ. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 28. ADB. 2018. A Health Impact Assessment Framework for Special Economic Zones in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 29. Ibid.
- 30. Ibid.
- 31. WHO. 2017. Aligning public financial management and health financing: sustaining progress toward universal health coverage. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 32. WHO. 2015. Myanmar Country Highlights. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
- 33. UNICEF. 2018. 2018 Vietnam: Evaluation of UNICEF Viet Nam Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Programme (RSHP) 2012 – 2016. Accessed July 16th, 2019.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9658662676811218,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://personalfinancewellness.com/how-do-i-apply-for-a-credit-card/",
"token_count": 1386,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.01556396484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c2165d11-3db6-4b8a-98c3-6d76ea483317>"
}
|
What is a credit card and how does it work?
A credit card is a type of payment card issued to individuals that allows them to use it to purchase, transfer money, prepay cash, or repay loans in the future. The amount of credit that is considered for each person depends on his income and ability to repay.
A credit card allows you to repay your expenses little by little, like borrowing money for the amount you used with this card. You can spend money depending on your pre-determined limit, which may be a few hundred or thousands of pounds. It depends on how confident your cardholder is that you are refunding them. If you pay your bills on a monthly basis, you will not pay interest on expenses.
If you pay in cash, you will receive a daily interest from the day you withdraw your money. This is one of the reasons why you should not withdraw cash from your credit card. Some companies will charge you up to 4% or more for cash payments.
This post contains affiliate links. Please please read my Disclaimer for more information.
Credit cards are similar to regular bank cards, and you can buy whatever you want with them, but there is an important difference with regular bank cards.
Ordinary debit cards will withdraw money from your bank account, but using a credit card means borrowing money from the card provider.
Each time you make a purchase, the amount spent is added to your card balance, and this is the total amount you owe.
You can submit your credit card statement every month stating that you want to pay off your debt immediately or make the payment over time.
Advantages of using a credit card:
- Installing the cost of buying a product
- Protect your purchase with the possibility of a refund
- Borrow money for free
- Discounts on purchases
- You can improve your financial reputation
Disadvantages of using a credit card:
- Excessive spending can increase the debt
- Membership interest may increase
- Withdrawals are very expensive
- You will have to pay a fine for being late or out of bounds
- Missed payments can damage your credit
Benefits of getting a credit card:
Credit cards have numerous benefits. The first and perhaps most important of these is that if you use your credit card consciously, you will be able to build good credit for yourself. Having a good credit history can also help you get various loans like mortgages at good rates. It also helps you get approved for an apartment or cell phone. Helps you avoid high-interest deposits and lower premiums.
These credit cards are easy to transport and use. In most places, you will be accepted for a credit card. Using a credit card is safer than using cash. If your card is stolen or lost, all you have to do is call your bank and cancel it.
Buy now, pay later. If you do not have the cash until your next payment or to make a large purchase, getting a credit card will give you more time for financial payments, although you may be sure that you will be able to pay it back.
Using a credit card, you can make the following types of payments and bank transactions:
- Online shopping from all virtual stores accepting bank accounts (Master and Visa card)
- Purchase from all stores that have a POS card reader
- Cash withdrawal, money transfer through ATMs
- Payment of electricity, water, gas, etc. bills
One of the important features of a credit card is high security and protection of the purchase process, since this type of card uses the highest security technologies, it can be easily disabled and blocked to avoid any attempt to use it illegally during the theft.
How To Apply For A Credit Card:
From the beginning of legal age, any natural person can apply for a credit card and have a valid credit card. Based on the credit history and guarantee, the card is issued to people who want to get a credit card.
Although it is not always easy to obtain a credit card in the United States, foreigners residing can apply for it. A person’s immigration status determines the number of options available to him or her. Most immigrants or students may be able to use a “secure credit card” or another person’s account.
Eligible People To Receive A Credit Card:
People born in the United States and have reached the legal age. They can usually apply for a credit card from banks or financial institutions. Normally, the credit given to the account holder is limited at first. Immigrants to the United States can also receive credit cards from banks or financial institutions, but the conditions for receiving a credit card are different for immigrants.
Immigrants can deposit as much money as they can into their bank account in the United States after opening their first bank account. The bank blocks the account holder’s money for a limited time (approximately six months or more). Blocking money means that the account holder does not have access to their money at that time.
During this period, the bank gives a type of bank card to the person, which is called the card password. The secured card has a very low limit. The above process is for the first time to build a person’s financial record. At the end of this period, the bank or monetary institution will issue a regular credit card to the bank account holder.
Credit card issuing companies:
Credit cards, including credit cards and debit cards, are issued by various financial institutions. Top international credit card issuer networks include MasterCard, American Express, VISA Card, Maestro, Discover it, and…
A credit card is a type of card that is issued to individuals and can be used to purchase, transfer money, prepay cash, or repay loans in the future. Credit cards are similar to regular bank cards and you can use them to buy whatever you want. Any natural person from the age of legal age can apply for a credit card. In this article, we tried to explain the most important features of the credit card and how to obtain it. We hope you find this article useful.
“If you have any feedback about how do I apply for a credit card that you have tried out or any questions about the ones that I have recommended, please leave your comments below!”
NB: The purpose of this website is to provide a general understanding of personal finance, basic financial concepts, and information. It’s not intended to advise on tax, insurance, investment, or any product and service. Since each of us has our own unique situation, you should have all the appropriate information to understand and make the right decision to fit with your needs and your financial goals. I hope that you will succeed in building your financial future.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9494550228118896,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://pocketsense.com/housing-grants-low-income-5476835.html",
"token_count": 607,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.08056640625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:742e567b-3632-4fcb-8427-04b6809f0ddd>"
}
|
Housing grants are provided to low-income families that are unable to cover housing costs. The grants are not usually dispensed in cash, but are set aside and used to subsidize costs. Most low-income housing grantees live in public, government approved homes. The majority of low-income housing grants are provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) including the HOME, SHOP, and Homeownership Zone grants. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also provide grants.
The HOME Investment Partnerships program helps increase the supply of affordable and decent housing to low-income and very low-income families. It does so through grants local and state governments known as participating jurisdictions or PJs. HOME funds are used to help new home buyers, existing homeowners, and renters. To be eligible for rental housing and assistance, families must make less 60 percent of the median income in the area, which is determined by HUD.
Self-Help Homeownership or SHOP grants provide funds to national or regional non-profit organizations. These organizations use the grant money to purchase, develop, or improve low-income housing facilities. These non-profits typically build grant-sponsored housing with the use of volunteer labor.
The Homeownership Zone (HOZ) program provides communities with the opportunity to reclaim abandoned and damaged properties. Communities that receive these grants use them build Homeownership Zones, which care comprised of single-family, modern housing units. While according to HUD the program is still technically active, it has not been funded since 1997.
FHA & USDA Grants
Low-income housing grants are also provided by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA). To receive these grants, families cannot make over a certain yearly income (which varies) and cannot own homes. The grants normally got to first-time home buyers, and are designed to help cover taxes, insurance, and closing costs. FHA and USDA also offer rehabilitation programs available for homeowners who cannot afford to make repairs.
Rural Housing Grants
A number of rural housing grants are provided through the USDA. One grant, the Housing and Community Facilities Program (HCFP) Direct Loan, is provided to families in the form of a low-interest rate loan. Eligible families must make less than 80 percent of the median income level in the area. The loans can be used to purchase or construct new homes. Another grant targeted at rural families is provided by the HCFP Loan Guarantee Program. Under the program, families can borrow up to 100 percent of the appraised value of their homes.
Lauren Treadwell studied finance at Western Governors University and is an associate of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Treadwell provides content to a number of prominent organizations, including Wise Bread, FindLaw and Discover Financial. As a high school student, she offered financial literacy lessons to fellow students.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9252514243125916,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://tectogizmo.com/which-industries-are-being-disrupted-by-blockchain-based-projects/",
"token_count": 1336,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0303955078125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:6235ef48-1aa4-43e1-ac7a-18d1f88a455b>"
}
|
While people discuss changes in the Bitcoin price and the current state of the crypto market, blockchain technology continues developing. It may happen that cryptocurrencies will disappear, but blockchain is definitely here to stay. Due to its unique innovative features, it will be implemented by more and more industries.
Read on to learn the basics of blockchain and its notable features. Let’s explore which key industries are more likely to be influenced by this technology and in what ways.
Blockchain’s key features
The main reason why blockchain is so actively discussed is its utility. Anybody can create a blockchain-based platform for literally anything. Banks and groceries, voting systems and casinos, streaming services and clinics – the distributed ledger principle is welcome everywhere. But which features make this technology so demanded?
Simply put, blockchain stands for a decentralized network of multiple nodes with the same information in each. There’s no central server – all computers in the chain store data. Without the single controlling server, it becomes easy to connect users directly, like in peer-to-peer systems. Additionally, information is encrypted and protected by special algorithms.
As a result, we have a globally distributed system with a high level of security, anonymity, and transparency. Users can check data and track its history but they can’t change it without a whole network’s consensus. In layman’s terms, blockchain is breakthrough because it offers a new-age approach to recording, storing, and exchanging information.
There have been more than 1080 ICOs in 2018 so far. Compare this number with 873 in 2017 and 29 in 2016, and you’ll realize the blockchain adoption is constantly growing. Here are top five industries apart from finances that are expected to be highly modified by blockchain.
So far as blockchain exists on the Internet and acts as a basis for digital money, the Internet should be the first area of its application. There are some sub-industries with high potential like digital advertising, online privacy, data processing, etc. Check bright examples of the already working projects to get the point:
- Basic Attention Token. The system pays users for watching ads, and creators – for publishing without middlemen.
- io. This project caters for the fair management of user data and is created for the digital advertising industry. It forces advertisers to pay users for exploiting their personal data.
- The system is designed for the digital identity sector. It allows users to fully control and verify documents on the Internet using the native open-source platform.
- The blockchain startup with ambitious goals such as creating a global network for storing, sharing, and monetizing big data through several irreversible databases.
- The Internet news agency which tries to aggregate public opinions from all over the world.
Integrating blockchain into the Internet industry opens the way for completely new projects with significantly improved convenience, speed, and security
In the field of entertainment, Blockchain may solve issues like piracy, inefficient streaming, or low payouts to intermediaries. With decentralized systems, content creators could contact consumers directly and nobody will need bootleg products like music or video.
So far as one of the catchy areas in the entertainment industry is gambling, it’s worth checking some projects as well. According to Katie Wager’s research on gambling with blockchain technology, blockchain-powered casinos are more secure and legit than traditional ones. Using them, gamblers can check RNGs to verify the website’s fairness or protect themselves from hackers by applying smart contracts.
The most known examples of gambling projects based on the distributed ledger technology are Edgeless or vDice. There are also a lot of so-called crypto casinos which work like usual centralized systems but do accept some crypto coins.
The main thing in politics that can be improved by blockchain is the voting systems. In fact, both paper-based and online platforms for voting are outdated and vulnerable. Blockchain provides two great advantages – everybody can track results but nobody can modify them. A Swiss city, Zug, has already tested blockchain voting systems. Also, there are worldwide Follow my Vote and Democracy Earth startups that address the issue of unfair voting.
As for more global and futuristic ideas, blockchain may disrupt regular governmental services like housing and utilities, or social departments. For instance, the regulators in Dubai want to create a totally decentralized city with the paperless and citizen-friendly ecosystem. Blockchain can even serve purposes like creating a crypto utopia in the Pacific for living without national governments at all.
Old-style traditional schools and universities are likely to be replaced by online courses and remote education that give access to knowledge to everybody regardless of gender, age, or race. What blockchain has to offer here?
There are some interesting decentralized education projects that could change the industry:
- Woolf University. The innovation from Oxford academics which relies on smart contracts to start the world’s first approved blockchain university.
- The community of teachers, students, and faculties acting like a global united classroom. Startup leaders call their facility Nauka University.
- Online courses based on blockchain with the native token. The project focuses on practical subjects like coding, business, cryptocurrency.
In addition, the renowned universities like MIT, Stanford, and University of Nicosia start offering courses on blockchain and cryptocurrency. This fact proves that the world accepts new trends and doesn’t consider them short-lived.
Similar to previous industries, healthcare operates big sets of data. The only difference is that this data is way more sensitive as it relates to people’s health. Potential errors and frauds are dangerous both for patients and clinics. Keeping and transferring medical records with transparency and reliability that come with blockchain is desirable for the industry.
The most notable use case is Ontology – its token is ranked 26th by market capitalization. It is a revolutionary multi-platform authorization system for identifying and exchanging data.
Here are some other examples:
- Focuses on protecting patients’ medical records.
- Builds a system for a secure communication between clinics.
- Connects different healthcare facilities in one network.
The innovative nature of blockchain
We can’t predict the future of blockchain. The situation is similar to the Internet in the 1990s that impressed the world and started transforming it. The following dot-com crash destroyed a lot of startups and the same may happen to blockchain-based projects. But the most innovative and useful of them will definitely survive, and furthermore, they will disrupt a lot of industries, changing our approach to ordinary things.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9619990587234497,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.kplaw.com/news/news-and-updates/2020/12/a-primer-on-special-needs-trusts/",
"token_count": 1224,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.1796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:ce9bbc88-0ae6-459c-86fd-dd00f0f71037>"
}
|
A PRIMER ON SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS
A special needs trust is a trust created for the benefit of a disabled individual to provide for his or her supplemental needs (beyond basic support, housing, and medical care) and preserve his or her eligibility for means-tested public benefits, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The use of special needs trusts in estate planning and asset protection planning has grown rapidly over the past two decades as the applicable law has developed and public awareness has increased.
As a starting point, it is important to understand the basics of Medicaid and SSI. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides comprehensive medical and long-term care coverage to disabled individuals. SSI is a federal program that provides basic income to disabled individuals. In many cases, Medicaid and SSI are the sole or primary sources of medical coverage and income to a disabled individual who is unable to work. However, Medicaid and SSI are means-tested, meaning an applicant must meet financial eligibility criteria. One criterion is that an applicant’s countable resources (the value of non-exempt assets) cannot exceed $2,000. Non-exempt assets owned directly by the applicant are countable resources, but non-exempt assets held in a trust for the benefit of the applicant are also countable resources unless the trust meets certain legal requirements set forth in federal and state law. A special needs trust is a trust that meets these requirements.
There are two general categories of special needs trusts, third-party settled and self-settled. A third-party settled special needs trust is created by someone other than the disabled person and funded with assets that never belonged to the disabled person. This type of trust is typically created by parents for a disabled child, although other family members can create or place assets into such a trust. For assets in this trust to be non-countable, the disabled beneficiary cannot serve as trustee, cannot have the right to withdraw assets from the trust, and distributions may be made to the disabled beneficiary only in the sole and absolute discretion of the trustee without an ascertainable standard such as health or support. A common way this is stated is that the trust is intended to “supplement, not supplant, impair, or diminish” public benefits to which the disabled person may otherwise be entitled. The trustee has discretion to make distributions for almost any purposes to the extent such needs are not being provided for by Medicaid or SSI, including for supplemental medical care, entertainment, transportation, travel, and retrofitting of a house or vehicle. In addition, Ohio law provides that a trust that is otherwise determined to be countable will not be countable if it contains a provision requiring that, if the trust is ever determined to be countable, the trustee is required to terminate the trust and distribute the assets to someone other than the disabled person. This is known as a “poison pill” and is never intended to be used but is included to provide belt and suspenders protection. Importantly, a third-party special needs trust does not have to include a Medicaid payback provision requiring that the State be paid back for the value of the Medicaid benefits upon the death of the disabled person. Rather, at the death of the disabled person, the remaining trust assets may be distributed to other family members or in any manner desired by the settlor.
Conversely, a self-settled special needs trust is funded with assets belonging to the disabled person rather than a third-party. A disabled person may have assets if they become disabled later in life after having worked, or where they inherit money or receive a lump-sum through a personal injury verdict or settlement. Prior to 1993, there was no clear authority for such assets to be placed into a special needs trust to preserve Medicaid or SSI eligibility. However, the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“OBRA”) included a provision that expressly authorized two types of trusts for this purpose. The first type, commonly known as a (d)(4)(A) trust, is a trust created by the disabled individual with assets belonging to such individual that contains a provision requiring that at the death of the individual the trustee must reimburse each State for the value of Medicaid benefits provided to the individual. This is known as a Medicaid payback and a key aspect of a self-settled special needs that differentiates it from a third-party settled trust. The second type of self-settled trust is known as a (d)(4)(C) or pooled trust. This is a pooled trust created by a non-profit organization that holds assets in a pool for a group of disabled persons. This type of trust also has a Medicaid payback provision, although most pooled trusts allow the disabled person (or their representative) to elect to have the remaining assets stay in the pooled trust or pass to a designated charity instead. Although not included in the OBRA statute, subsequent regulations have made it clear that a (d)(4)(A) and d(4)(C) trust must be wholly-discretionary and may not allow distributions for the health or support of the disabled person or contain certain other provisions that may circumvent the intent of the law.
There is no boilerplate or one-size-fits-all approach to special needs planning. In some cases it may be necessary to use both a third-party settled special needs trust and a self-settled Medicaid payback trust. It is also often advantageous to use complimentary planning techniques, such as an ABLE account (known as a STABLE account in Ohio), the purchase of exempt assets, the purchase of Medicaid-compliant annuities, and gifting strategies that take into account and avoid the pitfalls of the five-year lookback period. The attorneys in the Estate Planning and Probate Practice Group at Kohnen & Patton LLP have significant experience with all aspects of special needs planning and will be happy to answer questions and discuss these issues with you upon request.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9291223883628845,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.ugp.co.uk/blog/what-does-the-election-of-joe-biden-mean-for-the-global-environmental-agenda/",
"token_count": 1055,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.15625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:3805c80d-a75c-44be-b65e-75a9c6325c16>"
}
|
The US election has been shrouded in drama, yet as the world prepares to welcome Joe Biden to office, one of the questions we’re asking ourselves what this means for the future of the global uptake of renewable energy. Renewables could overtake coal as the biggest source of electricity generation globally as early as 2022, if president-elect Joe Biden delivers on green promises made during the election campaign, according to the head of the International Energy Agency.
Similar to Boris Johnson’s ‘Build Back Greener’ agenda which includes a Green Recovery Challenge Fund that promises to go towards creating and retaining thousands of jobs,
Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan ensures that – coming out of this profound public health and economic crisis as well as facing the persistent climate crisis, a national effort will be made to create the jobs needed to build a modern, sustainable and clean energy future.
Taken directly from Joe Biden’s campaign website the below outlines how he plans to focus on ‘building back green’ throughout different sectors.
Infrastructure: Create millions of jobs rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure – from roads and bridges to green spaces and water systems to electricity grids and universal broadband – to lay a new foundation for sustainable growth, compete in the global economy, withstand the impacts of climate change, and improve public health, including access to clean air and clean water.
Auto Industry: Create 1 million new jobs in the American auto industry, domestic auto supply chains, and auto infrastructure, from parts to materials to electric vehicle charging stations.
Transit: Provide every American city with 100,000 or more residents with high-quality, zero-emissions public transportation options through flexible federal investments.
Power Sector: Move ambitiously to generate clean, American-made electricity to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. This will enable us to meet the existential threat of climate change while creating millions of jobs with a choice to join a union.
Buildings: Upgrade 4 million buildings and weatherize 2 million homes over 4 years, creating at least 1 million good-paying jobs with a choice to join a union; and also spur the building retrofit and efficient-appliance manufacturing supply chain by funding direct cash rebates and low-cost financing to upgrade and electrify home appliances and install more efficient windows, which will cut residential energy bills.
Housing: Spur the construction of 1.5 million sustainable homes and housing units.
Innovation: Drive dramatic cost reductions in critical clean energy technologies, including battery storage, negative emissions technologies, the next generation of building materials, renewable hydrogen, and advanced nuclear.
Agriculture and Conservation: Create jobs in climate-smart agriculture, resilience, and conservation, including 250,000 jobs plugging abandoned oil and natural gas wells and reclaiming abandoned coal, hard-rock, and uranium mines.
Environmental Justice: Ensure that environmental justice is a key consideration in where, how, and with whom we build.
It is therefore no surprise that the renewable sectors in the US were overjoyed at Biden’s succession to the white house. American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO Tom Kiernan said Biden’s win would “shape a cleaner and more prosperous energy future” for the country. Whilst, the Solar Energy Industries (SEIA) CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said a Biden presidency would “advance clean energy incorporating environmental justice”.
Although both Boris and Biden have a build back green strategy, critics are sceptical about how well the new US president will warm to Johnson. The opposition Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy told POLITICO that Johnson and his government had “needlessly and repeatedly created tension with the Democrats” — her words a sign that Labour spies a potential weak spot when Biden takes office, and Johnson potentially struggles to strike up a strong relationship with him.
The Prime Minister has more ground to make up than most in the international race to be Biden’s No. 1 international ally but there’s hope. The U.K. hosts the COP26 UN climate summit in November 2021. With Biden vowing to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office and to put the U.S. on the road to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, some spy an opportunity for Johnson to play his right-hand man in drumming up ambitious carbon-cutting pledges from countries around the world. This would be one of the few areas where the U.K. has global influence that the U.S. (under Biden) would want to align with.
So, at least for the moment the future looks encouraging for the widespread adoption of renewable energy. If Biden makes good on his promises, the powerhouse of America could really help build back green and set a precedent for the future.
At UGP we believe that businesses have a critical part play in the quest for net zero. We provide 100% renewable power at no additional cost to your business – call us today on 0844 318 0044 for a no obligation quote that’s guaranteed to beat your renewal rates.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.949089527130127,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://www.probusiness-ag.com/relationship-between-accounting-marketing-6.html",
"token_count": 1083,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1708984375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:0a33e625-7f65-460a-a9cc-e3d5ae595899>"
}
|
Business Management is designed to familiarize students with the ideas associated to business management in addition to the capabilities of administration, including planning, organizing, staffing, main, and controlling. Students may even demonstrate interpersonal and project-management abilities. Career and technical education instruction offers content material aligned with difficult academic requirements and relevant technical data and expertise for college kids to further their education and reach present or emerging professions. This course allows college students to bolster, apply, and transfer educational data and expertise from their core scholastic lessons to a wide range of attention-grabbing and related activities, initiatives, problems and settings in enterprise, marketing, and finance. Come be part of Principles of BMF for an actual world business planning and growth simulation.
What Can You Do with a Marketing Degree?
The right finance degree program will give attention to subjects that put together you to pass most of these certifications. As such a big a part of our economy, the finance trade creates excessive demand for jobs.
Just likeaccountants, finance majors learn to present financial info to purchasers and colleagues through the use of charts, graphs, and different visual aids. Management graduates can even obtain employment in company technique, business improvement, gross sales and marketing, finance, and HR. The basic hierarchy tends to be from analyst, marketing consultant, senior marketing consultant, and supervisor or venture lead, to companion, vp and director. Freshers can earn Rs. 7 lakh to Rs. 9 lakh per 12 months and professions with 5 or 6 years’ expertise Rs. 15 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.
Furthermore, students delve into fundamental economic ideas including personal finance, economic systems, price-profit relationships, and financial indicators and tendencies. Classifying salaries by occupation, marketing majors who labored as monetary managers in the finance and insurance business earned $64,300. Marketing graduates who have been employed as marketing or gross sales managers in skilled, scientific and technical companies earned $62,seven-hundred.
Lastly, as finance professionals, your job would be to communicate what you thought would be applicable for business. You have to know the way to write reports, communicate with the highest administration and present your ideas in such a method that the top administration can understand the why of your choices and how these decisions would have an effect on the business in the long term. In the case of promoting, it’s all about understanding the business side of things and learning how to be a better salesman. In the case of marketing, it’s an artwork and science of attracting companies and other people to buy not only your services however your philosophy of enterprise as properly.
Finance is a 24-unit possibility which includes three core required programs, and 5 elective programs. School data for School Of Business Technology Marketing And Finance, National Center for Education Statistics. This course will present college students with the data and abilities needed to turn out to be an entrepreneur. They will be taught the principles essential to begin and operate a enterprise.
FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS- GROUP PPT PROJECT- 2 DAYS
Students that enter our Seufferlein Sales Programtake a specialized set of courses which might lead to the granting of the Professional Sales Certificate, and have opportunities to participate in regional competitions. The Seufferlein Sales Program has built strong relationships with leading firms that actively recruit our college students. My total expertise at the Academy of Business Technology Marketing and Finance, was a bitter candy one. At this academy I actually have grown and learned so many things with the assistance of beautiful academics.
Now as the years past by and that I’m a senior, the administrators have turn out to be extra involved with the students and set some rules. I really feel as if the lecturers have found a way to connect with their students even more for a better understanding of them. School of Business, Technology, Marketing & Finance is a public school located in Paterson, NJ. It has 668 college students in grades 9-12 with a scholar-instructor ratio of 13 to 1. According to state take a look at scores, 1% of scholars are a minimum of proficient in math and 9% in studying.
Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance is a full-year Career and Technical course for programs of study in Business Administration and Management. Chris Gassen – is the principal of an investment firm and was previously an fairness mutual fund manager, financial analyst, accountant, and school teacher. He holds a master of business administration degree with a concentration in finance from Indiana University and a bachelor of science degree in management from Oakland University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and served as a grader for the nationwide CFA exam. Finance students gain a foundation in the principles of economic management.
Someone with solid interpersonal skills, for instance, might do well as a financial advisor, whereas somebody who enjoys crunching numbers would possibly do better in public accounting. Certified public accountants (CPAs) help companies and people hold observe of their finances based on typically accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Public accountants record enterprise transactions, assist prepare financial statements, audit monetary records, prepare earnings tax returns, and supply associated consulting services. Some of probably the most glamorous—and intense—monetary careers are jobs in funding banking.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9550260305404663,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://ci.covesting.io/news/blockchain-news/",
"token_count": 132,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.05029296875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:aa5bfd07-25c6-4488-b40a-6e40ceea363d>"
}
|
Blockchain is an emerging disruptive technology that could revolutionize the internet and many commercial industries. It was first designed and created by Satoshi Nakamoto as the technology underpinning Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer electronic cash system. As revolutionary as Bitcoin is, its the underlying immutable distributed ledger called blockchain that will change the way all businesses, governments, and financial systems store data and complete transactions. A blockchain is comprised of an ever-growing list of records, called blocks. Each new block is linked to the next through a cryptographic hash. The data in any given block cannot be altered or deleted, resulting in a secure, transparent, and trustless design.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9438565969467163,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://dailythepatriot.com/pew-lauds-govt-efforts-to-reduce-energy-poverty-despite-political-crisis/",
"token_count": 499,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:12d063da-0cbf-4ead-901d-9a59102c9677>"
}
|
ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (INP): The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Friday lauded the government for keeping energy high on agenda despite political crisis so that energy poverty can be reduced in the country.
Well-being of large numbers of people in developing countries is negatively affected by very low consumption of energy which is fundamental to improving quality of life and is a key imperative for economic development.
Nearly 1.6 million people still have no access to electricity which affects all aspects of development including livelihoods, access to water, agricultural productivity, health, population levels and education, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that none of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said government is expanding access to reliable and modern sources of energy in order to reduce poverty, improve the health of citizens, promote economic growth. Focus on exploitation of Thar coal, the mega and other power projects and permission granted to private sector to import LNG so that dying CNG industry can be resuscitated are steps that reflect resolve of the government.
He said that energy and income poverty are linked together however there is no agreed definition of energy poverty.
Since absence of energy is not life threatening in most of the cases, energy poverty lacks a well-established poverty line to determine the minimum amount of energy needed for living which is impeding welfare of masses across the world.
Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) in Pakistan was last measured at 449.32 when it ranked 113th globally while India ranked 105th.
Household energy consumption rises along with income while the number of energy poor and more than the number of income poor in many countries, said Dr. Mughal, adding that in many rural areas households have limited access to modern energy but relatively easy access to natural resources.
Simple access to modern energy, such as electricity, does not ensure households are energy non-poor; consumption, affordability, pricing and reliability are also key factors.
Although income is a key factor in eliminating energy poverty, energy policies and access to quality energy services also matter, he added.
and would like to keep the cuts at least somewhat different
isabel marant sneakers Practical Steps For A Successful Catalog Printing
woolrich outletHairstyles for Curly Afro Hair
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.8542290329933167,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://gridlab.org/virginias-energy-transition/",
"token_count": 166,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0225830078125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c5a92528-8bf3-4b0e-a251-3b99c8718eba>"
}
|
Virginia’s Energy Transition explores the impacts of the Commonwealth employing a number of advanced energy resources to build a 100% carbon-free grid. Advanced Energy Economy worked in collaboration with GridLab and the Greenlink Group to map out how Virginia could move to a 100% carbon-free grid. The Greenlink Group used ATHENIA, energy resource modeling software, to assess the impacts and opportunities of transitioning Virginia to a 100% carbon-free grid. The analysis produced the Business-as-Usual projection out to 2050, based on the Integrated Resource Plans of Virginia’s two investor-owned utilities. Greenlink, GridLab, and Advanced Energy Economy defined three zero-carbon scenarios with different target years – 2030, 2040, and 2050 – by which Virginia would reach a 100% carbon-free grid.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9439466595649719,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://innovationorigins.com/how-can-an-airport-survive-as-a-business-but-also-be-sustainable-some-thoughts-for-eindhoven-airport/",
"token_count": 1417,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0322265625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:6bb9c9d2-ccbe-4860-a5ab-c3182ad9f070>"
}
|
An airport facilitates the economny, but also is a business in itself. To remain relevant and economically viable, it needs to grow. At least, that’s what common sense is telling us. But then, there’s the environment. There’s climate change and there are neighbours who are tired of the noise and air pollution. Many airports around the world are in the same debate: how can we survive as a business, but also work on sustainability? Rens Mulder looks at possible solutions for one of those: Eindhoven Airport. His views might be an inspiration for other airports as well.
When it comes to Eindhoven Airport, the conversation almost automatically is about growth. The airport’s annual report states that “further growth of Eindhoven Airport will be necessary to realise the ambitions of the region” (Eindhoven Airport, 2018). The question is, however, whether growth in the number of flights should be the starting point in a world in which climate change is more defining than ever. Perhaps the airport should change its function completely. What will the airport of the future look like?
A completely sustainable airport. Is that really possible? Flying is almost by definition an unsustainable way of moving around. Flying itself already causes enormous emissions of CO2 and NOx. Add to this the fact that the vast majority of Eindhoven Airport’s passengers come by car or are picked up and dropped off, and you arrive at a considerable extra emission per passenger.
Subscribe to IO on Telegram!Subscribe!
Electric flights seem the perfect solution. Fewer emissions and quiet aircrafts that limit inconvenience to local residents. By generating sustainable energy with solar panels along the runways, one could recharge the fleet on site. It all sounds wonderful, but unfortunately, we’re still a long way from there.
Batteries are currently still too heavy to carry passenger flights efficiently. By way of comparison: one kilo of kerosene currently produces fifty times more energy than one kilo of battery (RTL Z, 2018). Easyjet, in cooperation with startup Wright Electric, is currently the only major airline that sees electric flying as a serious option. They are talking about a first hybrid (not even fully electric) scheduled service in 2027. Large companies such as Airbus and Boeing do not see this as a serious option at all, as long as batteries do not become better (less heavy) (RTL Z, 2018).
“…This way, Eindhoven airport can become the most sustainable airport in the world, without even one plane leaving…”
So what should the sustainable airport of the future look like? Perhaps in the future, an airport should no longer be an airport at all, but rather a kind of multimodal hub with the most advanced technical gadgets. Fast autonomous connections with other hubs such as industrial estates, surrounding municipalities and railway stations. The very best virtual reality (VR) meeting facilities that can replace physical movement. An ‘experience centre’ where you can explore virtual city trips all over the world. Hyperloop connections to a European network of other fast trains. It’s an imagination that suits the smartest region in the world. A testing ground of what Brainport has to offer in terms of high-tech and design. In this way, Eindhoven airport can enter the history books as the first and most sustainable airport in the world, without even one plane leaving.
Increasing economic competitiveness and attractiveness by limiting the number of flights: it sounds crazy, but companies are looking for sustainable alternatives to flying. “We want to fly less, but we do a lot of business abroad, so we can’t do without it” is a common anecdote. Out of guilt, CO2 is increasingly being compensated for employees who fly all over the world for meetings. It’s great of course, but that doesn’t make flying itself any less polluting. Companies do want to reduce the number of flying hours, but this is difficult if you also want to operate internationally.
“Continuous growth in the number of flights is not the answer to everything. There are other ways of growing”
An Eindhoven “Airport” 2.0 with fast (train) connections to major European cities and a super-realistic VR experience for (virtually) attending meetings in less accessible or more distant areas can offer a solution. Multinationals that want to operate sustainably will want to establish themselves in Eindhoven because they can then operate CO2-neutrally as a multinational all over the world. Three birds with one stone: Less CO2 emissions, less (noise) nuisance for the residents in the area and a better image for companies in the Eindhoven region that make use of this.
Continuous growth in the number of flights is not the answer to everything. There are other ways of growing, which may not be at the expense of local residents or the environment. Eindhoven Airport without flights may not be realistic, but achieving growth without actually increasing the number of flights is an important alternative to which little attention has been paid so far. It is time for Eindhoven Airport to look beyond its own backyard. Time for a sustainable Eindhoven “Airport” 2.0, which fits the smartest region in the world!
This contribution by Rens Mulder previously appeared as a blog post (in Dutch) on Brabantadvies.nl. Rens Mulder is city geographer and data analyst at the Brabant Centre for Sustainable Development Telos.
The article was written in response to the ‘from outside to inside’ working group of the “Proefcasus Eindhoven Airport”. At the invitation of Pieter van Geel, independent explorer “Proefcasus Eindhoven Airport”, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Young Professionals Brabant (part of BrabantAdvies) were asked what a sustainable innovative Eindhoven Airport could look like in 2030.
Sources (in Dutch):
Eindhoven Airport. (2018). Eindhoven Airport: Annual report 2017.
Proefcasus Eindhoven Airport (2019). About the trial case.
RTL Z (2018, 29 October). Easyjet is working on an electric plane for Amsterdam-London.
Innovation Origins is an independent news platform that has an unconventional revenue model. We are sponsored by companies that support our mission: to spread the story of innovation. Read more.
At Innovation Origins, you can always read our articles for free. We want to keep it that way. Have you enjoyed our articles so much that you want support our mission? Then use the button below:
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9039512276649475,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol6/iss2/art2/",
"token_count": 389,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0908203125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:b8a4403f-61a9-4bfb-bc16-82236d2388cc>"
}
|
financial literacy, financial capability
This paper explores how well equipped today’s households are to make complex financial decisions in the face of often high-cost and high-risk financial instruments. Specifically we focus on financial literacy. Most importantly, we describe the geography of financial literacy, i.e., how financial literacy is distributed across the fifty US states. We describe the correlation of financial literacy and some important aggregate variables, such as state-level poverty rates. Finally, we examine the extent to which differences in financial literacy can be explained by states’ demographic and economic characteristics. To assess financial literacy, five questions were added to the 2009 National Financial Capability Study, covering fundamental concepts of economics and finance encountered in everyday life: simple calculations about interest rates and inflation, the workings of risk diversification, the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, and the relationship between interest payments and maturity in mortgages. We constructed an index of financial literacy based on the number of correct answers provided by each respondent to the five financial literacy questions. The financial literacy index reveals wide variation in financial literacy across states. Much of the variation is attributable to differences in the demographic makeup of the states; however, a handful of states have either higher or lower levels of financial literacy than is explained by demographics alone. Also, there is a significant correlation between the financial literacy of a state and that state’s poverty level. The findings indicate directions for policy makers and practitioners interested in targeting areas where financial literacy is low.
Bumcrot, Christopher, Judy Lin, and Annamaria Lusardi. "The Geography of Financial Literacy." Numeracy 6, Iss. 2 (2013): Article 2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4618.104.22.168
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9684867858886719,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.educba.com/deferred-income-tax/?source=leftnav",
"token_count": 1181,
"fin_int_score": 5,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0751953125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:312217a9-3b68-4d03-aaae-5f4782c01f08>"
}
|
Definition of Deferred Income Tax
Deferred Income Tax are the taxes applicable on the taxable income of the entity which is payable in the future years as they are not due for payment in the current financial year which arises because of the difference in the tax amount reported in the accounting framework opted by the company and the tax amount reported in the taxation regime of the local tax authorities.
Sometimes due to different regulations and rules followed in tax regime and accounting framework; some taxable proportion is reported and tax liability on the same is reported in the financials of company but tax is not due in that reporting period as per the regulations of the tax authorities and the same will be payable in other financial periods or reporting period. Although tax is not to be paid in the current reporting period but the liability of the same is need to be created because the tax is to be paid in the future period. This is known as deferred income tax and need to be reported in the financial statement of the company for true and fair view of the financials.
Example of Deferred Income Tax
Let’s take an example for more clarity.
Suppose a company has a fixed asset costing $ 50000.00 and as per International accounting standard in the accounting framework the depreciation is to be charged at the rate of 10% per annum as per straight line method which amounts to $ 5000.00 per annum and the same will be reported in the financials of the company. But as per the income tax regime, the company is only allowed to charge depreciation through weighted average method which comes to rate of 10% per annum amounting to $ 7500.00. Hence the profit of the company undervalued by $ 2500.00 and the company has to pay less tax because of that in comparison to the tax calculated in the financial statement. However, the tax on the amount of $ 2500.00 will need to be paid in the future time period and hence liability for the same should be recognized in the financial statements of the company.
Deferred Income Tax in balance sheet
As it has been explained in the above example, the deferred income tax is needed to be presented in the financial statements of the entity. It should be noted that the main reason for creation of deferred tax asset or liability is due to the difference arising due to temporary timing difference, as the same would be reversed in the future. In case the scenario occurs where due to temporary time difference the assesse has to pay low taxes at the current time but may have to pay high taxes later in the future, deferred tax liability should be created in the year by appropriating the profit & loss of that year of the company. The deferred tax liability will be presented in the Non-current liability schedule of the balance sheet. But in case, the scenario indicates that the current taxable profit is more than that of book profit then in that cases deferred tax asset should be created and the same should be presented in the non-current asset schedule of the balance sheet.
Deferred Income Tax Journal Entry
Following are the Journal entries to be booked in case of deferred tax cases-
- In Case of Deferred Tax Liability
When book profit is more than the taxable profit, deferred tax liability needs to be created in the financials of the company. The following journal entries should be booked-
- In Case of Deferred Tax Assets
When book profit is less than the taxable profit , deferred tax asset needs to be created in the financials of the company. Following journal entries should be booked-
Deferred Income Tax vs Deferred Tax Liability
Following are the key differences between the deferred tax assets & deferred tax liabilities:
- When book profit of the assesse is more than the taxable profit as per income tax rules than the deferred tax liability is created whereas when the book profit of the assesse is less than the taxable profit as per income tax rules than the deferred tax assets is created.
- The deferred tax liability indicates that the tax liability of the current year is more than as compare to the financials of the assesse which means the assesse has to pay more taxes in the future which results into creation of liability or provisions whereas deferred tax assets indicate that the tax liability of the current year is less than as compare to the financials of the assesse which means the assesse has to pay more in the current year and less in the later years.
Following are the benefits of the deferred income tax:
- Deferred income tax provides the true & fair view of the financials by accommodating the certain future liabilities or the benefits that is going to arise for the company.
- The deferred income tax procedures helps in validating the tax liability of the financials of the company as per the companies acts and accounting frameworks with the tax liability arising as per the income tax rules.
Following are the disadvantages of the deferred income tax:
- Mostly the users of the financial statements are common people for whom the deferred tax rules are complicated and they may not understand the purpose and the reason for the same.
- In case of deferred tax asset, the company may have to bear a substantial increase in actual tax liabilities and may have a substantial effect on the financial output of the company for the fiscal year.
The deferred income tax provides the methods for the assesse to deal with the differences arising in the tax liability of the assesse as per the accounting frameworks and the local income tax rules due to the temporary time differences. The temporary time differences results into deferred income tax as the situation are reversed in the future but permanent time differences will not result into deferred income tax.
Recommend ed Articles
This is a guide to Deferred Income Tax. Here we also discuss the definition and example of deferred income tax along with benefits and disadvantages. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9206019639968872,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2009/01/medicaid-and-the-us-path-to-national-health-insurance.html",
"token_count": 246,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.06396484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:b5ff5971-0b32-4d41-a8ef-e1e3aa4143c8>"
}
|
Medicaid and the US Path to National Health Insurance
The U.S. has in place a working system that policy-makers could enlarge to achieve universal health coverage: Medicaid. A Medicaid expansion would be acceptable to business leaders, private insurers and other groups who have opposed health care expansion.
Medicaid is the most successful government health insurance program in U.S. history. Enrollment has doubled since the Reagan administration. This perspective analysis proposes using Medicaid to cover the uninsured. The author argues that Medicaid is a flexible program with bipartisan appeal. The essay describes structural features of Medicaid that make it adaptable to policy reform. The author acknowledges difficulties that might hinder a Medicaid expansion.
- A Medicaid expansion that includes an affordable buy-in, for those who do not automatically qualify, would lower costs for businesses.
- Because states administer Medicaid within a federal structure, federal funds could finance increases in coverage at the state level.
- States are already combining Medicaid buy-in programs with legal mandates for universal coverage.
Medicaid currently has around 60 million enrollees (25% of children in the U.S. use the program). This perspective analysis presents an argument for using a Medicaid expansion to achieve national health coverage.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.944172739982605,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://blog.elearneconomics.com/tag/as-level-revision/",
"token_count": 509,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.048095703125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:710aff0a-b125-4379-b1fb-386ee932ec7e>"
}
|
With the June exams approaching I thought it appropriate to share some mindmaps. Below shows the definition, policies, costs and benefits of Economic Growth. The costs and benefits of Economic Growth is a common essay question at A2 Level.
A country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of economic activity during a set period of time, normally reported on a quarterly and an annual basis. It is the sum of money values of all final goods and services produced in an economy over a set period. The primary indicator used for tracking economic performance over time is known as real gross domestic product, or real GDP. Real GDP is gross domestic product adjusted for changes in prices.
Going over monetary policy with my A2 class and have modified a mind map done by Susan Grant from a CIE Economics Revision Guide. Useful for those who are sitting the June AS and A2 Economics papers.
With the AS Level resits approaching I thought it would be useful to go through this informative video by Phil Holden which covers part of Unit 4 and 6. Can Current Account Deficits cure themselves? Why a depreciating currency might be both a consequence of and a cure for a deficit.
Here is another video from Phil Holden concerning negative externalities. Remember the following:
Externalities are common in virtually all economic activities. They are defined as third party (or spill over) effects arising from the production and/or consumption of goods and services for which no appropriate compensation is paid.
Externalities can cause market failure if the price mechanism does not take into account the full social costs and social benefits of production and consumption. The study of externalities by economists has become extensive in recent years, not least because of concerns about the link between the economy and the environment.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIVATE AND SOCIAL COSTS
Externalities create a divergence between the private and social costs of production.
SOCIAL COST = PRIVATE COST + EXTERNALITY
* Private costs are the costs to a ‘firm of producing a good or service and to an individual of consuming a product.
* External costs are the spill over effects on third parties.
* Social costs are obtained by adding the private and external costs together. They reflect the total cost to society of an economic decision.
Here is a new video presentation by Phil Holden – using a data projector rather than the whiteboard. Excellent for AS Level revision of Market and Planned Economies.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9628329873085022,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://blog.massmutual.com/post/paying-for-college-with-direct-student-loans",
"token_count": 1656,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0123291015625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1a2feee1-462f-4612-8a28-8783497bbc36>"
}
|
If you’re planning to pursue a college degree, chances are you’ll need to apply for student loans to cover the cost of tuition, fees, and room and board.
While private loans exist from banks and other financial institutions, federal student loans are generally the cheapest, easiest to qualify for, and most flexible in terms of repayment plans.
Called Direct Loans, they are the largest federal loan program.
Offered through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, eligible students and parents may borrow directly from the Department of Education through participating schools. (Calculator: How much do I need to save for college?)
To apply for a Direct Loan, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which your school will use to determine how much student aid you are eligible to receive. Direct Loans are typically included as part of a financial aid package. (Calculator: How much do I need to save for college? )
There are limits on the amount you may borrow each academic year, and the total amount you may borrow for undergraduate and graduate study under the Direct Loan program, which depend on what year you are in school and your dependency status.
Dependent students, for example, may borrow up to $31,000 in total using a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loans, with no more than $23,000 of that amount coming from subsidized loans, according to the latest Department of Education guidelines . (Dependent students whose parents do not qualify for a Direct PLUS Loan may be able to receive additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan funds.) 1
Independent students (and dependent undergraduate students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans) may borrow up to $57,500 for undergraduate education, with no more than $23,000 of that coming from subsidized loans. Independent graduate or professional students may borrow up to $138,500, with no more than $65,500 coming from subsidized student loans.
Four types of Direct Loans exists:
- Direct (Stafford) subsidized loans
- Direct (Stafford) unsubsidized loans
- Direct Plus loans
- Direct Consolidation loans
Here’s more about what each type of Direct Loan entails.
Direct (Stafford) subsidized loans
Direct subsidized loans, sometimes called subsidized Stafford loans, are available to undergraduate students based on financial need.
The school you attend determines the amount of student aid you may borrow, which may not exceed your financial need.
Subsidized loans offer lower interest rates than their unsubsidized sibling and most commercial student loans.
Another advantage is that the federal government pays the interest on subsidized Stafford loans that accrues while the borrower is in school at least half time, during the grace period for the first six months after you graduate, and during periods of authorized deferment.
(For Direct subsidized loans first disbursed between July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2014, borrowers are responsible for paying any interest that accrues during their grace period. If the interest is not paid during the grace period, the interest will be added to the loan’s principal balance, according to the government’s website.)
Students must start repaying their loan six months after they cease being a half-time student.
Direct (Stafford) unsubsidized loans
By comparison, Direct unsubsidized Stafford loans are available to both undergraduate and graduate or professional degree students. They are not need-based.
According to the Department of Education, your school determines the amount you can borrow based on your cost of attendance and other financial aid you receive.
The biggest difference between a subsidized and unsubsidized loan is that interest on unsubsidized loans accrues while the student is attending school and continues through the life of the loan.
If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, the government notes your interest will accumulate and be added to the principal amount of your financial aid loan.
Direct Plus loans
Federal Direct PLUS loans are available to graduate or professional students, and parents of dependent undergraduate students.
Borrowers must qualify for PLUS loans based on a credit check (you must not have an adverse credit history) and may borrow any amount needed that is not covered by other forms of financial aid — up to the cost of attendance.
Take note, however. Parents who borrow on behalf of their children are on the hook for repaying PLUS loans.(Learn more: Parent Plus Loans: Digging out of debt)
Thus, if their child agrees to make the payments, but fails to do so, the parent is on the hook financially, warns FinAid.org, a free financial aid education site.2
Direct Consolidation loans
Finally, Direct Consolidation loans allow borrowers to lump together all their federal education loans into one loan.
Such loans can greatly simplify repayment by centralizing your loans into one bill and can lower monthly payments by giving you up to 30 years to repay, according to the Department of Education.
They may also offer access to alternative repayment plans that would not be otherwise available, and you’ll be able to switch from a variable to a fixed interest rate.
Just remember that by stretching the length of your student loan, you will also be making more payments and therefore will pay more interest in the end.
You may also lose some of the borrower benefits offered through your original student loan, the Department of Education warns, including interest rate discounts, principal rebates, or some loan cancellation benefits, which can significantly reduce the cost of repaying your loans.
Before you consolidate, compare your current monthly payments to what monthly payments would be if you consolidated your student loans. If short-term payment relief is needed, consider deferment or forbearance of your original loan as an alternative to consolidation, the government suggests.3
Once you consolidate, you can’t go back.
Student loan fees and tax credits
In addition to interest, borrowers pay a fee on all Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, which is a percentage of the loan amount and is proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement.
As you look to minimize the cost of your degree, don’t forget to take advantage of any tax credits for which you may qualify.
The federal government allows borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 per student per year for the first four years of school under the American Opportunity Credit, which can help make college more affordable.4
Similarly, the Lifetime Learning Credit also allows taxpayers to claim up to $2,000 per student per year for any college or career school tuition and fees, as well as for books, supplies and equipment that were required for the course and had to be purchased from the school.5
Even if you don’t normally file a tax return, the Department of Education urges students and parents to do so.
Otherwise, you could leave money on the table.
A college education is a worthy investment, but it doesn’t come cheap.
For those who qualify, Direct Loans can lighten the college financial aid burden. Just be sure you borrow smart.
The Department of Education recommends students and parents keep track of how much they borrow, understand the terms of their student loan, make payments on time, and research their field to determine whether salaries will support their future debt.
Discover more from MassMutual…
This article was originally published in September 2018. It has been updated.
1 Department of Education, “The U.S. Department of Education offers low-interest loans to eligible students to help cover the cost of college or career school.”
2 FinAid, “Parent Loans.”
3 Federal Student Aid, “Get temporary relief..”
4 Internal Revenue Services, “American Opportunity Tax Credit,” March 4, 2020.
5 Internal Revenue Service, “Publication 970 (2017), Tax Benefits for Education,” Feb. 16, 2018.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9502993226051331,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://cryptoresearch.report/crypto-research/blockchain-3-0-future-dlt/",
"token_count": 5105,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.09521484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:970e7654-9068-4db2-bcde-a601e36f24cf>"
}
|
“I do think Bitcoin is the first encrypted money that has the potential to do something like change the world.”
The Bitcoin blockchain is generally regarded as the original blockchain, since it is the first implementation of a new technology that is commonly described today as distributed ledger technology (DLT). The birth of the Bitcoin blockchain 1.0 was followed by the programmable Ethereum version as the blockchain 2.0 and soon the third generation, the blockchain 3.0 in form of IOTA, Nano, or Hashgraph. Splitting the development into these individual stages is a simplification, because the latest generation of the blockchain technology is not even properly characterized as being a blockchain. Rather, the keyword here is DAG or directed acyclic graph. Projects based on this technology aren’t really blockchains. Instead, IOTA, Nano, and Byteball are described as post-blockchain concepts. But why are investors and blockchain users to replace the original blockchain technology with a new “DLT variant”?
The Apparent Weakness of Current Blockchains
In theory, first- and second-generation blockchain technology has already turned the world upside down. There seem to be hardly any fields that could not be fundamentally changed by the blockchain. In practice, however, the situation has been somewhat different.
Currently blockchains such as those of Bitcoin and Ethereum are subject to an unresolved restriction: to date, they have not yet achieved substantial scaling success. This means that all these blockchain protocols are limited in terms of transaction throughput and speed. While legacy systems such as PayPal can process about 200 transactions per second (tps) and Visa even 56,000 tps, Ethereum currently only manages a maximum of 20 tps, while Bitcoin only reaches a capacity of 7 transactions per second. This is why Bitcoin and Co. are currently no match for the incumbent payment systems of our time.
But why does this technical limitation exist at all? The answer is simple: The blockchain protocols are not slow because of some inherent scalability barrier. The restriction is rather the result of a “conscious” decision – to build a decentralized blockchain network. One of the core elements of public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum is to give everyone the possibility to operate a network node. Each node processes every single transaction and therefore has to store the entire transaction history of the blockchain on his computer. Public blockchains are only as strong as their weakest link. Scalability and therefore transaction throughput and speed depend on the capacity of the weakest node. Of course, weak nodes could be discarded, but then the crucial property of censorship resistance would be damaged, as certain network members would be deliberately excluded. Therefore, it is this trilemma between decentralization, security, and scalability that prevents blockchains from achieving the transaction speed and throughput of traditional systems such as Visa or PayPal.
The Blockchain Solution That is Not a Blockchain
Research in the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities is continuously revolving. In each ecosystem, scaling solutions are being developed. On the Bitcoin side, the Lightning Network and RootStock are two of the best-known approaches. In Ethereum, solutions such as Sharding, Plasma, or Caspar are at the top of the list. Attempts such as the Lightning Network or Sharding suggest that the answer to the scaling question is that not all participants – or network nodes – need to know all the information at all times to keep the network in sync. This approach is something the DAG or directed acyclic graph is based on as well.
A DAG works according to a “horizontal” scheme, while a blockchain is based on a “vertical” architecture. With the blockchain, miners create new blocks that are added to the blockchain. The “horizontal” structure of DAGs, on the other hand, enables transactions to be linked directly to other transactions without putting them in a block first. This way there is no need to wait for a confirmation of the next block. At the same time, not all network participants have to confirm the block update. Since the DAG concept has neither blocks nor miners, there is no chain of blocks full of transactions and therefore no “blockchain”. The structure of a DAG is much more like a “mazy” network of numerous transactions. This is why it is often referred to as a Tangle – a term that appears again and again, especially in connection with the IOTA project. At its core, however, the Tangle has the same properties as a blockchain: it is still a distributed database based on a peer-to-peer network. Thus, the Tangle is also a validation mechanism for distributed decision making.
How Does the Tangle Work?
The Tangle is created by linking individual transactions in the network. The linking is a consequence of the fact that each unconfirmed new transaction must confirm one or two additional transactions before the unconfirmed transaction can be processed and confirmed itself. In contrast to the blockchain of Bitcoin or Ethereum, it is not only the miners who are responsible for the confirmation of transactions. In the case of the Tangle, this task of processing and approving new transactions is the responsibility of all active Tangle or network participants. This way not only newly added transactions are confirmed, but the entire transaction history is also indirectly confirmed with it. The “transaction issuer” does not pay a direct fee for processing its own transactions – he/she only indirectly pays (with computer hashing power) by confirming other transactions.
Transactions in the network that have not yet been confirmed are commonly referred to as “tips”. In order to obtain confirmation, these “tips” themselves have to confirm other transactions. An algorithm called Markov chain Monte Carlo ensures that network participants do not just confirm their own transactions.
The reason why transactions have to be confirmed is obvious: the problem of double-spending must be avoided. As with a regular blockchain, the cryptocurrency units – in the case of IOTA the IOTA token – must be stopped from double-spend attempts. For example, if Alice sends ten IOTA tokens to Bob, Charlie checks Alice’s IOTA token balance before this transaction. If Alice only had five IOTA tokens, then her balance would be too low for the transaction to be valid. Charlie will not want to confirm this transaction because he has an interest in having his own transaction confirmed and this will most likely only happen if he himself does not validate any invalid transactions.
As the name suggests, the Tangle ultimately is a Tangle of transactions. The Tangle has a concept called “confirmation confidence” so that no two separate branches form in this “mazy” cluster of transactions in which Alice has issued the same IOTA token twice. Because this is the level of trust and acceptance that the rest of the Tangle gives to a transaction. Each transaction therefore has a certain percentage, depending on the number of tips (unconfirmed transactions) accepting it. This is intended to ensure that only one branch prevails, namely the one with the larger confirmation confidence.
It is this concept that should enable a better scaling of any DAG project. What causes a traffic jam in a blockchain and slows down the network should make a Tangle even safer and faster: The more participants in the network and the more transactions are processed, the better the processing of outstanding transactions – that is what the theory says. As of yet, the IOTA network is still rather small, which is why the claim cannot be validated for sure. However, the largest Tangle projects, IOTA and Nano, indicate that they can currently process ~1,000 and 7,000 tps respectively.
IOTA – The Backbone for an Internet of Things?
The IOTA project emerged from a hardware startup working on a new trinary microprocessor called “Jinn”. In the future, this hardware component should make it possible for every vehicle, every microwave, and every refrigerator to communicate via the IOTA network without functioning as a normal computer. Since the beginning of its development, the IOTA project, due to its inherent scalability, has seen itself as the predestined solution for the obvious problem of efficient transaction processing in a future machine economy.
Experts today hardly seem to question the fact that our world will develop into one big Internet of Things. Estimates claim that by 2025, there should be over 100 billion interconnected devices and machines worldwide, all of which will have a dozen or more sensors. Already today our smartphone produces huge amounts of data. Imagine how much greater the amounts of data will be when our car becomes a smartcar, our house a smarthome and our city a smartcity. In our times, where data is the digital oil and thus a new treasure, the revenues generated by the data business will be enormous. Of course, these values should not simply be reaped by large tech companies. As a universal agnostic protocol, IOTA could function as a public, decentralized and self-regulating “machine-to-machine network” via which the respective machines can communicate independently without an intermediary and thus transfer values.
A futuristic but often mentioned example is that of a smart car. This intelligent vehicle could have an identity and an “e-wallet” one day. With this equipment, the smart car would be able to pay for various services such as fuel (in the future probably electricity instead of petrol), insurance, washing or road tolls. Even the payment of a parking ticket should be possible, especially because the IOTA network does not have any actual transaction fees and therefore seems to be predestined for “micro-payments”, i.e. very small payments.
The vehicle of the future should therefore not only be a self-driving car – it should also be autonomously paying for services used and also be able to offer its own services. The concept of “mobility as a service” could become more attractive in such a machine economy driven by the IOTA network. Whenever one of the vehicle owners does not need his vehicle, his/her car could offer its driving services to paying passengers. By giving customers a ride and collecting the fee through the e-wallet, the car generates a kind of passive income for the owner instead of simply sitting in a parking lot. As an autonomous economic agent, the possibilities for such a vehicle of the future seem to be limitless. Ultimately, we humans benefit because our time can be optimized in more efficient ways. For example, if a passenger is in an extreme hurry, he/she could also instruct the vehicle to make other vehicles that are in less of a hurry go out of its way – obviously, a fee would be
paid directly to other vehicles via the IOTA network using IOTA tokens for clearing the way.
The founders of the IOTA network are pretty confident: While mankind is already creating the Internet of Things by digitizing things and equipping them with sensors, IOTA should have the potential to make a further step possible: An economy of things in which data and IoT devices are able to share their digital assets autonomously via marketplaces in the new machine economy.
With regard to IOTA, one of the most impressive facts is that the project has succeeded in setting up a foundation in Germany. This is astonishing because Germany is regarded as one of the most difficult countries to establish a foundation. In addition, the IOTA foundation has influential advisors on the board of their foundation. For example, the “Chief Digital Officer” Johann Jungwirth of Volkswagen is a member of the Board of Trustees. Robert Bosch Ventures is also a member of the advisory board and its fund has already made substantial investments in IOTA.
In mid-April, the world’s first charging station for electric vehicles was launched in the Netherlands, where charging and payment can be carried out with IOTA. The charger was installed by ElaadNL, a research institute for innovation. For the IOTA team, this is one of the first steps towards real-world adoption.
Recently, the IOTA team unveiled the long-awaited secret about the so-called Project Q. With Qubic, the IOTA protocol will not only support smart contracts and oracles, but also a form of distributed computing. This makes the IOTA Tangle programmable. At the same time, the free micro-transactions should ensure that external and distributed computing power can be used for the IOTA Tangle. Qubic is intended to make unused computing power available for the IOTA Tangle on a global scale in order to further enhance the performance of the IOTA network. According to the founders of IOTA, the Qubic project is one of the most important milestones of the IOTA project.
Hashgraph – The Latest Excitement Among DLTs
In addition to the Tangle, the term “Hashgraph” is also causing quite a stir on the market. This newly developed technology also falls into the category of distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The idea for Hashgraph was developed by Leemon Baird in mid-2016 and was originally intended for the private corporate sector. The intellectual property in Hashgraph is held by Swirlds, a company founded by Baird. Swirlds distributes a software development program that allows anyone to experiment with the “Hashgraph Consensus Library”. With CULedger, a consortium of 6,000 cooperative banks in North America, Hashgraph has already found a potent customer who uses their private Hashgraph software and has even preferred it to other alternatives such as Hyperledger.
Due to this success in the corporate sector, Swirlds has now launched the “Hedera Hashgraph Platform” with aims to drive forward Swirlds’ patented Hashgraph technology for the development of a public Hashgraph network. While the source code of the Hedera Hashgraph is publicly available and anyone can become part of the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem as a network node, the project will still have a governance model similar to that of Visa. This means that there will be 39 organizations that will form a kind of leadership council. The exact terms are currently being finalized and the 39 members will be announced. Due to this structure with a management body, splitting the source code to create an alternative project using a hard-fork will not be possible.
How Does the Hashgraph Work?
As with the Tangle, the Hashgraph concept is no longer based on blocks that are chronologically put together to form a chain. Instead so-called events, which are hashed to each other – hence the name “Hashgraph”. The following information is contained in these “events”: a timestamp, two different parent hashes and one or more transactions.
While in a blockchain the winning node has the possibility to add the new block with transactions to the existing chain, in the Hashgraph all nodes within the entire network inform each other about the latest status and “exchange” their information with each other. Similar to a Tangle, a connection diagram of “events” or transactions is created, and transactions are arranged according to a chronological time sequence. This transaction history allows a consensus on the sequence of individual transactions.
With the Hashgraph concept, the necessary information within the network is also transferred via the so-called Gossip protocol, a communication protocol. To disseminate information within a network, the Gossip protocol is considered the fastest and most efficient method of communicating between different computers. Each computer passes the received information to a randomly selected computer. This leads to an exponential dissemination of information throughout the network.
However, the mere dissemination of information within the network is not sufficient to achieve a consensus on the shared information. For this purpose, each network participant must know the exact transaction history and thus the exact sequence of individual transactions, which is ensured by the timestamps already mentioned. Therefore, the Hashgraph consensus algorithm makes use of the “Gossip-about-Gossip” approach. Every computer within the network shares all its knowledge about which network accounts spoke to what, to whom and when. Or more technically speaking: Each computer shares all its knowledge about the Hashgraph, which is the exact order of all transactions ever occurring on the network. Because each network participant always has the current Hashgraph, each computer knows the entire transaction history. All participants know that every other participant within the network has all the relevant information about transactions and their order. This circumstance enables what is called “virtual voting” because all nodes in the network have a copy of the transaction history and information about who received the information at which point in time, each participant can calculate how each other network participant will behave. Therefore, each node knows the decision of the other, without an effective decision, i.e. a “vote”, having been made. On the basis of this “voting without voting”, there is thus a consensus among the network participants, although they do not have to carry out a resource-intensive coordination procedure among themselves.
Interestingly, the voting algorithms used for Hashgraph are already over 35 years old and are used in a slightly modified form. These are so useful because they have a mathematically proven level of security that, to this point in time, cannot be outsmarted. The experts behind Hashgraph therefore claim – and refer to mathematical evidence – that Hashgraph is the only DLT technology to be A-BFT (asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance). According to them, this means: As long as less than 1/3 of network participants have no intention to defraud the network, a consensus can always be found among the computers about the state of the network and the transaction history.
The Future Vision for Hashgraph
As a form of DLT technology, the Hashgraph is also intended to radically change the structure and organization of today’s Internet and with it the world. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Internet in its current form has serious shortcomings, some of which are due to original birth defects. Today, large centralized server facilities are the cornerstones of our global Internet. Due to these neuralgic points of attack, things like hacks, spam, BotNet or DDoS attacks are part of everyday online life. Again and again we are reminded of this fact in reality.
Hashgraph sees itself as a potential solution for these problems. With Hashgraph, it should be possible to create an “Internet of Shared Worlds” that minimizes numerous security risks that exist today and at the same time eliminates isolation. Moreover, this new Internet powered by Hashgraph should in the future enable everyone to create their own world, their own community.In addition to inadequate security, the Internet also suffers from isolation. What this means is that the Internet as a whole consists of mass isolated systems that are not connected to each other by default, which makes smooth communication between these separated silos tedious and complex. Although the Internet appears to be a perfectly interlinked network on the surface, it still consists of countless separate worlds whose bridging is very resource-intensive.
The hash graph protocol, which in contrast to conventional blockchain protocols already allows scaling on its basic protocol, is designed to fundamentally change the model of Internet data storage also. According to experts, data storage is to be vastly distributed across and within networks. For the provision of their data storage capacity, corresponding network participants would be remunerated on the spot by means of micropayments. The financing of large centralized server units for data storage would no longer be necessary, say advocates believing in the vision of Hashgraph. At the heart of this new Internet would be DLT technologies such as the hash graph, which transparently capture all important information about the community. If Internet applications were based on Hashgraph technology, participants could be sure that the rules defined by the protocol would be enforced in a fair way for all, as they are secured and enforced by cryptography and mathematics. In this way, the individual communities could communicate smoothly with each other via DLT technologies and reach a consensus in this new world of digitally shared worlds.
Hashgraph connoisseurs also insist on another important point: This technology can also make the Internet faster. Today’s leadership-based Internet, which is based on central servers that have to route all data traffic through the entire system, appears to us to be fast. However, if the Internet were based on a DLT technology such as the Hashgraph, even higher speeds would be possible. With its private Hashgraph network, Swirlds has achieved a higher transaction speed in test attempts than the Visa network currently has. Here too, the visionaries of Hashgraph see another reason why their protocol could possibly improve the existing Internet.
Tangle & Hashgraph – Can They Keep Their Promises?
As described at the beginning of this chapter, innovative approaches such as the Tangle or Hashgraph are seen as the next generation in the still young history of DLT technology. Free market competition is further fueling innovative. The speed with which innovation progresses is astonishing – but the mutual rivalry between the projects often turns into real animosity. The debates degenerate into childish mud battles, which do little to advance the crypto, blockchain and DLT world as a whole. It is difficult for investors to keep track of all the cheap, emotionally charged and often personal accusations and criticisms and to arrive at a reasonable assessment of each cryptocurrency’s potential capital gains.
Nevertheless, one of the more meaningful objections should be briefly described: In the case of a DAG, there is no global network state, since a DAG (Tangle and Hashgraph) has no blocks and is based to some extent on the principle of regional consensus. This means that network participants no longer store all transactions, but only “local” data of their “neighbors” and rely on “other regions” to do the same carefully. The ultimate question here is whether this concept of regionalism can actually prevent double-spend-attacks. To be fair, it has to be said that the same question arises in Ethereum’s scaling companies that want to take advantage of the sharding solution.
There are also fears that the Tangle and Hashgraph will assume a huge data size due to their scalability and that this will lead to centralization among those network nodes who keep the network running. IOTA and Hedera Hashgraph seem to have a solution for this problem: they announced to regularly shorten the Tangle or Hashgraph. Of course, this would mean though that the networks would potentially introduce certain neural centralized points of attack again. Those responsible for either project argue that the coordinators of the Tangle and the leadership council of the Hashgraph only have a supporting function. Once the two projects had reached a certain size and relevance, these “support wheels” would no longer be needed, on which the IOTA coordinators and the Hashgraph Leadership Council would lose influence. By then the problem of too big data pools might have been solved as well. Until then, however, a lot has to happen, and the projects must first achieve the promised scaling. Although both the Tangle and Hashgraph appear promising, they have yet to provide the final and practical proof for what the claim.
Here the term “non-centricity is deliberately used. The frequently mentioned concept of de-centrality implies that there is a central entity, albeit a weak one. However, this does not apply to Bitcoin and some other blockchain projects, which is why “non-central” seems to be better suited.
See Crypto Research Report II
Watch “Jeremy Rifkin on the Fall of Capitalism and the Internet of Things,” Big Think, April 22, 2018.
See “Blockchains vs DAG: Behind the Battle for the Backbone of the Internet of Things And the Future of Cryptocurrency – A History,” Wasim Of Nazareth, Medium, February 16, 2018.
See “Smart Contracts: The Blockchain Technology That Will Replace Lawyers,” Blockgeeks, 2016.
See “IOTA and Qubic – The Start of New Era (And The Fulfillment Of A Long Time Dream),” IOTA News, June 42018.
See “Swirlds and CULedger Collaborate to Deliver High Performance, Secure, Distributed Applications to Credt Unions,” Swirlds, October 27, 2017.
See “The Future Of Distributed Ledger Technology: Hashgraph Launches Hedera Platform,” Jorn van Zwanenburg, Invest in Blockchain, March 26, 2018.
See “The Next-Generation Internet: Mance Harmon and Hedera Hashgraph,” Bitsonline, May 3, 2018.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.963176965713501,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://shop.implan.com/case-studies/of-curds-and-whey/",
"token_count": 2190,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.26953125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:dbc0f86a-a7b4-42e7-8eeb-f2fc8a0c034d>"
}
|
Meister Cheese’s earliest days and recent history both bear a strong thread of conscientious concern for its community.
Stanley Meister, the founder’s son, found a way to turn waste whey into a viable byproduct and, in 1980, an independent company, Muscoda Protein Products. The two sister companies have supported the local economy together by sourcing raw dairy products as well as whey from nearby dairy product producers.
Scott Meister, current president of Meister Cheese and the founder’s grandson, calls this approach “logical environmentalism.” Over time, purchasing intermediate goods and services as close to the center of operations as possible and reducing waste in the manufacturing process proved highly cost-effective. 90% of the dairy that goes into the manufacturing processes of both companies travels no more than 40 miles from farms to ensure freshness.
And the sister companies found new and innovative ways to reduce costs and buy locally. In 2005, faced with rising natural gas prices, the Meister family decided to install a state-of-the-art wood-fired boiler system to generate steam for both cheese and whey manufacturing. The boiler uses 27 tons of hardwood chips and sawdust per day. Each year the $1.7 million project is saving 600,000 therms and saving the company close to $400,000 in avoided natural gas costs. The wood chips come from a nearby lumber mill, Nelson Hardwood Lumber, which employs similar technology in a wood-drying kiln. What little waste is leftover from Meister’s hyper-efficient boilers goes into fertilizer that feeds switchgrass fields which, in turn, supply additional fuel for the boilers.
Part of the impetus for constantly refining production processes comes from the need to compete with larger cheese producers for market share. Manufacturers like Meister and Muscoda navigate a narrow pass between increasing production and sales without sacrificing quality or safety.
As Meister approached its centenary, it faced a new challenge in maintaining its market share and economic stability. By 2007, demand for dairy products had steadily declined. The market itself was shrinking. Everyone—including dairies, manufacturers, and even the federal government went on the hunt for solutions.
Struggling Dairy Farms
In 2007, the total demand (households and government) for dairy products in the United States plateaued. The trend line for demand, which had steadily climbed since before 2001, suddenly dipped. Industry output soon followed the same path with a drop in 2009 which would not return to pre-recession levels for another three years.
Dairy farms all over the country were especially feeling the heat in those early days. Farmers and dairy product producers brought their economic woes directly to the United States Congress on several occasions to press the federal government for solutions.
“Though volatility in milk prices has long plagued our farmers, today we face a crisis like we’ve never seen before.” said Peter Welch, a member of Congress and representative from Vermont in a hearing in July 2009 before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. “Prices have fallen to record lows even as the cost of production continues to rise, pushing scores of farms out of business. In the past five years alone, Vermont has lost over 250 dairy farms, leaving us with only 1,046 today. Thirty-two of those farms have been shuttered since the start of this year alone. The depth of this crisis cannot be understated. Vermont’s farmers, government leaders and agricultural experts agree that our state’s dairy industry is on the brink of total collapse. With dairy representing 70 percent of Vermont’s agricultural economy, we could very well see a wholesale failure of our entire agricultural infrastructure, forcing out of business feed dealers, equipment suppliers, processing plants, farm creditors and many more.”
Friction Over Federal Support Programs
But from the legislative perspective, the problem was more complicated. Layers of interwoven agriculture laws passed since the great depression dictated much of what could or could not be accomplished to aid the modern American farmer.
Some industry experts, including Jerry Kozak, president & CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, argued for expanding existing programs that maintained level demand in the market through government purchasing of surplus products.
“The Price Support Program has been effective over the years, but there have been some situations where, for instance, cheese dropped down to $8.70 in 2003 when we had the lowest milk prices in our 25–year history and it wasn’t effective.,” Kozak explained, “So what we have done in terms of recalculating the Price Support Program is to recognize that it is a market clearing mechanism of which, when prices are extremely low and we have some surpluses, the government buys those products at a specific level. It doesn’t buy all milk products. It doesn’t buy fluid milk. It doesn’t buy yogurt, cottage cheese, et cetera. It buys those three specific products because those three specific products are the basic foundations of what we produce ultimately in this country and are tied to our over-quota tariff rates.”
But not everyone saw such programs as a sustainable solution.
“Keeping a program that encourages people, encourages the producers of products that aren’t in demand in the market, just so they can sell them to the government and maybe make a few cents’ profit, is not going to help dairy farmers. It is going to maybe keep that company in business who wants to crank out non-fat dry milk instead of upgrading their facility,” argued Connie Tipton, International Dairy Foods Association, “but I think we should encourage people to upgrade their facilities and go for these higher-value dairy markets that are going to actually drive prices to a better level for our farmers.”
For Muscoda Protein Products, adopting the plan to upgrade its facilities would prove truly effective. But they would need help to do it.
Meister wasn’t a stranger to public funding programs, having been awarded a Section 9006 Grant of $420,322 in 2006 to help install their advanced boiler system. Also, Muscoda Protein Products already had the good business track record and community support to qualify as a candidate project for lenders to potentially invest. They had the chops and they knew the game, now they just needed help telling their story in numbers to help secure funding.
They worked with Baker Tilly, a nationally recognized, full-service accounting and advisory firm. Baker Tilly is ranked as one of the 15 largest accounting and advisory firms in the U.S. The firm had a strong track record of helping businesses across the country find funding and demonstrate the return on investment over time for public and private projects.
Baker Tilly analyzed the potential sources of capital to fund this major expansion and determined that New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) would provide significant funding benefit to the project. The application process would involve no shortage of paperwork. Among the required documentation needed to apply for the program is an economic impact analysis which would account for the effects on the economy at large as a result of the investment.1
The companies estimated the project would increase local milk purchases by $12 million, increase purchases of whey from other nearby cheese producers, retain and create new jobs, and reduce the amount of waste that would need to be disposed of. Baker Tilly performed financial modeling for the transaction, solicited NMTC allocations from Community Development Entities, assisted with the NMTC application, and advised throughout the closing process.
“Our business at Muscoda Protein Products has grown rapidly over the past few years and we needed to expand our facility and purchase new equipment to keep pace with customer orders,” said Meister, “We were familiar with NMTCs, having received a previous allocation. With Baker Tilly Capital’s assistance, we were able to secure another allocation, which provided a key source of capital that will allow us to complete the expansion.”
Under Baker Tilly’s direction, Muscoda pursued funding with CDEs connected with the NMTC program (among other previously awarded grants which Meister had secured) for the best fit.
The program’s goals were aligned with existing local economic development plans for the area to reduce the percentage of people in Muscoda and surrounding counties who live below the poverty level. The types of specialized manufacturing jobs which Muscoda Protein Products would create to maintain the newer, more advanced equipment would also positively affect the median household income in their census, which, as of the last census, was 24% below the median income for the country.
How it works
The NMTC program was created in 1994, renewed in 2000, and consistently reauthorized since 2006 to incentivize community development and economic growth through the use of tax credits that attract private investment to distressed communities.
The NMTC Program is jointly administered by the CDFI Fund and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The program’s mission is to expand economic opportunity for underserved people and communities by supporting the growth and capacity of a national network of community development lenders, investors, and financial service providers. The CDFI Fund achieves this mission by directly investing in and supporting Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Community Development Entities (CDEs), and other financial institutions through a handful of programs and initiatives which include the NMTC program.
Those institutions which receive investments from the CDFI Fund reinvest in qualifying projects across the country to lift economically distressed census tracts. Qualified tracts are those in which the income is lower than 80% of the area median income (relative to the greater region whether state or metropolitan statistical area), or has a poverty level of 20 percent or greater. And, since its federal funds are at stake, the allocation process for CDEs and other lending institutions which participate in the program is heavily regulated. So regulated, in fact, that since 2002 no more than 30% on average of the CDEs which apply for allocations received them. And of those allocations awarded, no more than 50% of developers or project managers who apply for funding have been approved since the program’s inception.
Naturally, CDEs and other investment organizations which receive NMTC allocations tend to be very judicious about which projects they fund at the risk of losing their qualifying status with the CDFI. Some CDEs don’t even accept applications for funding, opting rather to scout projects on their own which match the sort of financial management with which the CDE’s have a successful history.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9633489847183228,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://updatednewsreport.com/all-about-stimulus-checks-best-way-to-use-this-amount/",
"token_count": 514,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.044189453125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:929441ff-9aa1-4ef3-8060-c12643e8bbe1>"
}
|
What is a Stimulus Check?
The incentive check is a check sent by the US government to its taxpayer in trouble. The objective of the Stimulus check is to stimulate the economy by spending some money to consumers in times of economic trouble.
When the taxpayers of the country spend this money, it will boost the consumption of things and increase the income of retailers and manufacturers, which will accelerate the economy.
To get out of this economic downturn of Coronavirus, the US government has given Stimulus checks to the public, using which the market will get economic stability.
This money is either credited to his tax by sending a check or if it is equal to his tax.
It was last used in relocation due to the economic downturn of 2007 and is now being used to overcome the economic downturn caused by coronavirus pandemic.
How Stimulus Check work?
When Rishan came to the economic market in 2007, the US government gave help to the unemployed. At that time the help of the unemployed was up to $ 3000 according to their income.
- Eligible individuals—between $300 and $600
- Joint filers—between $600 and $1,200
- With eligible children—an additional $300 for each qualifying child
How to Use Stimulus Check?
With the coronavirus pandemic destroying the US economy and forcing millions of Americans into unemployment, it is clear that the public needs help – and this help is being provided by the government in the form of incentive checks.
Although the high income will not be eligible for the incentive amount, but this amount belongs to those who are most affected by this economic recession, they will be able to meet their needs.
According to a GOBankingRates survey, 40% of Americans say that if they received an incentive check, they would use that money to buy groceries.
If people use this check properly then it will be right for both them and the economy.
Where to Spend Stimulus Check?
There are many way to use these check. But according expert there are three best way to use this money for your future:
- Emergency Saving
- Invest in Social Security Bonus
- Buy some Stocks
Best 3 Stock that You have to Buy by Stimulus Check
- Bank of America
These are some most of secure stock that you have to buy by Stimulus Check amount. This information is given by expert investors. So if you interested to buy some stock than refer a stock investor for better investment.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.98772132396698,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://wordfencing.com/debates/reply/14493/",
"token_count": 123,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.31640625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:e8328bdb-023c-4bc1-90f2-470d5b2f56a2>"
}
|
That was a pretty good guess!
What is the largest denomination of US currency ever produced?
Answer: The largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson. These notes were printed from December 18, 1934 through January 9, 1935 and were issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the Treasury Department. The notes were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9437947273254395,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/general/global-lng-trade-steady-in-20-demand-to-double-by-40/31988",
"token_count": 277,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.04736328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:939f23fd-a392-4f34-bc9e-1ac8a5a5cc3a>"
}
|
LNG demand is increasing worldwide as natural gas has an important role to play in building a lower-carbon recovery from COVID-19 and in progress towards net-zero emissions, according to Shell's LNG Outlook 2021 late on Thursday.
Global LNG trade grew by one million tonnes to 360 million tonnes - enough to power 725 million homes for a full year in 2020, the report showed.
According to Shell, as demand for natural gas continues to grow strongly in Asia and gains further traction in powering hard-to-electrify sectors, global LNG demand is expected to double to 700 million tonnes by 2040.
Shell noted that natural gas can play a key role in addressing emissions reduction, as this would require cleaner energy solutions for all sectors and specifically those which are hard to abate.
Natural gas, whether in partnership with renewables or as an energy source for hard-to-electrify sectors, helps to lower overall emissions, the report showed.
The report gave the example of South Korea, which aims to reach net-zero emissions by reducing its dependence on coal and increasing the share of gas and renewables in its national energy mix.
"Despite the unprecedented volatility, global demand for LNG increased to 360 million tonnes. Though marginal, the growth reflected the resilience and flexibility of LNG," it said.
By Murat Temizer
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9662163257598877,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.cambridgeentrepreneuracademy.com/takeovers-what-do-they-mean-in-the-corporate-world/",
"token_count": 943,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:767735f1-8b7d-44cf-a713-f07a6d210f28>"
}
|
If you know anyone who has had their corporate stint or you had your own—you have heard all about company takeovers. The term is used along with other corporate language words such as the famous “merger and acquisition.”
If you have been in the world of suits, ties, and high-rise buildings, you know a thing or two about the terms. But if someone were to ask you what they mean, would you be able to explain those terms to them?
What are “takeovers?”
A takeover is when a company goes through a successful takeover bid to earn control or acquire another company. Takeovers are done through the purchase of large assets within the target company. This is the part where the term “merger and acquisition” or M&A, comes in.
M&A is an all-encompassing term in the corporate world that is used to describe the consolidation of companies or their assets through different financial transactions. The transactions include the following:
- Business mergers
- Company control acquisitions
- Business consolidation
- Shareholder tender offers
- Purchase of company assets
- Acquisition of management
Takeovers use terms to differentiate between the company looking to assume control of another and the company it wishes to control. The former is the acquirer, and the latter is the target. Pretty simple, correct?
What are the different types of takeover bids?
During a takeover, the acquirer is usually a bigger firm planning to assume control over a smaller firm’s assets. This can be done through different natures of takeovers:
1. Friendly takeover
A friendly or mutual takeover is when the board of directors of the acquirer and target companies comes up with a deal, negotiate, and accept the takeover bid laid down on the table by the acquiring company. The target company’s board of directors is in charge of approving purchasing terms, and shareholders have the power to vote in favor of or against the takeover bid.
2. Hostile takeover
Hostile takeovers are when the target company’s board of directors is unwilling to take the bid offered by the acquiring company. The bid to merge with or get acquired by the acquiring company is rejected by the target company, which will lead to the acquiring company resorting to other transactions such as purchasing shares from the target company’s shareholders or tender offer or campaigning for a proxy vote. Proxy vote campaigning involves acquiring the company’s efforts to persuade the shareholders of the target company to vote out the existing board of directors that rejected the acquirer’s takeover bid.
Takeover bids are rejected because of the unjust price perceived by the target firm, or the target firm has no intention of merging or getting their company acquired by another.
3. Reverse takeover bid
A reverse takeover bid is when a private firm buys out a public company. During reverse takeover bids, the acquirer’s goal is to assume control of a public firm without an initial public offering or IPO. This is because the acquirer will have to fight through other potential acquiring firms to take over the targeted public company.
During reverse takeovers, the private acquiring firm will transform into a public company by assuming control over an already-listed firm. This type of takeover bid is used by private companies to acquire a public listing. Such is the case because applying for an IPO is costly and requires mountains of paperwork.
4. Backflip takeover bid
This type of takeover bid happens when the acquiring company turns into the subsidiary of the target firm. This takeover bid is coined “backflip” because the acquiring company becomes the entity that survives the deal in the normal takeover process. But in a backflip takeover, the target company survives with the acquirer being a subsidiary.
This is done by acquiring companies to take advantage of the market edge possessed by the target companies as perceived by the former.
Are acquirers always bigger companies?
Based on corporate world history, such is not always the case. An example of this is when AOL took over the larger and more successful Time Warner in 2000. The acquisition is one of the most historic hostile takeovers. The deal was worth 164 billion dollars and changed the game for mergers and acquisitions. It made the takeover of bigger companies by smaller ones a reality.
However, the revamped AOL Time Warner lost over 200 billion dollars in value less than two years after the deal. Executives attributed the billion-dollar loss to culture issues and lack of orientation because AOL was considered new media. Time Warner was old media at the time of the deal.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.960784912109375,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/BF94F3F5/Net-Price-Comparison-Guide/",
"token_count": 1394,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.07568359375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:51ba44a3-cb0b-4cb2-9e3a-25455e3f975d>"
}
|
Net Price Comparison Guide
What is a net price? Calculate your net price for college with this guide to comparing college costs.
Every student should consider the net price of schools they've applied to prior to deciding which one to attend. By comparing the net price of colleges, students will gain a full perspective of their investment and responsibility, while also weighing the pros and cons of a given campus and its costs.
Having a clear idea of what a student is expected to pay is the first step in making a college decision once he or she is accepted. Every school has different costs for tuition, housing, meal plans, books, transportation and other fees. Schools, the state and federal government also award varying amounts of financial aid that will directly affect a student's net price.
Be sure to examine the tuition, housing, food and other costs at your prospective colleges. Expenses add up quickly!
Since each year the Cost of Attendance (COA) at colleges, universities and community colleges continues to rise, be careful to analyze the cost of the schools that interest you. By getting the best deal you'll reduce your chances of graduating with student loan debt despite the rising costs of higher education.
What's a net price?
As you probably know, the most important step in the college application process is figuring out how you're going to pay for college. Your net price is what you will be expected to pay for your college education once you subtract your scholarships and grant money. While you probably chose your college choices based on the "sticker price," which is the general amount of the cost to attend a college, that's often not the cost you will have to pay.
Once students know what their net price will be they can figure out if they need other forms of financial aid like student loans, and work-study programs. The Department of Education has a new tool for students called the College Scorecard, which can provide an estimate of what students will have to pay at different schools before they apply.
However, if you've already applied, you should have also completed a Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form will show you if you qualify for any federal, state or campus financial aid. After you begin receiving acceptance letters from colleges, the next essential step is evaluating your financial aid packages from different schools with the information from your FAFSA in order to determine your net price.
What's a net price calculator?
If you've filled out your FAFSA you will receive a financial aid award letter from the schools that have accepted your application. Once you review your award letter you will be able to calculate your net price. Every accredited school that accepts federal aid from the government is required to help students understand what their net price will be for the coming school year. According to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), these calculators must base their estimates for students on the average costs for current students, but provide details that are customized to each specific student.
While some of these calculators are reported to be hard to find and lack uniformity, every college with federal financial aid has them.
You can find these net price calculators on school websites and enter your specific information and it will break down the costs. If you want to see an example of a net price calculator check out Harvard's easy one-sheet or the UC Irvine net price calculator.
Each net price calculator helps students figure out their net price based on a few standard factors according to the NCES:
- Every net price calculator will require that you enter the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), such as income, number of family members and whether the student is a dependent or independent.
With this information the net price calculators will provide an output of the following information for you about the school:
- Estimated total cost of attendance
- Estimated tuition and fees
- Estimated room and board
- Estimated books and supplies
- Estimated other expenses (personal expenses, transportation, etc.)
- Estimated total grant aid
- Estimated net price
- Percent of the cohort (full-time, first-time students) that received grant aid
- Caveats and disclaimers, as indicated in the HEA
The campus' net price calculators are easy to use and will provide the information you need to compare the cost of colleges and make a sound financial decision for you with your parents.
How to Compare Net Prices of Colleges
Once you enter your information into the net price calculators at your prospective schools, we recommend comparing the costs side by side with all of your choices in a spreadsheet. By looking at all of your choices and costs in one place, you'll be able to analyze what matters most to you.
For example, if the tuition at a particular campus is high, but the housing cost is low, but another school has a low tuition and high housing cost, you should think about how the programs at the two schools differ given the varying costs of tuition.
Plus, tuition fees often increase over the course of the time you're at a school, but you can often find cheaper housing options after your first year once you know the area and meet friends who you can live with and split the cost of rent.
Another thing you should consider is state aid. If you're looking at schools in different states, you may receive more financial aid in-state, so your net price will be lower than what you would pay out-of-state. However, some schools seek out-of-state students, so you should see how the net prices compare with all of your choices.
Weigh the pros and cons of all the costs, including the cost to travel to and from home during breaks and summer. These hidden costs can add to your net price. Ultimately, choosing a college is a big financial decision, but you should also factor in your happiness. Choose the school that's best for you and the most affordable!
- Don't forget to fill out your FAFSA on time. Student aid is based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- Be sure to look at all the costs like transportation, wardrobe (if you'd need to wear different clothing in a new state), etc. These additional costs are not included in the net price, but can quickly add up.
- Review the net prices with you parents and make sure everyone feels comfortable with what you and your family will be expected to pay for each school before you send in your response to a school.
People Who Read This Article Also Read:
What is Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?
How to Complete Your FAFSA
Understanding Student Aid: Federal, State and College Aid
Are You Eligible for Federal Financial Aid?
What to Do When You Receive a Student Aid Report (SAR)
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9428094029426575,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.doynt.com/blog/software-development-cost-estimation/",
"token_count": 2275,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.034912109375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:9e62d87e-c1f6-4091-9b0b-1b2b62597f52>"
}
|
What is software cost estimation? It is the process or method which helps in forecasting the actual outlay for the software development. The objective of any software development company is to create quality software at costs that will not break the bank of their clients. Software development cost estimation techniques are used by systems analysts to arrive at an estimate. It is a complex process but can be broadly categorized into four key sectors:
- Evaluation of the proposed software size
- The effort needed to structure it
- Drawing up the schedule
- Calculating the cost of the software.
In the field of software engineering, cost estimation is a tough job because of the many parameters that have to be taken into account to arrive at a true and accurate figure. Additionally, it is well nigh impossible to put precise cost-estimates because of the wide variance of factors involved in the process.
Note: Software development cost estimation with everything being equal will not be the same say in the USA, Europe, India, the Philippines, or Australia.
Coming to how much software development costs, various techniques are used in the process but can be generally classified in two:
These rely on mathematical equations to arrive at software costs of which the COCOMO or Constructive Cost Model is widely used. There are many advantages of the Algorithmic model but on the other hand, these methods take time to learn and too much data is required to estimate the current state of the project.
This methodology is easy to learn but the main requirement here is complete information of historical data of similar previous projects which has to be set off against the current project.
There is not a single method which can be considered to be the “best” for software development cost estimation. A combination of these methods or other development techniques – waterfall, Agile – is the way to go.
Costs evolve with software development
Technology teams often find it difficult to estimate the costs of data integration and legacy systems into a new application because the requirements shift as technologies evolve. Software development can be likened to remodeling a house; you can never say what is lurking behind the walls! Factors like customer demands, return on investments and competition within the industry often push clients to ask for getting things done faster. The pressure builds for software development teams to quickly provide quotes and estimates.
The constantly shifting requirements from client’s side give rise to a new set of challenges. How should the original estimates for software development be modified and connected to the new needs as the project progresses? Once the development starts, what is the method that teams can deploy to know how much software development costs will be in the final analysis based on the progress already made as per the initial estimates and the fresh needs?
To maintain the credibility of the software development company handling the project, it is essential to inform clients at the earliest of any change in the original estimates and the reasons for it.
Looking for a software upgrade? Book a free consultation & discuss your software goals!
Software development cost estimation tips
There are several ways to estimate the timeline and cost of a software development project. Extensive studies and researches have proved that if the project can be broken down into small portions of work, and each of them is estimated separately, the results tend to be more accurate.
Here are a few tips for accurate and well-defined software development cost estimation.
Engage stakeholders in the estimation process
As a software development agency, you should involve all clients in the estimation process as early as possible to make them aware of what is critical in the software development cycle. It helps both the client and the developer gain a shared understanding of the process and makes everybody accountable for arriving at the initial estimate.
It often happens that a client wants certain functionalities in the software and if you think an alternative approach is better, you have to explain and convince the stakeholders about it. Once the client understands the costs aspects linked to functionalities, a reasonable solution can be arrived at. This close interaction from the very beginning about functions and cost estimations will help drive more realistic expectations from the start of the project.
Determine benchmarks to estimate the work
For developers, this is not easy to decide on the benchmarks that the costs will be measured against. The solution is to find a piece of the project that is well-defined and on which an estimate can be placed, say about half a day of development time. Once this baseline is selected, it is not difficult to measure the other components of the project against it and arrive at an estimate that is very close to reality.
This method has an advantage. It gives the development team a lot of leeway to adjust to changes quickly and re-estimate the work even after the development work has started.
Break down the requirements for greater transparency
Break down the project into specific requirements to an extent that each component can be handled and built by one developer in a short time. Any part that cannot be subdivided or broken down will not be properly understood for predicting accurate software development cost estimation.
Going through this process will also help clients understand better what it takes to develop a software as they will be aware of the functioning of every part of it. Most of the times, continuous demand for more details by the client slows down the development process.
Being upfront and transparent from the beginning makes it for precise cost estimation, improves quality, and shortens the approval time through better understanding between developers and stakeholders. Breaking down the requirements to manageable proportions also helps the team to set milestones and measure the progress against them, leading to project success and cost-effectiveness.
Put together the right team
A team is not just about developers; there should be a strong back-up group too along with policies and checks in place to decide accountability. This should be kept in mind when arriving at the cost estimation. This point is very important and will be examined in some detail below:
For a software to provide value, users should be able to apply it effectively. To do that, the project should have experienced business analysts who can write good requirements which in turn will lead to efficient development. Include a designer too who can provide a good interface that results in meaningful flow as well as an attractive design.
Another area that is too often overlooked is building a QA testing plan and the resources needed to do so. The team should be prepared to test early and continually to identify any problems with the application when the code is still fresh in the minds of the developers.
Another method is to build a team to arrive at precise software development cost estimation to use ratios of these roles to developers. For example, a single business analyst can support a specific number of developers only. If the developers are coding faster than the analysts are writing the requirements, the developers will be idle and several dollars and resource time will be wasted. Developers who have a good back-up cast are better equipped to create good code that meets requirements, budgets, schedules, and cost estimates.
Don’t give up on apparently small matters
Even after you have evaluated the requirements for developing software and delegated the work to the developers and the supporting cast, there are certain minor details that you should not ignore as it can affect the estimates. There are a host of questions that you should ask and answer.
- If a new developer joins the team, ask how long will it take before he/she is 100% productive?
- What will be the pace of development if the lead developer has two or more team members working with?
- When will the first release be ready?
- How many developers will it take to meet the deadline and complete by a certain date?
The impact of holidays and vacations on the schedule, and finally the cost to include one feature should be taken as a standard to estimate the total cost with multiple features included. These questions should form an integral part of the overall how much software development costs.
The product owner is the king
Always remember that the single most important person in the whole project of software development is the product owner. He/she is the person who should be empowered to focus on the project and make the important decisions. The product owner will drive the requirements, adjudicate on the differences between business and technology and lay out the priorities so that the team can work accordingly and deliver results as quickly as possible.
A product owner who is overwhelmed by too many other activities jeopardizes the project. It is then not possible to establish clear authority and dedicate time to the project. In such cases, there is bound to be unforeseen contingencies which will add to the total development costs.
Work out good software estimation metrics
When the software development cost estimation is based on the speed of development, it becomes easy to determine whether the software is being developed on pre-decided lines. Standards decided on earlier will help you identify whether team members are performing as expected.
It is rare for teams or developers to produce exactly as per set metrics because some will work quickly while others will be lagging. But when the non-performing developers are too slow, there will be a lot of friction in the process from design, to requirements, and to architecture. Further, by comparing actual speed to original estimates, stakeholders can identify budget misalignment faster and take corrective action. It is desirable to identify a problem in the early stages and adjust the basic development estimates as quickly as possible.
Does software cost estimation ever go off the mark?
Yes, they do, even after you take all the precautions as given in the points above. And the main villain of the piece is surprisingly weak and poor leadership and requirements. Contrary to popular notion, technology is rarely ever the cause of project failure because even the best of developers and the greatest of technologies will be rudderless without strong leadership to give direction to the team developing the software. Leadership has to explain the end goals to the team and act as business drivers while estimating the cost with the project team.
Software development projects suffer a setback when developers cannot build quality code because requirements are vague. When they face any hurdles, it is the leaders who must step in and make quick and informed decisions or else project timelines, budgets and estimates will go haywire.
Planning a new website? Here’s what to choose between responsive and adaptive web design!
The software industry is efficient and competitive because of its ability to adapt to rapid changes in technology that require the implementation of complex software systems in cheap and cost-effective methods. However, by pursuing affordable processes, the quality of software cannot and should not be compromised with and this is one of the major challenges faced by software development companies.
When a strong leadership is not available to clear roadblocks, any software development cost estimation should include contingency plans to take into account the uncertainties in the software development cycle. It is preferable to deal with these issues at the planning stage only rather than derail the project midway.
Estimating the timeline and cost of software development requires all hands to work in cohesion, from developers to QA to business analysts. The cost of the end product will then be near to the initial estimates.
Contact us at [email protected] for a precise and accurate quote and software development cost estimation.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9635999798774719,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.salehoo.com/blog/what-is-a-moq",
"token_count": 357,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.057373046875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f175bfc1-3f9f-4f31-a5eb-aa10d32cf26d>"
}
|
MOQ is an acronym which stands for minimum order quantity, and refers to the minimum amount that can be ordered from a supplier. For example, if a supplier advertises a MOQ of 1,000 units, you must be able to purchase at least 1,000 units to be able to deal with that supplier. MOQ's will either be quoted in dollars or in units. Sometimes MOQ is also referred to as MQO, or minimum quantity order.
Why suppliers have MOQs
Wholesale suppliers usually operate on very low profit margins which means they rely heavily on bulk-buying customers to make a profit. Although new business owners can sometimes find the large investment necessary to meet the MOQ difficult, ultimately it's necessary to get the best wholesale prices available.
Some suppliers do not have a MOQ, which is very useful for new sellers who can only afford to buy say, 100 units; but often this means that you end up paying more per item than someone who buys 1,000 units, for example.
How MOQ's affect online retailers
MOQ's can affect new online retailers by preventing them from being able to deal with certain suppliers and distributors that only deal with large companies with physical stores. This may mean they have to use smaller and sometimes less economical suppliers who do not set large MOQ's, but who have to charge a higher price per unit to make a profit themselves.
For this reason, new online retailers who are looking at using distributors with low to no MOQs should consider selling items with little to no competition. Retailers who want to sell competitive items, but can only afford to purchase small quantities at a time, will soon be drowned out by larger retailers who can afford to buy in bulk.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.945898711681366,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://sorenjuul.com/applying-the-pareto-principle-can-improve-your-time-management/",
"token_count": 1284,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.00433349609375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:532ce43a-13e3-4170-ab3d-69c39a10a177>"
}
|
Back in 1895, an Italian economist by the name of Vilfredo Pareto noticed that 80 percent of the land was owned by only 20 percent of the entire population. As a result, he deduced that all economic activity could be attributed to this principle; hence the name — the Pareto Principle.
Translated into simple English, this just means that “80 percent of your sales will come from just 20 percent of your customers,” “80 percent of your entire output will come from just 20 percent of your allocated time,” and so on; you get the idea.
At any rate, this is all well and fascinating but how do you apply this theory in practice? Just keep on reading and find out!
Evaluating and Prioritizing Tasks
If the theory has any truth in it, then it means that 80 percent of your results come from just 20 percent of your efforts. Now, a neat way you can exploit this mathematical equation is by finding which tasks impact your work the most and focusing solely on them; in other words — prioritizing.
For instance, create a list of ten tasks you have to complete during the day and sort them according to their level of importance. According to this theory, the top two tasks on this list should be responsible for 80 percent of your daily workload.
Once you identify what these are, you can label them as urgent and allocate all of your resources on completing them as soon as possible. That way you don’t waste time on tasks that provide almost zero results, saving both your time and energy in the process.
Assessing Your Business Goals
At the end of the day, you need to complete all of your tasks, not just the twenty percent (unfortunately). This brings us to our second point — assessing your goals.
As with the previous method, it is based on evaluating your most important tasks (the twenty percent ones) and labelling them accordingly; from urgent to low priority. After you’ve compiled a detailed list of all the non-essential tasks, you need to ask yourself: who is qualified for carrying them out?
If the answer is “only you,” I’m afraid I have some bad news for you… However, if these tasks require minimum expertise — or you are simply bad at them — delegate, delegate, delegate; if possible.
Don’t waste time on specific tasks someone else can do better and focus your efforts on completing tasks that essentially put bread on your table.
Leverage the Use of Technology
One of the best ways of utilizing the Pareto Principle for time management is via the use of technology. In other words, use technology to automate all those non-essential business processes — all 80 percent of them — and focus exclusively on the stuff that matters.
For instance, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software allows companies to automate most of their back-office functions; including accounting, IT, and HR services. As an example, smart NetSuite implementation will save you not only time but money as well by making your business more efficient and cost-effective. Namely, installing and maintaining hundreds of computer systems, applications, and various integrations will be a thing of the past. Consequently, reducing operating costs and the time you’d otherwise need to set aside for time-consuming IT tasks and chores.
In addition, a great majority of software can be integrated with one another to work in unison; so you could potentially have all of your software working together from a single dashboard, making life that much easier (and time plentiful).
Determine Your Prime Time
What works well for some, may be an entirely different story for others. For example, the specific time of day you choose to work on your tasks. Some people work best early in the morning when they are fully refreshed and rested; some are night owls and their creativity spikes during night hours — to each their own. Find out what works best for you and determine your prime time.
Now, during this timeslot, try tackling those tasks that fall into the twenty percent category. That way you’ll deal with the most important tasks when you’re at your best, completing them in the most optimal way possible. This is especially useful if you’re a freelancer or a remote worker.
Take Some Much-Needed Time Off
If the theory is correct, you need to work smarter and not harder. Meaning, you need to take a breather every now and then. Burning yourself out will produce little (to no) results. Instead of stretching your tasks throughout the whole day, do your chores in short, yet effective, bursts. That way you can have the rest of the day free to do other things.
Conversely, you can take some time off first, go out for a stroll, relax a bit — engage in productive procrastination — and then set yourself to work when you feel fulfilled and motivated; instead of feeling guilty for using up 80 percent of your day doing nothing. Seeing how all the top companies, such as Google, Microsoft, etc., have their own gyms and leisure centres for their employees, there’s definitely some truth to this theory; they’re obviously onto something!
Outsource All Non-Core Business Processes
Delegating not an option? Using software is out of the question? Then try outsourcing!
There’s no logical reason why you should be wasting time on menial tasks that someone else can do; even if you pay them for it! In the long run, it will cost you less money to outsource those 80 percent than to do them yourself and do them poorly at that. Not to mention that it’s a complete waste of time.
As previously mentioned, you want to focus on doing what you do best and what matters most for your bottom line. By outsourcing, you do just that. It allows you to focus on your core business functions so you can develop and grow your business further, scaling it up as you go.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to common sense. Don’t waste time on less important tasks and do the most important tasks first!
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9425774812698364,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://www.vernimmen.com/Practice/Glossary/definition/Multiples%20method.html?iframe=true",
"token_count": 129,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.11767578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:98323d1b-6e7c-4df1-b413-0a7cf9537b2a>"
}
|
Definition for : Multiples method
The multiples method for valuing a company is based not on the Value of Operating assets and Liabilities per se, but on the overall returns they are expected to generate. The Value of a company is derived by applying a certain multiplier to the company's Profitability parameters. There are two multiples methods: based on Market multiples and based on Transaction multiples. Multiples method is also called the Peer comparison method.
(See Chapter 32 Capital structure and the theory of perfect capital markets of the Vernimmen)
To know more about it, look at what we have already written on this subject
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9273300766944885,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://bibloteka.com/non-disclosure-agreement/",
"token_count": 1102,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1357421875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a518d886-bd5d-4bef-b341-e370eba884fc>"
}
|
A non-disclosure agreement is a formal agreement or a secret agreement contract between at least two parties. This may include confidential material, information, or knowledge that the parties want to share but wish restricted access for certain reasons or purposes.
Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) or Proprietary Information Agreement (PIA) are the two most commonly used terms for a Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
Examples of NDA:
Some of the Examples of non-disclosure agreements are as follow:
- Doctor-Patient Confidentiality
- Priest–Penitent Privilege
- Attorney-Client Privilege
- Bank–Client Confidentiality etc.
Non-disclosure agreement creates a relationship between both parties to protect the information or a secret.
Understanding the Non-Disclosure Agreement:
Typically, an NDA is based on having confidential writings that are signed by both parties and creates trust between them. Some NDA’s are specific to a defined time period. Others bind the signers for an infinite period of time so at no point any of the parties disclose the information that needs to be confidential or secret. Some companies also require new employees to sign an NDA before giving them access to sensitive information about their company.
What is Included in the Non-Disclosure Agreement:
The factors can be changed or customized according to the nature of an NDA but here are six essentials that must be included in NDA:
- Names of parties signing the agreement
- Definition of confidential information of an NDA
- Excluded information from confidentiality
- A statement of appropriate uses of that information
- Time period
- Miscellaneous agreements
Breach or Violation of NDA:
The penalty for breaking or violating NDA is enumerated in agreement and it possible may include criminal charges. If a non-disclosure agreement is breached by any party, the other party may seek court action to prevent any further damages or disclosures.
An NDA is a legal binding agreement and its violation may lead to legal actions and penalties.
When to Uses Non-Disclosure Agreement:
Following are some of the situations that require the use of an NDA:
- Licensing of a technology or products
- Giving access to any sensitive information to an employee
- Presenting a business deal or offer to your potential investor or partner
- Using the services of an organization that has access to sensitive information.
- Hiring a freelancer for a specific job or task which involves sensitive information
- To ensure and protect intellectual property
- Sale, Merger, Investment, and Possessions of a business or an organization
- Additional safety and security measures
- Manufacturing agreements
Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements:
NDA is classified into the following three major types:
- Unilateral NDA
- Bilateral NDA
- Multilateral NDA
1. Unilateral NDA:
A unilateral non-disclosure agreement is usually referred to as a one-way NDA. This involves two parties but only one of them can disclose the information to the other party. The disclosing party expects that the non-disclosing party will maintain the secrecy of that information for some reason e.g., trade secrets or press releases or just essentially guaranteeing that an accepting party doesn’t utilize or unveil data without remunerating the revealing party.
2. Bilateral NDA:
The bilateral non-disclosure agreement is usually a two-way NDA or mutual NDA. This involves two parties and both parties disclose information in this case or type of NDA. Both parties need to take care of the data or information by keeping it secret. This sort of NDA is used when organizations are thinking about some sort of joint endeavor or merger.
When a Unilateral NDA is presented, some parties may demand a Bilateral NDA, because they envision that just one of the parties will uncover data under the NDA. This approach is used to make arrangements in the NDA fairer and more balanced for both parties.
3. Multilateral NDA:
Multilateral non-disclosure agreement involves three or more parties agreement but only one of them discloses the information and expect the other two parties to protect that information from further disclosure. This sort of NDA removes the requirement for independent unilateral or bilateral NDAs between just two parties. An NDA can be favorable and beneficial because the parties include reviews, execution, and implementations of information only in one agreement. However, this preferred approach can become more unpredictable to deal with that it might be needed for the parties involved to be consistent for a long time period agreement on a multilateral arrangement.
Advantages of Non-Disclosure Agreement:
Following are some advantages of a Non-Disclosure Agreement:
- Since NDA is a legal document, any party going against the agreement would be lawfully responsible for all the damages.
- Secrecy can be maintained.
- Trust can be built between two parties
- Works as a Safeguard for an individual or an organization.
Numerous organizations regularly utilize non-disclosure agreements today to keep their proprietary information or trade secrets from being disclosed and to keep matters confidential. Anybody considering utilizing an NDA ought to think about the basic issues, for example; what information should be ensured protection and for how long before signing the agreement.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.957937479019165,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://capx.co/cancelling-debts-in-developing-countries-can-make-the-world-safer-and-greener/",
"token_count": 797,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.369140625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c2e5ece0-bd7c-4017-85f5-65fb567528ac>"
}
|
With the world battling a pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe. As Britain begins to emerge from the worst of the crisis thanks to our vaccine rollout, we should turn our attention to developing countries, where coronavirus has placed significant strain on already-weak healthcare systems, putting millions of lives at risk both at home and abroad.
A UK-led health and green debt initiative would offer relief to the world’s poorest nations, freeing up vital funds to pay for vaccinations, and tackle climate change. As the Prime Minister has made clear, Climate Change is the biggest threat that we all face after COVID. The UK is rightly leading the way in efforts to help build back better and more sustainably but there is still more we can do.
Prior to the pandemic, 64 lower income countries were spending more on debt repayments than on the health and wellbeing of their populations. Ghana, for example, is currently spending almost four times more on servicing its external debt than it is on public healthcare. Even in pre-Covid times, this would seem counterproductive.
Before Covid-19 hit, half the world’s population lacked access to essential healthcare. In our post-pandemic world, we now know that a plague in Mali risks becoming a plague in Middlesbrough. Viruses do not respect borders. Helping to develop the health systems of the most vulnerable overseas is therefore as important to our national defence as strengthening our own protections at home.
Research suggests it could cost African governments $7.7 billion to purchase the vaccines needed for the continent’s population, whereas payments to private creditors by African countries in 2021 are expected to be over three times this amount. Debt cancellation is therefore one of the fastest ways to free up resources for poorer countries to invest in the health of their citizens, and by extension reduce the risk of new and novel viruses from reaching British shores. This would be a bold show of leadership by the UK Government and would prove to the developing world that we are serious about wanting to help them build resilience to any future global shock.
Before the pandemic the great challenge facing the Global South was climate change. It has not gone away, and it remains an inconvenient truth that the countries that are least responsible for causing climate change are the ones suffering most from its effects. Nowhere is this more clear than in the areas of food insecurity and nutrient deficiencies.
Despite having the second smallest carbon footprint in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo is also the second most food insecure country on the planet. Temperatures there are rising fast, increasing the risk to livestock and crop disease. Rainfall patterns are also changing, leaving Congolese farmers unsure about when to plant and when to harvest.
As we look forward to life beyond the pandemic, debt cancellation should be granted in exchange for a commitment from recipients to invest not just in public health, but in more solar, wind and battery technologies to help tackle the climate crisis. This would benefit not just those countries directly, but would also aid the global effort required to keep temperatures aligned with the Paris Agreement.
As the hosts of both the June G7 summit, and the COP26 climate gathering in November, the UK is uniquely placed to spearhead an international push in this direction. It would be a tangible manifestation of the Build Back Better slogan that is rightly driving the pandemic-recovery debate in both Washington and Westminster.
A UK-led health and green debt initiative would directly benefit some of the poorest and most vulnerable people on our planet. It would be entirely in keeping with our values as a nation, and would help to make the world safer for all of us.
Click here to subscribe to our daily briefing – the best pieces from CapX and across the web.
CapX depends on the generosity of its readers. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9442039132118225,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://e2btek.com/how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-accounting/",
"token_count": 749,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0264892578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:073a6327-3858-42e2-9d4d-d1eddc6672f6>"
}
|
The accounting world is one of the latest in a series of professions affected by the rapid worldwide adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in professional software systems. Since accounting is a numbers and data game, it’s well-suited for this technology which acts without human input to draw conclusions from large sets of data. Helping companies get a more profound understanding of their customers, AI helps accounting professionals streamline critical information gathering to divide their market into finer segments.
Why, then, are some accounting professionals resistant to embrace AI technology for their firm?
AI is the technology that allows computers to perform decision-based functions which previously required the hand of a human. Artificial intelligence extends a system’s typical usefulness by allowing it to make predictions and adapt its response to specific outcomes.
Taking many different shapes, AI is giving accounting executives new ways to increase their organization’s productivity to offer a competitive edge. One example of this is machine-based learning which enables a system to become proficient at repetitive analysis and decision-making. Speech-based technology is another form of AI which can learn voice and language over time. AI is replacing human eyes for the better in professions such as accounting which involve repetitive tasks.
Despite the clear benefits artificial intelligence brings to accounting, there remains some concern that the technology will replace the profession and professionals within it.
This is hardly the case. While AI technology may takeover the accountant’s role in performing audits and other traditional accounting services, it can’t replace human accounting departments completely. Through AI-based technologies, it’s expected that many repetitive accounting tasks like banking, payroll, and tax preparation will be fully automated by 2020.
But instead of a corporate strategy being used to replace humans, AI is called on to compile and analyze large datasets more accurately and much quicker than individuals or teams of people could. In a nutshell, artificial intelligence is capable of managing more of the accounting staff’s menial and time-consuming accounting duties. Once those tasks are automated, human teams are freed to refine other skills by focusing on higher-functioning tasks which require true human insight.
Due to the tremendous effect AI will have on accounting departments around the world, accounting professionals should learn to use AI’s capabilities to their advantage today. Here are some of the ways accounting processes are already being managed seamlessly by AI.
No need to hunt high and low for accounting files required for an audit. By leveraging the digital files, auditors improves the efficiency and accuracy of audits
Existing AI-powered invoice management systems already provide more streamlined invoice processing such as Invoice Separation, Data Extraction, and Eata Completion as well as by learning the accounting codes appropriate to each invoice.
Machines post data and consolidate data from a number of sources to reconcile.
Machines can read receipts and alert humans when an infraction has occurred.
Manual solutions plague the procurement and purchasing processes for many organizations. Machines are able to tracking pricing changes among a number of suppliers.
AI automates the search for a selection of new suppliers. It can check credit scores tax information and credit scores while creating a customer account in the system without any human involvement.
AI automation leads to improved operations and lower costs overall. This allows companies to be more productive and efficient and take on more workload than those who have yet to embrace AI technology. Companies large and small should be planning their adoption of advanced technologies like AI so human accounting professionals will be free to take on tasks for which they are better suited.
There is no one-size-fits-all and you have to do some research to find the best ERP solution for you. Learn More Here
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9014267921447754,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://mypaperwriter.com/samples/theory-of-consumer-choice-and-frontiers-of-microeconomics/",
"token_count": 1707,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.263671875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:9b3201e8-9a85-4b61-9827-d043c3ff7d3a>"
}
|
The analytical paper discusses theoretical background determining economic behavior and consumer buying choices. The irrationality of consumer economic behaviors and purchasing decisions makes companies consider feasible theories and concepts explaining the interdependencies and shifts of supply and demand. The coursework emphasizes the Theory of consumer choice and demand curves, as well as the concepts of asymmetric information, political economy, and behavior economics to determine the rationality in making economic decisions. The brief analysis of Condorcet Paradox and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem help to construct the assignment scenario aiming to pursue feasible recommendations to the organization’s marketing department willing to have better understanding of the ways consumers make economic decisions. The analysis emphasizes the importance of applying economic and non-economic frameworks in learning and assessing consumer behaviors and the ways the latter impact the supply side on individual markets. Based on peer-reviewed sources, the paper provides complementary picture of how market forces shape individual consumer choices and buying decisions.
Theory of Consumer Choice and Frontiers of Microeconomics
Given that people’s economic behaviors and purchasing choices are mostly irrational, the paper provides the robust cause-effect analysis of due paradox. Based on the theory of consumer choice, the coursework analyzes the impacts of the concepts of asymmetric information, political economy, and behavior economics to show how consumers make economic decisions. As part of assignment scenario, feasible recommendations are provided to the organization’s marketing department to better understand how consumers make economic decisions. The analysis describes the ways the theory of consumer choice impacts demand curves, higher wages, and higher interest rates. It also emphasizes the role of asymmetric information in economic transactions. Finally, the analysis refers to the Condorcet Paradox and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem in the political economy.
Frontiers of Microeconomics
Economics studies the decisions and choices people make and expands our understanding of consumer behavior. The economics of asymmetric information implies that some of us are better informed than others. Information we possess, therefore, determines the difference that affects the quality and rationality of our consumer choices and purchasing decisions. The concept of asymmetric information is equally applicable to any consumer domain we daily stick with, ranging from common-day purchases to exclusive luxuries. Further, the concept of political economy is about economic governance and its microeconomic impacts on the markets. Political economy deploys economic tools to understand the government functioning and serves as a needed qualifier to prevent market failures and safe governments from erroneous policies. Mostly, the potential improvements depend on the capacity of political institutions and the quality of their performance. Finally, the concept of behavioral economics provides us with important insights into crucial economic matters. Unlike the generalized conventional economic theory, the concept of behavioral economics robustly explores the phenomenon of human economic behavior and subsequent consumer choices (Bishop 2005).
Theory of Consumer Choice and Demand Curves
The theory of consumer choice explores the nature of consumer decision-making in terms of correlation between the goods-to-buy and their purchasing capacity. The demanded quantity decreases once the price of a good or service rises. The demand curve applies in consumer decision-making when consumers refuse to purchase more goods or services. The decision of consumers can be charted using. The demand curve assumes consumers’ facing trade-offs that much determine the final consumer choices. The consumer choice theory implies transitive consumer preferences depending on the linear budget constraints predetermining their purchasing capacity or affordability. Given a limited amount of resources, a buying choice has a preferred value. While the assumed value differs in each individual case, though, a consumer will make the firsthand buying choice for products or services that will work best for them (Hawkins et al. 1998).
Under the realms of microeconomics, the supply and demand fluctuations largely depend on the choices made by the consumers. At that, most consumers tend to spend more during their initial purchases. The demand for the product fulfills and rises when there is a critical amount of consumer choices in favor of a particular product or a service. The demand for a certain product or service drops when the critical amount of consumer decisions has been made and the target audience has been satisfied. On that instant, the demand curve dramatically shifts. After a company releases a new product, it is strategically important to satisfy the needs of target consumers and, therefore, ensure the stable maintenance of the demand side.
The demanded quantity of any good or service determines the cost consumers are ready to pay for it. At that, the price plays a crucial role in how markets operate. The horizontal curve determines market demand, while the calculation of the demanded quantity assumes the addition of individual quantities present in horizontal axis within individual demand curves. With the variation of price, total quantity demanded of a good as well as the market demand curve vary in response. These fluctuations enable corporate marketing departments to forecast how much goods or services consumers will purchase potentially. Consequently, the market determines the overall quantity demanded as a sum of the individual quantities demanded by each consumer. This way, consumer decisions designate the overall market demand curve by adding individual demand curves horizontally.
This is to show that the demand curve is a crystal reflection of consumer decisions and buying choices at the affordable price. Whenever the price goes down, consumers demand increases in quantitative terms, and vice versa. Hence, the demand curve designates the interdependence between the price for a particular good or a service and the target consumer base ready to purchase them. By its nature, the demand curve goes downwards due to the income effect, the diminishing marginal utility, and the substitution effect. With the rise of interest rates, stores generate wider supply of goods. At that, retail pricing increases the costs for the end consumers. This means that while interest rates rise, consumers are prone to pay more. On some stage, however, the demand will shrink due to insufficient disposable income, budget constraints, and subsequently lower consumer spending (Schiffman & Kanuk 2007).
The Asymmetric Information, the Condorcet Paradox, and The Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
In due context, the Asymmetric information theory significantly impacts economic transactions and shifts on the demand side. The achievement of the equilibrium between the imbalances between the supply and demand in a particular market is possible when sellers are able to offer market quality on less-than-average cost. At that, much depends on persistent equilibrium of the wage rates on the particular markets.
The Condorcet Paradox designates the preferences between the variety of available choices as well as the variables and outcomes of consumer decisions. Given the transitivity exists, the end consumer is a sole winner as he/she has the vast variety of goods or services to choose from. However, a Condorcet Paradox excludes such transitivity; the concept embraces both winners and cycles. The Condorcet winner benefits from the winning alternative compared to other possible choices. In its turn, the Condorcet cycle assumes transitivity violations regarding social preferences (Howard & Sheth 1969).
The Kenneth Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem emphasizes rational preferences of consumers compared to any other available choices. This way, the Theorem saves consumers from irrelevant alternatives. This means that instead of mass consumption, the mathematical theory bets on individual consumer choices and preferences (Shugan 2006).
The paper analyzed theoretical approaches to the complex issue of rationality of consumer behavior and purchasing choices. As is seen, much depends on market forces companies should account for to make correct forecasts regarding supply-demand correlations and shifts on individual markets. The analyzed concepts, theories and theorems imply that consumers have individual preferences while their buying decisions much depend on their purchasing capacity and the affordability of a particular good or service.
- Bishop, J. (2005). Under the influence, Supply Management. London: Vol. 10, Iss. 16; p. 35
- Hawkins, D, Roger, I., Best, J., Kenneth A., and Coney, A. (1998). Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy, 7th ed., Boston: McGraw Hill.
- Howard J, & Sheth J. (1969). The Theory of Buyer Behavior. John S. Wiley & Sons, New York.
- Schiffman, L. & Kanuk, L. (2007). Consumer Behavior, 9th Ed, Prentice Hall.
- Shugan, S. (2006). Are Consumers Rational? Experimental Evidence? Marketing Science Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 1-7.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9350885152816772,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://ourstateofgenerosity.org/project/michigan-inheritance-tax-legislation/",
"token_count": 168,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.28515625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:8654071f-45ef-4291-a968-49b44f3539e1>"
}
|
A project of the Council of Michigan Foundations
In 1993, the Council of Michigan Foundations’ Government Relations Committee advocated for the Michigan inheritance tax to be replaced with an estate tax to bring it into line with federal rates, and to prevent the flow of charitable capital from Michigan to states with lower inheritance taxes. By keeping Michigan wealth within the state, they hoped to encourage larger philanthropic gifts among wealthy donors. This tax relief was phased out between 2002 and 2010, at an estimated cost of $17 billion (nationally) in charitable bequests (McClelland, 2004).
McClelland, R. (2004, July 1). Charitable bequests and the repeal of the estate tax: Technical paper 2004. Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/15799
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.977127194404602,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://policyadvice.net/insurance/guides/history-of-insurance-industry/",
"token_count": 2995,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.33984375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:94d180ba-65d8-4fb2-a019-0ddd18d7387d>"
}
|
Risk is a constant part of everyday life and avoiding such situations for the sake of your own or your family’s well-being is practically impossible at all times. This realization sets into people’s minds quite early in life, and it is one that has been a presence in the consciousness of humankind for ages.
An overview of the history of insurance shows this practice to be a sustainable and long-standing solution to such imminent danger. Over the years, it managed to develop and evolve in order to better suit the needs and lifestyles of the time, providing just the right antidote to respective risks and hazards.
Nowadays, this is one of the biggest industries around the globe, sparking the interest of many as to how it all came about.
How Did Insurance Start
It is understandably difficult to imagine the contemporary concept of insurance policies and precise calculations being present in olden times. You could say that our predecessors were all too worried about surviving in the wilderness, finding food and water, and protecting their shelters. However, their means of doing so were precisely the first instances of insurance as we know it nowadays.
So, you could say the prehistoric era is the answer to your question of “when did insurance start appearing in its earliest form.” As for the actual policies, it is safe to say that they were no more than the mutual protection resulting from the organization of groups, or tribes. Since this earliest age, humans realized the risk involved in hunting wild animals, passing dangerous terrains, or simply living in rigorous conditions, and sought to distribute it more evenly, just to make their lives better.
As for those looking to find out the answer to “how long has insurance been around” (in its contractual form), look no further than the Babylonians, and one of the first written laws ever — the Code of Hammurabi. This law contained a clause protecting the rights of merchants against moneylenders as a form of insurance dictated by the state. Should any malady or death fall upon the merchant, their loan would be forfeited rather than indebting their closest family or relatives.
Chinese merchants living as early as 3,000 B.C. played an equally important part in the history of insurance, having realized the potential of joining forces in their fight against the risks of water transport. Their form of insurance included pooling the risk for the transport of joint cargo, so as to reduce their losses in case things went bad. And with river rapids, pirates, and other thieves being a constant menace, it is no wonder the earliest records of such practice date back to the year 3,000 B.C.
Who Invented Insurance?
Early records of insurance in one form or another, such as the ones mentioned above, show that the service as we know it nowadays is an indispensable factor for human civilization’s survival and prosperity. In this regard, the lengthy period of maritime trade has definitely had a great influence on the different forms of insurance and their development over time.
Hence, the Greeks and Phoenicians are just as vital to any overview of the origin of insurance as any of the rest. Their sea trade was based on contracts between ship-owners or merchants with specific moneylenders — or sponsors, so to speak. The former would likely pledge something of value — the ship or the cargo — as collateral in order to obtain a loan from the latter party.
Respectively, bottomry loans were those that saw the ships used as collateral, while respondentia loans were obtained by merchants who pledged the cargo as collateral. Such insurance worked for both parties for quite some time, as it protected the merchants in case of disaster, and at the same time brought profit to the moneylenders.
What’s more, insurance history records note that it often came down to something more than cash or valuables pooled together. The Amish community is a good example of this; they would actually insure their members on the basis of “joint effort.” More specifically, in cases of certain distress to one member’s property (their house burned down), the rest of the people would all work together to rebuild it. Being a limited and unique example, the Amish community’s type of insurance is still proof of the many different forms of the practice that led up to contemporary practice in the likes of life insurance as we know it.
How Artisan Guilds Sparked the Growth of Insurance
Artisan guilds also played an important role in the history of insurance, developing one of the key forms of insurance known to this day. The early form of group coverage as they used to employ helped them preserve, protect, and ultimately boost their trade back in the days of the Dark and Middle Ages when craftsmanship was only beginning to rise in popularity.
The guild system had an established system that protected them from potential risks. Fires were a common disaster, considering the fact that their places of practice were often built out of wood, although illnesses and death were also frequently covered by the system. While they are not officially part of the history of insurance companies, these funds were definitely the closest thing to them that people had back in those days.
Say, for example, a master’s practice burned down — the guild would invest funds from its coffers in order to restore it. Alternatively, if they were robbed or had fallen ill, the same funds would go towards boosting the business until it got back on its feet again. Support was also provided to the families of deceased guild members, showing some of the earliest records of this occurring in the history of life insurance policies.
This practice turned out to be rather beneficial — both for the craftsmen and the craft. After all, the advantage of having some kind of support in case of accidents drew many people away from farming and boosted the trade of goods and services through their growing availability on the marketplace.
How Insurance Became a Global Industry
Still, when it comes to its rise as an industry, the history of insurance finds its place of origin in the coffeehouses of London. These were originally known as the unofficial stock exchange of the British Empire, which was the driving force of commerce and maritime trade back in the days of colonialism.
Ship-owners, merchants, and others would come in the coffeehouses, looking for information and insurance for their prospective voyages. A frequented destination was the coffeehouse of one Edward Lloyd, later becoming a company that exists to this day — Lloyd’s of London. It was the first insurance company ever in Great Britain to provide maritime insurance for ships dealing with the slave trade, retaining their monopoly late into the 19th century.
Their daily practice consisted of sharing valuable information with their clients, merchants, and ship-owners, and finding venture capitalists that would fund their colonial voyages. These venture capitalists would provide people interested in being colonists and also buy the provisions for the journey — the first of its kind in the history of insurance. In return, they would get a portion of the cargo brought back from the New World explorations.
Once it became clear that such valuables weren’t all that easy to find, they started accepting shares of tobacco, the new bumper crop. Afterward, Lloyd would seek out potential investors and underwrites — these would share the risk of the voyage by taking responsibility for portions of the cargo with a signature under the entire list (hence the term underwriting).
The first insurance company issuing fire insurance also originated out of these coffeehouses, prompted by the fires that burned down about 14,000 buildings in London in 1666. They came only a year after a plague had massacred the London population, making everyone take these risks that more seriously.
It was around that time — more precisely in 1654 — that Blaise Pascal and fellow Frenchman Pierre de Fermat had developed a mathematical equation that included probabilities. It helped calculate mortality rates and lead to the actuary tables used even nowadays when calculating insurance risks, costs, and premiums.
The History of American Insurance
America in the days of colonialism faced a range of health and safety risks, making it an undesirable market for insurers everywhere. Known and unknown diseases, as well as fires and crimes fraught the continent, leaving USA residents significantly unprotected of such harms. However, this only lasted for so long.
Benjamin Franklin and the Start of Insurance in the US
The first insurance company ever issuing fire insurance in the US was established in 1752. Benjamin Franklin was the one that helped create what was known as the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, prompted by the massive fires that were rampaging across massive cities in the USA. Back in those days, settlements were mainly built of wood, with contractors trying to fit in as many buildings in as little space as possible.
In order to get started, the insurance proposed by Ben Franklin needed subscribers. Back then, Philadelphia had about 15,000 residents and 8 volunteer fire companies. The Pennsylvania Gazette issued a notice in February 1752, and the first policies were issued after April when enough subscribers had applied and a board of directors had been chosen.
The policies were issued for a 7-year period, after which policyholders got a return on their deposit, minus the fees. One of the fees subtracted was intended for fire identification marks; different insurance companies owned their own fire brigades. These were commonly made of lead, as well as iron, copper, tin (even wood), and placed between the first and second stories of insured buildings for identification purposes.
Introduction of the Basic Types of Insurance
Insurance in America continued to progress and include other types of policies over the course of the coming years. Standards were introduced regarding the construction of housing facilities thanks to the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Later on, this gave rise to the first insurance companies for home insurance.
Ultimately, with ready-made calculations for probabilities and mortality charts, Franklin also aided the establishment of the first life insurance company in the US, the Presbyterians’ Minister’s Fund. This type of insurance wasn’t as readily accepted at first, with particular opposition coming from religious organizations who protested against it placing a price on human life. Nevertheless, once it became clear that the policies worked to an advantage for widows and orphans, opposition resided and life insurance was readily adopted by US residents everywhere.
Soon afterward, the Industrial Revolution instigated the rise of many new businesses, prompting the need for business insurance among the remaining types. Manufacturers and retailers needed a way to protect their main source of income; nonetheless, the workers called for a workers’ compensation type of insurance, and disability policies were also introduced.
The history of health insurance in the United States dates from a later period, but it’s still rated as one of the most popular types of policies issued across the nation. In 1864, the Travelers Insurance Company issued its own first policy for accidents, while 1889 recorded the first-ever auto insurance type, as vehicles became a more permanent part of everyday life.
Wild Years of American Insurance and the Advent of Regulations
With all kinds of insurance policies readily available on the market, it became a rather chaotic environment in no time. Starting from the oldest insurance company to the ones established most recently, all were quite eager to sign new subscriptions and paid little notice to the actual formation of insurance contracts. Without any formal rule of operations, the industry saw multiple companies, individuals, as well as insurers go down due to incompetent or improper, i.e., fraudulent operations.
The first state to standardize the writing of insurance contracts was Massachusetts, back in 1873. About a decade earlier, it was the same state’s Commissioner of Insurance (1858–1866), Elizur Wright, which introduced further regulations to their insurance companies. The history of health insurance timeline, or any insurance type for that matter, take this as one of the most significant periods for the industry. Wright personally took upon the task of devising what he called an accumulation formula, including actuarial tables and other equations to better determine the price of insurance, how sustainable it would be for the company and policyholders as well.
Another important point in time for the history of health insurance came about in 1901, with the Appleton Rule. It was enacted by the state of New York, determining monocline insurance as the regular kind, with three distinct lines of work-life and health, fire and casualty, without any intermixing allowed between them.
The Social Security Act of 1935 prompted the advent of regulation since they took over the provision of benefits for the unemployed or retired. Afraid of further federal interference, insurers were all but forced to comply with stricter provisions. There was even an attempt by the Supreme Court to regulate the industry at the federal level but this was overthrown by the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, retaining authority at the state level.
Hence, even the oldest insurance companies in the US that managed to persist throughout the years were officially defined as financial services. By the end of the 1940s, multiple-line insurance companies were also introduced and called for an even more definite limitation between insurance companies and other financial service providers, such as banks and brokerages.
Insurance in the US Today
Nowadays, insurance in the US is seen as an investment as well as a necessity. While health insurance dates later than some other types of policies, it is well within the focus of US authorities and individual residents alike. The history of health insurance has come a long way. Now, it is a standard requirement for anyone looking to build a quality lifestyle.
Aside from insurance policies oriented towards protecting people or their property from potential risks and harms, the US insurance industry, nowadays, includes some more unconventional policies. Custom-tailored preferences are the standard, as well as providing top-notch services and creating circumstances for substantial fraud.
After all, insurance fraud is only the second most costly crime in the US, the first being tax evasion. With massive repercussions for everyone involved, it is crucial to be aware of all threats, even the ones coming from establishments intended to minimize risk in the first place.
This detailed overview of the history of insurance is aimed to provide you with some insight into the primal idea behind such concepts. After all, it turned out to be one of the most lucrative lines of work on a global scale, and just as beneficial for everyone involved.
All things considered, insurance is a crucial and indispensable part of life; therefore, a basic knowledge of its roots is more than welcome to better understand the mechanics behind the insurance giants.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.918986976146698,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://wallaceandjames.com/despite-the-persistence-of-problems-in-the-construction/",
"token_count": 613,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.009033203125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f3e59c1e-b1f6-4755-87fe-390c3ea8677f>"
}
|
Despitethis popularity, there is evidence that not all performance measurementinitiatives are successful. some researchers have claimed that about 70% ofattempts to implement performance measurement systems fail. Absenceof measurable targets in the development programs to guide and assess, atintervals, the success of their implementation is a possible reason for lack ofprogress and the persistence of problems in the construction industry (Ofori,2001). Theconstruction industry is an important contributor to the economy of a country;however, it has quite an unstable nature (Toor & Ogunlana, 2009).
As aresult of rapid change and increasing uncertainty in terms of technology,budgets and operational processes, the construction industry has become morecomplicated and dynamic (Albert, 2001). Consequently, the need for improvingthe performance of the construction sector is wholly apparent. To achieve performanceimprovement, measurable objectives must be set and then used to determinecritical success factors and performance measures. Performanceis defined by Salaheldin (2009) as the degree to which an operation fulfilsprimary measures (performance objectives) in order to meet the needs of thecustomers (secondary measures).
Throughoutthe twentieth century mangers have rigorously used financial metrics forplanning and control purposes, and therefore, majority of performancemeasurement was the measurement of financial data and results. The popularityof financial data increased rapidly in the 1950s (van Schalkwyk 1998), and hasmaintained this popularity up to the point that when UK managers thought ofperformance information in the early 1990s they thought of almost exclusivelyfinancial information (Jeffries 1993). Inthe late 1970s, the 1980s and the early 1990s managers and academics started statingtheir dissatisfaction with traditional financial based performance measurementsystems (Bourne et al. 2000; Kaplan 1984; and Letza 1996). The problem lies inthe fact that financial information tends to lag, in the sense that itdescribes the outcome of managerial actions/decisions after they occur by atleast a reporting period. However, managers need current, up-to-date, andmostly nonfinancial information, to be able to take better decisions/actions.
Since1st July 2005 construction companies have had to present KPIs for previousprojects, if they wish to undertake new construction projects for the Danishstate. BEC refers here to the company’s “grade book” when the constructioncompany has collected KPIs from at least three projects. Dueto intense competition, globalization and an explosion of technology in recentyears organizational learning, knowledge creation and innovation capabilityhave emerged as the dominating factors of competitive advantage (Crossan andBerdrov, 2003; Zahra and George, 2002). Goalsetting and feedback have been proven to improve productivity (Locke andLatham, 2002).
Goal setting theory suggests that specific and challenging goalsresult in a higher performance than moderate or easy attainable goals, vaguegoals or no goals at all (Locke and Latham, (1990).
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9524970054626465,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.jackjenningsdc.com/military-solution-education-memorandum-methodology/",
"token_count": 2423,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.031494140625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1a5c16e5-1b6d-4f81-943e-0d28977bef71>"
}
|
TO: Jack Jennings
FROM: Matthew Frizzell
DATE: February 8, 2017
SUBJECT: Estimated percent of US’ education spending in 2013
The National Priorities Project concluded that the United States outpaces other countries by a significant margin in military expenditures — the US spends approximately 37% of all spending in the world for military purposes.i However, there is no comparison between US education spending as a percentage of total education spending around the world. This memo first describes a method for estimating the percentage of US’ education spending on primary and secondary education. Then, it approximates the spending increase needed if the US wants to spend the same percentage of global expenditures on education as it spends on the military.
Three steps were taken to calculate the per pupil spending increase if the US were to have spent 37% of education spending worldwide. First, I compiled the known spending on primary and secondary education for as many countries as possible, with a goal of including all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the ten most populous countries in 2013. Second, I estimated education spending for five countries that were missing after stage 1. Finally, I calculated the percentage of US’ education spending relative to education spending around the globe and used this information to estimate how much spending would have to increase if the US were to have spent 37% of the total spending on education in primary and secondary grades in 2013.
Stage 1: Known spending on education, by country
I started by collecting annual per pupil spending and student enrollment data for 2013 from the United Nations’ Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics’ (UIS) database.ii Per pupil expenditure is in constant USD (U.S. dollars).iii Both indicators are provided using the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels. For this analysis, I focused on elementary and secondary education (ISCED levels 1, 2, and 3). UIS provides an indicator for secondary education that combines ISCED levels 2 and 3.
Because the analysis was concerned with capturing as many countries that are members of the OECD as possible, I included OECD countries that had information from years other than 2013 (this expansion of years allowed for the inclusion of the following OECD-member countries: Belgium, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland).iv I then, expanded the sample to include non-OECD countries that had information available for 2011 or 2012. I took information from the most recent year if figures were available for both 2011 and 2012 (this expansion of years allowed for the inclusion of the following non-OECD-member countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, and Yemen).
In all, the analysis included 115 counties — five of which had estimated education spending figures. Appendix 1 shows per pupil spending on education and student enrollment by country and school level. The next section describes the additional steps taken to include those five countries.
Stage 2. Generating estimates for spending on education
In addition to including all OECD countries, I wanted to include the 10 most populous countries in the world. The 2013 country populations as reported by the United States Census Bureauv showed that the analysis was missing China, Nigeria, and Russia (the 1st, 7th, and 9th most populous countries in the world, respectively). To include these three countries, I estimated education spending for each.
The first step in estimating education spending was to create an education spending to military spending ratio for primary and secondary grade spans in the analysis.vi To create the ratios, I looked at all the countries that had data for education spending for primary and secondary education and military expenditure figures. Not all of the 110 countries with education spending data had military expenditure figures. The following 16 countries were not used to create the average education spending to average military spending ratio: Andorra, Bhutan, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Guinea, Iceland, Iran, Laos, Mozambique, Niger, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal.
I used the total amount of education spending at the primary and secondary education levels and divided that into the total amount of military expenditures. (See table 1.) I estimated that for every dollar the 94 countries spent on the military they spent approximately $0.62 on primary education and $0.82 on secondary education.
These ratios were then applied to the military spending for Canada, China, Greece, Nigeria, and Russia for both primary and secondary education. That gave the total education spending by both grade spans. I then divided that total spending figure by the total population enrolled in elementary and secondary schools for 2013 (enrollment figures for 2013 were available in the UIS database) to get per pupil spending in the five countries.
Stage 3. Percentage of US’ education spending relative to worldwide spending
To obtain a needed increase in US education spending to reach 37 percent of all spending in 2013, I calculated the percentage of the US’ education spending relative to worldwide education spending by grade span. (See table 2.)
To calculate the primary per pupil expenditure for the US at the 37% mark, I multiplied total education spending for primary school by 0.37 and divided that figure by the US’ primary student population. I used the same method to calculate the US’ secondary per pupil spending at the 37% mark. Then, to calculate the needed percent increase over 2013 US education spending, I used the difference between per pupil spending at the 37 percent of education spending and the US’ actual per pupil spending in 2013. The difference was divided by the US’ actual spending on education by grade span, by grade level. (See table 3). If the US were to have spent 37% of the total education spending for the 115 countries in the analysis, it would have needed to increase its primary spending by an estimated 45% and its secondary spending by an estimated 71%.
However, when looking at simple rankings of countries by per pupil spending. Even an increase to 37% of worldwide spending in education would not be enough to make the US the biggest spender for primary and secondary education. As table 4 shows, the US becomes the fifth largest spender for primary education and the fourth largest for secondary education.
The analysis of UNESCO’s UIS database originally included all countries that had per pupil spending and enrollment figures for 2013. However, when conducing an analysis of OECD only countries revealed that some OECD member countries were omitted from the analysis, I pulled the most recent data for those countries from 2011 or 2012. The expansion of the sample by year increases the number of countries in the sample but most likely does not capture their actual spending in 2013.
This analysis assumes some connection between education spending and military spending. However, I don’t know of any research that has established a direct link between education expenditures and military expenditures within countries. In my analysis, there are countries that spend more on education than military and others that spend more on military than education. The analysis used military spending to create a ratio because the nature of the blog post posits education spending against military spending.
There is also a limitation in terminology between countries. UNESCO defines government expenditures as the “average total (current, capital and transfers) general government expenditure per student in the given level of education, expressed in US$ at market exchange rates, in constant prices.”vii UNESCO also provides definitions for primary and lower and upper secondary. However, each country decides what qualifies as expenditure and which age ranges constitute primary and secondary education.
An additional limitation to this analysis is the estimated education spending. Because the analysis using only UIS information did not capture education spending for three of the 10 most populous countries in the world and two OECD countries, I estimated education spending for Canada, China, Greece, Nigeria, and Russia. However, SIPRI provides estimates for military expenditures for both China and Russia for 2013. This means that my estimate is based on another set of estimates.
Moreover, this analysis captures education spending for only 115 countries out of the 228 countries included in US Census Bureau’s website that lists each country’s population. This means the analysis excludes 113 countries. Including these countries in the analysis would only amplify the gap between what the US spends on primary and secondary education and the benchmark of 37% of worldwide spending on primary and secondary education. The analysis also does not consider government spending on tertiary education.
This analysis attempted to be as conservative as possible, but it is still possibly overestimated education spending in these five countries, which would lower the percentage of US education spending.viii However, I used the OECD database for 2013 education spending for 2013 and found that in 2013 the US spent 37% of all primary education spending in OECD countries and 32% of all secondary spending in OECD countries — this is only a difference of two percentage points for primary education and a percentage point for secondary education when compared to my analysis. This comparison gives me confidence in the accuracy of my estimates.
* Bold font indicated the country is a OECD member.
**Countries did not have education data for 2013 so data was pulled from either 2011 or 2012. The specific year is noted in the parentheses.
i. I believe that the National Priorities Projected included data for 140 countries in their analysis from SIPRI’s 2015 military expenditure database, but they don’t disclose the actual number. https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/us-military-spending-vs-world/
ii. 2013 was set as a base year because it was most recent year which had education spending figures for the United States.
iii. The UIS database normally reports the constant USD base year at three years before publication. I used the most recent education database, which was released in December 2016. Therefore, I worked under the assumption that the base year for determining the constant USD was 2013 and adjustments for inflation were not needed for data collected for 2011 and 2012.
iv. Despite expanding the data collection years to 2011 and 2012, Greece and Canada still had incomplete information in the UIS database and they were the two OECD countries for which I used the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) military expenditure database to create estimates.
vi. Data for military expenditures come from SIPRI. I used SIPRI’s 2014 Military Expenditure Database. This version allowed me to use their current USD tab to obtain military expenditure data for all countries with education expenditures and enrollments from 2013 — which was the most current year represented in the database. However, because SIPRI’s analysis of military expenditure using constant USD relied on 2011 dollars, I had to adjust for inflation for countries with education spending data from 2011 or 2012. (As noted above, I did not have to adjust the UIS education spending data for inflation.) I adjusted for inflation for 14 countries with 2011 military expenditure figures and 12 countries with 2012 military expenditure data. I used the US Department of Labor’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) Calculator to make the adjustments.
viii. According to the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2014, Canada spent $9,130 on per primary student in 2012 and $12,086 per upper secondary student. Both figures are well over the estimated per-pupil spending I calculated for Canada in 2013. So, while it is possible I have overestimated education spending worldwide using a ratio based on military spending, this example shows that I could have also underestimated worldwide education spending.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9545254111289978,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.montanabusinessquarterly.com/hospitals-make-sizable-impact-on-montanas-economy/",
"token_count": 1435,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.06396484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:23284cde-14c2-43fa-b964-8137d4fef5aa>"
}
|
The rapid growth of health care spending in the United States is well documented. According to data from the National Health Expenditure Accounts, in 2019 overall health care spending represented almost 18% of total gross domestic product and inflation adjusted per capita expenditures were $10,400 per year (Figure 1). If current trends continue, over the next five years projected 2025 health expenditures (represented by dashes) will represent one-fifth of total U.S. output, as measured by gross domestic product. Real per capita expenditures will reach of $12,000 per year, more than double what they were at the turn of the century. According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the next several years health care and social assistance will be the fastest growing sector in the U.S. economy.
The reasons for the expansion of health care spending are numerous. The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 reduced the percentage of uninsured Americans from 15.5% to 9.2% in 2019, though at its lowest in 2016 this ratio was 8.6%. This translates into roughly 13 million more people seeking consistent health care today than 10 years ago.
A second driver of this growth is the aging population and longer life expectancy – though this latter indicator has dropped over the past three years or so. Roughly one-half of all health care spending is for people over the age of 55, and individuals over 65 account for one-third of expenditures.
Economists call health a “normal good” – the higher your income the more you demand. Improvements to medical technology, such as pharmaceuticals, devices, etc., have been introduced to satisfy the increased demand for better health outcomes. Another factor is the rise of health risks. For example, the national obesity rate increased from 31% in 2000 to 42.4% in 2018. The rate of severe obesity doubled to 10% over the same period.
The result of this can be seen by comparing the prices of hospital services to the overall price level. Increased demand for hospital services derived from higher incomes, declining health and preferences can be seen in the ratio of hospital prices to the general price level. Figure 2 shows the annual growth rate of the relationship, which has averaged about 4% since 1983.
Similar patterns can be found in Montana. Figure 3 shows health care output, measured as gross state product and employment from 2010 to 2023. To calculate the forecasts the model did not include data post-2020Q1 to remove the short term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2023 the Montana health care sector will be roughly 30% higher than it was 2010.
Projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show expenditures in both Medicare and Medicaid will continue to rise through 2031, averaging 6.9% and 5% respectively. By 2031, the CBO estimates the combined spending of both these programs to be roughly $2.1 trillion.
Hospitals in Montana
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana was contracted by the Montana Hospital Association to conduct an economic analysis of the state’s hospitals and health centers. The results demonstrate a sizable, ongoing and permanent impact of Montana’s hospitals on the economic performance on Montana.
Table 1 shows hospital employment, total wages and salary, and average annual pay in five year increments between 2005 and 2019. Also tabulated are the annual growth rates for those years. Over the 15-year period, employment in Montana hospitals is 28% higher in 2019 than 2005, total wages are an impressive 116% higher, and average pay almost 70% more. To put that in perspective, over the same period, statewide employment, total wages and average annual pay rose 15.8%, 81.9% and 57.1%, respectively.
These data demonstrate the growing importance of the health care sector, including hospitals, in the Montana economy. A recent report by the World Health Organization provides evidence for the role the health care sector plays on economic activity.
Using data for 55 hospitals and health centers across 47 counties, BBER calculated the economic impact of Montana’s hospitals. Economic impacts by hospitals are the total number of direct and indirect jobs created; total personal income and after taxes, disposable income; economic output created; and total population which results from county hospitals.
Putting that in perspective, Montana hospitals directly and indirectly account for about 17.3% of state employment, 11.9% of total personal income and 13.8% of population.
While there are health centers located in most of Montana’s counties, not all of the rural operations can handle all types of medical emergencies or procedures. Many smaller regional health centers do not have the facilities to conduct complicated procedures. It is also unlikely that a sufficient number of prospective patients would make it cost effective to provide facilities for infrequent procedures. Using outpatient billing data, BBER identified the hospital county destination for all of Montana’s health centers.
As expected, counties with the largest hospitals had the largest billing percentage from outside their home county. For example, Figure 4 shows where Yellowstone County hospitals, Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare, billed their outpatients in 2019. The data only includes those counties which represented greater than or equal to 0.5% of total billing by Yellowstone hospitals. About 60% of invoiced bills were to Yellowstone residents. Patients from Big Horn County were the source of the largest out-of-county billing. Patients from Lewis and Clark County accounted for about 0.5% of Yellowstone’s hospitals billing.
Hospitals in Missoula County had the smallest share of resident billing, accounting for about 53% of the total. As might be expected, most of Missoula hospitals billing was in the western third of the state, while in Yellowstone County patients tended to be from the central and eastern two-thirds of the state.
Other counties which tended to export health services to nonresident patients were Cascade County (66%), Flathead County (73%), Gallatin County (78%), Lewis and Clark County (76%), and Silver Bow County (75%). For states such as Montana, recognizing patient flows is crucial to improving rural health care in the future, such as which services should be provided on-site and what can be provided remotely; recruiting and retaining health care workers; and how to improve affordability.
Health care is on track to continue its high growth rates and become an ever increasing sector in the national and state economies for many years to come. If demographics, health and economic activity remain on the same course, given the considerable effect of Montana’s hospitals on Montana’s economy, the health care sector’s direct and indirect impact will follow national trends. The health care sector in the U.S. is projected to be as high as 20% by 2027, however if we include the indirect impacts, that number increases to roughly 30% of gross domestic product – becoming one of the largest, if not the largest sector in the state’s economy.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9465882182121277,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://zeyroon.com/qa/how-do-you-record-accrued-liabilities.html",
"token_count": 1329,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0693359375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:e2ad39e5-b95d-44b5-9b60-6fb055b9f1de>"
}
|
- What is an example of an accrual?
- What are current liabilities examples?
- How do you reconcile Accrued payroll?
- How do you reconcile accrued liabilities?
- Is Accounts Payable a debit or credit?
- Are accrued expenses Current liabilities?
- What are non current liabilities?
- What is accrual reconciliation?
- How do you record liabilities?
- What is an accrual journal entry?
- How accruals are treated in balance sheet?
- Is account payable a liability?
- Are expenses liabilities?
- What is the balance sheet reconciliation?
- What is the journal entry for accrued liabilities?
- How do you account for an accrual?
- Is accrued income an asset?
- What is accrued liabilities in a balance sheet?
What is an example of an accrual?
An example of an expense accrual involves employee bonuses that were earned in 2019, but will not be paid until 2020.
Therefore, prior to issuing the 2019 financial statements, an adjusting journal entry records this accrual with a debit to an expense account and a credit to a liability account..
What are current liabilities examples?
Current liabilities are typically settled using current assets, which are assets that are used up within one year. Examples of current liabilities include accounts payable, short-term debt, dividends, and notes payable as well as income taxes owed.
How do you reconcile Accrued payroll?
Use the following steps to reconcile payroll.Print out your payroll register. … Match each hourly employee’s time card to the pay register. … Make sure the pay rates and salaries for each employee are correct. … Check that you took all deductions out of employee paychecks.More items…•
How do you reconcile accrued liabilities?
Steps in an Account Reconciliation for Accrued ExpensesCompare Account Balance Items to Invoices. The most important part of reconciling the accrued expenses balance is to ensure that the amounts recorded are correct and complete. … Search All Invoices Received in Following Month. … Compare Current Year to Prior Year. … Call Vendors.
Is Accounts Payable a debit or credit?
Since liabilities are increased by credits, you will credit the accounts payable. And, you need to offset the entry by debiting another account. When you pay off the invoice, the amount of money you owe decreases (accounts payable). Since liabilities are decreased by debits, you will debit the accounts payable.
Are accrued expenses Current liabilities?
Accrued expenses (also called accrued liabilities) are payments that a company is obligated to pay in the future for which goods and services have already been delivered. These types of expenses are realized on the balance sheet and are usually current liabilities.
What are non current liabilities?
Noncurrent liabilities, also known as long-term liabilities, are obligations listed on the balance sheet not due for more than a year. … Examples of noncurrent liabilities include long-term loans and lease obligations, bonds payable and deferred revenue.
What is accrual reconciliation?
The Accrual Reconciliation Report can be used to analyze the balance of the Accounts Payable (A/P) accrual accounts. You can accrue both expense and inventory purchases as you receive them. When this happens, you temporarily record an accounts payable liability to your Expense or Inventory A/P accrual accounts.
How do you record liabilities?
Liabilities are typically recorded under a “payables” account or unearned revenue. They usually have a credit balance, unless they are considered to be a contra liability. This type of liability has a debit balance due to the fact that it discounts or reduces the amount owed.
What is an accrual journal entry?
Accrual Definition An accrual is a journal entry that is used to recognize revenues and expenses that have been earned or consumed, respectively, and for which the related cash amounts have not yet been received or paid out.
How accruals are treated in balance sheet?
You record an accrued expense when you have incurred the expense but have not yet recorded a supplier invoice (probably because the invoice has not yet been received). Accrued expenses tend to be short-term, so they are recorded within the current liabilities section of the balance sheet.
Is account payable a liability?
Accounts payable is the amount of short-term debt or money owed to suppliers and creditors by a company. … Accounts payable is listed on a company’s balance sheet. Accounts payable is a liability since it’s money owed to creditors and is listed under current liabilities on the balance sheet.
Are expenses liabilities?
Expenses and liabilities should not be confused with each other. One is listed on a company’s balance sheet, and the other is listed on the company’s income statement. Expenses are the costs of a company’s operation, while liabilities are the obligations and debts a company owes.
What is the balance sheet reconciliation?
What are Balance Sheet Reconciliations? Balance sheet reconciliations are simply a comparison of the amounts that appear on your balance sheet general ledger accounts to the details that make up those balances, while also ensuring that any differences between the two are adequately and reasonably explained.
What is the journal entry for accrued liabilities?
You need to make an accrued liability entry in your books. Usually, an accrued expense journal entry is a debit to an Expense account. The debit entry increases your expenses. You also apply a credit to an Accrued Liabilities account. The credit increases your liabilities.
How do you account for an accrual?
The accrued expense will be recorded as an account payable under the current liabilities section of the balance sheet and also as an expense in the income statement. On the general ledger, when the bill is paid, the accounts payable account is debited and the cash account is credited.
Is accrued income an asset?
Accrued income is listed in the asset section of the balance sheet because it represents a future benefit to the company in the form of a future cash payout.
What is accrued liabilities in a balance sheet?
An accrued liability is an expense that a business has incurred but has not yet paid. A company can accrue liabilities for any number of obligations, and the accruals can be recorded as either short-term or long-term liabilities on a company’s balance sheet.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9582995176315308,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://theeconomicconversation.com/book/ch16.e_p.php",
"token_count": 945,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.423828125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f03d4ca3-0436-47a1-aca9-6e39335ba1f2>"
}
|
PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES
1. Devise a simple economy in class, with only two products, two factors of production, two citizens, but not money (it's a pure barter economy). Discuss the general equilibrium of this economy. What happens if there is unexpectedly an increase in the supply of one of the factors, say it is labor. Talk through as many of the direct and indirect features as you can.
2. Look around campus and spot three externalities of what people do.
3. Give some examples of information provided to you free by markets.
4. You are hiring a night guard for a warehouse filled with valuable electronic equipment. Suppose night guards seldom give up their jobs voluntarily. You need an experienced person. Describe the lemons problem you face.
ESSAY AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
5. Describe the loss of "efficiency" if a ticket to the basketball game does not end up in the hands of the person who values it the most. What's the dollar measure of the lost efficiency? Use the argument to make a case for "scalping," that is, allowing people to resell basketball tickets. Describe it in terms of making one person better off without making anyone else worse off.
6. Rodney says, "It's better that government owns the corporations than the rich people." Thinking efficiency, use the analogy with the public lands to address the argument.
7. What's the high transaction cost in dealing with pollution from factories? Take the case of smog in the Appalachian Mountains caused by smoke stacks hundreds of miles away. Identify exactly who the people are who own the property or are affected by the pollution. Why doesn't the market work?
8. Explain exactly why you cannot solve an externality problem by simply taxing the "cause" of the externality. Work it through with Coase's First and Second Theorems.
9. Adult smokers have 18 years less of life to look forward to than non-smokers. Explain the incentives for a smoker to lie to an insurance company about his smoking. Why would the company do badly if it could not see through such lies? Explain by analogy with the auto "lemons" why non-smokers would do badly in the insurance market if the companies could not see through the lies.
10. Maria suggests that markets do not work because of the uncertainties. Discuss.
11. Discuss the role of institutions in market societies. Give a few examples.
ANSWERS TO CONCEPT CHECKS
1. A higher price for gas will discourage potential buyers of big cars. So the demand for big cars will shift to the left, as in the diagram. The supply of cars will shift in a little as well because of the increase in production costs. As a result fewer big cars will be sold at most likely a lower price.
2. Governmental support of the poor is inefficient according to the first Welfare Theorem because it represents a transaction that makes one group (the poor) better off at the expense of another group (the taxpayers). Klamer's response is that the outcome of poverty is due to imperfections in markets; the political world may decide that correction is desirable even if this means that people (taxpayers) have to make a sacrifice.
3. An airport produces noise as an externality. A solution would be to set up a market for quietness in which the market could buy the rights to make a specified quantity of noise for a price to be paid to its neighbors. There is an alternative solution discussed in the text.
4. Presuming markets work well, we can say that someone's salary tells what his or her work is worth. For if the worth deviates from the salary, the market would correct the situation.
5. In perfectly competitive markets all products are the same. So there is no need for information other than the price.
6. Judging resumes is tough. It is not made easier when people cheat. How to pick out the letters of reference that are sincere from those that exaggerate the qualities of the applicant? Admission officers may become very cautious lest they admit the lemons into school. At times they may not treat the honest applicants as fairly as they deserve.
7. Examples are conventions as that applicants write a statement, do a college tests, include letters of reference, and so on. (You see the convention especially clearly in comparisons with practices elsewhere: you can enter most European universities without a statement, letters of reference or the scores of a test.) You probably have thought of other institutions because there are many.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9265477657318115,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://greenfiscalpolicy.org/reports/the-livestock-levy-are-regulators-considering-meat-taxes/",
"token_count": 299,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.34375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:cdd4b26f-0c1f-459d-8eb2-92f1ca6ecd0f>"
}
|
The Livestock Levy: Are Regulators Considering Meat Taxes? (FAIRR)
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Practically every government in the world faces challenges when it comes to balancing their budgets, and an increasingly attractive target for revenue creation is a tax on goods deemed to be unhealthy or damaging to the environment or both. For example, over 180 countries now impose a tax on tobacco, 60 jurisdictions tax carbon and at least 25 tax sugar. This report explores whether meat may be the next product on this list. In the global livestock production sector, sustainability megatrends and changing dietary patterns driven by a growing global middle class are creating enormous challenges. Population growth has driven up up global meat consumption by over 500% between 1992 and 2016 and this trajectory is likely to continue in the future, especially in emerging markets. However meeting this growing demand has proven a difficult endeavour for the global livestock industry, and in recent years the sectors has been linked with a range of environmental, health and social problems. Could taxation of meat products be a way to mitigate these global challenges? The pathway to taxation typically starts when there is global consensus that an activity or product harms society. This leads to an assessment of their financial costs to the public, which in turn results in support for some form of additional taxation. Taxes on tobacco, carbon and sugar have followed this playbook.
The Executive Study of the report is available on the Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return website.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9422674775123596,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://pocketsense.com/accounts-payable-cash-basis-vs-accrual-basis-4706.html",
"token_count": 566,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.007537841796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a6f419a4-7be1-4923-ba21-f245f6fccddb>"
}
|
When a firm prepares its financial statements it must indicate whether cash or accrual accounting methods are in use. Smaller businesses, especially sole proprietorships, are more likely to use the cash accounting method due to its simplicity. Larger corporations tend to use accrual accounting in order to reflect higher levels of accuracy when it comes to current revenue and liability reporting. Accounts payable is a liability account that business managers use to keep track of payments the organization owes.
The cash accounting method recognizes revenue when a company receives payment. Under cash accounting, expenses are also recognized when payments against liabilities are made. For example, if a firm receives a cash payment for merchandise sold, it will increase its cash account balance accordingly. If the firm sells merchandise on credit, it does not record the revenue until the period in which it receives cash payment for the sale. Likewise, a firm will record payments when they are sent, not in the period in which the expense is incurred.
Business managers that choose to record revenues and expenses under the accrual method recognize them when they occur. For example, if a firm makes a sale on credit, it records the revenue when the sale is made. It makes a corresponding entry under a liability account, which is cleared when it receives the actual payment. Likewise, when a company incurs an expense, it recognizes it right away instead of waiting until it sends payment. Expenses are recorded under liability accounts and then cleared once payments are made.
Service industries, such as airline travel, use accrual accounting principles to recognize revenue. Since an airline passenger typically purchases a plane ticket prior to traveling, the airline records the cash receipt in addition to making an entry under a liability account named unearned revenue. When the passenger receives the service he paid for, the airline then reduces the unearned revenue account in the amount of the airfaire. This accrual method helps avoid recognizing revenue prior to potential loss from refunds, exchanges or supplemental expenses due to concessionaries.
Under the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) set of accounting standards, the cash method is not accepted. This means that any company that has to officially file a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must use the accrual method. Accounts payable for a corporation should list all expense liabilities as they incur. For example, if a company signs a contract to purchase $1,000 worth of supplies in April, it must record it as an expense in April.
Helen Akers specializes in business and technology topics. She has professional experience in business-to-business sales, technical support, and management. Akers holds a Master of Business Administration with a marketing concentration from Devry University's Keller Graduate School of Management and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.963792622089386,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.aiaroch.org/how-crypto-mining-pcs-work/",
"token_count": 1404,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.4296875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f2be0b7b-9861-4665-ad46-7149cbb6b832>"
}
|
How Crypto Mining Pcs Work – A Cryptocurrency, as specified by Wikipedia is “a digital currency designed to operate as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital properties “. It was produced as an option to standard currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Euro, and Japanese Yen. Nowadays, more organizations and individuals are acknowledging the potential of utilizing a cryptocoin as a payment approach. A good example of such a service is the online payments business PayPal, who has actually now incorporated cryptocoin payments into their web-based payment system.
No main bank is included in the management of these currencies. The circulation of the cryptocoin is normally done through a procedure called “minting ” in which a specific quantity of the digital property is produced in order to increase the supply and consequently decrease the need. In the case of the Cryptocurrency ledger, this deal is done by cryptographers, which are groups that specialize in creating the required evidence of credibility required for correct transaction to take place.
While a lot of Cryptocurrencies are open-source software services, some exist that are exclusive. This is in contrast to the open source software application that specifies most cryptocurrencies, which are established by any number of private factors.
The creator of Litecoin, Robert H. Jackson, was attempting to produce a protected and safe alternative to Cryptocurrency when he was forced to leave the company he was working for. By developing this variation of Litecoin, which has a much lower trading volume than the initial, he hoped to provide a trustworthy however safe form of Cryptocurrency.
One of the most promising applications for the future of Cryptocurrency is the concept of “blockchain. ” A “blockchain ” is simply a large collection of encrypted files that are tape-recorded and kept on computer systems around the world. All transactions are recorded and encoded utilizing intricate mathematics that secures details at the very same time as making sure that it is available only to authorized individuals in the chain.
Encrypted ledgers have actually been utilized as a kind of ICO that tracks the ownership history of a specific possession. The major problem with conventional journals is that they are susceptible to hacking which permits someone to take control of a company ‘s funds. This makes it hard for companies to trace where their cash has actually gone. By utilizing crypto innovation, a company ‘s journal can be secured while keeping all the information of the deal personal, making sure that only they know where the money has actually gone.
A “virtual currency ” is just a stock or digital product that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Virtual currencies can be traded online just like any other stock on the standard exchanges, and the benefit of this is that the very same incentives and rules that apply to genuine markets are also applicable to this type of Cryptocurrency transaction.
As more Crypto currencies are developed and made available to customers the advantages end up being clear. Instead of being restricted to little niches on the exchanges, many go into the mainstream market that uses greater flexibility and accessibility. By doing this, it enables a lot more people to enter the marketplace and take advantage of the benefits that Cryptocurrencies need to offer. There are currently several successful tokens being traded on the major exchanges and as more go into the marketplace to the competition will enhance the strength of the existing ones.
In general, if you buy cryptographic currencies, you ‘re generally acquiring Crypto currency. It ‘s basically simply like trading in shares.
Now, if you ‘re not familiar with how to purchase and trade crypto currencies, this can be pretty frightening things. Well, it actually isn ‘t that frightening.
You will also wish to establish a “small account “. This is simply an account that you use for a short amount of time. This helps you get knowledgeable about the functions of the platform and get utilized to how it works. When you sell the open market with genuine cash, there is no such thing as a tiny account. That would make the process too safe for you. However, because you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s perfectly acceptable.
The MegaDroid goes one step even more and allows you to start trading with your favorite coins at any time. It does offer you the capability to do some “fast ” trades, however that ‘s about the limitation.
If you ‘re hesitant of fast trades, possibly you ought to be! Some traders still claim that it ‘s a trouble to by hand handle a project. I know that it ‘s simpler than manually handling a number of projects on your PC, but it does have a couple of benefits over the others.
They can then deposit funds into their account and instantly use them to trade. Rather, they can manage their funds using their own wallets. Since all deals are held digitally, you wear ‘t need to deal with brokers or dealing with trading exchanges – everything is kept strictly within your own personal computer system.
This suggests that you will have to download and install the software on your own computer system if you desire to trade on these 2 large exchanges. All you ‘ve got to do is visit their websites and you ‘ll be able to see their cost quotes.
You require to understand how the market will move so that you can be prepared when you do decide to trade. If you do this properly, you will understand exactly when you need to exit the market and get in – thus you can make much better decisions with your trades.
Now that we ‘ve gone over the cons and pros, let ‘s take an appearance at some technical analysis approaches. If you are a technical expert and are familiar with the market trends, then it shouldn ‘t be a problem.
With this info, you need to be able to interpret the price action on the 2 exchanges extremely quickly and make excellent trades. There are a number of different ways to offer and execute this buy action, so you ‘ll want to pick one that you ‘re comfy with.
A Cryptocurrency, as defined by Wikipedia is “a digital currency developed to operate as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital possessions “. ” A “blockchain ” is simply a big collection of encrypted files that are taped and kept on computer systems around the world. A “virtual currency ” is just a stock or digital product that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Since you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely appropriate.
It does offer you the ability to do some “fast ” trades, however that ‘s about the limitation. How Crypto Mining Pcs Work
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9597606062889099,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.aiaroch.org/what-is-a-decentralized-crypto-wallet/",
"token_count": 1382,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.25,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:25e959ee-e217-4c74-b2b9-eda2f12724ae>"
}
|
What Is A Decentralized Crypto Wallet – A Cryptocurrency, as specified by Wikipedia is “a digital currency developed to work as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital possessions “. It was produced as an alternative to standard currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Euro, and Japanese Yen.
No main bank is included in the management of these currencies. The distribution of the cryptocoin is usually done through a process called “minting ” in which a specific amount of the digital asset is produced in order to increase the supply and subsequently reduce the demand. In the case of the Cryptocurrency journal, this deal is done by cryptographers, which are groups that specialize in developing the necessary evidence of authenticity required for correct transaction to happen.
While a lot of Cryptocurrencies are open-source software application solutions, some exist that are proprietary. This is in contrast to the open source software that specifies most cryptocurrencies, which are developed by any number of individual factors.
The creator of Litecoin, Robert H. Jackson, was trying to develop a safe and protected option to Cryptocurrency when he was required to leave the company he was working for. By producing this variation of Litecoin, which has a much lower trading volume than the original, he hoped to offer a trustworthy but protected form of Cryptocurrency.
One of the most promising applications for the future of Cryptocurrency is the idea of “blockchain. ” A “blockchain ” is just a large collection of encrypted files that are tape-recorded and maintained on computers around the world. All deals are recorded and encoded utilizing complex mathematics that safeguards information at the very same time as guaranteeing that it is available just to authorized individuals in the chain.
The major issue with standard journals is that they are susceptible to hacking which permits someone to take control of a business ‘s funds. By utilizing crypto innovation, a company ‘s journal can be encrypted while keeping all the details of the deal personal, guaranteeing that only they understand where the cash has actually gone.
Another popular use for Cryptocurrency is in the area of virtual currencies. A “virtual currency ” is merely a stock or digital commodity that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. All aspects of the virtual currency exist offline, meaning that no exchange in between actual commodities happens. Virtual currencies can be traded online similar to any other stock on the conventional exchanges, and the advantage of this is that the same incentives and guidelines that use to genuine markets are likewise appropriate to this type of Cryptocurrency transaction.
As more Crypto currencies are created and made readily available to consumers the advantages become clear. There are currently numerous effective tokens being traded on the significant exchanges and as more go into the marketplace to the competition will strengthen the strength of the existing ones.
In general, if you buy cryptographic currencies, you ‘re basically acquiring Crypto currency. It ‘s basically just like trading in shares.
Now, if you ‘re not familiar with how to trade and purchase crypto currencies, this can be quite frightening things. Well, it really isn ‘t that frightening.
You will likewise wish to establish a “tiny account “. This is merely an account that you utilize for a short time period. This helps you get knowledgeable about the functions of the platform and get utilized to how it works. There is no such thing as a tiny account when you trade in the open market with genuine cash. That would make the procedure too safe for you. Nevertheless, since you ‘re selling the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely acceptable.
The MegaDroid goes one step even more and allows you to start trading with your favorite coins at any time. It does provide you the ability to do some “quick ” trades, however that ‘s about the limit.
If you ‘re leery of fast trades, maybe you must be! Some traders still declare that it ‘s a trouble to by hand manage a campaign. I understand that it ‘s much easier than manually managing numerous campaigns on your PC, however it does have a couple of advantages over the others.
They can then transfer funds into their account and immediately use them to trade. Rather, they can handle their funds using their own wallets. Given that all transactions are held digitally, you put on ‘t requirement to deal with brokers or dealing with trading exchanges – whatever is kept strictly within your own individual computer system.
This suggests that you will have to download and install the software application on your own computer system if you want to trade on these two large exchanges. All you ‘ve got to do is visit their sites and you ‘ll be able to see their price quotes.
This may not seem essential to somebody new to the market, however it is very important if you are believing about utilizing cryptos for everyday trading. You require to understand how the market will move so that you can be prepared when you do choose to trade. This is done through enjoying the short-term charts on these two major exchanges. If you do this properly, you will understand precisely when you should go into and leave the market – hence you can make much better decisions with your trades.
Now that we ‘ve gone over the pros and cons, let ‘s take an appearance at some technical analysis approaches. If you are a technical analyst and are familiar with the market trends, then it shouldn ‘t be an issue.
With this info, you should have the ability to analyze the price action on the 2 exchanges really quickly and make great trades. As I stated previously, the major distinction in between the two exchanges is the technique of buying and offering coins through the personal keys. There are a number of various ways to offer and execute this buy action, so you ‘ll wish to pick one that you ‘re comfortable with. Generally this is the same for both the Cryptocurrency Xchange and the CryptoAMEX.
A Cryptocurrency, as specified by Wikipedia is “a digital currency created to function as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital assets “. ” A “blockchain ” is just a large collection of encrypted files that are taped and maintained on computers around the world. A “virtual currency ” is merely a stock or digital product that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Since you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely appropriate.
It does give you the ability to do some “quick ” trades, but that ‘s about the limit. What Is A Decentralized Crypto Wallet
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9512046575546265,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.bnaibrith.org/expert-analysis/changes-to-the-federal-poverty-line-a-detrimental-impact-on-seniors",
"token_count": 789,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.216796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:53ab5e85-95b8-4781-8190-e1375294668b>"
}
|
Recently, the White House has considered changing how the federal government calculates the poverty line by altering how inflation is measured. As a result, this change would potentially result in fewer people falling below the poverty line. While the idea of having fewer people in poverty sounds great, this proposal would actually cause a smaller number of people to qualify for badly needed government assistance.
The poverty line is critical because it’s used to determine if people are candidates for specific benefits associated with programs like Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Presently, individuals who make less than $12,490 a year are under the poverty line, which includes 4.7 million seniors.
Let’s take Medicare as an example. The administration’s change to the poverty line’s calculation would increase the costs of prescription drugs and premiums for low-income seniors. This would impact approximately 250,000 seniors who use prescription drugs and could force 150,000 elderly people to pay more than $1,000 for continued coverage for doctors’ visits.
Sadly, changing the poverty line calculation would also decrease the benefits for older Americans associated with Medicaid. At the moment, millions of adults have qualified for Medicaid expansion through the ACA, including older adults between 50 and 65. Under the administration’s proposal, changing how inflation is measured for the poverty line would cause 250,000 people to lose their Medicaid expansion coverage over a 10-year period.
Unfortunately, the negative impact of changing the poverty line calculation does not stop with healthcare. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps people in this country with their energy bills, like those for heat and air conditioning. According to a 2018 survey by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, seniors are in 46 percent of households that receive LIHEAP. Are we really suggesting cutting benefits from low-income seniors who need help with their energy bills, especially in states with extreme weather like Florida and Minnesota?
When Congress passed tax cut legislation in 2017, B’nai B’rith argued that ballooning deficits could cause lawmakers to campaign for cuts to important social programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Our press release from December 2017 stated, “Perhaps the biggest danger this Congressional tax plan includes is the likelihood of future cuts to critical federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to help pay down what most economists say will be a massive increase in the deficit that will result from these tax cuts. Experts predict that the ensuing revenue short-fall would have to be made up by drastic cuts to programs fundamental to seniors in need.”
So here we are! The U.S. budget deficit ballooned to $738.6 billion during the first eight months of the 2019 fiscal year, and, as we predicted, proposals have been rolled out that cut benefits from older Americans.
Seniors living below the poverty line are not likely to gain full-time employment to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Consequently, I hope the administration rethinks this policy so our country can help meet the challenges faced every day by older Americans.
Evan Carmen, Esq. is the Assistant Director for Aging Policy at the B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services. He holds a B.A. from American University in political science and a J.D. from New York Law School. Prior to joining B’nai B’rith International he worked in the Office of Presidential Correspondence for the Obama White House, practiced as an attorney at Covington and Burling, LLP, worked as an aide for New York City Council Member Tony Avella and interned for Congressman Gary Ackerman’s office. Click here to read more from Evan Carmen.
B'nai B'rith International has widely respected experts in the fields of:
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9756954312324524,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/educational-programs/learning-about-taxes/learning-material/module-1-understanding-taxes/history-taxes.html",
"token_count": 374,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:02079c3e-38fa-45dd-bcd4-1cc6991c5d78>"
}
|
History of taxes
Tax as we know it today, existed in various forms throughout civilization. Kings, queens, chiefs, rulers, and people in authority collected taxes from the people they ruled. What was taxed, when it was taxed, and how much tax was imposed varied from society to society. Often people paid their tax bill with something they produced or gathered, such as grain, fish, minerals or animals.
Taxes in Canada
The colonial governments collected taxes, usually through customs duties, and sent them to the two mother countries, England and France.
Canada becomes a nation
Following Confederation in 1867, the new government was given the power to raise money by taxation and responsibilities were divided between the federal and provincial governments. The most expensive areas of responsibility such as building railways, roads, bridges, and harbours, became the responsibility of the federal government. The provincial governments assumed responsibility for education, health, and welfare.
Britain declares war on Germany
As a British colony, Canada joined World War I at Britain's side in 1914. The pressures of financing the war resulted in increasing customs and excise taxes, and in 1916, the federal government began collecting corporation tax.
Government needs revenue to finance war
In 1917, as a temporary measure to help finance the war, the federal government introduced the Income Tax War Act, covering both personal and corporate income. "I have placed no time limit upon this measure . . . a year or two after the war is over, the measure should be reviewed," stated Sir Thomas White, Minister of Finance.
War ends, expenses continue
After the war ended in 1918, the government still needed to pay for war-related expenses such as veterans’ pensions and debt interest, and so in 1920, the federal government introduced sales tax.
Report a problem or mistake on this page
- Date modified:
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.975283682346344,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.extracobanks.com/resources/blog/be-role-model-your-children-teaching-smart-financial-practices",
"token_count": 363,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0086669921875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1dd72f51-dc95-4757-83b4-4c247ba19e02>"
}
|
As a mom of two young daughters, teaching my children about money and finances is very important. I often hear myself saying, “Mommy and Daddy work to pay for our life.” The other day I asked my six-year-old if she knew what that meant. She said, “Yes, it means that we have to work to make money to pay for our house, car and toys. Over the years, my husband and I have saved to help with future expenses that usually come with bringing up a child.
About a month after each child was born, we visited our local branch and opened a Money Market account to benefit each child. By taking this small step, we have saved money each month to help pay for school clothes, birthday parties and Christmas presents. The next step we took was to set a 529 College fund to set aside money for college. This fund can pay for college, living expenses, and books for a college student. The great option with the 529 fund is that it is transferable between children should one or the other receive scholarships that cover normal expenses.
The best thing you can do for your children regarding financial education is to be a role model by making smart choices with your own money. Evaluate your needs and wants and make a budget to stay on track with monthly expenses. Children’s habits are often a result of parenting. By teaching your kids the value of money at an early age and sharing financial experiences, you help create healthy financial habits that will carry over into adulthood.
Lastly, don’t forget to make saving money fun. One idea is to have each child pick out a piggy bank they like; pigs, hippos and superheroes all apply when encouraging our future leaders to put money aside for a rainy day.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.980425238609314,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.innovation-creativity.com/atm-machine/",
"token_count": 196,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.12060546875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:0a0fd2bb-f07c-41b3-b7a0-5927cd2cc111>"
}
|
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are also known as automated banking machines or cash machines or cash points or even the hole in the wall!
ATMs are electronic telecommunication devices that are interfaced directly with the banks in order to enable banking customers to perform financial transactions such as withdrawals, deposits and balance inquiries.
The customer performs transactions on the ATM by inserting a bank card which contains a magnetic strip and often a smart chip too that the ATM reads when inserted into the machine. A personal security pin is entered by the customer to identify the customer with their bank account.
Without ATM machines we wouldn’t have 24-hour access to our money and we would have to wait for banks to open on Monday-Fridays between 9-5 and wait in ridiculously long queues.
They also have an added advantage of saving costs for the bank as they provide services to the customers that would have previously been performed by a bank clerk employed by the bank.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9460075497627258,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://smartadvisors.in/2020/10/08/typical-term-sheet-what-to-expect/",
"token_count": 348,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.06005859375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:e20310f4-f49e-403d-8f7a-aef3bea604d0>"
}
|
A term sheet is a nonbinding agreement that illustrates the basic terms and conditions of an investment. The term sheet serves as a guide and basis for more comprehensive, legally binding documents. Once the parties concerned reach an agreement on the specifics laid out in the term sheet, a contract that conforms to the term sheet details is drawn up called the share purchase agreement (SPA).
There are a few terms that would pop up often while discussing a Term Sheet.
Term sheets are most often associated with start-ups. Financiers find this document crucial for investors, often venture capitalists (VC), who may extend capital to finance start-ups. Here are some provisions that a start-up term sheet defines:
- It is typically non-binding – Neither the VC nor the entrepreneur is legally obliged to abide by whatever is outlined on the term sheet.
- Company valuations – The percentage of stakes, investment amounts, and anti-dilutive provisions must be implied clearly.
- Investor commitment – It should declare how long the investor is required to remain vested.
- Voting rights – Start-ups pursuing funding are usually behind VCs who want to maximize their return on investment. This can result in the investor acquiring a lopsided influence on the company’s control.
- Liquidation preference – This should state how the earnings of a sale will be allocated between the investors and the entrepreneur.
A term sheet used as an element of a merger or attempted acquisition would usually contain information concerning the initial purchase price offer, the preferred payment system, and the assets included in the deal. The term sheet may also include information about items omitted from the deal or that may be considered conditions by one or both sides.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9475913643836975,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://joehuertas.com/covid-19-green-aviation-and-the-french/",
"token_count": 1590,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.294921875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:37c3dae3-d20b-4c01-9211-f5c13754c349>"
}
|
One of the least well-known and positive stories in managing greenhouse gases / carbon emissions (GHG) is that of the commercial aviation community, specifically commercial jets. Most people do not know just how good a job the aviation industry has done in increasing its fuel-efficiency and reducing its impact on the climate. With climate activists and some apparently otherwise normal folks engaging in the latest fad – flight-shaming, it remains a mystery why the commercial aviation community has not figured out how to better tell its good-news story on reducing its impact on our global environment. But fear not. The French government has lobbed a big, beautiful softball toward the commercial aviation community. Now is the time to step up and knock it out of the park.
Amid the governmental efforts seen around the world to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the French government has crafted a singular approach; making aid to the commercial airline industry contingent upon accepting fantastical ‘green’ goals. The French government has now gone all in on the war on climate change, throwing its commercial aviation industry into the trenches. Perhaps this is the 21st century incarnation of Clemenceau’s ‘no matter what – I make war.’
Just for Context
Globally aircraft contribute about 3% of GHG. Slightly more if we can both verify and quantify the impact of contrails.
In the US the transportation sector (think planes, trains, automobiles…) contributes 28% of GHG. Within transportation, aircraft are 9%, or about 3% of total US GHG. Within that 9%, passenger travel accounts for about 80% and cargo about 20%.
For the period 1990-2018: Trains, on-road vehicles and aircraft volumes all saw increased volumes. Vehicle emissions increased by 30%. Train emissions increased by 10%. Aircraft emissions decreased by 7%.
For several decades now, aircraft and engine manufacturers have poured billions of dollars into research and development of more efficient airliners. One result has been that the energy efficiency of modern transport aircraft has been steadily increasing. Newer aircraft enjoy about a 25% reduction in energy density as compared to older aircraft. Today, nearly all the major airlines are ahead of schedule in meeting their target efficiency. ”All in”, the commercial aviation industry has spent more than $1 trillion dollars achieving its reductions in emissions over the last quarter century.
In keeping with their failing to advertise their owns success in reducing GHG, some in the commercial aircraft/airline businesses seem content to lie down and accept ever more ambitious goals heaped upon them by climate activists and their allies in government. One place environmental types seem to thrive these days is a presumably more enlightened Europe. As opposed, say, to us more backward types here in the US. Apparently at the head of the European climate charge (assault?) on the airline industry are our good friends in Paris. Since we backwoods Americans want to emulate our more mature brethren on the continent, let us now take a brief but enlightening look at the French government’s latest idea for battling climate change. Perhaps in it we shall find the seeds of enlightenment.
Thank You, May I Have Another?
In exchange for government aid perhaps allowing it to survive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate wizards in Paris have in their peculiar flavor of enlightenment decreed that Air France must show a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger & kilometer by 2030 (as compared to 2005), a 20 year acceleration from the accepted industry target of 2050. Adding a nice condiment to that meal, for flights within France, Air France must reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2024. For good measure as a garnish, 2% of the fuel used by its planes has to be from alternative, sustainable sources by 2025.
As one official notes, the practical impact of these strings likely includes a very significant cut in the number of flights the airline will be to operate within the borders of France. A knock-on impact will probably be to drive Air France passengers to move within the country either by car, bus or train. Perhaps Air France will purchase carbon-credits to help in achieving their lofty goals. But in doing it will probably heap further negative burden on its financial condition going forward.
Presumably Air France can increase ticket prices to offset additional expenses arising from this generous opportunity to (hopefully) survive the effects of the pandemic. That may in turn reduce the number of passengers on, and thus the number of flights Air France needs to operate.
Yes indeed, the plan is shaping up nicely. Just a bit more of that kind of thinking and the Holy Grail will ease into sight. Air France will in fact become the first zero GHG emissions airline in the world. Well, the latest one anyway; it will claim victory on GHG emissions with its left hand while its right hand signs the “going out of business” paperwork. No flights, no GHG emissions. Well done.
Time for That Usually Unpleasant Reality CheckHere’s a suggestion – let’s get realistic about this. Practical electric powered aircraft, at least of any size, remain a long way off. This despite the fawning of certain writers intent on continuing to tell us that the promised land is finally in sight. The hard truth is that the energy density problem facing electric airliners means that your ‘electric Boeing 737’ or ‘electric Airbus A321’ isn’t pulling up to any airport gate in the next couple of decades.
And while there has and should continue to be progress on the use of alternative/sustainable forms of jet fuels, we remain years away from their practical, at scale use.
Let’s reset the conversation and goals to require the continued incremental progress that the commercial aircraft community has been steadily making for decades. That includes continued progress on fuel efficiencies, alternative fuels, and potentially practical hybrid propulsion schemes.
These goals should not only continue to reduce aircraft contributions to GHG emissions but also allow for affordable air travel by both business and leisure travelers for whom the time in transit is a critical consideration. Most people don’t have the luxury of spending days getting to their destinations, or incurring additional expenses to do so. Providing affordable air options doesn’t negate the practical alternatives to air travel. They can peacefully coexist. If, for example, high-speed rail is a viable option, perhaps that offers a practical travel alternative (or supplement).
A wise person once said there are few solutions, just tradeoffs. To keep everyone honest when considering the options and their tradeoffs, let’s be sure to have a full accounting of the carbon sticker price, including all the related costs. From building to operating to maintaining the alternative forms of transport. We owe that to everyone involved.
The commercial aviation industry has done an above average job over the last quarter century improving the efficiency with which it operates and reducing its impact on our climate and environment. Its key stakeholders need to better communicate that record, herald for the progress it represents and use it as a basis for fashioning a practical path of continued progress and innovation.
Or, perhaps, we can all adopt the tactic of a certain young climate activist who, when it comes to international travel, simply steps on board the next available yacht for a cruise across the Atlantic. Just be sure to plan to spend a week going across and another week coming back. Perhaps a few more dollars in the budget for that trip might also be in order. Of course, if you have neither a great deal of time or money, this may not be your best option. In that case, look on the bright side – you can always go into the climate activist business.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9164502024650574,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://sofrep.com/news/the-lithium-conundrum-technological-advance-vs-environment/",
"token_count": 591,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.326171875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:19bf9a55-638e-4a9c-bb15-61e0425c5e69>"
}
|
Lithium is a critical component in the effort to transition to a more sustainable global economy as it is used in the lithium batteries of electric vehicles.
Lithium produces the simplest pair (energy density, weight) so it is very efficient. A cobalt Li-ion battery stores twice the maximum amount of energy as a nickel-based battery and four times the maximum amount as a lead-acid accumulator. A good battery features a high capacity, an extended cycle length (charge-discharge), and excellent thermal stability. On top of that, it doesn’t degrade quickly and it is inexpensive to make.
The market for electric vehicles will explode to 20 million plug-in units sold per year by 2030. The battery of the Tesla Model S has about 12 kilograms of lithium in it. This will significantly increase the demand for lithium in the future. The metal has already doubled in price over the past few years. According to Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consultancy, the lithium-ion industry is expected to grow from 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of annual production in 2017, to almost 800 GWh in 2027.
But there’s a drag. As the world scrambles to exchange fossil fuels with clean energy, the environmental impact of finding and extracting the lithium needed to enable this transformation could become severe.
Lithium is found within the brine of salt flats. To get lithium, holes are drilled into the flats to pump the brine to the surface. This enables lithium carbonate to be extracted through a chemical change.
“We’re fooling ourselves if we call this sustainable and green mining,” Cristina Dorador, a Chilean biologist, told Bloomberg. “The lithium fever should slow down because it’s directly damaging salt flats, the ecosystem, and local communities.”
And lithium isn’t the sole mineral that should concern us: We will also see an increase in the demand for other metals, such as aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, tin, antimony, cobalt, and rare earth elements used in the production of electric cars.
Can lithium be replaced? Yes — a number of developments point to that: Tesla has announced the discharge of Ryden Dual Carbon batteries, which contain no heavy metals. And in 2016, Stanford announced the development of durable cells without lithium. Other possibilities include carbon nanotubes and graphene batteries or sodium-ion batteries, like the ones developed in France. And a team of scientists from the universities of Alberta and Toronto has even laid out the blueprints for a “quantum battery” that never loses its charge. If they find out a way to build it, it might be a revolutionary breakthrough in energy storage.
However, these innovations have yet to enter production, and at the moment lithium remains at the core of manufacturers’ strategies.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9617966413497925,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://specialneedsanswers.com/the-basics-of-social-security-disability-insurance-ssdi-12852",
"token_count": 1065,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.07958984375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:cea15fc6-c7c6-43b6-8060-0b91df2d9d55>"
}
|
SSDI payments, like old-age Social Security retirement benefits, can be taxed, depending on the SSDI beneficiary's other inco...Read more
The Basics of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- February 23rd, 2020
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is one of the major federal programs that provides monetary assistance to people with disabilities. Unlike some other programs for people with disabilities (like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), an SSDI recipient can qualify for benefits no matter how much money she has and, in many cases, no matter how much she earns. Although the lack of strict financial standards makes SSDI benefits easier to manage once they are obtained, not everyone with a disability can qualify for SSDI, so it pays to know the rules before filing an application for benefits.
Quarters + Disability = Benefits
SSDI is available to any worker who has a "disability" as defined by the federal government and who has paid into the Social Security system for a specified amount of time, depending on their age (for details, click here.) In order to qualify as "disabled," an SSDI applicant must show that he is almost completely unable to work at any job whatsoever. The applicant must have a physical or mental impairment that makes it impossible for him to engage in any "substantial gainful activity," and this impairment must be expected to last for longer than one year or to result in death. If an applicant is able to engage in substantial gainful activity, then he will typically not be eligible for SSDI. The Social Security Administration generally defines "substantial gainful activity" as being able to earn more than $1,260 a month (in 2020) from working. This income restriction applies only to income earned by working; an applicant can receive any amount of unearned income from any source other than working and still qualify for SSDI. How much the SSDI benefit will be depends on the beneficiary's income before he became disabled, the size of his family, and the amount he paid into the Social Security system.
Qualifying on a Parent's Work Record
Most people who sustain a serious disability before turning 22 are not able to assemble the necessary work record to qualify for SSDI on their own, but they may qualify for benefits on a parent's work record instead. In order to qualify for SSDI in these situations, an applicant's disability must have manifested itself before the applicant turned 22, the applicant must be completely disabled, his parent must have paid into the Social Security system for the required number of quarters and the parent must be either dead, permanently disabled, or receiving Social Security retirement benefits. In these cases, the person with the disability receives an SSDI benefit in addition to the Social Security benefits that his parent is collecting. (For a detailed discussion of adult children with disabilities and SSDI, click here.)
SSDI Beneficiaries Receive Medicare . . . Eventually
Although most people think of Medicare as health insurance for older Americans, SSDI recipients also qualify for Medicare benefits. Unfortunately, under current federal law almost all SSDI recipients must wait two years from the date that they become eligible for SSDI before they can begin to receive Medicare (this restriction does not apply to people who have ALS or who require dialysis for end-stage renal disease). If a person with a disability is no longer working, it may be difficult or impossible for her to obtain health insurance during this waiting period, which could lead to life-threatening consequences. Although some SSDI recipients with lower incomes may qualify for Medicaid, a large number of SSDI recipients go without health insurance during this waiting period. Over the years, Congress has attempted to rectify this problem, so far without success.
Re-Starting Work Does Not Immediately Cause a Loss of Benefits
Because SSDI applicants must not be able to engage in substantial gainful activity, many SSDI recipients may be reluctant to move back into the workforce for fear that they will immediately lose their SSDI benefit. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration offers a program called Ticket to Work that allows an SSDI to begin working again without a loss of benefits. Under the Ticket to Work program, when an SSDI recipient earns more than $910 a month (in 2020), she triggers the start of a "trial work" period, which lasts for five years. During this "trial work" period, the SSDI recipient can earn more than $910 a month for eight more months (and these months need not be consecutive). Once the SSDI recipient has used up her nine total trial work months, she will not receive an SSDI benefit in any additional month during which she engages in substantial gainful activity, i.e., when she makes more than $1,260 a month. (These requirements can be difficult to follow at first; to learn more about Ticket to Work, click here).
Although SSDI may seem complicated, it is actually a fairly easy program to navigate once an applicant is approved because there are no asset limits and a recipient can have unlimited unearned income. Your special needs planner will guide you though the application process and can help you manage your SSDI benefits so that they do not compromise any other assistance you may receive.
Last Modified: 02/23/2020
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9461478590965271,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/clean-fossil-fuels/pipelines/pipelines-across-canada/18856",
"token_count": 993,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.482421875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f1937952-8ae0-49bb-b6bc-1f16ee56ec37>"
}
|
Pipelines Across Canada
There are more than 840,000 kilometres (km) of transmission, gathering and distribution pipelines in Canada — including 117,000 km of large-diameter transmission lines — with most provinces having significant pipeline infrastructure. Of this amount, about 73,000 km are federally regulated pipelines, which are primarily transmission pipelines. Pipelines are generally buried underground and operate in both remote and populated areas, with major crude oil and natural gas pipelines servicing most major Canadian cities.
Pipelines are a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly way of transporting oil and gas. Spills, leaks and ruptures are rare, representing a tiny percentage of what is flowing through the pipelines. On average each year, 99.999 percent of the oil transported on federally regulated pipelines moves safely. Only very minor amounts of liquids are spilled and are typically confined to pipeline company property and recovered in cleanup operations.
Generally, pipelines that cross provincial borders are federally regulated, and pipelines that are entirely within one province are regulated by the respective provincial authority where they are located. Provincially regulated lines include the smaller natural gas distribution pipelines that go to every house equipped with a natural gas furnace or water heater. For example, there are more than 450,000 km of these local distribution pipelines in Canada.
Pipelines meet Canadian needs
Pipelines are necessary to deliver fuel for Canadians to heat their homes, drive their cars and travel by bus, ship, train and air. Cars, buses, trains, boats and airplanes are all fuelled by petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. Petroleum products are also used as feedstock to make materials found in everyday household items, such as toiletries, electronics and clothes. Pipelines are used to move these petroleum products to refineries and to customers across the country. Canadians simply could not live as they do today without pipelines.
Pipelines benefit Canadians
The oil and gas sector also contributes significantly to the strength of Canada’s economy. This sector directly and indirectly employs about 740,000 people. The oil and gas sector contributes nearly 11 percent of Canada’s GDP and pays on average more than $20 billion per year in taxes, royalties and fees to governments. In 2014, federally regulated pipelines shipped about $159 billion worth of crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas liquids and natural gas to Canadians and export customers at an estimated transportation cost of $7 billion.
Building on the largest global energy relationship
Canada has an enormous endowment of oil and natural gas resources but only one significant export customer: 100 percent of our natural gas exports and 97 percent of our oil exports currently go to the United States. This relationship has served both countries well and will continue to do so in the future. However, Canada will need to find new markets, to ensure our oil and natural gas resources sector remains a source of jobs, prosperity and opportunity. To reach these markets, we will need additional pipeline capacity.
Domestic markets are equally important
Delivering western Canadian crude oil to central and eastern Canada would allow Canadian refineries to process more Canadian oil instead of importing foreign oil. This would improve the refineries’ economic and financial viability and increase markets for Canadian oil producers. Generating Canadian jobs and increasing Canada’s energy prosperity are equally as important to the country’s future as accessing world markets.
Pipelines are stringently regulated
The Canada Energy Regulator (CER, formerly the National Energy Board) regulates pipelines throughout their life cycle – from pipeline design and application, construction and operation through to abandonment. The robust system protects Canada’s rich natural environment, respects the rights of Indigenous peoples, and supports a resilient and sustainable energy sector.
Indigenous peoples are an integral part of the pipeline planning and development process
The government is working to enhance its approach to Indigenous consultation and better integrate Indigenous peoples into the pipeline planning and development process. Efforts to advance this objective include working with industry and key federal and provincial agencies and other partners to enhance Indigenous engagement on project planning, development, monitoring, incident response, and general pipeline and environmental safety.
Public hearings ensure all relevant information is considered
Before a decision is made on an application for a major pipeline project – those with 40 km or more of new pipeline – the CER will hold a public hearing. These hearings give concerned parties, including Indigenous peoples, a chance to provide their views on the application. The government is committed to providing ways for Canadians to express their views and opportunities for experts to meaningfully participate. To determine whether a proposed pipeline project is in the Canadian public interest, the CER thoroughly considers the various environmental, engineering, land, financial, economic and socio-economic matters presented during the hearing. For major pipeline projects, the CER will issue a report with its recommendation to the Government of Canada, who will make the final decision on the project.
- Date modified:
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9292503595352173,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/u/us-department-treasury",
"token_count": 441,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0050048828125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:01cdc2fe-90f6-4fc3-8dee-5c19fa2769e5>"
}
|
What is the U.S. Department of the Treasury?
The United States Department of the Treasury protects and manages many American economic and financial systems. The Secretary of the Treasury is the Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. government and is the President's main economic advisor.
How Does the U.S. Department of the Treasury Work?
The U.S. Treasury is organized into two major components: departmental offices and operating bureaus. The departmental offices formulate economic policy and manage the department itself. The operating bureaus carry out Treasury assignments and employ 98% of all Treasury employees. The Treasury's basic functions include:
- Management of the federal budget;
- Collection of taxes, duties, and other money owed to the U.S. and payment of bills owed by the U.S.;
- Production of postage stamps, currency, and coins;
- Management of government accounts and the public debt;
- Supervision of national banks and thrift institutions;
- Advising others on fiscal, monetary, economic, trade, and tax policy;
- Enforcement of federal finance and tax laws; and
- Investigation and prosecution of tax evasion, counterfeit crimes, and forgery.
The U.S. Treasury also manages the issuance of T-bills, T-notes, and T-bonds.
The Secretary of the Treasury is the chairman pro tempore of the President's Economic Policy Council, is chairman of the boards and managing trustee of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, and is the U.S. governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Why Does the U.S. Department of the Treasury Matter?
The U.S. Treasury is tasked with maintaining the financial security of the United States and preventing financial crises. This responsibility includes promoting the administration's economic agenda both domestically and internationally. As such, the U.S. Treasury formulates and recommends many of the crucial economic, financial, and tax policies that greatly influence domestic and foreign economies.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9646936655044556,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://smallbusiness.chron.com/unemployment-savings-accounts-17179.html",
"token_count": 467,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.1171875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1f006698-3f5b-4d81-9b3a-6336b119f49d>"
}
|
Unemployment & Savings Accounts
High unemployment rates often prompt concerns over how many Americans will lose their jobs before the situation improves. In any economy, the unemployed person faces a significant challenge: He carries the same expenses as he did while working, but he must now meet them without income. Bankruptcy is a strong possibility in this scenario. However, with money in a savings account, a person may avoid financial ruin.
Income that is not spent is considered savings. Unfortunately, many people don't save significant amounts of money but instead incur debt. When the economy plummets and unemployment rates soar, people without significant savings are unable to pay their bills. In addition, bankruptcy filings tend to increase during such times.
When a person loses his job, the expenses of food, housing and debts remain. If he has habitually spent more money than he earns, he now faces a greater risk of bankruptcy during his unemployment than he would if he had saved money. A savings account acts as a source of income in this situation, enabling him to meet costs until he finds work.
Savings accounts provide more benefit than checking accounts when used as a type of insurance in the case of financial emergency. A person can't withdraw money from a savings account by writing a check, so the money is more difficult to spend than that in a checking account. This increases the likelihood that money will remain in the savings account long enough for noticeable interest to accrue, increasing the amount of money available in the account.
According to personal finance expert Dave Ramsey, there is no set dollar amount that is best to save for the possibility of unemployment. "Ask yourself," he says, "'What would it take for me to live for three to six months if I lost my income?' Your answer to that question is how much you should save." Ramsey advises that this money should only be used in the case of financial emergency.
Debate exists among personal finance experts over whether it's best to allocate money first toward a savings account or toward debt repayment. Those who argue for paying a savings account first claim that it's more useful to build an emergency fund before emergency strikes. Those who argue for paying off debts first claim that debt increases over time because of interest, decreasing the amount of money that a person has available to meet other costs.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9154289364814758,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://theredseamarket.com/qa/quick-answer-what-is-a-rollback-plan.html",
"token_count": 1231,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0303955078125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:cd9a06e9-5cf6-4539-9c14-60857716fee0>"
}
|
- What is a rollback strategy?
- When should you rollback?
- What is the command for rollback of database?
- What is rollback testing?
- What is backout plan in change management?
- Can we rollback after commit?
- How long do items stay on Rollback at Walmart?
- Why is a rollback plan important?
- What is a rollback plan in change management?
- Can you return rollback items at Walmart?
- How do you trigger CodeDeploy?
- What is rollback in deployment?
- How does a rollback work?
- What does rollback do in SQL?
- What is rollback in Kubernetes?
- Why do we need ReplicaSet during deployments?
What is a rollback strategy?
In political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing a change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime.
It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state..
When should you rollback?
A Rollback is executed if a transaction aborts. It makes the whole Transaction undone. A transaction could be aborted through several errors that might occour when running the transaction or if you does an unplaned power off of your system.
What is the command for rollback of database?
The ROLLBACK command is the transactional command used to undo transactions that have not already been saved to the database. This command can only be used to undo transactions since the last COMMIT or ROLLBACK command was issued.
What is rollback testing?
Deployment/Backout/Rollback Testing: Backout: the processes required to restore a system to its original or earlier state, in the event of a failed or aborted implementation. Rollback: is used to maintain database integrity, rollbacks are performed when system operations become erroneous.
What is backout plan in change management?
A backout plan is an IT governance integration approach that specifies the processes required to restore a system to its original or earlier state, in the event of failed or aborted implementation.
Can we rollback after commit?
After you commit the transaction, the changes are visible to other users’ statements that execute after the commit. You can roll back (undo) any changes made during the transaction with the ROLLBACK statement (see ROLLBACK.
How long do items stay on Rollback at Walmart?
for 90 daysHow long will the discounts last? Amazon’s will go for 24 hours; Walmart’s rollbacks continue for 90 days.
Why is a rollback plan important?
A rollback plan is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a list of steps you’d take to undo a release and restore the system to its original state. … Writing a rollback plan can also help clarify what impact the release is expected to have on other systems and what other steps should be taken.
What is a rollback plan in change management?
To explain, a rollback plan is a recovery plan that aims at returning the system to its last known good state. It may be a tape restore or a reload of a configuration file. The rollback plan is the emergency escape plan to get the system back up before the prescribed amount of time elapses.
Can you return rollback items at Walmart?
If you return an item WITH your receipt, and within the 90 day allowance, you will get what you paid. WITHOUT a receipt, you’ll get whatever the current price is for that item. So, if on rollback or clearance and without a receipt… if the item has been marked down to $1 that’s what you’ll get back.
How do you trigger CodeDeploy?
To create a trigger for a CodeDeploy eventIn the AWS Management Console, open the AWS CodeDeploy console.In the navigation pane, expand Deploy, and then choose Applications.On the Applications page, choose the name of the application associated with the deployment group where you want to add a trigger.More items…
What is rollback in deployment?
How will rollback work? You might be wondering (and you should) about how a rollback will work. For a deployment that uploads the files, rollback will revert the changes literally – if a file was added before, it will be removed, if a change was made, it will be unmade, if a file was deleted it will be added back.
How does a rollback work?
A rollback is a commonly used term in computer science for database management system. A database is used to store large amount of data. … The process of rollback involves cancelling a set of transactions or a transaction and brings the database to its previous state before those particular transactions were performed.
What does rollback do in SQL?
In SQL, ROLLBACK is a command that causes all data changes since the last BEGIN WORK , or START TRANSACTION to be discarded by the relational database management systems (RDBMS), so that the state of the data is “rolled back” to the way it was before those changes were made.
What is rollback in Kubernetes?
0 votes. Rollback and rolling updates are a feature of Deployment object in the Kubernetes. We do the Rollback to an earlier Deployment revision if the current state of the Deployment is not stable due to the application code or the configuration. Each rollback updates the revision of the Deployment.
Why do we need ReplicaSet during deployments?
A ReplicaSet ensures that a specified number of pod replicas are running at any given time. However, a Deployment is a higher-level concept that manages ReplicaSets and provides declarative updates to Pods along with a lot of other useful features.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9702470302581787,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.aimpointresearch.com/news-insights/mexico-announces-plans-to-become-corn-independent",
"token_count": 250,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.2353515625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:05f6dbca-8efc-410c-a082-9c2714bf757a>"
}
|
Transition Will be Rocky and Inefficient
Mexico has announced its intentions to become self-sufficient in yellow corn production and has pledged to increase spending on advances in yield and other programs to make this happen. At the same time, the country has announced a GMO corn ban, cut its agriculture budget by a third, and shifted subsidies from larger farms to smaller farms in a job-creation effort.
The U.S. exported $2.7 billion of corn to Mexico in 2019, primarily consumed as animal feed. Mexico produces approximately 1,322 million bushels of corn annually, which is primarily white corn. Mexico would need to increase its corn production by over half within the next 10 years to displace U.S. corn imports.
The Aimpoint Research WatchDesk team reports that, in the short-term, Mexico is likely to increase corn imports to offset domestic production losses as they transition into smaller-scale corn production methods. In the long-term, the country's quest for corn independence and its path to get there is likely to be rocky and inefficient. However, if the GMO ban does remain in place, the U.S. corn industry will eventually need to find a replacement for their #1 corn export market.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9622355103492737,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.ergodirect.com/default.php?cPath=949",
"token_count": 182,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.045654296875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:12286147-c16d-4913-bd4a-c34d8bc9ef61>"
}
|
TAA (Trade Agreements Act) Compliant Products
The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) is an Act of Congress that governs trade agreements negotiated between the United States and other countries. It was enacted in 1979 to advance open and fair international trade. Under the TAA, the US government can procure goods and services made only in the US or designated countries - countries that have signed a free trade agreement with the US or meet certain other specified criteria. Some of the designated countries include Canada, Australia, Mexico, Israel, Poland etc and some of the non-designated countries include China, India, Pakistan, Thailand and so forth.
TAA compliance is important for US Government departments and state and county level agencies as they have to abide by these rules and buy products only made in the US or designated countries. This information is also important for scores of contractors and vendors who sell to the government.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9638833999633789,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.lightingafrica.org/new-video-the-solar-story-lighting-africa-in-kenya/",
"token_count": 165,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.1982421875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:f26e244f-1f1a-48ab-a419-efcfa1c972ef>"
}
|
In 2009, IFC/World Bank launched the Lighting Africa program in Kenya, with an objective of mobilizing the private sector to create markets for clean and affordable off-grid lighting products for rural communities not connected to the grid.
At the time, Kenya had a national grid access rate of twenty-three percent, and only five percent connections in rural areas (fifty percent in urban). Eighty-four percent of the rural population was using kerosene as their primary source of lighting. Solar was virtually nonexistent with only 2.2% of the rural population using it as their primary source of lighting.
Nine years down the line, the solar market in Kenya has realized significant gains – with a market penetration currently estimated at between 25 – 30% – and is now the largest market for household solar in Africa.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9542516469955444,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/07/15/the-internet-and-the-recession/",
"token_count": 1870,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.05517578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a7503d20-afe6-4901-86f3-b4ea35e47b4f>"
}
|
69% of all Americans have used the internet in the past year for help in coping with the recession and understanding it.
More than two-thirds of Americans – 69% – have used the internet to help them with personal economic issues that have arisen in the recession and to gather information about the origins and solutions to national economic problems. That amounts to 88% of the adult internet users in the country.
The internet ranks high among sources of information and advice that people are seeking during hard times, especially when it comes to their personal finances and economic circumstances. At the same time, broadcast media outpace the internet as sources of news about national economics and broadcast sources still overshadow the internet among all Americans for information and advice related to their personal financial circumstances.
For most of those interested in learning about personal and global finances, though, the quest for understanding and meaning is not an “either/or” matter. People do not either talk to others or consult a single media platform. They forage among sources and communicate with a range of people.
The average American is using two-to-three sources of information to make sense of what is happening and plan personal coping strategies. The process is best understood as networked individuals interacting with networked information. They talk to people, seek updates from media sources like newspapers and broadcast media, and actively search for insights that will help them explain what has happened to the economy and how they might adjust to those changes. Sometimes, they also launch an online conversation or otherwise pitch their ideas into the debate.
Still, the quest for information and advice online is not very intense for most Americans. About a fifth of online adults (18%) say they search at least once a day for recession-related material. About half of internet users say they get such material every few days or less frequently than that.
52% of Americans have been hard hit by economic troubles.
Many of the most active searchers and communicators are those who have been stung badly by the recession. Some 52% of Americans have been hard hit in at least one of these ways:
- 35% of Americans have seen their investments lose more than half their value.
- 27% of those who are employed full time or part time have had their pay cut, their hours reduced or lost benefits.
- 27% of homeowners have seen the value of their home reduced by at least half.
- 14% of Americans have been laid off or lost their jobs in the recession.
Bargains and job-related searches lead the way among the kinds of information “online economic users” have sought.
Much of this report deals with a subpopulation we call “online economic users.” They are the 69% of all Americans (and 88% of internet users) who have used the internet for recession-related purposes. Here are the main activities of online economic users in the past year – and in most cases, the hard-hit significantly outpace those who have avoided major economic problems in the past year:
- Price comparisons: 67% of online economic users have used the internet to find the lowest price available for something they need to buy.
- New jobs: 41% of online economic users have sought information in the past year about jobs that might be available.
- Seeking online coupons for savings: 40% of online economic users searched on the internet for cost-saving coupons.
- Help in spending less on everyday items: 27% of online economic users have used the internet to get material on the cost of everyday purchases.
- Earning more money and second jobs: 27% of online economic users have been online hunting for tips about ways to earn more money or exploring the prospects for getting a second job.
- Advice about protecting personal finances: 25% of online economic users have gone online seeking information about ways to protect their finances in a difficult economy.
- Improving skills for a better job: 25% of online economic users have used the internet to seek material about how to improve their skills to qualify for better jobs.
- Sell personal items online: 23% of online economic users have used auction sites or classified ad sites to sell personal items to raise money.
- Unemployment benefits: 22% of online economic users sought material online about unemployment and other government benefits.
- The value of my house: 18% of online economic users have used the internet to check up on the value of their house.
- Rankings or reviews of financial companies and professionals: 17% of online economic users went online to check reviews of financial firms and professionals.
- Information about getting a loan: 13% of online economic users went online to check out ways to get loans.
- Filing for bankruptcy: 3% of online economic users used the internet to look for information about filing for bankruptcy.
The impact of the internet on people’s views and strategies for coping with the recession.
Most online Americans say their internet use had not changed much and the things they did online did not have tremendous influence on their beliefs and actions.
Still, a sizeable portion of online economic users – the 69% of Americans who have gone online for economic-related purposes during the recession – have reported changes in their views and their actions:
More worried, less confident: Asked whether the things they have learned online have made them more confident or more worried about certain things, more said they were made more anxious than the opposite:
- 39% of online economic users said they were more worried about the stability of banks by what they read online, compared with 5% who said they were more confident.
- 37% of online economic users said they were more worried about the nation’s economic future by what they read online, compared with 10% who said they were more confident.
- 36% of online economic users said they were more worried about their family’s future by what they read online, compared with 6% who said they were more confident.
On a personal level, though, online economic users were not dejected after their online searches about their own ability to make good decisions about their finances and career. Some 17% said they were more confident about their ability after their internet searches and 14% said they were more worried.
Improved understanding: 36% of online economic users say the things they have learned online have improved their understanding of the nation’s financial crisis, compared with 11% who say they are now more confused because of what they have encountered online.
Going online more often: 31% of online economic users say they have been using the internet more often to get information about the economy in the past year; 10% of online economic users say they are going online less.
Going on alert: 13% of online economic users have signed up to receive updates about general economic news or personal financial issues.
34% of online economic users have contributed their own reactions and ideas about the recession on the internet. Their contributions include activities on social network sites and Twitter.
Some 34% of online economic users – about 30% of the online population and 23% of the entire adult population — have contributed content and commentary about the recession online. We calculate the 34% figure by adding up all the online economic users who said “yes” they had done any of the following things:
- 12% of online economic users say they have tagged or categorized content about the nation’s economic problems.
- 11% of online economic users have shared photo, video, or audio files about economic issues on the internet.
- 9% of online economic users have posted comments about economic issues on any kind of website such as a financial or news site.
- 8% of online economic users have used social network sites such as Facebook to contact others about job possibilities. That amounts to 17% of online economic users who use social network sites.
- 8% of online economic users have contributed their comments about financial matters to online discussions, listservs or other online discussion forums.
- 7% of online economic users have contributed comments about the nation’s financial matters on a social network site such as Facebook. That amounts to 15% of the online economic users who use social network sites.
- 7% of online economic users have used social network sites such as Facebook to discuss the possibility that they or someone they know might lose their job. That amounts to 15% of the online economic users who use social network sites.
- 6% of online economic users have contributed such comments on a blog.
- 5% of online economic users have shared their own stories about their financial experiences on social network sites such as Facebook. That amounts to 9% of online economic users who use social networking sites.
- 2% of online economic users have posted comments about the nation’s economic matters using a micro-blogging service such as Twitter. That amounts to 15% of all Twitter users who are also online economic users.
- 2% of online economic users have started or joined a finance-related group on a social network site such as Facebook. That amounts to 4% of all the online economic users who use social network sites.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9265596866607666,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.valuemarketresearch.com/report/solar-photovoltaic-panel-market",
"token_count": 805,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.09521484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:8ba1560b-efbd-4ca8-91b5-b3d574fda96a>"
}
|
The global demand for Solar Photovoltaic Panel Market is presumed to reach the valuation of nearly USD XX MN by 2026 from USD XX MN in 2019 with a CAGR of XX% under the study period of 2020 - 2026. Whereas with regards to volume, the market was calculated XX KW in 2019 and foreseen to touch XX KW by 2026 with a CAGR of XX% during 2020-2026.
The solar photovoltaic panel is a technology that converts sunlight into electricity using a photovoltaic effect. The panel absorbs sun rays and produces an electric voltage differential that makes the electrons flow between one to the other, generating an electric current. Several featured solar PV modules include concentrators in which light is focused by lenses or mirrors onto smaller cells. This enables the use of cells with a high cost per unit area in a cost-effective way. The panel contributes sustainable development by producing non polluting energy and is recognised as the cheapest source of energy.
Growing global warming together with increasing demand for electricity are key factors promoting the growth of the market. The market is growing at a rapid rate with constant changes in price, efficiency, technology and capacities. The electricity demand is increasing day by day, therefore it is essential to produce enough electricity to meet the requirement. Additionally, growing carbon emission due to fuel burning is raising concern about the environment. To deal with these consequences the government and a general public are acting positively to change the situation of pollution that is by promoting the installation of the solar panel. The government is putting a lot of emphasis on ensuring clean energy systems, various schemes have been proposed to provide subsidies and incentives to the people for installing PV systems. This is flourishing market growth. However, high capital investment and high production cost are the major hindering factor for the market.
The report covers Porter’s Five Forces Model, Market Attractiveness Analysis and Value Chain analysis. These tools help to get a clear picture of the industry’s structure and evaluate the competition attractiveness at a global level.
Additionally, these tools also give inclusive assessment of each application/product segment in the global market of Solar Photovoltaic Panel.
The entire Solar Photovoltaic Panel market has been sub-categorized intoproduct, end-user, and deployment. The report provides an analysis of these subsets with respect to the geographical segmentation. This research study will keep marketer informed and helps to identify the target demographics for a product or service.
- Thin Film
- Ground Mounted
- Rooftop Solar
This section covers regional segmentation which accentuates on current and future demand for Solar Photovoltaic Panel market across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Further, the report focuses on demand for individual application segment across all the prominent regions.
Europe Solar Photovoltaic Panel Market ByRevenue (USD MN)
The research report also covers the comprehensive profiles of the key players in the market and an in-depth view of the competitive landscape worldwide. The major players in the Solar Photovoltaic Panel market include SunPower Corporation, JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd, Canadian Solar Inc., Trina Solar Ltd., andJA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. This section includes a holistic view of the competitive landscape that includes various strategic developments such as key mergers& acquisitions, future capacities, partnerships, financial overviews, collaborations, new product developments, new product launches, and other developments.
This market research report has been produced by gathering information on the basis of primary and secondary research. Secondary research has been done by using various sources which include (but not limited to) Company Websites, Paid Data Sources, Technical Journals, Financial Reports, SEC Filings, and other different industry publications.
If specific information is required which is not currently within the scope of the report, it can be provided as a part of customization.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.916121780872345,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://www.kryptonocean.com/deep-sea-deposits-development-and-ore-processing-horizons-en.html",
"token_count": 554,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.2041015625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:dd17e61b-4f03-44d1-bfae-733b9f660862>"
}
|
Deep-Sea Deposits Development and Ore Processing Horizons
The overproduction and the global economic crisis resulted in the cost reduction of basic metals: copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and molybdenum. The prices for these metals are now fixed, however they tend to some fluctuation. But in case of their further decline by 10-15%, about 30-45% of production facilities are likely to become unprofitable, thus having a material impact on metal price increase: such a misbalance may provoke obvious fluctuations.
In order to prevent the production volume and business profitability reduction, producers will have to increasingly use “poor” ores and increase their production expenses. We should also take into account the exhaustion of rich on-shore deposits of nonferrous metals – their reserves are not inexhaustible.
All these facts give rise to a necessity to search for new mining and processing technologies for mineral deposits. The development of deep-sea deposits of the World Ocean is solving a problem of obtaining nonferrous and noble metals from renewable mineral resources.
Minerals and raw materials potential of the World Ocean offers three groups of solid minerals. The first group comprises varieties of solid minerals recognized as practically valuable mineral resources. Among them there are ferromanganese nodules (FMNs), cobalt-manganese crusts (CMCs), deep-sea polymetallic sulphides (DPSs), metalliferous silts and brines, oceanic phosphorites. The second group unites non-conventional, new types of oceanic minerals, including metal-bearing sediments, hydrothermal crusts, barytes, zeolitic clays and gas-hydrates. The third group consists of prognosticated types of oceanic minerals. Some of them relate to the sedimentation mass (stratiform, sedimentation buildups), others – to basalts of the second oceanic layer or tectonic geoblocks with basyte-ultrabasyte structure.
The exploration of deep-sea deposits have been carried out for more than 40 years by now, and soon they will begin the second stage – mining and processing of ferromanganese nodules and other mineral sediments on a commercial scale. There is a strong possibility that they will subsequently revise the price for basic metals, as it will be based on a different cost of production. In such a case, producers will be able to make consumer goods readily available to a greater extent - and this will constitute a new turn of growth of the global economy.
Those who will be first to start the extraction and processing of mineral resources from the World Ocean will undoubtedly capture full benefits.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9485937356948853,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://programs.online.american.edu/online-graduate-certificates/project-monitoring/resources/what-is-a-t-test-in-program-evaluation",
"token_count": 952,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.140625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:e969460c-2323-44ba-82f2-36bc54ee02cf>"
}
|
Good quantitative M&E reports must be rigorous in applying statistical tests, but should do so in a way that serves a better, reliable explanation of project performance to different stakeholders. Such evaluation should proceed with an argument, or a hypothesis, followed by analysis of evidence from the data to test it. Let me demonstrate by using a t-Test to evaluate the effects of an imaginary agricultural training program on the yield of wheat. The Wheat Yield figures for a sample of ten farmers before and after the program are represented in the box to the right.
A t-Test checks if two means (averages) are reliably different from each other. Can’t we just compare the absolute values of the means to know how they are different? Looking at the mean values before and after the program may tell the difference, but we can’t be sure if that is a reliable difference, i.e., whether it happened by chance or because of the intervention. The t value can be obtained through as a formula coded in statistical programs like SPSS. Basically, it is a ratio of the difference between the group(s) divided by the difference within the groups (Not too long ago evaluators had to calculate such statistic manually). The result indicates whether the trend in the overall data was haphazard or if it is statistically significant. If it is the latter, we infer that there must be a reason explaining the change aside from the result being a random chance. We then conclude that evidence shows the intervention (the training project) may have caused the change.
As shown below in the Mean Yield Before and Mean Yield After, the project was followed by an increase in the participants’ average production. I used these data to run a paired samples t-Test in SPSS. The pairing relates to the yield before and after the training. I am trying to determine whether the pattern of the data shows a reliably significant change in the average yield. The table below summarizes the key t-Test results as outputted by SPSS.
Paired Samples t-Test
The average yield before training is 15.1. It increased to 17.9 after the intervention. The Mean Difference of 2.8 is negative because it is calculated by subtracting the smaller value from the larger one; but the important thing is that it is a substantial difference of 18.5%. The t value of 3.62 is substantial at 9 degrees of freedom (df=number of cases-1) and is statistically significant at the level of .006, which means that the pattern of the data indicates that there are 6 in 1000 chances that the increase in yield occurred by a random chance. This is a much more statistically significant than the conventional level of 5% (which corresponds to the widely acceptable margin of error). Based on this statistical evidence we can reject the null hypothesis that the training didn’t make a difference.
You can see how valuable this comparison of the means for appreciating the effect of the training program. In order to complete the analysis in our particular example one has to (ideally) demonstrate causation, which has three conditions:
- We need to demonstrate that the variables in question, training and crop yield, are related. This means that it must be demonstrated that change in the yield is associated with whether the farmers participated in the training or not. To test that we need to know who among the sampled farmers took part in the training then run a correlation test to find out whether there is a significant correlation (not the topic of this article).
- We also need to establish that the training took place before the observed changes in yield. This condition is assumed in our data.
- We also need to establish that there is no possible alternative explanation for the relationship between yield and training. The t-Test evidence helped us reject the null hypothesis that the change was just a random chance.
We have met the last two conditions. If the correlation test shows a significant association between the two variables, we can conclude that there is a causal relationship between training on new agricultural techniques and the yield of wheat.
About the Author
Dr. Mohamed Nimer has taught Quantitative Methods in Monitoring and Evaluation to working professionals. His interest in development and quantitative analysis has focused on issues of capacity building and institutional development. He has worked in various settings, including the Egyptian Delta and Middle Eastern and South Asian communities in North America. His doctoral work in political science concentrated on Development Administration. He published many quantitative studies and reports.
To learn more about American University’s online Graduate Certificate in Project Monitoring and Evaluation, request more information or call us toll free at 855-725-7614.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9545159935951233,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://rtistic.info/investing-in-debentures-in-nepal/",
"token_count": 2019,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.10009765625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:84e99d9f-d75b-4d7d-89af-a6aae0064255>"
}
|
Debentures are a loan that a company takes for the sake of expansion or development. Debentures are a significant part of the securities market. In the last few years, we have seen a lot of banks issue debentures here in Nepal.
From this article, you will able to learn the following :
- What are debentures? And how do they differ from bonds?
- How are they issued and who issues them and the reason behind it
- Why debentures are safer investments compared to stocks
- Risks associated with debentures
- How can the value of debentures change
What debentures are? and how do they differ from bonds?
A company raises capital in two significant ways. Either by Issuing stocks (IPO or FPO) or by Issuing Debentures(Taking a loan). A debenture is simply a document by a company committing to pay a fixed interest for a fixed amount of time to whoever is the holder. After the maturity period (usually 7-10 Years), the principal amount given by the investor at the beginning is given back to the investor after maturity (when the debenture contract expires). The contract simply says that the debenture holder is due a fixed interest on his investments (Loan given to the company) every year (Also called a coupon). In Nepal, we see that the par value of most of the debentures issued is Rs. 1000 and the interest ranges between 9-10.5% annually.
E.g., let us assume a company issues a debenture at 10% for the next ten years(Maturity Period). It is to say that you, as a debenture holder, will be viable to get a 10% interest on your investments every year for the next ten years.
Bonds and debentures are similar to each other in that governments generally issue bonds while companies issue debentures. In Nepal, the general public cannot invest in government bonds. Hence, I am not going to talk about it here in detail. Compared to other developed countries out country does not have a lot of investment products and we are stuck with the ones we have.
How are they issued, who issues them and the reason behind it
To understand this idea, let us look at a hypothetical example. Let’s say Nepal Investment Bank wants to expand its branches and adopt new technologies. All of this development will require a lot of capital. Hence they raise funds by issuing bonds. But why issue bonds and collect money from millions of people when they can simply take a loan? This is because, with bonds, they can control the interest rate. This allows them to calculate their risk for the foreseeable future and manage it. So the bank will issue a bond promising a consistent return for the next 7-10 years. Companies also issue debenture because they are tax-deductible. i.e., to say that companies can show debenture as expenses to defer taxes.
What will happen if you buy the debenture? Let’s say you buy a debenture which promises to give a 10% return at a par value of 1000 for the next ten years. Then you can expect to make Rs 100 every year for the next ten years. In the end, you will make a total of 1000 Rs as a total return in the next ten years. At the end of the ten years, you will also get the cash you initially invested (i.e., 1000 Rs).
Why debentures are safer investments compared to stocks
Debentures are considered safer investment vehicles compared to stocks because their value cannot be as easily manipulated as that of stocks. More often then not, the companies which issue debentures are massive companies with a substantial reputation. Debeutre holders are the first to get their interest before dividends are paid out to the preferred and common shareholders.
Also, debenture holders will get the promised interest (e.g., 10%) every year regardless of how the company is doing financially. If a company is at a loss, it still has to pay 10% to the debenture holders. Whereas in the case of stocks, if a company is going through a rough period, it can choose not to pay any bonuses or dividends to its shareholders. Because of the consistent return with little to no fluctuation in value, debentures are considered a lot safer investments than stocks.
There is a caveat, though. If a company makes a profit, then it’s the shareholders that mostly reap the benefit from that profit. This is because the interest paid out to the debenture holders remains constant even if a company is doing exceptionally well. Hence if you are conservative with your money, debentures are the better option for you. I, on the other hand, am young and can take on a lot of risks because of which I see no benefit in debentures. If I want a safe investment, I can just put my money in fixed deposits, which In Nepal gives me a similar return. But you may be in a different situation and think differently. Hence self-awareness is critical when it comes to investment in securities (stocks or debentures).
Risks associated with debentures
As with anything, nothing can be risk-free. There are a few risks related to debentures. Although, in the case of Nepal, these risks are non-existent. Although it has to be pointed out that the debenture market in Nepal is still at its infancy.
The first risk is that the company which issued the debenture may fail to pay the interest. That is to say that the company could collapse. Collapse is highly unlikely as most of the companies that issue debentures in Nepal are massive companies that are not going to collapse any time soon. And in the worst-case scenario, if a company does collapse, its resources are sold. (Equity) After which the first payment from the sale is made to the debenture holders before anyone else. Therefore by investing in big companies with a good reputation, the risk of owning a debenture can be substantially lowered.
The second risk is the change in interest rate. This is also not a huge problem in Nepal as debentures, on average, give a return of 9-10.5 %. In countries like the US, the interest rate fluctuates a lot. Interest rates are changed primarily to stimulate or destimulate an economy. You can learn all about how interest rates influence the market in my earlier article, where I have written about how the economic machine works.
The third risk is the inflation rate. This is to say that if the inflation rate is 11% and you are getting a 10% return, then you will lose 1% of the money you invested. I have discussed how inflation can eat away at your profit in the financial freedom article I wrote for share Sansar.
All of these are the risks associated with owning a debenture. If you are betting that the economy will do better in the long run, then you have nothing to worry about. Or else everything collapses. In which case, we are all fucked.
How can the value of debentures change
Debentures are traded in the Nepalese securities market, but they are not as commonly traded like stocks. There are two ways in which the value of a debenture can change. One is at the level of the market and another on an individual level.
At the level of the market
E.g., let’s say you currently hold a debenture with fixed interest at 9%. And Let’s jump into the future and assume that after two years, people can buy debentures at fixed interest rates of 10%. In this case, the value of your debenture decreases as people can easily buy a 10% debenture in the market. And the opposite is true as well i.e., if, after two years, people can only purchase debentures at a fixed rate of say 8%, then the value of your debenture increases. In a future post, I will discuss how these values can be calculated mathematically.
On an individual level
This idea is very straight forward, and I want to use my personal experience to describe it. For the last five years, my stock investments have resulted in an overall return of about 15%. Although I have to admit that most of that return is unrealized. But as I said above, I am very young, and I can take on a lot of risks. Hence on an individual level, debentures are not valuable to me. As I said earlier, if I want a consistent return, I can just keep my money in fixed deposits where I can still get about a 10% return on my investment. So unless there is a gap between fixed deposits interests and debenture interests. I am not going to opt into investing in debentures anytime soon. But if you are an older gentleman reading this (Above the age of 40), I would advise you to take the safer route and invest in debentures and mutual funds (A topic I will discuss in a future post).
- Debentures are loans taken by a company from the general public for development or expansion.
- In return, the company commits to pay a fixed amount of interest annually to the debenture holder.
- Companies issue debentures instead of taking loans because they can control interest rates for an extended period. Hence they can calculate and manage risks.
- Debentures are safer investment vehicles compared to stocks.
- There is minimal risk associated with debentures.
- The value of debentures fluctuates less compared to stocks.
Last articles on Value Investing
For more research: you should check out https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/ as I am sharing the ideas I learned from his videos
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9412194490432739,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://truthbaoutabs.com/relevance-of-blockchain-certifications-beyond-fintech-sector/",
"token_count": 828,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.037353515625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:38014bf7-97d1-4cb0-b5c5-1e06444740e9>"
}
|
Blockchain technology, first introduced in 2008 by a Japanese national by the name Satoshi Nakamoto, had gained a widespread popularity as a disruptive tech since then. The expansion and adaptation of this revolutionary tech has traversed to a plethora of industries ranging from fintech, music, real estate, manufacturing, government, healthcare, to education.
It’s mind-boggling to track down on the increase in the value of a single bitcoin, when made a monetary comparison between its value in 2011, and that in 2019. In the former year, 1 bitcoin valued equivalent to $1, and in the latter year, it rose to a whopping $16,000. That’s really huge, and this is the kind of growth we are talking over here.
While the value of bitcoin skyrocketed over the years, the underlying technology, that facilitated the digital exchange of bitcoins, started getting recognition across a variety of other industries, alongside fintech.
What’s Blockchain Technology, in Brief?
Blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed, virtual public ledger, that records the details of any kind of transaction made on its secure network. It eliminates the control of federal banks, or any third-party moderator, and allows for free digital exchange of cryptocurrencies. All of the transactional data is stored on a connected network of computers that come under the authority of the users themselves.
Rate of Blockchain Adoption Across a Variety of Industries Worldwide
Blockchain Adoption Phases Across a Variety of Industries Worldwide(2018)
As per an April 2018 Statista study, it was found that the industries having quickly adapted to using the blockchain technology, were consumer products & manufacturing, technology/media/telecom, and life sciences.
Among them, the consumer products & manufacturing sector was at the top in terms of adapting the fastest to the said disruptive tech, with 29% of respondents from the mentioned industry answering in affirmative to the deployment of it, in 2018 itself.
The same study said that 50% of the respondents from the financial services sector agreed on being in the phase of experimentation with usage of blockchain in their business operations.
5 Industries Other Than Fintech That Are Leveraging Blockchain Tech
Logistics & Supply Chain
In the supply chain sector, blockchain offers the feature of traceability, which no other technology having been able to do so, with such fine accuracy in the past. Blockchain is being employed as an advanced tech in the supply chain industry for tracking the movement of the freight with unparalleled accuracy.
Other than providing for the geographical movement of goods, it allows you gauge other critical information specific to the identification of goods, like their quantity, and origin. Professionals armed with the industry–related blockchain certifications get quickly hired in the said sector that is constantly increasing the adoption of blockchain in their operations.
Quality Standards Testing
In companies that fall under FMCG industry, the quality testing aspect serves as the key differentiator between them, and their immediate competition. Use of blockchain tech has helped such firms, specially the companies producing packaged food items, to effectively detect the irregularities along the operations chain.
Recording digital transactions incorporating blockchain eliminates the chances of human errors, and hence, data gets protected from tampering. Remember, records on the blockchain get verified each time they would travel from one blockchain node to the other.
Smart contracts make use of blockchain tech to offer safe operations in the exchange of property, money, information, or any other such thing that people find important to go into a contract for. The beauty of smart contracts is that they don’t require any middlemen between the two parties binded by the contract. Conventionally, banks or solicitors, played the role of the middlemen.
Governments across the world are in the phase of testing blockchain technology in conducting local elections in their respective countries. Moscow is one such city taking initiatives in this direction. Sooner or later, electronic voting system will rise to prominence, if things go as planned. The chances of electoral fraud are getting contemplated at the moment across a number of countries.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9280310869216919,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.australianwindandsolar.com/solar-schools",
"token_count": 1077,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.042236328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:81936dea-d4e2-4644-baad-99bbedc64cf8>"
}
|
$0 Capital Expenditure
Cash Flow Positive
Energy Bill Reduction
Reduction of Energy Consumption
Lowering of CO2 emissions
Supporting the Growth of Renewable Energy
The Creation of a Resource Smart School
Advantages of a detailed energy System Design
Renewable energy has never been more attractive from an investment viewpoint. These systems allow schools and businesses to lower operating costs while gaining a valuable asset and cutting down carbon emissions, in many cases without needing to spend a dollar up front. An investment in renewable energy can yield amazing returns both from an economic and environmental viewpoint. However, it is very important to ensure that only high quality equipment is used and that the system design is carefully thought out and well optimized in order to ensure that the ideal outcome can be reached and that pre-sale promises manifest into real world savings.
Analysis of yearly meter interval data
Australian Wind and Solar have the ability to utilize existing meter interval data along with cutting edge energy system design software to analyse demand profiles in order to identify opportunities for load shifting, thermal energy storage to identify optimal energy system sizing.
The use of meter interval data combined with electricity costs, equipment and installation costs and NASA solar radiation data for the site are used in order to identify the ideal energy system based on the priorities of the school or business. Systems can be designed based purely on best economic return, on the percentage of bills to be reduced, on a positive cash flow basis, on CO2 reduction or on a combination of all factors depending on what is important to the school in question.
Ensuring that the optimal system is selected can represent a significant challenge. This is where Australian Wind and Solar can help. Unlike many renewable vendors, Australian Wind and Solar offer a detailed energy system report which utilizes cutting edge energy systems engineering software developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, (NREL) and utilizes NASA wind, solar and temperature satellite data for the school's GPS location. The energy report uses some of the most accurate data sets available in order to ensure that the recommended system offers the greatest return on investment for each project and that savings projections are realized post commissioning.
The energy report examines meter interval data, energy costs, demand profiles, renewable energy resources, product capital costs and installation orientation in order to calculate which system should be selected. Ask one of our team to demonstrate our system design capabilities.
The installation of 50kW of PV on our sample Victorian school resulted in drastic deduction in harmful emissions.
Carbon Dioxide was reduced by 39,174.08kg per year
Sulfur Dioxide was reduced by 169.84kg per year
Nitrogen Oxides were reduced by 83.06kg per year
Economics of Renewable Energy
Renewable energy offers some of the best risk free returns on investment available. The installation of solar energy can recoup its cost in as little as four years!
Payback periods of 5 to 8 years are the norm. Renewable energy will offer returns of greater than 15%! The figures used in all examples below are real energy data from our sample Victorian school. All economics are real and financial projections are accurate.
Advantages of $0 Upfront Finance
Electrical costs for schools rose by 180% between 2012 and 2013 and this is a common trend. Uilise $0 upfront financing to keep operating costs down while gaining a substantial asset, saving money in year 1 and cutting down on carbon emissions. This sample school was able to save $5,088 in this first year after repayments and tax rebates, all while having paid $0 upfront.
Real Time Load and Energy System Monitoring
Real time monitoring of Solar, Wind, Battery, multi-circuit electric load, power factor gas are available. Educate students and management about the importance of demand management and energy efficiency through the use of accurate data.
Accurate real time monitoring allows schools and businesses to not only identify renewable energy system power output, but also to monitor the school's energy demand. Australian Wind and Solar offer load analyssis in order to identify any energy efficiency measures or load shifting that could offer increased energy cost savings. The inclusion of multi-circuit monitoring allows the easy identification of where energy is being used and at what time This information empowers manangement with the knowledge of how to achieve the greatest savings, often by simply knowing when to turn a device on or off, or if appliances have been running inefficiently, or whether equipment may need upgrading.
This data can also be used to educate students as to the importance of energy efficiency, and the performance of renewable energy systems.
Australian Wind and Solar offer a range of Incursions for Primary and Secondary Schools that include the following:
Developing skills and knowledge about Renewable Energy
Solar technology and operation
Wind turbine technology design and operation
New battery theory and technology overview (Lithium vs Traditional)
Solar geometry, seasonal renewable energy resources
CO2 reduction and global climate change
Understanding energy (demand side management and energy efficiency)
The economics of Renewable Energy
Incursions are delivered by experienced Rnewable Energy experts and experienced educators. Concent is designed to compliment AusVELS curriculum and RecourceSmart Schools.
Pre-visit and post-visit information with follow-up activities and resources.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9549416303634644,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.bgata-hkei.com/incredible-lessons-ive-learned-about-resources-2.html",
"token_count": 486,
"fin_int_score": 5,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1396484375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:efa1eecc-2db4-47b6-9282-ae14742249d7>"
}
|
Merits of Using Asset-Backed Currency
Silver crypto-currency means that the value of money used in the country is derived from the prices of silver in the country. The government come up with fiat money system where monetary value is determined by the authorities. The value of money is not affected by the government under the silver backed currency system. Therefore if a country is using silver backed currency means that the value of money is affected the prices of silver. This is because the supply of silver is the primary factor that will determine the value of money under the silver backed current. The following are benefits of using silver backed currency.
Silver backed currency helps in maintaining the optimal amount of money supply in the economy. One of the causes of inflation is excessive money supply. This, in turn, leads to loss of value in the currency used in a country. Whereas low money supply leads to deflation. Inflation and deflation are two of the major concerns affecting economic growth negatively. All these things can be avoided by using silver backed currency. The reason is that the currency value is based on a physical commodity which has a limited supply. By controlling money supply a country is able to have a stable economy. Use of fiat currency system have seen some countries experience economic difficulties. This is where the government falls to manage the value of the country’s currency thus creating negative impacts on the economic. Therefore these countries are advised to consider using asset-backed currency.
Silver backed currency is essential in avoiding economic collapses due to bubbles. This is because the values of money is based on tangible assets such as silver that has fixed quantity of supply in the economy. Economic bubbles have led to collapse of economies in various countries. The reason is that people acquire debt to buy assets that increase in value rapidly with hopes of selling later at a profit. The lending institutions give people loans which are beyond their wealth. The problem is that the rapid increase in value of the asset is not stable and will suddenly drop leading to substantial loses. Silver backed currency offers a way to prevent economic bubbles from happening the first place. The scarcity of silver is what makes it ideal for backing currency. What makes the rapid increase in value of assets that causes economic crash is due high demand due to availability of funds thus limiting money supply is the solution to these economic problem. Thus avoiding instances where assets double in value overnight thus keeping the economy at a stable rate and avoids economy crash.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9578952789306641,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.blockchainappfactory.com/blog/dag-vs-blockchain-vs-hashgraph/",
"token_count": 683,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0546875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:bc11d3c0-642d-44ec-badf-4cea8479e8b5>"
}
|
What is the future of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)? This may be the Billion dollar question experts and tech enthusiasts are still trying to answer.
Blockchain has been around for a while now and no other DTL seemed to be good enough to fully replace the system that became famous with the Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s network is the one that came the closest to taking over the digital world. Even with improvements, its blockchain still faces the problem of scalability, although no one managed to grow a network larger than the Ethereum one.
However, in the past few years, some cryptocurrencies have been exploring other types of systems and building brand new non-blockchain solutions. Among them, there’s two that seems very promising: DAG and Hashgraph.
Dag vs Blockchain vs Hashgraph
The non-blockchain systems emerged as a way to solve two big problems of a blockchain network:
- Consensus-based method
In short, blockchain systems can validate a transaction using two forms of consensus – Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS). Although both are efficient and trustworthy, the first one requires a big amount of energy to be carried out.
The second one was built to be less energy consuming and make the consensus fairer among the miners. PoS also helps leverage the transition speed, but can’t solve the scalability issue.
In a blockchain network, only one block can be created at a time and the scalability is tied to the number of blocks that can be added per second in the chain and the number of transactions a given block can contain.
With the ‘blockless’ network, in theory, these problems are solved.
Developed in 2016, Hashgraph got famous for its Gossip Protocol. Just as the name suggests, the consensus is made through some gossip, once a computer (the nodes in a blockchain network) executes a transaction, it informs two other computers randomly and they will also transfer the message to two more computers
Due to the lack of blocks, the transactions happen faster and cheaper, because there are no miners and no need to link large blocks on after another.
In the DAG-based network, miners are also extinct and the users become the validators. To be able to perform one transaction, the users have to validate two old transactions.
Dag stands for Directed Acyclic Graph, a mathematical and computer science term that refers to an acyclic graphic. To make it simple, all the links made between nodes go in just one direction.
In the blockchain, a block always refers to all the blocks created before and the one that comes after itself, creating a cycle. But in the DAG, a node can only contain information about two older transactions and can never refer to itself in any path.
This also helps to make transactions faster, since there’s no need to wait for a block to be completed and validated.
Although both systems seem like a great opportunity to solve the blockchain scalability issue, none of them managed to beat the size of the Ethereum blockchain network.
So, as we can see, replacing the blockchain network has been proven to be a tough task, and we still don’t have a viable and tangible alternative for the Distributed Ledger Technology.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9663069844245911,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/whens-a-good-age-to-open-a-savings-account-for-my-child-en-1661/",
"token_count": 295,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0296630859375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:9c69538b-cb3d-4cee-b488-9214a7fb6a3e>"
}
|
When's a good age to open a savings account for my child?
Your child can start learning to save at a very young age. Consider opening a savings account for your child as soon as they save more in their piggy bank than you feel comfortable letting them have easy access to.
A good way to introduce your child to banks or credit unions is to explain that we use these institutions to keep our money safe and to receive interest. Even younger children will understand the safety and security part, but you might want to save a detailed explanation of compounding interest, or how our banking system works, until they’re able to get it.
If your child asks why banks pay us for keeping our money safe, you can explain simply that banks and credit unions use our savings to make loans to other people. They charge those customers a little extra when they pay the money back, and we get a portion of that.
You can also explain that the deposits we put into a bank or credit union are insured through the federal government.
The next time you go to your bank or credit union, have your children come along. Show them the vault and introduce the tellers. Ask about interest rates on savings accounts and open an account.
If your bank offers online access, let your child see their balance from time to time and discuss how they could make it grow.
For more money activities for your child, visit our Money As You Grow section.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9521702527999878,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://xenonhealth.com/the-effects-of-medical-school-debt/",
"token_count": 1139,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.042236328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:11abf3ec-dc3d-44d5-9214-9a871def6aa7>"
}
|
In 1984, 86% of medical students graduated with some amount of debt. While that number has not increased significantly over the past three-and-a-half decades, the amount of debt owed by each individual graduate has increased significantly even when adjusted for inflation, according to Greyson, et. al . In 2012, medical school debt had reached a mean of $158,000 . By 2016, the average medical school graduate owed $190,000, with some residents owing as much as $500,000 . Furthermore, many residents still have unpaid debt from their undergraduate degrees when they finish medical school .
This debt creates three primary problems for the medical field as a whole. Firstly, debt discourages students from underrepresented backgrounds from attending medical school. In the first half of the twentieth century, Black students constituted only 2-3% of enrollment at American medical schools. Between 1950 and 1973, that number grew exponentially. However, since 1973, racial diversity has plateaued . Moreover, in 2004, only 10% of medical students came from households in the lowest two quintiles of nationwide income. This represents a decrease of 17% since 1971 .
To address this problem, some medical schools have started offering large scholarships to underrepresented groups or have decided to abolish tuition entirely. Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center received a $150 million gift in 2017, which allowed 20% of its students to attend for free, with another 30% receiving significant scholarships . Similarly, in 2018, NYU announced that its medical school would become tuition-free, which it lauded as a way to nurture diversity .
According to Steiner, et.al., the rise in debt also affects the disciplines that medical students choose. This leads to fewer students pursuing lower income specialties like pediatrics, which typically pays between $150,000 and $200,000 yearly. In a survey of over 500 anesthesiology residents, those with a higher-than-average amount of debt were 7% less likely to self-report as interested in an academic career. Moreover, these residents reported more interest in working at private practices that offered debt repayment programs . In addition to influencing the chosen fields of medical students, debt affects the locations in which they choose to practice, leading to a lack of doctors in rural or underserved areas. States where high percentages of residents rely on Medicaid find it difficult to attract physicians, leading one such state, California, to develop a debt relief program for doctors who accept Medicaid .
Finally, medical residents with large amounts of debt are more likely to take on extra work and report higher rates of emotional stress. The above survey of anesthesiology residents found that those with higher-than-average debt were not only less likely to choose a career in academics but were also 7% more interested in moonlighting during residency or fellowship . In a survey of 3,000 American medical students by Rohlfing, et.al., those with more debt reported more incidents of acting callously towards others than those with less debt. These students were also more likely to report regret about pursuing medicine . Steady increases in medical school debt have influenced the diversity of medical schools, students’ choice of field, and the well-being of medical students, residents, and fellows. In response, states, philanthropists, and universities have responded by establishing debt-relief programs and scholarships, and in some cases by eliminating tuition entirely.
Greysen, S. Ryan, et al. “A History of Medical Student Debt: Observations and Implications for the Future of Medical Education.” Academic Medicine, vol. 86, no. 7, 2011, pp. 840–845., doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e31821daf03.
Steiner, Jeffrey W., et al. “Anesthesiology Residents’ Medical School Debt Influence on Moonlighting Activities, Work Environment Choice, and Debt Repayment Programs.” Survey of Anesthesiology, vol. 56, no. 6, 2012, p. 281., doi:10.1097/01.sa.0000422040.29757.47.
Grischkan, Justin, et al. “Distribution of Medical Education Debt by Specialty, 2010-2016.” JAMA Internal Medicine, vol. 177, no. 10, 2017, p. 1532., doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.4023.
Glauser, Wendy. “How Medical School Debt Shapes the Health Workforce.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 190, no. 29, 2018, doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5607.
Thomas, Billy. “Free Medical School Tuition.” Jama, vol. 321, no. 2, 2019, p. 143., doi:10.1001/jama.2018.19457.
Rueb, Emily S., and Karen Zraick. “Doctors in Debt: These Physicians Gladly Struck a Deal With California.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/health/california-medical-student-loans.html.
Rohlfing, James, et al. “Medical Student Debt and Major Life Choices Other than Specialty.” Medical Education Online, vol. 19, no. 1, 2014, p. 25603., doi:10.3402/meo.v19.25603.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.96324223279953,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://econ488.com/2017/03/to-debt-or-not-to-debt-the-case-for-why-the-u-s-shouldnt-necessarily-reduce-or-eliminate-its-national-debt/",
"token_count": 1684,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.318359375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a71c43fb-bc89-4c6e-88ba-49288881739e>"
}
|
Since the recent global recession, concerns have increasingly risen about the amount of outstanding U.S. national debt. Congress has been consumed by conflict over this issue, leading to government shutdown and contributing to partisan divide and political gridlock. Those concerned about the level of national debt and its sustainability do have legitimate points as the debt has expanded significantly as the graph below shows. However, there are other factors in play and I would like to suggest that (1) fears are largely overblown about any imminent debt crisis and (2) that taking rash actions to diminish the debt could cause significant distress to the still recovering U.S. economy.
Houston Do We Really Have a Problem?
First, there are reasons not to fear the level of debt outstanding. The national debt has not expanded in a vacuum and has been driven by exogenous events. Recent examples show us that debt-to-GDP ratios increase substantially in financial crises and recessions. This is a natural result of economic phenomenon such as automatic stabilizers and Keynesian thinking on countercyclical fiscal polices such that “During a recession, tax revenue falls because of the contraction of GDP and governments also increase spending. The combination of these two forces increases deficits, and debt-to-GDP ratios can rise quickly as a result”. This position is further reinforced by the graph above showing that the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio only really expanded after the downturn of the economy in 2008. However, due to the low interest rates that have been predominant since 2008 the cost of the increase in government debt has remained historically low during this period as the graph below illustrates.
Another consideration, especially among political pundits, is who owns the outstanding U.S. debt . About 67.5 % of U.S. debt is held by Americans with foreign countries holding the rest. Interestingly, China, an object of much concern, only holds 7% of the U.S. debt. Importantly, the debt held by Americans is quite substantial; “Of the $12.9 trillion chunk of debt owned by Americans, $5.3 trillion is held by government trust funds such as Social Security, $5.1 trillion is held by individuals, pension funds and state and local governments and the remaining $2.5 trillion is held by the Federal Reserve”.
Perhaps most importantly, there is empirical evidence that the long-term debt path of the U.S. is sustainable. This is based on the level of the real interest rate which largely determines the long-term degree of sustainability of the debt. Another study ,which also suggests a sustainable debt for the U.S., notes that historically: “[T]he United States had been able to grow out of their debt since the growth rate of GDP had exceeded the interest rate on government bonds for a long time period after World War II”. This trend is continuing and has been present in most of the recent periods of both economic expansion and recession as illustrated by the graph below of the average long-term TIPS yield and growth rate of real GDP .
Finally, all that being said, a theoretical point must be made in our discussion. There is no readily identifiable “right” level of debt for a country to have outstanding. OECD data revels that relative to other developed industrial nations, the U.S. does not possess an absurd debt-to-GDP ratio. Consequently, it is largely unfair to compare the U.S. to countries such as Greece because of differing country-specific factors. Ultimately, we should be cautious in giving too much weight to debt-to-GDP figures. Robert Sheller wrote an excellent piece on this noting that:
“The fundamental problem that much of the world faces today is that investors are overreacting to debt-to-GDP ratios, fearful of some magic threshold, and demanding fiscal-austerity programs too soon. They are asking governments to cut expenditure while their economies are still vulnerable”.
As for investor confidence, it would appear that U.S. credit ratings remain relatively high indicating that the debt isn’t a problem. While the U.S. was downgraded in 2011, the credit ratings by multiple agencies have remained constant since with a stable outlook.
Spend, Spend, Spend?
So, while it is not immediately clear that the level of U.S. debt is dangerous or harmful, it is important to evaluate the downsides to policies which would cut government spending. Indeed, these policies could be very detrimental to economic growth. As Neil Buchannan notes :
“[T]he best pro-growth budget policy would always see the federal government running a deficit…Balancing the budget on an annual basis would be unnecessary, and running annual surpluses…would actually be counter-productive. When there are short-run economic problems, the government should respond by temporarily increasing annual deficits, and the resulting return to economic prosperity would allow the overall increase in the national debt to be financed”.
Hence, austerity or even aggressive cutting of government programs to balance the budget, especially when the economy is recovering from a recession, is a dangerous idea as the Economist notes:
“Austerity, when everyone tries it at once, makes the debt bigger, not smaller. The E.U. is one of the two largest growth centers of the global economy. If the U.S., the other big one, decides to join in this “austerity binge” the result will be more, not less, U.S. debt and an even bigger growth crisis for the global economy”
A quick review of austerity policies enacted in foreign countries verifies that these programs can have debilitating and long lasting consequences for economic growth. Paul Krugman has done an interesting austerity and growth analysis of countries in Europe; regression results are shown in the graph below and are unfavorable to austerity. Krugman can simply conclude that “No wonder, then, that the whole austerity enterprise is spiraling into disaster”.
Olivier Blanchard of the International Monetary Fund has admitted, in what has been called a “mea culpa”, that austerity is more damaging than previously thought. An article by the Washington Post concerning a contribution by Blanchard in the IMF World Economic Outlook reads:
“[T]he fiscal multiplier appears to have been much higher over the past few years than policymakers…assumed. It’s not 0.6. It’s somewhere between 0.9 or 1.7. If true, then countries in Europe and the United States should have been pursuing stimulus measures to boost growth—and not insisting on budget cuts”.
The simple truth is that U.S. government spending is an important source of demand and investment which helps to drive the economy through fiscal multiplier effects. As the graph below shows, government expenditures since WWII have been an important component of GDP, around 20% of the total, and has remained relatively stable (though notably rising during recessions). For a closer look at the components of GDP across time see the article here.
As noted in this article, government spending has remained more stable than other factors of GDP such as investment; in many respects the private sector relies on government spending. Particularly beneficial is productive spending on infrastructure, education, and other investments that promote future economic growth. Therefore, perhaps a qualification to the benefit of government debt spending, and one that is related to long-term sustainability, is that borrowing be used to expand the capital stock to promote increases in output instead of and being used for short-term consumption purposes.
With all of this in mind, our discussion suggests that budgetary policy must evaluate an optimal level of national debt that is both sustainable, though not necessarily diminishing and perhaps even growing, and which promotes long-term economic growth. Austerity measures are dangerous to both, as are measures that allow unsustainable and unproductive spending. Hence, I would suggest that the U.S. should not take action to diminish its national debt but must proceed with caution to ensure that borrowing is optimal meaning that it fosters productive investments, and the shoring up of the economy in times of distress which will ensure long-term sustainability.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9276075959205627,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://afrief.org/islamic-finance-sustainable-development-goals-program/",
"token_count": 850,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0537109375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:7830563f-fddf-4687-ac7b-928c8c3b1df3>"
}
|
ISLAMIC FINANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS PROGRAM
Launched in 2015 by leaders of 191 nations, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are amongst the most ambitious projects humanity has ever attempted “to develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.” In emerging markets alone, the UN estimates USD3.9 trillion per year will be required to reach all 17 goals by 2030. At the current rate of investment, the UN has calculated a gap of USD2.5 trillion per year.
Even though the UN, governments, investors, corporations and financial institutions and Civil Society Organizations have committed themselves to achieving the SDGs within the next 10 years, there is no practical way to bridge the gap of $25 trillion. Capital is not flowing at the required speed to the countries where SDG investment matters most. Africa remains the most challenged continent. Yet, it is also one that is booming with innovation, initiatives and impact ventures. Nearly half of the financing required to achieve the SDGs needs to flow to Africa.
As we enter a new decade, it is critical that investors embrace the SDGs at pace and at scale: we have 10 years to deploy the capital and capabilities at our disposal to help build a sustainable future for the planet. There can be no purpose more worthwhile.
Yet, the reality remains that the investment required to meet the targets by 2030 cannot be provided by governments and NGOs alone. The private sector has a critical role to play if we are, collectively, to achieve the SDGs. There is also an increased recognition of the key role that the private sector can play in partnering with governments to support the efficient and timely provision of infrastructure. Also recognized is the importance of such relationships when emphasizing the need to “encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil-society partnerships.”
The challenges of mobilising SDG investment, particularly in African economies, are real. But barriers are coming down and new thinking is helping to channel capital into countries that have previously found it difficult to attract private investment. Innovative forms of finance such as Islamic finance and Sukuk (Islamic bonds) are providing the mechanism for investors and corporates to rise to the challenge.
Given the growth of Islamic finance globally, and the fact that its underlying principles support socially inclusive and development-promoting activities, the Islamic financial sector has been recognised to possess the potential to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, particularly in Africa.
In line with our objectives of reducing poverty, promoting Islamic financial-sector development, and broadening financial inclusion in African countries, the Africa Islamic Economic Foundation has launched a special program, the Sustainable Development Goals Program to support African Governments and private sector entities to deploy Islamic finance in PPP delivery and capital market frameworks to attract impact Investments and expand Islamic financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The project consists of three components:
- POLICY: The policy support component supports the development of Islamic finance legal and regulatory frameworks
- INVESTMENT FLOWS:This component provides investors and corporations who are serious about their commitment to the SDGs with a map of the potential investment opportunities and facilitates investment inflows across the most tangible, infrastructure-focused goals.
- PUBLIC AWARENESS: This component provides technical assistance to devise, develop and execute public awareness campaigns through mass media, seminars, workshops and conferences. The campaign would seek to improve the general public’s understanding of Islamic capital markets and of their role and rights as participants.
The Program drives organization-wide efforts to develop and leverage relationships with resource and delivery knowledge partners to deliver the organization’s mission. It also, coordinates resource mobilization efforts, and outreach to prospective African countries, as well as partnerships with other international organizations, foundations and private sector.
We therefore, warmly welcome expressions of interest for partnerships as well as invitations for engagements or request for more information about our activities. Please drop us a message at: [email protected].
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.8964459896087646,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://beaxy.com/glossary/address-blockchain/",
"token_count": 235,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.431640625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:16228253-6548-4344-8cca-22c8c9041060>"
}
|
Not unlike addresses in both the real world and on the worldwide web, the blockchain address refers to the string of text provided to identify a specific place or user. To be more specific the blockchain address is the string of text that places the location of a particular wallet within a blockchain. This can be used to either send or receive cryptocurrencies from.
As a rule all blockchains have wallet addresses in some form. Most come in a long string of letters and numbers in a line of text challenging for human eyes to decode, but easily understood by a computer network. As an example, a Bitcoin address will look like this: 1CKa7k7RtaV4TRRcnjciVndBS8hNG1G9ip.
Given the nature of most blockchains, it is entirely possible to see the total amount and which type, of cryptocurrencies wallets contain. Majority of the crypto addresses on a blockchain network are anonymous given that no personally identifiable information is needed to set up a new wallet address on the blockchain. While this is the case, not all these addresses are entirely anonymous and some addresses are publicly-known to be tied to individuals or firms.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9592886567115784,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://hbkswealth.com/2020/06/federal-reserves-unprecedented-move-stabilized-the-markets/",
"token_count": 953,
"fin_int_score": 5,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.384765625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:94553060-fbd9-4d12-9b74-d6ea24584d53>"
}
|
The Federal Reserve System was established by the U.S. Congress in 1913, born out of the 1893 depression when J.P. Morgan had to intervene to stabilize the nation’s economy. The ongoing saga of financial panics and runs on banks finally convinced Congress to create a central bank and assign it the task of maintaining the nation’s economy with a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial system.
The Fed has three main tools it uses to achieve its goals: adjusting the discount rates it charges on loans to banks and increasing or lowering bank reserve requirements are two. The third is its most effective tool of late, Open Market Operations, through which it buys and sells government-issued securities.
COVID-19 and junk bonds
Enter COVID-19 and its related effects on the U.S. economy. Household, corporate and municipal debt rose dramatically as all three segments that make up the U.S. economy were borrowing to replace lost income. It was enough to drive the DOW down 35 percent—and an unlikely scenario: all three sectors of the U.S. economy in decline, generating debt as opposed to their usual role of generating income. And unlike the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008, there were no parties to blame, such as the irresponsible lenders.
So unlike the Great Recession when the Fed did not move to correct the economic fallout, it made a move unprecedented in his 107-year history. On March 23, the Fed announced its intent to buy investment-grade corporate bonds, then on April 9, the Fed expanded its definition of bonds eligible for purchase to include high-yield or junk bonds. The Federal Reserve Act establishing the central bank in 1913 prohibits the Fed from buying corporate bonds, so they set up special-purpose vehicles through Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manger, to do the buying.
Without a single purchase
By announcing they would buy corporate and high yield bonds, the Fed made it clear they were willing to do anything to hold up the economy. And the mere announcement seemed to do the trick. Both the bond and stock markets stabilized. Bonds are inherently stable, but they had lost up to 10 percent in value. But when the Fed said they would buy, the private sector took heed, and in April the markets registered their biggest gains since 1987.
Indeed the Fed has begun buying corporate bonds, initially about $1.3 billion, including two of Blackrock’s iShares ETFs, two Vanguard funds and one State Street’s SPDR ETF. But the fact remains that the markets normalized and rebounded well before it made a single purchase.
The Fed’s move is not without concerns: We don’t want an economy that’s addicted to cheap money; we don‘t want negative interest rates; we don’t want an economy that’s accustomed to being bailed out by the government. We want a free-market economy that allows companies to fail. And there are concerns about inflation or a devalued dollar should the government continue to print money.
Still, it has been hard for economists to criticize the Fed’s decision. Whatever we might have thought of it when it was announced, the Fed’s unprecedented move worked.
The information included in this document is for general, informational purposes only. It does not contain any investment advice and does not address any individual facts and circumstances. As such, it cannot be relied on as providing any investment advice. If you would like investment advice regarding your specific facts and circumstances, please contact a qualified financial advisor.
Any investment involves some degree of risk, and different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, including loss of principal. It should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment, strategy or allocation (including those recommended by HBKS® Wealth Advisors) will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated or intended results or performance level(s). Past performance of any security, indices, strategy or allocation may not be indicative of future results.
The historical and current information as to rules, laws, guidelines or benefits contained in this document is a summary of information obtained from or prepared by other sources. It has not been independently verified, but was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. HBKS® Wealth Advisors does not guarantee the accuracy of
this information and does not assume liability for any errors in information obtained from or prepared by these other sources.
HBKS® Wealth Advisors is not a legal or accounting firm, and does not render legal, accounting or tax advice. You should contact an attorney or CPA if you wish to receive legal, accounting or tax advice.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9336690902709961,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://kevinswildside.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/",
"token_count": 1020,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.181640625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c73850e0-b402-49bf-b0d5-37fd836a8671>"
}
|
Among the increasing sums of money being pledged to help save the Great Barrier Reef is a federal government pledge to spend A$40 million on improving water quality. The Queensland government has promised another A$33.5 million for the same purpose.
One of the biggest water-quality concerns is nitrogen runoff from fertiliser use. It is a concern all along the reef coast, and particularly in the sugar-cane regions of the Wet Tropics and the Burdekin. The government’s Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan calls for an 80% reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen flowing out onto the reef by 2025.
Our recent research suggests that “nitrogen trading” might be worth considering as a flexible economic mechanism to help farmers deliver these much-needed reductions in fertiliser use.
What is nitrogen trading?
You probably already know about carbon trading, which allows polluters to buy the right to emit greenhouse gases from those with spare carbon credits. Nitrogen trading would work in a similar way, but for fertiliser use.
A nitrogen market could offer a flexible way of encouraging farmers to use fertiliser more efficiently, as well as rewarding innovations in farming practice. It could be a useful addition to existing fertiliser-reduction schemes such as the industry-led Smart Cane Best Management Practice. These are making headway but evidently not enough.
A nitrogen market isn’t going to happen tomorrow, but it could be part of a future in which an annual limit (called a cap) is set on the total amount of nitrogen flowing out from river catchments to the reef.
One way to enforce this cap would be to set a limit on fertiliser applications per hectare. Cane farmers would have to manage the best they could with that fixed amount of nitrogen.
But nitrogen trading would offer more flexibility, while still staying under the same total nitrogen cap. Instead of a fixed limit, farmers would receive a certain number of “nitrogen permits” per hectare of cane. Then, if they wanted or needed to, they could buy or sell these permits through a centralised online “smart market”.
How would it work?
Imagine you’re a farmer with a property that sits on good soil. The amount of fertiliser you can apply to your crop must match the number of nitrogen permits you hold. But you know that, on your good land, you would get more profits if you could apply more fertiliser.
To do this you would have to buy extra permits through the nitrogen market. These extra permits would be worth buying as long as they deliver more than enough extra profit to cover the cost.
The total number of permits is limited by the cap – so buyers can only buy extra permits if other farmers are selling them. So who’s selling?
Putting fertiliser onto a field with poor soil won’t increase your profits as much, because a lot of that fertiliser will just run off before the crop can use it. On a bad paddock, nitrogen permits aren’t worth much in terms of extra crop yield, so you might make more money by just selling them to other farmers with good paddocks. That is why trading happens.
The overall effect of this trading would be to switch a significant amount of nitrogen fertiliser away from less profitable, leaky soils, and onto more profitable, less leaky land. As a result, the total nitrogen cap would be distributed more efficiently across the farming landscape.
For individual farmers, the reward for low-nitrogen farming practice is the opportunity to sell unused permits at a profit. This incentive will help to drive ongoing improvement and innovation.
Our simulations suggest that overall sugar cane profits and production would be higher with trading than they would under a fixed per-hectare nitrogen limit – with the same overall cap on the amount of nitrogen hitting the Great Barrier Reef.
Opportunity for the future?
Will it just mean more expensive regulation, green tape and hassle for farmers? Farmers are already signing up to calculate and record actual fertiliser applications paddock by paddock under the Six Easy Steps nutrient management program.
If we’re in a future where the government is monitoring and managing a fixed nitrogen cap anyway, then not much extra work is needed to set up an online trading market.
A firm overall limit on fertiliser use seems to be essential for the reef’s survival. The incentives provided by a nitrogen market could give Queensland’s farmers the flexibility they need to thrive in this nitrogen-constrained future.
Graeme Curwen and
Michele Burford of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University contributed to the research on which this article is based.
Jim Smart, Senior Lecturer, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University; Adrian Volders, Adjunct Professor, Griffith University; Chris Fleming, Associate Professor, Griffith University, and Syezlin Hasan, Research Assistant, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9797883629798889,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://marketbusinessnews.com/student-debt-undermines-wealth-accumulation/21466/",
"token_count": 1206,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.13671875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:529982ec-5365-4610-bd2e-43e380146424>"
}
|
Student debt undermines wealth accumulation, with households headed by young adults burdened with student debts building up wealth far more slowly than their student-debt-free peers, researchers from the Pew Research Center found in a new study.
Approximately 37% of all American households headed by somebody less than 40 years of age have some student debt. The average student-debt outstanding is about $13,000.
After gathering and analyzing data from the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances, the authors found that households headed by a young college-educated adult with no student debt had an average net worth of $64,000, compared to $8,700 among their peers with student debts – a sevenfold difference in net worth.
There is also a large wealth gap when young adults without a bachelor’s degree were compared. Households headed by people without any student debt had a net worth nine times greater than their debt-laden counterparts – $10,900 compared to $1,200. This holds true even though the debtors and non-debtors in the study had almost identical household incomes in each group.
Other factors are at work
While these clear differences in net worth may be explained partly by outstanding student debt, it is only part of the story. With an average outstanding student debt ($13,000) much lower than the differences in net worth, clearly other factors are also at work.
Individuals with student debts accumulate less wealth because they tend to owe comparatively large amounts of other debts as well, such as credit card debts and car loans, etc.
Head of household graduates with student debts were found to have an average household debt of $137,000, compared to $73,000 among households led by graduates with no student debts.
In less-educated households total student debt averaged $28,300, compared to $2,500 in households led by individuals with student debts – a tenfold difference.
Student loan for bachelor’s degree does pay off
While taking out a loan to finance a college degree is linked to having a lower net worth, the bachelor’s degree does eventually pay off in other ways, especially in terms of household income.
College-educated head of households with a student debt have an average income of $57,951, compared to $32,528 earned by head of households of the same age with no bachelor’s degree.
According to a recent Pew Research study, the income gap today between young college graduates and those with no college degree is much bigger than in previous generations.
The authors point out that their analysis does not address the wider question regarding which factors might be causing student debtors to take on more overall debt. Perhaps the burden of student debt makes it harder for young adults to gain financial traction elsewhere.
More young people are enrolling in college today than before, and from a wider socioeconomic spectrum. Maybe the difference in net worth simply reflects different socioeconomic origins – those with student debts come from households with less income, i.e. they get less financial help from their families and need to continue taking on more debts after leaving college.
The study findings echo the association between student debt levels and individual economic well-being. Young adult college graduates with student debts are generally less satisfied with their overall personal financial situation compared to those who went through college without borrowing any money.
Those who graduate with a bachelor’s degree and student debts are also less likely to experience an immediate payoff for the investment they made in their education.
Student debt and other debts
The researchers found that people with student debts tended to owe more on other types of debts:
- 43% of student-debtor graduates also had vehicle loan debts, compared to 27% of graduates with no student debts.
- 60% of student-debtor graduates also had credit card debts, versus 39% among their peers with no student debts.
Even though households led by earners with student debts had larger total debt burdens, indebtedness needs to be assessed in the context of the economic resources of the household, i.e. those with higher incomes and assets may be able to take on greater debts.
The authors wrote:
“Using the conventional total debt-to-income ratio, where debt is measured as a share of income, college-educated student debtors are by far the most indebted.2 The median college-educated student debtor has total debt equal to about two years’ worth of household income (205%).”
“By comparison, college-educated households without student debt and less educated households with student debt have total debts on the order of one year’s worth of household income (108% and 100%, respectively).”
Accumulated household debt among all households reached a peak in late 2008, soon after the financial crisis hit. According to the Survey of Consumer Finances, between 2007 and 2010, younger households were reducing their overall debt burdens more rapidly than older households.
Student debt became the second largest debt in US households
However, even as younger heads of households were reducing their levels of indebtedness faster than the older heads of households, their outstanding volume of student debt increased during the Great Recession. By the end of 2009, student debt overtook credit card debt as the second biggest type of debt owed by households in the United States, after mortgages.
Why would a household’s total indebtedness fall while the student loan debt rose? One has to examine the debt burdens that exist in the younger households. On average, young households with no student debt have seen falling debt burdens since 2007. Among college-educated households with no student debt, the average debt-to-income ratio declined from 127% in 2007 to 108% in 2010.
Not all young households have experienced the same rate of decline in indebtedness. Those with student debts have seen their debt-to-income ratios increase from 2007 to 2010.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9619572162628174,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://wearequrious.com/economics/employment-notes-questions/",
"token_count": 169,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1572265625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1ff63e00-e1ec-4757-be10-5b1d28f3532f>"
}
|
Related Exam Boards: GCE A-Level, IB (HL), Edexcel (A2), OCR, AQA, Eduqas, WJEC
Looking for revision notes, past exam questions and teaching slides for Employment? Check out ours below and download them if you find it helpful!
A high employment rate is one of the government’s macroeconomic objectives as it would indicate an economy is working at its full potential, and that households are receiving enough income to maintain their living standards. Increasing the number of workers would mean the possibility of producing more goods and services, as labour is a type of factor of production. Note that employment rates tend to include individuals who work full-time, part-time and are self-employed.
Employment Revision Notes
Want a closer look? Download these notes here.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9440932273864746,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.cigionline.org/publications/benefit-sharing-french-g20-role-asia",
"token_count": 1055,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.052978515625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:719749b8-4631-4d05-a4c8-22410e500c4f>"
}
|
Asian economies, in the most dynamic region of the world economy for the foreseeable future, have an especially important role in shaping any future global agenda.
With US unemployment still above 9 percent, and employment problems expected to continue for the next while, authorities in China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia realize they must be less dependent on US (and European) consumers, and rely more on domestic and regional demand in Asia, and fostering the growth of new and emerging markets – even while contributing to the stabilization of the high-income economies.
In Asia, the domestic priority is now on adjusting growth and development models towards stronger internal and intra-regional capacity for sustainable growth. For example, to reduce excess current account surpluses, even as it continues to develop, China is undertaking domestic reforms to:
- strengthen social safety nets, including pension and health insurance programs;
- further develop physical infrastructure to reduce supply bottlenecks to sustainable growth; and
- increase investment in the engines of sustainable long-term growth, such as energy and resource efficiency, renewable and clean energies, green transportation and cities and quality-of-life services such as health care and sanitation.
A number of countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Brazil, Russia and the emerging economies of Africa and South America, have similar developmental needs.
However, it is equally important that Asia develop new means for redistributing its accumulated surpluses to other parts of the world. The sub-regional “Connectivity” projects backed by the Asian Development Bank that link South and Southeast Asia, and Central Asia, are a promising start. Asia is now putting concerted attention into ways of redistributing wealth to other zones of the South (as well as the already-developed North).
One area where Asia has unique experience is in looking beyond trade to the importance of investment in creating new jobs, and providing the accompanying infrastructure. Interestingly, Inter-American Development Bank officials suggest that Asia has a unique track record in establishing international production networks that span the region, as well as mobilizing the financial resources needed for the massive investment in economic infrastructure, especially the transport and communications links that support such integrated production. Asia’s experiences also demonstrate that governments — the public sector — have a vital role to play in supporting such investment; however, the scale of investment needed for megaprojects often exceeds what can be generated by government alone, in the form of government grants or soft loans. Private sector resources sometimes need to be marshalled, in partnership with the public. Asia has much to offer here, from resources management, innovative financing, technical expertise on engineering and design, to project management. The world is at the start of a new phase, with opportunities for what Justin Lin, chief economist of the World Bank, calls “Three-way Learning” — involving South-South and South-North, as well as the traditional North-South, relationships.
Principles and Modalities for France
To date, much of the G20 debate has been dominated by calls for burden sharing. The global discussion would benefit from a reframing to benefit sharing. This sentiment underlies the guiding slogan from the Seoul G20 Summit last November — the first leaders’ summit to be held in Asia: “Shared Growth Beyond Crisis.”
One way to address global imbalances is through coordinated benefit sharing — via the international redistribution of national surpluses and excess domestic savings — for the provision of global public goods.
The G20 can make a difference on global benefit sharing if it concentrates on a few vital issue-areas and provides for policy convergence, matching supply with demand for targeted global public goods. A viable approach is to focus first on building new consensus on principles and modalities for global benefit sharing. What is called for here is a principles-based approach, followed next by concrete programs of shared growth.
For actors such as Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, the US and the European Union, the G20 can serve as a useful forum for building new international consensus with the rising non-Development Assistance Committee donors (such as Brazil, India, China, Turkey and most recently, Ecuador) on innovative options for meeting commitments on global health and climate change.
The G20 can also encourage policy that facilitates the financing of infrastructural investment via new combinations of public spending and global or regional capital markets. There is a deep reservoir of experience in Asia and elsewhere, which may provide lessons to be shared, both good and bad, about the financing of infrastructure.
Asian members of the G20 can draw on their own past success and experience and play a greater role in helping to set the vision and ambitions for global realignment and systemic reform — changes that are crucial to achieving more balanced and sustainable global growth.
Asia has resources to share in a globally coordinated effort of benefit sharing.
If the French G20 presidency can help mobilize some of Asia’s resources for the global good and support its rise to leadership, it will have made a big difference.
Gregory Chin is a senior fellow and acting director of the Development Program at The Centre for International Governance Innovation.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9310433268547058,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.duedil.com/blogs/a-guide-to-financial-due-diligence",
"token_count": 762,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.16796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:4b10d747-2da9-4d0c-b8f3-375499d54771>"
}
|
Financial due diligence is the procedure a potential buyer of a company undertakes to assess the financial health and stability of the assets up for sale. To provide transparency and comfort to the acquiring party, financial data is scrutinised and any mitigating circumstances or areas which could potentially pose a risk are highlighted.
Financial due diligence is a crucial part of the merger and acquisition process which enables both parties to make informed decisions relating to the purchase.
Financial Due Diligence Process
Once the acquiring party has reviewed its own business strategy in regards to instigating a merger or acquisition, the following process is initiated before negotiations on the sale begin:
- The buyer formally expresses its interest in acquiring the target company
- Both parties conduct initial discussions on purchase terms
- Investment principles are established, and following this both parties are then required to sign confidentiality agreements
- Financial due diligence work begins once the target company provides related materials to the buyer
Financial Due Diligence Benefits
The main benefit of a financial due diligence report is for the buyer to establish an understanding of historic and actual financial performance, as well as forecasting its financial solvency. The result of which allows for an informed valuation of the company.
Apart from the main objective of underlining any financial or tax risks, financial due diligence also has the advantage of providing investors with an understanding of the target company’s assets, liabilities, and operations management structure. When combined with other forms of due diligence, a solid basis is established for informing strategic investment decisions related to the acquisition.
The benefits of financial due diligence are not limited to the acquiring party. For the target company, the financial due diligence report paints a clear picture of their key strengths and weaknesses. This in turn allows them to be sufficiently equipped for probing from the buy side. In most cases, responses are put forward in advance to speed up the negotiations.
Another benefit for the sell side is raising its own value. If the target company is committed to working with the financial intermediary in charge of the due diligence, they can correct any operational or financial issues identified. This instils greater confidence in the buyer, thus increasing the value of the firm.
Financial Due Diligence Checklist
The financial due diligence report is a comprehensive document outlining the findings from the third party financial services firm. The contents vary between industry; however, these are the contents universally found in a report:
- How is the target company currently being operated?
- What financial procedures are currently in place?
- An analysis of cash flow to determine operational condition
- Questions relating to motivation of target company’s acceptance of acquisition
- Review of financial policies, asset quality and profitability
- What is the financial structure of the target company?
- What is their current credit situation?
- What is the current tax structure?
- How does the target company fulfil and withhold tax payment?
- Forecasts of earnings, cash flow and capital requirements
- Evaluation of interest and exchange rates, tax changes and industry outlook
How DueDil can help
From due diligence to deal prospecting, DueDil helps businesses make data-informed decisions.
DueDil combines comprehensive sources of company information and an intuitive set of features that allow any team to uncover opportunities and understand risks. Unlike traditional information suppliers, DueDil provides a unified platform for teams across a business to contextualise and navigate the relationships between sets of data.
DueDil takes live data from a wide range of authoritative sources, combines it and presents it clearly. On top of this foundation is an intuitive set of features that allow users to search for, segment, benchmark, monitor and export company information.
To discover how your business can enhance its due diligence processes, get started with DueDil today.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9673639535903931,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.ferratum.co.uk/blog/2019/09/24/how-teach-children-about-money",
"token_count": 1147,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.10009765625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:6f2d800e-dbd7-4883-8ae4-e3205a678320>"
}
|
How to teach children about money
In light of the current COVID-19 we will not be accepting any new loan applications. The well-being of our customers is of absolute priority and therefore we ask you to contact us via chat, email or phone if you have an existing account and require any help.
Many customers will be faced with income interruptions as a result of this crisis and so therefore we are recommending that you refer here for useful advice: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-you
We all know that children learn from the world around them. And us adults need to lead by example. How your children will manage money matters later in life is influenced by what they see and learn as children. Set your children up for a bright financial future by talking to them about money now.
Talk about money early on
How can you talk to small children about money? It may still be a fairly abstract concept to them. So how can we make the lessons accessible? This Forbes article suggests that research shows kids have a basic understanding of money concepts by 3 and form some money habits by 7! So it's certainly important to start when they are young.
Making it fun and turning it into a game can be a way to get money lessons through to young children. And as an added bonus it could well improve their maths skills! Try role-playing buying and selling items while playing shops. You can use coins and show how transactions work. You can also get kids involved in the weekly food shop. Involve them in making a list at home and then looking for the items in the store. If your children can't read yet, you can give them a picture list of some items for them to find in the store. This is a great way to show a child from a young age how we manage a budget by writing a list and sticking to it.
Teach about saving
We've all heard the adage that money doesn’t grow on trees. Most families have to manage within a set monthly budget and often those with young children find it the hardest time to save with extra costs such as childcare. We all know that when the money runs out, sometimes you need to save to buy what you want. And sometimes you need to borrow money to pay for larger things or if you need a fast solution.
These are important things to teach your children. Although money is not unlimited, there are ways to be prepared for an emergency or plan for things you want. You could teach a child to save up for a wanted toy or game that they want to buy. This is an important life lesson that you can't always have want you want immediately. A bank account for birthday and Christmas money can also show that you don't have to spend money as soon as you get it, and having access to saved money when something you do want comes up is a great buffer to have. Not to mention the benefits of seeing how by saving small amounts can add up over time.
Open a bank account
Fewer of us are carrying cash and coins in our wallet these days. With apps that allow you to buy your bus ticket and things like Google and Apple pay, there is less need to carry around cash. Your children will grow up in an ever-increasingly digital environment, and they should learn about this as soon as possible.
By opening a bank account for your child, you can help show your child how you manage money in the grown-up world. A great place to stash birthday and Christmas money, and you could even pay pocket money directly into your child's account. While they are still young, you will often have an account in trust and if you use your own bank, then you may be able to manage the account via your online banking app, which can be helpful to share with your child and update them regularly on how much they have saved. There are child specific accounts with cards you can get that help teach children about money management, such as Go Henry.
Nothing is free – even sweets cost money!
It can be tempting when out and about to give in to the demands of children at the sweet display by the checkout and not have them cause a scene. But deep down we know that we should resist, not just because of the sugar content, but the unnecessary expense. What are we teaching our kids about money management when we give in?
When it comes to children, clear boundaries often help. Maybe once you've planned your shopping list you can take out the cash you have budgeted for the shopping. Then you can explain to the child that to afford that bar of chocolate, they would have to return something else or their won't be enough money. This method might not be for everyone, but you can teach your child a lot with healthy boundaries. And lead by example, are you guilty of impulse purchases? Remember, if you didn't want or need something when you entered the shop - you should think twice before parting with your cash!
Did you like this article? Share it using the buttons below, or click the link to read another blog...
|Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyadviceservice.org.uk. Representative example: APR 1270% if borrowing £400 for 4 months. Interest rate: 292% p.a. (fixed). Total amount repayable: £665.48 by four instalments of £166.37. Maximum representative APR: 1604% if full loan repaid after 7 days.|
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9197759628295898,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.globaltort.com/post/whole-genome-sequencing-costs-continue-to-plummet-an-example-of-the-incredible-roi-from-inve",
"token_count": 325,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.15625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:b46fe649-ec2a-44a4-9660-5dde090a99b7>"
}
|
Whole Genome Sequencing Costs Continue to Plummet – An Example of the Incredible ROI from Inve
This NYT article by John Markoff explains part of the story on why we are now sequencing entire genomes for hundreds of dollars, and why a full sequence will soon cost far less. For another part of the story, read here on Ion Torrent. The story brings home the power of science when coupled with great new devices coupled with massive computers sorting through massive amounts of data. Note, for example, the article’s point that new, industrial strength digital cameras will create a 10X increase in genome processing speed, allowing this company to sequence 100,000 genomes in year, instead of 10,000.
Sequencing genomes alone will not drive all the answers we need. There is more to be done to correlate original DNA with environmentally-induced changes to the epigenetic system that regulates the actual function of DNA – those changes are part of the development of cancers and other diseases. But scientists today are light years ahead of 10 years ago, and will move further and faster if government budgets are preserved for investment in the fundamental research that drives molecular biology.
Investing in fundamental research is key. Society did well from investing in the race to the moon. Far more benefits will flow from investing in understanding our complex bodies. The original race to sequence one genome cost $ 3.8 billion, and is calculated to have generated 310,000 jobs, not to mention knowledge gained or lives saved. And, as pointed out by the article, the genome sequencing business and science are racing forward at an even faster pace.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9644606113433838,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.treehousesociety.org/blog/5-ways-to-get-entrepreneurship-funding",
"token_count": 839,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.07177734375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:46871f94-1aff-4aa4-af9d-1faf516f4d58>"
}
|
Entrepreneurs work for years without return on revenue sometimes as product development and innovation takes time. They will need to seek elsewhere for funding for their entrepreneurial endeavor. Funding is the act of providing financial resources, usually in the form of money, or other values such as effort or time, to finance a need, program, project, or a business, usually by an organization or government. This word is used when a firm uses its internal reserves to satisfy its necessity for cash, while the term financing is used when the businesses acquire capital from external sources, Sources of funding include credit, venture capital, donations, grants, savings, subsidies, and taxes.
When it comes to spearheading a successful business, the amount of money and sweat equity you put in it is equally as important as the amount of time for the services you provide in return. People often go to extreme measures to keep their business afloat. Some options being more realistic than others.
Entrepreneurs with a business concept would want to accumulate all the necessary resources including capitals to venture into a market. Funding is part of the process, as some businesses would require substantial start-up amount that most individuals would not have. These startup funds are essential to kickstart a business idea, without it, entrepreneurs would not have the ability to carry out their concepts in the business world.
1. Begin with Bootstrapping
Many entrepreneurs begin their business by "bootstrapping". This means financing a startup by scraping together any personal funds he/she can find. This typically includes savings account, credit cards, and any home equity lines you may have.
In many cases, using the money you have instead of borrowing or raising from angel investors or venture capitalists is a great approach. In fact, some entrepreneurs continue to bootstrap until their business is profitable. This can be beneficial because the entrepreneur can focus on running his/her own business instead of trying to make monthly payment. They will still hold 100% of the company. But, if the business is trying to scale up quickly, it could be advantageous to bring in outside funding. So what happens when funds run out or if you decide you need something more? That will ultimately depend on the type of business you are building. Here is the famous Airbnb bootstrapping and creative funding approach.
2. Seek a bank loan or credit card line of credit.
In general, banks normally don't lend to a new startup unless the founder's credit is exceptionally great, or existing assets that the founder is willing to put at risk for collateral. Credit card loan could be taken out for a startup, but usually not advised. According to 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss took a $5000 credit card debt to start his supplement company.
3. Friends and family.
During a pitch night once, someone with a prestigious background and well connected family and friends came to pitch for $50,000. One of the investment banker asked her, "Why not just ask your friends and family for that amount given your background?" And she claimed that she had never thought of that. But sometimes, that is what a founder needs to do. Tape into his/her inner circle before expanding the horizons. Professional investors like to see real skin in the game of the founder and his or her family.
4. Venture capital
Don't try this in the earlier stages. In fact, don't do it unless more than $1million funding is needed. VCs take their found of flesh in equity and control. It is not the most efficient route either. Prepare to spend a few months searching and closing the deal. Check out our related article about this.
5. Private Foundations
This is like music to an entrepreneur's ears. Through individual donors, founders can gain access to funds without diluting the company or getting any involvement from the government. It is the most convenient way for most businesses, but of course, it is also really rare to find.
There are so many ways to get funding started for a startup. Come into Treehouse Society and hear how other founders have got their business started!
Related: How to Raise Venture Capital
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9697628617286682,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://www.instituteintelligence.com/what-is-a-remittance-agreement/",
"token_count": 471,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.490234375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c242f46b-1047-45ad-95eb-9037062f7b5f>"
}
|
As a result, financial intelligence services are concerned that transfers are one way to launder money or promote violent activities such as terrorism. Remittances are playing an increasingly important role in the economies of small and developing countries. They are also seen as an important component of disaster assistance and often exceed official development assistance (ODA). Remittances are often used as a means of improving the standard of living of people abroad and contributing to the fight against global poverty. Since the late 1990s, transfers have exceeded development aid and in some cases account for a significant share of a country`s gross domestic product (GDP). Money transfers are transfers of funds made by individuals to another party. They can be made to fulfill an obligation such as an invoice payment or an invoice when someone buys online. But they are most often transformed by one person in one country to someone in another. Most remittances are made by foreign workers to families in their home countries. These may also be payments made to a company. The most common method of transfer is the use of an electronic payment system through a bank or money transfer service such as Western Union. People who use these options are usually charged a fee, but transfers can only take ten minutes to reach the recipient.
According to the World Bank`s 2019 Migration and Development Letter, $529 billion in remittances were transferred in 2018 to low- and middle-income countries, up 9.6% from a record $483 billion in 2017. This figure is significantly higher than the $344 billion in foreign direct investment in these countries, excluding China, in 2018. If we also include high-income countries, the total amount of remittances will increase to $689 billion from $633 billion in 2017. You must sign a transfer agreement with the Bank when setting up electronic payments. You can create more than one transfer agreement if you have an agreement with two or more banks. For each agreement, you must indicate one or more accounts from which payment must be made. For each account, you need to create a transfer account. For more information, see Create Transfer Accounts. Many authorities are also concerned about the high cost of transfers. Sending small amounts is often expensive. To promote transparency, some countries limit transfers to bank transfers, but banks are the most expensive transfer channel, according to the World Bank.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9739487171173096,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://en.thisfamilywelove.com/32382-more-than-half-of-young-people-consider-their-financial-education-scarce",
"token_count": 607,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1240234375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:e815b93a-1ee8-4491-8c9b-fa921ec49b23>"
}
|
More than half of young people consider their financial education scarce
Many are the knowledge that a person can learn throughout his life. From skills that will help you in your future work, those subjects that will expand your level of culture or those that you can use in your day to day. It is the case of financial formation, which allows people to understand concepts as simple as economic profitability or are able to understand the clauses of a mortgage.
Do the little ones get the proper training? Should these teachings have the same consideration as other subjects that are passed on to students? At least young Spaniards do believe that they should receive more financial training before facing the management of the economy of their homes, as indicated by the study carried out by Intrum.
Teaching at school
The data is clear. 68% of young people between 18 and 24 years of age believe that their financial formation It is scarce and they would need more knowledge to be able to manage their domestic economy more efficiently. At what point should the teaching of these subjects begin?
Those responsible for this report are clear about it. It is in the early ages when you should start this training. As in any other subject, the smallest are more likely to internalize content and financial habits. A good first step is to instill the importance of saving and make them see that a bad action related to money can have consequences.
A training that focuses on avoiding the consequences of scarce financial training can be seen in the Consumer Payment Report prepared by Intrum. For example, him 28% of Spanish households lives on dissaving (expenses have exceeded revenues in the last 12 months). Another fact that draws attention is that most family groups only saves 5 out of every 100 euros.
This lack of savings ends up making households become indebted beyond what they can face. A situation of which more and more Spaniards are conscious and for this reason our country is positioned among the 6 first of the European Union that believe that the basic concepts should be taught to be able to maintain a domestic economy.
The Intur study is not the first to echo the financial situation in Spain. The report PISA It also echoed the impoverishment of knowledge in this area by young Spanish people. If in 2012 the students of our country obtained a score of 500 points, data that was already below the OECD average, now it has gone to 469.
The PISA report defines financial literacy as the subject that helps students take relationships about their money. To determine the amount of knowledge that students have on this subject, a total of five levels are established, which include abilities ranging from buying tomatoes in bulk to reading an invoice.
The data from the PISA report reveal that Spanish students are located in the Level 2, that is, they have the necessary skills to participate in society. On the other hand, 25% of students under 15 years of age are below this level, which makes it clear that many of the minors in this country do not know how to read an invoice.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9461107850074768,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://minumwelt.com/ppp-project-schemes/",
"token_count": 383,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.34375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:376f03ee-ee78-4b59-b2cf-bba428571fbe>"
}
|
A public–private partnership (PPP) is a government service or private business venture that is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. A […]
A public–private partnership (PPP) is a government service or private business venture that is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. A public agency enters into a contract with a private company or consortium to provide finance and arrange design, construction and on-going operation of a facility .‘On-going operation’ might involve provision of full services or it might only involve providing maintenance of the facility, with services to the public being provided by a government agency).At the end of the contract, control of the facility is usually returned to the government or a local authority.
Typically, a government agency will specify the services required. The job of producing detailed designs, finding the finance, organizing the construction and on-going management of the facility is let to a private consortium by way of a competitive tender. The private consortium is typically organized by a lead contractor who brings together financiers, engineering firms, construction companies and facilities management companies.
For a project to be a PPP, all of these elements need to be carried out by the private sector. If coordination and financing are carried out by a public sector agency but, all other elements are carried out by the private sector, then the arrangement can be called “conventional private sector procurement”.
PPPs are claimed to enable the public sector to harness the expertise and efficiencies that the private sector can bring to the delivery of certain facilities and services traditionally procured and delivered by the public sector.
A PPP is structured so that the public sector body seeking to make a capital investment does not incur any borrowing. Rather, the PPP borrowing is incurred by the private sector vehicle implementing the project.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9725148677825928,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.colourmylearning.com/2018/06/10-essential-money-lessons-for-children/",
"token_count": 2252,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.09033203125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:712dc160-006c-49c6-8cde-6f065b40b5c0>"
}
|
When I was a child, one of my favourite pastime activities was going through my parent’s wallet and purse. No, it was not to steal the money. It was due to my intense fascination with the cards, paper money coins and gazing at our ugly-duckling phase passport size photographs my father and mother had lovingly stuck inside.
Upon finding me surrounded by their driving licenses, pennies, and important business cards, they would reprimand me by giving me a stern lecture about the importance of money. During one such unbearably long lecture, I learned about the difference between credit cards and debit cards. At that time, it did not seem like a big deal, but the lesson remained forever ingrained in my memory. Of course, it took another few years to grasp the concept of how credit cards actually work.
As an adult, I am thankful to my parents for teaching me the basics of money management. I plan to do the same for my child when he is old enough. Parents do need to invest time into teaching financial responsibility to their kids. It will raise successful, independent, money-smart young adults.Do your children need money lessons? Here is how you can start! Click To Tweet
Do you have children who could use a few money lessons? Here is how you can start!
1. Teach Them the Basic Terms
I have come across many grown-ups who have no idea how to pay off their taxes. They assume it is a huge hurdle to deal with it and they let it pile up. When the notice arrives, they rush in panic and often end up suffering the consequences.
One of the best ways to teach your children is to involve them in everyday money talk. Ask them to help you out with home budgeting, tell them how to file the taxes, show them how you can gain reward points on a credit card and most importantly, why it is crucial to pay off the debts on time.
From credit and debit cards to taxes and mortgages, educate your child on the key terms of money management.Does your child know the difference between debit and credit card? Help them learn! Click To Tweet
Some of the basic financial terms you can start with:
- Bank Accounts: Savings & Current accounts.
- Personal Loans
- Credit Scores
- Cheques and Payorders
Of course, the advancement of internet shopping and online banking has opened up a whole new field of further developments in how money works. At the relevant stage and age, it would also be wise to discuss how digital payment systems work, credit card security, how to keep their identity safe on online market places.
2. A Trip to the Bank
When I went to a bank for the very first time, I was puzzled. The eight-year-old me was not pleased to see people happily handing over their money. My piggy bank was enough for me and my humble pennies. After several years, when my parents helped me open my first account, I learned about savings, loans, and interests. It is not necessary to take your child to the bank, but it is essential to teach them how banks function. Tell them about different kinds of accounts you can open (current, savings), about interest rates and when and how to apply for loans. At the same time, drill discipline into their brains and explain the huge responsibilities money brings with itself.
3. How to Earn
Explain to your children how earning money works and discuss its different methods. Money doesn’t grow on trees (neither do they come from the hole on the wall!). They see the notes bursting from ATM and wallets and imagine there is an endless pile. Explain to them the concept of jobs, services, and payments.Children often take money for granted. Teach them to earn and grow money. Click To Tweet
That as an adult, they will have to secure a job to earn money. Start with your own job and tell them how you work for a few hours every day and you get paid a certain amount at the end of the month. Educate your child about types of contracts, and how each job requires a different set of skills.
It may also help to make the experience ‘real’ by setting aside, money to earn each week from their weekly chores. If they desire a new toy or gadget, perhaps a good way to teach value is to ask how they will be able to afford it, and perhaps help them earn some money towards it, whether with a paper round or by busking at a tourist spot.
4. Develop Budgeting Skills
When my husband and I sit down to budget, a long grilling session follows. We absolutely hate it and we are rather poor at managing our daily expenses. Well, we are still learning but you can teach your kids right from the beginning. From buying monthly groceries to purchasing Christmas presents, involve your children in home budgeting and maintain their interest by asking their input from time to time.
You never know they may have an excellent idea to solve your budgeting woes! Encourage them to create shopping lists and inform them the prices of each item. When they learn how much toothpaste cost, they might just stop ‘accidentally’ dropping it into the sink.
RELATED: 10 Realistic Budgeting Tips for a Stress-free Life [Colour My Living]
5. Needs vs. Wants
Children want an endless number of gadgets, toys, stationery, and junk food. Their wants and desires never seem to stop. They want to go to an amusement park in the middle of the night, they want to slosh their pasta in mayonnaise and they want to build an empire out of Lego blocks. Well, some of the wants are fair enough.
But how about the times when they throw a tantrum in public because a parent can’t meet their unreasonable demands? When they whine for more money to buy a better mobile phone? When they want to borrow money because they ended up splurging their allowance on a ridiculously expensive pair of sunglasses?
Children, especially teenagers, need know the difference between wants and needs. They need to learn that they are not simply entitled to money; that money is a privilege they must earn. They need to know that when you receive money, you are not supposed to spend all of it at once.Need it or want it? Teach your child that money matters. Click To Tweet
6. Investments for Starters
Up until the age of 25, I was clueless about stock market. I knew my father had some shares he wanted to sell off and that my husband-to-be spent his mornings hastily going through the stocks. I wanted to learn about it and was amazed at how much potential it held. I was ready to invest my hard-earned bucks into it.
That said, every investment has its risks. It is crucial for parents to teach their children the basics of investments and how to make smart decisions. Whether it is a property, stocks, or a business, by the age your child is a young adult, they must be able to differentiate between smart and dumb choices. Smart investments can go a long way and has a potential to change your kid’s future.
7. The Art of Growing Money
If you want to inspire your child to save and grow money, tell them the story and secrets of Warren Buffett, the richest man in the entire world. He has motivated a lot of people to get their lives back on track. His personal financial tips are considered some of the best money advice.
- Don’t spend but reinvest your profits
- Don’t follow the crowd; make your decisions on what you think is best for you in the future.
- In his words,’ Don’t suck your thumb’. Be swift to make up your mind.
- Don’t live on credit cards and loans.
- Don’t measure your success by the number of dollars in your bank account.
8. Understanding Value of Money
Children often take money for granted. They may have an idea on just how valuable money is, but it will take time for them to learn the hard work behind earning each penny. From the start, don’t allow them to develop a habit of ‘borrowing’ money. Assign them pocket money and stick to it. If they end up spending all of it, don’t just hand them more notes.
Enlighten your child about the dangers of debt and the importance of savings. Children must learn that money is not just for spending purposes solely. Money needs to be saved, grown, and kept aside for rainy days. Loans should only be taken out if absolutely necessary and even then only for important causes such as for buying a house or paying college fees. They are not meant for luxuries you can’t afford, like a weekend in Ibiza. Moreover, loans must be paid off in time otherwise there are serious consequences to face, like bankruptcy.
9. Money Comes and Goes
When my 5-year-old niece asked me for yet another set of puzzles, I brushed her off by telling her I was out of money. Her reply was simple enough, ‘Just go to the bank. They will give you big bundles of money’. It took some patience (mainly on my side) and dozens of questions from her to understand how money actually works. To her dismay, there was no tree bearing money notes and pennies inside the bank.
Money isn’t infinite and time changes. In our desire to give our children the best that we can and that they deserve, this means that children are often used to getting what they want. As a parent, it is your job to enlighten your children about the realities of life. If you are going through financial troubles, don’t cover it up. Involve your kids in some of your discussions so that they have an idea what is going on.Involve your kids in budgeting... they will learn the basics of money management. Click To Tweet
10. Money is not everything
So much of our lives revolve around money. Ultimately though, it is simply a convenient means for exchange – being able to pay for goods and services without first needing to make something to barter.
It is important to temper lessons on money with the emphasis on how money is a tool and life itself demands a greater, wider perspective. We all know of friendships, relationships, even families that fall apart because of greed and desire for more money and wealth. It is worth discussing these situations and sharing thoughts and opinions.
Children are smarter than we think, and they can learn to manage finances from a young age. Start from the basics. Let them handle the routine financial tasks such as budgeting and managing allowance and then move on forward from there. Once you have set up a strong foundation, they won’t have trouble maintaining their finances in the future.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.8025417327880859,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.coursehero.com/file/p4hvum05/10-18-Average-Stock-Returns-and-Risk-Free-Returns-US-government-securities-have/",
"token_count": 404,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.00946044921875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:6e44a57d-5661-4bdf-b926-11199dc68691>"
}
|
10-19The Risk-Return TradeofThe general rule:◦The more volatile (or risky) a return is, the greater the return will be expected to be.
10-20Risk StatisticsThere is no universally agreed-upon definition of risk.The measures of risk that we discuss are variance and standard deviation.◦Variance and standard deviation measure the dispersion of actual returns around the security’s mean return◦The standard deviation is the standard statistical measure of the spread of a sample, and it is the measure used in most cases.◦Its interpretation is facilitated by a discussion of the normal distribution.
10-21Normal DistributionA large enough sample drawn from a normal distribution looks like a bell-shaped curve.ProbabilityReturn on large company common stocks99.74%– 3– 48.8%– 2– 28.6%– 1– 8.4%011.8%+ 132.0%+ 252.2%+ 372.4%The probability that a yearly return will fall within 20.2 percent of the mean of 11.8 percent will be approximately 2/3.68.26%95.44%
Normal DistributionThe return of large company stocks has a standard deviation of 20.2 from 1926 through 2012.That standard deviation can be interpreted as follows:
10-23Variance and Standard Deviation23
EXAMPLE – RETURN AND VARIANCEYearActual ReturnAverage ReturnDeviation from the MeanSquared Deviation1.15.105.045.0020252.09.105-.015.0002253.06.105-.045.0020254.12.105.015.000225Totals.00.0045Variance = .0045 / (4-1) = .0015 Standard Deviation = .0387310-24Average Return = (15 + 9 + 6 + 12) / 4 = 10.5
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9469459652900696,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/gst-in-india/",
"token_count": 599,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.02392578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:add98ebf-1dd5-4034-b739-54ddb9ecd6c2>"
}
|
GST in India
GST in India
GST in India shall eliminate multiple tax structures and complexity of filing tax returns. The bill shall also regulate GST payment for the consumers. Currently, the indirect tax system in India is complex leading to inefficient tax collection and adversely affecting GDP growth. The introduction of MODVAT, then CENVAT and now VAT was India’s progress towards achieving an efficient system of taxation. Following VAT, GST in India will likely introduce a tremendous improvement to the indirect tax framework in India. In this article, let us look at some of the key aspects of GST in India.
In India, the Kelkar Task Force introduced the concept of GST during 2004. The Kelkar Committee strongly recommended integrating GST on a national basis and since then various other Committees and Commissions have worked the roadmap to unveiling GST in India. Therefore, it shall apply to all the businesses in a uniform manner. It shall also result in eradicating multiple tax structures that create difficultly for ease of doing business in India.
GST, when introduced in India, would have a very wide and comprehensive tax base extending overall goods and services. Further, it would have two components: Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) levied by the Central Government of India and State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) levied by the respective State Government. The basic features of law and classification would be the same for both CGST and SGST thereby avoiding any disputes.
Central Government Taxes under GST
The following are the central government taxes that would be subsumed under GST:
- Central Excise Duty
- Additional Excise Duties
- Excise duty under the Medicinal and Toiletries Preparation Act
- Service Tax
- Additional Customs Duty
- Special Additional Customs Duty
- Surcharge and Surcharges
The following are the state government taxes that would be subsumed under GST:
- Sales Tax
- Entertainment tax
- Luxury tax
- Tax on lottery, betting and gambling
- State Cess and Surcharges
- Entry tax
Liability for GST Payment
The liability for GST payment in India will finally fall on the person finally consuming the commodity. Therefore, the tax liability would be payable by the end consumer. Also, the tax revenue for the State Government from the SGST component would be calculated based on the state where the goods or services were consumed.
GST Rollout in India
The current Central government proposes to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) from April 1, 2016. It got delayed for long due to the lack of consensus among states over crucial issues such as revenue loss to the state, state government compensation structure, entry tax and tax on petroleum products. However, in a bid to roll out the GST, which would subsume excise and service taxes, the Centre has come out with a new Constitutional Amendment Bill. Therefore, the implementation shall roll out shortly.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.919129490852356,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.mcqspk.com/he-is-good-at-english/",
"token_count": 173,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.11181640625,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a61644c2-97f6-4a6c-96f5-9abf6098bdbe>"
}
|
- An unexpected piece of good fortune is?
- The earliest surviving work in English Literature is called?
- A tax placed on a good that is a necessity for consumers will likely generate a tax burden?
- Area is ________?
- Which market is characterized by a small number of large buyers who control all purchases and therefore the market price of a good a service ?
- English MCQs Chapter Wise For Entry Test Preparation
- Meaning of “Your guess is as good as mine” ?
- To be considered a good candidate for export cartel, a commodity should?
- Good teaching is best reflected by______________?
- If the product is an inferior good, Demand is ?
- Antonym of “brazen” is ________.
- A very important quality of a good student is:
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9458521604537964,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.nrdc.org/experts/simon-mui/washington-charges-electric-cars",
"token_count": 742,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.388671875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:0327a23d-a1a9-4194-ae63-d8eb57e8e10f>"
}
|
Amid the devastating pandemic gripping the state of Washington, the state government is working hard to support healthcare providers, assist workers and businesses, and educate the public about keeping safe and healthy in these unprecedented times
Governor Jay Inslee took a few minutes Wednesday to sign an important long-term measure passed by the legislature before the COVID-19 crisis intensified. SB 5811 requires the state’s Department of Ecology to begin a rulemaking for a Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) program.
Washington’s move is further demonstration of the fact that while the Trump administration is moving to stall progress on vehicle pollution standards, state leaders are continuing to step up, recognizing that cleaner vehicles lead to cleaner air, more jobs and investments and less dangerous carbon pollution.
ZEV requires automakers to ensure that at least 7 to 8% of new passenger vehicles are partly or fully zero-emitting by 2025, which will double the options Washington consumers will have available to them. The program is in place in eleven other states across the country, including most recently Colorado. Together those states comprise 30% of the U.S. auto market.
The ZEV program will increase the consumer availability and market deployment of electric vehicles in the state including passenger cars, crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks. Increased access and sales of EVs will help consumers save money at the pump, reduce carbon pollution, improve air quality, and attract further investments in charging infrastructure throughout the state. With rapid technology advancements, increased EV production, and reductions in battery costs, the latest analysis shows that electric-drive vehicles may soon become less expensive to purchase than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. They are even cheaper to own and operate.
States, Unhappy with Feds, Tackle Their Pollution Challenges
The move by Washington points to a growing trend among state leaders who are looking to clean car programs including ZEV to tackle one of the biggest sources of climate and smog-forming pollution: cars and trucks. Following Colorado’s adoption last year, the governors of Minnesota and New Mexico have also recently committed to adopting clean car programs.
States worry their pollution challenges will worsen as the Trump Administration moves forward to roll back emission standards for cars and trucks while also attacking long-held state authority, a move so unpopular and controversial that even some automakers have jumped ship. The Trump administration’s move is proving even more unpopular among the public. By a two-to-one margin, Americans support allowing states to set stronger tailpipe standards than the federal government, according to a December poll by the Washington Post.
The EV Industry: New Growth
The electric vehicle industry is seeing dramatic new investments and job growth. A number of new EV automakers—such as Rivian, Tesla, Lordstown Motors, Bollinger Motors, and Nikola—are building or launching products. Traditional automakers are also transitioning their investments to ensure they remain relevant as numerous jurisdictions across the world—including China and Europe—push to ensure zero emission vehicle technologies are deployed.
As we all learn how to work together (from home) while physically distancing, our primary thoughts and concerns are for the health and welfare of Washington’s residents during this current emergency. When the time is right, we look forward to continuing to support Washington leaders in their efforts to clean up the transportation sector. Passing ZEV was an important, and overdue, step forward, but doesn’t erase the fact that the state legislature failed to move forward other critical policies including much needed transit funding, a clean fuels program, and fixing the state’s clean air act to allow for effective carbon regulation. We’ll be back!
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9167545437812805,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://globalwarmingisreal.com/2014/01/14/uptick-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-utilities-use-coal/",
"token_count": 933,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0208740234375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:1b6e74c2-55de-4cf2-acfd-6b255f7f6aed>"
}
|
Finalizing its 2013 report on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects an increase of 2 percent for the year, the first in three years. Looking out over the longer term, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have been in a downtrend, one that the EIA expects will continue, with emissions from energy generation declining four out of the past six years since their 2007 peak.
2013 national greenhouse gas emissions will come in at slightly more than 10 percent below 2005 levels, according to an EIA press release, “a significant contribution towards the goal of a 17 percent reduction in emissions from the 2005 level by 2020 that was adopted by the current Administration.”
2013 uptick belies longer term downward trend
The EIA attributes 2013’s expected rise in carbon and greenhouse gas emissions to a small increase in coal consumption in the U.S. power sector. With U.S. natural gas prices coming off lows, electric utilities have been using more coal this past year.
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions reached a peak in 2007. Since then, utilities switching to cheaper natural gas from coal, along with growing use of non-hydro renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, helped drive U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to a historic low in April, 2012, when they were 12 percent below 2005 levels.
The EIA identifies key drivers of a changing U.S. energy landscape in its press release:
- Weak economic growth in recent years, dampening growth in energy demand compared to pre-recession expectations;
- Continuously improving energy efficiency across the economy, including buildings and transportation;
- High energy prices over the past four years, with the exception of natural gas, since about 2010;
- An abundant and inexpensive supply of natural gas, resulting from the widespread use of new production technologies for shale gas (i.e. fracking);
- Power sector decarbonization since 2010, as natural gas and renewables displaced coal.
Though coal regained some market share among electric utilities in 2013, the EIA forecasts that the downtrend in national greenhouse gas emissions will continue.
Rising tide of renewables
In its latest “Short-term Energy Outlook,” the EIA predicts that emissions-free hydropower and non-hydropower renewables for electricity and heat generation will grow at a 4.7 percent rate in 2014. Use of hydropower to generate electricity and heat will rise 2.2 percent, while non-hydropower renewables will rise 6.1 percent.
U.S. installed wind power capacity will increase 8.8% in 2014 to reach some 66 gigawatts (GW). The EIA pegs growth in 2015 at 14.6 percent, with total installed capacity reaching 75 GW. Wind-driven electricity generation will increase 2.2% this year and 11.4% in 2015, accounting for over 5 percent of the national total.
EIA also foresees ongoing growth in capacity and use of electricity from utility and end-user solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy sources.
The EIA doesn’t forecast “customer-sited” solar energy capacity or use, though it does expect this largest segment of the solar power market to continue to exceed that for utility-scale solar power in terms of capacity and use. The EIA does track and forecast utility-scale solar power capacity and use, however. The EIA projects that utility-scale solar will increase through 2014 and 2015, though it will account for just 0.4% of overall U.S. electricity generation.
Utility-scale solar power installations more than doubled in both 2012 and 2013, the EIA highlights. It forecasts the sector will grow another 40% or so between year-end 2013 and year-end 2015, “with photovoltaic (PV) capacity accounting for 85 percent of that growth.”
EIA also highlighted the commissioning of the 280 megawatt (MW) Solana solar thermal power plant in Arizona. Designed and built by Abengoa, Solana is the first utility-scale solar thermal, or concentrating solar, power plant to come online since 2007.
Solana is unique: it’s the only solar thermal plant in operation in the U.S. with integrated storage capacity, which enables the system to store and distribute electricity at maximum capacity for up to six hours. EIA expects more of these to come online in 2014.
All images courtesy of Energy Information Administration
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.945843517780304,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://humbledollar.com/money-guide/how-money-compounds/",
"token_count": 390,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.0194091796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:9d10c71f-665f-4830-b822-d65765cf90f5>"
}
|
SUPPOSE YOU EARN 10% this year and 10% next year. Your cumulative gain would be 21%. Why? Imagine you invested $100. The first year’s 10% gain would turn your $100 into $110. Because you start the second year with $110, the next year’s 10% gain boosts your portfolio’s value by $11, not $10. That brings your total to $121, for a two-year cumulative gain of 21%.
Got a series of annual returns for which you’d like to find out the cumulative gain? Divide each return by 100 and add 1, and then multiply the numbers together. For instance, a 10% return would become 1.1. Again, let’s assume you earned 10% in two consecutive years. Here’s the calculation:
1.1 x 1.1 = 1.21
To turn the 1.21 back into a percentage, you would reverse the earlier calculation, first subtracting 1 and then multiplying by 100, which in this case would give you 21%.
What if you lost money during one year and you want to calculate your cumulative return? Once again, divide by 100 and add 1. In the case of a negative return, it becomes something less than 1—but it will always be a positive number. For instance, if you lost 10% in a year, that loss would be represented by 0.9. Here’s how the math would look if you lost 10% in the first year and then gained 10% the following year:
0.9 x 1.1 = 0.99
To turn this back into a percentage, you would follow the usual procedure—subtract 1 and then multiply by 100—which would give you a cumulative return over the two years of -1%.
Next: Annual vs. Cumulative
Previous: Investment Math
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9584438800811768,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://my-finance.us/how-can-the-rise-of-interest-rates-impact-your-personal-finance/",
"token_count": 479,
"fin_int_score": 5,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.045654296875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:b3ed206b-93e5-4452-b980-7e2f9fae9d96>"
}
|
The targeted rate is a set-piece for the original rate that international banks charge each other on reserve loans on an overnight basis. Rates on interbanking loans are negotiated by the each bank and usually stay near to the prescribed rate.
The targeted rate can also be referred to as the “nominal rate” or the “federal funds rate”. The federal funds rate is significant because many other rates are connected directly to it or associate closely with it. Bringing a change in the federal funds rate influences the money flow, starting with banks and gradually going down to consumers.
Low financing purchases can encourage investing and borrowing. However, when rates are too less they can create excessive increase and perhaps leading to inflation. Inflation munches away at purchasing strength and could underestimate the sustainability of the prescribed economic expansion. Well, on the other hand, when there is surplus growth the banks raise interest rates. Rate increases are implemented to slow inflation and return progress to more sustainable levels. Rates can never get too high, because excess expensive financing would lead the economy into a span of diminishing growth or even worse, contraction.
The effect of a rate decrease on credit card debt depends on whether the credit card carries a fixed rate or not. For consumers with credit cards of fixed rates, a rate cut generally leads to no change. Scores of credit cards with variable rates are connected to the prime rates, so a cut in federal funds rate will generally lead to a lower charge on interest. It is very significant to keep in mind that even if a credit card holds a fixed rate, credit card companies can cause a change in interest rates whenever they wish to, provided they give advanced notice regarding it.
When the international banks cut down interest rates, consumers usually get less interest on their deposited savings. Banks will generally lower the rates paid on cash held in regular savings accounts and money market accounts. The cut in the rates generally takes a few time to be shown in bank rates.
The Federal Reserve sees it prescribed rate as a monetary policy instrument, and the effect of a sudden change to the targeted rate depends if you are a borrower or not. Reading the terms and conditions of financing and savings documents would help in determining which rates are feasible to the individual so that the next time the banks cut down on interest rates, he or she would know what the decrease means to the wallet.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9205389618873596,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.adb.org/documents/procurement-price-adjustment",
"token_count": 177,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.1796875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:2cd5cde1-3616-4032-aa1d-2b0ab0d952c6>"
}
|
Business Guide | June 2018
The purpose of price adjustment is to protect the parties against unexpected price escalations, so they should be included whenever a contract is vulnerable to such risks.
This guidance note discusses the application of price adjustment provisions in contracts for goods, works, and plant. Price adjustment is a modification made to the overall price of a contract to take account of legitimate changes in the costs of performing it. Price adjustment provisions include formulas designed to protect both the borrower and contractors from price fluctuations. Price adjustment formulas allow contractors to offer more realistic prices at the time of bidding, by estimating actual cost implications that will be encountered. Different price adjustment formulas are applied for contracts of different sizes and for different components.
Video: How does ADB define Price Adjustment?
- Deciding to Apply Price Adjustment
- Applying the Price Adjustment Formulas
- Contract Management
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9542681574821472,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.carolinajournal.com/news-article/study-global-warming-regs-would-cost-nc/",
"token_count": 551,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.33984375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:a4bc7c8d-8e54-4f07-9368-b813f5c1a0c3>"
}
|
A statewide program to reduce greenhouse gases to levels required by the United Nation’s Kyoto Protocol on global warming would likely cost North Carolina households an average of $7,249 a year and consumers and businesses $22.7 billion in higher energy costs and lost wages, according to a recent study by an independent think tank.
Dr. Roy Cordato, resident scholar and vice president for research at the John Locke Foundation, has completed an analysis of the new report from the Chicago-based Heartland Institute, which looked at state-by-state efforts to implement the UN treaty. “The treaty on global warming would require economically devastating reductions in energy usage in order to achieve the required goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels,” Cordato said.
President Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming but because of its high costs the Senate, in a nearly unanimous vote, refused to ratify it. In 2001 the Bush Administration withdrew the US as a signatory to the treaty. Many states are now embracing the treaty on their own, implementing new laws requiring massive reductions in CO2 emissions. And according to Cordato, “North Carolina may soon be jumping on the bandwagon.”
He noted that “a little known provision of the Clean Smokestacks bill passed by the General Assembly last year establishes a commission to formulate a greenhouse gas reduction strategy for the state.”
And “while all the attention was focused on emission requirements for North Carolina’s coal fired power plants, costing about $2 billion over ten years,” Cordato added, “by far the most costly aspect of this legislation could be the global-warming recommendations made by this committee.”
The study by Heartland, an independent think tank interested in promoting sound science on issues related to the environment, also predicts severe consequences for the state’s budget. Based in part on analysis done by the US Energy Information Agency, the study concluded that North Carolina would have to spend $552 million a year to achieve the Kyoto reductions and would lose $3.7 billion in revenues from reduced economic growth.
In a July 2001 Locke Foundation report titled “The Truth on Global Warming,” Cordato wrote that “any action that NC could take would involve all costs and no benefits.” He points to scientific research which shows that even if the Kyoto Protocol were implemented world-wide, the effect on global temperatures would be imperceptible. Furthermore he notes that “the two most accurate measures of global temperatures, satellite and weather balloon data, show no warming for the past 24 years.” These points were reconfirmed in the Heartland Institute study.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9693173170089722,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/covid-19-resources/covid-19-impact-on-railway-in-automotive-industry",
"token_count": 722,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.09375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:6a132529-800b-4a1f-9f99-7f4c6bed57ce>"
}
|
The pandemic started with its epicenter in China in 2019 and has been continuously spreading across the globe, so far 216 countries and territories have been affected with COVID-19, the U.S. being on the top with cases reaching to about 4.38 million, followed by Brazil, India and then by many European countries such as Russia, Spain, Italy and others. The spread of Coronavirus has led to the global recession, many companies are being bound to take stringent actions of laying of their employees, small business are being shut, manufacturing facilities are being halted. There has been a disruption in supply chain of many industries due to restriction in logistics and shutdown of manufacturing facilities. In addition, the slowdown in economy has lowered the spending capability of individuals and people are saving money for emergencies.
COVID-19 outbreak has badly impacted the railway industry, further affecting the railway operators, vehicle owners, and rolling stock industry. With a substantial drop in travel, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted commuter rail, leading to boundary closures and social distancing legislation. There has been a change in mobility behavior, as growing number of people are working from home and increasing use of private cars, as compared to public transport. In 2020, a drop of 35% is expected in long-distance, regional, and urban rail passengers, triggered by partial and complete lockdown imposed across the globe.
The railway industries are facing a historical and unparalleled economic crisis, owing to the severity of the lockdowns, the related travel restrictions and the anticipated global recession, and further undermined by the effect of the associated global recession on employment and morale. Globally, operation and human mobility restrictions coupled with no-travel advice from the authorities have resulted in a drop in passenger volumes by nearly 80% for all national rail services during lockdowns. For international rail passenger services, in line with international passenger border closures, passenger numbers have fallen by almost 100% for both operators. For freight activities, the volumes for most operators have been hit with an average projected loss of between 10-15%.
Some of the steps taken by railway sector in different countries include:
Data, education and communication (IEC) posters and pamphlets relating to COVID-19 are displayed in local languages at railway stations and on trains in order to increase public awareness. They are also distributed to patients who attend hospitals as well as in colonies of the Railway. Public announcements are now being made and audio/video recordings at train stations are being played.
A total of 1,100 isolation beds have been provided for fever-related cases in railway hospitals, treating reported cases of COVID-19 with the availability of protective gear. Indian Railways have listed 12,483 beds at different locations around the country for quarantine.
Globally, rail traffic has been heavily affected by COVID-19. Therefore, rail and public transportation receive governmental support in many countries, but not everywhere.
Moreover, there has been an adoption of new technologies, in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. This includes the use of drones at railway stations, the use of disinfecting machines, the removal of QR-coded physical tickets, the 'hotspot identification zone' and the replacement of stainless steel and plastic with copper or cardboard on commonly used surfaces in train interiors, among others. As a result, the current pandemic has interrupted the regular rhythm of rail industry; however, it also provides an opportunity for the implementation of new technologies, employment of workforce, keeping in mind the consumer preferences and subsequent transportation demand for passengers and goods.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9032997488975525,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.latinamericanpost.com/36083-international-trade-what-to-expect-in-2021",
"token_count": 1409,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.0986328125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:50a4fbb5-18c8-4b21-96ad-c0b198fea4d5>"
}
|
The dependence and interconnection of the international system facilitated the spread of the Coronavirus and accelerated the global economic decline.
Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions with the greatest impact on trade since the start of the pandemic. Photo: Pexels
LatinAmerican Post | Bryan Andres Murcia Molina
Listen to this article
Leer en español: Comercio Internacional:¿Que esperar en 2021?
The world today is interconnected, both informally, economically, or by means of transport. This interdependence generated by the adoption of international economic policies has caused a domino effect in the world on several occasions. The connection that has been built over the last 50 years has made countries more susceptible to suffering consequences from external problems in other nations. Such was the case of the world financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, where it was evident how globalization hangs by a thin thread, in which many actors balance at the same time, and if one fails, the others run the risk of falling. Such as dominoes.
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus is an example of the above. The disease that emerged in China at the beginning of 2020 has become the greatest enemy of the current international system since it has been causing a number of negative consequences, caused by the measures, restrictions, and limitations that governments around the world, have adopted with the aim of curbing the virus.
According to the World Trade Organization [WTO] (2020), world trade fell between 13% and 32%; at the same time, the volume of trade presented a slowdown, which, in the best of cases, will have its recovery in 2021.
This was supported at the time by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [ECLAC], which reported that the world suffered the worst economic contraction since the Second World War, due to the fact that in the first 5 months of the pandemic, exports from the United States, Japan, and the European Union were the most affected. At the end of last year, ECLAC estimated an average contraction of the region of -7.7% and a slight rebound of 3.7% for 2021. In the same way, the figures for trade in services indicated a serious impact, as the exports of a group of 37 nations contracted by 10.4%, which represents two-thirds of world trade in services.
Unfortunately, Latin America and the Caribbean are some of the regions with the greatest impact on trade. According to the UN, exports in the regions fell to such a low point that to locate an involution in the performance of these magnitudes, we must travel in time 80 years. In the same way, the fall in imports exceeds the negative indicators of the 2008 crisis and is the worst in 40 years.
All of the above has an explanation that stems from the economic characteristics of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Internationally, the region has been characterized by adopting an extractive and agro-industrial model; which has allowed agricultural products and raw materials to be the main export of this region. Consequently, the damage caused by the restrictive measures to global supply chains (supply and demand) altered price values, reducing the purchase of products and putting the production of many agro-industries in suspense, according to the Latin American Association of Integration (ALADI).
The factor that most worries analysts, economists, internationalists, and political scientists is that, so far, Latin America and the Caribbean is the developing region most affected by the pandemic, given that foreign trade, imports, and exports only expose one edge of the problem, which is multilevel and multidisciplinary; since institutional fragility, corruption and social characteristics increase socio-economic problems, which makes it difficult to open up and recover the region's economy.
Signs of recovery
According to various economic sources, the reactivation of world trade depends on the continuation and flexibility of the fiscal, tariff and economic policies that the world adopts, since the reactivation depends on the coordination between countries and the implementation of new integration measures, of world trade and new investment dynamics.
In the same way, and according to the World Bank, vaccination plans are going to play a very important role in the expansion of the world economy. Although a moderate recovery is expected in principle, there is hope in the short-term policies on health management, debt, investment and taxes, since, based on them, the bases for a positive recovery will be fostered. However, one of the great controversies is the inequality in the distribution of vaccines worldwide, because rich countries monopolize a large part of vaccine production; and poor or developing countries are having problems acquiring the number of doses necessary to generate immunity in the population.
Las vacunas contra la #COVID19 no se están repartiendo de manera justa.— Naciones Unidas (@ONU_es) February 10, 2021
Un 75% de las dosis han sido entregadas a solo 10 países.
Ninguno de nosotros estará a salvo hasta que todos lo estemos.https://t.co/fHPnSowPgm pic.twitter.com/EV8uU9WPjN
The governments of Latin America and the Caribbean have a separate challenge since the commercial recovery must adhere to social policies that reduce the inequality gaps that increased in the pandemic. Investments and commercial dynamism will be key, but they largely depend on the acquisitive recovery of its inhabitants and the new entrepreneurial impulse of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, who need fiscal flexibility and financial leverage to reactivate their businesses.
China fue el principal socio comercial de la UE en 2020, superando a EE.UU.— Dinastía Chip (@Dinastiachip) February 16, 2021
En un año difícil, el comercio de Europa con EE.UU se redujo (exportaciones9%, importaciones11%).
Las exportaciones europeas a China crecieron un 2,2% y las importaciones crecieron un 5,6%. pic.twitter.com/G2l1jA2VzO
However, so far, Korea and China appear to be the most commercially stable countries this year. In an environment of uncertainty, China seems to position itself in international trade, playing the role of commercial reactivator. Chinese exports have increased at a significant rate, to the point that, according to the BBC, its influence in Asia has increased, as has its exports to the United States despite the tariff cost.
Without a doubt, the recovery of world trade can redraw the map of the international system, changing the world order we know and positioning new business leaders.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9361883401870728,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://microbusinessforteens.com/like-it-or-not-its-tax-season/",
"token_count": 206,
"fin_int_score": 4,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": -0.1708984375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:429e9b9f-a0fa-40bd-be5a-cbb15eda8ed0>"
}
|
In Money and Taxes in a Micro Business, you can learn about the importance of good record keeping and an important financial statement called an INCOME STATEMENT:
- An income statement is a very popular financial statement for business owners because it is easy to understand.
- An income statement (sometimes called a Profit and Loss or P&L) is a listing of business income and expenses over a period of time.
- An income statement has a bottom line called net income (or sometimes, unfortunately, net loss). Net income is total income minus total expenses.
- If you have been keeping good records then preparing an income statement is very easy.
- Balance Sheets are not usually a necessary financial statement for a micro business. They are very useful for larger businesses.
- Profit is not the same as the balance in your checking account.
It pays to prepare an income statement every month or at least several times a year to see if your micro business is profitable.
Carol Topp, CPA
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9771583080291748,
"language": "en",
"url": "http://themansioninnnewhope.com/most-interesting-facts-about-bitcoin.htm",
"token_count": 281,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.2578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:c7113ab1-13a8-47a2-85f2-67e7fe1623f8>"
}
|
Bitcoin is one of the best cryptocurrency found within world. There were lots of currency came into existence that are moved out as soon as it came into existence. Bitcoin is surveying the best around the world and it is successfully working along backed up actions and values around government norms. The bitcoin numbers are limited to 21,000,000 and it cannot be created more than that number. Bitcoins are digitally active and it can be used almost along every electronic features. There are few companies working in the progression to sell these digital currencies in physical form but it is not real. It can also be used as the perfect gift for all those bitcoin geeks.
Bitcoin can be obtained through lots of possibilities and mining is one among those. If you want to make an action of mining, you computer has to process certain mathematical problems that are rewarded to be the best in the system. You can also get through btc price for making a certain amount of value. You can also make the trading of those bitcoin easier with your wise investment preferences. This was created by an unknown person and the impact is worldwide with higher currency rate. Thus transactions are also made to work as the final transactions and it cannot be reverted back. If you have to process along right choice, it is important to verify each and every transaction before processing. The near future of all the transactions can be done for paying bills and making many more transactions.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9407734274864197,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://biztech.asia/2020/10/28/dont-fear-ai-it-will-lead-to-long-term-job-growth/",
"token_count": 1211,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.302734375,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:207b8f8d-a7a6-4439-84fb-b6994b00f779>"
}
|
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated technological advances and the automation of many routine tasks – from contactless cashiers to robots delivering packages. In this environment, many are concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) will drive significant automation and destroy jobs in the coming decades.
Just a few decades ago, the internet created similar concerns as it grew. Despite skepticism, the technology created millions of jobs and now comprises 10% of US GDP. Today, AI is poised to create even greater growth in the US and global economies. Sixty-three percent of CEOs believe AI will have a larger impact than the Internet, according to PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey.
While Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies driven by AI will continue to fundamentally change the world and the way we work and live, AI may not lead to massive unemployment. Instead, AI technology will create more jobs than it automates.
These newly created jobs will require new skills and necessitate significant investment in upskilling and reskilling young people and adults. But businesses and governments can – and must – work together to address this transition and embrace the positive societal benefits of AI.
AI and job growth
By 2030, AI will lead to an estimated USD15.7 trillion, or 26% increase, in global GDP, based on PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study. (To put this figure in context, it’s greater than both China and India’s current combined GDP.) Increased productivity will contribute to approximately 40% of this increase while consumption will drive 60% of GDP growth.
While AI will automate some jobs, a PwC AI study has found that “any job losses from automation are likely to be broadly offset in the long run by new jobs created as a result of the larger and wealthier economy made possible by these new technologies.” Furthermore, PwC does not forecast large-scale technological unemployment as a result of automation.
In its “Future of Jobs Report 2020,” the World Economic Forum estimates that 85 million jobs will be displaced while 97 million new jobs will be created across 26 countries by 2025.
AI will automate many repetitive and sometimes dangerous tasks like data entry and assembly line manufacturing. The technology will also change the nature of work for many other jobs, allowing workers to focus on higher-value and higher-touch tasks that often require interpersonal interactions. These newly enhanced jobs will create benefits for both businesses and individuals who will have more time to be creative, strategic, and entrepreneurial.
The impact and benefits of AI will likely not be shared equally. Businesses and governments must work together to ensure that as many people as possible can benefit and the digital divide does not increase and exacerbate existing inequalities.
Reskilling and upskilling
Embracing the consumption and productivity benefits of AI will require businesses and governments to collaborate on massive reskilling and upskilling initiatives to help employees retrain and prepare for new and future jobs.
In the next few years, 3% of jobs will be potentially automated by AI, according to PwC’s report “Will robots really steal our jobs?” Increased digitisation resulting from COVID-19 may accelerate this trend. By the mid-2030s, as AI advances and becomes more autonomous, 30% of jobs and 44% of workers with low levels of education will be at risk of automation.
In the next five years, half of all workers will require some upskilling or reskilling to prepare for changing and new jobs, according to the World Economic Forum. The rapid pace of technological change requires new models for training that prepare employees for an AI-based future. True upskilling requires a citizen-led approach focused on applying new knowledge to develop an AI-ready mindset. Employers should view upskilling and reskilling as an investment in the future of their organisation, not an expense.
Companies should also collaborate with governments, educators, and nonprofit organisations on multi-sector upskilling and reskilling initiatives like Generation Unlimited and the Reskilling Revolution. Training benefits more than just employees and their employers, but also the economy and society.
Youth around the world are vulnerable to the skills gap and unemployment, and particularly in need of upskilling and reskilling. Generation Unlimited is a multi-sector partnership that aims to help the 1.8 billion young people around the world transition from school to work by 2030. To support this initiative, PwC is working with UNICEF and the World Economic Forum to prepare youth for the future.
Investing in adults already in the workforce is also crucial. PwC’s New World. New Skills program began with upskilling the firm’s employees and is now being shared outside the company to help millions of adults prepare for their future careers.
In January, the World Economic Forum launched the Reskilling Revolution, a public-private initiative designed to aggregate government and businesses’ efforts and share best practices. The initiative aims to train and futureproof one billion workers by 2030.
At the national level, public-private partnerships like Luxembourg’s Digital Skills Bridge project have successfully brought together government agencies, trade unions, businesses (including PwC), and educators to help train and retrain job seekers and current employees.
And finally, companies should invest in developing their employees’ soft skills that AI cannot replicate. In this changing world, the value of creativity, leadership, and emotional intelligence will likely only increase, and leveraging these qualities to create strong governance and organisational cultures to manage AI is critical.
While some have a dystopian view of the future, the reality is that AI’s positive social impact will likely outweigh its consequences. Only through investment in high-quality, holistic education and upskilling opportunities paired with multi-sector initiatives can we prepare society and ourselves for this future and embrace the benefits of AI.
This article is republished from World Economic Forum
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9675410985946655,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://the-european.eu/story-18271/iea-world-needs-to-embrace-hydrogen.html",
"token_count": 492,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.1142578125,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:55bd915a-a541-4ccf-ac34-5be196d4a515>"
}
|
The world should take up the challenge to boost the use of hydrogen as a potentially emissions-free source of energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its first major report on the fuel.
The cost of producing hydrogen from renewable energy could fall by 30% by 2030 and the fuel could reduce emissions in industries such as transport, chemicals and steel, the agency said, although it warned there were still major challenges. The IEA report was released as Group of 20 (G20) energy and environment ministers gathered in the run up to the group’s summit in Osaka.
Japan is heavily promoting hydrogen and has set a goal to cut the cost of producing carbon dioxide-free hydrogen to less than a tenth of current levels by 2050.
However, many experts say hydrogen is difficult to handle, expensive and involves too much energy or heat loss. The technology for hydrogen fuel cells has been described by Tesla chief Elon Musk as “incredibly dumb”.
Hydrogen is enjoying its latest wave of interest since the 1970s, driven by governments, the renewable energy industry, utilities, automakers, oil and gas companies, and big cities, Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director said in the report. However, most hydrogen now comes from fossil fuels and its production is responsible for annual carbon emissions equivalent to the United Kingdom and Indonesia combined, the report said. Producing hydrogen from low-carbon energy is still costly and its adoption is also being held back by the slow development of infrastructure and some regulatory hurdles.
Mr Birol said the time was right to scale up technologies and bring down costs to allow hydrogen, now used mostly in oil refining and for fertiliser production, to be taken up more widely: “The world should not miss this unique chance to make hydrogen an important part of our clean and secure energy future.”
Hydrogen had the potential to tackle critical energy challenges, such as storing the output from wind and solar, and decarbonising sectors such as long-haul transport, chemicals and steel, “where it is proving difficult to meaningfully reduce emissions,” the IEA said.
The agency outlined several recommendations to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and spread its use across economies. It called for coordinated policies amongst governments to make industrial ports the nerve centres for wider use of hydrogen, build on existing gas infrastructure and support the use of hydrogen to power cars, trucks and buses.
|
{
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17",
"language_score": 0.9137250185012817,
"language": "en",
"url": "https://www.assignmenthelp.net/business-law-sample-homework",
"token_count": 2537,
"fin_int_score": 3,
"fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1",
"risk_score": 0.32421875,
"risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1",
"id": "<urn:uuid:03e362ae-4c39-4862-80d5-5a7d15673cb2>"
}
|
Most of the businesses are subjected to different types of local and state laws in context of insurance, employment, property and other matters. These laws are implemented in the business so that the stakeholders can be of the rules and regulations of the business. This study will be discussed various legal system of business in context of Malaysia. It has been found that different laws based on the business of Malaysia can be criminal law, customary law and civil law. The essay focuses on explaining different laws related to business along with comparing to each other. Moreover, the functions of state constitution of Malaysia are also discussed in this discourse.
Civil law is one of the dominant legal systems among the business of Malaysia. It has been found that civil law was originated from Roman law and this law sets a bunch of rules that are obeyed and applied by the judiciary system of Malaysian court. According to the civil law, a person is given compensation in the form of award for getting recovered in the disaster. This law is made under the Act of Civil law 1956. This act is made by mixing two different laws that are equity law and common law. However, civil law is made of various legal functions along with different characteristics. In Malaysia, Civil Aviation Act, 1969 was executed in order to dominate all the operation and features of aerodynamics. Another act named Societies Act 1966 was added in the Civil law in context of cancelling suspension and power of register. Civil law can proved to be beneficial in the organization when there will be any dispute among the employees. In a case study of civil law, it has been seen that the civil cases are solved with these laws at the time of considering the penalties in comparison of the criminal laws of Malaysia in context of charges of financial amount.
On the contrary, criminal law is also considered as a significant part of the legal system of Malaysia. According to a case study of criminal law, ‘Crime is an Act’ it has been found that the person found doing crime in the organization is punished by the penal code that is implemented in the organization. Moreover, this law punishes the intentional as well as non-intentional felonies. As per the aspects of criminal law, damnation is given under the laws at the time of commission. Criminal codes are comprised of penal and repeal codes. In addition to this, the acts that are implemented under the criminal laws are Act of Laws of Malaysia, 1966 and Act of Computer Crimes, 1997.
This section has shown a judgmental comparison among the civil and criminal laws of Malaysia in regards to different legal features. As per Civil laws are known, it is found to tackle the faults and limitations of the business organization. Moreover, this law helps in providing awards to the employees in a legal manner. On the other hand, criminal law is found to deal with the convicts and criminal activities that take place in the organization. This law helps to give appropriate punishment to the criminals for doing criminal offence in business of Malaysia. Therefore, the main objective of both the laws is clearly spotted. The objective of Criminal law is to analyze the specific punishment to the identified convicts. On the contrary, Civil law helps to maintain a suitable atmosphere in the business by controlling the functionality of the business and settle the disputes among the employees.
As per the case study of R v JTB , under section 34 it is found that criminal law is applicable for a child more than 10 years. The child is capable of indulging a crime and criminal offence.
Another case study of Public Prosecutor v Haji Idris , civil law include another law related to discrimination. This case displays that all the mixture of equality, discrimination and civil law.
Basically Malaysia has been found to practice a mixed rules and legal system. Written laws are found to be the most vital sources of law. It is generally referred to the laws that contain state constitutions and federal constitution. In context of Malaysian system, legal system of Europe provides support in order to influence the legal system of Malaysia. This happens due to the tenure of British communities in ancient times. Moreover, the legal system can be divided in two parts that are written and unwritten laws.
Written laws are found to include the state constitution, federal constitution, subsidiary constitution and legislation. The main portion of the sources that are found state constitution in order to obtain various groups will provide help in managing the state government. The federation constitution includes different articles that considers about religion and many other aspects. As per the global data, more than 140 state constitutions are has taken part in the legal system. Among these state constitutions, Malaysia is one of them.
On the other hand, unwritten law is a small portion of Malaysian legal system that is not found to be controlled by the parliament. Furthermore, this division of law depends upon the cases of the courts and other local customs. Unwritten law usually made of English laws, custom laws and decision of judicial. English law is one of the parts of Malaysian business law that is further divided into Law of English Commercial and Law of English Land. State council has been found to be comprised with legislature, subjects, state employees, executive councils and many more. Judicial decision is taken by the judges after evaluating the entire case. They follow various principles and rules of the business laws. The customs laws are the one that provides every people of the country the right to apply for employment in all the organizations of Malaysia.
The legislatures of state and parliament are found to be not supreme and therefore they present the subjects of laws in order to set the state and federal constitution. Parliament is the only one that enacts laws; however, the state has the right to make law after evaluating the business laws of Malaysia. The legislation of delegated is legislated by the person or a group except parliament. The legislation that is made by the delegated legislation needs to be as per the purposes of the act. It has been found that the specific local authority can make law based on the local needs of the society in Malaysia. This is because a local body will better understand the needs of the society rather than the parliament.
From the entire study, it is point out that all the business laws of Malaysia that has been discussed in this essay are very important to know for the businesspersons for enhancing the scenario and environment of the business. This study has illustrated the comparison between the criminal laws and civil laws along with different characteristics of each of them. In addition to this, this study has explained the type of state constitution of Malaysia that will help the learner to understand the legal system of Malaysia in a better way. In conclusion, it can be said that all the case examples of business laws that are shown in the essay will help to know more about these laws. Furthermore, the significance of state constitution has been analyzed by giving detail roles of different legal system of Malaysia.
balohpedia.com 2018 civil-law-act-1956 available at: http://www.balohpedia.com/2016/12/civil-law-act-1956.html [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].
Barau, A.S. and Said, I., 2016. From goodwill to good deals: FELDA land resettlement scheme and the ascendancy of the landless poor in Malaysia. Land Use Policy.
Datuk Haji Harun bin Haji Idris v Public Prosecutor 2 MLJ 155
Dca.gov.my.2018. civil-aviation-act-1969 Available at: http://www.dca.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/civil-aviation-act-1969.pdf <Accessed 7 Nov. 2017>.
Foongchengleong.com.2018. Computer Crimes Act 1997 | Foong Cheng Leong. Available at: http://foongchengleong.com/tag/computer-crimes-act-1997/ <Accessed 15 Nov. 2017>.
Itam, M.I., bt Hasan, R. and Alhabshi, S.M., 2016. Shariah Governance Framework For Islamic Co-Operatives As An Integral Social Insitution In Malaysia. Intellectual Discourse.
Judgments - R v JTB (Appellant) (on appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)) < https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldjudgmt/jd090429/jtb-1.html
Lasimbang, H.B., Tong, W.T. and Low, W.Y., 2016. Migrant workers in Sabah, East Malaysia: The importance of legislation and policy to uphold equity on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
litigation.findlaw.com 2018 civil-cases-vs-criminal-cases available at: http://litigation.findlaw.com/filing-a-lawsuit/civil-cases-vs-criminal-cases-key-differences.html <Accessed at 27 Nov. 2017>.
Mdi.gov.my.2018 societies-act-1966 available at: http://www.mdi.gov.my/index.php/about-us/resources/laws/232-act-335-societies-act-1966 <Accessed 10 Nov. 2017>.
Olayemi, A.A.M., Ibrahim, U., Hasan, A., Yasin, M.H., Mahamood, S.M. and Buang, A.H., 2016. The Quest for Effective Regulation of Islamic Money Market: An Appraisal of the Applicable Laws in Malaysia. Journal of Islamic Legal Studies| ISSN-2519-1535.
Barau, A.S. and Said, I., 2016. From goodwill to good deals: FELDA land resettlement scheme and the ascendancy of the landless poor in Malaysia. Land Use Policy, 54, pp.423-431.
Dca.gov.my.2018. civil-aviation-act-1969 Available at: http://www.dca.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/civil-aviation-act-1969.pdf [Accessed 7 Nov. 2017].
Mdi.gov.my.2018 societies-act-1966 available at: http://www.mdi.gov.my/index.php/about-us/resources/laws/232-act-335-societies-act-1966 [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].
balohpedia.com 2018 civil-law-act-1956 available at: http://www.balohpedia.com/2016/12/civil-law-act-1956.html [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].
Foongchengleong.com.2018. Computer Crimes Act 1997 | Foong Cheng Leong. Available at: http://foongchengleong.com/tag/computer-crimes-act-1997/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].
Judgments - R v JTB (Appellant)
Datuk Haji Harun bin Haji Idris v Public Prosecutor 2 MLJ 155
Olayemi, A.A.M., Ibrahim, U., Hasan, A., Yasin, M.H., Mahamood, S.M. and Buang, A.H., 2016. The Quest for Effective Regulation of Islamic Money Market: An Appraisal of the Applicable Laws in Malaysia. Journal of Islamic Legal Studies| ISSN-2519-1535, 2(01), pp.55-72.
Lasimbang, H.B., Tong, W.T. and Low, W.Y., 2016. Migrant workers in Sabah, East Malaysia: The importance of legislation and policy to uphold equity on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 32, pp.113-123
Itam, M.I., bt Hasan, R. and Alhabshi, S.M., 2016. Shariah Governance Framework For Islamic Co-Operatives As An Integral Social Insitution In Malaysia. Intellectual Discourse, 24, p.477.
Assignment Writing Help
Engineering Assignment Services
Do My Assignment Help
Write My Essay Services
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.