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{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9514742493629456, "language": "en", "url": "https://thelife.guru/revisiting-personal-income-tax-in-india/", "token_count": 1320, "fin_int_score": 5, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1591796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:769b3b6f-70e6-4d94-a19b-86de06b3478a>" }	Why is calculating Income Tax considered such a pain? Is there a better way to collect tax than the present system of filing returns? Can the system be made more efficient and effective, plugging leakages and ensuring a seamless collection process? The hardest thing to understand in this world is Income Tax.~ Albert Einstein Payment of personal income tax should be a simple affair. However, that is not the case in India. There are a host of income tax slabs complicated with types of income and a plethora of exemptions. This was further complicated by the response of the government to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a huge economic cost. The government in its intent to provide a fiscal stimulus has provided in Budget 2020, an optional regime for taxpayers. Thus, taxpayers can opt for the existing tax regime or the optional one, depending on which is more beneficial. A snapshot of only personal income tax slabs is provided in this Economic Times article. The calculation of income and tax rates for different types of income, like housing and the stock market is another story. To add to the misery for filing of returns, one has to know a plethora of exemptions. Is there not a better alternative? Why should individuals calculate their income in this day and age of technological advancement? I propose a different model of collecting tax – one based on credits in bank accounts. This can streamline the process to an extent that filing by individuals can also be done away with. For the conservative, a declaration can be filed by the individual that the calculation is correct, which will also make it on a sound footing legally. Further, the proposed mechanism can also mean less dodging of tax and a more stable source of income for the government. The direct tax revenues can witness a very high jump by this model. Let us get down to the basics. What are we trying to capture in Income Tax Returns (ITR)? The answer is simple – income. But the information on income is already lying in bank accounts. Cash transactions are anyways not declared by individuals as income, other than people with very high integrity. So, we should ensure that each credit in a bank account has a ‘tag’, which is easily possible in today’s technology-based banking system. Hence, any credit can have one of the following tags: - Asset sales Income: Any credit, which is not a gift, a loan, or an asset sale, can be categorised as income. Further, I would argue these should be no category of exempt income so as to prevent misuse. There may be a facility for registering Permanent Account Number (PAN) of professionals like doctors, lawyers, etc. These PAN can be entitled to 50 percent deduction on income other than the stock market, property, interest income, etc. Stock market income, short term, long term, or derivatives will be reported by stockbrokers in 26AS. Similar treatment can be given for profit from property sales, which are to be reported by registration offices of the government in 26AS. Gift: Gift from specified relative is exempt from tax as per Section 56(2) of the Income Tax Act. To enable this, banks have to register the bank accounts of such relatives. After registration any credit to such accounts by a relative can be tagged as “gift” and will not attract any tax. Loan: Any person can give anybody a loan. However, the aggregate of all net loans will be limited to 300 percent of Gross Total Income as per the last Income Tax Return. Any amount above that will be “deemed income” and attract tax. A person may receive a credit as “loan repayment” as well. This may also be tagged as “loan” since there would have been a debit earlier which would have reduced the “net loans” amount. The aggregate of all net loans will be cumulative and carried forward to next year. Asset Sales: The last category will be asset sales. Stock Brokers giving credit can be classified as asset sales irrespective of the type of credit as income will be updated separately in 26AS. Further, property registration offices will also update the property sale value in 26AS. This will enable tax-exempt mapping for large credits arising from asset sales. Sales/ maturity of financial investments like fixed deposits can also be tagged as “asset sales”. Other asset sales like gold, old furniture, etc. can be classified as asset sales but can be limited to 10 percent of Gross Total Income of the latest ITR. Full-time agriculturists may have their bank account mapped as “agriculture accounts” which will treat all income from selling of agricultural produce as asset sales and exempt from tax. Going forward, the government can set a limit for asset sales from agriculture like INR 10 million, which will net high net-worth individuals in the tax net. In such a scenario, 50 percent sale value may be exempted as given to professionals to account for expenditure. Further, to make the process effective, it is imperative that transactions are largely routed electronically and can be monitored. Hence, two additional measures will be required. - All accounts will mandatorily require PAN. The exceptions can be “agriculture accounts” or when total transaction credits in a year do not exceed INR 2.5 lakhs with a maximum transaction value of INR 50,000. - Cash transactions to be permitted for a maximum of INR 25,000 per month. Incentives for savings like 5-year fixed deposits can also be incorporated with specified debit tags giving immediate “credits” from the government. The taxation system can be real-time in such a scenario. Whenever income crosses prescribed thresholds immediate debits (10 percent, 20 percent, etc.) can be undertaken and credits passed to the government. This system is complex in scale but simple in concept. Of course, additional complexities of various types of income will have to be incorporated, but nothing that cannot be overcome. This requires bringing together a lot of systems and I assume if planned properly can be implemented within 2-3 years from the concept stage. A revenue jump of even 100 percent for the government is not outlandish as various loopholes will get closed. This is just a simple structure, which can be modified as per need. Ultimately, personal income tax may not be collected as it is done today and can be completely envisioned afresh.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9072993397712708, "language": "en", "url": "https://criloreto.it/building-cost-estimation-pdf.html", "token_count": 243, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.05615234375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:962741b1-6d72-42ad-b379-852de48905de>" }	estimating assumptions -- all of which contribute to the total cost of a procurement. Cost analysis includes verification of cost data, evaluation of specific elements of cost, and projection of these data. Cost analysis looks into such factors as the following: a. Need to incur costs. b. Reasonableness of amounts estimated for necessary costs. The estimation of private costs is the focus of the cost estimation procedures and data in this Manual. Both EPA and OMB have developed guidance on methods appropriate for use in estimating social costs for regulatory impact analysis or economic impact analysis where the social costs of government interventions are assessed. They estimate building costs through all the stages of design and the construction of the project. Computers have played an increasingly larger role in cost estimation for complex calculations as the design and construction industry has become more computerized.The cost estimation methodology can be used in the development of assessing private compliance decisions/strategies or effects of permits as various alternatives are considered. If the regulation or permit prescribes a particular control technology (e.g., installation of a scrubber)... Best 1440p 165hz monitor reddit John deere inline ripper Dali battery management system Ashawo whatsapp group
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9555065035820007, "language": "en", "url": "https://guidehouse.com/insights/energy/2019/distributed-generation-key-to-smart-grid", "token_count": 209, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0810546875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:ca9150c8-0f2c-417d-96fc-c74c0bdaa10f>" }	“Hydrogen power-to-gas has the potential to become an important and versatile energy storage medium, supporting integration of intermittent renewable generation across a wide range of time periods, from seconds all the way to seasonal storage,” said Forni. “However, economics are crucial, and generating hydrogen cheaply has been difficult to date.” Currently, a hydrogen storage tank alone that would be large enough to support a facility’s needs costs around $5 million. However, some companies are trying to reduce these costs through new technology that utilizes on-demand power supply and artificial intelligence. As alternatives like hydrogen storage will become more widely available and less expensive, a Guidehouse report predicts these factors and more will contribute to massive disruption across the entire energy value chain. Energy supply will move toward a multidirectional network of networks and away from the hub-and-spoke model. This will support a two-way energy flow that will give customers a more sustainable, highly digitized, and dynamic energy system.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9551496505737305, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/article/postsecondary-outlook.htm", "token_count": 1578, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.052001953125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:5552020a-19ad-43dc-a2c6-74e9f5e52e4e>" }	You can boost your wages with education—even if it’s not a bachelor’s degree. A variety of programs or coursework after high school can help you qualify for occupations that are expected to be in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) designates 99 occupations as typically requiring some postsecondary education less than a bachelor’s degree. Most of these occupations require an associate’s degree or a postsecondary nondegree award, such as a certificate. A few of them require some college courses but not a degree. Occupations that typically require workers to have an associate’s degree for entry had a median annual wage of $52,830 in 2017. That's higher than the $36,100 median for workers in high school-level occupations. Occupations that typically require workers to have a certificate or other postsecondary nondegree award had a median annual wage of $37,670; those that typically require workers to have some college but no degree had a median annual wage of $35,250. (A median wage means that half of workers in the occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less.) Keep reading to learn more about wages and projected openings in selected occupations that typically require an associate’s degree, postsecondary nondegree award, or some college but no degree. BLS makes employment projections for more than 800 occupations. As part of this analysis, BLS also assesses the education that is typically needed for most people entering an occupation. However, the education typically required for people at the entry level may differ from that of people who are already working in the occupation. For example, in 2016–17, about 42 percent of all teacher assistants ages 25 and older had an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree. But because BLS economists have determined, as part of their projections analysis, that people usually can enter the occupation without having a degree, BLS designates teacher assistants as typically needing some college education but not a degree for entry into the occupation. Employment in associate’s and postsecondary nondegree-level occupations is projected to grow 11 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the 7-percent average projected for all occupations. In occupations typically requiring some college but no degree, employment is projected to grow 4 percent. This article features six career fields in which BLS projects numerous openings for postsecondary-level occupations that typically don’t require a 4-year degree: For each career field, the accompanying chart highlights the projected number of openings each year, on average, from 2016 to 2026 in the selected occupations. Large numbers of openings will result from the need to replace workers who retire or leave an occupation permanently, but others are expected to be from newly created jobs. The charts also include information about 2017 median annual wages. These wage data exclude self-employed workers. Workers in the computer and engineering occupations in chart 1 use technical skills to solve problems and create products. Of the occupations in the chart, computer user support specialists is the one projected to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2016 to 2026. All of the occupations in chart 1 typically require an associate’s degree for entry, except for computer user support specialists, which typically needs some college education but not a degree. Wages for the occupations in this chart topped $50,000 per year, making them among the highest of those in this article. Chart 2 shows selected education, legal, and office support occupations in which workers help to teach students or to assist lawyers or businesses with research and administrative tasks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is the occupation projected to have the most openings of the ones in this chart: more than 180,000 each year, on average. The clerks and teacher assistants shown in chart 2 typically require some college but no degree; the other occupations in the chart typically require an associate’s degree. Although BLS identifies preschool teachers as typically needing an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree and a state-issued license are generally required to work in public schools. Paralegals and legal assistants had the highest median annual wage, $50,410, of the occupations in the chart. Workers in the healthcare support occupations in chart 3 assist healthcare practitioners, often by providing patients or clients with hands-on care. The occupation of nursing assistants is projected to have at least twice as many openings each year, on average, as any other occupation in the chart. All of the occupations in chart 3 typically require some type of postsecondary nondegree award for entry. In addition, employers may require or prefer candidates who have a license or certification. Massage therapists had a wage that was above the median for occupations typically requiring a postsecondary nondegree award. In the health technologist and technician occupations in chart 4, workers specialize in medical tasks. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses is the occupation in the chart projected to have the most openings each year, on average. Three of the occupations in the chart typically require a postsecondary nondegree award; dental hygienists and radiologic technologists typically require an associate’s degree. In addition, these occupations may require licensure or certification. And all but emergency medical technicians and paramedics had wages above the median for occupations typically requiring a postsecondary nondegree award. All but one of the occupations in chart 5 involve installing or repairing equipment. The exception, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, is related to transportation—and it’s projected to have the largest number of openings of the occupations in the chart. Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers is the only occupation in chart 5 that typically requires some college but no degree for entry; the other occupations in the chart typically require a postsecondary nondegree award. And all of them require on-the-job training for workers to become competent in their tasks. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers had the highest wage of these occupations: $53,380. But each had a median annual wage that surpassed $37,690, the median wage for all occupations. Chart 6 includes personal care and service, protective service, and media and communication occupations. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists is the occupation projected to have the most job openings each year, on average, of those in the chart. All of the occupations in chart 6 typically require a postsecondary nondegree award for entry. A state-issued license is usually required to work in the occupations that focus on hair, skin, and nail care. Firefighters and audio and video equipment technicians typically need on-the-job training for competency; certifications may be helpful or required. These latter two occupations also had the highest median annual wages of those in the chart: $49,080 and $42,190, respectively. To learn more about the occupations in this article, along with hundreds of others, see the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). For example, the OOH “What they do” section describes some of the tasks common to workers in an occupation. This article highlights selected occupations that typically require an associate’s degree, postsecondary nondegree award, or some college but not a degree. Projections for all occupations by typical entry-level education are available from the Employment Projections program. Elka Torpey, "Employment outlook for occupations requiring an associate’s degree, certificate, or some college," Career Outlook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2018.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9600135087966919, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.christianet.com/accounting/federalenergytaxcredit.htm", "token_count": 2300, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0732421875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b13e7a9a-2658-43a7-8aad-55368d6b874b>" }	Federal Energy Tax Credit The creation of various types of federal energy tax credit and solar tax credit has proven to be a stimulus to alternative energy production. These credits make it more cost efficient to manufacture, install and purchase a renewable energy system for homes and businesses. Technologies which are included in this program are solar and photovoltaic energy, geothermal, wind energy, hydroelectric and alternative fuels. The government rewards investors in renewable energy sources by tax credits, deductions and allowances. These may include rewards in the area of income, corporate, property, and sales tax. Some of these incentives will expire soon, so green-energy advocates urge that the government should support an extension of these aids so that these industries can continue to expand, providing not only new sources of clean energy, but also growth in the number of jobs connected to this sector of industry. Although they sound similar, there is a significant difference between a credit and a deduction. When a deduction is used, the amount is subtracted from income before computing tax liability. A credit, however, is subtracted directly from the total tax owed. Therefore, a credit winds up extending a three (or more) times greater effect. Do some research before signing contracts for products, and check the online Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency for information on state, local, federal and even utility company incentives. Congress has routinely extended deadlines for federal energy tax credit. An individual can take both a credit (up to a specified cap) for about a third of the cost of installing photovoltaic (solar electric panel) systems and another one (up to an additional cap) for about a third of the cost of a solar water heating system. (Unfortunately for owners of pools and hot tubs, the solar tax credit does not apply to these items.) Another credit is available for fuel cells. Equipment must be certified by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation (SRCC) or another entity which a state government chooses. A pitfall to avoid is the fact that many dealers who advertise themselves as 'solar dealers' are not only without connection to the Solar Rating Certification Corporation, but also may not even be licensed contractors! The systems they sell may not be SRCC approved. If a person takes an exemption from installing a non-approved system, he or she will be liable for any tax penalties incurred. Be sure that the installer is a licensed solar contractor, installing a properly approved system. There are websites which can recommend a list of solar contractors and products in areas throughout the United States. The solar tax credit is figured out based on an individual's expenses for equipment (including labor). However, this does not include any expenses which have been subsidized by other programs. Fill out IRS Form 5695 to apply for this program. Various forms of federal energy tax credit programs have run their course and some have been extended. Groups are urging an eight year extension to current programs, in order to give the industry some sense of stability as members consider future investments. However, there is no guarantee that an extension will happen, so one is left wondering whether it is best to rush to complete renewable energy projects before the deadline, or wait and hope that a lengthy extension is granted, the industry continues to grow, and costs for renewable systems continue to decrease. Current programs or exemptions have had significant results. Wind and solar-powered industries received much-needed assistance during periods when several consecutive years of federal energy tax credit had been extended. One year, nearly one third of all United States power capacity was added in the wind sector. Another year, this sector increased by nearly half. Solar tax credit also helped enable the solar sector to grow significantly. Plans for more large solar power projects are in development. These will either be shored up or stunted by future plans for extension or removal of credits. Advocates for extension of federal credits point to the additional jobs created by these facilities as further evidence that they are an appropriate economic bonus as well. The decisions which need to be made by government officials are complicated and may have long-term, widespread effects. This may especially be true in areas of fuels and energy use, which have an impact upon food supplies, natural resources and relationships between nations. No wonder Paul urges Timothy and other believers that "...supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty..." (I Timothy 2:1-2). Christians can pray that leaders will be guided to make decisions which are beneficial to all members of an increasingly inter-related world. In the meantime, green buildings credits and efficient appliances credits remain the most commonly employed forms of assistance. No doubt there are many people who would be quite interested in investing in renewable energy systems for their personal or business use, but the up-front costs make it impossible to do so at this time. For this reason, further federal energy tax credit or solar tax credit may be the answer for this problem. It would also be helpful to advertise the existence of incentives and programs which offer assistance in procuring these renewable systems. Actually, most people are probably unfamiliar with the various products which are available for purchase by the public. Although there are doubtless many websites devoted to such items, perhaps a more widespread campaign utilizing television programs or commercials would be helpful in order to bring this information into public awareness. Such projects add long-term value to a home or business, while lowering costs and providing additional clean energy. Those are three incentives which will remain constant regardless of government policies. Claiming Child Tax CreditTaxpayers claiming child tax credit may be eligible to deduct up to $1,000 per qualifying child. Depending on a taxpayers income, marital and filing status, the government may allow a sizeable deduction for each eligible dependent under the age of 17 at the end of the year. To qualify, in addition to being under age 17, children must be related to the taxpayer by birth or marriage, by adoption, or as a foster child of qualifying parents. Not only do sons, daughters, and foster kids qualify, but taxpayers brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, or their descendents can also be claimed. Parents with dependent nieces and nephews; blended families raising stepchildren, or older adults, up to a certain age, who rear grandchildren may all benefit by claiming child tax credit. Qualifying dependents must be citizens, nationals or residents of the United States and must have resided in the taxpayer's home for at least six months out of the year. In addition, children who qualify must receive over half of all monetary support from the taxpayer claiming a deduction. In today's economy, raising children can blow anybody's budget. Parents, grandparents, and foster parents not only shoulder the hefty responsibility of paying for education, food, clothing, and housing; but children also need quality healthcare, dental care and insurance. Most families depend on two incomes just to meet monthly household expenses; and paying for daycare while Mommy works has become the norm rather than the exception. While many advocate families having fewer children, the Bible views childbearing in an entirely different light. "Lo, children area an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate" (Psalms 127:3-5). Thanks to the federal government's Child Tax Credit (CTC), families with single or multiple dependents can reduce the amount of taxes owed or qualify for a refund. While the CTC was legislated to give predominantly low- to middle-income families claiming child tax credit a break; the deduction is limited by their modified adjusted gross income (AGI). The AGI for married couples filing jointly cannot exceed $110,000. If couples decide to file separately, neither spouse's income can exceed $55,000. Other qualifying taxpayer AGIs are limited to $75,000. Taxpayers claiming Child Tax Credit greater than the amount of tax owed may claim the difference as an Additional Child Tax Credit; however the total amount of deductions claimed for the CTC and Additional CTC cannot exceed a maximum amount, usually $1,500. Taxpayers with qualifying children use Form 1040 or 1040A when claiming deductions. For detailed information on computing and filing, taxpayers may log onto the Internal Revenue Website at IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM. Publication 972, a lengthy 17-page document, explains qualifications and instructions for filing in detail. More abbreviated instructional brochures can also be downloaded from the IRS website. Another legislation designed to help low-income employed taxpayers is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Originally approved by Congress in 1975, this credit was designed to help alleviate Social Security tax burdens and offer low income individuals an incentive to seek gainful employment. Because of taxes imposed on employees who work, many individuals on public subsistence feel that they fare better by remaining on government assistance. However, the EITC does not prevent individuals from receiving specific welfare benefits, nor does the EITC impact eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), low-income housing, or specific Temporary Assistance for Need Families. While the Child Tax Credit is designed specifically for families, childless workers may qualify for Earned Income Tax Credit if they meet certain requirements. Many low income wage earners miss out on EITC benefits simply because of an erroneous belief that they must have children in order to claim a legitimate EITC deduction. But low-income workers with a valid Social Security number and proof of earned income from 9-to-5, part time, or self-employment can meet basic qualifications. Employees seeking to file for EITC must be full year U.S. citizens or resident aliens. Non-resident aliens married to U.S. citizens or resident aliens filing jointly also qualify. In addition, qualifying individuals must be between the ages of 25 and 65 by the end of the year. However, they cannot qualify as another taxpayer's dependent, or as the qualifying child of another person. Special EITC rules also apply for military personnel, members of the clergy, and those who receive disability retirement income. IRS.gov gives detailed information about each of these special categories. Individuals seeking to file for Earned Income Tax Credit can check for eligibility online via the EITC Assistant. Employees who qualify for EITC on federal returns are also advised to investigate whether a state of residence also offers EITC. IRS.gov features links to state websites with more detailed information on how to qualify and file for Earned Income Tax Credit. Many taxpayers may qualify for significant deductions by claiming a Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit; but it is up to the individual to search for opportunities to reduce taxes or receive refunds. Every dollar saved can go toward improving the life of a little one. A thorough online investigation of federal and state government websites may reveal even more opportunities for low-income wage earners to offset the high cost of childrearing and reduce taxes.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9397775530815125, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.littlehouseinthevalley.com/ac-valhalla-gsxwjrl/izr6nhh.php?id=anchoring-definition-economics-8ff48e", "token_count": 1987, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.02197265625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:34f732df-e7d2-4a25-ab61-a3175fa6b5c3>" }	Economic and financial prospects (see "prospect theory") are areas in which the anchoring notion is mostly used. Learn more. 1-3% economic growth expected in 2017 MAS Core Inflation is projected to average 1-2% in 2017 The Economy. Suppose you go out for a nice meal with your family. As you now know from the post, that clearly wasn't that great of an idea (most went out of business). An anchor is a price point that gives you an idea of how much something should cost. "People make estimates by starting from an initial value that is adjusted to yield the final answer," explained Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in a 1974 paper. Anchor organizations that intentionally engage these seven strategies will produce measurable returns for both the community and the organization. For example: Presenting a positive spin A sign that says 10% of our customers are not fully satisfied – implies a negative connotation. Anchoring in economic and finance. The act of basing an investment decision on irrelevant information. The Global Economy in 2016: Resilient but Uninspiring. How to use anchor … This states that consumer choices will be influenced by how information is presented. Anchoring and Adjusting - 'Anchoring and Adjusting' is a primary heuristic or 'nudge' identified by Kahneman and Tversky, and is featured in Nudge theory by Thaler and Sunstein. Journal of Economic Psychology 39 (2013) 21-31 During decision making, anchoring occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments . 9/10 of our customers are fully satisfied – is a much more positive spin.… Consider this anchoring bias example from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School faculty member Guhan Subramanian. The anchoring bias describes the common human tendency to […] It particularly affects decisions regarding numerical values like pricing, both value-based and cost-plus, since customers tend to decide on amounts skewed toward the anchor value.. Example sentences with "anchoring of prices", translation memory. According to this heuristic, people's estimate of the value of a quantity is disproportionately influenced by their knowledge of the value of a related (or sometimes unrelated) quantity. 1 In 66 of the 100 largest in-ner cities, an anchor is the largest employer. There have been examples of companies trying to implement a “pay what you can” strategy without an anchor or suggested prices. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic is a psychological heuristic that people use to make quantitative estimates. The concept of setting one price to encourage consumers to look favorably at another priced alternative is called anchoring . Giga-fren. anchoring of prices. The cognitive bias creeps in when an analyst tends to build the financial models based on a single big idea that fails to take … ICIC’s Anchor Institution Strategic Framework defines seven strategies anchors use to accelerate urban economic revitalization. Anchoring is a cognitive bias that was first documented by psychologists in the early 1970s. Some 925 colleges and universities, or roughly one in eight, are based in the inner city. Industrial clusters are known to provide economic benefits as infra-structure, labour markets, and knowledge In doing so, people tend to start off with an initial value, and then adjust away from it. This can be a dangerous practice, but it is also easy to do. Psychological Anchoring In the 1974 paper " Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics And Biases ," Kahneman and Tversky conducted a study where a wheel containing the … Anchoring vignettes are also being used by philosophers, lawyers, and others to help define (and not necessarily measure) concepts by example, or from the bottom up. Anchoring. The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that influences you to rely too heavily on the first piece of information you receive. The definition of behavioral economics with examples. Anchoring determines what people are willing to pay for products. For example “Is your budget more or less than $100,000” seems like a simple question, but it definitely sets the anchor. Does that number means something ? Anchoring and adjustment bias, however, implies that investors perceive new information through essentially a warped lens. By defining sets of anchoring vignettes, it is often possible to arrive at a definition inductively using this same approach. Prof. Hubbard has defined agricultural economics as, “the study of relationship arising from the wealth-getting and wealth-using activity of man in agriculture.” This definition is based o Prof. Ely’s definition of economics and is mere akin to Marshall’s conception of economic activities and therefore it … Anchoring or focalism is a term used in psychology to describe the common human tendency to rely too heavily, or "anchor," on one trait or piece of … For example, if one bases the value of a stock on its price a year ago, one is practicing anchoring. In this post, we'll discuss the power concept of anchoring bias on human behavior. Anchoring effect is a form of cognitive bias that causes people to focus on the first available piece of information (the "anchor") given to them when making decisions. “losses loom larger than gains” (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) For example, if somebody gave us a £300 bottle of wine, we may gain a … Anchoring, or rather the degree of anchoring, is going to be heavily determined by how salient the anchor is. In behavioural economics, loss aversion refers to people's preferences to avoid losing compared to gaining the equivalent amount. So they place undue emphasis on statistically arbitrary and psychologically bit of mind anchor points. In 1974 cognitive psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky identified what is known as the “anchoring heuristic.” A heuristic is essentially a mental shortcut or rule of thumb the brain uses to simplify complex problems in order to make decisions (also known as a cognitive bias). ... One common way that your brain is fooled when making a financial decision is an effect called anchoring. Sure enough, a good monetary strategy guaranteeing the solid anchoring of price stability is a necessary precondition for economic growth. Examples of principle-agent combinations include citizen-politician, citizen-bureaucrat, shareholder-CEO … In those fields the "reference point" is most of the time a precise number, a value, a price. In psychology, this type of cognitive bias is known as the anchoring bias or anchoring effect. Let price anchoring be a guide for your customers. ... on the specifics of individual cases. The economic impact of anchor firms and industrial clusters Page 2 Executive summary The main purpose of this report is to assess the relative impacts of industrial clusters and anchor firms on economic prosperity. Also, the more difficult it is … People with high social security numbers paid up to 346 percent more than those with low numbers. Most people chose this as the best definition of anchor: Anchor is defined as to f... See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. Statement. Anchoring bias is dangerous yet prolific in the markets. What exactly is anchoring in negotiation, and how does it play out at the bargaining table?. And it’s not just a factor between the generations. Anchoring occurs when people need to form estimates. anchor definition: 1. a heavy metal object, usually shaped like a cross with curved arms, on a strong rope or chain…. How Anchoring in Behavioral Economics Explains Your Irrational Money Choices. This is a huge phenomenon in the world of sales and economics. However, often the adjustment away from the … “Sure enough, the anchoring effect scrambled their ability to judge the value of the items. In the field of finance, anchoring and adjustment are seen when an analyst builds an economic forecasting tool or a pricing model. I work with applying behavioral economics to B2B sales organizations. Once an anchor is set, other judgements are made by adjusting away from that anchor, and there is a bias toward interpreting other information around the anchor. BACKGROUND Anchor institutions, such as hospitals, universities, arts and cultural institutions and sports venues, occupy a unique and influential place in America’s inner cities. The Anchoring Heuristic, also know as focalism, refers to the human tendency to accept and rely on, the first piece of information received before making a decision. translation and definition "anchoring of prices", Dictionary English-English online. Anchored in a number. This video is all about the anchoring effect. Agency Cost An agency cost is a difference between the goals of principles and agents that creates inefficiencies. Anchor definition is - a device usually of metal attached to a ship or boat by a cable and cast overboard to hold it in a particular place by means of a fluke that digs into the bottom. ECB. Anchor of Economic and Financial Stability. ICIC is recognized as an authority on anchor institutions. In this video, the cognitive scientist Laurie Santos (Yale University) explains the phenomenon of anchoring. Drazen Prelec and Dan Ariely conducted an experiment at MIT in 2006 where they had students bid on items in a bizarre auction. The anchoring effect can also slip in unannounced. The more relevant the anchor seems, the more people tend to cling to it. Anchoring Heuristic. Anchoring can be very subtle and the really good sales rep can drop an anchor very subtly. 'Anchoring and Adjusting' might instead be called 'comparing then guessing'. Or is it drawn from a hat? That first piece of information is the anchor and sets the tone for everything that follows. Anchoring Much research has been done on pricing decisions.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.924005925655365, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.masterresource.org/deep-decarbonization/electrification-higher-prices/", "token_count": 1151, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.150390625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:0d720f19-2f16-4f2b-a655-639bde2a3ca2>" }	“Electrification calls for a massive societal transformation from gasoline to electric vehicles, from traditional power plants to wind and solar generators, and from gas heating to electric and heat pump systems. There is no evidence that this transition will have any measurable effect on global temperatures. But electrification will produce substantially higher energy prices.” “Electrification” is the new buzz word touted by climate fighters and environmental groups. Where electrification once meant providing electricity to people, today it often means elimination of traditional fuels. But the only tangible result of green electrification policies will be higher energy prices. Proponents of electrification intend to force transportation and heating and cooling systems to run on electricity, and eliminate the use of hydrocarbon fuels. Electric cars, electric furnaces and water heaters, and heat pumps must replace gasoline-powered vehicles and gas-fueled appliances. In addition, wind or solar systems must supply the electricity, not power plants using coal or natural gas, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. California’s 2017 Climate Change Scoping Plan calls for a 40-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and an 80-percent reduction by 2050. Goals call for 4.2 million plug-in electric and plug-in hybrid cars on California roads by 2030, up from about 300,000 today. The plan also calls for electrification of space and water heating. Utility Southern California Edison (SCE) recommends an even more aggressive plan. The SCE “Clean Power and Electrification Pathway” plan calls for 7 million electric cars on California roads by 2030 and for one-third of state residents to replace their gas-fired furnaces and appliances by 2030. Nine other states promote adoption of electric cars as part of a broad electrification program. New England states are exploring “strategic electrification” in order to meet tough emissions reduction goals. In most of these efforts, cost to consumers is rarely discussed. Electrification has become a global quest. Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom propose to ban sales of internal combustion engine cars by 2040. The Dutch government proposes to eliminate gas as a source of heating and cooking from all homes by 2050. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht announced intentions to become “gas-less neighborhoods.” Electrification will be expensive. Most Americans don’t want electric cars. Large subsidies from taxpayers and mandates on auto companies and consumers will be required to force adoption. Furnaces and appliances powered by heat pumps, solar, and electricity are almost always more expensive than using natural gas or propane models. A 2017 study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority found that only four percent of the state’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning load could cost-effectively switch to heat pumps. The study recommended mandates to place an obligation on businesses and consumers to “source a certain portion of their heating and cooling load from renewable sources.” According to proponents of electrification, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions the sourced electricity must come from renewables. Therefore, all electrification programs promote wind and solar generation systems, backed up by battery storage. Today, the US is blessed with very low electricity costs. In 2016, the average wholesale electrical price, which is the price paid to generating facilities, ranged from only 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour in the Pacific Northwest to 3.6 cents per kW-hr in New England. Coal, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric, our traditional sources of power,delivered more than 90 percent of this low-cost electricity. Only 6.4 percent of our 2016 electricity came from wind and solar. Actual costs of wind and solar systems tend to be hidden from the public, but when disclosed, can be hideously expensive. The California Solar Ranch, which began operation in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles in 2014, delivers electricity at over 15─18 cents per kW-hr, more than four times the market price. The 2013 Massachusetts solar build-out was the result of a 25 cents per kW-hr subsidy paid to commercial solar generators, boosting the total solar price to almost 30 cents per kW-hr. But the Deepwater Wind Block Island project of Rhode Island takes first prize for outrageous renewable electricity cost. The five-turbine offshore system went into operation in 2016 at a contracted price of 23.6 cents per kW-hr, with an annual increase of 3.5 cents, placing the future price at over 40 cents per kW-hr. Who wants to pay ten times the market price for any product? According to the Energy Information Administration, on average US electricity prices increased less than five percent during the eight years from 2008 to 2016. But over the same period, prices in nine of the twelve top wind states climbed between 13 and 37 percent, significantly higher than the national average increase. Commercial wind and solar systems are typically built far from cities, requiring new transmission lines, with costs passed on to electric rate payers. If electrification is adopted across our nation, look for escalating electricity prices. Electrification calls for a massive societal transformation from gasoline to electric vehicles, from traditional power plants to wind and solar generators, and from gas heating to electric and heat pump systems. There is no evidence that this transition will have any measurable effect on global temperatures. But electrification will produce substantially higher energy prices. Steve Goreham is an active speaker and writer on environment, business, and public policy. He is author, most recently, of the critically acclaimed primer, Outside the Green Box: Rethinking Sustainable Development.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9786604046821594, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.numismaticnews.net/archive/gold-double-eagle-too-large-to-be-practical", "token_count": 636, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.006591796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:1e63d105-430a-4c6e-baf5-460bf118639b>" }	Why didn’t the U.S. Mint strike any $20 gold coins until 1849? There simply was no need for that large a coin in an era when a day’s wages were counted in cents rather than dollars. A $20 coin would have been equal to several month’s wages for most people, so there was no point in making them. Even when the economy reached the point where the coin had some practical purpose, that purpose was merely to provide banks with an easy to handle bulk coin that could be stored to serve as a reserve to back the business. Even in the heyday of the $20 gold piece there were few people who could afford, or needed, to carry even one or two of the coins in their pocket. Why was the 1845-0 quarter eagle first described as “Unlisted in the Mint Director’s Report,” and then given a mintage figure of 4,000? The coin was not listed originally in the director’s report because it was struck in January of 1846 and included with the coins of that year. A search of the Mint archives discovered a delivery by the coiner of 4,000 pieces on Jan. 22, 1846, which happened to be two days before the 1846 dies arrived from Philadelphia. The coin was apparently unknown until B. Max Mehl gave it some publicity after worn specimens turned up in the 1950s. How many of the three-coin sets of 1979 and 1980 “P,” “D” and “S” Anthony dollars were made by the Mint? This is a recurring question and one that I have referred several times to the Mint without being able to get an answer. If there are only “four known” proof 1804 $10 gold pieces, why isn’t it more valuable than the “15 known” 1804 silver dollar? There are many similar puzzles throughout numismatics, and the simple answer in many cases is publicity. The 1804 dollar has been in the spotlight for so long that reaching for the checkbook is a reflex action when one is mentioned. The rarity of the proof $10 gold of 1804 just hasn’t had enough publicity to catch the public fancy. Why didn’t early U.S. collectors pay any attention to mintmarks? In the beginning, there weren’t any mintmarks. Collectors then were slow to recognize a distinction when they were added. Mintage figures often were unavailable and the Philadelphia Mint dominated the interest of collectors. The other mints, while of local interest, rarely influenced collecting in any way. Address questions to Coin Clinic, Numismatic News, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Because of space limitations, we are unable to publish all questions. Include a loose 42-cent stamp for reply. Write first for specific mailing instructions before submitting numismatic material. We cannot accept unsolicited items. E-mail inquiries should be sent to [email protected].
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9706475138664246, "language": "en", "url": "https://basicincome.org/news/2021/01/europeans-get-it-basic-income-strengthens-resilience/", "token_count": 1151, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.421875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:252507cd-d2c6-4cdb-b869-0d1e575be909>" }	Advocates for basic income have long argued that it is much more than just a poverty relief measure. It is a matter of common justice that would enhance freedom and provide basic security for all. A new survey across six major European countries shows that people understand its potential to improve their lives. Not only do large majorities in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain favour basic income pilots and basic income as a permanent policy. The survey also reveals the advantages people believe a basic income would bring for themselves. The poll, conducted independently by YouGov, found that two-thirds or more of respondents in the six countries were in favour of pilots and a national basic income system. Excluding the few ‘don’t knows’, support ranged from 65% in France to 87% in Portugal. Women were generally more supportive, particularly in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Even before the pandemic, European citizens were suffering from insecurity, stress and precarity, linked to rising inequalities. The pandemic has made things worse. In an era of shocks, policies to strengthen individual and societal resilience are vital. Instead, governments have resorted to measures aimed chiefly at propping up businesses, including furlough schemes, that have worsened inequalities and eroded resilience. Resilience means being able to handle and recover from shocks. It is about feeling in control, able to handle setbacks because we can envisage a better future. But it cannot be provided by today’s labour market, increasingly characterised by flexible labour relations, insecure jobs and fluctuating wages, or by existing welfare systems, or by better public services alone, even though those are needed. The survey provides cogent support for arguments in favour of basic income. High proportions of respondents said a basic income would reduce anxiety – over half in Poland and Portugal, and more than 40% overall, especially among women and youth. It is now well established that chronic anxiety increases the risk of mental and physical illness. A basic income offers the prospect of reducing ill-health and demands on health services. It might almost pay for itself. Respondents also believed a basic income would open up opportunities for a better way of living and working. A high proportion of youths and women said it would give them more financial independence – 50% of young Italians and 41% of young Germans, for instance. This would reduce their sense of precarity, the feeling of being a supplicant reliant on others for discretionary help. One horror of the pandemic has been the surge in domestic violence. Experiments have shown that, once women have basic income security, domestic tensions decline and women are more likely to walk away from abusive relationships. Many youths said a basic income would enable them to pursue further education or training, including 49% in Portugal, 53% in Spain and 27% in Germany. This reflects the current inability of the precariat to develop their capabilities in the way they choose, because they must take whatever job they can get and put in as many hours of labour as possible. Basic security is conducive to the development of skills and a more educated society. A basic income would also improve the quality of living. Young people, in particular, said it would enable them to take part in leisure activities that they cannot afford to do now – about a third in Portugal and Spain, for example. And a basic income would foster work beyond ‘jobs’. Men as well as women, among all age groups, said a basic income would enable them to devote more time to their family. This was the case for one in five in Germany and more than a quarter of both men and women in Poland. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the extent to which society suffers from a ‘care deficit’. And pilots have shown that a basic income encourages men to do more care work, helping to weaken the gender dualism that feminists rightly condemn. Basic income would also foster a more entrepreneurial attitude. A significant proportion of respondents said it would encourage them to launch a small-scale business – 8% in Italy, 10% in France, 13% in Germany and 19% in Portugal. Entrepreneurial enthusiasm was even greater among youths – 14% in Italy, for instance. Many youths also said a basic income would enable them to devote more time to volunteering or social activism, including over a quarter of youths in Germany and 13% in France. Society surely wants more socially engaged and active youth. One lesson surely learned during the pandemic is that most of us are vulnerable, not just to illness but also to shocks to our finances, relationships and lifestyles. In what was a cross-section of people in six relatively rich countries, only small minorities said a basic income would make little difference to their lives – 11% in Italy and 6% in Portugal, for example. Long-term basic security is still something most of us value. We should implore European policymakers to launch basic income pilots in communities around Europe. Ideally, some courageous governments would move in the direction of a national system. But failing that, surely it is time for pilots to explore the transformative potential of basic income. According to this survey, over 70% of Europeans want them. Guy Standing is Professorial Research Associate, SOAS University of London, and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network. Editor: You can support basic income in Europe by adding your name to the European Citizen’s Initiative for Unconditional Basic Income and WeMove/UBIE’s petitions for pilots of basic income and for the EU to enable member states to implement an Emergency Basic Income during the crisis.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9268054366111755, "language": "en", "url": "https://blog.forumias.com/agriculture-news/reforms-news/", "token_count": 10446, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0478515625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:abe24192-69f4-4a9b-8dbe-bf3a4590252e>" }	Agriculture allied activities Allied activities are the important components of the agriculture sector and have a high revenue earning potential which is still not fully utilized in India. In this section, we will provide you with updates on the allied activities of the agriculture sector. Allied activities News/updates Need of State Support for Agricultural development Synopsis: The current situation of the agricultural sector demands state support to tackle future challenges. This will ensure sustainable benefits for both – farmers and consumers. - Countries across the globe are focusing on the gradual reduction of state’s role in almost every sector (including agriculture). Their objective is to bring greater economic development. - In India, the government’s focus is more on developing the industrial and service sector since the 2nd five-year plan of 1956. Its aim is to move excess people from agriculture into other sectors and attain better growth. - However, some experts still believe that state support is necessary for agricultural development. Factors inducing the state support: - Poor State of Resources: The fertility of agricultural land is declining coupled with scarce water availability. - Resistance to other occupation: People in agriculture don’t shut down their farming in case of rising costs. Rather they employ family labour in farm and non-farm activities. This allows them to stick to farming despite lower returns and excessive work. - Difficult to streamline the production: The production process can’t be strengthened by building an assembly line. It is connected to the annual climatic cycle which is volatile and makes farming difficult. - Size of Farmers: Around 86% of farmers are small and medium. They can’t access good storage, transportation and marketing facilities. This leads to distress sales in agriculture. - Price Inelastic nature: It means demand for Agri products will not witness a major change with a change in the price of Agri products. - For instance, a bumper crop reduces the price of Agri product as supply gets increased. This is not followed by a corresponding increase in demand that can push the price upwards. Hence, less income is generated by farmers. - Tackling Emergencies: State support is desirable to provide quality food grains at affordable price in case of emergencies like drought, pandemic etc. - Accommodating the Demographic profile: Despite the push towards urbanization, the UN estimates that around 800 million people will reside in rural areas in 2050. It requires proactive action by the state. Past Performance with State support: The state initiated the green revolution in the 1960s. It established the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Agricultural Prices Commission in 1965. - Surplus production allowed India to attain food security. - Farmers were incentivised to grow as they enjoy a safety cushion based on FCI’s procurement guarantee. - Quality grains at low prices through the PDS enhanced consumer welfare. - Post green revolution, a decline in quantity as well quality of water is witnessed. - The yield from chemical-based farming is also declining. - The sector is mainly growing rice and wheat due to MSP (minimum assured price) availability. This is hampering crop diversification and encouraging more water usage as they are water-intensive crops. - Agriculture became unviable in some regions. It led to over 3 lakh farmer suicides in the last 3 decades. This is an unprecedented event for the country. - Firstly, the government should diversify the procurement basket. It should include more crops (like pulses, millets etc.) and more regions. - It can procure 25% of the actual production of the commodity for that particular season. This was proposed under the 2018 Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) scheme. - Secondly, further the procurement process should respect the regional agroecology. Eg – don’t procure water-intensive crops from water-stressed regions. - Thirdly, the locally procured crops must be linked to Anganwadi and mid-meal centres. This will give a good market to farmers and improve nutrition of children. - Fourthly, the government should do greater investment in specific infrastructure for pulses, millets, etc. crops that are low-priced and provide better nutrition. - Fifthly, the network of Mandis should be expanded. This will protect farmers from exploitation of large retailers. - Currently, there are 2,477 mandis and 4,843 sub-mandis and only 17% of farm produce pass through them. However, the need is to create a network of 42000 mandis that will enable the selling of goods within a 5 km radius. Source: The Hindu Government should initiate steps to make Agriculture remunerative Synopsis: Government should avoid handing over India’s agriculture to agribusiness companies. Instead, it should take steps to make agriculture remunerative. Development of Agriculture during the green revolution period - During the mid-1960s, the green revolution resulted in increased productivity in India and, especially, Punjab. - Further, the growth in agriculture was aided by public investment in irrigation and market infrastructure. Also, the guaranteed minimum support price incentivized the cultivation of wheat and rice. - Consequently, the area under paddy cultivation in Punjab jumped from 4.8 percent of the total cropped area in 1960-61 to 39.19 percent in 2018-19. Similarly, the wheat area shares too increased from 27 percent to 45 percent. What are the reasons for India’s deep agrarian crisis? - First, the adverse consequence of the Green revolution. - Monocropping: Though the production of wheat and rice increased, the cultivation of other crops started to decline. For example, Punjab had a total of 21 crops in 1960-61, which fell to nine in 1991. - Long-term economic and ecological effects: Wheat-rice cropping monoculture led to the depletion of groundwater levels. Excessive use of chemical pesticides reduced land productivity. For example, currently, the growth rate of yield has reduced to 2 percent per year due to water scarcity. - Second, the absence of land reforms has increased inequalities among farmer communities. For example, According to the 10th agriculture census of 2015-16, - Small and marginal farmers (< 2 hectares of land): account for 86.2 percent of all farmers in India. But own just 47.3 percent of the crop area. - Whereas, semi-medium and medium land holding farmers (2-10 hectares of land) : account for 13.2 percent of all farmers, but own 43.6 percent of the crop area. - Third, the widening rural-urban divide also contributed to the rural distress. - For example, according to the NSO household consumer expenditure survey for 2017-2018, Consumer expenditure by rural residents in 2017-18 decreased by 8.8 percent compared to 2012 statistics. Whereas, urban consumer expenditure for the same period increased by 2 percent. Will the new farm laws address these problems? The three contentious farm bills seek to deregulate and dismantle the APMC network. However, dismantling APMCs will not address the above-said issues. The Bihar experiment of scrapping APMC markets in 2006 can illustrate it better, - The scrapping of APMC markets in Bihar (2006) did not improve its agricultural performance. According to the study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), - Even after the scrapping of APMC markets, farm growth in the state averaged 2.04 percent, lower than the all-India average of 3.12 percent. - Also, the scrapping of APMC markets has not led to any private investment in new marketplaces according to the study by the National Institute of Agriculture Marketing (CCSNIAM). What needs to be done? - First, since market accessibility is a major issue, the state should help smallholder farmers to have access to the market. - The role of the private sector will be limited as evident from the Bihar example. Hence, Public investment in infrastructure and MSPs needs to increase. - Worryingly, the Public sector investment in agriculture is inadequate. As per the RBI, India has spent only 0.4 percent of the GDP between 2011-12 and 2017-18. - Second, shifting towards agroecological farming that includes crop diversification, will ensure sustainability for Indian agriculture. - Agroecology emphasizes using locally available resources thereby minimizing external and artificial inputs. - Recently, in 2018, the Andhra Pradesh government announced to bring all 80 lakh hectares of its cultivable land under agroecological farming by 2024. - A study by Azim Premji University has shown that following sustainable agroecological principles has resulted in increased yields. For example, 79 percent increase in brinjal. Source: Indian Express Why India Needs a Strong Regulatory Framework for Agriculture? Synopsis: There is a need for developing a strong regulatory framework to promote India’s agricultural growth. The farmers in the country face various constraints such as accessing agricultural inputs, markets, finance, human resources, and information. All these factors are critical for increasing farmers’ competitiveness. The existing institutional structure controlling farm production fails to handle these issues. Thus, there is a need to develop a suitable regulatory system. How did India perform in the World Bank publication, “enabling the business of agriculture”? The World Bank recently published a report ‘Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019’. It measures the extent to which government regulatory systems make it easier for their farmers to operate agricultural activities. It covers 101 countries worldwide. - The 8 indicators of evaluation are supplying seed, registering fertilizer, securing water, registering machinery, sustaining livestock, protecting plant health, trading food, and accessing finance. - India ranked 49 out of 101 on the EBA aggregate score. Out of 20 emerging countries, India has the second least favourable regulatory environment for farming activities. - India has the weakest performance on five out of eight indicators compared to China, Brazil, and Russia. Indicators are; registering fertilizer and machinery, securing water, sustaining livestock, and protecting plant health indicators. - The comparative score of India on supplying seed, trading food, and accessing finance indicators is high. Why India needs a strong regulatory framework for agriculture? Governments need to develop a regulatory framework that enables farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, reduces the cost of production, improves farmers’ participation in agricultural markets and value chains. It is important due to the following reasons: - Firstly, The regulatory system that runs irrigation management is important for reducing the inconsistency of farm output, prices, and incomes, reducing vulnerability to natural shocks, and incentivizing the production of riskier and high returns crops. - Secondly, India requires a sound regulatory framework on SPS. For instance, with the active involvement of the SPS authority called as National Agrarian Health Service (SENASAPeru), Peru had become one of the world’s leading exporters of asparagus. - Thirdly, a healthy seed supply system is required for improving yield and adopting new crop varieties. - Fourthly, a warehouse receipts system helps the farmers to obtain the credit needed to invest in agriculture. Warehouse receipt operators accept deposits of crops and provide warehouse receipts to farmers as evidence of deposited crops. By using warehouse receipts as security, farmers can receive credit. - Lastly, Insufficient access to quality agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, water, and mechanical power can cause: - Productivity loss. - Higher cost of food production and uncertainty. - Lower capacity of farmers to produce surpluses. The future of world agriculture and food production is expected to increasingly depend on middle-income countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia. India needs to put in place an agricultural regulatory system that would make it easier for its farmers to conduct agricultural activities. Thereby improving their productivity, competitiveness, and income. Source: click here Lessons from Operation Flood for Operation Green Synopsis: A closer inspection of the Operation Green scheme shows that the scheme is nowhere near achieving its objectives. The Finance Minister during budget presentations announced the expansion of Operation Green (OG). It will be expanded beyond tomatoes, onions, and potatoes to 22 perishable commodities. - Operation Green was launched in 2018 with three basic objectives: - Firstly, it should control the wide price instability in the three largest vegetables of India (Tomatoes, Onions, and Potatoes). - Secondly, it should build efficient value chains so that a larger share of the consumers’ money is received by the farmers. - Thirdly, it should reduce the post-harvest losses by building modern warehouses and cold storage. How is the operation green performing currently? The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has invited some program management agencies to see the implementation of OG. - Rs 500 crore budget was outlined initially. However, only Rs. 8.45 crore has been actually released. - A closer examination of the scheme reveals that OG is progressing in slow motion and is nowhere near achieving its objectives. - Research at ICRIER tells that price instability remains high. Farmers’ share in consumers’ money is very low with 26.6 percent for potatoes, 29.1 percent for onions, and 32.4 percent for tomatoes. - In cooperatives like AMUL, farmers get almost 75-80 percent of consumers’ money. What can operation green learn from the operation flood? Operation Flood (OF) changed India’s milk sector and made India the world’s largest milk producer. There are some important lessons OG can learn from OF: - Firstly, OG will not get any immediate results and one has to be patient. There should be a separate board to strategize and implement the OG scheme, like the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for milk. - Secondly, a respectable leader with commitment and competence is required to head this new board of OG. The person should be given at least a five-year term, sufficient resources, and should be made accountable for delivering results. - The MoFPI can have its evaluation every six months. - Thirdly, at present, the criterion for the selection of TOP commodity clusters is not transparent. This process should be transparent to keep the politics away. - Fourthly, the subsidy scheme will have to be made innovative with new generation entrepreneurs, startups, and FPOs. - For instance, the announcement to create an additional 10,000 FPOs along with the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and the new farm laws are all promising but need to be implemented fast. “First Trade Minimum Price” (FTMP): A model to increase farmer’s income Synopsis: Industrial revolution 4.0, will reduce employment opportunity. The “First Trade Minimum Price” model can be used for increasing farmer’s income. How Industrial Revolutions are changing employment dynamics? - The subsequent three Industrial revolutions reduced the dominance of the agriculture sector. They made the service and manufacturing sector dominant. - This helped the agrarian workforce to shift to secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. - The advent of the Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 will make this situation more complex. - The use of new technologies in IR 4.0 will lead to job losses in the service and manufacturing sectors. New techs include Artificial Intelligence, robotics, cognitive analytics, 3D printing, genomics. - Thus, the industries employing a huge population from the agriculture sectors will have a reduced capacity for employment. Present status of Agriculture sector - However, according to the FAO, about 60 percent of the global population, directly or indirectly, is still dependent on agriculture. - Yet, its contribution to the world GDP is just about 4 percent. Whereas, the contribution of secondary and tertiary sectors to the economy is 90%. - In India, the contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP is 12-15 percent. Though it is higher than the world average, it is still much less, compared to the contribution from other sectors of the economy. - Centre and state governments are continuously trying to improve the economic status of farmers. Yet, their efforts are unable to deliver a sustainable increase in their per capita income. Thus, there is an urgent need to think about the way to avoid the possible employment crisis of the future. It involves increasing the productivity of the agriculture sector and farmer’s income. What is the solution to improve the farmer’s income? The author suggests a new economic model for fixing farm prices. If this model is employed it will address the issue of the agrarian economy, and will also retain the population in the agriculture sector. Also, it will make agriculture more prosperous by bringing rural average household income closer to those engaged in manufacturing and services sectors. - The author proposes for “First Trade Minimum Price” (FTMP). According to this model, the local farming community will fix the prices of all the agricultural primary goods on a day-to-day basis or periodically. - Also, this will make it mandatory for the first trader to procure the commodity at a price, not below the price fixed by the above criterion. - He also suggests the use of robust digital technologies for the exercise of fixing prices. - This proposal is based on the present market-based pricing of services and products. Here, the prices of products or services are determined and decided by the manufacturers or providers. - Similarly, the farming community also can decide the prices of their products. It will increase their per capita income. This will also help to retain the agriculture workforce in the farm sector thereby decreasing the unemployment rate. Arka Vyapar App to connect farmers with market What is the News? Indian Institute of Horticultural Research(IIHR) has launched an app called Arka Vyapar App. About Arka Vyapar App: - The app aims to connect farmers with traders. It will help farmers get the best available prices for their products. - How the app would work? The app would have details of farmers and traders who have enrolled with the IIHR. At the same time, the app would also provide prices for different products in different markets of India. - Example: If a farmer has grown papaya in Karnataka, he can know the trends related to prices for papaya in different markets through the app. He can accordingly decide upon the market which is offering the best price. He can then contact the traders there for further transactions. Source: The Hindu Agricultural Exports- India’s potential, initiatives, challenges and solutions What is the News? US Department of Agriculture(USDA) has forecasted 1.8 million tonnes of wheat and 14.4 million tonnes of rice to be imported from India. This will be the highest ever wheat export from India to the US in the last six years. Despite the Indian government’s various steps to improve agricultural exports, there are few challenges associated with the exports. Status of India’s agricultural exports: The 2019-20 Economic survey mentions a few important figures of India’s agricultural exports. Indian agricultural/horticultural and processed foods are exported to more than 100 countries/regions in the world. India is one of the 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world. India’s major export destination for agricultural products are the USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nepal, and Bangladesh. India’s major agricultural export basket includes rice (both Basmati and non-basmati), spices, cotton, and wheat apart from this India also exports marine products and buffalo meat. As per APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), India exported pulses worth US$ 163.90 million and dairy products worth US$ 89.50 million from April–September 2020. Initiatives to encourage Agricultural exports in India: Firstly, India encourages agricultural exports by creating a dedicated body named the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA). The government created APEDA under the APEDA Act 1985. - Under the Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA, the government is providing assistance to the exporters of agricultural products. Secondly, The Government has introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy in 2018. The policy aims to double farmers’ income by 2022 by doubling agricultural exports from the country. The policy also aims to integrate Indian farmers and agricultural products into the global value chain. Thirdly, The Government has also brought out a Central Sector Scheme – ‘Transport and Marketing Assistance for Specified Agriculture Products’. The scheme aims for assisting the international component of freight handling and marketing of agricultural products. Fourthly, As per the present FDI Policy, 100% FDI is allowed in the following activities of agriculture through the automatic route. However, the total agricultural export basket accounts for only a little over 2.15 percent of the world agricultural trade. This is because of various challenges associated with the exporting of agricultural commodities. What are the challenges associated with Agricultural exports? Firstly, The yield levels of the majority of crops in India remains much lower than the world average. This is compounded by fragmented landholdings. The average farm size in India is only 1.15 hectares. - Majority of the Indian farmers belongs to small and marginal category. The agricultural products produced were used majorly for own consumption. Secondly, In India, no study has been conducted to assess the long term impact of exports on the agricultural and horticultural sector by the Department of Commerce. Thirdly, exporters of agro-commodities are not successful in due to uncertainty in the foreign trading regime Fourthly, The government’s pro-consumer bias in India’s farm policy is unfair. Indian government putting export restrictions on imported food items to prevent inflationary pressures in the domestic economy. This hurts Agricultural exports. - The policy deprives farmers of higher prices in the international market and also adds an element of income uncertainty. - For example, If the government is going to impose export restrictions when international prices are at a peak. Farmers would lose part of the incentive to cultivate exportable crops. Lastly, there is an International demand & supply situation, international prices and quality concerns also restrict India’s agricultural exports. How to improve agricultural exports? Firstly, the Government can provide Infrastructure status to agricultural value chains, such as warehousing, pack-houses, ripening chambers, and cold storage, etc. Secondly, As per NITI Aayog recommendation, the Government can create village level procurement centres. This will benefit small and marginal farmers to improve agricultural exports. Thirdly, Government can Re-invigorating agricultural research and education, this will increase lab to land connectivity. Fourthly, APEDA has suggested augmenting cargo handling facilities at airports, ports, etc. This will reduce the waiting time. Along with this government can create a Green channel clearance for perishable agro products in toll, air, and freight cargo stations. Fifthly, the Government can establish regional production belts. This can be achieved by linking the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture and Self Help Groups. India occupies a leading position in the global trade of agricultural products. But the share can be improved to a greater level if certain bottlenecks are resolved. The key to doubling farmer’s income is not only focusing on internal agricultural productivity but also encouraging India’s global share in the agriculture export basket. Issue of single law for different regions of agriculture Synopsis: Present agriculture reforms have not considered the ground level issues faced on the regional level and vertical level. Introduction New farmers laws Recently, the current government has opened up the output market with the purpose to let market forces improve effectiveness and create more value for farmers and the economy. - New farm laws state that farmers are now free to sell all their products anywhere and to anyone beyond the APMC markets. - The laws also promote contract farming by creating partnerships between farmers and food-processing companies and license unlimited notice of food except in special conditions. However, reforms cannot be forceful and should be implemented as per the requirement of farmers. What do the farmers want? The farmers gave 3 main suggestions in the enquiries held with them: - Firstly, the selling price of their produce should include the cost of production and reasonable profit margin. - Secondly, rise and fall in prices should be nominal. - Thirdly, Farmers are not comfortable in dealing with legal or administrative officials, so there should be little or no interface between them. What are the issues with new laws? There will be no control over the new markets by anyone which creates a lot of uncertainty. - First, concerns related to Mandi-market system: - Farmers could go to local leaders in case of malpractices in Mandis but there is no authority to report to in the new system. - There is no certainty over the continuation of the mandi-MSP system as if the alternative traders offer better prices, farmers will go there and not to the mandis. - Second, Issues related to contract farming: - There is an advantage to the corporate-buyers as they can choose to not buy the full quantity and delay payments. The corporates have access to several lawyers, so the poor farmers can’t complain or compete against them. - This is a contract between unequal and will result in unequal outcomes. Farmers do not have the resources or are not educated enough to deal with traders or corporates. - Third, Issues related to similar solution for different problem - The conditions of different regions are not similar as country is diverse with some 15 agroclimatic zones and has over 50 crops grown. - It is also the reason behind farmers from outside the wheat-rice belts in northern India are not protesting. - Thus, a comprehensive law for all the regions with different cropping patterns and climatic conditions might create troubles for farmers later. What are the steps should be taken? - The problem of lack of progress and high input prices in agriculture can be resolved through an efficient approach suggested in the M.S. Swaminathan Commission and/or the Ashok Dalwai Committee. - For example, a solution should be worked out for farmers to switch from water-soaking paddy crops to other crops in Punjab and Haryana in the next five years. - They would reduce the area under paddy by 25-30%, and the loss they suffer in the short run, will be compensated for by the government. This could also be done for sugarcane in western Maharashtra. Guaranteed MSP will claim half the Budget Context: Procurement of 23 crops at MSP which will amount to ₹17-lakh cr and to support this annual allocation, rich farmers should pay tax. What is the farmers ’demand? - The protesters have rejected the offer of amendments to farm laws and are firm on their demand for repeal of the three laws. - Farmers want MSP guarantee. Is it feasible to accept demand of MSP guarantee? - Not economical: India has about 14 crore farmers (as per PM-KISAN enumeration). Cost of procuring all 23 crops is 50 per cent of India’s annual expenditure - Unsustainable burden: The cost of MSP and subsidised food supplies are being met by heavy borrowings from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). - Rising subsidies: In 2019-20, 11 per cent of the country’s total budget was spent on farmer welfare schemes. Subsidies on food and fertiliser and expenses on irrigation schemes in 2019-20 noticed a 65 per cent jump from 2017-18. - Direct benefit: introduction of the PM-KISAN scheme resulted in leap in food subsidy. - Rise in procurement: Procurement of food crops including paddy, wheat, pulses and oilseeds under MSP has seen a dramatic increase. For example, compared to 1,395 lakh tonnes of wheat procured between 2009 and 2014, 1,627 lakh tonne of wheat have been procured in the last five years. What are the other issues? - Disparities: MSP’s poor implementation has created problems of equity with large farmers of just two States Punjab and Haryana. - Faulty policy: As per CACP, more than 95 per cent paddy farmers in Punjab and about 70 per cent farmers in Haryana are covered under MSP operations. States such as Uttar Pradesh (3.6 per cent), West Bengal (7.3 per cent), Odisha (20.6 per cent) and Bihar (1.7 per cent), have only a minuscule number of farmers benefit from procurement. Why blanket exemption on taxing agriculture income is bad policy? - Agriculture income including that from sale of farmland is exempt under Section 10 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 without any limit. - Rich farmers and politically influential people use the provision to convert black money into white. - Rich farmers include many corporates who run seed companies and whose profits run into crores. - In 2019, a Comptroller and Auditor General report red-flagged the irregularities in exemptions given by the taxman on agriculture income. - It said that claims of tax exemption on farm income were given based on “inadequate verification or incomplete documentation” in more than a fifth of the 6,778 cases. - Exemption was granted in hundreds of cases where land records or proof of farm income was not available. - According to an article published in the Economic and Political Weekly by Govind Bhattacharjee, a retired Director General from CAG, assesses who had reported agricultural of more than ₹5 lakh each between 2014-15 and 2016-17 were 22,195. The blanket exemption on agriculture income should be stopped and it should continue for roughly 86 per cent of the peasants of the country. The 14 per cent rich farmers should come forward to help the rest get MSP support. Why green revolution states should shift from MSP crops to high value crops and Non-farm activities? Source – Click Here Context: Green Revolution states are required to shift their focus from MSP crops to high-value crops and Non-farm activities due to the consequences Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh were early adopters and major beneficiaries of Green Revolution technology and enabled India in becoming a nation close to self-sufficiency in food in just 15 years. How green revolution states benefitted from the MSP system? Due to the following factors, the share of rice and wheat in the total cropped area rose from 48% in Punjab and 29% in Haryana in the early 1970s to 84% and 60%, respectively in recent years; - Firstly, farmers were insulated against any price and market risk due to the Government procurement of marketed surplus of paddy (rice) and wheat at MSP. - Secondly, the best resources were allocated for technological advancement for rice and wheat crops by public sector agriculture research and development for technological advantage. - Third, free power, and fertilizer subsidy together with MSP resulted in higher income per unit area from wheat and paddy cultivation. The above factors made the cultivation of Paddy and Wheat beneficial in terms of productivity, income, price, Land-labour ratio, and yield risk, and ease of cultivation among all the field crops (cereals, pulses, oilseeds). Then, why green revolution states must shift to Non-farm activities? Since the Mid-1980s, many reports and policy documents started suggesting the following serious consequences of the continuation of the rice-wheat crop system in general and paddy cultivation in particular; - On the demand side, Per capita intake of rice and wheat is declining in India and consumers’ preference is shifting towards other foods. For ex; average spending by urban consumers is more on beverages and spices than on all cereals. - On the supply side, rice production is rising at the rate of 14% per year in Madhya Pradesh, 10% in Jharkhand, and 7% in Bihar. - On the government procurement side, Rice and wheat procurement in the country has more than doubled after 2006-07 and buffer stocks have expanded to an all-time high, with fewer options available to dispose of such large stocks. It is putting a heavy burden on the government exchequer. - On the farmer’s side, More than 50 Years of the MSP system has affected the entrepreneurial skills of farmers required to sell the produce in a demand-supply based market system. - On the resources side, paddy cultivation and availability of free power for pumping out groundwater for irrigation, has resulted in the drastic decline of the water table in 84% of observation wells in Punjab and 75% in Haryana. At this pace, both these states might run out of groundwater in a few years. Stubble burning is also a consequence of this system. - At present, most of the farm work in green revolution states is being undertaken by migrant labor as the younger generation is not willing to do manual work and looking for better paying salaried jobs in non-farm occupations. All the above-listed factors do not favour an increase in MSP, which is demanded every year by farmers. How to shift to non-farm activities? The government in these states must facilitate the private investment in a large number of area-specific enterprises tailored to State specificities by - Promotion of food processing in formal and informal sectors; - A big push to post-harvest value addition and modern value chains; - A network of agro- and agri-input industries; - Setting up high-tech agriculture; - A direct link of production and producers to consumers without involving intermediaries. Besides agriculture-based industries, State needs large-scale private investments in modern industry, services, and commerce. Thus, the demand of time is that these traditional Green Revolution States of Punjab and Haryana should focus on innovative development strategy in agriculture and non-agriculture to develop a better future for the farmers and aspiring youth of the state. Green revolution 2.0 and new farm laws Context: The next Green Revolution 2.0 will come through in-depth research, better investment opportunities and access to the market. What led to the green revolution? - Scarcity of grain: After the China war, when India was standing at the cusp of economic destruction, Pakistan attacked India. There was an acute scarcity of food grains in the country. - Change in farm sector: Scientist Norman Borlaug brought a revolutionary change in the farm sector in Mexico with his semi-dwarf varieties of rice and wheat. Borlaug analysed the farm sector in Punjab and concluded that production can be doubled. - Beginning of green revolution: Subramaniam promised the farmers that if they implement the new farming techniques, the central government will compensate them. This scheme was initially implemented in around 150 farm holdings with the assistance of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. - The Green Revolution worked on three fronts: better seeds, irrigation and optimum use of fertilisers. The new laws have set the tone for second green revolution. Discuss. - For the rich farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh: Things are different; but for crores of small landholders in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, etc., it is now possible to feed their families. - Landholdings in many states have shrunk: In eastern UP, the cultivators are largely marginal farmers now. - Farmers with less than an acre of arable land are identified as marginal farmers. - Small farmers are those with landholdings between 1 acre and 2.5 acres. - It is difficult for a farming family to sustain themselves with just an acre of arable land. The farmer will have to explore other avenues to improve his financial position. - Agrarian transition development: The latest farm policy reforms of the government are also called agrarian transition development and were implemented in Europe and the US early on. Today, around 45 per cent of the country’s workforce is involved in agriculture. - Agriculture after independence: When India attained Independence, the contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP was huge, which today has come down to around 15 per cent. The old model has been a drag on the economy as well as the villages. - Develop models of contract farming: It is an avenue to develop an organised corporate model of agriculture in the country. This will speed up urbanisation in the villages and the development of industries and the service sector there. - These sectors will be able to absorb the excess workforce in the farm sector. - Structure and potential of contract farming: For instance, if a village has a thousand farmers who have an acre of arable land, then, through contract farming, someone can sow crops on the entire 1,000 acres of land. - The land continues to belong to the farmer, while on the other hand, he/she will earn the profit from the sale of produce generated from his/her part of the landholding. This also frees him/her to pursue other employment opportunities. - The next revolution: Green Revolution 2.0 will come through in-depth research, better investment opportunities and access to the market. The three farm laws are a revolutionary step in that direction. Why farm laws are enacted? Context: A minuscule minority of farmers is protesting against the farm laws. They don’t want an end to the system that has benefited them. - The creation of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) came into existence almost 150 years ago to feed the colonial master’s raw cotton for their Manchester mills. - The farmers were forced to sell to the masters in a regulated market whose regulation was set by, the colonial masters. - The corrosive monopoly power held by the APMCs has been recognised by almost all political parties and farmer unions. For example, the Bharat Kisan Union took out a protest in 2008 arguing for the right of farmers to sell produce to corporates. - Till now, Farmers are forced to sell their marketable produce only through a mandi regulated by the government. - However, the new Farm bills allows the farmer to sell through the APMC, and to sell outside the APMC. Why the protest for farm bills is skeptical? - Only Fraction of Farmers rely on APMC: The government procures all of its food through APMCs but only about 6 per cent of the farmers in India sell through the APMCs to the government. - Serves the Interest of few states only: Those 6 per cent are all large farmers, primarily residing in the two states of Punjab and Haryana. These two states typically account for close to 60 per cent of wheat procurement and close to a third of rice procurement. - Leakages in distribution: The government procures from farmers in order to re-distribute the food via ration shops to the bottom two-thirds of the population. But there are leakages. For example, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 stated that only 15 per cent of the food procured by the government reached the poor. Why Farm Bills are needed? - Neither APMC, nor subsidies, has resulted in higher output growth in Punjab-Haryana, the pioneers of the Green Revolution. - Subsidised electricity to farmers has destroyed the water table, the extensive use of fertiliser has destroyed the environment. - None of the Developing and Developed countries prohibit an individual farmer from selling their produce in the market. - It does not serve the Interest of very small and small farmers in India. - Unlike the Industries which are freed from regulation agriculture was not freed or thereafter, until now. Will Farm laws reduce Farmers income? Context: The present farm laws alter the bargaining landscape in favour of the corporate players to the detriment of the farmers. What is current issue with farm laws? - The three recently enacted farm laws assented have led to a showdown between the peasantry and the Union government. - No consultation undertaken by the central government at the time of promulgating the ordinances and then pushing the bills. - Despite repeated demands of the oppositions to refer the farm bills to the standing/select committee for reconsideration and necessary consultation with all stakeholders. - Present dispensation believes that its shock-and-awe methods are to be the main medium of governance. - The Union government has bypassed the federal structure by legislating on subjects that exclusively fall within the domain of the state government under the state list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. What are the salient features of the bill? - Reducing role of MSP: The farm laws open the field to an alternate set of markets/private yards, where the buyer will have no statutory obligation to pay the minimum support price (MSP). - No fee: Markets/private yards will not be charged any market fee/levy. The agricultural sector will see the gradual shifting of trade from the APMC mandis to these private yards. - Reduce APMC role: The shifting of trade to avoid payment of any levy/market fee by private players and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will eventually witness the redundancy of the APMC mandis, leaving the famers at the mercy of the corporate sharks. - Exclude the jurisdiction of the civil court: It will leave the farmers remediless and with no independent medium of dispute redressal mechanism. The farm laws empower the Sub-Divisional Authority (executive) to adjudicate on disputes between the farmers and traders. - Increased bureaucracy: The increased bureaucratic control over the adjudication of disputes between the farmers and corporate players will open the floodgates for corruption and rent-seeking. How the bills are anti-farmers? - There are several pro-corporate and perceived anti-farmer provisions in the farm laws. - The global experience across agricultural markets demonstrates that corporatisation of agriculture without a concomitant security net in the form of an assured payment guarantee to the farmers results in the exploitation of farmers at the hands of big business. - The primary cause for concern is the systematic dismantling of the APMC mandis which have stood the test of time and have provided farmers the remuneration to keep themselves afloat. What needs to be done? - The legality of laws should be expeditiously decided by the Supreme Court to halt the central government’s repeated encroachment on states’ rights. - There is need of robust system to annually re-calculate the MSP keeping in mind the rising input costs of diesel, fertilisers, etc to make farming a viable and lucrative vocation. - A statutory regulator in the field of agriculture akin to regulators in other fields would fill the gap to address information access and market distortions. The three legislative nails in the farmer’s aspirations might lead to a bitter harvest. Government policies – harder to implement Context- The government’s dismissal of the concerns of farmers and workers with bold reforms is not only bad for democracy, it reduces quality of policies and also makes them harder to implement. What is the core problem in agriculture sector in India? Largest source of livelihood – there are too many people employed in agriculture. - The agriculture sector contributes 17 per cent of India’s GDP. As per estimate, about 57 per cent of the working population is engaged in agriculture. - 70 percent of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood. - Increase productivity– India needs to shift from basic farming to more efficient, sustainable, productive farming. - More technology and automation will be required to improve productivity. - Reduce the number of employed– The agriculture sector should employ only 17 per cent of the workforce as to become more productive like other sectors. - India must figure out a way to provide meaningful employment to hundreds of millions of people outside agriculture. What are the issues with new farms and labour laws? - Issues in new Farm reforms- - Agriculture is a state subject and regulation of agri-markets is very much in the domain of the states. Yet states have not been consulted on changes in agriculture laws. - Deregulation– The new farm laws that aim to double farmers’ income in two years by deregulating agricultural markets may further widen the inequalities in the sector, - The deregulation of Bihar’s APMC led to no significant changes. - These changes will affect the small farmers the most because their low output does not allow them any bargaining power. - Issues in new Farm reforms- - Worker’s right of association in unions– In the labour reforms underway, it is the dilution of this fundamental right of collective representation that bodes badly for India’s workers - The rights of the trade union to go on a lightning strike is sought to be curtailed heavily. Therefore, new farm and labour reforms laws are the examples of diminishing democracy in India. What are the set of reforms required to make India’s growth more inclusive? - Policymakers must listen to the institutions that represent small people — associations and unions of farmers, informal workers and small enterprises. - Formation of cooperatives of producers and workers- By aggregating the small into larger-scale enterprises. - Government regulations must encourage the formation of strong cooperatives, and improve the ease of doing business. - Indian agriculture marketing reforms should derive inspiration from Barbara Harriss-White, a scholar of India’s agricultural markets, who once observed, “deregulated imperfect markets may become more, not less, imperfect than regulated imperfect markets. - Policymaker needs acknowledge public fears and reassure people, especially in periods of uncertainty. - The concept of democracy should not be reduced to elections and political parties. Democracy is also a process of listening to all stakeholders. Indian Agriculture Reforms Source- The Indian Express Syllabus- GS 3 – Land reforms in India. Context- Farmers and state governments across India don’t want APMCs. How many farmers are there in India? - Based on the self- declaration- Almost 111 million farmers are registered for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi(PM-Kisan). The eligibility criteria for this scheme are- - Registration requires the family to hold cultivable land, duly registered. - If a family member is relatively privileged (MP/MLA, pension exceeding Rs 10,000, an income-tax payer, or a professional), one can’t opt for the PM-Kisan benefits. - For any false declaration there are penalties also. Therefore, 111 million is a lower bound figure. Other than some categories being barred from PM-Kisan benefits, not every eligible farmer has necessarily registered for PM-Kisan. - Based on Agriculture Census- In India, in every five years people have an agriculture census. - 2010-11 – There was 138 million holdings. - 2015-16 – It gave 146 million holdings which is a result of further fragmentation. If the agricultural landholding is conditional on being a farmer, apart from a possible further increase since 2015-16, 146 million is possibly the upper bound. - Based on various acts- Every definition of “farmer” is not contingent on the ownership of land. - The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001– Where status as a farmer depends on cultivating land (or supervising cultivation), not owning it. - Draft National Policy for Farmers, 2006–That issue was also flagged by the National Commission on Farmers, such as in the Draft National Policy for Farmers (2006), where “farmers” included agricultural labourers, sharecroppers and tenants and so on. When talking and generalising about farmers, it is necessary to specify which set one has in mind. What is the quality of land records in various states when land is a prerequisite for defining someone as a farmer? - The Committee on State Agrarian Relations and the Unfinished Task in Land Reforms, 2009- - Absence of land holding data – The last extensive survey and settlement in India was conducted two to three decades prior to Independence which means in the 1920s. - Department of Land Resources has a Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) – - DILRMP is often about digitising/modernising existing land records. - The DILRMP dashboard tells that digitisation of land records have been completed in only 11.5 per cent of villages. For Example- Gujarat, West Bengal and Tripura score high on this (over 90 per cent). Punjab’s track record is 0 per cent. What is 2015-16 Agricultural Census report? According to the Agricultural Census report 2015-16 – - Highest operated areas-The highest operated areas are in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, UP and MP, in that order. 86.1 per cent of holdings are small and marginal (less than 2 hectares) and only 0.6 per cent is large (more than 10 hectares). - FCI procurement-There is increasing FCI procurement of rice from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha and of wheat from MP, UP and Rajasthan. - E-NAM(National Agricultural Market) has more coverage from MP, UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat than from Punjab or Haryana. The face of Indian agriculture has changed and is no longer what it was in the Green Revolution days, centred on Punjab, Haryana and western UP. With realistic input costs, that form of agriculture is no longer viable in those Green Revolution tracts.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.8927026391029358, "language": "en", "url": "https://ecometrica.com/explanation-of-the-uncertainty-assessment-in-our-impacts/", "token_count": 458, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.026611328125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:feffe0f4-81dd-4966-a722-8c39fd7ceef6>" }	Definition of uncertainty Uncertainty is the estimated amount or percentage by which an observed or calculated value may differ from the true value. Uncertainty is usually expressed as a range of values and the probability that the true value falls within that range. For example, the uncertainty for a company’s annual GHG emissions may be expressed as +/- 30%, at the 95% confidence level (i.e. there is a 95% chance that the true value is within a range 30% above or below the calculated value for annual emissions). Using the uncertainty assessment in Ecometrica Sustainability The uncertainty assessment in Ecometrica Sustainability gives an indication of the relative uncertainty associated with activity data (depending on whether the data is actual or estimated) and the emission or conversion factors (depending on whether the factors have more or fewer built-in assumptions), and can be used to reduce uncertainty by encouraging reporting companies to improve the type and quality of data collected. The uncertainty score for an assessment can be reduced by: 1. Providing actual data rather than estimated data. 2. Providing data for the whole assessment period rather than extrapolating data. 3. Increasing the level of detail provided for emission sources (e.g. specifying “small”, “medium” or “large” vehicle rather than “average”). 4. Providing transportation data in energy, mass or volume units for fuel consumed rather than providing data for distance travelled (as calculating emissions from distance travelled requires an assumption about fuel economy). 5. Providing energy consumption data in energy, mass or volume units rather than providing data for energy costs or floor area occupied (as calculating emissions from cost data or floor area requires additional assumptions and conversions). 6. Providing waste data in mass units rather than by volume or number of bin bags (as calculating emissions from volume data requires an assumption about the density of waste). The uncertainty assessment is best used as a tool for improving the type and quality of data provided rather than as an objective measure of the amount by which true GHG emissions differ from estimated GHG emissions. Want to learn more? Download our white paper Click below to read the full paper.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9111876487731934, "language": "en", "url": "https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/apply/local-economy/LEED", "token_count": 943, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.08935546875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:fde72d7c-4339-420d-bc13-275d011ad3cc>" }	Local Enterprise Partnerships are partnerships between local authorities and businesses throughout England. They have strategic economic planning responsibilities for their areas. The Local Environment and Economic Development (LEED) Toolkit is designed to help Local Enterprise Partnerships and their partners with economic development in ways which: - gain growth benefits from the natural environment; - help avoid future costs to growth that could arise from the natural environment, The LEED Toolkit will also be of interest to enterprise and economic development initiatives elsewhere in the UK. What is it? - The Local Environment and Economic Development (LEED) Toolkit is designed to help Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities meet their economic growth targets through explicitly considering the economy’s relationship with the environment: to both maximise benefit and minimise risks. - The LEED Toolkit has been produced by the Defra network (the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Forestry Commission), working in partnership with several Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities and Local Nature Partnerships in England. - The LEED Toolkit offers an easy-to-use, technically robust, systematic and proportionate way of making sense of environmental information in relation to economic planning. - The aim of the toolkit is to systematically consider the evidence relating to the local economy/environment relationship in order to reveal opportunities and threats; and consider appropriate responses. - The toolkit produces accessible, non-technical outputs that assist strategic economic decision making. Why do I need it? - The economy is critically dependent on the environment, but this relationship is often not given sufficient recognition in economic planning. - Assessing environmental information for its relevance to the economy is not straightforward. This results in the environment being insufficiently considered in economic planning. - There are significant economic benefits to be gained by considering and embedding the environment in strategic plans. Who is it for? - The toolkit has been produced to support Local Enterprise Partnerships because they have responsibility for strategic planning for sustainable economic growth. - Other local organisations such as local authorities and Local Nature Partnerships can be involved in working through the toolkit via a consortium approach, thereby bringing a wider mix of perspectives. Does it work? - The LEED Toolkit has been used by 15 of the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships so far. - Local Enterprise Partnerships have found that it highlighted important strategic and operational factors which may otherwise have been overlooked, provided strategic evidence based for economy/environment investment and provided a constructive forum for dialogue with local partners. What does it involve? The toolkit has a bespoke structure that can be suited to your need and the resources available. This consists of three levels of engagement: - Level 1 is expected to involve 3 days of secretariat time including a one-day workshop and will produce an initial assessment of threats and opportunities. - Level 2 is expected to involve 25 days and uses interviews to develop more sophisticated findings. - Level 3 focuses on the development of a robust evidence base to support the identification of opportunity and threats and any resulting decisions. This is expected to take 50 days work. You can start with Level 1 and then decide if there is benefit is undertaking Level 2, and then similarly for Level 3. Each level will provide outputs that can be used to inform economic planning. Each level can be conducted using in-house resources or contractors, depending on local circumstances. Main Guidance document - Guidance document, covering Levels 1 -3 (January 2015 version) - LEED Level 1 Example: Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership. - LEED Level 2 Example: G First (The Local Enterprise Partnership in Gloucestershire) - LEED Level 3 Example: New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. - Project researcher workbook (January 2015 version) - Example specification for LEED Level 1 (June 2014 version) - Example specification for LEED Level 2 (June 2014 version) - Example specification for LEED Level 3 (June 2014 version) Who has used it so far? The LEED Toolkit has been used by 15 of the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships so far. See the map of take-up across England. If you would like to explore using the toolkit in your area, please contact Tim Sunderland on 07833 058823 and at tim.sunderland[at]naturalengland.org.uk. He will be able to answer further questions about the toolkit and put you in touch with appropriate local staff. See also the Ecosystems Knowledge Network web page on the natural environment and local economic development.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9156471490859985, "language": "en", "url": "https://macroessays.com/comprehensive-project-costing/", "token_count": 986, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.076171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:457722a8-d9f9-488d-ba3f-6b807c2c4acc>" }	Restaurants offer a variety of menu items which have different sizes, ingredients, packaging, and demand. In addition, made-to-order restaurants go one step further and may have different renditions of the same menu items based on how a customer orders them. Take for example, Chipotle, for the same price, steak tacos could be “crispy” or “soft”, may have white, brown, or no rice, may or may not contain one of three types of salsa, could have cheese or sour cream or neither, and may or may not have lettuce, black or pinto beans, or other vegetables. Combinations for that one menu item are virtually endless! Profit margins in the restaurant industry are small, and operating costs are high. Good product costing is essential for survival in the business. This project option will allow you to apply your knowledge of product costing to the restaurant industry. Select a nationally recognized fast casual restaurant chain that offers made-to-order menu items, except a restaurant primarily engaged in making pizza. Some examples would be Chipotle Mexican Grill, Five Guys, Noodles & Co., Panera Bread, and Dunkin Donuts. For the restaurant chain you have selected, you will need to research and locate company information, menus, and financial information to assist you with the requirements of this project. Not every chain will have the same financial information available, so it may be necessary to generate your own “fictitious” data in order to complete the required tasks. If you do need to create data, be clearin your computations which data is taken from publicly available information (provide the sources) and which data has been generated by you. Choose 3 menu items from the menu of the restaurant. Familiarize yourself with the products including the ingredients, processing method, general selling price in your area, packaging requirements, and accessories (straw, sweetener, fork/knife, condiments, etc.). In Module 3, you will be submitting this information as part of your Portfolio Project milestone. From the cost information you were able to find or generated on your own, provide responses in Microsoft Excel to the following questions. Reference your calculations to show tracing where numbers come from. (For assistance with Microsoft Excel, please refer to Lynda.com for tutorials.) Compute the cost of each product under the simple/traditional costing method. For period costs, use direct labor hours. Compute the net operating profit margin of each product using the simple/traditional costing method. Compute the total overhead and period cost allocation under activity-based costing (ABC) assumptions for each product. Compute the per unit ABC cost of each product. Compute the net profit margin of each product using the ABC costing method. Compare the net profit margin of the products under the simple/traditional cost assignment and the ABC assignment for each product. Evaluate the difference. In a Microsoft Word document, write an accompanying memo explaining to the CEO what the costing methods are, the differences between the methods, and which method seems to make sense in this scenario. Also include the pros and cons of the method you are recommending, and why you feel the pros outweigh the cons. Your paper should meet the following requirements: Minimally 7-10 pages in length (not including the title page and the reference page). Assignment should follow APA guidelines with respect to use of subheadings, 1” margins, and double spacing. References should include your textbook plus 2 additional credible academic references. All sources used, including your textbook must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and cited per APA guidelines. Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore. That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe. You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.Read more Each paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.Read more Thanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. 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{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.942710816860199, "language": "en", "url": "https://research.kudelskisecurity.com/2015/10/28/crisis-vs-risk-management/", "token_count": 1300, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2265625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a77413c0-0971-434b-8288-5c11c88735e7>" }	Account for non-obvious and unidentified risks Risk identification is mostly a mental process, which from data analysis (i.e., processes, past events, financials figures, logs, analytics, etc.) and interviews lead to a list of identified risks. Whatever the volume of data, the number of interviews, the cleverness, and mental or computer calculation power applied to it, this process is bound by humans and by the complexity and chaotic nature of the world. We will never be able to identify all the “would have never thought or imagined” risks and events, not to mention that, by virtue of nature, memory of past events fades away with staff turn-over, retirement, data loss and deletion, etc. In the end, the one risk category that should always be on the top of the list is the one that groups non-obvious and unidentified risks. We often overlook these, just as we ignore many others risks in our daily lives. The General George S. Patton once said “Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.” So let’s examine the sense of “unforeseeable and unpredictable” risks as related to cybersecurity and how we can cope with them. Be reasonable and evaluate cost/benefits Risk management introduces the “likeliness” or “probability” attributes of an event or risk which may occur. Past events and actuarial data can help in this assessment. In the end, however, this is always a “best guess” or evaluation. From Laplace’s demon arguing that “the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future,” to Poincarré’s more human perspective on the meaning of chance “a very small cause which escapes our notice determines a considerable effect that we cannot fail to see, and then we say that the effect is due to chance,” the chaos perspective has gained momentum over the years. In an organisation, it’s not the flap of a butterfly that sets off a tornado, but rather a tiny incertitude. One can just marvel over the sheer amount of investments and time devoted by organisations in attempting to achieve complete and accurate knowledge of their risks. A key question is how much time and money should be invested in this quest? At what point does it become pure nonsense, creating a dangerous illusion of safety or security? We’ve all come across some of the exhausted Sisyphus of risk management, or found ourselves trapped in this insane loop. Uncertainty and incomplete knowledge are part of risk management, as are the domains examined and covered by risk management. The threshold beyond which investing and spending time is unreasonable or unbearable will obviously be different for each organisation, and it is one area where insurance companies can bring valuable insights. Indeed, the measure or degree of the incomplete knowledge will be factored into the premium of, for instance, a cyber-insurance policy, and therefore it will bring a factual, external vision with sounder roots than any consulting firm could ever bring, as the insurance company is a real risk stakeholder. Simply put, the overall investment to achieve better knowledge should translate into a lower premium that compensates the investment. If it doesn’t, than it might not be worth it. Prioritize crisis management over risk management In order to prepare for unknown, unidentified risks, there is crisis management. One could certainly argue that crisis management should be the first and foremost control to put in place, and even argue that organised risk management is a logical second step to prevent or reduce crises. This might sound indeed challenging, but what is the value of risk management if the sole explanation given, over the smoking ruins of a business, to the Board is that “yes, we had that risk identified, but could not foresee the way it would unfold!”? Crisis management enables one to find a sound compromise, enabling the proportionate time and investment allocation to risk management and the quest of complete knowledge. Indeed is it better spending the extra budget and people’s time on the quest for the perfect inventory or to invest in crisis management readiness? At some point, it becomes pointless to add safety measures on top of security measures, when no one is trained nor ready to deal with an emergency. Conduct drills in adverse conditions Crisis management is also a venue to explore the infamous Murphy’s Law (if something can go wrong, it will). Whereas in risk management, risks are dealt with sequentially, in crisis management, risks are – or should be – dealt with in parallel. In the chaos of the world, major power outages occur during fierce storms, while the family is driving back home, and not on a sunny day whilst doing a BBQ with a cooler full of cold drinks. Crisis management drills shouldn’t be delayed because some people are unavailable or whatever adverse circumstances, but, on the contrary, they should be precisely and willingly conducted on such occasions. Learn from others’ achievements and mistakes To get back to General Patton’s advice, it encourages us to study how others in the past have dealt with the unforeseeable and unpredictable to develop a sound crisis readiness and drills program. Crisis management is a fruit of experience, from a tree rooted in the chaotic nature of the world. Lessons learned from recent natural and man-made disasters show us that many IT companies and other organizations are not prepared to face personal tragedy or wide scale infrastructure collapse. As a crisis unfolds, drill or real, it clearly tests priorities. There are plenty of events and scenarios you can study and replay as part of a sustained drill program and give your organization a stronger footing when a crisis erupts. Find the right balance The bottom line: Finding the right balance between risk management and crisis management is key to achieving a self-regulating, stable and relatively constant state of security and safety. In the end, we must all face the chaos of the world. It’s not a matter of “if,” but rather of “when,” as there will always be, somewhere, Lorentz’ butterfly flapping its wings.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9394006133079529, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.citeman.com/12203-memorandum-of-association.html", "token_count": 837, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2275390625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:ff9019ca-afb3-42f8-8761-0b10738ae94e>" }	The company to be registered under the Companies Act is required to have two documents stamped, registered and filed with Registrar of Companies – they being Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. Memorandum of Association Section 2 (28) of the Companies act defines Memorandum: Memorandum means the Memorandum of Association of company as originally framed or as altered from time to time in pursuance of any previous companies law or of this Act. Memorandum of Association is the document which contains the rules regarding constitution and activities or objects of the company. It is a fundamental charter of the company. Company is governed by the Memorandum of Association. Its relations towards the members and outsiders are determined by this important document. The company is allowed to function within the frame work of Memorandum of Association. If it crosses the frame work, its act would be construed as ultra vires and therefore void. The Memorandum of association defines the extent and powers of the company. A company cannot exceed the powers conferred on it under its Memorandum of Association. Whether a transaction entered into by a company can be said to be within its powers or not has to decide on the basis of the facts established and the provisions in its Memorandum and not on the basis of any abstract rule. If the acts of the company are beyond the limits of the Memorandum of Association such acts would be void and ultra vires. They cannot be ratified in order to be binding on the company. Directors are personally liable to make good the Company’s loss if company’s money is spent on an unauthorized object. The Memorandum of Association is designed to make the outside world know the state of affairs of the company. The prospective investors’ shareholders or creditors should know the extent of their risk and also possibilities of the company to overcome them. It is a public document and can be inspected by anybody. Contents of Memorandum of Association: According to section 13 of the Act the memorandum of every company shall state: 1) Name of the company with Limited as the last word of the name is case of a public company and Private Limited in case of a private company. 2) Registered office of the company. 3) Objects of the company. 4) Liability of the members 5) Details of share capital of the company. 6) Subscription or Association clause. Name clause: Promoters of the company have to make an application to the Registrar of Companies for the availability of name. The company can adopt any name if: 1) there is no other company registered under the same or under an identical name; 2) the name should not be considered undesirable and prohibited by the Central Government. A name which misrepresents the public is prohibited by the government under the Emblems & names (prevention of improper use) Act, 1950 for example Indian National flag name and pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime minister of India name and emblems of the UNO and WHO the official seal and Emblems of the Central Government and State governments. A name which is identical with or too nearly resembles — 1) the name by which a company in existence has been previously registered or, 2) Registered trade mark, or a trade which is subject of an application for registration of any other person under the Trade Marks Act 1999, may be deemed to be undesirable by the Central Government. The Central Government before deeming a name as undesirable may consult the Registrar of Trade marks. Where the name of the company closely resembles the name of the company already registered the Court may direct the change of the name of the company. 3) once the name has been approved and the company has been registered then, a) The name of the company with registered office shall be affixed on outside of the business premises; b) If the liability of the members is limited the words Limited or Private Limited as the case may be, shall be added to the name. c) The names and address of the registered office shall be mentioned in all letter heads business letters notices and Common Seal of the company etc.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9520241022109985, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.credit-land.com/research/guides/building-credit-history/keeping-score-score-cards-to-track-credit-histories-881.html", "token_count": 569, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0810546875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:979fab5c-b198-4f82-855c-7068a1caf7b6>" }	Creditors these days have a new way of ensuring the trustworthiness of their customers. Credit tracking is essentially a way of keeping track of a person's past financial record be it loan requests, payments, bank statements etc. This is believed to show up any unfavorable behavior traits that people might employ while paying back loans. What started as just a novel way of keeping track of customers has fast blossomed into a prerequisite for loan sanctions and other financial deals. The Bad credit history or adverse credit history may just about prevent a bank from sanctioning a loan. The Bad credit history or sub- prime history is computed by credit bureaus and consumer reporting agencies. These agencies put together reports based on details that creditors and money lenders provide. These details are mainly accounts of their relationship with the customer. The credit score: A tracking device The credit score is the essence of the Credit history. The score will tell if a person is a trustworthy customer or otherwise. The credit score is a mathematical algorithm that denoted, in numerical value, the "creditworthiness" of a person. They employ a statistical method to gauge the financial risk of money lending to a particular person. The higher the score, the greater the probability that the person will repay the loan. An interesting feature of the credit score is that the score dips every time a money lender makes an enquiry of that particular score. This is so, as frequent enquires indicate that the person under consideration is in a financial difficulty judging from the number of money lenders he/ she has approached. A person can, however, have more than one credit history. The second Credit history may not add anything substantial to the record provided by the first. For example, people applying for a loan before acquiring a Social Insurance Number (SIN) have two credit histories, one recording their financial dealings before the Social Insurance Number and one recording the financial dealings after acquiring the Social Insurance Number. The credit history itself only applies to one country. Credit Histories are not shared between countries, even if they belong to the same credit card network. A person migrating from one country to the other has to start afresh. There are three main credit bureaus that keep track of the customers' payment histories and other critical financial data. The bureau keeps a record of customer dealings and statements of payments made. These records are made available to non financial companies as well, such as housing Finance companies and credit card agencies. The Credit Information Bureau makes the information available through a credit references. Bureaus also provide references about individuals whereas Credit rating Agencies provid information about bigger players such as companies etc. Financial consultants offer advice on how one can better a bad credit history. For one, timely payments on loans taken help better bad records. Bankruptcies must be avoided at all costs.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9387487769126892, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.hdatasystems.com/blog/4-methods-of-data-analysis-an-overview-for-deeper-insights", "token_count": 927, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.01318359375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:3ae05193-517b-4d9c-ac96-9f2ec165f0e6>" }	According to Gartner's analytical maturity model, there are 4 methods of data analysis, which are differentiated from the simplest to the most demanding. The more complex an analysis is, the more value (competitive advantages), it offers. Descriptive Analytics is about data from the past that helps answer the question: What happened? A health facility can find out how many patients have been hospitalized in the past month; a trader - what is the average weekly turnover; a manufacturer - how many items were returned in the last month etc. Descriptive Analytics enables raw data to be juggled from multiple data sources in order to gain valuable insights into the past. But these results only show what's wrong and what's right without explaining why. With Diagnostic Analytics, it is possible to clarify causes and consequences as well as interactions, analyze consequences and identify patterns. Companies choose this method of data analysis to gain in-depth insight into a particular problem. At the same time, a company should have detailed information, because otherwise data collection for each problem must be carried out individually, which is very time-consuming. An example is how a BI solution can help healthcare customer to bring patient data from different healthcare providers together on one platform, to create reports and dashboards with useful information in order to assess event probabilities for other patients based on this, thereby reducing risks. Predictive Analytics stands by the side to look into the future and tries to find out the following: What could or will happen in the future? This method of data analysis makes it possible to determine trends based on the results of descriptive and diagnostic analyzes, to recognize deviations from standard values at an early stage and to predict future trends as precisely as possible. Predictive Analytics uses sophisticated algorithms and modern technologies to create future forecasts. But although there are numerous advantages to this method, it is important to understand that forecasts are only estimates, the accuracy of which largely depends on how high the data quality is and how the situation remains stable. Thanks to predictive analytics and its proactive nature, a telecommunications company can identify subscribers who are most likely to reduce their costs and plan and implement targeted marketing activities to avoid this; A management team can weigh up the risks using cash flow analyzes and forecasts before investing in the expansion of their company. Prescriptive analytics is aimed at literally prescribing: Which measures have to be taken to eliminate or prevent a future problem and to fully exploit the potential of promising trends. With prescriptive analytics, a multinational company can identify opportunities for repeat purchases in its CRM system based on customer analytics and sales history. This state-of-the-art method of data analysis not only requires historical data, but also current information from external data sources, which enables forecasts to be updated continuously. Various advanced tools and technologies such as machine learning, business rules, scenarios, simulation models, neural networks are used, which makes implementation and management even more complex. For this reason, a company should compare the effort required with the expected added value before this method of data analysis comes into play. Which methods are in demand? In order to understand whether there is a preferred method of data analysis, we examine the results of various studies on this topic for the period 2016-2019. For the 2016 Global Data and Analytics Survey: Big Decisions, PwC asked more than 2,000 managing directors which of the three categories best describes their company's decision-making process and what should decision-making be like in 2020? In addition, executives from the series of chief officers (C-Level) were also asked which method of data analysis they rely on the most. The study delivers the following results: • Descriptive analytics dominated in the category “Decision making is rarely data-driven” (58%). • Diagnostic Analytics is preferred in the “Partly data-driven” category (34%); • Predictive Analytics was at the top in the "Highly data-driven" category (36%). This survey showed that different methods of data analysis are in demand in different phases of company development. The companies that strive to make data-driven decisions consider descriptive analytics to be insufficient and also use diagnostic analytics or go one step further and let predictive analytics come into play. Which method of data analysis can cover your needs? Current market trends show that more and more companies are opting for predictive and prescriptive analyzes. If you have no idea how and which methods of data analysis make your decisions data-driven, a business intelligence company can surely help you out.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9654580354690552, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.oneclickloans.co.uk/blog/impart-financial-education-at-a-young-age-and-create-a-strong-future/", "token_count": 1040, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.039306640625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:2a7ab27a-f70b-4b3d-aaf4-8f981ffc7826>" }	Money is an integral part of everybody’s lives. It can be a sensitive topic to discuss, but it is essential to speak about finances to get more knowledge on the same. According to a study, three-fourth of the people in the UK are under financial stress. This indicates that this topic cannot be avoided for long and has to be discussed to solve the existing financial issues. These financial issues aggravate mental health issues leading to depression and anxiety problems. Many people go through financial issues in their life and cannot handle the situation in a good way. Many direct lenders and financial institutions offer loan facilities to such people to cater to their financial needs. These facilities are offered worldwide and in every county such as UK, Australia, Germany, etc. Lenders provide loans for unemployed people in the UK as well to maintain financial balance in people’s lives. We can ask a question to ourselves, where are we going wrong, and what can be done to solve these financial issues? The answer to this question is financial education. The second question arises, when should we start educating people about finances? Should financial education and budgeting be imparted at a young age or an older age? The answer to this question is to start from a young age to form a strong financial foundation. Financial education is rarely a part of the curriculum and is not given attention to this young age. Once children grow up, they suddenly have to bear the pressure of managing their finances, which comes as a shock to them, and they cannot manage their finances efficiently. This blog elaborates on the importance of financial education and budgeting at a young age: Lately, financial education has been made a part of the national curriculum. Various topics are covered under this: savings, expenditures, mortgages, insurances, and other financial products. Financial education is new to everybody, so every teacher has a different approach to explaining the concept. These financial concepts are important to impart to be financially stable. Some financial concepts, such as compound interest, loans, etc. are common everywhere. Because of the complexities of these financial topics, it becomes difficult to implement them at basic levels. Mathematics is a common subject in every school, but the discussion includes other complex subjects such as trigonometry and many other things. Finances are an important aspect of life skills that may become tedious to teach in schools and institutions. It can be a complex job to make young people understand as they are not used to it. These financial lessons are way far than other subjects such as English, Science, etc. In the absence of financial knowledge, kids grow up to a detrimental life. Many schools have adopted innovative ideas to deal with this situation. One primary school created its bank to improve the standard of financial literacy in their school. There is much opposition to the concept of introducing financial lessons at the initial stage as many people believe that the parent has to teach this to their kids. People believe that home is the best place to learn about finances, and children learn the value of money best from their parents. Due to the current education system, financial education cannot be made a mandatory part of academics, leaving a loophole in the system. With financial education as an option in the curriculum, many children will prefer to miss out on it. Many schools have compartmentalized it in general ‘citizenship’ lessons. According to research, there are gaps seen in the financial management of millennials. There is a vast difference in the spending pattern of today’s generation and the previous generation. Today’s generation is more casual in their approach as compared to their predecessors. Millennial’s spending habits and financial knowledge points towards vast disparity in their financial knowledge and budgeting attitude. According to a study, 65% of millennials are ready to spend more than £3 on a cup of coffee. In contrast, the previous generation born between 1946- 1964 may not be readily convinced to spend this amount on caffeine. The absence of financial knowledge during the early years has caused a discrepancy between the actual knowledge and the spending pattern of the youth. Today’s generation is under the illusion that the amount of money earned is inversely proportional to debt-owned. Also, it is becoming difficult for them to imbibe the quality of sacrifice for the sake of budgeting. Teenage years are the molding years of life and can create long-lasting impressions. As per a survey, 45% of teenagers wanted to learn about finances from their parents and wanted to indulge in financial conversations. Whereas 30 % of the teenagers have presented themselves as aware of the credit card fees and other financial details. Teenage years are an important aspect of the learning cycle of an individual, so financial education should be made a part of these years to make every individual financially independent and stable. Optimistically, financial lessons should be made an integral part of the school curriculum, and financial knowledge will positively impact the young generation. These financial skills will liberate individuals from making their own decisions and steering their lives in the right direction.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9384061098098755, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.proximus.com/sustainability/respecting-our-planet/committed-to-the-circular-economy.html", "token_count": 848, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0712890625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:47abc1c9-8a3f-448a-acef-a9526809f167>" }	The current linear economic system of "extract, manufacture, consume, throw away" has reached its limits. We want to contribute to shifting towards a more circular economy, requiring fewer resources and producing less waste. What is the circular economy? The circular economy is about conserving our resources to create a sustainable economy without waste and CO₂ emissions. It is about moving from the current traditional (so-called linear) model where we produce, use and incinerate to an economy where resources and products are kept in use for as long as possible. At Proximus, we have set up programs to reduce the use of raw materials and in which we involve our suppliers, employees and customers in order to achieve our ambition: to become a truly circular company by 2030. In particular, we offer our suppliers the opportunity to sign our Manifesto, in which they undertake to collaborate with us in the implementation of specific projects and initiatives to contribute to a more circular and environmentally friendly economy. In order to reduce the use of raw materials, the first question to ask oneself is about the need to produce. Is this device really necessary? Can't we dematerialize, for example by offering our customers a solution in the cloud rather than installing servers on their premises? If we really need to produce, the question is how: which materials to use, which design to favor in order to allow repairs. This is done in collaboration with our suppliers, customers and all departments involved in the marketing of a product at Proximus. This is an innovative approach whose objective is to offer more virtualization solutions, more efficient resource management, easier dismantling, components from urban mining, products with a longer lifespan. And therefore more ethical products, which generate less pollution and CO₂ emissions, with better energy efficiency, less packaging, and which make it possible to limit the impact of transport and storage. The Fairphone meets these criteria and is moreover a telephone without raw materials from conflict areas, built by ensuring fair treatment of all workers. A virtuous cycle The manufacture of the product will therefore be carried out by favoring the use of renewable sources over the use of finite resources. The life of the product will be extended, thanks to the possibility of repairing, refurbishing and reusing it. In the Proximus distribution center in Courcelles, where all our logistics operations are centralized, no fewer than 336,000 modems and decoders were refurbished and redistributed to our customers in 2019. We have signed a mobile access network sharing agreement with Orange Belgium, which will reduce the number of antennas, and therefore the use of raw materials and energy, but will also enable a better quality of service. When a product is definitively no longer reusable, its design will allow it to be easily recycled by recovering a maximum of components. In this way, we will avoid the production of residual waste. On average, a mobile phone contains 0.02 grams of gold, 0.09 grams of silver, 0.375 grams of lithium and 3.375 grams of cobalt. It may not seem like much, but if we compare: 8.5 tons of raw ore can produce up to 42 grams of gold, compared with 2 kilograms for 8.5 tons of electronic waste! Yet today only 20% of electronic waste is recycled. This is why we launched a major campaign called "Don't miss the call" at the beginning of 2020, with the aim of collecting and recycling 100,000 mobile phones in Belgium. More than 3 million old mobile phones are gathering dust in Belgian cupboards. Meanwhile, they contain valuable and increasingly scarce raw materials that could actually be reused. As part of our commitment to create a more sustainable future for our planet, we launched – together with co-founding partner Umicore – "Don’t Miss the Call", an urban mining campaign aiming to collect at least 100,000 old mobile phones in one year. Through this action, we hope to make phone recycling a real Belgian habit. Discover how you can recycle your old mobile phones and encourage your company or school to answer the call via www.dontmissthecall.be
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.923152506351471, "language": "en", "url": "http://www.envihub.org.uk/news/energy-trends-in-2014-and-how-they-affect-climate-change/", "token_count": 2124, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.044921875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:e7b9b9fd-5302-4ac4-af73-af113cf6ec9b>" }	Perhaps inspired by clear messages from the world’s scientific community, 2014 brought the sight of politicians across the globe speaking of the need to transition away from fossil fuels, and acknowledging the scale of that Here are the trends that defined the global climate and energy debate over the past 12 months. Renewables records keep breaking, and need to continue to do so Renewable power records were shattered all over the world this year. But the vast majority of human society remains fossil-fuelled, and nothing seems to be changing that rapidly. In December, the equivalent of 43 per cent of the UK’s homes were powered by wind turbines, a new record. Germany’s renewables produced 31 per cent of the country’s power in the first sixth months of 2014, a new record. At the same time, Denmark’s wind turbines provided for 41 per cent of the country’s electricity consumption, a new record. In Asia-Pacific, solar panels are projected to account for 19 per cent more demand in 2014 than last year, a new You get the idea. The International Energy Agency says the twin drivers of growing electricity demand and an ever-growing renewables industry means low carbon power generation records are continue to tumble for some time. Power generated by renewables in the UK. Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014. Graph by Carbon The question isn’t whether renewables will keep growing. Rather, policymakers need to ask whether they’ll grow quickly enough to limit global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the world’s energy system need to be zero emissions by 2100 if policymakers are going to prevent warming of more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels. renewables’ relatively minor contribution to the world’s energy mix – about five per cent at the end of last year – generation records will need to keep being obliterated, and fast. Carbon bubble message goes mainstream, but coal power 2014 was the year the carbon bubble concept – that companies could be sitting on fossil fuel assets they can’t burn if the world tackles climate change – went mainstream. At the start of December, the Bank of England announced it would launch an enquiry into the financial risks companies were taking as the world tries to agree ways to cut emissions. Six months earlier, the IEA warned that companies’ assets could become ‘stranded’ if politicians chose to tackle The Carbon Tracker Initiative thinktank first floated the idea of a carbon bubble back in 2012. Since then, climate campaigners have been pressuring investors to pull their backing for energy companies on the basis that most of the world’s fossil fuels will need to stay in But 2014 was the first time such weighty institutions backed the concept. Perhaps the IPCC’s decision to include a carbon budget in its landmark report at the end of 2013, which showed the world could emit enough carbon dioxide to push global warming above two degrees within the next two decades, jolted their imaginations. Graphic by Carbon Brief. Click for full Despite such backing, fossil fuel companies remained bullish. In May, Shell wrote a 30-page letter to its investors explaining exactly why it was unconcerned about the carbon bubble. In July, we asked 76 oil, gas and coal companies for their take on the carbon bubble research. 58 companies didn’t respond, and we got no response from the coal industry. The world’s most polluting fossil fuel, coal, certainly doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. The IEA expects global demand to grow over the next five years, breaking nine billion tonnes Coal demand is expected to stay strong across the world. India is expected to double its coal consumption by 2035. Despite China’s pledge for its emissions to peak by 2030, coal is expected to continue to be its main fuel source well until at least 2035. Likewise, the Energy Information Administration expects about 40 per cent of the US’s power in 2035, despite the President’s much lauded plans to curb coal power The only region bucking that trend is Europe. The European Commission expects the region’s energy consumption from coal to halve by 2050. But that would still mean eight per cent of the EU’s demand is met by coal. If there is a carbon bubble, it doesn’t look like it’s going to burst just We know we need energy efficiency, now we need to do Efficiency improvements have the potential to save huge amounts of energy, and appear to be starting to curb demand in some parts of the world. But over the past 12 months, experts have repeatedly called on policymakers to step up efforts to cut energy demand. In July, Russia’s annexation of the Crimea focused bureaucrats’ minds as they sought to set a new energy efficiency target for the region. If the EU could use less energy, it would be in a better position to negotiate with Russia over its gas supply, they figured. In the end, they settled on the aim of cutting the region’s energy use 30 per cent by 2030. In November, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report showing energy efficiency could be responsible for up to a fifth of the cuts countries need to make to stick to the IPCC’s carbon budget. Energy efficiency improvements could prevent 22 to 24 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions between 2015 and 2030, UNEP estimates, with new energy efficiency policies reducing energy demand by about five to seven per cent. Energy security and cutting emissions aren’t the only reasons to invest in energy efficiency, the IEA said in September, it can also boost GDP, create jobs and improve trade balances by reducing costly imports of fossil fuels. If that’s the case, then it’s perhaps fair to ask, why aren’t we doing more of it? The answer could be that some countries simply aren’t that good at incentivising people to make such long term investments. Britain’s schemes continue to struggle, with the UK falling from first to sixth on a list of energy efficiency leaders in July. Energy use in the UK’s homes. Electricity on the left axis, gas on the right axis. Data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Graph by Carbon Labour has promised to fix the schemes if it gets into government next May, though it’s not clear where it’ll get the money from to do so. Maybe the UK could learn some lessons from France and, in particular, Germany. Both countries have implemented considerably more successful schemes to get people to insulate their homes and upgrade But it would be fair to say that 2014 saw policymakers commit to the idea that switching to low carbon energy generation won’t be enough on its own – countries also need to do much more to cut The implications of a low oil price for climate change are far from clear, yet The biggest energy story of the second half of 2014 has been the plummeting oil price. But it’s still too early to really assess what it might mean for the global energy sector and greenhouse gas The oil price fell from $115 dollars a barrel in June to under $70 this month. Relatively sluggish demand due to the economic recession, increased US production, and Saudi Arabia’s desire to see Russia and Iran suffer are all partially responsible for the price drop. Oil price in 2014. Source: MoneyWeek There are two conflicting schools of thought on whether or not this is a positive thing for countries’ efforts to cut The first argues that low prices mean people use more oil, particularly in the transport and agriculture sectors. It also potentially means countries that are large exporters of oil, such as Mexico, have less money, and so spend less on renewables. Both are those are bad news for emissions. The alternative argument is that a low oil price presents some opportunities to boost low carbon energy in the long term. If oil is cheap, energy companies can’t afford to undertake risky extraction projects such as those planned in certain tar sands or the Arctic. It could also give countries an opportunity to cut fossil fuel subsidies and implement carbon taxes, encouraging more efficient, low carbon, energy use, the IEA The oil price’s volatility could also serve as a reminder of an advantage of switching to low carbon fuel sources: their lack of sensitivity to the international fuel markets’ swings. But switching to low carbon energy sources is easier said than done. The New Yorker argues, that cheap fossil fuels have become “like an industrial form of crack. It doesn’t really matter how much damage it causes, because we simply don’t have the power to walk away.” Powering through 2015 In 2014 a plethora of reports contributed to identifying how the world’s energy supply needs to change if countries are going to cut emissions and tackle climate change over the past year. Such information is going to be invaluable as negotiators head towards their self-imposed deadline to agree a new global climate deal by the end of next year. With that in mind, we leave you with this image – the energy sector certainly has some changing to do next year, and for many years after that, if the world is going to prevent temperatures rising by more than two degrees: Source: Data from the International Energy Agency. Graphic by Carbon Brief.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9273704290390015, "language": "en", "url": "https://forex-trnd.com/digital-finance/", "token_count": 1246, "fin_int_score": 5, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.006011962890625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:ec093b45-5df6-4925-be74-5a8d69e303ee>" }	Digital finance is a robust medium to broaden the access outside the financial services to other sectors, which includes agronomy, infrastructure, services, energy among others. People without a bank account are accessing the financial services via the digital medium. Several stakeholders are utilizing the cell phones along with a gamut of agents to provide simple financial services at better suitability and reduced cost against conventional banking. It is also known as “Branchless Banking”. Traditionally, the huge expenditure involved in constructing and managing conventional banks has been a key stumbling block for connecting with the low income groups. A banking infrastructure is not easy to manage in remote areas, while it would be expensive for customers in the rural areas to commute to the urban centres. Digital finance assists in negating the obstacles. Agents having cell phones are the most optimal medium for handling less value transactions for low income groups, cost effectively. Cash flow into innovative digital finance firms keeps increasing for consolidating assigned digital banking, mobile solutions and delivery platforms among others. The impact of digital finance on the global economy is expanding at an accelerated pace. It is transforming the way financial transactions are done. The benefits of the digital finance are many, including cost decrease, development of essentially digital financial products and services, including advanced ones. Certain digital finance products are delivered on modified global digital platforms. The technological advancements provide new prospects for FinTech start-ups. It also assists various stakeholders including governments and firms to steer development. There is a need for a highly effective global regulatory infrastructure to manage digital finance. The Establishment of a Facilitating Scenario for Digital Finance Needs Certain Critical Policy and Regulatory Queries to Be Resolved Such as: - Corresponding the keenness for innovation with assurance about the legal framework. - Regulating and protecting the provision of modified digital finance tools such as e-money. - Comprehending AML’s concerns pertaining to digital finance and mobile-empowered international remittances. - Monitoring digital financial services. - Regulating a wide array of third-party agents. The provision of financial services via highly innovative technology, which includes mobile money, could be a driving force for the utilization of a gamut of financial services – credit, insurance, savings among others. According to Jin-Yong Cai, International Finance Corporation Executive Vice President and CEO, “The benefits of digital finance extend well beyond conventional financial services: This can also be a powerful tool and an engine for job creation in developing countries.” As per Thomas Duveau, the Head of Mobisol Solar Home Systems, “The buzzword ‘digital finance’ is already an everyday reality for our Tanzanian, Kenyan, and Rwandan customers who are using Mobisol Solar Home Systems. Paying for solar power in small instalments through mobile money is not a ‘fancy option’: It’s already the norm for commercial transactions by those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.” Digital finance is also critical for the retail business. It ensures the small businessmen have the access to funding, along with the electronic payment systems, robust financial products and the opportunity to construct a financial track record. According to Walt Macnee, President of the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth, “Innovations in electronic payment technology like mobile and prepaid enable people to live more secure, empowered and included lives and that digital money will be the only way to achieve universal access to finance by year 2020.” Digital Finance is a priority for banks in the recent past. The innovations like mobile deposits have radically changed the reach of banking. Currently, customers are finishing most of the transactions online using a mobile or tablet device. Customers are very conscious about the latest technology. The penetration of the digital finance is expected across various segments, including the medium scale business and corporate banking. There are obstacles like security, greater intricacy with regard to the kind of services required for distinct businesses. Some of The Challenges That Could Be a Stumbling Block for Digital Finance: Availability of Liquidity with Agents Agents operating in rural environments usually have problems in honouring their commitments, resulting in displeased customers and falling confidence in the service. Transferring money through the mobile is usually not interoperable amongst providers. This prevents the flow of money which could have been used to cater to more customers. The increase in agents has led to various malpractices along with service delays in certain markets. The Key Developments in the Digital Finance: - The availability of instruments to expedite the account creation process. - The utilization of biometrics (finger and voice) to facilitate customer verification. - The use of field oriented management instruments to monitor field personnel. - The appearance of third-party agent aggregators. - The development of applications that assist financial firms with mobile money amalgamation. - The creation of top notch technology that ensures digital payments in retail stores. - The use of other data options for arriving at credit conclusions. - The leverage of business intelligence. - The availability of micro credit through the mobile. - The expansion of financial products provided by non-mobile cash benefactors. - The advancements in financial competencies. - The overall buying and selling in agribusiness using the mobile apps. Digital financial services are evolving across global markets. Certain nations with the available infrastructure are providing a wide array of products and services. The differences between nations are directed by many aspects, which includes the use of cell phones, the growth of financial infrastructure, the regulatory framework among others. The part of innovation is critical, since it would ignite enhancement in the fast transforming mobile money environment. Any increase in process efficiency would reduce the cost and decrease obstacles. The digital finance environment is changing continuously and would be radically different in the long term. In an increasingly integrated international economy, innovations from various markets could be implemented and customized to suit local requirements. It would help consumers from various income strata. The digital finance journey has been excellent, but it is just the beginning.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9251085519790649, "language": "en", "url": "https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/n/negative-butterfly", "token_count": 511, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.042724609375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:4b778ba5-9578-4032-a45b-47fad707275a>" }	What is a Negative Butterfly? Negative butterfly refers to a change in the yield curve whereby medium-term yields change by a greater magnitude than short-term and long-term yields. It is important to note that the negative butterfly is the opposite of the positive butterfly, where medium-term rates change less than the short-term and long-term rates. How Does a Negative Butterfly Work? The bonds against their maturities, ranging from shortest to longest. It enables investors at a quick glance to compare the yields offered by short-term, medium-term and long-term bonds. The butterfly is one of three common types of changes in the yield curve (the parallel shift and the twist are the other two). Below are three examples of these patterns.is a graph that plots the yields of similar-quality In the real world, changes usually do not affect all sections of the yield curve equally, making the butterfly pattern more common than the parallel shift, for example. Most often, the yield curve steepens and shifts downward or flattens and shifts upward. As a result, the yields of some types of bonds usually change more or less than other types of bonds, and in the case of the negative (or positive) butterfly pattern, this creates or accentuates a hump in the yield curve. Why Does a Negative Butterfly Matter? Because the yield curve can also have an impact on portfolio returns by making some more or less valuable relative to other bonds. Thus, if an investor can correctly forecast the direction and type of shift in the yield curve, he or she can buy and sell those securities most affected by those changes.is generally indicative of future interest rates, which are indicative of an 's expansion or contraction, yield curves and changes in yield curves can convey a great deal of information. Changes in the shape of the For example, if the investor believes the yield curve will change in a negative butterfly pattern, then he may believe yields on bonds with short maturities will fall. Based on this, the investor would shift his portfolio toward the medium-term maturities in order to lock in the higher rates. In a flattening twist, the investor might shift his attention toward short maturities, which have higher yields. A in the yield curve requires the least action because the yields stay the same relative to each other and thus present little opportunity to take advantage of expected changes at different maturities.will fall, yields on medium-term bonds will rise, and yields on long-term
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.8259947896003723, "language": "en", "url": "https://leihuang.dev/blog/2018/understanding-blockchain-by-writing-one-with-javascript/", "token_count": 796, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1162109375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a7f79110-eaec-492e-9a7e-8c913a1b3345>" }	A blockchain is a decentralized database that records all transactions in a format that is checked and authenticated by participants. This is a definition as simple as I can think of. Let me dissect it into simpler ideas: To enable all the blocks to check and authenticate all transactions, we need to ensure: Let’s write some code to implement these features. We’ll first create a bare bone block class. We specify that each block has the hash value of the previous block, which also contributes to calculating the hash value of current block. This design ensures that any changes to a block will trigger all the ensuing blocks to change. Then, we build a blockchain class: The first block of a blockchain is called “Genesis Block”. It can’t be derived from previous block, so we hard coded it. To add a new block to the blockchain, we need to know the last block. And then we calculate the hash of the new block after we assign to it the previous hash. Let’s create our own crypto currency based on this blockchain! The data is our transaction record. Suppose it tells how much money we have. Now, what if I’m a greedy guy and change my account balance? In code, I can do this: Then I’ll be super rich! Well, blockchain can prevent such rogue behavior. We can add a method to check if the blockchain has been tampered with: If we change the data of a block, the hash of that block would change. And since the next block depends on the hash of current block to calculate its own hash, it will be triggered to change its hash. The change will ripple downwards, and the hash values of the entire ensuing blocks will all change! By comparing the hash values, we can find if a blockchain is valid. Our blockchain is now working. We’ve implemented the core features of a blockchain, and we have a way to prevent invalid operations. There’s still one huge issue remains to be solved, though. If anyone can add new blocks to a blockchain instantly, the blockchain database will soon blow up… To solve this, we need to put a restriction on how fast a block can be added. There’s also a more important reason to put such a restriction. Imagine that someone changes a block and calculates the hash values of all ensuing blocks, then we have no way to know the change! The isChainValid() check will still pass! So we must make calculating a valid hash difficult enough, so that no one has the computing power to calculate all the hash values after a certain block. The process of finding a valid hash is called “mining”. And since this is the way to prove that miners have calculated new blocks legally, it’s also called “Proof Of Work”. We can specify that a hash value that begins with certain amount of 0 is valid. Since the output of the hashing function can’t be manipulated, one must go through a calculating process to find the valid hash, which, takes a great amount of computing power. The amount of 0 is called “difficulty”. More 0 means more difficult. In code, it would look like this: However, without changing the content of a block, the hash will never change. So our code will end up with an infinite while loop. To trigger change, we need to add something called nonce to the block. Now, the amount of computation and time that creating a new block requires depends on the difficulty parameter. As the computer gets more and more powerful, the difficulty parameter is increased to slow down the mining process. Check out the complete code here Here is an excellent video you can’t miss! The interactive demo in the video is extremely helpful for me.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9280616641044617, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.uselessgroup.org/outreach/publications/all-papers/potential-energy-savings-heat-recovery-integrated-steel-supply", "token_count": 323, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.17578125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:c3affada-d4ab-4b95-90d0-fa78a11cbfd1>" }	- The potential for energy savings of an average steel mill is estimated - Pinch analysis is used to optimise an integrated network of heat exchangers - Proposed networks may save up to 3.0 GJ per tonne of hot rolled steel - Limited savings may be obtained from the integration with other industries Heat recovery plays an important role in energy saving in the supply chain of steel products. Almost all high temperature outputs in the steel industry have their thermal energy exchanged to preheat inputs to the process. Despite the widespread development of heat recovery technologies within process stages (process heat recovery), larger savings may be obtained by using a wider integrated network of heat exchange across various processes along the supply chain (integrated heat recovery). Previous pinch analyses have been applied to optimise integrated heat recovery systems in steel plants, although a comparison between standard process heat recovery and integrated heat recovery has not yet been explored. In this paper, the potential for additional energy savings achieved by using integrated heat recovery is estimated for a typical integrated steel plant, using pinch analysis. Overall, process heat recovery saves approximately 1.8 GJ per tonne of hot rolled steel (GJ/t hrs), integrated heat recovery with conventional heat exchange could save 2.5 GJ/t hrs, and an alternative heat exchange that also recovers energy from hot steel could save 3.0 GJ/t hrs. In developing these networks, general heat recovery strategies are identified that may be applied more widely to all primary steel production to enhance heat recovery. Limited additional savings may be obtained from the integration of the steel supply chain with other industries.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9621910452842712, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.usgoldexpert.com/articles/early-dollars-starting-to-turn-cartwheels/", "token_count": 2568, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.177734375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:c6007064-6ad8-4820-b22d-758e70386b57>" }	By SCOTT A. TRAVERS COPYRIGHT © 2002, 2003 BY SCOTT A. TRAVERS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The 1804 silver dollar is always in the news, so it seems. This “King of American Coins” has long been not only one of the most valuable United States coins but also one of the most publicized. This great numismatic rarity surely deserves the attention and acclaim that it receives; after all, just 15 examples are known, and one of those currently holds the all-time auction record of $4.14 million (a record I helped create as an active underbidder at the time of its sale on Aug. 30, 1999). But other early dollars from the very first years of U.S. coinage also are extremely scarce and desirable. And lately, these have been getting some much-deserved attention as well from dealers and collectors who recognize their scarcity and potential. Prices are strong and rising, and there’s good reason to look for sharp growth in interest and performance in the months and years to come. “Early” U.S. dollars generally are considered to be those produced from 1794 through 1804. Actually, all 15 dollars dated 1804 were struck decades later, as researchers have documented in great detail. Dollar production did take place in 1804, but all of the dollars minted that year are thought to have been dated 1803 and possibly 1802. There are three major varieties of these early dollars. * The very first ones issued, in 1794 and part of 1795, bore a “Flowing Hair” portrait of Liberty with a small, rather puny-looking eagle on the reverse. * Partway through production in 1795, the Flowing Hair obverse was replaced by a more polished and matronly “Draped Bust” likeness of Liberty, with the “Small Eagle” reverse being retained. * Then, in 1798, the reverse was changed to a “Heraldic Eagle” portrait – this time with the obverse remaining as it was, with the Draped Bust interpretation of Liberty. This final version continued through the end of the series. Like other early U.S. coins, the Flowing Hair and Draped Bust dollars came in numerous die varieties – more than 100 have been identified – and this reinforces and enhances their appeal to the small but growing number of hobbyists who pursue them. The profusion of die varieties might seem to indicate high production levels, with new dies being needed as old ones wore out from use. On the contrary, the mintages were modest – even minuscule, in some cases, with just 1,758 dollars being made in 1794 and 7,776 in 1797. The dies wore out not because of high volume but because of the stress and strain of making such large coins with the relatively primitive equipment in use at the time. At 39 to 40 millimeters in diameter, these were the largest regular-issue coins ever issued by Uncle Sam. Noted coin dealer-author Q. David Bowers is fond of referring to them as “the dollars of our daddies” – and given their impressive size, they might also be aptly described as the daddies of all dollars. Their unusually large surface area makes it easier for collectors to identify and study the many die varieties they exhibit, and even discover new ones on occasion. Collectors who specialize in smaller-size coins, such as early copper cents and half cents, and particularly dimes and half dimes, might well be jealous of that. The late Walter Breen, a brilliant numismatic researcher, once bemoaned the absence of definitive reference books on early dollars – books that might illuminate the series in the same way Dr. William H. Sheldon did (with Breen’s collaboration and that of Dorothy I. Pascal) in the classic book Penny Whimsy. “Were some future researcher to produce a book on this series in a class with Sheldon on 1793-1814 cents,” Breen wrote, “these silver dollars would eventually rival the cents’ popularity.” Bowers made a major contribution to interest in early dollars through the authoritative section on this subject in his magnificent book Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States, published in 1993. More recently, the series has attracted new interest – and new buying activity – because of the popularity of the “registry” set programs now being conducted by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC). These programs, which stimulate competition among collectors to form high-grade sets of certified coins, have created new awareness of just how scarce the early dollars are in all collectible grades, and especially in mint condition. Later silver dollars have attracted large constituencies over the last few decades. Morgan dollars have been among the most widely collected of all U.S. coins. Peace dollars have been extremely popular, too. And even Liberty Seated dollars have had a substantial following. But early dollars have lagged far behind – overlooked and very much underappreciated, considering how much they have to offer. There are understandable reasons for this. One is the sheer rarity of these coins, which has long translated into extremely high prices. Even in higher circulated grades, such as extremely fine, these coins can cost thousands of dollars. In reality, these prices have been bargains, considering how few of these coins survive in the upper grades, particularly mint condition. Then, too, early dollars haven’t benefited from organized hobby activity as early cents and half cents have done, for example, through the membership of specialists in Early American Coppers, a club where they rub shoulders, compare notes and gain insights from such renowned experts as Denis W. Loring. EAC has done a great deal to advance hobby interest in large cents and half cents, but up to now there has been no comparable stimulus for early silver dollars. Besides being expensive, early dollars also can be highly elusive, especially for those who seek to collect them by die varieties. It’s almost impossible to find a dealer who stocks these coins by die varieties; for that matter, it isn’t all that easy to find a dealer who carries a decent stock of early dollars at all. If you pick up a mailer from a large coin company or look at its Web site on your computer, you’re not going to see early dollars listed by specific die varieties. It takes tremendous determination to track down these coins, and considerable financial resources to buy them. Overall, early dollars are far scarcer, more expensive and more elusive than early cents and early half dollars, two series that traditionally have enjoyed greater popularity. For these reasons, they are likely to continue to trail behind these other series in terms of the number of people who collect them. Lately, however, we have seen a significant increase of interest in the series and some really extraordinary price appreciation for nice examples. When I wrote Travers’ Rare Coin Investment Strategy in 1986, I included a section entitled “How to Calculate the Market Premium Factor,” and nothing could be more relevant to the current market status of early silver dollars than the market premium factor. Those who compile price guides have great difficulty determining accurate values for coins of exceptional rarity. The reason is simple: Because they are so rare, and those who own them are reluctant to part with them, these coins change hands infrequently. Months – even years – may pass before certain coins appear in the marketplace. But that doesn’t mean their value is remaining static during that time; on the contrary, they might bring far higher premiums the next time they appear than they did the time before. Price-guide compilers have no way of gauging how much these coins might bring if they were offered for sale, so they have to make educated guesses based upon the most recent sales – which could have been years before. As a result, the price guides are often far off base in their valuation listings for really scarce coins – including some of the early silver dollars. That’s where the market premium factor comes into play. A coin listed in a price guide at, say, $500 might actually be worth $1,000 in terms of the price an actual informed buyer would pay an actual informed seller, with both under no particular pressure to complete the transaction. This higher percentage can be expressed in terms of a market premium factor, or MPF, a concept devised by Maurice Rosen of Plainview, New York, a longtime coin dealer who publishes the award-winning Rosen Numismatic Advisory. In the example given here, the MPF would be 100 percent – the amount by which the real fair market value of $1,000 exceeds the price-guide valuation of $500. The MPF can work in reverse, as well. If a coin listed in the price guide at $500 decreased in value in the marketplace to $250, its MPF would be minus 50 percent. Whether the MPF is positive or negative, it is determined by the same algebraic formula: x over y minus 1 times 100 equals the MPF, with x representing the price required to secure the coin and y being the price guide valuation. What we’ve seen lately is an unbelievable – and positive – market premium factor for early U.S. dollars. Recently, I sold a 1795 Draped Bust dollar (Center Bust) graded Mint State-63 by PCGS for a price approaching six figures. The PCGS Population Report lists no MS-68 examples for this coin, no 66s, five 65s, three 64s, seven 63s, five 62s, three 61s, and no 60s. In AU condition, only three have been graded by the service. This is the kind of coin where you may see just one public sale every few years, and people compiling price guides are forced to scramble to verify unconfirmed trades in order to come up with a meaningful valuation. It can be complicated to establish an accurate value for such coins. The Coin Dealer Newsletter Quarterly lists this particular coin at $47,500 in MS-63. That’s about half what it traded for – and the buyer was pleased to acquire it at that price. In another recent transaction, I sold a 1795 Flowing Hair dollar of the three-leaves variety – a coin graded Mint State-61 by PCGS – for a price approaching $60,000. The Coin Dealer Newsletter Quarterly lists it at $45,000 in Mint State-63 – two grade levels higher. Once again, the buyer was satisfied, for this is another coin that is difficult to locate and purchase at any price. Further, several other buyers were willing to purchase this coin at the same—or higher—level. There are far more varieties in the first two early dollar types – the Flowing Hair with Small Eagle reverse and the Draped Bust with Small Eagle reverse – than in the third and final type, which mates the Draped Bust with the Heraldic Eagle. In addition, the mintages from 1798 onward, consisting of this third design combination, were generally higher than in the first four years. That’s not to say they’re “common”–far from it. From beginning to end, the early silver dollars present a real challenge, even to those without monetary restrictions. It takes more than money to put together a set of these desirable coins; it takes perseverance, contacts and luck. More collectors are taking the time and trouble to look for these coins today than in the past, and the registry set programs have accelerated this process by sending people scurrying to find high-grade examples of U.S. coins in general – including early dollars. Some of the coins being purchased by these registry-set collectors represent dubious value. It’s questionable, for instance, whether very high-grade examples of fairly common Jefferson nickels are worth four-figure prices. Collectors acquiring mint-state examples of early silver dollars can rest assured, however, that they are obtaining coins of legitimate rarity which may, if anything, be underpriced at current market levels. The 1804 dollar may be hogging the limelight, but the rest of the early dollars constitute a strong supporting cast.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9687216877937317, "language": "en", "url": "http://americanacoustech.com/2020/12/25/when-in-your-life-time-why-you-must-adventure-financial-management-at-least/", "token_count": 1154, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.111328125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:25cff3e4-7802-42f3-ba4c-40569e6bd3eb>" }	Financial management refers to the art of creating much better selections in a condition that includes threats. Financial administration may also be actually described as the department or part within an association that is actually mostly worried with expenses, incomes, credit report as well as the ways through which the organization may have the ways to carry on operating. In the early days, monetary monitoring was actually dealt mainly with the production as well as routine maintenance of profiles. Olmypias Joe Wolfe The financial management interpretation listed below recommends to the potential of a supervisor to produce really good selections regarding the usage of financing funds. Examples of such selections consist of repurchasing existing possessions, or even selling certain resources, and also the usage of maintained revenues as financial utilize. For him, financing financial is a craft that needs user-friendly skill-sets and also a detailed study of just how to go through the graphes, charts, information slabs, financial claims and any other documentation that might be involved. Financial monitoring thereby needs customized skill-sets that are discovered over time. Aside from monetary monitoring, there are 2 additional essential aspects included in the method of money control. These two, and several various other various resources of details, form the foundation of reliable management of funds. Other appropriate places of experience involve monetary organizing, which aim at making sure the long-lasting sustainability of the association’s activities, in addition to its own capacity to create potential financial resources. This additionally involves making certain the suitable appropriation as well as circulation of preserved incomes. It additionally entails the creation as well as allowance of funding funds. All these concern the general performance of the organization as well as its own capacity to generate brand-new and enhanced options for investor worth maximization. The ability of a company to suitably utilize its own retained profits is vital. Correctly taken advantage of funds, on the other hand, guarantee that maintained profits are actually the right way spent, along with equivalent increases in total funding value. A great money manager is one who recognizes the value of maintaining proper assets balances as well as the affiliation with assets, operating, and funding decisions. He or she are going to be able to recognize those assets that are extra likely to develop favorable cash money circulations and are actually as a result a lot more probably to generate much higher profits. This understanding will guide the manager in selecting the most effective ventures to offer extra funds. Yet another essential aspect of audio financial control works communication of decisions. Particularly, selections connecting to reservoir demands, working capital, temporary lending, assets tactic, and also resource allotment should be connected to all key stakeholders. Possessing educated decision creators, particularly Finance Managers, might help guarantee that the agency’s long-lasting feasibility is not put at risk. Interaction is most reliable when it takes the type of an interactive discussion that takes into account opposing perspectives as well as beliefs regarding the issues that are being actually looked at. Such musings may make it possible for a financial administration selection to be improved as well as enriched, therefore generating much better lead to the future. Finally, the finance supervisor must have a method of ensuring that all decisions are actually created in the circumstance of the general financial plan. The execution of audio danger administration policies is actually critical to ensuring that monetary selections are actually created with the defense of the information of the firm all at once. Numerous policies such as floatation cost, nonrecourse dangers, and also liquidity as well as financing budgeting must be implemented relying on various factors. Each policy possesses its personal perks as well as consequent costs. Really good policies ought to consequently be actually designed and managed as part of a complete overall monetary plan. Financial administration could be specified as the discipline or even field in a company that is actually primarily interested in costs, finance, profit, properties as well as credit scores, in that the “company might possess the means to provide” its requirements. The term is actually typically utilized in a broader feeling to cover all economic tasks of an organisation. The condition is additionally utilized in business to refer to the management of funds and funding possessions. The term has its origins in accounting, but financial control integrates lots of principles found in bookkeeping. As it is the process of making informed choices worrying the monitoring of information, managers think about a vast array of elements when developing their tactics and also programs. The essential choice producers in a provider are the financial innovators or senior control (vice head of state, CEO, CFO). Corporate money belongs of the more comprehensive specialty of economic control. Some examples of monetary monitoring feature company real estate financing, business money management, private sector money, financial backing and also home mortgage financial. A supervisor’s task entails preparing, acquiring, selling as well as working along with these key areas of your business to improve its own competitiveness and also improve total performance. Allow’s start along with the essentials of financial control and after that relocate in to the information. Just before you can easily begin, you should recognize what monetary accounting is as well as what the general aspects of economic bookkeeping are actually. There are actually 4 almosts all of it: economic claim evaluation, settlement, the process of producing monetary claims, as well as finally, economic reporting. Along with these 4 factors, you may accurately find the variation between them as well as how significant they are for your small company. The financial resources refer to the revenue coming from your service procedures, the total monetary properties as well as responsibilities, and also the worth of all financial possessions and also obligations. The results of your financial tasks on the various other give, refer to the monetary sources and also responsibilities, profits, reductions, profits, and the internet worth.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.94056636095047, "language": "en", "url": "http://opiniojuris.org/2020/10/13/brazils-first-climate-case-to-reach-the-supreme-court/", "token_count": 2731, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0966796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:604d6449-2d3b-4f1b-9377-c19a17ea8f67>" }	13 Oct Brazil’s First Climate Case to Reach the Supreme Court [Maria Antonia Tigre is the Director for Latin America at the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment.] In September 2020, the Brazilian Supreme Court held the country’s first public hearing on climate change. For the first time, a climate litigation case reached Brazil’s highest court, marking an historic landmark for the country’s legal system. A broad range of members from civil society, government, and the business sector participated, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives on the current legal, environmental, social, scientific, and economic state of climate policy in Brazil. The core issue discussed was the challenge of addressing climate change through Brazilian environmental policy and the related actions and omissions from the Brazilian government, especially as those relate to the Climate Fund’s financial resources. Case ADPF 708 (Climate Fund case) involves Brazil’s Climate Fund, established by the Brazilian government in 2009 as a financial instrument of the National Climate Policy Plan. In June 2020, four political parties brought the case against the Federal Union, alleging that the government’s inaction regarding the Climate Fund is a violation of constitutional and international obligations, particularly since President Bolsonaro has failed to allocate funds into climate mitigation and adaptation projects. The plaintiffs seek a declaration of ‘unconstitutional omission’ against the paralysis of the Fund’s operations and governance and an injunction compelling the government to reactivate the Climate Fund. In response, the federal government has argued that there is no constitutional question as the Constitution does not explicitly mandate the creation of a Climate Fund. The facts in question relate to the management of funds, a prerogative of the federal government. The government also argued the court’s interference would constitute a violation of the separation of powers doctrine, following the pattern of most climate litigation cases worldwide (for more background on the case, see here and here). From a comparative perspective, Joana Setzer notes that the Climate Fund case is the first climate case to reach Brazil’s Supreme Court, the first to be brought by political parties, the first to address insufficient governmental action to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, and the first in which the highest Court is convening a public hearing (broader than a hearing with interveners) to collect additional factual information before giving its ruling. Expansion of Public Participation The public hearing took place on 21–22 September 2020 at the Supreme Court (recording available here). For the first time, the country’s highest court dealt with the subject of climate change. The hearing was historic. Minister Barroso opened the hearing by stating his aim to hold a “plural” conversation, allowing an opportunity for all sides to present their views. Over two days, 66 experts provided their thoughts on climate change in Brazil. These included scientists, environmentalists, indigenous people, businesspeople from the agribusiness and financial sectors, NGO representatives, economists, researchers, parliamentarians, and representatives of the federal and state governments. Noting that climate issues are not only a legal, but rather interdisciplinary, issue, the Court sought to expand public participation by convening the unprecedented public hearing. This expansion of procedural rights follows the recently-adopted Escazú Agreement mandate, which Brazil has signed but not yet ratified. As the first environmental treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean, the agreement implements Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. It seeks to ensure that all people have access to timely and reliable information and can access justice regarding environmental matters. Right to a Healthy Environment In their petition, the plaintiffs relied heavily on art. 225 of Brazil’s Constitution, which acknowledges the right to an ecologically balanced environment and the obligation to protect the environment and fight pollution, and preserve forests, fauna, and flora. In his decision to hold a public hearing, Minister Barroso had stated that “environmental protection is not a political option, but a constitutional duty.” From this, the Minister concluded that this state of affairs affects each person’s right to a healthy environment, as well as other fundamental constitutional rights, such as the right to life, health, food and water security, housing, work, and could impact “the right to cultural identity, the way of life, and the livelihood of indigenous peoples…”. Indeed, following a global trend (see, i.e., Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment and Others), human rights took a central role in the discussions. The civil society highlighted the connection between climate change and fundamental rights, similarly, associating art. 225 to various other constitutionally rights. Conectas – a Brazilian human rights NGO – specifically noted how the right to a healthy environment now includes the right to a stable and safe climate system for present and future generations. Notably, the UN Special Rapporteur on the environment and human rights, David Boyd, recalled international obligations assumed by Brazil and the unconstitutionality of the current state of deforestation. Joana Setzer, a global specialist in climate litigation, explained how courts have dealt with an apparent conflict of separation of powers through a duty based on human rights grounds to act in protection of a stable climate. Setzer used comparative law, bringing recent decisions from Colombia, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the USA. Disagreement on the Facts Minister Barroso, the presiding judge for the case and the hearing, had called the hearing to factually understand the current state of Brazil’s climate change policies from a broad range of perspectives. He repeatedly reinforced the need to deal with the facts, and not “create an imaginary and parallel reality.” The Minister declared that the Supreme Court would judge the case based on facts, the constitution, internationally agreed commitments, and the national legislation. Yet the discourse of current and past public officials was significantly different. The former environmental Minister, Izabella Teixeira, emphasized the country’s historical role as a leading power in the global architecture on sustainable development, which has significantly diminished lately. Current high-level government representatives, on the other hand, questioned the anthropogenic causes of global warming, disqualified data on deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, and dismissed the forest fires as natural phenomena. Ironically, while experts addressed climate change in Brazil, President Bolsonaro took the international stage at the UNGA’s 75th session, categorically denying facts and numbers, arguing there is a disinformation campaign about the Amazon, and that Brazil remains a leader in the conservation of tropical rainforests. Furthermore, Bolsonaro denied the spread of forest fires, which, he argued, are limited to areas surrounding the forest, led by indigenous groups. After the first session, mostly focused on government representatives’ testimonials, most specialists called on the government to give full effect to the governance mechanisms of environmental and climate policy. Still, some government officials acknowledged a few shortcomings in current policies, such as the reduced enforcement of environmental regulation and the implementation of existing environmental laws. With unprecedented rates of deforestation and forest fires, the Amazon rainforest featured prominently in the hearing’s discussions. Minister Barroso recalled a similar case currently pending at the Court, ADO 59, related to the Amazon Fund, under the presiding Minister Weber. A public hearing will similarly be held on October 23rd and 26th, focusing specifically on the lack of implementation of the Amazon’s environmental policies and allocating funds from the Amazon Fund. Minister Barroso was particularly interested in the Amazon rainforest’s role in climate change policy by absorbing a significant portion of global emissions (see here and here for an analysis of environmental policies on climate mitigation and adaptation in the Amazon). The Minister expressly indicated that both cases could eventually be considered jointly. Several scientific specialists explain the most significant omission from the current government regarding the increasing deforestation and forest fires rates. These affect the environment, the economy, and Brazil’s public image at the international level. The government’s reluctance to take adequate measures has already affected foreign financial assistance and trade agreements. Armínio Fraga, formerly from the Brazilian Central Bank, specifically addressed the significance of environmental crimes globally, which risk agribusiness and energy supply, making the country less attractive for foreign investments (more on it here). Scientists categorically explained the role of human activity on global warming, specifically from illegal activities, and Brazil’s contribution to GHG emissions. The Amazon region significantly suffers from the lack of proper land destination, which encourages deforestation, illegal invasions, and crimes. A Pattern of Regression Civil society organizations, such as Greenpeace Brasil, Instituto Socioambiental, IMAZON, and WWF-Brasil, exposed data and statistics on the dismantling of environmental and climate governance, the significant reduction of the budget of environmental bodies; the lack of allocation of existing resources; an abrupt and considerable decrease in fines and seizures by Ibama; the paralysis of sanctioning processes; and the deregulation of environmental standards. Transparency Internacional Brasil and Human Rights Watch considered how environmental destruction and the weakening of control bodies are intrinsically related. Organized crime networks benefit from illegalities that degrade biomes and promote violence, attacks on environmental defenders, and corruption. Suggesting ways to safeguard the Amazon, experts noted the role of transparent monitoring of deforestation, a coherent public policy of innovation and promotion of technology and entrepreneurship, and the potential of the Amazon the basis of a renewed Brazilian economy, based on the creation of high value-added forest product production chains, agroforestry systems and the valorization of socio-biodiversity and local knowledge. Minister Barroso specifically called for a compelling low-carbon development agenda. Companies such as Natura and Itaú Unibanco presented their proposals and commitments to care for the Amazon rainforest. Natura committed to zero deforestation by 2030 and already known initiatives to distribute benefits with local communities. Itaú Unibanco, along with Santander Brasil and Bradesco, outlined proposals to confront the forest’s critical state, such as improved due diligence of finance projects and a commitment to refuse credit to companies that promote illegal deforestation, as well as support the regularization of lands in the region. There is no estimated timeline as to when a ruling can be expected. Yet the case will likely advance climate litigation in Brazil. At the end of the hearing, Minister Barroso summarized the “uncontroversial” points from the debate. These include: - Brazil is among the seven highest emitters of greenhouse gases. However, unlike significant emitters, such as the United States and European countries, whose contribution relates to progress, industrialization, and consumption, Brazil’s emissions result from criminal activities that include deforestation, illegal logging, illegal mining, and land grabbing. - Deforestation and forest fires significantly grew in 2019 and 2020. - IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environmental agency, significantly reduced fines and embargoes imposed, showing reduced environmental laws enforcement. - Until the case was brought, the government had not approved the Plan of Application of Resources of the Climate Fund, nor allocated any resources. - Global financial sectors and consumers threaten to boycott Brazilian products, showing the economic impact of – the lack of – environmental policies. - Despite having reached 20% of deforestation in the Amazon in the last 50 years, the region’s GDP is stagnant at 8%, showing that the forest’s destruction does not correspond to an increase in human development or regional economic growth. - The development of a well-managed agribusiness is compatible with forests’ protection and does not require additional deforestation. - The Climate Fund plays a vital role in achieving international goals, such as emission reduction goals. - Environmental protection is not a political choice: it is a duty of the State. The Climate Fund case represents one of the first significant cases promoting strategic climate litigation in Brazil, questioning the deregulation of environmental law, and climate law. Simply hosting the public hearing was significant as an opportunity – and an innovative proposal from the court – to expand the dialogue on Brazil’s climate policy. The public environmental policy requires different parties to work together to address the problem of deforestation and climate change. The court understood that the topic goes well beyond the parties of the case, and it was essential to listen to experts from a broad range of sectors, presenting opinions from all sides. Throughout the hearing, it became clear – if it wasn’t already – that environmental policy is a constitutional matter and should therefore be discussed at the highest court in Brazil. In addition to its significance in assessing the State’s constitutional obligations on climate policy, the case also invites an assessment of the use of international law to address climate change nationally. Following a trend initiated by other climate cases worldwide, it brings explicitly international agreements as binding sources that could be enforced at the national level. Thus, the case invites a legal analysis from the court on whether the Climate Fund and other national mechanisms and policies are adequate to implement the commitments made by Brazil at the international level through its nationally determined contributions. If the country does not have the necessary mechanisms to comply with the international commitment, what can courts do? The court will significantly analyze these questions in the coming months.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.940426230430603, "language": "en", "url": "https://financialdailyupdates.com/whats-a-difference-between-interest-rate-vs-apr/", "token_count": 1219, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0458984375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:36de7042-ca6a-4320-8dce-a0f565c89920>" }	It’s surprising that with 364 million open credit card accounts in the U.S., many American consumers don’t understand the big difference between interest rate compared to APR. Considering credit card debt continues to climb, it’s more imperative than ever before to know the actual cost of borrowing money. Table of Contents Interest Rate vs. APR Understanding the difference between APR and interest rate starts once you understand what each term means. What’s an interest rate? When you take out a loan or credit card, the interest rate is the percentage of your outstanding balance that you pay to borrow the money. It’s a flat percentage that could change created on a creditor’s terms, the type of loan, and repayment behavior. What is an APR? In the most basic sense, your APR—or annual percentage rate—is the overall amount that will cost you to borrow cash and measures the real cost of a loan. Beyond the straightforward interest rate attached with your loan or credit card, APR also contains other financing fees which are changed into a complete yearly cost and divided right into a monthly expense. These may include origination fees, points fees, and closing fees among other things. Because APR bundles the simple annual interest rate and other financing fees, understanding how it works will better help you understand the true cost of borrowing money. It’s also a helpful comparison tool when determining the type of loan or credit card which makes the most sense for your financial circumstances. Janet Berry-Johnson of Credit Karma urges borrowers to think about this key question when you compare new credit card options: What is a good APR to pay? In its Credit Card Landscape Report, WalletHub reported that average APRs on new credit card accounts in the second quarter of 2018 were at 19.05%. Meanwhile, the typical APR for existing accounts was reduced at 13.08%. Types of APR Defined Annual percentage rates will be different with regards to the type of loan and the financial institution or credit card company you’re using. Home Mortgages and Personal Loans Home mortgage and personal loan APRs include lender fees, closing costs and more. While these fees are unlikely to improve, the simple interest rates definitely can if the fees aren’t fixed. According to Investopedia, “A fixed APR loan comes with an interest rate that’s guaranteed not to change throughout the life of the loan or credit facility. A variable APR loan comes with an interest rate that will change anytime. ” A good APR for one person, may possibly not be right for another. It’s important to explore different loans and the APRs connected with them to help you pick the best option for your circumstances. Common fees added together with the simple interest rate on a home mortgage loan include: - Origination fee - Tax service fee - Underwriting fee - Document preparation fee - Wire transfer fee - Office administration fee - Broker’s fee Credit Card APR In the credit card world, the type of APR you pay depends on the manner in which you use your card. They include: This short-term, low or zero percent APR can be used to incentivize individuals to apply for a new card. These promotional rates usually last at the least six months and certainly will extend for as long as 24 months. At the end of the introductory period, the APR will increase. Additionally, it may go up early as a result of missed or late payments. Balance Transfer APR If you anticipate using one card to settle another, you’ll likely need to pay a balance transfer fee and a particular APR which will only impact the amount of money transferred. As its name suggests, this APR pertains to purchases you make together with your card. When you pay off the full balance each month, you are able to avoid paying interest altogether. Cash Advance APR By using your credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM, the total amount will be subject to a separate cash advance APR. This rate is normally higher than a purchase APR. Once you withdraw cash, you will start paying interest on the amount. When you fall behind on payments for 60 days or even more, your credit card company will charge a penalty rate that’s higher than any other form of APR. According to Experian, the average penalty APR for credit cards hovers right around 30%. Certain fees are based on your behavior as a borrower and sometimes aren’t contained in your initial APR for credit cards, such as: - Annual fee - Balance transfer fee - Cash advance fee - Foreign transaction fee - Late payment fee - Over limit fee - Returned payment fee These kinds of fees should be outlined in your cardholder agreement so ensure that you read it closely before you sign. Staying proactive about making on-time payments, not overspending, and upping your credit score will all help in keeping your APR low. What APR Should You Expect you’ll Pay? It’s crucial that you remember that the higher your credit score is, the low your APR and interest rate on a loan. Before completing an application, take a look at what a good APR for a personal loan is dependent on what you currently be eligible for. As a borrower, it’s also advisable to understand that you’re protected against inaccurate and unfair credit card and billing techniques under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Before a lender or credit card company can charge you any interest or fees, they’re required for legal reasons to disclose all actual and potential charges, fees, and rates linked to the loan. Whatever type of loan or line of credit you’ll need, make sure you compare your alternatives and the actual costs associated with the borrowed amount. With regards to borrowing money, it pays to do your homework.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9416669011116028, "language": "en", "url": "https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/what-should-food-banks-do-when-demand-outpaces-supply-in-emergencies/", "token_count": 953, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.115234375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:c1cfc7f7-9384-4704-a7fb-2ca357a9e97a>" }	What Should Food Banks Do When Demand Outpaces Supply in Emergencies? O’Neill Institute \| Leave a Comment This expert column was written by Sarah Wetter and James G. Hodge, Jr. For millions of Americans this holiday season, the most critical line they face is not for COVID-19 testing, vaccines, or unemployment benefits, but rather the long wait at food banks and pantries across the country. As the toll of the pandemic worsens, 54 million Americans are food insecure, many for the first time, due to economic and health impacts. Lines of vehicles or persons on foot at food banks/ pantries sometimes entail hours of waiting. Most people in line have exhausted other options – their own savings, temporary payments, SNAP benefits, school lunch programs, churches, family, and friends. Others who are hungry cannot queue at all due to age, illness, disability, lack of transportation, or care duties for family members. Chronic lack of access to food impacts their physical, mental, and emotional health. In normal times, most food pantries feature store-like settings allowing recipients to select foods themselves. The pandemic has driven many pantries to abandon these typical distribution approaches. Instead, limited supplies are sorted, boxed, and distributed to customers on a largely “first-come, first-served” basis. Assessing consumers’ qualifications has given way to rapidly serving as many Americans as possible. While employees and volunteers at food distribution sites risk their own safety and health to assist consumers, the desperate need for food has led to a supply gap estimated at 10 billion pounds of food from September 2020 to June 2021. Many at-risk Americans are left empty-handed. Over the last several months, food distribution sites in California, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere could not meet consumer demand. Feeding Texas, an association of the state’s food banks, reported having to turn people away at approximately 30% of its distribution sites in April 2020 when supplies were depleted. As COVID-19 infections escalate nationally, food banks/pantries confront an ethical crisis: what to do in sustained public health emergencies when demand overwhelms supply? Ethical principles beyond basic fairness should be considered to blunt the impact of these shortages. As with distributions of limited emergency medical resources, preventing unnecessary morbidity and mortality is key. This means ensuring that those at highest risk of hunger and corresponding health impacts are not unfairly disadvantaged. Distribution strategies must reach at-risk populations that face barriers to access, like limited transportation or caretaking duties. When supplies run out, people with unmet needs should be prioritized as new resources become available. Community partnerships between food pantries, other non-profits, and transportation services can help reach those unable to reach the lines. Stigma stops many people who are at-risk of and experiencing hunger from going to distribution sites. Some undocumented immigrants fear inquiries about their citizenship. Others may hesitate to resort to pantries because of a sense of pride. Fighting stigma starts with an environment focused on personal dignity, including diverse workforces and volunteers at pantries, and transparent discourse focused on food justice rather than “personal responsibility.” Truly accessible sites also respect recipients’ dietary, cultural, and religious food preferences. For example, pantries should consider setting aside specialty boxes of food for people with diabetes or other medical conditions. Accommodating these preferences is a logistics challenge, but it helps overcome another one: waste. Even slight tailoring of limited food resources to match consumer preferences helps assure that the food is used efficiently at home, subsequently reducing recipients’ demands on limited supplies. Most critically, food banks/pantries must replenish their available supplies. Inventories are shrinking even as lines grow. The costs of purchasing foods by banks have risen. Donations via grocers and restaurants are way down. Public and private sector financial support for food banks/pantries are more essential than ever. When pantries go bare, many Americans simply have no other place to turn in an emergency. Assuring fair, efficient, and ethical access to food among at-risk populations is not easy. Yet, adaptations to assure greater equity in emergency food distributions can alleviate hunger and resulting health conditions affecting millions of Americans. Sarah Wetter is a law fellow at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center. James G. Hodge, Jr. is the Peter Kiewit Foundation professor of law and director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9511905312538147, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.dittotrade.academy/education/intermediate/fundamental-analysis/fundamental-indicators/zew-economic-sentiment-index-its-implications/", "token_count": 1264, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.05224609375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a10019c5-ada1-4011-8e21-7f039bf705c8>" }	What is the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index? ZEW (The acronym stands for Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung) Economic Sentiment is a survey that is essentially conducted by economists and analysts on a monthly basis where they asses the economic conditions of several countries and regions including the US, Germany, Japan, and United Kingdom. The Index marks a positive outlook if greater than 0 and a negative outlook if lesser than 0. Here, more than 300 experts from banks, general insurance companies, finance officers of selected corporations are asked about their assessment and forecast for the financial market and overall economic outlook. Participants usually give a six-month expectation of how they see the economy, inflation rates, interest rates, stock market and exchange rates in the Eurozone, Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, and Italy and they also include the expectation concerning oil. This indicator is created and published from the results obtained from the ZEW Financial Market Survey. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is a leading Indicator for the German economy and neighbouring countries. The ZEW was founded by the German Government in 1990 in association with Mannheim University. The research is carried out in microeconomic and macroeconomic fields as well, including financial management, labour, human resources, public policy, industrial economics, corporate taxation, public finance, and environmental economics. These are the broad areas that ZEW covers extensively. The Scientific Advisory Council of the ZEW uses the information collected through the survey to make-up a six-month forecast for the German economy. What does the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index of the country measure? All the survey that is done is taken to the financial market experts where they are asked to assess the probability of performance of diverse economic sectors ranging from banks, trade, construction, vehicle industry, chemical, steel, electronics, mechanical engineering, utilities, services, telecommunications, and information technology. Every expert comes out with his own prediction on a particular category which reflects different assumptions and can be put in percentage form. It is evaluated as the difference between the percentage of analysts who are optimistic about the percentage of people who are pessimistic. For example, if 30 per cent of the participants expect the economic situation to improve in next month’s in Germany, 30 per cent believe that the situation will be unchanged, and 40% expect the economic situation to deteriorate then ZEW Economic Sentiment will take the value of -10. The balance of these percentages is computed by taking the difference between positive and negative forecasts for each sector variable. Application of mathematically calculated results to expected changes in the economic situation in Germany is what is measured by the ‘ZEW Economic Sentiment Index.’ Thus, a positive number means that economists are optimistic about the country and vice versa. A reliable source of information on ‘ZEW Economic Sentiment Index’ The Financial Market Report, which is only available in German, provides a detailed analysis of the information and publishes the result in its official website and magazine. In addition, they are also published at regular intervals in the form of indicators and forecasts. The Information Service Routers also publishes the aggregate survey results. It majorly deals with European countries and specific data related to Germany. Here is a list of countries within the Eurozone and its ZEW Index rate: EURO (FRANCE) – https://tradingeconomics.com/france/zew-economic-sentiment-index EURO (GERMANY) – https://tradingeconomics.com/germany/zew-economic-sentiment-index What do traders care about the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index and its impact on the currency? ZEW Economic Sentiment represents nothing but the Economic Sentiment, which often drives economies. When people believe that the economy will not perform well in the near future, they mentally and financially start getting prepared for it, due to the belief which they had formed and made them save more and spend less for the upcoming decline. Because everyone is saving more and spending less, retail sales decline and have an effect on the revenue for the consumer companies. As earnings are bad, the corporate start to cut jobs, which creates layoffs and hence a plunge in the financial markets and crash in the economy. ZEW Economy Sentiment is a type of fundamental analysis for the short term traders rather than long term trades. This indicator is based on sentiment, and the whole of the Forex market is simply a collection of all those thoughts, feelings, and actions. If people have jobs, economic data is robust, and interest rates are rising, which is driven by positive sentiment. Residents would then expect the currency of that nation to move higher over the long run. People and Investment banks want to invest in growing and stable economies that are performing well. An important rule of sentiment is that more something is known to the market, the less of an impact it will generally have. This is essential, and one needs to keep in mind when trying to identify ZEW Sentiment and the expected market reaction caused by that sentiment. Frequency of the release The ZEW Economic Sentiment survey is conducted every month and is used as a basis for forecasting the economic condition of Germany for the next six months. This survey shows a balance between those economy experts who believe Germany has a bright to those who are negative. The Economic Sentiment covers several other countries and regions apart from Germany, which includes Japan, United States, Eurozone, UK, France, and Italy. The Council of ZEW uses various indicators to predict a six-month future for the economy. The Bottom Line ZEW Sentiment, like any other fundamental indicator, has its own importance as it represents the mood of the market in the trading session similar to price action, which we see it unfolding in front of us. Currencies tend to move a lot, which is attached to this sentiment. ZEW Sentiment has a high-interest rate yield associated with the particular economy because the purchaser of the currency gets a share in the interest yield. Large asset management firms love this guaranteed high-interest rate and price speculation around that currency which cause a rally in the currency.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9445914030075073, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.findworldedu.com/2021/building-equity-into-vaccine-distribution.html", "token_count": 1548, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.12890625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:abe8ae83-e758-4355-9d54-3b9e1a427be3>" }	As the U.S. speeds up distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, the question of equity keeps surfacing. Who gets priority? If the pandemic is hitting certain communities harder, can they be adequately supplied with vaccine doses? What’s the best way to balance the needs of different groups within society? MIT economist Parag Pathak’s work emphasizes those questions — and helps tackle them. Over the last year, Pathak and a group of colleagues have developed an approach to the distribution of vaccines and other medical goods that is being used in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Tennessee. This approach, called either a “reserve system” or a “categorized priority system,” allows medical resources to be allocated among multiple groups at once, while retaining enough flexibility to help groups with especially acute needs. In practice, a vaccine can be distributed among frontline medical workers and senior citizens while also reaching places that have been especially hard-hit by Covid-19. “The reserve system offers a way to get to some compromise, where you still respect the prioritization of frontline workers and the elderly, but you also have a way to scale up to how you want to protect the most disadvantaged communities,” says Pathak, the Class of 1922 Professor of Economics. That need certainly exists: Geographically, the pandemic has taken a heavy toll in many hotspot areas across the country. Demographically, as a Jan. 26 CNN analysis of 14 states showed, about 4 percent of the white Americans have been vaccinated so far, compared to just 1.9 percent of Blacks and 1.8 percent of Hispanics. From ventilators to vaccines Since early 2020, Pathak has been working on these resource-allocation issues with a group of colleagues — especially Boston College economics professors Tayfun Sönmez and Utku Ünver, who like Pathak specialize in designing markets for nonfinancial goods, and University of Pennsylvania medical ethicist Harald Schmidt. Last spring, they proposed a way for states to allocate ventilators across multiple groups in society. The group realized the reserve system could be extended to Covid-19 therapeutics and vaccines. Since then, they have produced multiple working papers analyzing vaccine distribution and the reserve system; developed a modeling tool for health officials; and met with policymakers from across the country. They also hosted an online conference on vaccine allocation and social justice in December with Ariadne Labs at Harvard University and the Leonard Davis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, with over 500 participants. Massachusetts has now adopted reserve system principles for the distribution of both Covid-19 vaccines and the monoclonal antibody treatment, while Tennessee is using the reserve system for vaccines as well. “Massachusetts and Tennessee have embraced this concept,” Pathak says. “These are very concrete steps toward equitable vaccine distribution.” Over the last year, Pathak and his colleagues have produced “sophisticated mathematical models that were simply unknown within the world of medicine and public health,” says Robert Truog, director of the Harvard Center for Bioethics, Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Legal Medicine, and professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. “The approaches that they are developing go a long way toward addressing difficult concerns about social justice within complex problems such as the fair allocation of Covid-19 vaccines.” After encountering the group’s work, Truog collaborated with them on a paper surveying the subject. How does it work? So what is the reserve system, exactly? In the first place, the method distributes medical resources to multiple groups simultaneously, rather than ranking everyone on one priority scale. For Covid-19, Pathak and his colleagues recommend setting aside a portion of available vaccines for particularly hard-hit social groups. In this way, “an ideal allocation mechanism should permit a wide range of options,” as Sönmez, Pathak, Ünver, and their co-authors wrote in a paper recently published in CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. In Tennessee, 85 percent of vaccine doses are distributed across the state; 10 percent go to disadvantaged areas, as measured by the Social Vulnerability Index of the Centers for Disease Control; and 5 percent are applied to hotspots that flare up. At least 27 counties have been allocated additional vaccine doses based on vulnerability to Covid-19. Massachusetts’ plan recommends setting aside 20 percent of vaccines to communities that have a disproportionate Covid-19 burden and high social vulnerability. To distribute monoclonal antibodies, Massachusetts also adopted a reserve system along the lines the scholars recommended, with 80 percent of the available doses allotted to a general category with various subdivisions, and another 20 percent of doses being for patients from disadvantaged areas. This approach addresses a clear problem the economists have quantified: If vaccine distribution is proportional to population, it will lack the maximum impact in saving lives and preventing illness, because not all areas are equally affected. The scholars modeled this in detail in a working paper posted last November, which looks at vaccine distribution nationally. The result? A strictly population-based allotment means worse-off groups in 16 states — including California, Florida, New York, and Texas — would receive relatively fewer vaccine doses, compared to a system in which the federal government used 10 percent of doses for especially vulnerable groups nationwide. In another recent working paper by the same authors, the researchers found that doubling the allotment for hard-hit groups to 20 percent more than doubles the number of particularly vulnerable people who would get vaccinated within the first 48 million doses. “If you take into account the national distribution of who is hard hit, then you could do a lot more to advance the cause of equity,” Pathak says. (The Biden administration has announced new federal support for more vaccination locations for disadvantaged communities.) Not just a 10 percent solution There is no magic reserve number — 10 percent or otherwise — for disadvantaged populations. Instead, the group’s work suggests a general principle: If there are greater social inequities, the quantity in a reserve allotment could rise. By contrast, if everyone were in the same medical circumstances, a priority system would be unnecessary. “If it [the social landscape] were completely even, you wouldn’t need a reserve,” Pathak says. There are other factors to weigh as well — such as whether Black or Hispanic populations are more reluctant to get vaccinated than the population in general. “If you want to ensure equity, you have to keep track of the [vaccine] takeup as it progresses,” Pathak says. “If there are very stark differences across demographic groups on vaccine takeup, and if our goal is not offers of vaccines, but actual vaccination, [a given percentage allotment] for the hardest-hit may not be adequate.” If so, health officials might increase their reserve allotment for the truly disadvantaged. “This all may sound like an arcane implementation issue, but really, that’s what we’re about,” Pathak says. “I’ve always found it very valuable to interact with policymakers on the ground solving real problems, and to learn from them. With Covid, it’s not about seeing whether we can find the optimal theoretical system, but seeing if we can engineer things to be just a little bit better.”
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9497585296630859, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.genpaysdebitche.net/how-to-find-your-crypto-key/", "token_count": 675, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.09326171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:717992c2-0bbf-46d6-b3f6-ffc4209e6a1c>" }	How To Find Your Crypto Key – What is Cryptocurrency? Put simply, Cryptocurrency is digital cash that can be used in place of conventional currency. Essentially, the word Cryptocurrency originates from the Greek word Crypto which suggests coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is simply as old as Blockchains. The distinction between Cryptocurrency and Blockchains is that there is no centralization or ledger system in place. In essence, Cryptocurrency is an open source procedure based on peer-to Peer deal innovations that can be performed on a dispersed computer system network. One particular method in which the Ethereum Project is trying to solve the problem of wise agreements is through the Foundation. The Ethereum Foundation was established with the goal of establishing software application options around smart agreement performance. The Foundation has released its open source libraries under an open license. What does this mean for the larger community thinking about participating in the development and implementation of smart agreements on the Ethereum platform? For starters, the significant difference in between the Bitcoin Project and the Ethereum Project is that the former does not have a governing board and for that reason is open to factors from all walks of life. The Ethereum Project takes pleasure in a much more regulated environment. For that reason, anyone wanting to add to the job must follow a standard procedure. As for the jobs underlying the Ethereum Platform, they are both making every effort to offer users with a brand-new way to get involved in the decentralized exchange. The significant differences between the 2 are that the Bitcoin procedure does not use the Proof Of Consensus (POC) process that the Ethereum Project uses. On the other hand, the Ethereum Project has taken an aggressive approach to scale the network while likewise tackling scalability issues. In contrast to the Satoshi Roundtable, which focused on increasing the block size, the Ethereum Project will be able to implement improvements to the UTX procedure that increase transaction speed and decline fees. The decentralized element of the Linux Foundation and the Bitcoin Unlimited Association represent a conventional model of governance that positions an emphasis on strong neighborhood participation and the promo of agreement. This design of governance has actually been adopted by numerous distributed application teams as a method of handling their projects. The major difference in between the two platforms comes from the fact that the Bitcoin neighborhood is mainly self-sufficient, while the Ethereum Project anticipates the participation of miners to subsidize its advancement. By contrast, the Ethereum network is open to factors who will contribute code to the Ethereum software application stack, forming what is understood as “code forks “. As with any other open source innovation, much controversy surrounds the relationship in between the Linux Foundation and the Ethereum Project. The Facebook team is supporting the work of the Ethereum Project by offering their own structure and creating applications that integrate with it. Simply put, Cryptocurrency is digital cash that can be used in place of conventional currency. Basically, the word Cryptocurrency comes from the Greek word Crypto which suggests coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is just as old as Blockchains. The difference between Cryptocurrency and Blockchains is that there is no centralization or ledger system in place. In essence, Cryptocurrency is an open source protocol based on peer-to Peer transaction technologies that can be performed on a dispersed computer network. How To Find Your Crypto Key
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9519225358963013, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.policybazaar.com/life-insurance/child-plans/articles/when-is-the-right-time-to-teach-your-kids-about-money-matters/", "token_count": 645, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.060302734375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:13dac2c5-ef17-4455-96f7-c5d72261d401>" }	“Don't just protect your child from the future; prepare them for it". - Robert Kiyosaki Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the bestseller “Rich Kid, Smart Kid", talks about how financial lessons that he learnt in his early days helped him become a millionaire. It's never too early in the life of a child to start talking about money; in fact, the sooner the better. So, if you haven’t yet initiated such conversations, it's the right time. You must give your children the financial head start by inculcating the habit of financial management when they are young. From your child's first piggy bank to their first credit card, here’s how you can teach your kids some valuable financial lessons:*All savings are provided by the insurer as per the IRDAI approved insurance plan. Standard T&C Apply Get a Piggy Bank – Start with giving your child a piggy bank when he enters in elementary school. Personalized piggy bank with their favourite cartoon characters is the best way to encourage kids to take pride in saving money. Find Fun Ways to Teach–One way to do this is to play the coin identification game. You and your child can trace the outside of various coins and then color them. Then ask your child to match the coin to the image while talking amore about that coin. Apart from this, there are many online games that you can play with your kid while subtly teaching them about money matters. The idea is to introduce them to money. Assign a Weekly Allowance –An allowance is a great teaching tool. Fix an amount for your child’s pocket money and don’t give extra pocket money if he spends it mid-week. This technique will allow your child to learn the discipline of money management. Teach the Value of Money With Delayed Gratification Technique – Don’t comply with your child’s whim every time; make him understand the value of the money. For example, if he wants a skateboard, ask him to save a bit of his pocket money or earn the amount by doing simple house tasks. Give him a doable target and appreciate him if he achieves it by handing over a bonus Involve your Child in Family Budget Planning – Involve your child in family budget discussions. Let him know how much you earn and what are the family responsibilities. This exercise itself will set the wheel in motion. Send Your Child For Purchasing Household Stuff – Give your child the shopping list and ask him to shop. This will teach him subtle art of negotiation and understanding the economics of market. Open a Bank Account – Get your child to open his first bank account and teach him about financial concepts such as savings, commissions and interest. A visit to a real branch to deposit money creates a memorable and rewarding life experience for your children. I still remember the pride I felt holding my first bank account book. All of a sudden, I felt responsible! “One of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is to prepare them to be responsible, empowered adults around money.” -Unknown
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9093624949455261, "language": "en", "url": "https://clutejournals.com/index.php/AJBE/article/view/9916", "token_count": 432, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.06591796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:6756b72b-3a70-432e-b38a-e22315170c26>" }	Main Article Content Accounting Cycle, Games, Monopoly, Pedagogy, Simulations, Teaching Efficiency And Effectiveness This paper extends the use of the Monopoly® board game as an economic simulation exercise designed to reinforce an understanding of how the accounting cycle impacts the financial statements used to evaluate management performance. This extension adds elements of debt not previously utilized to allow for an introduction of the fundamentals of ratio analysis at a foundation level in financial accounting instruction. This extended approach uses the rules and strategies of a familiar board game to create a simulation of business and economic realities, which then becomes an effective, interactive, in-class financial accounting practice set. The unique combination of each player’s skill and luck provides for unlimited outcome possibilities, delivering an interpretive result that students can neither predict nor easily manipulate. This pedagogical approach serves to provide students with a sense of proprietorship in the activities of the instruction and fosters a competitive spirit to succeed in class activities that will ultimately be presented to the entire class. While the instructor surrenders a significant level of control in the class exercise, the uniqueness of each Monopoly® team’s game results requires active engagement in-class and additional individual effort on the follow-up assignments outside the classroom. In the previous use of the Monopoly® board game, the class activity provided a valuable parallel for reality in practicing the financial accounting cycle and emphasizing its use by external parties. Because of the dynamic sense of capturing the “real-time” aspect of the game into finished financial statements for analysis, students start to sense a greater appreciation for the role that accounting cycle activities play in business reporting and the assessment of operating results. Using the Monopoly® board game in the first course in financial accounting tends to generate a higher level of competitive energy in the classroom experience, with more actively engaged students grasping the nature and purpose of the financial accounting system more quickly and actively than with other pedagogical approaches previously used. More recently, using Microsoft Excel to reflect the game results and present the financial statements has added to the robust learning experience achieved by incorporating the Monopoly® board game.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9311330914497375, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.chcs.org/advancing-health-equity-in-medicaid-emerging-value-based-payment-innovations/?utm_source=CHCS+Email+Updates&utm_campaign=70dda67195-VBP+Health+Disparity+Blog_03/26/19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbced451bf-70dda67195-157174129", "token_count": 1497, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:fd35cce5-6570-44ee-b4f9-63b083f59a26>" }	Health care disparities persist across the United States, despite growing awareness of the issue. Black mothers are two to three times more likely to die of common pregnancy complications than white women. Minority patients, especially those with Medicaid coverage, are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at later disease stages and experience worse survival rates compared to other patients. Health equity is particularly salient to Medicaid programs, which are responsible for addressing the needs of diverse populations. State Medicaid agencies are well positioned to advance health equity across several categories, including: race or ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, age, disability, behavioral health diagnosis, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. Using Medicaid payment reform as a lever to promote health equity holds particular promise. Payment Reform Levers to Address Health Equity Many state Medicaid programs already use value-based payment (VBP) to encourage health care providers to improve health outcomes, while also providing better, more efficient care. Unlike fee-for-service payments, VBP can also give providers the incentive to invest in delivery system improvements that reduce health disparities. By taking a more purposeful approach to VBP — one that explicitly embeds mechanisms for improving health equity — states, health plans, and providers can create more strategic VBP arrangements that may reduce health disparities. Advancing Health Equity: Leading Care, Payment, and Systems Transformation, a national program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is designed to identify and test effective ways to reduce and eliminate disparities in health and health care through a variety of approaches, including innovative Medicaid payment and contracting models. Under the initiative, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is collaborating with the University of Chicago and the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) to bring together key stakeholders — state Medicaid directors, Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs), and clinical partners — to pursue payment innovations that support health equity. Emerging State Medicaid Innovations Three promising approaches that states are taking to advance health equity via VBP include: (1) targeting health disparities when measuring quality performance; (2) enabling fairer comparisons among providers; and (3) soliciting community and beneficiary input into VBP design. 1. Target Health Disparities When Measuring Quality Performance Every VBP approach includes quality performance measures linked to financial rewards. To incentivize providers to address health disparities, states and other entities designing VBP arrangements are taking two approaches: (a) stratify quality measures by race or ethnicity and (b) select specific measures that are “disparity-sensitive” or otherwise capable of capturing improvements in health equity or the impact of interventions. States, payers, and providers are measuring the reduction of health care disparities in various ways. For example, Louisiana will require MCOs to stratify performance measures across different populations with attention to geography, ethnicity, race, and disability status. Oregon has one incentive measure for its coordinated care organizations (CCOs) that it identifies as a “disparity measure” — emergency department utilization among members with mental illness. Minnesota requires its Medicaid Integrated Health Partnerships to propose a health equity measure “tied to interventions that are intended to reduce health disparities” among patients, such as tracking the number of people referred to and receiving food assistance. MCOs in Michigan must describe how the plan’s VBP strategy impacted performance on plan-specific health equity measures, and can earn bonus funds for reporting on the impact of three targeted projects relating to social determinants of health (SDOH) and health equity, including one targeted initiative on low birth weight. In addition, MCOs must measure and report on the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions to reduce health disparities by considering measures such as: the number of enrollees experiencing a disparate level of social needs (e.g., transportation, housing, food access); the number of enrollees participating in additional in-person support services (e.g., community health worker or health promotion and prevention programs provided by community-based organizations); and changes in enrollee biometrics and self-reported health status. 2. Enable Fairer Comparisons Among Providers Some VBP models may have unintended consequences. Medicare’s Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM) program, for example, failed to improve care on average and may have actually exacerbated disparities. States and payers may deploy payment strategies to avoid penalizing providers serving patients who face a more complex set of life circumstances and social needs. For example, instead of holding providers to a static quality benchmark — say, 75th percentile in a particular HEDIS measure — states may reward improvement on particular measures, as compared to the provider’s prior performance. Colorado’s Primary Care Alternative Payment Model rewards primary care providers based on demonstrated improvement on selected performance measures relative to their own historical baseline rather than against performance of other primary care providers during the same period. To avoid penalizing providers who treat patients with greater social needs, states and payers can also risk adjust quality measures and stratify performance scores for social risk factors. Massachusetts Medicaid, in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, for example, developed its risk adjustment methodology, which incorporates social risk data. 3. Incorporate Community and Beneficiary Input in VBP Design The reasons for health disparities are diffuse, from health providers’ implicit biases to SDOH, such as poor housing conditions. Engaging individuals most affected by health disparities can help ensure that resources are deployed in line with community needs. For example, Oregon requires CCOs to establish a community advisory council (CAC) that includes Medicaid beneficiaries. The CAC oversees Community Health Assessments (CHAs) and Community Health Improvement Plans (CHPs), which serve as a strategic plan for addressing health disparities and meeting health needs for the communities in a service area. In future iterations of the CCO program, CCOs will work with other health care entities in the service area, including hospitals, to develop a shared CHA and shared CHP priorities and strategies, and use these identified priorities to target investments in SDOH. In another example, Washington State collects information and stories from individuals with diverse perspectives across the state to inform development of health system transformation efforts, including VBP. Similarly, physicians from Johns Hopkins Hospital recently solicited community feedback to determine how to allocate health care resources during a disaster situation and used that information to inform recommendations to state policymakers. State policymakers can use a similar process to develop a VBP strategy targeting health equity in local communities. State Medicaid programs can take innovative approaches to not only engage diverse consumer voices up front in VBP program design, but also embed meaningful consumer engagement mechanisms into provider program requirements. Medicaid stakeholders interested in leveraging payment reform to advance health equity have an opportunity to participate in the Advancing Health Equity learning collaborative. Under the initiative, CHCS, IMI, and the University of Chicago will support stakeholder teams in up to nine states in designing or refining VBP models that incentivize health care delivery transformation to reduce and eliminate disparities in health and health care. Each team will consist of representatives from the state Medicaid agency, a Medicaid MCO operating in the state, and one or more provider organizations or systems contracted by the MCO. The collaborative activities will develop, test, and implement integrated payment and delivery system changes, as well as the challenges and barriers that prevent adoption.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9464683532714844, "language": "en", "url": "https://blog.truebill.com/6-gifts-teach-kids-saving-investing/", "token_count": 764, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.07763671875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:6c7649c4-26ed-436f-8d4f-215f7c5125b2>" }	6 Gifts to Teach Kids About Saving and Investing Whether it’s during the holiday season or for a birthday present, or any time of year, it’s always a good time to give gifts that teach kids about saving and investing. Fortunately there are a variety of great books, toys and tools available to help kids learn about how to smartly manage their money – from the Berenstain Bears to cute “piggy banks” to more complex educational resources about investing money. Here are a few of Truebill’s favorite gifts that are meant to teach kids about saving and investing: Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting This book by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas is a beautifully illustrated read-aloud storybook that teaches simple math concepts such as counting money, and also shows kids a glimpse of the fun and resilience of entrepreneurship – and the challenges of selling cold drinks during a cold season! Smart Piggy Trio Bank Many parents want their kids to learn how to use their money wisely, even from a young age. This gift is an update on the classic piggy bank – it’s a 3-in-1 bank with separate compartments for spending, saving and sharing. This way, kids can learn about how to budget money, how to assign money for various goals, and how to include saving and philanthropy with everyday financial life, starting from a young age. The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble With Money The Berenstains’ classic stories of the Bear family are favorites with many families; in this book, Brother Bear and Sister Bear decide to start their own businesses to earn money – but quickly realize that sometimes “more money” really does cause “more problems.” This is a fun and simple story to teach kids about why it’s important to have a bank account and how to think differently about where their money goes. The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense Another book from the Berenstains shares more ideas on how to help kids learn how to budget their money, spend wisely, use a checkbook, and otherwise manage their money in a responsible way. The Learning Journey Kids Bank Play Money Set This toy money set contains $5,000 worth of realistic-looking “play money” and coins. The money in this set contains all of the denominations of U.S. currency – including $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. And the set comes in a sturdy tray that serves as a storage compartment. With this set of play money, kids can learn about counting money, making change, and running their own imaginary small business or “kids bank.” Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for Kids This book gives young investors the basics of finance and making your money grow – with kid-friendly explanations for how various aspects of money management work, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds and savings accounts. If you can teach kids about saving and investing at a younger age, they’ll be better prepared to confidently navigate the world of finance as adults. So many adults don’t fully understand “interest rates,” “mutual funds” or other basic financial concepts. Many people are not saving enough for retirement and are not managing their money properly, and it often starts with a lack of basic financial literacy. Giving your kids one of these gifts is more than just a happy memory on a special occasion – you’ll be setting them up for bigger long-term success in life. And that’s the biggest gift of all.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9173319339752197, "language": "en", "url": "https://essayhub.net/essays/innovation-and-sustainable-business-development-graphical-assignment", "token_count": 1931, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.006378173828125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:dabbb9bf-1d75-4ffc-aedb-f67236b65316>" }	The establishment of the structured business model is essential for representing the overall business processes. Some of the business models, such as contextual, graphical, and textual are associated with the organisational structure (Zou, et al., 2014). The business organisations identify the future prospects of a sustainable business and develop the suitable business model to conduct the business activities. The initial formulation of the business model includes the technological architectures, value propositions, and the organisational infrastructure. Therefore, the essay is based on the formulation of the structured business model that can e perceived as the system. The conceptualized ideas of the business model development are initially focusing on the identification of the core business concepts. It has been observed that the business organisations often deal with several segmentations, such as organisational structure, target customers, and the operational policies (Veit et al., 2014). The business model is generally dealing with the assumption based hypothetical context that determines the necessary resources used for fulfilling the business objectives. The identification of such key resources is much beneficial in organizing the value chain process in a significant way. Morris et al., (2015) opined that the business model development is mainly focusing on the expected outcomes of the organisational structure for ensuring the new opportunities. The business model as a system is associated with the identification, understanding, and the stimulation process of the model evaluation. It is to be specified that the system model is generally utilized to present the conceptualized ideas about the interdisciplinary study. This interdisciplinary model is focusing in the application of the model for presenting the conceptualized form of the systems, especially, in the business development in IT firms. It is noted that the functional modeling is concentrating on the functional flow diagram and the important techniques. It is important to state that the business process-modeling notation is one kind of typical workflow that is represented through the graphical presentation (Fielt, 2014). The conceptual models can sometimes be physical or social that based on the values of current affairs. The business model as a system is much helpful in resolving the static and dynamic issues. These business models are generally depending on the scientific method in which the starting point is to create the hypothetical value. The business managers often concentrate on using the business models in order to address the issues based on the static or dynamic factors. It is noted that they use the spreadsheet for ensuring the analytical approaches for the upcoming planning process (Farahani et al., 2014). In fact, evaluation of such business model is much beneficial in analyzing the critical components. In addition to this, it is essential for the business manager to ensure the business dynamics for resolving the internal conflicts. Therefore, the business managers have been using the business models for strengthening the value positions and securing the competitive position as well. Additionally, it is much helpful in developing the strong customer base as well. The establishment of the business model system is effective enough in recognizing the partnership aspects of the firm. The business model canvas is generally used for identifying the right partners in the market that can be beneficial for the entrepreneurial business process. While securing the competitive position in the market, it is essential for the firm to identify the potential suppliers and the different types of partnerships (Bohnsack, Pinkse & Kolk, 2014). These partnerships are generally concentrating on the location and needs of the relevant supply chain process. In fact, evaluation of such business model is much beneficial in analyzing the critical components. In addition to this, it is essential for the business manager to ensure the business dynamics for resolving the internal conflicts (Boons & L?deke-Freund, 2013). The business model system is the most useful source of identifying these specific factors that determine the association of the right partnership businesses. It is in fact helpful in defining the expectations in the competitive business market and the impacts on the potential clients. It is essential for the business clients to ensure the win-win situations. However, it is important to select the right business partners for the future growth. On the other hand, the business partnership process is classified into various typologies, such as joint venture, strategic alliance, and buyer-supplier relationships. It is essential to select the right method to strengthen the business entity on the grounds of competitive market. Another most beneficial use of business model is the innovation process. The application of the innovative business mechanisms is necessary for ensuring the sustainable development of the firm in a competitive market. In fact, the innovative business method is generally persuading the business companies to differentiate the business strategies and achieve the competitive advantage (Baden-Fuller & Haefliger, 2013). The business managers often concentrate on using the business models in order to address the issues based on the static or dynamic factors. It is noted that they use the spreadsheet for ensuring the analytical approaches for the upcoming planning process. The business model system is thus helpful enough in identifying the unique mechanisms that will be helpful enough in increasing the standardized business parameter. Mitsuru Kodama, on his article named Boundaries Innovation and Knowledge Integration in the Japanese Firm highlighted the restructuring process of a Japanese firm for competing in the global market (Kodama, 2009). The article pointed out several competencies of the Japanese firm for ensuring the capability of participating in the competitive business market. For example, the strong base of the electronic and telecommunication services is effective enough in attracting more customers towards the business brands. The article is focusing on the ‘knowledge integration firm’ that develops the unique corporate model. The integration process is linking the organisations from different zones. The evaluation of the knowledge integration model helps in prevailing the challenges and the issues associated with the vertical corporate boundaries. Another article on Killing Two Birds with One Stone, it has been specified that the structured business model is helpful in improving the product and service delivery process. It is to be specified that the associated spreadsheet in the business development process provide the insights about the logic-based issues (Itami & Nishino, 2010). The understanding of the critical components is essential for organizing the value added services that are much attractive for the target customer group. In fact, the article provides the reflective insights about the simplistic forms of performing the organisational activities. Managing the core competencies would be beneficial in gathering revenues and the competitive position in the market. This paper discloses the relevant findings that would be helpful in understanding the future business trends via developing business models. The business models are considered as a part of the overall business systems. The business managers often concentrate on using the business models in order to address the issues based on the static or dynamic factors. It is noted that they use the spreadsheet for ensuring the analytical approaches for the upcoming planning process. In fact, evaluation of such business model is much beneficial in analyzing the critical components. In addition to this, it is essential for the business manager to ensure the business dynamics for resolving the internal conflicts. The continuous changing scenario of the business model innovation sometimes can be invisible to the people worldwide. It is implied that the business model development is associated with several factors, such astrategic choices, value network, creating values, and capturing values. The spreadsheet presented by the managers for the business model development provides the solution to address the logic-based issues within an organisation. Baden-Fuller, C., & Haefliger, S. (2013). Business models and technological innovation. Long range planning, 46(6), 419-426. Bohnsack, R., Pinkse, J., & Kolk, A. (2014). Business models for sustainable technologies: Exploring business model evolution in the case of electric vehicles. Research Policy, 43(2), 284-300. Boons, F., & L?deke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9-19. Farahani, R. Z., Rezapour, S., Drezner, T., & Fallah, S. (2014). Competitive supply chain network design: An overview of classifications, models, solution techniques and applications. Omega, 45, 92-118. Fielt, E. (2014). Conceptualising business models: Definitions, frameworks and classifications. Journal of Business Models, 1(1), 85-105. Itami, H., & Nishino, K. (2010). Killing two birds with one stone: profit for now and learning for the future. Long Range Planning, 43(2), 364-369. Kodama, M. (2009). Boundaries innovation and knowledge integration in the Japanese firm. Long Range Planning, 42(4), 463-494. Morris, M., Schindehutte, M., Richardson, J., & Allen, J. (2015). Is the business model a useful strategic concept? Conceptual, theoretical, and empirical insights. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 17(1), 27-50. Veit, D., Clemons, E., Benlian, A., Buxmann, P., Hess, T., Kundisch, D., ... & Spann, M. (2014). Business models. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 6(1), 45-53. Zou, W., Kumaraswamy, M., Chung, J., & Wong, J. (2014). Identifying the critical success factors for relationship management in PPP projects. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 265-274.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9527875185012817, "language": "en", "url": "https://infiniumcom.com/accelerating-the-startup-process/", "token_count": 620, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.060791015625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:f2ebaea1-eefc-43aa-a2ba-85e1ece25ec3>" }	Launching a startup is a potential gateway to financial freedom. Starting from the ground up with limited resources defines startups. In order to stay alive, the company must make its mark quickly. There are certain characteristics shared by new businesses that enter the market with the intent to make a splash. Create a Path to Success The first step toward success is to have a sense of entrepreneurial enthusiasm with expertise in a specific field. The next step is to find a hole in the market where opportunity exists. From there, timing, desire, and luck all play a role in whether or not the startup takes off. In order for a startup to succeed, management must do the following: Establish a Cost/Benefit Analysis An essential part of developing a business plan is to analyze costs and benefits. The business needs to start with a budget. Every expense must be justified with a degree of flexibility. The typical startup will have to prove it can generate revenue before investors take notice. The internet and cloud computing has opened the door to low-cost services for monthly fees instead of investing in expensive hardware and software. Plan for Cost Efficiency In the past, independent businesses were required to pay upfront costs for equipment and office space. Modern businesses have many more tools at their disposal that don’t require such high expenses. Online publishing, for example, does not require a huge facility with a printing press. Since the means of production can exist on a virtual desktop, it’s possible to run a business with minimal costs for office supplies. If close attention is paid to time, money, and other resources, the minimalist approach can go a long way. Minimalism can be applied to many businesses, including brick and mortar establishments. Learn How Investors Think Presenting a startup to venture capitalists (VCs) is a tedious process that should not be taken for granted. Geography is an important factor, since certain places such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are huge financial centers, while other cities are less influential. Small town entrepreneurs may have to travel and make presentations at major market trade shows. Even if the business does secure significant funding, investors will likely put pressure on the company to deliver a quick return. VCs inevitably reject most proposals. Risk management is part of their philosophy in their quest to take at least one out of ten companies public that they pursue. They expect one of the companies to pay for the rest in terms of investment. Conclusion: Help Make the World Better Building a market while developing the brand should be done without strain on the budget. The goal should be to create a marketable prototype with early adopters already lined up. A major key is that the product must offer value to consumers. Writing about the concept online helps spread the word, in addition to establishing thought leadership. So much of branding deals with finding solutions to existing problems that people are willing to pay for. Experimentation helps find the solution that will earn money and attract deeper pockets. The process requires constant reassessment, objectivity, and creativity.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9398564100265503, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.coininsider.com/how-can-i-store-bitcoin/", "token_count": 1688, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.08984375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b484e0cb-258f-4c51-8e41-b16e99878b34>" }	Part ten of Bitcoin Basics: The phenomenon explained in plain english In part 8 of the Bitcoin basics series we looked at how to buy and sell Bitcoin. In part 9 we will look at how to store Bitcoin. Similarly to holding large amounts of paper money, holding bitcoin involves taking several precautions to secure one’s wealth. While some traders – who spend their days trading between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies – might leave their bitcoins on an exchange, the most secure way to hold bitcoin in the long term is to make use of a wallet. As we’ve covered previously, the term ‘wallet’ isn’t an entirely accurate description – some favour the term ‘keychain’ – and it’s actually further incorrect to state that a wallet ‘stores’ bitcoins; a wallet houses a user’s public and private keys which are used to access a public Bitcoin address and sign transactions, respectively. Bitcoin wallets are available in a variety of formats, and each offers unique features over the others. Your needs may vary, and it is important to take into account both one’s trading or investment habits as well as their security needs before committing to one specific kind of wallet for the long term. Desktop wallets are software programs that can run on desktop and laptop computers that run popular operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Apple’s macOS, and even Linux. The appeal of desktop wallets places access to one’s bitcoin address directly on the same computer that one might trade from, though these typically aren’t as portable or usable in the wild as mobile wallets are. The de facto Bitcoin client, called Bitcoin Core, is run by many computers around the world. These form ‘nodes’ on the network that handle the important task of relaying transactions – however, this software also enables users to create a Bitcoin address to send and receive bitcoins, as well as store their private key. Desktop wallets such as Bitcoin Core can be excessively large to download and maintain, and furthermore requires that users continuously update the program to stay in lockstep with the Blockchain as new transactions are verified and added. However, not all desktop wallets necessarily act as nodes. Some opt to simply serve as a software wallet that can house both keys and are developed by third parties. These are usually far less cumbersome to download and maintain, and may are available with particular features or focusses that investors might find appealing. Like their desktop counterparts, mobile wallets are software programs (apps) which one can install on their smartphone. Typically, these are available on Apple’s iOS (iPhones), Android phones, and some are even available for Microsoft’s lesser-used Windows Phone. Where desktop wallets are relatively mobile and inherently aren’t pocket-able, mobile wallets provide investors and traders with the convenience of being able to take their wallet with them on-the-go. This further allows users of certain mobile wallets to make convenient and quick payments not only with bitcoin, but with other cryptocurrencies as well. The trade-off for this requirement is the fact that as smartphones don’t feature the processing power or memory of most computers, mobile wallets do not download the entire bitcoin blockchain – instead relying on a small ‘portion’ of the blockchain and thus relay most transactions through what are called ‘trusted’ nodes. This essentially outsources some of the computing power and memory needed to use a bitcoin wallet to other computers linked on the Bitcoin Blockchain. While a mobile wallet houses both a user’s public and private key as a desktop would, most mobile wallets take advantage of either QR-code scanning or Near Field Communications (NFC). In the case of the former, mobile wallets can scan a QR code by using their smartphone’s camera. The mobile wallet in question can then interpret the code as another bitcoin wallet address, which users can send bitcoins to. In other cases, smartphones equipped with an NFC chip (like some of Apple’s recent iPhones, or Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, for example) which users can leverage to facilitate transactions. This enables users to tap one’s phone against a reader and send bitcoins without having to enter any details at all. This is similar in process to using popular services such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Android Pay. While one can consider either desktop computers or mobile phones as ‘hardware’, there are several electronic products available specifically designed to house one’s public and private key. These are commonly referred to as ‘hardware wallets’, and are sometimes used to facilitate payments as well. Hardware wallets can closely resemble USB drives, though this can differ from brand to brand. Hardware wallets typically function with an ‘online’ and ‘offline’ component. This sees an investor make use of an online wallet that holds their public address and signals which transactions will be ‘signed’. To complete a transaction, users will need to connect their hardware wallet by USB into a computer, where a signature is then formed, sent to the wallet, and then fed into the Bitcoin Blockchain. Specifically, some hardware wallets offer users the security of housing a user’s private key in a ‘protected area’ on the device in question- which means that this private key cannot be divorced or used without the device. Some hardware wallets offer a backup service, wherein if they fail, become lost, or are damaged a user can use a special key to restore their private keys, bitcoin balance and transaction histories into a new device. These backups are usually secure by a PIN that either is linked to the device or can be set by a user. The attraction for many users is that hardware wallets do not fall prey to viruses that may target software wallets from time to time. However, these devices are not immune to corruption, theft, or damage. One of the most inexpensive ways of securing one’s bitcoin is to use what is referred to as a ‘paper wallet’. A paper wallet essentially sees a user print out a paper copy of two QR codes; one is the public address where one receives bitcoins, and the other is the private key which one uses to sign on outgoing transactions. To use a paper wallet, a user either scans either QR code themselves, or invites a transacting party to do so. Paper wallets mitigate some of the risk of storing one’s private key on the internet, where an investor would have to trust the establishment where their key is stored. Thus, paper wallets do not fall prey to cyber attacks or other malicious actions where parties might attempt to steal bitcoins online. However, paper wallets carry their own set of weaknesses. Similarly to hardware wallets, paper wallets can be stolen or damaged, and paper itself degrades over time – meaning that users should take caution when storing their paper wallet and should ideally never use the same one for long periods of time. Are Bitcoin wallets safe? Fundamentally, each type of Bitcoin wallet carries its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to each user to adequately secure their accounts and select whichever option is most convenient or affordable to them. While online or software (desktop or mobile) wallets carry convenience and easy access to the internet where one can transact quickly, they come at the expense of security and are a prime target for internet hackers seeking to steal bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies over the web. Conversely, physical storage such as hardware or paper wallets can easily be stolen, can become damaged, or can degrade over time. A successful rule of thumb is to consider using several different kinds of wallets, and ensuring that one’s allocation of bitcoins does not exist solely on one wallet. There are further steps that one can take to secure their account, as well. Users making use of online wallet services can use two-factor authentication, which means that beyond signing in with a username and suitably complex password, they can input a special code from a device of their choice that will serve as a ‘second layer’ of security when signing in. In part ten of our Bitcoin Basics series, we’ll be exploring why you should invest in Bitcoin.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9597223401069641, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.opportimes.com/exports-from-the-united-states-to-mexico-and-latin-america-fall-to-2-digits/", "token_count": 442, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.02587890625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a8d01c32-6d17-496b-8f6b-85206661b045>" }	Exports from the United States to Mexico and Latin America registered double-digit drops in the last five years, considering only products, not services. According to data from the Trade Representation (USTR), the United States had two of its biggest drops in its external sales to those destinations. In the direction of Mexico, exports from the United States totaled 212.7 billion dollars in 2020, a decrease of 10.1% compared to 2015. In relation to the Latin American region (excluding Mexico), these sales were for 130.5 billion dollars, a decrease of 14.5% per year. Overall, U.S. goods exports declined in 2020, by 13.2%, to $ 1.4 trillion. This was the lowest level for goods exports since 2010. Manufacturing exports, which accounted for 81.8% of total goods exports, fell 14.2% in 2020, their lowest level since 2010. Meanwhile, agricultural exports, which represented 10.5% of total exports of goods, increased 6.4% in 2020, to 150.5 billion dollars. United States Exports In 2019, the five largest trading economies in terms of participation in world trade were the European Union (EU), the United States, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Considering the EU member states individually, China was the largest exporter, while the United States was the largest importer. In merchandise trade, the United States was the largest importer and the second largest exporter (behind China). Likewise, in terms of trade in services, the United States was both the largest importer and exporter. In broader hindsight, the United States’ share of world trade in goods has fallen in recent decades, from 15% in 1970 to 9% in 2019. In large part, this was due to the rapid increase in world trade, especially between developing countries and emerging markets. U.S. Goods Exports to Selected Countries/Regions Lastly, historical data on world trade in services is limited. In 2019, the share of US global services exports was 14% and the share of imports was 10%.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9310057163238525, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.ukessays.com/essays/accounting/extensible-business-reporting-language-3683.php", "token_count": 3353, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.07080078125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:3a2975be-1c9f-4c6f-a556-9c66c478f64b>" }	XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) reporting is gaining momentum as a medium of digital financial reporting (Ogundejiet.al, 2014). It is a meta-language, based on XML and used as electronic communication of business information. The primary purpose of XBRL is to facilitate the preparation, publishing, exchange, and analysis of financial statements. In fact, using the framework of XBRL it is possible to facilitate numerous types of reports that can efficiently be parsed by computers (Vasarhelyi and Alles, 2008) and software applications available for the analysis of such information (Silveira et al., 2007). XBRL can be considered as innovation as it is becoming an internet business standardization language (Willis, 2007). A XBRL report does not only contain business and financial reporting information but it also includes attributes that describe that information. It doesn’t change the financial reporting standards but change the way in which business and financial information is reported. Typically, an XBRL report consists of an XBRL instance document containing the financial facts and taxonomies that provide the information about how facts are interrelated in the financial statement. Taxonomy works as a electronic dictionary for business and financial terms within the business realm. Instance documents are business reports that are physically connected to taxonomies. It contains both numerical and non-numerical data and information about the data. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more XBRL in India The XBRL wave started in India in late 2007 when the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) initiated the idea digital business reporting using XBRL with different regulators in India. XBRL implementation can achieve immediate benefits for Indian companies in terms of a more efficient means to file incorporation documents online and a simplified mode of filing of returns and forms. The benefits to Indian capital market include easy access to public information for users at anytime and from anywhere, which may increase information transparency. With increased coverage, it is hoped that the XBRL data thus collected would significantly enhance the Government capability in policy formulation and regulators, corporates as well as public and investors at large. Major regulators involved in the adoption of XBRL in India are Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). From 31st March, 2011, Ministry of Corporate Affairs mandated XBRL reporting (in phases) for companies, who would adopt the Commercial and Industrial Taxonomy developed by ICAI. In the first year (phase 1), the focus was on a certain class of companies who are listed in India, with paid up capital of Rs. 5 crore and turnover of Rs. 100 crores, would have to file their Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss in XBRL format from the FY 2010-11 onwards. The subsequent years witnessed a significant change in the regulatory reporting format and a new schedule VI for improvement in disclosure system for financial statements was enforced by the Companies Act 2013. The taxonomy architecture also underwent considerable change. Companies are also required to file their cost audit report and compliance report in XBRL format. Filers have the option to create their own XBRL documents in house or to convert their financial statements into XBRL format through outsourcing. Regardless of which approach, the first step is to tag each financial element to the published XBRL taxonomy so that accounting information can be converted into XBRL format. Once XBRL instance documents are created, filers need to validate the instance document before filing on MCA portal. Off-line process validates XBRL instance documents for business rules using the MCA off-line tool. Second, for online validation (Pre-scrutiny) the instance documents are uploaded and validated from the MCA21 system (MCA 2012). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has adopted the XBRL taxonomy for Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Companies. Regulators like RBI has implemented the XBRL based regulatory filings for banks using Internet and Indian Financial Network. SEBI and IRDA are in the process of implementing XBRL. But the adoption is not uniform across various sectors of businesses in India. As every organization faces some teething problems when adopting a new technology, the same holds true for XBRL. Firstly, XBRL has a steep learning curve to begin with. Therefore, there’s a big challenge for the company to bring together a workforce skilled for using this new technology. It requires training efforts and change management initiatives on the company’s part to prepare employees for such advancements. Organizations should also be careful about the probable effects of the technology adoption procedure on existing processes and people; and take necessary steps to minimize any adverse behavioral impact. Therefore adoption of XBRL becomes a relevant research area of interest among academics and practitioners (Pinsker,2008; Muller,2013). Researches around the world are carried from various disciplines on XBRL. Further, majority of academic XBRL research has focused on the US market (Srivastava and Liu, 2012) and, therefore, there is a need to see how non-US countries have implemented XBRL. Further, little research is cited regarding end-user attitude towards XBRL adoption (Muller, 2013). Being a behavioral study, the present research has applied a technology acceptance model (TAM) to identify the predictors for attitude formation required for successful adoption of XBRL. Based on Baldwin (2006) study we classified the stakeholders for the system in four groups. The ‘Standardizer’ creates taxonomies, accounting standard, Legislator and regulator. ‘Providers’ are the companies, divisions that provide platform for creating reports. ‘Intermediaries’ are auditors, financial aggregators. ‘Addresses’ are Investors, regulators, managers. The present work attempts to analyze the acceptance of XBRL technology by ‘Intermediaries’ including auditors and company financial professionals responsible for preparation of XBRL report in Indian companies. Thus, the study has implications for auditors, as well as for firms who operate in India and in countries whose XBRL implementation reporting in mandatory. As pointed by many researchers, XBRL is used as most advanced and rigorous standards taxonomy developed to help for a better assurance of future digital financial reports (Cohen, 2009; Lymer and Debreceny, 2003; Boritz and Wo, 2008; Plumlee and Plumlee, 2008; Shrivastava and Kogan, 2009; and Gonzalbez and Rodriguez, 2012). XBRL adoption allows organisations to report quickly (Cohenet al., 2005), and standardised data to be accessed at a lower cost with greater transparency and cheaply. With the adoption of XBRL, financial information can be optimized for creation, discovery, consumption, and reuse, and XBRL also enables supply of information for business reporting to communicate among players more efficiently (Vasal and Srivastava, 2009; Debreceny et al., 2005). Additional XBRL benefits include cost savings because of increased data processing capability, decreased data duplication and decreased cost of bookkeeping (Pinsker and Li, 2008; Yoon,2011). Alles and Piechocki (2009) develop a framework for understanding how tagged data can be used to change the way in which decisions affecting governance are made. Roohani (2007) argues that XBRL would facilitate corporate governance and provide transparency to employees, investors and creditors, and regulators. Alles and Piechocki (2009) commented that XBRL will improve corporate governance. Premuroso and Bhattacharya (2008) confirm that early and voluntary filers of financial information in XBRL format demonstrate superior corporate governance and operating performance relative to their non-adopting peers. But Doolin and Troshani (2007) believed that benefits of XBRL are not expected to be immediate but will accumulate over time. Tornatzky and Klein (1982) and Rogers (2003) suggest that the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and the ability to trial and observe a technology like XBRL, all play a significant role in the adoption decision. Potential adopters typically evaluate the relative advantage and benefits of new technology against the perceived costs (Doolin and Troshani, 2007; Oliver and Whymark, 2005; Premkumar et al., 1994). Adopters will weigh the initial and ongoing cost of adopting the technology (Rogers, 2003) against potential benefits such as a reduction in compliance costs and increased competitive advantage (Oliver and Whymark, 2005). The greater the perceived positive relative advantage, the more likely an organisation will adopt the technology. Chartered Accountants will be primarily responsible for the implementation of XBRL in an organization (Gauri, 2014). Current study examines the factors that influence individual decision to adopt XBRL using Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Due to complexity and context-sensitiveness, technology adoption required various models and which has speculated in the past two decades to specify the factors influencing organizations technology adoption (Wolfe, 1994; Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Doolin and Troshani, 2007). These include the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989), TAM2 (Venkatesh et al., 2003), theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), innovation diffusion theory (Rogers, 2003), and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Among all, TAM is the most popular model build upon a well known theory of IS (Information System) research. The literature of IT adoption relates to various Personal factors (Davis, 1989; Troshani and Doolin, 2005; Venkatesh, and Davis, 2000), Technological factors, Environmental factors and organisational factors (Troshani and Doolin, 2005). Personal factors include dimensions of TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) like perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, attitude towards technology, which were proven to be more successful in measuring the impact on technology adoption. Technological factors including relative advantage (Zaltman et al. 1973), complexity (Rogers, 1983), compatibility (Kwon and Zmud, 1987), observability (Rogers, 1983), and trial ability (Venkatesh, and Davis,2000). Technology complexity includes the current knowledge and skills of the employees in the organization (Doolin and Troshani, 2007). Davidson el al. (2006) and Rogers (2003) revealed that lack of knowledge and skills hinders the adoption of XBRL by organisation accountants. Environmental factors include external pressure (Iacovou et al., 1995) and competition (Grover, 1993), Innovation Adoption (Tornatzky and Klein,1982; Rogers, 1983). Organisational factors include top management support (Rai and Howard, 1994; Thong and Yap, 1995), organisation structure (Lai and Guynes, 1994), centralisation and formalisation (Zmud, 1982; Grover and Goslar, 1993), organisation size (Grover and Teng, 1992). But with present research scope, we only examined the impact of determinants defined in Technology Acceptance Model (Davis,1989). TAM is an adaptation of theory of reasoned action by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) and was mainly designed for modeling user acceptance of information technology in the workplace (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989). The positive relationship between behavioral intentions and actions is extensively described by the theory of reasoned action (Azen,1980) and the theory of planned behavior (Azen, 1991). The TAM model assumes that system use is directly determined by behavioral intention to use the system which is in turn influenced by users’ attitudes toward using the system and the perceived usefulness of the system. This model displays a high level prediction power of technology use (Goswami, 2014). The present research uses the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) model proposed by Davis (1989) to understand the acceptance in respect of perceived usefulness and ease of use dimensions. Both are most closely related to the characteristics of the XBRL system. Perceived usefulness (PU) the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance (Davidson et.al, 2006). Perceived ease of use (PEOU) is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort. The research methodology of this study is divided in following points: - Source of data-The source of data collection is primary data which is collected from the professionals working in various companies and responsible for creation of XBRL reports. - Sample size-as per the difficulty of finding the qualified respondents who were responsible for the XBRL based financial reporting;the sample 20professionals of Rajasthan state were selected randomly. Each author has contributed 5 the filled questionnaire and the data were collected from 12 companies as a representative sample. - Sampling technique-The sampling technique used is convenient sampling. - Hypothesis- as per the nature of the research two hypotheses were developed and shown under the head of data analysis. - Analysing Tool: Multivariate Regression Analysis were used to analyse the data and to identify that which independent variable results change in dependent variable. The present research begins with a clarification that global adoption of XBRL will have a large impact on financial and corporate reporting process. Indian companies can also be benefited with this technology innovation along with its inherent operational advantages. TAM has proven to be a useful acceptance model in helping to understand and explain the user behavior in XBRL implementation. The study examined the effect of perceived usefulness and ease of use on attitude of Indian financial professionals towards XBRL reporting. Change management is also a crucial step to be taken before implementing a technology like this. Employees are quite reluctant for changes in processes. This makes it imperative for companies to conduct change management which helps employees embrace the change openly. Staying up to date with current taxonomies is also essential. The implementation roadmap must be charted out with detailed planning for the technology’s adoption to be a success. It is critical to ascertain the most suitable method for your organization to implement it. Your decision to go for bolt-on, or outsource or built-in approach must be carefully thought of and minutely planned keeping in mind the organization needs. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.View our services It is worth noting that whereas XBRL has exhibited capabilities to produce the digitized version financial statements, it is still unable to capture information displayed through various other sections of the financial statements and the annual reports. Particularly, the information displayed through the notes to accounts and, management discussion and analysis sections of the annual reports. This is indeed a challenging area for future research. All aspects concerning the improvement of efficiency by applying XBRL like time savings, reduced effort, and improved communication are mentioned frequently in literature but hardly any research activities could be recognized. Future researched should focus on the evaluation of productivity of financial reporting. Other potential area of research is system flexibility, which measure the cross-system compatibility and system independent processing of XBRL business and financial information. The impact of demographic factors upon the XBRL adoption among consumers must be examined. Based on our discussions and literature review, we suggest that research focus might also be on the economic impact of XBRL. This may help to present a clear business case to the stakeholders which should contribute to the comprehensive adoption of XBRL. Cite This Work To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: Related ServicesView all DMCA / Removal Request If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please:
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9633371233940125, "language": "en", "url": "http://bullomania.nl/2021/04/08/aim-of-paris-climate-agreement/", "token_count": 715, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0281982421875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:9c1308b3-766a-4930-b143-a3c49b938a2b>" }	These rules of transparency and accountability are similar to those set out in other international agreements. Although the system does not include financial sanctions, the requirements are intended to easily monitor the progress of individual nations and promote a sense of overall group pressure, discouraging any towing of feet among countries that might consider it. Another key difference between the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol is its scope. While the Kyoto Protocol distinguishes between Schedule 1 countries and those not annexed to Schedule 1, this branch is scrambled in the Paris Agreement, as all parties must submit emission reduction plans. While the Paris Agreement continues to emphasize the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities” – the recognition that different nations have different capacities and duties to combat climate change – it does not offer a specific separation between developed and developing countries. It therefore appears that negotiators will have to continue to address this issue in future rounds of negotiations, although the debate on differentiation could take on a new dynamic. However, it is important to remember that the Paris agreement is not static. Instead, it must strengthen countries` national efforts over time – meaning that current commitments are the terrain, not the ceiling, of climate change ambitions. Labor`s emissions – continuing to reduce emissions by 2030 and 2050 – have yet to be implemented and the agreement provides the instruments to ensure that this happens. The EU has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat climate change. It played an important role in mediating the Paris Agreement and continues to play a leading role at the global level. The NDC partnership was launched at COP22 in Marrakech to improve cooperation so that countries have access to the technical knowledge and financial support they need to achieve major climate and sustainable development goals. The NDC partnership is led by a steering committee made up of industrialized and developing countries and international institutions and is supported by a support unit organized by the World Resources Institute and based in Washington, D.C. and Bonn, Germany. The NDC partnership is co-chaired by the governments of Costa Rica and the Netherlands and has 93 Member States, 21 institutional partners and 10 associate members. Implementation of the agreement by all Member States will be evaluated every five years, with the first evaluation in 2023. The result will be used as an input for new national contributions from Member States. The inventory will not be national contributions/achievements, but a collective analysis of what has been achieved and what remains to be done. It will also enable the contracting parties to gradually strengthen their contributions to the fight against climate change in order to achieve the long-term objectives of the agreement. The 197 “negotiators” committed to developing long-term strategies to develop low-greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first time that a universal agreement has been reached in the fight against climate change. Finally, instead of giving China and India a passport to pollution, as Trump asserts, the pact is the first time these two major developing countries have agreed on concrete and ambitious climate commitments. The two countries, which are already poised to be world leaders in renewable energy, have made considerable progress in achieving their Paris goals. And since Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the agreement, the Chinese and Indian leaders have reaffirmed their commitment and continued to implement domestic policies to achieve their goals. To combat climate change and its negative effects, 197 countries adopted the Paris Agreement at COP21 on 12 December 2015 in Paris. The agreement, which came into force less than a year later, aims to significantly reduce global emissions of
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9343934059143066, "language": "en", "url": "https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/balancing-a-closed-economy-in-multiplayer-games--cms-28730", "token_count": 2180, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2431640625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:ee78e69e-75ae-4a28-a54b-52578d6c9ba5>" }	For players, one of the most scrutinized aspects of a video game is its immersion factor. For designers, it’s creating the illusion with seamless finesse. From the first apprehensive steps of level 1 to the final bold strut of level 70, players are deeply woven into an economic system. How much they notice, however, is the measure of its designers’ success. Especially evident in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs), closed-economy structures are magnificent to behold. These games are composed of potentially thousands of tightly controlled interlocking inputs and outputs, and ostensibly appear to be purely about their chosen theme. Behind the scenes exists a network of intricate maths and economic principles continuing to maintain that immersion. To illustrate, players fresh out of character creation will inevitably begin by doing the following: exploring the environment, conquering enemies, and then purchasing items. This progression will also often occur in that same order. It’s predictable for a reason, and this article will explore why. The concepts explored below will explain how closed economies operate and sustain themselves and the challenges throughout. Basics of Stability When conceptualizing an economy, game designers must begin by choosing a currency. Depending on thematic overtures, the name of the currency will vary. For example, many games use the prototypical “gold” moniker. Whether the setting takes place in a fantastical realm or a futuristic timescape will heavily influence the type of currency depicted. In the case of a closed economy, currency carries a set value. Some designers utilize open economies, however, which operate similarly to real-world money. There are exchange rates, and differential values, which are each relative to one another’s values. Using this model significantly increases the difficulty of creating and maintaining the currency within the game’s world but allows a realistic perspective and some compelling implications. For the purpose of this article, the focus will be on the former. For example, if an iron sword costs 100 gold, it is expected that it will continue to cost 100 gold. This basic stability allows for the remaining structure to be upheld throughout each play through. While in-game currency, gold, is what your players will be trading, the actual currency that an MMO employs is time. Operating as the game’s independent variable, player progression serves as a substitution for time passing. This commonality between games allows balance for the economy since items can easily have pre-determined time values. A few basic principles can govern this process nicely. For example, the less progress a player experiences (often expressed as “XP”), the less expensive the product remains. The inverse is also true. So product price and player progression have a directly corresponding relationship. At level 1, the local tavern sells an iron sword at 100 gold. The difficulty of an event and the reward given share a directly corresponding relationship as well. So a player defeats a worm at level one and receives 5 gold. A player can purchase this sword at any time, but will most likely buy it very early in the game because there is less money available and the item is weaker. It is best suited for the level 1 warrior and will predictably be purchased by the level 1 warrior. Mechanisms like these control the hidden economic fabric of the traditional MMO. Keeping these principles inextricably connected will continue to provide economic stability to any MMO. Introducing unbalanced items, like downloadable content weaponry that is significantly stronger than currently available weapons, will always disrupt the network. To counterbalance, these items are often not worth much in-game currency or cannot be used until the player reaches a certain level. When these measures are not taken, however, players may feel less engrossed in the game. Taking this out of theory and into brass tacks, let’s continue. Developing the specific input modality for item creation and currency allotment is less complicated than it sounds. To begin, there are three interchangeable models for how to complete this feat: utilizing generators, creating event-based inputs, and compiling individually matched inputs. Generators can be used for anything that regularly adds to the economy without necessary interaction, the only stipulation being some resource-dependency. For example, if you have a player strike oil during renovations, the amount of oil can be determined by the generator, but whether the player uses the pickaxe is his or her prerogative. So when mining for resources, if an unusually specific amount of coal appears on the player’s screen, this is the culprit. After completing the unrelated task the player was engaged in prior to the generator’s activation, he or she may check the inventory and voila! That resource will have manifested itself. Event-based inputs can be used when given conditions are met. This is most often used in recurring collection quests—quests that require extracting certain herbs from plants to concoct a potion, for example. The formula behind the quest is: “x plant harvested = y herb extracted”. This modality is often tapped for crafting quests and side-missions. Single inputs are used for circumstantially driven resource acquisition. When certain conditions are met, but they are also not repeatable, these items are offered—for example, when a player conquers a specific opponent and it drops a unique helmet. These are usually reserved for boss battles and story-driven events since they do not require repetition. Functioning in the opposite way, system outputs remove items and currency from your economy. Similarly to system inputs, there are three major categories: degenerators, event-based outputs, and single outputs. Degenerators regularly take away resources that do not necessitate interaction. While more sparingly used than their input counterpart, these appear as ongoing costs throughout game play—for example, tax collection that briefly pops up on the Heads Up Display at regular intervals. This oddly specific number will turn up on its own accord without player interference. When checking the inventory, the player will suddenly be missing exactly that amount of currency. Event-based outputs are used when players complete specific actions that remove resources from their inventories. For instance, a player sells that iron sword to the shopkeep. In doing so, the event-based output activates to remove the sword from the player’s inventory. Depleting resources while crafting, submitting items for quests, and dropping unwanted items all constitute event-based outputs. Single outputs are utilized when a resource is removed from the economy altogether and cannot be altered again. Many designers use this mechanism when items must be delivered or destroyed based upon story elements—for example, when obtaining a quest item that players cannot use. These items are usually distinguishable from the others by being held in a separate section of the player’s inventory—like “key items”—and can only be removed when certain events unfold. Artificial Stability in an Unstable World Utilizing all three techniques enables game designers to create seamless worlds for their players—if they are in harmony. Ideally, the planned economy would be a perpetually operative and well-oiled machine. It would have a set of inputs that exactly equals the number of outputs, which together produce a purely immersive experience. However, the ideal rarely becomes real. Being human hosts a number of spectacular pros, but one con is that we are not perfect. We are not machines, and thus our creations will usually come to fruition with flaws. To keep these flaws at a minimum, and relatively minuscule, this article will leave you with some machine-ly wisdom from experience. - Flag Impactful Items: to most efficiently contain simple mistakes in an intricate economy, assign priorities to each resource based on its orb of influence. For example, implementing tighter controls on an epic-level sniper rifle should become a higher priority since it can easily upset the economy. Having an overabundance of iron ore, however, is less likely to have such a significant effect. This way, when entering miles of code in the vast matrix that is the economy, little red flags will tip off any developer that this particular item is a heavy-hitter. - Don’t Underestimate Bug Checkers: having players test an alpha version of any game is the first line of defense against potentially disastrous economies. Though some issues may not become evident until more time has passed, these players are ready and willing to try. If an enemy is just too powerful or a weapon is just too rare, they will be upfront with their critique. If this prospect seems a little too gut-wrenching, having friends and loved ones look it over is always a gentler option. - Matrix Double-Glance: daunting, yet unfailingly practical, this technique involves compiling all the game’s items included in the economy and listing them in spreadsheets. Check it against itself forwards, and backwards, and then code it manually. To add another level of security, implementing an automated system and letting it convert the items will drastically improve both accuracy and speed. - Abandoned Accounts: multiplayer economies have several unique challenges to keep in mind. Suspended, dormant, and otherwise abandoned accounts can create unaccounted-for outputs across a wide variety of resources. This situation can be combated by building slightly different expected-resources-per-player ratios. Do away with generators and de-generators that operate at a fixed rate. Instead, control the flow of resources based on the current amount operating in the economy. This should eliminate any wealth hoarded by abandoned accounts. Creating a multiplayer economy is an ambitious but rewarding journey. Being able to observe the careful cogs of code manifest themselves as a bustling marketplace is truly spectacular. Even when players gripe about how expensive the rare daggers are, designers know that it is all working according to plan. This article has only scratched the surface of what makes MMORPG economies thrive. But the first step is always the hardest! Being able to successfully track resources is a fundamental building block that will launch any game developer ahead in his or her project and field. Examples of how the next steps in this journey may look include exploring ideal resource ratios, establishing player-to-player commodity trading, virtual banks for storing currency, and many more. To continue the discussion, feel free to drop a comment in the box below! Subscribe below and we’ll send you a weekly email summary of all new Game Development tutorials. Never miss out on learning about the next big thing.Update me weekly Envato Tuts+ tutorials are translated into other languages by our community members—you can be involved too!Translate this post
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9216230511665344, "language": "en", "url": "https://upscexpress.com/2020/03/07/what-is-disaster-risk-reduction-drr/", "token_count": 876, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.04443359375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:dfa13015-5705-4624-a5df-75079a322e93>" }	What is Disaster risk reduction (DRR)? - Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. - It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them - In May 2017, Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) was organised by UNISDR at Cancun, Mexico. - GPDRR is a global forum for strategic advice, coordination, partnership development and review of progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030 - In Cancun meet India proposed the formation of the coalition at the UN global conference on DRR. - Later in a follow up meeting in January 2018, New Delhi hosted jointly with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) an international meet where representatives from at least 22 countries participated towards formation of the coalition. - At the New Delhi meet, multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, New Development Bank, besides Japan, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and the Netherlands had participated to give shape to the coalition. About the Global Coalition on DRR - The road map encompasses four verticals: - Risk assessment for infrastructure - Improvements in standards and regulation for infrastructure sectors - Role of finance in promoting disaster resilience of infrastructure - Mechanisms for supporting recovery in infrastructure - The coalition will support research, knowledge sharing and mutual technical assistance among coalition partners along these four areas. - The coalition will focus specifically on disaster resilience of major infrastructure. - The coalition will cater to the needs of both developed and developing countries - Developing countries are in a phase of rapid growth in infrastructure building and developed countries need to replace their ageing infrastructure. - India is in discussions with a number of nations, multilateral development banks, UN agencies, and other international organisations to shape the coalition. - India is likely to spend $1.5 trillion on infrastructure in the next 10 years. - Considering most of these investments will be in building critical infrastructure in sectors like roads, hospitals, schools, power and telecommunication, the government is giving emphasis on knowledge sharing and mainstreaming DRR activities in all developmental work. - In 2017, India had launched a South Asia satellite to help countries in the subcontinent with a real time relay of early warning and risk assessment from impending disasters. - The satellite will set up latest communication systems and carry out rescue operations and minimise disaster deaths. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) - UNISDR was established in 1999 as a dedicated secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). - UNISDR is part of the United Nations Secretariat and its functions span the social, economic, environmental as well as humanitarian fields. - United Nation Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) acts as the designated agency for the coordination of disaster reduction strategies. - UNISDR coordinates international efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and guide, monitor as well as report regularly on the progress of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, following the Hyogo Framework for Action. - It convenes the biennial Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction with leaders and decision makers to advance risk reduction policies and supports the establishment of regional, national and thematic platforms. - UNISDR informs and connects people by providing practical services and tools such as the risk reduction website PreventionWeb, terminology, publications on good practices, country profiles and the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction which is an authoritative biennial analysis of global disaster risks and trends. - The Sendai Framework is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders. - It aims for the following outcome: The substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries. Section : Environment & Ecology
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9503974318504333, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.gamblingdens.com/what-is-a-token-and-how-does-it-work/", "token_count": 2863, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1435546875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:9ac26025-719c-4c2d-a76c-b85def0cb660>" }	One of the most common words we see in the world of cryptocurrencies is the word token . The reason behind this is that these are a fundamental part of the nature of cryptocurrencies. But what exactly are tokens? Where are you from? How do they work? These are some of the most basic questions that we usually ask ourselves around this concept. Well, in this article we will focus on explaining each of the previous questions. But also, we will answer some more with the firm purpose that you can know what a token is and its importance in the world of cryptocurrencies. Read more: 1Broker Surely you have already got an idea of what a token is after reading this short definition. But let’s make this a little more practical. Let’s take a casino token as an example of a token. Think about it a bit, a casino chip is worthless on the street. With them you can not buy anything in a store, nor can you pay absolutely nothing outside the casino. This because the chips of a casino have no legal tender value. And in this “legal tender value” is the trick. The concept of legal tender value refers to what we use to pay, is widely accepted and is legally admissible as a means of payment. The currencies of countries such as the dollar or the euro, are tokens that have legal tender value. But not a casino chip. That is the reason why you cannot use them to pay for things in stores. However, casino chips can be exchanged for legal money at the casino that issued them. This because the casino accepts that the chips have a value and will pay you that value in legal tender. Now what about tokens that work under blockchain technology? Well, we will explain that below. - 0.1 Cryptographic digital tokens, the evolution of the traditional token - 0.2 Origin of the tokens - 0.3 Characteristics of tokens - 0.4 How do tokens work? - 0.5 Differences between token and cryptocurrency - 1 Types of tokens Cryptographic digital tokens, the evolution of the traditional token For many years, a large number of individuals wanted to design digital tokens to use as a secure medium of exchange. For many years this work was simply unsuccessful. Creating a token and a database that will keep your accounting was a simple task. The really difficult thing was creating a secure system. One that would avoid such detestable things as double spending or counterfeiting. But this story changed with the appearance of Bitcoin and the technology that made it work, the blockchain . The creator of Bitcoin, an anonymous character under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto , revolutionized the world with his creation. This by opening the doors for the creation of a digital, secure, transparent, private, censorship resistant and pseudo anonymous token. With Bitcoin, cryptographic digital tokens were born. Basically crypto digital tokens are the same as a traditional token. That is, they can be created by private parties, they lack legal tender value and they can be exchanged. But crypto digital tokens have something that traditional tokens don’t, they work using blockchain technology. This allows you to control the known weaknesses of traditional tokens, such as counterfeiting and double spending. Read more: Digital money still does not coin trust Thus a whole new vision for the world was opened. It was now possible to create digital tokens to represent anything with them. The extent of this after the appearance of Bitcoin was unknown. And in fact, even today we still understand the possibilities. Either way, tokens opened doors for a universe of things, just as they did in the beginning. Origin of the tokens The beginnings and exact origin of tokens are lost in time. Humankind has used tokens from the very beginning of the first commercial transactions. But we know that its conceptualization as a token or currency dates back to the times of the Roman Empire. Back then, these tokens were used as payment tokens in gaming centers. Centuries later with the expansion of the Spanish and English empires throughout the New World, the need to create money to enable exchanges was quickly born. The colonizers thus created tokens that were used to be exchanged later for food, supplies or legal tender. Thus tokens were a fundamental part of the population settlement in the New World. But even in modern times like the 19th and 20th centuries, tokens were used by private parties to create means of exchange that they could control. However, the use of said tokens was decreasing in favor of legal tender and a more orderly economic system. The latter makes us wonder why look for ways to create new types of tokens such as cryptographic digital tokens? The simple answer to this is that digital tokens can be used to represent different objects and goods in the real world in a more concrete and secure way. In an increasingly interconnected real and digital world this makes perfect sense. Especially for the characteristics that cryptographic digital tokens offer us. But what are the characteristics of the tokens? Well, we’ll see that below. Characteristics of tokens Now that we know that it is a token and the interest it has aroused for centuries, it is good to know its characteristics. In this sense we can mention: They have no value. Tokens have no value, since they are creations without any value according to the laws. They are issued by private. The issuance of tokens is generally carried out by a person or company. The endorsement and acceptance of these tokens to make exchanges is subject to those who issue the token. They are created using materials of very little value. From the origin of the same, the tokens were minted in materials of very little value. After all, no one would want to use gold or silver to issue a limited-use token. In the case of crypto digital tokens, issuing a token is as simple and cheap as running a program. Their use is subject to the existence of a system that controls their operations. Those who issue a token create a series of rules that allow operations and exchanges of tokens for legal goods, services or money. In the case of cryptographic digital tokens, these rules and operation are controlled by the blockchain where they are run. As well as the contract or programming that gives rise to the token itself. They are safe and not falsifiable. This feature applies only to the case of cryptographic digital tokens, and it is a feature that they inherit from the blockchain. How do tokens work? As we have already explained, how tokens work depends on two things: - A blockchain and a cryptocurrency that allow the token to be developed. - A contract or schedule that makes clear everything that can and cannot be done with the token. Now let’s explain this. First of all, a token needs a platform to develop. This is so because the purpose of a token is to represent anything that exists in the real world. With that in mind, the token needs a space or platform to develop and represent what it will be created for. In this case, that platform is an existing blockchain, on which we can program our token. Read more: Top Bitcoin Casinos At this point comes the second and most important thing, defining the token itself. This definition involves creating the token, giving it its characteristics, defining what information it can or cannot store, and creating the protocols that will define its operation. To do this, we must use the programming tools available to the blockchain that we choose. But this last point changes radically according to the blockchain we choose. For example, if we use Bitcoin to create a token, the token contract or programming must be done using the Bitcoin Script language. If, on the other hand, we choose Ethereum, we must use the Solidity language to program the smart contracts that will give life to our tokens. Example of how a token works For example, the Tether token is the digital representation of a US dollar. One that runs on the Ethereum blockchain . Although there is also an implementation on Bitcoin that uses Omni Layer. In any case, the existence of this token on Ethereum serves two points: We want to represent the possession of a dollar on the Ethereum blockchain. The Tether token is manageable within the parameters that allows its programming created especially for Ethereum, using a smart contract and the Ethereum ERC-20 token standard . Thus, every time we have a Tether token, we know that we have the digital possession of a dollar. We can trade and exchange that digital dollar on the Ethereum blockchain. When we do a Tether transaction, what happens is that a certain amount of Tether is moved from our address to the destination address. In the process, we create a special transaction that is processed by Ethereum and charged a commission. Once the transaction is accepted by the network, the Tether token that we have sent will change from being ours to being the property of the owner of the destination address. In that simple way, a token works on Ethereum, and this structure works basically the same on any other blockchain. Differences between token and cryptocurrency Now at this point you will surely be confused between what is a token and a cryptocurrency. And the short answer to end this confusion is that a token and a cryptocurrency are different things. Very different actually. On the one hand, a cryptocurrency is created from the beginning with the firm intention of being a medium of exchange. One that has its own blockchain and that does not depend on another system for its operation. Ultimately, a cryptocurrency is a self-sustaining value exchange system. A token on the contrary is neither of these things. First of all, a token is created to represent anything. It can be a house, a company stock, a collectible, or the parts that make up the whole of an airplane production line, including the aircraft themselves. They can be used as a means of payment or exchange, but their goal is to be a means of representing things from the real world. The second is that a token depends on another system to function, that is, they are not self-sustainable. For example, Ethereum tokens would be nothing if the Ethereum blockchain and its cryptocurrency Ether did not exist. These differences in turn give rise to the different types of tokens that we will see below. Types of tokens Tokens can be divided into three types or categories which are: A security token is a type of cryptographic digital token that is tied to traditional financial security or securities. Understanding by traditional value, any interchangeable financial asset such as bonds, swaps or futures. As we have explained, the intention behind the creation of the tokens is to digitally represent things using blockchain technology. Well, a security token represents these assets within a blockchain. The purpose of this is to allow companies decentralized control of them, in addition to greater security, cost reduction and easier management. Because these tokens represent values in the real world, countries enforce their laws on these creations. A situation that has greatly increased interest in them, due to the security they provide both at a technological and legal level. The utility tokens, on the other hand, are a type of utility token that allows anyone with one in their possession to access products and services that are provided by a private party. However, unlike security tokens, utility tokens are unregulated and more of a promise than something tangible. Utility tokens were widely used by different crypto projects in 2017, during the well-known “Boom ICO”. An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) or Initial Coin Offering, is a kind of token pre-sale, in which people buy utility tokens from a company. The objective is to finance the company for the development of a project. In exchange for this, the company gives us a certain amount of utility token that we can use when the company starts its project. Simply put, a utility token is an access coupon. Because they are unregulated, utility tokens were widely used for malicious purposes. During the ICO Boom, many companies used these to scam thousands of people. But on the other hand, many companies that used this method if they managed to carry out their projects and are today a success. Equity tokens are a type of token that is closely related to security tokens. An equity token works like a digital representation of a traditional stock asset. In other words, an equity token represents the ownership of some third-party asset or company. Due to this property, the equity tokens are also regulated by the securities laws of many countries. However, regulations at this point are more flexible and that has sparked interest to use them in place of security tokens. Keep reading: ERC20 Tokens: What are they and how do they work? Most famous token platforms Now that we have a deeper understanding of tokens, their types, features, and more, it’s time to get to know some of the most famous crypto digital token platforms. The blockchain and cryptocurrency that started the revolution, is also one of the most used platforms to create tokens. The well-known colored coins are the clearest example of the implementation of tokens on Bitcoin. Currently, projects like Omni Layer and RSK execute tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain successfully. It may interest you: What is a Colored Coin? The Ethereum blockchain is the blockchain with the highest number of tokens running on it. The reason? Ethereum was created in order to become a platform for developing tokens. We see this clearly in the creation of standards such as the ERC-20 token, which greatly facilitates the task of creating and deploying a cryptographic token. The result of this is that Ethereum contains at least 250 thousand different tokens running on its blockchain, and the number continues to grow. Bitcoin and Ethereum are without a doubt the most famous platforms for the creation and deployment of tokens, but they are not the only ones. Projects like EOS , TRON , Ethereum Classic , NEO or Waves , also allow tokens to be created quickly and easily. This gives us a taste of how important and useful tokens are in the world of cryptocurrencies.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9516776204109192, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.implicitpay.com/what-are-emv-credit-card-machines/", "token_count": 650, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.08203125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a45c2cbd-e580-4c78-a452-d6f05f3dfbcb>" }	We’ve been hearing about the EMV Chip Card for some time now, but the time has come and the EMV credit card and EMV credit card machine are here. You are a merchant, so I know what you are thinking: How does this affect me and by business? First off, EMV stands for “Europay, MasterCard, and Visa.” EMV was created to make a standardized protocol for “integrated circuit” cards, otherwise known as “chip.” These cards and the hardware that read them were an important piece of the puzzle in fighting against fraudulent transactions. The EU have been using EMV cards regularly since 2005, and Canada joined in 2012. How Do EMV Credit Card Machines Work? So, how does an EMV card and credit card machine work? A traditional magnetic-stripe card has an unchanging data code associated with it, making it easy to duplicate. A magnetic stripe card is also fairly inexpensive to recreate, thus making it an easy target for fraudulent activity and transactions. An EMV card has a “chip” on the card, payment data is read from this chip instead of the magnetic stripe. The way data is transmitted to the chip differs each time a transaction is processed, making it much harder to “skim” information from the card. Of course, the magnetic stripe is still included in the new chip cards, and can be used as a backup option if there is no EMV credit card machine processor available. Except, there is a hitch to ‘back-up method’ New Regulations on EMV Secured Transactions As of the October 1st, 2015 deadline, created by major U.S credit card issuers, the liability for card-present fraud has shifted to the merchants. For example, if you process a credit card that is fraudulent without using the EMV credit card machine, you (the business owner) are responsible for the costs that follow any data breach. The following timeline The Timeline for EMV Chip Card Liability Shift in the US: - April 19, 2013 – Maestro shifted liability for international chip cards used in the US. - October 1, 2015 – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover liability shift for POS terminals. - October 1, 2016 – MasterCard liability shift for ATMs. - October 1, 2017 – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover liability shift for pay-at-pump gas stations, as well as for Visa and AmEx at ATMs. What EMV Means for Merchants – You Need an EMV Credit Card Machine Due to the switch in liability many merchant service providers have encouraged their customers to make a switch and upgrade to an EMV credit card machine. Adapting to the change in payment processing helps protect businesses from a potential liability disaster. Sure, you may not lose any customers if you don’t upgrade your system, but you are losing peace of mind as the merchant. If you have an eCommerce only business, this change does not necessarily affect you, as the EMV cards and machines are for in-person transactions.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9642078876495361, "language": "en", "url": "https://izzihub.com/cost-of-equity-calculator-formula/", "token_count": 924, "fin_int_score": 5, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.000885009765625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:8188c0f8-6f55-4ef5-a1a9-3f50dd055bea>" }	COST OF EQUITY/ CAPITAL Introduction:- The cost of equity Capital from investors’ points of view is considered as the expected profit on a portfolio of all the company existing securities. The company cost is used by the firm for an evaluation of main projects and also expert to receive high returns on it after deciding the benchmark rate for return on capital. Cost of equity is the company cost of using funds provided by vendors/Creditors and shareholders of the company. The cost of equity is the cost of long-term sources, such as debts, amount of debentures, common capital and preferred capital which is subscribed by the General public. The cost of equity represents the level of risk which is attached to sources (Debts and Equity) which are secured against the assets of the company. All these companies which make investments in assets have little risk in earning income that able for an investor to bear the lower cost of capital than all these companies which make an investment in long-term assets having a high risk of earning income, Such as retail store has a low risk as compared to oil refining companies. Those companies which are in liquidity position and are not sufficient to fulfill the obligations of the business. Creditors have the first right to claim against the resources of the business before the common and the preferred shareholders. - At the time of liquidation when assets are sale than first of all amount paid to creditors than to preferred and common shareholders. - The preferred shares are highly risky than the common shares and the debts of the company. In case of distribution of dividend on capital Preferred shareholders has first right and also received a high rate of returns. - Cost of capital is determined by business first all by finding the cost of each source of capital that is expected the company raises the amount of capital after utilization of these sources. Definition of Cost of Equity Capital:- The cost of capital is the minimum required rate of return on investments The cost of capital is very important for the financial strength of the business. The source of finance has a cost which is meeting by an alternative mode of investment. Cost of capital has various types into the business which are given below. - Cost of debts - Cost of equity - Cost of preferred share - Cost of retained earnings Cost of equity:- When the investors make an investment in shares and also expected to obtain a right rate of returns on it. It’s represented by the formula such as; Cost of debts:- The cost which companies paid in case of borrowing debts which secured against assets kept as a security and also expected to receive high risk along with. The rate of cost on debts is decided by benchmark rate which is launched in stock exchanged and all other capital & money markets. Cost of debts= I (1-Tax) Interest is represented by (I). Interest is paid as a rent on the use of the finance into business for its operating and financial activities. Cost of preference share:- The preference share capital is different from the ordinary share capital on the base of some basic featured. 1. Preference shareholder has a preference on receiving the dividend and also received the high and fixed return than the equity share. 2. In case of liquidation, the preferred share has the priority to receive the return and in case of repayment as compared to the other equity shares. 3. It is denoted by Kp. Weighted average cost of capital:- In case of weighted average cost of capital, the average portion of each cost is considered for the calculation of total cost of capital of the firm. WACC= Total weighted cost /Total capital *100 The capital structure represents the way in which a company utilizes the amount of its finance and assets for the effectiveness of the business. The capital structure shows the mode from which the amount of corporate capital is subscribed. Money which is borrows by the business to meet the financial needs. There are generally two types of debt financing. - Long term financing - Short term financing It represent the amount of capital which the business utilized for planning process such as used capital for long term investment in form of purchasing long term assets and short term investments. The duration of time required to recover the cost of investments. Payback period =Cost of project/Annual cost inflow Return on new invested capital:- The calculation used by the firm investors and all those parties which are related with the formation of the capital. They all received high rate of return on capital and on the investments.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9418905377388, "language": "en", "url": "https://kbrv.be/thema/smooth-unimpeded-shipping/", "token_count": 384, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.236328125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:df325eba-380b-4217-8be6-76e8a12264a6>" }	Although the free movement of goods is a basic freedom enshrined in European law, it has still not become established for the shipping industry. To fully exploit the potential of short sea shipping, it must be treated differently than intercontinental shipping. Short-sea operations should receive the same treatment as road haulage and rail transport, both with respect to customs formalities and to environmental standards. Short-sea transport partly carries passengers and/or goods on the sea, but without crossing the ocean. Short-sea transport has a number of assets: it is cheap, environmentally-friendly and innovative. Contrary to the haulage industry, short-sea vessels do not create traffic jams and they generate much less pollution. Unfortunately short-sea transport remains beset by a heavy load of red tape in the ports. Vessels often have to wait for hours or even days before they can get their consignment cleared by customs. Because of the extra costs and delays involved, short-sea transport continues to be at a disadvantage, all its potential notwithstanding, in relation to competing transport modes like road haulage. Administrative simplification in a unified market The ‘Blue Belt’ project should provide an answer to this heavy customs procedures for short sea shipping. This means that if a ship does not leave the territorial waters, is no longer subject to the import and exportsystem of the EU. Intra-European maritime cargo reserves thus its status of ‘community goods’ enabling border checks to be phased out. Maritime Single Window for the standardization of information flows Also the better management and the standardization of information flows can simplify administrative burdens for maritime transport. Cargo is in fact often controlled by various government agencies which charge the same information given to several government agencies. With Maritime Single Window, it is possible to reports / returns only send once electronically in which is then divided by the various competent authorities.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.970200777053833, "language": "en", "url": "https://macro-economic.com/reasons-why-ap-economics-circular-flow-model-macro-is-getting-more-popular-in-the-past-decade-ap-economics-circular-flow-model-macro/", "token_count": 511, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.19921875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:8a6f3c86-6fe3-42e1-ac97-e4c5e2f0db2c>" }	The most important thing that AP Economics is about is the circular flow of money. They show you how the government can stimulate the economy by cutting taxes on the rich and then giving more money to the people who need it most. If the government does this, the economy will start to boom, and then it will be easy to cut taxes again. The United States has been running on this exact cycle since 1932. When the economy is depressed, the government tries to give the economy something that will keep it alive and healthy for a while. This is why there are always bailouts when the economy starts to go down. When the economy is doing too well, they cut taxes and the money that are in the economy become less. AP Economics is really a micro version of macroeconomics. They show you how you can create an environment where you have constant money moving around. This is what I like to call a circular flow macro. This is something that can be done easily in the real world. You have to find someone that knows how to manipulate money for you, but it is possible. It also helps to know that if you use the same tools that AP uses, they are the same tools that all economists are using. This means that you can use them to create your own circular flow model. You can do this with the help of any spreadsheet program or spreadsheet that is available for free on the internet. They are very simple to use, and will create a world where everything revolves around you. You don't have to worry about anything else, because everything will just work for you. When you take a look at an AP economics circular flow macro, you will see that there are actually graphs. This is a very good tool that is used to show how money circulates through the economy. The more money that is spent, the more money is going out and vice versa. You will also notice that this will show you how much tax revenue that goes into the economy, and how much you have to spend on your basic necessities. This is all done in one place. When you get to understand this type of economic policy, you can use it to help create an environment where your government and private companies can run their operations more efficiently. This means that everyone will get the most out of their money, and nothing will be left over. When this happens, it is easier to control how things work and you will not have to worry about running things yourself. when the . . . . . . economy gets in a slump.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9606440663337708, "language": "en", "url": "https://omarbaileyfootwear.com/qa/quick-answer-should-i-be-a-director-or-shareholder.html", "token_count": 1480, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.224609375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:58fae2a9-81bb-4f10-b173-14e5d168a1a1>" }	- Who has more power CEO or board of directors? - Do shareholders have more power than directors? - Is a shareholder an owner? - What power does a shareholder have? - Can I remove a director from a company? - Which shareholders are real owner of company? - What rights do shareholders have? - Can a shareholder be a CEO? - What happens to shareholders when a company is sold? - How important are shareholders to a company? - Why is it important to keep shareholders happy? - Are board of directors shareholders? - Do shareholders really own the company? - Who actually owns a company? - Can you be a shareholder and not a director? - What is the purpose of a shareholder? - How does being a shareholder work? - What is difference between director and shareholder? - What are the disadvantages of being a shareholder? - Do shareholders make money? - What happens when shareholders are unhappy? Who has more power CEO or board of directors? While the board chairperson has the ultimate power over the CEO, the two typically discuss all issues and effectively co-lead the organization. Some companies find that their operations fare better when the CEO has considerable flexibility in running the operation.. Do shareholders have more power than directors? Shareholders who hold a higher percentage of the shares in the company have even more power to take other types of action. … In simple terms therefore the more shares you have or can command then the more you can influence and disrupt the directors actions. Is a shareholder an owner? A shareholder, also referred to as a stockholder, is a person, company, or institution that owns at least one share of a company’s stock, which is known as equity. Because shareholders are essentially owners in a company, they reap the benefits of a business’ success. What power does a shareholder have? The shareholders have inherent powers to remove directors (including non-retiring directors) by a simple majority vote, provided a special notice to this effect has been served on the company by shareholders holding at least 1 per cent of the paid-up share capital of the company or holding shares on which at least … Can I remove a director from a company? A company director can be removed for a number of reasons, but the resignation or termination must be in accordance with the terms of the Companies Act 2006, the articles of association, the shareholders’ agreement (if applicable), and any service agreement between the director and the company. Which shareholders are real owner of company? Equity shareholders are real owners and controllers of the company. What rights do shareholders have? Generally, as a shareholder, you have the right to access financial records, right to sue for wrongful acts, right to vote, right to attend the AGM, and right to transfer ownership. However, these rights may vary depending on the company’s shareholder agreement and company constitution. Can a shareholder be a CEO? A chief executive may be the majority shareholder in the company, but in a public corporation of any size, normally is not. … The smaller the company, the more likely that the CEO will be the majority shareholder or — in many cases — the only one. What happens to shareholders when a company is sold? When one public company buys another, stockholders in the company being acquired will generally be compensated for their shares. This can be in the form of cash or in the form of stock in the company doing the buying. Either way, the stock of the company being bought will usually cease to exist. How important are shareholders to a company? Shareholders are the owners of companies. … Shareholders play an important role in the financing, operations, governance and control aspects of a business. Why is it important to keep shareholders happy? If shareholders are happy, and the company is doing well, as reflected by its share price, the management would likely remain and receive increases in compensation. The prevention of a takeover is another reason that a corporation might be concerned with its stock price. Are board of directors shareholders? A board of directors (B of D) is an elected group of individuals that represent shareholders. The board is a governing body that typically meets at regular intervals to set policies for corporate management and oversight. … Some private and nonprofit organizations also have a board of directors. Do shareholders really own the company? In legal terms, shareholders don’t own the corporation (they own securities that give them a less-than-well-defined claim on its earnings). In law and practice, they don’t have final say over most big corporate decisions (boards of directors do). Who actually owns a company? Shareholders (or “stockholders,” the terms are by and large interchangeable) are the ultimate owners of a corporation. They have the right to elect directors, vote on major corporate actions (such as mergers) and share in the profits of the corporation. Can you be a shareholder and not a director? There is no requirement for directors to also be shareholders, and shareholders do not automatically have the right to be directors. However, in most private limited companies, they are the same people. This flexibility in ownership and management is one of the many great things about the limited company structure. What is the purpose of a shareholder? Shareholders are people who own a share or percentage of a privately held company. They have many of the same objectives as people who hold stock in public corporations, and chief among these is the desire to achieve a profitable return on their investment. How does being a shareholder work? As a shareholder, you own part of a company in relation to the proportion of shares you hold. A company can have just one shareholder or many shareholders. Each one is entitled to receive a portion of profits in relation to the number and value of their shares. Shareholders are commonly referred to as ‘members’. What is difference between director and shareholder? Shareholders and directors have two completely different roles in a company. The shareholders (also called members) own the company by owning its shares and the directors manage it. Unless the articles say so (and most do not) a director does not need to be a shareholder and a shareholder has no right to be a director. What are the disadvantages of being a shareholder? The chief disadvantage is the risk of financial loss. While a certain amount of risk comes with any investment, some common stock shares run high risk. There are additional drawbacks that may not be obvious at the onset of investing, but can compromise your investment portfolio if you’re not mindful of them. Do shareholders make money? Shareholders make money by selling the stock for a higher price, or receiving dividends. A higher price is paid if the expectation for future dividends increase. What happens when shareholders are unhappy? A company must always act in the stockholders’ best interest by making sure its decisions enhance shareholder value. … Stockholders can always vote with their feet — that is, sell the stock if they are unhappy with the financial results. Their selling can put downward pressure on the stock price.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9500624537467957, "language": "en", "url": "https://projectbeam.com.ng/computer-science/design-and-implementation-of-a-computerize-tax-collection/", "token_count": 1671, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2119140625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:f06466e1-03d4-459c-98d5-023766f11af8>" }	- Format: Microsoft Word - Pages: 75 - Price: ₦3000 - Chapters: 1-5 Tax is any form charge levied on a person or an institution by a governing body or its equivalent such that defaulted payment is punishable by law. The imposition of taxes and the institution of taxing is as old as civilization itself cutting across religion, race and continental borders. Prompt tax payment and reduced tax evasion is always a primary objective of the government in most civilizations that exist today. The issue of tax evasion has proven to be a difficult practice to curb even in nations with a proper database of its citizenry and the current mode of tax payment is redundant and hectic as ascertained through a survey of our case study. Some of the challenges governmental bodies have to overcome in order to encourage the prompt payment of taxes and effectively reduce evasion includes, developing convenient payment methods and having proper records keeping systems. This research work is a concise summary of how the continuous development of computing science and its wide spread ability to be deployed to solve a wide range of problems can be geared towards the development of an electronic taxation system to assist government bodies with convenient tax collection and record keeping. The waterfall methodology was selected for system development. Goals to be achieved by the system are instant access, improved productivity through efficient utilization of resources, database creation and records management, simplification of operations, reduced processing time, user friendliness, portability and flexibility for further enhancement. The E-taxation is not a new system, but a rather local solution to a problem with global purview. This system looks at how tax payment can be encouraged through simplification and increased efficiency in payment processing. According to a world bank economic report on Nigeria published on the 1st of May 2013, it was stated that 95% of the government’s budgeted expenditure depended on its projected oil revenue based on current world oil prices. It was also recommended in the report that the Federal Government, through the improvement of the domestic tax system it can increase its internal revenue and provide in the event of a fall in oil prices a financial backup plan for the economy (The World Bank, 2013). Tax is a charge imposed by a government on persons, entities or property, administered to generate revenue for that government (Black, 1999). Tax is a common source of income generation for financing government activities. Individuals and organizations are expected to fulfill their obligations on tax payment as required by law to give the government the financial power, amongst other purposes of taxation. Effective taxation therefore becomes important as it is a source of required financial power for a government to rule its territory. There are two forms of taxation common to most countries, direct taxes to be paid by the tax payer on his income, profit or asset owned. The other form, indirect taxes is imposed on commodities before they get to the consumer, and are to be paid by the consumer not as taxes but as a part of the selling price per unit of the commodity (Money Control, 2013). The Nigerian tax system is surrounded by countless problems which include: Little data available on the history of tax revenues or tax payers due to a lack of proper records keeping system (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1997). A lack of comprehensive tax statistics and a centralized database for the existing ones (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2002). Deployment of limited man power and other necessary resources into redundant roles and job functions (Ariyo, 1997). Duplication of taxes and its negative effect on tax payers a problem resulting from a clash in the governments’ fiscal responsibility and its fiscal power (Odusola, 2002). Deliberate attempts by tax payers to evade taxes (Odusola, 2003). The aim of the e-taxation system is to provide the tax authority a database with details of taxpayers and their transactions. This would reduce the issue of tax evasion and hence an increase in government tax revenue. It would also allow taxpayers process their transactions online without having to visit the office of the FIRS, reducing the workload on the resources available to the FIRS and which consequently give room for the re-allocation of freed-up resources. The objectives considered during the development of the e-taxation system include: Creation and management an effective and efficient database to provide tax payers records, information/bio-data for easy referencing. The provision of an alternative payment routes for tax payers so as to encourage immediate tax payment and provide relief to those who find it an easier and more efficient payment route. Which will be achieved by creating a web based system in which registered entities log-in and make payment. The availability of an alert system that to notify the regulatory body of outstanding payment by registered entities and workers. The e-taxation system is to be developed for use by the tax authority at the federal level for tax payment, record keeping and educational/awareness programs in under-developed and developing countries with specific focus on the African continent. 1.1 BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY: Governments are as diverse as the people and cultures they serve. But when it comes to keeping a government running through efficient assessment and collection of taxes, they all face the same basic challenges. Whether you’re a county on Florida’s Gold Coast or a republic in Africa emerging from strife and putting comprehensive tax procedures in place for the first time, it all comes down to fair and transparent assessment and valuation of property; efficient, effective billing and collection procedures; and absolute transparency with your most important constituents – the public. Breakdowns at any point in the system can lead to lower revenue, confusion and perceptions of unfairness. Yet revenue departments face serious internal pressures, since they are often compelled to get the most out of aging or outdated software and hardware systems. It’s the classic chicken-and-egg scenario: You need the best tools in order to get better at managing and collecting taxes. At the same time, how can you afford improved technology without the collecting the appropriate revenue? Most company now uses computerized payroll system. A computerized payroll system will not only resolve difficult problem but also it will provide fast process and accurate calculation of the salary. According to Dave Rooses (2010) in his article on how payroll system work. In manual payroll system there is so many possible errors that may be encounter but if the payroll is computerized, payroll clerks will not need calculator to compute the salary of the employee. Payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonus and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employee for services they provided during a certain period of time. (Wiki podia 2005). The employer are required to hold back the part of each employee’s earnings because the money will used for paying the income taxes union dues and medical insurance premiums that is responsible of the employee. (Fundamental financial and managerial accounting concepts published by mc grave-hill international edition). Payroll processing is actually a special- case purchases system in which the organization purchases labor rather than raw materials or finish goods for resale. (Accounting information system by James A. hall 2006), the proponents will propose a system that is entitled computerized payroll system. It will save time, produce faster result and will lessen the errors. A computerized payroll system will not only provide accurate calculation and fast process of payroll transaction but it will secure data through security implementation and accordingly arrange files provided by a well designed database that will produce a paperless environment. Gboko local government education authority is a government establishment under the supervision of Benue state universal basic education board (BENUE SUBEB). The LGEA is to carter for the needs of universal primary education at the local level. The need for the efficient management of the staff warfare and the and emoluments that are accrue to the staff from the state government as in the monthly salaries, wages, and other benefits received from the work done on a monthly basis, the LGEA have a duty to prepare the payroll of his/her staff to the state headquarters of SUBEB for approval and document and pay details of individual staff is entered manually using biro, pencil and duplicating papers for making of duplicate copies.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9464496374130249, "language": "en", "url": "https://vendorcentric.com/single-post/4-red-flags-to-look-for-when-reviewing-third-party-financial-statements/", "token_count": 652, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.095703125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:f937fd62-e7fa-4973-90e9-e9d8d3b81cf8>" }	Components of Audited Financial Statements - Auditor’s Report: This is the official, signed opinion issued by an external auditor on a company’s financial statements. This section is actually ‘owned’ by the auditor, not the company. - Financial Statements: These provide a quantitative picture of the current health of the company and consist three core statements: a balance sheet, an income statement and a statement of cash flows. Nomenclature may differ in certain industries. - Notes to the Financial Statement: The notes section provides more of a qualitative picture about the company through supplemental disclosures and details. These can include disclosures related to the basis for accounting, long-term commitments, pending litigation and affiliated entities. There is a lot of information you can glean from the notes section. 4 Red Flags to Look for in Third-Party Financial Statements 1. Modifications to the Auditor’s Opinion. You want your third-party to have a ‘clean’ (often referred to as unqualified or unmodified) audit opinion. A clean opinion means that the independent auditor has concluded the company’s financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects. An audit opinion that is not considered ‘clean’ is one that has been modified. Auditors issue a modified audit opinion if they disagree with management about the financial statements. The auditors will also issue a modified opinion if they have not been able to carry out all the work they feel is necessary, or if they have been unable to gather all the evidence they need. Auditors can also modify the audit report without modifying the opinion by adding additional paragraphs to draw users’ attention to specific significant matters. For example, if the auditors believe that there is some aspect of the financial statements that is subject to a material degree of uncertainty—even if fully disclosed—then they may draw attention to and emphasise this in the audit report. This is widely known as an emphasis of matter paragraph. So a great place to start in your financial statement due diligence is with the audit report. If the auditors have made modifications to their report, you should bring in additional subject matter experts from your finance team to help evaluate the risks associated with the modifications and determine whether additional due diligence is required. 2. Declining Profitability. 3. Inability to Pay Near-Term Liabilities. Being profitable is good, but the old adage says, “cash is king.” I’ve seen too many companies look like they are stable when in fact they are running out of money really fast. A good way to evaluate a vendor’s ability to cover its current liabilities is through liquidity ratios. The three key ratios to help with analysis are current ratio, quick ratio and cash ratio. What you’re assessing here is the vendor’s ability to pay what it owes and keep the lights on in the near-term. A liquidity ratio that trends lower over time is a red flag the company may be running out of cash 4. Concerns with Long-Term Solvency. Author: Tom Rogers Job Title: CEO Organization: Vendor Centric
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9576571583747864, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.accion.org/app-promotes-personal-finance-colombia", "token_count": 1415, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0986328125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:7a99fbc0-7a56-4f0c-af89-718ef1819e81>" }	Having access to a bank account isn’t always beneficial for families in the developing world — which sounds counterintuitive. Theoretically, formal financial services — savings, insurance, credit — can make an enormous difference in the lives of those living in poverty. But it isn’t always the case. Adequate use and adoption of those financial services is the breaking point to really making a difference. Under India’s new financial inclusion program, about 200 million new bank accounts have been opened since August 2014, but, according to Bloomberg, about one-third of those accounts are empty. In Colombia, the percentage of adults with savings accounts rose 8 percent in the last five years, but active account usage has only risen by 3 percent. So what gives? If families living in poverty are presented with an opportunity to more safely save for their futures and improve their financial health, why don’t they take it? As governments, the finance industry, and NGOs are now uncovering, it takes a lot more than a bank account to build a financial system that meets these families’ needs. The Colombian government has reported that only about 32 percent of the population is what you’d call “financially literate” – aware of and educated on financial concepts that help them use financial services to improve their lives. For these segments to be included and catered to in the formal economy, organizations need to work to provide them with the training and customized services that they need in order to actually benefit. And that’s just what Colombia is working to do. Through the national social protection program called Más Familias en Acción (More Families in Action – or MFA), the Colombian government makes bimonthly deposits to 3 million low-income family’s bank accounts throughout the country, so long as they meet certain criteria such as keeping children in school and taking them to periodic doctor’s appointments. While the program isn’t uniquely Colombian – it exists in similar formats in more than sixty other countries – it has evolved with the opening of more than 2.5 million of bank accounts, which are being used as an opportunity to improve the transfer system, leverage the bank deposits and help make those families more financially savvy. The idea came from Fundación Capital – an international organization that imagines, creates and tests innovative ideas that enable low-income families to grow, value and protect their financial and productive assets. It partnered with Prosperidad Social (Social Prosperity – the public department in charge of the MFA program execution) through the Proyecto Capital project to promote effective financial inclusion of their recipients, a challenging task: how to get millions of families to go beyond education and actually put those concepts into practice and change their behavior around personal finance? How to make sure that those families, many of whom had never before had savings or bank accounts, actually make use of these services? One of the strategies designed and tested by Fundación Capital, with support from the Citi Foundation, is the use of a tablet-based app that is designed to help low-income families adopt better savings habits, reduce their informal indebtedness, learn how to interact with banks, and educate them on their options for financial transactions and planning. This program, called the LISTA Initiative (LISTA means “ready” in Spanish, and is also an acronym for “Logrando Inclusión con Tecnología y Ahorro” or “Achieving Inclusion through Technology and Savings”), was built to address a very specific type of customer’s needs. Many of these families are not only low-income but often have low levels of education and minimal contact with technology, with very little time to learn something new. So, a fun and time-flexible tool to learn about personal finance had great potential to help them build their financial capabilities. LISTA not only teaches participants about financial concepts but also provides simulators for them to gain confidence in actually using financial services such as ATMs and mobile banking. LISTA also came as a scalable and cost-effective answer for reaching millions of families, even in remote and rural areas. Anchoring the program in local trusted channels was a key to success and when it came time to spread the word, LISTA decided to let the families themselves do the talking – and so they came up with a process. First, the tablet is given to a leader in the community, who then rotates it within a group of families. Each family only has two days to use the app, and then passes the device to along to another family. This practice fostered dialogue amongst parents, children, neighbors, and friends about the importance of savings, and the skills they learned to better manage their finances. So far, more than 75,000 low-income families from 30 municipalities in two of Colombia’s poorest regions have trained themselves through the app, as part of a national strategy promoted by the government. And the LISTA Initiative has spread to other countries in the region as well, where it is now being implemented in Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. What’s more, it seems to be working. To follow up on LISTA’s efforts, Fundación Capital and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) are now partnering to test the program’s approach, measuring the impact of the program on participants’ financial skills and habits through a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) evaluation supported by the Citi IPA Financial Capability Research Fund, meaning that results will be based on a statistical comparison of a group of people that took part in the program and a group of people, statistically identical, that didn’t. Preliminary results are very promising. Based on IPA’s current survey data, those families who got the tablet were more likely to establish savings goals and initiate savings — a big leap forward for those of us who work on mobilizing savings. Participants also tended to have written household budgets and be more trusting of their financial institutions. IPA is now measuring the possible impact of reminders through text messages, which will complement the training on the tablet. As part of the current implementation, IPA randomly divided families into two groups: one that receives text message reminders on their cellphones to reinforce their newly acquired financial skills, and one that will not receive any follow-up. So what makes a program like LISTA more successful than simply extending the offer to open a bank account? The gap between access and the adoption of those financial products is increasing. Tools like LISTA focus on the development of people’s financial capabilities, building trust in the formal financial system, and relaying relevant personal finance training in a simplified way, which are key steps forward to advancing real financial inclusion.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9833321571350098, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/resource-sharing/state-pubs-blog/colorado-governors-alva-adams/", "token_count": 1450, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2421875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:c430145e-8111-4f86-86d3-72463ee03c44>" }	Continuing our series on Colorado’s chief executives, we now turn to Alva Adams, whose multiple terms as governor were characterized both by success and by controversy. Alva Adams grew up in Wisconsin, where he was born May 14, 1850. In 1871 he moved with his family to Colorado, where his first job was hauling railroad ties for the Denver & Rio Grande. He then moved to Colorado Springs, where he took a job with a lumber and hardware company. Working his way up to owner, he eventually sold the business, opening new hardware businesses in Pueblo and Del Norte. Adams soon accumulated significant wealth by selling lumber and hardware to the railroads. Now a successful businessman, Adams turned his attention to politics. In 1876 he was elected to the state’s first General Assembly, representing Rio Grande County. Adams, a Democrat, served in the Legislature until 1878, then ran for governor in 1884 but was defeated. At this time, governors served two year terms, and in 1886, Adams gave the race for governor another shot. This time, he won. He was just 36 years old when he was sworn in as governor in January, 1887 (although he was not the state’s youngest governor; James Benton Grant had been 35.) First Term, 1887-1889 During Adams’ first term, he became known for his support of labor. He signed legislation establishing the state’s Bureau of Labor Statistics; officially designating Labor Day a state holiday; and outlawing the employment of children under 14 in mines, smelters, and factories. Adams is also remembered for defusing a potentially volatile situation that arose on the Western Slope in the summer of 1887. Following a small skirmish between Utes and settlers, the whites, fearful of an Indian uprising, implored Adams to call in the National Guard. He did, but soon ordered them to withdraw in order to avoid bloodshed. Second Term, 1897-1899 Adams opted not to run for a second term in 1889, but returned to politics a decade later for a second gubernatorial bid. Colorado in 1897 was a very different place than it had been in 1887. Colorado’s mining industry had created boom times in the 1880s. But the economy went bust after the Crash of 1893, when, amidst a simultaneous nationwide economic collapse, Colorado suffered an even greater blow when the Federal Government ceased purchasing silver for coinage. Although by 1897 the economy had started to slowly recover, labor unrest still flared because wages had been reduced in order to keep some of the mines open. When he began his term that year, Adams had to deal with miners’ strikes. While his predecessor, Albert McIntire, had favored sending in the National Guard to quell the strikers, Adams instead looked to find compromise between the mine owners and workers. As a result, his administration created the State Board of Arbitration to deal with labor conflicts. In 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out. When the U.S. began recruiting infantry and cavalry troops in Colorado, they were housed at Camp Adams — named for the governor — in what is now Denver’s City Park golf course. Adams supported the war effort by raising funds and purchasing identification tags for the troops. After training, the soldiers from Camp Adams were sent to fight in the Philippines. (The book Just Outside of Manila, published by the Colorado Historical Society, tells the story of Colorado’s soldiers in the Spanish-American War. A copy can be checked out from the State Publications Library). Three Governors in One Day: The Election of 1904 Once again, after serving a single two-year term, Adams chose not to run for re-election. And like before, after being out of politics for a few years, he decided to throw his hat in the ring once again. In the 1904 election, Adams’ Republican opponent was the incumbent, James Peabody. Despite Adams’ earlier efforts at arbitration, strikes and labor unrest boiled up again under Peabody, who sided with mine owners. Infighting among the state’s Republican party further complicated matters. As a result, the 1904 election was a nasty one, with both parties resorting to fraud and corruption in order to get votes. On the Republican side, mine owners threatened their workers to vote for Peabody or else risk being fired. Meanwhile, the police looked the other way when Democrats in Denver employed “repeaters” to vote multiple times using false names and disguises. Adams received the greater number of votes and was sworn in as governor on January 10, 1905. Immediately after, Peabody filed a petition with the Secretary of State contesting the election, claiming that Adams’ majority had only been achieved by the large number of illegal votes cast. A Legislative committee was convened to investigate the matter, which heard testimony from more than 2,000 people. With so much fraud and corruption on both sides, the Legislature decided that neither candidate should be governor. Instead they worked out a scheme in which, given the impossibility of being able to separate the number of legal votes from illegal ones, the contest would be found for Peabody — with the condition that he agree to resign within 24 hours of being sworn in, and not conduct any official business during that time. As a result, on the afternoon of March 16, 1905, after less than two months in office, Adams was unseated and Peabody sworn in. Historian Marjorie Hornbein, whose Colorado Magazine article explores the controversy in detail, noted that both Adams and Peabody “viewed themselves as martyrs for their party and their state.” About 23 hours after being sworn in, Peabody resigned, and Republican Lieutenant Governor Jesse McDonald* took the oath of office. By doing so, that meant that Colorado had officially had three governors in a 24-hour period. The 1905 controversy doomed Adams’ political career. He ran for governor again in 1906, but was soundly defeated by Republican Henry Buchtel. However Adams’ son, Alva Blanchard Adams, followed his father into politics and served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado in 1923-24 and 1933-41. Governor Adams died of diabetes in 1922 and is buried in Pueblo’s Roselawn Cemetery. Adams County is named for him. The State Publications Library has digitized copies of several of Adams’ speeches from each of his terms. These include his “biennial message” (what we would call a State of the State speech today) from 1888 and 1899, and his inaugural addresses from 1897 and 1905. The latter also includes remarks by outgoing Governor Peabody. In addition, 14 volumes of reports of the Legislative committee investigating the contested election are available in the library’s collection. *At that time, Lieutenant Governors were elected separately instead of as running mates to the Governor. That is why McDonald, a Republican, had been serving as Lieutenant under a Democratic governor.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9637991189956665, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.delta-net.com/compliance/cyber-security/faqs/what-is-ransomware", "token_count": 821, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.48046875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:49c7a40e-660e-4b46-aa24-fb521274b7fb>" }	Information security threats have consistently evolved with cybercriminals looking to outsmart security mechanisms and providers. Hackers are getting more innovative, using sophisticated new tactics to target unsuspecting users and businesses. One such threat that has emerged in recent years is ransomware – a scareware attack designed to intimidate a user or business into paying up in exchange for restoring access. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have described ransomware as a new business model for cybercrime and a global phenomenon. As of 2020, ransomware attacks continue to grow in size and scale, targeting public and private sector organisations globally. The Threat of Ransomware Ransomware cases were first reported in 2005, mainly in Russia. However, in recent years, ransomware attacks have spread globally, with cybercriminals targeting global businesses, health care providers, local authorities, educational establishments and governmental agencies. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that uses encryption to take control of a computer system remotely and prevent the user from accessing critical files and data. Hackers demand a ransom payment in exchange for restoring access. There are several ways the ransomware could make its way to the user's system – the most common method being phishing emails containing malicious links in the email message which take the user to a malicious website. Ransomware can spread quickly across networks, targeting database and file servers. Once hackers have access to business systems and data, organisations are immediately paralysed. Users are locked out of their systems, unable to access files and data. Ransomware attacks have seen a sharp increase in 2019, most often occurring due to vulnerabilities in organizations' existing security arrangements and the lack of awareness amongst the workforce. Ransomware attacks often rely on human error – targeting unsuspecting users within organisations with legitimate-looking phishing emails and malicious links that create an entry point into systems. Impact on Businesses The effects of ransomware attacks can be incredibly devastating on any type of business or organisation. At the outset, day-to-day operations are immediately affected, resulting in loss of access to key business systems and customer data. Most notably, intellectual property, financial and personal data are compromised, putting the business, its employees and its customers at risk of fraud and embezzlement. The financial consequences are much severe though. Businesses are known to pay out the ransom to hackers in exchange for restoring access to systems and business information. Even if a ransom is paid, access is not always guaranteed. For such businesses and those who refuse to payout, it is often a long and costly journey of restoring access to hacked data and systems and reinstating business operations to normal, which could often take years to recover completely. A ransomware attack can therefore cause significant financial losses to a business, setting it back by years and causing reputational damage in the process. Businesses who paid up In 2019, it was reported that several government agencies, educational institutions and healthcare providers in the US were hit by at least 948 ransomware attacks. It is estimated that more than $176M was spent in responding to these ransomware attacks. The costs went towards paying out a ransom to the hackers, rebuilding networks and restoring backups, and introducing preventative measures to avoid attacks in the future. Businesses who didn't pay up Global aluminium producer, Norsk Hydro, found itself at the receiving end of a devastating ransomware attack in 2019. It is reported that up to 22,000 computers were attacked, across 170 different office locations, in 40 different countries. But the company refused to engage with the cybercriminals who targeted them and pay up a ransom. Having resorted to pen and paper initially to get operations back and running, Norsk Hydro has spent more than £45M in repairing systems and restoring access. The loss in productivity and revenue has not been in vain though as they have gained a lot more in reputation. Information security industry and law enforcement agencies have hailed the global organisation's response as "the gold standard" – for refusing to pay the hackers and being completely transparent about their experience.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9691934585571289, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/arid-20317857.html", "token_count": 1186, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.3828125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:d06f9c3c-9203-402d-86c0-8c87abb3077e>" }	Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world. Not a tree at all, but a high herb, the banana grows up to 15 metres tall. There are an estimated 1,000 varieties of banana in the world, but the most commonly known is the Cavendish variety, which is produced for the export market. Bananas are grown in more than 150 countries, and desert bananas, which account for 43 million tonnes a year are of huge economic importance for many countries. They are the most traded fruit globally and the fifth most traded farm product. The global value of the banana trade was estimated at US$7bn in 2013, with a retail value between €20bn and €25bn. They are a source of nutrition and food security for more than 400 million people in producer countries. The monoculture production methods used can be harmful, as can agrochemicals used. So small-scale production in regions like the Caribbean is more sustainable, but low prices forced many farmers out of the market. A race to the bottom in the banana industry has been fuelled by the low prices paid by supermarkets and the cost-cutting tactics taken by some fruit companies as they search for cheaper labour. In an attempt to limit their responsibility for working conditions, some employers use sub-contracted labour. Plantation conditions can be harsh with many workers on temporary contracts or hired on a daily basis. They work 10 to 12 hours a day in extreme heat and even then may fail to earn a living wage — one that would cover their basic needs such as housing, clothing and an education for their children. Since its inception, the Fairtrade Organisation has made a significant difference in the lives of many banana farmers. It was 1985 when Dutch economist Nico Roozen and missionary Frans van der Hoff came up with the idea that if ethical trade was to have any real global impact, goods had to be readily available in mainstream shops. Peter Gaynor, executive director of Fairtrade Ireland, comments on the organisation’s current campaign and the drive to convince all Irish retailers to commit to selling 100% Fairtrade bananas. “Fairtrade Ireland posed an important question to the Irish retailers this week and we were pleased to receive an answer from Marks and Spencer, Lidl, Aldi and Tesco Ireland, who collectively account for about 41% of Irish grocery market share — but who are responsible apparently for the sale of 87% of Fairtrade bananas. “We are still waiting for an answer from SuperValu and Dunne’s Stores,” Gaynor says. “Despite dominating the Irish grocery market with virtually a combined 50% market share, they only account for a mere 13% of Fairtrade bananas sold in Ireland. “These figures don’t add up to much for Dunne’s Stores and SuperValu in particular.” Now Fairtrade are calling on all Irish retailers to rise to the challenge presented to them by the UK and their EU counterparts who have already converted to stocking 100% Fairtrade bananas. Stephen Best is a banana farmer from the Windward Islands, chairperson of the Windward Islands farmers’ Association (WINFA) who has travelled to Ireland as part of the Fairtrade Fortnight. He told me about life as a small farmer on the island of St Lucia, and the vital importance of support from retailers in Ireland. I have seven acres, five in bananas and on the rest I grow vegetables. It’s flat land and good, loamy soil, so it’s very productive. We employ five people. I’ve been very touched with the reception I have got since arriving in Ireland. Meeting people from towns and villages across the country has really bought home to me the compassion of the Irish people. It’s really something. But that makes it even harder to understand how it is that only 8% of bananas sold in Ireland are Fairtrade. I’m appealing directly to Irish supermarkets to examine where they source their bananas from. I’m sure if they took just five minutes to do this they would realise that Fairtrade bananas are the only type of bananas they should consider selling. I’m willing to meet with any shopkeeper or retailer to explain exactly what Fairtrade has done for framers, workers and entire communities in the Windward Islands. Well, bananas grow continuously. We remove the shoots at the base and leave just one. But before we became a Fairtrade farm in the ’90s, we ended up in trouble. There was an end to the preferential treatment we were given by the UK because we were a former colony and the Americans lowered their tariffs for other suppliers. Things were very bad for everyone on the island. It just wasn’t financially viable to produce bananas any more. We were on a downward spiral. Then WINFA began a relationship with Fairtrade, and everything began to improve. Now we can afford to produce our crops sustainably and employ five other people. That means that’s five more families who are being supported and more children who can afford to go to school. Well, of course hurricanes are a big problem here. The stem of the banana is actually very soft and when you’ve got winds of 90 miles an hour, you can loose the whole crop overnight. And we are noticing the effects of climate change too. The weather tends to be more extreme, with more dry spells. It makes planning farm activities difficult. Apart from that, a black fungus can affect the banana, which can be very destructive. And workers have to be very careful because the fruit can be damaged very easily. We hope retailers in Ireland understand how important their support is.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9383618235588074, "language": "en", "url": "http://blog.startsolar.co.in/10-things-you-should-know-before-you-switching-to-solar-power/", "token_count": 638, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0274658203125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:778eabc1-8c8c-4c0b-bec4-b6bcb8baa7b1>" }	Considering the world energy situation, looking for renewable, alternative sources of power has become a necessity. Going for sustainable sources like the solar energy is one of the ways that will provide the required power to the future world and its homes and offices. Many countries are promoting and helping those who take the decision to make the switch from the grid power to the solar power. For anyone who is considering this decision, here are top ten things to know. For your convenience, we have split them into technical and financial to help you analyze the options and make an informed decision. - Make sure the experts understand your power and energy requirements properly and design the system that will best suit your needs. Remember, even adjacent neighborhood homes can have different requirements and hence different sets of technical specifications and designs. - Use the best quality components to be assured of the service and the desired output is available. For the entire life of the solar power system, it should be giving you the optimum output. Any component that is substandard, is going to bring down the efficiency that you expect. - Take the maintenance cycle seriously. Even though the batteries and the solar panels look and seem new, the daily operation does have an effect on the individual components. Make sure you get the experts in at regular intervals to service the system and keep it running at max efficiency. - On-grid, off-grid or hybrid is an important decision. This also has a direct impact on the financial value. Find out if your local utility company will allow you to have an on-grid or hybrid system. If yes, make sure the technical specs & guidelines are adhered to. Else you may not get approval from your utility company or DISCOM to get a grid-interactive or hybrid system installed. - Get basic knowledge on cleaning and maintaining the system. You can also clean the panels and check the battery acid levels (in-case of off-grid or hybrid system) and save some money on that when it comes to the servicing. Let’s look at some financial considerations - We have mentioned earlier, the specs of each system will vary. So do not get upset or worried if your neighbor’s system is costing lesser than yours. It depends on the expected outputs and the overall design. - Check with your local authorities before the installation. There are often subsidies and discounts in the form of a direct reduction in costs or rebates and returns on the costs incurred in installing the solar panels on the top of your house. - An off-grid or hybrid system will definitely cost higher than the on-grid But the costs of installations are very quickly offset by the reduction in utility bills or even in the form of stored energy when there is no power. - If your experts suggest a certain period for return on investment, please be patient while the system works its way and helps you recover your cost. Also, get ready to promote this sustainable and renewable source of energy to get more and more households to take this up. Bonus: be ready to show off as the most happening home in the neighborhood that is supporting the environment and a sustainable and renewable future.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9530965089797974, "language": "en", "url": "http://wildlifearticles.co.uk/wild-deer-are-an-asset/", "token_count": 1225, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.3828125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:c92709ec-75dd-41cc-b4f1-14b7390d7699>" }	Wild Deer are an Asset When properly managed there are many positive aspects to the presence of wild deer, these may include public enjoyment, wildlife tourism, stalking and the supply of true wild venison, a healthy and environmentally friendly meat. All this in addition to the environmental benefit that low density deer grazing brings to woodland biodiversity. What sort of value can wild deer bring to rural economies? All too often deer are merely thought of in terms of what a land owner might sell stalking rights for, around £ 2.00 – £ 3.00 per acre, sometimes much more – £ 28.00 an acre in the south of England. Or what a carcase might fetch at the game dealers, around £ 2.25 – £ 3.00 per kg. However their economic worth extends well beyond this. A study from Scotland where there are around 800,000 deer claims that they annually generate around £ 105 million in relation to deer stalking and contribute towards £ 138 million of wildlife tourism. This compares very favourably to the £ 10 thousand cost of deer damage to agriculture there. But it is not just Scotland that benefits in this way. Research from the west of England also took into account both the positive and negative impacts of deer. So what are these negative impacts? Agriculture A five year study by Defra “Quantifying the damage wild deer cause to agricultural crops and pastures” revealed that many farmers believed that the “damage caused by deer causes significant economic loss”. This research reveals however that “Scientific studies to quantify the actual (rather than perceived) levels of damage, have been either inconclusive or shown that the damage in relatively insignificant.” Exclosure cages were set up in growing crops which variously prevented access by deer and lagomorphs (Hares & Rabbits) and soil fertility was assessed. Their conclusion was that “The results from the exclosure trial studies showed only one highly statistically significant reduction in yield which was due to lagomorphs only (and not deer).These studies clearly demonstrated that any impact of the foraging behaviour of wild deer on agricultural crops is insignificant in comparison with the variation in yield due to soil fertility levels. “ A study from the East of England where deer are at damagingly high densities claims that “The agricultural damage can be highly localised, even within single farms, particularly when it involves high value crops” In common with domestic livestock wild deer may be afflicted by ailments but Defra have stated that “The evidence available so far suggests that deer are unlikely to be a significant source of spread for the main livestock diseases, although the monitoring in deer has been low”. Deer Vehicle Collisions (DVC’s) Many mainland areas have problems with DVC’s but these are most prevalent where there are not just high density deer populations but also high volumes of traffic and a high concentration of roads, a good local example of such an area is the M3 – M27 interchange outside Southampton. Fortunately on the Isle of Wight we do not have the requisite high numbers of deer, high traffic volumes and trunk roads or motorways so here at least DVC’s are comparatively insignificant. So after taking these negative economic impacts into account can it still be financially beneficial to have deer present? Even after taking into account these negative impacts the Exmoor study put an overall net value on wild deer to the local community at £ 3.2 million per annum, equivalent to £ 1089 per deer with stags being the most valuable at £ 3750 per head. Are there some examples of how this might benefit the Isle of Wight? Tourism is one of the most significant sectors of the island’s economy, according to the Isle of Wight Council generating in the region of £ 500 million gross income, by way of contrast Natural England state that “Woodland on the Island is generally under-managed and timber production is a marginal activity as the value of the timber is low and transport to the mainland is expensive.” It would appear that deer related tourism would be a way of adding value to these woodlands, as well as the doubtless benefit that the light grazing of a low density deer population can bring. Some tourist attractions such as the Isle of Wight Steam Railway have already appreciated that deer are of interest to visitors urging them to “Settle back in beautifully restored Victorian and Edwardian carriages and discover an idyllic view of the Island’s unspoilt countryside. Keep an eye out for a red squirrel or deer darting away from the train as you pass through ancient woodland, and watch for a solitary kestrel perched on a fence post seeking its prey as the train ambles through open farmland and sweeping downland!” So what steps need to be taken so that the Isle of Wight can enjoy the rewarding presence of deer? It cannot be taken for granted that deer will be profitable for our island community, this requires a positive attitude by landowners and managers combined with the appropriate skills. A properly conceived “Best Practice” based management plan and a deer management group have a valuable role to play in this, not only by helping to keep deer at the modest densities known to be beneficial but also by assisting to minimise any adverse localised impacts such as those on agriculture and to sensitive environments. The economic benefits of wild deer have not been widely researched, however the available evidence suggests that competently managed deer can have a very substantial positive impact on tourist based economies such as ours. If you have seen some deer on the island please take part in the Isle of Wight Deer Survey locations will be treated with strictest confidence. For periodic updates please visit Isle of Wight Deer Conservation or email [email protected] Thank you for your interest and support For photos of deer on the Isle of Wight please see the Isle of Wight Deer Album 4,392 total views, 6 views today
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9570540189743042, "language": "en", "url": "https://beefrunner.com/2010/10/28/agfacts-to-ruminate/", "token_count": 451, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.095703125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:f30a1bfc-3d36-4ab1-8583-ed5ed291d18c>" }	Q: Which are the top 10 agricultural producing States? A: The top 10 agricultural producing States, in terms of cash receipts are (in descending order): California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri. A: Cattle and calves producers earned the largest receipts, followed by producers of corn, soybeans, dairy products, and broilers. A: No. In fact, family farms have accounted for a large majority of farm numbers and agricultural sales since the 1970s. But as production shifts to larger farms, family-owned farm businesses often become incorporated. Family corporations (having more than half the voting stock held by individuals related by blood or marriage) account for about a fifth of farm sales. A: Since the mid-1990s, the income of the average farm household has surpassed that of nonfarm households, and farm household income today derives from a number of income sources. The financial well-being of farm households today depends less on the income from the farm business and more on the availability of remunerative off-farm employment. A: California has the largest number of food manufacturing plants, followed by New York and Texas. A: Americans are consuming less beef per capita than in the 1970s, or in the 1980s. We’re also, per capita, consuming more food overall. A: U.S. agriculture enjoys a trade surplus, with the value of exports exceeding imports. The level of the surplus has changed over time, with increasing agricultural imports. A: Trade is essential to the U.S. agricultural sector, with agricultural exports accounting for more than 20 percent of the volume of U.S. agricultural production. A: In recent years, the import share of food consumed in the United States has climbed to more than 10 percent. The aggregate share of fruit and vegetable imports is at least twice as large as that of animal products. A: Diversity within the farm sector results in an unbalanced distribution of all government payments (including commodity and conservation programs). Farm size (acreage), location, types of commodities produced, and operator and household characteristics are among the factors associated with allocation of government payments.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9495436549186707, "language": "en", "url": "https://business-finance.blurtit.com/2721/what-are-the-types-of-financial-institutions", "token_count": 477, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0751953125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:2cdf54a9-db48-4a15-a6da-a26e6ec88b95>" }	Financial institutions help the people in providing funds/money according to the needs and for the establishment purpose of small and large businesses or in other words, we can say that it is an agent providing financial service to the business. There are different types of such institutions like banks, credit unions etc. Their responsibility is to transfer the funds from specific investors to the different companies. There are various types of financial institutions depending upon the services they offer like Banks, Credit Unions, Insurance Companies, Savings and Loan Associations, Finance Companies, Trust Companies and Mortgage Companies. On the basis of their assets and liabilities financial institutions are classified into three categories. First category of financial institutions include Depository institutions which include Commercial banks, Savings and loans associations, mutual saving funds and credit unions. Second category of financial institutions include Contractual saving institutions which are Life insurance companies, fire and casualty insurance companies, pension funds and government retirement funds. Third category of financial institution is Investment intermediaries. These institutions include finance companies, mutual funds and money market mutual funds. Financial institutions are businesses that give services for instance checking and saving/current accounts, car/business loans, credit cards and lots more. There are numerous sort of financial institutions like banks, credit unions etc. Financial institutions roles normally range from overseeing monetary policy to implementing particular objectives for instance currency stability, low inflation and full employment. They also generally act as the government's banker, manage exchange reserves, act as a lender of last resort and so on. In India Financial Institution are classified into two Category. 1. Banking Financial Institution. 2. Non Banking Financial Institution. 1. Banking financial institution are those who allow to received money from the public, Like, Banks i.e. Allow to deal with public under the RBI guidelines. 2. Non banking Financial Institution are those institutions which are not allow to received money from the public directly as deposit. But they will provide other financial support survives, Like Project financing, Hire purchase Finance, Bill Discounting, generally they deal with organization and their services are Enterprise oriented. They give financial support, advice and other service to Industry. The agency responsible for regulating the money supply in the United States is Basically there are two ttypes of financial institutions, they are banking and non-banking institutions The rise and fall of financial institutions is the responsibility of the management of financial institution
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.770028829574585, "language": "en", "url": "https://nanonaren.com/2016/09/21/writing-probability-as-an-expectation-10365/", "token_count": 485, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.024658203125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b586c3a7-6c28-4093-9afd-3650562f55ce>" }	Expectation is such an ubiquitous construct in probability that it’s worth looking at the various situations in which it appears. It’s one of those constructs that was so cheap to invent but pays off time and again. Consider a random variable and asking the following question. We can already write this as an expectation where is the indicator function. If we can make the following substitution By dividing by , the random variable takes on values whenever and thus we end up with the above inequality. Further, if is a non-negative random variable we can continue This gives us one version of the Chebyshev’s inequality As an example, I have computed the chebyshev approximations of the probabilities of a die taking on value greater than for two different dies. ghci> :l Stats.hs ghci> let fair_die = replicate 6 (1/6 :: Rational) ghci> let die2 = map (/21) [6,5..1 :: Rational] ghci> let var = [1..6] ghci> let error dist xs ys = e dist (zipWith (\x y -> (x-y)^2) xs ys) ghci> ghci> print $ map (1-) (cumul fair_die) [1 % 1,5 % 6,2 % 3,1 % 2,1 % 3,1 % 6,0 % 1] ghci> print $ map (e fair_die var /) var [7 % 2,7 % 4,7 % 6,7 % 8,7 % 10,7 % 12] ghci> ghci> let error_fair = error fair_die (map (1-) (cumul fair_die)) $ map (e fair_die var /) var ghci> let error_die2 = error die2 (map (1-) (cumul die2)) $ map (e die2 var /) var ghci> error_fair > error_die2 True As you can see, the upper bound is pretty poor. But we see that the bound is closer when we consider probabilities closer to the tail. I’ll come back to this and a couple of other versions of the Chebyshev’s inequality at a later time.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9342912435531616, "language": "en", "url": "https://work.chron.com/average-salary-finance-majors-accounting-majors-9565.html", "token_count": 856, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0419921875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:d9a15c60-1ce0-485f-826c-8caff48384c3>" }	The Average Salary for Finance Majors and Accounting Majors Majoring in accounting or finance provides an education that prepares students to work in a variety of business positions. Some business administration degree programs offer students the option to select an area of specialization, such as accounting and finance. Undergraduate and graduate degree programs are available in both finance and accounting. The median annual salary for financial managers in 2011 was $107,160, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Financial managers work for businesses to monitor and manage the company’s financial health. Managers prepare reports, analyze data and provide advice to upper management on the business’s finances and methods to improve profits. Types of financial manager positions include controllers, treasurers, risk managers, cash managers and credit managers. The BLS reports the minimum education for financial managers is a bachelor’s degree, but many employers prefer job candidates with a master’s degree in economics or finance. In addition, financial managers typically have a minimum of five years of experience in a financial or business position. Loan officers meet with individuals or businesses to discuss loan options, answer questions, obtain personal and financial information and explain the terms of loans. The loan officer uses the information from applications to analyze and evaluate the client’s finances and determine if they meet the qualifications for a loan. Loan officers may specialize in business loans while others work with individuals for personal, car and mortgage loans. According to the BLS, commercial loan officers must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in economics, finance or business. Mortgage loan officers must have a license to qualify for a position in the field. The annual median salary for loan officers in 2011 was $58,030, according to the BLS. Personal financial planners in 2011 earned an annual median salary of $66,580, according to the BLS. Financial planners work with individuals to provide advice on investments, insurance and taxes. Personal financial planners typically meet with clients to discuss their goals and investment options. For example, clients may require investments and financial information to fund their children’s college education. The BLS reports that the minimum education for personal financial planners is a bachelor’s degree, but graduate degrees in finance, accounting, economics or business can enhance employment opportunities. The annual median salary for accountants and auditors in 2011 was $62,850, according to the BLS. Accountants evaluate financial records for businesses and individuals to ensure accuracy and compliance with laws. Some professional accountants specialize in taxes for individuals and businesses. According to the BLS, accountants can work as public, managerial or government accountants. To work as a certified public accountant, individuals must meet state requirements for education and experience and pass a national examination. Many states require public accountants to complete an accounting degree program that consists of a minimum of 150 credit hours. - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011 13-2011 Accountants and Auditors - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Accountants and Auditors Do - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to Become an Accountant or Auditor - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Financial Managers Do - The University of Arizona Eller College of Management: Finance Career Brief - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011 13-2052 Personal Financial Advisors - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Personal Financial Advisors Do - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011 13-2072 Loan Officers - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: What Loan Officers Do - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011 11-3031 Financial Managers Luanne Kelchner works out of Daytona Beach, Florida and has been freelance writing full time since 2008. Her ghostwriting work has covered a variety of topics but mainly focuses on health and home improvement articles. Kelchner has a degree from Southern New Hampshire University in English language and literature.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9613951444625854, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.bakerhartley.com/home-mortgage-interest/", "token_count": 2419, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.076171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:aa9f447b-c68f-4a28-9229-81af1aa5a979>" }	While the tax deduction for home mortgage interest is as American as apple pie, the recipe can be very complicated. The home mortgage interest deduction is an example of a simple general rule with extensive and complicated exceptions. In the good old days, people simply deducted interest that they paid. There was no distinction made between interest paid on mortgages, credit cards or other types of non- business interest. The government felt that the tax code was too complicated and set out to simplify things for taxpayers. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was the culmination of the government’s simplification effort gone horribly wrong. The TRA of 1986 included sweeping changes in the rules for deducting interest that is not incurred relating to a business. In general, you (i.e. individuals) can deduct the interest that you pay on your home mortgage. The deduction is taken as an Itemized Deduction on Schedule A, attached to your Federal Form 1040. However, when you dig a little further, you discover that the amount that is deductible depends upon many factors, including: the date that you borrowed the money, the amount that you borrowed, your use of the loan proceeds, how you use the home, how many homes you have, etc. Here is a list of the more common considerations in determining how much interest is deductible as home mortgage interest. The loan must be secured by a mortgage that is recorded as a lien against on your home. For example, if your father lends you money to buy your home, the interest is not deductible by you unless your father records a mortgage lien against your home with the local county recorder. The person seeking the deduction must be legally liable on the loan. This means that paying the mortgage of a relative or friend does not allow you a deduction unless you are listed on the loan documents as being liable for payment of the debt. The person seeking the deduction must be the person that made the payments. This goes back to a basic postulate of the tax laws that you cannot take a deduction for something that you did not pay for. If one of your relatives or friends makes a mortgage payment on your behalf, you cannot deduct the interest. Of course, with a slightly different arrangement, you may be able to get the deduction. For example, borrow the money from your relative or friend and make the payment yourself, out of your own checking account. The property must be a residence. To qualify it must be a place that you can actually live in. For example, there must be things such as a kitchen, bathroom and sleeping facilities. This can include a single family residence, condominium, cooperative, mobile home or even a boat. Only 2 homes can qualify, your principal residence and one other home. If you have 5 homes, the homes that qualify are your principal residence, plus one other as selected by you. If you change your principal residence or buy a new home, you can have different homes qualifying during different parts of the year, on a pro-rata basis. Things get more complicated where you rent out a home for part of the time. If you rent out a home to someone else then you must determine whether you can deduct the interest as home mortgage interest as an Itemized Deduction on Schedule A. The test is that you must use this home more than 14 days or more than 10% of the number of days during the year that the home is rented out, whichever is longer. If you do not use the home long enough (14 days or 10% of the days rented) to satisfy the home mortgage interest test, the property is considered to be a rental property and not a second home for this purpose. Income and deductions for rental properties are reflected on Schedule E attached to your Federal Form 1040. The good news is that some of the home mortgage interest limitations do not apply. The bad news is that the Passive Loss Rules may limit or eliminate the current benefit of the interest deduction. Things get more complicated where you declare part of your house as your residence and part of your house as business use property. You must prorate the interest based upon the relative percentages of your home’s use. The personal portion is deducted as an Itemized Deduction on Schedule A and the business portion is deducted on Form 8829. The Three Categories of Mortgages: If all of your mortgages otherwise qualify (i.e. you satisfy the tests noted above), and also fit into one or more of the following three categories at all times during the year, you can deduct all of the interest on those mortgages. The three categories are as follows: - Mortgages you took out on or before October 13, 1987 (called grand fathered debt). - Mortgages you took out after October 13, 1987, to buy, build, or improve your home (called home acquisition debt), but only if throughout the year these mortgages plus any grand fathered debt totaled $1 million or less ($500,000 or less if married filing separately). - Mortgages you took out after October 13, 1987, other than to buy, build, or improve your home (sometimes called home equity debt), but only if throughout the year these mortgages totaled $100,000 or less ($50,000 or less if married filing separately) and totaled no more than the fair market value of your home reduced by (A) and (B). Here are a few examples that might help you understand how these 3 categories work. For these examples, we will assume that all of the tests are satisfied except for the 3 category test limits on amounts of the mortgages. Example 1: In 2001, you and your spouse buy your principal residence for $900,000 and take out a $600,000 mortgage. The entire $600,000 qualifies as acquisition debt (category B above). Example 2: In 2005 you and your spouse put an addition onto your home that costs $700,000 and you take out a second mortgage on your home in the amount of $700,000. Since you borrowed the $700,000 to put an addition on your home, it qualifies as acquisition debt. You now have $1.3 million of acquisition debt ($600,000 plus $700,000). However, of this $1.3 million of acquisition debt, only $1 million qualifies (the first $600,000 plus $400,000 of the $700,000 borrowed in 2005). The remaining $300,000 borrowed in 2005 does not qualify because of the $1 million post-1987 overall acquisition debt limit (category B above). Example 3: In 2006 you determine that your house is worth $2 million. You and your spouse decide to take out a home equity loan in the amount of $150,000 and use the money to buy a golf round with Tiger Woods. You can still deduct the interest on the $1 million of acquisition debt. Further, $100,000 of the home equity loan qualifies (category C above). The remaining $50,000 of the home equity loan does not qualify due to the home equity loan limit (category C above). Example 4: Let’s say that in 2006 you still take out the $150,000 home equity loan but your house is only worth $900,000 (not $2 million) due to a drop in real estate values. You can still deduct the interest on the $1 million of acquisition debt. However, no part of the $150,000 home equity loan qualifies (category C above). Building a Home: If you take out a loan to build a house, some or all of the debt qualifies as acquisition debt. The loan only counts if the house becomes a qualified residence once it is ready for occupancy. Further, you are only allowed to count the debt incurred during a 24 month period that occurs after the date that construction begins. For example, if you incur $360,000 of debt evenly over a 36 month period, only $240,000 qualifies as acquisition debt. The tax laws provide for keeping track of what the borrowed money was used for and then determining the interest deduction categories that apply. That is, whether it is home mortgage interest, business interest, investment interest, etc. This is often referred to as “interest tracing”. For example, if you borrow money to use in your business, you can arrange for a traditional business loan through a local bank or, perhaps just take a large home equity loan. You may be able to deduct the interest on the home equity loan as business interest if you very carefully follow the interest tracing guidelines. The IRS gives you the map to the minefield. If you carefully map out each step you may end up with a great result. However, one misstep (even a minor and brief) may result in stepping on a mine. Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Get the Deduction: Even if you are allowed to put all of your home mortgage interest on Schedule A as an Itemized Deduction, it is possible that some or all of the tax benefits will be lost if your income is too high due to the phase out of Itemized Deductions. You may also lose some of the benefit of your mortgage interest deduction due to the Alternative Minimum Tax. In the years leading up to the recent real estate and credit crisis, it became increasingly popular for people to own several homes. Often, there were large mortgage balances associated with those purchases. Further, in the early to mid-2000’s there were rapidly rising home values, low interest rates and easy credit. Based upon this, many people were taking out home equity loans to finance their lifestyles. These events have all conspired to make the mortgage interest deduction rules a much bigger issue than they were when enacted in 1986. Many taxpayers are putting mortgage interest deductions on their tax returns to which they are not entitled. The IRS is eyeing large mortgage interest deductions as a factor in the audit selection process. Determining your after tax cost of debt is not easy and using a “rule of thumb” might not give a realistic picture. Depending upon the facts and how precise you want to be you might need an investment advisor, a mortgage advisor and a tax advisor to figure out how to balance your debt and investments for an optimal after tax benefit. Copyright ©, Keith B. Baker – 2009 This article is designed to be a public resource of general information. It does not constitute “legal advice” nor does it create a “client-attorney” relationship. While the information is intended to be accurate, this cannot be guaranteed. Tax laws are complex and constantly changing as a result of new laws, regulations, court interpretations and IRS pronouncements. Often, there are also various possible interpretations. Further, the applicable rules can be affected by the facts and circumstances of a particular situation. Because of this, some of the information may no longer be correct or may not apply to all situations. We are not responsible for any consequences or losses resulting from your reliance on such information. You are urged to consult an experienced lawyer concerning your particular factual situation and any specific legal questions you may have. IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: Any discussion of federal tax issues in this correspondence may constitute “written tax advice”. Any such advice is limited to the issues specifically addressed, and the conclusions expressed may be affected by additional considerations not addressed herein. Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including any attachments) is not intended to be, and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. (The foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury Regulations governing tax practice.) You agree not to copy content from our article without permission. Any requests to use our content should be submitted to us by email to [email protected]
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9300264120101929, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.farmprogress.com/corn/corn-most-profitable-cellulosic-biofuel-crop-michigan", "token_count": 632, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.039306640625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:ded3cc9f-1ba4-4138-836a-cb00cf51b8b6>" }	When deciding which crops to grow for cellulosic biofuels, return on investment is one variable farmers must consider. Currently, corn stalks and leaves offer the most profit according to new research by Michigan State University (MSU) scientists. But that could change if federal policy offers incentives to grow crops that offer more environmental benefits than corn. Cellulosic biofuels use the leaves, stems and other fibrous parts of a plant to make fuels. Scott Swinton, MSU agricultural, food and resource economics professor, teamed up with MSU crop and soil associate professor Kurt Thelen and graduate student Laura James to analyze the economics of growing various crops for cellulosic ethanol. The results are published in the March-April 2010 edition of Agronomy Journal. “Many farmers are curious about whether they should be growing crops for cellulosic biofuels,” Swinton says. “They need to know what they can earn for those crops, what the yields will be and what the costs are to produce crops for biofuels.” The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), found that corn stover (stalks and leaves) is the most profitable cellulosic biofuel crop in the Great Lakes region, across a range of likely prices. “For now, corn looks like the cellulosic bioenergy crop of choice,” Swinton says. “Of course that could change with environmental policy that rewards the water quality and climate change benefits from perennial crops such as switchgrass, poplar trees and mixed grasses.” Perennial crops offer more environmental benefits than corn, including lower amounts of greenhouse gases released, improved water quality and better wildlife habitat. “Having more corn in the landscape does come at a social cost,” Swinton says. “However, without special subsidies, perennial grasses and poplar don't match the profitability of corn unless biomass prices rise to more than $90/ton.” The researchers calculated the cellulosic biomass prices and yields for potential energy crops in southern Michigan using price and cost-of-production data from 2006 to 2009 and yield values from published literature. They then compared those prices and yields to corn and corn stover production systems. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) researchers are testing a variety of crops to evaluate yields under field conditions at sites in Wisconsin and Michigan, Swinton says. Results from these experiments will enable researchers to update and evaluate results from the current study. The GLBRC, funded by the DOE, is a partnership between MSU and the University of Wisconsin-Madison aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy. Swinton and Thelen’s research is also supported by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. Swinton, James and MSU Extension Educator Dennis Pennington also have written a new bulletin to download: “Profitability of Converting to Biofuel Crops” (#E-3084).
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9551953673362732, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.jitendravyas.com/how-to-report-irs-crypto-lost-stolen/", "token_count": 1574, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.330078125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:00498d96-a043-4ccf-b1ec-9d3d4d21b911>" }	How To Report Irs Crypto Lost Stolen – A Cryptocurrency, as defined by Wikipedia is “a digital currency developed to function as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital possessions “. It was created as an alternative to standard currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Euro, and Japanese Yen. No central bank is included in the management of these currencies. The circulation of the cryptocoin is usually done through a procedure called “minting ” in which a particular quantity of the digital asset is produced in order to increase the supply and consequently decrease the need. In the case of the Cryptocurrency journal, this transaction is done by cryptographers, which are groups that specialize in producing the necessary proofs of authenticity needed for proper transaction to take place. While the majority of Cryptocurrencies are open-source software application services, some exist that are exclusive. This is in contrast to the open source software that defines most cryptocurrencies, which are established by any number of private contributors. The developer of Litecoin, Robert H. Jackson, was attempting to create a protected and safe alternative to Cryptocurrency when he was required to leave the company he was working for. By creating this variation of Litecoin, which has a much lower trading volume than the original, he hoped to supply a trustworthy however protected form of Cryptocurrency. One of the most promising applications for the future of Cryptocurrency is the concept of “blockchain. ” A “blockchain ” is just a big collection of encrypted files that are recorded and kept on computer systems around the world. All deals are recorded and encoded using intricate mathematics that secures details at the exact same time as ensuring that it is accessible just to licensed participants in the chain. The major problem with conventional ledgers is that they are vulnerable to hacking which permits someone to take control of a company ‘s funds. By using crypto technology, a business ‘s ledger can be secured while keeping all the information of the transaction private, ensuring that just they know where the money has actually gone. A “virtual currency ” is just a stock or digital commodity that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Virtual currencies can be traded online just like any other stock on the conventional exchanges, and the advantage of this is that the exact same rewards and guidelines that use to genuine markets are likewise applicable to this type of Cryptocurrency transaction. As more Crypto currencies are developed and made available to consumers the benefits end up being clear. Rather than being limited to small niches on the exchanges, lots of go into the mainstream market that provides greater versatility and ease of access. By doing this, it enables much more people to get in the market and take advantage of the advantages that Cryptocurrencies need to use. There are currently several effective tokens being traded on the significant exchanges and as more enter the market to the competition will reinforce the strength of the existing ones. Cryptocurrency trading is absolutely an exciting financial investment. It entails the getting and trading of different currencies with various coins. In general, if you purchase cryptographic currencies, you ‘re essentially buying Crypto currency. It ‘s basically similar to trading in shares. Now, if you ‘re not knowledgeable about how to buy and trade crypto currencies, this can be quite scary things. Well, it really isn ‘t that frightening. Nevertheless, there are specific precautions you need to take. You will want to get a broker either a complete FX broker or a discount rate broker that charges a little cost. They will then offer you with an interface for your application and software. You will also wish to establish a “tiny account “. This is just an account that you utilize for a brief period of time. This helps you get familiar with the functions of the platform and get utilized to how it works. When you sell the free market with real cash, there is no such thing as a mini account. That would make the procedure too risk-free for you. However, because you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely acceptable. The MegaDroid goes one step further and allows you to start trading with your preferred coins at any time. It likewise enables you to do things like buy or sell your limitations. Some people might be a little hesitant of this feature. It does offer you the ability to do some “quick ” trades, but that ‘s about the limitation. Maybe you should be if you ‘re leery of quick trades! If this was the only benefit of utilizing the MegaDroid, it would be great! Unfortunately, it ‘s not. What traders actually enjoy about this unbelievable robotic is the truth that it gives them full control over their projects. Some traders still declare that it ‘s a hassle to manually handle a campaign. I understand that it ‘s much easier than manually managing a number of campaigns on your PC, however it does have a number of advantages over the others. They can then deposit funds into their account and automatically utilize them to trade. Rather, they can manage their funds utilizing their own wallets. Because all deals are held digitally, you put on ‘t need to deal with brokers or dealing with trading exchanges – everything is kept strictly within your own personal computer. The last major perk is that it no longer holds ether and pennybase. The 2 largest exchanges by volume (Euromoney and MegaDroid) are now dealt with by the separate developers of Cryptocorx. This implies that you will need to set up the software application and download by yourself computer system if you want to trade on these 2 big exchanges. Although this may sound like a discomfort, it has actually considerably increased the liquidity of the two coins. All you ‘ve got to do is visit their websites and you ‘ll have the ability to see their estimate. You need 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 know exactly when you ought to exit the market and go into – hence you can make better decisions with your trades. Now that we ‘ve discussed the cons and pros, let ‘s have a look at some technical analysis techniques. I ‘ll be honest, as a new trader, you might wish to skip this part. If you are a technical analyst and are familiar with the marketplace patterns, then it shouldn ‘t be a problem. If you aren ‘t familiar, then you may want to follow along for a brief time just to get a feel for what might take place. With this information, you ought to be able to interpret the rate action on the two exchanges really easily and make excellent trades. There are numerous different methods to perform this buy and offer action, so you ‘ll want to select one that you ‘re comfortable with. A Cryptocurrency, as defined by Wikipedia is “a digital currency designed to function as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital assets “. ” A “blockchain ” is merely a big collection of encrypted files that are taped and kept on computers around the world. A “virtual currency ” is simply a stock or digital commodity that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Because you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s perfectly acceptable. It does offer you the capability to do some “fast ” trades, but that ‘s about the limitation. How To Report Irs Crypto Lost Stolen
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9446866512298584, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.playaccounting.com/menu/accounting-terms/r/", "token_count": 443, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.07568359375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:26e3263c-5650-47e1-8a0f-5806548a1ce3>" }	What are realized gains or losses? The difference between expenses on a current cost basis and on a historical cost basis, which represents the holding gains or losses the firm has realized through sales or use in the current period. What are the research and development costs? Those expenditures incurred in discovering, planning, designing, and implementing a new product or process are called research and development costs. What is Retail Method? A method of estimating inventory by which the inventory is taken at retail prices and then converted to cost is called the retail method. What is a Receivable Turnover Ratio? A ratio determined by dividing credit sales by the average account receivable for the period. Formula Receivable Turnover = Credit sales / Average Account Receivable What is Return on Assets Ratio? – Definition The return on assets is the ratio determined by dividing the net income by the average total assets. Formula Return on Assets = Net Income / Average Total Assets What is meant by Reversing Entries? Reversing entries are the entries made on the first day of a new accounting period that reverse certain adjusting entries to allow the routine recording of certain entries. What is meant by Residual Value? Residual value or salvage value is an estimate of an asset’s worth at the end of its useful life. What is Realization Principle? Realization Principle is the principle accountants follow to determine when revenue should be recognized. What is meant by Accounting term Real Accounts? Real Accounts are the balance sheet accounts (including retained earnings), the balances of which extend beyond the accounting period. What is meant by the term revenues? Revenues are the price of goods sold or services rendered by a firm to others in exchange for cash or other assets. What is the retained earnings statement? Retained Earnings statement is a financial statement which details the changing in the retained earnings account for a certain period. What is meant by the term reliability? Reliability term meaning that the accounting information is unbiased, accurate, and verifiable. What is meant by term Relevance? Relevance is a qualitative characteristic requiring that accounting information be impactful in a user’s decision.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9532098174095154, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.powermag.com/powering-the-people-indias-capacity-expansion-plans/?itm_source=parsely-api", "token_count": 7443, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.392578125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:6bae05c0-742a-40bd-b006-f68dcacb06dc>" }	India has become a global business power even though hundreds of millions of its citizens still live in poverty. To sustain economic growth and lift its people out of poverty, India needs more — and more reliable — power. Details of government plans for achieving those goals demonstrate that pragmatism may be in shorter supply than ambition and political will. India’s economy has been booming in recent years. Supported by market reforms, huge inflows of foreign direct investment, growing foreign currency reserves, and flourishing sectors such as information technology and real estate, it grew steadily at an average of 7% for a decade. But although progress is evident, the complexities of sustaining such growth are proving challenging. As the country’s Planning Commission says, if the country peopled by 1.1 billion is to eradicate poverty and meet its human development goals, it will need to sustain an 8% to 10% economic growth rate over the next 25 years. And in order to deliver this growth rate, it will need, at the very least, to triple or quadruple its primary energy supplies and increase total electricity generation capacity from 148 GW to nearly 800 GW by 2030. The challenge is formidable. Despite progressive reforms, India’s electricity supply already lags 11% behind demand, and peak shortages surge as high as 17% (Table 1). The quality of the power supply is also very poor, owing to unstable voltages and routine frequency excursions (see sidebar, "A Passage for India’s Power"). More than often, state governments force the industrial sector to bear the brunt of power shortages to meet demand, crippling productivity and hampering economic development. The prevalent outages — which frequently last eight hours at a time — have also been known to cause violent skirmishes in urban areas. Correction: One unit used to measure energy requirement and availability in Table 1 is equivalent to 1 kWh, not 1 MW as stated in the note. Table 1. A generation gap. Since 2002, when the government’s 9th plan ended, the gap between energy availability and requirements has widened, and peak demand continues to soar. India will need to add 92,000 MW before 2012 to eliminate these deficits and meet its economic goals. It has only planned to add 78 GW, however, and even this goal is unlikely to be met. Note that peak met and energy availability represent net consumption (including transmission losses). Sources: Economic Survey 2007; Central Electricity Authority As well as being rapid and reliable, the supply expansion must also be affordable. Pointing to the yawning gap between India’s superpower economic aspirations and realities on the ground is the fact that its energy consumption on a per-capita basis (a factor loosely correlated with gross national product) ranks among the lowest in the world. In terms of electricity use, per capita consumption was only 480 kWh in 2005 — a quarter of China’s and 1/20th that of developed countries. At the same time, expansion must not come at a steep cost to the environment. The country already emits 4.6% of the world’s greenhouse gases, making it the fourth-largest contributor, after the U.S., China, and Russia. Though it says it is concerned about climate change (see the web supplement "Of Prosperity and Pollution" at www.powermag.com), India has pointed out that, considering it has 17% of the world’s population, those emissions on a per-capita basis are relatively low. Securing its fuel supplies will be another primary consideration. Today, more than 50% of India’s power is generated with coal, and 10% is natural gas – fired (Figure 1). But, though India has the world’s fourth-largest reserves of coal and has recently made important gas discoveries, the power sector routinely suffers acute shortages of quality coal and gas. Because coal power’s dominance is unlikely to subside, as the Planning Commission recognizes, the country must step up coal production or importation and expand supply of the fuel to more than 2 billion tonnes (2.2 U.S. tons)/year based on the quality of domestic coal. 1. Fueling growth. Coal dominates India’s 148.4-GW power generation portfolio. According to Planning Commission scenarios, by 2030, coal-fired capacity will likely be in the range of 200 GW to 400 GW, up from the 77 GW today. Source: Central Electricity Authority, “Power at a Glance”; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The country will also have to secure uranium resources — of which it has meager reserves — to support its planned nuclear renaissance. Exploitation of its large hydropower potential, on the other hand, will involve displacing people and submerging land — not to mention potential environmental consequences. Renewable energy sources, therefore, are especially attractive. Although efforts have long been under way to promote them, renewables such as wind, solar, and biogas make up only 9% of the country’s generation portfolio. Overarching all these challenges is a rickety institutional framework. A host of energy policies were adopted after independence to serve the socioeconomic priority of development, but these have instead "encouraged and sustained many inefficiencies in the use and production of energy," as the Planning Commission acknowledges. Under India’s constitution, electricity is a "concurrent" subject, which places it under the control of both central and state governments. After independence in 1947, the electricity sector was organized around public State Electricity Boards (SEBs); these operated as extensions of state energy ministries — but as commercial entities that could develop policy. Driven by populist politics, they pushed for cheap electricity for agriculture in the late 1970s to stimulate India’s Green Revolution. In the 1980s, by raising tariffs on industrial consumers, farmers in several states began receiving power for free or at flat rates. Gradually, while pushing the industrial sector to build captive power plants (that is, facilities commissioned by a group of users for self-consumption of the electricity provided), this approach led to a rampant lack of accountability that finally caused an average fiscal deficit of more than 20% in the states’ budgets. As the gap between demand and supply widened, the government was forced to rethink its policies. Finally, to deal with the macroeconomic financial crisis in 1991, it opened the door for domestic and foreign independent power producers. Nevertheless, despite lucrative incentives, twice as much capacity was added in the public sector as in the private sector during the second half of the 1990s. Reform to the sector came only after the World Bank pushed the government to view power as a commodity, pointing out that the sector’s problems were a result of a conflict of interest "between government’s role as owner and its role as operator of utilities." The eastern state of Orissa was the first to adopt the recommended — albeit controversial — legislative and institutional changes. First it set up an independent regulatory commission to promote accountability and further encourage private sector investment. Then it split its SEB into two generation companies and a grid management company. The central government consolidated these reforms through the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act in 1998 and the Electricity Act in 2003. Despite these changes, however, the public sector continues to play a dominant role in determining India’s power generation and supply (Figure 4). Through the Ministry of Power, the central government sets overall power policy, while state governments focus on power plants and regional transmission and distribution networks located within their boundaries. 4. Sharing power. Though it was liberalized almost 20 years ago, India’s power sector continues to be dominated by the government. Today, state governments produce 52% of the nation’s power, followed by the central government (34%) and the private sector (15%). Source: Central Electricity Authority State governments produce 52% of the nation’s power, followed by the central government (34%) and the private sector (15%). The industry’s other major players are also central government – owned: The National Thermal Power Corp. (NTPC), for example, accounts for 28% of the country’s capacity, while the Nuclear Power Corp. of India (NPCIL) owns all 17 existing nuclear power plants. The Ministry of Power also oversees key organizations like the national grid operator, Power Grid Corp., and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which conducts techno-economic assessments. The coal sector is also dominated by public sector institutions — as is the electric power technology manufacturing sector. Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. (BHEL), a holding company overseen by the Ministry of Heavy Industry, manufactured more than 60% of the generation units installed in the 1970s, and it will build many of the power plants planned in the coming decades. The Plan to Power the People With all the aforementioned challenges in mind, the Planning Commission — the nodal agency that integrates the developmental priorities of different ministries with the sole aim of raising the standard of living — has established long- and short-term plans for a massive capacity expansion that will meet its foremost aspiration: to provide power to all its people. The plan rests on the assumption that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow between 8% and 9% per year. As of March 2009, even as the International Monetary Fund forecast that growth would slump to 6.5% this year (India claims it has dropped to 7.1%), this projection has not changed. In a 2006 integrated report, the commission determined that the country should have between 778 GW and 960 GW of installed capacity by 2030. To achieve this goal will require 9.5% annual growth in the power sector. But India is already far behind quotas established by the plan; at the end of the 10th five-year plan (2002 – 2007), though it added 21.2 GW — falling just short of its 22-GW target for 8% GDP growth (Figure 5) — the country’s total installed capacity stood at 132 GW, not 153 GW, as anticipated. Still, the CEA projects that if 78.7 GW — as based on actual orders — are added during the 11th plan (2007 – 2012), India would be able to drastically reduce its peak demand deficit to 0.2% while increasing its energy surplus by 5%. 5. The plot thickens. India’s Planning Commission has determined that to sustain national gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8% to 9%, between 778 GW and 960 GW will be needed by 2030. This will require capacity additions in allotted increments every five years. But the country is already off target: At the end of the 11th plan, it should have added between 220 GW and 233 GW of new capacity, and although new projects worth 78 GW are in the offing, they will only raise installed capacity to 210 GW. Nevertheless, federal bodies predict that this will drastically reduce peak deficits and create an energy surplus. Source: Planning Commission As expected, the commission’s plan is imperfect. Data from the CEA show that the Indian electric power sector has been able to achieve only about 50% of its target in previous five-year plans. Many groups attest that this is because of closed planning by the government, which results in overestimation or underestimation of the nation’s needs. By the end of the 12th plan (2012 – 2017), for example, the government predicts that installed capacity of between 306 GW and 337 GW will be adequate. But, as a study by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. notes, after adjusting for plant availability and 5% spinning reserve, fulfillment of this requirement will warrant tripling generation capacity from current levels to 415 GW to 440 GW — roughly 100 GW more than the government expects. So how will India power its growth? Considering the challenges at hand, and to alleviate demand and supply issues in the short term, the Planning Commission’s 11th plan relies on the massive expansion of coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower capacity, with most of it being built by the central government (Figure 6). 6. Putting the heat on thermal. The 11th plan calls for the massive expansion of coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower capacity by 2012. The central government will build more than 45% of new capacity. Source: CEA Counting on Coal Because of its abundant reserves, India has always relied on coal for much of its power needs — and that isn’t about to change soon. Currently, 77 GW (52%) of India’s capacity is coal-fired, generated by subcritical pulverized coal combustion power plants manufactured by BHEL and based on technologies licensed from various international manufacturers (Figure 7). These consume about 78% of India’s domestic coal supply, which is a high-ash coal with a low calorific value of around 3,500 kcal/kg. Though about 9.6 GW of new coal-fired capacity was installed during the 10th plan, the 11th plan calls for adding a stunning 52 GW. About 6 GW were already in place as of March 2009. 7. The Maharaja. India’s current 77 GW of coal-fired capacity are produced by subcritical pulverized coal combustion giants like the Singrauli Thermal Power Plant, at Shaktinagar, Uttar Pradesh—the largest in the 15-plant fleet operated by state-run National Thermal Power Corp. (NTPC). Commissioned in 1982, this 2,000-MW facility comprises five 200-MW units and two 500-MW units. The Singrauli area also has four other superthermal power plants, which together supply 10% of India’s power. But though the area is thought of as “India’s power capital,” it has also been widely maligned as one of the worst polluted regions in the country. The 11th plan calls for an additional 52 GW of coal-fired capacity. Courtesy: NTPC The plan seeks to replace a large number of coal plants that are nearing the end of their lives. It also focuses on higher efficiency. One reason for efficiency improvement is the limited fuel supply: Though it says that 45% of the nation’s coal reserves has yet to be exploited, the Planning Commission has acknowledged that if production continues to grow at 5% per year, its extractable coal reserves could run out in about 45 years. Therefore, it has recommended that, capacity additions aside, power generation companies should improve existing plant performance — in particular, the average gross efficiency of generation, which stands at 30.5%. Despite being constrained by inefficient and low-quality fuel linkages, overhaul practices, and maintenance, the sector has made great strides in improving plant load factors from an average of 70% in 2001 to 78.6% in 2007. Meanwhile, about 30% of planned capacity will be based on supercritical technologies. Only two projects — comprising six units rated at 660 MW — are under construction by state-run NTPC at Sipat, Chhattisgarh and Barh, Bihar. According to the NTPC, these are at an advanced stage of construction, with the first unit slated to be commissioned in October this year. As part of the 11th plan, the Indian government has also made available for award on the basis of competitive tariff bidding the development of nine coal-based Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) — supercritical facilities generating 4,000 MW or more. Four UMPPs — each estimated to cost $3 billion — have so far been awarded: Reliance Power has snapped up the Krishnapatnam UMPP in Andhra Pradesh, the Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, and the Tilaiya in Tamil Nadu, while Tata Power will build the Mundra in Gujarat. Reliance has projected that the Sasan project could start up in December 2011, though it has not yet obtained construction financing for its plant — as Tata has. Industry experts are also skeptical of whether Reliance’s assertion that power from the three UMPPs will cost between 4 and 5 cents per kWh is realistic, questioning what would happen if the utility finds it difficult to supply those rates. In the meantime, the central government is preparing to award three more UMPPs: two at pithead (mine-mouth) sites at Bedabahal in Orissa and at Akaltara in Chhattisgarh, and one at a coastal site at Cheyyur, Tamil Nadu. The request for qualification (equivalent to a request for proposals) for these projects is expected to be issued in one-month intervals, starting in June. Gas’s Mercurial History Although India’s priority continues to be accelerating installed capacity increases, the growing debate about climate change (see the web supplement, "Of Prosperity and Pollution" at powermag.com) has prompted deployment of the nation’s first 125-MW integrated gasification combined-cycle plant (IGCC) at Vijayawada, in Andhra Pradesh. Joint owners BHEL and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp. plan to complete the $188 million plant by 2011. According to a Ministry of Power official, another IGCC plant — a 200-MW plant jointly built by NTPC and BHEL — is in the offing at Auria, in Uttar Pradesh. Climate change concerns could also fuel a resurgence in India’s gas-fired generation. Out of the total installed capacity today, about 10.3% is fueled by natural gas or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most was built in the 1990s when, following two decades of several important gas reserve discoveries, gas-fired capacity increased fourfold (Figure 8). But because existing power plants are experiencing low load factors resulting from inadequate supply (India imports its LNG), the 11th plan only calls for about 9% (about 6.8 GW) of gas capacity additions — mostly to increase generation in the short-to-medium term. 8. Gaslights. Plants like NTPC’s Jhanor-Gandhar, a 648-MW combined-cycle power plant in Gujarat, were built during the 1990s, when India saw a fourfold increase in installed gas-fired capacity. That growth rate has slowed, largely due to cost uncertainties and long-term fuel supply concerns. The discovery of new gas reserves, paired with climate change concerns, will likely lead to new gas-fired capacity. Courtesy: NTPC Given Reliance’s discovery of new reserves in the Krishna-Godavari basin in 2001, coupled with the recent large discovery of natural gas claimed by Gujarat State Petroleum Corp., cautious development could soon end, however. Compared to coal, gas is favored in India for its shorter plant project development period, fewer environmental impacts, and higher thermal efficiency. A Planned Nuclear Renaissance India has long recognized the major role that nuclear power could play in its future energy supplies. Despite decades as a nuclear pariah — it was excluded from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and was subject to a subsequent 1974 trade embargo for acquiring nuclear weapons capability — it has cultivated a robust, largely indigenous nuclear power program. Today, the country’s 17 reactors produce about 4 GW, only about 2.8% of its total generating capacity. With the exception of two boiling water reactors, all are mid-size or small pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), and most were domestically built based on a Canadian design. As part of the 11th plan, six new nuclear reactors are under construction, including the country’s first large nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu. That plant will comprise two VVER-1000, each rated at 1,000 MW (Figure 9). Built by the state-run Nuclear Power Corp. under a $3 billion Russian-financed contract, the reactor is expected to come online later this year. Russia, which, like several European countries and the U.S., scrambled to secure bilateral nuclear power trade agreements with India earlier this year, will also supply the plant’s fuel pellets and has agreed to build up to four additional reactors at this site. In total, the six reactors are expected to add about 3 GW of capacity by 2011. 9. Crowning dome. India’s first large nuclear power plant, at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu state, will comprise two AtomStroyExport-designed VVER-1000 reactors. Courtesy: AtomStroyExport Until recently, the most critical setback India faced was its meager uranium reserves. The country’s known supplies total only 61,000 tonnes — and most of that lies in low-grade ores (from 0.7% to as low as 0.1%). Despite this challenge, India pressed on during its long isolation, establishing a unique long-term program that pushes for research and development of reactors using all three main fissionable materials: uranium-235, plutonium, and uranium-233. The three-pronged program also factors in India’s abundant reserves of thorium (see sidebar, "Switching from Uranium to Thorium"). But now the country has both an improved fuel supply and willing international cooperation on nuclear technology. On Sept. 6, 2008 — after three days of intense deliberation — the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group awarded India a clean waiver to the embargo. And on Feb. 2 this year, the country signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) allowing United Nations oversight of 14 of 22 civilian reactors by 2014. The end of the 34-year "nuclear apartheid," as All India Radio called it, set off a chain reaction: Soon thereafter, the country inked a bilateral nuclear cooperation accord with France, followed by the historic Indo-U.S. 123 Agreement and a nuclear pact with Russia. With experts projecting that India will need to inject $100 billion into its nuclear program to attain its goals, the deals are only expected to accelerate. So far, India has established supply arrangements with some of the world’s most prolific uranium suppliers, including Kazakhstan, Canada, Russia, and South Africa. Several trade delegations — including those from the UK, Canada, and the U.S. — have also visited India to seal a wide range of deals for everything from raw materials to equipment and fabrication skills. A company once solely reliant on the government research and development of nuclear technologies, NPCIL is now in talks to assess "techno-commercial aspects" with Westinghouse Electric for its AP1000 reactors, Russia’s Atomstroyexport for VVER-1000 reactors, and France’s AREVA for its EPR. AREVA has already sealed a $12.3 billion deal to provide India with two to six EPRs for NPCIL’s Jaitapur site in Maharashtra plus 300 tonnes of uranium to fuel those reactors. Meanwhile, GE-Hitachi said in March 2009 that it is working with NPCIL and BHEL to set up an advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) facility. According to Timothy Richards, managing director of energy policy for GE in Washington, D.C., because the Indian government allows for up to 10,000 MW to be built at a specific nuclear site, the potential station could house as many as six or seven reactors. However, he told POWER that before a definitive agreement could be reached for the facility, India and the U.S. would need to iron out some elementary issues. "India has stated it recognizes the importance of establishing an adequate nuclear liability regime and that it intends to comply with the multilateral convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC)," he said. The countries will also need to determine which nuclear technologies require government-to-government nonproliferation assurances, while India will need to finalize the listing of facilities to be inspected by the IAEA. Once this is achieved, he said, "U.S. companies will need to obtain specific authorizations from the Department of Energy (10 CFR Part 810) to allow transfer of nuclear technology to Indian entities." India, a peninsula crowned by the 1,500-mile Himalayan mountain range, is traversed by several surging rivers. The Himalayan rivers, such as those in the Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system, are perennially snow-fed, while the Deccan rivers in the south depend on the monsoons for their torrent. According to the Ministry of Power, if all economically exploitable and viable hydro potential were harnessed at a load factor of 60%, it could produce 84 GW. For that reason, in the 11th plan the government has called for 15.6 GW of new hydropower capacity — almost half the current installed capacity of 37 GW. The CEA reports that 11.9 GW is already under construction. About 57% of this total will be run-of-the-river projects, 32% will be storage projects, and about 11% will be pumped storage. The plan includes projects like the 2,000-MW Subansiri Lower Plant near North Lakhimpur on the border of Assam and Aruncachal Pradesh. It will join a list of several spectacular hydro projects the government has already built, including the Tehri Power Station in Uttarakhand (Figure 11). 11. Gating a goddess. After 35 years and an investment of nearly $1 billion, the 2,400-MW Tehri Hydroelectric Power Station in Uttarakhand, northern India, started operations in 2006. This hydropower project is one of India’s largest and most controversial. Located on the Bhagirathi River, a principal tributary of the grand Ganges River, it draws frequent protest from Hindus who resent the reduced flow of the sacred river as a result of the 855-foot dam (the fifth tallest in the world). Courtesy: Ministry of Power By 2025, the government hopes to have added 500 GW of new hydropower capacity, more than half in Arunachal Pradesh state. The accelerated plan must regard established environmental standards, the Planning Commission has said. To help reduce the number of Indians displaced as a result of mega hydropower projects (nonprofit group Rivers International puts that total at 20 million to 50 million people), the government has planned to build more run-of-river projects rather than large storage dams. This decision is despite its finding that "the available energy [of run-of-river projects] varies from month to month and peaking capacity is minimal." India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy — perhaps the world’s only ministry dedicated solely to the development of renewable energy — evolved from a government agency created in 1982 to steer the nation away from its reliance on oil, following two oil shocks in the 1970s. The ministry pursues a similar mission today, pushing renewables to supplement the country’s coal-heavy portfolio. And it has been largely successful. In 2006 — before the ministry had been formally named — nonconventional sources of energy like small hydro, wind, solar, and biogas constituted less than 1% of the country’s portfolio. Today, 9% (14,224 MW) of India’s power is produced by these sources, and the 11th plan projects that this capacity will more than double (Figure 12). 12. Doubling clean capacity. India currently has 13,880 MW of grid-connected wind, small hydro, biomass, cogeneration, waste-to-energy, and solar power plus 350 MW of off-grid power, including captive power plants. The 11th plan seeks to add 15,000 MW of new renewable power, including 10.5 GW from wind. Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Power Wind power, particularly, has seen stellar growth. During the 10th plan, India saw the installation of 5.4 GW, against a target of 2 GW. With 9.8 GW, India now has the fifth-highest level of installed wind capacity, trailing the U.S., Germany, Spain, and China. Tamil Nadu boasts the most wind power (about 4 GW), followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka (Figure 13), Rajasthan, and Gujarat. But though these states are also expected to receive most of the 10.5 GW of new capacity called for by the 11th plan, experts say that India’s wind power potential of 45 GW in 13 states — and up to 100 GW with current technology — will remain relatively untapped. 13. Monsoon power. India’s wind-powered capacity has quickly grown to 9.8 GW, and it is set to double by 2012 per the 11th plan. Currently, 12 wind turbine manufacturers are vying for market share in this sector, including Suzlon, a home-grown—and now global—wind power equipment maker. Suzlon, which owns this 1.25-MW turbine in Gadag, Karnatak, is in the process of developing a 1,000-MW “windpark” near its headquarters in Dhule, Maharastra. Courtesy: Suzlon The growth may have been fueled by federal tax incentives and tariff structures fashioned by state governments, but it has benefited exponentially from home-grown wind turbine manufacturers, including Suzlon. Having consistently maintained more than 50% of India’s wind power market, that company is now ranked the fifth leading wind equipment manufacturer worldwide. According to Shrenik Ghodawat, managing director of Ghodawat Industries, a relatively new company that began manufacturing wind turbines suited to the Indian market this January, foreign companies like Enrecon, Vestas, Gamesa, and GE have also quickly gotten into the game. Ghodawat said that the largest constraint on the government’s renewable energy expansion plans is the weak grid (see sidebar "A Passage for India’s Power"). "But now the government and all wind sector players are jointly making corrective measures," he said. "Wind sector players are participating in the network strengthening and planning of [a] central transmission utility and state transmission utilities." The country is also actively training a workforce to support the projected growth, narrowing the gap considerably over the past few years, he said. India’s renewable energy sector is also seeing increased interest in solar power. Though India is located in the equatorial sunbelt and experiences 250 to 300 days a year of sunny weather, installed grid-connected and off-grid capacity has so far sprouted only a paltry 5 MW, its growth stunted mainly by cost concerns. The Ministry of Power is looking to expand solar capacity tenfold by 2012. According to the U.S. Commercial Service, which recently organized a 14-company solar delegation to India, this target is achievable — with foreign investment and international cooperation. The Indian government is encouraging foreign investment, it said, by offering solar developers who build, own, and operate projects financial incentives of about 30 cents for each kWh produced. The opportunities are abundant: India currently has 19 manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, and several large investments are in the pipeline. "There is a lack of technical expertise in installation, operations, troubleshooting, and other aspects of clean energy implementation," the service said in a statement to POWER. "There is demand for thin-film solar cell technology, technology for megawatt-scale power generation, and improvements in crystalline silicon solar cell/module technology. Building integration for PV and solar thermal systems is also an area of opportunity." India’s grid-connected biomass, cogeneration, and small hydro generation options are also slated to see significant increases by 2012. Because the government has pledged to connect all rural villages under its rural electrification program by 2012, off-grid projects will also see tremendous growth (see web supplement, "Fabulous Wealth and Fabulous Poverty" at www.powermag.com). "This should translate into a seven-fold market increase for renewable power generation — from $3 billion today to more than $21 billion by 2012," the U.S. Commercial Service said. Through the 10th plan, until 2007, about $60 billion had been allocated for India’s power sector, and about $40 billion was actually invested in the sector. Most of the required funds had been raised in domestic financial markets, met through the Power Finance Corp. (PFC), a state-owned agency entrusted with the task of providing financial support to state and central power projects. The government’s more recent estimates indicate that $130 billion will be needed just for generation in the 11th plan — only a fifth of which the PFC is expected to cover — and $225 billion will be required for the entire sector. According to the International Energy Agency, longer-term investments (covering 2005 to 2030) will require $960 billion for the entire electricity sector, of which 45% will be for generation. Raising these kinds of funds will pose a serious impediment to India’s expansion plans, says Dr. Saifur Rahman, a global energy expert and vice president of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, an organization dedicated to the advancement of technology. Despite ongoing reforms, state governments are in financial straits: In 2005, power utilities, which accounted for 60% of the nation’s generation, had losses of around $4.8 billion; nearly half recorded a negative rate of return on net fixed assets. Rahman points to the government’s populist policies — specifically, its push for free power for farmers — as a major part of the problem. "Free power means that the supplying electric utility cannot get enough returns to maintain their system and infuse capital to improve the quality of supply. This financial weakness makes the electric utility a high-risk proposition to investors, which results in lack of funding availability and/or higher interest rates to secure funding because of high risk of inability to pay back the loan from commercial concerns," he told POWER. "If the government wants to help farmers with electricity for irrigation, which is commendable social service, the government needs to set aside funds and buy down the cost of electricity to farmers. This will allow the electric utility to charge less for power to farmers but make up the loss from the government’s buy-down funds. Similar programs are available in the U.S., where governments subsidize the interest rates for capital improvements and energy efficiency measures." The funding woes are serious, and they could trickle through to other basic requirements for a solid sector expansion, Rahman said. For example, even though India has skilled workers and the facilities to train new ones, to support the sector’s growth, "due to lack financial remuneration for these workers, many of them end up working in the Middle Eastern countries." Other experts propose that because India does not have a large and liquid domestic debt market — and this market is dominated by government securities — the country will likely have to depend on foreign investment or grants to fund the expansion. India has been somewhat successful in this area, but experts agree that it still has a long way to go. Despite incentives and lucrative policy measures, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector for 2006 was $157 million — less than 1% of the nation’s total FDI. The primary obstacle for foreign investors is the poor commercial performance and near-bankruptcy of state electricity boards — a result of pervasive power politics. The prevalence of corruption, lack of corporate governance practices, and red tape (owing to the multi-regulatory system that involves both state and federal governments) are also major concerns. (See the web supplement "The Foreign Investment Factor" at www.powermag.com for more details.) One thing is certain: As India’s continues on its economic trajectory and its population continues to increase, if its basic power infrastructure is not secured, the nation’s goal of empowering its people will remain unmet. So will its superpower aspirations. —Sonal Patel is POWER’s senior staff writer.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9361944198608398, "language": "en", "url": "https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/n/net-investment", "token_count": 455, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.029541015625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:17c4afc1-7983-48ab-abcb-3e603037d893>" }	What is Net Investment? How Does Net Investment Work? The formula for net investment is: In order to calculate the net investment of a company, you must first know the amount of capital expenditures and non-cash depreciation they have. Capital expenditures include the calculated worth of all assets (i.e. property, software, equipment, etc.) and the amount of additional expenses being invested into those assets (i.e. maintenance, repair, upkeep, installation, etc.). Capital assets lose value over their useful life. Asset depreciation can be calculated using two contrasting methods: the straight-line method or declining method. The straight-line method assumes an asset depreciates by an equal amount of its original value for each year it is used. The declining method assumes the asset depreciates more in the earlier years of its use. At the end of the asset's useful life, the amount the asset is sold for represents its salvage value. Non-cash depreciation of an asset is represented as its salvage value minus any taxes the company paid on the asset throughout its useful life. Let's assume that Company XYZ buys a new widget machine for $500,000 and pays someone $10,000 to install the machine in the factory. The company also expects to receive $75,000 from the sale of its old widget machine. Company XYZ is taxed at a rate of 30%. Using the formula above, Company XYZ's net investment is: Net Investment = ($500,000 + $10,000) – [$75,000 - (.30)*($75,000)] = $412,500 Why Does Net Investment Matter? Because it is necessary to invest in capital assets that depreciate over time, companies may use the net investment formula to keep track of the assets that need to be replaced. Comparing the net investment of companies to revenue will differ between businesses and industries depending on how capital intensive a company or industry is. Capital-intensive companies will typically have higher net investments than companies using fewer assets. Comparisons of net investments are generally most meaningful among companies within the same industry. The definition of a "high" or "low" net investment should be made within this context.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9649547934532166, "language": "en", "url": "https://mogreenstats.com/2013/07/18/are-missouri-buildings-energy-efficient-or-spendthrift/", "token_count": 727, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.076171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:724412d6-2b03-406d-ba52-186cb5d556b8>" }	Are Missouri’s buildings energy efficient, or are they energy spendthrifts? How do we compare to other states and to the nation as a whole? The U.S. Department of Energy recently launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the “largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.” It can’t fully answer the question, but it makes a start. The database consists of energy information voluntarily uploaded by building owners and operators around the country. As I write, data on 66,954 buildings have been uploaded, 21,386 of which are commercial structures, 45,567 of which are residential, and one is heaven knows what. The database is very incomplete. It has residential profiles for only three states: Florida (33,315 buildings), Pennsylvania (10,469 buildings), and Ohio (1,607 buildings). As I write, no other states have residential energy profiles. Only 4 states have data on as many as 4% of their commercial buildings. In addition, contributing data is voluntary, and those who do are self-selected. The data may contain inaccuracies, and the buildings may not be representative of the general building stock. Further, the energy consumption of a building may have as much to do with what goes on inside the building as it does with the building itself. Still, even with these limitations, the database is a large collection of data on a topic where data is hard to come by. The first graph at right shows the number of profiled commercial buildings per state. Large states with large urban areas have more buildings in general, and they also have the most profiled commercial buildings. Small states and rural states tend to have fewer. One exception is the District of Columbia, which has a large number, perhaps because of the influence of the federal government. The columns are color coded by the fraction of the commercial buildings in the state that have been profiled. For more than half of the states, it is fewer than 1%. In Missouri, 222 commercial buildings have been profiled, between 1% and 2% of the building stock. Nationally, the median annual energy consumption per square foot of building space is 199,000 Btu, and 1/4 of all buildings (5,476) were in the lowest group, centered at 72,000 Btu per sq. ft. Some buildings use tremendous amounts of energy each year. For instance 16 buildings nationwide use about 7 million Btu per square foot of building space, 35 times as much as the median. The second graph at right shows the distribution. The blue circle shows the national median, and the orange circle shows the median for Missouri. In Missouri, the median for commercial buildings is 140,000 Btu per sq. ft. per year, significantly below the national average. Sixty-two buildings (28%) are in the lowest group, centered at 63,000 Btu per sq. ft. per year. The third graph at left shows the distribution. In this graph, the blue circle shows the median for buildings in Missouri. Comparisons between states is not the real purpose of the database, of course. The purpose is to provide information to buildings owners and operators. The database can slice and dice the information according to a variety of building, climate, and location characteristics, as well as according to a variety of building systems characteristics (e.g. what kind of lighting the building has, what kind of heating system). DOE Buildings Performance Database, https://bpd.lbl.gov.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9219995141029358, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.betterworldsolutions.eu/cities-loose-water-from-failing-infrastructure/", "token_count": 513, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.09423828125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:3ff6c33a-7054-4b74-8e00-e2891f1a3ebb>" }	Cities Loose Water From Failing Infrastructure It’s time cities fix their water leaks. Water loss from failing infrastructure, faulty metering and flat-out theft costs money, and often means lost revenue for utilities and higher rates for consumers. Between 1996 and 2010, the cost of water services in the U.S. rose by nearly 90 percent! When a water pipe bursts in the basement or bathroom of a house, there’s not much hesitation about what to do: stop the flow, get the leak fixed. But what if a municipal water pipe has a long, slow leak deep beneath the surface of the ground? Millions and millions of litres could seep away unnoticed for years. Clearly it’s time to fix the leaks Fortunately, a suite of cost-effective approaches to reducing water loss is now available. Best practices include state-of-the-art auditing methods, leak detection monitoring, targeted repairs or upgrades, pressure management and better metering technologies. Track the leaks Key to that practice is dividing the area served by a utility into discrete areas and methodically tracking water flows to determine where leaks are. When leaks are identified, sometimes long before they might otherwise show up as gushers or ponds on streets, they are fixed. Changes in water pressure depending on demand also put less stress on pipes and mean fewer leaks and breaks. By adopting such practices, water service providers can save themselves and their communities money in the long run while protecting resources and generating economic growth. - Infrastructure investments create 40 percent more jobs. Analysis estimates that for every job added in the water workforce, 3.68 jobs are added to the national economy in the North East of the USA. - Fixing the leaks will also reduce the amount and cost of energy needed for water production and distribution Some 75 percent! of the cost of municipal water processing and distribution is tied to electricity needs Costs are always a problem. But what’s the cost of doing nothing? It’s like keeping the refrigerator door open. With water infrastructure, as we keep our minds closed, the eventual problems only get worse, including main breaks and higher costs for repairs. Globally, one-third of all reporting countries face leakage levels of more than 40 percent. - Brazil dehydrates - Smart Water Monitoring With Your Phone reduces costs to over 90% - Sustainable water management in China’s cities - Water storage in cities - Clean water stress Malaysia because it leaks
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9334704875946045, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.federallicensedefense.com/ferc-division-of-hydropower-administration-and-compliance-regulatory-matters/", "token_count": 432, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.201171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:1c1725a2-d3d2-4847-91cd-268c3b07c9c3>" }	Hydropower, also known as Hydroelectric Power, is an inexpensive, clean energy source favored by many power companies. There are over 1,600 Hydroelectric Power Plants operating in the United States. This represents just over 5% of the country’s power supply, but 50% of the country’s renewable energy. It is expected that the market share of hydroelectric power will vastly increase in the coming decades. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, licenses Hydropower Plants. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conducts investigations and pursues license revocation against Hydropower Plants. FERC’s main offices are located in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. As part of the United States Department of Energy, or DOE, FERC utilizes an Administrative Law disciplinary process to conduct these proceedings. FERC’s Division of Hydropower Administration and Compliance (DHAC) and the Office of Enforcement investigate disciplinary violations allegedly committed by Hydropower Plants. Many investigations occur due to noncompliance with FERC rules and regulations. Common violations include deviations affecting waterways, deviations from fish passage facility operations and filing issues. Disciplinary matters are formally heard before an Administrative Law Judge or the actual Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The 5 member Commission holds final authority over all disciplinary matters. Prior to a Hearing, it may be possible to enter into a settlement with the Commission. Attorneys employed by FERC represent the government. It is important to seek counsel from an attorney experienced in FERC Hydropower Plant Hearings. Hydropower Plants face Hearings for noncompliance with FERC rules and regulations. In addition, FERC Hearings may be held for licensing, exemptions and amendments. All three categories of Hydropower regulations are overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee. Termination Hearings involve the possible revocation/cancellation of a Hydropower license. A FERC Hearing is a serious matter that should be handled by attorneys knowledge in the area of Federal Administrative Law. Hydropower plants facing a FERC Hearing should contact an attorney for representation.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9390085339546204, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.financialhealth.net/why-budgeting-still-matters/", "token_count": 817, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0250244140625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:bd5ed95d-a8e3-49f8-9be7-e4e2056fb747>" }	(FinancialHealth.net) – We talk about budgeting quite frequently, but what exactly is a budget? A budget is a tool that allows us to easily assess our income versus our expenditures. The result is a clear tool we can use to better understand our overall finances and set clear money management goals. Our bills are paid on time, our needs our met, and we’re left with a better idea of what’s left over for the extras we want from time to time. Have you started budgeting? Do you still budget? If you’ve fallen out of the habit, here’s a refresher to get you back on track. Why You Should Budget Without a budget, it’s easy to start spending and lose track of what money has already gone out in comparison to what still needs to be paid towards incoming bills. We can easily get to the end of the month, sit down to write checks, and realize we’re short because we spent too much money on non-essentials or on an emergency purchase. Our budgets are designed to keep us from overspending so we can make sure all of our bills are paid on time. As a result, we end up saving ourselves from the pain of extra interest or late fees. Budgeting is great for helping us determine what is really a “want” versus a “need.” We might want the newest video game, but we don’t really need it. We may not want to spend the money on a trip to the dentist, but we may really need a check-up, cleaning, or treatment. That doesn’t mean there can’t be room for “wants;” it just means we need to be conscious of our priorities when deciding where our dollars will go. Our budgets also help us reach our short and long-term financial goals. Saving for a car or a new home down payment? Want to take a cruise or save for an earlier retirement? Budgeting helps us to clearly see what dollars are available to put towards these goals. How to Budget We have compelling reasons to budget, but how do we get started? There are a ton of budgeting methods out there, but it’s pretty easy to get it down on paper without digging through the advice of a dozen different gurus. - List of all of your stable, consistent sources of income. Note the pay frequency — weekly, every other week, or monthly. - Make a list of all of your regular monthly living expenses/bills. Be sure to include utilities, car payments, insurance, gas, food, credit cards, and any other monthly living expenses you have. - Total up monthly obligations to be sure they are less than your total income. Identify things that can be removed or cut back on if you are over your total income. - Divide your monthly obligations by the number of times each month you get paid. For example, if you get paid twice per month, you should save half of next month’s rent from each paycheck. Save half of your phone bill, half of your insurance payment, and half of each of your other bills. - How much money is left at the end of each pay period after you’ve put aside savings for each of your bills? Split what is left so that a portion goes into savings and a portion is set aside for the things you “want” throughout the month. Remember — the more you save, the faster you’ll reach your major financial goals. Budgeting doesn’t have to be complicated. As a matter of fact, the simpler a budget is to read, the easier it is to follow. Start small and make the necessary adjustments as time passes. The budget will quickly become a very helpful money management tool. ~Here’s to Your Financial Health! Copyright 2020, FinancialHealth.net
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.8848804831504822, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.findprotected.com/solutions/security-policy/effective-security-policy.htm", "token_count": 770, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0035247802734375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:5bda05d7-efa2-4b05-add7-d8a5c6528636>" }	An approach to information security has changed radically for the past decades. To protect confidential information assets, the company now needs a comprehensive security policy. an essential element of overall business activity security has always been essential for any organization. In the past it involved accurate storage of the documents and securing the physical archive. Nowadays, this process has been virtualized. All records of business activity are stored in electronic form. Besides, most companies manage a corporate network, typically open to the internet, which makes it much easier for the attacker to gain access to confidential corporate information. security policy is an essential tool to protect information within a company. Any security policy consists of three elements: people, processes and technology. It should be noted that information security does not depend primarily on the scale and efficiency of the technology employed. No matter how intelligent and sophisticated the technology is, it is still subject to the whims of users. A corporate security policy should take into account the current business procedures and not constrict the ability of the employees to carry out their everyday tasks by introducing overly complicated security systems. much harder to change human behavior than it is to install data security systems. According to research of the most common security incidents, security dangers are usually totally predictable and have nothing to do with esoteric arts of the most skilled hackers or some cunning exploit. Network vulnerabilities typically abused by attackers are quite commonplace and can be easily identified and fixed. Most security attacks involve “social engineering” or insider abuse. Employees at the company may incidentally disclose passwords in an email, through instant message system, or simply put passwords down on paper and keep them at his or her workplace. protect information effectively, the security policy should answer the following questions. First of all: What information should be protected? It is useful to create a multilevel security system, setting various levels of protection to different types of documents. The policy should also take into account where the information will be stored. Without a comprehensive security policy, the company can lose track of some confidential documents and files, or store multiple copies of the same documents in different “corners” of the corporate network. Naturally, it increases the risk that the information may be compromised. To keep track of all the valuable information in the corporate network, the company can use specific software solutions. security policy should also answer the question: Who is going to have access to the protected information and who is not? Effective corporate information security should maintain confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information. helps reduce security risks security is one of the most critical issues of the present-day business management. To protect its information assets, a company needs to work out a comprehensive security policy. Effective security policy must address two principal problems: classifying the confidential information and identifying the users of the confidential data. Protected is an utility to force Password Security policy our Show Hidden Files program you can force the Password Protected Information Security Policies in your company. Protected allows to detect incidents, when one break Password Security using password protection for not-sensitive documents information leakage, when one keep sensitive file in non-secure in-appropriate using of password protection (for example, password protection of personal files) can download now an evaluation version of Show Hidden Files program. Download Show Hidden Files. Ordering page to obtain more information about pricing. Visit Support page to ask some question about Show Hidden Files. Obtain Please, let us know what you think about this article:
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9509913921356201, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.swifterm.com/comparison-on-international-data-privacy/", "token_count": 874, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2197265625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:66bf1df9-2d70-4369-82a7-135d35f7885a>" }	The European Union’s (current) approach to data privacy legislation In May 2018, the EU implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which became the new legal backbone on data protection and privacy in the EU. GDPR is an extensive piece of legislation which covers many areas of the digital sphere, and, because of the nature of EU law, the regulation was applied to every member state within the EU. As the digital sphere begins to evolve, the EU has taken a proactive stance to ensure its legislation keeps up with the changing times. On February 19, 2020, the European Commission released a white paper which introduced its new “European Strategy for Data.” This white paper outlined future policy goals for the Commission in the area of privacy, data protection, artificial intelligence, and other areas of the digital sphere; however, what exactly will result from this new policy direction remains to be seen. The Commission can suggest a direction for policy in one particular area, but the other legislative bodies of the EU, which represent varying interests of EU Member States and its citizens, will also have a say in this process and be able to steer the eventual legislation one way or the other. Data privacy legislation in the USA The United States, on the other hand, legislates data privacy differently from the EU and does not have an all-encompassing data protection law like GDPR. According to International Comparative Legal Guides, the United States has a variety of federal and state laws that aim to protect a citizen’s privacy and online data. There is not one, large governing piece of legislation at the national level, but, rather, a hodge-podge of federal and state laws that serve this purpose. However, the idea of creating a large piece of legislation similar to GDPR is not out of the question. Many lawmakers have proposed new federal legislation in an attempt to expand the data privacy protections present under U.S. law. In February 2020, a new proposal from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) recommended the creation of a new Data Protection Agency. This new federal agency would be charged with enforcing the U.S.’s data privacy regulations and conducting investigations into potential violations of these protections. However, the concerns and needs of industry actors and the business community are equally as important when considering these types of legislation. Organisations such as Privacy for America, which represents a conglomerate of industry bodies in data privacy, work to ensure any new legislation passed within the United States is considerate of the needs of the industry. These two behemoth political entities — the European Union and the United States — have two very different approaches to maintaining data privacy and protections for its citizens. The EU took a top-down approach to data privacy, while the United States has more of a bottom-up approach. After studying both the systems of the EU and the United States, this difference in approach comes as no surprise to me. The European Union was an institution founded on a balance of intergovernmental and supranational policies, and, in this case, its approach to data privacy is supranational. The United States, conversely, continues to emphasise states’ rights in its governing, and, its bottom-up approach to data privacy is conducive to that emphasis. Ultimately, these two entities are in very different places in terms of data privacy legislation. The EU now has an existing overarching legislation, has further made data privacy a clear priority, and, as a result, is continuing to develop that legislation as time goes on. The United States, on the other hand, is still searching for its top-down solution and may find it in the creation of a new federal agency. But only time will tell. We hope you enjoyed this article, intended to help improve our client’s profitability. It reflects the care SwiftERM offer. If you haven’t already done so, then please enjoy a FREE month’s trial and let us know what you think. Register, call us on 0207 998 3901, or book a call with us https://calendly.com/swifterm/15min or Zoom ID 964 515 7464 Other articles of interest below: (Index to all articles here)
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9863839745521545, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.wired.co.uk/article/universal-basic-income-policy-universal-credit", "token_count": 498, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.408203125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:99d7f95d-7270-4285-929c-bb0703d8352b>" }	Universal basic income (UBI) was once considered fringe and politically unpopular – the idea that everyone in society would get an unconditional source of money, which they could then use however they wanted, seemed unthinkable. But in recent years UBI has gained traction with multiple pilots taking place around the globe, although solid evidence about the impacts of the policy has remained elusive. Now, research from the largest complete UBI study is finally giving us a glimpse of its effects. Kela, which is the Finnish government body responsible for unemployment benefits, implemented a two-year-long study on basic income in order to examine whether the Finnish social security system was working. What the researchers found was that the income people received made an negligible difference in employment rates, but it did make a difference to people’s wellbeing. The study, which released preliminary results on Friday, February 8, results from the study involving 2,000 people across Finland. Participants had to be unemployed, and were paid a tax-exempt income of 560 euros. There were no other conditions to receiving the payment. People who received a basic income saw their wellbeing as being better than the control group, with 55 per cent of the recipients of basic income saying their state of health was good or very good, while 46 per cent of the control group said the same. Broadly, people who were on basic income said that their levels of stress went down too. “Our results weren’t that surprising as it kind of confirms what we know from other pilots,” says Minna Ylikännö, who is a lead researcher at Kela. “People’s wellbeing is enhanced when they have some kind of financial security. They feel secure, so they feel better – that’s something which we see in other countries too, not just a Finnish experience.” The study ran in two parts – the first focused on employment, looking at whether basic income affected employment levels, and the second was a phone survey, where the researchers called the people involved to ask them about their health during the pilot study. “This is something we have to work on, because we had a bit of a problem with getting people to pick up and take the phone survey,” Ylikännö says. “The more people we have, the more reliable the results are – but when we did the phone survey, the response rates were very low.”
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9216681718826294, "language": "en", "url": "https://blog.thenextgenlearn.com/2020/04/08/what-is-ethereum-step-by-step-beginners-guide-2/", "token_count": 1488, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0302734375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:6ba540a6-eca3-4e1b-804d-070a4a204283>" }	Last updated on May 22,2019 7.7K Views Shashank Shashank is a Research Analyst at Edureka. He is an expert in… Shashank is a Research Analyst at Edureka. He is an expert in Blockchain technology with profound knowledge in Ethereum, smart contracts, solidity, distributed networks… Innovations in Blockchain technology led to the development of a new platform called Ethereum. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum is also a distributed network. Rightly termed as Blockchain 2.0, it paved a path for developers to contribute to the blockchain community. This blog on ” What is Ethereum ” will enrich your knowledge on Ethereum. Following are the topics I’ve covered in this blog: - What Is Ethereum? - Smart Contracts - Ethereum Cryptocurrency - Ethereum Virtual Machine (E.V.M.) - Decentralized Applications (DApps) - Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) - What is Being Built on Ethereum? - What will Ethereum be Used For? Ethereum is the second major innovation in Blockchain since the invention of Bitcoin. While Bitcoin can be described as a digital money. Ethereum is a decentralized platform for programming a digital money. Although Bitcoin and Ethereum are powered by the distributed ledgers, the two differ in many technical ways, let me help you in comprehending the differences between the two. Bitcoin vs Ethereum \|Concept\|\|Digital Money\|\|World Computer\| \|Founder\|\|Satoshi Nakamoto(Mysterious)\|\|Vitalik Buterin & Team\| \|Scripting Language\|\|Turing Incomplete\|\|Turing Complete\| \|Release Date\|\|Jan 2009\|\|July 2015\| \|Coin Release Method\|\|Early Mining\|\|Through ICO\| \|Average Block Time\|\|~10 minutes\|\|~12-15 seconds\| \|Purpose\|\|Alternative to Regular Money\|\|Peer to peer Contracts\| Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are often compared to each other, but, the two were designed with different vision and goals. Bitcoin is an established cryptocurrency used for trading, Ethereum is a multipurpose platform with its digital currency as the fuel for smart contracts functionality. But what is Ethereum and what future does it hold for our society, here’s a run-through. What Is Ethereum? Ethereum is an open-source & public blockchain based distributed computing platform for building decentralized applications. So, Before the creation of Ethereum, blockchain applications were designed to do a very limited set of operations. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, for example, were developed exclusively to operate as peer-to-peer digital currencies. Vitalik Buterin envisioned Ethereum as a platform for developers to write programs on the blockchain. To accomplish his goal he used similar Blockchain designs & protocols as that of Bitcoin’s and improvised it to support applications beyond currency issuance. Anyone across the globe can connect with Ethereum blockchain to develop a program and can maintain the current state of the network, hence the term “World Computer”. What is Ethereum \| Smart Contracts and Ethereum Explained \| Edureka It can basically create a programmable contract directly between peers. A contract that self-executes, and handles the enforcement, the management, performance, & payment. Simply put, it can be defined as a contract that self-executes, and handles the enforcement, the management, performance, & payment. You would require tokens for executing a smart contract as well as for trading. So basically, Ethereum is incomplete without cryptocurrency. Ethereum runs on its native token called which serves two main purposes: - Ether payment is required for applications to perform any operation so that broken and malicious programs are kept under control - Ether is rewarded as an incentive to the miners who contribute to the Ethereum network with their resources- much like bitcoin’s structure. Every time a contract is executed, Ethereum consumes token which is termed as ‘gas’ to run the computations. Gas in Ethereum Gas is required to be paid for every operation performed on the Ethereum blockchain. Its price is expressed in ether and it’s decided by the miners, which can refuse to process the transaction with less than a certain gas price. Ether buys gas to fuel up the E.V.M. Ethereum Virtual Machine (E.V.M.) - The Ethereum virtual machine is the engine in which transaction code gets executed - E.V.M. enables the development of potentially thousands of different applications all on one platform - Contracts written in a smart contract-specific programming language are compiled into ‘bytecode’, which an EVM can read and execute It actually handles the internal state and computation in Ethereum. Practically, EVM can be thought of as a large decentralized computer with millions of objects called “accounts” which have the ability to maintain an internal database, execute code and also they can talk to each other. With EVM at its heart, Ethereum enables the development of potentially thousands of unstoppable applications. Wondering what can be built on Ethereum? Well, Ethereum can be used to build some really cool applications called DApps. Decentralized Applications (DApps) - DApps are computer applications that operate over a blockchain enabling direct interaction between end users and providers - It can be comprised of single DAO or even a series of DAO that work together to create an application A user may need to exchange Ether as a way to settle a contract with another user, using the network’s distributed computer nodes as a way to facilitate the distribution of this data. Ethereum also allows the user to build decentralized organizations. Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) - DAO are organizations that exist entirely on a blockchain and are governed by its protocols - It is designed to hold onto assets and use a kind of voting system to manage their distribution What is Being Built on Ethereum? As Ethereum and other projects have made writing DApps protocols quicker and more accessible, a number of possibly disruptive DApps have appeared. What Will Ethereum be Used For? Decentralizing Existing Services: Existing services can be decentralized using Ethereum. This will lead to reduced cost and fees by connecting individuals directly and removing intermediaries. A Million Possibilities: Dapps can disrupt hundreds of established industries like: - real estate Considering the trends and advancements in the technology, it’s safer to say that the prospects of Ethereum as a platform seems pretty bright. As the industry and developers continue to invest their resources, faith and time in the technology, blockchain community will continue to prosper. This brings us to the end of ” What Is Ethereum ” blog. Hope it was helpful and informative. If you wish to learn Ethereum and build a career in Blockchain Technologies, then check out our Ethereum Developer Certification Course which comes with instructor-led live training and real-life project experience. This training will help you understand What is Ethereum Blockchain in depth and help you achieve mastery over the subject. Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section and we will get back to you.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9449028372764587, "language": "en", "url": "https://blog.va616.com/616blog/what-is-supply-chain-management", "token_count": 417, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.048583984375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:67ece4c8-9698-4663-b1c7-5275dc357f90>" }	The phrase "supply chain management" gets thrown around a lot these days as businesses navigate COVID-19, but what exactly does that mean? It's a bit more complicated than not having toilet paper on the shelves. Sure that's part of it, but have you ever really thought about all the stages that toilet paper goes through before you pick up a package in the store? Here's the simple definition. Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It's one of the main ways to set a business apart from its competition while providing maximum customer value. Yet supply chain management is so much more complex than a simple definition. There are a million moving parts. To keep on the theme of toilet paper, the paper starts as raw materials, gets milled into toilet paper, then perforated, then packaged, etc. Some supply chains can include dozens of different touch points along the process route before an item or service reaches the customer. Here are some of the things included in supply chain management: - Demand planning: Through research and market studies, figuring out just how much demand there is going to be for your particular good or service. Whether it's sourcing the raw materials or finding a manufacturer to make the items, sourcing can be an incredibly detailed process. Another complicated stage of the supply chain management process. From turning raw goods into products to packaging them, production supply chains can be expansive. - Inventory management: Software and hardware in place to track supply inventory. All of the details involved in receiving, storing, and the movement of products Within today's business climate, supply chain sustainability also comes into play. Sustainability covers: - Environmental issues - Social issues - Legal issues - Sustainable procurement - Corporate social responsibility Supply chain management produces benefits such as new efficiencies, higher profits, lower costs and increased collaboration. A well-oiled supply chain can take an average business and put it above its competition.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9372197985649109, "language": "en", "url": "https://coveringextractives.org/handbook/chapter-5/", "token_count": 11066, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.46484375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:694e5eec-3cbb-473f-8aa5-6c02139e4601>" }	Managing extractive revenues Why it matters Why does this matter to your audience? - Over the last decade, governments around the world have collected approximately USD 3.8 trillion per year in oil, gas and mining rents. - Good management of these revenues can help a country to build valuable infrastructure—such as schools, hospitals and renewable energy—create jobs, ignite an economic boom and attract further investment. But if managed poorly, these resources can contribute to economic stagnation or, in the most extreme cases, finance authoritarian regimes or wars. How resource revenues are managed makes a big difference to whether a country prospers or suffers from natural resource exploitation. - Revenues from extractive projects come with particular risks. Because they are volatile, finite, big and location-specific, they can be harder for countries to transform into long-term development. This makes it particularly important for people in the country to keep a close watch over how these revenues are used. - Other parts of the economy can suffer as a result of the quick, large flow of extractive revenues. These can cause inflation, which can hurt local companies. Harmful effects can last decades, as in Russia and Iran, where manufacturing industries have never recovered from their sudden decline. - The management of money from extractives has often been clouded in secrecy or has taken place through a variety of processes. This means citizens cannot ask questions about important government spending. New campaigns from civil society have made more of this information available. Oil, gas and mineral revenues come with different risks and opportunities from other revenues, because they are particularly volatile, finite, large and produced in a specific location. This means that they often need to be managed with extra care. Managing money from extractives If the revenue from extractives is large in relation to the economy or national budget, governments often consider how to treat extractive revenues differently, for reasons including: Planning for volatile revenues Revenues from natural resources tend to be volatile, going up and down with prices and supply. If a government puts all its revenue into the budget, the country’s spending would also go up and down, and be unpredictable, sometimes harming the economy. To prevent this, a government can create rules about how much of the revenue to spend or save each year. Often this includes saving in good times and using savings in bad times. In recent years, Argentina, Ghana, Mongolia and Venezuela have taken on large debts with each downturn in revenues. In contrast, Peru passed a Law on Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency in 1999 that limits public debt. Such laws are called fiscal rules—rules that permanently constrain public finances. Fiscal rules can be a useful tool to help manage boom-bust cycles and keep resource-rich countries from overspending and going bankrupt. Mitigating “Dutch Disease” Some countries’ natural resource revenues are so large that they overwhelm the economy, causing local prices to rise and expertise to shift from local industries into the oil or mineral sector. As a result, countries experience the “Dutch disease”, where the discovery and production of natural resources harms other exporting industries and workers. One way to mitigate the Dutch disease is by putting some of the extractive revenues into foreign investments. Growing the country’s economy using a finite resource Because natural resources are exhaustible (once taken, there is nothing left underground for future generations to use), countries can consider how much the current generation should benefit versus how much should be invested for future generations. Investing for the future can take many forms, including saving money in a fund, investing it in financial assets, paying off public debt, or spending money on citizen education, healthcare, and infrastructure that will benefit the whole country. In general, poorer countries can achieve the biggest value by investing more domestically, while richer countries may want to invest more in foreign assets. Governments investing resource revenues domestically must decide whether to invest the money through the normal budget process or through a special institution like a development bank. They must also choose where to invest it, for example, in specific projects such as ports, in specific sectors such as agriculture or tourism, or building a better business environment through initiatives such as better education. Sharing the money across the country The government must decide how to share the revenues from natural resources across the country. Should the benefits be distributed equally across the states or regions, should poorer states or regions get more or should producing regions benefit to a greater degree than non-producing regions? For example, in Nigeria, the national government gives 13 percent of the total revenues from oil sales to the states where oil is produced. Natural resource wealth, or even news of possible discoveries, brings big expectations of quick benefits. Many governments respond to these expectations by increasing public spending before any oil or mining money has started to flow, particularly on large, visible projects like highways and airports. Such spending can be the result of resource-for-infrastructure deals or heavy borrowing against future revenues. However, it is often based on overly optimistic projections of future revenue, putting countries at risk of debt. Policies that can prevent a country from such heavy future debt include honest forecasts of revenues and the risks of extraction, and lowering public expectations through better communications. → The NRGI primer about revenue management provides further details about the special challenges that come with managing public income generated by extraction. Where does the money go? Every resource-rich government makes decisions about how to allocate money from the extractive sector to different levels of government, various institutions or directly to citizens. Below we discuss five of the most important tools used to manage resource revenues: - the national budget - Sovereign wealth funds - Development banks or strategic investment funds - State-owned enterprises - Resource revenue-sharing systems. The national budget Money from oil, gas and mining is most often spent through the national budget process on government goods and services. However, governments have chosen to spend this money in many different ways. Choices of which institutions to build and which not to, and how to spend the money, are key to transforming wealth into well-being. Many successful countries have implemented 5– or 10–year development plans that coordinate the spending across the yearly budgets. For example, Malaysia has had success transforming its oil wealth into strong development through 11 medium-term five-year plans since 1971. These plans can encourage governments to focus on spending priorities that trigger sustainable growth, rather than on showy infrastructure projects or increasing government salaries unsustainably. Another key to successful spending through the national budget can be spending that will help the country diversify the economy and create economic stability. This can include open trade and investment policies, investments in education and macroeconomic stability, and interventions in private markets to encourage certain sectors of the economy. Sovereign wealth funds Governments can establish special accounts of money outside the regular budget process, to manage their revenue. When these funds have bigger economic objectives and invest at least partly outside the country, they are referred to as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). As of 2019, there were approximately 60 SWFs financed by mineral or hydrocarbon revenues or by fiscal surpluses in countries dependent on natural resources. These funds are generally established to save money for future generations, stabilize government spending, or create resources to finance a specific government program, such as pensions, environmental protection, or education. In some places, like Botswana and Chile, funds were key to the country’s success in transforming resource wealth into development. Unfortunately, funds in other countries are riddled with stories of mismanagement and corruption. One of the most extreme examples is the Libyan Investment Authority, which lost over USD 1 billion through mismanagement. SWFs can also harm a country when they save money and earn a low-interest rate, while the government borrows at a high-interest rate. In this case, each dollar saved rather than used to pay off debt costs the government money. For example, Ghana quickly increased its national debt after finding oil and establishing a fund with a lower return rate than the interest on the debt. Countries have found the most success when they have passed well-designed revenue management legislation and instilled a culture of transparency and accountability. Often this includes creating fiscal rules that are clear about how much money the government must save or spend each year. It also requires very close oversight, internally and externally, to make sure everyone with access to the money is using it in the country’s best interest. NRGI research has found that half of all resource-financed SWFs do not publish quarterly financial statements and are therefore hard to assess. → Read more about adequate investment rules, fund structures, and oversight rules in the NRGI primer on natural resource funds and a guide on establishing a SWF, or watch this introductory 11-min video on sovereign wealth funds. Development banks and strategic investment funds Another way to spend resource revenues outside the national budget is a so-called “strategic investment fund.” In practice, these funds act as public-private partnership (PPP) funds, national development banks or other types of state-owned companies. These funds or banks are used to provide loans to projects in the country, which will ideally spur development. Sometimes development banks invest in projects without a private-sector partner, but on commercial terms. The lack of partners increases the risk associated with a given investment. The global experience with strategic investment funds, PPP funds, and national development banks is mixed. Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social is widely cited as an example of an effective domestic investment institution. However, as with SWFs, some strategic development funds and development banks have been sources of patronage, corruption and mismanagement. The Development Bank of Mongolia, for example, has made many bad loans and is a major source of Mongolia’s state debt, which led to an IMF-led bailout. The $10-billion Russian Direct Investment Fund invests in domestic companies almost without independent oversight, creating a source of financing for supporters of the ruling regime, without the need for accountability. Many of the lessons learned from SWF and state-owned company governance can be applied to strategic investment funds and national development banks. These funds should have clear objectives, specific professional roles, and regular, accurate reporting mechanisms. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) often collect and manage extractive revenues on behalf of the state. Revenues that are kept or allocated to the SOE can be spent on running the company or other projects. As discussed in Chapter 3, large amounts of money can be spent through these companies, on projects ranging from oil rigs to schools and football teams. Fuel subsidies are one major item commonly covered by SOEs whose cost to society can be enormous. According to the OECD and the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, oil subsidies alone cost the Iranian state $40.2 billion in 2014, while gas subsidies cost another $22.3 billion. These energy subsidies are generally regressive, meaning that the marginal benefit to rich people is greater than to poor people. Chapter 3 includes more information about the risks and opportunities related to revenue management in SOEs. As with other spending options, the risks are reduced when there are clear objectives for companies and meaningful accountability. Resource revenue sharing At least 30 countries have systems to share resource revenues with municipal, district, state or provincial governments. These funds mostly come through direct payments from companies to subnational governments, or transfers from national to subnational governments. Direct payments: A company may directly pay a subnational government because of contractual obligations, national law or local regulation. For example, in Argentina, Australia and Canada, provincial or state governments collect a royalty by law from mining companies operating in their state. Resource revenue transfers: Resource revenue transfers are revenues from oil, gas or mineral companies collected by the national government, then transferred to subnational governments separately from other types of revenue. These transfers can go back to the region where they were extracted—called “derivation transfers”—or be based on regional characteristics such as population, education levels or poverty indicators. For example, in addition to the 13 percent of its oil revenues the government of Nigeria shares with producer states, it shares another percentage of oil revenues with all states based on their population, social development and revenue generation. Resource revenue-sharing systems can address local claims on natural resources. They can also compensate producing regions for the negative impacts of extraction and promote economic development in resource-rich regions. In Bolivia, Indonesia, southern Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea, such systems have also helped to preserve or create a degree of harmony between the central government and certain regions. However, they can encourage wasteful spending at the subnational level, especially in countries where local governments are not well prepared for sudden, large flows of income or are not responsible for providing expensive public services. Resource revenue-sharing systems work best when the formula is openly negotiated, appropriate revenue streams are shared and revenues are made predictable. Payments from companies to governments should also be fully transparent, otherwise subnational governments are not able to verify whether they are collecting what is due. Corruption risks in the management of extractive revenues Financial benefits from the oil, gas and mining sectors are enormous. In many resource-rich countries, they form more than half of government income. Sadly, in certain contexts, each of the institutions mentioned here has succumbed to severe mismanagement, and in some cases, outright corruption. Corruption can take many forms, but the result is the same: the country suffers, while a few elites benefit. Funds spent through the national budget can be diverted to politicians’ preferred projects, or project costs can be inflated, leading to significant losses and poor project selection. For example, Azerbaijan spent its oil revenues on lavish buildings and monuments, such as a $28-million flagpole, yet still pays doctors $300 per month on average. Sovereign wealth funds, strategic investment funds and development banks can become “slush funds”, meaning they are used to finance the ruling regime or its friends. For example, the Angola fund recently invested $157 million in a hotel complex to be built by a company owned by the fund’s principal asset manager, on land he also owned. There are even cases of corruption and mismanagement of resource revenue-sharing systems. Studies carried out in Brazil, Colombia and Peru have shown that housing, education, healthcare, and economic growth did not improve following the receipt of large oil or mineral revenues by subnational governments. Diversion of funds away from local budgets, corruption within subnational governments, and the resource curse—when resource revenues push up prices, rather than resulting in more projects and services—have been suggested as explanations for these unexpected results. Research questions and reporting angles Below are story angles for reporting on financial flows in a particular country, based on a sequence of research questions. See Chapter 1 for more general story planning guidelines. A. Where is the money going? 1. Find out what revenue your government receives from oil, gas, and mining. Inflows of money can be researched through several sources: - National sources Governments usually publish national budgets on the websites of relevant ministries, such as the ministry of finance, or sector-specific ministries. These often show revenue streams disaggregated by source (e.g. oil and gas or royalties). - Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) EITI-implementing countries must publish the annual amount of revenues from extractives. EITI country pages allow users to find revenue data either in the “revenue collection” bar chart or the latest EITI reporting. The revenue data is disaggregated into different streams, including royalties, types of tax, bonuses, license fees, and monies paid to the treasury from state-owned companies. Note that EITI data is generally 1–2 years old. - Natural Resource Revenue Dataset NRGI compiles a dataset on government revenues from oil, gas and mining originating from the EITI, the International Monetary Fund and the International Centre for Tax and Development. These data allow quick comparisons of figures for total revenues between countries, but do not provide disaggregated information by payment stream. - Project payment data on resourceprojects.org This website shares information from payments by companies based in the U.K., the EU, Norway and Canada. Data can be searched by company or government entity, and can be useful to track revenues from a specific project, but are unlikely to be comprehensive for a specific country. Consider the scope of revenues The scope of revenues may be newsworthy, especially if the amount is particularly big or small in relation to the national budget. While comparisons between countries of raw figures for resource revenues are rarely helpful, a comparison of the portion of resource revenues in national budgets may be of interest in some contexts. 2. Check how the government plans to use oil, gas and mining revenues. - Start with the budget. A budget represents a government’s plan for how to spend (some or most) revenues. To get an idea of how natural resource revenues are spent in your country, seek out the government’s most recent budget and the national development plan, if publicly available. The budget and national development plan are usually published online by the relevant government ministry, such as the budget office or planning ministry. Other ways to find the government’s spending plan, include: - Using source documents of indices. The evidence used for scoring on global indices can be helpful to uncover where certain documents are usually published. Country surveys from the Open Budget Index, an index of budget transparency published by the International Budget Partnership, show whether particular budget documents are publicly available and where to find them if so. Question 2.4.1b in the Resource Governance Index (which can be viewed through the Data Explorer ) asks whether a national budget has been disclosed and provides the source document if so. - Reviewing political promises. Politicians in resource-rich countries often make promises during campaigns about how they plan to spend resources revenues if elected. These promises occur most often in political speeches, but in some countries they are written into party policy documents. - Using source documents of indices. - Consider whether there are plans for resource revenues to be spent outside the budget process. National websites are the most likely source of comprehensive information, while the following sources can point towards the best documentation: - The Resource Governance Index can provide insight into where revenues are dispersed outside the budget. The country profile tool shows whether the country has a state-owned enterprise (SOE), sovereign wealth fund or revenue-sharing mechanisms. The Data Explorer can provide links to government documents for specific countries by looking at questions related to SOEs (question 1.4.1a), sovereign wealth funds (question 2.3.a) or resource revenue-sharing (2.2.a). - EITI. EITI-implementing countries must include information about how resource revenues are allocated and spent in their annual reporting. This includes noting whether sovereign wealth funds, revenue-sharing mechanisms and state-owned enterprises exist. Although the data is usually two years old, it can provide a starting place for checking for updated figures. EITI reporting is usually available on the national EITI websites or through the international site. - Consider the proportion of spending within and outside the national budget. Compare the percentage of total revenues spent within the national budget to those spent through other mechanisms. Stories can emerge from investigating the level of checks and balances, the extent to which the national budget is at risk of volatility shocks, and what level of impact should be expected from the national budget spending. - Consider the gender implications of spending decisions. Decisions about where to allocate revenues are not always gender-neutral. Many projects benefit men more than women (see Chapter 6). The field of gender budgeting analyzes the gender implications of spending decisions. Reporters can carry out their own investigations or ask gender experts to assess the budget information for gender imbalances as a result of the spending decisions. 3. Check the expenditures. The budget is the plan for spending, but actual expenditure should represent how much money the government spent on particular projects. This can be assessed through several sources: - Expenditure reports. Governments often provide financial accounting of their actual expenditure. Question 2.1.4c of the resource governance index considers whether and where a country discloses expenditure. Open Budget Index country surveys also provide information about how much a country discloses about its expenditure and where./li> - Look for impacts. When budgets provide for tangible projects, such as roads, teachers or buildings, reporters can check on progress in realizing those plans. This report from Ghana is an excellent example of a journalist tracking specific expenditures related to resource revenues. - Monitor transfers. Revenue distributions that are transfers to other parts of government can be monitored by checking that the amount transferred by one institution matches the amount received and used by the next. In most EITI-implementing countries, EITI reporting includes verification of transfers between national and subnational governments. For example, the Philippines’ EITI Report includes information about how much a national government agency transferred to a subnational government and how much the subnational government received, and when. Outside the EITI process, transfers can be checked by comparing municipal budget figures against revenue transfer figures from the national budget. This type of verification can reduce the risk of corruption between different government actors. - National sources B. Is there enough oversight of how revenues are spent? The following research steps focus on national-level oversight, but could be applied when revenues are shared subnationally to the local level. 1. Assess how easy it is to find information about government spending of resource revenues. Transparency is a critical first step to proper oversight of how a government spends revenues from oil, gas and mining. - Consider disclosures checked by indices. - The Open Budget Index, an index of budget transparency published by the International Budget Partnership, allows for easy comparison between countries, showing their practices for transparency and participation in creating budgets. Note that this analysis considers the national budget and refers to all government revenues, not just resource revenues. - The Resource Governance Index enables comparisons of how transparent revenue management is across countries. By opening the revenue management tabs in the country explorer, users can see how a country compares to others on particular types of transparency. The Data Explorer allows more advanced analysis that considers how countries compare to regions on specific questions. Particularly relevant questions include 2.1.1a on online data portal coverage, 2.1.4b on budget disclosure, 2.1.4c on government expenditure disclosure and 2.1.5a on debt level disclosure. - Consider disclosures within international initiatives. - EITI Validation. EITI-implementing countries are checked, or “validated,” periodically to assess whether they are disclosing information in line with the EITI Standard. A detailed validation scorecard is available on the national and international EITI websites. The scorecard shows whether the country has made progress in disclosure for revenue collection, allocation and transfers. There is a brief explanation for each score. - The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international multi-stakeholder initiative that supports countries in processes of transparency and accountability. Multi-stakeholder groups within member countries set national goals for openness in sectors they prioritize. Often these goals include elements related to transparency of revenue management. Each goal is assessed for its level of completion after the two-year implementation period. - Consider users’ experiences in accessing information. A strong picture of levels of meaningful information disclosure can be gained by asking a variety of people who might use information related to resource revenues. This can include formal oversight actors, such as parliamentarians and supreme audit institutions, or informal actors who want to know what benefits to expect from extraction, such as civil society groups and people living close to an extraction site. Interviewing many different types of people can create an understanding of different types of transparency. For example, in many countries, there are differences between the access women and men have to information about budgets. 2. Review the effectiveness of oversight mechanisms for checking on government spending of resource revenues. Transparency of information does not necessarily result in governments being accountable for what that information shows. Reporters can follow up on the extent to which other actors can find accountability for how revenue is managed. - Identify which public entity is responsible for overseeing public income and expenditures. Multiple institutions may be assigned formal oversight roles, including parliament, a supreme audit institution or an anti-corruption agency. The appropriate oversight institution may vary depending on the source of revenue or the type of revenue allocation. Several sources can show which institution has the power of oversight: - The Resource Governance Index (RGI). Research explanations and source documents in the RGI can show which institutions have responsibilities for accountability. Use the Data Explorer for the following questions: - 2.2.4a, on transfer audit requirements, can show which agency audits transfers between government institutions. - 1.4.3b, on SOE financial audit requirements, considers who conducts and approves a review of SOE finances. - 2.1.2b, on fiscal rule monitoring requirements, considers which agency, if any, monitors the application of fiscal rules. - 2.3.5c, on sovereign wealth fund financial audit requirements, shows which agency, if any, reviews how the fund is managed. - The Open Budget Index, an index of budget transparency published by the International Budget Partnership, shows which agencies review the entire national budget. The “budget oversight” section reviews the extent to which legislatures and auditors are involved in reviewing budgets and expenditures. Each country profile offers recommendations for how oversight could be improved. - EITI reporting. The narrative of EITI reporting includes a description of a country’s revenue management process. This often, but not always, includes information about who holds responsibility for accountability over different types of revenue. - The Resource Governance Index (RGI). Research explanations and source documents in the RGI can show which institutions have responsibilities for accountability. Use the Data Explorer for the following questions: - Consider the independence and resources of oversight bodies. Identifying the role of oversight bodies in theory and practice can help reveal the risks related to extractive revenue management. There are several indicators of an oversight actor’s credibility: - Legal mandate. What are the roles defined in law of the oversight actor and their mandate to hold others accountable? This may be available on the actor’s website or within legal documents. Consider using resourcedata.org to search for legal documents related to the extractive industry. - Personnel. Review whether there are overlapping or related personnel across the oversight actor and the government body responsible for the revenues. Conflicts of interest can arise if people are linked through family, political parties or business dealings. A potential conflict of interest does not necessarily mean there is wrongdoing, but can highlight the need for further investigation. - Political context. Consider the strength of the oversight institution during this political cycle. Has it been able to hold other actors accountable? Have its findings been reported on and taken into account by others? Have actions been taken as a result? - Consider informal oversight actors. The strength of informal oversight actors, such as the media, civil society and community members, gives an indication of the level of accountability. Interviewing these actors can help uncover whether and when they have seen accountability for revenue management decisions. - Consider accountability during announcements. When there are announcements on government decisions about how to manage resource revenues, background research about accountability can provide story angles on the risk or opportunity around the decision. - Consider disclosures checked by indices. C. If a country has a sovereign wealth fund, how effective is it in creating long-term benefits? 1. Find out whether your country has established a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). Possible sources of information include: - The Resource Governance Index (RGI) The RGI has a section that scores funds. Question 2.3a shows whether a fund exists. This can be reviewed in the country profile tool or, for more detail, in the Data Explorer. Note that there may be more than one SWF in a country, but the RGI only reviews one. - EITI. EITI-implementing countries must provide information about whether resource revenues are allocated to funds. They are encouraged to include information about the amounts allocated to those funds and how they are overseen. - The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. There is no internationally accepted definition of a sovereign wealth fund, but the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds offers a place to start. In addition, the American Tufts University published a Sovereign Wealth Funds Report in 2019 with a useful list of SWFs in the annex. 2. Learn about the fund’s objectives. Consider whether the fund was created with a clear objective, such as to even out expenditure, save for future generations or save money for certain types of spending. The following sources can provide insight into a fund’s objectives: - Legal framework. The laws and policies that created the fund may state its purpose. Searches under Precepts 7 and 8 of resourcedata.org can find the legal documents that established the fund. - Political context. Funds are often created by politicians who make public speeches stating their intentions. Whether these are enshrined formally in law, the political purpose of the fund can provide insight into how it is managed. - Consider whether these objectives are consistent with national development strategies. Good practice suggests that a fund’s objectives should be in line with the national plan. Interviewing government officials, oversight actors and civil society analysts about how the two align may create a story on the purpose of the fund. 3. Consider how revenues enter and leave the fund. Many countries establish rules about how and when revenues are deposited (put into) and withdrawn (taken out of) the fund. How these rules are expressed and followed affects how accountable the fund will be. Details of these rules can be found through: - The Resource Governance Index, which has questions on whether the fund has rules about money entering and leaving the fund, in law and in practice. These can be viewed through the country profile or the Data Explorer (under the “Question explorer” tab). - For deposits (money entering), see: - 2.3.1c, SWF deposit rule - 2.3.2b, SWF deposit and withdrawal disclosure amounts - 2.3.2d, SWF adherence to deposit rule - For withdrawals (money taken out), see: - 2.3.1a, SWF withdrawal rule - 2.3.2c, SWF adherence to withdrawal rule. - For deposits (money entering), see: - Interviews with oversight actors. If the fund is not covered by the RGI, or the RGI data (2015–2016) is out of date for your purposes, consider asking oversight actors for the same information about the rules for deposit and withdrawal, compared with what takes place in practice. When deviations happen. It can be important to interview different sources about why deviations happen. There may be urgent economic or social needs that require deviation, or it may be that the rule was constructed for a purpose that no longer suits the country’s priorities. Interviewing several sources from government, civil society and outside the country can give a balanced view of these decisions. The same can be true if a rule continues to be followed. 4. Analyze a fund’s performance in terms of return on investment. If invested wisely, funds will attract returns and grow in size. - Compare performance.One way to assess the financial performance of a fund is to compare its average annual return rate with other sovereign funds, or other investment return rates. If the rates of growth are comparatively low for a country’s resource fund, explore whether the investment is being well managed. - Check on rules.Many funds have rules about how money should be invested. Again, these rules and how well they are followed can be researched using the RGI, through questions 2.3.3a, on SWF domestic investment rules, 2.3.3b, on SWF asset class rules and 2.3.4e, on adherence to asset class rules. D. If a country has revenue-sharing mechanisms, what percentage of revenues should be shared, and is the money getting there? 1. Find out whether your country has mechanisms for sharing resource revenues subnationally. Possible sources of information include: - The Resource Governance Index, which shows whether there is subnational revenue sharing, under Question 2.2.a. This can be reviewed in the country profile tool under revenue management or, for more detail, in the Data Explorer. - EITI. EITI-implementing countries must disclose how and when revenues are allocated subnationally. This includes a description of the rules for subnational allocations, as well as figures for subnational transfers made and received. Understand the revenue-sharing rules. Rules for revenue sharing vary greatly between countries. Several key questions need answering in order to track resource revenue sharing: - What percentage of revenue is being shared? The percentage figure often grabs headlines quickly, but audiences will only accurately understand what is due to the local community if they also know the answers to all of the questions in this list. - What revenue is being shared? Different resource revenue streams, such as royalties, taxes or production shares, may be shared differently. To understand revenue-sharing obligations, each revenue stream must be explained separately in terms of the percentage that should be shared. - Who is it being shared with? Countries often have multiple layers of subnational government. It is important to understand which government body or community group will receive the revenues. In some countries, the municipal body in a resource-rich area receives a different amount from the provincial government. - What is the timeframe? Countries vary as to whether revenues are shared quarterly or annually. This can make big differences in local-level planning. - Are there any restrictions on spending? Some countries put restrictions on the types of projects or services local governments can fund with shares of resource revenue. - Sources: The questions above can be addressed by reviewing the following: - Legal framework. National laws and regulations should clarify revenue-sharing rules, both through sector-specific law (e.g., mining law) and laws that define the relationship between local and national governments (constitution, intergovernmental transfer legislation, presidential directive, etc.). Searching resourcedata.org under Precepts 5 and 7 should reveal some of these laws and policies. - EITI. EITI-implementing countries must disclose how and when revenues are allocated subnationally. This includes a description of the rules for subnational allocations, often referring to the legal framework. Consider the implications. There is often confusion about what revenues are being shared, at what rate, with whom. Once this is clarified, it can be revealing to interview different stakeholders about whether the legal reality meets with their expectations. Sample calculations can show the relative size of revenue shares compared to budgets or other revenues, giving context for debates about whether revenue-sharing arrangements are fair. 2. Monitor transfers. Laws about revenue sharing do not necessarily result in consistent revenue sharing across all local governments for all extractive projects. Monitoring some transfers can help clarify what local governments should expect. - Double verify. Monitoring transfers involves asking those who made a transfer (usually the national government) and those who received it (usually a local government) what they paid or received, and when. Comparing these figures shows whether the revenues are flowing as expected. - Check figures against calculated expectations. When a figure such as the total royalties from a project, is available, it is possible to use the revenue-sharing formula to calculate the expected transfer amount. Comparing the expected amount with actual transfer figures can be the basis for a story. - National and local budgets. Depending on levels of transparency in a country, it may be possible to see resource revenue allocations in the national budget and receipts in the local budget. - EITI. EITI-implementing countries must disclose how and when revenues are transferred subnationally. This includes figures for the actual transfers and subnational receipts. - Resourceprojects.org collects information about payments from companies to various government entities, based on where the company is listed in stock markets. This often results in detailed information about a project, though rarely in comprehensive information for an entire country. The data are helpful in calculations to verify whether the revenues shown in budgets match expectations based on company payments of a particular revenue stream. Examples of good reporting practice The examples given below can provide inspiration while preparing stories on revenue management. Some highlight day-to-day reporting, while others are in-depth investigative reports. Conflict over sharing of Iraq’s oil revenues (day-to-day) What is the fate of Baghdad-Erbil’s oil-for-budget agreement amid ongoing protests? This article in the regional online paper, al-Monitor, analyzes how political changes in Iraq may impact ongoing budget and oil revenue-sharing debates. Published after the Iraqi Prime Minister’s resignation in 2019, the article explores how the resignation affects a deal about oil revenue sharing between the national government and the regional government in Kurdistan. It provides a strong example of how to incorporate issues about oil revenue management into day-to-day reporting of political changes. As well as explaining political issues with quotes from multiple parties, the article shows how poor resource revenue management has left citizens without expected services. By describing absent infrastructure and putting large figures into context, the article helps the audience understand the importance of these negotiations for people in Kurdistan. It could be strengthened by providing credible sources to back up allegations of corruption. The challenge of managing revenues from a finite resource in Timor Leste (day-to-day) Time (and Oil) Running Out for Timor-Leste. Published after parliamentary elections in Timor Leste in July 2017, this story from a regional publication, The Diplomat, discusses how the results are linked to ongoing debates about managing oil revenues during an expected decline in oil production and revenues. The story works well because it uses the elections as a hook to explore more fundamental questions around the management of oil revenues. It explains at the start the key issues and provides readers with relevant facts and figures, quoting many different sources to offer a balanced view. Oil money gone missing in Angola (investigative) How western advisors helped an autocrat’s daughter amass and shield a fortune. This joint investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 36 media partners carefully shows how Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman and the daughter of a former Angolan president, stole hundreds of millions of dollars—including from Sonangol, an Angolan national oil company. Rather than focus on the angle of African corruption, the reporters used a wealth of leaked documents to show how western accountants and consultants helped legitimize dos Santos’s empire, and how weak western regulation enabled this. Although the central report is over 4,000 words long, the authors provide the key messages at the top of the article and give a visual explainer, a three-minute video and a data explorer. The strength of this deep investigation lies in placing a familiar story of corruption within the transnational system that enables it. Missing impact from Ghana’s oil revenues (investigative) Documentary series on projects funded by Ghana’s oil money. This excellent series of documentaries by the Ghanaian national media outlet, JoyFM, illustrates gaps in realizing the benefits of Ghana’s oil wealth. The documentary, “Leaking Oil,” tracks Ghana’s oil income to find out that money is often wasted through inflated project costs due to delays and poor execution and maintenance, including projects for various roads. After several months of investigation and filming, the journalist offers a vivid account of oil expenditures, using documentary sources to put his research into context. He interviews different sources, including citizens unable to benefit from the planned infrastructure, contractors and civil society representatives. This gives the story strong human interest, in contrast with the factual topic of the Petroleum Management Act. See also below the “Behind the scenes” story by reporter Stephen Nartey of how he covered this story. Behind the scenes of Ghana’s oil money: Testimony by JoyFM reporter Kwetey Nartey This podcast gives an account by journalist Stephen Nartey of how he developed and researched his coverage of Ghana’s oil spending. The documentary, “Leaking Oil,” tracks Ghana’s oil income to find out that money is often wasted through inflated project costs, due to delays and poor execution and maintenance, including projects for a school, a dam and various roads. My name is Kwetey Nartey, I’m an investigative journalist from Ghana, and I’ll be talking about how I tracked oil monies, from starting with scanty data to getting everyone talking about how the government had utilized the country’s oil revenues over the last decade. When your government claims it’s using oil revenues to the benefit of the citizenry, it gets you wondering, why are the beneficiaries of these projects not being heard or talking about it? Like individuals such as Osman Ibrahim, a former Assembly member of Nakore in the Upper West region of Ghana. Eleven years ago, the government awarded a contract of over $160,000 to a contractor to rehabilitate an irrigation dam in this community. In many instances, the implementing authorities will present data suggesting oil projects have been completed. Don’t believe this as a reporter yet, go to the ground and check whether it is accurate. And that is what this project of “Tracking the Oil Cash” sought to do. The findings were immensely amazing, because I found out the authorities – the Irrigation Development Authority – was peddling untruths. This presented an opportunity to explore the bigger picture of what the situation was across the country. I started this project by first researching on what existing data was available. I found some work that had been done by the Public Interest Accountability Committee – a supervisory body that has oversight responsibility for how the government utilizes oil revenues. No one had acted on their report, even though the findings were revealing, as explained by the Committee Chairman Dr Steve Manteaw. He gave me further insights on how these oil monies have been misappropriated, but, as has been the case, the government was indifferent towards the details. The task ahead was daunting given the millions of dollars that had been pumped into oil projects across the country. What I did was to list and plot similar projects across eight regions. The next thing I did was to identify the communities where these projects were sited and the institutions/individuals who were awarded the contracts. This process of plotting the project on what I would describe as investigative scoreboard made it easier to track my own progress. What was critical, though, was that I needed evidence. I relied on local networks, like local reporters and opinion leaders when I visit the communities. These individuals facilitated my transportation and aided in identifying where I could speak to the persons that mattered. It explains how I was able to connect with motor riders who took me to reach communities, and opinion leaders opening up to me. The fundamental tips are: – Relate to the townsfolk, establish a means of communication, find the opinion leaders. They will be your map to identify the projects and those affected by them. – After I completed gathering the evidence, I approached government agencies and institutions who were supposed to act on it. Sometimes, these agencies will not give attention to your work. Don’t be deterred, go ahead and publish your findings. They will come running later begging to be heard. For instance, I approached the Irrigation Development Authority on this project. They ignored me. But when the story started gaining currency, they were calling me every day simply to give their side of the story. – In terms of the broadcast strategy I used with this project, I used a multimedia storytelling approach. The story was on TV, radio, online and all social media platforms. So if someone missed the story on TV, they would hear it on the radio or read it on social media. That’s what got the story to make impact. And by impact, I mean, the supervisory body PIAC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with me to join forces to track oil money. One of the biggest oil companies, Tullow Ghana, is looking into the issue. Some of the road contractors who had done shoddy jobs issued statements explaining what had transpired. That’s how “Tracking the Oil Cash” became a success. Below are sources that can contribute to different angles on stories about revenue management. Some will be similar across different aspects of mining oil and gas reporting and are repeated across chapters, but others apply specifically to revenue tracking. When possible, there are direct links to institutions in the main target countries of “Covering Extractives”: Ghana, Myanmar, Tanzania and Uganda. Administering revenue from oil, gas and mining usually involves different government players. The bodies involved in collecting and spending revenues vary between countries, but can include ministries of finance, budget or planning; state-owned enterprises; sovereign wealth funds; the central bank, or subnational governments. EITI-implementing countries offer overview of the ministries involved in revenue management in the narrative section of their EITI reports. The Resource Governance Index country profiles usually include the key ministries involved. Contacting staff at different government entities can help bridge information gaps and provide a useful perspective, but it is important to assess any information received and verify it with further sources. Below is a list of websites to access for these different government entities–ministries, central banks and SWFs–in the “Covering Extractives” target countries: - Ministry of Finance - Ghana has two SWFs, the Ghana Heritage Fund and the Ghana Stabilisation Fund - Bank of Ghana In most countries, parliament is responsible for approving the annual state budget. It also adopts the rules that apply to spending and distributing resource revenues. In Uganda, Parliament must review the national budget by 31 May each year. In Ghana, in addition to the parliamentary budget committee, the Public Interest Accountability Committee also reviews the spending of oil revenues. The committee’s bi-annual reports show how revenues were spent, and are a useful source for journalists following the impact of resource revenues. Supreme audit institutions also provide important oversight of whether resource revenues have been allocated and spent according to the rules. Their mandates allow them to investigate public spending at various levels of government, and their reports offer valuable insight into the effectiveness of resource revenue management. For example, the Supreme Audit Institution of Ghana conducted an audit reviewing the management of the country’s Petroleum Fund, while the Auditor General of Niger reviewed all national oil revenues. Experts, civil society and watchdogs Experts from civil society and academia can be helpful commentators on revenue management. They can distance themselves from government or company interests, and offer a different view of what is in the people’s interest. Where relevant, journalists are welcome to contact the NRGI country offices, where staff can provide connections with the right expert internally. Other options for connecting with competent civil society or academic figures include: - Publish What You Pay (PWYP), the global coalition of civil society organizations campaigning for a fair use of natural resources. PWYP has over 700 member organizations in 50 countries, working on numerous issues, including revenue management. Its national coordinators are able to direct journalists to a range of expert contacts. - In EITI member countries, there will be civil society representatives on the national multi-stakeholder group. The national secretariat can also offer recommendations for civil society groups that specialize in revenue management. - The International Budget Partnership (see below) usually contracts a national civil society group to conduct the analysis for its Open Budget Index. The group involved in the index for a country is likely to be familiar with the overall national budget process and may also be able to provide information on extractive revenue management. International civil society Many global transparency efforts have their roots in revenue management. The International Budget Partnership promotes transparency and accountability in budget processes. Although its programs are focused on a few countries, many of its resources and analyses are applicable in others. Oxfam America, another international NGO, is well known for its advocacy on extractive budget and revenue transparency. It has also recently produced work that gives insight into how women can most effectively be engaged in revenue management to reduce the gender gap associated with extractive impacts (see Chapter 6). Contacting experts at these organizations can give context and credibility to national reporting. International financial institutions The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank produce regular guidance on fiscal and economic policies. They also often monitor national revenue management and produce regular analysis of national economies, which can be useful background in national reporting. For example, the IMF produces “Article IV” consultations that assess an individual country’s economic health and often comment on its revenue management. Reporters can sign up on these organizations’ websites for alerts when particular country reports are published. Publications often include the email addresses of staff involved in the analysis or press contact information for follow-up questions. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that supports transparency in resource-rich countries through an international standard implemented by members. EITI-implementing countries are required to annually disclose extractive revenues paid, transferred and collected. This includes an overview explaining which ministries collect which revenue streams, as well as a comparison of the figures that government agencies state they collected and what companies say they have paid. These figures can be used to understand overall government revenue and where challenges with revenue collection may lie. The report also outlines information about how revenues are used, and details revenue sharing to subnational governments when appropriate. Although EITI data is often published slowly, the descriptive reports and the types of information available can be used as a basis for asking questions of ministries for more current stories. The national multi-stakeholder group that oversees a country’s EITI process can also be a source for discussions on what information about revenues should be available. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international multi-stakeholder initiative that supports countries in processes of transparency and accountability. Multi-stakeholder groups in countries that have signed up to the initiative set national goals for openness in sectors they prioritize. Many OGP countries have included commitments related to budget transparency or participation, sometimes focusing on the use of resource revenues. Reporters can follow up with national OGP committees. Resourceprojects.org compiles revenue payments made by extractive companies based in the EU, Canada, Norway and the U.K. to host governments. The data are released through companies’ stock listings and are regularly added to the site. Payment information can be filtered by individual project and by government entity. NRGI has also prepared two briefings to showcase how the data can be used when deeper analysis is applied. One covers gold mining revenues in Ghana and the other, oil and gas revenues in Nigeria. EITI member countries are required in their annual EITI report to provide information about income from the extractive sector and how it is distributed. The reports are available on national and international EITI websites. The International Budget Project publishes a survey analyzing the openness of budget practices in 115 countries. Data from the survey can be found online, with easy views for comparison, or downloaded and analyzed. A questionnaire for each country also provides source documentation to allow easy follow-up research. In the short videos below, a company representative from Repsol, a member of Congolese civil society and a government official from the Philippines share their perspective on the management of oil, gas and mining revenues. In this 11-minute video, petroleum economist and Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Mohammed Amin Adam, describes challenges that come with managing revenues from oil, gas and mining. He also explains some of the measures governments can take to respond to these challenges in this 16-minute video. UNU-WIDER has produced several short videos discussing how best to invest extractive revenues for long-term benefit. This two-minute video discusses how to invest the revenues in assets above the ground, and this three-minute video looks at long-term versus short-term investment strategies. There are also useful longer reports that draw comparisons between country case studies: - NRGI and the United Nations Development Program looked at different ways governments in resource-rich countries allocate resource revenues to different levels of government, different institutions or directly to citizens. The resulting report presents key lessons from 30 case studies. - NRGI worked with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment on a survey of natural resource funds across 40 countries. In addition to reporting lessons of good practice, there are country profiles on numerous resource funds, explaining the rules that govern those funds.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9621147513389587, "language": "en", "url": "https://cupe.ca/post-secondary-education-building-system-we-want", "token_count": 424, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.439453125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b942b894-197f-4ea2-a27e-14fa1e8a5548>" }	Over the past twenty-five years, public funding for post-secondary education has dropped. This chronic government underfunding is creating a crisis. It is transforming post-secondary education from a public good to a private benefit enjoyed by the wealthy. But it doesn’t need to be this way. There are other options. In this backgrounder, we look at how we can build a high-quality post-secondary education system that is accessible, affordable, and equitable. A system that fosters civic engagement, social mobility, socially and environmentally responsible economic development, and research in the public interest. A system that no longer burdens students with unmanageable debt and makes its workers precarious. The drop in government funding for post-secondary education has been the result of government choices. In one year (1997), federal funding for post-secondary education was cut by 60%, and no government since has fully restored that funding. If the federal government had simply maintained its funding level from 1992-93, the federal transfer for post-secondary education would be nearly $2 billion greater each year. And that’s not even accounting for the fact that enrollment has increased since 1992. In a similar way to the Canada Health Act, the federal government should adopt a Post-Secondary Education Act which sets out a clear vision for post-secondary education in Canada. Principles should include universality, accessibility, public administration, and portability. The federal government should also work with the provinces to reduce and eventually eliminate tuition. Our current system of high upfront fees that are reduced through poorly targeted and inefficient rebates, reductions, scholarships, grants, loans, and tax credits is unwieldy and inefficient. Huge amounts of money are being spent on student aid while individuals continue to struggle with huge debt loads. Many countries around the world provide post-secondary education at no cost to students or with minimal fees. Whether we change or not is up to us. We need to demand action from our federal and provincial governments. To learn more, visit www.cupe.ca/ourtimetoact
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9379778504371643, "language": "en", "url": "https://happynewstrading.com/which-credit-bureau-do-lenders-sign-in-canada-2/", "token_count": 978, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1640625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:0d243926-2860-4035-a1a5-2b13eefb62bd>" }	Creditors utilize credit agencies in Canada to test a consumer’s creditworthiness before expanding credit. Loan providers generally have a choice of either Equifax or TransUnion, however some will always check both. Understanding just what a credit bureau is, just just how they manage to get thier information, and exactly how observe the given information found in your credit history shall help you later on whenever using with possible loan providers and creditors. What exactly is a Credit Bureau? What’s the typical credit rating by province? A credit bureau also called a credit rating reporting agency, is a small business that gathers and compiles information about consumer’s credit rating from banking institutions, banking institutions, as well as other companies, like courthouses in addition to workplace of this Superintendent of Bankruptcy. A credit bureau makes use of the details they’ve gathered about specific consumers and produces a credit file and rating which in turn becomes accessible to a number of loan providers along with other institutions that are financial. In Canada, there are two main credit agencies, Equifax and TransUnion, that loan providers make reference to whenever analyzing your creditworthiness. Just click here. There clearly was a misconception that is common credit agencies make financing decisions, nonetheless, this might be wrong. A credit bureau is a completely independent third-party business that relays information between the customer therefore the loan provider. The consumer’s info is distributed around loan providers by credit agencies but, at the conclusion of the afternoon, the lending that is final lies with all the creditor. How Can Credit Reporting Agencies Collect Their Information? Credit bureaus depend on creditors and loan providers for the information they want, not all solitary creditor reports to both credit reporting agencies (although, most top lenders do are accountable to both) when they are accountable to them at all, which could produce a discrepancy in the middle of your reports from Equifax and TransUnion. The main information this is certainly delivered to credit reporting agencies from creditors is the account’s status and repayment history, both these facets play a role in your credit rating. Just how long does information stick to your credit file? Learn right right right here. Other information that credit bureaus accumulate can be your information that is personal, such as your appropriate title and target, credit username and passwords, inquiry data, public information, and collections information. Lenders have an interest in the way you’ve handled financial obligation when you look at the past, although, they even think about extra details and that’s why credit agencies gather extensive data. Credit Get Ranges in Canada. Obtaining a free content of the credit history in Canada Every 12 months, you’re entitled to a totally free content of the credit history from Equifax and TransUnion being a Canadian. It is possible to get your free content by phone, in individual, mail or fax with Equifax. With TransUnion, it is possible to achieve your copy that is free online by phone, mail or in individual, not via fax. Did you know how exactly to read your credit file? Discover here. First, you have to complete and download the Canadian Credit Report Request Form from Equifax. Next, you’ll need certainly to give a photocopy, like the front side and right right right back, of two items of legitimate present Canadian federal federal government issued recognition. Appropriate papers consist of: - Driver’s permit - Canadian passport - Canadian citizenship card - Permanent resident card - Personal insurance card - Birth certification - Certification of Indian Reputation - Evidence of present target if it doesn’t match the above papers, such as for instance a software application bill or bank declaration The step that is last to mail the shape and photocopied papers to: Equifax Canada Co. National Customer Relations Montreal, Quebec H1S 2Z2 Or fax to: (514) 355-8502 You will find four Equifax locations where you could get your copy that is free in. You’ll be asked to bring to you two items of recognition which can be legitimate and current showing picture identification and proof your overall target. Any such thing through the list above is appropriate, nonetheless, real copies are expected in place of electronic copies or photocopies. You are able to get your free content of one’s credit history from Equifax by calling 1 (800) 465-7166 that is a tool that is automated utilizes your individual information to authenticate your identification . An integral part of the procedure is entering your insurance that is social number be certain to own it handy when you call. Thinking about exactly exactly how your credit rating is determined? Click.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9647100567817688, "language": "en", "url": "https://qsstudy.com/business-studies/meetings-of-shareholders", "token_count": 441, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0595703125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:0c68492b-cbff-4f93-b998-73b1ddfa4ac6>" }	Meetings of Shareholders: Every company must hold at least one shareholders meeting every year (annual meeting). In addition to the annual meeting, a company may hold other meetings of shareholders to vote on specific issues (special meetings). On basis of participation of shareholders and objectives, meetings are categorized into the following four types: Statutory Meeting: The first meeting of the shareholders of a public limited company is known as statutory meeting. Every public limited company must arrange the statutory meeting within a period of not less than one month and not more than six months from the date on which the company becomes entitled to commence business. This meeting is held once in the lifetime of a company. The objective of statutory meeting is to inform the shareholders about all aspects of the company since its incorporation. Notice of such meeting is to be given at least 21 days before the meeting. Private limited company does not require holding such meeting. Annual General Meeting / Ordinary Meeting: An annual general meeting refers to the meeting of a company which is held annually. It is also called ordinary meeting. The first annual general meeting is held within 18 months from the date of its incorporation and thereafter once in every accounting year. The time gap between two consecutive annual general meetings must not exceed fifteen months. The annual general meeting (AGM) is regarded as the most important of all company meetings. It is the primary avenue for companies to communicate with their shareholders. The articles may provide that such meeting shall be held on a certain date in every year. Extra Ordinary Meeting: All meetings of the shareholders other than the annual general meetings and statutory meetings are known as extraordinary general meetings. These meetings are called in emergencies or special occasions. They are called when it is found necessary to transact certain business that cannot be kept unsettled until the next general meeting. An extra ordinary meeting is usually called for such purposes as alteration of the memorandum and articles of the company, increase or decrease of share capital etc. Class Meeting: Class meetings are meetings of the particular class at shareholders like preference shareholders. Class meeting are generally held for obtaining the consent of a particular class of shareholders for altering their rights and privileges or conversion of one class into another.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9300472140312195, "language": "en", "url": "https://theintactone.com/2020/01/19/importance-of-manufacturing-for-technological-and-socioeconomic-developments/", "token_count": 843, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0023956298828125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b3abe0c6-dd10-423a-9198-e60ff19ee7d5>" }	Importance of Manufacturing for Technological and Socioeconomic Developments There is a profound technological transformation that is affecting the industry. This is, in part, a reaction to the needs of users as well as a result of the development of both traditional production elements and organizational production process managed by MES/MOM. Today, terms like the Internet of Things, Big Data, cloud, mobility and analytics are commonly used, although not always with the correct meaning, to identify the big trends of technological evolution. Given the many misunderstandings surrounding these terms, it is wise to keep the following in mind to help make sense of it all: - Internet of Things: Things that can communicate their status, needs and problems using smart sensors and that transmit this information over the Internet through wired or wireless networks; - BIg Data: Large volumes of highly variable data types, needing to be processed at high speeds with innovative and economic systems and being capable of producing information to support decision-making; - Cloud: Centralized and scalable IT structures, made available as needed without the burden to establish and maintain the infrastructure; - Mobility: Information available anywhere, regardless of the device used; and - Analytics: Statistical models or mathematical algorithms applied to the available data to create information otherwise not immediately available. This is useful to predict scenarios and support manual decision-making or implement automated decision-making The following are some specific roles that SSIs play in the Indian economy: 1. Increases Production India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the world. Consequently, its production output is massive. It is pertinent to note that SSIs contribute almost 40% of India’s gross industrial value. These industries produce goods and services worth over Rs. 40 lakhs for every investment of Rs. 10 lakhs. Furthermore, the value addition in this output increases by over 10%. Here is another interesting statistic about Small scale industries. The number of Small Scale Industries in India increased from around 8 lakhs in 1980 to over 30 lakhs in 2000. This figure has grown even more in recent years owing to the government’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ policies. As a result of this, the total industrial production output rose tremendously in the last few years. SSIs are, therefore, strongly responsible for the growth of India’s economy. 2. Increases Export Apart from producing more goods and services, SSIs have been able to export them in large numbers as well. Almost half of India’s total exports these days come from small-scale businesses. 35% of the total exports account for direct exports by SSIs, while indirect exports amount to 15%. Even trading houses and merchants help SSIs export their goods and services to foreign countries. 3. Improves Employment Rate It is important to note firstly that Small Scale Industries employs more people than all industries after agriculture. Almost four persons can get full employment if Rs. 10 lakhs are invested in fixed assets of small-scale sectors. Furthermore, SSIs employ people in urban as well as rural areas. Consequently, this distributes employment patterns in all parts of the country and prevents unemployment crisis. 4. Open New Opportunities Small-scale industries offer several advantages and opportunities for investments. For example, they receive many tax benefits and rebates from the government. The opportunity to earn profits from SSIs are big due to many reasons. Firstly, SSIs are less capital intensive. They even receive financial support and funding easily. Secondly, procuring manpower and raw materials is also relatively easier for them. Even the government’s export policies favour them heavily. 5. Advances Welfare Apart from providing profitable opportunities, Small Scale Industries play a large role in advancing welfare measures in the Indian economy as well. A large number of poor and marginalized sections of the population depend on them for their sustenance. These industries not only reduce poverty and income inequality but they also raise standards of living of poor people. Furthermore, they enable people to make a living with dignity.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9211742877960205, "language": "en", "url": "https://theintactone.com/2020/01/20/compensation/", "token_count": 759, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.03466796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:3cc8548b-5510-4142-8c8a-1ead3c3b4af6>" }	Compensation is a systematic approach to providing monetary value to employees in exchange for work performed. Compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performance, and job satisfaction. Compensation is a tool used by management for a variety of purposes to further the existance of the company. Compensation may be adjusted according the the business needs, goals, and available resources. Compensation may be used to: - Recruit and retain qualified employees. - Increase or maintain morale/satisfaction. - Reward and encourage peak performance. - Achieve internal and external equity. - Reduce turnover and encourage company loyalty. - Modify (through negotiations) practices of unions. Recruitment and retention of qualified employees is a common goal shared by many employers. To some extent, the availability and cost of qualified applicants for open positions is determined by market factors beyond the control of the employer. While an employer may set compensation levels for new hires and advertize those salary ranges, it does so in the context of other employers seeking to hire from the same applicant pool. Morale and job satisfaction are affected by compensation. Often there is a balance (equity) that must be reached between the monetary value the employer is willing to pay and the sentiments of worth felt be the employee. In an attempt to save money, employers may opt to freeze salaries or salary levels at the expence of satisfaction and morale. Conversely, an employer wishing to reduce employee turnover may seek to increase salaries and salary levels. Compensation may also be used as a reward for exceptional job performance. Examples of such plans include: bonuses, commissions, stock, profit sharing, gain sharing. Components of a compensation system Compensation will be perceived by employees as fair if based on systematic components. Various compensation systems have developed to determine the value of positions. These systems utilize many similar components including job descriptions, salary ranges/structures, and written procedures. The components of a compensation system include - Job Descriptions A critical component of both compensation and selection systems, job descriptions define in writing the responsibilities, requirements, functions, duties, location, environment, conditions, and other aspects of jobs. Descriptions may be developed for jobs individually or for entire job families. - Job Analysis The process of analyzing jobs from which job descriptions are developed. Job analysis techniques include the use of interviews, questionnaires, and observation. - Job Evaluation A system for comparing jobs for the purpose of determining appropriate compensation levels for individual jobs or job elements. There are four main techniques: Ranking, Classification, Factor Comparison, and Point Method. - Pay Structures Useful for standardizing compensation practices. Most pay structures include several grades with each grade containing a minimum salary/wage and either step increments or grade range. Step increments are common with union positions where the pay for each job is pre-determined through collective bargaining. - Salary Surveys Collections of salary and market data. May include average salaries, inflation indicators, cost of living indicators, salary budget averages. Companies may purchase results of surveys conducted by survey vendors or may conduct their own salary surveys. When purchasing the results of salary surveys conducted by other vendors, note that surveys may be conducted within a specific industry or across industries as well as within one geographical region or across different geographical regions. Know which industry or geographic location the salary results pertain to before comparing the results to your company. - Policies and Regulations Types of compensation Different types of compensation include: - Base Pay - Overtime Pay - Bonuses, Profit Sharing, Merit Pay - Stock Options - Travel/Meal/Housing Allowance - Benefits including: dental, insurance, medical, vacation, leaves, retirement, taxes.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9114391803741455, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.123test.com/professions/profession-bank-account-manager/", "token_count": 877, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.05615234375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:b1b9d13c-87c7-4b1e-b92a-7c79b61c738a>" }	Profession bank account manager Bank account managers advise prospective clients on the type of banking accounts suitable for their needs. They work with clients to set up the bank account and remain their primary point of contact in the bank, assisting with all necessary documentation. Bank account managers may recommend their clients to contact other departments in the bank for other specific needs. Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out. - Enterprising / Social - Conventional / Enterprising - Electronic communication Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail. - Financial analysis The process of assessing the financial possibilities, means, and status of an organisation or individual by analysing financial statements and reports in order to make well informed business or financial decisions. - Financial management The field of finance that concerns the practical process analysis and tools for designating financial resources. It encompasses the structure of businesses, the investment sources, and the value increase of corporations due to managerial decision-making. - Corporate social responsibility The handling or managing of business processes in a responsible and ethical manner considering the economic responsibility towards shareholders as equally important as the responsibility towards environmental and social stakeholders. The philosophical study that deals with solving questions of human morality; it defines and systemises concepts such as right, wrong, and crime. - Financial statements The set of financial records disclosing the financial position of a company at the end of a set period or of the accounting year. The financial statements consisting of five parts which are the statement of financial position, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity (SOCE), the statement of cash flows and notes. - Banking activities The broad and continuously growing banking activities and financial products managed by banks ranging from personal banking, corporate banking, investment banking, private banking, up to insurance, foreign exchange trading, commodity trading, trading in equities, futures and options trading. - Liaise with managers Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical. - Solve bank account problems Solve bank account problems and issues of customers in the banking sector such as deblocking a bank card. - Analyse financial performance of a company Based on accounts, records, financial statements and external information of the market, analyse the performance of the company in financial matters in order to identify improvement actions that could increase profit. - Create banking accounts Opens new banking accounts such as a deposit account, a credit card account or a different type of account offered by a financial institution. - Provide support in financial calculation Provide colleagues, clients or other parties with financial support for complex files or calculations. - Advise on bank account Inform clients on the different types of bank accounts offered by the financial institution or commercial bank. Recommend or provide advice on the type of bank account that would be the most beneficial for the client. - Follow company standards Lead and manage according to the organisation's code of conduct. - Create a financial plan Develop a financial plan according to financial and client regulations, including an investor profile, financial advice, and negotiation and transaction plans. - Provide financial product information Give the customer or client information about financial products, the financial market, insurances, loans or other types of financial data. - Advise on financial matters Consult, advise, and propose solutions with regards to financial management such as acquiring new assets, incurring in investments, and tax efficiency methods. - Protect client interests Protect the interests and needs of a client by taking necessary actions, and researching all possibilities, to ensure that the client obtains their favoured outcome. - Offer financial services Provide a broad range of financial services to clients such as assistance with financial products, financial planning, insurances, money and investment management. - Enforce financial policies Read, understand, and enforce the abidance of the financial policies of the company in regards with all the fiscal and accounting proceedings of the organisation. - Apply technical communication skills Explain technical details to non-technical customers, stakeholders, or any other interested parties in a clear and concise manner.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9662227630615234, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.dandodiary.com/2013/12/articles/failed-banks/banks-forget-too-big-to-fail-how-about-too-small-to-succeed/", "token_count": 1359, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1201171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:7aba43ee-a6c4-44b1-8e63-685b39f12c83>" }	According to the FDIC’s latest Quarterly Banking Profile (here), as of September 30, 2013, there were 6,891 federally insured banking institutions, down from 6,940 at the end of the second quarter and down from 7,141 as of September 30, 2012. There were 8,680 banking institutions as recently as December 31, 2006, meaning that there are 1,789 (or about 20%) fewer banks in the U.S. than there were a little less than seven years ago. The latest quarterly figures represents the lowest level for the number of banks since the Great Depression, according to a front page December 3, 2013 Wall Street Journal article (here). The Journal article details how the industry has shrunk to its current level from its high water mark of over 18,000 banking institutions as recently as 1984. Two banking crises since 1984 account for a significant part of the decline. Between 1985 and 1995, as a result of the S&L crisis, 1,043 institutions failed (as discussed here). More recently, the global financial crisis has taken its toll on the U.S. banking industry – since January 1, 2007, 534 banking institutions have failed, or more than six percent of all of the banks in business at the beginning of the period. But though there have been a huge number of bank failures in recent years, the closures alone do not account for the continuing decline in the number of U.S. banks. According to the Journal article, the reasons for the continuing decline in the number of banks include “a sluggish economy, stubbornly low interest rates and heightened regulation.” These problems are particularly acute for smaller banks, which often depend on lower margin loans. Declining interest margins hurt smaller community banks more than larger banks, because the smaller banks’ business models – what the Journal describes as “traditional lending and deposit gathering”—rely on interest income. These pressures have caused a number of smaller institutions to merge or consolidate. At the same time, no new banks are forming to replace the banks that are disappearing. According to the latest Quarterly Banking Profile, there was only one new banking institution formed in the first three quarters of 2013 (the first federally approved banking start up in nearly three years), while 159 institutions were merged out of existence and 22 institutions failed during that same period. As one banking executive quoted in the Journal article asks with respect to the pressures facing smaller banks, “Can you be too small to succeed?” The problems smaller banks face was detailed in an interesting November 30, 2013 article in the Economist (here), about the travails of Marquette Savings Bank of Erie, Pa. The bank, which has weathered the financial crisis in relatively good shape is facing pressure from regulators to sell the mortgages it originates as well as to change its appraisal practices. Although the regulators pressures derive from justifiable concerns, they also threaten to undermine the keys of the bank’s success. There is every reason to believe that consolidation in the banking industry will continue. Among other things, the FDIC and the banking industry are both still dealing with the fact that – even years out from the worst of the financial crisis – a large percentage of the remaining banks are “problem institutions.” On the positive side, the number of banks on the FDIC’s "Problem List" declined from 553 to 515 during the third quarter. (The agency calls those banks that it rates as a “4” or “5” on a 1-to-5 scale of risk and supervisory concern “problem institutions.”)On the other hand,problem institutions still represent about 7.47 percent of all reporting institutions, down from about 7.96 during the second quarter. Even though the number and percentage of problem institutions is down from the low point during the worst of the financial crisis — there were 888 problem institutions at the end of the first quarter of 2011 – the number of problem institutions remains stubbornly high. Many of the remaining problem institutions are unlikely to leave the list based on their own financial improvement. Many are likely to drop of the list either by merging or by failing. Of course, the vast majority of banks are not problem institutions. But whether healthy or not, most remaining banks are small. Of the 6,891 banks at the end of the third quarter, 6,223 (or slightly more than 90 percent) have assets of under $1 billion. Many of these institutions are thriving and will continue to thrive. But others will face economic and regulatory pressures that may lead them to merge and combine. It is hard to say where all of this will lead. It does seem likely that the number of bank failures will continue to slow, and it is always possible that an improving economy will enable more banks to remain strong and independent. However, at least right now, the likeliest outcome would seem to be that the number of banks will continue to shrink. There are a number of practical consequences from the shrinking number of banks. Among other things, the Journal article raises the question whether as smaller community banks go out of existence, will it become harder from smaller businesses outside urban areas to obtain the credit they need. All of these developments have consequences for the D&O insurance industry as well, or at least the portion of the industry focused on providing insurance for banking institutions. The carriers in this sector are already reeling from losses arising from the wave of bank failures and related litigation. These losses are continuing to accumulate at the same time that the overall universe of potential buyers continues to shrink. The carriers are struggling to spread an adverse loss experience across a shrinking portfolio. The accumulating losses from prior underwriting years and the shrinking customer pool means that it is harder for these carriers to show an underwriting profit on a current calendar year basis. The heightened loss experience and shrinking customer base suggests that these carriers will be facing pressure on their premium levels for some time to come. At the same time that the carriers are dealing with these forces, they are also dealing with another dynamic that will even further complicate things for them. A shrinking customer base means less business for everyone. Carriers worried about maintaining their portfolios will have to figure out how to respond as competitors go after their business. As much pressure as there may be to maintain premium levels, competition may force carriers to adjust their premiums to avoid losing business. It is still a tough time for banks. It is also a tough time for their D&O Insurers as well. The Desolation of Smog: SIxty years ago, London was more polluted than Beijing is today. (Here).
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9543887972831726, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/080615/5-skills-every-entrepreneur-needs.asp", "token_count": 1513, "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:cd0ed13e-acbb-452a-9daa-b0c7f78e2e1a>" }	What Are 5 Skills Every Entrepreneur Should Have? An entrepreneur refers to someone who builds or operates their own business. By having an equity stake in the firm, the entrepreneur can enjoy a great deal of profit if things go well; but, they also take on a great deal of risk—far more than a regular employee of the business. This entrepreneurial risk can take several forms, including financial risk, career risk, emotional risk, or overall business risk. Since there is so much at stake when it comes to starting and growing a successful business, there are very specific skills that an entrepreneur usually needs to be successful. Below, we highlight five such attributes. - Entrepreneurship can be quite rewarding, but also comes with several unique risks. - To mitigate the risk of financial loss or failure, it serves a business owner to have a certain set of skills. - A great entrepreneur must be able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize. - An ability to continuously learn is not just a key entrepreneurial skill, but also a very valuable life skill. - Growing a business requires a sound strategy based on inherent business sense and skills. Understanding Entrepreneurial Skills Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate needs and bringing good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurship that proves to be successful in taking on the risks of creating a startup is rewarded with profits, fame, and continued growth opportunities. Entrepreneurship that fails results in losses and less prevalence in the markets for those involved. While the prospect of becoming your own boss and raking in a fortune is alluring to entrepreneurial dreamers, the possible downside to hanging one’s own shingle is vast. Income isn’t guaranteed, employer-sponsored benefits go by the wayside, and when your business loses money, your personal assets can take a hit; not just a corporation’s bottom line. But adhering to a few tried and true principles can go a long way in diffusing risk. The following are a few characteristics required to be a successful entrepreneur. Every entrepreneur needs to be an effective communicator. Whether a person is a solo entrepreneur or runs a Fortune 500 company, they need to understand how to communicate effectively to all stakeholders and potential stakeholders that touch the business. It is imperative for an entrepreneur to be able to communicate with employees, investors, customers, creditors, peers, and mentors. If an entrepreneur cannot communicate the value of their company, it’s unlikely the company will be successful. They also need to master all forms of communication, including one-on-one and in-person conversations, group conversations, written communication, and email or online messages. The soft skill of sales goes hand-in-hand with the communication necessary to be successful. As an entrepreneur, this person needs to be able to sell anything and everything. An entrepreneur needs to sell the business idea to potential investors, the product or service to customers, and themselves to employees. If an entrepreneur is able to communicate effectively, they are better equipped to sell their ideas and physical products. In the beginning, it's natural for entrepreneurs to be the first salespeople at their respective companies. Those sales skills are necessary to demonstrate value for all stakeholders inside and outside the company. The path to successful entrepreneurship is riddled with ups and downs. There are the highs of successes and the despairs of setbacks. A successful entrepreneur needs to be able to focus so they can stay the course when the going gets tough. One of the main risks an entrepreneur faces is the risk of emotional instability This skill can also be thought of as thinking with the end in mind. No matter what struggles an entrepreneur goes through, a successful entrepreneur has the focus necessary to keep an unwavering eye on the end goal and can push himself to achieve it. 4. Ability to Learn The ability to learn is one of the most important skills to have in life, let alone in entrepreneurship. If someone is building a business, however, the ability to learn is required for success. The ups and downs an entrepreneur goes through are unavoidable. An entrepreneur needs a high ability to learn—and a desire to learn. If a person is able to learn in any situation, even failure, they have the skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Failure can help expand one's knowledge and understanding of business. The percentage of new businesses that fail within their first 10 years, per the Small Business Administration. 5. Business Strategy While a successful entrepreneur has, by definition, built a successful company, the skill of business strategy is actually the fifth most important skill that an entrepreneur needs. Often, entrepreneurs achieve success in their businesses through their own sheer strength of will. By employing effective communication skills, sales skills, a deep focus, and a high ability to learn, an entrepreneur can actually learn a business strategy on the fly. When structuring and growing a business, however, it's important that the structure and growth strategy is based on sound business sense and skills. A successful entrepreneur needs to have a solid strategy to take their business from good to great. Entrepreneurial Education and Career Outlook Some of the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur are likely to be innate or natural. Others can be hones through training and education in business and management. A masters in business administration (MBA) is a common route. MBA coursework involves a broad spectrum of business-related topics including accounting, statistics, economics, communications, management, and entrepreneurship. MBA programs not only prepare students to work for financial institutions, but they also prepare them for management positions or as founders of startup companies. If you think you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, keep in mind that even great ideas and solid management teams can fail due to the whims of the market, stiff competition, or just bad luck. In 2019, the failure rate of startups was around 90%. Research concludes 21.5% of startups fail in the first year, 30% in the second year, 50% in the fifth year, and 70% in their 10th year. But don't let these statistics discourage you: if at first, you don't succeed, try again. Entrepreneurial Skills FAQs What Are the Most Important Skills for a Successful Entrepreneur? While there is no magic formula for beings a successful entrepreneur, those who do succeed tend to have mastered the following set of skills: good and effective communication; being able to sell both themselves and their idea or product; strong focus; eagerness to learn and be flexible; and a solid business plan. What Are the Personal Qualities of a Good Entrepreneur? In addition to honing one's skills, personal qualities (or so-called "soft skills") also matter a great deal. Being likeable and friendly helps—nobody wants to partner with somebody who is difficult to work with. Being creative, versatile, and resilient in the face of great challenges all also help. What Are the Most Important Skills in Business? Once a business is up and running, be a good manager and having a good business sense and money-savvy is crucial. Many otherwise good companies fail due to poor leadership, mismanagement of cash, or poor management. Having a business strategy in place from the get-go and sticking to it is crucial.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.964276134967804, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.t3.com/news/only-one-in-10-energy-firms-prioritise-renewables-but-switching-to-a-green-supplier-could-reduce-your-energy-bills", "token_count": 723, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.0654296875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:d52ca34c-b629-40b8-bdf5-31c3553967cc>" }	Research from the University of Oxford has revealed that just 10 per cent of the world’s power companies are actively investing in and prioritising renewables over fossil fuels, the Guardian reports. The majority of these are based in Europe and the UK. (You'll find our round-up of the best green energy suppliers in the UK elsewhere on the site.) The study – which examined over 3,000 global energy suppliers – also uncovered that the majority (60 per cent) were still mainly invested in fossil fuels, despite making some efforts to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, 10 per cent were seen to be promoting growth in gas-fired plants, although these were mainly in the US where firms are looking to utilise the country's surplus shale gas. The lead researcher and author of the report, Galina Alova, highlighted how the lack of green initiatives from the majority of suppliers is undermining and “hindering” wider global efforts to tackle climate change. Ms Alova also suggested that firms need to curb their continuing investment in fossil fuel facilities, otherwise we’ll be unlikely to meet key climate targets. Ms Alova told BBC News: "So utilities are still dominating the global fossil fuel business. And I'm also finding that quite a significant share of the fossil fuel-based capacity owned by utilities has been added in the last decade, meaning that these are quite new assets. But in order for us to achieve the Paris climate agreement goals, they either need to be retired early, or will need carbon capture and storage because otherwise they're still here to stay for decades." Positive strides in the UK and Europe However, the study also showed that 10% of utility companies were actively prioritising renewables - with the majority of these based in Europe, and many in the UK. These firms were shown to be investing more in low-carbon energy and green tech, while also shutting down and replacing older fossil fuel-producing power plants. Britain has made great strides recently when it comes to renewable energy: - The UK recently had a record-breaking coal-free run in energy generation - 40% of the UK's electricity came from wind and solar in 2019 - There are both local and national programmes being rolled out to boost the renewable sector Why you should switch to a greener supplier There’s a substantial body of evidence that suggests switching to a green energy supplier could be a smart move. Not only can it help in the fight against climate change, it also makes the markets more competitive and could start encouraging other suppliers to go greener. You could also benefit from making significant savings on your energy bills, as some green energy companies can be notably cheaper than most suppliers. Our recent review of Bulb, for instance, found its purely renewable tariff to be around £227 cheaper than standard Big Six deals. If you're looking to switch you can use an energy comparison service to see the best energy deals in your area and how much you could save by switching to each. If you use our energy price comparison service - we've teamed up with MoneySupermarket to find the best tariffs across the UK - you'll be able to filter by green tariff too. Find the best energy deals for your home If you don't need a fixed-rate deal, you may be able to save even more money by switching to a variable tariff. Either way, a simple energy comparison, which takes just a couple of minutes, will tell you which tariffs are cheapest for your home - and help you switch with ease. Save money now
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9204292893409729, "language": "en", "url": "http://mediabrand.live/crypto-coin-haberleri/", "token_count": 1455, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1044921875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:88a1f636-e5bc-453d-b25e-626a8b287e52>" }	If you aren’t a Professional coder but Have been a keen armchair observer of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and every other increasingly market cryptocurrency, you might be wondering if it is possible to create your own. In short: yes. But there are numerous Few distinct options to consider–and caveats to bear in mind–until you dip in. Difference Between a Coin and a Token First, it is important to understand The gap between coins and tokens. Both are cryptocurrencies, although a coin–Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin–operates on its own blockchain, a token resides in addition to an present blockchain infrastructure like Ethereum. A blockchain is, in its simplest, a record of trades made on and secured by means of a network. So while coins have their own independent transaction ledgers, tokens rely on the underlying system’s technologies to confirm and secure transactions and possession. Generally, coins are used to transport wealth, while tokens can represent a”contract” for virtually anything, from physical items to occasion tickets to loyalty factors. Tokens are often released through a Crowdsale called a first coin offering (ICO) in trade for existing coins, which in turn fund jobs like gambling platforms or electronic wallets. You can still get publicly available tokens after an ICO has ended–similar to buying coins–using the inherent money to make the buy. Anyone can make a token and operate a Crowdsale, but ICOs have become increasingly murky as creators take investors’ money and run. The Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on ICOs and moving to treat tokens as securities which, such as stocks, must be regulated. The SEC warns investors to do their research before buying tokens launched in an ICO. Lists 895 coins and 679 tokens available on public exchanges. Not all tokens made it to exchanges, however — Etherscan, which supplies Ethereum analytics, has over 71,000 nominal contracts in its own archive. While the crypto market is volatile, experts believe it will continue to grow as more people embrace the thought. The very idea behind cryptocurrency Is that the underlying code is available to everybody –but that doesn’t mean it’s simple to comprehend. Construct Your Own Blockchain–Or Fork a Present One Both of these methods require very a Bit of specialized knowledge–or the assistance of a savvy programmer. Because coins are in their blockchains, you will have to either build a blockchain or take an existing one and modify it for your new coin. The former requires serious coding abilities as well as though tutorials exist to help you through the process, they assume that a certain knowledge level, and also you don’t finish with a fully Alternatively, you can fork an Existing blockchain by taking the open-source code located on Github–Litecoin, for example–making a few alterations, and launch a brand new blockchain using a brand new name (such as Garlicoin). Again, this takes one to comprehend the code so that you know what to alter and This option is the most viable for The average person–a production service is going to do the specialized work and deliver your final token or coin straight back to you. By way of example, a seasoned group of crypto developers will actually build a custom coin, and all you have to do is enter the parameters, in the logo to the amount of coins awarded for signing a block. (That is, when they are open for businessas of press time, orders are currently closed.) They have pre-built templates which only ask you to present a name and a logo. The base cost for this service is 0.25 BTC ($2002.00 as of this writing), and you will receive your coin’s source code in a couple of days. You can also create a token–what is Basically a wise contract–with or without a people ICO. Because tokens can represent any advantage, by a concert ticket or voting right to funding via a crowdsale or a physical money, you can even create a token without a real worth or serious goal other than to swap among friends. This is quicker, easier, and cheaper than creating a coin because it doesn’t demand time and effort to build and maintain a new or forked blockchain and instead depends on the technology already in use for Bitcoin or even Ethereum. A Frequent product is an ERC-20 token, The standard for all those assembled around the Ethereum blockchain. The code for all these nominal contracts and crowdsales can also be available for the very ambitious, however there are user-friendly platforms that will help you through the process. Example, you will have to bring the browser expansion –that links you to the Ethereum system –into a browser and follow their walk-through video to build your token and start your own ICO. The platform gives the choice to generate bonuses and vesting schedules for investors or even establish a token contract with no crowdsale. The token contract process is free, but CoinLaunch requires a commission from each ICO (4-10% based on much money is increased ). If you are crypto-curious, there is No penalty to experimentation with token contracts. Start with an ERC-20 token –you can distribute to your friends and then money in to whoever buys drinks at the bar. There’s no monetary value or commitment connected, but this can help you understand the technical aspect as well as how tokens do the job. An ICO probably will not be suitable for the casual observer because of increasing law and penalties for misrepresentation. If you want to go a step further to Produce a coin using real worth for a broader audience to mine, purchase, and sell, and you do not have programming experience, you’ll probably want the help of a couple of programmers. Even if you use an agency to construct your currency, you will need to keep it–know that this won’t be economical or risk-free. The technical development of a Cryptocurrency isn’t actually the toughest aspect of starting a successful crypto undertaking. The real job is in giving your coin or token value, building the infrastructure, maintaining it, and convincing others to purchase in–memecoins, such as Garlicoin, Dogecoin, and PepeCoin, have developers and user-facing teams to maintain the technology stable and the community engaged. Lots of cryptocurrencies are ineffective, even questionable from a legal perspective, because the ICO was not created in good faith or the coin neglected to create lasting interest. The expression”shitcoin” is present for a reason.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9226172566413879, "language": "en", "url": "http://sssmilwaukee.com/what-is-an-operational-plan-in-business.html", "token_count": 586, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0859375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:78887111-db49-40ce-af27-4fea251cbc9e>" }	What Is An Operational Plan In Business An operational plan is nothing but an implementation of your strategies that are based on your strategic plan. What is an operational plan in business. What is an operational plan? Updated december 08, 2020 in your business plan, the operations plan section describes the physical necessities of your business' operation, such as your physical location, facilities, and equipment. The assumption is taken as an operational plan example. The operations section of a business plan expands on the company: It also details the overall business milestones that the company must attain in order to be successful. Your operations plan should be able to answer the following: Just place your operational plan content. So, your operational business plan must be in line with your strategic plan. Definition of an operation plan an operation plan is a guiding path for the business to follow in order to achieve all of its goals and objectives described in the general business plan. An operational plan can be defined as a plan prepared by a component of an organization that clearly defines actions it will take to support the strategic objectives and plans of upper management. An operational plan outlines the steps you'll take to complete your business mission. An operational plan can be defined as a plan prepared by a component of an organization that clearly defines actions it will take to support the strategic objectives and plans of upper management. An operational plan is a planning tool that can showcase a gap analysis which presents where your business is now, where you would like it to be, and how you can get the operational quality that you would like for your organization: It helps prepare specific action plans that can be used to support the requirements, needs, and demands of the operations. An operational plan forms part of the business’s strategic plan and is important for effective business leadership. One of the things that make an operational plan truly important is that it can help you measure the progress of your business. Create operational plan in the business plan download. An operational business plan is a written document that describes the nature of the business, the sales and the marketing strategy which is optimal for success. - Short Business Plan Examples - Small Business Recovery Plan Template - Party Planning Business Cards - Sugar Production Business Plan Pdf - Non Medical Home Health Care Business Plan - Steps In Writing A Business Proposal - Tarif Business Plan Expert Comptable - Uh Business Major Degree Plan - What Is An Appendix For A Business Plan - Printable Daycare Business Plan Pdf - Startup Business Plan Example South Africa - Oil And Gas Business Plan - Sample Business Plan For Ecommerce Company - Winery Business Plan In Maharashtra - Verizon Business Landline Phone Plans - Pig Farming In South Africa Business Plan - Simple Business Plan Template Pdf - Shuttle Service Business Plan South Africa - Rogers Corporate Cell Plans - Microbrewery Business Plan Template Uk
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9480717778205872, "language": "en", "url": "https://aglegal.com/commercial-law/companies-in-costa-rica/", "token_count": 1078, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.193359375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:9eb57f9d-6078-4236-a103-8ec164e067fe>" }	In Costa Rica there are four types of companies: - The stock corporation. - The limited liability company. - The general partnership. - The limited partnership. The trading companies most commonly used in Costa Rica are corporations and limited liability companies How Does a Corporation Work? The General Meeting is the main organ and is made up by the partners. Ordinarily, the Meeting meets once a year, and extraordinarily, as the need arises. Management of a corporation is conducted through a Board of Directors, which must include at least a President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Inspection is carried out by appointing a Supervisory Director. What Is a Corporation? A corporation is a legal entity in which you participate as a partner, by means of a number of shares with a specific value. The corporate capital is different from the partners’ personal capital. Agencies and branches may be established inside and outside of Costa Rica and can perform all sorts of business. If you want to invest or develop an activity without using your personal assets to secure any debts you may want to acquire, the corporation is a perfect option, given that in a corporation, you will be liable only up to the amount of capital that has been contributed. Formation of a Corporation A minimum of two partners is required to form a corporation. It is not allowed to register the entire corporate capital in the name of one single person at the time of incorporation, but it is possible to subsequently assign all shares to one single shareholder. In the event of partners sitting on the Board of Directors, this gives us a minimum of 4 people to form a corporation. To form a corporation, the following aspects must be defined: What will be the corporate name? This can be a fictitious name. Currently, it is also possible to register companies whose name consists of the corporate identity number assigned to them by the Registry. What will be the corporate capital and share distribution? The general amount of the capital, the value of each one of the shares, and how they will be distributed among the partners. What will be the corporate domicile? The place designated to receive communications. What will be the duration of the corporation? It is required to determine the number of years the corporation will exist. The duration commonly used is 99 years. Who will represent the corporation? By law, the President is the judicial and extrajudicial representative of the corporation, with the powers of a general attorney-in-fact with no amount limit, but it is also possible to appoint any people desired to represent the corporation. Resident Agent. When the corporate representatives have no domicile in Costa Rica, it is mandatory to appoint a Resident Agent, whose function will be to receive communications addressed to the corporation. What is a Limited Liability Company? The advantage of a limited liability company is that it has almost the same characteristics as a corporation. In terms of the independence of its assets, it works exactly the same as a corporation. The formation of a limited liability company requires a minimum of two shareholders (called cuotistas). The company capital can later be transferred to one single person. Its management requires the existence of a Manager only, although a Submanager may also be designated. How Does a Limited Liability Company Work? All sorts of business may be conducted. Its structure is used for business of a smaller dimension than that of a corporation. The limited liability company’s Manager is the company’s judicial and extrajudicial representative, although it is possible to appoint several Submanagers. Formation of a Limited Liability Company Bear in mind that in a limited liability company, the corporate capital is represented by registered shares called cuotas. It is required to define the number of cuotas making up the corporate capital, as well as their distribution. There always exists a preemptive right towards other shareholders that must be respected when shares are going to be transferred to someone else. Differences between a Corporation and a Limited Liability Company Organization and Management A corporation has a Board of Directors composed of at least 3 people: President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In a limited liability company, management is conducted by one single person called Manager, or by any people designated, which facilitates its organization. Representation of Corporate Capital In a corporation, the corporate capital is divided into shares. In a limited liability company, shares are registered and are called cuotas. In a corporation, shares can be transferred freely by means of endorsement. In a limited liability company, share transfer is more restricted and is carried out through assignment. Differences in terms of registers. Corporations are required to keep three legal record books (Minutes of the General Meeting, Register of Shareholders, and Minutes of the Board of Directors). Limited liability companies, which lack a board of directors, must keep only two record books (Minutes of the Shareholder Meetings, and Register of Shareholders). Inspection of a corporation is the duty of a Supervisory Director (in Spanish: fiscal), whose position is entirely independent from the Board of Directors, whereas a limited liability company is subject to self-inspection, meaning that the Meeting of Shareholders is in charge of this duty.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.8945432901382446, "language": "en", "url": "https://as-sushi.ru/futures-tradingwe/using-standard-deviation-in-stocks-2650.php", "token_count": 428, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.08251953125, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:a60ab75d-63f2-4d10-a31c-a5cc5af62d5f>" }	Standard deviation reveals how volatile a stock is. If you're using 300 of those closes to generalize about the standard deviation of all 1,000, then use the May 22, 2019 Portfolio standard deviation is the standard deviation of a portfolio of investments. It is a measure of total risk of the portfolio and an important Target Corporation Standard DeviationThe Standard Deviation is a measure of how spread out It is the most widely used risk indicator in the field of investing and finance. Build portfolios using Macroaxis predefined set of investing ideas. Mar 4, 2018 In this lesson we look at how standard deviation can be used to compare how an investor could use standard deviation to compare stocks: The formula to calculate expected return ranges, using standard deviation, is:. Example 1. A money market fund had an annual average return of 6%, with a standard deviation of 1%. The typical maximum annual return you would expect is Feb 3, 2016 For example, if Mutual Fund A has an average annual return of 10% and a standard deviation of 4%, you would expect about 68% of the time for Standard Deviation is used to measure of volatility when stock trading, usually as an adjunct to other indicators, e.g. Bollinger Bands use a stock's Standard Volatility analysis of the () via STD (Standard Deviation). Using volatility indicators in technical analysis and on stock charts. See -dataex- below. I have already calculated the log daily stock return (lret) using: Code: bysort permco (date): gen lret Standard deviation channels, plotted at a set number of standard deviations around a linear regression line, provide useful entry ASX Stocks 20-minute delayed Channel lines are extended using Auto-Extend (right-click on the trendline). May 22, 2019 Portfolio standard deviation is the standard deviation of a portfolio of investments. It is a measure of total risk of the portfolio and an important Dec 29, 2015 For example, if Mutual Fund A has an average annual return of 10% and a standard deviation of 4%, you would expect about 68% of the time for
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.8977461457252502, "language": "en", "url": "https://broadbandnow.com/internet/best/no-data-caps", "token_count": 2164, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2333984375, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:1ad0ab1a-81b3-457d-ba05-1263786e91ca>" }	If you’ve found yourself spending more time at home because of the pandemic, you may also be surfing the internet frequently, streaming Netflix, or maybe playing additional hours of video games. If this is the case, you might’ve noticed fees in your internet bill for going over your plan’s data cap limit. Data caps—a limitation on the amount of data used each month—are a common part of internet plans, but several internet service providers (ISPs) offer plans with unlimited data or high data caps. Here, we take a deeper look into what data caps are and how they affect your internet experience, which providers offer internet plans with no data caps, and more. Pros and Cons of Internet Plans With No Data Caps - No overage fees - Unlimited broadband access to browse, stream, and download - No cap on the length of time you use the internet - Great for large households with power internet users and multiple devices - Potentially higher monthly fees - You may not actually need unlimited data - May experience slower internet speeds Everything You Need to Know About Data Caps What is a data cap? Most internet providers typically issue monthly data restrictions, which is why you’ll frequently come across data caps when shopping for an internet plan. Essentially, a data cap limits the amount of data you’re able to use in your billing period, meaning your time browsing the internet, downloading files, streaming, and playing online games is restricted to an allotted amount. If you go over your data allowance, you’ll be responsible for an overage fee, which varies depending on your contract. In 2018, research by iGR concluded that the average household data usage was 269 GB per month1. However, the same study found that the number of households that used a terabyte of data or more per month had significantly increased from the previous year. When considering if your household needs unlimited data, it’s important to keep these statistics in mind. How do data caps affect internet speeds? If you go over your monthly data cap, your internet speeds may slow down as a consequence. However, if you opt for a plan with unlimited data, internet providers still reserve the right to slow down your internet speeds based on how much internet you’re using2. For example, if your ISP notices that you’re using more data than anticipated, they may slow down your internet connection. Why do data caps exist? One of the main reasons why some internet providers employ data caps while others offer unlimited data is because they can only produce so much bandwidth. In order to discourage customers from using too much data and slowing down the speed for others, they require data caps in their plans which follows the “pay as you go” model. Who should consider signing up for an internet plan with no data caps? If your household has several power internet users, or people who frequently download large files, stream videos, or play online games, or if you find that your household often reaches or exceeds your current data cap limits, it may be worth looking into a plan with unlimited data. Common Internet Activities That Use the Most Data As previously mentioned, there are certain internet activities that consume a lot of data. These include: - Streaming 4K Video, 7GB per hour - Streaming HD Video, 3GB per hour - Streaming 480p Video, 700MG per hour - Social Media, 156MB per hour - Streaming Music, 150MB per hour - Online Gaming, 60MB per hour Some of the Top Internet Providers With No Data Caps Listed below are some of the most popular internet providers that offer internet plans with no data cap restrictions. \|Internet Provider\|\|Connection Type\|\|Speeds up to\|\|Lowest Monthly Price\| \|Verizon Fios\|\|Fiber\|\|940 Mbps\|\|$39.99\| \|Xfinity from Comcast\|\|Cable\|\|2000 Mbps\|\|$49.95\| \|Frontier\|\|DSL + Fiber\|\|940 Mbps\|\|$27.99\| \|Optimum\|\|Cable + Fiber\|\|940 Mbps\|\|$59.99\| \|Google Fiber\|\|Fiber\|\|1000 Mbps\|\|$70\| - Spectrum: As one of the only internet providers that do not employ data caps with any of their plans, Spectrum offers speeds up to 940 Mbps with plans as low as $49.99 per month. They offer cable internet in 44 states with the greatest coverage in California, Texas, and New York. - Verizon Fios: Verizon Fios’ fiber connection has speeds up to 940 Mbps with plans for as low as $39.99 per month. Keep in mind that their fiber coverage is limited as they only provide service to nine states with the greatest coverage in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. - Xfinity from Comcast: Xfinity has speeds up to 2000 Mbps with their fiber plan and cable plans as low as $49.95 per month. They offer service in 39 states with the greatest coverage in California, Florida, and Illinois. - Frontier Communications: Providing service to 26 states with the greatest coverage in California, Florida, and Connecticut, Frontier offers both DSL and fiber connections with speeds up to 940 Mbps at prices as low as $27.99 per month. - Optimum: As the fourth largest cable provider in the country, Optimum offers both cable and fiber internet plans with speeds as high as 940 Mbps for prices as low as $59.99 per month. They only provide coverage to Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. - Google Fiber: Offering fiber connection to only 10 states with the greatest coverage in Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, Google Fiber offers speeds as high as 1000 Mbps with plans as low as $70 per month. Internet Providers with Unlimited Data for an Additional Cost If the providers above aren’t offering service in your area, you may be able to add on unlimited data for an added fee with the ISPs listed below. \|Internet Provider\|\|Connection Type\|\|Additional Monthly Fee for Unlimited Data\|\|Speeds up to\| \|AT&T Internet\|\|DSL + Fixed Wireless\|\|$30\|\|1000 Mbps\| Internet Providers With High Data Caps As mentioned earlier, one of the cons of internet plans with small data cap restrictions is that providers may throttle or slow down your internet speeds if you’re consuming more data than anticipated—or slap on a pricy overage fee. Either way there’s no winning, unless you opt for a plan with a very high data cap that you won’t exceed, and therefore won’t have to pay for additional data fees or worry about your speeds being slowed down. \|Internet Provider\|\|Connection Type\|\|Max Data Cap\|\|Speeds up to\|\|Lowest Monthly Rate\| \|Cox\|\|Cable\|\|1280 GB\|\|940 Mbps\|\|$29.99\| \|CenturyLink\|\|Fiber\|\|1024 GB\|\|940 Mbps\|\|$49\| The following providers have lifted the restrictions of data caps due to the pandemic: - Verizon: For the remainder of the year, Verizon is offering customers that qualify for their low-income Lifeline discount program plans for $19.99 per month with speeds up to 200 Mbps and unlimited data.3 - CenturyLink: Through August 1, CenturyLink is offering unlimited data to residential and small business customers as well as payment plans for qualifying customers.4 - Comcast: Although they are no longer offering unlimited data, they extended data caps to 1.2 TB.5 There are several pros and cons to consider when deciding whether or not a plan with unlimited data is right for your household. A good starting point is to look at your recent internet bills and see how much data your household used in the previous months. If you keep exceeding those data caps, it may be worth it to opt for an internet plan with no data cap or a very high data cap of 1 TB. It also may be worthwhile to see if you qualify for the deals some internet providers are offering during the pandemic. Frequently Asked Questions About Internet Providers with No Data Caps Do all internet providers have a data cap? Not all internet providers issue data cap restrictions. Some providers (like Spectrum and Verizon Fios) offer internet plans with unlimited data, while others (like AT&T Internet and Cox) offer the option to add on unlimited data for an extra fee. How can I bypass internet service provider data caps? Unfortunately you can’t bypass internet service provider data caps. However, there are ways to save data so you don’t go over and have to pay an overage fee. You can make all your plugins click to play so videos don’t play automatically. You can disable images as well. Why is there a data cap on the internet? There are data caps on the internet because internet service providers only have a certain amount of bandwidth. In order to regulate how much internet their customers use so as to not slow it down for other customers, they require data caps with some of their plans. If you’d prefer not to have data caps, there are plans with unlimited data that you can opt for. Are data caps legal? Data caps are in fact legal, as there are currently no laws governing them. Internet providers have data caps in some of their plans to ensure that there is enough bandwidth to go around for their customers. - https://igr-inc.com/advisory-subscription-services/wireless-mobile-landscape/us_home_broadband_wifi_forecast_2020.asp ↩ - https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/all-4-mobile-carriers-launched-unlimited-plans-this-week-should-you-switch.html ↩ - https://www.verizon.com/about/news/update-verizon-serve-customers-covid-19 ↩ - https://news.centurylink.com/covid-19-faqs#How%20is%20CenturyLink%20supporting%20customers%20that%20are%20impacted%20by%20COVID-19? ↩ - https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19 ↩
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9316787719726562, "language": "en", "url": "https://insight.citydynamics.com/blog/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-accounting-software", "token_count": 1450, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1435546875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:2c17856e-8071-4500-b025-e529ee00f94a>" }	Accounts, tax, VAT and financial statements are all going digital – and company owners and managers need to keep up. After all, accounts and finances are the pillars on which successful businesses are built. The best way to adapt to this ever-changing landscape is with an accounting software upgrade. So, if this is what you need to keep your business moving forward, what actually is it? How does it work? And why should you use it? 1. What is accounting software? Accounting software helps your business automate its financial management. Accounting systems and apps include a number of features that make your accounting tasks more efficient, and your team more productive. They also guarantee greater accuracy for your financial data. Finances are at the core of how you run your business. That’s why accounting apps are essential in any business software solution. And more importantly, a good solution. The right accounting software for your business can better ensure security, consistency, and stability for your business finances. 2. How does accounting software work? Accounting software is essentially bookkeeping and management accounting systems combined. Forget handwritten ledgers, calculating income and expense manually and transaction journals. Everything in an accounting app is completed and stored online. Accounting systems are made up of different functions and features such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, payroll, sales tax, and cost accounting. Everything your accountants or bookkeepers may need is available from one easy-to-use platform. These apps can be as simple or advanced as your business needs. They may also be supplied within a complete business software solution. This is one of the most common – and efficient – ways to run your business’s accounts. No more redundancies, transfer errors, or important financial data gone missing. 3. What is the difference between finance and accounting apps? In simple terms, accounting focuses on the everyday whereas finance looks at long-term concerns. For example, cashflow, income and expenses are accounting issues, whereas the management of liabilities, assets and revenue are financial concerns. But the two concepts are closely linked, and accounting or finance applications often include features of both. In fact, the best accounting software always contains financial elements. 4. Why should a business use accounting software? They’re invaluable support for accounting professionals. Not only do they boost efficiency, they also hugely improve the quality of work produced. From time tracking expenses to digitalising tax procedures, your finance department will become a well-oiled machine. Here are the main benefits of using accounting software: · Better financial control. · Greater visibility of your financial position. · Automated operations. · Simplified access online or mobile. · Higher data accuracy. · Stronger security measures. · Improved GDPR compliance. · Reduced costs. Whether you’re a small business or a large company, there are apps tailored to your needs. From sole traders to enterprise CEOs, a clear overview of your finances means you’ll be making smarter decisions and growing your business quickly. 5. Why do I need a cloud-based accounting system? An online accounting software will save you money. With no need for outsourcing, storage, license fees, or expensive hardware, your operational costs will plummet. And by eliminating hardcopy printing, you’ll be doing your bit for the environment. Eat your heart out, Greta. Hosting your data on a centralised SaaS system with cloud accounting will also strengthen security. Instead of file drawers, your financial statements are protected by countless firewalls. You can also ensure that sensitive files can only be accessed by those who have permission. 6. What are the best features of an accounting application? It goes without saying, but App features are key. Here are the top functions you should look for in any accounting system. Financial Report Management is the most popular feature of any management accounting software. Manual input in spreadsheets and paper ledgers just isn’t efficient or accurate – human error is bound to happen. Not only can accounting apps automatically generate financial statements, but these reports will also provide real time data and are always regulation compliant. As a business owner, you need Billing and Invoice Management. If your eyes are hurting with the tedious job of creating and managing bills; switch to e-invoices. Their components can be changed and generated in a moment’s notice. With such an efficient system, your monthly payments should come rolling in without being chased. Tedious jobs also result in mistakes. Bank Reconciliation will fix this all for you by comparing your accounts and statements and ensuring they match. Don’t waste time and worry on correcting errors – put your feet up and let the software do its magic. Cashflow Forecasting is necessary for any business with a long-term perspective. It helps you better organise your budgets with profit, loss, and expense predictions. It also provides information that potential investors need to see. Despite being so crucial, it can be hard to find. Complete solutions, like Microsoft Dynamics BC, are the most common source. Let’s not forget Asset Depreciation Management. No matter the industry, companies have fixed assets which add value to the business. Their value, however, isn’t fixed. This app feature can evaluate the worth of an asset in seconds, helping you keep track of their inevitable depreciation over time. But ultimately, it’s no use having these tools if they don’t work with the rest of your system. That’s why you should get an app that champions integration. And another thing – looks matter. A well-designed display can make all the difference in understanding your data. 7. How do I choose the best accounting software for my business? Understand your business goals and then evaluate how different systems can help you achieve them. The features above are the most prolific and useful app features every business should have. But there are plenty of other industry-specific functions. For example, invoice and transaction management is extremely helpful for trading companies. And if you’re an international company, foreign exchange features could be a lifesaver. If you’re a large company or small business looking to expand, you may be looking for a long-term system. You may want sustainable features such as automatic updates and advanced forecasting. A start-up on the other hand, probably wants something affordable and easy-to-use. Even with all the right information, making a decision can be daunting. Every software out there will claim it’s the best on the market. Free trials are a great way to test out your options and see for yourself. Alternatively, talking to a provider is a great way to get some more insight. Good accounting software is an integral foundation for your business – so take the time to make sure it’s right. If you want to find out more about accounting and financial software, have a chat with one of our professional services experts.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.945763349533081, "language": "en", "url": "https://pocketsense.com/calculate-risk-tolerance-7632932.html", "token_count": 726, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": -0.046875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:515d6e8c-750b-4c78-9f25-abec86412778>" }	Risk tolerance is the process of matching your investments to your temperament, lifestyle and financial goals. All investors want to earn a higher return, but to do so they must take on more risk. There are different types of risk, but generally your financial adviser will be talking to you about purchasing power risk and investment risk. Purchasing power risk is the risk that your money will lose its value due to inflation. Investment risk is the risk that your investments will decline in value. Obtain a risk-profile questionnaire. Many are available online or from an investment professional, such as a financial adviser. Complete the questionnaire. Usually, you will be asked about your age, how much variability in your investments' performance and value you can tolerate and how long your investment time horizon is. There is no right or wrong answer for any question. Each question is designed to help you learn about yourself and how you want to invest. Using the scoring guide, determine your point score. Using the explanation of your point score, read the questionnaire's description of you as an investor. See whether it fits. If not, look at your answers. Regardless, it is probably worth your while to do a second questionnaire. With your profile and risk tolerance identified, start to research an asset allocation strategy, based on your financial goals. Decide how much to invest in stocks and how much in bonds and other fixed-income investments. Generally speaking, stocks provide a good hedge against inflation risk, but are subject to investment risk. High-quality bonds and other fixed-income investments, such as a bank deposits, protect you from investment risk but are subject to inflation risk. A rule of thumb is that an average investor will be able to tolerate 100 minus his age as the percentage of his portfolio invested in the stock market. If you are 35, then 100 - 35 = 65, meaning 65 percent of your money should be invested in stocks. This is only a rule of thumb, however, so do a risk tolerance questionnaire before deciding on your strategy. - Invesco Aim: Risk Tolerance Analysis - Securities and Exchange Commission: Beginners' Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Assessing Your Risk Tolerance." Accessed July 27, 2020. - Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. "In Times of Financial Stress, What Typically Happens to the Difference between Interest Rates on Corporate Bonds and U.S. Treasury Bonds?" Accessed July 27, 2020. - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "What Is Risk?" Accessed July 27, 2020. - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Treasury Securities." Accessed July 27, 2020. - U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Treasury Securities and Programs." Accessed July 27, 2020. - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Asset Allocation." Accessed July 27, 2020. - Morningstar. "Ratings and Risk." Accessed July 27, 2020. - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Diversify Your Investments." Accessed July 27, 2020. Jim Priebe has been writing and publishing since 1992, when he self-published the newsletter "Spiritually Speaking." His next assignment was with a small-town newspaper in which he authored the column "Environmentally Sound." Later he wrote Web content and maintained a blog for a community radio station. He holds a master's degree in economics from Queen's University and studied radio broadcasting at Humber College.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9777802228927612, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.mantecabulletin.com/business/nationwide/short-history-of-social-security/", "token_count": 890, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.0712890625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:7b91f576-5ab2-4e14-883b-78a723383985>" }	Almost every year since the Social Security Act was passed in 1935, there have been amendments to that original law. Many years, they are simply minor technical adjustments. But some years, they include major changes to the program. Here is a brief summary of how the Social Security program has evolved over the years. --The Social Security Act of 1935 The original law provided benefits only for a retired worker age 65 or older. --The 1939 Social Security Amendments Even before the first monthly benefits were paid in 1940, these amendments added many provisions to the original law. They included benefits for a dependent wife 65 and older and for the minor children of a retiree. They also added the first survivor's benefits: for a widow age 65 or older, for the minor children of a deceased worker, for a widowed mother of any age caring for those children and for dependent parents of a deceased worker. --The 1950 Social Security Amendments Congress must have realized the 1939 amendments were sexist because this year they added benefits for a dependent husband of a retired woman and for a dependent widower age 65 or older. They also provided benefits for a retiree's dependent wife of any age as long as she was caring for his minor child. And for the first time, Congress realized that not all marriages last forever. They included benefits for a divorced widowed mother caring for the minor child of a deceased worker, but only if she was married at least 20 years. --The 1956 Social Security Amendments These amendments added a major new Social Security program: disability benefits. This first law offered monthly benefits only for disabled people over age 50. But in a few years, disability benefits were made available to people of all ages. Provisions were also added to pay monthly benefits to disabled adult children of retired, disabled and deceased workers. And for the first time, Congress recognized that not all senior citizens wanted to wait until age 65 to claim benefits. Initially, they offered earlier benefits only to women. They provided reduced retirement benefits for women between ages 62 and 64 and reduced spousal benefits for dependent wives and widows between ages 62 and 64. --The 1961 Social Security Amendments Finally, Congress authorized reduced retirement benefits to men. These changes also provided for reduced benefits for dependent widowers between ages 62 and 64. --The 1965 Social Security Amendments For the first time, benefits were offered to divorced wives if they were at least 62 years old and if they had been married for at least 20 years. (The 1950 amendments had provided benefits only for divorced widows.) The 1965 amendments also added the Medicare program. But Medicare is NOT a Social Security program and an entirely separate funding mechanism was established for these health care benefits, so I am not including Medicare changes in the rest of this column.) --The 1972 Social Security Amendments The concept of a "delayed retirement bonus" was added for the first time to offer an incentive to workers who wait to file for retirement benefits until beyond age 65. Over the years, this bonus has been liberalized. --The 1977 Social Security Amendments Congress closed a big loophole in Social Security law. A Social Security retirement pension had always offset any spousal benefits a retiree might be due on a husband's or wife's Social Security record. But folks getting non-Social Security retirement pensions (like many teachers and government employees) were still able to get such spousal benefits. Congress changed the law to treat teacher and government pensions in the same way as Social Security retirement pensions. Also this year, the length of marriage requirement for divorced spouses was lowered to 10 years. --1983 Social Security Amendments The retirement age was bumped up — in gradual steps. It is currently planned to reach age 67 by 2027. In a rare move to actually cut a Social Security benefit, payments to children over age 18 were eliminated. Also, for the first time, Social Security benefits became taxable. --1996 Social Security Amendments The earnings penalty provisions were eliminated for anyone over Full Retirement Age and were liberalized for people between age 62 and the FRA. Provisions in these amendments also led to the "file and suspend" and "restricted application" rules (discussed many times in this column) that allow folks over age 66 to maximize their Social Security benefits. As I said at the beginning, these are just SOME of the highlights of Social Security changes over the years.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9397768378257751, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19575", "token_count": 534, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.384765625, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:81728480-669e-4ded-a0ae-887a46947ff8>" }	The United States is in the midst of an energy revolution. Oil production has risen by 5 million barrels per day (bpd) since 2010, an increase of nearly 100 percent. New technology, particularly techniques in shale oil drilling, has opened up vast new opportunities for oil and gas companies. The proof is in the numbers. In 2017, the United States averaged 9.3 million bpd. This year, the EIA predicts that U.S. oil and gas production will reach record levels, averaging 10.3 million barrels bpd to surpass the record reached in 1970 (9.6 million bpd). In 2019, the EIA expects U.S. production to average 10.8 million bpd, which will allow the U.S. to rival Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's largest oil producer. If there's one big reason for the U.S. energy revolution, it's that new technology has allowed American companies to beat the competition. Thanks to such innovation, a barrel of oil produced in the U.S. can cost as little as $20 to produce. Not even OPEC could stop the host of American shale drillers, who persevered through a global production glut and historically low prices from 2015 to 2017, and who have now emerged victorious. But the shale revolution is starting to reach its limits. With shale production likely to peak shortly after 2020, investors are looking for new, innovative technologies that will break new barriers to output. Companies like Petroteq Energy Inc. are pioneering new approaches to energy extraction. While OPEC producers stick to the tried-and-true methods, American companies are exploring new horizons, watching production costs fall and profits shoot through the stratosphere. A key area where advancements will be made is in oil sands, a sector most companies had left for dead. Thanks to Petroteq and other innovative firms, the technology to unlock clean, cheap oil sands could soon fuel the next chapter of the U.S. energy revolution. Oil Sands: the Alternative Unconventional Oil sands are deposits of bitumen, a thick and viscous substance that can be refined into petroleum products. The potential trapped within oil sands deposits is staggering: the Canadian tar sands deposits in Alberta is estimated to contain 165.4 billion barrels. In the United States, large deposits of oil sands bitumen remained untapped. In Utah, for instance, there are bitumen deposits totaling 30 billion barrels. Discuss in our Forums See what other readers are saying about this article! Click here to read & post comments. 13 posts so far.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9554086327552795, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/youth-optimistic-about-asean-40", "token_count": 1087, "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:f6554e67-ba57-411d-899e-7f4cb40c3f6b>" }	The Fourth Industrial Revolution will have a profound impact on the future of work and jobs. New technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, advanced robotics, autonomous cars and drones, and precision medicine are already transforming entire industries and the workers employed within them. Nobody can say for sure whether technology will reduce or increase the number of jobs. But what is certain is that the nature of work will change. In Asean, forecasts from the United Nations shows that the working age population across the region is expanding by 11,000 workers every day, and will continue at this pace for the next 15 years. This demographic expansion is happening just as new technologies bring disruption to the workplace. However, the youth of Asean are highly optimistic about the impact of technology on their job prospects and incomes, according to a survey from the World Economic Forum. Some 52 per cent of under-35s across Southeast Asia said they believe that technology will increase the number of jobs available, while 67 per cent said they believe that technology will increase their ability to earn higher incomes. The survey, which was run in partnership with Sea, one of Southeast Asia’s leading internet companies, gathered results from 64,000 Asean citizens through users of Garena and Shopee, Sea’s online games and e-commerce platforms, respectively. The majority of respondents were from six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines. The degree of optimism about the impact of technology on the future of work varied strongly by country. The youth of Singapore and Thailand were much more pessimistic in their responses, while the youth of Indonesia and the Philippines were much more optimistic. In Singapore, only 31 per cent said they believe that technology would increase the number of jobs, compared to 60 per cent in the Philippines. The results also vary by level of education. Among those who stated they have no schooling, some 56 per cent said they believe that technology would increase jobs. Among those with a university degree or higher, only 47 per cent felt the same way. “Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and self-driving vehicles will bring significant disruption to the job market,” said Justin Wood, the head of Asia Pacific and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum. “No one knows yet what impact these technologies will have on jobs and salaries. Globally there is concern that technological change may bring rising inequality and joblessness. But in Asean, the sentiment seems to be much more positive.” Jobs in multinationals and government considered most desirable The survey also asked young people to reveal what type of company they work for today and where they would like to work in the future. Today, 58 per cent of the respondents work for small businesses – either for themselves, for their family business, or for a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). A significant portion of youths (one in four) aspire to work for themselves and start their own business. However, many working for SMEs said that they would like to work for a different organization. Today, 17 per cent work in an SME, but only seven per cent said that they would like to work in an SME in the future. In contrast, the results show a strong preference to work for foreign multinational companies (10 per cent work for one today, but 17 per cent want to work for one in future) and for governments (13 per cent today compared to 16 per cent in future). These results suggest a preference for income stability, given the more unpredictable nature of employment in small organizations versus large ones. But there are nonetheless some countries that show a rising appetite for entrepreneurialism and the associated risk-taking it involves. In Thailand, for example, 26 per cent of young people work for themselves today, but 36 per cent said they would like to in future. In Vietnam, 19 per cent work for themselves today, compared to 25 per cent that say they want to be self-employed in future. Group chief economist at Sea Santitarn Sathirathai said: “It is encouraging to see such strong entrepreneurial drive among Asean’s young population, with one-quarter of respondents wanting to start their own business. However, the findings also suggest that SMEs may struggle for talent in the future, with a smaller share of the region’s youth willing to work for SMEs. Looking ahead, it will be important to continue to enhance SME adoption of digital technologies to ensure young entrepreneurs and small businesses have the resources they need to succeed.” The survey also reveals that, across Asean, the youth spend an average of six hours and four minutes online every day, with 61 per cent of that time spent on leisure, and 39 per cent spent on work activities. Among the countries surveyed, the youth of Thailand spend the most time online – an average of seven hours and six minutes. The youth of Vietnam spend the least time online – an average of five hours and 10 minutes. The World Economic Forum on Asean 2018, with a focus on the innovation needed to propel the region through the next phase of its growth, is taking place in Vietnamese capital Hanoi from September 11-13.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9747788310050964, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.poverty-action.org/study/northern-uganda-social-action-fund-%E2%80%93-youth-opportunities-program", "token_count": 1138, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.1357421875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:cec5b2d7-e8e2-4fe5-bfa5-c20f3c87566a>" }	Young people in developing countries often find themselves with too few hours of work, and what little work they can find is poorly paid and unpredictable. How to provide them with more work, steady employment, and higher earnings? One possibility is helping young people start and run their own small enterprises. Young productive adults often have ideas for business, but no capital to start it, and nowhere to borrow those sums. Cash grant programs for business development have become popular ways for governments and non-profits to help young people help themselves. What will young people do with cash? Will they invest it in training and assets to learn a trade or form a business? Or will the funds be misspent? Previous research also raises questions about women’s ability to freely make decisions with cash, given powerful men in their lives, family demands and expectations, or social restrictions on women working in business.1 And assuming cash gets invested, how large will the gains be, and how long will they last? Young people with business ideas can jumpstart a business with a grant. But without the cash, shouldn’t we expect these people to slowly skimp and save until they have the funds they need to start the enterprise? If so, then the effects of grants on poverty will be short term. But if people find it hard to save or accumulate capital they may never start those businesses. This is a question of convergence: does happen quickly, slowly, or not at all? With poor young people in a rural economy, anything is possible. Uganda’s largest employment program sought to test whether an intervention as simple as giving cash to groups of youth who applied to the government could help accomplish the country’s long-term economic and social goals for its youth, or if it would simply propel them onto a path they were already on. Researchers partnered with the Government of Uganda to conduct a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of the YOP on young adults’ employment, income, and general well being. YOP invited young adults, aged 16 to 35, to organize into groups and submit a proposal for a cash transfer to pay for: fees at a local technical or vocational training institute of their choosing; and tools and materials for practicing a craft. The average applicant group had 22 members. Group cash transfers averaged nearly UGX 12.8 million (US$7,108), and varied by both group size and group request. The average transfer size per member was UGX 673,026 (US$374)–more than 20 times the average monthly income of the youth at the time of the baseline survey. Once the transfer was awarded, the government did not monitor the use of the money. Due to vast oversubscription, among 535 eligible groups that applied, 265 were randomly selected by lottery to receive the cash transfer. The other groups did not receive a transfer and formed the comparison group. To measure impacts on employment, income, and community cohesion, researchers surveyed participants two, four, and nine years after the program. Despite the long time period between the cash grant and the nine-year survey, the survey lost fewer than 16% of the sample in the last round of data collection. Overall, the program had strong economic effects for at least the first four years, but these effects largely dissipated after nine years, as those who did not receive the grants were able to earn, save, and invest enough to catch up to grant recipients. This is good news for Ugandans, since it suggests that the poor have opportunities to earn and save. But it suggests the impacts of cash grants on poverty will be temporary in this place and this group. Four years after the grants were delivered, the program seemed to have strong economic effects. Beneficiaries of the YOP program had 41% higher income and were 65% more likely to practice a skilled trade, such as carpentry, metalworking, tailoring, or hairstyling. They also worked 17% more hours, nearly entirely accounted for by these new professions; while most still farmed part-time, hours worked in agriculture were not different. The treatment group was also 40% more likely to keep records, register a business, and pay taxes. Nine years after the grants were delivered, the comparison group caught up to the treatment group in terms of income and employment, for both men and women. Grant recipients were able to increase their work hours immediately after receiving the grant. The comparison group grew their hours more slowly, as they started their small enterprises. Nine years after the transfer their work hours were roughly the same. The increased work hours were driven by non-agricultural work and petty business, rather than work in skilled trades. Earnings follow a similar pattern. After nine years, the program’s main lasting impacts were a slight increase in household assets and a sustained increase in the likelihood of engaging in skilled trade. The program had little effect on mortality, fertility, health, or education. Over the nine years, researchers estimate that the YOP provided a temporary earnings gain of approximately $665 per individual recipient, about 1.8 times the size of the grant, suggesting the program was cost-effective (though this excludes administrative costs, which are unknown and potentially high). There were also some long-term impacts on the skill level of work, which suggests the program group may have higher quality jobs, something the evaluation cannot quantify. Overall, these results suggest this cash transfer program acted more like a "kick start" for underemployed young people than a transformative solution to poverty.
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9586411714553833, "language": "en", "url": "https://www.rapidshift.net/in-30-years-from-now-on-the-current-path-almost-half-a-million-existing-homes-will-be-on-land-that-floods-at-least-once-a-year/", "token_count": 2485, "fin_int_score": 4, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.2216796875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:32b81f85-6560-448d-9af0-9877be8e6bc0>" }	The New York Times \| Christopher Flavelle Up and down the coastline, rising seas and climate change are transforming a fixture of American homeownership that dates back generations: the classic 30-year mortgage. Home buyers are increasingly using mortgages that make it easier for them to stop making their monthly payments and walk away from the loan if the home floods or becomes unsellable or unlivable. More banks are getting buyers in coastal areas to make bigger down payments — often as much as 40 percent of the purchase price, up from the traditional 20 percent — a sign that lenders have awakened to climate dangers and want to put less of their own money at risk. And in one of the clearest signs that banks are worried about global warming, they are increasingly getting these mortgages off their own books by selling them to government-backed buyers like Fannie Mae, where taxpayers would be on the hook financially if any of the loans fail. […] If climate change makes coastal homes uninsurable, Dr. Becketti wrote, their value could fall to nothing, and unlike the 2008 financial crisis, “homeowners will have no expectation that the values of their homes will ever recover.” In 30 years from now, if global-warming emissions follow their current trajectory, almost half a million existing homes will be on land that floods at least once a year, according to data from Climate Central, a research organization. Those homes are valued at $241 billion. Rising Seas Threaten an American Institution: The 30-Year Mortgage Climate change is starting to transform the classic home loan, a fixture of the American experience and financial system that dates back generations. By Christopher Flavelle, NYTimes, June 19, 2020 WASHINGTON — Up and down the coastline, rising seas and climate change are transforming a fixture of American homeownership that dates back generations: the classic 30-year mortgage. Home buyers are increasingly using mortgages that make it easier for them to stop making their monthly payments and walk away from the loan if the home floods or becomes unsellable or unlivable. More banks are getting buyers in coastal areas to make bigger down payments — often as much as 40 percent of the purchase price, up from the traditional 20 percent — a sign that lenders have awakened to climate dangers and want to put less of their own money at risk. And in one of the clearest signs that banks are worried about global warming, they are increasingly getting these mortgages off their own books by selling them to government-backed buyers like Fannie Mae, where taxpayers would be on the hook financially if any of the loans fail. “Conventional mortgages have survived many financial crises, but they may not survive the climate crisis,” said Jesse Keenan, an associate professor at Tulane University. “This trend also reflects a systematic financial risk for banks and the U.S. taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill.” The trends foreshadow a broader reckoning. The question that matters, according to researchers, isn’t whether the effects of climate change will start to ripple through the housing market. Rather, it’s how fast those effects will occur and what they will look like. The change has already begun. It’s not only along the nation’s rivers and coasts where climate-induced risk has started to push down home prices. In parts of the West, the growing danger of wildfires is already making it harder for homeowners to get insurance. But the threat that climate change poses to the 30-year mortgage is different, striking at an American social institution that dates from the Great Depression. Before that, many home loans required owners to pay lenders back just a few years after buying a house, which led to waves of defaults and homelessness, according to Andrew Caplin, a professor of economics at New York University. In response, the federal government created the Federal Housing Administration, which in turn standardized the way Americans finance their homes. There was nothing magical about a period of 30 years, Dr. Caplin said; it simply proved useful, making payments predictable and affordable by stretching them out over decades. “It was designed from a viewpoint of a consumer, who wouldn’t find it too hard to understand exactly what they had committed to,” Dr. Caplin said. But now, as the world warms, that long-term nature of conventional mortgages might not be as desirable as it once was, as rising seas and worsening storms threaten to make some land uninhabitable. A retreat from the 30-year mortgage could also put homeownership out of reach for more Americans. Changes to the housing market are just one of myriad ways global warming is disrupting American life, including spreading disease and threatening the food supply. It could also be one of the most economically significant. During the 2008 financial crisis, a decline in home values helped cripple the financial system and pushed almost nine million Americans out of work. But increased flooding nationwide could have more far-reaching consequences on financial housing markets. In 2016, Freddie Mac’s chief economist at the time, Sean Becketti, warned that losses from flooding both inland and along the coasts are “likely to be greater in total than those experienced in the housing crisis and the Great Recession.” If climate change makes coastal homes uninsurable, Dr. Becketti wrote, their value could fall to nothing, and unlike the 2008 financial crisis, “homeowners will have no expectation that the values of their homes will ever recover.” In 30 years from now, if global-warming emissions follow their current trajectory, almost half a million existing homes will be on land that floods at least once a year, according to data from Climate Central, a research organization. Those homes are valued at $241 billion. Currently, new research shows banks rapidly shifting mortgages with flood risk off their books and over to organizations like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored entities whose debts are backed by taxpayers. In a paper this month in the journal Climactic Change, Dr. Keenan and Jacob T. Bradt, a doctoral student at Harvard University, described the activity, which suggests growing awareness among banks that climate change could cause defaults. Tellingly, the lenders selling off coastal mortgages the fastest are smaller local banks, which are more likely than large national banks to know which neighborhoods face the greatest climate risk. “They have their ears to the ground,” Dr. Keenan said. In 2009, local banks sold off 43 percent of their mortgages in vulnerable zones, Dr. Keenan and Mr. Bradt found, about the same share as other areas. But by 2017, the share had jumped by one-third, to 57 percent, despite staying flat in less vulnerable neighborhoods. If coastal mortgages defaulted on those loans, it could cause losses for Fannie and Freddie. That pain could spread to taxpayers: In 2008, the two firms required $187 billion in public aid to stay solvent. They later repaid the money. In a separate working paper with Marco Tedesco and Carolynne Hultquist of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Dr. Keenan found banks protecting themselves in other ways, such as lending less money to home buyers in vulnerable areas, relative to the value of the homes. Typically, a bank will lend about 80 percent of the cost of a house, with the buyer putting down the other 20 percent. But examining several counties particularly exposed to rising seas, the researchers found that a growing share of mortgages had required down payments between 21 percent and 40 percent — what Dr. Keenan called nonconventional loans. In coastal Carteret County, N.C., the share of nonconventional mortgages increased by 14 percent between 2006 and 2017 in the areas most exposed to sea-level rise. That change can’t be explained by the general trend there: In the rest of Carteret County, nonconventional loans became less common during the same period. Similarly in St. Johns County, Fla., south of Jacksonville, between 2006 and 2017, the share of nonconventional loans in the most vulnerable areas increased by 6 percent, while falling 22 percent in the rest of the county. “You’re seeing a statistically significant trend,” Dr. Keenan said.Climate Risk in the Housing Market Has Echoes of Subprime Crisis, Study FindsSept. 27, 2019Homes Are Being Built the Fastest in Many Flood-Prone Areas, Study FindsJuly 31, 2019Florida Keys Deliver a Hard Message: As Seas Rise, Some Places Can’t Be SavedDec. 4, 2019 The Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group, declined to comment directly on the findings. Pete Mills, the association’s senior vice president of residential policy, cited the requirement for homeowners to buy insurance. “Lenders make sure all properties are properly insured,” Mr. Mills said in a statement. “For loans in Special Flood Hazard Areas, flood insurance is required,” he added, referring to areas the Federal Emergency Management Agency has determined have a high flood risk. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said, “Any loan located in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas must have flood insurance in order for the loan to be purchased by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.” But flood insurance isn’t likely to address the problem, Dr. Keenan said, because it doesn’t protect against the risk of a house losing value and ultimately becoming unsellable. Lenders aren’t the only ones who seem to be inching away from traditional 30-year mortgages in risky areas. More homeowners are also taking out a type of mortgage that is less financially painful for a borrower to walk away from if a home becomes uninhabitable because of rising seas. These are known as interest-only mortgages — the monthly payment covers only the interest on the loan, and doesn’t reduce the principal owed. Under normal circumstances, this kind of loan sounds like a bad deal: It’s a loan you can never pay off with the regular monthly payments. However, it also means buyers aren’t sinking any more of their own money into the property beyond a down payment. That’s an advantage if you think the property may become unlivable. “A household that expects the house will be flooded within a decade, say, is unlikely to value the accumulation of equity in this house,” said Amine Ouazad, an associate professor of real estate economics at HEC Montreal who has researched the practice. “The ability to walk away from a mortgage in case of major floods or sea-level rise is a feature.” In new research this month, Dr. Ouazad found that, since the housing crash, the share of homes with fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages has declined sharply — to less than 80 percent, as of 2016 — in areas most exposed to storm surges. In the rest of the country, the rate has stayed constant, at about 90 percent of home loans. Part of the difference was the interest-only loans, Dr. Ouazad found. More than 10 percent of homeowners in those areas had interest-only loans in 2016, compared with just 2.3 percent in other ZIP Codes. The work hasn’t been peer-reviewed, and more research is needed, Dr. Ouazad said. But he said there’s reason to think climate risks are part of the explanation. The tougher question, according Carolyn Kousky, executive director of the Wharton Risk Center at the University of Pennsylvania, is what happens after that, when people quite simply no longer want to live in homes that keep flooding. “What happens when the water starts lapping at these properties, and they get abandoned?” she said. Christopher Flavelle focuses on how people, governments and industries try to cope with the effects of global warming. He received a 2018 National Press Foundation award for coverage of the federal government’s struggles to deal with flooding. @cflav
{ "dump": "CC-MAIN-2021-17", "language_score": 0.9360403418540955, "language": "en", "url": "http://wordpress.mrreid.org/tag/coins/", "token_count": 1465, "fin_int_score": 3, "fin_score_model": "en_fin_v0.1", "risk_score": 0.000835418701171875, "risk_score_model": "en_risk_v0.1", "id": "<urn:uuid:12b1272b-a306-45e3-b87c-09e071f16da3>" }	(Please note: I didn’t say this was necessarily a better system, just that it is more logical. I still can’t believe I spent this much time on this total non-issue.) There are many, many currency redesigns on the internet. But everybody always concentrates on redesigning the paper currency; very rarely does someone look at redesigning the coins. I’m far from a graphic designer, but what I can do is look at the size and shape of the coins. Here is what current UK coinage looks like:* \|Coin\|\|Diameter /mm\|\|Thickness /mm\|\|Mass /g\|\|Material\| Clearly this makes no sense at all. The 1p and 2p coins are both bigger than the 5p, and the 10p is bigger than the 20p. The 2p coin is heavier than the 1p, 5p, 10p and 20p coins. There are four different materials used, and even though both the 20p and 50p coins are made out of cupro-nickel, the copper-to-nickel ratio is different, which must make manufacturing them more difficult. Step 1: Get rid of the 1p and 2p There are a number of reasons for doing this. The 1p and 2p coins are now essentially useless for actually buying anything (which is why many countries have got rid of their 1p/2p equivalents), and the UK 2p coin is particularly big and heavy. Also, it will help when we want to scale the sizes of coins logically. Step 2: Make coins from the same material Since we have a fiat money system, we don’t need coins to be made out of different materials, and visual appearance isn’t important, as people will be able differentiate between our new coins using other factors. We should just use the cheapest material, which is nickel-plated steel. Step 3: Make the sizes more logical As demonstrated above, the sizes of UK coins currently makes no sense. We want the size of our coins to be proportional to their value, so that the £2 is larger than the £1, and the £1 is larger than the 50p and so on. (This has the useful side effect of making less “powerful” or less “useful” coins smaller and lighter, so that they take up less space in your wallet.) However, given that we don’t want our new coins to be significantly smaller or larger, or lighter or heavier than our existing coins, we cannot vary size linearly with value. If we did this then the £2 coin would be forty times bigger than the 5p coin, and one of them would have to be either unmanageably small or unmanageably big. We will therefore have to use a logarithmic system to calculate the new sizes (this makes sense because people’s cognition of numbers is naturally logarithmic). Thus a £2 coin will be bigger than a £1 coin, but not twice the size; and a 50p coin will be bigger than a 10p coin, but not five times bigger. We don’t want any coin to be smaller than the 5p (the coin with the lowest diameter) or the 1p (the coin with the lowest thickness), or to be larger than the £2 (the coin with the highest diameter) or the £1 (the coin with the highest thickness). Thus we will take the measurements of these coins to be our limits: our new coins must have diameters between 18.0 and 28.4 mm, and thicknesses between 1.65 and 3.15 mm. After some relatively simple calculations, we end up with the following: \|Coin\|\|Diameter /mm\|\|Thickness /mm\|\|Mass /g\| Old £1 coin shown above for scale. Most of the coins are similar in size (the 5p and £2 have exactly the same diameters), but there are a couple of notable differences. The change in properties are easier to understand via graphs. As you can see, the proposed diameter and thickness increase sensibly, whereas the existing diameters and thicknesses do not. The same is also true for the proposed masses. As you can see, the proposed masses are higher than the existing masses for all but the 5p and 10p coins. However, considering the removal of the 1p and 2p coins and after running some extensive Monte Carlo testing, I can confidently say that your average pocket full of change will now weigh less. (It would not be difficult to use a less dense material than nickel-plated steel if weight proved to be a problem. We could also reduce the thicknesses of the coins, making the 2.5 mm thickness of the £2 coin our maximum.) The logic of using a logarithmic system is further demonstrated when considering adding the £5 coin (which is really only a collectors’ item) into our system. The existing £5 coin is enormous: 39 mm in diameter and 28 grams in mass; in our new system it is a svelte 31 mm and only 19.8 grams. We could therefore replace some of our paper money, which requires frequent costly replacement, with longer-lasting coins. Existing £1 and £2 coins shown for scale. Use by the blind Unlike the current system, our new proposed system uses only circular coins: we do not use shapes of equal width as with the current 20p and 50p coins. This could make them more difficult for blind users to deal with. Our new coins have a greater variation in mass than the existing coins, and this should make differentiating between them by feel easier. Also, the diameter:thickness ratio changes more noticeably (and of course, more consistently) than existing coins: coins become “fatter” relative to their diameter as their value increases. The problem of blind users is easily fixed by using different edges on our coins, as is currently done with Euro coins: the 2¢ coin has a groove around its edge, the 10¢ coin has fine “scallops” on its edge, the 20¢ coin uses a “Spanish Flower” design, the €1 coin uses interrupted milling and the €2 uses a fine-milled edge with lettering. There are more than enough different options for blind users to easily differentiate between coins. My choice would be for every second coin (i.e. 10p, 50p and £2) to use a scalloped edge, as the remaining coins would then different enough either by size or by feel (the scallops are easier to feel than fine milling) to differentiate between. Obviously, extensive testing with blind users would be necessary to iron-out any problems. None. This is clearly a brilliant idea. * The difference in the number of significant figures should correspond to different tolerances, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a mistake by the Royal Mint.

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