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Encompassing 50 states and six time zones, the country is so vast that its regions can be understood as different economies. Salaries, prices, and the cost of living all vary from one area to another. In general, the cost of living is lower in states in the South and Midwest, and higher on both of the East and West coasts. Urban areas are more expensive than rural ones.
Nevertheless, life can be slightly more affordable than it is in many other countries. A ranking by CEOWORLD magazine, comparing the cost of living, rent, groceries, restaurants, and purchasing power of 118 countries, ranked the United States the 20th-most expensive in the world. Switzerland, Denmark, France, Japan, Ireland, the Netherlands, Israel, and Australia were all ranked more expensive, while the UK, Germany, Canada, and Italy were considered slightly less expensive. However, some cities remain among the most expensive in the world. Mercer’s annual Cost of Living Survey determines the most expensive cities for foreign professionals worldwide by comparing the costs of more than 200 items such as housing, food, transportation, and entertainment. It ranks New York City sixth out of 209 global cities, up three places from last year. San Francisco and Los Angeles came in at 16th and 17th, respectively.
The increased cost of living in top cities has been the result of the positive trends that the national economy registered last year, as well as of the strengthening of the dollar (USD) in comparison to foreign currencies. However, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and unprecedented disruptions, there is still uncertainty regarding how much life costs will change as both the national and global economies continue to fluctuate. For the short term, over 60% of residents have confirmed that the overall cost of food, goods and services have increased since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to the latest survey by Ipsos. In particular, food, groceries, household supplies and utilities are the items that have already seen the highest price increase in the latest months for the majority of residents.
The World Population Review offers updated information on how the average cost of living has been changing in the country’s states, using data from the periodic surveys of the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER). While cost of living can vary by personal choices and differences in living standards, these rankings are the result of comparing the average costs of some of the most important common elements in different states – such as groceries, housing, transportation and utilities. They indicate the states in which the cost of living is cheaper and those in which it is generally more expensive.
The ten states with the lowest cost of living:
- New Mexico
- Wyoming/Alabama (tied)
The ten states with the highest cost of living:
- Washington, DC
- New York
- New Jersey
Despite these rankings, it is important to keep in mind that living costs for foreign nationals are affected by a complex financial ratio of inflation, availability of reasonable housing and goods, and currency exchange rates, all of which can have a significant impact on compensation.
Xpatulator, an online cost of living data portal, reports that prices are generally high in comparison to other countries. Rent, education, and health care costs are usually very expensive for foreign nationals throughout the country, and average alcohol, tobacco, restaurant, and hotel prices are also high. On the other hand, clothing, electronics, and furniture prices are average when compared to those of other Western countries.
- In general, the cost of living is almost 10% higher in the US than in the UK, according to Numbeo’s data.
- Consumer prices in the country are generally around 4.5% cheaper than in Australia.
- Restaurant prices are, on average, around 30% higher than in Spain.
- Grocery costs throughout the nation are, broadly, 41% more expensive than in the United Arab Emirates.
- The average cost of monthly utility bills (electricity, heating, cooling, water, and garbage collection) in the US is almost 3% cheaper than in France.
Due to the COVID-19 health crisis and continued economic uncertainties, both consumer prices and national inflation levels have registered unprecedented fluctuations in recent months. While airfare, gas, clothing, hotel, and insurance prices have dropped significantly, the cost of groceries has spiked. This flux is expected to continue to make the national inflation rate increase in the coming terms. Experts project that it will be at 1.9% at the end of this year and at 2% in the following one.
The Seven Least-Expensive Cities in America (metropolitan areas with over 300,000 residents)
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- St. Louis, Missouri
- San Antonio, Texas
- Tampa, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida
Source: Council for Community and Economic Research and US Census Bureau
Wages in high-cost cities are often higher than those in less urban areas, though sometimes not high enough to compensate for more expensive living conditions. If you are offered a job in a particular location in the country, consider asking the human resources department of the hiring company for an estimate of the total cost of living in that community. But remember, even within cities, actual living costs depend heavily on housing type and location, as well as the transportation options available to and from work.
The US offers a full range of housing options, from studio apartments to mansions. Accommodations can be expensive – especially in major metropolitan areas. In general, house prices in the country have climbed by 7.7% over the past year, according to the latest data by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This trend has been particularly evident in cities, as homes have become more expensive in 96% of the metro areas. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market is registering a slowdown, which is expected to continue as the economic recession evolves.
- Typically, housing prices are higher on the coasts and less expensive in the center of the country.
- To save money, look for housing outside major city centers.
As the COVID-19 public health emergency has imposed changes and restrictions to usual life, such as social distancing rules and shelter in place directives, in some counties and states interested buyers and sellers might find it difficult to visit homes and plan transactions. Some realtors have adapted by organizing virtual open house visits, offering 3D and pre-recorded walkthroughs. Other businesses that are normally part of the home transaction process, such as home appraisers, inspectors, titles service providers, and movers have been experiencing periods of closure or have been adapting their services to the coronavirus pandemic.
The country is the land of the personal automobile. People moving from other countries are often surprised at the lack of public transportation. Nearly half of the population has no access to public transportation. Only about 5% of the population commutes regularly on public transport. Public transportation options vary greatly by region, but, in general, they are greatest in urban areas. The seven largest transit systems are in the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC, metro areas.
Transportation costs are often the second-highest expenditure after housing – especially if one owns a car. The average household spends between 13% and 17% of its income on transportation. Vehicles are the predominant mode of travel to work and to get around. The average one-way commute time for all modes of transportation in the nation is 27 minutes, but commuting to work can take a lot longer in some areas. While the COVID-19 public health crisis and movement restrictions have increased the number of professionals teleworking in these latest months, the majority of people confirm that “the pandemic has increased their reliance on or their need for a personal vehicle,” according to a recent survey by Cars.com. Experts foresee that private car use might increase even more in the country, as, unlike public transportation options, they “minimize close contact with others”.
The American love affair with cars persists, in spite of the costs. In fact, over 93% of households have access to at least one vehicle and the number continues to grow. Many households have two or three automobiles and more than three-quarters of workers commute to work.
While the COVID-19 public health crisis and movement restrictions have increased the number of professionals teleworking in these latest months, the majority of people confirm that “the pandemic has increased their reliance on or their need for a personal vehicle,” according to a recent survey by Cars.com. Private car use is expected to increase, as, unlike public transportation options, they “minimize close contact with others”.
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What are Capital Expenditures?
A capital expenditure is a term the IRS uses to classify certain business purchases. Capex refer to the purchase of fixed assets. Unlike other business purchases, a capital expenditure is a bit of a longer term investment.
Here are some typical examples:
- Office renovations
- Equipment (computers, printers, etc.)
The rule of thumb is that any asset your company purchases that will last for more than one year is considered a capital expenditure.
Is Capex Tax Deductible?
Unlike ordinary business expenses, the IRS doesn’t allow capital expenditures to be immediately deducted from your business profit. Instead, they are gradually deducted from your business profit over the course of several years. This process is called amortization, or the depreciation of an asset’s value of a fixed period of time.
For example, let’s say your business purchases a $3,600 computer, and that the amortization rate for computers is three years or 36 months. This means that each month your company would "lose" $100 due to the depreciating value of the computer. In the course of one full tax year, you could deduct $1,200 for the computer’s amortization.
What’s the Difference Between Business Expenses and Capex?
Ordinary business expenses are basic business purchases that do not have long-term value. In other words, they aren’t fixed assets that have a lifespan of longer than one year.
Business expenses are immediately tax-deductible. There is no need to wait for an amortization period before they can be deducted from your annual gross earnings.
Here are common types of business expenses:
- Basic office supplies
- Rent or mortgage payments for your office
- Office utilities
- Business-related travel
- Payments to employees
- Materials for a construction job (paint, lumber, etc.)
Avoid Common Mistakes
A lot of business owners make mistakes when figuring their business expenses versus their capital expenditures. Two common areas that cause confusion are vehicles and renovations on leased property.
Many business owners use their personal vehicles for business purposes, thinking they can deduct the costs of insurance, repairs, and gas as business expenses. However, this is not the case. The best practice is to always keep a mileage record. This record should show exactly how many miles you drive the vehicle for business purposes each day.
The IRS offers a standard mileage deduction rate of 53.5 cents for all business-related driving.
For example, if you drove 5,000 miles for your business in one year, then you would deduct $2,675 for vehicle costs for that year.
Renovations on Leased Property
Another common mistake business owners make is thinking that they can deduct office renovations as business expenses. Actually, the IRS considers renovations a long-term, fixed asset, even if they are done on leased property.
As long as the business leases the property, the cost of improvements counts as capital expenditures. Therefore, renovation expenses should be amortized.
The Value of a CPA
Calculating the right amount of yearly amortized deductions for all your different capital expenditures is a time-consuming and complicated process.
We highly recommend forming a professional relationship with a local accountant. An experienced CPA can help make sure your business doesn’t accumulate troublesome IRS debt in the form of unpaid taxes.
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Unless you’re a bookkeeper or accountant by trade, you probably don’t spend your days thinking about the two (but hey, no shame if you do). Similarly, you probably don’t know that there’s a difference between the two.
Overview of Bookkeeping
Not sure what bookkeeping is all about? Put simply, bookkeeping is defined as the process of recording day-to-day financial transactions in a consistent manner. A day in the life of a bookkeeper will look different depending on the size of the company they work for as well as what types of accounts they manage. But all bookkeepers work to make sure the financial data is accurately entered and processed.
On any given day, a bookkeeper can be found:
Preparing income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and statements of total recognized gains and losses
Paying contractor and supplier invoices
Recording incoming cash
Maintaining the annual budget
Reporting issues as they arise
Assisting accountants come tax season
All in all, bookkeeping is an important task for every business. Having a good bookkeeper touts many benefits like giving you peace of mind knowing your books are in top shape and helping you make better financial decisions for your business.
Overview of Accounting
One of the biggest differences between accounting vs. bookkeeping is that accounting comes with a broader set of responsibilities and refers to the process of financial reporting. A primary goal of accounting is to provide key financial information to business owners, managers, and investors so they can make informed, strategic business decisions. To do this, accountants thoroughly analyze and interpret financial information to create advanced reports on how the business is performing.
Think of accountants like doctors—they look at symptoms (or financial information) and prescribe something so businesses can improve their financial health.
On any given day, an accountant can be found:
Preparing and analyzing financial statements
Analyzing operations costs
Recording expenses that haven’t been recorded by the bookkeepers
Completing income tax returns
Supervising bookkeepers’ work to ensure that they accurately record and categorize transactions
Helping business owners understand the financial health of their business
Helping business owners make informed strategic business decisions
Setting controls for detecting and preventing fraud or embezzlement of funds
What Skills Are Required for Bookkeepers and Accountants?
A key difference between accounting and bookkeeping lies in the skill requirement for both. Sure, bookkeepers and accountants both need to be number-loving and data-driven, but there’s more to it than that.
For bookkeepers, formal training isn’t required, but bookkeeping requires more than simply inputting numbers into spreadsheets. The best bookkeepers have strong analytical abilities, are great communicators, are organized and accurate, and know the bookkeeping basics.
Accountants, on the other hand, typically must complete at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or economics. Most accountants choose between being an accountant or a Certified Public Account (CPA), which requires a college degree, passing the CPA exam, and working under a CPA for a specific number of hours.
The Differences Between Bookkeeping and Accounting
Although they may seem similar, there are many differences between bookkeeping and accounting. A high-level comparison of the two shows the main differences between objectives, key decision makers, financial statements, reporting, and required education.
How Artificial Intelligence Is Shifting the Bookkeeping and Accounting Landscape
When looking at the difference between bookkeeping and accounting, it’s important to see where the industry has been and where it’s going. Bookkeeping and accounting don’t look like they did 50 years ago. In the last decade alone, the roles have undergone a massive transformation with the advent of automated software powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
AI has been a buzzword in technology circles for the last few years and rightly so. A backbone of innovation in accounting software, AI itself has undergone vast improvements too. As a result, it’s helped automate almost all bookkeeping and accounting tasks, with enhanced speed and accuracy.
With AI accounting, bookkeepers are no longer required to manually enter financial transactions anymore as software has completely taken over that responsibility. Better yet, the capabilities of self-learning machines have substantially improved the classification of transactions.
What Modern Bookkeeping and Accounting Looks Like Today
So, what roles do bookkeepers and accountants play now if tasks are automated? Since modern software can take over most bookkeeping tasks (such as creating financial records and generating reports), this has freed time for bookkeepers to focus on other equally important tasks like collaborating with colleagues and clients. Bookkeepers today can devote more time to coordinating with members from different departments for input and to ensure that documents are complete and accurate.
With the changing role of bookkeepers, their skill requirements have changed, too. Today, the best bookkeepers have great people skills and can forge better customer relationships. In addition, modern bookkeepers are required to be technologically savvy to work with accounting software.
Similarly, the role of accountants has undergone a shift. Software has taken over certain accounting tasks like ensuring compliance and placing internal controls for accuracy. Today, accountants have more time to provide value-added services to clients.
To some extent, the intricate accounting software available today has even merged the roles of accountants and bookkeepers. Today, with the help of software, an accountant can manage the recording of a business’s financial transactions, taking over the primary responsibility of a bookkeeper in the process. Similarly, bookkeepers in some organizations have taken over summarizing data in financial reports.
Automation has not only transformed the roles of bookkeepers and accountants, but also minimized errors, improving accuracy in the overall accounting process. If your business hasn’t already adopted automated bookkeeping, you’re missing out on incredible benefits like lowered employee costs, higher accuracy, and enhanced speed.
The Differences Between Bookkeeping and Accounting Are Always Evolving
The industry is constantly changing, which is why Botkeeper’s bookkeeping software uses human-assisted AI (what we like to call ‘augmented intelligence’) to perform bookkeeping tasks in a faster, cost-efficient, and more accurate way. As a result, our clients receive 24/7 accounting and support, plus incredible insight into their financials with beautiful dashboards and unlimited reporting.
We’ve helped tons of business owners stop stressing about bookkeeping. Browse our industry pages to find the right bookkeeping and accounting software for you and click below to reach out to a Botkeeper rep to see how you can save time and money by Botkeeping℠!
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Price Flux Crypto How – What is Cryptocurrency? Basically, Cryptocurrency is digital cash that can be utilized in place of standard currency. Basically, the word Cryptocurrency originates from the Greek word Crypto which means coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is simply as old as Blockchains. Nevertheless, the distinction between Cryptocurrency and Blockchains is that there is no centralization or ledger system in location. In essence, Cryptocurrency is an open source protocol 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 resolve the issue of clever contracts is through the Foundation. The Ethereum Foundation was established with the aim of developing software services around clever contract functionality. The Foundation has launched its open source libraries under an open license.
For starters, the significant difference between the Bitcoin Project and the Ethereum Project is that the former does not have a governing board and therefore is open to contributors from all strolls of life. The Ethereum Project delights in a much more regulated environment.
As for the tasks underlying the Ethereum Platform, they are both making every effort to supply users with a brand-new method to participate in the decentralized exchange. The major differences between the 2 are that the Bitcoin procedure does not use the Proof Of Consensus (POC) procedure that the Ethereum Project makes use of. In addition, there will be an effort to integrate the latest Byzantium upgrade that will increase the scalability of the network. These two distinctions might show to be barriers to entry for possible business owners, however they do represent important distinctions.
On the one hand, the Bitcoin neighborhood has actually had some battles with its efforts to scale its network. On the other hand, the Ethereum Project has actually taken an aggressive approach to scale the network while likewise dealing with scalability problems. As a result, the 2 jobs are intending to provide various means of case. 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 reduction costs. In contrast to the Bitcoin Project ‘s strategy to increase the total supply, the Ethereum team will be working on decreasing the rate of blocks mined per minute.
The significant difference in between the 2 platforms originates from the functional system that the two groups utilize. The decentralized element of the Linux Foundation and the Bitcoin Unlimited Association represent a traditional design of governance that positions a focus on strong neighborhood participation and the promo of agreement. By contrast, the heavenly structure is committed to building a system that is versatile enough to accommodate modifications and include new functions as the needs of the users and the market modification. This design of governance has actually been embraced by numerous dispersed application groups as a way of managing their tasks.
The major distinction between the two platforms comes from the reality that the Bitcoin neighborhood is largely self-sufficient, while the Ethereum Project expects the participation of miners to fund its development. By contrast, the Ethereum network is open to contributors 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 debate surrounds the relationship 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 producing applications that incorporate with it.
Merely put, Cryptocurrency is digital money that can be used in place of standard currency. Generally, the word Cryptocurrency comes from the Greek word Crypto which means coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is just as old as Blockchains. The distinction in 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 executed on a dispersed computer system network. Price Flux Crypto How
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What are stocks?
You can buy stocks as a way of potentially making most from your investments. When you purchase stocks, you’re basically purchasing shares of a company, which comes with benefits beyond potential profits, such as the right to vote on major company decisions. On this page, you’ll learn what stocks are, the different types and how they differ from bonds, which may help you decide if investing in stocks is right for you.
- A stock is a type of security that represents shares, which in turn serves as your claim of ownership in the company
- Companies sell their shares on the stock market to raise money that can be used for business growth and development
- Supply and demand determine the value or price of a company share in the stock market
What's on this page
What is the definition of a stock?
Stocks, by definition, are securities that represent shares of ownership within a company. Companies usually sell shares of stocks if they want to raise money to grow or develop their business.
From an investor’s point of view, purchasing stocks could give you a way to grow your wealth while beating inflation, depending on the performance of the company you purchase stocks in.
What are the different types of stocks?
There are two main types of stocks, common and preferred. Common stocks are traded on the stock exchange and give investors voting rights in the company they belong to. Preferred stock pays out dividends more quickly, but does not grant you voting rights.
Other types of stock are categorised according to the characteristics of a company or industry sector, and include:
- Basic materials: Companies using natural resources
- Conglomerates: Global companies that may cover different industries
- Consumer goods: Companies providing retail goods to the public
- Financial: Banks, insurance providers and real estate companies
- Healthcare: Healthcare providers, health insurance, medical equipment suppliers and companies that sell medicines
- Industrial goods: Companies manufacturing products or goods
- Technology: Companies selling computers, software and telecommunication products
- Utilities: Companies providing electricity, water and gas
How do stocks work?
Companies typically sell their stocks to generate capital, which they use to grow or develop their business. When public companies sell stock for the first time, it’s called an initial public offering (IPO). After you purchase shares by IPO, you can then choose to resell them on the stock market.
Supply and demand drives the price of shares, which usually means that the more people who’re selling the same type of stocks, the lower the price. Conversely, the more people buying the stock, the higher the price.
You’ll make a profit if the company you’ve bought stocks in grows, as this growth typically leads to an increase in the price of the stock. You can then choose to sell your stock for a profit. However, there’s a risk involved, as if the company doesn’t perform well, it can lead to the share price dropping or totally losing its value.
Another way you may profit from owning stocks is by earning dividends. Dividends are usually paid quarterly and on a per-share basis from the company’s earnings.
What are the pros and cons of buying stocks?
|Purchasing stocks potentially allows you to earn strong returns if you invest in the long-term.||Returns are not guaranteed, and you could lose some of the value of your investment, or your total investment if the company you own shares fails.|
|It’s not too hard to get into stocks, as long as you know how the stock market works and you’re good at analysing data.||You’ll need to invest a lot of time if you purchase stocks, because the most successful investments are typically long-term, rather than earning quick profits.|
|There are plenty of stocks to choose from, which means if there’s more than one company you want to invest in, you can diversify your portfolio.||The stock market is volatile, which means you can never predict how well your investments will perform.|
|You don’t need a huge lump sum to start investing in stocks.||If you choose to invest in one individual company, there’s a chance you might lose all the value of your investment because you don’t have other stocks to make up for the loss.|
|It’s possible to stay ahead of inflation, depending on your investment strategy.|
What should I consider when buying stocks?
Before investing in the stock market, consider studying a company’s growth trends. It’s important to understand how well a company has performed before committing to an investment.
You should also check how the company pays dividends to its investors. While earning high dividends might sound good, a spike in dividend pay-outs could mean that a company is desperate for investors.
Finally, check how stable the company is over the long term. Since the stock market can be volatile, you can’t predict the performance of a company based on the stock market’s graphs over one year alone. You could look back at least 10 years on a company’s performance to predict if the company will still perform well in five to 10 years.
What’s the difference between stocks and bonds?
Bonds represent a company or government debt, while stocks are stakes of ownership in a company. When a company, government or other entity issues a bond, it means they are issuing debt with an agreement to pay interest against the money you’re effectively “lending” them. They typically pay out interest annually to investors, while slowly repaying their debt. For this reason, bonds are often considered a safer type of investment for short-term investors.
The method of selling stocks and bonds is also different. Stocks are sold internationally through different stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange in the US and the London Stock Exchange in the UK. Bonds are not sold in exchanges but usually via a traditional brokerage.
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- Learn the mechanisms (or tools) the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank can use to control the U.S. money supply.
The size of the money stock in a country is primarily controlled by its central bank. In the United States, the central bank is the Federal Reserve Bank while the main group affecting the money supply is the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This committee meets approximately every six weeks and is the body that determines monetary policy. There are twelve voting members, including the seven members of the Fed Board of Governors and five presidents drawn from the twelve Federal Reserve banks on a rotating basis. The current Chairman of the Board of Governors is Ben Bernanke (as of January 2010). Because Bernanke heads the group that controls the money supply of the largest economy in the world, and because the FOMC’s actions can have immediate and dramatic effects on interest rates and hence the overall United States and international economic condition, he is perhaps the most economically influential person in the world today. As you’ll read later, because of his importance, anything he says in public can have tremendous repercussions throughout the international marketplace.
The Fed has three main levers that can be applied to affect the money supply within the economy: (1) open market operations, (2) reserve requirement changes, and (3) changes in the discount rate.
The Fed’s First Lever: Open Market Operations
The most common lever used by the Fed is open market operations. This refers to Fed purchases or sales of U.S. government Treasury bonds or bills. The “open market” refers to the secondary market for these types of bonds. (The market is called secondary because the government originally issued the bonds at some time in the past.)
When the Fed purchases bonds on the open market it will result in an increase in the money supply. If it sells bonds on the open market, it will result in a decrease in the money supply.
Here’s why. A purchase of bonds means the Fed buys a U.S. government Treasury bond from one of its primary dealers. This includes one of twenty-three financial institutions authorized to conduct trades with the Fed. These dealers regularly trade government bonds on the secondary market and treat the Fed as one of their regular customers. It is worth highlighting that bonds sold on the secondary open market are bonds issued by the government months or years before and will not mature for several months or years in the future. Thus when the Fed purchases a bond from a primary dealer in the future, when that bond matures, the government would have to pay back the Fed, which is the new owner of that bond.
When the open market operation (OMO) purchase is made, the Fed will credit that dealer’s reserve deposits with the sale price of the bond (e.g., $1 million). The Fed will receive the IOU, or “I owe you” (i.e., bond certificate), in exchange. The money used by the Fed to purchase this bond does not need to come from somewhere. The Fed doesn’t need gold, other deposits, or anything else to cover this payment. Instead, the payment is created out of thin air. An accounting notation is made to indicate that the bank selling the bond now has an extra $1 million in its reserve account.
At this point, there is still no change in the money supply. However, because of the increase in its reserves, the dealer now has additional money to lend out somewhere else, perhaps to earn a greater rate of return. When the dealer does lend it, it will create a demand deposit account for the borrower and since a demand deposit is a part of the M1 money supply, money has now been created.
As shown in all introductory macroeconomics textbooks, the initial loan, once spent by the borrower, is ultimately deposited in checking accounts in other banks. These increases in deposits can in turn lead to further loans, subject to maintenance of the bank’s deposit reserve requirements. Each new loan made creates additional demand deposits and hence leads to further increases in the M1 money supply. This is called the money multiplier process. Through this process, each $1 million bond purchase by the Fed can lead to an increase in the overall money supply many times that level.
The opposite effect will occur if the Fed sells a bond in an OMO. In this case, the Fed receives payment from a dealer (as in our previous example) in exchange for a previously issued government bond. (It is important to remember that the Fed does not issue government bonds; government bonds are issued by the U.S. Treasury department. If the Fed were holding a mature government bond, the Treasury would be obligated to pay off the face value to the Fed, just as if it were a private business or bank.) The payment made by the dealer comes from its reserve assets. These reserves support the dealer’s abilities to make loans and in turn to stimulate the money creation process. Now that its reserves are reduced, the dealer’s ability to create demand deposits via loans is reduced and hence the money supply is also reduced accordingly.
A more detailed description of open market operations can be found at New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Web site at http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed32.html.
The Fed’s Second Lever: Reserve Requirement Changes
When the Fed lowers the reserve requirement on deposits, the money supply increases. When the Fed raises the reserve requirement on deposits, the money supply decreases.
The reserve requirement is a rule set by the Fed that must be satisfied by all depository institutions, including commercial banks, savings banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions. The rule requires that a fraction of the bank’s total transactions deposits (e.g., this would include checking accounts but not certificates of deposit) be held as a reserve either in the form of coin and currency in its vault or as a deposit (reserve) held at the Fed. The current reserve requirement in the United States (as of December 2009) is 10 percent for deposits over $55.2 million. (For smaller banks—that is, those with lower total deposits—the reserve requirement is lower.)
As discussed above, the reserve requirement affects the ability of the banking system to create additional demand deposits through the money creation process. For example, with a reserve requirement of 10 percent, Bank A, which receives a deposit of $100, will be allowed to lend out $90 of that deposit, holding back $10 as a reserve. The $90 loan will result in the creation of a $90 demand deposit in the name of the borrower, and since this is a part of the money supply M1, it rises accordingly. When the borrower spends the $90, a check will be drawn on Bank A’s deposits and this $90 will be transferred to another checking account, say, in Bank B. Since Bank B’s deposits have now risen by $90, it will be allowed to lend out $81 tomorrow, holding back $9 (10 percent) as a reserve. This $81 will make its way to another bank, leading to another increase in deposits, allowing another increase in loans, and so on. The total amount of demand deposits (DD) created through this process is given by the formula
\[DD = $100 + (.9)$100 + (.9)(.9)$100 + (.9)(.9)(.9)$100 +….\]
This simplifies to
\[DD = $100/(1 − 0.9) = $1,000\]
\[DD = $100/RR\],
where RR refers to the reserve requirement.
This example shows that if the reserve requirement is 10 percent, the Fed could increase the money supply by $1,000 by purchasing a $100 Treasury bill (T-bill) in the open market. However, if the reserve requirement were 5 percent, a $100 T-bill purchase would lead to a $2,000 increase in the money supply.
However, the reserve requirement not only affects the Fed’s ability to create new money but also allows the banking system to create more demand deposits (hence more money) out of the total deposits it now has. Thus if the Fed were to lower the reserve requirement to 5 percent, the banking system would be able to increase the volume of its loans considerably and it would lead to a substantial increase in the money supply.
Because small changes in the reserve requirement can have substantial effects on the money supply, the Fed does not use reserve requirement changes as a primary lever to adjust the money supply.
A more detailed description of open market operations can be found at New York Federal Reserve Bank Web site at http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed45.html.
The Fed’s Third Lever: Discount Rate/Federal Funds Rate Changes
When the Fed lowers its target federal funds rate and discount rate, it signals an expanded money supply and lower overall interest rates.
When the Fed raises its target federal funds rate and discount rate, it signals a reduced money supply and higher overall interest rates.
In news stories immediately after the FOMC meets, one is likely to read that the Fed raised (or lowered) interest rates yesterday. For many who read this, it sounds as if the Fed “sets” the interest rates charged by banks. In actuality, the Fed only sets one interest rate, and that is the discount rate. The rate that is announced every month is not the discount rate, but the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate is the interest rate banks charge each other for short-term (usually overnight) loans. The Fed does not actually set the federal funds rate, but it does employ open market operations to target this rate at a desired level. Thus what is announced at the end of each FOMC meeting is the target federal funds rate.
The main reason banks make overnight loans to each other each day is to maintain their reserve requirements. Each day some banks may end up with excess reserves. Other banks may find themselves short of reserves. Those banks with excess reserves would prefer to loan out as much as possible at some rate of interest rather than earning nothing. Those banks short of reserves are required by law to raise up their reserves to the required level. Thus banks lend money to each other each night.
If there is excess demand for money overnight relative to supply, the Fed keeps the discount window open. The discount window refers to a policy by the Fed to lend money on a short-term basis (usually overnight) to financial institutions. The interest rate charged on these loans is called the discount rate. Before 2003, banks needed to demonstrate that they had exhausted all other options before coming to the discount window. After 2003, the Fed revised its policies and set a primary credit discount rate and a secondary credit discount rate. Primary credit rates are set 100 basis points (1 percent) above the federal funds rate and are available only to very sound, financially strong banks. Secondary credit rates are set 150 basis points above the federal funds target rate and are available to banks not eligible for primary credit. Although these loans are typically made overnight, they can be extended for longer periods and can be used for any purpose.
Before the changes in discount window policy in 2003, very few banks sought loans through the discount window. Hence, it was not a very effective lever in monetary policy.
However, the announcement of the federal funds target rate after each FOMC meeting does remain an important signal about the future course of Fed monetary policy. If the FOMC announces a lower target federal funds rate, one should expect expanded money supply, perhaps achieved through open market operations. If the FOMC announces a higher target rate, one should prepare for a more contractionary monetary policy to follow.
A more detailed description of the discount window can be found on the New York Federal Reserve Bank Web site at http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed18.html. For more information about federal funds, go to http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed15.html.
- When the Federal Reserve Bank (a.k.a. “Federal Reserve,” or more informally, “the Fed”) purchases bonds on the open market it will result in an increase in the U.S. money supply. If it sells bonds in the open market, it will result in a decrease in the money supply.
- When the Fed lowers the reserve requirement on deposits, the U.S. money supply increases. When the Fed raises the reserve requirement on deposits, the money supply decreases.
- When the Fed lowers its target federal funds rate and discount rate, it signals an expanded U.S. money supply and lower overall interest rates.
- When the Fed raises its target federal funds rate and discount rate, it signals a reduced U.S. money supply and higher overall interest rates.
- Jeopardy Questions. As in the popular
television game show, you are given an answer to a question and you
must respond with the question. For example, if the answer is “a
tax on imports,” then the correct question is “What is a tariff?”
- Of increase, decrease, or no change, the effect on the money supply if the central bank sells government bonds.
- Of increase, decrease, or no change, the effect on the money supply if the central bank lowers the reserve requirement.
- Of increase, decrease, or no change, the effect on the money supply if the central bank lowers the discount rate.
- The name given to the interest rate charged by the Federal Reserve Bank on loans it provides to commercial banks
- The name given to the interest rate charged by commercial banks on overnight loans made to other banks.
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Payoff amount and current balance are related but not equivalent terms.
Current balance means the amount you owe according to your statement. The next day, you will owe more. In other words, if you are trying to pay off a credit card and the statement says your balance is $514, you may not be able to bring your balance to zero and satisfy the debt by writing a check for $514. Instead, you would need to contact your lender to find out your payoff amount.
Payoff amount is how much you would have to pay to satisfy the debt. It is not the same amount as the current balance on your statement—at least not for long.
The difference between the current balance according to your statement and the payoff amount is crucial when you are ready to pay off your debt.
You can think of the payoff amount as a more current balance number. But if you are trying to eliminate a debt, you need to pay it all off. And if you just pay the current balance according to your statement, you may be left with a few cents or dollars left in the account. That small amount will accrue interest and grow. If you never pay it off, it could become more than an irritation, it could become a significant obstacle to eliminating your debt.
So before you pay off a debt, call the lender to find out exactly how much you owe, and how much it will take to pay the debt off, in full.
And most importantly, document what you do, and get proof in writing. Ask for the payoff amount in writing. The lender may be willing to send you a payoff letter. If not, make a note of who you spoke to, when, and what they said. When you make the payment, keep a copy of your payment. Lastly, follow up and make sure the balance is fully paid. The lender can, and should, be willing to send you a letter indicating the balance is now zero.
Originally published on 2011-02-07. Last updated on 2017-01-11.
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What is renewable energy?
Renewable energy is the energy that comes from natural processes or sources that are constantly being renewed at a rate equal to or faster than the rate at which they are being used. The diverse forms of renewable energy include solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and ocean resources, solid biomass, biogas and liquid biofuels (Source: Natural Resources Canada, nrcan.gc.ca). Canada has a vast geographic diversity with several possibilities of renewable resources to generate energy.
What is non-renewable energy
Non-renewable resources are sources of energy that will either cease to exist or will take an incredible amount of time to be replenished. The main non-renewable resources include oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy.
Canada has demonstrated its interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below the level in 2005 by the year 2030. This objective was confirmed in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement (Source: Greenhouse gas sources and sinks, executive summary 2020).
Renewable Vs Non-renewable
Canada is successfully moving towards a future with less carbon emissions and this factor is mainly due to ongoing efforts to invest in renewable sources of energy. According to Canada’s Energy Future 2019 report, the type of energy Canadians use is changing considerably from 2018 to 2040. As shown in the figure below, by 2040 Canadians will be using more natural gas and renewable sources and less coal and oil (Source: Canada’s Energy Future 2019 report).
In addition to the decrease in the use of non-renewable resources, it is also mentioned in this report a reduction in energy use from 2018 to 2040. Green technologies are key drivers underlying the slow growth in energy use and the increase in the renewable energy share. For more information, visit Canada Energy Regulator webpage here.
In Saskatchewan, SaskPower is the crown corporation responsible for providing all transmission services and the majority of distribution services and power generation (Source: Natural Resources Canada, nrcan.gc.ca). SaskPower currently generates most of Saskatchewan’s electricity, while the other 20% is generated by independent producers (Source: 2018, Canada Energy Regulator – CER, cer-rec.gc.ca). Currently, Saskatchewan generates its energy mainly through non-renewable sources of energy such as natural gas and coal.
To meet Federal greenhouse gas emissions regulations, the future of Saskatchewan needs to be powered with cleaner options of energy. In order to meet those regulations, SaskPower is working towards its goal to reduce 40% of greenhouse gas emissions by adding more solar and wind energy into their current system. Saskatchewan’s renewable generating capacity as of the year of 2020 is approximately 23% (18% from hydro and 5% from wind). Saskatchewan’s generating capacity is shown in the pie chart:
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- What is the purpose of aggregate planning?
- What is level strategy?
- What is mixed production strategy?
- What is aggregate planning in supply chain?
- What is mixed strategy in aggregate planning?
- How do you calculate aggregate production?
- What is a main benefit of using a level strategy in your aggregate planning?
- What are the three basic production planning strategies?
- How do you calculate aggregate planning?
- How do you do production planning?
- What are the aggregate planning strategies?
- What is level production strategy?
- What does aggregate mean?
- What four things are needed to develop an aggregate plan?
- How do you calculate production plan?
- What is master planning schedule?
- What do you mean by aggregate planning?
- Why aggregate planning is important?
What is the purpose of aggregate planning?
Aggregate planning involves developing a general plan for employment, output, and inventory levels.
The goal is to develop a plan that makes efficient use of the resources of an organization..
What is level strategy?
A business level strategy definition can be summarized as a detailed outline which incorporates a company’s policies, goals, and actions with the focus on being how to deliver value to customers while maintaining a competitive advantage.
What is mixed production strategy?
MIXED STRATEGY. The last exercise deals with the mixed strategy, which deals with multiples objectives, i.e., setting production equal to the forecasted demand. The objective will be to reduce the Total Cost (TC) of the first option, which was the lowest, using the hiring and layoff options rationally.
What is aggregate planning in supply chain?
Aggregate planning, a fundamental decision model in supply chain management, refers to the determination of production, inventory, capacity and labor usage levels in the medium term.
What is mixed strategy in aggregate planning?
Under mixed strategy, both inventory and workforce levels are allowed to change during the planning horizon. Thus, it is a combination of the “chase” and “level” strategies. This will be a good strategy if the costs of maintaining inventory and changing workforce level are relatively high.
How do you calculate aggregate production?
Use the Cobb-Douglas function to determine total aggregate production. The formula is given as production is equal to real output per input unit (sometimes simplified to “technology”) times labor input times capital input or Y = A X L^a X K^b.
What is a main benefit of using a level strategy in your aggregate planning?
Level Strategy The advantage of using this strategy is that it allows an organization to maintain a constant level of output to meet the demand for the service provided, which requires the firm to always produce exactly what is needed. This can, however, result in an excess of employees, leading to financial losses.
What are the three basic production planning strategies?
The main strategies used in production planning are the chase strategy, level production, make-to-stock production and assemble to order. Each strategy has benefits and drawbacks for your business.
How do you calculate aggregate planning?
DEVELOPING THE AGGREGATE PLANStep 1 Identify the aggregate plan that matches your company’s objectives: level, chase, or hybrid. Step 2 Based on the aggregate plan, determine the aggregate production rate.Step 3 Calculate the size of the workforce.Step 4 Test the aggregate plan.Step 5 Evaluate the plan’s performance in terms of cost, …
How do you do production planning?
Production Planning in 5 StepsStep 1: forecast the demand of your product. … Step 2: determine potential options for production. … Step 3: choose the option for production that use the combination of resources more effectively. … Step 4: monitor and control. … Step 5: Adjust.
What are the aggregate planning strategies?
Aggregate Planning StrategiesLevel Strategy. As the name suggests, level strategy looks to maintain a steady production rate and workforce level. … Chase Strategy. As the name suggests, chase strategy looks to dynamically match demand with production. … Hybrid Strategy.
What is level production strategy?
The use of a level strategy means that a company will produce at a constant rate regardless of the demand level. In companies that produce to stock, this means that finished goods inventory levels will grow during low demand periods and decrease during high demand periods.
What does aggregate mean?
adjective. formed by the conjunction or collection of particulars into a whole mass or sum; total; combined: the aggregate amount of indebtedness.
What four things are needed to develop an aggregate plan?
Four things are needed for aggregate planning:A logical overall unit for measuring sales and output.A forecast of demand for a reasonable intermediate planning period in these aggregate terms.A method for determining the costs.More items…
How do you calculate production plan?
calculate the total production required.(Total Production = total forecast + back orders + ending inventory – opening inventory), calculate the production required each period by dividing the total production by the number of periods, and calculate the ending inventory for each period.
What is master planning schedule?
A master production schedule (MPS) is a plan for individual commodities to be produced in each time period such as production, staffing, inventory, etc. … The MPS translates the customer demand (sales orders, PIR’s), into a build plan using planned orders in a true component scheduling environment.
What do you mean by aggregate planning?
Aggregate Planning by definition is concerned with determining the quantity and scheduling of production for the mid-term future. The timing on an aggregate plan runs normally from 3 to 18 months. Therefore, the plan is a by-product of the longer term strategic plan.
Why aggregate planning is important?
The purpose of aggregate planning is planning ahead because it takes time to implement plans. The second reason is strategic of the company and third aggregate planning help synchronize flow throughout the supply chain; it affects costs, equipment utilization, employment levels and customer satisfaction.
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Water for the Urban Poor and COVID-19
MetadataShow full item record
This report examines the provision of water for the urban poor in light of Covid-19 and proposes practical measures that can be taken to improve the availability of water. Water, sanitation and hygiene are vital for the suppression and treatment of Covid-19. Water utility companies may be unable to recover costs through user tariffs during Covid-19, which could have implications for their financial sustainability. Poor service provision before and during a crisis can impact customers’ willingness to pay for water, further reducing utilities revenues and creating a vicious cycle. Appropriate tariff structures can support both poor people’s access to water, through pro-poor policies and a focus on affordability, and the financial viability of utilities. Covid-19 may increase domestic water demand in contexts where cities are already suffering from water insecurity. Free water, or waiving payment of social tariff amounts may not necessarily benefit the poorest. Utilities are vital for urban water service provision, but they do not necessarily reach the poorest. Direct provision of water to informal settlements and the poorest, as well as measures to extend access through the utility are likely to include a range of measures. Practical measures that could support water availability for the urban poor in light of Covid-19 could include: opening up additional pre-pay sources, subsidising the price of utility water from communal access points, working with private sector providers, digitise payments and fixing leaks to increase water supply.
CitationCooper, R. (2020). Water for the Urban Poor and Covid-19 . K4D Helpdesk Report 826. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
Is part of seriesK4D Helpdesk Report;826
Rights holder© DFID - Crown copyright 2020
- K4D COVID-19 Resources
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On November 13, 2009, Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General, Jacques Diouf, embarked on a 24-hour public hunger strike, in the lead up to this week’s World Summit on Food Security in Rome.
Diouf’s call for action to end the scourge of hunger comes on the heels of July’s G8 summit in Aquila, Italy, where member nations pledged US$ 20 billion to support farmers in poorer countries. In September, United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced the US Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative.
One could be forgiven for believing that the world is running out of food. Not quite. But climate change, rising water shortages, and competition over land for energy represent important constraints on the production of the additional 1 billion tonnes of cereals needed to meet the expected 70% increase in food demand by 2050. Furthermore, world food prices are up 58% now compared to the average 2002-2004 levels, and are expected to stay higher for the next decade.
Much public action will be needed to repair the current system of market mediated food security, if it is to provide a credible alternative to the politically more secure, but economically more costly system of national food self sufficiency. For this to happen, world food markets need to be made more reliable, public investment in agriculture must be increased and spent more efficiently, and national social safety nets need to become effective. Yet, even success on all these fronts will not suffice as long as US and EU agro-fuel policies maintain the link between food and fuel prices.
The summit’s draft declaration reaffirms agreement that has emerged on the broad principles to tackle these challenges including emphasis on country led-plans and the need for globally and regionally coordinated actions. Yet, many tough policy questions remain about how to best restore trust in food markets, about how to invest best in agriculture, about how to build reliable safety nets in poor countries, and about how to balance the need for food and fuel security in a context of climate change.
Restore trust in market mediated food security
As food exporting countries such as India and Vietnam saw world food prices rise rapidly in the fall of 2007, they restricted food exports to shield their domestic markets. A perception of global food (in particular rice) shortages took hold, which especially induced large food importers such as the Philippines to buy rice at any price, thereby driving food prices even higher.
As a result, trust in the world market as a reliable source of food has dramatically eroded and the quest for food self-sufficiency through own production is back high on national agendas. Richer food importing countries short in land and water (such as Arab countries and China) are also pursuing this through bilateral outsourcing of staple crop production to land abundant countries in Africa (e.g., Sudan) and Southeast Asia (e.g., Cambodia). Whether such land leasing arrangements, known as land grabs, will enhance food security in both origin and destination countries will very much depend on the transparency of the land acquisitions, the distribution of the benefits, and the mode of production (small versus large scale farming).
Yet, achieving national grain self-sufficiency through own production, which must be combined with large national buffer stocks to stabilize domestic markets in the case of domestic production failures, presents a costly, and increasingly unviable alternative to countries without comparative advantages in grain production. Not only does it increase the local cost of staples, rendering many poor and deteriorating the country’s overall competitiveness, climate change is also likely to increase volatility in domestic output, forcing countries to hold ever larger buffer stocks.
That said, a more market based global food architecture requires reliable and stable world food markets. This is not an easy feat either, especially not when fears arise, justified or not, of global shortages of food.
Different measures to manage world food price volatility and ensure access to food for food importers under all circumstances are being discussed. To begin with, more reliable grain stock information to avoid price runs from misinformation could already help a lot. Trust can also be increased by strengthening World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations on food export restrictions to better balance benefits from the trade system between exporters that want assured market access, and importers that want assured supplies.
An internationally coordinated, physical food reserve system may also be necessary and discussion remains about whether commodity index funds should be more tightly managed to curtail excessive financial speculation (either through regulation or a system of global virtual reserves).
Together these actions may restore trust in world markets and foster a more politically palatable and economically efficient balance between domestic staple crop production and reliance on the world market.
Sow responsibly today, to reap sustainably tomorrow
While more public investments in agriculture are undoubtedly necessary, even more important will be how they are allocated. The balance between investment in public and private goods deserves especially attention. Public goods include rural infrastructure such as roads, market facilities, electricity, information and communication technologies, plant and animal protection, soil conservation, and agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E). Private goods include farm inputs (fertilizers, seeds) or commodity specific promotion programmes.
Farm input subsidies are becoming popular again in Africa. The governments of Malawi and Zambia for example, have been spending more than 60% of their agricultural budgets on input and crop marketing subsidies and other governments are rapidly following suit. This leaves little room for investments that markets usually fail to provide on their own and that pay off over a longer period of time such as rural roads, irrigation, and agricultural RD&E. The latter will be especially crucial to assist farmers in adapting their agricultural production systems to climate change.
Increased public accountability to ensure public funds are well spent will also be necessary to sustain the renewed international commitment to agriculture. Transparency can for example be increased through the publication of more detailed reviews of public spending on agriculture and citizen report cards on the quality of publicly provided agricultural services such as extension can help to hold government officials accountable to the people they are serving.
Build effective social safety nets
Market mediated food security pre-supposes the existence of a reliable social safety net to assist the chronically food insecure and those in need in times of crisis. The 2008 food crisis revealed that many countries do not possess such safety nets and instead revert to politically expedient but economically inefficient universal tax reductions and subsidies.
Nonetheless, a review of the world’s vast experience suggests that safety net systems can also be successfully implemented in low income settings, when designed in accordance with local administrative capacity. Yet, the time to act is now, before the crisis hits.
Revise EU and US biofuel policies
FAO indicates that first generation agro-fuels produced in OECD countries (except ethanol from Brazil) are currently not competitive with fossil fuels without the current subsidies (and tariff protection). Removal of EU and US subsidies and import tariffs is a very minimal first step to reduce the link between food and fuel markets and allow agro-fuel production to concentrate in economically and environmentally more suitable locations.
Secondary generation agro-fuels that use lignocellulosic feedstock such as wood, tall grasses, and forestry and crop residues have been held to hold more promise, according to the FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture 2008 report. Nonetheless recent research published in the journal Science, also warns that the amount of CO2 released by clearing new land for such grasses may more than offset any benefits until the middle of the century and that nitrous oxide will not be beneficial.
Clearly, many questions remain about how to redesign the global food architecture in this new environment of climate change, technological development, and reduced faith in market systems. Continuing attention to the world food security challenge at the highest political level, as pledged at the World Food Summit, will be most necessary. To advance the debate and foster evidence based solutions UNU-WIDER will launch a policy platform in 2010 inviting the world’s leading experts to assess different policy options based on the latest available evidence.
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The difference between salary and wage is an important distinction, especially when it comes to completing your taxes and determining what employees are entitled to. The rules around how and when salary and hourly workers are paid differ. There are a number of pros and cons depending on if you’re the employee or employer. For example, the ability to reduce hours as needed for wage workers may be a pro to an employer, but that uncertainty is a con for employees.
This post will outline the basic differences between salary and wage workers and provide a detailed pros and cons list—one for employers and one for employees.
Wage workers, or hourly workers, are only paid for the exact hours that they work. If an employee calls in sick or is sent home due to a lack of business, they won’t be paid for the hours they miss.
On the other hand, if there’s an abundance of business and the employee needs to stay longer, they’ll be paid for each additional hour they work. The employee may qualify for overtime pay or double overtime pay depending on the number of hours worked and the overtime laws in that state.
A salaried worker is paid a fixed amount of money by their employer every year, regardless of how many hours they actually work. If the salaried employee is paid $40,000 a year, they’ll make approximately $3000 every four weeks. Salaried workers are also more likely to receive benefits like health insurance and retirement plans.
Budgeting is easier for a salaried worker, as they have a guaranteed paycheck (unless they are terminated or there’s a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.) The downside is there often isn’t a clear start and end to work. Salaried workers may need to stay late or work on weekends in order to complete a project. They aren’t paid extra for working a little longer, and that can sometimes lead to poor work-life balance.
In general, salaried workers cost more than hourly workers. The salary usually works out to a higher rate than being paid by the hour, and there are a lot of added perks expected by salaried employees.
Salary contracts often come with bonuses, healthcare benefits, insurance options, and retirement plans. These added benefits come at a cost for employers, but they also ensure employees are healthy, happy, and well taken care of. The extra effort and money you put into your team can attract more skilled and experienced talent.
Hourly or wage employees are only paid for the actual hours they work, which means employers don’t have to pay for sick leave, personal days, or if the business closes early. Though, this fluctuation in hours will make payroll more complicated.
The Benefits of Salaried Workers
The Cons of Salaried Workers
● The recurring costs remain relatively the same from week to week, which makes it easier to budget and plan.
● Consistent pay makes for simpler payroll each pay cycle.
● Salaried workers feel more secure and are more likely to stay at one place of employment.
● Salaried workers are generally more loyal to the business they work for.
● You don’t need to pay overtime if work is completed after hours or on weekends.
● Workers aren’t likely to look for a second job outside of their current salary.
● A good salary attracts skilled and experienced talent.
● Generally, it’s more expensive to pay salaried workers.
● Medical pay, insurance, and retirement plans are often expected, which increases the cost of each employee.
● Employers are often expected to pay for supplies and technology.
● You need to commit to paying the salary you agreed upon even if business isn’t good.
● Workers may overextend themselves without you realizing it, which can lead to employee burnout.
The Benefits of Hourly Workers
The Cons of Hourly Workers
● You only need to pay for the hours an employee actually works.
● You are not expected to provide medical pay, insurance, or retirement plans.
● If the business closes early, you only pay for the hours that were worked.
● There’s more flexibility to reduce hours in an emergency or if your business needs to cut back.
● You don’t have to pay for sick days and other requested time off.
● It’s more complicated to process payroll for hourly workers.
● You need to pay overtime or double overtime depending on the circumstances.
● Workers may not be as loyal to the business without a salary.
● Workers may take multiple jobs if they are not receiving enough hours.
● Highly skilled and experienced talent may pass up hourly work for a salary offer.
● If you choose not to pay for sick days, this can lead to employees coming in sick or overextending themselves.
Hourly workers have more flexibility and are guaranteed to be paid for every hour they work. If you need to stay late or get called in for an extra shift, you will be paid for that time. You may also receive overtime pay depending on the circumstances and state the business is located.
The downside of hourly work is that it’s not as guaranteed. Salaried workers are paid a set rate that’s consistent each pay cycle, making it easier to budget and plan for your future. Salaried workers also tend to receive bonuses and extra job perks, such as medical and retirement plans, which are a huge—and sometimes life-changing—asset.
The Benefits of Being Salaried
The Cons of Being Salaried
●You have the security of a steady paycheck.
●You tend to make more than hourly workers.
●You can plan finances in advance since you know what you will be paid each week.
●You are more likely to receive bonuses.
●You may be given access to medical pay, insurance, and retirement plans.
●Office supplies are usually provided, and sometimes your technology is paid for as well.
●You have more flexibility over when and how work is completed.
●You are still paid if you need to call in sick or take a personal day.
●You are paid for the full day even if the business needs to close early.
●You might be expected to complete work outside of working hours.
●You can’t collect overtime pay if you work late in the evening or on weekends.
●The office culture and workplace competition may force salaried workers to overextend themselves.
●Office culture may encourage you to pass on vacation time to prove you are hard working.
●You are usually under a contract that ties you to one business alone, and you might not be able to take on other work outside of your single contract.
The Benefits of an Hourly Wage
The Cons of an Hourly Wage
●Every hour you work is paid for.
●There are opportunities to work and be paid for extra hours.
●Depending on the circumstances, there are opportunities to receive overtime or double overtime.
●You are not expected to work outside of scheduled hours.
●Your vacation pay is paid out, even if you don’t take vacation days.
●There’s less pay negotiation involved as the employer often already has a set hourly rate.
●You have better work-life balance since work never bleeds into your time off.
●You may not reach a full-time, 40 hour workweek.
●Your hours might be reduced if the business cuts back.
●It’s uncommon to receive large bonuses.
●It’s uncommon to receive medical pay, insurance, or retirement plans.
●You won’t be paid for the hours you couldn’t work if the business closes because of weather, technical issues, or too few customers.
●Holiday pay for hourly employees may not be provided.
●If you need to call in sick or take a personal day, you won’t be paid.
●Your tools or supplies may not be provided by the employer.
The main difference between exempt and nonexempt employees is whether or not they can receive overtime. An exempt employee is not allowed to receive overtime, whereas a nonexempt employee is. Under federal law, an employee’s eligibility for overtime is determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), though the criteria may differ from state to state.
Exempt employees are not protected by the FLSA, so federal law does not require their employer to pay them overtime.
The distinction between an employee and a contractor is important for tax purposes. Employees have a more direct relationship with your business, and you are required to withhold taxes for them by law. Contractors, on the other hand, are responsible for calculating and withholding their own taxes. Businesses need to file W2s for employees and file 1099s for contractors.
It’s up to the employer to know the difference, and there can be heavy fines for misclassifying a hire. Learn more about the difference between employees and independent contractors directly from the IRS website.
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- Current political and economic issues succinctly explained.
U.S. aviation infrastructure—including airports, air traffic controls, and aircraft—is a vital link in the U.S. transportation system. Its relative performance and outlook, though, is mixed. More people travel by air in the United States than on any other nation’s system but the U.S. system ranks behind other major industrialized states in performance. Its airports perform poorly on international rankings, and no U.S. airline rates among the top performing global carriers.
Although U.S. travelers benefited from falling fares in the initial decades following deregulation in the late 1970s, prices have begun to rise again in recent years and may continue to rise as bankruptcies and mergers limit competition among airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NextGen program and planned airport improvements may cut costs. At the same time, the FAA faces challenges to safety regulations from the emergence of drone technology, a potentially promising area for commercial aviation.
Economics of Aviation
Civil aviation is a critical enabler of U.S. growth. It accounted for 5.4 percent of U.S. GDP in 2012 (compared to 3.4 percent for the United Kingdom and 3.5 percent for the entire world) and supported 11.8 million jobs, more than 20 percent of the global total. Americans take more trips annually (593 million in 2013) than any other nation, ranking seventh globally in air trips per capita. While non-U.S. aviation industries are expected to outpace U.S. aviation growth in the coming years, it is still expected to have the most trips in 2020. The FAA forecasts that U.S. passenger flights will grow at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent through 2030 (following the expected GDP growth rate), but air freight tonnage is expected to grow at 5.1 percent per year, more than doubling by 2030.
Aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing, are typically far more profitable than airlines and airports, holding the largest positive trade balance ($54.3 billion) among U.S. industries. However, manufacturers held a paltry 3 percent of the global air industry’s total capital investment—which had reached $1.2 trillion globally by 2011—compared to airports (36 percent) and airlines (54 percent for both direct and through lessors). Airports and airlines earn lower returns on invested capital, and while airports are typically stable investments that benefit from low borrowing costs, airlines generally have volatile earnings and higher borrowing costs.
In the thirty-year period after deregulation began in 1978, U.S. airlines lost nearly $60 billion. However, U.S. airlines now rank among the world’s most profitable thanks to a boost from market consolidation and tight capacity. Airlines have exerted greater discipline in holding capacity by focusing on increasing fares and filling all seats on flights.
Volatile fuel costs are airlines’ largest operating expense. Passenger traffic is susceptible to demand shocks because demand for air travel exaggerates economic changes; swinging up strongly during economic booms with sharp declines during recessions. In the United States, a 1 percent change in per capita income is estimated to increase or decrease demand for air travel by 1.6 to 2 percent. The growth of low-cost carriers has hampered the ability of higher-cost legacy carriers to raise fares without surrendering market share. Airlines also have an incentive to expand their networks to increase the attractiveness of their frequent flyer programs and to bid for lucrative corporate contracts.
But travelers have clearly benefited from lower prices. Real prices in the United States have fallen by about half over the last thirty years, accompanied by considerable turmoil in the market; there have been nearly two hundred bankruptcies since 1990, including all of the legacy carriers. Airline mergers have concentrated the industry; once the American Airlines and U.S. Airways merger is complete, the top four airlines will control over 80 percent of the U.S. market. Recent consolidation may lead to higher prices on less popular routes, while airlines continue to benefit from lower fuel costs and higher economic growth, which typically stimulates consumer demand.
Funding Airport Infrastructure
U.S. aviation infrastructure moves more people than any other nation’s system—more than twice as many as China, the world’s second largest. Yet the United States lags on performance indicators compared to other leading industrial economies. No U.S. airport made the top twenty-five of the latest World Airport Awards, an annual customer rating of best airports. No U.S.-based airline made the top ten for on-time performance among global airlines compiled by FlightStats, a flight data services company. Four U.S. airlines ranked in the world’s top six for oldest aircraft fleet.
Lagging performance by the U.S. aviation system may partially be explained by lower investment in the last decade. Every two years the FAA submits a consolidated five-year plan to Congress on airport improvement, comprising project ideas for over three thousand U.S. airports. The 2015 edition showed a twenty-one percent decrease in development projects. This is due to a variety of factors, including lower growth expectations and less traffic as passengers occupy fuller and fewer flights.
While total U.S. public aviation infrastructure spending on operations and maintenance has been slowly growing in the last ten years, capital spending has declined, from $21 billion in 2004 to $13 billion in 2014. Reasons for this include a decline in the federal share of spending, project delays due to budgetary constraints, and the Great Recession (2007-2009). From 2013 to 2017, annual development costs at U.S. airports are expected to plateau at $13.6 billion. Delayed infrastructure investment can be costly in terms of time lost due to airport delays; the FAA estimates a cost to the U.S. economy of $24 billion annually.
U.S. airports also tend to fare poorly on intermodal transport compared to foreign counterparts. The Global Gateway Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for greater infrastructure investment in the New York metropolitan area’s three major airports, ranked the world’s thirty busiest airports on mass-transit connections; only one U.S. airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, ranked in the top nine, while six U.S airports held spots in the bottom nine. U.S. airports are controlled and funded by local authorities, with about 55 percent of revenue derived from aviation. The remaining income comes from sources such as parking and retail fees. Public control allows airports to benefit from lower borrowing costs, due to lower default risk and tax deductible interest for bondholders. Local airport authorities provide most capital investment, primarily financed through bonds. There is some federal support; of the estimated $13.6 billion in capital investment, the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program will contribute $3 billion in annual federal funds through grants.
Despite playing a smaller role than local authorities in airport investment, the federal government has a substantial role in aviation. The FAA spends over $7 billion annually on air traffic control operations, and over $1.2 billion in developing and enforcing new safety standards and aircraft certifications. The federal government also controls air travel security through the Transportation Security Administration and negotiates Open Skies Agreements, agreements aimed at creating a free-market environment among international carriers, with other nations.
The federal government also collects taxes and regulates certain fees, including a passenger facility charge (PFC) that airports collect for every boarded passenger. Airports use this money for FAA-approved projects such as terminal improvements, enhanced security measures, or to service debt. Collections from this charge totaled $2.8 billion in 2013, but the PFC has been capped at $4.50 per passenger since 2000 with no adjustment for inflation, and much of that funding is already committed to retiring debt from prior projects. In its fiscal year 2014 and 2015 budgets, President Barack Obama’s administration has proposed raising the cap to $8.00 to account for inflation, but Congress has not yet approved the increase.
Canada and several European nations have successfully privatized airports, but the United States has had minimal success. In 2010, 48 percent of European passenger traffic was handled by the 22 percent of airports that were fully or partially privately owned. Though the FAA established a pilot program for airport privatization in 1996, only the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, in Puerto Rico, has been privatized, and there is only one active applicant in the program: Hendry County Airglades Airport in Florida. Two major factors have limited U.S. success [PDF]. First, privatization in the United States would typically require agreement at multiple levels of government, while most privatized airports abroad were owned by their national governments, simplifying the approval process. Second, publicly controlled U.S. airports benefit from lower borrowing costs because state and local governments can issue tax-favored debt, but few foreign airports enjoy similar benefits, and therefore lose less in the transfer to private hands.
Improving airport infrastructure is not limited to airports and rail connections. The FAA plans to revamp the air control system with a program known as NextGen, a "wide ranging transformation of the entire national air transportation system" that the FAA says will help the air control system to "meet future demands and avoid gridlock in the sky and in the airports."
NextGen aims to improve safety, cut costs, increase existing airports’ capacity, and make available more airspace by collecting and sharing more accurate data among air traffic controllers and pilots. The program will replace the FAA’s current land-based radar system with a more sophisticated GPS satellite-based system. The new system, slated for completion by 2020, will allow air traffic controllers to track the locations of planes in flight more precisely, allowing for takeoffs and landings to occur closer together, and improves landing safety in poor visibility.
The FAA’s implementation of NextGen has generated criticism. A May 2015 report from the National Academy of Sciences—done at Congress’ behest—called for more emphasis on cybersecurity and the growth of drones. The report also found that NextGen had shifted from its original vision of a transformative change to one emphasizing more incremental improvements and replacing and modernizing aging equipment and systems.
The FAA’s current NextGen business case [PDF] estimates the program, which they say will cost the FAA $13.6 billion and airlines $15 billion, will yield $133 billion in benefits between 2013 and 2030. The FAA expects airlines to pay at least $7 billion to revamp their current fleets and has mandated complete fleet compliance by 2020 [PDF]. Globally, an estimated $120 billion will be spent over the next ten years on similar efforts. Europe’s SESAR is taking a similar approach, and since March 2011, both SESAR and NextGen programs have worked toward harmonization.
Rise of the Drones
Another area of technological innovation with potentially profound implications for civilian aircraft use is unmanned flight. There has been rapidly rising private interest in drones, but this appears to be at odds with the FAA’s deliberative approach to safety in the skies. Drones have many potential uses beyond recreation: aerial photography, crop monitoring, oil exploration, and delivery services, to name a few. There are risks, including many documented near misses with manned aircraft, and privacy concerns highlighted by a drone crash on the White House lawn in January 2015.
Legally flying commercial drones requires a special certificate or exemption, but in February 2015 the FAA proposed new commercial drone regulations, including a certification process. The proposed rules would open up many commercial uses, but set limits on elevation (five hundred feet), speed (one hundred miles per hour), and weight (fifty-five pounds), and also required drones to be flowing within the operator’s sight.
While the United States has been a center of innovation for drones, the proposed rules could put the nation at a competitive disadvantage. In testimony to the U.S. Senate, an executive for Amazon, which has expressed interest in drone delivery services, said that "nowhere outside of the United States have we been required to wait more than one or two months to begin testing." The FAA later granted an exemption to the company in April 2015 for testing. But, until the FAA rules are finalized, it is unclear whether they will stymie attempts to innovate and commercialize drones, from Amazon’s intended delivery service to agriculture.
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So, what is the music business?
Well, to put it in one sentence, it’s an umbrella term for a vast network of companies and individuals that create and sell music products.
There is a lot more to it than that though, and in this blog, I’ll cover the different areas that make the music industry tick
I’m going to split it up into six sections which are: Record Companies/Labels, Compositions, Performance, Recordings and Production, Released Music, Live Events and Other Noteworthy Industry Professionals.
So, let's find out how it all works!
It used to be that you would need to be signed to a record label to really get anywhere as an artist. Before the days of music making being accessible to all, and social media being there for promotion, you would have needed the record label to fund your studio time and market your music.
Record companies are still a huge part of the industry and work with a lot of big artists. However, they are not as essential as they once were and could almost be seen as old fashioned now.
There are two types of record labels. Major and independent.
The ‘Big 3’ major record labels are Sony, Universal and Warner.
There are lots of smaller independent labels as well, often specialising in certain genres.
Record companies will often have an A&R department. A&R stands for artists and repertoire. These departments will find and develop artists, often shaping them into something that they know will sell. This is where record companies can take away some or all the artist's creative license.
The good thing about these companies is that they have a vast reach and will get your music a lot of attention and potential revenue. The standard split between artists and major labels is about 20% to the artist and about 80% to the label, so most of the money your music makes will go to the label.
Record companies will also pay for the making, release, and marketing of the music as well as often giving the artist an advance.
In this second section, we’re going to cover another part of the music business which is making money from compositions and song writing.
Lots of the artists out there don’t actually write their own songs, so songwriters will get paid to do this for them.
Songwriters can often be signed to music publishing companies, who promote the songs and make sure that the songwriters get paid when their music is used commercially. Music publishers will also look for licensing opportunities too.
Song writing and composition royalties can also be collected for the songwriters or composers by royalty collection agencies such as PRS in the UK.
Apart from the creative roles in the music business, there are also people who have a more technical job. These technical roles often merge with the creative side as well.
In this section we’re going to talk about these creative and technical jobs in the industry.
These creative roles are often the first to be thought of when talking about the music business.
We wouldn’t have music without singers or musicians. A more financially lucrative job is being a session singer or musician, unless you can become a chart-topping artist. Of course, this is possible, but is realistically a lot harder to achieve.
Session musicians get paid to perform on different songs or music projects and will also get a cut of the performance royalties when they are signed up to a performance royalty collection agency, such as PPL in the UK.
Studio engineers and producers are also very important in making recorded music.
Their technical, creative and communication skills are employed to record, mix and master songs, as well as to communicate with artists and encourage them to give their best performance.
These days, producing music has become a lot more accessible and inexpensive to everyone, so more and more artists are able to produce their own music without having to pay for expensive studio time or be signed to a record company.
The evolution of the artist/producer has completely changed the music business and enabled so many people to self-release their music, using social media as the main marketing tool.
Once music has been recorded, it will get released. Currently most of the music is released digitally for consumption through streaming and digital platforms.
If the artist is signed to a record company, they will deal with all of this, but self-releasing artists will go through a digital distributor, who will release the music to all the required platforms, such as Spotify and iTunes.
Another way for the artist's music to get heard is through radio plays. This will give the artist more exposure as well.
Royalties can also be collected from plays of the released music.
Another huge part of the industry is of course live events. One of the best ways to see your favourite band or artist perform.
Also, a great way for artists to earn more money and promote themselves and their music, through performance and selling merchandise.
Performers can also get performance royalties from playing at live events.
Let’s not forget, that these live shows wouldn’t happen without sound engineers and lighting engineers!
Live engineers play a crucial role in how the show sounds and looks. If the sound is bad, that may make the crowd think that the act isn’t very good.
Sound engineers have the responsibility of creating the best possible sound and mix, whilst often having to quickly troubleshoot potential problems for the show to go smoothly and safely.
Promoters also play an important role in the live events industry, as they must make sure that the right people actually know about the show for a good turnout.
Other professions are involved with the music business as well, and often specialise their trade in music.
For example, music lawyers specialise and deal with legal matters in the music industry, such as sample clearances and copyright infringement.
Managers for artists is another job role in the industry. They work to get jobs and the best deals for their artists. They will often make their money from taking a percentage of their artist’s income.
So, that should answer the question of what does music business mean. The music industry is always changing and evolving, but these are the main points about how it all works.
For those of you that want to take your music career further, we run a foundation degree course in Creative Music Production & Business where we combine the key aspects of producing music as well as exploring the music industry.
Check out some of our other blog posts:
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What Is a Zero-Cost Strategy?
The term zero-cost strategy refers to a trading or business decision that does not entail any expense to execute. A zero-cost strategy costs a business or individual nothing while improving operations, making processes more efficient, or serving to reduce future expenses. As a practice, a zero-cost strategy may be applied in a number of contexts to improve the performance of an asset.
- A zero-cost strategy is a trading or business decision that does not entail any additional expense to execute.
- Zero-cost trading strategies can be used with a variety of assets and investment types including equities, commodities, and options.
- A zero-cost portfolio may see an investor build a strategy based on going long in stocks expected to go up in value and short stocks expected to fall in value—a long/short strategy.
How Zero-Cost Strategies Work
Employing a zero-cost strategy means there are no additional expenses to make improvements or additions to the activities of a business or other entity. As mentioned above, an individual or business can cut future expenses, as well as simplify and streamline its current processes by using zero-cost strategies.
Zero-cost trading strategies can be used with a variety of assets and investment types including equities, commodities, and options. Zero-cost strategies also may involve the simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset with like costs that cancel each other out.
Zero-cost trading strategies also involve simultaneously purchasing and selling an asset with like costs that cancel each other out.
In investing, a zero-cost portfolio may see an investor build a strategy based on going long in stocks that are expected to go up in value and short stocks that are expected to fall in value—a long/short strategy. For example, an investor may choose to borrow $1 worth of Facebook stock and sell the $1 stake in Facebook, then reinvest that money into Twitter. After a year, assuming the trade has gone as expected, the investor sells Twitter to buy back and return the stock of Facebook they borrowed. The return on this zero-cost strategy is the return on Twitter minus the return on Facebook. One important point to note is that this scenario ignores margin requirements.
Examples of Zero-Cost Strategy
A company that seeks to increase its efficiency while also reducing costs may decide to buy a new network server to replace several older ones. Because of advances in technology, the older servers are resold and the sum earned from the sale pays for the new server, which is more efficient, works faster, and reduces costs going forward due to lower maintenance and energy costs.
A practical application of a zero-cost business strategy for an individual may be to improve sales prospects for a home by decluttering all the rooms, packing excess belongings into boxes, and moving the boxes to the garage. Because the labor is free, no cost is incurred.
Zero-Cost Strategies in Options Trading
One example of a zero-cost trading strategy is the zero-cost cylinder. In this options trading strategy, the investor works with two out-of-the-money options, either buying a call and selling a put, or buying a put and selling a call. The strike price—the price at which the contract can be bought or sold—is chosen so that the premiums from the purchase and sale effectively cancel each other out. Zero-cost strategies help reduce risk by eliminating upfront costs.
Another example of a zero-cost strategy in options trading involves setting up several options trades simultaneously for which the premiums from the net credit trades offset the net debit trade premiums. With such a strategy, profits are determined by the performance of the assets rather than transaction costs.
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How Much Crypto Coins You Need To Vote – A Cryptocurrency, as defined by Wikipedia is “a digital currency created to function as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital assets “. It was produced as an alternative to traditional currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Euro, and Japanese Yen.
A Cryptocurrency is a virtual property that is managed by its owners. No main bank is involved in the management of these currencies. Unlike traditional money and commodities, which are controlled by a single main body, the supply and need of the cryptocoin will be determined by the market. This characteristic is different from classical economies where the economy is led by a reserve bank. The distribution of the cryptocoin is usually done through a procedure called “minting ” in which a specific amount of the digital possession is produced in order to increase the supply and consequently decrease the need. When it comes to the Cryptocurrency journal, this transaction is done by cryptographers, which are groups that focus on developing the needed evidence of authenticity required for appropriate deal to take place.
While many Cryptocurrencies are open-source software application services, some exist that are proprietary. This is in contrast to the open source software application that defines most cryptocurrencies, which are established by any number of specific factors.
The creator of Litecoin, Robert H. Jackson, was trying to develop a secure and safe option to Cryptocurrency when he was required to leave the company he was working for. By producing this variation of Litecoin, which has a much lower trading volume than the original, he hoped to provide a trustworthy but secure kind of Cryptocurrency.
One of the most promising applications for the future of Cryptocurrency is the principle of “blockchain. ” A “blockchain ” is merely a big collection of encrypted files that are recorded and maintained on computer systems around the world. All deals are recorded and encoded utilizing intricate mathematics that protects info at the very same time as guaranteeing that it is available only to licensed participants in the chain.
The significant issue with traditional ledgers is that they are vulnerable to hacking which allows someone to take control of a company ‘s funds. By using crypto technology, a business ‘s ledger can be encrypted while keeping all the information of the deal private, guaranteeing that only they understand where the money has gone.
Another popular use for Cryptocurrency is in the area of virtual currencies. A “virtual currency ” is simply a stock or digital commodity that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. All aspects of the virtual currency exist offline, meaning that no exchange between actual commodities happens. Virtual currencies can be traded online much like any other stock on the traditional exchanges, and the benefit of this is that the exact same rewards and rules that apply to genuine markets are also applicable to this type of Cryptocurrency deal.
As more Crypto currencies are produced and made offered to consumers the advantages become clear. There are already a number of successful 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 involves the purchasing and trading of different currencies with different coins. In basic, if you buy cryptographic currencies, you ‘re generally buying Crypto currency. It ‘s essentially 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 truly isn ‘t that frightening. Nevertheless, there are particular precautions you require to take. You will wish to get a broker either a full service FX broker or a discount rate broker that charges a small cost. They will then supply you with an interface for your application and software application.
You will also desire to set up a “mini account “. When you trade in the open market with real money, there is no such thing as a mini account. Because you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely acceptable.
The MegaDroid goes one step further and permits you to begin trading with your favorite coins at any time. It does give you the capability to do some “fast ” trades, however that ‘s about the limit.
If you ‘re leery of quick trades, maybe you must be! It would be great if this was the only advantage of using the MegaDroid! Unfortunately, it ‘s not. What traders truly enjoy about this amazing robotic is the truth that it provides full control over their campaigns. Some traders still claim that it ‘s a hassle to by hand manage a project. I understand that it ‘s much easier than by hand managing a number of campaigns on your PC, however it does have a couple of benefits over the others.
One advantage is atomic swaps. With the brand-new variation, every trader can set up their own account. They can then deposit funds into their account and instantly utilize them to trade. This eliminates one of the primary headaches related to a person or company holding an account. Rather, they can handle their funds using their own wallets. Given that all deals are held digitally, you don ‘t requirement to handle brokers or dealing with trading exchanges – whatever is kept strictly within your own computer.
The last major perk is that it no longer holds ether and pennybase. The two largest exchanges by volume (Euromoney and MegaDroid) are now dealt with by the different creators of Cryptocorx. If you desire to trade on these 2 big exchanges, this suggests that you will have to download and install the software application on your own computer system. Although this might sound like a pain, it has considerably increased the liquidity of the two coins. All you ‘ve got to do is visit their sites and you ‘ll be able to see their estimate.
Although this might not seem crucial to somebody brand-new to the marketplace, however it is very important if you are thinking about utilizing cryptos for day-to-day trading. When you do decide to trade, you need to know how the market will move so that you can be prepared. This is done through seeing the short-term charts on these 2 major exchanges. If you do this correctly, you will know precisely when you must exit the market and get in – for this reason you can make better choices with your trades.
Now that we ‘ve reviewed the pros and cons, let ‘s have a look at some technical analysis techniques. I ‘ll be honest, as a new trader, you may want to avoid this part. If you are a technical expert and are familiar with the market trends, then it shouldn ‘t be an issue. If you aren ‘t familiar, then you may desire to follow along for a brief time simply to get a feel for what may happen.
With this information, you must be able to analyze the rate action on the 2 exchanges really easily and make excellent trades. There are a number of different ways to perform this buy and offer action, so you ‘ll desire to select one that you ‘re comfy with.
A Cryptocurrency, as specified by Wikipedia is “a digital currency designed to function as a medium of exchange for the transfer of digital properties “. ” A “blockchain ” is just a large collection of encrypted files that are tape-recorded and kept on computers around the world. A “virtual currency ” is just a stock or digital commodity that can be traded like a stock on the exchanges. Since you ‘re trading in the crypto market with ” cryptocoins “, it ‘s completely appropriate.
It does provide you the capability to do some “fast ” trades, but that ‘s about the limitation. How Much Crypto Coins You Need To Vote
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ISBN : 9780198704423
For many years Tanzania was the darling of international aid agencies. During the 1970s it received more assistance per capita than any other nation in the world. And yet, the economy performed dismally: growth was negative, exports collapsed, and poverty increased massively. In the mid 1980s, however, the international community changed tacks and developed an approach based on conditionality and 'program ownership'. Since 1996 the country has grown steadily, and social conditions have improved significantly. This book provides an economic history of Tanzania, since independence in 1961. It covers the policies of African Socialism and the Arusha Declaration, the collapse of the early 1980s, the rocky relationships with the IMF, and the reforms of the 1990s and 2000s.
1. Tanzania: Finally a Success Story?
2. Tanzania's Market-Oriented Reforms and Economic Performance: The 'Official Story'
3. The War of Ideas and Foreign Aid
4. The Evolution of Foreign Aid to Tanzania
5. The Arusha Declaration, Foreign Aid, and the Crisis of 1979
6. Economic Collapse
7. Tanzania and the IMF: A Troubled Relationship
8. The Wheels of Aid and the First Round of Reforms, 1986-1995
9. A New Beginning: The Ownership of Aid Programs
10. The Second Wave of Reforms: Vision and Policies
11. Is Tanzania a Success Story?
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On 10 October the Energy Council had the opportunity to bring the EU a substantial step closer to meeting the bloc’s ambitious energy and environmental policy goals and failed to do so. But hope springs eternal.
The EU’s 20-20-20 goals (20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and 20% renewables) all depend on the re-configuration of the European electricity grid into a ‘smart grid’. And the key to transforming the grid is the metering system. Yet we as the industry association believe that the importance of metering is not fully understood in the political discourse.
In a proposed directive on the internal market for electricity, part of the ‘third energy package’, the European Commission proposed smart metering by requiring that consumers receive monthly bills reflecting their actual energy consumption and costs – something ‘spinning disks’ cannot provide.
Smart metering, or advanced metering management (AMM), is when meters send their usage data back to a central server where invoices are created. But this data can be used for a variety of other things, including network planning and enabling consumers to be more energy efficient. It is vital to making the electricity system more dynamic. AMM presents the potential of bringing the electricity supply system into the digital and information age, providing the prerequisite technology for the smart grid.
The European Parliament in its first reading included a provision for an EU-wide roll-out of smart meters within ten years. Conversely, the energy ministers reached a consensus that amounts to little more than the status quo.
If the EU wants to achieve its ambitious goals, now is the time to act. The requirements laid down by the European Parliament on smart metering must be included in the final versions of the electricity and gas directives. The logic is simple: without smart metering, no smart grids. No smart grids, no 20-20-20 goals. If the European institutions are still arguing over a roll-out of smart meters in the EU by 2019, we can forget the idea of using smart grids to move to a low-carbon economy by 2020.
Smart metering alone will not bring a 20% increase in energy efficiency, a 20% increase in renewable energy or a 20% reduction in carbon emissions. But none of these things is possible without it. Therefore hope springs eternal.
President, European Smart Metering Industry Group
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A collective agreement, a collective agreement (TC) or a collective agreement (CBA) is a written collective agreement negotiated by collective bargaining for workers by one or more unions with the management of a company (or with an employer organization) that regulates the commercial conditions of workers in the workplace. These include regulating workers` wages, benefits and obligations, as well as the obligations and responsibilities of the employer, and often includes rules for a dispute resolution process. The Act is now enshrined in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 p.179, which provides that collective agreements are definitively considered non-binding in the United Kingdom. This presumption can be rebutted if the agreement is written and includes an express provision that it should be legally enforceable. Only one in three OECD workers has wages agreed upon through collective bargaining. The 36-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has become a strong supporter of collective bargaining to ensure that falling unemployment also leads to higher wages. It is important to note that after the conclusion of a KBA, both the employer and the union are required to respect this agreement. Therefore, an employer should retain the assistance of a lawyer before participating in collective bargaining. The union can negotiate with a single employer (who usually represents a company`s shareholder) or with a group of companies, depending on the country, in order to reach an industry-wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as an employment contract between an employer and one or more unions.
Collective bargaining is conducted in negotiations between union representatives and employers (usually represented by management or, in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, by an employers` organisation) on the conditions of employment of workers, such as wages, working time, working conditions, redress procedures and trade union rights and obligations. The parties often refer to the outcome of the collective agreement or collective agreement (AEC) negotiation. In Sweden, about 90% of employees are subject to collective agreements and 83% in the private sector (2017). Collective agreements generally contain minimum wage provisions. Sweden does not have legislation on minimum wages or legislation extending collective agreements to disorganised employers. Unseated employers can sign replacement agreements directly with unions, but many do not.
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Regarding the EC in the broadest sense, clusters can be defined as regional concentrations of specialized companies and institutions connected through multiple linkages. However, other definitions are used as well, depending on the context and purpose of the discussion. In particular, it seems to be important to clearly distinguish between clusters, cluster policies and cluster initiatives. Whereas clusters are a real economic phenomenon that can be economically measured, cluster policies are more an expression of political commitment to support existing clusters or the emergence of new clusters. Cluster initiatives are practical actions to strengthen cluster development, which can, but must not necessarily be, based on a formulated cluster policy
The OECD defines clusters as a geographic concentration of firms, higher education and research institutions, and other public and private entities which favours collaboration on complementary economic activities.
Formal definitions of clusters may vary, but many experts agree with economic expert and Harvard professor, Michael Porter’s 1 definition that a cluster is defined as a geographic concentration of inter-connected companies and institutions working in a common industry. In addition, clusters encompass an array of collaborating and competing services and providers that create a specialized infrastructure, which supports the cluster’s industry. Finally, clusters draw upon a shared talent pool of specialized skilled labor.
According to the Clusters Policies White-book, the clustering is generally defined as a process of firms and other actors co-locating within a concentrated geographical area, cooperating around a certain functional niche, and establishing close linkages and working alliances to improve their collective competitiveness. The concept is related to, but goes beyond, that of agglomeration or co-location of related activities.
Whereas co-location may be associated with favourable external effects that are not intended but rather incidental (Mishan 2 ), joint strategies and actions motivated by the anticipation of mutual benefits are greatly important in clustering. Until recently, the process was nevertheless viewed as exogenously determined, that is, from the viewpoint of a policymaker, a member of an industry or a resident in a region or a nation; you were lucky if you had it, or were part of it.
The cooperation between clusters and research organizations should be part of the strategic approach of each – university, member companies and cluster (further also region and industry). FIRE has been working on giving directions to clusters on how to stimulate and improve innovation pull-through. These guidelines highlight the enablers which need to be fulfilled, the most common barriers and the success stories.
1. PORTER, Michael E. CLUSTERS of INNOVATION: Regional Foundations of U.S. Competitiveness. October 2001. Monitor Group ontheFRONTIER Council on Competitiveness. SBN 1-889866-23-7↩
2. MISHAN EJ. Cost-benefit analysis: and informal introduction, London: Allen & Unwin, 1971↩
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On the first Friday of every month, the U.S. Labor Department reports key employment data for the previous monthly period. The report includes information about all aspects of the job market: the unemployment rate, the number of jobs added or lost, total hours worked, average hourly wages, and the jobs picture for various sectors of the economy like government jobs, restaurants, manufacturing, and others. This “Non-farm Payroll Employment Report” is our nation’s monthly report on how many jobs were added or lost, and where. The government doesn’t keep track of farm employees because farm employment is considered to be seasonal.
When the “Jobs Number” is reported, it is typically provided as a piece of “data”, like “The government reports that 180,000 jobs were created in July”, followed by “this is higher than expected”, or “this is lower than expected”. What we’d like to know is why this number is important, and whether or not the reported number is good news or bad. To answer these questions, we need to understand the total workforce (the number of people of working age), and how many jobs are currently available for that workforce. and how many jobs need to be created to have enough jobs available for that workforce..
Several things are happening in the workforce two of which have a significant impact. The first is population growth which translates into workforce growth. The Congressional Budget Office estimates for workforce growth in 2014 and 2015 are approximately 1 million for each of those years. Again some simple math shows that if we need 1,000,000 new jobs per year, then the economy needs to create about 83,500 new jobs per month.
1,000,000 new jobs / 12 months = ~83,500 new jobs needed per month
The second is the number of people leaving the workforce. Since approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age every day, the number of people retiring from the workforce could approach 300,000 each month, or 3,650,000 each year. Since many people are delaying retirement, or re-entering the workforce after retirement, the actual number of people leaving the workforce is somewhat lower.
In the wake of the Great Recession of 2007 there was a reduction in payroll employment approaching 9 million in January of 2010 when the trend began to reverse. The time required to recover these 9 million jobs depends on how many new jobs are created and how quickly.
Shortage of 9 Million Jobs in 2010
Jobs Created per month Time to recover from 2010
100,000 90 Months (7.5 Years – 2017)
125,000 72 Months (6 Years – 2016)
150,000 60 Months (5 Years – 2015)
But in addition to recovering these 9 million jobs, the workforce was also growing at about 1,000,000 people per year. So even though the economy may have been creating (or recovering) about 1,500,000 jobs per year, we really needed to generate about 2,000,000. Over a five year period, this would leave us with a shortfall of about a 2.5 million jobs. But that’s not where we are today. The actual shortfall as of January 2015 was 5.6 million jobs. This number includes workforce growth, so we can use this number to determine a reasonable timeline for full recovery.
If the economy is creating 180,000 jobs each month, then with some simple math we can determine that the job market should recover after about 31 additional months from now, or 2018. This would mean another 2+ years of difficult employment prospects for those out of work, and those entering the workforce.
5.6 million Jobs needed / 180,000 jobs created monthly = ~31 months
The actual job creation numbers reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest a longer timeline. The October 2015 Jobs Report stated that job creation for September 2015 was 142,000, but it also noted that downward revisions were made for some prior months this year. August numbers were revised down from 173,000 to 136,000 and July numbers were revised down from 245,000 to 223,000. The 2015 average monthly job creation number announced November 6th is 206,000.
5.6 million Jobs needed / 206,000 jobs created monthly = ~27 months
This means that at the current rate of job creation, it will be February 2018 before we recover all of the jobs lost during the recession. Expecting the economy to create 206,000 jobs each month is a bit optimistic, so it will probably take longer.
Thanks for reading.
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Economic Reasoning and Applications
(50:220:200: 3 credits)
Instructor: Madan Mittal
Class Meeting Day: Fridays
Class Meeting Times: 12:20 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Class Meeting Place: Business and Science Building (BSB) 116
Email: You may contact me directly through the Sakai website.
You can also contact me at my personal e-mail shown below.
This course will introduce the essential elements of micro and macroeconomic reasoning and its practical applications at a fundamental level. Topics include Resource Allocations, Basic Economic Relations, Consumer Behaviors and Optimal Decisions, Production and Cost Analysis, Economic and Management Decisions, Market Structures, Unemployment and Inflation, Business Cycles, Financial Markets, the US and Global Issues, and Government Policies. After the coverage of each topic, students will be asked to gather economic data/information and use simple analytical tools to examine the validity of each economic practical application. Economic news and real-life examples will be used how each theorem can be applied to practical issues/situations.
After completing this course, the student will be able to
- Better understand and analyze the day to day economic concepts he/she is exposed to in his/her daily life.
- Use a systematic approach to analyze economic situations faced in daily personal and professional life and making informed economic decisions.
- Organize, analyze and explain economic information.
After this course, students will be equipped with critical thinking and analytical ability to make better decisions.
Textbook and Other Required Materials
The text for this course is Economics: Theory through Applications v. 1.0, by Russell Cooper and A. Andrew John, Flat World Knowledge.
The ISBN 13 # is 978-1-4533-2836-1.
Students should have a non-programmable calculator (available for about $5 in Staples). No exam may be taken with a programmable calculator or cell phone.
Course Requirements and Grade Evaluation
Grades will be based on your performance in Homework, Quizzes, Midterm Exam and Final Exam.
|Homework (4 Assignments, 5% Each)||20%|
|Quizzes (2 Quizzes, 10% Each)||20%|
|A 85.0-100.0||B+ 78.0-84.9||B 70.0-77.9|
|C+ 64.0-69.9||C 58.0-63.9||D 50.0-57.9|
|F Below 50.0|
Homework Assignments, Class Prep & Participation
Students are responsible for reading the chapters, preparing assigned problems and analysis for discussion before each class. Do them early to avoid any emergencies preventing your completion by the due date. If a Homework assignment is submitted to me by the end of the class on the day it is due, you will get 100% credit for what you score. However, if your assignment is late and submitted to me by 12:00 Noon on the first Wednesday after the due date, you will get 50% credit for what you score. There will be no credit for assignments submitted later than that.
Please access the Sakai site regularly for any updates or notices.
If I am notified in advance that you cannot take a Quiz when it is scheduled, I will arrange a make-up date. If you take the Quiz on the make-up date, you will get 100% credit for what you score. If you fail to take the Quiz on the make-up date, 50% of the weight for that Quiz will go to the Midterm Exam or the Final Exam if Midterm Exam has already passed.
Questions are based on assigned textbook readings, homework problems, class lectures and discussions. You are responsible for concepts that are assigned in the readings even if they are not explicitly covered in class.
No makeup exams will be administered. The weight of a midterm in the final grade calculation will fall on the final exam if a midterm is not taken.
Grades of incomplete will not be given to students who do not take the final exam unless I am contacted prior to submitting my grades with written documentation of hospitalization, etc. Students who do not take the final exam and do not present credible written documentation will receive a zero on the final.
Cheating or the appearance of cheating will result in an automatic F for the course. I encourage working together on homework; however, hand in individual assignments.
Attendance/Class Participation and Rules
Regular attendance in class is expected. Active participation in class discussions is important for the success of our class. Please give me an email notification if you must miss class. Please turn off speaker/sound on all cell phones, headphones, personal computer and electronic devices before class begins.
Statement on Academic Freedom
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. I ask that you respect each other’s opinions, especially when they differ from your own.
Students with Disabilities
I ask any student with a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability to inform me as soon as possible. The Office of Disability Services (856-225-6442) is part of the Rutgers-Camden Learning Center located in Armitage Hall, EOF Office Suite, Rooms 358-368. Tim Pure, is the Disability Services Coordinator. He can be reached by contacting the Rutgers-Camden Learning Center at (856) 225-6442 or at [email protected]. Also, visit the Office of Disability Services website https://learn.camden.rutgers.edu/disability/disabilities.html
Together, we will coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
I will be available on Wednesdays from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and Fridays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and by appointment in Room 332 Armitage Hall.
Reading Assignments Subject to Change
A list of reading Assignments for the semester is shown below. Additions and changes will be communicated to you during the class.
|1||Friday, January 25||Chapters 1, 2 & 3|
|2||Friday, February 1||Chapters 4 & 5|
|3||Friday, February 8||Chapters 6 & 7|
|4||Friday, February 15||Chapters 8 & 9|
|5||Friday, February 22||Chapters 10 & Quiz 1|
|6||Friday, March 1||Review Quiz 1 & Ch. 11|
|7||Friday, March 8||Chapters 12 & 15|
|8||Friday, March 15||Mid Term Exam & Ch. 16|
|9||Friday, March 22||Spring Break|
|10||Friday, March 29||Review MT & Chapter 17|
|11||Friday, April 5||Chapters 18 & 19|
|12||Friday, April 12||Chapters 20 & 21|
|13||Friday, April 19||Chapter 22 & Quiz 2|
|14||Friday, April 26||Review Quiz 2 & Ch. 24|
|15||Friday, May 3||Chapters 25 & 27|
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Legislators this week started discussions to decide the fate of the Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP), a program that brings energy efficiency and utility bill savings to low-income California families. The program, whose funding Gov. Brown proposed eliminating in his proposed budget, is financed through the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which directs money collected from polluters through cap-and-trade and invest it in cleaning the environment and encouraging economic growth within the most vulnerable communities.
Eliminating funding for LIWP — a program that brings low-income families #energyefficiency and utliity bill savings — would be a step backwards for California.
LIWP provides free or deeply discounted energy efficiency upgrades and solar power systems for low-income residents in California’s most polluted and economically underserved neighborhoods. As the governor’s proposed budget goes through a process of revision and negotiations in both legislative houses, decision-makers and community members alike should understand that eliminating this program would threaten the potential to help low-income residents live a more resilient life.
Weatherization Benefits Whole Communities
LIWP is the only weatherization program that targets low-income residents in communities that suffer the most from the health impacts of pollution and climate change. The same residents have also experienced systemic exclusion from accessing clean energy investments, and as a result, they have received fewer opportunities to build wealth within their homes and communities. LIWP helps to address these health and economic inequities.
The program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency within both affordable single-family and multi-family homes. However, and perhaps more important to community members, LIWP also provides transformative benefits that help people in disadvantaged communities become more resilient to economic burdens and climate impacts. These benefits include energy measures that support healthy, safe, and comfortable homes and investments that provide affordable homes, lower energy bills, create jobs, and increase the value of property.
An energy efficient home is a resilient home
Low-income people are especially vulnerable to extreme weather conditions exacerbated by climate change, such as heat stress and cold exposure. Energy efficiency measures installed through LIWP can protect families from these effects. They help residents lower their energy bills and increase the value of their homes by fixing structural issues like leaky windows or inadequate attic insulation and by providing the most up to date appliances and equipment.
Roughly 500,000 to 800,000 farmworkers reside in California and they are excluded from most legal protections that ensure safe and healthy living conditions. Because of their working environment, unreliable income and unstable housing, farm workers often face hazardous living conditions at work and at home. In recognition of these issues, LIWP’s administrator, the California Department of Community Services & Development, began to focus the LIWP multi-family program on affordable housing occupied by farmworkers to help alleviate these dangers. CSD also developed a component of its single-family program that focuses on the direct installation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems for farmworker residents. This is just one example of how the program identifies specific needs within a community and provides targeted solutions. LIWP also addresses respiratory illnesses by improving air quality and educating residents about household hazards like mold, carbon monoxide, and lead paint.
A less obvious but equally vital effect is the impact of energy efficiency programs on local workforce development and job creation. Providing opportunities to high-road green jobs helps our communities be more financially secure. LIWP is one of the few clean energy programs in California that intentionally directs funds towards the upward mobility of our communities by providing job training and job placement for local and low-income residents in energy efficiency and solar projects.
For example, GRID Alternatives, LIWP’s single-family solar program administrator, has provided hands-on training for more than 7,000 individuals in solar installation in the past three years. Association for Energy Affordability, LIWP’s large multi-family program administrator, similarly uses its workforce development expertise to train and support workers entering the weatherization job force for the first time. Efforts like this empower community members to not only adopt clean energy measures but also take a bigger role in creating a cleaner and more economically resilient future for their families.
Let’s look beyond 2018 and really imagine what it would look like for LIWP to achieve more than just weatherization, energy savings, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. While LIWP is certainly not the silver bullet that will solve all existing environmental and economic inequities, Gov. Brown’s original decision to fund LIWP led to millions of dollars of direct and indirect benefits to California’s most vulnerable populations— and we do not want this to stop. We want to see LIWP achieve its full potential to transform vulnerable neighborhoods into resilient and empowered communities by improving public health and reducing the wealth gap.
Greenlining stands with coalition partners throughout the state that are strongly advocating for the continuation of LIWP funding. Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) is a coalition of non-profits that advance healthy, affordable solutions for underserved renters. The California Climate Equity Coalition (CCEC) is a network of organizations across the state aimed at ensuring equitable implementation of climate investments in disadvantaged communities. Through legislative and regulatory advocacy, CCEC prioritizes support for programs such as LIWP. These coalitions, along with California Environmental Justice Alliance and Sustainable Communities for All strongly urge the governor and legislators to revise the budget and fund LIWP at $75 million.
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If you were shrewd enough to invest $15,000 in Microsoft ten years ago you’d be a millionaire by now. The engine of growth that has driven the computer industry, and looks set to make Bill Gates the world’s first trillionaire, is no lucky fluke. Underpinning it have been sweeping advances in fundamental electronics. The first computers used bulky vacuum tubes and needed entire buildings to house them. Then in the 1960’s along came the transistor, which in turn gave way to the incredible shrinking microchip. But this is not the end of the story. Yet more exotic technologies are in the pipeline, and they promise to have as great an impact on the information industry as did the invention of the original computer.
The commercial success of computers stems from the fact that with each technological leap, the processing power of computers has soared and the costs have plummeted, allowing manufacturers to penetrate new markets and hugely expand production. The inexorable rise of the computer’s potency is expressed in a rough and ready rule known as Moore’s Law, after Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel. According to this dictum, the processing power of computers doubles every 18 months. But how long can it go on?
Moore’s law is a direct consequence of the “small is beautiful” philosophy. By cramming ever more circuitry into a smaller and smaller volume, faster information processing can be achieved. Like all good things, it can’t go on forever: there is a limit to how small electronic parts can be. On current estimates, in less than 15 years, chip components will approach atomic size. What happens then?
The problem is not so much with the particulate nature of atoms as such. Rather it lies with the weird nature of physics that applies in the atomic realm. Here, the dependable laws of Newtonian mechanics dissolve away into a maelstrom of fuzziness and uncertainty.
To understand what this means for computation, picture a computer chip as a glorified network of switches linked by wires in such a way as to represent strings of 1’s and 0’s – so-called binary numbers. Every time a switch is flipped, a bit of information gets processed; for example, a 0 becomes a 1. Computers are reliable because in every case a switch is either on or off; there can be no ambiguity. But for decades physicists have known that on an atomic scale, this either/or property of physical states is fundamentally compromised.
The source of the trouble lies with something known as Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Put crudely, it says there is an inescapable vagueness, or indeterminism, in the behaviour of matter on the micro-scale. For example, today an atom in a certain state may do such-and-such, tomorrow an identical atom could do something completely different. According to the uncertainty principle, it’s generally impossible to know in advance what will actually happen – only the betting odds of the various alternatives can be given. Essentially, nature is reduced to a game of chance.
Atomic uncertainly is a basic part of a branch of science known as quantum mechanics, and it’s one of the oddest products of twentieth century physics. So odd, in fact, that no less a scientist than Albert Einstein flatly refused to believe it. “God does not play dice with the universe,” he famously retorted. Einstein hated to think that nature is inherently and fundamentally indeterministic. But it is. Einstein notwithstanding, it is now an accepted fact that, at the deepest level of reality, the physical world is irreducibly random.
When it comes to atomic-scale information processing, the fact that the behaviour of matter is unreliable poses an obvious problem. The computer is the very epitome of a deterministic system: it takes some information as input, processes it, and delivers a definite output. Repeat the process and you get the same output. A computer that behaved whimsically, giving haphazard answers to identical computations, would be useless for most purposes. But try to compute at the atomic level and that’s just what is likely to happen. To many physicists, it looks like the game will soon be up for Moore’s Law.
Although the existence of a fundamental physical limit to the power of computation has been recognized for many years, it was only in 1981 that the American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman confronted the problem head-on. In a visionary lecture delivered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Feynman speculated that perhaps the sin of quantum uncertainty could be turned into a virtue. Suppose, he mused, that instead of treating quantum processes as an unavoidable source of error to classical computation, one instead harnessed them to perform the computations themselves? In other words, why not use quantum mechanics to compute?
It took only a few years for Feynman’s idea of a “quantum computer” to crystallize into a practical project. In a trail-blazing paper published in 1985, Oxford theoretical physicist David Deutsch set out the basic framework for how such a device might work. Today, scientists around the world are racing to be the first to make it happen. At stake is far more than a perpetuation of Moore’s Law. The quantum computer has implications as revolutionary as any piece of technology in history. If such a machine could be built, it would transform not just the computer industry, but our experience of physical existence itself. In a sense, it would lead to a blending of real and virtual reality.
At the heart of quantum computation lies one of the strangest and most baffling concepts in the history of science. It is known technically as ‘superposition’. A simple example concerns the way an electron circles the nucleus of an atom. The rules of quantum mechanics permit the electron to orbit only in certain definite energy levels. An electron may jump abruptly from one energy level to a higher one if enough energy is provided. Conversely, left to itself, an electron will spontaneously drop down from a higher level to a lower one, giving off energy in the process. That is the way atoms emit light, for example.
Because of the uncertainty principle, it’s normally impossible to say exactly when the transition will occur. If the energy of the atom is measured, however, the electron is always found to be either in one level or the other, never in between. You can’t catch it changing places.
Now comes the weird bit. Suppose a certain amount of energy is directed at the atom, but not enough to make it jump quickly to an excited state. According to the bizarre rules of quantum mechanics, the atom enters a sort of limbo in which it is somehow in both excited and unexcited states at once. This is the all-important superposition of states. In effect, it is a type of hybrid reality, in which both possibilities – excited and unexcited atom – co-exist. Such a ghostly amalgam of two alternative worlds is not some sort of mathematical fiction, but genuinely real. Physicists routinely create quantum superpositions in the laboratory, and some electronic components are even designed to exploit them in order to produce desired electrical effects.
For 70 years physicists have argued over what to make of quantum superpositions. What really happens to an electron or an atom when it assumes a schizophrenic identity? How can an electron be in two places at once? Though there is still no consensus, the most popular view is that a superposition is best thought of as two parallel universes that are somehow both there, overlapping in a sort of dual existence. In the case of the atom, there are two alternative worlds, or realities, one with the electron in the excited state, the other with the electron in the unexcited state. When the atom is put into a superposition, both worlds exist side-by-side.
Some physicists think of the alternative worlds in a superposition as mere phantom realities, and suppose that when an observation is made it has the effect of transforming what is only a potential universe into an actual one. Because of the uncertainty principle, the observer can’t know in advance which of the two alternative worlds will be promoted to concrete existence by the act of observation, but in every case a single reality is revealed – never a hybrid world. Other physicists are convinced that both worlds are equally real. Since a general quantum state consists of a superposition of not just two, but an unlimited number of alternative worlds, the latter interpretation implies an outlandish picture of reality: there isn’t just one universe, but an infinity of different universes, existing in parallel, and linked through quantum processes. Bizarre though the many-universes theory may seem, it should not be dismissed lightly. After all, its proponents include such luminaries as Stephen Hawking and Murray Gell-Mann, and entire international conferences are devoted to its ramifications.
How does all this relate to computation? The fact that an atom can be in either an excited or an unexcited state can be used to encode information: 0 for unexcited, 1 for excited. A quantum leap between the two states will convert a 1 to a 0 or vice versa. So atomic transitions can therefore be used as switches or gates for computation.
The true power of a quantum computer comes, however, from the ability to exploit superpositions in the switching processes. The key step is to apply the superposition principle to states involving more than one electron. To get an idea of what is involved, imagine a row of coins, each of which can be in one of two states: either heads or tails facing up. Coins too could be used to represent a number, with 0 for heads and 1 for tails. Two coins can exist in four possible states: heads-heads, heads-tails, tails-heads and tails-tails, corresponding to the numbers 00, 01, 10 and 11. Similarly three coins can have 8 configurations, 4 can have 16 and so on. Notice how the number of combinations escalates as more coins are considered.
Now imagine that instead of the coins we have many electrons, each of which can exist in one of two states. This is close to the truth, as many subatomic particles when placed in a magnetic field can indeed adopt only two configurations: parallel or antiparallel to the field. Quantum mechanics allows that the state of the system as a whole can be a superposition of all possible such “heads/tails” alternatives. With even a handful of electrons, the number of alternatives making up the superposition is enormous, and each one can be used to process information at the same time as all the others. To use the jargon, a quantum superposition allows for massive parallel computation. In effect, the system can compute simultaneously in all the parallel universes, and then combine the results at the end of the calculation. The upshot is an exponential increase in computational power. A quantum computer with only 300 electrons, for example, would have more components in its superposition than all the atoms in the observable universe!
Achieving superpositions of many-particle states is not easy (the particles don’t have to be electrons). Quantum superpositions are notoriously fragile, and tend to be destroyed by the influence of the environment, a process known as decoherence. Maintaining a superposition is like trying to balance a pencil on its point. So far physicists have been able to attain quantum computational states involving only two or three particles at a time, but researchers in several countries are hastily devising subtle ways to improve on this and to combat the degenerative effects of decoherence. Gerard Milburn of the University of Queensland and Robert Clark of the University of New South Wales are experimenting with phosphorus atoms embedded in silicon, using the orientation of the phosphorus nuclei as the quantum equivalent of heads and tails.
The race to build a functioning quantum computer is motivated by more than a curiosity to see if it can work. If we had such a machine at our disposal, it could perform tasks that no conventional computer could ever accomplish. A famous example concerns the very practical subject of cryptography. Many government departments, military institutions and businesses keep their messages secret using a method of encryption based on multiplying prime numbers. (A prime number is one that cannot be divided by any other whole number except one.) Multiplying two primes is relatively easy. Most people could quickly work out that, say, 137 x 291 = 39867. But going backwards is much harder. Given 39867 and asked to find the prime factors, it could take a lot of trial and error before you hit on 137 and 291. Even a computer finds the reverse process hard, and if the two prime numbers have 100 digits, the task is effectively impossible even for a supercomputer.
In 1995 Peter Shor, now at AT&T Labs in Florham Park, New Jersey, demonstrated that a quantum computer could make short work of the arduous task of factorising large prime numbers. At this stage governments and military organizations began to take an interest, since it implied that a quantum computer would render many encrypted data insecure. Research projects were started at defense labs such as Los Alamos in New Mexico. NATO and the U.S. National Security Agency began pumping millions of dollars into research. Oxford University set up a special Centre for Quantum Computation.
Soon mathematicians began to identify other problems that looked vulnerable to solution by quantum computation. Most of them fall in the category of search algorithms – various forms of finding needles in haystacks. Locating a friend’s phone number in a directory is easy, but if what you have is a number and you want to work backwards to find the name, you are in for a long job.
A celebrated challenge of this sort is known as the travelling salesman problem. Suppose a salesman has to visit four cities once and only once, and the company wishes to keep down the travel costs. The problem is to determine the routing that involves minimal mileage. In the case of four cities, A, B, C and D, it wouldn’t take long to determine the distance traveled in the various alternative itineraries – ABCD, ACBD, ADCB and so on. But for twenty cities the task becomes formidable, and soars further as additional cities are added.
It is too soon to generalise on how effectively quantum computers will be able to short-circuit these sorts of mega-search problems, but the expectation is that they will lead to a breathtaking increase in speed. At least some problems that would take a conventional supercomputer longer than the age of the universe should be solvable on a quantum computer in next to no time. The practical consequences of this awesome computational power have scarcely been glimpsed.
Some scientists see an altogether deeper significance in the quest for the quantum computer. Ultimately, the laws of the universe are quantum mechanical. The fact that we normally encounter weird quantum effects only at the atomic level has blinded us to the fact that – to paraphrase Einstein – God really does play dice with the universe. The main use of computers is to simulate the real world, whether it is a game of Nintendo, a flight simulator or a calculation of the orbit of a spacecraft. But conventional computers recreate the non-quantum world of daily experience. They are ill suited to dealing with the world of atoms and molecules. Recently, however, a group at MIT succeeded in simulating the behaviour of a quantum oscillator using a prototype quantum computer consisting of just four particles.
But there is more at stake here than practical applications, as first pointed out by David Deutsch. A quantum computer, by its very logical nature, is in principle capable of simulating the entire quantum universe in which it is embedded. It is therefore the ultimate virtual reality machine. In other words, a small part of reality can in some sense capture and embody the whole. The fact that the physi al universe is constructed in this way – that wholes and parts are mutually enfolded in mathematical self-consistency – is a stunning discovery that impacts on philosophy and even theology. By achieving quantum computation, mankind will lift a tiny corner of the veil of mystery that shrouds the ultimate nature of reality. We shall finally have captured the vision elucidated so eloquently by William Blake two centuries ago:
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
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Starting a new business is no simple task; there are mountains of planning to do, and the initial funding has to be secured before you can even get started. Then there’s hiring, establishing supply chains, and perhaps even considering locations if it’s that sort of business. Market research can help to establish the demand for your product or service, and even figure out what your profit margins might be.
Does this all sound a bit intimidating? You’re not alone. Very few people are taught about everything that goes into running a business throughout their typical schooling. That’s why business degrees became so popular in the first place—it finally gives you a chance to learn what you need to know to succeed in the world of business. But business degrees can be pretty specific, often with a focus on areas like accounting or marketing. Is it really possible to get that big-picture education you need to kick-start a business?
To put it simply, yes. Business degree programs usually start off with the basics, teaching a bit in every critical department. This has the benefit of both offering students a chance to experience each area of business firsthand to find out how it fits them and providing them with at least a fundamental level of knowledge in all areas. If a student decides they want their business career to be in accounting after taking their first accounting class, they can easily switch into setting that up as their specialty. While that kind of specialization can certainly come in handy for someone starting a business for the first time, business owners need so much knowledge in so many areas that a specialty like that can leave a few gaps. Other specialties, like management, can be a bit more fitting since its focus is on leading employees and ensuring work gets done on time, but you may still have.
Fortunately, universities have realized this potential issue and have some options available for go-getters who are eager to launch their own business right out of the gate. A business degree with a concentration in entrepreneurship is the most typical option and tends to offer the opportunity to build up a slightly different set of skills from other business degrees. While entrepreneurship degrees will still teach the fundamentals of advertising and finance and public relationships, they also target areas that are far more important for a future business owner. They may walk you through tasks like forming a solid, workable business plan or teach about the technologies that you’ll have to work with to build a business in the modern age, such as building websites designed for digital commerce. They teach how to read the market, and when a good time to invest or expand might be. If you’re lucky, you might even be given the opportunity to do an internship with local businesses, offering the chance to build a mentor relationship and learn firsthand from their failures and successes. You’ll also be able to do plenty of networking, with professors and other students in addition to any businesses or professionals that might be working with the program.
There’s plenty of “soft skills” you can pick up in a business degree program as well, whether you go the entrepreneurial route or not. Business programs teach the kind of leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills that are critical to management careers, including the running of your own business. The aforementioned networking opportunities will teach you how to establish and maintain business relationships, which can be critical for a fledgling business whose survival is far from assured. While the “harder” skills and knowledge you learn while earning a degree is important for establishing a business and ensuring the numbers add up, the value of these soft skills is almost incalculable when it comes to long-term success.
A business degree does represent a substantial investment, and there’s no arguing that. But it’s an investment in yourself and in your business’s future. As the owner and founder of a business, your business’s success is the same as your own, and it depends heavily on how you guide it. By making the choice to go to school and learn the proper ways of running a business, you’re making a commitment to your future business that says, “if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right, and give this the best chance to succeed that I possibly can.” It sends a message that tells the world you believe in this idea enough to spend years preparing. What better way could there be?
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Supporting Asset Development and Accumulation
This toolkit will help you understand and explain two key Supplemental Security Income (SSI) policies that allow youth to save money to support a range of goals related to future employment and independence. Our focus will be on two saving and asset accumulation options: SSI’s Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS); and the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account.
Special SSI Income and Resource Exclusions to Support Employment and Independence
The SSI program has some lesser-known exclusions from income and/or resources that a transition-aged youth (ages 14 to 25) could use to meet needs related to employment and long-term independence. These include the following:
- The Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS)
- Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
- Section 529 College Savings Accounts
- Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)
- Special Needs Trusts
We describe below, in some detail, the use of the PASS and ABLE account as ways to save and accumulate assets as permitted by special SSI income or resource exclusion rules. We also provide web-based resources for the PASS, ABLE account, and the other three special accounts mentioned.
SSI’s Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS)
The PASS allows an individual to set aside income and/or resources that would otherwise count in determining SSI eligibility or payment amount in order to pay for items and services to support a vocational goal. If a PASS proposal is approved by the SSI program, the money set aside will not count as income and the resources that are accumulated will not count toward SSI’s $2,000 resource limit.
Example: Daniel, age 18, has a learning disability and a moderate hearing impairment. He gets $640 in Social Security Childhood Disability payments (on the Social Security record of a parent who is disabled) and an SSI payment of $151 per month. It is March and Daniel will graduate from high school in June. He will begin attending college in September studying to become an accountant. Daniel lives about 35 miles from the college and would like to obtain a used car to travel to and from the campus, since public transportation is not available where he lives.
Daniel’s PASS: His written PASS proposal lists his vocational goal as accountant. He will save $620 of his Social Security each month toward the purchase of a $10,000 used car and to pay for $2,000 per year car insurance while attending school. He will save $3,100 between April and August: to make a $2,000 down payment on the car (with a car loan to finance the remaining $8,000); to pay $1,000 for his first six months of car insurance; and the remaining $120 to provide the start of a maintenance and repair fund. During the remaining months of his 29-month PASS, Daniel’s $620 monthly deposits into the dedicated PASS account will be used: to pay for monthly car payments on a 24-month loan (about $350 to $375 per month); to pay for $2,000 per year in car insurance; and to pay for routine maintenance and repairs.
You can explain to a youth like Daniel and his family that a PASS can be used to pay for items, like a vehicle, which most State VR agencies will not be able to cover through their Individualized Plan of Employment.
Here is how Daniel’s SSI payment is calculated without and with an approved PASS:
Without a PASS:
|- 20||General income Exclusion|
|$771||Base SSI Rate|
|-$620||Countable unearned income|
|$151||Monthly SSI payment|
With an Approved PASS:
|-$20||General income exclusion|
|$771||Base SSI rate|
|-$0||Countable unearned income|
|$771||New monthly SSI payment|
After Daniel’s PASS is approved, his monthly SSI payment goes up by $620 – the exact amount of the Social Security that he has set aside in the dedicated PASS account. Daniel will still have the same $770 per month to meet expenses unrelated to the PASS.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
ABLE accounts are authorized by section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code which became law in late 2014.
They allow a “designated beneficiary” with a disability to save money in an account for future Qualified Disability Expenses. The first ABLE accounts became active in 2016 and there are now active accounts in more than 40 states.
ABLE Accounts: A Unique Opportunity for SSI Recipients to Have a Protected Asset Account
- The beneficiary can establish an account in his or her own state or, if their own state does not offer accounts, in any of 20 or more states that have a national ABLE account.
- Up to $15,000 can be contributed to the account in 2019, by the beneficiary, a family member, other third party, or trust. Up to an additional $12,140 can be contributed out of a beneficiary’s annual earnings.
- Contributions by others, including contributions by a trust, are not considered income to the beneficiary by SSI or Medicaid.
- Up to $100,000 in the account is considered by SSI to be an exempt resource.
- If account assets exceed $100,000 and put the beneficiary above SSI’s $2,000 resource limit, SSI is indefinitely suspended. If the account again falls below $100,000 SSI can be reinstated without a new application.
- If SSI is suspended because of excess ABLE account assets, Medicaid eligibility continues.
- If the account assets are distributed to pay for Qualified Disability Expenses (such as housing or transportation costs), distributions are not counted as income by SSI or Medicaid programs.
Example: Candida recently turned age 21 and has a rare bone disease that limits her mobility. She gets monthly SSI disability payments of $771 and automatic Medicaid as available with SSI in 41 states. Candida is completing her second year of college studies. She has been living at home but would like to move into a $800 per month apartment (including utilities) near the college, with plans to be a high school science teacher. She cannot afford this rent as an SSI beneficiary unless she takes out a student loan. Her grandmother has offered to pay Candida’s rent and a security deposit but Candida has learned that the SSI program would treat her rent payment as in-kind income and reduce her SSI payment by $257 per month.
Candida’s ABLE Account: Candida starts the account in 2019 with a $500 deposit from her savings. Then her grandmother deposits $12,000 into the ABLE account as a way to help Candida pay for her rent and a security deposit. Candida’s parents agree to put an additional $2,500 into the account when they receive their federal income tax refund. This would put total ABLE account deposits right at the 2019 limit of $15,000. Knowing that she could put up to an additional $12,140 into the account from her earnings, Candida is considering depositing additional money into the ABLE account from her summer job. (Note: If Candida works during the summer, she will be eligible for SSI’s Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) as she is a full-time student under age 22. This means that all her gross income from the summer job will be excluded if under $1,870 each month, up to $7,550 for calendar year 2019, with her SSI payment remaining at $771 per month. For more information about the SEIE, see our Toolkit # 5, “Special Work Incentives for Youth – the Student Earned Income Exclusion.”)
At the time Candida moves into her apartment in September, she has $16,500 in her ABLE account including $1,500 from her summer employment.
- She makes distributions from the ABLE account in September to pay a security deposit of $1,500 and her first month’s rent of $750.
- Additional distributions from her ABLE account are made to pay $750 for rent in October, November, and December.
- As 2019 ends, $4,500 from ABLE account has been distributed to pay expenses related to Candida’s apartment and $12,000 remains in the account.
- Since Candida’s housing expenses are Qualified Disability Expenses, the SSI program will not count them as in-kind income and her SSI payment will remain at $771 per month. Since her ABLE account balances have been below $100,000, those balances are exempt resources for SSI purposes.
- The Medicaid program will not count the distributions as income and will not count ABLE account balances toward any Medicaid-specific resource limit (if Candida lives in a state where she must apply for Medicaid separately).
- Despite having up to $16,500 in her ABLE account during the year, since Candida continues to be an SSI beneficiary she continues to be exempt from the State VR agency’s economic needs test and will not be required to contribute to the cost of her tuition and other college expenses currently paid through the VR agency.
Candida’s VR counselor can share with Candida, her parents, and her grandmother how the ABLE account can be used to save money without affecting SSI eligibility.
Candida’s grandmother and her parents hope to contribute similar yearly amounts to her ABLE account while she remains in school and until she completes a Master’s program. This will allow Candida to keep using the account toward her rent payments and possibly toward other expenses not covered by the State VR program. This should also allow Candida to build up assets toward a future vehicle purchase or a down payment on a home purchase when she graduates and starts working.
The VR counselor can explain to Candida and her family members that distributions from the ABLE account to pay for her rent and other housing costs will not be counted by the SSI program as income and her full SSI payment will continue.
Other Strategies for Asset Accumulation to Support Transition-Aged Youth
Youth and their families may also want to consider the use of: a Section 529 College Savings Account, an Individual Development Account, and/or a Special Needs Trust. A discussion of these vehicles for saving, without any impact on SSI eligibility or payment amount, is beyond the scope of this toolkit. See the Web-Based Resources section of this toolkit for more information about them.
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Buying Shares, Dividends, and More
Investing in stocks can be an efficient way to build wealth over time. Learning how to invest wisely and with patience over a lifetime can yield returns that far outpace the most modest income. Nearly every member of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans made the list in 2019 because they owned a large block of shares in a public or private corporation.
It all starts with understanding how the stock market works, what your investment goals are, and if you can handle a lot or just a little bit of risk.
What Are Stocks?
Stocks are equity investments that represent legal ownership in a company. You become a part-owner of the company when you purchase shares.
Corporations issue stock to raise money, and it comes in two variations: common or preferred. Common stock entitles the stockholder to a proportionate share of a company's profits or losses, while preferred stock comes with a predetermined dividend payment.
People are generally talking about common stocks when they talk about buying stocks.
Investing in Stocks
You can profit from owning stocks when the share price increases, or from quarterly dividend payments. Investments accumulate over time and can yield a solid return due to compound interest, which allows your interest to begin earning interest.
For example, you might make an initial investment of $1,000 and you plan to add $100 every month for 20 years. You'd end up with $75,457.50 after 20 years, even though you only contributed $25,000 over time, if you see an annual return of 10% interest.
Benjamin Graham is known as the father of value investing, and he's preached that the real money in investing will have to be made—as most of it has been in the past—not by buying and selling, but from owning and holding securities, receiving interest and dividends, and benefiting from their long-term increase in value.
Why Stock Prices Fluctuate
The stock market works like an auction. Buyers and sellers can be individuals, corporations, or governments. The price of a stock will go down when there are more sellers than buyers. The price will go up when there are more buyers than sellers.
A company's performance doesn't directly influence its stock price. Investors' reactions to the performance decide how a stock price fluctuates. More people will want to own the stock if a company is performing well, consequently driving the price up. The opposite is true when a company under-performs.
Stock Market Capitalization
A stock's market capitalization (cap) is the sum of the total shares outstanding multiplied by the share price. For example, a company's market cap would be $50 million if it has 1 million outstanding shares priced at $50 each.
Market cap has more meaning than the share price because it allows you to evaluate a company in the context of similar-sized companies in its industry. A small-cap company with a capitalization of $500 million shouldn't be compared to a large-cap company worth $10 billion. Companies are generally grouped by market cap:
- Small-cap: $300 million to $2 billion
- Mid-cap: Between $2 billion and $10 billion
- Large-cap: $10 billion or more
A stock split occurs when a company increases its total shares by dividing up the ones it currently has. This is typically done on a 2-to-1 ratio.
For example, you might own 100 shares of a stock priced at $80 per share. You'd have 200 shares priced at $40 each if there was a stock split. The number of shares changes, but the overall value you own remains the same.
Stock splits occur when prices are increasing in a way that deters and disadvantages smaller investors. They can also keep the trading volume up by creating a larger buying pool.
Expect to experience a stock split at some point if you invest.
Stock Value vs. Price
A company's stock price has nothing to do with its value. A $50 stock could be more valuable than an $800 stock because the share price means nothing on its own.
The relationship of price-to-earnings and net assets is what determines if a stock is overvalued or undervalued. Companies can keep prices artificially high by never conducting a stock split, yet not have the underlying foundational support. Make no assumptions based on price alone.
What Are Dividends?
Dividends are quarterly payments that companies send out to their shareholders. Dividend investing refers to portfolios containing stocks that consistently issue dividend payments throughout the years. These stocks produce a reliable passive income stream that can be beneficial in retirement.
You can't judge a stock by its dividend price alone, however. Sometimes companies will increase dividends as a way to attract investors when the underlying company is in trouble.
Ask yourself why management isn't reinvesting some of that money in the company for growth if a company is offering high dividends.
Blue-chip stocks—which get their name from poker where the most valuable chip color is blue—are well-known, well-established companies that have a history of paying out consistent dividends regardless of the economic conditions.
Investors like them because they tend to grow dividend rates faster than the rate of inflation. An owner increases income without having to buy another share. Blue-chip stocks aren't necessarily flashy, but they usually have solid balance sheets and steady returns.
Preferred stocks are very different from the shares of the common stock most investors own. Holders of preferred stock are always the first to receive dividends, and they'll be the first to get paid in cases of bankruptcy. The stock price doesn't fluctuate the way common stock does, however, so some gains can be missed on companies with hypergrowth.
Preferred shareholders also get no voting rights in company elections. These stocks are a hybrid of common stock and bonds.
Finding Stocks for Your Portfolio
Investment ideas can come from many places. You can turn to companies like Standard & Poor's (S&P) or other online resources that might tell you about up-and-coming companies if you want guidance from professional research services. You can take a look at your surroundings and see what people are interested in buying if spending your time browsing investment websites doesn't sound appealing.
Look for trends and for the companies that are in a position to benefit from them. Stroll the aisles of your grocery store with an eye for what's emerging. Ask your family members what products and services they're most interested in and why.
You might find opportunities to invest in stocks across a wide range of industries, from technology to health care.
It's also important to consider diversifying the stocks you invest in. Consider stocks for different companies in different industries, or even a variety of stocks for organizations with different market caps. An even better-diversified portfolio will have other securities in it, too, like bonds, ETFs, or commodities.
How to Buy Stocks
You can buy stock directly using a brokerage account or one of the many available investment apps. These platforms give you the option to buy, sell, and store your purchased stocks on your home computer or smartphone. The only differences between them are mostly in fees and available resources.
Both traditional brokerage companies like Fidelity or TD Ameritrade and newer apps like Robinhood or Webull offer zero-commission trades from time to time. That makes it a lot easier to buy stocks without the worry of commissions eating into your returns down the line.
You can also join an investment club if you don't want to go it alone. Joining one can give you more information at a reasonable cost, but it takes a lot of time to meet with the other club members, all of whom may have various levels of expertise. You might also be required to pool some of your funds into a club account before investing.
Use Your Retirement Account
Another way to invest in stocks is through your retirement account. Your employer might offer a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan as part of your benefits package. These accounts invest your money for retirement, but your investment options are typically limited to the choices provided by your employer and the plan provider.
You can open an IRA on your own with your bank or brokerage company if your employer doesn't offer a retirement plan.
Choosing a Stockbroker
There are two types of stockbrokers: full-service and discount.
- Full-service brokers tailor recommendations and charge higher fees, service charges, and commissions. Most investors are willing to pay these higher fees because of the research and resources these companies provide.
- The majority of research responsibility falls on the investor with a discount broker. The broker just provides a platform to perform trades and customer support when needed.
Newer investors can benefit from the resources provided by full-service brokers, while frequent traders and experienced investors who perform their own research might lean toward platforms with no commission fees.
A money manager might also be an option. Money managers select and buy the stocks for you, and you pay them a hefty fee—usually a percentage of your total portfolio. This arrangement takes the least amount of time because you can meet with them just once or twice a year if the manager does well.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers helpful advice on how to check out your investment professional before allowing them to manage your money and funds.
You might have to put in more time managing your investments if you want low fees. You'll likely have to pay higher fees if you want to outperform the market, or if you want or need a lot of advice.
Knowing when to sell is just as important as buying stocks. Most investors buy when the stock market is rising and sell when it's falling, but a wise investor follows a strategy based on their financial needs.
Keep an eye on the major market indices. The three largest U.S. indices are:
Don't panic if they enter a correction or a crash. These events don't tend to last very long, and history has shown that the market will climb again. Losing money is never fun, but it's smart to weather the storm of a down market and hold onto your investments because they may rise again.
The Bottom Line
Learning how to invest in stocks might take a little time, but you'll be on your way to building your wealth when you get the hang of it. Read various investment websites, test out different brokers and stock-trading apps, and diversify your portfolio to hedge against risk. Keep your risk tolerance and financial goals in mind, and you'll be able to call yourself a shareholder before you know it.
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There’s a lot of talk about the economy and unemployment levels. Depending on who you listen to, you will hear the economy has turned around and is starting to improve or the economy is in a downward spiral and getting much worse. The truth is much more complicated.
The reports can be confusing, especially if you only read the headlines. For example, the most recent report showed a drop in unemployment, from 9.5% to 9.4%. The same report showed the number of jobs in the economy decreased by 247,000. So, how can we have less jobs and lower unemployment? A big reason for this is the season adjustment to the figures. The government adjusts employment data based on normal seasonal changes.
Looking at the unadjusted figures paints a clearer picture. Below are the unadjusted numbers for May, June and July (in thousands):
Between May and July, the workforce grew by 1.9 million people. Much of this is a result of students graduating and entering the workforce. During this time, the number employed also grew, with 692,000 jobs added. This lead to an increase in the number unemployed, as the number of new workers vastly exceeded the number of new jobs.
So, how could we added so many jobs at a time when the government is reporting job losses? The government adjusts for seasonal changes. For examples, many companies in the tourism industry add summer help, and then eliminate the same positions in the fall. Ordinarily, these companies would have hired a lot of more people. After adjusting for the typical summer hiring, we have had a loss in jobs.
Is the economy improving? The number of people employed hit a bottom in March and has improved since then, with over a million more people employed in July compared to March. During this same time, the number of people unemployed increased by 2 million. Employment is increasing but at a slower rate than the workforce. You can use these stats say the economy is getting better or worse. Add in the seasonal adjustments and you can paint any picture you want.
The overall numbers are good to know, but what is really important is the affect on individuals. Are people able to find jobs?
The most disturbing statistic is the number of discouraged workers. A discouraged worker is a person who wants a job but has given up and stopped looking. The government removes this person from total workforce. Over the last ten years, we have averaged around 400,000 people who are discouraged. In July, this total reached 796,000, almost 400k more than normal.
If you are discouraged, frustrated and can’t find a job, giving up may be tempting. There are nearly 800k people who have done just that. The economy is tough and jobs are scarce, but there are jobs. Maintaining a positive attitude and working hard in your job search are the keys to success. It isn’t easy, but it is essential.
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Prosperity through sustainability
Does sustainability harm economic development? We introduce a European initiative that says the opposite is the case.
Prosperity or sustainability? Many people believe societies are now facing this decision. The Green Deal of the European Union – supported by Germany – sees these values as mutually dependent: prosperity through sustainability.
Who supports a green economy?
It is backed, for example, by the Europe-wide Green Recovery Alliance. This initiative was launched in April 2020 with an appeal by Pascal Canfin, the Frenchman who chairs the Environment Committee in the European Parliament. Among others, it has been signed by ministers from Italy, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Spain and Germany as well as Member of the European Parliament from 17 countries. The signatories see no contradiction between sustainability and a thriving economy; that is demonstrated by the signatures of 37 top managers of international business groups, including Allianz, Volkswagen, Siemens Gamesa, Bayern Invest and EON as well as leaders of industrial associations, unions, NGOs and think tanks.
What is the goal?
The initiative aims to consistently base the economic aid against the corona crisis on the Green Deal framework. “The transition to a climate-neutral economy, the protection of biodiversity and the transformation of agri-food systems have the potential to rapidly deliver jobs and growth,” says the appeal.
Concerns and reservations
Doubts come primarily from parts of industry. For example, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) warns against “additional burdens” resulting from stricter emissions standards and is calling for a “serious assessment” of corona impacts. Several Eastern European heads of state and government are also hesitant, above all, because the energy supply systems of their countries are very strongly dependent on fossil fuels.
What does the European Union say?
European Environment Commissioner Frans Timmermans counters critics of the Green Deal: “Perhaps you could postpone investment decisions or decisions to change for a few years more, but eventually reality would have caught up with you.” In 2050, according to the German Environment Agency (UBA), the costs of climate change resulting from crop failures, material damage and extreme weather events could amount to a quarter of global gross national product. Timmermans says: “We can stand back, close our eyes and hope everything will simply stay as it was, but it won’t. So either we are going to be masters of our fate, or our fate will be masters of us.”
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Procedure for Declaring Dividend
Procedure for Declaring Dividend
Dividend under the terms of Companies Act, 2013 refers to the portion of the profit that is received by the shareholders from the company’s net profit, which is by and large legally accessible for distribution among the members. Consequently, dividend is a return on the Investment in share capital that is subscribed for and paid to its shareholders by a company. In this article, we look at the different types of dividend, sources and conditions and procedure for declaring dividend.
Dividend as per Companies Act, 2013
Dividend is the share of profit of a company, distributed among shareholders of a company. Dividend can be paid on both equity or preference shares, based on a fixed rate or at a rate determined by the shareholders of a company. As per Companies Act, 2013, the term dividend is also inclusive of interim dividend.
Types of Dividend
Dividend can be classified into the following two types broadly:
Dividend announced and paid by the company during a financial year before determining the full financial year earnings are called as interim dividend. As, the dividend is announced and paid in the middle of a financial year, its called as interim dividend.
A dividend is considered to be a final dividend if it is declared at the Annual General Meeting of the company. Final dividend becomes an enforceable debt of the company once it is declared.
Process for Declaring Dividend
The procedure for declaration of dividend is as follows:
Note: Dividend can be declared from the profit of the current year after providing for depreciation or from the profit of the previous financial year or years, after providing for depreciation for such years.
Step 1: The company in a Board Meeting decides on the amount of dividend that would be declared and paid.
Step 2: Company issues notice of general meeting with intent to declare dividends.
Step 3: General meeting is conducted and the resolution for declaring dividend is passed along with record date.
- In the event of the annual dividend, the persons who are considered members as on the date of the annual general meeting shall be eligible to receive the dividend as the dividend is accepted by the members on the day when annual general meeting is held.
- Listed companies are required to inform the Stock Exchange in progress of closing the Register of members for payment of dividend declared during the annual general meeting for the determination of names of shareholders entitled to dividend.
Step 4: Once the resolution is passed for declaring dividend, the dividend is paid to the shareholders.
Draft Resolution for Declaring Dividend
RESOLVED THAT as per the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Company, the approval of the members of the Company be and is hereby granted for payment of dividend (Rate of dividend) per share on the equity share capital of the company for the financial year ended on 31st March,_____ and the same be paid to all the members whose names appear in the Register of Members as on ______ (record date).
“RESOLVED THAT for the purpose of giving effect to this resolution, Mr./Ms. ………………….. of the Company be and is hereby authorised, on behalf of the Company, to do all acts, deeds, matters and things as deem necessary, proper or desirable.”
Once the dividend it declared, the amount of dividend declared must be transferred to a distinct bank account. Payment of the same must be done within 30 days of declaration and all unpaid dividend must be transferred to a special account.
Penalty for Not Paying Declared Dividend
If a dividend declared by a company has not been paid within a period of thirty days from the date of declaration to any shareholder, then the Directors of the company are punishable with imprisonment which may widen to two years and with fine which will not be less than one thousand rupees for every day during which such default continues. Further, the company will be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of 18 % per annum during the period for which such delay in dividend payment continues.
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See Part I for an overview of reinforcement learning.
Components of reinforcement learning
With the bigger picture in mind on what the RL algorithm tries to solve, let us learn the building blocks or components of the reinforcement learning model.
The actions can be thought of what problem is the RL algo solving. If the RL algo is solving the problem of trading then the actions would be Buy, Sell and Hold. If the problem is portfolio management then the actions would be capital allocations to each of the asset classes. How does the RL model decide which action to take?
There are two methods or policies which help the RL model take the actions. Initially, when the RL agent knows nothing about the game, the RL agent can decide actions randomly and learn from it. This is called an exploration policy. Later, the RL agent can use past experiences to map state to action that maximises the long-term rewards. This is called an exploitation policy.
The RL model needs meaningful information to take actions. This meaningful information is the state. For example, you have to decide whether to buy Apple stock or not. For that, what information would be useful to you? Well, you can say I need some technical indicators, historical price data, sentiments data and fundamental data. All this information collected together becomes the state. It is up to the designer on what data should make up the state.
But for proper analysis and execution, the data should be weakly predictive and weakly stationary. The data should be weakly predictive is simple enough to understand, but what do you mean by weakly stationary? Weakly stationary means that the data should have a constant mean and variance. But why is this important? The short answer is that machine learning algorithms work well on stationary data. Alright! How does the RL model learn to map state to action to take?
A reward can be thought of as the end objective which you want to achieve from your RL system. For example, the end objective would be to create a profitable trading system. Then, your reward becomes profit. Or it can be the best risk-adjusted returns then your reward becomes Sharpe ratio.
Defining a reward function is critical to the performance of an RL model. The following metrics can be used for defining the reward.
- Profit per tick
- Sharpe Ratio
- Profit per trade
The environment is the world that allows the RL agent to observe State. When the RL agent applies the action, the environment acts on that action, calculates rewards and transitions to the next state. For example, the environment can be thought of as a chess game or trading Apple stock.
Stay tuned for the next installment in which Ishan will demonstrate the RL model.
Visit QuantInsti to download practical code: https://blog.quantinsti.com/reinforcement-learning-trading/.
Disclosure: Interactive Brokers
Information posted on IBKR Traders’ Insight that is provided by third-parties and not by Interactive Brokers does NOT constitute a recommendation by Interactive Brokers that you should contract for the services of that third party. Third-party participants who contribute to IBKR Traders’ Insight are independent of Interactive Brokers and Interactive Brokers does not make any representations or warranties concerning the services offered, their past or future performance, or the accuracy of the information provided by the third party. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
This material is from QuantInsti and is being posted with permission from QuantInsti. The views expressed in this material are solely those of the author and/or QuantInsti and IBKR is not endorsing or recommending any investment or trading discussed in the material. This material is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. To the extent that this material discusses general market activity, industry or sector trends or other broad based economic or political conditions, it should not be construed as research or investment advice. To the extent that it includes references to specific securities, commodities, currencies, or other instruments, those references do not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold such security. This material does not and is not intended to take into account the particular financial conditions, investment objectives or requirements of individual customers. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.
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Philanthropy has Greek and Latin roots: philanthrōpos from Greek and philanthropia from Latin. Both have the prefix phil- (philo- in Greek) meaning “loving” and anthro (anthropos in Greek) meaning “mankind.” Yet, this word has a deeper meaning. It means to be good to our fellow humans; to care for those who need help. We need this word and the good that it does more than ever. We live in a world that has such negativity and inequality, yet seeing a charitable act reminds us that there is good in the world. Philanthropy has been around for centuries, and there are numerous philanthropic foundations around the world. Each one is unique in its own right. And each year, just as there are new causes there are new trends. These trends affect organizations from their popularity to staff retention. As 2019 winds down, we look towards 2020 for better and bigger philanthropic achievements. Here are three philanthropy trends we can expect next year.
- The Election Effect — 2020 is an election year. Thus, the election will have an effect on the number of donations. According to Classy, elections drive up support as seen in the 2016 election with President Trump. At the time of this election, some nonprofits opposed President Trump’s policies. The reaction created a surge in donations. This type of reaction can also be called “rage giving” or “rage donating.” It is interesting that those who donated were interested in long-term results, rather than those who donated at non-election times or sporadically. They were deemed recurring donors and had a positive impact on recurring giving programs. As the 2020 election fades away, the number of donations will likely produce record amounts.
- Better Transparency — Now that social media (and the media) has been proven to make or break a charitable organization or reveal a charity scam, donors are expecting better transparency. Technology has made it very easy to set up GoFundMe pages and other types of donation sites, making it easy for anyone to solicit and receive donations. This brings up the issue of making donations more transparent. One way to achieve this is to utilize blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrency. Blockchain uses encryption to make transactions (donations) more secure. The transactions cannot be altered or deleted. Another way is through donor-advised funds. These funds ensure that a donor’s money is going to the causes he or she has designated since the account is managed by a sponsoring organization. Both methods will make the process of donating more transparent as well as how philanthropic organizations are managed.
- Authentic Giving Experiences — People want authentic experiences; they want to be part of the process. It is not enough to receive a receipt and/or social media proof about their donation. As with transparency, they want to know where their money is going and to see the outcome. Volunteering provides an authentic experience, and it has reached new heights. Voluntourism has been around for a while, but it, too, has become very popular. They are the best ways donors can achieve person-to-person experiences. Thus, we count on more authentic giving experiences around the world, especially in poor countries.
Originally published at andrewelsoffer.com on January 9, 2020.
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FQAs about Bad Credit
Generally, a FICO score of less than 620 indicates that an individual has bad credit. This score is a calculation of an individual's creditworthiness based on such factors as payment history on past and current accounts, as well as the amount of debt the individual is carrying.
It's important to note, however, that the definition of bad credit varies widely amongst various lenders and financial institutions, as each has its own criteria and cut-off points to determine whether an individual has good, fair, or bad credit. While a credit score of less than 620 is a broad guideline, it is not necessarily adhered to by all lenders. Some, for instance, consider a credit score of less than 650 to be indicative of bad credit.
Bad credit can result from one or more of the following being reported to an individual's credit history: paying bills past their due date; not paying bills at all (defaulting); exceeding a set credit limit; or carrying a large amount of personal debt.
To see a copy of your credit history and your FICO score, please see our Free Credit Report section for a review of the top services
Individuals with bad credit find it much more difficult (and often impossible) to be approved for loans, credit cards, mortgages, or even accounts with utility companies. Because approval is difficult to obtain, the individual must save more cash before being able to afford things like a house, a car, phone service, or tuition.
When those with bad credit are able to gain approval for loans or other lines of credit, they can often expect higher interest rates and higher payments than those with good credit are typically afforded. The offers listed on our site provide the most favorable approval rates and terms we can find for those with a bad credit history.
The most important step to rebuilding your credit (or avoiding bad credit to begin with) is to always pay bills on or before their due date. This includes credit cards, mortgages, car loans, personal loans, medical bills, utility bills, rent, or any other financial obligation you have that may be reported on your credit history.
Aside from paying bills on time, reducing your debt is also an important step in rebuilding your credit. If you owe a lot of money on credit cards, for instance, paying down those balances can help improve your credit profile. Please reference our section on Debt Relief for a list of reputable services that can help reduce your debt quickly
It is advisable to seek the help of an expert when it comes to fixing bad credit and improving your credit outlook. Though there are many such services available, it is important that you choose a service with the experience and reputation that you can trust. After all, your financial future is at stake.
We highly recommend that you visit our Credit Repair section for a list of trusted credit repair services. Each service listed offers you a free consultation on fixing your bad credit, with no obligation to continue after receiving the free consultation.
What fees will I be charged for a loan?
What is the annual percentage rate (APR) for a loan?
What if I am late or fail to make a payment on a loan?
What is the renewal policy for a loan?
BadCreditOffers.com does not establish the rates, fees or terms and conditions for the loans featured on the site. When you click on a loan offer on our site, you will be taken to the lender’s site where all of such information must be provided to you per the requirements of state and federal law. Please be sure to carefully review the rates, fees and terms and conditions applicable to a loan before agreeing to accept the loan. You are under no obligation to accept any loan offer on our site and you can exit the process at any time. If you have any questions regarding the fees, rates or terms and conditions applicable to a particular loan, please contact the loan provider.
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Learn About Bad Credit
Want to learn more about bad credit and the steps you can take to improve your financial future? See this section for articles from BadCreditOffers.com featuring tips, advice, and other information for people with bad credit.
Get Answers to Your Questions
Millions of people have bad credit, but what exactly is bad credit? And what can be done about a bad credit history? Visit our FAQs section to gain a better understanding of bad credit and its impact on your finances.
Calculate Your Finances
Use online calculators to analyze your finances, and measure the impact of payments
on credit cards, loans, and mortgages. Take the guesswork out of your financial
decisions using our calculator section.
Learn the Terminology
What does "APR" mean? What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy? The credit industry uses terms that we do not hear in everyday conversation, but that are important to understand nonetheless.
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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images
Economists generally believe free trade between the U.S. and other nations benefits the U.S. economy and consumers. Though some jobs are sacrificed, tariff-free imports mean prices are significantly lower for a vast range of consumer products.
The U.S. has signed trade deals involving 20 countries. The most important is the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which removed trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Renegotiating or tearing up existing trade deals would reverse the benefits for consumers, says Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a research organization in Arlington, Virginia.
“A small percentage of people in the protected industries might end up being personally somewhat better off, but it would come at the expensive of everyone else who would pay higher prices for different goods and services,” Anderson says.
Without trade deals, the challenge for consumers would be how to cope financially with those higher prices, which could hit big-ticket items like cars, newly built houses and appliances as well as everyday purchases like groceries, housewares, clothing and toys.
RATE SEARCH: Find the best rate on a mortgage today.
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The European Central Bank (ECB) has confirmed it will shortly announce "further measures" to stimulate the ailing eurozone economy.
Reports say the ECB will inject up to €1 trillion by buying government bonds worth up to €50bn (£38bn) per month until the end of 2016.
Creating new money to buy government debt, or quantitative easing (QE), should reduce the cost of borrowing.
The ECB also said eurozone interest rates were being held at 0.05%.
The eurozone is flagging and the ECB is seeking ways to stimulate spending.
Lowering the cost of borrowing should encourage banks to lend and eurozone businesses and consumers to spend more.
It is a strategy that appears to have worked in the US, which undertook a huge programme of QE between 2008 and 2014.
The UK and Japan have also had sizeable bond-buying programmes.
What is a government bond?
Governments borrow money by selling bonds to investors. A bond is an IOU. In return for the investor's cash, the government promises to pay a fixed rate of interest over a specific period - say 4% every year for 10 years. At the end of the period, the investor is repaid the cash they originally paid, cancelling that particular bit of government debt.
Government bonds have traditionally been seen as ultra-safe long-term investments and are held by pension funds, insurance companies and banks, as well as private investors. They are a vital way for countries to raise funds.
Up until now, the ECB has resisted, although the bank's president, Mario Draghi, reassured markets in July 2012 by saying he would be prepared to do whatever it took to maintain financial stability in the eurozone, nicknamed his "big bazooka" speech.
Since then, the case for quantitative easing has been growing.
Earlier this month, figures showed the eurozone was suffering deflation, creating the danger that growth would stall as businesses and consumers shut their wallets, as they waited for prices to fall.
The ECB's bond-buying programme is likely to begin in March, although the final decision over whether to start the measures will be taken at a meeting of the bank's 25-member policy-making board on Thursday.
There remains a possibility that the German members of the board will object to the plan. They would prefer any government bonds purchased to be held by national governments, rather than centrally by the ECB. That would reduce the risk of a default by struggling peripheral countries, such as Greece and Italy, being shouldered by the richer members of the eurozone.
On Wednesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) urged Mr Draghi to pursue uncapped quantitative easing.
Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday: "Let Mario go as far as he can. I don't think he should cap it. Don't say 500bn [euros]. Just say, 'As far as we can, as far as we need it.'"
However, some economists and analysts have expressed reservations about the idea.
Joerg Kraemer of Commerzbank told BBC World Service's World Business Report programme that there was "no real threat" to the eurozone economy from deflation.
He added: "A mild decline in prices is no problem for real GDP growth, and especially in the eurozone. The only reason why we have a negative inflation rate is the decline in oil price, but the decline in oil price is good for the economy."
UK economist Roger Bootle of Capital Economics told the programme: "I am not the greatest fan of quantitative easing - I don't think it's going to cure the European malaise. The point is, there is not much else in the locker."
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Why draft EIA 2020 needs a revaluation
The point of contention in the draft Environment Impact Assessment is post-facto clearance and less public participation with affected communities
Published: Monday 06 July 2020
The new draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 proposed by the Union government is a regressive departure from the 2006 version that it seeks to replace. It is an attempt to weaken environmental regulation and silence affected communities.
The draft seems to favour the industries and seems to be largely neglecting the balance between sustainable development and environment protection. The Union government, on the contrary, argues that the new draft will reinforce transparency and expedite the process.
What is Environment Impact Assessment?
Environment impact assessment is a process under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which prevents industrial and infrastructural projects from being approved without proper oversight. This process ensures that every project should go through the EIA process for obtaining prior environmental clearance.
EIA covers projects such as mining of coal or other minerals, infrastructure development, thermal, nuclear and hydropower projects, real estate and other industrial projects. The projects are assessed based on their potential impact on the environment. Based on the assessments, they are granted or denied environmental clearance by a panel of experts.
Loopholes in draft EIA 2020
The EIA new draft 2020 allows post-facto clearance. This means that even if a project has come up without environment safeguards or without getting environment clearances, it could carry out operation under the provision of the new draft EIA 2020.
This is disastrous because we already have several projects that are running without EIA clearances. An example is the LG Polymer Plant in Vishakhapatnam, where the styrene gas leak happened on May 7. It was revealed that the plant had been running for over two decades without clearances.
A similar incident was reported on May 27, where due to poor adherence of environment norms, the natural gas of Oil India Limited in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district had a blowout and caught fire. This caused severe damage to the livelihoods in the region rich with biodiversity.
The State Pollution Board, Assam, had reported that the oil plant had been operating for over 15 years without obtaining prior consent from the board.
There are also two crucial ways in which the new draft endeavours to take power away from communities. First, it reduces the space available for public participation, thereby abandoning public trust.
Public participation has been crucial in the EIA process and has significantly helped communities to not only get information about the projects being proposed in their areas, but also to speak about their concerns regarding the projects.
Manohar Chawhan, a tribal rights activist working on the issues of forest governance in scheduled areas across Odisha and Chhattisgarh, said, “The new draft will strengthen discretionary power of government while restraining public engagement in safeguarding the environment.”
Reacting to the draft, Joy Daniel Pradhan, a Delhi-based independent researcher, said, “Weakening the EIA process means abating democracy. The draft EIA grossly neglects consultation with the affected communities. To limit public consultation means to silence voices that are barely heard otherwise.”
There is a list of the selected projects in the new draft that have been proposed to be exempted from public participation. Modernisation or irrigation projects, all building constructions and area development projects, expansion or widening of national highways, all projects concerning national defence and security, are part of the list.
The time allotted for public hearings has been reduced to expedite the process. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has restricted movement and social gatherings.
All these factors have made it difficult for people living in rural and tribal areas to participate and share their concerns. They are most often directly impacted by such projects.
The second way in which this proposal tries to curtail rights of the communities is by legalising projects that have already caused a great deal of harm and have been operating without approvals from the EIA.
By allowing such projects to come back and take environmental approvals under the EIA process, the government is fundamentally sanctioning illegal projects. The new draft is a reiteration of a March 2017 notification for projects operating without clearance.
In short, the new draft EIA 2020 is anti-environment and anti-people Act. Experts say it is a trick to regularise large-scale environmental violations.
The authorities were earlier mandated to monitor projects for compliance with environmental norms every six months. “It has been now been proposed to relax the monitoring frequency to once a year,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher at the Centre for Policy Researcher.
“Shorter processing times pose both institutional challenges and the quality of participation.” According to environmentalist Vikrant Tongad: “The draft is a compilation of violations. The monitoring mechanism is faulty as the compliance report will be filed by the project proponents themselves. This will create a lot of room for discrepancies.”
We need much stronger laws to protect the environment and to ensure that natural resources are available to the poorest who need them the most. There are a large number of communities like Adivasis, peasants and coastal and fisher communities whose lives mainly depend on the state of the environment. Any drastic changes in EIA will have a direct impact on the living and working conditions of these people and the ecology.
If the government is not acknowledging the urgent need to come up with the environment and people-friendly laws, we must demand the parliamentary standing committee on environment and forest to take up the task.
We don’t need more man-made disasters. The present EIA draft of 2020 needs to be challenged on keeping the core provision of doing an environment impact assessment before operation of a project, as well as disallowing any project without a proper EIA.
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- Centre proposes more power for states to grant environmental clearance
- MoEF&CC issues recommendations to improve environment clearance and monitoring process
- Activist arrested while protesting against upcoming biorefinery in Assam
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- Neduvasal residents protest hydrocarbon extraction in agricultural land
- Centre gives six months to deal with cases of environmental clearance violations
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How To Properly Cash Out Crypto Reddit – What is Cryptocurrency? Put simply, Cryptocurrency is digital cash that can be utilized in place of standard currency. Essentially, the word Cryptocurrency originates from the Greek word Crypto which means coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is simply as old as Blockchains. The difference between Cryptocurrency and Blockchains is that there is no centralization or journal system in place. In essence, Cryptocurrency is an open source protocol based on peer-to Peer transaction innovations that can be carried out on a dispersed computer system network.
As an open source procedure, the protocol is extremely versatile. This means that unlike Blockchains, there is an opportunity for the community at big to customize the core of the protocol to fit their requirements. As such, a great deal of innovation has occurred around the globe with the intention of supplying tools and techniques that help with smart agreements. Nevertheless, one particular method which the Ethereum Project is trying to fix the problem of clever contracts is through the Foundation. The Ethereum Foundation was established with the goal of establishing software solutions around wise contract functionality. As such, the Foundation has actually released its open source libraries under an open license.
For starters, the major distinction in between the Bitcoin Project and the Ethereum Project is that the previous does not have a governing board and for that reason is open to factors from all walks of life. The Ethereum Project delights in a much more regulated environment.
As for the jobs underlying the Ethereum Platform, they are both making every effort to supply users with a new method to get involved in the decentralized exchange. The major distinctions between the two are that the Bitcoin protocol does not use the Proof Of Consensus (POC) process that the Ethereum Project utilizes.
On the one hand, the Bitcoin community has had some struggles with its efforts to scale its network. On the other hand, the Ethereum Project has taken an aggressive technique to scale the network while also taking on scalability issues. As a result, the two projects are aiming to offer different methods of case. In contrast to the Satoshi Roundtable, which focused on increasing the block size, the Ethereum Project will have the ability to carry out enhancements to the UTX procedure that increase transaction speed and decline fees. In contrast to the Bitcoin Project ‘s plan to increase the overall supply, the Ethereum group will be working on decreasing the rate of blocks mined per minute.
The significant difference in between the 2 platforms originates from the functional system that the 2 groups use. The decentralized aspect of the Linux Foundation and the Bitcoin Unlimited Association represent a standard model of governance that positions a focus on strong neighborhood participation and the promotion of agreement. By contrast, the ethereal structure is dedicated to building a system that is flexible enough to accommodate changes and add new functions as the requirements of the users and the market modification. This design of governance has actually been adopted by a number of dispersed application teams as a method of managing their jobs.
The major distinction in between the 2 platforms comes from the reality that the Bitcoin neighborhood is mainly self-sufficient, while the Ethereum Project anticipates the involvement of miners to fund its advancement. By contrast, the Ethereum network is open to contributors who will contribute code to the Ethereum software stack, forming what is referred to as “code forks “. This feature increases the level of involvement desired by the community. When it was used in forex trading, this model likewise varies from the Byzantine Fault model that was embraced by the Byzantine algorithm.
As with any other open source technology, much debate surrounds the relationship between the Linux Foundation and the Ethereum Project. The Facebook team is supporting the work of the Ethereum Project by supplying their own framework and developing applications that integrate with it.
Simply put, Cryptocurrency is digital cash that can be utilized in location of standard currency. Essentially, the word Cryptocurrency comes from the Greek word Crypto which means coin and Currency. In essence, Cryptocurrency is simply as old as Blockchains. The difference between Cryptocurrency and Blockchains is that there is no centralization or ledger system in location. In essence, Cryptocurrency is an open source procedure based on peer-to Peer deal innovations that can be carried out on a dispersed computer network. How To Properly Cash Out Crypto Reddit
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Climeworks previously raised 73 million francs in a first phase of this funding round back in June. The round has now been concluded in August, bringing the total raised to 100 million francs. According to a company press release, this is the largest ever investment into direct air capture technology.
With the technology developed by Climeworks, carbon dioxide can be filtered out of the air directly using clean, renewable energy. This innovation has already been tested and used in various applications. The Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, for example, converts carbon dioxide that Climeworks has captured from air into carbon black, a raw material for high-tech applications. In another collaboration with Lufthansa, carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere is being converted into a synthesis gas that can be used to produce jet fuel.
“We are humbled by the commitment of our investors and thankful that we could achieve our target of raising 100 million francs,” said Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks. This new investment will be used to further improve the technology. “Our vision is to inspire one billion people to remove carbon dioxide from the air – and this investment will help us achieve that goal,” Gebald added.
Climeworks was founded as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and has its headquarters in Zurich.
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Agricultural growth today falls far behind estimated population growth of 1.6% in 2018 and is well below the 7-decade historical average of 3.0% since 1948. The agricultural slowdown is also reflected in massive job losses in the sector.
The Duterte administration only gives lip service to improving agricultural productivity amid this severe crisis of agriculture in the countryside. It also continues long-standing government neglect of the sector. The proposed 3.7% combined agriculture and agrarian reform budget for 2019 is even lower than the historical range of about 4-6% since the mid-1980s.
Proposals to increase food imports may be necessary but should only be a short-term emergency measure used with restraint if it has been established that there is a shortage. It is possible for more food imports to lower prices but only if traders do not exploit tariff cuts just to increase their profits. – From “Crisis of PH agriculture drives high inflation and economic slowdown”
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A Ohio University Press Book
“The most comprehensive work that I have read for the early history of sugar in Tucumán. This is a solid piece of scholarship, one with lasting value.”
James Brennan, University of California, Riverside
“While this is undoubtedly an excellent portrait of a specific region, it at the same time succeeds in achieving a more universal appeal, for all those concerned with the history of sugar and the impact of commodities on local and regional lives.”
Bulletin of Latin American Research
Two tropical commodities—coffee and sugar—dominated Latin American export economies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When Sugar Ruled: Economy and Society in Northwestern Argentina, Tucumán, 1876–1916 presents a distinctive case that does not quite fit into the pattern of many Latin American sugar economies.
During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the province of Tucumán emerged as Argentina’s main sugar producer, its industry catering almost exclusively to the needs of the national market and financed mostly by domestic capital. The expansion of the sugar industry provoked profound changes in Tucumán’s economy as sugar specialization replaced the province’s diversified productive structure. Since ingenios relied on outside growers for the supply of a large share of the sugarcane, sugar production did not produce massive land dispossession and resulted in the emergence of a heterogeneous planter group. The arrival of thousands of workers from neighboring provinces during the harvest season transformed rural society dramatically. As the most dynamic sector in Tucumán’s economy, revenues from sugar enabled the provincial government to participate in the modernizing movement sweeping turn-of-the-century Argentina.
Patricia Juarez-Dappe uncovers the unique features that characterized sugar production in Tucumán as well as the changes experienced by the province’s economy and society between 1876 and 1916, the period of most dramatic sugar expansion. When Sugar Ruled is an important addition to the literature on sugar economies in Latin America and Argentina.
Patricia Juarez-Dappe is an associate professor of Latin American history at California State University, Northridge. More info →
Introduction: Setting the StageDownload
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How do economic weakness and dependence influence foreign policy decisions and behavior in third world countries? Theories in Dependent Foreign Policy examines six foreign policy theories: compliance, consensus, counterdependence, realism, leader preferences and domestic politics, and each is applied to a series of case studies of Ecuador’s foreign policy during the 1980s under two regimes: Osvaldo Hurtado (1981-1984) and his successor León Febres Cordero (1984-1988).Hey
Mining was crucial for the development of nineteenth-century Peru. Silver mining in particular was a key to both the export sector and the creation of an internal market and national development. The Bewitchment of Silver is an inquiry into the impact of that mineral on a national economy in a country at the periphery of nineteenth-century capitalism.José
Madness in Buenos Aires examines the interactions between psychiatrists, patients and their families, and the national state in modern Argentina. This book offers a fresh interpretation of the Argentine state’s relationship to modernity and social change during the twentieth century, while also examining the often contentious place of psychiatry in modern Argentina.Drawing
Despite deepening poverty and environmental degradation throughout rural Latin America, Mayan peasant farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, are finding environmental and economic success by growing organic coffee. Organic Coffee: Sustainable Development by Mayan Farmers provides a unique and vivid insight into how this coffee is grown, harvested, processed, and marketed to consumers in Mexico and in the north.Maria
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Hong Kong’s Ministry of Education has awarded funding to more than 200 innovations and technology initiatives in its school curriculum. It’s a notable new policy from the Government to encourage innovative thinking among students. If you are involved in a venture that will be based in Hong Kong, your company needs to have some innovative thinking to succeed. Let’s take a look at what is required by innovation in Hong Kong, the different types of innovation, and how to apply for ITC funding.
Innovation starts with thinking. To work on innovation, you need to be innovative. You can be an innovator or a visionary, but what you must have is a true and strong conviction to think outside the box and a real feel for what will be a successful invention or service.
Innovation and technology funding seeks to support a specific type of innovation. Generally, most ITC funding comes from sectors that offer goods and services, while some ITC funds come from universities. The government has an interest in encouraging young entrepreneurs to create a startup or to provide smaller ventures to help people have an entrepreneurial spirit.
There are many types of innovations. However, here are three that the government looks for. These three innovation types include:
Innovation may also be called formative innovation. Formative innovation seeks to improve something from existing processes and systems. It may also be called transformative innovation.
Innovation can come from anything. It could come from the use of existing processes and systems, from building something out of nothing, or from learning something completely new. Usually, innovation refers to a new product or service that improves a product or service we already have.
In order to bring an innovative idea to life, the government must look at how it works and why it works. How does a process or system relate to the user? What makes it work?
Innovation can come from research that is conducted by the public, academic, or private sector. It can also come from new knowledge, an invention, or a strategy. In order to get funding for these types of innovations, it is necessary to show that the innovation will benefit society.
Innovation also needs to be planned or produced to fit the space or time. You can produce an innovation that works today by setting up a specific team to work on the process. If you plan it, you can make it happen.
If the public does not have enough innovation, they may need to get funding to come up with ideas that they can test and develop. Innovation also depends on what the public can do to improve, or on what the public already knows about and can do to help with the development of innovation. For example, many initiatives are funded by governments to “educate” the public about the benefits of innovation.
Innovation is generally not targeted to any one group. Rather, innovation is considered to be all of the things that make us a more efficient and innovative society. Think of it as a way of improving a process, system, or even a culture.
Innovation and technology funding has been a major policy shift in Hong Kong, because of the way that Hong Kong has been evolving into a global hub for IT, business, and technology. Here is a brief look at how to apply for ITC funding in Hong Kong. Here’s where you can apply for an ITC fund.
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Supply Chain and Resource Management
Resources will be exhausted during a disaster. Los Angeles residents will be dependent upon a supply chain, in which each link is not guaranteed. Therefore supplies, or caches, must be carefully manged, planned and replenished as necessary.
The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) provides a model for a federally managed reserve of supplies. Once a public health emergency is declared and a locality is determined to be in need, SNS reserves of medication and supplies can be accessed and delivered.
Other resources needed in disaster:
- Portable water. Hospitals will need water, which in the largest hospitals may be up to one million gallons per day.
- Blood products
- Oxygen and breathing equipment such as ventilators
- Electricity and diesel fuel for generators as backup
As these resources are critical and costly and will be scarce in disaster, purchasing contracts and protocols for delivery must be in place in advance of an event.
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The Renewable Energy Industry in the UK, but especially Scotland, is outperforming many other Industries in these challenging economic times.
The Highlands & Islands has a growing reputation as a major hub of investment for Renewable Energy. The area has a robust legacy to the Oil & Gas Industry, a skilled workforce and its abundance of renewable energy resources mean the area is perfectly placed to be at the centre of the of the renewable energy sector for years to come. Scotland is Europe’s windiest country after all!
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity.
New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.8% and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewables in electricity generation is around 19%, with 16% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3% from new renewables.
While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. As of 2011, small solar PV systems provide electricity to a few million households, and micro-hydro configured into mini-grids serves many more. Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more-efficient biomass cookstoves.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors. According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the world’s electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.
IES Energy has employment opportunities in:
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First published on IPdigIT.
Comparison shopping sites, also known as shopping robots or shopbots, have been around for about two decades. Sites such as Shopping.com, Shopper.com, PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, Vergelijk or Kelkoo help us find goods or services that are sold online by providing us with loads of information (products sold, price charged, quality, delivery and payment methods, etc.). As they present the information in an accessible way and display links to the vendors’ websites, shopbots significantly reduce our costs of searching for the best deal.
The most common business model for shopbots is to charge sellers for displaying their information while letting users access the site for free. Fees can be computed in different ways, as explained by Moraga and Wildenbeest (2011, p. 4):
Initially, most comparison sites charged firms a flat fee for the right to be listed. More recently, this fee usually takes the form of a cost-per-click and is paid every time a consumer is referred to the seller’s website from the comparison site. Most traditional shopbots, like for instance PriceGrabber.com, and Shopping.com operate in this way. Fees typically depend on product category—current rates at PriceGrabber range from $0.25 per click for clothing to $1.05 per click for plasma televisions. Alternatively, the fee can be based on the execution of a transaction. This is the case of Pricefight.com, which operates according to a cost-per-acquisition model. This model implies that sellers only pay a fee if a consumer buys the product. Other fees may exist for additional services. For example, sellers are often given the possibility to obtain priority positioning in the list after paying an extra fee.
How can such a business model be economically viable? To answer this question, we need to understand how shopbots create value for both retailers and consumers, so as to outperform their outside option, i.e., the possibility for them to find each other and conduct transactions outside the platform?
A quick journey through a number of landmark contributions to the theory of imperfect competition will help us understand the importance of price transparency and search costs. To use a simple setting, think of a number of firms offering exactly the same product, which they produce at exactly the same constant unit cost. They face a large number of consumers. If firms compete by setting the price of their product, Joseph Bertrand has shown in 1883 that the only reasonable prediction of this competition is that firms will set a price equal to the unit cost of production. This result is sometimes called the ‘Bertrand Paradox’ as the competitive price is reached although there may be no more than two firms in the industry.
One important assumption behind this result is that there is full transparency of prices: all consumers are able to observe the prices of all firms without incurring any cost. As the firms offer products that are exactly the same, consumers only care about the price and (absent capacity constraint), they all buy from the cheapest seller, which generates this cutthroat competition.
What happens if it is assumed instead that consumers face a positive search cost if they want to observe and compare prices? Peter Diamond (Nobel Prize in economics, 2010) show in his 1971 paper that the exact opposite result obtains: all firms will price at the monopoly level and no consumer will search. This result, known as the ‘Diamond Paradox’, holds even if consumers have infinitesimal search costs. Belleflamme and Peitz (2010, p. 164) explain the intuition:
In this equilibrium, consumers expect firms to set the monopoly price. A firm which deviates by setting a lower price certainly makes those consumers happier that learnt about it in the first place, but since the other consumers do not learn about it, this will not attract additional consumers. Given their beliefs, consumers have an incentive to abstain from costly search, so that a deviation by a firm is not rewarded by consumers.
The next question that naturally arises is what happens between the previous two extremes. What if consumers have different search costs. In their “bargains and ripoffs” paper of 1977, Steven Salop and Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Prize in economics, 2001) suppose that there are two kinds of consumers: the “informed” consumers can observe all prices for free, whereas the “uninformed” consumers know nothing about the distribution of prices. Under this assumption, they show that spatial price dispersion can prevail at equilibrium: some stores sell at the competitive price (and attract informed consumers) while other stores sell at a higher price (selling only to uninformed consumers).
In his model of sales of 1980, Hal Varian (now chief economist at Google) establishes the possibility of temporal price dispersion. In his model, the equilibrium conduct for firms is to randomize over prices (to put it roughly, it is as if they were rolling a dice to determine which price to set). As a consequence, at any given period of time, firms set different prices for the same product; also, any given firm changes its prices from one period to the next. This is why price dispersion is said to be temporal.
Let us now terminate our journey by introducing shopbots into the picture. In the previous models, firms didn’t have to incur any cost to convey price information to consumers. It was consumers who had to search for the information, with some consumers incurring a larger search cost than others for some unknown reason. By adding a new player to the model, namely a shopbot, Michael Baye and John Morgan propose, in their 2001 paper, a more realistic model where the above assumptions are relaxed. In their model, a profit-maximizing intermediary runs a shopbot that mediates the information acquisition and diffusion process. This intermediary can charge both sides of the market for its services; that is, firms may have to pay the intermediary to advertise their price and consumers may have to pay to gain access to the list of prices posted on the shopbot. After observing the fees set by the intermediary, sellers decide whether or not to post their price on the shopbot and if so, which price, while consumers decide whether or not to visit the shopbot and learn the prices (if any) that are posted there.
Baye and Morgan show that price dispersion persists in this environment. This is because the intermediary optimally chooses to make sellers pay for advertising their price on the shopbot, while letting all consumers access the shopbot for free. This means that all consumers are ‘fully informed’ in the sense that they buy from the cheapest firm on the shopbot. Despite this fact, firms earn positive profits at equilibrium (this is due to the fact that they post randomized prices on the shopbot, as was the case in Varian’s model of sales).
The predictions of this model square quite well with the business model that most shopbots have adopted and with the common observation that prices listed on shopbots are dispersed (even though the advertized products are very similar). So, the quick journey that we have made allows us, I believe, to understand better how shopbots can enter the market and survive in the long run.
Important remaining questions are whether shopbots increase the competitiveness of product markets and enhance market efficiency. In this regard, a recent contribution by David Ronayne suggests that “price comparison websites may do customers a disservice”. He explains the intuition in this blog post:
Price comparison websites impose two opposing forces on the markets in which they operate. On one hand, they increase competition between firms, which pushes prices down. But on the other, comparison websites make substantial profits, which they glean in a large part from fees charged to firms for referring customers to them. As explained on Money Supermarket’s website: “Our main income is derived from customers clicking through from results pages and buying a product.” In 2013, the company experienced turnover of £225m (up 10% on 2012), with post-tax profits standing at £35m (up 40% on 2012). This has a knock-on effect on firms. It adds to their costs and therefore affects their pricing decisions, so can lead to them upping their prices.
I would like you to do some research about the effects of price comparison websites on the well-being of consumers. You can also give your opinion referring to your own experience.
(This post updates a previous post published in March 2014.)
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Fish for the poor under a rising global demand and changing fishery regime
- In the past, agricultural researchers tended to ignore the fisheries factor in global food and nutritional security. However, the role of fish is becoming critical as a result of changes in fisheries regimes, income distribution, demand and increasing international trade. Fish has become the fastest growing food commodity in international trade and this is raising concern for the supply of fish for poorer people. As a result, the impact of international trade regimes on fish supply and demand, and the consequences on the availability of fish for developing countries need to be studied. Policies aimed at increasing export earnings are in conflict with those aimed at increasing food security in third world countries. Fisheries policy research will need to focus on three primary areas which have an impact on the marginal and poorer communities of developing countries: increased international demand for low-value fish on the supply of poorer countries; improved aquaculture technologies and productivity on poorer and marginal farmers; and land and water allocation policy on productivity, food security and sustainability across farm, fishery and related sectors. The key to local food security is in the integration of agriculture, aquaculture and natural resources but an important focus on fisheries policy research will be to look at the linkages between societal, economic and natural systems in order to develop adequate and flexible solutions to achieve sustainable use of aquatic resources systems.
- Sustainable aquaculture
- Journal Article
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The economy has stalled and so has the war on climate change. But a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shows that dozens of cities are boosting their local economies while dramatically reducing greenhouse gases.
>What’s remarkable is that none of the examples relied on federal or state financial aid, but instead on the community’s own resources. And the communities featured in the report just scratch the surface of the many cities, counties, and municipalities that have tried and tested these options.
Eight local policies are featured in the report and the case studies of each policy show how these local tools have been leveraged for economic advantage, from more rigorous building codes to solar mandates and easier permitting to the use of a wide array of financing tools to spur renewable energy and energy efficiency. The full list (far from exhaustive) includes:
Municipal electric utilitiesCommunity choice aggregation or "community utilities"Building energy codesBuilding energy use disclosureLocal tax authoritySolar mandates for new homesImproved solar permittingLocal energy financing
The policies aren’t tied to a political ideology, but a practical and local one. Cities have identified where they have untapped resources and deployed them to generate jobs and keep more of their energy dollars in the economy.
The report also candidly admits that not every policy can be used everywhere. In a brief chapter on the "Limits of Local Authority," a map illustrates how variation in state law gives some cities relative local superpowers compared to others. Cities in states with so-called Dillon’s Rule are largely confined to powers expressly granted by their state government. Cities with home rule generally have more authority.<
See on www.renewableenergyworld.com
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This paper will cover the different forms of business and who would benefit from that type of business. The types of business discussed will be sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), S corporation, franchise, and corporate form. Justification will be given why the type of company would benefit from each form of business. The sole proprietorship type of business has advantages for entrepreneurs starting out to earn an income. An entrepreneur starting a sole proprietorship business owns the entire business and cost very little to start. The owner also makes all management decisions with no approvals from anyone else and receives all profits. The business is easily transferred and sold if the proprietor needs to sell for any reason.
The disadvantages of this type include funding and legal responsibility. The only funding an owner can receive comes from the owner and what loans he or she can get from a lender. The sole proprietor is also legally responsible all business contracts and unprotected against law suits (Cheeseman, 2010). An entrepreneur without much capital starting out would be a candidate for sole proprietorship. This would allow the owner to set up his business and get controls set while he or she is getting established in the business world.
A group of people may choose to go into business with each other. This venture is called a partnership and requires four elements: two or more persons, carrying on a business, work as co-owners, and the business works for profit. Partnerships share in the business profits, but further evidence is the partners have an agreement to share in profits and losses and rights to participate in management. This type of business if free to determine the terms between the persons of the partnership and businesses lasting more than one year must put the agreement in writing. All taxation in a partnership applies to the individual’s personal income tax (Cheeseman, 2010). Two people where one is knowledgeable in automobile repair and the other knowledgeable in taxes and business affairs who want to start a business in car repair could use a partnership to start their venture.
This would allow them to hire necessary people, locate a garage in a good location, and have the resources of both people to get started. One of the best forms of business today is limited liability company (LLC) because owners can manage the business and have limited liability. The LLC is a separate legal entity that can own property, sue and be sued, enter into and enforce contracts and be found civil and criminally liable for violations of the law. It also avoids double taxation because taxes flow through to individual’s tax returns and is not taxed at the entity level.
The LLC does not lose any powers of individual ownership companies keeping investors and partners safe from law suits and company losses (Cheeseman, 2010). Any business that requires contractors to enter into customers houses to take care of work, like small construction or cleaning services, would be better off using an LLC mode of business. If the company has one employee, the owner, or there are more employees, the LLC protects the business from lawsuits.
Entering into a private home is always risky because unintended damage can be done to someone else’s private property. An unprotected owner can lose his or her business very quickly in a lawsuit, especially if the owner is just starting out. Limited liability partnership (LLP) businesses are usually restricted to professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and doctors. All partners have limited liability and not personally responsible because there are no general partners. Companies using LLPs have flow-through tax benefits and are not taxed at the entity level.
They also have to formally file articles of partnership with the secretary of the state in the state the LLP is formed. A minimum one million dollars of insurance to cover negligence, wrongful acts, and misconduct by partners or employees is required in many states (Cheeseman, 2010). The benefit to the professional industries listed above includes protection from law suits. Since the dollar amount of law suits greatly increase in these types of business it is essential in many cases for professional industries invest in this type of business form.
The type-S corporation is similar to LLC except the government requires yearly business meetings and meeting notes have to be files with the state every year. Companies using type-S that do not follow all the rules of a corporation can lose their protected status. They are still not double taxed, but have to be very careful to follow the regulations and rules set forth by the federal government (Cheeseman, 2010). Larger companies with many stockholders would do well with this type of business. Business meetings are most likely already being held at regular intervals.
All the company would have to do is file the meetings to keep their protected status. This type of business does require good management and organizational skills over an LLC because of the potential lost status if sued. Franchise companies use the trademarks, name, commercial symbols, patents, copyrights, and other property in the distribution and selling of goods and services. The franchisee usually establishes itself as a separate corporation than the franchisor. Some of the benefits of running a franchise are product uniformity and quality. The owner also has access to the franchisor’s knowledge and resources while still running an independent business.
The franchise owner is responsible to follow the standards and training set by the franchisor in order for the owner to use the name, logo, and trademark. Some of the fees involved in owning a franchise are initial license, royalty, assessment, lease, cost of supplies, and consulting. Opening a franchise can be expensive, but since the owner is using the name and advertising of the franchisor the money invested could be recouped at a quicker rate (Cheeseman, 2010).
Restaurants, department stores, and automobile dealerships are common franchise businesses. Customers of McDonald’s or Burger King know what they are going to get when they purchase food from them no matter where they are in the country. Even international stores have common items, though some products change because of different cultures and customs found in internationally. Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Honda, and BMW all sell vehicles under their prospective names.
Customers know exactly what they are shopping for when he or she goes into a dealership. This consistency improves the chance of repeat business even if the consumer moves to another state. The type-C corporate form of business contains the same regulations to keep the protected status as the type-S corporation, but the federal government double taxes the business. It is first taxed at the business level, and then taxed again at the individual level (Cheeseman, 2010). Fortune 500 companies often use this type of business. Meetings are already held, minutes taken, earnings recorded and posted on line. Keeping the protected status as a corporation is not difficult for larger companies.
This paper has covered the different forms of business and who would benefit from that type of business. The types of business discussed were sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), S corporation, franchise, and corporate form. Justification has been given why the type of company would benefit from each form of business.
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A trial balance is a two-column schedule in which the total of accounts with debit balances is equal to the total of accounts with credit balances, obtained from ledger accounts.
It consists of all the names and balances of all the accounts and the names appear in such order as they appear in the ledger accounts. The debit balances appear on the right-hand side of the column and the credit balances appear on the left-hand side of the column. Both sides of the column must be equal, in order to get the correct answer.
What is Trial Balance used for?
Trial balance set a proof that the ledger accounts are balanced. It provides the basis for Income statement and Balance Sheet.
When the debit side of the trial balance equals credit side, it means that
- For all the given transactions, debits and credits are recorded in equal proportion.
- Correct additions of the debit and credit side accounts has taken place.
Can you answer the question what are audit assertions?
Reasons of Errors occurring in the Trial Balance:
Sometimes, the debit and credit side of the trial balance does not agree. The reasons for such disagreements may be as follow:
- The posting of a debit balance as a credit balance, or vice versa.
- Mathematical errors in determining account balances
- Errors made while copying balances from ledger accounts into the trial balance
- Errors made while adding the entries of the trial balance
What is Trial Balance in accounting with Example?
Suppose a corporation XYZ, A basic format of its trial balance will look like as follow:
November 30th, 2019
|Notes payable||$ 40,000|
|Totals||$ 163,000||$ 163,000|
Limitations of the Trial Balance
Although, we believe that the trial balance may not result in agreement of the debit and credit side totals due to certain errors, however, a trial balance may still not be balanced even if the above given errors are omitted.
For Example: If a receipt of cash were negligently recorded by debiting the Machinery account instead of the cash account, the trial balance would still balance.
In addition, the omission of a transaction from the ledger, cannot be disclosed by the trial balance, which is a main shortcoming of the trial balance.
In conclusion, the trial balance only highlights the equality of debit and credit side of the schedule.
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The big gap in our arsenal to expand renewable energy – between home systems and power utilities – can be filled by community energy, and it can’t happen too soon.
In humanity’s greatest challenge – to survive and thrive without screwing the planet – two key ingredients are renewable energy and leadership.
We all know in our hearts that we need radical changes in the way we energise our lives, on a massive scale. So far this hasn’t happened, but big changes are in the air. Quite soon –maybe even this year – absolutely everyone will know the process of transformation is under way.
Crucial pieces of the jigsaw are now falling into place as the public at large, ignoring anti-renewable rhetoric, acknowledges the clear trend to cleaner energy. People are voting with their wallets as they see the long-term cost-benefit from installing solar panels.
The figures tell the story. With panel costs dropping rapidly as grid power gets more expensive, the number of installed solar panel systems in Australia increased 40 times between 2009 and 2016.
In 2017 installed capacity rose by nearly 20 per cent, putting the total generating capacity of solar panels well above 7000 megawatts across Australia, with numerous commercial plants and over two million home systems in place.
Renewable energy market analyst Ric Brazelle predicts that photovoltaic solar in Australia this year will outshine every other year, adding over 3500 megawatts to installed capacity including some utility scale plants of unprecedented size.
The obvious fit with solar panels, commercial and residential, is battery storage, enabling power generated in daylight to be used at all hours. A small but growing proportion of solar power purchasers also buy batteries, and that proportion will increase with every rise in power bills.
A panel-battery system now costs between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on capacity and location (Sydney is cheaper than Hobart). Prices continue to drop, but this level of cost puts home generation beyond the reach of many, perhaps most Australians.
Enter community energy. It’s an ancient idea, dating back to when people first huddled together for warmth, but one whose time has definitely come. For the energy revolution to happen quickly and equitably – both are important – we must find a way to get everyone involved.
Occupying the big gap between home solar and power utilities, community energy projects come in many forms. A community cooperative is one option, like Hepburn Springs in Victoria in which local residents pooled resources to set up their own four-megawatt wind farm.
Another model is the Tasmanian disability enterprise Tastex. Its new solar array, bought with crowd funding and an interest-free Corena Fund loan, cuts $6000 a year from its electricity bill.
A third is the Victorian city of Darebin’s ingenious “solar savers” scheme, which allows 300 local pensioners to get rooftop solar at no extra cost. They pay for it with each council rates bill, but only up to the amount that their new solar panels are saving them on their electricity bills.
The idea of community energy is spreading rapidly, assisted by groups like Melbourne-based Embark, which aims to make the community energy sector “a proven and financially viable model capable of attracting large-scale investment”. That’s leadership at work.
So is the Community Power Agency, set up in 2011 by two dynamic young women, Nicky Ison from Sydney and Jarra Hicks from Melbourne. Drawing on models in North America, Europe and India, CPA helps communities navigate the complexities of setting up their own renewable projects.
Now there’s a move afoot in Tasmania, drawing on CPA experience and expertise, to set up regional energy hubs – one in each of the state’s three regions – “to engage communities, support community energy projects and facilitate investment”.
Anton Vikstrom, Sustainable Living Tasmania’s energy program manager, and community energy consultant Jack Gilding are drivers of this initiative, which also involves Nicky Ison. It comes soon after the Victorian government announced it would fund trials of three community energy hubs.
Its model is the 25-year-old National Landcare Network, whose 56 regional organisations support thousands of volunteer land and coastal care groups. The idea is to start with a Hobart-based hub serving the entire state, with officers in each region, building to full services in all three regions.
The positive outcomes from a well-resourced network of community energy activities are many and varied, including the practical and economic value of generating additional clean energy.
But the biggest benefit is a social one. For by-passed towns, suburbs and regions suffering chronic unemployment, this idea offers everyone – not just those who can afford home systems – a chance to build and manage assets yielding long-term financial return.
Like all new paradigms, the idea of a community stake in energy generation will take some getting used to, especially for government institutions and commercial interests already feeling pressures in the rapidly-changing energy market.
But the push for community energy isn’t going to disappear, and one day we will wonder why it took so long to catch on. Politicians can choose to ignore it, but the smart ones will embrace the idea and get behind it.
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Australia's wild-caught Northern Prawn Fishery is recognised as a world leader in marine fishery management, thanks to a long-term partnership between the industry and CSIRO.
Economic and environmental efficiency
The Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) is one of Australia's most valuable Commonwealth fisheries, with an estimated value of $120m in 2018-19.
The key challenge with the fishery is to ensure it remains sustainable and can continue to benefit the economy into the future without harming the environment.
Partnering with the fishing industry to improve decision making
Thanks to a strong research partnership between the industry, CSIRO and fishery managers that began in the 1960s, the Northern Prawn Fishery is now economically efficient and environmentally sustainable, winning praise from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as a global model of fisheries management.
Lessons learned from the fishery can be applied to other fisheries and resource management challenges in Australia and overseas.
A range of management tools and procedures developed in partnership with NPF Industry and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority guide monitoring, assessment, and decision-making for the fishery.
- a formal harvest strategy that sets out management actions necessary to achieve biological and economic objectives, monitoring and assessment processes, and rules that control the intensity of fishing
- a bio-economic model used to set fishing effort levels that maintain productive prawn stocks while maximising fishery returns
- a management strategy evaluation framework that helps fishery managers compare potential management actions
- surveys to help estimate the volume and size composition of prawn stocks
- Ecological risk assessments to support the fisheries environmental accreditation
- a crew member observer program to collect information about threatened, endangered and protected species
- permanent or seasonal closures to fishing designed to coincide with growing phases and to protect pre-spawning prawns.
Strong international markets and recognition
Science-based management of the NPF has helped the fishery:
- become certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent body that certifies sustainable fisheries worldwide
- market products that attract major Australian and export buyers
- win praise from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as a global model of fisheries management
- implement a fleet consolidation to rebuild over-fished stocks and improve economic efficiency
- reduce its ecological impact and secure Commonwealth Government environmental accreditation
- establish co-management between NPF Industry Pty Ltd and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
- generate optimum profits for the Australian community.
The Northern Prawn Fishery embraces ecosystem-based fisheries management, an approach that seeks to ensure the sustainability of the fishery ecosystem as well as commercial prawn species.
Science-based tools and approaches have helped the fishery achieve accreditation under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and approval as a Wildlife Trade Operation.
Based on a deep understanding of the ecosystem and prawn life cycle, large areas of prawn nursery areas (seagrass beds and mangroves) and spawning grounds are permanently or seasonally closed to fishing.
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- April 21, 2014
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Term paper writing
The introduction of self-regulation naturally increases costs companies spend on regulatory functions and staff because external regulation by government inspectors, for instance, does not need funding from the part of corporations. In contrast, self-regulation means that corporations have to create their own regulatory bodies and to perform regulatory functions constantly that will need substantial financial resources. In addition, self-regulation will need training of internal inspectors and maintenance of the staff to conduct self-regulatory functions. Thus, corporations introducing self-regulation should come prepared to the rise of costs spent on regulatory functions.
On the other hand, corporations should be aware of benefits of self-regulation, which may outweigh costs. For instance, the efficient self-regulation can help corporations to identify problems that deteriorate their marketing performance. The elimination of those problems can bring considerable benefits that may cover costs spent on training of inspectors, compliance groups and introduction of self-regulation.
4 The weakness of self-regulation’s legal background compared to laws and common legal norms
Self-regulation is grounded on internal rules and norms, which corporations may negotiate with the government. However, self-regulation always remains a set of internal rules set within the organization, while there are legal norms that function and are valid nationwide. In this regard, laws and legal norms always remain superior to internal rules set within organisations in terms of their self-regulatory policies.
Therefore, corporations may face the problem, if their internal rules elaborated in terms of self-regulation turn out to be not valid under the existing legal norms and rules. For instance, some rules established by corporations in terms of self-regulation may violate the privacy right of employees. As a result, such internal rules are not valid and may be a reason for a lawsuit being filed by employees of corporations. Thus, corporations may face considerable troubles, to avoid which they have to adapt their internal self-regulatory rules to existing legal norms and stands. In actuality, corporations develop self-regulatory rules in close cooperation with the government that minimises the risk of such problems and controversies between internal self-regulatory rules and existing legislation.
5 Particularistic rules in terms of self-regulation as weakening factor of laws that are universal
Particularistic rules established within corporations in terms of their self-regulatory policies undermine the confidence of employees of corporations and other stakeholders in the universal applicability of laws. In other words, internal self-regulatory policies and rules may seem to substitute the law, while, in actuality, the law remains superior to internal rules. Nevertheless, the existence of internal rules and regulations along with the law may undermine the universality and supremacy of the law. The supremacy of law cannot be challenged by particularistic rules. However, this may be the case of self-regulation because employees working in corporations have to obey to self-regulatory norms and rules, for instance. As a result, employees may view internal rules and norms as being superior to the law that undermines their confidence in the law and its supremacy.
Kaserman, D. L., and Mayo, J. W. (1995). Government and Business: The Economics of Antitrust and Regulation. Fort Worth, Tex.: Dryden Press, 185
Hunt, M. S. (1975). “Trade Associations and Self-Regulation: Major Home Appliances,”¯ In Regulating the Product: Quality and Variety, edited by Richard E. Caves and Marc J. Roberts. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company, 78
Walley, N. & Whitehead, B. (1994). “It’s Not Easy Being Green,”¯ Harvard Business Review, 48
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In this video, you will compare how much money you make with how much you spend.
To do this, you will calculate income and expenses.
Then, you will create categories for each kind of expenditure, like rent, food, entertainment, and others.
In the summary table, type “Income” in a cell.
In the cells beneath it, type “Expenses” and “Balance.”
The balance is the total amount of money you have left after you have subtracted all expenses.
Next, create formulas to calculate these totals.
In the data you copied, there are separate columns for debits and credits.
Debits are money that has been taken out of your account; credits are money that has been
added, or “Income.”
Calculate the total amount of money you earned beside the “Income” cell.
Click the cell and type “Equals.”
Formulas always begin with an equals sign.
Next, type SUM.
As you begin typing, an autofill menu appears.
You can select SUM from the menu.
Select the cells to add up.
In this case, it is all of the cells in column E that are beneath the summary table.
Select column E.
Column E is highlighted, and the formula reads “SUM E to E.”
This will add together ALL of the values in Column E.
To remove any values located in the summary table, use the formula bar to change the first
cell reference to E12.
Now the formula will add all of the cells in E12 and below.
Close the parentheses in your formula, and press Enter.
The spreadsheet automatically adds the values in the “Credits” column.
Repeat these steps for the “Debits” column.
In the cell beside “Expenses,” type “Equals” and SUM.
Type “D12” “colon” “D” in the formula and close the parentheses.
Check the highlighted column to be sure you are adding the right numbers.
Press Enter to calculate your total expenditures.
Now, create another formula to calculate the “balance,” or, the money you have left
over after paying all of your expenses.
In the cell beside “Balance,” Type “Equals” and select the cell with the income calculation.
Type “minus” and select the calculated expenses cell.
Then, press enter.
The amount you have left after expenses is now calculated in this cell.
In the next video, you will categorize your expenditures.
Then, you will use SUMIF formulas to calculate how much you spent in each category.
Now, it’s your turn:
Create cells for Income, Expenses, and Balance.
Beside these, add a formula to calculate the total income, expenses, and balance.
Then, move on to the next video to start categorizing the data.
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The minimum wage in the US is different from most other countries, like most, there is a national minimum wage (Federal Minimum Wage) which sits at $7.25 per hour. However, each individual state has the right to set its own minimum wage. The Nebraska state minimum wage is one that the state has set at a higher level than the Federal min wage.
As a Nebraska business owner, it is important to familiarize yourself with the minimum wage so that you can pay your employees the correct and legal wage requirements. Of course, the minimum wage is just the lowest threshold that you can pay employees, but there are many industries that still start their base pay at the Nebraska state minimum wage level. For employees, you will also want to familiarize yourself with the min wage to make sure you are being paid fairly and your workers’ rights are protected.
What is the Nebraska minimum wage in 2021?
The Nebraska minimum wage in 2021 is unchanged from the 2020 minimum wage and it currently sits at $9.00 per hour. There are ongoing discussions about increasing the Nebraska minimum wage at some point within the next few years, but so far, nothing has happened regarding an increase.
Did the Nebraska Minimum Wage Go Up?
Did the Kentucky Minimum Wage Go Up?
The graphic below highlights the Nebraska minimum wage over the past several years. The minimum wage did not go up and remains at $9.00 per hour in 2021.
Nebraska Minimum Wage 2021
There has been no increase to the Nebraska state minimum wage since 2016, each year the minimum wage increase is evaluated on the states’ consumer price index which accounts for the cost of living and inflation within the state. If you would like to learn more information about the wage and labor laws in Nebraska, check out the Nebraska Department of Labor website.
Much like other states, there are different 2021 minimum wage laws for employees in Nebraska that work in specific industries. These are as follows:
- Tipped workers can receive a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour, although they must be able to keep all of the tips they receive compensating for the $9.00 wage.
- Student-workers employed for 20 hours a week or less can be paid a minimum of 70% the current minimum wage ($6.75).
- New employees under the age of 20 can be paid a training wage for the first 90 days of employment (70% of the current minimum wage).
To find out more information regarding the US minimum wage by state, check out our page that has a table in alphabetical order of all 50 states, including historical state minimum wage rates from previous years.
There are many interesting facts about Nebraska that you probably haven’t heard of. Feel free to check out a comprehensive list of them that also includes some very important economic facts if you are looking to start your own business or franchise or get a job in the state.
Nebraska Minimum Wage History
The table below provides the history of Nebraska’s minimum wage over the years since 2008. You can see when there were increases in the minimum wage, how much they were, and what percentage increase it represents.
|State||Wage||Year||$ Wage Increase||% Increase|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2021||$9.00||2021||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2020||$9.00||2020||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2019||$9.00||2019||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2018||$9.00||2018||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2017||$9.00||2017||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2016||$9.00||2016||$1.00||12.5%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2015||$8.00||2015||$0.75||10.3%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2014||$7.25||2014||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2013||$7.25||2013||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2012||$7.25||2012||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2011||$7.25||2011||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2010||$7.25||2010||$0||0%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2009||$7.25||2009||$0.70||11%|
|Nebraska Minimum Wage 2008||$6.55||2008||$0||0%|
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A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be a very loose arrangement designed largely to impress customers and competitors with the size of the network the business partners belong to.
Business mating (partnership formation)
A business partner or alliance can be crucial for businesses. However, businesses can not choose business partners in any way they want. In many instances, the potential partner might not be interested in forming a business relationship, also known as business mating. It is important that both sides of the agreement complement each other, but also that there are some common ground. For example in management style, mindset, and also technology. If, for example, management style would be too different between the firms then a partnership could be problematic. Kask and Linton (2013) investigate under what conditions business mating (formation) takes place for startup firms seeking business partners.
A block chain or blockchain is a permissionless distributed database based on the bitcoin protocol that maintains a continuously growing list of data records hardened against tampering and revision, even by its operators. The initial and most widely known application of block chain technology is the public ledger of transactions for bitcoin, which has been the inspiration for similar implementations often known as altchains.
The block chain consists of blocks that hold timestamped batches of recent valid transactions. Each block includes the hash of the prior block, linking the blocks together. The linked blocks form a chain, with each additional block reinforcing those before it, thus giving the database type its name.
A block chain implementation consists of two kinds of records: transactions and blocks.
Transactions are the content to be stored in the block chain.Transactions are created by participants using the system. In the case of cryptocurrencies, a transaction is created anytime a bitcoin owner sends cryptocurrency to another.
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Click to learn more about author Kartik Patel.
This article describes the Spearman’s Rank Correlation and how it is used for enterprise analysis.
What Is Spearman’s Rank Correlation?
Correlation is a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two variables fluctuate together. A positive correlation indicates the extent to which those variables increase or decrease in parallel. A negative correlation indicates the extent to which one variable increases as the other decreases. The Spearman’s Rank Correlation is a measure of the correlation between two ranked (ordered) variables. This method measures the strength and direction of the association between two sets of data when ranked by each of their quantities.
Let’s compute the Spearman’s Rank Correlation coefficient between two ranked variables X and Y that will illustrate a positive correlation:
The closer the value is to ±1, the stronger the relationship between variables. The closer this value is to 0, the weaker the relationship/association is between both variables.
How Is Spearman’s Rank Correlation Useful for Business Analysis?
Let’s look at two use cases to see the application and benefit of the Spearman’s Rank Correlation.
Use Case 1
Business Problem: An educational organization wants to assess student rating based on two different sources of observation.
Input Data: Students’ ratings by department chairs and students’ ratings by the faculty members.
Business Benefit: This analysis will help the organization to assess the consistency of the ratings provided by the two sources of student ranking and observation. If the ranking given by both observers is similar, the organization can put more faith in the ratings than if the observer ranking varies widely from one to the other. This will also reduce the chance of biased or unethical ranking systems.
Use Case 2
Business Problem: A market research agency wants to cluster various survey responders into groups based on the rank correlation output.
Input Data: Responses on brand loyalty containing values on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing disloyal, 2 meaning somewhat disloyal, and so on, and respondent frequency of brand visits per month (here responders with visits above 10 per quarter can be ranked as “1,” between 8 to 10 as “2,” and so on).
Business Benefit: If the values of brand visits and brand loyalty turn out to be positively correlated, then the organization can cluster the ongoing frequently visiting customers into a “brand loyal” segment and rarely visiting customers into a “brand disloyal” segment. Upon identification of these disloyal customers, the organization can focus on converting “disloyal” visitors to “loyal” visitors.
The Spearman’s Rank Correlation is a measure of the correlation between two ranked (ordered) variables. This method measures the strength and direction of the association between two sets of data, when ranked by each of their quantities, and is useful in identifying relationships and the sensitivity of measured results to influencing factors.
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How Ethereum Works Vs Blockchain – What on earth is Ethereum I indicate I keep finding out about everything the time I have actually seen it’s the 2nd biggest cryptocurrency around, however I simply can’t seem to cover my head around it.
Is it as innovative as Bitcoin? Can it actually alter the world as we understand it If you want to have a much better understanding of Ethereum, however are tired of explanations that sound like complete technical gibberish, stay … Here on Bitcoin, Whiteboard Tuesday, or must I say, Ethereum, Whiteboard Tuesday, we’ll address these questions And more.
Prior to we get into Ethereum, we require to do a quick wrap-up about Bitcoin since it’s the basis from which Ethereum was born.
By now you most likely know that Bitcoin is a form of decentralized money, and if you still have some concerns about what that suggests or how it works, then you may consider revisiting our original video “what is Bitcoin”.
Prior to Bitcoin was developed.
The only method to utilize money digitally was through an intermediary like a bank or Paypal.
Even then, the money used was still a federal government issued and controlled currency.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin altered all that by developing a decentralized type of currency that people might trade directly without the need for an intermediary.
Each Bitcoin deal is validated and verified by the entire Bitcoin network.
There’s, no single point of failure, so the system is essentially difficult to close down, control or manipulate.
Pretty cool huh Well now that we know that cash can be decentralized.
What other functions of society that are centralized today would be much better served on a decentralized system.
What about voting Voting needs a central authority to count and verify votes.
Property transfer records presently utilize central property registration.
Social media network like Facebook are based upon central servers that control all of the information we upload to them.
What if we could use the innovation behind Bitcoin, more commonly known as Blockchain to decentralize other things.
The interesting feature of Blockchain technology is that it’s, really, the by-product of the Bitcoin innovation.
Blockchain innovation was produced by merging currently existing technologies like cryptography proof of work and decentralized network architecture together in order to produce a system that can reach choices without a central authority.
There was no such thing as “blockchain technology” before Bitcoin was invented.
Once Bitcoin became a reality, people started discovering how and why it works, and called this “thing” blockchain innovation.
Blockchain is to Bitcoin what the Internet is to email, a system on top of which you Can develop applications and programs.
A currency like Bitcoin is simply among the alternatives.
This got individuals extremely thrilled and they began to explore.
What else can we decentralize.
However, in order for a system to be truly decentralized? It requires a big network of computers to run it.
Then, the only network that existed was Bitcoin and it was quite limited.
Bitcoin is written in what is known as a “turing insufficient” language, that makes it understand just a little set of orders like who sent out how much money to whom.
If you wish to create a more complex system, you’ll need a different programming language, which implies a various network of computer systems.
Think of for a second.
You wanted to build your own decentralized program, similar to Bitcoin at home.
You ‘D need to understand how Bitcoin’s decentralization works.
Compose code that imitates the very same behaviour, get a substantial network of computer systems to run this code and so on … And that is a great deal of work.
Ethereum was first proposed in late 2013 and then brought to life in 2014 by Vitalik Buterin, who at the time was the co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine.
Ethereum is the Do It Yourself platform for decentralized programs, likewise known as Dapps decentralized apps.
If you want to produce a decentralized program that no bachelor controls, not even you, although you wrote all of it you need to do, is learn the Ethereum programs language called Solidity and start coding.
The Ethereum platform has countless independent computer systems running it, suggesting it’s totally decentralized.
When a program is deployed to the Ethereum network, these computer systems, likewise called nodes, will make certain it executes as written.
Ethereum is the facilities for running Dapps worldwide.
It’s, not a currency, it’s, a platform.
, The currency used to incentivize the network is called Ether, but more On that, later.
Ethereum’s goal is to really decentralize the Internet.
The internet is centralized.
I thought the Internet currently was decentralized which anybody can begin their own website.
, While in theory that may be true in practice: Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix and other giants manage.
Most of the internet, as we know, it.
There’s, almost no activity online, that takes place without some sort of 3rd or intermediary celebration.
, But when the idea of digital decentralization was shown by Bitcoin an entire new range of opportunities appeared.
We can lastly start to envision and design an Internet that connects users directly without the requirement for a centralized 3rd celebration.
People can “lease” hard disk drive space straight to other people and make Dropbox outdated.
Chauffeurs can offer their services straight to travelers and eliminate “Uber” as the Middleman.
People can buy cryptocurrencies straight from one another without the need for an exchange that can get hacked or take.
Your money. How Ethereum Works Vs Blockchain
Ethereum permits individuals to connect straight with each other without a main authority to take care of things.
It’s, a network of computers that together integrate into one powerful, decentralized, supercomputer.
Ok, So now you understand what Ethereum does, but we haven’t touched upon HOW it does it.
Ethereum’s coding, language Solidity is utilized to compose “Smart Contracts”.
That are the reasoning that runs Dapps.
Let me describe:.
In reality, all a contract is is a sets of “Ifs” and “Thens”.
Meaning a set of actions and conditions.
If I pay my proprietor $ 1500 on the 1st of the month, then he lets me use my house.
That’s precisely how wise contracts work on Ethereum.
Ethereum developers compose the conditions for their program or Dapp, and then the ethereum network performs it.
They are called clever agreements due to the fact that they deal with all of the aspects of the contract enforcement efficiency, management and payment.
For instance, if I have a wise agreement that is used for paying lease, the property manager does not require to actively collect the cash.
The agreement itself, “understands”.
, if the cash has actually been sent.
If I certainly sent the cash, then I will be able to open my home door.
I will be locked out if I missed my payment.
However, clever agreements likewise have their drawbacks.
Returning to my previous example.
Instead of having to toss out a tenant that isn’t paying a “smart” contract would lock the non-paying renter out of their house.
A really intelligent agreement, on the other hand, would take into account other factors too, such as extenuating scenarios, the spirit with which the agreement was written, and it would likewise have the ability to make exceptions if called for.
To put it simply, it would act like a really great judge.
Instead, a “clever agreement” in the context of Ethereum is not intelligent at all.
It’s, actually uncompromisingly letter stringent.
It follows the guidelines to a T and can’t take any secondary considerations or the “spirit” of the law into account like what commonly occurs with real life contracts.
When a clever agreement is released on the Ethereum network, it can not be modified or fixed even by its initial.
The only way to change this agreement would be to convince the whole Ethereum network that a change ought to be made and that’s practically impossible.
This creates an extremely major issue considering that, unlike Bitcoin Ethereum was built with the capability to develop truly intricate contracts and intricate agreements are extremely hard to secure.
With any agreement the more complicated it is, the harder it is to implement as more space is left for analyses Or more stipulations should be written to handle contingencies.
With wise contracts.
Security suggests managing with best accuracy every possible method which a contract might be carried out in order to make certain that the contract does only what the author meant.
Ethereum released with the concept that “code is law”.
That is an agreement on Ethereum, is the ultimate authority And nobody might overthrow the agreement.
Well that all concerned a crashing halt when the DAO occasion, occurred.
“Dow” or DAO, means “Decentralized Autonomous Organization”, which permitted users to transfer money and get returns based on the investments that the DAO made.
The decisions themselves would be.
Crowd-Sourced and decentralized.
The DAO raised $ 150M in Ethereum currency ether, when ether was trading around $ 20.
While this all sounded excellent, the code wasn’t protected extremely well and led to someone figuring out a method to drain the DAO out of money.
Now you could say that the person who drained the DAO was a “hacker”.
Some would argue that this was simply somebody who was taking advantage of the loopholes he found in the DAO’s wise agreement.
This isn’t very various than a creative attorney, determining a loophole in the existing law to effect a favorable outcome for his client.
What occurred next is that the Ethereum community chose that code no longer is law and altered the Ethereum guidelines in order to revert all the cash that entered into the DAO.
In other words, the contract, financiers and writers did something stupid and the Ethereum designers decided to bail them out.
The little minority that didn’t agree with this move stayed with the initial Ethereum Blockchain prior to its protocol was transformed which’s how Ethereum Classic was born, which is Actually, the original Ethereum.
We’ve covered a lot up previously, and the last thing I wish to talk about is Ethereum as a currency.
We’ve already established, that Ethereum is basically a large bunch of computers collaborating like one super computer, to execute code that powers Dapps.
This expenses money Money to get the devices to power them up, save them and cool them.
That’s why Ether was invented.
They actually are referring to Ether the currency that incentivizes individuals to run the Ethereum protocol when individuals talk about the cost of Ethereum.
On their computer system.
This is really comparable to the method Bitcoin miners earn money for preserving the Bitcoin blockchain.
In order to release a wise agreement to the Ethereum platform, its author should pay to do so.
That payment is made in the kind of ether.
This is done so that people will compose enhanced and efficient code and won’t lose.
The Ethereum network computing power on unneeded tasks.
Ether was very first dispersed in Ethereum’s original Initial Coin, Offering back in 2014.
Back then it cost around 40 cents to buy one Ether.
Today, one Ether is valued in numerous dollars, considering that using the Ethereum network has grown immensely due to the ICO buzz that started in 2017.
Still Confused Don’t stress, we’ll get more into Ether and mining in a later.
Ethereum’s network and Ether are an entire brand-new rabbit hole that we’ll cover, however I believe this will provide for now as an intro to Ethereum.
This concludes this week’s episode of Ethereum Whiteboard Tuesday.
Ideally, by now you have a much better understanding of what Ethereum is A network of computer systems interacting to replace the central model of programs and companies which run the Internet today. How Ethereum Works Vs Blockchain
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Transportation edged out electricity as the biggest source of carbon emissions last year in the United States, the first time this has happened since 1978, Bloomberg reported this week, citing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
This led Bloomberg to declare the transportation sector—which includes cars, trucks, trains, planes, and boats—”America’s New Pollution King.” And this trend is continuing in 2017, as U.S. Energy Information Administration data for the first eight months of the year for the transportation and electricity sectors shows.
It is worth noting that in Texas, this switch actually happened a year earlier: in 2015, the state’s transportation sector emitted 216.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide while the electric power sector emitted 213.6 million metric tons, according to state-level data from the U.S. EIA.
As Bloomberg‘s Tom Randall writes, “The big reversal didn’t happen because transportation emissions have been increasing. In fact, since 2000 the U.S. has experienced the flattest stretch of transportation-related pollution in modern record keeping. . . The big change has come from the cleanup of America’s electric grid.” It’s not that we’re using less electricity these days, we’re just increasingly getting it from cleaner sources, like natural gas and renewables, and retiring coal plants, so the carbon footprint of the sector is dropping off.
Emissions from transportation will trend downward in coming years and decades as electric and hybrid vehicles gain a larger foothold. “Investments in electric cars may soon begin to do to the transportation sector what wind and solar have done to the power sector: turn the pollution curve upside down,” Randall continues. And as electricity sources get greener, so does the overall carbon footprint of these EVs and hybrids.
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Today is the first day of the new Financial year and we all are free now as lockdown prevails due to Corona crisis, so let's start it with learning few relevant financial terms used in our day to day activity.
*"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest"*
- Benjamin Franklin
We at Sampark Online Finserv LLP proudly announce the launch of our Classroom service
LEARN BEFORE YOU EARN
*Know these Bank Rates*
*Repo rate* is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.
*Reverse Repo Rate* is the rate at which the Reserve Bank of India borrows funds from the commercial banks in the country. In other words, it is the rate at which commercial banks in India park their excess money with Reserve Bank of India usually for a short-term.
*Cash Reserve Ratio* (CRR) is a certain minimum amount of deposit that the commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the central bank. CRR is set according to the guidelines of the central bank of a country.
*(Statutory Liquidity Ratio)* (SLR) is the money a commercial bank needs to preserve in the form of cash, or gold or government authorized securities (Bonds) before providing credit to their own customers. SLR rate is decided by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) as well as to control the expansion of bank credit.
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Nori is a Blockchain enabled CO2 marketplace. There are two approaches to tackle climate change. The first is the method proposed by the Green New Deal that seeks large scale Government reinvestment into reducing CO2 emission and other environmentally sustainable initiatives. The second is a market-based solution whereas the Federal Government provides tax incentives for investors or firms to pay for carbon removal activities.
Nori is a Blockchain marketplace for carbon-credits. An investor or firm who is looking to offset the specific amount of carbon can do that by purchasing an offsetting activity using the Nori marketplace. The activity might be the planting of a tree, the installation of solar panels, the use of biomass, etc.
The marketplace aggregates trading information taking place on its platform to arrive at eliminating a specific amount of CO2 from the air.
The Economics of Market-based Solutions
The economics of Nori is worth evaluating. In the FAQs, Nori describes a situation where an individual might purchase a Nori token for the price of $1 then redeem that token when the price goes up to $5, effectively increasing their carbon purchasing power.
A supplier will complete a carbon removal action then upload its completion to the platform. Nori verifies that activity before a buyer can purchase the removal certificate, then redeem that certificate for a tax incentive or communicate the environmental impact of a specific project.
The transactions between a supplier of carbon removal and a buyer are straightforward.
How would speculators intermediate these transactions?
For equity markets, the role of speculation provides liquidity to the marketplace, investors, and firms. Would speculation need to monitor for carbon removal?
Hypothetically a speculator could purchase removal credits from a supplier then hold those credits. A buyer might pay a premium for those certificates in the future.
The role of speculation in a carbon marketplace could intermediate volume. Perhaps there are certain times in the year when carbon removals activities occur frequently, but there are different times of the year when buyers need removal credits.
A challenge could arise if too much speculation occurs on the platform. Carbon removal certificates should not have too much of a premium.
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Grocery store shrinkage, or shrink, is a term that refers to the loss of inventory. According to a 2011 study by the FMI and The Retail Control Group, 64% of shrinkage can be blamed on lack of training, inadequate practices, and inefficient store operations. Only 36% of shrinkage is the result of dishonest behavior and theft.
Luckily, there are steps that grocery stores can take to reduce shrinkage and address issues of inadequate procedures and operations.
How to Eliminate Grocery Store Shrink
Self-checkouts often rely on the honor system. As customers scan their items, they may be asked to input product codes for their produce. Without proper monitoring, some may enter product codes for low-cost items instead of the correct codes for the more expensive produce they are actually purchasing. In some cases, this may be a simple mistake on the part of the customer, especially if the products look essentially the same, the only difference being that one is organic and one is not. In other cases, the customer may be deliberately dishonest in an attempt to save money. Either way, this costs stores money.
The solution to this issue is better monitoring by managers. A tech-savvy manager can stand at a podium and verify merchandise by looking at multiple register screens at once and view the actual items the customers are purchasing. If an error occurs, the employee can take steps to ascertain the issue with the help of the store’s video footage.
Untrained cashiers can make the same mistakes customers make in the self-checkout line. They may not realize they are holding organic tomatoes and may enter the product code for the low-cost version of the product. For stores on perpetual ordering systems, this may also trigger an incorrect order and potential shortage of the organic tomatoes. Again, this costs the store money.
Another example is to train cashiers to check for “BOB,” or Bottom of the Basket. Customers can easily forget larger items placed on the bottom rack of the cart and leave without having paid for them. Having cashiers keep an eye out for these items can help prevent potentially high-dollar items from walking out the front door.
Implement price reductions
Produce doesn’t last forever. Over time, fruits and vegetables will develop soft spots and blemishes as they ripen. Instead of throwing these items away, produce managers should consider alternatives. If the products are still marketable, reducing their price may encourage shoppers to buy them. If they are past their sell-by date, but still good, the store’s bakery or deli may be able to use them, as well.
To reduce inventory shrinkage at your grocery store due to shoplifting, the first thing you need to do is identify the high-risk areas. These are typically in quiet corners or areas with tall shelves where video surveillance is interrupted by limited visibility. Once you’ve identified these critical zones, position employees in these areas at various times during operational hours. While the employees may spend much of their time stocking shelves, their presence alone may be enough to deter would-be shoplifters from looting your inventory. Stores can also implement various shelving solutions aimed at preventing fraud, including those that only release a single-unit at a time or sound an alarm when a shelf is “swept” clear of all inventory in a split second (likely into a purse or jacket).
Lower the amount of shrinkage your grocery store experiences by addressing the most common issues that cause it, such as shoplifting and poor training.
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In the last 20 years the global economy became increasingly digitized, and many companies hold highly sensitive and personal customer information obtained from various sources. Data is associated with a significance of risk if it’s stolen or abused.
Table of Contents
What is GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union.
General Data Protection Regulation was officially adopted by the European Parliament in April 2016 to specify how customer data should be used and protected. Following a two-year post adoption period it will become enforceable in May 2018. GDPR will replace the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive , which was introduced two decades ago when the Internet has not yet revolutionized business communications.
The Impact of GDPR
GDPR is applicable extraterritorially to all parties involved in selling goods and services to EU citizens and processing their personal data, regardless of whether the organization is registered or operating within the EU, including companies on other continents. As an IT or cybersecurity professional you must learn how to address major data protection requirements and make sure that software vendors you collaborate with are 100% GDPR compliant.
If data privacy infringement is committed, GDPR allows fines to be issued for violators, up to a maximum of either €20 million or 4% of the worldwide turnover, whichever is greater.
At Spinbackup we welcome the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforcement for B2B markets as it is individuals who handle business relationships. We are confident that GDPR compliance will help Spinbackup demonstrate that it has a high level of cyber security expertise and management when storing, encrypting, backing up, and securing our customer confidential data.
GDPR Overview. Why Important for Personal Data Protection?
It should be noted that seven essential requirements have been determined by GDPR to address personal data processing control issues.
7 core citizen rights afforded under GDPR requirements for personal data protection
- Consent. In obtaining consent for data use, companies cannot use indecipherable terms and conditions filled with legalese. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it.
- Breach Notification. In the event of data breach, data processors have to notify their controllers and customers of any risk within 72 hours.
- Right to Access. Individuals have the right to obtain confirmation from the data controller of whether their personal data is being processed. The data controller is obliged to provide an electronic copy for free to data subjects.
- Right to be Forgotten. When data is no longer relevant to its original purpose, data subjects can have the data controller erase their personal data and cease its dissemination.
- Data Portability. Allows individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes by transferring it across different services.
- Privacy by Design. Calls for inclusion of data protection from the onset of designing systems, implementing appropriate technical and infrastructural measures.
- Data Protection Officers. Professionally qualified officers must be appointed in public authorities or organisations that engage in large scale (companies with more than 250 employees) systematic monitoring or processing of sensitive data.
Below is a brief introduction to six key GDPR principles and how Spinbackup follows the GDPR requirements.
Fairness and Transparency.
Organizations must always process personal data lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.
Organizations can collect personal data only for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes. They cannot further process personal data in a manner that’s incompatible with those purposes.
Organizations can collect only personal data that’s adequate, relevant, and limited to what’s necessary for the intended purpose.
The information stored in the G Suite profile is the primary data source for Spinbackup. This data will be retained by Spinbackup only for the purpose of correctly displaying information about the users.
Personal data must be accurate, and kept up to date when necessary.
Spinbackup automatically updates data every time a user updates their data in the Google profile. There is no other way to change or update information in Spinbackup’s system.
Personal data must be kept only for as long as it’s needed to fulfill the original purpose of collection.
Spinbackup stores customer data only as long as it is needed to provide quality service to its customers. Any customer data that a customer leaves behind will be automatically deleted by Spinbackup after 30 days, which is when the licenses expire.
Additionally, Spinbackup can delete data upon customer’s request, if such a request meets the GDPR requirements and other legal acts.
Organizations must use appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data against unauthorized processing and accidental disclosure, access, loss, destruction, or alteration. Depending on the specific use case and personal data processed, the use of data segregation, encryption, pseudonymisation, and anonymization is recommended, and in some cases required to help protect personal data.
Spinbackup employs a professional team of technical and cybersecurity specialists. The experience of Spinbackup’s team allows it to provide a cutting-edge service built on the “privacy by design” and “privacy by default “principles.
A data controller is responsible for implementing measures to ensure that the personal data it controls is handled in compliance with the principles of the GDPR. This includes appointing a data protection officer, imposing contractual obligations on processor)s, and using the principles of “privacy by design” and “privacy by default.” Additionally, a data controller must be able to demonstrate compliance, including keeping a record of processing activities and conducting privacy impact assessments.
Spinbackup’s GDPR Compliance
Recognising the importance of the GDPR compliance, Spinbackup applies G Suite Security best practices, international standards, and follows legal requirements when building a Information Security Management System (ISMS) within the company. We incorporate the highest security standards into every phase of Spinbackup’s software development process, from the outset to completion. Spinbackup employs the highest security and privacy controls, audited regularly in our SOC 2 reports. Spinbackup’s cutting edge services are driven by collaborative effort with leading cloud service providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, whose reliability is globally recognised. Spinbackup follows the recommendations provided by ISO/IEC 27002 to ensure that the information security controls are implemented in Spinbackup.
Learn more on the decisive role of CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) in securing your data!
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Dependence of damage estimates upon assumptions of economic growth and technological developmentGreater economic growth could, by increasing emissions, lead to greater damages from climate change. On the other hand, by increasing wealth and advancing technological development and human capital, economic growth would also increase a society's adaptive capacity and reduce those damages. Although analyses of the impacts (or damages) of climate change generally incorporate economic growth into the emissions and climate change scenarios that they use as inputs, these analyses do not adequately account for the increase in adaptive capacity resulting from that very growth. Because of this inconsistency, these analyses generally tend to overstate impacts.For instance, the average GDP per capita for developing countries in 2100 is projected to be $11,000 (in 1990 US$, at market exchange rates) under A2, the slowest economic growth scenario, and $66,500 under A1, the scenario with both the greatest economic growth and largest climate change. By comparison, in 1990 the GDP per capita for Greece, for example, was $8,300 while Switzerland, the country with the highest income level at that time, had a GDP per capita of $34,000. Based on historical experience, one should expect that at the high levels of GDP per capita projected by the IPCC scenarios in 2100, wealth-driven increases in adaptive capacity alone should virtually eliminate damages from many climate-sensitive hazards, e.g., malaria and hunger, whether or not these damages are caused by climate change.Current damage estimates are inflated further because they usually do not adequately account for secular (time-dependent) improvements in technology that, if history is any guide, ought to occur in the future unrelated to economic development.A compelling argument for reducing greenhouse gases is that it would help developing countries cope with climate change. It is asserted that they need this help because their adaptive capacity is weak. Although often true today, this assertion becomes increasingly invalid in the future if developing countries become wealthier and more technologically advanced, per the IPCC's scenarios. Damage assessments frequently overlook this.Are scenario storylines internally consistent in light of historical experience?Regardless of whether the economic growth assumptions used in the IPCC scenarios are justified, their specifications regarding the relationship between wealth and technological ability are, in general, inconsistent with the lessons of economic history. They assume that the less wealthy societies depicted by the B1 and B2 scenarios would have greater environmental protection and employ cleaner and more efficient technologies than the wealthier society characterized by the A1F1 scenario. This contradicts general experience in the real world, where richer countries usually have cleaner technologies.Under the IPCC scenarios, the richer A1 world has the same population as the poorer B1 world, but in fact total fertility rates — a key determinant of population growth rates — are, by and large, lower for richer nations and, over time, have dropped for any given level of GDP per capita (Goklany 2001a).Merits of reallocating expenditures from mitigation to international developmentHalting climate change at its 1990 level would annually cost substantially more than the $165 billion estimated for the minimally-effective Kyoto Protocol. According to DEFRA-sponsored studies, in 2085, which is at the limit of the foreseeable future, such a halt would reduce the total global population at risk (PAR) due to both climate change and non-climate-change-related causes by 3 percent for malaria, 21 percent for hunger, and 86 percent for coastal flooding, although the total PAR for water shortage might well increase.The benefits associated with halting climate change — and more — can be obtained more economically through “focused adaptation”, i.e., activities focused on reducing vulnerabilities to the above noted climate-sensitive hazards, or through broadly advancing sustainable development in developing countries by meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In fact, such efforts, which together could annually cost donor countries $150 billion according to UN Millennium Project and World Health Organization studies, should reduce global malaria, hunger, poverty, and lack of access to safe water and sanitation by 50 percent (each); reduce child and maternal mortality by at least 66 percent; provide universal primary education; and reverse growth in AIDS/HIV, and other major diseases.These numbers also indicate that no matter how important climate change might be in this century, for the next several decades it would be far more beneficial for human well-being, especially in developing countries, to deal with non-climate change related factors.Not only would either focused adaptation or adherence to the MDGs provide greater benefits at lesser costs through the foreseeable future than would any emission reduction scheme, they would help solve today's urgent problems sooner and more certainly. Equally important, they would also increase the ability to deal with tomorrow's problems, whether they are caused by climate change or other factors. None of these claims can be reasonably made on behalf of any mitigation scheme today.Accordingly, over the next few decades the focus of climate policy should be to: (a) broadly advance sustainable development, particularly in developing countries since that would generally enhance their adaptive capacity to cope with the many urgent problems they currently face, including many that are climate-sensitive, (b) specifically reduce vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive problems that are urgent today and might be exacerbated by future climate change, and (c) implement “no-regret” emission reduction measures, while (d) concurrently striving to expand the universe of no-regret options through research and development to increase the variety and cost-effectiveness of available mitigation options.Ancillary benefits associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) reductionsSome GHG emission control options might provide substantial co-benefits by concurrently reducing problems not directly caused by climate change (e.g., air pollution or lack of sustained economic growth, especially in developing countries). However, in both these instances, the same, or greater, level of co-benefits can be obtained more economically by directly attacking the specific (non-climate change related) problems rather than indirectly through greenhouse gas control. On the other hand, a direct assault on the numerous climate-sensitive hurdles to sustainable development (e.g., hunger, malaria, and many natural disasters) would, as indicated, provide greater benefits more cost-effectively than would efforts to mitigate climate change.
Energy & Environment – SAGE
Published: Jul 1, 2005
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Ordinary Dividends – What Are They?
By: Ned Piplovic,
While high-dividend equities are the primary target of income investors, the particular class of dividend distribution — ordinary dividends or qualified dividends — can enhance or reduce the total after-tax return on shareholders’ investment.
In the most general terms, dividends are simply periodic payments that companies and other securities use to transfer a portion of their earnings or assets to their stakeholders. The different sources of dividend distributions affect dividend income taxation levels, as well as the terminology used to differentiate the payout types.
Equities like C-Corporations generally use their earnings for payments to their shareholders. These shareholder payouts do not figure into the original cost basis of buying the stock and are generally called dividends.
However, other types of securities — including limited liability corporations (LLCs), partnerships, S-Corporations, trusts, estates, etc. — generally transfer equity to their stockholders. These types of payouts figure into an investor’s cost basis for taxation purposes and are generally called distributions.
In most instances, dividend distributions take form of cash payouts. Ease of management, distribution and accounting make cash dividends the preferred choice for dividend distributors and dividend recipients.
However, equities also occasionally use other methods of dividend disseminations, called in-kind dividend distributions. Even the in-kind dividend distributions have subcategories. The most frequently used in-kind dividend payout type are stock dividends. In addition to stock dividends, other types of in-kind dividend distributions include property dividends, bonds of the company distributing dividends, bonds of a different corporation, government bonds, accounts receivables and promissory notes.
To define ordinary dividends, we first must define the other class of dividends. Qualified dividends are a special classification of cash dividends that meets specific requirements set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and are eligible for taxation at capital gains taxes.
Therefore, ordinary dividends — sometimes also called “non-qualified dividends” — are all dividend distributions that are not classified as qualified dividends. Unlike qualified dividends, ordinary dividends do not benefit from any favorable tax treatment and are generally taxed as ordinary income. Tax rates on ordinary income are usually higher than capital gains tax rates applicable to qualified dividends. Therefore, qualified dividends can generate higher after-tax returns than ordinary dividends. Investors with high levels of dividend income that pay their taxes at the rates applicable to the top tax bracket can save as much as 46% on their federal income taxes with qualified dividends.
As defined by the IRS, ordinary dividends are paid out from earnings and profits and are considered ordinary income. Furthermore, ordinary dividends have additional rules and restrictions.
- Investors will generally receive a Form 1099-DIV that will include the total amount of ordinary dividend distributions. Unless otherwise noted, dividends received on common and preferred stock are ordinary dividends and the amount will appear in box 1a of the 1099-DIV form.
- However, even if the dividend payouts meet the eligibility requirements for qualifying dividends listed in the next section, certain dividend distribution types will still be only ordinary dividends. For instance, dividend distributions from real estate investment trusts (REITs), master limited partnerships (MLPs) and tax-exempt companies are always treated as ordinary dividends. Additional examples of dividends that are not eligible for qualified dividends status are special dividends, one-time dividends and employee stock option dividends.
- Dividend distributions that are technically interest distributions, such as payouts from money market accounts, must be reported as interest income. Also, any dividend distributions associated with hedging — call options, put options, short sales, etc. — can not be classified as qualified dividends and are subject to taxation at the higher tax rates reserved for ordinary income.
However, while the total amount of qualified dividend distributions generally appears in box 1b of the IRS 1099-DIV form, IRS created several exceptions. In addition to being shown in the 1b box of the 1099-DIV form, qualified dividend distributions must not be included on the IRS list of Dividends that are not qualified dividends. Any dividend that falls into any category listed below is automatically classified as an ordinary dividend and taxed as such.
- Capital gain distributions.
- Dividends paid on deposits with mutual savings banks, cooperative banks, credit unions, U.S. building and loan associations, U.S. savings and loan associations, federal savings and loan associations, and similar financial institutions. Report these amounts as interest income.
- Dividends from a corporation that is a tax-exempt organization or farmer’s cooperative during the corporation’s tax year in which the dividends were paid or during the corporation’s previous tax year.
- Dividends paid by a corporation on employer securities held on the date of record by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) maintained by that corporation.
- Dividends on any share of stock to the extent you are obligated — whether under a short sale or otherwise — to make related payments for positions in substantially similar or related property.
- Payments in lieu of dividends, but only if you know or have reason to know the payments are not qualified dividends.
- Payments shown on Form 1099-DIV, box 1b, from a foreign corporation to the extent you know or have reason to know the payments are not qualified dividends.
Ordinary tax rates have seven tax brackets and qualified dividends have only three. However, qualified dividend breaks between the tax brackets used to be aligned with some of the breaks for ordinary dividends.
Investors who had qualified dividend income equivalent to ordinary income in the 10% or the 15% bracket paid no federal income taxes on that qualified dividend income. Additionally, the qualified dividend income equivalent to the 39.6% top bracket for ordinary income was subject to a 20% tax rate on qualified dividend income. Lastly, investors that were in the four middle brackets — 25%, 28%, 33% or 35% — paid a 15% tax rate for their income derived from qualified dividends.
However, following taxation changes in Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed by Congress on December 22, 2017, the tax brackets breaks for ordinary income changed and qualified dividend tax bracket breaks no longer align with ordinary income tax brackets.
Starting with the 2018 tax year, qualified dividends are subject to the income brackets shown in the table below.
Alternatively, ordinary income tax rates from the table below apply to all investors’ income derived from ordinary dividends.
Qualified dividends are attractive to investors because of their tax advantages. However, ordinary dividends are available from a wider selection of securities, including certain classes of equities that are never eligible for qualified dividend status but offer very high dividend yields, such as REITs or MLP’s.
While minimizing tax liability is an important consideration, investors will generally disregard tax implications and initially evaluate securities based on other characteristics. Dividend yields, history of dividend payments, number of consecutive dividend hikes, the company’s financial results, the stock’s share price history and other metrics are more important than tax rates for the selection of equities with high dividend distributions and outstanding total returns. However, when facing a choice between two or more equities with similar characteristics, investors should evaluate tax implications and select the investment that offers tax advantages. Both types of dividend distributions offer distinct benefits. Therefore, investors should take advantage of all available opportunities and construct a diversified investment portfolio that contains both types of dividend distributions.
Dividend increases and dividend decreases, new dividend announcements, dividend suspensions and other dividend changes occur daily. To make sure you don’t miss any important announcements, sign up for our E-mail Alerts. Let us do the hard work of gathering the data and sending the relevant information directly to your inbox.
In addition to E-mail Alerts, you will have access to our powerful dividend research tools. Take a quick video tour of the tools suite.
Ned Piplovic is the assistant editor of website content at Eagle Financial Publications. He graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Philosophy. Prior to joining Eagle, Ned spent 15 years in corporate operations and financial management. Ned writes for www.DividendInvestor.com and www.StockInvestor.com.
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Cash and Accrual Accounting Explained
Getting your accounts in order can be a minefield. Here is what you need to know when deciding whether to use cash or accrual accounting.
Think about when you record revenue or expenses. Is it when you pay or receive money? This is cash accounting. If you do it when you receive or raise an invoice, then you are using accrual accounting.
This method recognises revenue when cash is received, and you have paid any expenses. You can use this scheme if you are:
· A sole trader or partnership running a small self-employed business
· Making less than £150,000 turnover per year
Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships cannot use cash accounting. Others who are not eligible can be found here
Advantages of Cash Accounting
· It’s a simple process
· It shows you how much money your business has at any given time
· When calculating tax, it’s an easier option.
Disadvantages of Cash Accounting
· It isn’t always accurate. It may show you as profitable because you haven’t paid some bills.
· It only gives you a day-to-day view of your finances. This isn’t particularly helpful when you are making management decisions.
This method is used when revenue and expenses are recorded at the point they are earned, regardless of whether the money has been paid or spent. It is a more commonly used method than cash accounting.
Benefits of Accrual Accounting
· It gives you a much more accurate picture of your finances
· You can make financial decisions with confidence knowing your financial records are accurate
Disadvantages of Accrual Accounting
· It involves more work because you have to watch your invoices as well as your bank account.
· You may have to pay tax upfront before a customer has made their payment.
What if I am VAT registered?
Cash accounting and accrual accounting are the two most popular VAT accounting methods.
Generally, you calculate VAT on the basis that the VAT you pay to suppliers is deducted from the VAT you collect from clients. If you are paying more VAT than you are receiving, you can reclaim this from HMRC.
Which method should I use?
In the main, cash accounting for VAT is kinder to small businesses. This is because you only pay VAT to HMRC once your customers have paid you. This makes it easier on your cash flow and is simple to calculate.
You need to be aware that this method is only available if your VATable sales are under 1.35 million per year, you haven’t been convicted of a VAT offence in the last twelve months, and your VAT returns and payments are up-to-date.
Accrual accounting for VAT doesn’t take into account when payments were made or received. You are required to calculate your VAT based on when an invoice was received or issued.
Because this method requires a business to have sufficient cash reserves, it tends to be adopted by larger businesses with a high turnover. It is the mandatory method if your taxable turnover exceeds 1.35 million per year.
If you want advice on which method you should be using for your business, please get in touch. I may also be able to help set you up with accounting software that will take away the headache all this can cause. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
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The arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges leaves a vacuum at the top of the International Monetary Fund at a key moment for the global economy.
I'll get to that in a minute, but it's worth pausing here to answer a more basic question: What is the IMF, anyway?
You can think of it sort of like a credit union for countries, says Eswar Prasad, a former IMF economist who now works at Cornell and the Brookings Institution. Its members — countries from around the world — put money in. And the credit union lends that money out to members that need it.
This makes the IMF sound all warm and fuzzy. And for several decades after the IMF was created at the end of World War II, it was pretty warm and fuzzy.
At that time, the world's major currencies were fixed — a dollar was always worth the same amount of British pounds, the same amount of French francs, etc. (This is a bit of an oversimplification, but it gives the basic idea.) This was known as the Bretton Woods system.
During this time, the IMF made short-term loans to help countries keep the value of their currency fixed. The biggest recipient of IMF loans during this era was the UK, according to Prasad.
But Bretton Woods was dismantled in the 1970s, and the world of money changed profoundly. In the new world, the value of global currencies changes constantly. (A year ago, one British pound bought you $1.45; today, it buys you about $1.60.)
So in the 1980s and 1990s, the IMF took on a new role: Lending to developing countries in that were going through major economic crises. During this era, the world's opinion of the IMF became decidedly less warm and fuzzy.
The Fund is based in Washington, and it's largely controlled by the U.S. and Europe, which contribute a big chunk of the fund's loan pool. What's more, IMF loans always come with strings attached — recipients typically have to make big spending cuts, among other things.
Not surprisingly, having an institution controlled by rich countries dictate harsh terms to poor countries during times of intense crisis created a lot of tension and resentment.
So in the past decade, developing countries that didn't want to be beholden to the IMF started saving up their own rainy-day funds, full of dollars and euros.
"What the Asian financial crisis [of the late 1990s] did was it gave emerging market economies a very strong desire to stay out of the clutches of the IMF," Prasad said.
The total value of foreign-exchange reserves held around the world has risen from $2 trillion in 2000 to $6 trillion now, according to Prasad — and almost the entire increase has come from countries in the developing world.
But as developing countries like China, India and Brazil were stashing aside money for a rainy day, countries at the edges of Europe were heading for fiscal disaster.
And so, over the past year, the focus of the IMF has shifted back to Europe.
The IMF has been a key player in the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal. For one thing, it has contributed a significant chunk of the money. For another, the presence of the IMF has also made it politically more palatable for the recipients to agree to the terms of the bailouts.
But, in the past few weeks, a big, new problem has arisen: It's become clear that Greece is so far in the hole that it probably won't be able to pay off all its debt on time.
Strauss-Kahn's arrest means Greece's day of reckoning — and the potentially widespread fallout — may be coming sooner, rather than later.
Strauss-Kahn has been pushing for Europe and the IMF to be lenient, and to lend Greece more money, Prasad said. German leaders, on the other hand, have been resisting lending more to Greece.
What's more, the IMF has been accused of maintaining a double standard — of being more lenient with countries in Europe than it is with countries in the developing world.
"Given the fact that Greece has missed virtually every target, if it was an emerging market, the program would not be going forward," Prasad said.
So without Strauss-Kahn running the IMF and pushing for leniency, Greece's immediate future is less secure.
Greece is a relatively small country. But if it declares to the world that it can't pay off its debts, the ripple effects could be big. Banks in other European countries that hold Greek debt could suffer losses, which could in turn affect the broader financial system.
What's more, a Greek restructuring could spook investors, and make them less willing to lend money to other troubled European countries. That could lead to broader, deeper financial troubles around Europe and, perhaps, beyond.
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On November 7, the US presidential election was called: Democrat Joe Biden, the former Vice President to Barack Obama, defeated incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. After four years of obstruction, the US can get back to work on climate change.
The way forward will not be easy. A split Congress – with Republicans likely (though not guaranteed) to keep control of the Senate, and Democrats maintaining their hold on the House – will mean slim hopes for sorely needed domestic legislation. A COVID-19 pandemic is also still raging in the country, adding uncertainty to the future.
Still, climate action is increasingly important to Americans. Most Americans view climate change as a major threat, and in the weeks before the election, 42% of registered voters, and 68% of Biden supporters, said climate change was “very important” to their vote.
With that in mind, here are three climate policy developments to keep an eye on in 2021.
How much does fossil fuel production need to decline?
On 2 December, an update to the Production Gap Report will outline how fast the world needs to decline production of coal, oil, and gas in order to meet climate goals – and the gap between that need and current government plans.
1. Greater international engagement, including on a transition away from fossil fuels
First, the US will re-engage internationally. The country will rejoin the Paris Agreement – that is all but assured, with Biden repeatedly committing to re-entering the agreement “on day one”. The bigger question is: How quickly will the US seek to assume a leadership role?
International momentum has leaped forward in recent weeks, with China, Japan, and Korea making net zero emissions pledges. What can the US now offer? A net zero pledge for the US should, of course, be on the table, and should be set for well before 2060, the target date for China’s pledge. The rub is accomplishing such domestic action without Congress: the power of the President and the executive branch alone are fairly limited (more on that below).
Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris could also make good on her proposal to seek an international agreement to manage the decline of fossil fuel production. The existing Paris Agreement is completely silent on fossil fuels, so new ideas like this – especially coming from the country that is now the world’s largest oil and gas producer – could find a newly receptive audience. (How to address fossil fuel production in a global climate regime is a longstanding area of SEI’s work).
Biden and Harris also have the opportunity to up the ambition on US support for other countries. Biden’s own climate plan during the campaign contained little more than a return to the bare minimum of international support, such as renewing contributions to the Green Climate Fund, plus some ideas about technology transfer that were, frankly, outdated, given the rapid advances in low-carbon technologies by other countries. An effective and equitable global decarbonization will demand more from the US than that. For starters, it would be good to see more serious commitment to financially supporting low-income countries in their clean energy transitions – coupled, of course, with a savvy political strategy to remind Americans of the enduring value of strong international cooperation and assistance.
2. Economic recovery investment that could build out a low-carbon economy
Second, first steps for domestic action will look more like economic recovery than climate policy. That is out of necessity. The US has had far more deaths from COVID-19 than any other country, and the infection rate – and economic fallout – is only going to get worse. Still, economic recovery efforts can – as they did in the early days of President Obama’s term in 2009 – push hard on building out the low-carbon economy. US energy and transportation infrastructure is out of date, and the country has not yet made a big leap into low-carbon manufacturing. All of this low-carbon investment could mean jobs – lots and lots of jobs – that would mean not only dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but also would help build a durable political constituency for further low-carbon action. (Strategies like this to break carbon lock-in are the subject of one of SEI’s flagship initiatives). Even if the Senate stays in Republican hands, there will be opportunities in budget negotiations to pursue job creation in clean industries, given that many manufacturing-intensive Republican districts could stand to gain.
3. A patchwork of federal and state action, with little to no Congressional help
Third, and finally, serious action in the U.S. will likely have to happen without the help of Congress. If the Senate retains its Republican majority and control, then all signs point to a continuation of that body’s obstruction of climate legislation. (As of November 6, this outcome was not set in stone; at least one Senate seat in Georgia – and possibly both – may face a run-off in January. If Democrats win both and regain control of the Senate, then Congressional action could become more likely, especially if Democrats can first institute some democratic reforms to remove roadblocks in the Senate.)
This is where immediate executive action can help on some fronts, coupled with actions from federal agencies and states. Biden himself can issue executive orders to slow or reverse some of Trump’s damage. Then, once Biden builds back up leadership at federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of the Interior, these agencies can begin setting or improving standards for everything from power generation, to cars and trucks, to factories and industry, to the pollution from (and potentially levels of) fossil fuel production. A Biden administration can also be friendlier toward – and help smooth the way for – leading states like California going even further and faster with their own standards.
A mandate for action
For most of the more than 70 million people who voted for Biden (a record), climate policy is an issue of increasing and pressing concern. Progress on national climate policy in the US – slow as it might be – can now resume. A Biden administration should recognize the widespread support they have for serious climate action, and use every opportunity to advance the most ambitious measures possible to decarbonize the country and, in close cooperation with other countries, the world.
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Solar generated power has one of the smallest environmental impacts of any form of energy creation. Whether you are concerned about local pollution or global climate impacts, when you create your own solar electricity with the help of Solarise Solar, you can significantly contribute to a healthier environment that you and your family share.
For every 6 kW installed you will eliminate the equivalent of:
- 72 tons of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions
- 260 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions
- 440 pounds of sulfur dioxide emissions
- Going solar can lower your monthly power bills vs what you currently pay your utility provider
- In most cases you will save money from the day you recieve your “permission to operate” and your system is switched on
- You may receive a Federal Tax Credit of 22% as well as State and Utility Incentives (where available)
- Several studies have shown adding residential solar increasing a home’s resale value*
- Many electric utilities have historically raised rates faster than inflation. With solar you can lock in your rate!
- Switch to an electric car and also save on your monthly gas bill!
*Buying a solar energy system will likely increase your home’s value. A recent study found that solar panels are viewed as upgrades, just like a renovated kitchen or a finished basement, and home buyers across the country have been willing to pay a premium of about $15,000 for a home with an average-sized solar array. Additionally, there is evidence homes with solar panels sell faster than those without. In 2008, California homes with energy efficient features and PV were found to sell faster than homes that consume more energy. Keep in mind, these studies focused on homeowner-owned solar arrays.
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Finance Charges Law and Legal Definition
Finance charges are the sum of all charges, payable directly or indirectly by the person to whom credit is extended, and imposed directly or indirectly by the creditor as an incident to the extension of credit. The amount of the finance charge includes late charges and other charges resulting from or arising out of late payment, delinquency, default, or other like occurrence. Finance charges are regulated by state and federal laws.
State laws may establish a maximum rate allowed to be charged as a finance charge. The main federal law governing finance charges is the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act. The Act is designed to ensure full disclosure about finance charges in loans and prevent unfair business practices by lenders. Among other requirements, it requires creditors to disclose the cost of consumer credit as an annual percentage rate (APR), in addition to disclosing finance charges as a dollar amount. It also sets out procedures for correcting billing mistakes. The Truth in Lending Act doesn't set the rates or tell the creditor how to calculate finance charges.
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Investors reviewing a financial statement from a company will quickly notice that the company's reported income and its cash flow is not the same. Some companies might be making a very large amount of money in terms of their accounted income, but are doing rather poorly when it comes to cash flow. It's important to understand the difference between cash flow and accounting income to resolve confusion and avoid overvaluing or undervaluing an opportunity.
Net Income Statement
In accounting, net income is the sum total of all the company's revenues after expenses, depreciation and interest. It includes income from both cash and non-cash transactions. For example, the payment from a customer who purchases a product or service from the company on credit will add to that company's net income but may not add to its cash flow. Similarly, the company deducts losses to depreciation -- the decline in an asset's value over time -- from its net income, but does not lose cash in this transaction.
Cash Flow Statement
The cash flow statement is used to reconcile the difference between the company's reported net income and the actual amount of money that was received in cash. When computing the cash flow, the company adds back non-cash losses such as depreciation, capital losses, increases in debt and decreases in accounts receivable -- money owed to the company. Further, they must subtract out any gains that did not provide cash, including gains on capital assets, increases in receivables and decreases in debt. Cash may also come into the company from investments or capital financing activities, and these too must be accounted for on the cash flow statement.
The difference between net income and cash flow arises when a company opts to use accrual-basis accounting rather than cash basis. In cash-basis accounting, companies only record transactions when cash is actually spent or received; on accrual basis, transactions are reported when they're agreed to, even if no cash is exchanged. Accrual basis is generally more useful for getting an accurate picture of the company's financial condition, but the company's real cash flow cannot be ignored, because its ability to make good on debts or pay employees will be limited by the availability of actual cash.
Implications for Investors
The difference between cash flow and income is very important. In some situations, a company may need positive cash flow even more than it needs income -- companies may find themselves in bankruptcy even though they technically are profitable. This is why investors often consider both a company's income potential as expressed by its income statement alongside its ability to effectively manage its liquidity. A highly profitable investment with negative cash flow may be more risky than a significantly less-profitable opportunity that has a stable cash flow.
- California State University Long Beach; Chapter 12--Cash Flow vs. Accounting Income; Steven Le
- "Encyclopedia of Small Business"; Cash Flow Statement; Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom; 2006
- Securities and Exchange Commission. "Beginners' Guide to Financial Statement." Accessed Apr. 20, 2020.
- Financial Accounting Standards Board. "Summary of Statement No. 95." Accessed Apr. 20, 2020.
- Microsoft. "Financial Review: Cash Flows Statement." Accessed Apr. 20, 2020.
Matt Petryni has been writing since 2007. He was the environmental issues columnist at the "Oregon Daily Emerald" and has experience in environmental and land-use planning. Petryni holds a Bachelor of Science of planning, public policy and management from the University of Oregon.
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4 days ago · The symbol ƒ or fl. for the Dutch guilder was derived from another old currency, the florin. The exact exchange rate, still relevant for old contracts and for exchange of the old currency for euros at the central bank, is 2.20371 Dutch guilders for 1 euro. Inverted, this gives 0.453780 euros for 1 guilder.
Apr 02, 2021 · The ducat (/ ˈ d ʌ k ə t /) was a gold or silver coin used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages until as late as the 20th century. Many types of ducats had various metallic content and purchasing power throughout the period.
People also ask
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When did the Euro become the currency?
Apr 06, 2021 · The euro is the result of the European Union's project for economic and monetary union that came fully into being on 1 January 2002 and it is now the currency used by the majority of the European Union's member states, with all but Denmark bound to adopt it.
4 days ago · The krone (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰʁoːnə]; plural: kroner; sign: kr.; code: DKK) is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter in some contexts follows it.
Apr 11, 2021 · Currency converter The converter shows the conversion of 1 Dutch guilder to euro as of Sunday, 11 April 2021. ll 【NLG1 = €0.4538】 Dutch guilder to euro rate today. Free online currency conversion based on exchange rates.
- 1 THB = 0.0264 EUR
- 1 SAR = 0.1026 OMR
- 1 USD = 85.3343 BLC
Apr 07, 2021 · The Maltese lira was replaced by the euro as the official currency of Malta at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of 0.429300 MTL per 1 EUR. However, Maltese lira banknotes and coins continued to have legal tender status and were accepted for cash payments until 31 January 2008.
Apr 10, 2021 · The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the Deutsche Mark, and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany when it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig. The Mark is an ancient Germanic weight measure, traditionally a half pound, later used for several coins; whereas Reich, that is realm in English, comes from the official name for the German nation state from 1871 to 1945, Deu
5 days ago · Replacement with the euro. On 31 December 1998, the exchange rates between the European Currency Unit and the Irish pound and 10 other EMS currencies (all but the pound sterling, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone) were fixed. The fixed conversion factor for the Irish pound was €1 = IR£0.787564.
4 days ago · The euro sign, €, is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone and some other countries (such as Kosovo and Montenegro). The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by two lines instead of one.
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Buckle up for turbulence: why a global debt crisis looks very hard to avoid
Moody’s, one of the big three credit rating agencies, is not upbeat about the prospects for the world’s debt in 2020 – to put it mildly. If we were to try to capture the agency’s view of where we are heading on a palette of colours, we would be pointing at black – pitch black.
Moody’s rates the creditworthiness of 142 countries, which represent about US$62.2 trillion (£48 trillion) of debt. It sees a disruptive political environment both within various countries and at the international level.
This, it says, is aggravating the slow-motion stagnation of global GDP growth that has been a problem since the financial crisis of 2008-09. Together, these difficulties have the potential to worsen the effects of unresolved structural issues in different countries, such as fast-ageing populations, income inequality, poor competitiveness, low currency reserves and poor policies for managing sovereign debt. The net result could be sovereign debt defaults that could trigger new economic and financial shocks and lead to serious instability in the months ahead.
As a professor of banking and finance law, I broadly agree with this prognosis. So where are the most serious flashpoints, and what can politicians and civil servants do to minimise the risks?
Welcome to the cauldron
Unfortunately, the world is sitting on a sovereign debt timebomb that could be triggered at any time by the smallest event. This is confirmed by the IMF’s data, which identifies 32 countries as being at high risk of unsustainable debt. Their borrowings have more than tripled in just two years. We have to remember how serious the consequences can be when a country’s finances spiral out of control: take Venezuela, which is facing a humanitarian crisis with projected inflation of 10,000,000% by the end of this year.
Moody’s argues convincingly that the main drivers of the problems threatening to tip these high debt levels into crisis are twofold: the recent disruption to world trade and the weakening of global and national institutions. World trade in goods is heading for its worst year since 2009, mainly driven by the geopolitical tensions resulting from the trade war between the US and China, and to a lesser extent the Brexit uncertainty in Europe.
The US-China standoff has affected trade volumes between the two superpowers. It has also meant that countries which play an important role in the global supply chain, such as Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, will face a slowdown in their economic activity.
Beyond this are indirect consequences that could kick off a crisis: confidence is reducing across the board, and short and medium-term growth is projected to slow down. This threatens to reduce foreign direct investment and capital flows into many countries – Moody’s argues this is already evident in the Asia-Pacific region.
The same thing looks likely to happen to those countries with large account deficits who are more reliant on overseas capital, such as Argentina, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey and to a lesser extent Indonesia. Capital flight will send their currencies plummeting and make their dollar-denominated debts even more unsustainable, raising the prospect of political strife and contagion.
The division bell
Nationalism and populism are ascendant across the world, undermining the effectiveness of domestic, regional and global policy now that the era of centrist political consensus has ended. As Moody’s notes, this lack of international cohesion has made it harder for institutions, such as the World Trade Organization and G20, to help coordinate policy responses to economic difficulties.
It doesn’t help that there is also a large amount of bilateral antagonism at present – not only US/China and UK/EU, but also Japan and Korea, China and Japan, North Korea and the US, India and Pakistan, Russia and Ukraine and the ever-present tensions in the Gulf.
In this climate, populist movements are turning the growing anger over rising income inequality to their advantage, as we have seen in the likes of Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and particularly Chile. Other countries facing similar issues include Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia.
In response, governments are being forced to shift their policies. For example Argentina’s government had to reinstate price controls, which was one of its most criticised policies. Any quick populist fix may quiet discontent, but it doesn’t address structural challenges and only serves to highlight weak governments.
This is not just restricted to emerging markets: Moody’s also recently changed the outlook of the UK to negative, amid the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the log-jammed parliament. Similarly in the US, the ongoing impeachment process against President Trump and political polarisation are distracting policymakers from more essential and pressing matters – not least the sluggish economy. A ratings downgrade cannot be ruled out entirely.
This should all serve as a wake-up call to other countries with longstanding unresolved structural challenges. Sri Lanka, for example, has large account deficits that cannot be reduced, while India’s credit outlook has also been downgraded to negative because its government’s economic policies have been ineffective at producing growth. Many countries, meanwhile, need to do more to address other challenges, such as robotisation and the emergence of AI, or simply reform fatigue.
Put this all together and it looks like a very toxic mix. Countries need to recognise their mutual interest in avoiding a full-blown debt crisis. They need to try to overcome their differences and embrace a cohesive approach towards development and tackling the debt problem.
It may even be too late. There are some parts of the world, such as Africa, where debt is already getting very close to a regional crisis. Latin America and the Caribbean are also at risk, although some countries are already restructuring their debts.
At any rate, the international community must do what it can before time runs out. For the future, there are two vital lessons: countries need to tackle their structural issues early, and borrowing must be used for investment and not simply to finance budget deficits. If the world can make genuine progress on these fronts, situations like this can hopefully be avoided in the future.
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Short-Lived Citrus Tax Created Neat Stamps
During the Great Depression, Florida established an inspection program to control conditions under which oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit were brought to market. The taxes went into a special fund used to advertise the fruit. Because these Revenue stamps were affixed directly to boxes, baskets and cartons, few survived, especially in used condition. Interesting and seldom-seen – send for yours today!
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The early gold eagles of the United States are a fascinating although short-lived group. As a large gold coin containing nearly one-half troy ounce of the precious metal, the early gold eagle was not heavily saved and that coupled with usually modest mintages makes the early gold eagle a tough coin even for a type collector today.
That said, the early gold eagle is still a collection some well-heeled collectors can attempt as with relatively few dates but a number of varieties the early gold eagle is a collection which is possible to complete if you have the funds in your budget. Even if you are limited to one or two examples of the coin, the early gold eagle is an interesting coin to study as it had a significant role in the early coins of the United States.
The first gold eagle was included in the Mint Act of April 2, 1792. At the time it was the highest denomination gold coin as the United States was in no position to try making double eagles or other larger denominations.
Had a $20 gold coin been possible in 1792, you can be sure Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton would have called that coin the eagle.
However, the $10 was the top denomination and the name “eagle” was assigned to it. The $5 was called the half eagle and the $2.50 the quarter eagle.
In fact, simply finding a way to produce the gold eagles that were authorized would prove to be an adventure as back in 1792 there was not only no gold to use in making the coins, but there was no U.S. Mint where they could be produced. The matter of the Mint came first with Thomas Jefferson, who as Secretary of State was responsible for it. Kind of odd that it was not given to the Treasury to oversee, wasn’t it?
Jefferson took the lead in finding a building and outfitting a facility. That process actually moved along quickly and by 1793 the facility was ready to begin coin production.
Having a facility and producing gold coins, however, were two very different things, because in 1793 gold and silver coins were not even an option. The law required that a $10,000 bond be posted by the major officers in charge of the Mint before producing gold or silver coins would be allowed to commence. These bonds were a surety against theft.
The officials who were supposed to post the bond were balking at that requirement. For Jefferson, it was probably another headache at a time when the Mint seemed like an endless stream of small problems. While he worked on getting the matter of the bond settled (it was reduced) the Mint did all it could do, which was to produce copper large cents and half cents.
By 1794 the matter of the bond was settled and in the second half of the year the first attempt was made at producing silver coins. That attempt was to produce a silver dollar, which was perhaps jumping the gun a bit as at the time the equipment was only capable of producing coins up to the 32.5 millimeter diameter of a half dollar.
Potentially the gold eagle at 33mm might be a problem, but the early silver dollar at 39-40 mm was definitely a problem, but they started with the silver dollar anyway and that saw a mintage of just 1,758 pieces. It was a very unusual number and the likely reason is that an attempt was made to produce more, but 1,758 were all that could meet rather modest quality standards with the rest being melted. The surviving 125 or so 1794 silver dollars show there were problems as the alignment is sometimes not perfect and the strikes are usually light.
That attempt was followed by a half dollar production, which seemed to go better and a half dime mintage, which while dated 1794, was probably done primarily if not totally in 1795.
At that time they were ready to take a stab at producing gold coins. Perhaps learning from their silver dollar adventures the smaller gold half eagle was attempted first followed by the gold eagle with a Robert Scot Liberty Cap obverse and a small eagle reverse.
From what we can tell examining the 1795 gold eagles it appears that there were four pairs of dies prepared for them, but only three were used at the time with the other pair being used in 1796 or possibly even 1797. We see that the mintages for the type were all small, with the 1795 being listed as 5,583 along with 4,146 for the 1796 and an estimated 3,615 for the 1797, although that 1797 total is really an estimate as that year saw an additional 10,940 pieces with a large or Heraldic eagle on the reverse. At the time, however, a precise division based on the reverse design would have not been a high priority meaning we can only estimate totals.
With the small total numbers and their historic importance, the first small reverse gold eagle is going to naturally be a very desirable coin and a tough one. There are two main varieties, one with 13 leaves and a tougher one with just 9. The more available 13 leaves variety lists for $28,500 in F-12 while the 9-leaves variety is at $30,000 in the same grade.
The differing numbers of leaves on the 1795 reverse is typical for early eagles as the goal of the Mint was simply to produce as many coins as fast as was possible. Having all those coins uniform was definitely a lesser concern and we see that as the dies of the 1795 showed two with 13 leaves while the other used in 1795 had 9 and the one used later had 11. Not only was the 9-leaves variety just on one die, it appears to have had a very poor survival rate. Some estimates place the number known at perhaps 20 pieces, which would make it on a par with the 1798/7 with 7 stars left and 6 stars right as among the toughest of the early eagles.
The estimates are that the 9-leaves variety might have had a mintage as low as 500 pieces, but whatever the cause of its scarcity the fact is that the Professional Coin Grading Service has graded just 12 as opposed to the 13-leaves variety which it has graded 211 times. One interesting but hard to explain fact is that 7 of the 12 graded 9-leaves 1795 eagles were called Mint State.
In fact there are Mint State 1795 eagles available at a price. Of course in a grade like MS-65 the estimate is one might command a price well over one-half million dollars with any grade higher likely to bring in excess of $1 million. The problem is that not only are there relatively few examples in Mint State but that those there are usually in grades of MS-63 or below and they oftentimes come with light strikes or Mint-made adjustment marks, which while this evidence of filing does not change the technical grade, it does have a definite impact on the appeal of the specific coin.
Realistically, those with budget restrictions will find that some circulated examples are quite available in upper circulated grades as these early eagles did not circulate enough to end up with heavy wear in most cases.
The second year of production saw an official mintage of 4,146 and an unusually low number of varieties. To obtain a 1796 today you can expect to spend $27,500 for an F-12 although very few grade that low, meaning you more likely to pay $50,000 for an example in XF-40 where they are available.
The 1797 with a small eagle reverse is a complicated situation. The mintage of 3,615 would make it tough, resulting in an F-12 price of $31,500 while an MS-60 is $200,000. Interestingly enough the 1797 has a characteristic seen on most which is a die crack from about 4:30 to Liberty’s chin and most exhibit that crack. In the case of supplies in top grades with or without the crack the numbers are low with Numismatic Guaranty Corp. reporting just 7 examples in Mint State and none better than MS-62 while PCGS reports only two with the better one also being an MS-62.
Part of the 1797 mintage featured the first large eagle reverse and that if the estimate is correct was the first gold eagle to have a mintage over 10,000. Higher mintages would follow making the type more available with an F-12 type coin at $9,80 while an MS-60 would start around $58,500. In Mint State the more available dates are likely to be from 1799-1803, but like the earlier small eagle variety there can frequently be light strikes or adjustment marks. Finding a coin with a good strike and no adjustment marks will likely mean a premium price but they are worth it.
The 1798/7 is an interesting date as it comes with either 9 stars left and 4 stars right on the obverse or 7 stars left and 6 right. The reported mintages of the two were 900 and 842, respectively, which would make either quite elusive as is seen by the $13,500 F-12 price of the 9 and 4 star variety while the 7 and 6 star variety is $28,500 in the same grade. The best estimate is that the more available 9 and 4 star variety might have a population today of 100 pieces.
In the case of the 7 and 6 star variety the number known is much lower. To date PCGS reports just 7 examples as opposed to 33 for the 9 and 4 star variety. The NGC totals are similar with the 7 and 6 star variety having been graded just 4 times while the 9 and 4 star variety has made 24 appearances. While grading service totals are not to be taken as the final word on scarcity, they are a guide and from these totals it would not be surprising to find that there are fewer than 25 known examples of the 7 and 6 star variety. Even the 9 and 4 star variety looks somewhat tougher than the old estimate as early gold eagles are coins that are likely to be sent in for grading yet the two services combined can only account for potentially 60 coins, suggesting that an estimate of 100 remaining may well be on the optimistic side.
The more available dates of the type start with the 1799, which had a mintage placed at 37,449 pieces. At the time it was easily a record for gold eagles. In availability, the 1799 is similar to the 1801, which had an even higher mintage of 44,344. Just because they have higher mintages does not mean that either the 1799 or 1801 is common. In upper grades no early gold eagle can be taken for granted as available and that is especially true if you want a better strike and no adjustment marks. There are Mint State examples especially of the 1801, but in grades beyond MS-63 the numbers known are extremely low and usually the appearance of any nice coin at auction will produce strong bids from those who know they are unlikely to have many chances at a truly premium quality example of an early gold eagle.
Other dates from the period are tough as might be expected. The 1800 had a reported mintage of 5,999 although the suspicion is that the total might well have slightly higher. Even so, the 1800 is at $9,500 in F-12 and $39,500 in MS-60, making it slightly more expensive than the more available 1799 or 1801 but it at least can be found with some regularity.
The 1803 is another date that based on its reported mintage of 15,017 seems slightly more available than might be expected. The reason for its seeming availability may in part be the limited number of collectors for the complete set. The lack of collectors makes for a very limited demand for some of the slightly better dates as a type collector will normally opt for the more available dates in higher grades, leaving dates like the 1800 and 1803 to those attempting a full set. For the small extra premium, dates like the 1800 and 1803 are probably excellent values.
The 1804 is a special situation as with its mintage of 3,757, which is thought to be correct, it would be a tougher date. Certainly it is tougher, but there is an added featured in that it is linked forever with the famous 1804 silver dollar as both had their production suspended in 1804.
The most important difference went back to the practice of the time of using dies sometimes with dates that where different from the year in which the coins were actually produced. When officials in the 1830s sought to make proof sets to be used on a trade mission for presentation to the Sultan of Muscat and the King of Siam the records suggested that the last silver dollars and gold eagles made had been produced in 1804. What the records did not show is that the gold eagles produced that year were actually dated 1804 while the silver dollars had been produced with 1803 dated dies. The order to make a few proof 1804 gold eagles and silver dollars consequently resulted in the creation of the first silver dollar with an 1804 date.
What is not as well known is that the order to make the special 1804 gold eagles and silver dollars also resulted in the creation of a new variety of the 1804 gold eagle as the original 1804 gold eagles had a crosslet numeral “4.” Those original 1804 gold eagles with their famous date and low mintage are tough today with a price of $16,500 in F-12 while an MS-60 is listed at $92,500 and in any grade an 1804 gold eagle has to be considered special.
The special 1804 gold eagles produced in the 1830s for the special proof sets turned out to be slightly different from the original in that they have a plain “4” in the date and not the crosslet. We cannot really be certain of the number of plain “4” coins, but it stands to reason that the total is unlikely to be higher than the number of original Class I 1804 dollars. That total would be safely below 10 and in fact checking the number seen in recent years suggests that the number known may well be just four pieces. That actually makes the plain “4” 1804 gold eagle tougher than an original 1804 dollar although the price would not indicate that. The popularity of the 1804 dollar in hobby lore gives it an edge when it comes to its pricing as compared to its 1804 gold sibling.
That said, a plain “4” 1804 gold eagle can still make auction headlines with a surprising price.
Certainly the future seems likely to continue to show that early gold eagles are an extremely important group with rising prices especially in Mint State. Not many collectors can seriously attempt an upper grade collection, but with early eagles available in an assortment of grades it would seem safe to suggest that they are an early American numismatic treasure that some can hope to obtain and a group we all can study as they were a true reflection of their era.
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Confident entrepreneurs are often eager to launch their new ventures to capitalize on a brilliant opportunity before competition emerges. However, new entrepreneurs can significantly improve their prospects for success if they start by researching technical feasibility, verifying buyer interest and understanding the competitive environment. Most business failures could have been avoided by impartially evaluating the magnitude of the value proposition and devising a feasible plan for success. Why Entrepreneurs Fail
Limited Understanding of the Value Chain
Value chains can change rapidly because of their dependence on hundreds of interrelated firms. Entire industries can be revolutionized overnight as new companies disrupt established norms. Partner firms can shift their focus to new fields or go out of business. Disruptive technology can force businesses to adopt new processes to remain competitive in the marketplace. Entrepreneurs who fail to carefully monitor the value chain could experience difficulty adapting to the dynamic nature of the real marketplace.
Losing a Key Partner
Some businesses are dependent on the resources of just a couple of partners. The loss of a key partner could undermine competitive advantage or force a business to close. Entrepreneurs should have contingency plans that account for the loss of critical partners. The availability of alternative channels can also reduce the ability of key partners to take advantage of their invaluable position in the value chain. Although many partners remain reliable for extended periods of time, entrepreneurs should never ignore the risks associated with losing a key partner.
Failure to Target True Buying Motives
New firms often fail to build traction because of their inability to address the ultimate buying motives of customers. For example, a business that sells affordable office chairs might mistakenly focus on advertising their friendly customer service. Although support is always important, most utilitarian customers are focused on low costs and financing offers. Focus groups would quickly reveal that expensive support services would increase the total cost of ownership and fail to add additional value. Developing close relationships with customers can help businesses to tailor their offerings to meet the needs of buyers.
Insufficient Preliminary Research
Many new entrepreneurs fail because they exaggerate the value that their position can add in the marketplace. Research can reveal underserved market positions that entrepreneurs can exploit to add more sustainable value. Preliminary research can protect entrepreneurs from investing resources in saturated markets with excessive competition. Initial market projections can prevent future capital shortfalls. Interviews with prospective customers can help forecast demand and verify sufficient customer interest to justify proceeding. Entrepreneurs who objectively research their proposed ventures can prevent wasting resources on opportunities that are unlikely to succeed.
Picking a Bad Location
Most businesses are dependent on their location to add value to customers. Retail businesses located in an inconvenient location could permanently experience difficulties attracting customers. Technology companies should operate near key partners, important customers, and skilled workers. Industrial firms must ensure that their production facilities can be scaled to meet dynamic changes in prevailing demand. Many businesses are unable to end their lease contract after discovering a problem with their location. Entrepreneurs who can pick profitable locations can earn a strong competitive advantage over rival firms.
Key partners must possess sufficient expertise and interpersonal skills to ensure the sustainability of their positions in the value chain. Some entrepreneurs find their partners unable to carry out their responsibilities after launching a new venture. Competent partners might lack the discipline to reliably manage their obligations to the overall organization. Partner firms might also exaggerate their industry expertise in an attempt to close the sale. Entrepreneurs must find ways to ensure that their prospective partners are qualified to complete their responsibilities.
Ignoring Legal Realities
Business concepts that are illegal could be subject to severe civil and criminal liabilities. Some entrepreneurs depend on the current legal status of an unethical practice as their exclusive basis of competitive advantage. Legal uncertainty can cause investors to question the sustainability of a proposed enterprise. Customers could be unwilling to purchase unethical products or services. Some businesses can acquire a bad reputation after the exposure of their unethical practices. Qualified attorneys can often advise entrepreneurs on the likelihood of future legislation that could eventually outlaw essential business practices.
Failing to Innovate
Some entrepreneurs can experience a false sense of security after realizing moderate success. Complacency can present opportunities for competing firms to take market share by advancing innovation to a new level. Entrepreneurs must constantly seek to improve their products and services to maintain their prospects for future competitiveness. Successful entrepreneurs can maintain their market position through ongoing investments in product research and by nurturing an entrepreneurial work environment. Acquisitions can sometimes be an effective way for established businesses to maintain their dominance. Entrepreneurs should seek perpetual innovation to ensure the sustainability of their market position.
Established Firms Entering the Market
New entrepreneurs usually lack the resources to compete with established rivals. A lack of differentiation could encourage established firms to compete with an entrepreneur in the same field. New businesses that compete in transactional markets could have difficulty competing with established firms that produce complementary offerings and enjoy established brand equity. Prospective entrepreneurs should devise strategies to keep strong competitors out of their niche. Partnerships may be necessary to prevent direct competition with an established rival.
Entrepreneurs who fail to conduct adequate market research often underestimate the capital requirements of a prospective business venture. Lack of capital is one of the primary causes of business failure. Therefore, entrepreneurs should not be afraid pursue new opportunities when investors are unwilling to offer enough capital to seize a market opportunity. Persistent entrepreneurs can modify their value propositions to adopt more feasible approaches to an opportunity. Entrepreneurs can always return to investors with an improved proposal after developing a new plan. However, entrepreneurs should never launch a venture that fails to acquire sufficient capital to prevent failure.
Entrepreneurs who understand how to avoid failure can substantially reduce their chances of experiencing losses. However, all business activities require some degree of uncertainty. Innovative entrepreneurs should not be afraid to take reasonable risks to achieve their goals. The ability to strike a balance between risk mitigation and innovation paralysis is what separates successful entrepreneurs from complacent dreamers.
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Japan and Bangladesh are Asian countries whose relations are friendly, last longing, trusted and they are reliable development partners. To maximize the benefits in terms of faster economic growth and poverty reduction, Japan and Bangladesh will need to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation in several areas, particularly in trade and businesses. The bilateral economic and trade relations between Japan and Bangladesh are old enough and they have strong historical and cultural relation — the share many similar facts. Japan and Bangladesh are two faithful, helpful and beneficial countries and this relationship has contributed in socio-economic development, culture, education, infrastructure, knowhow transfer, trade, migration, human resource exchange, capacity building of the institutions and in many areas.
Japan always fulfils her economic interest in Bangladesh through investment. As a developing country, Bangladesh welcomes the flow of foreign investment in the country hoping for the introduction of new technology to help improve the job market and the economic growth. Japan is one of the largest investors and donors in Bangladesh. In 1961, Japan, for the first time, invested in Bangladesh; a joint venture textile mills. The number Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has grown more than triple time since 2008 reaching 253 as May, 2017 according to JETRO.
According to board of investment sources, up to June, 2017 Japanese companies registered with BIDA of invest more than 2003.53 Million USD. Japanese investment in Bangladesh ranks 4th among the foreign investing countries after the USA, UK and Malaysia. Japan is one of major sources of Foreign Direct Investment in Bangladesh and also a significant source of development aid to Bangladesh.
At present, more than two hundred projects with Japanese investment or joint venture operating in Bangladesh. It is known that Bangladesh, geo-strategically located at the junction of East Asia and South Asia, may emerge as the most important hub apart from India for Japan. From that point of view, transport network improvement, stable power supply, urban development, blue economy development, economic zone development, and private sector development such as financial accessibility promotion are the areas where Japan wishes to cooperate under its BIG-B initiative. Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has consistently maintained good relations with Japan and the people of Bangladesh have a strong affinity towards Japan.
Japan is one of the important trading partners of Bangladesh. Bangladesh exports agro products, readymade garments, woollen goods, carpets, handicrafts, paper and paper products, leather goods, and silverware and ornaments. Bangladesh’s imports from Japan include vehicles and spare parts, electronic goods, machinery and equipment, iron and steel products, photographic goods, medical equipment fabric and industrial raw materials.
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Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Ethylene with 32% Lower Energy at 80% Lower Cost via Coproduction of Glycolic Acid
We are in a race against time to implement technologies for carbon capture, conversion, and utilization (CCU) to create a closed anthropogenic carbon cycle. Renewable energy powered electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) to fuels and chemicals is an attractive technology in this context. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to drive economic feasibility of eCO2R to ethylene (C2H4), the largest produced organic chemical, by coupling with glycerol oxidation on anode. Our gold nano-dendrite anode catalyst demonstrated very high activity (J ~377 mA/cm2 at 1.2 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode) and selectivity (~50% to glycolic acid (GA)) for glycerol oxidation. The co-electrolysis process demonstrated record high selectivity of ~60% for C2H4 production at a very low cell voltage of ~ 1.7 V, translating to 32% reduction in required energy compared to conventional eCO2R with water oxidation reaction on anode. The experimental results were complemented with a detailed technoeconomic analysis that indicated economic feasibility will depend on several factors such as price of organic feed, selectivity of anode electrode, market value of chemicals produced and most importantly cost of separation and purification. Our results indicate that C2H4 produced via conventional eCO2R would require electricity price to plummet to <1 cents/kWh to be cost-competitive, while a co-electrolysis process to produce C2H4 and GA will help reduce C2H4 production cost by ~ 80% to ~1.08 $/kg, reaching cost parity at electricity price of 5 cents/kWh. This study may trigger research efforts for design of electrochemical processes with low electricity requirement using cheap industrial waste streams.
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A credit crunch (also known as a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates. In such situations, the relationship between credit availability and interest rates changes. Credit becomes less available at any given official interest rate, or there ceases to be a clear relationship between interest rates and credit availability (i.e. credit rationing occurs). Many times, a credit crunch is accompanied by a flight to quality by lenders and investors, as they seek less risky investments (often at the expense of small to medium size enterprises).
A credit crunch is often caused by a sustained period of careless and inappropriate lending which results in losses for lending institutions and investors in debt when the loans turn sour and the full extent of bad debts becomes known.
There are a number of reasons why banks might suddenly stop or slow lending activity. For example, inadequate information about the financial condition of borrowers can lead to a boom in lending when financial institutions overestimate creditworthiness, while the sudden revelation of information suggesting that borrowers are or were less creditworthy can lead to a sudden contraction of credit. Other causes can include an anticipated decline in the value of the collateral used by the banks to secure the loans; an exogenous change in monetary conditions (for example, where the central bank suddenly and unexpectedly raises reserve requirements or imposes new regulatory constraints on lending); the central government imposing direct credit controls on the banking system; or even an increased perception of risk regarding the solvency of other banks within the banking system.
Easy credit conditions
Easy credit conditions (sometimes referred to as "easy money" or "loose credit") are characterized by low interest rates for borrowers and relaxed lending practices by bankers, making it easy to get inexpensive loans. A credit crunch is the opposite, in which interest rates rise and lending practices tighten. Easy credit conditions mean that funds are readily available to borrowers, which results in asset prices rising if the loaned funds are used to buy assets in a particular market, such as real estate or stocks.
In a credit bubble, lending standards become less stringent. Easy credit drives up prices within a class of assets, usually real estate or equities. These increased asset values then become the collateral for further borrowing. During the upward phase in the credit cycle, asset prices may experience bouts of frenzied competitive, leveraged bidding, inducing inflation in a particular asset market. This can then cause a speculative price "bubble" to develop. As this upswing in new debt creation also increases the money supply and stimulates economic activity, this also tends to temporarily raise economic growth and employment.
Economist Hyman Minsky described the types of borrowing and lending that contribute to a bubble. The "hedge borrower" can make debt payments (covering interest and principal) from current cash flows from investments. This borrower is not taking significant risk. However, the next type, the "speculative borrower", the cash flow from investments can service the debt, i.e., cover the interest due, but the borrower must regularly roll over, or re-borrow, the principal. The "Ponzi borrower" (named for Charles Ponzi, see also Ponzi scheme) borrows based on the belief that the appreciation of the value of the asset will be sufficient to refinance the debt but could not make sufficient payments on interest or principal with the cash flow from investments; only the appreciating asset value can keep the Ponzi borrower afloat.
Often it is only in retrospect that participants in an economic bubble realize that the point of collapse was obvious. In this respect, economic bubbles can have dynamic characteristics not unlike Ponzi schemes or Pyramid schemes.
Several psychological factors contribute to bubbles and related busts.
- Social herding refers to following the behavior of others, assuming they understand what is happening. As John Maynard Keynes observed in 1931 during the Great Depression: "A sound banker, alas, is not one who foresees danger and avoids it, but one who, when he is ruined, is ruined in a conventional way along with his fellows, so that no one can really blame him."
- People may assume that unusually favorable trends (e.g., exceptionally low interest rates and prolonged asset price increases) will continue indefinitely.
- Incentives may also encourage risky behavior, particularly where the negative consequences if a bet goes sour are shared collectively. The tendency of government to bail out financial institutions that get into trouble (e.g., Long-term Capital Management and the subprime mortgage crisis), provide examples of such moral hazard.
- People may assume that "this time is different", which psychologist Daniel Kahneman refers to as the inside view, as opposed to the outside view, which is based on historical or better objective information.
Valuation of securities
The crunch is generally caused by a reduction in the market prices of previously "overinflated" assets and refers to the financial crisis that results from the price collapse. This can result in widespread foreclosure or bankruptcy for those who came in late to the market, as the prices of previously inflated assets generally drop precipitously. In contrast, a liquidity crisis is triggered when an otherwise sound business finds itself temporarily incapable of accessing the bridge finance it needs to expand its business or smooth its cash flow payments. In this case, accessing additional credit lines and "trading through" the crisis can allow the business to navigate its way through the problem and ensure its continued solvency and viability. It is often difficult to know, in the midst of a crisis, whether distressed businesses are experiencing a crisis of solvency or a temporary liquidity crisis.
In the case of a credit crunch, it may be preferable to "mark to market" - and if necessary, sell or go into liquidation if the capital of the business affected is insufficient to survive the post-boom phase of the credit cycle. In the case of a liquidity crisis on the other hand, it may be preferable to attempt to access additional lines of credit, as opportunities for growth may exist once the liquidity crisis is overcome.
Financial institutions facing losses may then reduce the availability of credit, and increase the cost of accessing credit by raising interest rates. In some cases lenders may be unable to lend further, even if they wish, as a result of earlier losses. If participants themselves are highly leveraged (i.e., carrying a high debt burden) the damage done when the bubble bursts is more severe, causing recession or depression. Financial institutions may fail, economic growth may slow, unemployment may rise, and social unrest may increase. For example, the ratio of household debt to after-tax income rose from 60% in 1984 to 130% by 2007, contributing to (and worsening) the Subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–2008.
In recent decades credit crunches have not been rare or black swan events. Although few economists have successfully predicted credit crunch events before they have occurred, Professor Richard Rumelt has written the following in relation to their surprising frequency and regularity in advanced economies around the world: "In fact, during the past fifty years there have been 28 severe house-price boom-bust cycles and 28 credit crunches in 21 advanced Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies."
- Austrian business cycle theory
- Debt deflation
- Environmental credit crunch
- Financial crisis
- Minsky moment
- Liquidity crisis
- Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier?, Raghuram G. Rajan
- Leverage Cycles Mark Thoma, Economist's View
- Is There A Credit Crunch in East Asia? Wei Ding, Ilker Domac & Giovanni Ferri (World Bank)
- China lifts reserve requirement for banks
- Regulatory Debauchery, Satyajit Das
- Rumelt, Richard P. (2011). Good Strategy / Bad Strategy. Crown Business. ISBN 978-0-307-88623-1.
- Rowbotham, Michael (1998). The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics. Jon Carpenter Publishing. ISBN 978-1-897766-40-8.
- Cooper, George (2008). The Origin of Financial Crises. Harriman House. ISBN 978-1-905641-85-7.
- McCulley-PIMCO-The Shadow Banking System and Hyman Minsky's Economic Journey
- Ponzi Nation, Edward Chancellor, Institutional Investor, 7 February 2007
- Securitisation: life after death
- How the French invented subprime
- "Real Estate Booms and Banking Busts: An International Perspective". University of Pennsylvania. July 1999. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
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Medicaid in the United States is a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources. The Health Insurance Association of America describes Medicaid as a "government insurance program for persons of all ages whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care".
Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with low income in the United States. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments and managed by the states, with each state currently having broad leeway to determine who is eligible for its implementation of the program.
States are not required to participate in the program, although all have since 1982. Medicaid recipients must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, and may include low-income adults, their children, and people with certain disabilities. Poverty alone does not necessarily qualify someone for Medicaid.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act significantly expanded both eligibility for and federal funding of Medicaid. Under the law as written, all U.S. citizens and legal residents with income up to 133% of the poverty line, including adults without dependent children, would qualify for coverage in any state that participated in the Medicaid program. However, the United States Supreme Court ruled in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that states do not have to agree to this expansion in order to continue to receive previously established levels of Medicaid funding, and many states have chosen to continue with pre-ACA funding levels and eligibility standards.
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A lot can be said in an essay about money from how to acquire money, to prudent spending and saving, among others. While all those ideas are valid, it is important to find an idea that will add value to your academic work. Such an idea must be fresh, relevant and interesting to read. How can you come up with such an idea?
Since you encounter money on daily basis, you must have an issue that has caught your attention. Such an issue could relate to personal expenditure, institutional handling or money, appreciation and depreciation, plastic money, virtual money, etc. Base your paper on an issue you are familiar with and one that is informed by your surrounding and daily encounters.
Daily transactions inform news items in mainstream media. The analysis of business news provides reliable hints that can inform your choice of ideas. Ideas generated from these analyses are fresh considering that the news is live coverage of the business environment. Fresh ideas will always attract the attention your reader.
It is likely that you had written on money matters at a lower level or in another subject. In most cases, it is impossible to exhaust your ideas due to relevance or course limitations. When another opportunity arises to write about money, take it up and explore your ideas. In case you have the benefit of time to research or a lengthy essay to accommodate more ideas, take up the opportunity. It is a chance to build on ideas you were exploring before and add new insights that you did not have then.
Researchers and writers make recommendations on areas that require further exploration. Read as many papers as possible and identify areas that have been recommended for further perusal. The recommendations are contained at the end of papers or books.
The teacher remains your most reliable guide in education. Though teacher issue assignments, they retain the obligation to guide you through the writing process. The teacher will help you select a topic that is relevant to your course or one in your area of interest. Since the teacher knows your strengths and weaknesses, you will get a topic or idea that you can manage.
Always go for a strong and captivating idea for your essay on money. Avoid areas that have received a lot of attention in the past. Such ideas are considered stale and mundane.
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Public pensions are the retirement plans for those who work in state and local governments. These workers include law enforcement officers and firefighters. Employees who work for companies are covered by private pension plans, although not all companies offer such plans. For someone entering the workforce, the type of retirement plan an employer provides could affect the choice of where to go to work.
While public pensions are provided to individuals working in state and local governments, private pensions are typically made available through companies.
Weighing the Future
Retirement plans can be divided into two groups: defined benefit and defined contribution. With a defined benefit plan, the size of your retirement check will come from a formula based on your salary earned while working and your number of years on the job. With this type of plan, you'll knows exactly how much money you'll receive every month.
In a defined contribution plan, money is deposited into your retirement account every year and how much you'll have at retirement depends on the size of the deposits and the returns earned in the stock and bond markets. There are no retirement income guarantees with a defined contribution plan. Public pensions are typically defined benefit plans; private pensions have largely shifted to the defined contribution variety.
Comparing Benefits at Retirement
A 2011 study by Capitol Matrix Consulting for the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility found that, on average, the retirement benefits of public employees may be worth more than what private company workers receive when they retire. Public pensions offer benefits that don't exist or are rare in the private sector, such as early retirement with a full pension, coverage for a surviving spouse, and a continuation of medical insurance benefits. In many cases, public employees contribute little or nothing out of their own salaries toward their retirement benefits. The public employer contributions for the pension plans are invested by plan trustees into the stock and bond markets.
Playing the Markets
According to a 2011 article by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, more than 85 percent of the retirement savings plans in the private sector involve salary deferrals and employer matching funds into 401k or similar types of plans. In this type of plan, the money is invested in stock and bond funds and allowed to grow tax-free until retirement. How much you'll have at retirement depends on how much of your own salary you set aside and how well the investment markets have performed. One benefit of 401k type of savings plans is the ease of moving retirement savings when you change employers.
Funding the Public Plans
While the money in private pension plans is protected by a range of laws, the cash to pay public pension benefits isn't covered by the same legal requirements. Elected officials should be setting aside a portion of tax receipts to invest and grow to pay for future pension obligations. However, politicians sometimes don't set aside the calculated amounts to adequately fund public pension promises. A 2013 review of state public pensions by the nonprofit State Budget Solutions organization calculated that across the U.S., plans were underfunded by about two-thirds of the assets needed. At some point, public pension will require a bigger piece of the tax pie or benefits will be reduced.
- Investopedia: Public Pensions and Public Trust
- Benefits Planner: Retirement | How Government Pensions Affect Social Security Benefits | SSA
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Evaluating Pension Fund Investments Through The Lens Of Good Corporate Governance.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- U.S. Department of Labor. “Private Pension Plan Bulletin Historical Tables and Graphs 1975-2017,” Page 1. Accessed June 30, 2020.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “51 percent of private industry workers had access to only defined contribution retirement plans.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Willis Towers Watson. “Retirement offerings in the Fortune 500: 1998 – 2019.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Congress.gov. “H.R.2 - Employee Retirement Income Security Act." Accessed June 30, 2020.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Defined contribution retirement plans: Who has them and what do they cost?” Page 8. Accessed June 30, 2020.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Retirement costs for defined benefit plans higher than for defined contribution plans,” Page 2. Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “The Time Bomb Inside Public Pension Plans.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Pew. “The State Pension Funding Gap: 2017.” Accessed July 2, 2020.
- NYSTRS. “Cost-of-Living Adjustment.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR AMERICANS PROJECTED TO GROW AT AN ALARMINGLY HIGH RATE.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. “How Pension Plans End.” Accessed July 2, 2020.
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. “How PBGC Operates.” Accessed July 2, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. “Retirement Topics - Contributions.” Accessed July 2, 2020.
Tim Plaehn has been writing financial, investment and trading articles and blogs since 2007. His work has appeared online at Seeking Alpha, Marketwatch.com and various other websites. Plaehn has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
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If you have any problems related to the accessibility of any content (or if you want to request that a specific publication be accessible), please contact ([email protected]).
Applications of Linear Regression and Other Statistical Tools in the Study of Alcohol Sales
Mathematics and Statistics
AltmetricsView Usage Statistics
This study uses linear regression to model the relationship of alcohol sales as a function of economic and social variables. Data were obtained on the whole U.S. for this study's dependent variable of alcohol sales and independent variables of unemployment rate, personal consumption expenditures, consumer price index, population, and high school graduation rate. For the purposes of developing a reliable regression model, this study focuses on satisfying the seven classical assumptions of ordinary least squares regression. The results of this study show a statistically significant positive relationship between alcohol sales and the variables of unemployment rate, personal consumption expenditures, and high school graduation rate.
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Risk Curve - Definition
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Risk Curve Definition
The Risk Curve is a graphical presentation of the risks and returns of two variables. The risk curve plots two variables on a graph to reflect their financial risks and returns, this graph creates visuals on how returns are made on the assets and the risks entailed. The nature of the risks are also indicated in the graph. The risk curve is made of multiple data representing multiple assets in order to aid the visualization of the relative risks and returns of these assets. The risk curve is an important metric in mean-variance analysis and the Capital Asset Pricing Model.
A Little More on What is a Risk Curve
In the risk curve, two variables is often plotted on a graph where their relative risks are pitched on the vertical axis (x-axis) and the financial returns outlined on the horizontal axis (y-axis). The assets that can be displayed on a risk curve are not just similar assets but also dissimilar assets. Assets that are risk-free but have little returns are often lined on the lower part of the left side of the chart, such assets include the Treasury bill. Assets that have huge returns and high rate of losses are also position at the top right corner of the chart, assets like these include the leveraged ETF.
The Risk Curve in MPT and the Efficient Frontier
There are certain economic theories that use the risk curve, these include the Modern Portfolio Theory and the Efficient Frontier theory. Through the risk curve, the categories in portfolios and their relative risks and returns are identified. The risk curve also display multiple data on different assets that will help in discovering the historical performances of the assets which will foster the creation of risk curve models. The historical variance in risks and returns of the outlined assets and what the expected average return and relative risk of each asset should be are presented on the risk curve.
References for Risk Curve
https://www.investopedia.com Investing Financial Analysiswww.businessdictionary.com/definition/risk-curve.htmlhttps://thelawdictionary.org/risk-curve/https://www.creditmanagement-tools.com/cash-and-risks-curves-o216.php
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The arithmetic mean (AM) and arithmetic standard deviation (ASD) should only be used for short-term investments that have a maturity of one year or less because it is a simple interest equation that does not account for the compounding that occurs over multiple years. If compounding is occurring, even for an investment less than one year in maturity, then the geometric mean and standard deviation should be used instead. Assuming that you are analyzing “P” number of periods that are less than a year in duration and utilize simple interest, the following equations can be used to derive the period and annualized rates of return and standard deviations:
|Total Periods < 1 Year, Period Output|
|Total Periods < 1 Year, Annualized Output|
|Total Periods >1 Year, Period Output|
|Total Periods > 1 Year, Annualized Output|
Note that sample statistics are being applied since the 1 (one) has been subtracted from all of the “P” and “n×P” denominators for the standard deviation calculations.
n = number of years
P = number of periods per year
r = periodic return
Two example spreadsheets are attached which show how to calculate the Arithmetic and Geometric means and standard deviations for stocks, but these same techniques can be applied to any set of data.
For investments with a maturity horizon greater than one year, the Geometric Mean and Standard Deviation should be used, and these equations can be found on another blog post here:
A PDF of this post can be downloaded by clicking here
©2017 Ben Etzkorn
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As we look back at the past decade of innovation in the private and the public cloud space, led by Amazon, Microsoft, Google and IBM, the most significant emerging trend we see is the drive toward serverless computing and the appliance model.
In the initial days of cloud computing, companies used cloud as a substitute for their colocation facilities and/or data centers. There were certain incremental benefits to this approach. One benefit was moving capital expenditure away from an equipment model to an operational model. Another was arriving at a service model where the cloud providers themselves take care of software updates, which was especially true with companies like Microsoft and Oracle. If you were using Microsoft software, for example, you wouldn’t need to worry about the periodic operating system updates in managed instances of Windows server virtual machines.
As cloud computing has advanced, more companies have made the transition to the cloud-based platform as a service model (PAAS), which delivers computing and software tools over the internet. PaaS can be scaled up or down as needed, which reduces up-front costs and allows you to focus on developing software applications instead of dealing with hardware oriented tasks.
To support this shift toward the PaaS cloud, public cloud companies have begun heavily investing in building or acquiring serverless components that have pre-built unit functionality. These out-of-the-box tools allow organizations to test new concepts, iterate and evaluate without taking on high risk or expense. In the past, only large companies with considerable resources could afford to experiment with AI-based innovation. Now startups or small teams within larger enterprises have access to cloud-based, prepackaged algorithms offering different AI models that can fast-track innovation.
Let’s explore practical examples of how this trend helps democratize innovation in artificial intelligence by minimizing the time, money and resources needed to get started.
Resolving The Innovator’s Dilemma
Imagine your company makes kiosks or digital signage that is used by fast food chains. When customers pull up to a drive-through kiosk, they all receive the same menu choices. But what if the kiosk was smart enough to personalize recommendations? What if it could provide a suggested food and drink pairing based on the weather and the demographics of each customer?
If you wanted to investigate this idea several years ago, you would first write censor software to determine whether someone is within a certain distance of the kiosk. Then you would write censor software to detect weather information, followed by software for recognizing someone’s face and identifying their demographic information. Finally, you would write the program proposing food and drink options based on the gathered data.
The biggest challenge is that this process requires substantial time and money, and you have no guarantee that your idea will be viable in the end. Will the kiosk work as intended? Will the market be ready for it? Will your customers see value in it?
Now with cloud computing, you can explore your idea without a huge budget or team. The cloud facilitates innovation, not only from a technology standpoint, but also from a business, market validation and iteration perspective. The serverless public cloud infrastructure of all major providers – Microsoft, Amazon and Google – comes with ready-made components, like face-recognition tools and edge sensors that detect movement and weather conditions.
A software developer on your team could use these components to build a quick prototype and test it with a select group of potential customers for proof of concept. It would be feasible to create a minimum viable product in three to five months, roll it out to select locations, then use feedback to iterate on enhancements. If the concept doesn’t work out for any reason, your sunk cost would be significantly lower than in the past.
Developing A Growth Mindset
In our company, we saw the value of this trend when our cloud-native legal e-discovery product started to gain traction in the market. We wanted to double down on our investments in cognitive analytics to learn continuously from the market and improve the customer’s experience of our solution. One of our big challenges was providing enough holistic case-related information to litigation attorneys upfront so they could see patterns and holes in the data and find relevant or responsive case documents faster.
In the old world without serverless cloud computing, we would have needed to invest in huge hardware and on-premises machine learning tools to even start working on a data science project. But in the new world, our data science team brainstormed specific algorithms that could be used to solve various problems, such as document clustering and term frequency-inverse document frequency, a popular natural language processing concept that helps summarize documents and identify highly relevant keywords in documents.
Because of our core competency in serverless cloud computing, our software engineering, data science and product teams could generate machine learning environments very quickly. We also weren’t starting from scratch but instead using the existing base algorithms and building on them, which made our iterations faster. Our teams could do both internal and external customer experience tests with different control groups before finalizing the solution that would move on to production. This level of agility in data science innovation would be almost impossible without serverless cloud components.
Serverless cloud computing makes innovation more affordable and accessible to all companies and teams – regardless of size and resources. And with more innovation, we all benefit from the diversity of new ideas and options. The building blocks we need already exist in the serverless cloud; we don’t need to spend our precious time and resources making them. All we have to do is figure out how to use them in creative ways to benefit our companies and our customers.
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What Is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA)?
Certified management accountant (CMA) is an accounting designation that signifies expertise in financial accounting and strategic management. The professionals who obtain this designation are colloquially known as CMAs and are qualified for a variety of roles ranging from financial controller to chief financial officer (CFO).
- The certified management accountant (CMA) designation indicates expertise in financial accounting and decision-making.
- This certification prepares professionals for a wide variety of careers.
- CMAs are required to adhere to a strict set of professional standards, in addition to passing a rigorous two-part exam.
How Certified Management Accountants (CMAs) Work
The certified management accountant (CMA) certification, which is issued by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), builds on financial accounting proficiency by adding management skills that aid in making strategic business decisions based on financial data.
Oftentimes, the reports and analyses prepared by certified management accountants (CMAs) will go above and beyond those required by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For example, in addition to a company’s required GAAP financial statements, CMAs may prepare additional management reports that provide specific insights useful to corporate decision-makers, such as performance metrics on specific company departments, products, or even employees.
Unlike the certified public accountant (CPA) certification, CMA certification is not mandatory for many jobs in finance.
As with other financial designations such as certified public accountant (CPA) or chartered financial analyst (CFA) certifications, certified management accountants (CMAs) are subject to a strict code of ethics. To obtain the CMA, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or a related professional certification as well as two years of continuous work experience in a related field. Candidates must also pass a rigorous exam, which typically requires over 300 hours of preparation.
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), CMAs must also hold active membership in the Institute of Management Accountants.
Real World Example of a Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Dorothy is an entrepreneur who manages a small construction supply company. Recently, she was invited to bid on a contract that would require her to significantly increase her number of employees. Although she felt that the project would be a great opportunity for her business, she wondered whether she would have the financial reporting capacity to effectively manage that increased headcount.
To help address this problem, Dorothy decides to hire Dennis, a certified management accountant (CMA). To obtain his designation, Dennis had to pass a two-part exam covering subject areas such as budgeting and forecasting, performance management, cost measurement, and internal controls. In interviewing for the position, Dennis argues that these skills would allow him to support Dorothy in assessing the costs and benefits of this new project, while also effectively managing the costs and logistics involved in servicing new customers.
With Dennis’s expertise, Dorothy is able to increase her team size without losing oversight of her internal costs and procedures. On the contrary, Dennis’s skill set provides newfound transparency to her business, allowing Dorothy to better assess the performance of individual team members and the profitability of specific projects.
In the future, Dennis’s combination of accounting skills and fluency with managerial decision-making puts him in a good position to adopt executive positions within the company or at another employer.
Certified management accountants (CMAs) and other accountants are expected to be in growing demand over the coming years. Between 2019 and 2029, the hiring of accountants is projected to grow by 4%. Due to the absence of standardization, this growth is expected to continue in the management accounting sector because companies have considerable freedom in designing management accounting systems.
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Blockchains are distributed electronic ledgers that use software to record and confirm transactions with speed and certainty. The ledger is backed up across multiple computer systems which must agree to new transactions. This process allows for certainty and immutability in data, all with the latest in cryptographic security.
There are some exciting things to think about when it comes to the blockchain. I’m not interested in fuelling any political or technical debate so instead, I’m going to speculate as to how a concept like a blockchain could be positively applied to supply chain.
Blockchain in supply chain can impact: ethics, trace-ability, removing paperwork, improving speed, standardizing transactions.
To elaborate: we live in 2018 and still have issues with child labour along with a global warming problems which aren’t going away combined with a cultural shift which is more and more demanding of the information surrounding a product as much as the product itself.
Blockchain offers the ability to standardize transactions across multiple nodes in the supply chain, which improves the speed at which transactions can be completed (imagine fewer pieces of paper to process by customs because data has been validated and is readily accessible digitally). The aggregate result of all this for supply chain is not just less paperwork but more traceability of whats going on, without any additional effort. You get more information, for less work - this is a good thing - and by knowing where something has come from it becomes harder to manipulate labour conditions or negatively contribute to climate issues.
As an example: we are looking at a situation where you are able to go to a clothing store, find a shirt, look up the product on your phone and find out where all of the the materials which made the shirt come from, where were they combined (manufactured) to become a shirt, how they were transported to the distribution centres and stores and how long they have been sitting on the shelf.
This is an inspiring amount of visibility and blockchain offers the ability to showcase all of this information with the credibility of a verified series of transactions in a decentralized (harder to tamper with) network. So it's definitely something to pay attention to in the future.
Really though, I think it's going to take time for the technology to properly become refined, for the data to become usable and for the tech itself to become usable in the way which has been hyped.
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Anyone would be hard pressed to have missed the incredible growth in value of Bitcoin in the past year. Starting at less than $1,000 in early January 2017, it crested at nearly $20,000 before the end of the year—and just like that, the cryptocurrency craze had captured the attention of the world. Certainly, it has been an exciting ride, but what has been just as interesting but capturing much less attention is the technological plumbing that makes Bitcoin work—blockchain.
For companies that are paying attention, blockchain represents a far greater potential to disrupt every industry than Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Imaginations are running wild with ideas of how blockchain technology can change the process flow of data and transactions, and even how entire value chains will be turned on their heads. But while most of the early excitement for blockchain has been in financial services, it has an enormous potential to change healthcare and the medical device landscape. And while healthcare is historically slow to adopt new technologies, now is the time for medical device companies to begin giving the technology a serious look.
At a very basic level, blockchain is a technology that allows computers—or nodes as they are in technology parlance—to share information and exchange assets without the need of a centralized gatekeeper. What makes blockchain unique over other approaches is that it allows for this sharing and exchange to occur nearly simultaneously across the entire network of nodes in a nearly unbackable way. There are three basic features of blockchain that make it unique.
First, blockchains are essentially a sequential chain of small packets (blocks) of code that includes cryptographically protected data. Each block on the chain includes a reference to the block that was added to the chain before it and each block contains specific information such as a financial transaction or other information based on the purpose of the chain. Once a block is added to the chain through the consensus of the majority of nodes, it is nearly impossible to change it.
A second feature is smart contracts that establish “how” the blockchain nodes work with each other. Smart contracts are essentially a small amount of code that establish rules that the network of nodes follow and enforce through consensus-based majority before any transaction can be accepted onto the blockchain network.
Finally, blockchains can be public—as in Bitcoin—where all of the nodes see all of the data and information, and where access is tightly controlled, and data can be disclosed only to nodes that have the right permissions.
It’s still early days and blockchain technology has constraints that need to be overcome, but the potential to change intercompany interactions and transactions is already being recognized and piloted in nearly every industry.
What Blockchain Means for Medical Devices
With that basic understanding we can now turn to thinking about how it can be used for medical devices. Let’s walk through a few use cases:
Protecting Patient Data
Most medical devices today collect, store and transmit patient-specific data. And like nearly every situation where data is centrally stored and transmitted to another central data store, there is a risk that the data may be hacked from the device or captured during transmission by those with less-than-honorable intentions. Blockchain provides an alternative whereby the data is cryptographically protected, immutable and private that is not possible with traditional data storage and transmission processes.
Medical Devices Preventive Maintenance
Through blockchain applications it’s possible for machines to share their operating data with those responsible for maintaining it without violating compliance and privacy issues. Sensitive information, such as patients who have been treated with the device, types of procedures, and the images or other information can be shared with the maintainers but can be used for auditing, reporting and compliance. Blockchain can also keep service records that may be required depending on the device and its purpose.
Product Supply Chain
Blockchain can be leveraged to keep permanent records of the development, design, production and distribution of medical devices as well as all of the parts from suppliers. Once the information is submitted to a blockchain it cannot be changed, resulting in permanent traceability for every device.
As with every new technology there are a few common questions that arise, but one of the most pervasive is, “Where do we start?” Simply developing an understanding of blockchain can prove challenging, so this is always the best place to start. The public knowledge base is growing at an exponential rate and there are very good sources of public information that explain blockchains.
The second step is typically in identifying where to start using it. The best approach is to think big but to start small. Pick a use case that is a natural process where the adoption of a blockchain solution can bring quick value. An example might be the monitoring of medical device maintenance records where blockchain can make the records available to all of the right parties, stored securely and allow for a permanent and auditable trail.
Once the organization has gained some confidence and familiarity with a narrow use case, the next step is to develop an enterprise roadmap where blockchain becomes one of several elements for digital transformation. Blockchain, along with other technologies such as machine learning and mobile, can become strategic differentiators for companies competing in a highly regulated industry such as healthcare.
But regardless of how you get started, the most important step is to get started. Blockchain is becoming a topic of discussion for every boardroom in nearly every industry. Those who delay may find themselves quickly falling behind the rest of their industry.
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Manufacturing Overhead Definition
Manufacturing overhead refers to the indirect costs incurred in the manufacturing of products and is assigned to each and every unit produced so that the cost of each product can arrive and examples include Rent of the manufacturing building or premises, Depreciation, Utilities cost incurred in manufacturing like electricity, Water, Gas, Oil, Repairs and Maintenance Costs incurred in production and Cost of Insurance etc.
Types of Manufacturing Overheads
- Variable – It depends on the no. of units produced. The cost will change if no. of units produced changes. Examples – Sales Commission, Electricity, Water
- Fixed – These are the costs that do not change even no. of units, production has changed. Examples – Rent, Depreciation, Insurance, Property Tax
The formula is represented as follows,
Examples of Manufacturing Overhead
Below is the manufacturing overhead statement of Alfa Inc for the year 2018, where the company has estimated overhead of 9000, 10000 and 11000 units. In the below statement, the company has some variable overhead and some fixed overhead. Variable overhead will depend on no. of units, whereas fixed overhead will fix irrespective of the no. of units manufactured.
Below are the variable overhead expenses of the company
- Indirect Material cost is $ 1 per unit.
- Electricity Exp. is $ 0.50 per unit.
- Royalty expenses are $ 0.25 per unit.
- Another indirect material cost is $ 2 per unit.
Below are the fixed overhead expenses of the company
- The company has incurred a factory rent of $ 10000.
- Depreciation on plant, machinery & equipment of $ 5000;
- The insurance for manufacturing activity is $ 1500.
- The company has incurred a property tax of $ 1800.
- Other fixed overhead expenses of $ 500;
Calculation of Manufacturing Overhead for 9000 units of production
Similarly, we can calculate for 10000 and 11000 units of production.
In the above statement total variable cost of the company is $ 33,750 for 9000 units, $ 37,500 for 10000 units, and $ 41,250 for 11000 units, but the total fixed cost is $ 18,800 for all any no. of units produced.
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Below is the example of manufacturing overhead for Mercedes-Benz Cars. In 2018 Company has manufactured 1000 units of Cars.
Below are the expenses incurred by the company.
- The company has purchased $ 500 million of material, out of which $ 100 million is indirect material.
- The total labor cost of the company was $ 350 million, out of which $ 50 million is indirect labor.
- Power, Fuel & electricity expenses incurred by the company were $ 80 million.
- The total insurance of the company was $ 20 million, out of which $ 5 million for other than manufacturing activity.
- Depreciation of Plant, Machinery, and equipment was $ 5 million.
- Research & Development expenses incurred of $ 5 million.
- Selling & Distribution expenses incurred of $ 10 million.
- Repair & Maintenance expenses of $ 15 million.
In the above examples, research & development of $ 5 million and selling & distribution expenses of $ 10 million are not related to manufacturing activity. Therefore, these expenses are not considered as manufacturing overhead of the Mercedes – Benz.
- Considering overhead as a part of the cost of each product helps the pricing of the product effectively.
- Its costs are tax-deductible. A company should identify all these costs as part of his manufacturing expenses because this will allow them to reduce the taxable income and lower the tax burden.
- It helps to control the cost in the inflationary market by controlling the manufacturing cost, failing to control overhead costs could increase the product cost.
- Assigning the overhead with products allow management to better planning, budgeting, and pricing of the product.
- It requires manpower for assigning the manufacturing unit to each and every unit of production.
- Fixed manufacturing costs will continue even if there is no production. This means the company has to expend without any manufacturing activity which will affect company cash flow and profitability.
Manufacturing overhead costs are those costs which are directly not traceable means all indirect cost related to manufacturing activity. It does not expense out in the period in which they have incurred, but it has to be added to the cost of the product.
This has been a guide to what Manufacturing Overhead is and its definition. Here we discuss the types of manufacturing overhead along with examples, advantages, and disadvantages. You can learn more about finance from following articles –
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The basic definition of a divestiture is selling off business interests and assets, and closing down the enterprise upon conclusion of the process. However, there’s a lot more you need to understand if you’re considering this type of transaction or its counterpart – an acquisition.
The Florida Business Corporation Act covers the scenario generally, but there are complicated financial, legal, and organizational considerations that you won’t find in the statute.
These issues may affect your interests before, during, and after the transaction is complete, so it’s smart to retain
To expand upon the basic terminology, a divestiture is a complete disposition of a business entity’s presence, assets, liabilities, debts, and other interests. The transaction may be through selling the business, but divestiture can also occur because of an exchange of real estate, company property, and stock.
If the organization qualifies under the US Bankruptcy Code, the court may also approve of
Depending on the background, it’s possible to complete either a full or partial disposition. For instance, a company may consider divestiture where:
- Trademarks, copyright, or patents have expired;
- It’s selling intellectual property to another organization;
- Separate divisions of the company are acquired through different mergers and/or acquisitions;
- A court orders divestiture to cover a judgment or other legal liabilities; and,
- Under many other circumstances.
Reasons a Divestiture May Work for Your Needs
Business owners have multiple grounds for wanting to divest their interests in a piece of property, a component of the organization, or the entire enterprise. You may want to consider divestment as an option if you’re seeking to:
- Eliminate redundancies in your business, where a unit isn’t turning a reasonable profit;
- Increase cash flow for the company without incurring loans or bringing in new investors;
- Make your business look better on paper, especially where you’re looking to sell and increase the fair market value; or,
- Avoid adverse consequences of bankruptcy or terminating the company.
In addition, divestiture may not be an option when it’s the subject of a court order or a finding by an administrative agency.
“Instead of starting a new business from scratch, sometimes the best decision is to purchase an existing business. With the right structure, a buyer can purchase the seller’s whole business or just the parts that are attractive to the buyer.”Trevor Brewer
Relationship Between Acquisitions and Divestitures
For every business that’s looking to optimize operations through divestment, there’s another company actively seeking out opportunities to advance their interests. For this reason, divestitures are often closely associated with acquisitions by another entity. However, based upon the reasons above, extra caution is essential if you’re on the acquiring side.
Regardless of whether your interests are in acquisition or divestiture, a thorough business valuation is essential. There are multiple approaches, including those that take into account fair market value, historical value, income, asset value, and initial purchase prices. You should trust legal counsel and financial experts to advise you on the right structure, but options include:
- A partial sale of units, a subsidiary, or other interests;
- Spinning off and dividing up various business units into a separate company;
- Splitting the company up into multiple, separate entities – which divests the parent company and operations cease; or,
- An approach that involves selling a subsidiary or business division and offering it up through an IPO.
Speak to an Orlando, FL Mergers and Acquisitions Attorney for Free
If you’d like more information about acquisitions and divestitures in Florida, please contact Brewer Long Business Law to set up a no-cost consultation. You can reach our Maitland, FL office by calling 407.660.2964 orvisiting our firm website. Our experienced lawyers handle complex business transactions for clients throughout Central Florida, including Orlando, Deltona, Apopka, and Lake Buena Vista.
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Can our broken monetary system be fixed?
A debt-based monetary system is a money system which allows banks to create most of the money in circulation through loans (debt), following the ‘fractional-reserve banking’ practice. The global economy is running on it.
The problem with this money system is that it requires constant economic growth, which is practically impossible. Furthermore, the average growth rate it requires is unsustainable. This results in booms and busts, and man-made climate change.
Banks print most of the money in circulation in the world today (also referred as broad money). Every time a bank lends money to somebody, it credits the client’s account with a deposit of the size of the loan. It enters numbers in its computer system. It “prints” digital money.
However, the lending capacity of banks is constrained by capital requirements. The way regulators control the fraction of “non-debt based money” reserves banks must hold. This, in theory, ensures that the overall amount of money in the economy is right for the expected growth.
Debt and growth
Debt (Credit) theories of money try to explain the relationship between debt and money. Some argue that money and debt are the same thing, when money is not backed by gold or another commodity. Some argue that the two are the same, even when money is not backed by anything. The latter view is the one supporting the current debt-based money system.
Debt means somebody owes money to somebody else. It usually carries interest. People, businesses, or countries who borrow money need to use the money in a productive way so that they can pay back capital and interest, within agreed timelines.
This translates into a system where overall economic activity must keep growing so that debt can be serviced. Otherwise, an economic crisis is triggered.
Last time I checked, most economists seemed to agree that developed countries can expect an average growth of 3% to be sustainable (developing countries can expect more). However, they used mathematical models which did not seem to factor in the finite planet resources.
(Meanwhile, some scientists considered a growth rate sustainable for the planet to be around 1%.)
The rates set by central banks, banks and others, based on such expectations, are never right. At times too high, so debtors cannot keep up with payments, go busts. At times too low, so people, businesses, governments borrow too much in boom times and then end up in trouble when inevitable busts follow.
We can hope that the stringent capital requirements enforced by regulators around the world, after the Credit Crunch (2007/2008) will work. We can also hope that in the future there will be more lending for green infrastructure projects. Or we can try new, possibly better money systems.
Fintech companies are working hard on, among other things, fresh ideas which could lead to money systems working better than the current debt-based money system. Things like Cryptocurrencies, Distributed Ledgers and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Some ideas sound crazy, but who knows.
The key may be to take a ‘portfolio management’ approach. That is to have a series of alternative systems implemented alongside the current debt-based money one. Not only to see which ones work better over time, but also to ensure that we are not all dependent on the same system at any one time.
Everybody has a role to play here. Governments, regulators, financial services companies, businesses and people. I include banks in financial services companies. However, they may need to reinvent what they do and how they do it in fundamental ways.
For more on the debt-based money system, see the Bank of England’s paper (BOE website):
See also Positive Money’s blog articles for interesting views with good visuals on the topic.
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What is public benefits planning?
Public benefits planning can include various strategies for becoming eligible for, or maintaining eligibility for, public benefits.
What are public benefits?
Public benefits are funds or services provided by the government. Some public benefits are means tested and limited to those people who qualify economically, based on a person’s financial assets and income. Means-tested public benefits may include Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California), SSI, some veterans’ benefits, food stamps, and subsidized housing.
What are the differences between Medicaid, Medi-Cal, and Medicare?
Medicaid is state-run welfare health insurance. There are two parts: straight Medicaid, and Medicaid for children that is provided under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
In California, Medicaid is called Medi-Cal.
Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance for people over 65 and people who are permanently disabled.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
What is SSI?
Supplemental Security Income is a U.S. government program that provides income to low-income people who have limited assets and are either age 65 or older, blind, or disabled. SSI is administered by the Social Security Administration.
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Throughout history, there has been an inherent need for peoples and cultures to have a means to store value and exchange goods and services. The first currencies that moved beyond barter systems were primarily in the form of receipts representing commodities stored in central or communal locations, such as grain silos in the temples of ancient Egypt. With the spread of humans around the globe, new forms of currency were developed. These took one of two forms – items that represented value without inherently storing it, such as beads, shells and tally sticks, and items that stored value in and of themselves, such as gold, silver, and gems.
Over time, as various currencies flourished and others fell by the wayside, their most important characteristics of durability, fungibility, portability, tradability, stability, and value storage, emerged through a process of natural selection.
As the latest revolution in currencies, cryptocurrencies have adopted many of these characteristics. However, in addition to being digital and therefore non-portable, they have also fallen short in areas of stability, and, by extension, tradability. Indeed, it is their extreme volatility that is the most significant factor preventing their wider adoption.
Volatility: the cryptocurrency’s Achilles heel
Most countries today are on what’s known as a fiat currency system: the currency we use is not backed with an equivalent amount of precious metal, or other commodities that are prone to price fluctuations Rather, a fiat currency’s value relies on the 'full faith and credit' of the issuing government, and it is this quality that lends fiat currencies much of their stability.
For cryptocurrencies, this full faith and credit aspect is far murkier, and that, coupled with speculation and other factors, gives rise to frequent bursts of tremendous volatility in the market. Not only does this make it difficult to predict price action, but it also means both merchants and individuals are hesitant to adopt cryptocurrencies as a viable form of payment for goods and services.
Source: CryptoCompare, McKay Research
Stablecoins are a form of cryptocurrency especially designed to address these issues of volatility, and two distinct categories of stablecoin have been developed: crypto-backed stablecoins, which have their value backed by stores of a second cryptocurrency, usually bitcoin or ether, and fiat-backed stablecoins, which have their value backed by real-world fiat currencies like the US dollar or euro.
Same side of a different coin: crypto-backed stablecoins
Crypto-backed, or distributed, stablecoins seek to counteract price volatility by ensuring each unit is fully backed with a reserved amount of a popular cryptocurrency. Put simply, for every unit of crypto-backed stablecoin currency X minted, a pre-determined amount of cryptocurrency Y is locked up in reserve to maintain its value. Although comparisons to the gold standard are accurate to a point, stablecoins are designed to automatically adjust their supply according to market price– issuing new units when they rise in price, and contracting the supply when they fall to bring about price stability. It is this selfcorrecting quality that has led some in the crypto space to refer to them as the ‘holy grail’ of cryptocurrencies and financial technology.
As one of the most popular crypto-backed stablecoins, MakerDAO has the Dai (DAI) coin, a ERC-20 token, as its currency unit, and stores its value in ether. For a user to create Dai coins on the Maker platform, they must do so by utilising ethereum through Maker’s smart contract system to create a Collateralised Debt Position, or CDP.
Specifically, a CDP is generated through a collateralisation process that involves the conversion of ether to ‘pooled ether’ (PETH), which is currently the only collateral type accepted on the platform, and this is followed by placing an order for a set amount of Dai from the CDP itself. Once this order for Dai is placed, the equivalent amount of PETH is locked away in the smart contract and cannot be accessed until the outstanding Dai debt is serviced. When users want to retrieve their collateral, they must send a transaction to Maker, however this can only be done after the outstanding debt in the CDP is serviced, plus interest on this debt, known as the ‘stability fee.’
The other token existing alongside Dai is the Maker coin (MKR), which primarily functions as a governance token to main the MakerDAO ecosystem, as well as playing a role in the collateralising and unlocking process. Maker monitors Dai’s collateral currency (ether), and if the price crashes, new Maker coins are issued and sold to make up the shortfall, reducing the Maker coin price in the process. However, if the collateral currency remains stable, Maker coins are not needed and the supply contracts by destroying a certain volume of Maker coins.
The Maker platform is able to overcome the central issue of cryptocurrency volatility by simply not storing its value in ether; rather, users purchasing Dai lock up a set amount of ether to mint Dai which is then managed against ether’s USD value to sell off or stabilise the ecosystem based on changes in value. The complex interaction of these mechanisms help to reinforce the stable value of the crypto-backed stablecoin in spite of underlying volatility of the cryptocurrency collateral.
DAI coin - 6 month price chart (daily)
Although MakerDAO has found a nimble technological solution around the volatility problem, we have yet to see how much volatility these stable coins would need to be subjected to to experience any catastrophic shifts in value. The MakerDAO platform does technically make provisions for such a scenario through a ‘Global Settlement’ option, which is designed to shut down the entire Maker complex to ensure all users receive the net value of their assets. However, it remains to be seen how this would work in practice.
Other weaknesses include issues of governance, malicious hacking attacks, black swan events, and perhaps most importantly, utility – at this point in their lifecycle, even the largest cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether are still not widely adopted.
Systemic Stability: fiat-backed stablecoins
Fiat-backed stablecoins operate as cryptocurrencies but store their value in real-world fiat currencies such as the US dollar or Euro. This keeps their value relatively stable, and active measures are taken to maintain that stability. Some of the most popular and talked-about fiat-backed stablecoins include Tether, TrueUSD, and the upcoming stablecoin from Circle and Goldman Sachs, USD Coin. These coins are popular because they are seen as safe, reliable, and stable, and their fiat collateralisation means that they have huge adoption potential in the cryptocurrency world, with a number of big players backing each.
Circle, in particular, has generated a lot of buzz. The USD Coin they are planning to launch is designed to be regulated and based on existing US monetary transaction law, with a transparent auditing and system design – something that Tether and other stablecoins do not yet offer.
In the meantime, with Circle still on the horizon, Tether remains the most popular fiat-backed stablecoin in terms of market share ($2.7 billion, making it the eleventh largest cryptocurrency overall). Tether offers USD coins in the form of USDT, which maintain a value of $1 USD per 1 USDT. Like all cryptocurrencies, it is built on open, distributed blockchain technology for security and transparency, and due to its size and popularity, it is available on a large number of popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Tether is backed by US dollars which it holds in reserve as the collateral for the currency. And true to its nature as a fiat-backed stablecoin, its value has remained remarkably stable, with the few fluctuations in value coming as result of large shifts in the underlying value of the US dollar.
Overall, these fiat-backed stablecoins address some of the issues of cryptocurrencies and represent a 'middle ground' between traditional currencies and cryptocurrencies, and traditional currencies and crypto-backed stablecoins. This includes volatility – being based on real-world currencies goes some way to reducing the cryptocurrency volatility issue.
However, there are also risks associated with fiat-backed stablecoins. The essential characteristic and raison d'être of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralised and democratic – they do not rely on any sovereign government or central bank. This is part of their appeal – a global, unbiased monetary system for transferring funds and buying goods and services.
Pegging the value of a stablecoin to a real-world fiat currency immediately brings in a degree of centralisation to the system, since it is now effectively beholden to the authority of a central bank or government, thus making it more susceptible to being shut down summarily.
Further, in the case of many coins, the question of governance, transparency, and system reliability are suspect. Existing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies are not audited in a traditional fashion, nor do they have the level of transparency that a traditional currency system does, and therefore, there are unanswered questions as to their stability, longevity, and operations – all of which could adversely affect their adoption or utility.
DAI coin market capitalisation
Tether market capitalisation
Despite these shortcomings, many see fiat-backed stablecoins as a way to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional currencies, essentially providing the best of both worlds. People want usable cryptocurrencies which offer all the decentralised, semi-anonymous and utilitarian benefits, with a reliable, stable valuation, so they are naturally flocking to fiat-backed stablecoins; a trend reflected in their significantly higher market capitalisation relative to Dai and other crypto-backed stablecoins. And, like most currencies, the more individuals and businesses who place their faith in them, the more likely they are to survive and succeed.
What does the future hold for stablecoins?
Given the speed of their ascendancy and the attention they are garnering in the market, both stablecoin variants are likely to be around for some time to come. If cryptocurrencies are to survive in general, a stable and viable currency will need to be developed that balances the free-wheeling world of the crypto 'Wild West,' and the regulatory structures that characterise traditional currency systems. The ability of the current crop of stablecoins to balance these qualities will play a big role in determining their longevity going forward.
As has been the case with traditional cryptocurrencies, however, much uncertainly stems from the potential actions of governments and financial institutions in the stablecoin space. For example, the support of various fiat-backed stablecoins by major financial players, such as Goldman Sachs in the case of Circle’s USD Coin, is a promising sign but it remains to be seen what influence broad institutional involvement will have on the price stability mechanisms and technological architecture of stabcoins. Additionally, it is clear that the continued growth of cryptocurrencies will reach a critical mass beyond which governments will not sit idly by and relinquish control of the medium of exchange. With their strong fiat component, stablecoins may be the first domino to fall if and when cryptocurrency taxation measures are introduced. However, it should be noted that governments also may have limited options to intervene, such that forging alliances with financial institutions and fiat-backed stablecoins, and implementing some regulatory regimes over them may be the path of least resistance. This tacit endorsement would also have the effect of rapidly increasing adoption of a particular stablecoin or set of stablecoins.
In conclusion, stablecoins may not yet be the ‘holy grail’ – they still require better governance, transparency, and perhaps a more diversified store of value (the US dollar or Euro are far from perfect sources of collateral). Further, systems to make fiat-backed or crypto-backed stablecoins easier to understand, purchase, trade, and utilise are as critical to their future success as the ultimate outcomes of government involvement. For now, however, stablecoins are the first step towards a usable cryptocurrency system that might one day supplant our existing fiat currencies – though likely not any time soon.
The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.
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A mutual is a business owned by its customers, its employees, a group of like minded producers or a combination of these.
This section provides guidance on how different co-operatives and mutuals are defined, how they fit into the corporate landscape, the different legal structures used, and the governance systems operated.
Comparing corporate business purpose
- The purpose of a shareholder owned company is to reward owners who make risk investments, through profits and capital gain
- The purpose of a co-operative or mutual is to provide goods and services to its members, on an equitable basis
- The purpose of a charity is to deliver specific benefits, to a defined community
Defining a co-operative or mutual
- Every co-operative or mutual has a business purpose that seeks to achieve equitable outcomes for its members
- This means that a basic principle is that no member can benefit more than is fair – so benefits are either universal, or tied proportionately to business transactions
- Co-operatives and mutuals constitute themselves in ways that ensure this outcome
- In some parts of the world, co-operatives and mutuals have bespoke legal structures that only they can use
- Co-operatives are recognised in the constitution documents of some countries
- In many others, they adapt and use ordinary company legal systems
- In order to maintain equity, all co-operatives and mutuals choose a constitution that operates on the basis of one member one vote (OMOV) governance
- Governance can either be direct, with all economic participants qualifying as members, or indirect, with proxy representation of stakeholder interests
- The level of active engagement by members will depend on the type of co-operative or mutual and the level of engagement required
To read more about what makes co-operatives and mutuals a special type of business, download further information here.
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Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the main factors that mattered for businesses were metrics like profitability, growth, and earnings per share. While these figures are certainly still important, there is another factor that will become increasingly important: sustainability.
Some businesses are inherently more sustainable than others. Thankfully, small businesses, by the very nature of their small-ness, are seldom the biggest environmental offenders.
Nevertheless, the green movement is here to stay, and small businesses are not immune. The sooner small business owners recognize this, the sooner they can ensure their businesses are sustainable – both environmentally and in terms of their very existence.
For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers are re-evaluating what is important. With a slumping economy and many economic indicators down, consumers are re-evaluating how they want to re-build.
That means that those factors that have been held sacred for so long, such as growth and GDP, may become less critical in the years ahead.
A recent episode of the TED Radio Hour analyzed this very idea. Increasingly, societies will demand that we work toward a “circular economy.”
In such an economy, instead of producing things until the cycle ends, like the burning of fossil fuels, the end of the cycle is also the beginning of a new one.
This is not to say that these purely economic indicators will become irrelevant. The primary goal of a for-profit business will continue to be just that: to generate a profit.
However, a growing number of consumers, especially younger consumers, are deciding profitability is no longer enough. These people will also look for businesses that minimize their impact on the planet.
How Are Small Businesses Vulnerable?
Small businesses tend to be less problematic in terms of sustainability than big businesses. In fact, many big businesses that are not very sustainable, such as the huge meat producers in the US, could be more sustainable on a smaller, localized scale.
But even the smallest of operations are not immune. A perfect example of this are independently-owned coffee shops. As more consumers look to cut back on single-use packaging (especially plastic), it may be more difficult for people to justify a daily visit.
And COVID-19 certainly hasn’t helped in that regard. Coffee shops that allowed customers to bring their own, reusable mugs have largely halted this initiative.
That said, there are ways coffee shops and other restaurants and cafes can potentially address this issue. For example, sticking to more recyclable or even compostable plastics can help keep our waterways clean. Some businesses are providing strawless lids unless otherwise requested.
Unfortunately, even compostable plastics are not a perfect solution. The issue here is that they can’t be composted at home; instead, they must be taken to an industrial facility. Plus, compostable plastics can’t be recycled like other plastics.
The takeaway here is that businesses have a lot to think about. There may come a time where large swaths of consumers choose to completely avoid businesses that don’t operate sustainably.
And businesses shouldn’t assume consumers will patronize them simply because they’ve been around a while.
Younger generations, such as Gen Z, will be the driving force of sustainability. As these people come into their prime, sustainable business practices may become a focal point.
So, What Can We Do About It?
Big businesses and small businesses alike should invest in sustainable business practices in the coming decades. Some surveyed show that a slight majority of consumers care about sustainable products, and consumption of sustainable products is on the rise.
Every business is different and thus will have different sustainability considerations. Whether it’s converting energy sources to renewable, cutting back on solid waste, or ceasing to dump harmful chemicals in our waterways, there is a lot to think about.
However, businesses who do so will likely save money in the long run, put themselves in line with future regulations, and, perhaps most importantly, curry favor with future customers and investors.
While building a sustainable business operation can be costly in the short run, it will pay off in the long run.
As more consumers and investors become conscious of sustainability, the financial sustainability of business will also depend on minimizing environmental impacts.
Bob Haegele is a personal finance writer, business owner, and entrepreneur. He has been writing about personal finance since 2017 and manages several websites, including Modest Money and The Frugal Fellow. He regularly contributes to popular websites such as The Ladders, The Good Men Project, and Talk Markets. He writes about topics such as making and saving money, business finance, and entrepreneurship. Follow him on Twitter @thefellowfrugal.
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Suppose the Atlanta Falcons purchased a new set of goal posts for $20,000 each. The Falcons expect the goal posts to have a useful life of five years and a salvage value of $1,000 each when they sell them to a local high school. Required: 1. Compute the first years depreciation using the following methods:a. Straight-lineb. Double-declining balance2. Suppose the team depreciates the asset based on number of goals scored. The team anticipates goals to be 40 in the first year, 46 in the second year, 38 in the third, 50 in the fourth when they win the Super Bowl, and 45 in the fifth year. Compute their first year depreciation using the units-of-production method. 3. Which method do you think is the most representative of accurate depreciation of the goal posts?
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Written by J. Hirby and Fact Checked by The Law Dictionary Staff
installment definition written by Business Dictionary
What is Land Contract?
A land contract is an arrangement between a buyer and a seller of property that allows the buyer to make gradual payments to the seller rather than to the bank. It is often used in cases where the buyer wants to purchase a home but doesn't have the credit rating to do so. While it is generally similar in style and substance to a mortgage, it is less restrictive in many ways but also less secure. It requires a level of trust between both parties in order to work effectively.
How A Land Contract Differs From A Mortgage
The main difference between a land contract and a mortgage is that with a land contract, the seller retains ownership of the property until the final payment is made. However, the buyer generally assumes all responsibility for care and maintenance of the property. Details of who retains which responsibilities are often spelled out in the land contract, and this may be negotiated between both parties.
The payment schedule often differs from a mortgage as well. Many land contracts are short-term agreements with either a balloon payment or opportunity for refinance at the end of the contract's term. However, this can be negotiated between both parties as well.
Elements Of A Land Contract
Land contracts generally involve a down payment by the buyer as well as an agreement to make a periodic payment (installment) that includes the cost of home insurance, taxes and interest. The interest rate for land contract payments is generally higher than one would get at a bank. Also included are the terms of the contract such as who is responsible for repairs.
Legal benefits of ownership may also be conferred in the land contract, depending on the language written therein. It can be helpful to have an attorney look over a land contract before you sign it to ensure that the agreement is beneficial for yourself and your family.
Risks Of Land Contracts
While land contracts offer an attractive way to cut out the middleman in situations where the buyer needs financing, they can be risky as well. The seller is still on the hook for tax and insurance payments but may not actually live in the property. If the value of the home goes down before the buyer has finished paying it off, the seller will incur the cost of the devaluation.
Meanwhile, the buyer does not actually hold any legal title to the house yet is required to continue to make payments on it. If the buyer is unable to make payments, previous payments may not be recouped. The buyer may also be unaware of any outstanding liens on the property.
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Coronavirus and the economic value of human life
25 June 2020
The Covid-19 crisis has provided many grim examples of some familiar problems in health economics and cost-benefit analysis, and of the ‘tragic choices’ that sometimes need to be made.
Policymakers frequently have to put a monetary value on a human life when deciding how to use limited resources in the fairest way. This value is often based on the number of years that a person might have left to live and the quality of that life (the concept behind ‘QALYs’). It is therefore perfectly reasonable to take account of the fact that the mortality rates for those with Covid-19 are far higher for elderly people, and for those with pre-existing health problems.
It is also important to be aware of the ‘identifiable victim’ problem. This may lead policymakers to focus too much on those people who might be at risk of dying of Covid-19, and not enough on less visible costs, including any harms done to others as a result of the government’s own actions.
However, there may be a risk too of over-estimating the economic and fiscal costs of the lockdown itself. This is the problem of identifying the ‘counterfactual’, or what would have happened anyway even if the authorities had not responded in the way that they have.
In particular, the economy was already weakening before the official lockdown began. Many people were changing their behaviour without being directed by the state and will continue to do so. In turn, at least some of the fiscal costs have been unavoidable. But there is still plenty of evidence that the lockdown has compounded the economic hit.
This recession is also unprecedented. GDP will have fallen by a relatively large amount in a relatively short period of time. But the economy could still rebound relatively quickly, as the threat from Covid-19 recedes. A temporary pause would be far less costly than a prolonged slump.
International comparisons are complicated by different local conditions, including geography, demographics and the underlying health of the nation. These factors may have helped to limit the impact of Covid-19 on some countries, notably New Zealand and Sweden, while hampering others, including Italy and the UK.
This makes any cost-benefit analysis of policy interventions extremely challenging, not least given the difficulty of comparing apples (deaths from Covid-19), oranges (other less visible impacts on health and wellbeing) and pears (economic and fiscal costs). However, the longer the lockdown remains in place, the greater the margin by which the costs are likely to outweigh the benefits.
It may still be right to focus on the impact on health and wellbeing rather than any short-term economic costs. But the balance is shifting even on this score, given the growing evidence of harms that the lockdown is doing to others, including patients who are not getting treated for other conditions, and younger people who are missing out on education and job opportunities.
In addition, the longer the economy is kept shuttered, the greater the risk that the damage will be permanent, making it that much harder to pay for better public services and infrastructure in the future.Download PDF Is-the-lockdown-worth-it
EPICENTER publications and contributions from our member think tanks are designed to promote the discussion of economic issues and the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. As with all EPICENTER publications, the views expressed here are those of the author and not EPICENTER or its member think tanks (which have no corporate view).
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The median annual wage for aerospace engineers was $115,220 in May 2018. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $71,640, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $164,210.
In May 2018, the median annual wages for aerospace engineers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
|Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences||$124,430|
|Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing||119,970|
|Federal government, excluding postal service||119,640|
|Aerospace product and parts manufacturing||113,840|
Aerospace engineers typically work full time. Engineers who direct projects must often work extra hours to monitor progress, to ensure that designs meet requirements, to determine how to measure aircraft performance, to see that production meets design standards, and to ensure that deadlines are met.
Employment of aerospace engineers is projected to grow 2 percent from 2018 to 2028, slower than the average for all occupations. Aircraft are being redesigned to cause less noise pollution and have better fuel efficiency, which will help sustain demand for research and development. Also, new developments in small satellites have greater commercial viability. Growing interest in unmanned aerial systems will also help drive growth of the occupation. However, growth in research and development activities will be tempered by a projected decline in employment of aerospace engineers in the manufacturing industry.
Employment opportunities should be favorable for those trained in software, such as C++, or with education and experience in stress and structural engineering. Finally, the aging of workers in this occupation should help to create openings in it over the next decade.
What Aerospace Engineers Do
Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition, they create and test prototypes to make sure that they function according to design.
Aerospace engineers typically do the following:
- Direct and coordinate the design, manufacture, and testing of aircraft and aerospace products
- Assess proposals for projects to determine if they are technically and financially feasible
- Determine if proposed projects will result in safe operations that meet the defined goals
- Evaluate designs to see that the products meet engineering principles, customer requirements, and environmental regulations
- Develop acceptance criteria for design methods, quality standards, sustainment after delivery, and completion dates
- Ensure that projects meet quality standards
- Inspect malfunctioning or damaged products to identify sources of problems and possible solutions
Aerospace engineers may develop new technologies for use in aviation, defense systems, and spacecraft. They often specialize in areas such as aerodynamic fluid flow; structural design; guidance, navigation, and control; instrumentation and communication; robotics; and propulsion and combustion.
Aerospace engineers can specialize in designing different types of aerospace products, such as commercial and military airplanes and helicopters; remotely piloted aircraft and rotorcraft; spacecraft, including launch vehicles and satellites; and military missiles and rockets.
Aerospace engineers often become experts in one or more related fields: aerodynamics, thermodynamics, materials, celestial mechanics, flight mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, and guidance and control systems.
Aerospace engineers typically specialize in one of two types of engineering: aeronautical or astronautical.
Aeronautical engineers work with aircraft. They are involved primarily in designing aircraft and propulsion systems and in studying the aerodynamic performance of aircraft and construction materials. They work with the theory, technology, and practice of flight within the Earth’s atmosphere.
Astronautical engineers work with the science and technology of spacecraft and how they perform inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere. This includes work on small satellites such as cubesats, and traditional large satellites.
Aeronautical and astronautical engineers face different environmental and operational issues in designing aircraft and spacecraft. However, the two fields overlap a great deal because they both depend on the basic principles of physics.
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This is the second part of the planning/construction of the Shinaksen. Its straight in to the history! The construction of the Shinkansen would require enormous investment, some thought it would be as much as 200 billion yen. A significant proportion of the funds would have to be raised from banking institutes. In 1959 the Minister of the Treasury, Eisaku Sato, advised the JNR they should apply for a loan from the World Bank. That would amount to 100 million dollars. There were many conditions bound to this loan however.
What it meant was the JNR had to show that the new technologies being proposed (high speed trains, monoque train bodies, advanced train bogies, automated signalling, and the rest of it) were not to be the objectives for the funding that was being given. In other words the funds were not to be used for experimentation. They also had to show there would be a sufficient economic benefit from having a new high speed line (this would be rather like like the cost benefit ratio we use nowadays.) And the railway company had to show how it could justify any use of foreign money.
The World Bank gives JNR a substantial loan
In terms of ‘experimental technologies’ the JNR demonstrated to the World Bank these had already been developed, largely as a work entailing improvements with a focus on the country’s narrow gauge system. The New Tokaido Line would of course benefit from this and meant one of the major conditions of the loan had been overcome considerably. The other conditions attached to the loan would be analysed and assessed by the World bank as the project’s construction got underway.
On May 2, 1961, a loan of 80 million dollars from the World Bank was authorised. This worked out at just 28.8 billion yen opposed to the top estimated construction cost of 200 billion yen. This 80 million dollar loan was one of the largest ever the World Bank had made. And of course it wasn’t just JNR who would be held to account if things somehow went wrong. The Japanese Government too would be held to account because it had given its backing.
In a way this was what Shinji Sogō wanted – a full commitment to the project from both JNR and the Government of Japan.
Signing the paperwork to seal a $80 million loan to JNR for the Shinkansen. Shinji Sogō at right. I had this image coloured specially. Source: World Bank Japan
The World Bank agreed in 1961 to finance construction of the New Tokaido Line. Shinji Sogō’s signature can be seen. Source: Coqtez Blog
At this time it was hoped the new railway would be completed in readiness for an April 1964 opening later revised to mid 1964 as evident from World Bank documentation. By September 1962 that was looking unlikely and a revised date of October 1964 was eventually given, which would mean the high speed line would be ready just before the Tokyo Olympics opened on 11th October 1964.
The Schedule in the World Bank loan agreement of May 1961, detailing the new railway in brief plus a completion date of mid-1964.
Having secured a loan from the World Bank, the JNR could now fully proceed with the construction of its new railway…
Early construction pictures
The work to build the line could now begin in earnest. Intensive surveys of the route were undertaken.
As described in the first part of this feature, the initial route had first been surveyed in 1939 by Shigenari Oishi. The final alignment, again a preliminary survey, was once again surveyed by Oishi and this is the one that was adopted. Aeroplanes were used to chart the exact course and plot that onto aerial photographs and maps from which the ground based survey teams could then proceed, undertaking the more detailed surveys of the new railway alignment.
Shigenari Oishi – who surveyed the course of the Shinkansen twice by walking the entire route!
The very early beginnings of the New Tokaido Line – a construction site being established near Odawara. Source: The Sheep’s House
The first pier to be built for the new Shin-Sakagawa Railway Bridge. This bridge would be adjacent to the New Tokaido Line testing centre. Source: The Sheep’s House
The line under construction near Kamomiya, 1961. This part was completed early because it was to be a 37 km long test track. Source: City of Odawara
The extent of the Kamomiya test track which extended from a point west of Yokohama to west of Odawara. Some of the Shinkansen’s earliest infrastructure can still be seen along this section.
The reason for the test track being located by Odawara was because of the privately owned Odakyu Electric Railway. They were planning on initiating a competitive service between Tokyo and Odawara. However when the plans for the New Tokaido Line were announced the Odakyu Electric Railway instead began a collaboration of research with the JNR – one result of this was the decision to build the Shinkansen test line in the Odawara region. It too was a nod to the earlier high speed experiments with the Class 151 Kodama express in 1959 as these had taken place locally too.
Bentenyama Tunnel (1316m) under construction in March 1961. Source: The Sheep’s House
Stations such as Shin Yokohama and Odawara were begun very early on in the project.
The first of the foundations for Shin-Yokohama station was dug in 1962. Source: Hamarepo
The start of the construction for Odawara station 1962. Note the tunnel in the distance. Source: City of Odawara
The New Tokaido Line under construction near Oiso-cho. June 1962. Source: Isok
After the routes had been established during early stages of construction the narrow gauge was laid along part of the new high speed routes and then trains either used to deliver infrastructure – or the brand new prototype high speed trains to Kamomiya depot – with the result a number of sections of the Shinkansen temporarily had dual gauge track.
Experiments to further improve the technology for the Super Dream Express trains were of course continued but had to be conducted on the country’s narrow gauge system because the terms of the World Bank Loan dictated the new high speed line couldn’t be used solely for experiments – apart from testing the prototypes and trialling the high speed line of course.
The Shinkansen’s engineer Hideo Shima, at the cab of a EF63 electric locomotive in 1962 during test runs evaluating prototype high speed bogies. Source: Emira
As mentioned briefly in the first post, it was Hideo Shima who came up with most of the designs for the new high speed railway, including the use of multiple units (which he called a centipede train.) Clearly he was not satisfied with the ability of electric locomotives in being able to do the work necessary to pull trains at high speeds.
Of course the design of a ‘centipede train’ also led to the development of a specialised air flow nose for the front of the train. This was based upon the idea of planes and the concept of having the carriages practically connected to each other without a break would allow the air flows to pass over and along the train in the least inconvenient ways, especially in terms of noise.
The Bentenyama tunnel. June 1962. This would be one of the tunnels on the 37 km stretch of test track from Kamomiya. Source: Isok
The problem perhaps was trying to adopt airline technology to trains! Planes don’t normally fly under bridges and through tunnels for a start. This meant the airliner type cone devised for the bullet trains wasn’t perfect. Thus, as in the example of the picture above, a high speed object of substantial size would displace an amount of air far greater than what could be reasonably managed and that would cause discomfort. Part of the solution which was devised along with the trains’ airliner type nose, was to seal the train off completely from any source of external air pressure. The solution had to be ingenious. There’s a feature on the technical aspects of the new railway which will cover this and other instances in terms of the formidable technology and engineering aspects of the early sixties.
JNR practically goes broke and Sogō resigns
JNR’s chairman Shinji Sogō had been instrumental in getting the New Tokaido Line off the ground and its construction underway. It was a very expensive railway though, and its true costs were apparently not divulged because Sogō feared the money would have not been available in the first place.
What it meant was the government was encouraged to contribute funds and the World Bank to give a loan. Had they known the fullest costs this wouldn’t have happened. The financing process was actually more complex than this however its just the essence of how the arrangement basically worked.
However the crunch point in terms of finance came much sooner than anyone had expected, least of all Shinji Sogō himself when the news was revealed in May 1963:
How the world learnt of the JNR’s financial woes. The advisory committee requested that Shinji Sogō should not be held responsible for any mismanagement. Source: World Bank
The true costs of the New Tokaido Line were discovered because JNR had found itself almost broke. Although many didn’t want Sogō to resign, he personally took it upon himself to do the neccessary honour along with Hideo Shima who also opted to resign. In respect of his enormous efforts Sogō was recognised as the ‘Father of the Shinkansen.’
Sogō very simply said of his resignation ‘I’m happy as long as the Shinkansen runs safely. That’s all I wanted.’
The World Bank had of course watched with increasing concern as the costs of the New Tokaido Line rose. They had accountants whose job it was to monitor the line’s progress and the finance that was being used to build it. Detailed monthly reports were issued to the bank’s directors and they had grown increasingly concerned at the rate the money was being spent.
Previously the costs had rose from 197 billion yen (just short of the earlier expected 200 billion Yen cut-off) to 293 billion yen, which had got the World Bank very worried. In due course the bank discovered the costs of the New Tokaido Line had in fact gone up to 380 billion yen.
The reasons for the huge increases in costs were given as follows:
(a) increase in the cost of right of way and land acquisition;
(b) increase due to changes in design at the request of the
Government and local agencies;
(c) increase due to changes in design and construction as a
result of the experience during the execution of works;
(d) increase due to necessary improvements in design as a result
of the test runs of the prototype cars; and
(e) increase due to the rise in the cost of labour and material.
The person who took over from Shinji Sogō as president of JNR was Reisuke Ishida, whose appointment was made on 19th May 1963. If you’ve seen the photographs or film of the Shinkansen’s official opening on 1st Octber 1964, Ishida is the one officiating in the ceremony at Tokyo, cutting the tape in order to signal the start of the new high speed services.
Reisuke Ishida was JNR’s oldest ever president at the age of 77. People questioned this but he replied ‘I feel like a young soldier.’ Source: Mitsui
JNR’s estimates of the costs which would be needed to complete the New Tokaido Line. Source: World Bank
As we have seen, the additional costings amounting to 179 billion yen expected to be needed to complete the new line had brought the total estimated costs to 380 billion yen. In reality it was perhaps somewhere nearer 400 billion yen!
In the next section we look at the beginnings of the ‘Super Dream Express.’
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