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Determining the total cost of transportation is essential to understanding your company’s profitability. How quickly do customers receive products? How much are they willing to pay to receive those products faster? Were any shipments damaged or otherwise subject to cargo insurance claims? What could we as a company do better? Understanding the total cost of transportation means understanding the costs and factors affecting spend in each leg of the supply chain. When it comes down to it, accounting for the total cost of transportation is pretty complex. A product changes hands approximately 30 times between the procurement of raw materials and its final destination. That means there are at least 30 different opportunities for something to go wrong, inevitably leading to a higher spend. To accurately gauge your total cost of transportation, you must first understand line item costs for all transactions. Yes, figuring that out would be as tedious and monotonous as it sounds, but thanks to blockchain technology, the process can be quick and painless. Blockchain Provides Unmatched Traceability in Freight and Logistics According to TechCrunch.com, the freight and logistics industry in the U.S. is valued at $1.5 trillion per year. It is arguably the largest industry in the world, but it is plagued with issues and inefficiencies that end up costing more than $30 billion to correct annually. One of those problems is poor infrastructure. Unclear routes and confusion about road conditions on each route can result in significant expenses for transportation. Another big issue is fraud and theft. These problems typically arise in hidden parts of the supply chain where no one is watching, leading to added expenses or even stolen product. For both examples, blockchain technology can add an extra layer of visibility in all logistics and transportation processes that will lead to reduced costs. Knowing exactly what is occurring in every part of the supply chain and transportation network is the only way to accurately understand freight spend. Blockchain gives supply chain executives a clear view of all transportation costs, where they are occurring, and why. This information can be leveraged to continuously optimize the supply chain network. Possible Applications of Blockchain to Manage Total Cost of Transportation It is important to understand specific applications of blockchain to reduce and control the total cost of transportation. Some examples include: - Identify and reduce counterfeit product purchasing - Eliminate financial fraud - Hold carriers accountable for billing or transport issues - Identify the cause of delays - Streamline international trade - Accurately benchmark past performance versus peers - Immediately identify products returned to determine potential defects in quality or manufacturing - Gain insight into the causes of higher transportation spend - Reduce risk for carriers - Enhance compliance with trade regulations Take Control of Understanding Your Transportation Costs with Blockchain Blockchain is the best technology available to Track and Trace all aspects of your transportation network, determine your spend, and identify inconsistencies or issues that are increasing costs. Boost your supply chain management strategy by working with us and see for yourself the difference that blockchain makes. Request a demo of our platform to learn more!

Transactions, Blocks, Mining and the Blockchain Bitcoin becomes trusted and accepted by the bitcoin mechanism of distributed consensus. Then it is recorded on the blockchain, the distributed ledger of all transactions. Popular blockchain explorers include: In the overview diagram below, we see that the bitcoin system consists of users with wallets containing keys. transactions which are propagated across the network and miners who produce the consensus blockchain, the authoritative ledger of all transactions. Trace a single transaction as it travels across the network and examine the interactions between each part of the bitcoin system, at a high level. Subsequent chapters will delve deeper into the technology behind wallets, mining and merchant systems. customers have the option of paying in either dollars or bitcoin now a days. Transaction tells the network that the owner of a number bitcoins has authorized the transfer of some of those bitcoins to another owner. The new owner can now spend these bitcoins by creating another transaction that authorizes transfer to another owner, and so on, in a chain of ownership. Transactions are like lines in a double-entry bookkeeping ledger. A transaction output is created in the form of a script, that creates the value and can only be redeemed by the introduction of a solution to the script. Use the following link to see it the transaction on the bitcoin blockchain

During the 1930s an accountant named Ralph Nelson Elliott started to analyze all existing stock market data from its inception. He looked at price movements in the financial markets and keenly saw that pattern in the markets have repetitive qualities. The way in which he proved his discovery was by making countless accurate stock market forecasts. On the surface it appears random and isolated but Elliott came to the conclusion it is actually mapping out a recognizable pattern with repetitive tendencies. He rigorously back tested his hypothesis and after seeing its effectiveness, Elliott ultimately named his theory “The Wave Principle”. Elliott realized that the movements in the stock market can actually be predicted by looking at and identifying the repetitive nature of waves. His next conclusion was that any crowd or social based behavior can be modeled and predicted with precision like accuracy. Elliott Wave Theory Most of the technical analysis is derived upon these cycles of mass human behavior that is factored in the movements of price. Elliott Wave theory is a totally different concept of analysis in that it is possible to understand and pinpoint exactly where prices are within that cycle at any given point in time. By comprehending where prices are in the Elliott Wave cycle, investors can create an edge or an advantage in their effort to measure risk to reward by locating ideal entry and exit points for their investments. Basic Tenets of Elliott wave Impulsive waves are composed of five subwaves (labeled as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and move in the same direction as the trend of the next larger size. Impulse waves powerfully propel the market to the upside in a bull market and powerfully propel the market to the downside in a bear market. Within the 5 wave impulse move, waves 1,3 and 5 move in the direction of primary trend, and waves 2 and 4 will be counter trends in the opposite direction. Thus, the waves 1,3 and 5 are actionary waves and waves 2 and 4 are reactionary waves. A corrective wave follows, composed of three subwaves (labeled as a, b, c), and it moves against the trend of the next larger size. Corrective wave retraces progress achieved by any preceding impulse wave. Thus, one complete Elliott wave consists of eight waves and two phases: five-wave impulse phase, whose subwaves are denoted by numbers, and the three-wave corrective phase, whose subwaves are denoted by letters. Naturally, the Impulse waves will gain or lose a lot of ground whereas in corrective waves, prices tend to struggle to go anywhere. Corrective waves are more of a sideways consolidation or range bound move that occurs when the market wants to maintain the price levels that have been gained or lost. The Complete Wave Template If you look at the macro level trends or at the micro level trends (above), the individual components of a set of waves, you see the same basic pattern repeating again and again, so you can say that market structure is fractal in its character. The micro level waves are simply more granular and detailed models exhibiting all the characteristics of the macro level waves. The Cycle Degree The cycle degree has different names to identify the position of the wave within the overall progress of the market. Based on the amplitude, the above illustration indicates the types of wave cycles from largest to smallest. These describe the degree of change in a larger cycle, or the amplitude. The cycle waves are subdivided into primary waves, that are in turn subdivided into intermediate waves which are in turn subdivided into minor and sub minor waves, with the smaller wave patterns having the same fractal characteristics. Motive wave is a 5 wave move in the same direction as the trend of one larger degree. There are three types of motive waves: impulsive wave, extension and diagonal. Impulsive waves subdivide into 5 waves and the impulsive move further subdivides into another 5 waves in minor degree. Within these waves, the wave 2 never retraces more than 100% of wave 1 and wave 4 never retraces more than 100% of wave 3. Wave 3 always travels beyond end of wave 1.Wave 3 is is often the longest and never the shortest among the 3 actionary waves 1,3 and 5. Wave 4 does not overlap with the price territory of wave 1. Extension is an unusually long impulsive wave with exaggerated sub-waves. That is, only one of the waves from 1,3 and 5 will be extended. Extension typically occurs during wave 3 and the sub-waves within an extension have nearly the same duration and amplitude as the ones in the rest of the wave. If extension occurs on wave 5, then waves 1 and 3 will be normal waves with no extensions. Rarely extension occurs at wave 1, if so, wave 3 and 5 will be normal waves with no extensions. Diagonal is the second type of motive wave, its purpose is to move the market in the direction of the trend and it consists of five sub-waves but the difference is that diagonal typically exhibits a wedge shape with an expanding or contracting characteristics. The sub-waves of the diagonal may not have a count of five, depending on the type of diagonal being analyzed. Ending Diagonal is a wave that occurs in wave 5 of an impulse or the last wave of a corrective pattern typically on wave C of an ABC correction. This wave often occurs when the pending move of the trend has gone too far, too fast and has been exhausted. Most of the time, they are found at the end of the higher degree motive or corrective waves. This wave pattern indicated the termination of the previous trend of one higher degree. The ending diagonal has a structure count of 33333. All five of the waves of an ending diagonal break down to only three waves each, indicating exhaustion of the larger degree trend. Also, wave 2 and wave 4 may overlap each other. Leading Diagonal is rare, and are found in wave 1 of an impulse wave or wave A of a zigzag correction, They have 53535 wave structure like an impulse wave, but in this case, wave 2 and wave 4 overlap, and they form a wedge pattern with converging boundary lines. Because of the five subdivisions of wave 1,3 and 5, this pattern indicates continuation of the trend where the ending diagonal pattern of 33333 indicates termination of the trend. The correction comes from in the form of a move in the opposite direction to the impulse move, a counter trend that is made up of 3 waves, the corrective waves are numbered using alphabets. Compared to the impulse moves the corrective waves are difficult to identify and interpret. These ABC corrective moves have been classified into 21 different kinds of patterns, out of of these patterns the three most basic patterns are Zigzag, Flat and Triangle. Zigzag corrective waves bring a substantial correction in the on-going trend. A single zigzag is a three wave corrective structure that is labeled as ABC. The sub-wave sequence is 535, the wave A and wave C are motive waves with five sub-waves, while B wave is corrective with three sub-waves. The zigzag is known to form a sharp style of correction, and in an impulse wave, typically occurs at the second wave. Zigzag may also form in combination which is called a double zigzag or even a triple zigzag, where two or three zigzags form connected by another corrective wave between them. Flat correction is another three wave correction where the sub waves form a 335 structure. In this case, both waves A and B are of the corrective variety and Wave C is motive with five sub-waves. It is called a flat because the pattern moves in a sideways direction. Flat typically appears on 4th wave within an impulse wave and rarely occurs on 2nd wave. However, there are variations of flat correction, a flat correction that has the B wave terminate beyond the start of the wave A and the C wave terminate beyond the start of the B wave is called an expanded flat. The other flat is called a running flat, which often occurs in strong trends of one higher degree, running flat has wave B terminating beyond the beginning of wave A, but wave C will fall well short of beginning of wave A. Triangle is a sideways movement that is associated with decreasing volume and volatility. Triangles have 5 sides and each side is subdivided in 3 waves hence forming 3-3-3-3-3 structure. There are 4 types of triangles in Elliott Wave Theory: ascending, descending, contracting, and expanding. Corrective structures are labelled as ABCDE and they usually occur in wave B of corrective waves or wave 4 of motive waves. Triangle waves are subdivided into three (3-3-3-3-3) and the subdivision of ABCDE can be either abc, wxy, or flat. Double three is a sideways combination of two corrective patterns. Included in double three are these corrective patterns mentioned above: zigzag, flat, and triangle. When two of these corrective patterns are combined together, we get a double three. A combination of two corrective structures are labelled as WXY where wave W and wave Y subdivision can be either a zigzag, flat, double three of smaller degree, or triple three of smaller degree. Wave X can be any corrective structure and WXY is a 7 swing structure. Triple three is a sideways combination of three corrective patterns. The combination of three corrective structures are labelled as WXYXZ where wave W, wave Y, and wave Z subdivision can be a zigzag, flat, double three of smaller degree, or triple three of smaller degree. Wave X can be any corrective structure and WXYZ is an 11 swing structure. Fibonacci Series Characteristics The Fibonacci number sequence is made by simply starting at 1 and adding the previous number to arrive at the new number: 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, 5+3=8, 8+5=13, 13+8=21, 21+13=34, 34+21=55, 55+34=89, etc. The ratio of any number to the next number in the series approaches 0.618 or 61.8% (the golden ratio) after the first 4 numbers. For example: 34/55 = 0.618. The ratio of any number to the number that is found two places to the right approaches 0.382 or 38.2%. For example: 34/89 = 0.382. The ratio of any number to the number that is found three places to the right approaches 0.236 or 23.6%. For example: 21/89 = 0.236.These relationships between every number in the series are the foundation of the common ratios used to determine price retracements and price extensions during a trend. Fibonacci numbers provide the mathematical foundation for the Elliott Wave Theory. While the Fibonacci ratios have been adapted to various technical indicators, their utmost use in technical analysis remains the measurement of correction waves. Fibonacci Price Retracements A retracement is a move in price that “retraces” a portion of the previous move. Usually a stock will retrace at one of 3 common Fibonacci levels – 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%. Fibonacci price retracements are determined from a prior low-to high swing to identify possible support levels as the market pulls back from a high. Retracements are also run from a prior high-to-low swing using the same ratios, looking for possible resistance levels as the market bounces from a low. Fibonacci Price Extensions Fibonacci price extensions are used by traders to determine areas where they will wish to take profits in the next leg of an up-or downtrend. Percentage extension levels are plotted as horizontal lines above/below the previous trend move. The most popular extension levels are 61.8%, 100.0%, 138.2% and 161.8%. In contrast to rules, there are key guidelines which should hold true most of the time, not necessarily all of the time. When wave 3 is the longest impulse wave, wave 5 will approximately equal Wave 1.This guideline is useful for targeting the end of wave 5. Even though wave 5 could be longer than wave 3 and wave 3 could still be longer than wave 1, chartists can make initial wave 5 projections once wave 4 ends. In a larger uptrend, chartists simply apply the length of wave 1 (percentage change) to the low of wave 4 for an upside target. The opposite is true for a 5-wave decline. The percentage decline in wave 1 would be applied to the high of wave 4 for a wave 5 estimate. The forms for wave 2 and wave 4 will alternate. The guideline of alternation (2) is useful for determining the time of correction for wave 4. After a sharp decline for wave 2, chartists can expect a relatively flat correction for wave 4. If wave 2 is relatively flat, then chartists can expect a relatively sharp wave 4. In practice, wave 2 tends to be a rather sharp wave that retraces a large portion of wave 1. Wave 4 comes after an extended wave 3. This wave 4 marks more of a consolidation that lays the groundwork for a wave 5 trend resumption. If wave 2 is a sharp correction, wave 4 will be a flat correction. If wave 2 is a flat correction then wave 4 will be a sharp correction. After a 5-wave impulse advance, corrections (abc) usually end in the area of prior wave 4 low. The third guideline is useful for estimating the end of a wave 2 correction after a wave 1 advance. Waves 1 and 2 are the larger degree waves. Waves 1-2-3-4-5 are lesser degree waves within wave 1. Once the wave 2 correction unfolds, chartists can estimate its end by looking at the end of the prior wave 4 (lesser degree wave 4). In a larger degree uptrend, wave 2 would be expected to bottom near the low of lesser degree wave 4. In a larger degree downtrend, wave 2 would be expected to peak near the high of lesser degree wave 4.

Planning For An Uncertain Future: Can Multi-Criteria Analysis Support Better Decision-Making In Climate Planning? This paper by Ingrid Gould Ellen, Jessica Yager, Melinda Hanson, and Luke Bo'sher, published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, examines how multicriteria analysis (MCA), a decision-making tool, compares to other commonly used tools for making decisions about climate-change planning. The authors find that MCA has the potential to perform better than cost benefit analysis and working group approaches in supporting decision making processes that are more participatory, transparent, comprehensive, rigorous, and scenario-driven (five principles of effective planning). The paper also explores the ways in which MCA might fall short of these principles in practice, including when planners have limited resources. The American Housing Survey (AHS) is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States. Since 2009, AHS has included six core disability questions used in the American Community Survey. The questions address hearing, visual, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living difficulties for each household member. For 2011, AHS added a topical module on accessibility. The module asked about the presence of accessibility features in housing units, including wheelchair accessibility features, and whether the accessibility features were used or not. Together, these data provide an unprecedented opportunity to examine the accessibility of the U.S. housing stock and to ask whether people with disabilities reside in accessible homes. In this report, the authors present summary measures of housing accessibility based on the 2011 AHS. To develop these summary measures, they examined United States (U.S.) and international standards and regulations regarding housing accessibility, reviewed the relevant literature, and conducted interviews with a set of disability and housing design experts. These interviews are further described in appendix A. Based on these summary measures, the authors describe how accessibility varies by housing market characteristics as well as resident characteristics such as age, disability status, and income. They also present evidence on the relationship between the need for and availability of accessible housing units, taking affordability of accessible units into account.

The coronavirus has revealed and worsened racial inequities across the child care sector. This report explains the origins of long-standing inequities in early education, examines how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated them, and offers recommendations for how stakeholders can address them to build a fairer system. The impact of the pandemic on child care has already been extensive, and the system is struggling to survive. The federal government should allocate $50 billion in relief funds for child care in the next coronavirus package. This brief provides an overview of the unemployment insurance system, new federal benefits available through the CARES Act, and considerations for determining how unemployment compensation can support child care workers during the coronavirus crisis. Relatives play an important child care role for families of all backgrounds and incomes, even in the best of times. But in this public health and economic crisis, it is particularly important to recognize their value and critical role in an already-fragile child care system that desperately needs an immediate and large federal investment.

What are Negative Interest Rates and What do they mean? Updated: May 11 The financial press has for some time been reporting on the appearance of negative interest rates. Negative rate debt has been around in Europe since 2009, but recently has expanded rapidly. By 2017 European countries plus Japan had created some $9.5 trillion in government debt with negative yields. Recent estimates place negative debt at $16.4 trillion. European countries have expanded their negative debt with some major countries such as Germany, Denmark and Netherlands, so they are now totally negative for all debt maturities. A simple example of how negative yields work looks like this; An investor buys a one year German treasury bill and pays 101.00 Euros. At the end of the year the note matures at par – meaning the investor receives back 100 euros so that in effect the investor has paid 1% for the privilege of investing in the note. How does it work with mortgages? Borrowers continue to make their monthly repayment, but the outstanding mortgage debt is reduced by more than the payment made. The basic objective of negative rates is to encourage borrowing for the purpose of spurring economic activity. The central banks of Europe and Japan are worried about deflation. Deflation is considered much more of a threat to economic well being than inflation. While negative rates have yet to come to North America, it is important to recognize the risk they represent. Savers and saving institutions will have a hard time meeting their return objectives unless they are willing to increase their risk tolerances. In many cases institutions who are investing for pensioners are required by law to buy government debt. How can they cover future liabilities with negative returns? Saving institutions such as the banks will see margins reduced to the point that savers will have to be charged on deposits to keep the banks solvent. So far there is no evidence that negative rates will spread beyond Europe and Japan. In the interim, funds that can move are moving from the negative markets to real return markets such as North America. This is draining investment funds out of the negative market areas - exactly what authorities do not want. Hopefully this experiment in negative rates will soon end.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UK Essays. The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), namely the Boards, jointly published a Discussion Paper and received 179 responses. The Exposure Draft was created from the Boards’ redeliberations regarding issues being raised by respondents. The Boards published this common Exposure Draft for the public to comment and it is the Board’s broader conceptual framework. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more The Boards are considering their frameworks: to provide standards that are consistent, converge their standards, to develop a general and enhanced conceptual framework. The Boards decided that a reconsideration of concepts would not be efficient because many aspects of the frameworks are consistent and do not need fundamental revision. The Boards are focused on improving and converging their existing frameworks. The conceptual framework for financial reporting established by the Board displays the concepts that underlie financial reporting. This conceptual framework consists of 2 chapters: the objective of financial reporting and qualitative characteristics and constraints of decision – useful financial reporting information – useful financial reporting information. 2 Chapter 1: The Objective of Financial Reporting This conceptual framework establishes the objective of general purpose financial reporting by business entities in the private sector, which is the foundation of the framework. The objective of general purpose financial reporting is to provide financial information to current capital provides to make decisions. This information might also be useful to users who are not capital providers. The general purpose financial reporting develops superior reporting standards to help in the efficient functioning of economies and the efficient allocation of resources in capital markets. General purpose financial reporting focuses on an extensive range of users’ needs that lack the ability to obtain financial information needed from the entity. It should be broad enough to comprehend information for the various users. Therefore, the financial report is where they depend on to acquire information. Diverse users may require different information which might go beyond the scope of general purpose financial reporting. The financial reports are prepared from the entity’s perspective (deemed to have substance on its own, spate from that of its owners), instead of the entity’s capital providers. An entity attains economic resources (its assets) from capital providers in exchange for claims to those resources (its liabilities and equity). Capital providers include Equity investors normally invest economic resources in an entity expecting to receive a return on, as well as a return of, the resources invested in. Hence, equity investors are concerned with the amount, timing, uncertainty of an entity’s future cash flows and the entity’s competence in generating those cash flows which affects the prices of their equity interests. Furthermore, they are concerned with the performance of directors and management of the entity in discharging their responsibility to make efficient and profitable use of the assets invested. Lenders usually expect to receive a return in the form of interest, repayments of borrowings, and increases in the prices of debt securities. Lenders have similar interests as the equity investors. Other creditors provide resources because of their relationship with the entity, instead of a capital provider; no primary relationship. Employee – salary or compensation Suppliers – extended credit Customer – prepay for goods and services Managers – responsible for preparing financial reports Capital providers make decisions through useful information provided in financial reporting by particular entity. Financial reporting usefulness in assessing cash flow prospects depends on the entity’s current cash resources and the ability to generate sufficient cash to reimburse its capital providers. Besides, financial reporting usefulness in assessing stewardship includes the management’s responsibilities to protect the entity’s economic resources (assets) from unfavourable effects. Management is also liable for safeguarding the assets of the entity which conforms to the laws, regulations and contractual provisions; thus, the importance of management’s performance in the decision usefulness. The general purpose financial reporting is limited to information which does not reflect pertinent information from other sources that should be considered by the users. Financial reporting information is based on estimates, judgements, and models of the financial effects on an entity of transactions and other events in which, is only ideal for preparers and standard setters to strive. Achieving the framework’s vision of ideal financial reporting to the fullest will be difficult in the short term because of technical infeasibility and cost constrains. Financial reporting should include information about: the economic resources of an entity (assets), the claims of the entity are (liabilities and equity), the effects of transaction and any events or circumstances that can affect the entity’s resources and claims and provide useful information about the ability of entity to generate its cash flow and how well the entity meets its management responsibilities. The usefulness of financial reporting to the users: Provide useful information about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flow To identify the entity’s financial strengths and weaknesses (especially for capital providers) To indicate the potential of entity’s cash flow for its economic resources and claims To identify the effectiveness of the entity’s management responsibilities To assess availabilities of the entity’s nature and quantity of the resources for the use in its operation To estimate the values of the entity. The quantitative measures and other information regarding the changes in entity’s economics resources and claims in the financial report can help the users to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of its cash flow; and indicate the effectiveness of management responsibilities. Furthermore, the entity must provide a positive return on its economic resources in order to generate net cash inflows; and return the earning to its investors. Other information like variability of returns, past financial performance, and management’s ability can be used to assess the entity’s future financial performance. The information regarding the accrual accounting in financial reporting can better provide the users to assess the entity’s past financial performance and future prospects in generating net cash inflows without obtaining additional capital from its investors. The entity’s cash flow performance in financial reporting assist the investors to understand the entity’s business model and operation through assessing how the entity obtains and spends cash. Information about its borrowing, repayment of borrowing, cash dividends and other distribution to investors, as well as the factors of entity’s liquidity and solvency, can also assist the investors to determine the entity’s cash flow accounting. Besides, information about the changes of entity’s resources and claims not resulting from financial performance may assist the investors to differentiate the changes that are results of the entity’s financial performance and those that are not. The information of management explanation should be included in financial reporting to assist users for a better understanding about management decision in any events and circumstances that have affected or may affect the entity’s financial performance. It is because the internal parties know about the entity’s performance than the external users. 3 Chapter 2: “Qualitative Characteristics and Constraints of Decision-Useful Financial Reporting Information” Fundamental qualitative characteristics distinguish useful financial reporting information from information that is not useful or is misleading. For information to be useful, it must have two fundamental qualitative characteristics: Relevance – capable of making a difference in the decisions made by users as capital providers. Information is relevant when it has predictive value, confirmatory value, or both. Predictive value – information that is assists the capitals providers to form their own expectations about the future. Confirmatory value – information that confirms or changes past or present expectations based on previous evaluations. IASB said that information is relevant “when it influences the economic decisions of users by helping them evaluate past, present or future events or confirming, or correcting, their past evaluation.” FASB believes that to be relevant, “accounting information must be capable of making a difference in a decision by helping users to form predictions about the outcome of past, present, and future events or to confirm or correct expectations.” Since some users may have been obtaining information elsewhere other than financial reporting, and emphasizes the relevance of information in their decisions, relevant information does not really make a difference in the past or in the future. Any information that might be able to make a difference is said to be relevant. Faithful representation – depiction of an economic phenomenon is complete, neutral, and free from material error. Complete – includes all information that is necessary for faithful representation of economic phenomena. Neutrality – information which is bias free. Freedom from error – estimation of the economic phenomena is based on the appropriate inputs and each input must reflect the best available information. Relevance is concern with the connection between economic phenomena with the decisions of capital providers and not their depictions, therefore should be consider first. Then, the faithful representation is applied to determine which depictions of economic phenomenon best corresponds to the relevant phenomenon. Enhancing qualitative characteristics improves the decision usefulness of financial reporting information that is relevant and faithfully represented. They are used to distinguish more-useful information from less-useful information. The enhancing qualitative characteristics are comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability. Comparability is the quality of information that enables users to identify similarities and the differences between two sets of economic phenomena. Since the essence of decision making is to select between alternatives, the information is more useful if it can be compared with similar information about the other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some other period. Comparability should not be confused with uniformity. Overemphasizing on uniformity may reduce comparability by making unlike things look alike. The IASB Framework actually discusses comparability as a qualitative characteristic which is equally important as relevance and faithfully representation. However, FASB concludes that comparability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic because regardless of how comparable the information may be, it will not be useful if it is irrelevant to users’ decisions and does not faithfully represent the economic phenomena. A quality of information that helps to assure users that information faithfully represents the economic phenomena that it purports to represent. If the information is verifiable, the knowledgeable and independent observers could come to the general consensus. The verifiability of the information focuses on whether the recognition or measurement method is correctly applied. Verification can either be direct or indirect. An amount or other representation itself verified such as by counting cash or observing marketable securities and their quoted prices are called direct verification. An example of verifying the carrying amount of inventory by checking the inputs (quantities and costs) and recalculating the ending inventory using the same cost flow assumption (accounting convention or methodology – average cost and first-in, first-out) is indirect verification. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.View our services IASB Framework does not include verifiability as an explicit aspect, yet FASB does. FASB observed that some of the information which is faithfully represented may not necessarily be verifiable. Therefore, if the information is verifiable, it is generally more useful. Thus, FASB concluded that verifiability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic. Timeliness means having information available to decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions. A lack of timeliness can rob information of its potential usefulness. The IASB Framework discusses timeliness separately, as a constraint that could rob information of relevance. However, FASB concluded that reporting information in a timely manner can enhance both the relevance and faithful representation of the information since information can be reported in a timely manner but has no relevance, or information delayed in reporting remains its relevance. Understandability is the quality of information that enables users to comprehend its meaning. When the information is classified, characterized, and presented clearly and concisely, the understandability will be enhanced. Although the reporting information has to be understandable, the users of the financial report should also review and analyze the information with reasonable diligence as the users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and to be able to read the financial report. Enhancing qualitative characteristics should improve the usefulness of financial information and should be maximized to the extent possible. However, if the information is irrelevant or not faithfully represented, the enhancing qualitative characteristics cannot make that information useful for decision. Besides, the application of the enhancing qualitative characteristics is an iterative process which does not follow the prescribed order. In addition, FASB considered whether some other qualitative characteristics should be added, such as transparency, true and fair view, credibility, internal consistency, and high quality. FASB concluded that it would be redundant if transparency is added as one of the qualitative characteristics. True and fair view is not a qualitative characteristic itself, but it should result from applying the qualitative characteristics. FASB concluded that it should be the goal to achieve high quality to which financial reporting and standard setters aspire. By adherence to the objective and qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information, the goal can be achieved. Therefore, the characteristics mentioned in not added as the qualitative characteristics of the financial reporting information. In a nutshell, the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information in this draft can be categorized into fundamental qualitative characteristics and enhancing qualitative characteristics as shown in the following: Compared to the conceptual framework issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB) in 2007, most of the qualitative characteristics are identical to the characteristic discussed in this draft. However, the most distinctive aspect which can be found is MASB did not categorize the qualitative characteristics into fundamental and enhancing qualitative characteristics. The qualitative characteristics concluded by MASB are shown in the figure below. MASB concluded that the relevance of information is affected by its nature and materiality while FASB discusses materiality under the constraints of financial reporting. MASB provides that the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements could be influenced when the omission or misstatement of the information is material. Thus, materiality provides a threshold or cut-off point rather than being a primary qualitative characteristic which information must have for it to be useful. Besides, MASB also discussed about substance over form and prudence under the characteristic of reliability. MASB provides that if information is to represent faithfully the transactions and other events that it purports to represent, it is necessary that they are accounted for and presented in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. However, FASB did not identify substance over form as a component of faithful representation as it would be redundant to do so. In addition, FASB did not conclude prudence as a qualitative characteristic because it might conflict with the quality of neutrality. MASB discussed the characteristic of timeliness as a constraint on relevant and reliable information. If there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. Management may need to balance the relative merits of timely reporting and the provision of reliable information. However, FASB concluded timeliness as an enhancing qualitative characteristic of the financial reporting information. There should be a balance between the qualitative characteristic as the IASB Framework says: “In practice a balancing, or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. Generally the aim is to achieve an appropriate balance among the characteristics in order to meet the objective of financial statements. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments.” The information provided by financial reporting is limited by materiality and the cost of providing. Materiality depends on the nature and amount of the item judged in the particular circumstance of its omission or misstatement. It is important to consider the materiality of information because material omissions or misstatements will cause information to contain error, making it biased and incomplete. However, it is hard to specify a uniform quantitative threshold at which the information is material. Concepts Statement 2 and IASB Framework define materiality similarly but discuss materiality it differently. IASB describes materiality as an aspect of relevance and does not indicate that it has a relationship to other qualitative characteristics. On the other hand, Concepts Statement 2 provides that materiality should be considered together with qualitative characteristics (not only relevance). Thus, the Boards conclude that materiality is pertinent to all of the other qualitative characteristics. The Boards emphasized the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Costs of providing information: Cost of collecting and processing Cost of verifying Cost of disseminating Cost of analysis and interpretation Cost resulted from omission of decision-useful information Benefits of financial reporting information: More efficient functioning of capital market Lower cost of capital Improved access to capital market Favourable effect on public relations Better management decisions However, the major problem for the standard setters in conducting rigorous cost-benefit analyses is the difficulty in qualifying the benefits of a certain reporting requirement. Besides, it is also difficult to obtain complete, quantitative information about the initial and ongoing cost of a requirement and impose them. Nevertheless, standard seekers should take into account both benefits and costs of proposed financial reporting requirements. There are 3 constraints of financial reporting information mentioned by the MASB: Balance between benefit and cost As mentioned in FASB, cost is one of the constraints of financial reporting information and the Boards emphasizes on the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Balance between qualitative characteristic MASB provides that, “In practice a balancing or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments”. The FASB also mentions, “In assessing whether the benefits of reporting information are likely to justify the costs, it is necessary to consider whether one or more qualitative characteristics might be scarified to some degree to reduce cost”. MASB mentioned that a constraint which is not mentioned in the conceptual framework of FASB; timeliness. MASB provides that if there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. To provide information on a timely basis it may often be necessary to report before all aspects of a transaction or other event are known. On the other hand, if reporting is delayed until all aspects are known, the information may be highly reliable but of little use to users who have had to make decisions in the interim. Management may need to balance the timely reporting and the provision of reliable information. Cite This Work To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below: Related ServicesView all DMCA / Removal Request If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have the essay published on the UK Essays website then please:

Why should you raise financially healthy children? It is essential that we teach our children about money so that they are able to develop the key skills that are necessary for the management of money. It is one of the many things we do as parents so they are better prepared for the real world. When they’re young this may seem a long way off, but believe me, time whizzes by very quickly. Like adults, children experience underlying emotions around money and this will have an enormous impact on their lives and planning for their future. After all, their relationship with money is the longest relationship they will ever have. If money was just about maths (budgets) life would be simple. But it’s not because we all attached emotions to money. Besides teaching them the value of money, you are also building trust so that they will come to you first (not their mates) when they need to make financial decisions that will have lasting impact on their future. As a parent, this may seem a huge task! Stick with it, it will be worth it in the end when you see your children set up for life because of what you have taught them. And for them, it may well be the difference between a life of struggle and a life of their dreams. Before you begin this journey with your children, make sure that you are Financially Healthy. If you think that managing your money and achieving financial freedom is just about the ‘numbers’, then download our e-book ‘Spice up Your Relationship with Money. This e-book will help you to evaluate what your relationship with money is really about.

Good as Gold: Turkey Uses Bullion to Stabilize Its Economy The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by Simon Constable Turkey’s economy has been in a tailspin with an inflationary currency, but the country is using something rare to help stabilize itself: gold. In late 2011, Turkey started to allow commercial banks to use gold instead of the Turkish lira for their required deposits at the central bank. These deposits are known as reserve requirements and help ensure that the banks are capitalized. Over recent years, Turkey’s central bank has accumulated an additional 400 tonnes of gold. That’s a lot—more than Britain has—and the sizeable stash could take the edge off the crisis. To put the Turkish gold haul in perspective, there are 10 million ounces of gold (roughly 311 tonnes) at the Bank of England. The burgeoning balance comes as a result of a change in banking rules. In simple terms, the tweak to the rules allows gold to be used as a financial asset by the banks. In addition, the new regulation helped flush out a lot of gold that was previously held privately. As a result, Turkey’s central bank has seen a huge jump in its apparent gold holdings. There are now more than 18 million troy ounces of bullion deposited at Turkey’s central bank, up from less than four million before the rule change was introduced in 2011. There are 32,150.7 troy ounces in a tonne. Constable discusses private gold deposits into Turkey’s central bank, and Turkey’s economic problems.

Net cash flow What is net cash flow? The net cash flow of an organization represents the sum over a period of time of the total cash received (inflow) from sales and loans less the total amount of money spent (outflow) by the company over the same period. It is an important measure of a company’s ability to survive and grow. There are two main measures of a business’s ability to survive: profitability and cash flow. Although they seem to be the same thing, they are different. A business can be profitable and yet not have enough cash to survive. Conversely, a business with a strong positive net cash flow will survive even if it is not making a profit. While the two measures have similarities, a business’ profitability takes into account intangible expenses such as goodwill, provisions for depreciation and expenses such as capital expenditures. These all affect profitability. On the other hand, cash flow represents the net inflow of money after tax less the net outflow. Cash comes from one of three sources: sales, loans and cash injections. To qualify, the money actually must be paid to the company, so for example, an unpaid invoice is excluded from cash flow. Cash outflow represents the money paid out over the same period, and likewise, does not include liabilities that have not been met. Net cash flow is the sum of these two amounts and it must be positive or else the business eventually will run out of money. The balance sheet, which shows the overall financial picture of a company, is used to reconcile the net cash flow with the profit and loss statement. Net cash flow example Richard and his partner run a business manufacturing agricultural equipment. The business is expanding quickly and is very profitable but, because the lead time between purchasing raw materials and being paid is long, they are always short on cash to meet day-to-day running expenses. Richard and his partner speak to their bank manager. The manager shows them that the amount of cash invested in the business is too low to meet their cash flow needs and suggests a business loan to increase their net cash flow and help them get over their growing pains. Is your business cash flow suffering because you are expanding? Use Bankrate’s business loan calculator to see how a loan can improve your net cash flow.

The share of renewable energy in the global power mix is growing fast. Nations and corporations are switching over. However, a complete shift away from fossil energy is still not in sight. A chapter from the Coal Atlas. The structure of energy supplies is changing rapidly, but in different ways in different places. On the one hand, the share of renewable energy in power generation is climbing constantly. On the other hand, new coal-fired power plants are still being built. European power generators face a tricky period. Many countries have excess capacity in conventional forms of power; these have to compete with renewables. In 2014, Denmark and Germany consumed the same amount of energy as in the 1970s. They have managed to decouple their energy use from economic growth. Investments in ageing power plants and stricter standards for air pollution are pushing the generators’ costs upwards. Even new plants like the coal-fired power station in Hamburg-Moorburg, which was put online by its operator Vattenfall in 2015, are scarcely economic today. The expansion of renewables in Germany has significantly exceeded most predictions. Many scenarios drawn up in the early 2000s predicted a share for 2020 that was attained by 2010. Renewables are emerging from their niche. Wind and solar power account for 79 percent of all new generation capacity. In Germany, more and more communities are deciding to go fully renewable; around 20 million people now live in so-called 100-percent regions. Power cooperatives in which citizens own shares are leading the shift to decentralized and eco-friendly energy. This grassroots energy transition has attracted interest from abroad. In Germany, the focus is now on maintaining an energy market that does not restrict citizen’s initiatives and is legally aligned to and supports renewable power sources. Renewables already produce 25.8 percent of the electricity generated in Germany. Together, solar, wind, biomass and co. have displaced lignite from the top of the pecking order of energy sources. On sunny and windy days, renewables can supply up to 80 percent of the German demand – unimaginable only a few years ago. But around noon on 11 May 2014, this was achieved for the first time. This new reality necessitates a redesign of electricity grids, because the locations where the power is now being generated have moved. To cater for variations in wind and solar power, more flexibility is needed from conventional power plants and from consumers, as well as more storage capacity. But Germany is just one example; renewables are advancing throughout the world. Half comes from “old” renewables such as hydropower or wood burning. But the “new” renewables such as photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, wave and biogas are gathering steam. In global rankings, large countries such as Germany, China and the United States are normally at the forefront. But relative to their economic capacity, Uruguay, Mauritius and Costa Rica are investing significantly more in renewables than their larger counterparts. The fact that energy guzzlers in the information technology sector like Facebook and Google are switching to renewables should be a signal to other sectors too. Greenpeace praises Apple because it already gets all the energy it needs from renewables. Data centres worldwide consume more than 30 gigawatts of power – the amount generated by 30 large nuclear plants. Developments in wind and solar energy are promising. Mass production, technical advances and bigger markets mean that the costs of facilities are falling fast, in some cases by half in just four years. More and more projects are funded without government support because they are cheaper than fossil-energy sources. For wind power, 2014 was a record year. Globally, new turbines with a total capacity of 51 gigawatts were installed, 44 percent more than in the previous year. China is out in the lead; the 23 gigawatts that joined its grid accounted for almost half of the new global capacity. In Europe wind energy also increased sharply, by 12 gigawatts, led by Germany and Britain. After a weak performance the previous year, the United States also grew by 4.8 gigawatts. In addition, the market for photovoltaics expanded strongly. In 2014, more than 40 gigawatts of capacity were added. China accounts for about one-quarter of the total market. The United States added 6 gigawatts; solar power there produces enough energy to supply four million homes. Upward trends can also be found in Japan (+9 gigawatts), Europe (+7), Latin America and South Africa. In many developed countries, it is now cheaper for most homeowners to produce their own energy from solar cells on their roof than to buy it from the grid. Solar power is critically important in developing countries, in particular in rural areas that are not yet connected to the grid. For the first time, solar power can supply electricity to residents of these areas and thus improve their lives. This development would have taken years if the rural areas had to wait for power to be supplied by big centralized plants. Renewables can also present ecological and social problems. Large hydropower dams, mega windparks and big plantations to produce biofuels can lead to human-rights abuses and often to evictions. Widespread planting of monocropped biofuels harms the environment, and the use of agrochemicals is bad for the climate balance. Therefore, the global energy transition is not just about moving away from fossil fuels toward renewable sources. It is also about producing energy in a decentralized, ecological and democratic way.

Excel FVSCHEDULE Function FVSCHEDULE is an Excel function that calculates future value of a single sum based on an array of interest/growth rates. While FV function can be used to find future value at a single compound interest rate over multiple periods, it can't be used to find future value where we have to deal with different compound interest rate in different periods. FVSCHEDULE comes handy in such situations. Let's say you want to find the value of John D. Rockefeller's wealth in today's dollars. He was worth $900 million in 1913. So, how do you calculate his net worth in today’s dollars? Easy! you add up inflation rate each year from 1913 to 2017, add 1 and multiply the resulting figure with $900 million. Wrong! You are cheating him of the compounding effect, the actual driver of time value of money. You need to multiply $900 million with (1 + inflation rate in 1914) multiplied by (1 + inflation rate in 1915) multiplied by (1 + inflation rate in 2016) and so on until you have multiplied together all one plus inflation rates. However, it is a torture to have to manually do it let alone the risk of error and the cumbersomeness of the formula. This is exactly why the guys at Excel came up with FVSCHEDULE function which allows you to grow a value A based on a schedule of growth rates. FVSCHEDULE has the following syntax: FVSCHEDULE (principal, schedule) Principal is the sum at t=0 which you want to grow based on the interest rates given in the Schedule You are an economist looking to work out GDP per capita of Wadia. The current GDP is 15 billion Wadiyan Dinar and the country’s population is 1 million. Aladeen, the country’s supreme leader has targeted a population growth rate of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% over the next ten years while GDP is expected to grow by 1% each year over the next 10 years. You first need to work out the expected future value of GDP. Since the growth rate is constant, you can use FV function: We can’t use FV function to calculate population in 10 years because growth rate each year is different. However, we can use FVSCHEDULE function: GDP per capita after 10 years of Aladeen’s rule would be $24.71 (=$16.57 billion divided by 0.67044 billion).

XRP is the cryptocurrency used by the Ripple payment network, designed to be one of the fastest, cost-efficient cryptocurrencies globally. Overview of XRP as Cryptocurrency As a digital asset, XRP was derived from the Ripple Consensus Ledger. For the past seven years, XRP proved to be built on a very strong platform, with minimum reported issues. Many think that XRP could be the most suitable cryptocurrency for financial institutions and that it is targeting bitcoin with an intention to take its throne. The reason why XRP should go hand in hand with financial institutions is often debatable and goes from its global character, ability to transfer large amounts of assets and accessibility to its extremely fast flow of payments. Lower Fees, Faster Transactions Possibly the most distinct feature of XRP is its ability to enable extremely fast money flow. As you may know, most clearing systems use US$ as the basic currency for conversion, which leads to conversion fees. This process usually takes time, and this is the reason why bank transfers take a few days to complete the transaction. Once you get used to converting the amount to cryptos instead of US$, cutting the conversion fees, and finishing transaction within seconds, you will hardly get back to doing business the old way. Ledger Technology Limited No. of Tokens One thing is for sure: Ripple runs on the cutting-edge technology: distributed ledger consensus, which is based upon a network of verification servers and tokens. Apart from much lower transaction costs than in Bitcoin, its platform provides you with an opportunity to exchange not just fiat currencies, but well – almost anything. Furthermore, XRP is not mined, and it was created with a fixed number of 100B tokens from the very start, the greater part of them belonging to Ripple Labs, and tends to avoid issuing large amounts of tokens. This makes the XRP less decentralized than BTC. In a way, it is controlled, but not by any government. The tokens are being issued and placed to the market in portions. To recap the features: - XRP – the digital asset for payments - Built for enterprise use primarily, XRP offers banks and payment providers a reliable, on-demand option to source liquidity for cross-border payments. - Distributed on open-source technology, built on ledger technology with increasing number of validators. - Benefits include fast payment settlement, measured in seconds. - Energy consumption is minimal.

According to National Center for Education Statistics, more that 2.5 million 16- to 24-year-old students dropped out of high school in 2014. This decision can have far-reaching economic effects because in a competitive job market education can mean the difference between finding a good career or being unemployed. While many jobs require at least a high school diploma or GED, there are options available for those who did not finish high school. Many jobs are available for those who have experience in fields such as construction, food service and operating machinery. Finding a Good-Paying Job Without at least a GED or a high school diploma, workers may have difficulty finding stable, well-paying employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2015, the unemployment rate for those without a GED or diploma was eight percent, compared to 5.4 percent for those with a diploma. Workers with a diploma or equivalent averaged earnings of about $680 per week, while those with less than a diploma averaged about $495 a week. Food Service Careers According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, workers without high school diplomas may be able to find many types of jobs in the food service industry. Waiters, hostesses, bartenders, bakers, cashiers and cooks are just a few examples of jobs in this industry that do not require a diploma, although many require on-the-job training. Workers in the industry (Accommodation and Food Services) can expect to earn, on average, approximately $14 per hour. Construction can be a lucrative career for those who are willing to learn the required skills. Carpet installers, cement masons, concrete finishers, roofers and drywall installers are examples of careers in the construction industry that do not require a high school diploma. BLS statistics show that the number of jobs in these fields is growing, most at rates between 10 to 19 percent (between 2014 and 2024). Workers in these fields need on-the-job training and can earn up to $55,000 per year. Careers Working with Heavy Equipment If you like working with big machines, you may be able to find a good-paying career as a machine or equipment operator. Cranes, hoists, winches and dredges are machines that require operators who have on-the-job training. These jobs have median salaries of about $34,000 per year. Derrick and rotary drill operators in the oil and gas industry require only moderate on-the-job training and can earn salaries over $60,000 per year. - Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections - Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook: Occupation Finder - National Center for Education Statistics: Number of 16- to 24-Year-Old (Status) Dropouts - Bureau of Labor Statistics: Accommodation and Food Services - Bureau of Labor Statistics: Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas - Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

With serious questions being raised about the costs of the world’s largest planned offshore wind farm, the London Array, and the never-ending saga that has crimped the controversial offshore Cape Wind project in Massachusetts, it’s easy to dismiss offshore wind as being too expensive and ultimately not viable. After all, in a report on U.S. wind power potential last year, that country’s Department of Energy said the capital cost of offshore projects ranged from $2,400 to $5,000 per kilowatt, while onshore capital costs averaged $1,775 per kW. And a proposed offshore wind farm in Maine is being billed at $5 billion per gigawatt — or a whopping $25 billion. But there are two big reasons to go offshore, particularly in the U.S: strong winds and location, location, location. “The capacity factors are much higher, so the wind is actually stronger offshore than onshore,” Tyler Tringas, a wind analyst at New Energy Finance, told us. With more wind power, there’s more electricity that can be generated. The Ocean Energy Institute — run by energy investment banker and energy adviser Matthew Simmons, as well as physicist George Hart — is banking on what they say are some of the strongest winds in the world in the Gulf of Maine. “The second argument for offshore wind is that you can put the actual wind farms quite close to large metropolitan centers,” he said. And that could prove to be the linchpin. Guess which states use the most electricity? The ones that are on the water. In the contiguous U.S., there are 28 states that have a coastal boundary, and they use 78 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration. The DOE report said only six of those coastal states have sufficient onshore wind resources to generate more than 20 percent of their electricity needs. And what about importing all that wind power potential from other states? One of the biggest hurdles, according to the DOE, is the lack of transmission lines that can get the power from the spots that have the best wind resources to the areas that need that power the most. The agency estimated that the U.S. could produce 20 percent of its electricity from onshore wind, but that it would cost at least $20 billion just to expand the transmission grid. And even if the money is there, there’s the headache of dealing with all the different states and municipalities which each control their little section of the transmission lines. Short of nationalizing the grid, it would be hard to get an expanded system in place anytime soon. The idea of putting some turbines in the water, and just plugging them in to power, say, Boston, could actually be a reasonable idea, even in these troubled economic times. And while Cape Wind has been waiting a long time to even start construction, regulatory hurdles abound for both offshore and onshore ind. “I don’t think you can categorically say that it’s tougher to permit offshore, at least going forward,” said Tringas. “Maybe it was a few years ago, but you could easily run into just as many delays and difficulties trying to put a wind farm in Vermont.” At least two more big offshore projects are on the way in the Northeast. Earlier this month, the governor of Rhode Island signed a final agreement with Deepwater Wind for a 400-MW offshore wind project for the tiny state, with construction expected to start in late 2010. Deepwater Wind is also working with the Public Service Enterprise Group (s PEG) on a 350-MW offshore wind farm in New Jersey. And in the UK, a new report says there’s room for 5,000 to 7,000 more offshore wind turbines, which would be enough to power almost all of the homes in the country.

What Is the Difference Between Net Revenue & Operating Income? In casual conversation, revenue and income can mean the same thing. On your financial statements, net revenue and operating income are separate, distinct terms. Net revenue or net sales is the money you made from selling goods or services for the month, quarter or year. Operating income is the dollar amount left after you subtract expenses from net revenue. Net revenue and operating income are two distinct items, and the difference between them shows how much expenses take out of your revenue stream. Crunching the Numbers Your company's income statement is the place you report both net revenue and operating income. Net revenue is up at the top, alone or under gross sales. It represents the income that the business generated during the reporting period covered by the statement. To calculate net revenue, you add up sales income – not just what customers paid but also credit sales – and adjust it for discounts, allowances and returns. For example, if you run a store and allow customers to return items, you reduce sales revenue to reflect the possibility some sales aren't final. How to Find Operating Income Operating income sits a few lines lower on the income statement. To get there, you subtract many of your business expenses from net revenue. You subtract the cost of goods sold, such as the price to you of the inventory you sold during the period. Then, you subtract operating expenses: marketing, advertising, employee salaries, rent, insurance and other costs of doing business. You don't include taxes, interest payments and other nonoperating expenses. Those are handled elsewhere on the statement. After subtracting the cost of goods sold and operating expenses to net revenue, you have your operating income. What the Terms Signify Operating income is one of the most important lines on the income statement. It shows how much your regular business activities earned during the reporting period. It's separated on the statement from other income, such as investment earnings. That way anyone reading the income statement can see how much income your business activities earn and whether your business is profitable. That information is important not only to you but also to lenders and investors. Lumping money from investments in with operating income would muddy the image. Net revenue is important mostly in relation to other items on the statement. For example, when net sales figures are significantly under gross sales, the product may be defective, causing a lot of returns, or the company's returns policy is too generous. The difference between net revenue and operating income shows how much expenses take out of your revenue stream. If net sales are high but operating income is low, it may be time to trim the budget.

Productivity in the Mining Industry: Measurement and Interpretation Staff working paper This paper by Vernon Topp, Leo Soames, Dean Parham and Harry Bloch was released on 18 December 2008. Download the paper - Key points - Mining typically accounts for around 5 per cent of Australia's nominal market sector gross domestic product. - A 'once-in-a-generation' shock to demand for, and prices of, mining commodities saw this share rise to 8.5 per cent in 2006-07, stimulating substantial growth in new investment, employment, and profits. - Yet output growth in mining in recent years has been weak at best, and multifactor productivity (MFP) has declined by 24 per cent between 2000-01 and 2006-07. - Long lead times between investment in new capacity in mining and the associated output response can lead to short term movements in mining MFP unrelated to underlying efficiency. - Around one-third of the decline in mining MFP between 2000-01 and 2006-07 is estimated to be due to this temporary effect. This effect was particularly important in the last few years of this period. - Ongoing depletion of Australia's natural resource base is estimated to have had a significant adverse effect on long-term mining MFP. - In the absence of observed resource depletion, the annual rate of mining MFP growth over the period from 1974-75 to 2006-07 is estimated to have been 2.3 per cent, compared with the measured rate of 0.01 per cent. - Over the longer-term, MFP impacts of resource depletion have been offset by technological advances and improved management practices. An increase in the use of open-cut mining has been a key development, along with a general increase in the scale and automation of mining equipment. - An expected rebound in mining MFP from 2008-09 onward may be delayed as a consequence of the decline in world prices for many mineral and energy commodities in mid-to-late 2008. Any temporarily idle capital associated with production cut-backs and mine closures will tend to lower MFP. On the other hand, significantly lower commodity prices may lead mining companies to cut costs, with a positive effect on MFP. - Despite the impact of the fall in mining MFP, the sector has made a significant contribution to the strong overall growth in national income so far this decade through a substantial improvement in Australia's' terms of trade. Cover, Copyright, Contents, Preface and Abbreviations - Overview - including key points - Chapter 1 Introduction 1.2 Objectives and scope of the paper - Chapter 2 Mining and its measured productivity 2.1 Australia's mining industry 2.2 Measured productivity of mining - Chapter 3 Understanding productivity in mining: natural resource inputs 3.1 The input of natural resources 3.2 Optimal extraction, depletion of deposits and productivity 3.3 Evidence of depletion 3.4 Measuring the resource input in productivity estimates - Chapter 4 Understanding productivity in mining: purchased inputs 4.1 The structure of mining costs 4.2 The nature of mining capital 4.3 Capital investment and MFP changes - Chapter 5 Other factors influencing mining MFP 5.1 Increased effort and changes in the quality of inputs 5.2 Technology changes 5.3 Work practices 5.4 Poor weather 5.5 Infrastructure constraints 5.6 Putting the pieces together - Chapter 6 The big picture: mining, productivity and prosperity 6.1 The contribution of the mining industry to Australia's productivity growth 6.2 The mining boom and national prosperity 6.3 Impact of global economic developments and falling commodity prices - Appendix A Sub-sector results - Appendix B Methodology and data - Appendix C Estimating the contribution of yield changes to mining MFP

What is a partnership? Partnerships are a common business structure. A partnership will exist where two or more people or companies carry on business in common with a view to earning a profit. No formal legal documentation or process is required to form a partnership. A partnership can arise by conduct, even without any express oral or written agreement. Formal documentation in the form of a legal Deed or Agreement of Partnership may be executed by the proposed partners to form a partnership. The formal documentation of a partnership agreement is a prudent step, because it can clearly set out the partners rights and obligations in respect of the partnership and the business to be carried on by the partnership. Depending on the complexity of the business enterprise and the relationship of the partners, the Partnership Agreement should deal with the following topics: - Name and address of the business and its purpose - Name and addresses of partners - Duties and responsibilities of each partner - The process for making decisions - The amount of money (capital) each partner will contribute - Bank accounts and accounting details - How profits and losses will be shared - The payment of drawings and wages to partners - Dispute resolution processes - How to dissolve the partnership, including valuing and distributing assets The dissolution of a partnership is the termination or coming to an end of a partnership. Unraveling a partnership in the event of an irretrievable breakdown of the relationship between partners can be stressful, difficult, protracted and costly. In Queensland the law in relation to partnerships is covered by common law (derived from decisions of the Courts), particularly contract law, and legislation, particularly the Partnership Act 1891 (Qld). According to Common Law, under the Partnership Act, a partnership may be dissolved in a number of ways: - An agreed term of the partnership has expired - One partner gives written notice to the other partner/s to retire from the partnership - One or more partners becomes incapacitated - One of the partners dies - The Court makes an order dissolving the partnership - The partnership itself becomes subject to the appointment of a receiver Most partnerships are dissolved when one partner decides or agrees to leave the partnership. This should be done by written notice, otherwise a question may arise as to whether the retiring or outgoing partner will continue to be liable for the ongoing debts of the partnership. Ideally, all issues regarding the dissolution of a partnership are dealt with in a formal Deed of Dissolution of Partnership. It is important to note that all of the debts of the partnership must be paid from all of the assets and income of the partnership. Any surplus assets are then distributed to the partners as set out in their partnership agreement or otherwise agreed in the Deed of Dissolution of Partnership. A comprehensive Deed of Dissolution of Partnership should cover the following issues: - Reciting the dissolution - Conduct of the partnership between the dissolution date and the date of winding up - Sale, transfer or retention of partnership assets - How liabilities of the partnership are to be dealt with - Status of, and liability for, employees - Preparation of accounts - Payments to partners - Indemnities and releases (eg in respect of guarantees) - Third party contracts - Restraint of trade or non-competition. If the partners cannot agree on those matters, then it might be necessary to apply to a Court for the partnership to be wound up and a receiver appointed to effect the winding up. If this happens, it is always best to seek legal advice from a Lawyer before going to court. If you are in a partnership but would like to better document or formalise the terms of the partnership, or are looking to exit or dissolve a partnership, get legal advice from one of our Lawyers at Preston Law. Please do not hesitate to call us on 4052 0700 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.

GENEVA: Dramatically expanding broadband access would boost the global economy and could do more good than investing in HIV prevention or clean drinking water, according to a study. Economists commissioned by think-tank Copenhagen Consensus Centre calculated that tripling access to mobile broadband networks in developing countries by 2030 would boost economic growth by US$22tril (RM76.91tril). “There’s a well-established increase in GDP growth if you have more broadband, and it doesn’t take very much of a higher growth rate to make a huge difference in people’s lives,” the head of the think-tank Bjorn Lomborg told AFP. Estimating that it will cost about US$1.3tril (RM4.54tril) to go from 21% coverage today to 60% coverage by 2030, bringing some three billion more people online, the study found the investment could rake in US$17 (RM59) worth of benefit for every dollar spent. Tripling fixed broadband coverage worldwide from 10% to 30%, or in the developing world from 6% to 20% during the same timeframe, would meanwhile reap US$21 (RM73) in benefits for each dollar spent, the study found. The study is part of a broader project in which a network of more than 100 economists are analysing the costs and benefits of a range of proposed global targets under discussion. Surprisingly, the analysis showed that from a purely economic perspective, hiking access to broadband was “phenomenally better than a lot of other proposals,” Lomborg said. Some of the most obvious targets do fare better, with every dollar spent alleviating childhood malnutrition for instance expected to do US$45 (RM157) of good, according to earlier studies. But others do not stand up to the benefits of broadband expansion, with investments in clean water and sanitation seen bringing benefits of between US$3-US$5 (RM10-RM17) per dollar spent, Lomborg said. Investing in HIV treatment would meanwhile only do US$2.50 (RM8.74) of good for every dollar spent, while initiatives to preserve forests in protected land would cost more than the benefits created, he said. Calculating the benefits of proposed development initiatives based purely on economic gain can appear cold, Lomborg acknowledged. But with an almost eternal list of noble causes, he insisted on the importance of knowing the cost and benefits of projects when trying to choose which to invest in first. Just because an initiative doesn’t top the list of dollars gained does not mean it shouldn’t be invested in for other reasons, he said. — AFP Did you find this article insightful?

In “bitcoin explained” series I will try to shed some light on emerging technology called – as you probably could have guessed it – blockchain. Is it really so revolutionary as the Internet? Is it going to be the greatest invention of the 21st century? Or maybe it is just a passing fad? I will also, using bitcoin network as an example, explain all the nitty-gritty details how it works, what makes it a decentralized network, what are nodes, miners, wallets, how individual transactions and blocks are structured and much other exciting stuff. As a note of warning – if you are just completely new to blockchain and cryptocurrencies and want some tutorial for greenhorns how to start reading – Bitcoins for dummies – article first. Okay, are you ready? Let’s get started. Blockchain is a technology Let me ask you an honest question. Do you know what the Internet is? Like really, what is this thing you use every day? When I was a kid in the mid 90ties I thought that the Internet was just some sort of a program with a famous Internet Explorer icon on my desktop. You double-click on an icon, bear 20 seconds of really annoying, squeaking sounds ( if you are nostalgic ) while your dial-up modem connects to this Internet, and then bam! You could read whatever you wanted, like ’96 CNN news. But neither the CNN website or my modem, nor expansive telephone bills for my parents were the Internet. The internet is actually a straightforward technology. A technology which enables sending data (bits) from one computer to the other computer. That’s it. The overall simplicity of the Internet is its greatest strength. Because neither type, or the content of sent data is strictly narrowed, developers, on top of the Internet, can build unlimited potential applications. That data might be an e-mail, your facebook profile, Bonetrousle by Taylor Daivs youtube video. All of that is just a sequence of ones and zeros sent directly from a server to your computer over the Internet technology. Blockchain is actually similar straightforward technology. Blockchain is a technology which provides immutable, neutral, forgery-proof and auditable certificates of ownership (tokens) with secure timestamp and enables an unfettered free exchange of them in a trustless environment. Okay, many difficult and probably a bit confusing words but we will slowly tackle them one by one, hopefully clarifying certain things. These are the main characteristics of the bitcoin blockchain*: - immutability – once a transaction is fully confirmed on a blockchain, the transaction data becomes immutable. It cannot be moved, it cannot be altered, it cannot be deleted. It stays the same, forever. - neutrality – anyone can participate in bitcoin blockchain regardless of their race, age, political opinions, religion or location. No one can be excluded. Blockchain cares only about the validity of a transaction, not about senders, recipients or actual content of transactions. - forgery-proof – all transactions are legit. It is not possible to counterfeit tokens. - audibility – all transactions are public and can be audited. You can check every single transaction which ever happened. Who sents to whom, when and what. You can check the balance of every wallet on the bitcoin blockchain. - non-double spendable – same token cannot be spent twice. The most important feature of a blockchain. I will elaborate more on it in the next chapter. - secure timestamp – every single transaction has a valid timestamp which cannot be altered later. - trustless environment – you don’t need to trust other participants in the blockchain. Before blockchain trust was ensured by third trusted parties like banks, escrow services, financial institutions etc. If I I know that you can’t cheat we don’t need a third trusted party. We can trade directly with each other. Strongly connected to forgery-proof and non-double spendable feature. * One caveat though – although these are characteristics of the bitcoin blockchain , most blockchains share all of them as well with few exceptions, for instance, private blockchains to which no one has access to. What is the double-spend problem? Let’s imagine you can have a digital money on your PC. On your desktop, there is a shiny icon called ten.$ which represents ten dollar digital bill. Now you want to pay for a Netflix monthly subscription with your digital-money-file so you attached it to an e-mail and send it to Netflix cashier address. If you have ever sent any files over the Internet you know what the obvious problem there is. Even though you send your ten.$ file to Netflix you still have a copy of it on your desktop! Hmm, maybe I can just use the same money-file to pay for my Spotify subscription. Just one time, I promise! That is the double-spend problem in a nutshell. How to prevent the same digital money to be spent more than one time. For the most time of the digital era, there was only one solution. Basically, we had to have a third trusted party like a bank or financial services like MasterCard or Visa. This solution is centralized because all of your money ‘is stored’ on a bank server. Potential problems with that approach were eloquently put already in 2001 by Nick Szabo ( link ). The main problem is that a centralized approach creates single point of failure. If your bank’s server stopped working you can’t have access to your money. The same with potential attacks. A potential hacker knows exactly where she has to hack to get your hard-earned dollars – your bank’s server. The other problem is that money in your bank is not really your money. It is bank’s money. If a bank goes bankrupt or for whatever reason decides to freeze your funds you lose access to your wealth. That was the only solution for the double-spending problem for many many years until October 31, 2008, when mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, published a paper on a cryptography mailing list explaining the new way of dealing with the double-spending problem via a network of connected blocks. The paper is called bitcoin whitepaper and you can read it in full – here. The main idea can be summed up in the few first sentences of bitcoin white paper: ”[Bitcoin] a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.Satoshi NakamotoBitcoin whitepaper But wait, isn’t bitcoin and blockchain the same thing? This is probably the most often asked question I get from people just making their first steps in this new, blockchained world. Thinking that bitcoin is blockchain is similar to thinking that e-mail is the Internet. Blockchain is a technology and bitcoin is just one of the application of that technology. It gets all the hype because it was the first one and it was introduced at the same time as blockchain – parallel with Internet/e-mail. Back in the old, good days, the only thing you could do on the Internet was to send a text message to someone else so a lot of people confused e-mail with the Internet. Okey then, what else can this whole blockchain do then, apart from bitcoin? That’s a really good question. I will give you now good examples but keep in mind, that blockchain usage in a way is limited only to developers’ imagination. Like when the Internet popped out and all you could do was sending “hello!” to someone else. Back in the 80ties, no one predicted that people would do their job over the Internet, listen to music, steal new blockbuster movie, order pizza and pretty much spend most of their waking hours on the Internet. As I said, the Internet is just a technology. What developers can build on top of that is virtually endless, just like with blockchain. The first obvious usage for blockchain is digital money, like bitcoin. Most people are actually shocked when they hear that apart from bitcoins there are hundreds other cryptocurrencies. And you know what? In the future, there will be thousands. You may ask why so many. Well everyone symbolizes some value to different groups, have different usages and potential features. I will try to explain how I see the monetary world in 2100 in another article. For now, it is enough to know that there are hundreds of cryptocurrencies and if you want you can even issue your own! In my future posts, I will show you how to do that. What apart from that? What can be other usages of blockchain apart from cryptocurrencies? Most people, even those interested in bitcoin can’t really find the answer to that question. Yea you said that blockchain is like the Internet and developers can potentially build many different applications but I simply don’t see it! Let me introduce you to the concept of Token. If you’ve been reading this article carefully (and I hope you do!) you must have already stumbled upon this keyword in blockchain. Go up. What was my definition of a blockchain? “Blockchain is a technology which provides [..] certificates of ownership (tokens) [..].” What are blockchained tokens? A blockchained token is a representation of a particular asset which is recorded and stored on a blockchain. The obvious example is a bitcoin itself. A bitcoin is an intrinsic token because an asset it represents (a bitcoin) resides on a blockchain. But we can have an “extrinsic” or asset-backed tokens – a token representing an asset which doesn’t reside on a blockchain. Like your car, your house, your digital photos from vacations or even your dog. It doesn’t matter what it is because everything in the physical world might have its tokenized representation on a blockchain. How is it achieved? As we mentioned before a blockchain is fully auditable so you can track where every single Satoshi (smallest unit of the bitcoin currency, 1BTC = 100 million Satoshis) came from, who was its previous owner, how many times it was transferred and when. So if we say that a particular Satoshi represents your car, then bam!, your car is on a blockchain! Now if this Satoshi is in your wallet you have a proof that this is indeed your car. If you’d like to sell for instance your car to someone else, all you’d need to do is transfer that particular Satoshi to someone else. No documents are required. This process of tokenization of external asset on the bitcoin blockchain is called “coloring coins” – (how to do that and how it technically works I will explain in my further posts). As a side note, that transaction of external assets through blockchain has as for now no legal bearing – it requires the law stating that specific blockchain is equivalent to the national register of cars. It doesn’t need to be bitcoin blockchain though. It could be any statutory blockchain. It is interesting how the law will eventually adapt to blockchain revolution. FYI, guys in India already work on the very idea (car registration on blockchain in India). Problem of provenance Provenance derived from French provenir (to come from) is a history of ownership. When we want to buy something it might be extremally difficult to restore the past of a wanted item. If you, for instance, want to buy a second-hand car you probably would want to know how many previous owners this car had and for how long. Usually, we just need to trust whatever the seller is saying. Blockchain which operates in a trustless environment can change that. Apart from ease of exchange, an additional benefit of assets tokenization comes from blockchain audibility. It can be extremally useful when dealing with other expensive items, like diamonds. There is a company called everledger which has put over one million diamonds on a blockchain. The main issue they want to tackle is Would you feel secure buying a 10.000$ diamond on eBay? Not an easy question, especially if the guy is not a well-known luxury jewelry seller. What everledger does is take all the important details of a particular diamond, create a unique token representing that diamond and putting it on a blockchain. Now if a seller is able to send you that token alongside with the diamond you might be certain of its authenticity, check from where it came from, and how many previous owners it had. Digital content creators since the beginning of time (in case you didn’t know – time started exactly on Jan 1970) had problems with an illegal use of their work. If a photographer posted his new photos only to find out that a month later someone else without his consent used it, it isn’t easy to prove his author’s rights. Yes, it can be done, but if the other side claims that they are the author the process might be really cumbersome. By leveraging blockchain technology it can be extremally straightforward to protect copyrights. It’d only require creating a specific token representing a photo, music, or any type of digital content and whoever owns that token has all the copyrights. Internet of Things Internet of things is a network of connected devices which can exchange data seamlessly between each other. The easiest example would be a “smart home”, where many home appliances are connected together. For example, your door can detect who’s coming back home and then it sends a notification to your smartphone, potentially protecting you from a burglary or just simply letting you know that your kids came back safely from school. It is estimated that by 2019 up to 20% of IoT networks will run on blockchain services. The topic of IoT is extremely broad and even if you think you will never be interested in your fridge automatically buying milk for you (me included, I actually enjoy walking for my groceries) this is the future. Networks of connected devices, governed by artificial intelligence with security and trust provided by blockchain solutions will have a profound impact on pretty much every aspect of our daily lives. We humans aren’t good at processing loads of data and future of AI and IoT doing that for us is inevitable. We can only hope that AI won’t eventually render us dispensable. In this post, I tried- using bitcoin blockchain as an example – to explain the basics of what a blockchain really is, and paradoxically (taking the title) prove that blockchain is so much more than just bitcoin. As I mentioned at the beginning, blockchain is just a technology and it is really hard to predict what we will be using it for 30 years from now – like no one in 1987 could envision that in 30 years connection to the Internet will be so essential for our lives that we’ll start to consider it to be one of the human rights. As we inescapably marching towards constantly growing data flow I’d like to leave you with just one, last bit of knowledge how not get engulfed by the inevitable era of information, taken from a thought-provoking book, depicting future of our species, “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow” by Yuval Noah Harari: ”In the past, censorship worked by blocking the flow of information. In the twenty-first century, censorship works by flooding people with irrelevant information. People just don't know what to pay attention to, and they often spend their time investigating and debating side issues. In ancient times having power meant having access to data. Today having power means knowing what to ignore.Yuval Noah HarariHomo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

Why are household energy efficiency measures important for tackling climate change? What does energy efficiency mean? Energy efficiency means using less power to perform an action such as switching on a light or to provide a service such as heating water. For example, in the home this can be achieved by changing appliances such as fridges and boilers for more efficient versions, and switching to Light Emitting Diode (LED) and Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs which require less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. There are also measures that can make heating or cooling a space more efficient through reducing the amount of energy that needs to be used. These include installing double glazing and insulating cavity walls and loft spaces. What role can household energy efficiency play in tackling climate change? Homes that use energy supplied from fossil fuels are responsible for significant emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). In the European Union, buildings consume 40% of overall energy and emit 36% of total CO2 emissions. In the UK emissions from households’ fossil fuel and electricity use are projected to rise by 11% by 2035 compared with 2015 levels. Therefore improving the efficiency of services and appliances that use energy from fossil fuels in the residential sector will reduce emissions. Other benefits include making energy more affordable, supply more secure and homes more comfortable. Governments recognise the value of reducing households’ energy use. For example, the UK government views this to be a key part of meeting the emissions reduction target of the fifth carbon budget. Similarly, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency has recognised that energy efficiency measures can help reduce CO2 emissions at a low cost, if employed on a sufficiently large scale. What policies and incentives are there to make homes more energy efficient? Around the world countries use a range of laws, policies, standards, subsidies and other incentives to encourage household energy efficiency. This partly reflects the fact that some measures have a high upfront cost, so support may be needed to encourage uptake. Many measures are based in law. An example that applies to manufacturers of household electrical appliances is the European Union’s Energy Labelling directive, which requires many products to carry energy labels showing they have been designed to meet minimum energy efficiency standards. These labels and standards could result in an energy saving of around 175 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2020. The EU’s main legislative instruments to improve the energy efficiency of European buildings are the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, recast in 2018, and the Energy Efficiency Directive. These include, for example, the target that by 2020 all new buildings must be ‘nearly zero-energy buildings’ (with very high energy performance and mostly supplied by renewables). In some countries there are obligations on the construction sector. In the EU these are often implemented in order to comply with the above-mentioned directives. For example, the sector in France is required to apply energy efficiency measures to 500,000 existing homes a year by 2020 (this is called retrofitting). For sellers of homes in the EU there is a legal obligation to provide details of the property’s energy use and costs through Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), which also provide recommendations of how to reduce use. Average EPC ratings have improved year on year for many years in the UK. Developing and transitioning economies including China, Egypt, India and Mexico, are also increasingly developing building codes for new-build homes and working on enforcing compliance. China has achieved a high compliance rate, for example, and Mexico City, which developed its Sustainable Buildings Certification Programme in partnership with the local construction and building industry, has achieved significant electricity reductions in participating buildings. Some countries have programmes of voluntary measures. For instance, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘Energy Star’ includes an independently certified label for energy-efficient goods, a rating for homes that are 15–30% more efficient than ‘typical’ new homes, and a retrofitting scheme to make existing homes more energy efficient. Among the many examples of financial assistance provided to households, Germany’s KfW, a government-owned development bank, offers loans at a very low interest rate to install energy efficiency measures. The UK’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) provides financial assistance to households receiving certain state benefits or those on a low income. Energy efficiency upgrades under the ECO scheme and the UK government’s flagship ‘Green Deal’ scheme, which also provides loans, had occurred in around 1.8 million properties to the end of October 2017. What impact have energy efficiency policies already had? The EU reports that new buildings (including but not restricted to homes) today consume half the energy they did in the 1980s. The average UK household reportedly used around 30% less energy in 2017 than in 1970, largely due to energy efficiency policies. Government policies such as building regulations and obligations on energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures in people’s homes have been recognised as a significant driver of the improvement of the average energy performance of buildings in England and Wales. However, the Committee on Climate Change has criticised the ‘low take-up of measures, less than full implementation of policies [and] poor enforcement of standards’. In Denmark, building codes are among the most ambitious and strict for comparable countries in the EU and resulted in households’ energy consumption decreasing by 6.2% from 2000 to 2013 (an average of -0.5% per year). The US Environmental Protection Agency says that its Energy Star programme, including household energy efficiency measures, prevented 2.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 1992–2015. Significant variations exist in the returns to energy efficiency, however; for example, households in lower income groups experience lesser energy savings after installing measures than better-off households. What can be done to make energy efficiency measures in households more effective? Overall, improving the energy efficiency of buildings offers a large potential to reduce emissions and reduce costs. However, this potential remains still largely untapped, due particularly to the long payback periods and high upfront costs. Generally, in developing and transitioning economies, where construction is happening rapidly and at significant scale, the priority is to ensure that new housing adheres to optimal standards in order to ensure energy-efficient consumption well into the future. In the developed world, retrofits are the main challenge given that approximately 60% of the current building stock will still be in use in 2050 in the EU, Russia and the US. A mix of financial incentives and regulation is needed to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures, together with clear targets for renovation rates of existing buildings.

By Dr. Senthil Nathan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the MENA Region for Edu Alliance. The Context: Reasons for students pursuing higher education have changed dramatically in the past few decades. Just one hundred years back, going to a university was considered an elitist privilege for a select few from the community. Moreover, the reasons for attending college were to do with the broadening of intellectual horizons for the students. Only a few high school graduates went straight to college. In 2017, about 70% of high school graduates enrolled in college . The ratio of college students to 18 to 24-year-olds increased 20-fold, from 2% in 1900 to 40.5% in 2017 . University education is becoming a matter of automatic progression in the USA. Over a third of the working population, today has bachelor degrees or higher – this was at 5% in 1940. The past few decades have also seen manifold increase in tuition costs and hence increasing student debts. In-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions increased from $3,190 in 1987 to $9,970 (both 2017 dollars). . However, from 1960 through 2015, the inflation-adjusted average starting salary for a new bachelor’s degree graduate increased only by 5.9% . Student loan debt in the U.S. has now topped $1 trillion. Over 44% of recent college graduates are underemployed — working in jobs that don’t require their degree. The issue of Skills Gap must be assessed by university, industry and political leaders with a profound appreciation of such a significant increase in access to and costs of higher education combined with stagnant starting salaries for fresh graduates. Is the Skills Gap a myth or a reality? A majority of employers – in the USA and around the world – cite the skills gap as a major reason for difficulties in filling vacancies over a long period. Employers also see this issue as a major threat to their business growth. The Manpower Group conducts annual Talent Shortage Survey with major employers around the world. Its 2016-17 survey shows that of the more than 42,000 employers surveyed, 40% are experiencing difficulties filling roles the highest level since 2007. The top 5 hardest skills to find are skilled trades, IT staff, sales representatives, engineers, and technicians. . Skills gap skeptics in academia, social sciences and journalism – argue that the magnitude of the skills gap is overblown. A recent study from MIT Sloan School found that less than a quarter of manufacturing plants had vacancies that had lasted for three months or more. This fact may be contrasted with the manufacturing industry claims at the time that 75% or more faced a persistent inability to hire skilled workers. As unemployment has been steadily declining since the recession peak of 10% in October 2009, these experts counter the argument that the skills gap was to blame for elevated unemployment then and today’s full employment counters the persistence of that view. Skills gap skeptics also contend that employers will always complain about their candidate pools as they adjust the job requirements depending on current labor conditions ensuring a perennial gap. They also point to stagnant salary levels and vastly declining apprenticeship opportunities in the USA as lack of employer responses to persistent vacancies. Typically, when the unemployment is low – as it is now in the USA – wages for in-demand skills should rise; but that is not happening. A New York Times editorial painted a picture of suspicion on corporates, “Corporate executives have valuable perspectives on the economy, but they also have an interest in promoting the notion of a skills gap. They want schools and, by extension, the government to take on more of the costs of training workers that used to be covered by companies as part of on-the-job employee development. They also want more immigration, both low and high skilled, because immigrants may be willing to work for less than their American counterparts.” However, it is illogical to dismiss a consistent and majority response from widely different employers from different countries around the world with overly simplistic theories – calling Skills Gap as corporate fiction. Jan 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 6.3 million jobs remain unfilled in the USA and even the best recruiters are struggling to fill those roles despite millions of people who “are willing and able to work.” This is a rather “disturbing trend” for recruiters. Even in my brief experience in searching for university presidents, provosts, and deans, I faced significant challenges in finding appropriate talent in spite of receiving scores of applicants from interested candidates for each of these positions. The World Economic Forum’s Talent Mobility Report expresses this frustrating paradox of unemployment / under-employment and talent shortages/skills gap, “Many countries struggle with vast unemployment, underemployment and huge untapped labor pools beyond what can be attributed to the recent global economic slump. Yet, many industries struggle with significant talent shortages and skills gaps that are dampening economic growth.” Interestingly, there is increasing consensus among experts taking extremely different views on this debate on at least two keys to address the “skills gap” issue: 1) to improve access to apprenticeship opportunities and 2) to enhance learning and development budgets of corporate sector. Why should the universities care? Universities cannot afford to sit idle on this debate or continue to ignore graduate employability and salaries. Increasingly, universities are being ranked on “Return on Investment” or ROI. PayScale reports “Best Value Colleges” on 20 year Net ROI (difference between 20-year Median pay for the bachelor’s graduate and 24-year median pay for a high school graduate minus the total four-year cost of higher education). Harvard, a perennial #1 in world and US ranking lists, is ranked 26 in this ROI ranking while Harvey Mudd College takes on #2 rank . Forbes has begun to rank “Best Value Colleges” based on a formula that weighs six factors: Quality (25%) + alumni earnings (20%) + median student debt (20%) + on-time graduation (15%) + drop-out risk (10%) + Pell Grant recipients (10%) / gross tuition and fees. In this ranking, University of Florida is ranked #4 – just pipping Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. As this idea is spreading across the ocean, an UK consulting company “Expert Market” has begun to rank “Best value universities in the UK” by cross-referencing the university expenses with the average income and opportunities available to students after graduating from each university. Loughborough University is ranked #1 in this list while many of the Russell group universities are missing from the top 25 in UK. Cambridge is ranked #12, Oxford at 52 and University College London at rank 54. What can the universities do? Aside from the top-ranked universities in the world, most of the private as well as public universities and colleges must pay as much attention or more to graduate employability as they do for increasing their tuition and other fees. Universities and colleges must - Closely align their program offerings to the current and emerging demands from employers in their region. They must proactively seek effective and ongoing involvement of their regional employers in their program and course design. Traditional programs must be revamped to fit the era of technology-mediated - Increase partnerships with regional employers to increase apprenticeship opportunities for students. German experience clearly teaches the exceptional benefits of apprenticeships in minimizing the skills gap and the gap between expectations of employers and fresh graduates. - Revamping of curriculum and assessments may be done in line with meta-skills required for graduate success in the workplace. For example, the universities may switch from recording student achievements by letter grades / GPAs and transition to graduate outcome-based assessment reports and portfolios. When I was a graduate student at Rice University – in the 1980’s – the university used a practice of not reporting graduate GPA in the transcript – as they believed that graduate’s accomplishments must not be summarized or evaluated by a single number. (Rice was pressured to change this policy later as other universities and employers demanded to see a single GPA in the transcripts). Curriculum design and delivery must include many and varied learning opportunities for students to gain soft skills at the required competency levels. Curriculum design tools may include project-based learning, problem-based learning, community projects, applied research, work placement – co-operative experience and the like - Actively counsel students with program choices and careers, matching student aptitudes and interests with the selection of majors. Educate the freshman students on career prospects and average salaries of various program majors. - Measure, monitor and report graduate success and progression (employment or advanced education immediately upon graduation; career progression and salary details) as feedback to relevant faculty to validate or refine programs and courses. What the universities cannot do? Employers cannot expect universities to produce graduates who can be productive in a specific corporate setting from day one. Specific industry induction, learning and development and performance feedback are the sole responsibility of companies and universities are not positioned to contribute much to the progress of entry-level graduates in these aspects. Most of the soft skills – teamwork, people skills, communications, problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship and the like – may be introduced at the university but are best honed and developed at the workplace. A partnership model: There is a yawning gap between local industry and businesses and regional universities. It takes consistent and sincere efforts on both sides to develop and sustain strong linkages that would greatly benefit the graduates, the businesses, and the universities – in that order Dr. Nathan is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the MENA Region for Edu Alliance. Since the founding of the company in 2014, Senthil has been involved in numerous advisory & consulting projects for higher education institutions, and investment firms . He joined the Higher Colleges of Technology in 1993, the largest higher education institution in the UAE with 23,000 UAE National students. He served in a variety of positions and from 2006-2103 was Deputy Vice Chancellor / Vice Provost for Planning & Administration. He has been involved in numerous advisory and consulting roles in education / training & development engagements to a multitude of clients in the United Arab Emirates, Canada, The United States, Africa, and India and speaks on the current issues of higher education in the Middle East. Dr. Nathan in 2014 received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the National Institute of Technology in India by the former President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Livingston University in Uganda. In addition to his Ph.D. in engineering from Rice University, Senthil has completed executive education programs from Harvard and MIT. Edu Alliance is a higher education consultancy firm with offices in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The founders and its advisory members have assisted higher education institutions on a variety of projects, and many have held senior positions in higher education in the United States and internationally. Our specific mission is to assist universities, colleges and educational institutions to develop capacity and enhance their effectiveness.

In today’s organizations, risk management is a cornerstone when defining an optimal information security strategy. In less mature entities, security focuses on technical aspects and tactical actions like detection and remediation, but if we want to have an overview that allows us to define efficient plans, it is necessary to take into account both vulnerabilities and threats, as well as the factors of probability and impact. Risk management allows organizations to work properly with identification and prevention, providing information to decide in the best way where and how to allocate resources to improve security, mitigating risks where they exist and are higher, both with technical and organizational approaches. In the technological field, the difference between a standard security management and risk management can be seen with the following example: - In a company there are tens of thousands of computers and they want to ensure that they are patched and updated properly. - As a technical solution, a vulnerability management system is used to identify all computers that are not patched and correctly configured. - With this information, we can see which devices have different levels of deficiency and which are in optimal condition. - Without more information, the way to act is to plan the update of all the devices, starting with those that are in a worse situation (more critical vulnerabilities, greater number of vulnerabilities), but without taking into account other factors. With all this we know that a lot of computers have vulnerabilities, but do these vulnerabilities pose a risk to my organization? Do all devices generate the same risk? If the number of devices is very high, it is not always feasible to undertake these actions in a general way. How do we prioritize? - With risk management, the technical information (vulnerability and threat) is combined with the information associated with the assets, in particular their value and the impact that a security incident can cause. - With vulnerability and threat information, taking into account exposure and complexity factors, the likelihood of occurrence can be estimated: a computer accessible from the Internet is more likely to suffer an incident than an offline device. - Thus, we can calculate risk as the product of likelihood and impact. With these results, a high level of risk indicates that there is a high probability associated with an element with a significant value/impact and a low risk indicates that the combination of likelihood and impact is reduced. - In an organization in which risk management is used properly, risk maps are available in which the most valuable assets (information, devices, networks, areas, etc.) with a greater likelihood of occurrence of incidents are identified. Thus, we can plan the actions and deployment of security measures taking into account objective priorities. - In our example, with risk management we will be able to prioritize and, of the entire computer installation, those with the highest level of risk will begin to be patched, which could be those that easily give access to confidential information or important systems (but not necessarily the ones with the greater number of vulnerabilities or the most critical deficiencies), and leave those with the lowest risk for the last phases, which could group those who do not handle sensitive data or are in isolated networks. Furthermore, risk management is not limited to technical areas, but we can also evaluate risks associated with laws and regulations, procedures and organizational aspects. And if we want to include people in risk management, how do we do it? We will see it in upcoming Kymatio articles.

Role of agriculture in Indian economic development-interrelationship between agriculture, industry and service sectors Role of agriculture in Indian economic development Contribution to National Income From the very beginning, agriculture is contributing a major portion to our national income. In 1950-51, agriculture and allied activities contributed about 59 per cent of the total national income. Although the share of agriculture has been declining gradually with the growth of other sectors but the share still remained very high as compared to that of the developed countries of the world. For example, the share of agriculture has declined to 54 per cent in 1960-61, 48 per cent in 1970-71, 40 per cent in 1980-81 and then to 18.0 per cent in 2008-09, whereas in U.K. and U.S.A. agriculture contributes only 3 per cent to the national income of these countries. Source of Livelihood In India 50% of our working population are engaged directly on agriculture and also similarly depend for their livelihood. According to an estimate, about 66 per cent of our working population is engaged in agriculture at present in comparison to that of 2 to 3 per cent in U.K. and U.S.A., 6 per cent in France and 7 per cent in Australia. Thus the employment pattern of our country is very much common to other under-developed countries of the world. Source of Food Supply Agriculture is the only major source of food supply as it is providing regular supply of food to such a huge size of population of our country. It has been estimated that about 60 per cent of household consumption is met by agricultural products. Role of Agriculture for Industrial Development Agriculture in India has been the major source of supply of raw materials to various important industries of our country. Cotton and jute textiles, sugar, vanaspati, edible oil plantation industries (viz. tea, coffee, rubber) and agro-based cottage industries are also regularly collecting their raw materials directly from agriculture. About 50 per cent of income generated in the manufacturing sector comes from all these agro-based industries in India. Moreover, agriculture can provide a market for industrial products as increase in the level of agricultural income may lead to expansion of market for industrial products. Indian Agriculture is playing a very important role both in the internal and external trade of the country. Agricultural products like tea, coffee, sugar, tobacco, spices, cashew-nuts etc. are the main items of our exports and constitute about 50 per cent of our total exports. Besides manufactured jute, cotton textiles and sugar also contribute another 20 per cent of the total exports of the country. Thus nearly 70 per cent of India’s exports are originated from agricultural sector. Further, agriculture is helping the country in earning precious foreign exchange to meet the required import bill of the country. Role of Agriculture in Economic Planning The prospect of planning in India also depends much on agricultural sector. A good crop always provides impetus towards a planned economic development of the country by creating a better business climate for the transport system, manufacturing industries, internal trade etc. A good crop also brings a good amount of finance to the Government for meeting its planned expenditure. Similarly, a bad crop lead to a total depression in business of the country, which ultimately lead to a failure of economic planning. Thus the agricultural sector is playing a very important role in a country like India and the prosperity of the Indian economy still largely depends on agricultural sector. Thus from the foregoing analysis it is observed that agricultural development is the basic precondition of sectoral diversification and development of the economy. Source of Government Revenue Agriculture is one of the major sources of revenue to both the Central and State Governments of the country. The Government is getting a substantial income from rising land revenue. Some other sectors like railway, roadways are also deriving a good part of their income from the movement of agricultural goods. Interrelationship between agriculture, industry and service sectors Industry is not the substitute of agriculture, rather they are complementary to one another. Both these sectors are so attached with each other that it is not possible to increase the growth of one sector sector without the improvement of the other sector. If agriculture is considered as the ‘heart’ of the country, then obviously industry must be consider as the ‘brain’. Impact of Agriculture on Industry - It regularly supplies raw materials like sugarcane , jute cotton, oilseeds, tea, spices, wheat; paddy etc. to the consumer goods industries. - It supplies cereals, vegetables and other food items to the industrial labourer and fodders for the domestic animals in the dairy industries on a regular basis. - Farmer-households used to save their money in the bank and other financial institutions which ultimately is used by the industry owners in the form of investment. - Both for consumer and capital goods Industries agriculture sector gives a ready market for the finished products. Impact of Industry on Agriculture - It regularly supplies scientific tools and equipment’s like tractors, harvesters, pump-sets chemical fertilizers etc. to agriculture increase the per hectare production. - To increase the market for finished agricultural goods some infrastructural development like roads, railway, storage etc. are very essential. In this connection industry plays a vital role. - Industries provide huge employment opportunities and therefore help to absorb all the surplus labour in our agriculture. This lea to more industrial development. - Agricultural sector itself is a huge market for the different finished products of Industries. Farmers buy several industrial products like bi-cycle, torch, radio etc. All these flourishment of industries. - RAS-RTS FREE Mains 2020 Tests and Notes Program - RAS-RTS FREE Prelims Exam 2020- Test Series and Notes Program - RAS-RTS Prelims and Mains Tests Series and Notes Program - RAS-RTS Detailed Complete Prelims Notes

Repairing food systems failures: Policies, Innovations & Partnerships Food Systems high on the policy agenda During the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, strong interest in Food Systems approaches was confirmed by policy makers and business leaders. Ruerd Ruben from Wageningen Economic Research joined the panel debate on ‘Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition’ along with contributions from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Global Nutrition Report (GNR), Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The meeting was attended by both World Food Prize winners and several CEOs of international agro-food companies. Taking stock of the outcomes of the recent WUR centennial conference ‘Towards Zero Hunger: Partnerships for Impact’ the panel highlighted the urgency of reversing the current rising trends in hunger, malnutrition and overweight, and asked attention for research initiatives for co-innovation that focus on nutrition transition and food policies for healthier diets. New insights derived from Food Systems analysis from the joint WUR-IFPRI research program ”Agriculture for Nutrition and Health” (A4NH) focus attention of supply chain business innovations and supportive food policies that create opportunities for catalyzing healthier food system in favor of vulnerable people. The current food system is failing us Current food systems are not capable to reduce hunger and malnutrition. In fact, hunger in the world has been increasing to nearly 821 million in 2017, from around 804 million in 2016. Also overweight is sharply rising and has tripled since 1975, affecting 1.9 billion adults and 340 million children; every year 3.4 million people die from obesity. Hunger and overweight are strongly related to each other: children that received insufficient infant and child nutrition are extremely vulnerable for overweight if exposed to energy-dense diets with high fat, sugar and salt content. While supplementation may offer some critical temporary solutions, the only structural solution to these problems of hunger and malnutrition is to improve the composition of diets. The critical sense of urgency of food systems failures becomes visible in five related problems: - insufficient supply of food from agricultural production (yield gaps) to feed to growing world population, - inefficient delivery of foods from farmers to consumers due to inefficient agro-logistics and large losses and waste of food during transport, handling and storage, - unequitable access to sufficiently healthy and diversified diets, due to highly segmented food markets, - unaffordable opportunities for poor peoples’ consumption of healthier foods for poor people, since healthier foods are usually far more expensive than (ultra)processed foods, - unsustainable food supply due to negative environmental impacts in terms of land and water use, biodiversity and energy intensity of greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in income and rapid urbanization lead to three directions of change in dietary patterns. First, consumption of staple foods, usually based on cereals (such as rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, millet or teff) and starchy crops (roots and tubers, such as cassava, potato, etc.) is generally reduced as part of total food expenditures, even while total demand may still be increasing due to population growth. Second, many households show with increasing income also higher demands for nutrient-dense foods such as fruits and vegetables, pulses, and dairy, poultry and aquaculture products that tend to be more perishable but are relatively more expensive. To reduce the environmental burden of animal-based products a shift from animal to plant proteins (algae, seaweed, etc.) is advocated. Third, poor people are inclined to increase their consumption of energy-dense processed foods that are readily available from fast-food chains and retail outlets. Deep food system reforms are required To repair the food system failures and to prepare for the dietary transition, it is not sufficient to only ‘fix” the problem at the level of particular stages of the food supply chain (such as improving input use, optimizing farm production, integrating processing, transport and retail, or increasing household consumption and reducing waste disposal). While knowledge on technical solutions for how to close the yield gaps, how to reduce food losses, and how to improve the sustainability of production systems is widely available, their practical implementation is mainly hindered due to limited incentives or insufficient understanding of the drivers for food system change. Fundamental elements for a more strategic food systems approach need to include attention for five mutually related FOCUS areas: - Focussing on structural constraints for improving access and availability of foods, particularly opportunities for increasing supply chain efficiency and reducing the costs of healthier diets, - Optimizing the institutional design of agri-food value chains, considering the perishable nature of many fresh foods and reducing the risks of quality degradation and food losses, - Combining technological innovations with behavioural change, including effective incentives for ”nudging” consumers and producers towards safer and healthier foods, - Upgrading the full array of public sector agents (agro-logistics; food safety) and private sector stakeholders (traders, processors, retailers) into joint programs of food-business innovation. - Supporting dual interventions that strengthen both the food environment (supply side) as well as activities that influence consumer food choice and preferences (demand-side). We need to develop a more integrated systems perspective where potential trade-offs and synergies between dimension of healthy, inclusive and sustainable diets can be effectively addressed. Food system reforms are characterized by changes in systems dynamics that are generated by incentives at other stages than where the problems become apparent. This implies that food systems interventions are based on deep understanding of the transactions and linkages between different stakeholders and the possibilities to influence their behaviour. Finding smart solutions outside the domain where the problem originally appeared will be particularly helpful to reach more structural and permanent impact. Incentives for business co-innovation Changes in food systems cannot be effectively reached without active involvement of relevant stakeholders at different stages. Since it is crucially important to create suitable incentives for co-innovation, food systems change requires simultaneous interventions at different system levels,. Such co-innovation initiatives for healthier diets can be particularly useful to support systematic changes in food systems dynamics that jointly benefit different stakeholders and also overcome structural dilemmas by identifying win-win solutions at aggregate systems level. Many interventions that focus on reducing food losses in the agro-food supply chain and prospects for integration circular food systems usually meet severe constraints because most efforts have to be made by producers at the beginning of the supply chain while results are reaped at the end of the value chain mostly by retailers (longer shelf life). Experiments in Nigeria with local producers and traders that deliver tomatoes to Lagos city over a distance of almost 1000 km indicate their willingness to use improved plastic crates for packaging tomatoes, thus substantially reducing post-harvest losses. But this practice only became institutionalized once traders showed joint commitments to engage in a return system y bring the empty crates back to the producers, and therefore engaged in long-term delivery contracts with local farmers while transferring part of the extra revenues to them as well. This institutional arrangement thus complemented the technical innovation that enabled the upgrading of the whole food system. In a similar vein, experiments with improved school feeding (menus prepared with fresh vegetables and dairy) and healthier meals in hospital and factory canteens in Vietnam and Bangladesh that were originally designed to deliver on improved school results, better workplace attendance or shorter hospitalization stays, also can become particularly effective for generating spillovers to household eating practices and habits. The food system payoff of such focussed investments becomes visible once similar ingredients and food preparation modes are also applied at a regular base for preparing more healthier home meals. Also changes in income composition and market engagement can be instrumental for improving family diets. Whereas most efforts for promoting dietary diversify are based on homestead production (vegetables gardens, family poultry and dairy), similar outcomes can also be reached by supporting households’ engagement in different input or output markets. Regular earnings from wage labour and from remittances lead to different patterns of income flows that are also used to purchase different types of food. Moreover, buying food through home delivery systems offers opportunities to increase convenience and optimize portion size of fresh food. Improving consumption patterns can thus be supported by modifying labour use and market outlet choice. Public policies for ending malnutrition Many of the before-mentioned innovations need to be supported by public policies that shape a conducive environment for healthier and sustainable food systems. Individual food choices are – to a great extent – influenced by the complex and layered food environment, that includes multiple linkages with formal and informal traders, retailers and marketing agents as well as vertical cooperation and contractual systems between food supply chain stakeholders. Key improvements in food policy that are critical for reducing hunger and malnutrition are: - Substantial investments in agro-logistics to control the costs of transport and reduce the high losses in agro-food chain, - Shifting the focus from agricultural (sector) policy to food policies, with greater attention for citizen-led demand side performance criteria, - Focussing on policy coherence, paying attention to health and environment benefits from investments in improved food systems (as calculated by IFPRI: 1 US$ investment in better food may reduce health costs with 16 US$) - Leapfrogging on technical progress in information and communication technologies (ICT) supporting home delivery and personalized nutrition apps for disadvantaged consumers, - Upgrading the safety and quality of streetfoods, out-of-home consumption and processed foods to order to control the rapid growth of overweight. New alliances between public policy and business practice offer partnerships that are vital building blocks for accelerating the joint challenge of reaching Zero Hunger (SDG2). This blog is based on the presentation made at World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos, January 24 2019 as a contribution to WEF Event ”Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition”

Probate is the process through which a deceased person’s final affairs are handled. When someone dies, even if there is a last will and testament, property isn’t automatically transferred to the new owners, and debts aren’t automatically paid. It all happens manually through the probate process (sometimes simply referred to as “probate”), which is a legal process that takes place in a local probate court in the county where the deceased person lived. In the probate process, which can last for a year or even more, the probate court makes several important determinations, including: whether there is a valid will, what property is in the estate, what debts and taxes need to be paid, and who is entitled to receive the property that remains after obligations are satisfied. How does probate work? During the process, the deceased person’s financial and other obligations are settled, and property is formally transferred to whomever is entitled to receive it. Someone has to manually do all of these things (under the supervision of the probate court ). That someone is the “executor”. In order to do the job (for example, to access bank accounts and pay debts), a person must have legal authority (otherwise he’d be turned away at the bank). This authority comes from being an executor. Starting the probate process In order to be appointed as executor, someone must “open the estate” of the deceased person in the local probate court and ask to be appointed as executor. Usually, the person named as the executor in the will (if there is one) does this work. If there isn’t a will naming an executor, family members will agree on someone who should do it. If family members cannot agree, the probate court will decide who has priority based on state law. When a will is first submitted to the probate court, the court must determine whether it’s valid. This alone can be a bit of a process and may require testimony from the people who witnessed the will signing. If there is no will, probate may still be required for the deceased person’s property to be distributed to the proper heirs. Once it’s determined that the will is valid (if there is one), or that there isn’t a will (if there isn’t one, or if the one offered to the court is held invalid), that’s when the probate process really begins. Managing the estate Over an average of 8 to 12 months, the probate court will work with the executor to take an inventory of estate assets, settle the estate’s debts, and then distribute the remaining assets. Throughout the process, the executor must regularly file all kinds of legal and financial documents to keep the court updated and get its approval before taking certain actions. Because there’s so much legal documentation and interaction with the court, executors are usually represented by a probate attorney. Many states even require the executor to be represented by an attorney. Distributing the remaining property Once any debts or financial obligations are settled, the probate process generally ends with the deceased person’s remaining property being distributed. Who gets what depends on whether the deceased person had a valid will, or if they died without a will or estate plan (known as dying “intestate”). If the person had a valid will, then the probate court will order that the property be distributed according to the terms of the will. If the person died intestate, then the property would be distributed according to state law. These laws of “intestate succession” can sometimes result in property passing to family members who the deceased person would not have chosen. Probate is a long, expensive hassle — even when you have a will and your wishes are clear. Your executor may spend hours upon hours every week dealing with the estate. And the people intended to receive your property must wait for many months while the process plays out. Meanwhile, the value of the estate is decreasing as estate funds are used to pay attorney’s fees. The best estate plans will avoid probate altogether. Probably one of the most common estate planning mistakes is thinking that a will avoids probate — wills do not avoid probate. Probate can be avoided in a number of ways, and a single estate plan may make use of several different ways of avoiding probate. The estates of most people include some financial accounts, a home, and then household items. Household items can usually be handled informally and do not have formal title. That leaves financial accounts and the home. And if these can be kept out of probate, the process can be avoided altogether! Probate vs. non probate assets To understand probate avoidance, it is critical to first understand what property is “probate property”, and how to make it non probate property. Probate property is basically any property that is not owned or held in any kind of special way. It will have to pass through the probate process. A basic example of probate property is all of the personal items owned by someone and kept in his home. Unless some kind of estate planning is done, these personal items are simply owned and held by the owner alone, and not subject to any sort of special arrangement (a will does not count as a special arrangement). So, these items are probate property and upon the death of the owner must pass through the probate process. Another good example of probate property is a house in the sole name of the owner, with no special form of ownership — no special arrangement. When the owner dies, the house must pass through the probate process. Non probate property Non probate property, by contrast, is property that will bypass the probate process because it is held under a contract or some other particular kind of legal arrangement. Non probate property does not have to pass through the probate process; it can pass directly to people named in a contract or other non-will document. A good example of non probate property is a home that is held in the name of a husband and wife, where the deed of the home specifies that they are “joint tenants”. Joint tenants means equal owners of the whole (they are not each 50% owners — together they are 100% owners). When one joint tenant dies, the other joint tenant is “automatically” the full owner. So, property held in joint tenancy is non probate property. Another good example of non probate property is life insurance policy proceeds. These are not just owned outright, but are controlled by a contractual arrangement between the policyholder and the insurance company. When the policyholder dies, the proceeds generally will not need to pass through probate; they can be transferred directly to the beneficiaries of the policy Turning probate property into non probate property An important part of good estate planning is turning property into non probate property, so it can go directly to the intended persons and avoid the probate process. Different types of assets can be turned into non probate property using different instruments. Financial accounts – beneficiary designations Most financial accounts can easily be made into non probate property. For example, you can instruct your bank to pay account funds over to a specific person or persons when you die. This is called making a “beneficiary designation”, or making the account a “pay on death” account. Your bank will ask you to fill out some forms, and then the account will become subject to those forms, in a private arrangement between you and the bank. When you die, beneficiaries can simply present your death certificate to the bank and collect the funds — much better than having to go through the probate process. Beneficiary designations can be made on any kind of financial account, including simple bank accounts, general investment accounts, retirement plans, and more. Most financial institutions have a well-defined process for handling this; many of them even make it a standard part of their signup process. So, it is a good idea to set beneficiary designations at the time of setting up a retirement account or larger financial plan. It is important to keep beneficiary designations updated, because the people you designated at the time you created the account may not be the same as you have in mind today. Beneficiary designation forms are simple, fill-in-the-blank forms that allow you to name the people who should receive a given account. The forms typically must be filled out at the financial institution. Some financial institutions with more modern business processes allow you to set beneficiary designations entirely online. In any case, the institution will process your form and update the details of the account, and then the account becomes non probate. Real Estate – Title, Transfer on Death Deeds, Trusts Real estate can also be made into non probate property. Sometimes real estate even starts out as non probate property, because of how title is held (that is, the way the deed is written). As discussed above, when a deed to a home specifies that the owners are “joint tenants”, it means they are equal owners of the whole (they are not each 50% owners — together they are 100% owners). When one joint tenant dies, the other joint tenant is “automatically” the full owner. So, property held in joint tenancy is non probate property. Note that when the second of two joint tenants dies, there is no longer another joint tenant to automatically become the owner, so the home would be probate property. In addition to joint tenancy, some states have other forms of holding title to real estate that create a non probate arrangement — usually for married couples. Title to real estate is set in a deed. When someone first becomes the owner a piece of real estate, there is usually a deed that gave them that real estate. The deed specifies the form of ownership. Once someone is already the owner, he can write a new deed to change how title is held. For example, a senior who is the sole owner of a home may decide he wants to leave the home to his daughter, but he doesn’t want her to have to go through probate. He can write a deed to himself and his daughter as joint tenants. This way, she becomes an owner today, along with him, and when he dies she’s automatically the full owner — no probate. He could also write a deed just giving her the home outright, with the understanding that he’ll live in it until he dies. In this case, the home doesn’t have to go probate, but not because it’s non-probate — it’s just not even his anymore, so not in his estate when he dies. Note that usually deeds must be filed — “recorded” — in the county where the property is located. Transfer on Death Deed The simplest and easiest way to make real estate into non probate property is with a transfer on death deed. A transfer on death deed, sometimes called a “beneficiary deed”, is an instrument that states who should receive a piece of real estate upon the death of the current owner(s). It’s a 1- or 2-page document that is recorded in the county where the real estate is located. A transfer on death deed can be revoked (cancelled) or replaced anytime, and has no effect until the death of the owner. Once the owner dies, the beneficiaries just need to record the owner’s death certificate with the county where the property is located, and they become the new owners. No probate! Unfortunately, not all states have transfer on death deeds, so individuals use other tools to keep real estate out of probate — most popularly, trusts. A trust is an arrangement where someone (the “trustee”) has title to property (that is, legal ownership of the property), but must manage it for the benefit of someone else (the “beneficiary”). For example, a cash gift to a young child might actually be left to a relative who will own the property as trustee and manage and distribute it for the benefit of the young child. The person who gives property to a trust is called the “grantor” or “settlor”. It is common for large gifts made in wills to be made in the form of a trust. A dying grandmother who wants to pay for college for her young grandson probably won’t just leave him the money outright; she may leave the money to his parents as trustees. Some people have the idea that trusts are just for rich people (they think of the phrase “trust funds”), but that’s not right; trusts, especially revocable living trusts, are an estate planning device used by all kinds of people. Revocable Living Trust A revocable living trust is one that can be revoked and that is made while the grantor is living. It is a popular tool for probate avoidance that works as follows. Imagine someone owns a home, some jewelry, and some antiques, and he wants to leave it all to his three children, but he doesn’t want them to have to go through probate. Also, he doesn’t want to give up these things today — he thinks he may be around for a while yet. He can create a revocable living trust to hold this property. While he is alive, he will be both the trustee and the beneficiary, and he can do whatever he wants with the property (after all, the trust is revocable). When he dies, though, the trust’s estate planning purpose takes effect. Another trustee, designated by the grantor before his death, steps in (privately — no probate) and distributes the property to the grantor’s children, who are the new beneficiaries. The trustee who steps in (the “successor trustee”), can be a regular person (for example, the same person who might have been picked to be executor), or can be a professional who works at a financial institution (an “institutional trustee”). Like executors, trustees have a legal fiduciary obligation to act properly for the beneficiaries. Regardless of the terms of a trust, its key feature is that property in the trust will not have to go through probate. A trust is usually created with a legal document called a “declaration of trust”. Trusts are extremely flexible documents. Unlike wills, which are submitted to a probate court and are meant to be carried at out once (over several months) under the court’s supervision, the directions of a trust are carried out privately, so trusts can get more creative and stretch over an indefinite period of time (for example, until a child reaches age 30, or has a first child of his own, but only if the trustee believes he’s being a good person). In addition to the declaration of trust document, which creates the trust, property must be transferred into the trust. In the case of real estate, the transfer is done by a deed. Transferring other kinds of property into the trust depends on the property. For example, to transfer a bank account into a trust, the title owner of the account would need to be changed to the trust.

Since the early 1990s, the infrastructure of the railways has deteriorated dramatically. Many marshalling yards have been abandoned, 28% of bridges are more than a century old, whilst 70% of locomotives and 40% of freight wagons are showing signs of serious wear and tear. From rail to road The railway is still the main means of freight transport in Russia, accounting for over 40% of the country’s total transport turnover. However, between 2009 and 2013, train speeds decreased by 20%, and the number of late arrivals rose from 23% to 31%. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, in January this year, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, the man responsible for the sector, had this to say about freight transport: ‘It’s easier to grab a backpack and walk to Vladivostok than to travel by freight train; on average they cover only 18km a day.’ Many shippers are now opting to use road transport, with typical distances covered, a massive 1500-2000 km; in Europe the average is 700-800 km. Between 2009 and 2013, train speeds decreased by 20%. Photo CC: Artem Svetlov The average Russian freight train covers only 18km a day. There are several reasons for the deterioration that has led to this exodus of freight from rail to road. The first is linked to reforms begun in 2003, with the aim of attracting investment to the sector. Russian Railways (RZD) was established as a joint-stock company that took over railway management from the Ministry of Transport, along with virtually all of its assets. As part of the reforms, the government approved changes to the pricing system; and rolling stock began to be sold off to private investors. A company that wanted to carry freight, paid Russian Railways the infrastructure and locomotive part of the charge, and paid the wagon component to the operators that owned the wagons. These operators, with the help of private investment, flooded the market with new wagons, creating a surplus. The establishment of a market rate for the use of wagons led to an inflow of investment and the upgrading of rolling stock. However, according to RZD, the resulting surplus of wagons on the tracks complicated logistics, and the transportation of goods actually slowed down; and, as a result, the main aim of the reforms – a reduction in the transport component of production costs – did not materialise. A monopoly business One phase of the reform of the railways was supposed to involve abandoning the fixed locomotive component of the charging system, and open the locomotive side of the business to a number of additional carriers. This market is attractive to carriers because the locomotive component of the pricing structure is higher than the wagon component. But RZD, with its monopoly, is not ready to allow other operators into the market, believing that the appearance of local carriers will affect its profits, and will entail either a price increase or additional government funding. Private carriers, it argues, would destroy established working practices and only take on the most profitable routes. RZD has submitted a list of routes to the Ministry of Transport, which it is prepared to offer to private freight train operators. According to the private operators, however, all these are dead-end routes with low volumes of traffic. RZD, with its monopoly, is not yet ready to allow other operators into the market. Nevertheless, large businesses such as Transoil, NefteTransService and Globaltrans have managed to gain permission to introduce their own locomotive fleets. They carry freight along looped routes on so-called ‘in-house rail services,’ and make an enormous profit from it. Formally, the Ministry of Transport sanctioned these services in 2007; and in theory any market competitor can obtain permission to introduce a similar setup. The reality, however, is that to get this permission you need to have lobbying power. Another reason for the unsatisfactory state of the railways is that according to virtually all of the market competitors, there is currently no clear and transparent mechanism for decision making: why, for example, does one factory receive a discount on its transport bill, and another does not? The system itself is poorly managed, and communication between the various parts of the shipping process inadequate. 28% of Russian bridges are more than a century old. Photo CC: Mikhail Koinin Competitors also complain about RZD’s market monopoly, and the lobbying opportunities available to Vladimir Yakunin, head of RZD and close friend of Vladimir Putin. RZD also owns scrap metal companies, tourism service providers, cafes, canteens and sports clubs. These opportunities contribute, among other things, to the manipulation of railway transport tariffs. In September 2013, for example, the government decided to freeze RZD’s charges for the following year, with the aim of stimulating economic growth. People inside the company then began talking about the catastrophic consequences that would result, from staff redundancies to reduced infrastructure investment, which could affect safety. Many experts at the time said that RZD could, for example, simply refrain from purchasing non-essential assets – RZD currently owns scrap metal companies, tourism service providers, cafes, canteens and sports clubs. RZD explored every possible way to recoup its losses. It attempted, for example, to be allowed to levy its transport charges on the basis not of the shortest route but on actual distance travelled. These changes would have affected some routes on the Oktyabrskaya railway, in northwest Russia, where, because of the launch of the high-speed ‘Sapsan,’ train, freight trains now have to make detours. Costs to shippers would have risen significantly, and many companies threatened to suspend shipments. But this option was rejected, and in the end, 13.5% of RZD employees were forced to apply for transfer to part-time working. That is how the company’s costs were kept down. On 25 July, the government announced that it had approved measures to support RZD, which is expecting multi-billion-dollar losses for 2014/2015. The bailout includes such measures as price rises, tax breaks and compensation for loss of suburban shipments to other operators. Metallurgical companies, who still use the railways as their principal mode of transport, have already come out against the price increases. According to Russian Steel, the association of Russian iron and steel producers, the increase in rail costs has already led to the closure of a number of metallurgical operations, such as the production of cast iron for export at the Svobodny Sokol plant. If tariffs continue to be linked to inflation, other plants will also be threatened with closure, in particular, producers of semi-finished steel for export. The result could be that the reduction in railway traffic in favour of road transport will eventually lead to paralysis on the roads, the exact opposite of what the government intended.

What is Pupil Premium? Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is additional funding to help schools close the attainment gap between children from low-income and other disadvantaged families and their peers. It was introduced in April 2011 to raise the attainment of 1.8 million disadvantaged pupils. This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers. Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates. Is your child eligible? Schools are given a pupil premium for: In March 2018 the Government announced that free school meals would only be available to children in KS2 whose families have a net income of £7400 or under, effective from 1 April 2018. If your child was previously entitled to free school meals but is no longer, they will still receive pupil premium based on the 'Ever 6' qualification (a pupil who has ever had free school meals in the past six years). Measuring the impact of Pupil Premium funding Student outcomes in school are monitored and tracked through a variety of audit tools including data systems to assess the impact of the strategies that PP students are involved in. A clear and focused audit of the strategies within departments and across school is carried out and the impact of these linked to the data analysis undertaken at assessment windows and as a result of internal departmental monitoring. Student and staff voice is also monitored via questionnaires and surveys to assess the impact of strategies. The outcomes of these surveys and questionnaires enables staff to evolve their strategic planning to take into account and factors identified so that the highest of outcomes can be achieved. Senior leaders monitor the data collected so that staff are supported with the required developments.

In 1999 IBM announced its commitment to Linux and promised to make it available on all their platforms and also produce Linux versions of its software. This meant that IBM would be spending lots of money on Linux and needed it to be a success. I can remember talking to various people at conferences, and the general opinion was one of confusion. IBM sold operating systems, so why would it champion a free alternative? If Linux didn’t become a success then IBM would have wasted lots of money – which could have been spent improving its other products. Alternatively, if Linux did become a success, pundits wondered whether that would result in a drop in IBM’s software and hardware revenues. Conspiracy theorists suggested that IBM would cause Linux development to split into hundreds of variants, weakening its ability to succeed in the marketplace. It all seems so fanciful now! IBM established the Linux Technology Center in 1999 and announced Linux on the mainframe in 2000. Several Linux distributions (distros as old Linux hands refer to them) now run on a mainframe, including SuSE and Red Hat. Other distributions that run on a mainframe include Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, and CentOS. There are also thousands of ISV applications that have been recompiled to run on mainframe Linux. Importantly, Linux is not emulated on a mainframe, it runs as a completely native operating system – like z/OS etc. However, it is most often found running under the king of virtualization, z/VM, allowing multiple Linux systems to run on one lot of hardware. There is a specialty processor available for Linux – like zIIp and zAAP – called the Integrated Facility for Linux or IFL. This processor runs Linux work, rather than running it on the normal General Purpose Processor (GPP), and so saves the user money because they are only charged for work running through the GPP. Of course, there is the cost of buying (in reality turning on) the IFL specialty processor. It used to be that every sentence about a mainframe contained a mention of SOA, but nowadays the word is “cloud”. The IBM Web site says: “Cloud computing promises operational efficiency and cost reduction due to the standardization, automation, and virtualization. High flexibility, scalability, and easy management can be provided by the virtual Linux server environment on System z. Which basically says that Linux on System z is a good thing to have in your cloud computing environment because it is an efficient cloud computing platform. So, happy 10th birthday mainframe Linux (or Linux on System z as we should be calling it). There are apparently 3150 Linux applications enabled for System z and IBM claims that 70 percent of the top 100 global mainframe customers run Linux – so I confidently predict that we will be celebrating its 20th birthday.

If you pay a bit of attention to the business new you will have heard the term “startup” more than once, but unless you pay a bit more attention to the business news you might not actually know what a startup is. As industry experts like John Bradberry Charlotte NC can explain, a startup is something that is defined differently depending on who you ask. However, most people agree that startups are businesses that are bringing something new to a potentially market, are only a few years old if that, and have a potential for huge success and huge failure. Does that help? Maybe not, because it is not entirely clear how a startup is different than any other new small business. That said, there are a few key characteristics of each that can help us to distinguish one from the other. Startups see growth differently First, it is important to note that most, but not all, startups are technology-based – either their product is some form of technological innovation, or their business is conducted entirely online. This allows startups to have a different vision of growth than a traditional business. The latter will tend to be producing goods or offering services that are fairly restricted in terms of geography or industry. In that sense, they have a relatively small market initially – while they certainly hope to expand that market, they don’t expect that this will happen over-night. Startups, on the other hand, have potentially huge markets right from day one, and as a result they expect and plan for rapid growth. Startups are scalable This is one of the most important features of a startup, and is the key to being able to achieve rapid growth. A scalable product or process is one that can be rapidly and practically endlessly reproduced without a significant cost. For example, a piece of software is the perfect scalable product – it required an investment of research and time to develop it, and more to produce the very first copy. However, at very little cost that piece of software can be copied endlessly and sold to a global market, thus making the return on the initial investment very significant. Startups are funded by venture capital firms or “angel investors” Most people who are starting their own small business will secure a bank loan or grant in order to fund it in the early days. However, startups are funded by investors who are looking for an opportunity to receive quick profits on their investment – which is why the ability to grow rapidly with a scalable product is so vital. These are just a few of the key differences between a small business and a startup. Clearly, each type of business requires a different set of skills and a different approach to doing business.

Bitcoin Cash is the fourth largest cryptocurrency in the world with market capitalization of more than $6 billion. The cryptocurrency was created in 2017 as a bitcoin’s hard fork, in order to increase blocksize of the protocol. Bitcoin Cash was forked at block 478558, and for each BTC, an owner got one BCH. Although Bitcoin Cash made some changes to the code after forking from bitcoin, the original system of unstructured governance remained. So, what exactly is a hard fork? I’m glad you asked. A hard fork is a change in the network’s protocol that influences the validity of the rules. This means that previously invalid blocks and transactions became valid and vice versa. Hard forks are usually conducted to add new features to a blockchain network, or to reverse hacking and code bugs. These changes can be unintended, such as March 2013 Chain Fork, when migration from BerkeleyDB to Level DB caused a chain split. And they can be intended like Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV, and Bitcoin Cash. Speaking of Bitcoin Cash… Bitcoin Cash hard forks. Again It seems that after Bitcoin Cash underwent another hard fork, some of the miners have been mining on the wrong chain. In fact, they wasted money and resources on mining 14 blocks on the wrong chain. The most of the network already declared these empty blocks as invalid. The cost for mining the incorrect chain could reach up to 25 BCH, or about $6,600, plus the electricity costs that go along with mining. The hard fork hasn’t affected Bitcoin Cash’s poor price performance, which has fall around 3.2% since the hard fork. This isn’t the first time that Bitcoin Cash is hard forked. For example, in 2018, the cryptocurrency hard forked to add new functionality to its protocol. And, according to data from BitMEX Research’s Forkmonitor tool, in May 2019, Bitcoin Cash hard forked again after trying to upgrade to new software at block number 582,679. Bitcoin Cash is probably the most famous hard fork of bitcoin. And although hard forking has its benefits, it can also have serious consequences for cryptocurrencies and communities. Since its inception in 2017, Bitcoin Cash hard forked several times. And it seems that we can expect to see further forks down the line. If you enjoyed this story, please click the clap button and share it to help others find it! Feel free to leave a comment below.

Banking Act of 1932 The Banking Act of 1932 amended the Federal Reserve Act to temporarily allow Federal Reserve banks to lend to member banks on assets not otherwise eligible for discount and give Federal Reserve banks authority to use government securities as collateral for Federal Reserve notes in addition to gold and commercial paper. Certain provisions were made permanent by subsequent legislation. - Broader term: Law and legislation - Glass-Steagall Act of 1932 Save & Share

The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for a Money Basics Program (RFA 2020-15). Through this grant, one organization will develop a universally available or replicable program that will increase the money management skills of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The project will educate, train, and support people with IDD so they can manage their money more effectively and have more control over their own lives. While many Texans with IDD are now more capable of saving money and building assets, they may not possess money management skills. Some adults with IDD may not understand fundamental money basics, including how and when to spend money, how much things cost, and how to save. Individuals with IDD may understand how to do the math, but not understand how to spend or budget in an effective way. It is important that individuals with IDD who have an income, either through employment or public benefits, understand the fundamental money basics so they can not only be more self-determined and independent, but also save and build assets. About the RFA If people with IDD manage their money effectively, they’ll be more likely to be able to save for the future, stay out of debt, and ultimately have more control over their own lives. To manage their money effectively, people with IDD need two things: knowledge and tools. Knowledge is critical for people to have a foundational understanding of how money and finances work, and tools are important because they help people practice and implement what they learned. Without the combination of the two, there is a risk of knowledge not being retained and ultimately not being successfully applied to real-life situations. Knowledge about money management could be acquired in the form of in-person trainings, printed guides, and/or digital self-paced courses. Tools could be available as either printed or online forms. The use of technology could also be incorporated into the project to support ongoing education. A project to teach people with IDD money basics and provide the tools necessary to successfully manage their money could take many forms. A project could include: - In-person or remote trainings - Online or printed curriculum and resources - Technological solutions (e.g., a website or a web-based app) This list is not exhaustive, and organizations are encouraged to submit their own innovative ideas. The resources and tools developed through this RFA should be able to be replicated elsewhere in Texas and/or implemented statewide. The funding amount for this RFA is $150,000 for up to five years. Funding is available for up to one project.

Risk Burndown graphs are very useful Communication Tool for seeing if the total project risk is increasing or decreasing over time. It allows stakeholders to see instantly if we are reducing project risk. There are two key pieces of information which the Risk Burndown Graph shows immediately: - Whether the overall level of risk in the project or program is decreasing over time (are we reducing project risk?) - Whether individual risks are increasing in severity over time and whether new risks are being introduced. |ExampleIn the example below, we can see that · Funds Shortage increases as the project progresses. Hence Severity of this risk becomes more · The risk severity of Visas of Offshore Resources not getting processed on time decreases as the time progresses · The Risk Severity of Availability of Database Architect goes down over time · The risk “Delivery of Servers on Time” increases over time since the hardware vendor delays the delivery of Servers. As Project project progresses, if the vendor delays further then the severity becomes very high. · Risk of Changing Requirements goes down over time since customer gets clarity on requirement. Hence the risk severity also goes down · As the projects progresses, the risk of Availability of Expert Developers goes down and hence severity also goes down.

In recent years, much of consumer retail consumption has transitioned to the online marketplace. So, many of us engage in e-commerce, especially when shopping for the upcoming holiday season. While e-commerce is convenient and easy, consumers are becoming more aware of the risks posed by hackers that commit online fraud. Merchants who administer websites for online shopping must take measures to assure that their sites are protected from online hackers and fraud. Online merchants may be held liable for online fraud if the proper steps are not taken to prevent it. Are you an online merchant? Are you worried about protecting the sensitive information of your customers? If so, then you must take certain steps to prevent fraud and unauthorized access (i.e., hacking). How Does Online Fraud Occur? Online fraud is fraud that is committed using the Internet. This type of fraud typically comes in two forms: (i) financial fraud; and (ii) identity theft. Financial fraud often occurs when a hacker collects a consumer’s financial information to steal money. Identity theft usually occurs when a hacker collects a consumer’s information, and then uses it to open bank, mortgage, or credit card accounts. Many times the two types of fraud happen concurrently. Hackers often target e-commerce websites because consumers are constantly offering their credit card and personal information through these websites. Online merchants must take precautions to prevent hacking that leads to this kind of fraud. What Is An Online Merchant’s Liability If There Is Online Fraud? An online merchant is a person or business who accepts payment, usually credit cards, in exchange for goods and/or services through an online website. An online merchant may be held liable from a customer’s loss due to online fraud occurring through the merchant’s website. Often a financial institution (e.g., bank issuing credit cards) will bring an action against a merchant for failure to protect customer data from unauthorized access that led to the fraudulent use of that information. If the institution and/or customer can show that the loss was directly caused by the merchant’s lack of protection, then the merchant will be held liable. Therefore, online merchants must take reasonable steps to protect customer data. Merchants can and should take the following measures to protect against hackers committing online fraud. For example, choose a secure e-commerce platform with sophisticated programming language that ensures a secure connection during checkout. Use a system that verifies customer credit card and address information, and do not store this data longer than necessary. Require that customers utilize strong passwords, and track all their orders by number. Set up alerts when suspicious activity occurs. Train your employees in security measures and layer those measures for additional security. Closely monitor your website with regular scans to detect vulnerabilities. Make sure your systems are always updated. Think about using the cloud to reduce the need for hardware and protecting it, and invest in a fraud management service that reduces merchant liability when a customer suffers a data loss. Lastly, back up the data on your website, so that you do not lose important customer information. These steps will greatly reduce the opportunity for a hacker to access sensitive customer information to commit fraud. If you are an online merchant and want to take steps to reduce your liability from online fraud, you may contact us to speak to an attorney.

What are we “worth?” Sometimes people measure their worth by the size of their income or investments, although we know there are many ways we cannot measure our worth to others in terms of dollars or euros… But it is deeply ingrained in our economic life that income is compensation for labour or merit. Effort, ability, dependability—should somehow be reflected in how we are rewarded. Thus is it deeply unsettling and even shocking to hear in this parable from Matthew about how different the kingdom of heaven is from an earthly household! The picture is clear about the householder going out to hire workers at different times—epochs of the day—in the freshness of dawn, in mid-morning, in the heat of noon, in mid-afternoon and as the day cools just before sunset. The early workers agree on the value of a day’s work, but the later workers trust they will be paid, or the latest perhaps go to work for the sake of being able to work. And everyone in the end receives one denarius. The one who grumbles that he was not paid more is addressed by the householder (Christ), as “friend.” This word translated in the Greek text is “hetairos,” not “philos,” which is also a common term of endearment. Matthew uses this term “hetairos” only three times in the whole gospel, pointing to a subtle significance. The first use of this word is here in Matthew 20:13. The next place is addressing the man who comes to the royal wedding without a wedding garment, Matthew 22:12. And the final use of this word comes at Gethsemane, addressing the betrayer. “Hetairos” can also be translated as comrade, acknowledging the importance of being a “co-worker.” And so the workers in the vineyard are not merely workers: they are co-workers with and for God! From this perspective, they are paid with a reward that cannot be more or less. A denarius is a silver coin used by the Romans that is impressed with the name and portrait of Caesar, who gives the value to the coin. The name “denarius” has the number “10” woven into it. It represents Caesar’s saying, “I give worth.” The wages for the workers in the vineyard become the power to develop their “I.” The carriers of an “I” given by God will in the future ascend to the 10th rank in the hierarchies, just below the angels. What are we “worth?” We are worth the love of the Father and co-working with God. Contemplation by Rev. Susan Locey

Today, this system is more or less intact. All citizens and legal foreign residents of France are covered by one of these mandatory programs, which continue to be funded by worker participation. However, since 1945, a number of major changes have been introduced. Firstly, the different health care funds (there are five: General, Independent, Agricultural, Student, Public Servants) now all reimburse at the same rate. Secondly, since 2000, the government now provides health care to those who are not covered by a mandatory regime (those who have never worked and who are not students, meaning the very rich or the very poor). This regime, unlike the worker-financed ones, is financed via general taxation and reimburses at a higher rate than the profession-based system for those who cannot afford to make up the difference. Finally, to counter the rise in health care costs, the government has installed two plans, (in 2004 and 2006), which require insured people to declare a referring doctor in order to be fully reimbursed for specialist visits, and which installed a mandatory co-pay of €1 for a doctor visit, €0.50 for each box of medicine prescribed, and a fee of €16–18 per day for hospital stays and for expensive procedures. Health insurance isn’t just about access to healthcare – it’s also about protection from financial ruin. Insurance can be expensive, but lacking coverage can cost much more. No one is invincible; anybody can be injured in a car accident, or receive an unexpected diagnosis. While it’s unclear whether poor health begets financial insecurity or vice versa, the correlation between not having health insurance and financial instability is indisputable. Indeed, medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy filings among Americans. Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance, but it is used by less than 8% of the population, and generally as a top-up to NHS services. There are many treatments that the private sector does not provide. For example, health insurance on pregnancy is generally not covered or covered with restricting clauses. Typical exclusions for Bupa schemes (and many other insurers) include: An individual with Cerebral Palsy will likely require specialized medical services throughout his or her lifetime. The expense for a chronic disability can greatly exceed the expense for standard care an individual without the condition incurs. Cerebral Palsy results in a chronic, physical impairment, which typically involves routine doctor visits, extended hospital stays, a range of therapies, planned surgeries, drug therapy, and adaptive equipment. Depending on the level of impairment, Cerebral Palsy usually requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary health care team that may include any combination of the following: pediatrician, neurologist, radiologist, orthopedic surgeon, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and vocational therapist. Some individuals also require the assistance of a registered dietician, a speech pathologist, ophthalmologist, urologist, and a cosmetic dentist, amongst others. As of 2014, more than three-quarters of the country’s Medicaid enrollees were covered under private Medicaid managed care plans, and 31 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans in 2016. However, the funding for these plans still comes from the government (federal for Medicare Advantage, and a combination of state and federal funding for Medicaid managed care). Broader levels of health insurance coverage generally have higher premium costs. In many cases, the insured party is responsible for paying his/her healthcare provider an up-front, tax deductible amount called co-pay. Health insurance companies then may compensate healthcare providers directly or reimburse the policy holder based on the remaining portion of an itemized bill. Since people who lack health insurance are unable to obtain timely medical care, they have a 40% higher risk of death in any given year than those with health insurance, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study estimated that in 2005 in the United States, there were 45,000 deaths associated with lack of health insurance. A 2008 systematic review found consistent evidence that health insurance increased utilization of services and improved health. In general, the amount the employer must include is the amount by which the fair market value of the benefits is more than the sum of what the employee paid for it plus any amount that the law excludes. There are other special rules that employers and employees may use to value certain fringe benefits. See Publication 15-B, Employers' Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, for more information. All U.S. citizens living in the United States are subject to the individual shared responsibility provision as are all permanent residents and all foreign nationals who are in the United States long enough during a calendar year to qualify as resident aliens for tax purposes. This category includes nonresident aliens who meet certain presence requirements and elect to be treated as resident aliens. For more information see Pub. 519. More: Shared Responsibility from the IRS (See Question 11) Employers and employees may have some choice in the details of plans, including health savings accounts, deductible, and coinsurance. As of 2015, a trend has emerged for employers to offer high-deductible plans, called consumer-driven healthcare plans which place more costs on employees; some employers will offer multiple plans to their employees. Network-based plans may be either closed or open. With a closed network, enrollees' expenses are generally only covered when they go to network providers. Only limited services are covered outside the network—typically only emergency and out-of-area care. Most traditional HMOs were closed network plans. Open network plans provide some coverage when an enrollee uses non-network provider, generally at a lower benefit level to encourage the use of network providers. Most preferred provider organization plans are open-network (those that are not are often described as exclusive provider organizations, or EPOs), as are point of service (POS) plans. The share of Americans without health insurance has been cut in half since 2013. Many of the reforms instituted by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 were designed to extend health care coverage to those without it; however, high cost growth continues unabated. National health expenditures are projected to grow 4.7% per person per year from 2016 to 2025. Public healthcare spending was 29% of federal mandated spending in 1990 and 35% of it in 2000. It is also projected to be roughly half in 2025.

Explain about Blockchain and its different features A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger used to record transactions across multiple computers through a network. It contains a set of records, known as blocks. Each of these blocks contains a timestamp along with a link to the previous block. Literally it forms a chain system. A blockchain database is an autonomously managed network. It allows its users to audit their transactions independently. Blockchain is independent because there no one is in charge. It is managed by people who use it. Blocks in the blockchain are digital pieces of information. Each block contains a unique Hash code. These blocks help to store information about the people participating in different transactions.Blockchain features and benefitsThere are so many features and benefits of Blockchain. Mainly it acts as a backup for crypto-currencies, Besides it offers a lot more through its different features. Here, we were going to understand why this technology is gaining more popularity through its features.Decentralised: It works with a decentralised network. This means it doesn’t have any governing authority upon it. This key feature of blockchain technology makes it run perfectly. As there one is in charge, it allows us to browse it openly and to store our data safely. Here we can store anything like cryptocurrency, documents, and other valuable digital assets. Moreover, it includes user control, transparency, fewer failures, scam-less, authenticity, etc.No Corruption: This is one of the key features of blockchain. It is good to use because it is immutable. It provides a seamless transaction facility which is once done, cannot be altered. Furthermore, there is no chance of any corruption here. In addition, it promotes transparency and corruption-free transactions. It makes it more flexible to use and helps to reach more customers. Advanced Security: Security is important for every transaction we do. It ensures the safety of our money, asset or any valuable information. Proper encryption of the information lays down the security level of any activity. Cryptography ensures the security of these transactions at all levels.Along with decentralization, Cryptography adds value towards protection for the users. It is a typical mathematical algorithm that acts as a firewall against the attacks. In addition, it hides the actual nature of the data while doing any transaction by producing different kinds of value. Unchangeable: Using hash in every activity makes it impossible to change or alter any information. Even a public or private key cannot alter it. If anyone wants to alter the data then he needs to change every data on the node within the network. Faster Settlement: It is quite faster than traditional banking systems in finalizing settlements. Even a bank account may encounter hacking, but it is impossible to hack. Blockchain offers faster settlement features where a user can transfer his money with lightning speed without interruption. It saves a lot of time. Furthermore, it helps travellers from different countries and cities in making fast transactions. Distributed Ledgers: A public ledger provides every kind of information about the transactions and the user. These are open to use with some protective features. In the Blockchain environment, the ledgers are maintained on the distribution system.It enables users to take its advantage over traditional systems. It is the most favourable feature of this technology because it doesn’t allow any malicious changes. In addition, it helps users by verifying their ownership at every transaction. It responses quickly to the activity done by its user. After reviewing the features, let us discuss a few benefits. The following benefits speaks something.⮚ Hence it is decentralized, it doesn’t have single ownership.⮚ It uses cryptography to store data safely.⮚ The data within it is immutable or unchangeable. So, no one can alter this. ⮚ It provides more transparency so that every user can verify his personal data and transactions very easily. ⮚ It is hosted by a number of computers simultaneously. So anyone can access it online. ⮚ The decentralization version keeps it safe from intrusions. No one can corrupt the files. ⮚ The Blockchain transactions are free of cost. Most companies are charging a small fee for the usage of their applications by its users. But blockchain replaces this feature with its free transactions. ⮚ In addition, it provides an error-free transaction service with less chance of corruption. The above points prove that it has many benefits. It helps users in many ways with full transparency. It supports crypto-currency which is mostly used today. It helps to share money and other valuable documents with different people of the world. Meanwhile, it provides a transparent transaction facility. Blockchain transactionA Blockchain is free to use an open distribution system. It includes new transactions but doesn’t erase the old ones. This feature enables it to maintain data safely in the long run and a transparent transaction between several parties. It runs on several systems so that it can be accessed easily online. It provides a unique transaction id to each of its users. This helps to identify the transactions easily on Blockchain. As it provides safe and secure transactions, users can trust it for long time benefits. In addition, it spreads its wings towards financial transparency that makes it stand in the market.Blockchain developerIn fact, a developer needs to gain knowledge and skill regarding the technology he chooses to work upon. A Blockchain developer is a person who is responsible for developing and optimizing its different protocols. Creating various web apps, building blockchain systems, etc. also includes the job of a developer. Today crypto-currencies and its technologies are changing the business world. For, example Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that uses this technology. To become a Blockchain developer, the person needs to gain knowledge on the basics of this technology. Learning the basics of cryptocurrencies may help to know more about this technology. Little coding knowledge also helps in this regard. Furthermore, a developer in this regard may enhance his career in a dynamic way. He can start developing more advanced features of any platform using this technology.Blockchain technology applicationsThere are many uses of Blockchain technology. Its application into various fields makes the businesses grow faster. The following are the few areas where blockchain technology is used. Such as; Asset management, financial transaction process, Insurance claims process, Healthcare, Internet-of-Things, Supply chain system, waste management, and personal identification. Bitcoins are the most favourite example of this technology. They use it because it provides flexibility and easy to handle.The government also expresses interest to use this technology for bringing more transparency in different transactions. Moreover, it applies in Medical, Music, Enterprises, etc also. All this makes this technology to use in a more flexible manner. It helps across the systems with many users. Besides this, it helps many sectors to continue their operations smoothly.Finally, the above writing explains about Blockchain and its different features along with its benefits. Furthermore, Blockchains are free to use technology applications that help users in a broadway. In addition, its decentralization and cryptographic features help in its growth to further levels. Today most businesses prefer it for their ease of doing operations. Over and above if anyone wants to develop his career in this field can opt for Blockchain Online Training from various online sources.

IFPRI Global Food Policy Report 2014-2015 Fast growing economies, including China, India and Indonesia, are home to half of the world’s hungry, and hold the key to reducing global malnutrition. This has been concluded in the annual Global Food Policy Report that was released this week by the Institute of Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , a Washington-based think tank. The report is a globally recognised annual peer-reviewed overview from key policy makers and practitioners focused on food policy developments. 2014 was marked by multiple advances and setbacks in agriculture, food security and nutrition, and that the report identifies that middle-income countries are key to reducing global hunger. 2014 saw a number of projects and initiatives aimed at addressing nutrition and there has been an increased recognition of the severity of not only micronutrient malnutrition (or “hidden hunger”) but also overweight and obesity. There is a need to produce more food, but it must be acknowledged that food production needs be linked to better nutrition and must be accomplished sustainably. The dual burden of overweight and obesity remains a concern for the globe. Middle income countries such as India, China and Indonesia host the highest numbers of undernourished children. Concurrently, the incidence of obesity in these countries remain an equally grave concern, with 11% (India), 21% (Indonesia) and 25% (China) of the overall population overweight. In order to tackle these growing concerns in nutrition, faster improvements can be achieved through investments in nutrition-specific interventions (such as micronutrient supplementation) combined with investments in nutrition-sensitive interventions (such as biofortification), according to the report. In the realm of food safety, as 2014 witnesses some serious food safety issues, the report mentions that greater reliance on self-regulation and industry buy-in remains crucial. It highlights that initiatives such as the industry-led Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the World Bank–led Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) are gradually being extended to emerging and even least developed economies to address food safety concerns. In developing countries, capacity building is much required to improve practices and building systems with positive incentives for compliance. Commenting on the findings of this valuable report, Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI, said “It may seem counterintuitive, but these growing economies play a key role in our ability to adequately and nutritiously feed the world … We made some important strides toward global food and nutrition security in 2014. For example, nutrition shot up to the top of the global agenda and the concept of climate-smart agriculture has gained a foothold…. Now we need to keep these and other food-policy issues high on the global development agenda to ensure we eliminate hunger and malnutrition worldwide” Key highlights from the report include: Call for action on Middle-Income Countries (MIC) - Five fast-growing economic middle income countries (MICs) powerhouses—Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico—are home to half of the world’s hungry and hold the key to reducing global malnutrition. - The number of people afflicted with hunger in these middle-income countries is 363 million and governments need to redraw existing food systems to effectively combat it, according to the report. - The report contains a comprehensive timeline of the major food policy developments and major food safety issues that occurred in 2014. - The report also includes a perception survey of more than 1,000 respondents (most work with NGOs or in academia or the government) across 55 countries that shows dissatisfaction with food policies, while 46% believed that the world has the means to end hunger, only 13% believed that hunger “will” be eliminated. - Among the five countries indicated above, India fares the worst in child and overall undernourishment—47.9% of children are stunted in India compared to 7.1% in Brazil, 9.4% in China, 14% in Mexico and 35.6% in Indonesia. - On the flip side, the incidence of obesity is highest in Mexico—69% of its population is overweight compared to 11% in India, 21% in Indonesia, 25% in China and 54% in Brazil. - For faster improvements in nutrition, the report advocated that investments in nutrition-specific interventions (such as micronutrient supplementation) be combined with investments in nutrition-sensitive interventions (such as biofortification). - In the report, there is a dedicated section on Food Safety, which highlights that the problem of food safety issues is different at different levels of economic development, and therefore there is a need for more nuanced policy options to promote safer food production systems worldwide. It mentions the food safety issues faced in Taiwan in 2014. - The report highlights that in developed economies there is a greater reliance on self-regulation and industry buy-in. Initiatives such as the industry-led Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the World Bank–led Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) are gradually being extended to emerging and even least developed economies. - In developing countries, regulations have been largely ineffective. Possible approaches to addressing this include capacity building to gradually improve practices and building systems with positive incentives for compliance - Reshape the food system, especially agriculture, for nutrition and health. The entire food system can make a greater contribution to nutrition and health. MICs should both increase incentives to produce, process, and market high-nutrient foods and reduce distorted incentives to produce just low-nutrient staple foods. - Reduce inequalities with a focus on gender. Addressing inequalities can improve the food security, nutrition, and potential for advancement of poor and vulnerable people. - Expand effective social safety nets. Scaling up properly designed and implemented social safety nets to protect the poorest is imperative if MICs are to address inequality, reduce hunger and malnutrition, and promote inclusive growth. - Facilitate north–south knowledge sharing and learning. To further contribute to the reduction of global hunger and malnutrition, MICs should focus on the mutual exchange of innovative ideas, technologies, and policies that have worked with each other and other developing countries. The full 2014-2015 Global Food Policy Report can be viewed here. FIA issues regular e-bulletins with analysis on relevant food and beverage industry issues across the region. To subscribe to this service, please click here

How to Make a Spreadsheet That Keeps Track of Expenses Before bookkeeping software, accountants used handwritten spreadsheets to track business expenses. Now you can use programs, such as Excel to design expense spreadsheets and do the math for you, but the principle is the same: categorize, list and perform addition. Unlike database approaches to accounting such as QuickBooks, spreadsheets allow you to see more information at once. The categories you use for each column of your expense spreadsheet define how you break down the ways your business spends money. You can use the categories provided on the Internal Revenue Service Schedule C tax form, such as cost of goods sold, supplies, utilities, rent and depreciation. This approach offers the advantage of allowing you to easily transfer the information on your spreadsheet to your tax form. Alternatively, you can add columns for categories that are specifically relevant to your business and that help you to track profitability, such as breaking down materials purchases according to the products in which these items will be used. Creating a Ledger Spreadsheet A spreadsheet that keeps track of expenses can serve as a ledger. - Use the top row of each column for the categories you've defined. - Use the far left-hand column for the date, and the column second to the left for the name of the vendor. - Enter the amount of each expense in the column that corresponds to its category. - To calculate the total amount you've spent on a category, add the amounts in that column by inserting a formula, if you're working with a spreadsheet program. - If you're working with a pen-and-paper accounting journal, add the column totals with a calculator. For example, let's say you paid your city utilities department $48.85 on June 1. Enter $48.85 in the in the "utilities"column. Use the line that starts with "June 1" and the name of your city's utility department. Creating an Expense Summary Spreadsheet Your business can also use a spreadsheet to summarize and compare your expenses over time. The spreadsheet format is ideal for capturing such an overview. It will enable you to quickly and clearly see how your expenses in each category change from month to month, and how your expenses in different categories compare. - Use the columns at the top of the page for the months. - Use the left hand column for each expense category. - In each cell, enter the amount you spent on that category during that month. - If you're working with a spreadsheet program, enter a formula on the far right of each line to tally total expenses in that category for the year. - If you're working with a spreadsheet program, add a formula at the bottom of each column to calculate total expenses in all categories for each month. - If you're working with a pen-and-paper accounting journal, add the rows and columns with a calculator.

- Keflavik Paper presents a good example of the dangers of excessive reliance on one screening technique (in this case, discounted cash flow). How might excessive or exclusive reliance on other screening methods discussed in this chapter lead to similar problems? - Assume that you are responsible for maintaining Keflavik’s project portfolio. Name some key criteria that should be used in evaluating all new projects before they are added to the current portfolio. - What does this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening methods on a firm’s ability to manage its projects effectively? Answer in two page paper in proper APA format including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced with proper references and in text citations.

Everyone’s gotta eat – and it makes for a big industry. Globally, food and agriculture is a $7.8 trillion industry. Its also growing (pun intended): global investments in the food and agriculture sector have grown three-fold since 2004 and, according to McKinsey, on average have demonstrated higher returns to shareholders than other sectors. In the US, agriculture, food and related industries generated 5.5% of the country’s GDP at $992 billion, $137 billion of that coming directly from US farms. Despite this activity, there are several unmet challenges facing stakeholders across the supply chain in food & agriculture – including threats posed by climate change. And startups hungry to solve problems and make money doing it are stepping up. In Israel’s hive of entrepreneurial activity, for example, startups are focusing on a range of issues such as reducing contamination in foods, lab-grown meat and packaging that is better for the environment. The founders of Inspecto began developing a “nanoscale portable device for early detection of food contaminants in the field” after watching an exposé on the news revealing significant levels of contaminants in foods in Israeli supermarkets. (According to the USDA, as much as 85% of the food supply in the US carries pesticide residues.) Such contaminants can lead to pesticides to accumulate in the human body. Can we achieve plastic neutrality? Learn more from WWF, National Geographic, Valutus and more on efforts to rethink the plastics value chain and strive for plastic neutrality — at Sustainable Brands 2020. Inspecto is starting with a device that detects a contaminant in coffee called acrylamide, which can also be found in potatoes, chocolate, bread and other food items. A number of companies have signed up to pilot the product in its first deployment, including Israel’s Strauss Coffee and Chinese coffee manufacturer Shinho. “The problem with identifying contaminants in food is they’re in extremely low levels of concentration, in parts per million, in some cases, parts per billion,” CEO Avner Avidan told NoCamels. “What we’re doing is using a combination of optical sensors that allow us to isolate the contaminant we’re looking for and amplify its signal a million times over. The idea is to have this technology implemented in various points in the supply chain, so if we’re talking about coffee, it’s going to be used in coffee roasters, manufacturers, at the point of sale of coffee beans.” Others are more focused on growing food in a lab. Tel Aviv-based SuperMeat is the latest company to develop meat made by growing animal cells rather than by raising animals, sometimes called “clean meat.” The approach avoids the large environmental toll of raising animals and the ethical struggle of being responsible for the death of the animal in order to eat it. SuperMeat raised $3 million in seed funding in January and expects their first product – a lab-grown chicken meat – to enter sales within the next two years. The environmental impact of plastic is a major issue for all sectors, but especially the food industry due to its ubiquitous use for packaging and transportation. TIPA (“drop” in Hebrew) has created a fully compostable bio-plastic packaging. Founder and CEO Daphna Nissenbaum aimed to create a sustainable alternative to plastic, but realized its degradability was only half the battle; decomposed plastic may still leave behind micro-particles that contaminate the environment. Thus, Nissenbaum and her team developed flexible packaging that can become compost within 180 days. Their material is being used in both the food and fashion industries, including Dutch retailer Ekoplaza, Dutch coffee producer Peeze and by fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, Mara Hoffman and Gabriela Hearst. Meanwhile in the UAE, a new app is allowing restaurants to sell off their excess food at discounted prices. BonApp launched in January and has 85 eateries in Dubai on board. Excess mounds of food in the city’s signature brunches and loaded buffets get tossed away, much to the frustration of Erika Daintry, Malin Raman Delin and Alice Kaboli, the Nordic all-female trio behind the startup and app. Restaurants with excess pre-packaged foods, unsold meals and freshly-baked products can list their spare produce on BonApp. Users receive notifications when a nearby establishment has fresh inventory for sale, which they can purchase through the app for discounts of up to 60 per cent on the usual retail price and go to collect it in person. BonApp makes money by taking a cut of the transaction. The idea behind the app is not new; many startups are helping retailers donate food to charity or sell it via an app, such as Flashfood, Food Cowboy and Food Shift in the US, Neighbourly, FareShare and FoodCloud in the UK, FoodLoop in Germany, Zéro-Gâchis in France, Froodly in Finland, Canada-based Ubifood, and Too Good To Go in the US, UK and several European countries. Today, yet another app that helps businesses manage unsold inventory to reduce food waste announced impressive waste reduction results. Since it began in July 2017, Spoiler Alert’s ongoing partnership with leading meal kit company HelloFresh has enabled HelloFresh to: - Decrease its landfill-bound organic waste by 65%; - Reduce waste hauling pickups by 44%; - Nearly double the percentage of unsold inventory donated to charities, from 33% to 61% of total volume; and - Donate more than one million meals comprised of fresh ingredients to its local communities, based on USDA’s calculation of 1.2 pounds per meal. “At Spoiler Alert, we recognize the massive problem that food waste poses to businesses and our planet. We’re using our unique platform and data analysis to change the status quo. With HelloFresh, the food recovery numbers speak for themselves,” said Emily Malina, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Spoiler Alert. “HelloFresh has been a leader in their space in many areas, but this is one where they have really stepped up and are at the forefront of the industry. We have all been incredibly impressed with their team.” The longest-running program for ventures tackling challenges in the food and agriculture sector is also based in the US. Food and Agriculture: US 2018 is being run by Village Capital in partnership with The Campbell Soup Company, and will train 12 recently-selected startups through workshops, one-on-one sessions with investors and more. The top two peer-selected companies will each receive $75,000 in pre-committed investment. The 12 startups selected for this year’s cohort are: - Athena Intelligence**: **Provides data driven services for the food and agriculture market, delivering insights that improve quality, crop yield and sustainability. - Augean Robotics**: **On a mission to solve the crippling labor problem faced by farmers by making robots like Wall-E a reality, beginning first with Burro, a robotic following platform for work outdoors. - Cambridge Crops Technologies**: **Creates natural and edible coatings for extending the shelf-life of perishable goods. - Cerahelix**: **Manufactures advanced molecular filters that simplify the wastewater re-use process. - Goodr**: **A sustainable surplus food management company, leveraging technology to combat hunger and reduce food waste. - Grow Bioplastics**: **Developing a platform of naturally degradable and compostable plastics made from lignin, a waste product of the paper and biofuel industry, for applications in agriculture, food service packaging, and beyond. - ProteoSense**: **Provides food processors with a biosensor technology that detects pathogens at the front end of the supply chain in 90 minutes or less. - Pulp Pantry**: **On a mission to transform juice pulp, a neglected resource, into delicious and nutritious snacks that make it easy to eat more servings of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. - Seal the Seasons**: **Brings farm-to-table products to grocers year-round by freezing and marketing local food from local farms. - SwineTech**: **Provides technologies to prevent piglet deaths due to disease, starvation, and crushing. - Vega Coffee**: **The first specialty coffee roasted at origin and delivered directly to customers in the US within 5 days of roasting. Vega Coffee upends the coffee supply chain by training women farmers in Latin America to roast and package their own coffee; customers receive unique curated coffees via subscription, and Vega's farmer roasters earn up to 4x more income than they would through the typical supply chain. - Wexus Technologies**: **Wexus Technologies Inc is an IoT software company that empowers farmers and food processors to automate tasks and reporting, reduce waste and costs, and drive energy and water efficiency with its technology platform that remotely accesses utility data and billing systems. “We’re excited to be supporting these 12 startups that are spearheading innovation in the food and agriculture industry,” said Daniel Sonke, Director of Sustainable Agriculture at The Campbell Soup Company. “Consumers are paying more attention than ever to how and where their food is grown. At Campbell, we’re focused on supplementing conventional agricultural wisdom with fresh thinking and new business models, while tapping into an ecosystem of innovative partners.” The companies will participate in three four-day workshops where they will work through Village Capital’s investment-readiness curriculum and engage with potential customers, strategic partners, investors, and sector experts through one-on-one sessions, “mock board meetings” and other activities. The startups will also benefit from feedback from their peers as well as experts from Campbell, insurance company QBE and other firms. Financial firm UBS is also supporting the program as part of a larger project, VC Pathways, that supports the pipeline of diverse startups in several US cities by giving underrepresented (Black, Latinx, female) founders access to investors and strategic partners in their area. In terms of tangible support, the program also provides resources for building a business, including Amazon Web Services (up to $5000 in credits), Hubspot for Startups (90% scholarship), connections to pro bono legal support through TrustLaw, and an investment analyst that will work closely with their teams to strengthen their case for investment.

Research Article: 2017 Vol: 20 Issue: 3 Galina M Tarasova, Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management Alexandra I Shmyreva, Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management Lyudmila Y Rudi, Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management The present study aims to review and analyze the main stages in the development of the Russian rouble in the recent century from 1913 to present to determine the main factors influencing the variations. The period was divided into different intervals including 1913, the significant monetary reforms of 1922-1924, 1947, 1961, 1998, as well as the current period. Russian Rouble, Monetary Reforms. The turn of the XIX-XX centuries in Russia was marked by the monetary reform, which radically changed the position of the Russian rouble, making it one of the most stable world currencies (Stanislav, 2015). We are talking about the reform of 1895-1897 made by Witte. The monetary system was transformed based on gold monometallic. The state monetary unit of Russia was the rouble, containing 17,424 fractions of pure gold or 0.7742 g. Gold coins were freely minted both from gold belonging to the treasury, as well as from metal belonging to private persons; they freely circulated (Guseynov, 2014). Paper money was freely exchanged for gold without any limit on the amount (Kurbanova, 2014). The State Bank of the Country (Gosbank) issued paper money in accordance with the needs of monetary circulation, but under the security of gold. The gold reserve of the Gosbank was the basis of the new monetary system of Russia. Its size and dynamics can be judged from Figure 1. Figure 1:The Gold Reserve Of The State Bank Of Russia In 1908-1914 (Mln Roubles, At The Beginning Of The Year) (Adapted From Bokarev, 1984). For 1908-1914, the gold reserve of the Gosbank grew almost by 1.5 times: From 1168.3 million roubles up to 1695.2 million roubles. Though, a large part of this reserve was located abroad and served as coverage for international payments. But due to the accelerated accumulation of gold in the country, its part gradually declined-from 18.5% in 1908 to 9.9% in 1914. Such a gold reserve was not possessed by any of the European issuing banks. Information on the state of the gold reserve and issued banknotes by leading European issuing banks at the beginning of 1913 is given in Table 1. |Table 1: Provision Of The Money Issue In Gold Reserve In European Countries In 1913 (At The Beginning Of The Year) (Adapted From Bokarev, 1984)| |% to Gosbank||Banknotes in circulation million roubles| |State Bank of Russia||1555||100||1494.8| |Bank of France||1193||77.3||2196| |Reich bank, Berlin||411||26.5||930| |Bank of England||331||21.3||263| The data in Table 1 show that Russia, compared to other countries, had the strongest connection of the gold reserve of the State Bank and the issue of money. And this, on the one hand, ensured the stability of the monetary system and on the other hand, deprived it of its flexibility. With a reduction in the gold reserve, the emission of paper money had to be reduced. And this did not always correspond to the needs of an intensively growing economy, led to a shortage of money, which was partially replenished by different types of credit money. In 1909-1914 there were credit tickets, gold and silver coins in circulation. The idea of the structure of the money supply in this period is given in Figure 2. Figure 2:Structure Of The Money Supply In Russia In 1909-1914 (In%, At The Beginning Of The Year) (Adapted From Bokarev, 1984). Obviously, the main monetary unit of Russia was credit cards, the share of which in the structure of the money supply grew continuously. During the analysed period, it increased from 61.8% in 1909 to 73% in 1914, amounting to 1664.7 million roubles. The gold coin lagged behind the more convenient in circulation credit tickets and therefore its share in the structure of the money supply decreased from 31.9% to 21.7%, amounting to 494.2 million roubles. The exchange rate of the rouble with minor fluctuations kept at the level of gold parity-1 rouble equalled 2.16 German marks, 2.67 French francs, 0.105 British pounds sterling and 0.51 US dollar. Strengthening of national monetary system and the credit system created the opportunity for accelerated modernization of Russia; helped to withstand the turmoil associated with the Russian-Japanese war and the revolution of 1905-1907. However, with the outbreak of the First World War, the gold standard collapsed. Russia, like all the belligerent countries, stopped exchanging paper money for gold and experienced all the negative consequences of this: Inflation, a decline in confidence in the rouble and its devaluation in the domestic and foreign markets. A new stage in the history of the Russian rouble has arrived. During the war, the issuing money system was formed-the functions of the State Bank were reduced to the war financing and credit money was issued to cover the state's military expenditures. The February Revolution of 1917, having replaced the political form of state power, did not change the methods of war financing and regulation of monetary circulation. Military expenses were almost entirely covered by loans and paper money issue. But the Provisional Government initiated the two qualitatively new phenomena in the development of inflation. First, the destruction of a single monetary circulation and the emergence of parallel currencies with different rates; secondly, the effect of a peculiar inflationary multiplier: Price growth outstrips the growth of money supply and therefore money is devaluated faster than they are printed. The October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent civil war only intensified these processes. Therefore, the monetary reform of 1922-1924 was aimed at overcoming the consequences of the money-emission system. It pursued the goal of stabilizing monetary circulation, creating a single solid and stable currency. The need for such a reform stemmed from the economic situation associated with the implementation of the new economic policy. The content of the monetary reform was reduced to the replacement of Soviet banknotes (Sovznaks) with new money-Soviet Chervonets, which were 25% guaranteed by gold and foreign currency. The monopoly right to issue them was submitted to the State Bank and the Treasury got the right to issue treasury notes. It should be noted that the political will of the country's leaders alone was not enough to carry out monetary reform. Necessary conditions for its successful implementation are deficit-free budget, denaturalization of payment and exchange relations, active balance of payments and the main-general development of the country's economy. First of all, a denomination was carried out. 1 rouble of bank notes of the 1922 sample was equated with 10 thousand bank notes of past issues; 100 roubles of 1922 sample was equated with 1 million bank notes of past issues. In December 1922 a new banknote of the State Bank was introduced into circulation-the Chervonets. As a result, the country has a system of parallel currencies. These are two types of paper money: Sovznaks and Chervonets not connected by any constant relation. The process of devaluation of the Sovznaks, the main monetary unit in the country, was consciously supported by the state: The State Bank announced a rate of Sovznaks on a daily basis; taxes were collected only in Chernovtsy, etc. Therefore, the purchasing power of the Chervonets was high. State support ended in July 1923. The rate of the Chervonets began to be regulated mainly by stock exchanges and its purchasing power began to decline (Figure 3). Figure 3:Purchasing Power Of The Chervonets In Relation To The Soviet Rouble On The Gosplan Indexes (Adapted From Bokarev, 1984). However, Sovznaks, under the influence of a complex set of factors, gradually lost most part of the money function. Their part in the structure of the cash supply was steadily declining. Chervonets became the main currency of the country (Figure 4). Transport certificates, as small bills, partly served the functions of exchange money. In February 1924, Decrees on the issue of state, treasury tickets (10 treasury roubles equated to 1 Chervonets) and the termination of emission of Sovznaks were issued. In March, the ratio between the Chervonets and the Sovznak is established: 50 thousand Sovznaks for 1 Chervonets. In May, the circulation of Sovznaks is stopped and until the end of the month they should be exchanged at the established rate. Thus, by the end of May 1924, the monetary reform was basically completed. Its main goal was achieved-the Sovznaks were completely withdrawn from circulation and replaced with treasury tickets and fractional coin. Though, the multiplicity of currencies has been preserved for some time due to the availability of transport certificates. From the second half of 1924 as a means of circulation, the payment obligations of the Narkomfin CentroCassa were also used. Chervonets was quoted on the domestic as well as on foreign markets. There was an alignment of the Chervonets and hard foreign currencies rates-the US dollar and the pound sterling. It kept at the gold parity level: 1 rub=0.516 US dollars and 0.106 pounds sterling. It may be said that the monetary reform was successful. However, immediately after its completion, the moderate emission of new money was replaced by an intensified one. As a result, the amount of money in circulation has increased dramatically. The money issue was accompanied by the introduction of new samples of paper money into circulation. In addition, the money supply was no longer limited to cash. Increasing importance is acquired by cashless payments that increase the money supply. At the same time, the gold provision of banknotes was constantly decreasing and by the end of 1925 it exceeded the minimum norm of 25% (Table 2). The buying power of the Chervonets was falling, inflation began. |Table 2: Issue Of Banknotes And Metal Monetary Reserves (In Million Roubles)(Adapted From Mekler, 1925).| |Date||Banknotes||Metal monetary reserves||% of provision| |In State Treasury||In circulation| |Total||Gold||Reserve in total||Of gold| |October 1, 1924||518.9||346.5||308.8||131.4||59.5||89.1||25.3||37.9| |December 1, 1924||577.2||399.0||345.2||131.4||59.8||86.5||22.8||32.9| |January 1, 1925||596.0||410.8||351.8||142.0||59.0||85.6||23.8||34.6| |March 1, 1925||560.6||376.9||377.8||152.1||74.6||100.2||27.1||40.4| |April 1, 1925||590.3||402.4||352.9||168.9||59.6||87.5||28.6||42.0| |May 1, 1925||604.4||408.6||306.9||179.9||50.8||75.1||29.8||44.0| |June 1, 1925||615.5||417.8||301.5||168.0||49.0||72.3||27.3||40.2| |July 1, 1925||664.7||460.1||285.6||169.1||43.0||62.1||25.4||36.8| |August 1, 1925||677.5||505.4||287.8||166.6||42.5||56.9||24.6||33.0| |September 1, 1925||702.8||566.6||295.9||168.4||42.1||52.2||24.0||29.7| |October 1, 1925||756.6||652.0||325.5||184.8||43.0||49.9||24.4||28.3| |November 1, 1925||765.7||719.2||330.1||184.8||43.1||45.9||24.1||25.7| |December 1, 1925||786.5||738.3||315.4||182.7||40.1||42.7||23.2||24.7| By the end of the 20’s, many components of the planned system of management are being formed, in which monetary circulation plays a secondary role. The system itself was formed after the crisis of the late 20's-the first half of the 30’s. The money circulation of the planned system of management was radically changed during the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, in the post-war period, a monetary reform was required. The monetary reform of 1947 pursued the goal of normalizing money circulation after the war and creating conditions for the abolition of the card system in the Soviet Union. The reform was initiated by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) "On the Conduct of the Monetary Reform and the Abolition of Cards for Food and Industrial Goods" from 14 December 14, 1947. In accordance with this Resolution, new banknotes of the 1947 sample were introduced. It should be noted that the government explained this by the need to withdraw savings from speculative elements, plunderers of socialist property. However, these elements suffered less than others. The positive effect was that the monetary reform allowed to substantially tightening the money supply and due to this, basically eliminate the deficit of food and non-food products; created an opportunity during 1948-1954 to reduce retail prices in state trade. The increase in the purchasing power of the rouble allowed the government on March 1, 1950 to raise the rouble's exchange rate against foreign currencies and transfer it to a gold base. The gold content of the rouble was determined at 0.222168 g of pure gold. The basis for this was the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR from February 28, 1950 "On the transfer of the rouble to a gold base and on the appreciation of the rouble against foreign currencies." As a result, the dollar based on the gold parity began to cost 4 roubles instead of 5 roubles 30 kop. Of course, this was of great importance for the development of foreign trade. It is believed that the monetary reform of 1947 created conditions for the non-inflationary development of the economy of the USSR and an increase in the standard of living of the population. But it turned out that the reduction in retail prices was not accompanied by a decrease in procurement and purchasing prices. After the reform of 1947, they grew and grew significantly (Bokarev, 1984). All this testified that inflation took place but in hidden forms. On May 4, 1960, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a Resolution "On changing the scale of prices and replacing the currently circulating money with new money." From January 1, 1961, banknotes of the 1961 sample were introduced-treasury notes worth 1, 3, 5, 10 roubles and banknotes worth 20, 50, 100 roubles. The banknotes in circulation were exchanged for new ones in a ratio of 10:1 without restriction. In the same proportion, prices for goods and services, income, including wages, were declining. A recalculation of the national debt and the established state parity of the rouble against foreign currencies were made based on the gold content of the rouble of 0.987412 g of pure gold. It was assumed that this would create conditions for controlling the money supply and limiting emissions. But this required changing the financial system and the pricing system. Since this was not done, the monetary reform of 1961 was reduced to a denomination and did not lead to a strengthening of the rouble. Immediately after its completion, the rouble rate began to fall, which was due to the imbalance between the commodity and the money supply under the old system of financing and subsidies. This cast doubt on solvency in international payments and led to a sudden decline in the scope of the rouble as a means of circulation domestically and internationally. It should be noted that the rouble actively participated in international payments mainly with the socialist countries. Gold and currency reserves continued to serve as the basis for settlements with developed capitalist countries. In 1964, the transferable rouble was introduced as a joint settlement unit in the trade of the CMEA member countries with each other. Its value was 0.987412 g of pure gold. The basis for its introduction was the transition of countries to multilateral settlements and support of the free convertibility of their national currencies. To maintain mutual settlements in transferable roubles, the IBEC was established. The transferable rouble performed the following functions: Of an international payment instruments; international settlement instrument; the scale of prices; international clearing currency; international credit instrument (the transferable rouble was used in the provision of loans and in other indirect trade transactions). The pricing principles were associated with the transferable rouble, mandatory for all CMEA member countries. Further changes in Russia's monetary system are associated with the "acceleration and perestroika" of the Russian economy. Many studies have been published about perestroika and its content has been quite fully disclosed. Therefore, we will concentrate only on the effect it has had on monetary circulation, position of the rouble domestically and internationally. The focus on the acceleration of the country's social and economic development and perestroika required huge monetary, including currency, funds. This was also facilitated by the internal and external situation of the country. However, there were factors that caused a reduction in state budget revenues. This is, first of all, a decrease in the price of oil and gas, which prevailed in Soviet exports, anti-alcohol campaign, etc. The existing budget deficit at the beginning of perestroika grew rapidly: From 13.99 billion roubles in 1985 to 58.1 billion in 1990. It was covered by gold reserves, loaned funds of the state fund, external loans and simply the issue of money. Partial "liberalization" of the activities of state enterprises and the ratification of cooperatives lead not to the increase in production, but to its decrease. At the same time, enterprises and cooperatives increased their incomes. The chaotic destruction of existing economic ties between enterprises further intensified the decline in production. The country was struck by the chronic shortage of consumer goods, a consequence of which was the introduction of the card system. At the same time, money incomes and savings of the citizens grew, including by increasing the minimum pensions and wages of some categories of workers and government employees. For the years 1985-1990 the monetary incomes of citizens grew by 56%, monetary savings-by 72%. As a result, the excess money supply, the so-called money overhang, grew by 97%. The gap between the money and commodity supply has become a factor in the sudden devaluation of the rouble and the further growth of the state budget. The paradox was that the reformers, pointing out the inadmissibility of imbalance in the state budget, intensified this imbalance by their actions. The situation with the rouble in the domestic market forced the government of the USSR to resort to monetary reform. The exchange of money banknotes of high nominal value in January 1991 formed the basis of the monetary reform of Pavlov. The decision to withdraw from circulation banknotes of 50 and 100 roubles of 1961 sample and to replace them with new banknotes was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The reform pursued the goal of removing the accumulated funds obtained illegally: Bribes, appropriation of state property by officials and economic employees. For monthly salary, the exchange of large bills was free. And for the exchange of old notes in excess of this norm, it was required to provide information on the legality of the origin of savings. A significant part of the deposits was frozen. This was the last attempt to save the rouble within the USSR. The exchange of money created certain possibilities for stabilizing money circulation. The money supply was declining. However, as a result of the conducted price reform, state retail prices increased by about 3 times, the purchasing power of the population fell sharply. The government decided to pay significant monetary compensation, by launching a money emission. The collapse of the USSR and the refusal of the Union republics to transfer funds to the Union budget contributed to a significant increase in the money emission. Inflation has developed into hyperinflation (Bokarev, 1984). The cost of living has risen sharply. The rouble exchange rate also decreased catastrophically in relation to foreign currency (Bokarev, 1984). In the Soviet monetary system, the rouble rate was established on the basis of a fixed regime. To ensure an established ratio of currencies, the government carried out stabilizing measures. In the early 1990’s, three exchange rates were simultaneously used: 1. The main one: It was established by the State Bank of the USSR for official settlements. In 1991 it was 0.56 roubles for US dollar; 2. Commercial: It was used since November 1, 1990 for settlements in foreign trade and other transactions conducted by organizations and amounted to 1.8 roubles for US dollar; 3. For individuals: Was introduced on July 24, 1991 at the level of 32 roubles for US dollar and was used to conduct transactions for the sale of currency to the population (Ershov, 2015) Until 1991, the country had a black currency market with an established rate of 25-30 roubles for US dollar. The state tried to legalize it, believing that this would stabilize the situation. Since April 1, the currency exchange of the State Bank of the USSR started operating in Moscow. But this did not save the situation. The rouble exchange rate declined catastrophically. Its dynamics can be judged from the data in Table 3. The Rouble Exchange Rate In 1991 On The Basis Of The Currency Exchange Trading Of The State Bank Of The Ussr |Date||Roubles for 1 US dollar||In % to the official market rate||Date||Roubles for 1 US dollar||In % to the official market rate| The collapse of the rouble automatically led to the destruction of the credit system, a sharp increase in external state debt, a catastrophic decline in gold reserves. If in 1990 they were estimated at 4 thousand tons, then in 1991 they were reduced to 1-1.2 thousand tons (Bokarev, 1984). In these conditions, the state could not pay the debts and was on the verge of bankruptcy. As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the Union republics in its composition became sovereign states. And the adoption of the Law of the Russian Federation "On the monetary system of the Russian Federation" No. 3537-1 from September 25, 1992 was a logical step. The law initiated the monetary reform of 1992-1993. This law introduced a new money unit-the Russian rouble, which had no gold content. The issuer of the Russian rouble was the Bank of Russia. Money tickets of the State Bank of the USSR and the Bank of Russia of 1961-1992 sample stopped circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation. Since July 26, 1993 banknotes of the Bank of Russia of the 1993 sample were used. The money that was in circulation was exchanged for new money without restriction of the amount in the ratio 1:1. Such a reform was not only economically, but also politically based. But it coincided in time with the radical reform of the Russian economy, the transition to market principles of management. This reform presupposed measures such as price liberalization in conditions of budgetary restrictions that would allow eliminating various kinds of price imbalances and would lead to the improvement of the monetary system; weakening of credit grips for viable enterprises with simultaneous adoption of a law on bankruptcy; wide privatization through corporatization of state enterprises, etc. All this had a direct impact on the state of monetary circulation. In reality, the price reform strengthened the price disproportions, led to a decline in production of the most progressive types of products, an increase in the debt by mutual settlements. Trying to control price increases, the government at the beginning of 1992 reduces the money issue. But the attempt failed and a powerful debt crisis broke out. Monetary emission began to grow, as well as the cash supply. A representation of this is given in Figure 5. Figure 5:Dynamics Of Money Issue And Cash Supply In Russia In 1992 (At The End Of The Month, In% By The Cumulative Total By December 1991) (Adapted From Bokarev, 1984). The relation between monetary emission and the growth of the money supply is obvious. Their influence on price increase, which even outstripped the growth of money supply, is also obvious. The so-called inflationary multiplier was activated. In parallel to this process there was another process-the growth of debt by mutual settlements. The coverage of all these problems requires a detailed study of the monetary policy of the government of Gaidar and goes beyond the scope of this article. Let us only note that the radical reform of Gaidar strengthened the negative trends in the development of the Russian economy during perestroika and caused new ones. As a result of the change of government and its economic course, by mid-1994, certain trends in the rouble's recovery began to show up. First, the inflation rate decreased to 5-7% per month. Secondly, the rates of the rouble depreciation slowed down and the sharp jumps at the auctions of currency exchanges were smoothed out. Thirdly, the bank interest on loans decreased. This allowed stabilizing production. The Bank of Russia has identified new approaches to regulating the monetary system based on such economic instruments as open market operations, accounting policy, reserve policy, currency interventions and the restriction of the money supply for the M2 unit. Operations in the open market began to actively develop since 1994, when T-bills were issued in circulation and from 1995-OFZ (Federal Loan Obligations). As a result, in the following years, the amount of Russia's state debt was actively growing. Some idea about the size and structure of the government securities market is given in Table 4. |Table 4: Indicators Of The Government Securities Market In 1997 (Adapted From Directions, 1997| |Current sizes of T-bills and OFZ markets at nominal value, trillion Roubles. Market structure||237.1||366| |There were 40 issues of T-bills, 12 issues of OFZ-VC, 9 issues of OFZ-CC| |Share of T-bills, %||85.9||73.9| |Share of OFZ-VC,%||14.1||13.0| |Share of OFZ-CC, %||-||13.1| |Taxable issues of T-bills, %||-||94.6| |Taxable issues of OFZ, %||-||90.9| |Average term of state debt, days||143||384| |The yield on the secondary market on T-bills issue with a maturity of up to 90 days, %||January 1997 |Yield on OFZ-VC (taxable issue), %||?||39.1| |Yield on OFZ-CC (taxable issue), %||?||18.6| The second instrument for regulating the monetary system is the accounting policy of the Bank of Russia. It is obvious that in 1992-1998 the discount rate was quite high, but tended to decrease (Table 5). |Table 5: Interest Rates Of The Monetary Market (Adapted From (tarasova, 2000)| |Year||Discount rate of Centro bank, %||Interest rates on loans, %||Interest rates on deposits, %| A significant role in regulating the monetary system is played by the reserve policy of the Bank of Russia. The dynamics of the required reserves standards for various types of liabilities in 1995-1998 is presented in Table 6. |Table 6: Required Reserves Standards In 1995-1998 (Adapted From Zolotarenko, 2000)| |Date||Reserve rates, in %| |Call accounts and maturing liabilities of up to 30 days||Maturing liabilities of from 31 to 90 days||Maturing liabilities of over 90 days||Resources in currency| Significant changes are also taking place in the formation of the exchange rate. In 1992, a single exchange rate is established. The official exchange rate of the rouble against the US dollar was set by the Bank of Russia, depending on the state of the foreign exchange market and the ratio of supply and demand to currency in floating mode. On July 1, 1992 the rate was 125.26 roubles for US dollar; on January 1, 1993-414 roubles for US dollar; on January 1, 1994-1247 roubles for US dollar and by January 1, 1995 it had reached the value of 3,627 roubles. Currency interventions to adjust the rouble exchange rate have not produced any effect. The rouble rapidly became cheaper (Smirnova, 2015). In 1995, the Bank of Russia began to use the regime of the currency corridor, which assumed the establishment of the upper and lower limits of the exchange rate changes and their regular revision. This allowed somewhat slow downing the exchange rate decrease and stabilizing it by the end of 1997. The inflation rate also dropped to 12.5%. In 1998, its further reduction was planned, as well as increase of production volume (Sorokoumov, 2010). In connection with the supposed recovery of the economy, the Bank of Russia in January 1998 carried out a monetary reform-the denomination of the rouble and the replacement of old roubles for new ones in a ratio of 1000:1. Banknotes of Bank of Russia of the 1997 sample and the fractional money of Bank of Russia of 1997 sample were introduced. The aim of the reform is to return to the usual interrelations between prices and incomes for the population after the hyperinflationary period of 1992-1996. However, the build-up of domestic and external debt led to the financial crisis in Russia in August 1998; to default. The rouble sharply devaluated against the US dollar. Given the denomination, the rouble rate was fixed at 6.2 roubles for US dollar. As a result of the default, it grew almost threefold and continued to grow further. The inflation rate also rose to 70% at the end of the year. The goal of the 1998 reform was not achieved. In such circumstances, the Bank of Russia replaces regime of the currency corridor with the managed float regime using currency interventions to smooth out the sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate. It took years to stabilize the economic situation in the country and improve the sphere of monetary circulation. The default of 1998 in Russia ended the transformational crisis of the 90’s. A new stage in the development of the country has begun. In the economic development of 2000-2015 two periods can be distinguished (Table 7). |Table 7: Economic Indicators Of The Development Of The Russian Federation For 2000-2015 (Adapted From (Federation; Portal)| (beg. of the year) |GDP, rates of growth %||+10.05||+4.74||+7.15||+8.15||+5.25||+4.5||3.5||+0.7||-3.7| |Unemployment rate, in %||12.2||8.6||9.1||7.7||5.8||9.2||6.6||5.6||5.8| |Consumer price indexes (Dec. to Dec. of prev. year), in %||20.2||15.11||11.7||9.0||13.3||8.8||6.6||11.4||-| |Price per barrel of oil, US dollar||23.2||29.0||40.4||60.5||91.6||72.2||110.9||107.8||34.7| |Currency rate of rouble and US dollar||27.23||30.14||29.46||28.48||24.44||30.19||31.87||32.66||72.93| |Gold and currency reserves, billion US dollars||12.5||36.6||76.9||182.3||478.8||439.5||498.7||509.6||368.4| Until 2008, the Russian economy grew at a high rate. But this growth was largely due to the huge inflow of currency into the country as a result of the increase in prices for oil and gas. This allowed solving the problem of large budget expenditures, ensuring budget surplus, increasing gold and currency reserves, reduce external debt, reduce inflation and raise the standard of living of the population. The emergence of a single European currency changed the principles of the formation and regulation of the rouble exchange rate. Since 2005, the Bank of Russia began to focus on the bi-currency basket, which includes the US dollar and the euro in the proportion of 0.9 and 0.1, respectively. Activity of the Bank of Russia since 2005-2008 was quite effective and the rouble strengthened against the common currencies, but especially against the US dollar. In the end of 2008-the beginning of 2009 the situation on world and commodity markets deteriorated. Russia's foreign economic activity also deteriorated, despite the fact that oil and gas prices were high and the exchange rate of the rouble was quite stable. The Bank of Russia is reviewing the regime of setting the exchange rate of the rouble and moving to automatic adjustment of the limits of the allowed values of the dual currency basket. This mode is used until 2014. During the 2012-2013 there was a transition from economic growth to stagnation. At the same time, there was almost zero growth in industry, construction was reduced. In the second half of 2014, the external economic and foreign policy situation for Russia has sharply deteriorated, negative trends have intensified. A sharp slowdown in the country's socioeconomic development is accompanied by an acceleration of inflation from 5.1% to 6.8% in 2013 and to 11.4% in 2014. This combination led to stagflation, a disastrous phenomenon for the country. Stagflation deepens crisis phenomena and makes them difficult to resolve. At the same time, this process is formed even before the imposition of sanctions by the US and the European Union against Russia in connection with the appropriation of the Crimea and events in Ukraine. The situation was aggravated by the outflow of capital from Russia. Beginning in 2008, with the world economic crisis for the world economy, it continued all subsequent years. And it is connected in many respects with a great external debt, mostly corporate. Two-fold fall in oil prices led to a sharp drop in the rouble exchange rate. Therefore, in the area of currency regulation, the Bank of Russia passes to the free-floating regime. And to suppress inflation, it raises the key rate to 17%, gradually reducing it to 11% at the present time. However, in the current situation, the efforts of the Bank of Russia to suppress inflation in 2015 have not produced the expected effect. The Bank of Russia cannot influence the main factors that accelerate it. And suppression of inflation in conditions of stagflation has a depressing effect on economic growth. This study reviewed and discussed the main alterations in the development of the Russian rouble for the last century ranging 1913 to the present. The main socio-economic, political and environmental phenomena that have significantly influenced the rouble value are discussed. Throughout the XX and beginning of the XXI century, the Russian rouble has experienced many shocks related to shifting socio-economic systems, war and post-war disruption. Many monetary reforms have been applied during this period where not all of them were successful. However, despite this the Russian rouble remains a significant global currency.

Yield to Maturity vs. Coupon Rate: An Overview When investors consider buying bonds they need to look at two vital pieces of information: the yield to maturity (YTM) and the coupon rate. Investment-quality bonds are low-risk investments that generally offer a rate of return slightly higher than a standard savings account. They are fixed-income investments that many investors use for a steady stream of income in retirement. Investors of any age may add some bonds to a portfolio to lower its overall risk profile. - The yield to maturity (YTM) is the percentage rate of return for a bond assuming that the investor holds the asset until its maturity date. It is the sum of all of its remaining coupon payments. A bond's yield to maturity rises or falls depending on its market value and how many payments remain to be made. - The coupon rate is the annual amount of interest that the owner of the bond will receive. To complicate things the coupon rate may also be referred to as the yield from the bond. Generally, a bond investor is more likely to base a decision on an instrument's coupon rate. A bond trader is more likely to consider its yield to maturity. Comparing Yield To Maturity And The Coupon Rate - The yield to maturity is the estimated annual rate of return for a bond assuming that the investor holds the asset until its maturity date and reinvests the payments at the same rate. - The coupon rate is the annual income in investor can expect to receive whle holding a particular bond. - At the time it is purchased, a bond's yield to maturity and its coupon rate are the same. Yield to Maturity (YTM) The YTM is an estimated rate of return. It assumes that the buyer of the bond will hold it until its maturity date, and will reinvest each interest payment at the same interest rate. Thus, yield to maturity includes the coupon rate within its calculation. YTM is also known as the redemption yield. YTM and Market Value A bond's yield can be expressed as the effective rate of return based on the actual market value of the bond. At face value, when the bond is first issued, the coupon rate and the yield are usually exactly the same. However, as interest rates rise or fall, the coupon rate offered by the government or corporation may be higher or lower. This change in interest rates will cause the face or par value of the bond to change as its issuer tries to stay competitive with other offerings. In this way, yield and price are inversely proportional or move in equal but opposite directions. The coupon rate or yield is the amount that investors can expect to receive in income as they hold the bond. Coupon rates are fixed when the government or company issues the bond. The coupon rate is the yearly amount of interest that will be paid based on the face or par value of the security. How to Calculate Coupon Rate Suppose you purchase an IBM Corp. bond with a $1,000 face value that is issued with semiannual payments of $10 each. To calculate the bond's coupon rate, divide the total annual interest payments by the face value. In this case, the total annual interest payment equals $10 x 2 = $20. The annual coupon rate for IBM bond is, therefore, $20/$1,000, or 2%. Fixed Rate and Changing Value While the coupon rate of a bond is fixed, the par or face value may change. No matter what price the bond trades for, the interest payments will always be $20 per year. For example, if interest rates go up, driving the price of IBM's bond down to $980, the 2% coupon on the bond will remain unchanged. When a bond sells for more than its face value, it sells at a premium. When it sells for less than its face value, it sells at a discount. To an individual bond investor, the coupon payment is the source of profit. To the bond trader, there is the potential gain or loss generated by variations in the bond's market price. The yield to maturity calculation incorporates the potential gains or losses generated by those market price changes. If an investor purchases a bond at par or face value, the yield to maturity is equal to its coupon rate. If the investor purchases the bond at a discount, its yield to maturity will be higher than its coupon rate. A bond purchased at a premium will have a yield to maturity that is lower than its coupon rate. YTM represents the average return of the bond over its remaining lifetime. Calculations apply a single discount rate to future payments, creating a present value that will be about equivalent to the bond's price. In this way, the time until maturity, the bond's coupon rate, current price, and the difference between price and face value all are considered.

Business risk has an objective basis due to the uncertainty of the external environment in relation to the business firm. The external environment includes objective economic, social and political conditions in which the firm operates and whose dynamics it is forced to adapt. The uncertainty of the situation is determined by the fact that it depends on many variables, counterparties and persons whose behavior cannot always be predicted with acceptable accuracy. There is also a lack of clarity in the definition of objectives, criteria and indicators for their assessment (changes in public needs and consumer demand, technological and technological innovations, market changes, unpredictable natural phenomena). The presence of entrepreneurial risks is, in fact, the reverse side of economic freedom, a kind of payment for it. The freedom of one entrepreneur is accompanied at the same time by the freedom of other entrepreneurs, therefore, as market relations develop in our country, uncertainty and entrepreneurial risk will increase. The uncertainty of the future in business cannot be eliminated, as it is an element of objective reality. Risk is inherent in entrepreneurship and an integral part of its economic life. So far, we have paid attention only to the objective side of entrepreneurial risk. Indeed, risk is linked to real processes in the economy. The objectivity of risk is linked to the existence of factors that ultimately do not depend on the action of entrepreneurs. Business risk is the risk arising from any business activity related to the production of products, goods and services and their sale; Monetary and financial transactions; Commerce and scientific and technical projects. The complexity of classifying entrepreneurial risks lies in their diversity. Business firms always face risks in addressing both current and long-term challenges. There are certain types of risks to which all business organizations are exposed without exception, but along with the general ones there are specific types of risks characteristic of certain types of activities: for example, bank risks differ from risks in insurance activities, and the latter in turn from risks in production enterprise. There is no slender system for classifying entrepreneurial risks in the economic literature on entrepreneurship. There are many approaches to risk classification. A certain interest is the classification of entrepreneurial risk by I. Schumpeter, who identifies two types of risk: - The risk associated with a possible technical failure of production also includes the risk of loss of benefits caused by natural disasters; - Risk associated with a lack of commercial success. The entrepreneur faces risk at different stages of his activity, and, of course, the causes of a specific risk situation can be very many. Typically, a cause of occurrence is a condition that causes uncertainty about the outcome of the situation. For risk such sources are: directly economic activity, activity of the businessman, a lack of information on a condition of the external environment having an impact on result of business activity. On this basis, it is necessary to distinguish between entrepreneurial risks: - Business risk; - Risk associated with the person of the entrepreneur; - Risk associated with lack of information on the state of the environment. Due to the fact that the probability of the last risk is inversely proportional to the extent to which an entrepreneurial firm is informed about the state of the external environment in relation to its firm, it is most important in modern economic conditions. Insufficient information about partners (buyers or suppliers), especially their business image and financial condition, threatens the entrepreneur with risk. Lack of information on taxation of a foreign partner in the country is a source of losses as a result of penalties imposed on an enterprise firm by state bodies. Lack of information about competitors can also be a source of loss for the entrepreneur. Risk associated with an entrepreneur 's personality is determined by the fact that all entrepreneurs have different knowledge of entrepreneurship, different skills and experience of doing business, different requirements for the level of risk of individual transactions. By scope, business risks can be divided into external and internal risks. The source of external risks is the external environment vis-à-vis the business firm. The entrepreneur cannot influence external risks, he can only anticipate and take them into account in his activities. Thus, external risks not directly related to the activity of the entrepreneur are included. These are unforeseen changes in business legislation; The fragility of the political regime in the country and other situations, and consequently the loss of entrepreneurs resulting from the outbreak of war, nationalization, strikes and embargoes. The source of internal risks is the entrepreneurial firm itself. These risks arise from inefficient management, erroneous marketing policies, and internal abuse. The main internal risks are personnel risks related to the professional level and character characteristics of employees of the enterprise firm. In terms of duration over time, entrepreneurial risks can be divided into short-term and permanent risks. The short-term group includes those risks that threaten the entrepreneur during the final known period of time, such as transport risk when losses may arise during the carriage of the goods, or risk of non-payment under a particular transaction. Persistent risks include those that continuously threaten business activity in a given geographical area or in a certain branch of the economy, such as the risk of non-payment in a country with an imperfect legal system or the risk of destruction of buildings in an area with an increased seismic hazard. By the degree of legality of entrepreneurial risk, justified (legitimate) and unjustified (improper) risks can be identified. Perhaps it is the most important element of classification for entrepreneurial risk, which is of most practical importance. In order to distinguish between justified and unjustified entrepreneurial risk, it is necessary to take into account first of all the fact that the border between them in different types, entrepreneurial activities, in different sectors of the economy is different. All entrepreneurial risks can also be divided into two large groups according to the possibility of insurance: insured and non-insured. The entrepreneur can partially shift the risk to other economic entities, in particular, to secure himself by carrying out certain costs in the form of insurance premiums. Thus, some types of risk, such as: risk of death of property, risk of fire, accidents, etc., the entrepreneur can insure. Two other large groups of risks should be identified: statistical (simple) and dynamic (speculative). The special feature of statistical risks is that they almost always carry losses for business activities. At the same time, losses for a business firm tend to mean losses for society as a whole. According to the cause of the loss, statistical risks can be further divided into the following groups: - probable losses as a result of negative effects on the assets of the firm of natural disasters (fire, water, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.); - probable loss as a result of criminal acts; - probable losses due to the adoption of unfavourable legislation for the business firm (losses are related to the direct seizure of property or the inability to recover compensation from the perpetrator due to imperfections of the legislation); - probable losses as a result of a threat to the property of third parties, resulting in the forced termination of the operations of the main supplier or consumer; - losses due to the death or incapacity of key employees of the firm or the main owner of the business firm (which is due to the difficulty of selecting qualified personnel, as well as problems of transfer of ownership). Unlike statistical risk, dynamic risk carries either losses or profits for a business firm. Therefore, they can be called "speculative". In addition, dynamic risks leading to losses for the whole firm can simultaneously bring benefits for the society as a whole. Therefore, dynamic risks are difficult to manage.

I got back from vacation and I thought it was time to write a short blog about a subject that caught my attention before my vacation after reading an article on it. Central banks of developed countries have lowered their interest rates to historically low levels in the last several years. The goal is to discourage saving money in a world that seems to be suffering from Secular Stagnation. But some economists – including myself – have been thinking about whether it is possible that lower interest rates might actually increase the savings rate. Could this really be the case? The reasoning of central banks is logical. When I get my monthly income, I can either spend it now (on tea or something) or save it. The higher the interest rate, the more I am willing to save. However, when I want to buy a new car 5 years from now, I have to save less money in order to reach my desired amount of savings with a higher rate of interest: Figure 1: Saving for a car So, when people are saving with a target, then lowering interest rates might boost savings, which is clearly not the goal the central bank wants to achieve. A more important example of targeted saving in western economies are pension schemes. The result of low interest rates has been that some pension funds had to increase their premiums to safeguard their long term liabilities. Saving for retirement is an important kind of saving in developed countries so perhaps targeted saving is the leading kind of saving. Saving for your retirement also takes a lot more time than saving for the car in my example, so the effect of lower interest rates is much larger for pensions. So it’s not so strange that some economist are thinking about whether lower interest rates might actually lead to slightly higher savings. If this is true, should central banks stop the bond buying programs and low rate policies? When people want to save money, they have to acquire an asset. This can be a deposit account (claim on the bank) or a government bond. Especially pension funds are primarily investing their money in government bonds. So, if we assume that lower interest rates on these bonds (or higher prices) will lead to more demand for bonds, then we can look at what the current effects are of bond buying programs like QE. QE in normal situation When the ECB buys bonds in a normal situation this action leads to a lower interest rate on bonds: Figure 2: Normal situation The horizontal axis in figure 2 shows the amount of bonds which are available in the markets, the vertical axis is the interest rate and D and S are respectively the demand and supply curve. Notice that this is the normal situation, because investors are willing to buy more bonds (save more) as the interest rate gets higher. When the central banks buys bonds, the inelastic supply curve moves to the left, which leads to a lower interest rate. This is consistent with what we see in the real world now. QE in targeted saving situation When targeted saving is dominant, then a bond buying program of the central bank seems to lead to an increase in the interest rate: Figure 3: Targeted saving situation In figure 3 one can see what the effect of QE is in a world were lower interest rates might increase saving. In this situation QE seems to lead to higher interest rates. Because there are now fewer bonds in the market, the higher interest rate is needed to make supply and demand equal. Another way out would be if the shift to the left of the supply curve is accompanied by a downward shift of the demand curve, in that case the interest rate does not have to go up. This is a strange outcome indeed and it is not at all consistent with the effect that bond purchases seem to have now. Perhaps other outcomes are possible when using a less simple model. But for now I will still assume – as most economists – that lower interest rates will have an upward effect on saving. Summers (2016). The Age of Secular Stagnation, http://larrysummers.com/2016/02/17/the-age-of-secular-stagnation/ Fransman (2014). De trage zelfmoord van Europa, https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/de-trage-zelfmoord-van-Europa Daalder (2016). De centrale bank als spons, http://fd.nl/beurs/1160271/de-centrale-bank-als-spons

Food companies and the alternative protein boom This report from Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) (a London-based investor initiative focused on the environmental, social and ethical issues of factory farming) estimates that the global meat substitute market is worth almost $20 billion and is predicted to grow by 7-9% annually. The report also sets out current areas of technical innovation in alternative proteins (including plant-based proteins, fermentation and cellular agriculture), gives an overview of the current regulatory landscape, and evaluates and ranks 25 large food companies on their alternative proteins activity. Read the full report, Appetite for disruption: How leading food companies are responding to the alternative protein boom, here. See also the Foodsource resource How far could changes in production practices reduce GHG emissions? While some of the food system challenges facing humanity are local, in an interconnected world, adopting a global perspective is essential. Many environmental issues, such as climate change, need supranational commitments and action to be addressed effectively. Due to ever increasing global trade flows, prices of commodities are connected through space; a drought in Romania may thus increase the price of wheat in Zimbabwe.

The global consumption of smart phones and other electronic devices is increasing, and bringing benefits to many people in areas as wide-ranging as health, education, finance and commerce. But there is a downside: the world is now seeing a growing tsunami of electronic waste. A new report launched today by the United Nations E-waste Coalition indicates that the global economy generates approximately 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year. This is a huge amount, representing the mass of all commercial aircraft ever produced. Unfortunately, only a small proportion, around 20 per cent, of this is waste formally recycled. This results in global health and environmental risks, as well as the unnecessary loss of scarce and valuable natural materials. The proper management of e-waste yields not just one, but multiple gains for development. But businesses, policy-makers, and the public can turn this global challenge around. The rewards will be significant. Indeed, the proper management of e-waste yields not just one, but multiple gains for development. Here are some top takeaways from the report. The global amount of e-waste discarded every year weighs the equivalent of more than 125,000 jumbo jets. Of this total amount, 40 million tonnes of e-waste are discarded in landfill, burned or illegally traded and treated in a sub-standard way every year. E-waste can contain substances that are hazardous to human health if not dealt with properly, including mercury, cadmium and lead, which can pollute water sources and food supply chains. Electronic goods also have an impact on climate change: manufacturing a tonne of laptops emits up to 10 tonnes of CO2. Today, the total number of people working informally in the global e-waste sector is unknown. But according to ILO, in Nigeria up to 100,000 people are thought to be working in the informal e-waste sector, while in China that number is thought to be 690,000. Substandard working conditions in the informal sector lead to adult and child workers, as well as their families, being exposed to many toxic substances. Since e-waste contains many high-value and scarce materials, such as gold, platinum, and cobalt, improper recycling of discarded electronics results in a significant loss of scarce and valuable raw materials, and puts unnecessary pressure on our limited natural resources. The problem is only expected to get worse. By 2050, the volume of e-waste, in the worst-case scenario, could top 120 million tonnes annually. But there is good news. ITU has been raising awareness and guiding efforts to reduce and rethink e-waste for several years now. Today, approximately 4.8 billion people or 66% of the world’s population are now covered by e-waste legislation. That’s a large increase from just 44% in 2014. More and more actors have recently joined the fold to fight e-waste. The United Nations E-waste Coalition, launched last year, includes a long and growing list of UN organisations such as ITU, UNEP, and ILO. The E-waste Coalition is supported by the private sector, as well as the World Economic Forum, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Together, the United Nations E-waste Coalition is proposing creative solutions to promote a circular economy for electronics where waste is designed out of the system. New solutions for waste-free electronics The report launched by the United Nations E-waste Coalition stresses that products need to be designed for reuse, durability and eventually safe recycling. This can be achieved through different business models including products as a service (instead of a one-off transaction, the business model shifts to one of an ongoing service, which incentivizes the manufacturer to ensure that all the resources are used optimally over a device’s lifecycle), sharing of assets, life extension and finally recycling. Although e-waste is growing, technologies from Internet of Things (IoT) to cloud computing show a huge potential and could lead to the “dematerialization” of the electronics industry as well as better product tracking, take-back and recycling. In many countries, e-waste recycling operations are expanding. New and inclusive business models for managing e-waste are being established. These have already generated thousands of decent jobs in safe conditions. If the electronics sector is supported with the right policy mix and managed in the right way, it could lead to the creation of millions of decent jobs worldwide. The material value of e-waste alone is worth US$ 62.5 billion (€55 billion) a year, more than the GDP of most countries in the world. Extending the life of products and re-using components prevents this unnecessary waste and brings economic benefits. A system in which all discarded products are collected and then the materials or components reintegrated into new ones will reduce the need for new raw materials, waste disposal and energy, while creating economic growth, new ‘green’ jobs, and business opportunities. Furthermore, harvesting the resources from used electronics produces substantially less carbon-dioxide emissions than mining in the earth’s crust. This report contains an important positive message: if we play it right, we can seize the development opportunities of e-waste. But more and more actors from the public and private sectors are needed to join this effort, as great things can happen when a wide variety of specialized individuals and groups are mobilized to work together towards a common vision. Together, with newly created partnerships like the United Nations E-waste Coalition, we can transform waste into wealth, and deliver development benefits to all.

Technology is poised to fundamentally transform education over the next decade. It offers the opportunity to provide every child in Georgia with access to a high-quality education and new abilities to address long-term challenges such as dropout rates and remedial education. To benefit from this technological revolution, Georgia must remove the barriers to innovation — starting with funding. As with most things, the adage of “follow the money” is appropriate. State funding formulas have become more complex over the years, pulling schools in multiple directions in order to maximize their revenues. Students and taxpayers are often the losers. Why debate details such as the level of funding for textbooks, for example, when the question should be why specifically fund textbooks at all? Instead, treat school funding as we do charter schools, focusing on results rather than micromanaging inputs. A lump sum of funding, determined by the student’s educational needs, should follow each child, allowing each school to determine its own funding priorities. Georgia students already can choose to take classes from outside their own school. The Georgia Virtual School offers a wide variety of choices, from foreign languages to Advanced Placement courses, but the availability of these classes is constrained by a limit on the number of classes funded in the state budget. The Florida Virtual School is a promising model for Georgia. Funding flows directly from the state’s funding formula, allowing the school to easily meet increased demand. One unique difference between the Florida Virtual School and traditional schools is that it only receives funding for students who successfully complete their courses. In addition to the Georgia Virtual School, the Georgia Cyber Academy provides full-time enrollment for K-12 students throughout the state. Cobb, Gwinnett and Forsyth school systems have also created their own virtual schools. Finally, high school students can take dual credit classes online from Georgia’s many technical colleges and universities. Unfortunately, schools are not encouraging these options because they “lose” funding. As these options expand, the state should develop an easy way for students to review their many options and provide for a seamless funding process. As efficiency and slower population growth reduce demand for facilities, we should consider expanding the flexibility of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or ESPLOST. First passed in 1996, this law has funded more than $15 billion in capital improvements. Today, Georgia spends more money per student on capital outlays than all but six states, and more than every Southeastern state except Florida. The ESPLOST filled an important need to replace aging facilities and keep up with a fast-growing student population at the time, but this may no longer be the most efficient use of scarce resources. ESPLOST funds are restricted to capital improvements, so could not be used to avoid the furloughs, reduced school days and other cost-cutting efforts implemented over the past few years. One option to examine would be to convert the current ESPLOST into a state sales tax that could be spent on capital or operating expenses. Just one county in Georgia has no local ESPLOST, so it is essentially already a statewide tax. To the extent that a school system no longer would need to continue spending large sums of money on facilities, this would amount to a sizable property tax reduction. Shifting funding from local capital projects to state revenues would increase the state’s share of education funding from 50 percent to approximately 60 percent, where it was a decade ago. As an added benefit, this would also fully fund the state’s virtual schools, enabling every child in the state to access a wide variety of high quality educational options. This shift would create winners and losers, but adjusting the “local fair share” portion of the state funding formula could offset the impact. School systems would still be able to hold a local property tax referendum to fund necessary capital improvements. Georgia’s children will benefit greatly from digital learning that enables them to learn at their own pace, customizes each lesson to their learning style and offers them a wide variety of choices without needing to leave their local neighborhood school or move to another school district. With Georgia’s per student spending already 23rd highest in the nation, there may be no need to spend more money. But there certainly is a need to spend more wisely. Let’s ensure that “following the money” in Georgia leads to innovation, not to the status quo. Kelly McCutchen is president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians.

Energy-related carbon emissions remained stagnant for the second year in succession, showing a decoupling with economic growth which continued to grow by more than 3 percent. Preliminary data of emissions in 2015 released by the International Energy Agency suggests that renewable energy was largely responsible, accounting for almost 90 percent of new electricity generation. "The new figures confirm last year's surprising but welcome news: we now have seen two straight years of greenhouse gas emissions decoupling from economic growth," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. Global emissions of carbon dioxide from energy sector stood at 32.1 billion tonnes in 2015, from 32.07 bt in 2013. Wind energy alone produced more than half of new electricity generation. Four earlier periods - the early 1980s, 1992 and 2009 -- when emissions dipped have been associated with global economic weakness. Not so the recent one when according to IMF the global GDP grew by 3.4% in 2014 and 3.1% in 2015. An earlier report from IEA in June last year had predicted that while global energy-related emissions would slow, it will not peak by 2030. The link between economic growth and emissions will weaken significantly, but not be broken. With economic growth poised for 88% rise from 2013 to 2030, energy-related carbon emissions would go up by 8%. The two largest emitters, China and the United States, showed a drop in energy-related CO2 in 2015. In China, the 1.5 % drop was ascribed to continuing drop in coal use and focus on less energy-intensive industries. Coal-powered electricity accounted for less than 70 percent while hydro, wind and other renewable pushed renewable power to 28 percent. In the United States, emissions declined by 2%, largely due to increasing reliance on natural gas. However, developing economies in Asia and Middle East made up with increasing emissions with Europe also showing a moderate increase. The IEA's World Energy Outlook report late last year had warned that global energy demand will grow by nearly a third between 2013 and 2040, with net growth coming entirely from developing countries. While China's coal use would drop, both China and India would drive a surge in energy demand. Fuel efficiency measures would be offset by a prolonged period of lower oil prices with 15% of the energy savings lost in a low oil price scenario, the report said. The current emissions cannot avert a temperature increase of 2.7 °C by 2100, the IEA had cautioned unless a major course correction is applied. Energy accounts for two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions.

- Rice University - 4 weeks - Paid Certificate Available Get a running start in the high-stakes world of financial investment! This first course is designed to help you become an informed investor by providing you with the essential concepts for long-term success in managing money. You’ll start by learning the role of financial markets and financial assets in a well-functioning economy. From there, you’ll learn about the wide range of financial instruments available in major asset classes, their features and valuations. You’ll explore how financial markets actually operate in the real world, focusing on how and where securities are traded and how various market types differ from one another in practice. You will also learn the basics of algorithmic trading, dark pools, buying on margin and short selling. By the end of the course, learners will be able to: • List and distinguish the different financial instruments available to an investor • Compare global financial markets • Explain the features of equity, debt, and derivative instruments • Define traditional and alternative asset classes • Discuss different trading venues and mechanics of securities trading • Discuss the current trends affecting today’s financial markets This course is designed to be accessible for students of all knowledge levels and gives you the actionable foundation needed to manage money in a post-crisis world. Module 1: Introduction & Review of Elementary Finance Tools This module introduces the Investment and Portfolio Management Specialization, which is made up of four courses. This module discusses how the first course, Global Financial Markets and Instruments, is organized. It outlines the different stages of the investment management process, which guides the focus of the Specialization. It also reviews basic finance concepts and tools such as time value of money, computing returns, discounting and compounding. Module 2: Financial system & financial assets: fixed income securities In this and the next module, we cover the key institutional features of financial markets and instruments. We ask the following questions: Why do financial markets exist? What role do they play? What are financial assets and how are they different than real assets? How does it all come together? Basically, this is where I hope you will get to see the big picture of the entire financial system and how it comes together. Module 2 focuses on fixed-income securities. We'll get started with a review of basics of bond valuation. You will learn about short-term money market instruments, U.S. Treasury securities as well as corporate bonds. After module 2, you will be able to describe fixed income securities, be familiar with their institutional features, and identify their cash flows. Finally, you will learn how to value fixed income securities such as Treasury bills, zero-coupon or coupon-bonds and compute yields. Module 3: Financial system & financial assets: equity securities and derivatives In Module 3, we continue our overview of financial markets and instruments. We next focus on two other major asset classes: equity securities and derivative instruments. You will learn about how equity differs from fixed income securities, the cash flows associated with stock and preferred stock and how to find the value of a share. You will also learn about option strategies. After completing module 3, you will be able to describe all major asset classes, including derivative instruments such as options, forwards and futures. You will be able to explain how these differ from each other and their payoffs. Module 4: Organization of financial markets and securities trading In this module, we discuss how financial markets actually work. We will talk about different trading venues and the mechanics of securities trading. I will emphasize a lot of terminology and the latest trends in securities trading to familiarize you with the institutional workings of financial markets. After this module, you will be able to compare different trading venues, trading mechanisms, and be able to explain different types of orders, including transactions like margin buying and short-selling; you will be familiar with the language and terminology you need in order to become an informed practitioner of investments.

The overall vision of the project is to contribute towards a pro-poor, environmentally responsible livestock sector investment and development with specific reference to developing and emerging countries. Through a pilot study with smallholder dairy farmers in East Africa the project aims to show proof of concept of a new environmental assessment framework. This framework will be designed to ensure that current and proposed actions designed to improve incomes and food security in livestock systems has a minimum environmental footprint while at the same time lifting people out of poverty. - Assess existing environmental frameworks applied in agricultural development with focus on livestock and aquaculture sectors - Address key knowledge gaps around the environmental tradeoffs and synergies associated with livestock intensification, to support identification of best practices to enhance win-win outcomes for productivity and the environment - Partner strategically with local institutions to test the framework in the planning phase The livestock sector provides livelihoods for 1 billion people, generates 40% of global agricultural GDP, and is a major contributor to food and nutrition security. Driven by continued population growth, rising affluence and urbanization, global consumption of animal products is projected to double by 2050. Almost the entire increase will take place in less developed countries, which will generate as much as three-quarters of global meat production and two thirds of global milk output. The potential for yield improvement in livestock production systems is large in many countries. This is particularly true for livestock systems with ruminants, as cows, buffalos, goats and sheep. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA) the meat output relative to biomass feed for cattle is only 50% of the yield in Latin America, and 25% of the yield in industrialized countries. Also, milk production per cow is low in SSA and SA, at about half the level in Latin America. The ongoing demand-driven ‘Livestock Revolution’ presents genuine opportunities for livelihood improvement and income generation for resource limited smallholder farming systems in SSA and SA. An intensification of livestock production in these regions will also be required to respond to the growing demand for meat and dairy produce. Intensified animal rearing is demanding of resources. It appropriates cropland and pastures and affects key parameters such as water, nutrients and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thus heightening the risk of undermining the resilience of ecosystems at multiple scales. To ensure that livestock is a vehicle for sustainable development The choice of options to increase productivity and income in livestock systems needs to be supported with ex ante analyses of their environmental consequences in order to identify the scale of environmental concerns and to identify trade-offs, co-benefits and, if necessary, mitigation measures. However, there is no consistent way to assess the value of resource use and ecosystem impacts related to livestock production. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop appropriate evaluation frameworks to ensure that investments in livestock production by private actors, public institutions and donors can be examined from the perspective of environmental sustainability. Project Partnership and Team This is a strategic collaboration led by ILR together with SEI, CIAT , and CSIRO. Key staff involves Mats Lannerstad (ILRI/SEI), Mario Herrero (CSIRO), An Notenbaert (CIAT), Ylva Ran (SEI), Simon Fraval (ILRI), Simon Mugatha (ILRI), Birthe Paul (CIAT), Jennie Barron (SEI), Eric Kemp-Benedict (SEI) , Joanne Morris (SEI) Project Wiki: https://ilri-cleaned.wikispaces.com/ - A review of environmental impact assessment frameworks for livestock production systems - Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for Improved Nutrition, a Secured Environment and Sustainable Development along livestock and aquaculture value chains – PGIS Workshop Summary Report – Lushoto - Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for Improved Nutrition, a Secured Environment and Sustainable Development along livestock and aquaculture value chains – PGIS Workshops Summary Report – Morogoro - CLEANED discussion brief - Towards sustainable livestock interventions (A0 poster, PDF) Presented at SEI York Seminar 2014. All project deliverables are available on the wikispace

Financial Literacy Worksheets for High School – Pupils learn how to count money and set it to use responsibly when searching for goods and solutions. In this lesson, they are asked to identify costs related to owning and operating a motor vehicle. They emphasize different ways to work together to decide to produce and to earn money. They don’t need to look at a board or listen to a lecture for a class period. They create a better understanding of approaches to realize their goals and will learn the value of preparing for the future. They watch demonstrations and continue with course discussions on responsible home purchasing, and how to shut a home purchase. A literacy passport is earned by them. Students compare the features of three types of charge cards. They will also know how to monitor their credit history and things to do in case of fraud. They will learn about the labor markets and economic indicators. They will examine the lure of advertisements as well as the techniques used to create products that appear irresistible. Then they work to comprehend the tools create revenue and they ‘ll have to produce this great. In this lesson, they will learn about different kinds of financial support products offered and the characteristics of each. Although students have an overall idea about the advantages and disadvantages of credit, this lesson provides an opportunity to go over these issues in more detail. The lesson teaches the fundamentals of bank account, rates of interest, and budgets. This introductory lesson provides students with a chance to find out more on the subject of decision-making. This lesson will encourage students to choose the time and effort to produce a price range and their personal financial goals. The lessons learned within this unit may apply to classes in the credit score standard. By way of instance, a lesson called WallpaperWoes asks students to find the area out. In the event you use them all, you’ll have a robust, comprehensive curriculum that’s ensured to assist students to understand the fundamentals of finance that is personal. It offers curriculum in Spanish and English to accompany quite a few of the clips. With the mix of those tools for your classroom, then you might create an engaging and beneficial curriculum for your students. Financial illiteracy isn’t limited to students. Still, Scholastic is just the start. Now unless he got no other option Buddy understands to prevent loans. To start with, have tweens write down the cash they create in a month. Do your homework and online to be certain you’re receiving the best price. To spend while purchasing vehicles provides guidelines, Considering these prices are underestimated. Cash is earned, and also we must perform the job, to make money. It will inform you about when, why, and also how you make use of cash. You were able to save a fortune on novels and magazines by visiting your community library. Creating a budget is simple. Also, it has a step-by-step execution plan you may utilize to integrate these classes with your curriculum that is present. The game provides students an opportunity when studying significant private finance skills to compete against each other. Games are an excellent process to push home the significance of distinct concepts you teach when it comes to important notions like finance. As an effort to encourage kids to learn literacy, there are several engaging games provided for middle and school students. Fico scores are a three-digit number derived from info on somebody ‘s payment history. As young women and men develop, a normal objective is to live. Building your career is one of the surest methods to boost income and earn money. Each of the materials and presenters can be found to participants or schools. The material within this lesson will help students become conscious of the warning signs of financial issues. As well as how to pay it, this procedure always leads to some dialog about the price of attending university. The procedure starts with setting targets. Getting in a position to look after money is a skill. There are so many. It is time. There are, moreover, some ideas about how to maintain a budget binder. You get to make everything you very likely to eat and decisions, like the type of home that you reside in, dependent on your identity. However, the alternative is available if you would like to incorporate it.

- Wheat production is an important industry in Australia worth over $5 billion annually. Australia exports around 70% of its crop. - Though yields are generally low compared to other wheat-producing areas, the Australian grain is often superior in quality and commands a high price on the international market. - The most important constraint to wheat production in Australia, and at the same time a key reason for the superior quality, is water scarcity. However, towards the end of the growing season, the risk of severe drought is high and often coincides with high temperatures, further reducing yield and quality, both major threats to the industry. - Average wheat yield losses due to heat stress in Australia has been estimated at 10-15%, representing a loss of $300M-400M per year. - In the last decade, Australia has suffered multi-year droughts and, based on FAO statistics, yield in 2006 dropped by 46% below the average 1960-2010 yield levels. ARC publication – ‘Making a difference: Outcomes for ARC supported research’ GRDC publication – ‘GroundCover’ GroundCover™ Issue: 138 January – February 2019 GroundCover™ Issue: 131 November–December 2017 7 News Adelaide on Twitter – Oct 2018 Annual meeting 2017 Hub launch 2015

Cocoa is far from the only ingredient in Betty Crocker baked goods, but when you long for a brownie, it’s likely chocolate that you’re craving. We use high-quality cocoa in everything from baked goods to cereal to snacks. Making sure that cocoa is grown in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner is a priority for General Mills. We know consumers are increasingly interested not only in where their food comes from but how it is grown and by whom. We share consumers’ desire for transparency. For that reason, we made a commitment in 2014 to sustainably source our top ten priority ingredients by 2020. Today, we sustainably source 90 percent of the cocoa we purchase and are on track to meet our goal of 100 percent by 2020. Cocoa’s Unique Challenges Approximately 90 percent of the cocoa General Mills purchases is grown in West Africa, primarily by smallholder farmers. To help ensure that these farmers earn a fair price for the crop to support their families, General Mills works with key partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria to improve the sustainability of cocoa production, improve smallholder farmer incomes and ensure the highest quality ingredients for our products. Cocoa farming is a labor-intensive process. The economic viability of this crop is just one of the challenges in the cocoa supply chain. Farmers often face low yields due to low productivity, degraded soil fertility, pests and other environmental factors. Helping families keep children in school rather than working on cocoa farms is also essential. Deforestation is a growing risk in some areas due to encroachment on forest reserves and protected areas, pressure from people migration, and lack of knowledge on agro-forestry best practices. Importance of Strong Partnerships General Mills partners with our cocoa suppliers, NGOs like CARE and non-profit international membership organizations like the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) to help improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa production in our supply chain. And our sourcing team has embedded sustainability into our work with key suppliers to provide direct support to cocoa-growing communities in West Africa through programs that help smallholder farmers increase yields and grow high quality cocoa to improve farmer incomes. General Mills also provides funding for programs in cocoa-growing communities to improve food security, access to clean water, education, women’s empowerment and other needs. Making a Difference The impact of these efforts has been significant. More farmers are being trained in good agricultural practices so they can grow cocoa more sustainably and improve yields, and farmer livelihoods are improving. Here are a few highlights from the cocoa programs General Mills supports: - Côte d’Ivoire: 24,700 farmers have received agricultural training, 52,600 farmers have reported higher incomes and 1,500 people have been educated about the importance of women’s empowerment. - Ghana: 234 farmers were trained, primary school enrollment increased to 99 percent and household food insecurity decreased 25 percent. - Nigeria: 6,700 farmers received training in harvest practices. Today, following the good agricultural practices taught, the yield from my harvest is greater. Now I earn more money and am financially independent. I can also afford the school fees for the education of my children. I appreciate the training sessions and am working to raise women’s awareness about the advantages of cocoa farming.Akekoua Ane Yvette Cocoa Farmer, Côte d'Ivoire In addition to working directly with our suppliers to address systemic challenges and enforce our Supplier Code of Conduct, General Mills also participates in broader industry initiatives to improve cocoa sustainability. In 2017, for example, General Mills was one of 35 companies to join the WCF’s new Cocoa and Forest Initiative (CFI) to address and ultimately eliminate deforestation in key West African cocoa sourcing origins. We’ve signed Frameworks for Action for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and recently published a General Mills-specific action plan. Highlights of our action plan include: - Forest Protection: where one of our priorities is to ensure we understand the origin of cocoa used in our products, to ensure our sourcing is not driving deforestation. To this end, we are committed to achieving 100% traceability to farm for our cocoa supply chains in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana by 2022. - Forest Restoration: where we see the restoration of areas degraded through cocoa production as a necessary requirement for a sustainable, resilient and productive cocoa sector. With the help of the General Mills Foundation, we are currently working with NGO partners to assess landscape restoration and conservation opportunities for future direct origin investment. - Sustainable production and livelihoods: where, via our suppliers and delivery partners, we will continue to invest in the long-term productivity of cocoa/farms in our supply base through, among other things, the provision of Good Agricultural Practices training to farmers, the distribution of shade trees and the implementation of agroforestry practices. - Community engagement and inclusion: where, via our suppliers and delivery partners, we will undertake community consultations on the CFI Frameworks for Action and continue community-based management models (CBNRM) for forest protection and restoration. We will continue to work with industry partners and provide direct investment for programs in cocoa growing communities to help improve the sustainability of cocoa production and ensure a reliable supply of high-quality chocolate for our products. “General Mills is making a difference in the lives of cocoa farmers in West Africa by collaborating with our suppliers and NGO partners who are working directly in cocoa growing communities to improve the economic, environmental and social impacts of growing cocoa,” says Jerry Lynch, chief sustainability officer at General Mills. “Our direct investment in the communities from which we source cocoa is helping to drive cocoa sustainability now and into the future.

Is going green affordable? For a long time, people have been stressing the importance of protecting the environment. We all know that there are many things that we can do; we can reduce pollution or waste, we can use renewable energies and materials, we can recycle, we can reduce our consumption of certain items, we can plant trees, we can save water, the list goes on and on. It is true that the impact of human activity is damaging our planet, which is the very source of all our resources, so we should reverse our actions and take care of the environment before we no longer have what we need to live. It is also true that taking care of the planet in such a way is a great investment. Going green usually requires extra effort and, in some cases, even pouring some money into the mix. However, in some cases, changing our lifestyle or our hardware to be more environmental friendly can, in fact, make us save money. One example of this is LPG conversion for cars: it might require some cash up front to pay for the LPG system and the installation, but once you have that going, you will see your fuel expenses dramatically drop. Another great example of how you can save money and be more environmental friendly at the same time is to install solar panels on your roof to make your own electricity. Cut down costs with solar panels Solar panels will produce electricity without consuming any resources, with the mere sunlight that shines on us all. The silicon cells that are inside the glass panels react to the sun rays and produce energy, which goes right to your cables. As you make your own energy, you don’t need to pay bills for it. In other words, it’s free energy. If you can produce enough electricity to cover your needs, you won’t have to pay for it at all. These cases are rare; in most opportunities, people will cut down their electricity expenses, but not reduce them to zero. Installation of solar panels that can cover your needs can cost between four and seven thousand pounds, and yet in a few years, you will have saved so much money that you will triple your investment. Also, there is a very interesting program in which the a payment for you - yes, you’ve read it right, the government pays you - for the energy that your solar panels produce, whether or not you use it. If you don’t, it will go right to the street cables and add up to the voltage of the public power lines for someone else to benefit from it. This is called the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and is funded by all citizens in their energy bills. As you can imagine, this has encouraged quite a few Britons to install solar panels on their roofs in the hopes to make some money in the long term - hopes that are usually met, between the FIT and the money that they save every month on energy bills. In the webpage there is plenty of information on this matter, including the very interesting fact that if your house is more energy-efficient, you will get an even higher amount of money every month out of the FIT. However, solar panels, as you can see, are quite expensive. Some people decide to take a loan or even remortgage their houses in order to afford them, but then they have to deal with the interests generated by these financial schemes. Is there, then, another option for saving money and even make revenue without paying upfront? Free solar panels Yes, you hear right. There are companies offering to install free solar panels on your roof. How is that possible and how does that make sense? This isn’t an act of charity, as we hope you have imagined. Some companies offer a very interesting scheme in which they lease your roof for around 20-25 years and install solar panels there. As they are leasing your rooftop and installing the panels, they’re technically theirs, so they get the benefits of the FIT instead of you. However, this has some advantages for you: you receive a portion of the FIT as a compensation for the lease, and you get to use the energy generated by these solar panels for free. If you are interested in this possibility, we suggest that you check this article on , which compares both options quite thoroughly.

Definition: Pricing is the method of determining the value a producer will get in the exchange of goods and services. Simply, pricing method is used to set the price of producer’s offerings relevant to both the producer and the customer. Every business operates with the primary objective of earning profits, and the same can be realized through the Pricing methods adopted by the firms. While setting the price of a product or service the following points have to be kept in mind: - Nature of the product/service. - The price of similar product/service in the market. - Target audience i.e. for whom the product is manufactured (high, medium or lower class) - The cost of production viz. Labor cost, raw material cost, machinery cost, inventory cost, transit cost, etc. - External factors such as Economy, Government policies, Legal issues, etc. The objective once set gives the path to the business i.e. in which direction to go. The following are the pricing objectives that clears the purpose for which the business exists: - Survival: The foremost Pricing Objective of any firm is to set the price that is optimum and help the product or service to survive in the market. Each firm faces the danger of getting ruled out from the market because of the intense competition, a mature market or change in customer’s tastes and preferences, etc.Thus, a firm must set the price covering the fixed and variable cost incurred without adding any profit margin to it. The survival should be the short term objective once the firm gets a hold in the market it must strive for the additional profits.The New Firms entering into the market adopts this type of pricing objective. - Maximizing the current profits: Many firms try to maximize their current profits by estimating the Demand and Supply of goods and services in the market. Pricing is done in line with the product’s demand in the customers and the substitutes available to fulfill that demand. Higher the demand higher will be the price charged. Seasonal supply and demand of goods and services are the best examples that can be quoted here. - Capturing huge market share: Many firms charge low prices for their offerings to capture greater market share. The reason for keeping the price low is to have an increased sales resulting from the Economies of Scale. Higher sales volume lead to lower production cost and increased profits in the long run.This strategy of keeping the price low is also known as Market Penetration Pricing. This pricing method is generally used when competition is intense and customers are price sensitive. FMCG industry is the best example to supplement this. - Market Skimming: Market skimming means charging a high price for the product and services offered by the firms which are innovative, and uses modern technology. The prices are comparatively kept high due to the high cost of production incurred because of modern technology. Mobile phones, Electronic Gadgets are the best examples of skimming pricing that are launched at a very high cost and gets cheaper with the span of time. - Product –Quality Leadership: Many firms keep the price of their goods and services in accordance with the Quality Perceived by the customers. Generally, the luxury goods create their high quality, taste, and status image in the minds of customers for which they are willing to pay high prices. Luxury cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc. create the high quality with high-status image among the customers. Thus, every firm operates with the ultimate objective of earning profits and, therefore, the price of a product must be set keeping in mind the cost incurred in its production along with the benefits it offers for which people are ready to pay extra.

Two news items showed up today on the idea of adopting a worldwide carbon price to reduce GHG emissions. The general idea is to use one of three approaches: 1) world cap & trade allocations (which has been the underlying notion in negotiations so far); 2) setting a specific carbon price or tax through treaty; or 3) using trade tariffs by a coalition of participating nations to incent non-participating ones to control their emissions. There is evidence that pricing carbon is effective in reducing emissions. The U.S. Secretary of Energy called for a world carbon price implemented through one of the first two methods listed here. The new American Economics Review has an article that shows that a trade tariff regime imposed by a coalition can induce other nations to control their emissions. |The Strategic Value of Carbon Tariffs| |Christoph Böhringer, Jared C. Carbone and Thomas F. Rutherford| |We ask whether the threat of carbon tariffs might lower the cost of reductions in world carbon emissions by inducing unregulated regions to adopt emission controls. We use a numerical model to generate payoffs of a game in which a coalition regulates emissions and chooses whether to employ carbon tariffs against unregulated regions. Unregulated regions respond by abating, retaliating, or ignoring the tariffs. In the Nash equilibrium, the use of tariffs is a credible and effective threat. It induces cooperation from noncoalition regions that lowers the cost of global abatement substantially relative to the case where the coalition acts alone. (JEL D58, F13, F18, H23, Q54, Q58)| |Full-Text Access | Supplementary Materials|

- Cost Transformation What is it? Porter's Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis was developed in 1979 by Michael E Porter of Harvard Business School. It's a simple framework for assessing and evaluating the competitive strength and position of a business organisation. It promotes the concept that there are five forces which determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market. Porter's Five Forces helps to identify where power lies in a business situation. This is useful both in understanding how strong an organisation's competitive position is currently, and how it can achieve competitive advantage. According to Porter, a business has competitive advantage if, compared with its rivals, it operates at a lower cost, commands a premium price, or both. Strategic analysts often use Porter's Five Forces to understand whether new products or services are potentially profitable. By understanding where power lies, the theory can also be used to identify areas of strength, to improve weaknesses and to avoid mistakes. The five forces are: - Supplier power. An assessment of how easy it is for suppliers to drive up prices. This is determined by: the number of suppliers for each essential element; the uniqueness of their product or service; the relative size and strength of the supplier; and the cost of switching from one supplier to another. - Buyer power. An assessment of how easy it is for buyers to drive prices down. This is determined by: the number of buyers in the market; the importance of each individual buyer to the business; and the cost to the buyer of switching from one supplier to another. If a business has just a few powerful buyers, they are often able to dictate terms. - Competitive rivalry. The main driver is the number and capability of competitors in the market. If there are many competitors offering undifferentiated products and services, this will reduce market attractiveness. - Threat of substitution. Where close substitute products exist in a market, it increases the likelihood of customers switching to alternatives in response to price increases. This reduces both the power of suppliers and the attractiveness of the market. - Threat of new entry. Profitable markets attract new entrants, which in turn reduces profitability. Unless incumbents have strong and durable barriers to entry – for example, patents, economies of scale, capital requirements or government policies – then profitability will decline to a competitive rate. Arguably, the influence of regulation, taxation and trade policies makes government a sixth force for many industries. What benefits does Porter's Five Forces analysis provide? Five Forces analysis helps organisations understand the factors affecting profitability in a specific industry. This can help inform decisions about: whether to enter a specific industry; whether to increase capacity in an industry; and developing competitive strategies. Implementing Porter's Five Forces analysis? Questions to consider - Can we define our industry? - Is our cost structure competitive? - Does our value chain support a sustainable business model? - Do we want bigger market share or bigger profits? |Actions to take / Dos||Actions to avoid / Don'ts| |Related and similar practices to consider||Further resources|

We hear it all the time. Young Americans struggle with basic concepts like budgeting, saving, interest, and debt. So how are they ever going to navigate the world of personal finance and save for retirement? The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) – an organization that supports financial education efforts across the U.S. – explains why understanding personal finance is so critical to future generations of Americans: “We have known for some time that American 15-year-olds lag behind many other countries in financial literacy. (But) other countries with low literacy rates offset citizens’ knowledge gaps by replacing higher rates of income through national pension systems (e.g. Social Security). But where a country like Spain covers 89 percent of a person’s working income in retirement, the American Social Security program covers only about 45 percent. Without the education to fund their own retirements, today’s high school graduates face an uncertain future.” National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), January/February 2017 Digest So let’s think through that math. When you fail to set aside your own funds for retirement in Spain, for example, or in a number of other European countries, you can still retire with almost the same level of income you had when you were working, thanks to generous government safety nets. But in the United States, your income drops to less than half of what it was when you were working. Ouch! So take a look at what you are earning now. Divide it in half. How well can you and your family live on half of your income? If the answer is “not very well,” start learning more about your personal finances and get started on a savings program while you still have time to change the future.

Black Friday, the Friday following Thanksgiving, is a well-established tradition in the United States. It marks the start of the Christmas shopping season, which is vitally important for American retailers. The color black is typically associated with calamities, especially financial ones such as stock market crashes. But in this instance, black has a positive meaning. While there are several different origin stories for the name “Black Friday,” since the 1980s it has become commonly accepted that the name marks the time when these retailers move from being in the red (meaning losing money) to be in the black (being profitable). Because it is the busiest day of the year for many retailers, Black Friday is seen as an important benchmark for the health of the American retail industry. With the advent of e-commerce, Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is a day when online retailers also offer extreme deals to boost their revenues. As such, sales figures for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are highly anticipated numbers that receive widespread coverage and commentary. People shop at the Herald Square Macy’s Flagship store for the early Black Friday sales in New York City, November 22, 2018. /VCG Photo Given the business and social significance of Black Friday/Cyber Monday, it is useful to compare this American creation with its Chinese counterpart, Singles’ Day or 11.11. Like Black Friday, 11.11 was created by Alibaba in 2009 as a way to boost its e-commerce sales, but since then it has evolved into something much more significant. Viewed solely as an indicator of commercial performance, 11.11 first surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the biggest shopping day of the year in 2012. According to Alibaba, the first 11.11 event brought in 7.8 million U.S. dollars in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2009, while last year GMV totaled 25.3 billion U.S. dollars versus a Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined total of 11.62 billion U.S. dollars. This year Alibaba set a new 11.11 record with 30.8 billion U.S. dollars in GMV. But comparing these two shopping events is more than just a trite recitation of the massive size of China’s market. It is also about more than just showcasing the explosive rise of China’s increasingly affluent and sophisticated consumers. While the comparison does achieve these two points, it also serves to illustrate a new kind of retail with Chinese characteristics that are having a global impact. At the dawn of the Internet era in China, the term C2C was very much in vogue. But this acronym did not stand for “consumer to consumer,” instead, it was shorthand for “copy to China”, meaning that products and business models that were pioneered elsewhere, mainly Silicon Valley, were replicated in China. This was the formula driving the rise of that era’s Internet giants and the genesis of the view of China as a nation of vast untapped markets teeming with local copycats unable to innovate. Fast forward to today and there is a new phrase reflecting the current realities in China: If you want know what Amazon will do in two years, look at what Alibaba is doing today. A closer look at these two events and how they have or haven’t changed over time, can not just shed light on the state of China’s e-commerce market, but perhaps also illuminate how the retail industry worldwide may advance over the next few years. Students at Jilin University line up to collect their packages after 11.11 in Jilin, China, November 16, 2018. /VCG Photo This year’s event in China has been rechristened as the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. While superficially it appears similar to Black Friday, underneath the hood it is quite different and the implications for the future of retail are profound. The goal of Black Friday is quite simple: move merchandise so American retailers can book more sales. However, while 11.11 started with the same goal it has since evolved to achieve much more sophisticated objectives. According to Daniel Zhang, Alibaba CEO, the company’s goal is not to dominate e-commerce but achieve the complete digitization of retail, both online and offline, which it dubs “New Retail.” Rather than just boost sales by offering extreme deals, brands participating in 11.11 now see it as a way to acquire new customers and strengthen customer engagement. One way brands do this is by promoting limited edition products instead of big discounts with 180,000 brands from inside and outside China participating. As part of its New Retail vision Alibaba has launched a business like Hema, an integrated retail experience combining a brick and mortar supermarket, restaurant and distribution center that delivers within a three-kilometer radius, and an automobile vending machine concept that allows prospective buyers to try out new cars before ever interacting with a salesperson. According to Zhang, 11.11 has now become an important platform for showcasing these emerging capabilities for new retail. Also, this edition of 11.11 includes 200,000 mom-and-pop stores powered by Alibaba’s Ling Shou Tong to provide online sales promotions and augmented reality-based red packets that offer discounts at 3,000 “Tmall Corner Stores.” Furthermore, through Lazada, its Southeast Asian affiliate, Alibaba hosted its 11.11 Shopping Festival across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. As the above examples show, 11.11 has evolved to be much more than just a shopping day and is now a key component of how a Chinese company is leading the way in creating the future of global retail. Perhaps before too long, we will see Amazon and others adopting similar approaches to keep pace and Black Friday and Cyber Monday may start exhibiting Chinese characteristics.From CGTN，2018-12-06

In 2016, 17.6 million new cars and trucks were purchased in the United States. Only 159,000 (0.9%) of the new vehicles purchased in the United States in 2016 were electronic vehicles (EVs). Why were so few EVs purchased, given the overwhelming concern over the environment and global warming? America’s reticence to purchase an EV include the following: - Price – A mid-size EV costs 30% to 50% more than a similar sized automobile with an internal combustion engine (ICE). - Limited Driving Range – The average EV can run for 40 to 200 miles on one charge. - Battery Charging Time – Time to charge an electric car can take as little as 30 minutes and up to 12 hours. The time it takes to charge depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. - Charging Stations Standards – The availability of fast charging points has in part been held up by the lack of an agreement among automakers on a universal method for fast charging and on standardization on a single electrical connector. Major automobile manufacturers in Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as technology giants like Alphabet, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla are spending billions of dollars to make EVs the preferred automobile for consumers. The trillion-dollar question is when will new technology make the purchase of an EV more appealing than the purchase of an ICE? The “when” is called the tipping point. Nissan Motor Company (Nissan) believes the cost of an EV will be the same as an ICE in 2025. EV battery manufacturers forecast dramatic improvements in increased driving ranges and shortened charging times will occur before 2025. Nissan Motor Company (Nissan) is a multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. Nissan is the largest EV manufacturer in the world, including the manufacturer of the top-selling EV model, the Nissan Leaf. Charging station standards and the number of charging stations may become the last impediment to the America’s EV tipping point. In my opinion, 2025 may be the tipping point for EV purchases in America.

The simple definition of credit is borrowed money and all forms of credit which one takes are debt until paid back in full. The cost of obtaining credit to purchase appreciating assets such as property are considered worthwhile as very few have enough cash on them to purchase a house outright and thus need to borrow. However it is generally the case that the costs of borrowing to finance a house purchase will be reflected in the rising value of the property. Credit is increasingly used these days to buy an education, a very expensive outlay. One can weigh the cost in advance and determine if student loans to finance college will be a good investment by estimating the potential increased earnings having a degree will bring. However student loans often end up being a burden which graduates carry for years, having invested far more in their education than the monetary returns their degree brings. Borrowing massively for an arts degree with no profession waiting to offer a high salary can mean the cost of borrowing balloons out of control and the resultant debt was a huge mistake in retrospect. Others use their education wisely and obtain professional qualifications which guarantee them a substantial earning potential for life. The true cost of credit really hits home when it is used to finance day to day expenditure as amply illustrated by the profligate use of credit cards. A huge sector of society has become trapped with credit card debt and the true cost of this is often far more than the monetary costs. When a family becomes trapped in debt, be it credit card debt, loans or mortgage arrears, then often the true cost is shown in human terms. High levels of unmanageable debt can lead to loss of homes, marriage breakdowns, depression and even suicide. The reality is that most forms of credit which lead to this fund lifestyles which are beyond the consumer’s means to support. A simple change in circumstances can see their whole life fall down like a pack of cards as it was supported by the flimsy structure of borrowed money. Interest rates applied to all forms of credit can be extemely high, though those who use credit well are able to obtain preferential rates. Age old wisdoms of borrowing have been discarded in the race for ease of obtainment. Mortgages obtained with low down payments which give the home owner little equity value but leave them overextended on monthly payments are a sign of both irresponsible lending and borrowing. Financial obligations should not be entered into lightly without a full understanding of the product used and the consequences of failing to deliver on payments. The simple absurdity of borrowing to pay for more house than one can afford and then furnishing it with loans and paying for day to day living on credit cards is bound to end in high costs. It is simply unsustainable, as many have now discovered. The true costs of credit are high when not managed responsibly and when taken without full understanding. It is time that the younger generation were educated in fiscal responsibility and thus learn to avoid the downfalls and high costs of using credit.

Today, President Obama kicks off National Manufacturing Day to celebrate the economic benefits that flow from America’s leadership in manufacturing. From transportation to communications to health care, manufacturing has improved livelihoods, provided jobs, and boosted economic growth. As we celebrate manufacturing as a source of strength, the pressing challenges of climate change present a new opportunity for the United States to take the lead in manufacturing fuel-efficient transportation and clean power sources. Climate change risk may be the catalyst, but the conversion to clean sources of power, fuel-efficient transportation, and the retrofitting of our nation’s manufacturing facilities, hospitals, schools, and buildings to make them more energy efficient will also stimulate meaningful economic growth and significant job creation and retention. In the United States, there were 769,000 people employed in the renewable and alternative energy sector last year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. And employment in three sectors — solar, wind and biofuel — tripled from 2006 to 2012. Some will find it odd that a business leader from a mining and metals company and the president of its largest North American union have a common view of climate risk and many of the changes required to address it. It’s actually simple: Beyond our shared concerns for the health and public safety risks of climate change, its effects also jeopardize the interests of shareholders and workers alike. But the conversion to cleaner power sources, fuel-efficient transportation, and other efficiency measures will depend on the “old” products and skills of the mining and metals sector. Consider aluminum, one of the world’s most versatile and environmentally-friendly metals (particularly when it’s made from hydro power). Increasingly used in cars, trucks and planes, aluminum is making them lighter and more fuel efficient. In the auto sector, weight displacement with a kilogram of aluminum can save 20 kilograms of CO2 emissions over a vehicle’s lifetime. Another metal critical to clean power is copper. Long a staple of the industrial age for its energy efficiency, copper plays a big role in solar panels and wind turbines. A single wind turbine that delivers 1.5 megawatts of power requires 1,900 pounds of copper. And copper’s electrical and thermal conductivity are also essential to the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy. Copper has one other valuable attribute: It can be recycled over and over without sacrificing any of its valuable properties. About 550 million tons of copper have been produced since the start of the 20th century, and about two-thirds is still in use. Steel is being produced more efficiently and with drastically fewer emissions in U.S. plants. American-produced steel — which is the backbone of our transportation sector and our nation’s buildings and critical infrastructure — operates with the lowest energy consumption per ton of steel produced in the world. Since 1990, the North American steel industry reduced the CO2 intensity per ton of steel produced by 37 percent. Advanced domestic metallurgical applications are making further strides in lowering climate impacts of steel production. There are also “new” minerals and metals that clean power manufacturers are asking the mineral and metals sector to prioritize for development. From lithium to scandium, materials innovators are scouring the periodic table for minerals that will make vehicles lighter and more energy efficient, extend the power of batteries, or provide stronger materials for new manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing. The Obama administration has demonstrated leadership by investing in applied research to discover the materials that facilitate clean technology product development. The Critical Materials Institute, a public-private innovation hub at the Department of Energy, harnesses the research power of national labs in partnership with companies like Rio Tinto, to find ways for the United States to leverage its natural mineral resources to advance clean technology manufacturing. Rio Tinto, with the support of United Steelworkers operational leaders at our Kennecott copper smelter in Utah, is partnering with CMI to uncover better ways to extract “new” minerals and metals — that are key inputs for clean tech manufacturing — from the “old” process of copper smelting, which continues to evolve and improve. Finding new ways to access the mineral wealth of the United States is important because today the U.S. imports more than 50 percent of the 41 metals and minerals key to clean technology applications. Even in copper, where the U.S. has ample domestic resources, the U.S. has become dependent on imports for 36 percent of its refined copper needs. Twenty-five years ago, the United States was a net exporter of refined copper. This dependence is likely to grow: While demand is expected to increase, domestic supply is limited by the fact that there are only three operating copper smelters in the U.S., and a shrinking number of high-grade copper mines. Climate change is an issue that we should embrace, not ignore. The conversion to cleaner sources of energy, fuel efficient transportation, and increased industrial and building efficiency presents a unique and timely opportunity for a new generation of U.S. manufacturers. Realizing the full potential of these “new” technologies will depend on maximizing “old” inputs from the mining and metals sector. With the right investments and the right leadership from the public and private sectors, this marriage of old and new can deliver positive climate change results as well as economic growth and job creation and retention. Hugo Bague is group executive for organizational resources at mining and minerals company Rio Tinto. Leo W. Gerard is international president of the United Steelworkers Union. Morning Consult welcomes op-ed submissions on policy, politics and business strategy in our coverage areas. Submission guidelines can be found here.

Government supplies consolidating service In return, it proposed to give up ownership of the local operating companies. This last concession, it argued, would achieve the Government's goal of creating competition in supplying telephone equipment and supplies to the operative companies. Prior to the breakup, the broadcast networks relied on AT&T Long Lines' infrastructure of terrestrial microwave relay, coaxial cable, and, for radio, broadcast-quality leased line networks to deliver their programming to local stations. However, by the mid-1970s, the then-new technology of satellite distribution offered by other companies like RCA Astro Electronics and Western Union with their respective Satcom 1 and Westar 1 satellites started to give the Bell System competition in the broadcast distribution field, with the satellites providing higher video & audio quality, as well as much lower transmission costs. However, the networks stayed with AT&T (along with simulcasting their feeds via satellite through the late 1970s to the early 1980s) due to some stations not being equipped yet with ground station receiving equipment to receive the networks' satellite feeds, and due to the broadcast networks' contractual obligations with AT&T up until the breakup in 1984, when the networks immediately switched to satellite exclusively. This was due to several reasons — the much cheaper rates for transmission offered by satellite operators that were not influenced by the high tariffs set by AT&T for broadcast customers, the split of the Bell System into separate RBOCs, and the end of contracts that the broadcast companies had with AT&T. Even this, however, would not save AT&T Corporation. Another consequence of the divestiture was in how both national broadcast television (i.e., ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS) and radio networks (NPR, Mutual, ABC Radio) distributed their programming to their local affiliated stations.This led to Vo IP service providers arguing that they did not have to pay access charges, resulting in significant savings for Vo IP calls.The FCC was split on this issue for some time; Vo IP services that utilized IP but in every other way looked like a normal phone call generally had to pay access charges, while Vo IP services that looked more like applications on the Internet and did not interconnect with the public telephone network did not have to pay access charges.The breakup of the Bell System was mandated on January 8, 1982, by an agreed consent decree providing that AT&T Corporation would, as had been initially proposed by AT&T, relinquish control of the Bell Operating Companies that had provided local telephone service in the United States and Canada up until that point.This effectively took the monopoly that was the Bell System and split it into entirely separate companies that would continue to provide telephone service.

Definition - What does Gearing mean? Divestopedia explains Gearing - Debt equity ratio - Debt service ratio - Equity ratio - The ratio of debt to shareholders' funds In essence, gearing ratio represents how encumbered with debt a firm is. The appropriate level of gearing for a firm depends on the sector to which a firm belongs as well as the degree of leverage employed by its peers. Each firm will have a distinctive level. For example, industries with large and ongoing fixed asset requirement have high gearing ratios, while firms in cyclical industries prefer low gearing ratios. This is not necessarily a conservative financial management policy. Firms with more stable operating profit can safely opt for higher levels of debt. The effect of gearing on the volatility of profit can be measured by the interest curve. A high gearing ratio is a cause of concern for lenders and creditors as these firms face difficulty in meeting debt repayment schedules during business downturns. As debts get higher, profits for shareholders become more volatile. To reduce gearing ratio, a firm may sell shares to pay down debt, convert debts into shares or reduce working capital.

We all know the fact that the world divides between the developed and developing countries – in which, as less widely known, some of these developing countries fall so far behind in terms of the size and shape of their economies. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which in 1971 had devised a category of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs); as of today, there are 135 of them. Their problems, as reported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), are ‘among the most intractable development challenges facing the international community.” What’s even more alarming is that only four countries have “graduated” or have progressed from low-income to middle- and upper-income from the LDC status: Botswana in 1994, Cabo Verde in 2007, Maldives in 2011, and Samoa in 2014 – a poor record that had prompted the UN, in 2011, to “establish a dedicated programme of action with the target of enabling at least half of the LDCs to ‘meet the criteria of graduation’ by the end of this decade.” But despite the challenges, some countries will shed LDC status in the coming years – such as Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu, and Angola. Meanwhile, others have been found to be “pre-eligible” for graduation – such as Bhutan, Nepal, São Tomé and Principe, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The great news is that these countries have shown that they have fared better or at least did not go worse. However, still, these are far from the set target of halving the number of LDCs. Trade and investments, for many developing countries, is where the progression of status heavily rests – successful trade provides a source of foreign currency to help balance payments, increased employment in export industries, and a way of financing imports. But it has its disadvantages and risks too that pose the following significant challenges. The economic vulnerability has not diminished significantly. Many LDCs are highly dependent on commodity exports. As a matter of fact, in a press release of the UNCTAD in October 13, 2017 titled “Commodity Dependence Worsens For Developing Countries”, “nine more developing economies became dependent on commodity exports between 2010 and 2015” – making a total of 91 or about two-thirds of the total number of the developing countries. Too much commodity dependence can have negative effects on human development indicators such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income. “…developing countries will struggle to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals unless they break the chains of commodity dependence.”, said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi. Also, aside from this, LDCs are heavily exposed to economic and natural shocks like climate change – challenges that cannot be dealt with yet by these countries all by themselves as they are far less equipped and are still unprepared. A 2014 report from the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre finds that more than nineteen million people around the world were severely affected by the natural disasters. In developing countries where inadequate water supply and sanitation services are compounded by the strikes of natural disasters, lives of billions of people are underscored. Many countries view “graduation” as a threat rather than an opportunity. Transitioning from low- to upper-income status means being independent and losing unilateral preferential market access and reduction in aid levels. Although some countries are already eligible for graduating from the LDC on the grounds of better social indicators and improved economic resilience, their dependence on international trade and investment (i.e., preferential market access) cannot be cut immediately. This is primarily because some serious risks beyond their control might happen anytime which might render them difficulties in a lot of different areas like education and healthcare. These reasons have made the European Union, in 2008, to offer and extend the “preferential, duty-free, quota-free access” for the LDCs to the EU market for three years after graduation – as part of the preparation to facilitate a smooth transition to post-LDC status. Besides relying heavily on trade and investments, LDC countries also reap the benefits of foreign aids – that is, from the world’s most developed countries. It was reported that in 2014, three of the world’s economic giants had donated significant amounts, with the United States and Japan contributing both 0.19 percent of their national income. Among other big spenders are United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Luxembourg, and et cetera. However, while economic assistance is beneficial and is necessary, it could mean a lot of things and has a number of implications. First, other than the willingness to help, “the growing and continuous dependence on external funding means that the beneficiaries of such help are both economically and politically tied to the donors.” Best examples are Japan and China, which don’t like each other for a number of reasons reaching back to World War II, Nanjing massacre, and over territorial disputes – turning countries into something of an economic assistance battleground.

8044 Montgomery Road Suite 450 The Rising Food Crisis1. Problem OverviewIn a University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership study conducted with Mirova, the Responsible Investment division of Natixis Asset Management, researchers predict: Before 2025, the world will need an extra 1.5 billion tons of food and water to feed the planet’s population.The Socially Responsive Investing Investment Counsel reports that several investment groups are showing interest in sustainable agricultural solutions due to several economic, political, and social justice reasons.2. The Rising Food DisparityAccording to the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) developed by DuPont and the Economic Intelligence Unit: The top 29 ranked countries, with the United States ranking number one, has 0% of their global population living below the global poverty line.The bottom 20 ranked countries, which are primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, have 79% of populations living below the global poverty line.This food index evaluates food based on 3 components: affordability, availability, and quality/safety. The methodology is explained in a video here.3. Further Considerations Regarding Food AvailabilityIn considering the GFSI availability component, the following structural aspects were further considered: Political Stability and CorruptionAgricultural Infrastructure, Research and Development, Food LossUrban Absorption CapacityWhile it makes sense that countries with higher GDP have higher food security rates, many institutions still wonder: Is it ethical? Food Gap Challenges1. From the Supply Side Limited Arable Land Access (Urbanization and land conflicts)Limitations on Yield from Climate Change (Water scarcity and Rising CO2 levels)Depletion of Resources (Erosion, soil, biodiversity losses)Biotic Factors (Fungi, insects, rodents and weeds)2. From the Demand SidePopulation Growth (Increase of about 1 billion expected by 2025)Shift in Consumer Diets (Increased consumption of resource-intensive animal proteins)Increased Demand for Crops (Non-food uses) Solutions for Closing the Food GapAccording to Mirova, solutions will likely come from production innovations and changes in consumption trends. Thus, we should increase the food supply but reduce demand for certain commodities. 1. Irrigation Expansion Should Account for 62% of Production IncreasesIrrigation Expansion (Better irrigation and precision agriculture)Soil Fertility ManagementRainwater Harvesting2. Consumption Habit Changes Should Account for 38% of Production IncreasesAvoidance of supply chain losses (Postharvest, transport, storage, shelf life)Reducing demand for biofuels that compete with food3. Yield Increases Will Account for 44% of Increases from Both of the Above Categories Sustainable Agriculture Investing Statistical InsightsAccording to the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), the annual investment gap for the 2015-2030 period is around US $260 billion in the developing world. Below are the proposed solutions and their estimated contribution of impact. * Mirova believes that while mechanisation and genetically modified (GM) breeding can be part of the solution, they do not anticipate these methods to be highly important in future advancements. Mirova has further evaluated potential solutions for cost-effectiveness and sustainability using the 10 Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (PRAI), in the cost curve below. * Cost curve valuations have been calculated to monetize environmental as well as social benefits and subtract these amounts from the estimated cost of implementing the solution itself. Mirovo’s screening discovered that innovative sustainable solutions are usually developed within small divisions of large corporations with diverse operations or by small, sometimes unlisted, companies. Food Solution CategoriesThe following are the three categories of food security solutions that Mirova has identified as prominent in debates today. 1. Post-harvest Losses:According to the United Nations, 1.3 billion tonnes, or around 1/3 of food production is waste or lost each year, especially in the developing world. 170 kilograms per year per capita could be saved by eliminating postharvest losses in Sub-Saharan African and Asia.Solutions in Developing Countries: Integrated pest management, mechanisation, cooling and packaging, combined harvesters and threshers machinery, storage improvements Solutions in Developed Countries: Modified atmosphere technologies, cold chain and packaging solutions 2. Biotechnologies3. Water Management Solutions:Water conservation: Smart irrigation, water loss reduction strategies, conservation agricultureProviding alternative sources of water suitable for agriculture: Desalination, wastewater treatment, and water reservoirsTo view more statistics about the food gap progress from the Global Food Security Index, check out the following infographic.

In Focus: 70% of Households Globally will be Urban by 2030 The importance of urbanisation at a global level cannot be underestimated as it is transforming the world we live in. Euromonitor forecasts that by 2030, 70% of households worldwide will be in urban areas and that the growth in urban households globally is faster than that of total households, highlighting where the investment opportunities lie. This shift in household dynamics corresponds to changing population structure where we expect 60.2% of the world’s inhabitants to be urban dwellers in the same year. There will be an extra 598 million urban households in 2030 compared to 2010 although the corresponding trend of smaller households is also driving household numbers upwards. Urban consumers enjoy higher incomes than their rural counterparts with a leaning towards higher skills and educational attainment, so urbanisation results in greater consumer market gains. Despite obvious growth opportunities, the rise in the number of cities is accompanied by numerous challenges, especially when it is unplanned. The rising proportion of urban households creates huge opportunities especially in emerging markets where urbanisation is occurring rapidly and from a low base. Euromonitor predicts that emerging and developing countries will account for three-quarters of total urban households in 2030. We will see heightened demand for all sorts of household goods and services; the construction sector will benefit from the need for more housing; and urban planning and infrastructure investment will rise. Companies must strategise for the differences between urban and rural consumer demand. Urban households have a higher propensity for spending but will be smaller in size owing to greater population densities as well as being fewer in occupancy numbers (the global ageing trend also exacerbates the move towards smaller households). More households will require compact products and many urban consumers seek convenience to satisfy the needs of professionals “on the go”. Single-person households will be the fastest growing household type globally over 2014-2030. Did You Know? - Developed economies are at a more advanced stage of urbanisation owing to their earlier industrialisation with 83.4% of total households already in urban areas in 2013 compared to 54.4% in emerging and developing countries. Australasia and North America had the highest proportions of urban households in 2013 followed by Latin America; - Conversely, urban household proportions are lowest in Asia Pacific at 49.9% in 2013 and the Middle East and Africa at 60.1%. In Asia, this corresponds with the higher proportion of people employed in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing which was 50.8% in India in 2013, for example. As a result, the majority of households in India are rural (67.2% in 2013) but this is forecast to decline to 57.5% by 2030; - However, due to sheer population numbers, emerging countries are home to the majority of the world’s urban households (69.6% in 2013) and this will increase as emerging countries drive urban household growth. The Middle East and Africa will see the largest expansion in urban households between 2010 and 2030 growing by 90.1% followed by Asia Pacific at 68.3%. These are particularly high rates as they are expanding from a low base but to put the figures into context, in Asia Pacific, this equates to 322 million new urban households, which is more than the total number of households in the Middle East and Africa in 2013; - Households are getting smaller as birth and fertility rates drop while urban households tend to be smaller in occupancy numbers than rural households. Euromonitor forecasts that the average number of occupants per urban household globally will be 3.0 in 2030 versus 4.4 for rural households. Developed economies will continue to have fewer people at 2.3 on average per urban household in the same year compared to 3.2 in emerging markets; - Consumer spending is also greater in highly populated urbanised areas than in rural areas so more urban households will stimulate consumer spending. In Australia, New South Wales which is home to Sydney, had the highest total consumer spend in the country in 2013 at US$272 billion. On the other hand, urbanisation creates many problems such as rising crime, higher pollution and congestion levels, pressure on natural resources and urban public services as well as urban poverty or infrastructure deficits, which can end up hindering business environments especially if bottlenecks arise.

A target return is simply the rate of return on an investment that an individual or business wants to earn. People have different reasons or objectives in mind when they choose to use target returns as an investment tool. The target return objective matters because it determines how the target return is calculated. Income as Target Return Objective Some people, such as retirees, live on income from their investment portfolios. The target return objective is to provide enough spending money and maintain the value of the portfolio after allowing for taxes and inflation. Suppose a retiree’s investment portfolio has assets of $600,000. She wants to withdraw 3 percent, or $18,000, each year to supplement her other retirement income. Inflation and taxes on investment earnings total 4 percent. Added together, this is a target return of 7 percent to achieve the objective of maintaining the value of her nest egg and producing the income she wants. Growth as Target Return Objective An investor may be focused on wealth-building instead of income. An example is the person who regularly contributes to an individual retirement account to accumulate a nest egg for retirement. For this investor, the target return objective is to reach a specific dollar value within a certain length of time. Suppose she and her spouse decide $750,000 in 25 years is sufficient to assure a comfortable retirement and can contribute a total of $750 each month to their IRAs. Determining the target return from a specific dollar goal requires a financial calculator tool due to the complexity of the math. There are suitable calculators readily available online (see Resources). In this example, the target return needed to achieve the objective of $750,000 after 25 years is 8.59 percent. Return and Risk It’s tempting to take the view that a good target return is “as much as possible.” Some investors do adopt profit maximization as their objective. However, as the potential return of an investment increases, the risk of loss also goes up. Thus, investments like stocks and junk bonds offer high returns but carry a significant risk of losing money. Insured savings and government bonds are low-risk investments but generate very limited earnings. Using a target return objective to identify your requirements lets you choose the best mix of investments to minimize risk and maximize gain. Target Return and Pricing Strategy Introducing a new product or opening a new store represents an investment for a business. Companies may use target return objective as a pricing strategy. Suppose the company management believes it can sell a given number of widgets. A 20 percent return before taxes is chosen as the target return. A formula is used to set a price that will achieve the 20 percent target return objective if the sales goal is met. Firms have to take other factors into account, such as the prices competitors charge, so using a target return objective is usually one part of the overall pricing policy. - vaeenma/iStock/Getty Images

Explaining Complementary Products One factor that could influence a company’s ability to capture profits from its products and services is the role that complementary products play in the value creation equation. From an economist’s point of view, two products (or goods) are complementary if a change in the price of one moves the demand for the other in the opposite direction. For example, if the price of DVD movies goes down, the demand for DVD players goes up, and if the price of ink cartridges goes down, the demand for printers will go up. But the opposite is also true: if the price of DVD movies goes up, the demand for the DVD player goes down, and if the price of the ink cartridges goes up, the demand for the printers will slow down. Because of that interrelation, complements can play an important role in your ability to make profits effectively and consistently. For example, if the complement is unique and exclusive, its vendor could have the power to limit your ability to sell your products. In other words, by not being available to all of your “potential” customers, the complement would put a cap on the demand that YOU are able to capture. Let’s say a company makes coffee pods that can only be used in a particular brewing machine made by a different company. The maker of the machine has power over the capsule vendor because it controls where and to whom the brewers are sold, and because they also grant the licenses to make the capsules, limiting the profitability that capsule makers can achieve. This is happening in the video games industry, where the makers of PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo and other consoles control game prices and take a cut of the games’ revenues. Because of that, the profits that game developers can aspire to is limited by the strategy of the console makers. Whenever you are selling a product that depends on a complementary solution in any way, you must pay special attention to how much the complement is needed to use your product, and how accessible the complement is to YOUR target buyers. If your buyers need a complement to use your product, you must build assurances in your business model to prevent giving control of your profits to the makers of the complement. This article has been extracted from Sun Wu’s book Strategy for Executives which can now be downloaded for free here. Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press. Kindle Edition. Magretta, Joan. Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy. Harvard Business Review Press. Kindle Edition.

Parliament turns attention to household energy needs On 26 May 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which focuses on the cost of energy incurred by European households. As noted by the Parliament, the current and ongoing energy transition, which involves moving away from a traditional and centralised energy generation model towards one which is more decentralised, energy-efficient and based significantly on renewable energy, does involve an increase in costs. This is why the Parliament wants the European Commission to review the potential impact of such costs in terms of affordability and competitiveness. It believes that the Energy Union must support Europe's citizens by ensuring that they have access to stable and affordable energy in combination with energy-efficient housing. Within this context, combatting energy poverty should also be a priority. To this end, the resolution puts forward a series of proposals. These include the development of indicators for well-functioning and consumer-friendly energy markets, improving the frequency and transparency of energy bills and establishing a one-stop-shop for consumers which provides them with all the information necessary to make an informed decision on energy providers and plans. On the issue of energy poverty, the Parliament calls for enhanced coordiantion across the EU to tackle this issue and ensure that access to affordable energy becomes a basic social right. With this in mind, measures to address the energy efficiency of a building are essential and, therefore, the review of the Energy Performance of Buidings Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive also needs to pay attention to energy poverty, particularly in relation to rental properties and social housing. Furthermore, the resolution calls for EU funding to be made available in terms of energy efficient housing for energy-poor and low income consumers in particular. More information: Resolution

Because shareholders are, in essence, partial owners of the company, they have rights in terms of company governance. It is typical for shareholders to vote on major changes such as changing the company name, removing a director, and making amendments to the company’s articles of association. When shareholders vote on these types of decisions, it is called “passing a resolution.” An ordinary resolution requires a simple majority (over 50%), whereas a “special” resolution may require more, e.g. a 75% majority vote. Note that each shareholder does not get a single vote; the value of a shareholder’s vote correlates with the amount of shares s/he owns. Therefore, the vote of a shareholder who owns 3% of the company is worth three times that of a shareholder who owns 1% of the company. Because some shareholders may own more of the company than others, it may not be necessary for all shareholders to vote in order to reach the majority required to pass a resolution. However, regardless of whether or not they participated in the vote, each and every shareholder must be informed of the decision in writing. See Companies House’s information page for a complete list of changes and resolutions that must be reported by companies limited by shares.

A sugar tax, does it really work? The Belgian Federal Government decided in its Summer Agreement to extend the tax on sugary drinks. In the context of an optimal tax mix, this measure can be justified. Taxing negative items (in this case, the consumption of sugar) is always better than taxing positive ones (such as labour). However, the measure falls short when it comes to combating health problems such as obesity or dental decay. This is because the tax is too small to actually change consumer behaviour. Moreover, to be effective the measure must be part of a broader preventive health policy. The first steps have been taken towards a major nutrition plan in Belgium, but much work remains to be done. This summer, the Belgian Federal Government extended the tax on sugary drinks. The so-called ’sugar tax’ was introduced two years ago in the context of the tax shift that was adopted at that time. It is now being extended to soft drinks without sugar, but with a zero-calorie alternative sweetener. The rationale behind the broadening of the tax is that these so-called light or zero drinks also encourage people to consume sugary products. The extended sugar tax is expected to deliver EUR 75 million to the Belgian Treasury in 2018. The Belgian sugar tax is controversial for various reasons. A first practical objection relates to the way the sugar tax is being introduced. In particular, it is clearly a stop-and-go policy, which gives rise to economic uncertainty. When the tax was introduced at the end of 2015, it was intended to generate EUR 50 million in the first year. This amount would be increased each year to reach EUR 250 million at cruising speed by 2020. In this context, a ’real’ sugar tax would be introduced in 2017 on all sugar products. This was intended to help finance the reduction in the tax burden on labour. However, at the end of 2016, the government decided to abandon the extension of the tax. At the time, it believed that this would seriously affect the purchasing power of Belgian households. The tax is now on the agenda again for the draft budget for 2018. More fundamentally, there is the question of whether a sugar tax (or fat tax) is an effective measure to reduce health problems such as obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Before going into more detail on this, it is necessary to mention that the problems listed do indeed constitute a point of attention, in particular for public policy. According to the Scientific Institute for Public Health, the number of Belgians suffering from obesity is clearly increasing. For example, the latest survey shows that 14% of the population over 18 years of age is obese (i.e. has a Body Mass Index above 30). 90% already has teeth affected by dental decay at the age of 30. The (non)sense of a sugar tax In essence, the fight against the health problems mentioned above and ’welfare diseases’ more generally, is tantamount to achieving sustainable behavioural changes among the population. This can be done by intervening in pricing. Often it is still the case that the most healthy dietary choices in the department store are also the most expensive. The government can change this by means of a tax on unhealthy food, like sugar or fat. However, there are arguments to be cautious about their introduction. Health psychologists point out that a sugar or fat tax only works when you make unhealthy food considerably more expensive and the tax is part of a broader preventive health policy. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the tax only has a proven effect on reducing unhealthy eating when it reaches at least 20%. The Belgian sugar tax is only a few euro cents per litre of soft drinks. This is too little to actually change people’s consumption behaviour. There is also the problem that a tax on unhealthy food is regressive, i.e. it weighs relatively more heavily on the budgets of poorer families. Poor dietary choices are often caused by poverty. By making unhealthy products more expensive, poverty is likely to increase. Therefore, if a sugar tax were to be introduced, the yields would preferably have to be used to make healthy food cheaper, so that it would be within the reach of poorer families. It is also advisable not to place additional burdens on specific products, but to design a generic tax for all food products, for example based on the calorie content. If just one type of product (such as soft drinks) is taxed more, consumption may shift to other unhealthy foods (e.g. confectionery). Such avoidance behaviour will certainly occur if the tax is sufficiently high to be effective. In small countries, such as Belgium, cross-border shopping moreover will result in citizens buying cheaper unhealthy food abroad. Experience with a fat tax in Denmark, where it has since been removed, shows that citizens hardly changed their eating habits there. Instead they went to Germany and bought the fattening food there, which also caused many jobs in their own food industry to be lost. In order to avoid cross-border consumption of unhealthy foods, a sugar or fat tax needs to be introduced in a more coordinated way at European level. The Belgian authorities took little account of the above arguments when drawing up the sugar tax. The main purpose of the measure is therefore to finance the tax shift and to help make public finances healthy, rather than to improve the health of Belgians. It may seem surprising, but that view can be defended in itself. Even if citizens do not change their consumption behaviour, the sugar tax works, but only in the context of an optimal tax mix. Taxing negative matters (in this case sugar consumption) is always better than taxing positive ones (such as labour). In that case, however, the tax may not be communicated to citizens as a health policy measure. After all, the sugar tax can result in either additional tax revenues or in health gains, but not both at the same time. Towards a large-scale nutrition plan An effective health policy consists of several policy measures. Steering taxes are appropriate, but they must be effective and form part of a broader preventive policy aimed at a healthier population. Direct intervention in the lifestyles of citizens, for example through regulation, is usually not desirable because it is often seen as patronising and interferes with individual freedom of choice. After all, when a person eats fat or sugar, this is not bad in itself. It is the quantity of fat or sugar that matters. Therefore, it is better to indirectly influence behaviour via people’s living environment by supply measures that keep freedom of choice intact (e.g. increasing the supply of healthy food, providing sufficient playgrounds, cycleways and easily accessible sports infrastructure, limiting soft drinks in schools, designing buildings so that stairs will be used more often than elevators). With its Covenant on Balanced Nutrition, the Belgian government has taken already a good step in this direction. This partnership with the food industry and retail trade, which was signed in the spring of 2016, aims to make a wide range of frequently consumed food products healthier. It would make sense to set up more similar initiatives with other partners, such as schools, sports organisations, health care providers, employers, etc. This could then result into a major integrated nutrition plan. Unlike a small sugar tax, this will really benefit public health.

Health systems are responsible for not only improving the health of individuals, but also protecting them against the financial costs of disease and morbidity. One of the challenges faced by governments is to reduce the burden of out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare payments for their people by providing subsidies and extending prepaid programs1. OOP payment is the weakest and most unfair payment approach for health care. From the perspective of protection against risk as well as a justice perspective, this approach is considered the worst possible form of healthcare financing2. OOP payments can affect the equality of access to and utilization of health services, and decelerate the movement toward universal healthcare coverage3. OOP and high medical expenses occasionally make households face catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). If a household’s OOP payment as a percentage of its capacity to pay exceeds a certain threshold, the household experiences CHE4. CHE is a major challenge for some households, especially those in low- and middle-income countries5. CHE can affect the health of all household members, and may push the household toward a cycle of poverty in health6. Poorer households are often forced to borrow money, sell assets, reduce consumption or resort to their savings to pay for their healthcare expenses, ultimately causing a state of extreme poverty7-9. WHO considers CHE and the Fair Financial Contribution Index (FFCI) as indicators of equity in household financial contribution to health systems, which have been adopted in many studies on health economics1. Millions of people around the world suffer from financial hardship as a result of OOP healthcare payments10. Based on a WHO report, about 44 million households and more than 150 million individuals face CHE every year around the world11. Studies in Iran show that the incidence of CHE in the general population ranges from 1.97–15.3% at the national level to 3.6–24% at the regional level12-14, making for approximately 52.1% of OOP payment from the total health expenditure15. The globally increasing costs of health care and the challenge of achieving equity in the financial contribution to health systems have raised special concerns in communities about how to finance their health systems16. WHO has declared financial risk protection as a major component of universal healthcare coverage10,17. The Fifth Economic, Social, and Cultural Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2011–2015) emphasized this issue and proposed two goals for itself: (1) reducing the percentage of OOP healthcare expenditure from the total health expenditure to 30% and (2) reducing the percentage of households who face CHE to less than 1% by the end of the plan18. Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) started the Health Transformation Plan (HTP) on 5 May 2014 to achieve these goals. One of the most important goals of the HTP has been to promote justice in health financing and to reduce the burden of direct payments by the patients. The plan is mainly supported by financial resources including increased public annual budget of the health sector (an approximately 59% increase in 2015 compared to 2014), targeted subsidies (10% of the total subsidies) and a special 1% value-added tax for health. These financial resources are estimated to have been 70% higher in 2015 (21 March 2015 – 20 March 2016) compared to 2014 (21 March 2014 – 20 March 2015). After more than 4 years since its beginning, four phases of the plan have been implemented. The first phase of the HTP was conducted across hospitals affiliated to the MoHME and contained eight packages (launched on 5 May 2014). One of these packages included the reduction of the amount of direct payments by patients to 6% and 3% of the sum total of hospitalization expenditures for urban and rural residents, respectively, who visit MoHME hospitals via a referral system. The second phase of the HTP (begun on 22 May 2014) was focused on developing and extending primary health care. The third phase of the HTP was launched on 29 September 2014, with the aim of eliminating informal payments. Medical services tariffs were increased to make them closer to the actual prices. Finally, the fourth phase of the HTP was concerned with an evolution in medical education and was launched in October 201519,20. After the HTP, a reduction was observed in CHE in some regions of Iran and studies showed the effectiveness of the plan14,21,22; however, no studies have been conducted on the effects of the plan in south-eastern Iran. The continuous and periodic measurement of healthcare financial risk protection is recommended, preferably every 2–5 years10. Although numerous studies have measured financial risk protection in Iran before and after the HTP, no studies have yet examined it in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, except for one study by the same authors, which showed that a high percentage of households in this region are impoverished as a result of their healthcare expenditures16. Like the rest of the country, the MoHME is the largest source of healthcare funding and service provision in this province by way of its multiple healthcare centers. Due to the insufficient number of physicians and healthcare centers, long waiting times for governmental healthcare services are common for households in this impoverished region. Sistan-Baluchistan Province happens to be the largest province in Iran and the distance between its north-east to south-east is more than 800 km. Residents who wish to use specialist medical services occasionally have to travel more than 600 km. The present study thus seeks to measure the household financial contribution to healthcare expenditures in Sistan-Baluchistan Province since the HTP. The results can enable health policymakers to identify high-risk groups, develop appropriate policies and improve their interventions for accomplishing a fair financial contribution with the establishment of the HTP in Iran, especially in the discussed province. A survey of the household financial contribution to the health system in Sistan-Baluchistan Province was carried out by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in 2017. Sistan-Baluchistan Province is among the largest provinces located in the south-east of Iran, with a population of nearly 2.5 million. The province is the most remote and poorest in the country and this poverty has extended to most of its main health indicators as well23. The study population consisted of all the households of this province (587 921). Considering α=0.05 (type-1 error), d=0.02 (minimal detectable difference), design effect=2 and p=14% (percentage of households facing CHE in a similar study in Shiraz)24 and based on the following sample size estimation equation, 2400 households were selected for the study: In proportion to the households’ weight in each city of the province based on a 2011 census published by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), the samples were selected from different cities as follows: 816 samples from Zahedan as the provincial capital, 336 from Zabol, 264 from Iranshahr, 312 from Chabahar, 192 from Khash, 216 from Saravan and 264 from Nikshahr. The number of households was selected in proportion to their population in urban and rural areas. These samples were selected by stratified sampling from the urban areas and cluster sampling from the rural areas. In each cluster a health center was selected randomly, then a researcher took paper money out of his pocket and selected the first three digits as the household registered number in the health center and thus selected the first household in each cluster. The right-hand households were then selected as the next samples. Trained interviewers collected the data by visiting the sample houses door-to-door and had a questionnaire completed by them. At each household, the first informed person who was aged more than 18 years and both willing and able to answer the questions completed the questionnaire. In the case of non-cooperation for completing the questionnaires or non-response (the number of these households was very low), and because of the high similarity of these households with their neighbor, their next household was chosen as an example. Data were collected using the household section of the World Health Survey questionnaire developed by WHO in 2003 for assessing performance of health systems25,26. The questionnaire contained items on the demographic characteristics of the household members and head, household expenditures, service utilization and household assets. A 1-month recall period was determined for total household expenditures, rate of use of outpatient medical services and the costs of these services. A 12-month recall period was also fixed for the rate of use and inpatient medical care services expenditure in each household. To calculate the indices, all the expenditure variables were converted on a monthly basis. The household expenditures were also regarded as an indicator of the households’ purchasing power. The expenditures were reported in Iranian rial (IRR) and were converted to US dollars using the exchange rates at the time. The main indicators of fairness in household financial contribution to the health system were measured in this survey. The methodologies used to measure these indicators and their interpretation are different. The authors of the present article have published another article extracted from the data of this survey, in the same research setting, but in a different journal, and have assessed the households’ impoverishment due to health expenditure in that article16. Two other indicators of fairness in financial contribution – the percentage of households facing CHE and FFCI – were also measured in the present study using the data extracted from the questionnaire: Catastrophic health expenditure: The ratio of expenditures for healthcare services to the household capacity to pay (CTP) was used to determine the percentage of households facing CHE. There is no consensual threshold for estimating the CHE, and countries may use different thresholds for their national health policies. WHO regards 40% of the household CTP as a suitable threshold, and the present study has also adopted this threshold. The CTP is the effective income of the household minus its subsistence expenditure. The total expenditure by the household was used as a representative of effective income, as it reflects the purchasing power of households most accurately. The subsistence expenditure was calculated using the food-based poverty line, which is the portion of household total expenditure for food. The CTP was calculated by subtracting the subsistence expenditure from the total expenditure in order to calculate the ratio of OOP healthcare payments to the CTP – the household’s financial burden due to health payments. If the result was equal to or more than 40%, that household was considered to be facing CHE7: Fair Financial Contribution Index: The FFCI is another indicator for measuring fairness in health financing. The range of this index varies from 0 to 1, and the fairer a health financing system, the closer the numerical value of this index to 1: OOPCTPh is household’s financial burden due to health payments, as already calculated OOPCTP0 is sum of OOP healthcare payments of all households divided by sum of their CTP Wh is the household weighting variable27. Determinants of catastrophic health expenditures The multiple adjusted logistic regression model was used to study the likelihood of facing CHE and to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (OR) using the model coefficients. P-values less than 0.05 were taken to indicate statistically significant differences. The CHE occurrence was considered the dependent variable. The independent variables included place of residence; gender; job and the basic and supplementary health insurance of the head of the household; household size; having members aged more than 65 years and members with disabilities or in need of care; and the use of inpatient, dental, rehabilitation, diagnostic and laboratory health services. All the statistical analyses were performed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v22 (IBM; http://www.spss.com). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran (approval number 8024). Participation was voluntary in this study. The study was carried out among 2400 households in Sistan-Baluchistan Province. Most of the households were in Zahedan (34.0%), and 1683 (70.1%) of them were in urban areas. About 92% of the household heads were male, and about 76% of the household heads had 12 years of education or less. Table 1 shows the demographic variables of the 2400 households. As shown in Figure 1, the mean OOP health expenditure was about US$82 (246) for all the participants. Figure 2 presents the FFCI among the participants. According to the results, the FFCI was approximately 0.7 across the province. In addition, about 20.2% of the households in Sistan-Baluchistan Province had experienced CHE, which is shown in detail in Figure 3. Table 2 presents the relationship between the study variables and CHE. The multiple adjusted logistic regression analysis showed statistically significant relationships between the chances of facing CHE and variables including place of residence (p=0.010), having members aged more than 65 years (p=0.005) and having members with disabilities and in need of care (p=0.001). There were also statistically significant relationships between the chance of facing CHE and variables related to the use of health services, including the use of dental (OR=5.212), rehabilitation (OR=2.471), diagnostic and laboratory (OR=3.637), and inpatient (OR=2.511) services. The results revealed that a household size of three to six was a protective factor against CHE (OR=0.736), and the lowest CHE was observed in households of this size. There were no significant relationships between facing CHE and variables such as gender (p=0.717), job status (p=0.429), the basic health insurance status (p=0.140) and supplementary health insurance status of the household head (p=0.089). Healthcare costs can be a major barrier to healthcare access for households. In all communities, part of the household income is spent on healthcare expenses. The amount of this contribution and its distribution across the community represent health financial burden or its lack thereof. Achieving fair financial contribution and eliminating the risk of facing CHE in households have become major challenges of health systems throughout the world1. In the present study, the mean OOP healthcare payment was $82.28 (246.28) for all households. This amount was $78.27 (180.01) and $91.74 (356.74) for urban and rural areas. A study conducted by Reshadat et al in Kermanshah after the implementation of the HTP showed that the mean OOP health expenditure was $2421. The results of another study conducted by Moradi et al. after the implementation of the HTP found this amount to be $39 among households with members with special diseases facing CHE28. These figures are lower than those reported in a study in Tehran before the implementation of the HTP29. In addition, a study conducted by Somkotra and Lagrada in Thailand showed a reduction in OOP payments after universal healthcare coverage reforms30. OOP healthcare payment disparities between cities can be due to the ability of households to pay, so poorer households can afford less OOP healthcare payments and may be reluctant to use healthcare services. The results showed that the lowest mean OOP healthcare payment, $9.18 (29.65), was obtained in Nikshahr, one of the most deprived cities in the province. Based on the WHO definition of CHE, 20.2% of the households in Sistan-Baluchistan Province were faced with CHE after the implementation of the HTP. This high rate of CHE shows that Iran is still a long way from achieving the goals of the HTP and the Fifth Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan for reducing the percentage of households facing CHE in this province. Meanwhile, similar regional studies carried out after the implementation of the HTP showed a decrease in the rate of CHE in Iran; for example, Piroozi et al in Kurdistan Province22 and Homaie Rad et al14 in Guilan Province found reductions of 4.8% and 3.82%, respectively, in this rate. The results of a study by Reshadat et al showed that about 4.8% of households with hospitalized patients are faced with CHE in Kermanshah21. In a study by Limwattananon et al, the rate of CHE for households using inpatient care was shown to have decreased from 31.0% in 2000 to 14.6% in 2004 after the universal healthcare coverage reform in Thailand31. A study by Yardim et al in Turkey showed a decreasing trend in households facing CHE after the health reform plan of 2003–2009: from 0.75% in 2003 to 0.59% in 2006 and 0.48% in 200932. There are several possible explanations for the high rate of CHE in Sistan-Baluchistan Province even after the implementation of the HTP. The first reason is the lower level of development and social and economic welfare in this province compared to other provinces of the country, as this province is culturally, socially, climatically and economically quite different from the rest of the country. The rate of households facing CHE was therefore naturally expected to be higher in this province compared to the national average. The second reason is that the HTP is mainly focused on reducing the OOP payments for inpatient healthcare services at healthcare centers affiliated to the MoHME, and the plan does not adequately cover outpatient healthcare services or healthcare services in the private sector. The third reason is that, with the increase in medical tariffs in the third phase of the HTP, the monetary value of the tariffs has increased significantly, especially in the private sector. In the present study, the FFCI of the households was approximately 0.7. The index was about 0.66 and 0.71 in rural and urban areas, respectively. In other words, the distribution of healthcare expenditures is slightly worse in rural compared to urban households. According to the study conducted by Fazaeli et al using the expenditure–income data of households, derived from a 2012 survey by the SCI, the index was 0.82 and 0.85 in rural and urban areas, respectively33. Another study by Fazaeli et al showed that, in Iran, the FFCI decreased from 0.841 in 2003 to about 0.827 in 2010 (ie over approximately an 8-year period)34. Studies conducted in Tehran (2012) and Kermanshah (2008) have shown FFCI values of 0.62 and 0.57, respectively35,36. Similar studies have shown higher FFCI values in urban areas33-35. The calculation of the index in different countries in 2003 showed variations from 0.941 in Slovakia to 0.68 in Georgia25,37. A 2000 WHO report estimated the average global FFCI as around 0.57, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was ranked 112th in the world in this report1. Similar to issues related to the CHE occurrence, issues related to fairness in health financing are closely linked to poverty, the use of healthcare services, fragmentation in the pooling of health insurance funds and the lack of adequate insurance coverage for outpatient health services in the public sector and healthcare services in the private sector. The likelihood of facing CHE was higher for households located in rural areas than for those in urban areas. This finding has already been confirmed by other studies24,28,38-41. Since rural households have low access to some healthcare services such as hospital care, they have to travel to urban areas and pay more for receiving these services. The lower accessibility and CTP of rural households cause a failure in receiving proper healthcare services, and the patients’ disease may thus progress and they may eventually require more expensive treatments. Based on these findings, households that used dental and rehabilitation services faced CHE 5.212 and 2.471 times more than others, respectively, consistent with the results of some other studies22,24,26,28. Since dental and rehabilitation services are among the most expensive healthcare services in the country and are not adequately covered by basic health insurance plans, households should pay OOP to use them. The present findings demonstrate that the use of inpatient services increases the likelihood of exposure to CHE by about 2.511 times. Most studies that have considered this factor confirm this finding22,24,28,41-43. Despite the implementation of the HTP and the significant reduction in the share of hospitalized patients to 3% (rural) and 6% (urban) of the hospital bill, the monetary value of OOP payments, especially in the private sector, has increased due to the increased medical tariffs. Households’ increased use of inpatient services in healthcare centers affiliated to the MoHME may be another cause. It is possible for these deductibles to lead households to CHE. According to the results, having members with disabilities and in need of care or members aged more than 65 years in the household are factors that increase the likelihood of CHE. This finding has been confirmed in similar studies22,24,26,28,38,39,43. The presence of elderly people and those in need of care make households pay more than their CTP for healthcare services due to their greater use of healthcare services along with their lower income and smaller number of employable household members. Moradi et al found that, despite the implementation of the HTP, the percentage of CHE is still high for households with members who have special diseases28. Basic health insurance packages need to be amended and more cost-sharing exemptions should be granted to provide better financial protection for the more vulnerable households. Based on the findings of this study, households that used diagnostic and laboratory services faced CHE about 3.637 times more than others. The results of a study by Amery et al also showed that the use of diagnostic and laboratory services increases the likelihood of CHE in households44. The HTP needs to further address the challenges of outpatient services such as diagnostic and laboratory services. This research is the first attempt to measure the household financial contribution to health expenditures in Sistan-Baluchistan Province of Iran and is one of the few studies conducted on this subject after the implementation of the HTP in the country. Future studies should investigate the effects of HTP interventions comprehensively and on a national scale. Limitations of the study This study was conducted in Sistan-Baluchistan Province and does not represent the financial contribution of households in the entire country to their health expenditures after the implementation of the HTP. Given the lack of studies conducted to measure the household financial contribution to health expenditures in this province before the HTP, there are no points of comparison for assessing the effectiveness of the program on this index. Other limitations of the study include the over- or underreporting of costs and the respondent recall bias, which was partly overcome by reducing the recall period for inpatient and outpatient healthcare services to 1 month and 12 months, respectively. The large number of households facing CHE in Sistan-Baluchistan Province shows the need for health policymakers and top managers to pay more attention to this region. Although CHE and OOP healthcare payments have reduced in Iran following the implementation of the HTP21,22, they still remain a challenge in poor regions of the country. According to the findings, there should be emphasis on intersectoral policies to improve the economic situation of households in this impoverished region, premium exemption schemes for poor households in prepayment mechanisms, encouraging preventive behavior, promoting health knowledge of the households, and revising basic services package coverage of health insurance organizations. Health policymakers should pay more attention to rural areas and allocate their healthcare resources fairly among the different areas of this region. The HTP should cover the expenses of outpatient healthcare services in an adequate manner. The authors would like to thank the residents of Sistan-Baluchistan Province for their participation in this study. The research was financially supported by the Health Promotion Research Center of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences.

By Michael Ollinger, Sang V. Nguyen, Donald Blayney, Bill Chambers, and Ken Nelson, Economic Research service, USDA – Consolidation and structural changes in the food industry have had profound impacts on firms, employees, and communities in many parts of the United States. This report examines consolidation and structural change in meatpacking, poultry slaughter and processing, cheese products, fluid milk, flour milling, corn milling, feed, and soybean processing. Over 1972-92, eight important food industries underwent a structural transformation in which the number of plants declined by about one-third and the number of employees needed to staff the remaining plants dropped by more than 100,000 (20 percent). The number of plants in one other industry also dropped, but that industry added jobs. Economists generally attribute structural changes such as these to rising or falling demand and shifts in technology. Plant size and output per employee rose sharply in all industries, and even industries with rapidly growing demand—such as soybean processing and poultry slaughter/processing—used fewer plants. These findings suggest that technological change was the major force driving structural change. Consolidation and structural changes in the food industry have had profound impacts on firms, employees, and communities in many parts of the United States. In many cases, the emergence of new scale economies causes consolidation into larger plants and firms. When market demand is growing slowly, increased consolidation (larger plants and firms) can lead to increased concentration (fewer competitors). Such structural change can harm small-scale producers but may benefit consumers and society. What Is the Issue? Food processing industries have undergone a major transformation in recent years. Over 1972-92 (the most recent period of rapid consolidation for which data were available at the time this study began), the number of plants in eight important food industries—meatpacking, meat processing, cheese products, fluid milk, flour milling, corn milling, feed, and soybean processing—declined by about one-third and the number of workers declined by more than 100,000 (20 percent). Of the nine industries studied, only one—poultry slaughtering and processing—added workers, and that was due mainly to a shift from producing primarily whole birds to a variety of processed products like deboned poultry parts, poultry hot dogs, and turkey hams. What Did the Project Find? Economists generally believe that changes in technology and demand contribute to structural change. A new report by ERS, Structural Change in the Meat, Poultry, Dairy, and Grain Processing Industries, suggests that technology played the dominant role in the food processing industries. The nine food industries examined lost about 30 percent of their plants over 1972-92, while the average total value of shipments per plant rose by onethird to about $43 million in inflation-adjusted prices. The drop in the number of plants, sharp rise in plant size, and a leveling or decline in the per capita consumption of red meat, fluid milk, and flour products led to a 50-percent increase in average four-firm concentration levels—to about 46 percent for all nine industries. Two industries— corn milling and soybean processing—had four-firm concentration ratios exceeding 70 percent, and two other industries—meatpacking and poultry slaughter and processing—had 50-percent increases in four-firm concentration ratios by 1992. New plants have continued to enter food industries, but their survival rates are not encouraging. Half of all new plant entrants from 1972 to 1987 failed within 5 years, and two-thirds exited within 10 years. New plant entrants were typically about one-half the average industry plant size and about two-thirds the industry average size after 10 years, suggesting that entrants underestimate the size needed to compete in food manufacturing and must grow rapidly to attain a sufficient scale. Labor productivity advanced substantially. Real output (measured by weight) per employee rose by an average of 78 percent over 1972-92 without accounting for quality changes (meat and poultry plants, for example, produced a greater mix of higher value products by 1992). Data for all nine industries also show that employment leveled off. But these data mask industry-level changes: the number of workers declined by about one-fourth in meatpacking and by about one-half in fluid milk, but rose more than 150 percent in poultry slaughter and processing. This contraction in plants and workers decreased wages, especially for meatpacking and meat processing employees whose wages dropped by about one-third. Workers in other industries realized little change in real wages. Overall, average worker compensation, deflated by the consumer price index, fell 25 percent. This drop in wages, combined with the gain in output per worker, means that labor costs per unit of output dropped dramatically. Although the associated cost reductions were likely passed along to consumers in the form of lower prices, the price impact was probably small because labor costs are only a small part of the cost of food processing. The type of plant that exits and the composition of the plants that remain in an industry are of vital interest to entrepreneurs assessing the viability of starting a plant and regulators seeking to understand industry dynamics. About 50 percent of all plants that existed in 1972 and exited within 10 years had only about a 25-percent share of the market in 1972. In other words, they were small in 1972 and subsequently failed. By contrast, the 18 percent of the 1972 plants that exited over the subsequent 10-year period (1982-92) were more than twice as large in 1972 than the plants that exited earlier. A similar picture emerges for plants operating in 1992. Plant entrants over 1987-92 accounted for about one-fourth of all plants, but only about 10 percent of all market share. By contrast, plants operating since 1972 numbered about 40 percent of all plants and controlled about 60 percent of the market in 1992. How Was the Project Conducted? This report investigates structural changes among meat and poultry, dairy, and grain milling/oilseed processors. Within these three major food groups, we consider nine industries—meatpacking, meat processing, poultry slaughter and processing, cheese, fluid milk, flour, feeds, wet corn milling, and soybean processing—because of their dramatic structural changes and their importance to farmers who look to them as an outlet for their products, consumers who view them as providers of final products, and manufacturers who regard them as source of ingredients for food products or animal feed. The industries produce commodity products in cost-driven industries that require little advertising or research expenditures. Since the technology is exogenous, our discussion closely adheres to the traditional paradigm of market structure. Structural change in food processing over 1972-92 led to greater worker productivity and likely helped control price increases, but it came at the cost of lost jobs and plant shutdowns.1 Over 1972-92, the number of workers dropped by more than 100,000 (20 percent) and the number of plants declined by about one-third in eight food industries in the meat, dairy, and grain and oilseed processing sectors. One other industry, poultry slaughter and processing, realized a substantial increase in employment (120,000 workers). But even these added workers may not have increased U.S. employment as many of the added workers cut up poultry, eliminating the need to cut up poultry in grocery stores and at home. Traditionally, economists such as Scherer (1980) have argued that structural changes as in these nine industries are determined by changes in demand and technology. All other things being equal, growth in demand leads to an increase in the number of operating firms, while a decline in demand leads to a contraction in the number of firms. Technological change, on the other hand, can either reduce or increase the number of firms. If technological change reduces production or administrative costs, then plant size likely would grow, the number of firms would drop, and the concentration ratio would rise. However, if technological change reduces barriers to entry, such as high transportation costs, then the number of firms that a market can profitably sustain may rise and concentration ratios drop since entrants have a lower threshold of output at which they can profitably produce. Sutton (1991) recognized that fixed costs are sunk if they can be used for only one purpose and can be either exogenously or endogenously determined. Exogenous sunk costs include fixed investment for plant and equipment, while research and development and advertising are the most common types of endogenous sunk costs. Using this characterization, Sutton demonstrates that the number of firms that a market can sustain depends on—in addition to demand and technological change—whether fixed costs are exogenous or endogeneous, whether the product market is homogenous or differentiated, and the degree to which firms in an industry are willing to cut prices in order to maintain market share (price toughness). If fixed costs are exogenous and markets are homogeneous, then concentration ratios increase with price toughness and drop as the ratio of market size to exogenous costs rises. For exogenously determined fixed costs and differentiated product markets, on the other hand, the lower bound for the number of firms in the industry increases as the market size rises. This possibility is akin to the traditional Hotelling model of differentiated products. Sutton also argues that since increases in sunk costs—such as advertising and research and development—lead to increases in market and firm size, an increase in sunk costs results in a rise in the lower bound of industry concentration. Similarly, he shows that greater demand responsiveness to sunk costs leads to a higher lower bound of the concentration level. In this report, we investigate structural changes among meat and poultry, dairy, and grain milling/oilseed processors. Within these three major food groups, we consider nine industries: meatpacking, meat processing, poultry slaughter and processing, cheese, fluid milk, flour, feeds, wet corn milling, and soybean processing. We focus on these nine industries because of their dramatic structural changes and their importance to farmers who look to them as an outlet for their products, consumers who view them as providers of final products, and manufacturers who regard them as sources of ingredients for food products or animal feed. We examine the nine industries in the context of changing technological and demand conditions from 1972 to 1992. The industries produce commodity products that are cost driven and require little advertising or research expenditures. Since the technology is exogenously given, our discussion closely adheres to the traditional paradigm of market structure. We begin by outlining some major changes in the demand for meat and poultry, dairy, and grain and oilseed products since 1972, and then provide evidence of a shift in plant technologies. We conclude that changes in technology played the dominant role in structural change. Changes in Demand: Meat and Poultry Meat and poultry consumption changed very little over 1972-92, rising incrementally from about 168 pounds per person in 1972 to about 175 pounds in 1992 on a retail boneless-equivalent basis (table 1).2 This modest change in overall consumption obscures a dramatic shift in American food choices away from red meat toward poultry, providing a backdrop for changes occurring in the meat and poultry sector. During the 1960s, large poultry slaughter plants adopted an integrated production system, enabling them to produce vast quantities of low-cost poultry products. At first, they produced mainly whole chickens, but beginning around 1967 chicken parts became more important. Cut-up parts provided consumers with convenience and allowed processors to garner higher profits by providing a higher valued product. Shortly thereafter, poultry plants began producing further processed products, such as packaged, sliced turkey breast; chicken hot dogs; and turkey bologna. These marketing innovations and the adoption by poultry plants of an integrated production system provided consumers with low-cost, convenient alternatives to red meats. Refinements to the integrated production system and larger poultry plants filled with new high-speed processing equipment led to an increase in the relative price of a composite of choice beef to whole fryers on a per-pound basis from about 2 to 1 in 1963 to 5.8 to 1 in 1972. This ratio peaked at about 6.6 to 1 in 1987 and declined afterwards. At the same time, concerns arose over reports of adverse health effects due to the overconsumption of red meats and other products high in saturated fats. The twin effects of lower relative prices and relative healthfulness led to a more than 70-percent increase in per capita poultry consumption over 1972-92 and a 15-percent decline in per capita red meat consumption (table 1). Increased U.S. poultry consumption resulted in a problem for poultry firms: U.S. consumers preferred breasts and white meat to dark meat, yet chickens and turkeys still had two feet, two legs, and two thighs. Recognizing that Asian countries would pay higher prices for some chicken parts, such as chicken feet, and that consumers in many countries preferred dark to white meat, U.S. poultry plants dramatically increased exports. The combined pull of higher prices for some products in overseas markets and a low-cost production system that relied on vast economies of scale led to a sharp increase in poultry exports from less than 150 million pounds in 1972 to about 4.6 billion pounds by 1999 (Ollinger et al., 2000). Combined, these exports and rising domestic consumption led a 150-percent increase in liveweight poultry production over 1972-92. The story was much different for red meats. Saddled with higher production costs per pound of output and a dearth of new, convenient products, U.S. red meat consumption stagnated. Beef consumption bore most of the brunt, dropping from 85.1 retail pounds per person in 1972 to about 66 pounds per person in 1992, where it remained through the 1990s. Meanwhile, pork consumption barely changed from around 52 pounds per person over 1971- 95 (MacDonald et al., 2000). Since exports scarcely changed for both beef and pork, growth could only come from population growth, permitting red meat production by carcass weight to rise by only 10 percent (table 1). Even though per capita red meat consumption dropped, further processed meat products rose by about 10 percent per person. This increase, coupled with population growth, led to a 40-percent increase in processed meat production. Sausages and convenience food products posted substantial increases, while production of smoked and cured products, such as smoked hams and bacon, barely changed. Consolidation and Structural: Changes Changes in demand for meat and poultry, dairy, and grain and oilseed products, combined with technological change, have transformed food industry structures over 1972-92. Below, we outline those changes among meat and poultry, dairy products, and grain milling and oilseed processors. Companion reports examine the efficiency of one of the most controversial aspects of restructuring—mergers and acquisitions—and their impact on plant closures, employment, and wages. Meat and Poultry Sector Beef and pork have been important staples of the American diet since the Nation’s founding. Poultry became a major component after World War II when entrepreneurs began to grow chickens on specialized farms and process them in highly automated factories. The long history of the meatpacking and meat processing industries is matched by a long history of labor strife, accusations of anticompetitive behavior, and regulatory restrictions. Beginning in 1920, a consent agreement between the five largest meatpackers—Armour, Morris,Wilson Foods, John Morrel, and Swift and Co.—and the U.S. Government prevented the largest companies from owning public stockyards, stockyard railroads, market newspapers, and cold storage facilities. The agreement also denied the “Big Five” rights to engage in retail sales or use of their distribution channels for purposes other than distributing their own meat and dairy products. The importance of the consent decree diminished after World War II as reductions in transportation costs shifted the locus of meatpacking operations away from terminal livestock markets to plants nearer livestock production. In this economic environment, new independent firms—such as Iowa Beef Processors (IBP), Spencer Beef, and Monfort of Colorado—grew rapidly by building new plants and acquiring others. As a result, the fourfirm concentration ratio fell into the 20-percent range and the long-term demise of many smaller and some larger high-cost or poorly located slaughter facilities began to take place. As documented by MacDonald et al. (2000), decreased per capita consumption of meat products during the 1980s meant that growth in sales volume could occur only if one firm took market share from another. For firms competing in markets for semi-processed goods, such as meat packers and processors, this meant that plants had to compete on selling prices, putting pressure on their own wage and operating costs. This encouraged firms to employ larger plants with more sophisticated equipment designed to handle much greater throughput, but requiring nonstop production. In the process, highly competitive meatpacking and processing industries emerged. Previously, small meatpacking and processing plants competed against larger firms by paying sharply lower wages to their largely nonunion workforce. In the new environment, large new competitors paying nonunion wages that were willing to shift production to lower cost regions in the Western Plains States rapidly took market share from large entrenched rivals and drove many large and small slaughter plants out of business. The net result was a complete displacement of the largest meatpacking and processing plants. By 1981, the firm that had long dominated the meatpacking business—Swift & Co.—was displaced by IBP as the leading seller. Still, Swift & Co., along with Wilson Foods and John Morrell, remained among the top five firms (table 6). However, pressure on the old-line processors to reduce costs remained intense. Wilson, for example, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983, voided its labor agreements, and reopened with a new, lower base wage. During the 1980s, general conglomerates, such as Greyhound and Occidental, which entered the business during the 1970s by purchasing Armour and IBP, respectively, sold out. Many of the large slaughter plants owned by the old big five were also closed or sold to new meatpackers, such as IBP, and mainline agribusinesses. ConAgra, for example, bought Monfort. Cargill bought the operations of MBPXL and Spencer Beef, renaming them EXCEL. These firms and Tyson, which recently acquired IBP, are now among the top firms in meatpacking. Some old-line firms have remained in the meat business, but gave up slaughtering in order to concentrate on value-added and brand-name processed products with higher returns. New firms, on the other hand, concentrated on low-cost semi-processed products such as carcasses and boxed beef and pork. In many cases, they employed nonunion workers or forced a reduction in negotiated contracts through hard bargaining. The old-line meat packers were not the only losers in the turmoil of the 1980s. Production workers experienced a significant decline in relative wages, with average rates dropping by about one-third, in constant dollar terms, from 1972 to 1992. Wages in other agricultural processing industries, on the other hand, remained steady (table 7). During the 1980s, the number of meatpacking plants dropped by 40 percent to about 1,400 in 1987. Meanwhile, technological changes led to a doubling in plant size and a 45-percent increase in output per worker (table 8). The poultry side of the industry was also consolidating. Poultry leader Holly Farms was one of many acquisitions by Tyson Foods which increased its sales by a factor of 10 during the 1980s. Today, Tyson and ConAgra, another company with beef and pork operations, are also among the top four poultry firms. Tyson is the largest beef packer, second largest pork packer, and largest poultry firm. The twin effects of contracting demand and technological change contributed to a doubling of the four-firm concentration ratio to 57 percent in meatpacking by 1997 (table 9). Four-firm concentration ratios are much higher in individual markets. MacDonald et al. (2000) report that four-firm concentration ratios for steer and heifer, boxed beef, and all cattle slaughter were 80 percent, 83 percent, and 70 percent in 1999. The four-firm concentration ratios for hogs and sheep/lambs were 54 percent and 62 percent. Meat processing did not suffer the same kind of plant losses, probably because per capita consumption of further processed meat held steady and the more specialized nature of producing these products did not readily lend itself to the low-cost production methods used in the meatpacking industry. As a consequence, the number of plants remained at around 1,300 throughout 1972-92, even though average plant size increased by about 20 percent. Labor productivity (table 8) barely changed, perhaps because of minimal changes in technology. With little push from either changes in product demand or technology, four-firm concentration ratios barely budged above 20 percent. The poultry industry prospered at the expense of the red meat sector over 1972-92, as increases in per capita poultry consumption and poultry exports provided the means for industry growth. Although the number of plants declined by about 75, to 575 (table 8), the number of employees rose by more than 150 percent (table 7) and plant output nearly tripled (table 8). Over 1972-92, poultry plants introduced numerous labor saving devices and dramatically improved labor productivity (Ollinger et al., 2000). Yet, pounds of poultry per employee (panel 3 of table 8) remained flat, as higher labor productivity in poultry slaughter was offset by an increase in the number of workers engaged in poultry cut-up and further processing (Ollinger et al., 2000). Although four-firm concentration ratios rose in meatpacking and poultry slaughter and processing over 1972-92 (table 9), vertical and horizontal linkages among the three main industries have been weak and backward vertical relationships to input suppliers limited. Table 10 illustrates some of these linkages. The first row of the top panel shows that meatpacking firms (defined as a firm that owns at least one meatpacking plant) were very modestly forward integrated into further processing (owners of the 2,077 meatpacking plants owned only 74 meat processing plants in 1982) and backward integrated into feed (meat firms owned 108 plants). A different picture emerges for poultry slaughter and processing. Firms in this industry owned more than 150 feed plants in the 1977-82 and 1982-87 census periods. This amounts to about a third of poultry slaughter and processing plants. (Ollinger et al. (2000) explain the efficiency reasons for backward integration into feeds for poultry suppliers.) Firms owning poultry plants were also the most broadly diversified of the meat and poultry firms, owning about twice as many plants outside of poultry slaughter and processing than in it over 1982-87. Owners of meatpacking plants and meat processors, by contrast, owned less than 50 percent more plants outside of meatpacking than in it. Although the meat and poultry sector consolidated over 1972-92, the meatpacking, meat processing, and poultry slaughter/processing industries remained vibrant industries. The top panels of table 11 trace plant closures for plants existing in 1972 (first column) over the subsequent 20 years (next 4 columns) and the bottom panel tracks their associated market shares. By 1992, each industry lost at least 60 percent of the plants that existed in 1972. Overall, about 75 percent of all plants that existed in 1972 were gone by 1992. About one-third of the plants in the meatpacking, meat processing, and poultry industries departed by 1977, even though the number of meatpackers and meat processors rose and the number of poultry plants dropped modestly (table 7). Since plants exiting by 1977 had only about a 12-percent market share, they were on average quite small. Plants that exited later were slightly larger. Since relatively large plants started departing after 10 years, it may be that large plant technology started to become obsolete after about 10 years (small plant technology either could not compete or became obsolete after only 5 years). New plants are a source of vitality in an industry and, even in consolidating industries, there will be some entrepreneurs that see profitable opportunities. Plant entry can come about through plant construction/startup or diversification from another line of business. New plants account for a sizeable share of all plants in each industry. Table 12 traces the years of entry and the associated 1992 market share of all plants that existed in 1992 over the previous 20 years. Overall, new plants comprised about 28 percent of the plants that existed in 1992. New meatpacking and poultry plants accounted for more than one-third of plants in their industries. However, they were smaller than average, having only 11 and 16 percent of their industries’ market shares. In meat processing, entrants comprised about one-fourth of the 1992 plants and had 17 percent of all output. Plants that existed in 1972 and remained in 1992 accounted for 25 to 40 percent of the 1992 plants (table 12) and controlled 37-64 percent of industry production, indicating that old plants are larger than average. Tables 11 and 12 indicate that there are a large number of entrants, and these plants tend to be much smaller than existing plants. Table 13 describes the lifespan and size of plants entering the meat, dairy, and grain milling/oilseed industries over 1972-92.6 The initial entry in the top panel gives the number of entrants over the previous 5-year Census period. For example, the second row of the top panel shows the number of plants that entered between 1972 and 1977 (the first row of the top panel gives the number of non-entrants, or incumbents). The market share, average value of shipments per plant (plant size), and the plant size of entrants relative to incumbents are given in subsequent panels. Over half of the 1972-77 entry plants (table 13, second column, second row of panel 1) went out of business by 1982, 69 percent were gone by 1987, and 77 percent exited by 1992. Exit rates were somewhat lower for other years of entry. For the meat and poultry sector alone (not shown), about 60 percent of the 1972-77 meatpacking entrants failed by 1982, while a little less than 50 percent of the meat processing and poultry plants exited by 1982. Trends were similar to those shown in table 13 for other years of entry, with meatpackers suffering higher exit rates and meat processing and poultry plants somewhat lower rates. Plants entering the industry over 1972-77 were less than half the industry average plant size (table 13, first column, top row in panel four) but, by 1992, the cohort of 1977 plants exceeded the industry average size. This pattern of very small entry plant size and growth in subsequent periods also holds for the 1982 and 1987 plants. The only exception to these trends for meat and poultry was that meat processing plants entered their industry at about two-thirds the industry mean plant size and, perhaps for that reason, had lower new plant exit rates than other industries. Together, these data suggest that entry plants both had higher exit rates and were smaller than incumbent plants, further suggesting that size plays an important role in plant survival. Growth in poultry sector employment more than compensated for a decline in meatpacking jobs. Overall employment in the nine industries jumped by about one-third over 1972-92 (table 7, panel 1). This increase obscures important industry dynamics, however, as meatpackers cut employment by about 25 percent while poultry slaughter/processing jobs more than doubled and meat processing employment rose by about 50 percent. One might think that compensation would drop in industries under pressure to consolidate and increase in faster growing industries. However, this was not entirely the case. Meatpacking and meat processing compensation rates did drop—by about 33 percent—but poultry slaughter and processing compensation barely changed (table 7, panel 2). MacDonald et al. (2000) attribute the decline in meatpacker (and perhaps meat processor) compensation to a precipitous decline in the wages paid to workers employed by the largest meatpackers and processors. Meanwhile, poultry plants added low-skill workers to cut-up operations that converted whole-bird carcasses into parts and further processed products. Structural Change in Summary In this report, we proposed that technological and demand changes led to a major restructuring of nine of food processing’s largest industries over 1972- 92. Our data show that technological change played the dominant role. Despite growth in aggregate demand across all of the nine industries, the number of plants dropped in each industry—even those that grew rapidly—as the average total value-of-shipments per plant rose by about one-third to $43 million. These combined changes led to an increase of about 50 percent in the four-firm concentration ratio to about 46 percent over all nine industries. Two industries—wet-corn milling and soybean processing—registered concentration ratios above 70 percent. Labor productivity advanced substantially. Real output (measured by weight) per employee rose by an average of 78 percent over 1972-92 without accounting for quality changes (meat and poultry plants, for example, produced a greater mix of higher value products by 1992). Data for all nine industries also show that employment leveled off. But these data mask industry-level changes: the number of workers declined by about one-fourth in meatpacking and by about one-half in fluid milk, but rose more than 150 percent in poultry slaughter and processing. This contraction in plants and workers decreased wages, especially in meatpacking and meat processing, where wages dropped by about one-third. Workers in other industries realized little change in real wages. Overall, average worker compensation, deflated by the consumer price index, fell 25 percent. This drop in wages combined with the gain in output per worker means that labor costs per unit of output dropped dramatically. Although the associated cost reductions were likely passed along to consumers in the form of lower prices, the price impact was probably small because labor costs are only a small part of the cost of food processing. The type of plant that exits and the composition of the plants that remain in an industry are of vital interest to entrepreneurs assessing the viability of starting a plant and regulators seeking to understand industry dynamics. About 50 percent of all plants that existed in 1972 and exited within 10 years had only about a 25-percent share of the market in 1972. In other words, they were small in 1972 and subsequently failed. By contrast, the 18 percent of the 1972 plants that exited over the subsequent 10-year period (1982-92) were more than twice as large in 1972 as the plants that exited earlier. A similar picture emerges for plants existing in 1992. Plant entrants over 1987-92 accounted for about one-fourth of all plants, but only about 10 percent of all market share. By contrast, plants existing since 1972 numbered about 40 percent of all plants and controlled about 60 percent of the market in 1992. Moreover, about half of all plant entrants failed within 5 years and twothirds exited within 10 years. The new plants were typically about one-half the average industry plant size and about two-thirds the industry average size after 10 years. Taken together, data tracing 1972 and 1992 plants over the 1972-92 period show that small plants tended to fail first and that new plants typically were much smaller than the industry mean. The research reported herein was performed when the authors were research associates at the Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of the Census. The authors thank Sanjib Bhuyan, David Davis, Elise Golan, Michael LeBlanc, Jeff Royer, and Arnold Reznek for comments on earlier drafts. The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of either the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the U.S. Census Bureau. Dunne, T., M.J. Roberts, and L. Samuelson. “The Growth and Failure of U.S. Manufacturing Plants,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, November, 1989, pp. 671-98. Farris, Paul L. “Growth and Structure of the Wet Corn Milling Industry,” Chapter 9 in Structural Change and Performance of the U.S. Grain Marketing System. D. Larson, P. Gallagher, and R. Dahl editors. The Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1998. Houston, Jack E. “American Feed Manufacturing Industry: Trends and Issues” Chapter 14 in Structural Change and Performance of the U.S. Grain Marketing System. D. Larson, P. Gallagher, and R. Dahl editors. The Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1998. Kimle, Kevin and Marvin L. Hayenga. “Structural Change among Agricultural Input Industries,” Agribusiness, Vol (9) 1993, pp. 15-28. Larson, D. “U.S. Soybean Processing Industry: Structure and Ownership Changes,” Chapter 10 in Structural Change and Performance of the U.S. Grain Marketing System. D. Larson, P. Gallagher, and R. Dahl editors. The Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1998. MacDonald, James M., Michael Ollinger, Kenneth Nelson, and Charles Handy. Consolidation in U.S. Meatpacking, AER-785, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2000. Manchester, Alden C., and Don P. Blayney. The Structure of Dairy Markets: Past, Present, and Future. AER-757. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1997. Manchester, Alden C. The Public Role in the Dairy Economy: Why and How Governments Intervene in the Milk Business. Westview Press: Boulder, CO. 1984. Marion, B., and D. Kim. “Concentration Changes in Selected Food Manufacturing Industries: The Influence of Mergers and Acquisitions vs. Internal Growth,” Agribusiness: An International Journal, Vol 7, No. 5, September, 1991, pp. 416-431. Meade, J.E., “Is the New Industrial State Inevitable?” Economic Journal, No. 78, June, 1968, pp. 372-92. Ollinger, Michael, James MacDonald, and Milton Madison. Structural Change in U.S. Chicken and Turkey Slaughter, AER-787, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2000. Rogers, Richard. “Structural Change in U.S. Food Manufacturing, 1958- 1997,” Agribusiness: An International Journal, Vol. 17 (1), 2001, pp. 3- 32. Scherer, F.M. Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA, 1980. Sutton, John. Sunk Costs and Market Structure, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Statistics, U.S. Department of Agriculture, various issues (1972-92). Wilson, William. “Structural Change in North American Flour Milling,” Chapter 8 in Structural Change and Performance of the U.S. Grain Marketing System. D. Larson, P. Gallagher, and R. Dahl editors. The Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1998. Source: the Pig Site

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE SHARING ECONOMY What is the Sharing Economy? We're rapidly shifting to the world of a shared economy, which is projected to grow from $15B in 2014 to over $330B in 2025. A shared or sharing economy is an economic system in which assets or services are shared between peers or businesses for free or for a fee. The concept is to enhance the usability of assets, making their lifespan more worthwhile. Sharing isn’t quite a new way of life. Rentable or shared goods have been around for ages, but technology and ease of connections through the digital world have boosted accessibility and convenience to users who now have a better ability to seek things out — often through apps — and obtain them easily. Read more from Price Waterhouse Coopers HERE What Technology is Critical? Fundamental importance of location and mapping to a sharing economy comes from the importance of proximity of the parties, and the ad hoc matchmaking and routing matched parties together to complete the transaction. X One’s patents describe innovative ways to map, share, and communicate location information between users by allowing temporary and dynamic data that allows real time updates. Smart solutions are at the core of all that we do at X One Inc. Ride-sharing and other such products and services based on location sharing applications on mobile devices have become ubiquitous Click below to learn more about the technology behind our core inventions. Our main goal is finding smart ways of using technology that will help build a better tomorrow for everyone, everywhere. Our core technology enables sharing and plotting position data in real-time on updateable maps. Click below to learn more about the technology behind our core inventions.

A bank is a Financial institution that accepts money from the public for the purpose of deposit and investment and repayable on-demand and withdrawal by cheques, ATM, draft & order. The term banking is defined as per the banking regulation act 1949 under section 5(b) as accepting money for the purpose of lending or investment of deposit of money from the public, repayable on-demand and withdrawal by cheques, draft, order. Different Types Of Banks: Banks are divided into two types : - Central Bank - Commercial Banks 1. Central Bank: A Central Bank is the apex institution of monetary and banking systems of account.It is the head or father of all banks who gives instructions to another bank. Central Bank involves all banks such as public sector banks or private sector banks. Some of the world’s major central banks include The Reserve Bank Of India, the European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, The Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Banks and the People’s Bank of China and the bank of England. Functions Of Central Banks: I) The central banks have only the right to issue currency notes. II) Central Banks helps the Government in formulating the economic, monetary, financial and fiscal policies by its expert knowledge. III) Central Bank serves as a banker to the scheduled commercial bank. IV) Central Bank control over management and methods. A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the general public for the purpose of investment and gives loan to the needy borrowers. In simple words, a commercial bank is an institution which deals with money and credit. Functions Of Commercial Banks: I) It accepts deposits from the general public. II) It making loans and advances. III) Remitting funds from one place to another. IV) It provides safe custody of valuables. Types of Commercial Banks : - Scheduled Banks - Non-Scheduled Banks 1. Scheduled Banks: Scheduled Banks refer to those banking institutions whose names are included in the second schedule of the Central Banks: Conditions of scheduled Banks : A) The paid-up capital and reserve of the bank should not be less than 5 lakes. B) The banks must satisfy the Central Bank that its affairs are not conducted in a manner detrimental to the interest of the depositors. C) The banks must be a corporation or cooperate with society and not a partnership or single own firm. Types Of Scheduled Banks : 1. Public sector banks 2. Private sector bank 1. Public Sector banks: Public sector banks are those banks in which the government has majority shareholding 51 more than per cent. Public sector banks are owned and controlled by the government either directly or indirectly through the central banks. These banks are also known as National Banks. Types Of Public Sector Banks : A) State Banks Group: The public sector commercial banking in India started with the setting up of the state bank of India in 1955. State bank group consists of the state bank of India and it’s 6 associate Banks. B) Nationalized Banks: An important step towards public sector banking was taken in July 1969, when 14 major banks were nationalized. Again in 1980, 6 more private sector banks were nationalized, bringing up the total number of such banks to 20. C) Regional Rural bank: Regional rural bank was set up on the recommendations of a working group headed by the M. Narasimham in 1975. Initially, 5 such banks were set up on 2nd October 1975. In 1976, the regional rural bank’s act was passed by the parliament paving the way for the establishment of such banks throughout the country. Private Sector Banks Private sector banks are those banks in which the government has majority shareholding less than 51 per cent. Private sector banks are those banks which are owned by private individuals or business corporation. Types Of Private Sector Bank : A) Indian Banks: These are the banks which are incorporated in India under the Indian companies. These banks are owned and controlled by Indian entrepreneurs. In the pre-reform periods, there were only 24 banks in the private sector. At present, there are 27 Indian private sector banks operating in the banking sector. Some examples of Indian Banks: ICICI banks limited, HDFC Banks limited, Axis banks limited, Yes Bank Limited, Federal Bank Limited, South Indian Banks. B) Foreign Banks: These banks are foreign in origin. These banks are incorporated outside India under the law of the home country but have a place of business in India. Foreign Banks have their presence from the British period in India. Initially, they were allowed to operate only through branches but now they are allowed to set up subsidiaries in India. Some Example of Foreign Banks: Standard Chartered Banks, Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation, American Express Banking Corporation, Bank of Tokyo, Citi Bank. Functions of Foreign Banks: A) Bringing together foreign institutional investors and Indian companies. B) Helping foreign companies and Indian companies to enter into joint ventures. C) Raising finance for power generation, telecommunications and mining projects in India. D) Managing data and information systems by using the latest technology. E) Managing the foreign issues of debt or equity of the Indian companies. Importance Of Private Sector Banks : A) These banks have bought in state of the art technology in the banking sector. B) These banks provide healthy competition in the banking system and contributed to the efficiency of public sector banks. C) These banks have helped in introducing a high degree of professional management and marketing concepts into banking. D) These banks have helped the Indian entrepreneurs and companies in tapping the international financial markets to raise funds. 2. Non-Scheduled Banks :Non scheduled Banks are those Banks whose names do not appear in the list of scheduled Banks maintained by the central banks. However, these banks come within the sweep of the banking regulation act 1949 and are therefore obliged to follow the central bank’s guidelines and provisions of the act. For instance, these banks are required to keep a minimum capital of Rs 5 lake, these banks have to comply with the cash reserve requirements condition to the central bank, etc. Non scheduled are not eligible for having financial assistance from the central banks under emergency situations. These banks are also deprived of privileges available to scheduled Banks. What is the lead bank scheme? The Lead Bank Scheme was introduced in December 1969 to promote the integrated development of each district of the country. Under this scheme, a commercial bank was assigned the lead role in a district and all other financial institutions work jointly under the lead banks. What is bank Nationalisation? Social control of banks could not fulfill the objectives of the government and was found to be unsatisfactory and inadequate. Ultimately the government took the decision to nationalize the major commercial banks. Initially, in July 1969, the government nationalized 14 major commercial banks and again in 1980, the government took over 6 more commercial banks.

Bitcoin will undergo supply cut today May 11, 2020, during the time governments around the world are printing more money and increasing debts in order to combat the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria’s total debt profile now stands at N33trillion and is expected to reach an unprecedented level. What’s Bitcoin halving? It means that the amount of new bitcoin being generated and entering circulation every 10 minutes will drop by half from 12.5 to 6.25. Bitcoin halving is programmed to happen every time the network processes approximately 210,000 megabytes of transaction data, which takes about 4 years. Once all 21 million Bitcoins are generated, which is estimated to be in the year 2140, the network will stop producing more coins. Historically, halvings have had significant long-term effects on the market. - First bitcoin halving: During 2012, the price of bitcoin increased from $11 to $1,000. - Second bitcoin halving: From 2016–17, the price ballooned from $700 to $20,000. - Third bitcoin halving: Scheduled on May 11, 2020 (the price impact is still yet to be seen). Bitcoin was born from the Financial Crisis of 2008 and remains the best performing major asset of 2020 and the past decade.

Earnings Yield Ratio (inverse of P/E ratio) is used to measure how many dollars are being earned for each one dollar of stock’s price. In order words, it shows the percentage of total earnings per share against invested amount per share.It tells how expensive the company is in terms of earnings. Earnings Yield Ratio = [Earnings per share / Stock Price] * 100 Where last twelve month earnings will be taken. A company Z is a listed company has 1 million registered shares with a current market stock price of $9 per share. Its yearly financial statements have been published, in which net income is of $250,000. As an investor, how do you calculate the yield of your investment in the company? Earnings per share = $250,000 / $1,000,000 = $0.25 Earning Yield Ratio = [$0.25/$9]*100 = $0.028*100 = 2.8% The answer can interpret as 0.028 dollar isbeing earned against each $1 invested or earning yield is2.8% of invested amount per share. Why is the ratio important? Earnings Yield Ratio helps to compare different stocks with respect to the level of risk. For example, if a risky share has the earning yield of 2% whereas less risk share carries the yield of 4% then you will prefer to invest in the second option. It is used to check whether the share is undervalued or overvalued by comparing the treasury yield with earning yield of a particular share. For example, if US treasury bills pay an annual return of 12% whereas the company in which you have been invested yields 8% then you can choose the best option for wealth maximization. Price-Earnings (P/E) Ratio vs.Earning Yield Ratio P/E ratio measures how many dollars are being paid for each one dollar of earnings whereas the earning yield (being the inverse of P/E ratio) describes how many dollars are being earned against each dollar of price per share or invested amount per share.

Competetive porter five forces Threat of Substitutes Substitute goods or services that can be used in place of a company's products or services pose a threat. He stressed that it is important not to confuse them with more fleeting factors that might grab your attention, such as industry growth rates, government interventions, and technological innovations. Buyers have the power to demand lower price or higher product quality from industry producers when their bargaining power is strong. Porters five forces definition This is determined by how easy it is for your suppliers to increase their prices. Bargaining Power of Buyers Powerful customers can use their clout to force prices down or demand more service at existing prices, thus capturing more value for themselves. These barriers to exit can for example be long-term loan agreements and high fixed costs. In many businesses, you can streamline processes to cut costs when you diagram and analyze your processes through a flowchart. Answer the following questions: How much does it cost and how long does it take to enter your market? Potential of new entrants into the industry 3. Additionally, the five forces framework assumes there is no collusion in the industry. When close substitutes are available, customers will have the option to forgo buying a company's product, and a company's power can be weakened. Threat of Substitution. For instance, Vine was a great concept: six-second films as social media. These forces are: 1. Bargaining power of suppliers This section analyzes how easily suppliers could increase their prices and thus affect your bottom line. Suppliers and buyers seek out a company's competition if they are able to offer a better deal or lower prices. These barriers to exit can for example be long-term loan agreements and high fixed costs. It is thus argued Wernerfelt that this theory be combined with the resource-based view RBV in order for the firm to develop a sounder framework. A smaller and more powerful client basemeans that each customer has more power to negotiate for lower prices and better deals. Where close substitute products exist in a market, it increases the likelihood of customers switching to alternatives in response to price increases. It is especially useful when starting a new business or when entering a new industry sector. Porters five forces summary Here, you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive your prices down. This force is especially threatening when buyers can easily find substitute products with attractive prices or better quality and when buyers can switch from one product or service to another with little cost. Many competitors, offering undifferentiated products and services, will reduce market attractiveness. What does it take to make the business scalable? If there are well established companies in the industry operating in other geographic regions, for example, the threat of entry rises. That uncertainty is low, allowing participants in a market to plan for and respond to changes in competitive behavior. Remember the GiGo lesson from math: garbage in, garbage out. Threat of substitution. The price of aviation fuel is subject to the fluctuations in the global market for oil, which can change wildly because of geopolitical and other factors. The company launched into the social media space in Cost leadership Your goal is to increase profits by reducing costs while charging industry-standard prices, or to increase market share by reducing the sales price while retaining profits. Conversely, when competitive rivalry is low, a company has greater power to charge higher prices and set the terms of deals to achieve higher sales and profits. How many potential suppliers do you have? It requires an intense understanding of the marketplace, its sellers, buyers and competitors. based on 60 review

What is blockchain?15 Jan, 2020 Judy Rubio One of the first concepts that people learn in the crypto community is "blockchain". To put it simply, it is a chain of blocks that are made up of digital pieces of information. They have a timestamp and store information about previous records, sort of a ledger. High-performance equipment all over the world helps to fulfill a common goal by running operations for transaction verification. Blockchain has become a breakthrough in the field of database protection and finance. Features of blockchain technology An important feature of the system is that there is no single server, and block chains are distributed among the participants. Using advanced encryption algorithms can help protect individual records from being modified or copied by other users. It is the blockchain technology that underlies the work of the bitcoin cryptocurrency. However, it can be used in other areas. The principle of operation of blockchain technology is as follows: - A primary block is created; it does not store information about previous records. - Each following block has a header that contains information about the transaction. - Users can get information about all blocks, but they only have access to their own. The development of cloud services sparks a conversation about the broad possibilities of blockchain use-cases. It can be Internet catalogs, online banking, and identification systems for corporate websites. Cryptographic key verification is required to make changes, which subsequently verifies the identity of the user. When the private key is transferred, access to the block (cash and other assets) is granted. This makes it easy to register transactions that are conducted through online resources. The use of blockchain technology Even though the most famous use-case of blockchain is cryptocurrencies, we can only imagine its further implementation in the ever-growing ambitious financial world. For example, government and banking organizations are interested in a distributed system of information storage. The technology can be used to access databases, including pension accruals, medical records, etc. Blockchain technology has the following application prospects: - Operations with goods and raw materials - Information management - Games online - Possession right - Electronic voting mechanisms Security of using blockchain technology The record-keeping technology provides reliable security protection. Even if an attacker can hack the server and bypass the protection on one server, he will be faced with an impossible task of hacking most of the computers in the whole decentralized system. Blockchain technology has many advantages. One of the most important is safety and high reliability. Now the owner of the asset does not need to worry about protecting some server from hacking. Even if you access a single computer and make changes to the code, the system will not accept the result. It will require several dozen confirmations from other sources. Learn more about the latest blockchain news here. Huobi as a Major Exchange for Chainlink Node06 Jul, 2020 David Kemp Crypto’s Problem Needs to Be Resolved06 Jul, 2020 Endy Callahan Retraction of a Story Worth $1K BTC05 Jul, 2020 Colin Baseman Bezos Is Wealthier Than all BTC in Circulation05 Jul, 2020 Colin Baseman Ongoing Experiments with a Digital Yen05 Jul, 2020 Annabella Cornelly High Hopes Pinned on the New Executive04 Jul, 2020 Judy Rubio

Hello, I'm Michael Hanemann. I'm a professor of economics here at ASU, in the business school, and in the School of Sustainability. Water is full of paradoxes. Water is essential for life. Cable TV, as far as I know, is not essential for life. Yet, many Americans spend more money each month for their cable TV than for water in their homes. A gallon of gas costs a bit over $2.00; a gallon of milk costs about $3.00; a gallon of orange juice, maybe $4.00. And, you have to make a trip from your home to get these items. The water comes directly into your home, and you pay only 2 or 3 cents a gallon. In Phoenix, we live in a desert city. We rely on the Colorado River for a significant part of our water. For the last 16 years, there’s been a major drought in the Colorado River. Yet, water bills in Phoenix are among the lowest bills in any city nationwide. Now other commodities -- food, clothing, shelter -- also are essential for human life. Yet, water arouses passions that are not found with other essential commodities. Around the world, water is seen as something that should not be treated as a commodity. People see water as a human right -- as something you shouldn't have to pay for. The pricing of water has been a political flashpoint. In Tucson, forty years ago, the City Council learned this the hard way. Water revenues were not keeping up with costs, and the water system was running out of capacity to meet peak summer demand. Water rates were raised to finance the improvements. Overnight, water bills skyrocketed. A recall election was promptly held, and the City Council majority which had voted for the rate increase was booted out. The economics ought to be simple. Water is not a man-made commodity. It falls from the sky. But, in fact, the economics is surprisingly complex. Water is a difficult commodity. It is free and yet costly. It is simultaneously a private good and a public good. It helps cities flourish financially but now it is their financial burden. Almost nobody pays for the water per se. The cost of water is the cost of making it available at the right time, the right place, and the right quality. It is the cost of collecting, storing, transporting and treating the water. That’s why the cost of water in Phoenix is low: the water is cheap; the infrastructure is new and doesn't yet need much repair. In Boston, Chicago or Detroit, the water is abundant, but the water infrastructure is old and expensive to maintain and therefore, the water is expensive. The cost of water is overwhelmingly a capital cost. The entire supply chain has to be in place, from source to tap, before a single drop can be delivered. It is not modular. And there are powerful economies of scale: you would not set out to build a dam or an aqueduct, now, and then expand it a decade or so from now, when demand has grown, the way you might do with a factory. That would turn out way too expensive. So you must overbuild, often decades ahead of demand. In 1800, say, water supply was highly decentralized. People took water from a nearby well or pond or stream; or from a water pump in town. There may have been a vendor going around selling water. But, as urban populations mushroomed in the nineteenth century, the need for a network-scale water supply became more pressing. With the growth in population, local streams became polluted, so more distant sources of water were needed to keep up with the growth of cities. As methods for water treatment became available, drinking water had to be financed. This network was massively expensive. Today, the situation is different. The water and wastewater networks are aging and crumbling. And the cities are short of money. In many cities, there is intense political pressure to keep water rates low. The result is, that while rates cover operating costs, they don't fully cover the cost of maintaining and replacing the water infrastructure. This cannot continue. Many of the current water pipes were put in soon after World War II, and they are reaching the end of their working lives. Over the next twenty years, the cost to replace urban pipe networks may reach a trillion dollars nationwide. It does not include the cost to meet new drinking water standards that will be required for ever-more exotic contaminants that show up in our water. Then, there’s climate change. With climate change, droughts will be more likely in many areas, including the Southwest. If there’s a drought and the utility delivers less water, the cost per gallon goes up. For water supply, there is a schizoid aspect to climate change. The warmer air puts more moisture into the atmosphere, which translates into more intense precipitation. But that can be combined with greater dryness at other times of the year. The result is a less reliable water supply. A solution is to have more storage. But storage is extremely expensive. We will end up having to spend more money to get the same reliability that we used to have in the past. And this is the larger reality that we will all face: maintaining the water supply that we have now, and that we take for granted, is going to become far more expensive. So, viewing water as a commodity that one pays hardly anything for, is just not going to work in the future.

Scalability is the term used to talk about the ability of a cryptocurrency to deal with increased usage and adoption. There are fundamental bottlenecks and circumstantial limitations for cryptocurrencies that affect their ability to work as intended as they become more popular. Scalability is not a well defined, singular property of a cryptocurrency. Rather it is a broad term which covers a number of properties that together limit the cryptocurrency in ways that affect its ability to deal with increasing usage. On Scaling Decentralized Blockchains identifies a few key metrics of cryptocurrencies that are pertinent to the scaling debate: maximum throughput, latency, bootstrap time and cost to the network per confirmed transaction. Maximum throughput is measured in transactions per second (tps) and is found by dividing the maximum number of transactions that can be contained in a block by the block time. The maximum number of transactions that can be contained in a block depends on the block size and the size of each transaction. For example, ignoring SegWit, Bitcoin’s blocks are up to 1MB (1,000,000 bytes) in size and a simple one-input, one-output transaction is roughly 250 bytes. Thus one Bitcoin block could potentially contain 4000 transactions (because 1,000,000/250 = 4000). The average block time (the interval of time between the mining of one block and the mining of the next) for Bitcoin is 10 minutes by design. Thus, calculated using these numbers, the maximum throughput for Bitcoin is 6.7 tps. In reality, transaction sizes are usually larger than 250 bytes. This doesn’t affect the how we would calculate the maximum throughput, but it is worth bearing in mind when talking about throughput. This is the time required for a transaction to be considered final. This will depend on both the cryptocurrency and the service or payment processor in question. For example, Bitcoin transactions can take up to 10 minutes (the block time) to be confirmed by being included in a block, but some services accept zero-confirmation transactions and others follow a 6-confirmation standard before they consider a transaction to be final. This is the time that it takes for a new node to download the blockchain of a cryptocurrency to validate its system state and be able to participate in block production. Cost to the network per confirmed transaction: This is the cost of resources consumed by the entire system to confirm a single transaction. These costs are: 1) Block production cost: The cost of issuing a new block undertaken by the block producer. For example, the operational costs of Bitcoin mining. 2) Transaction validation cost: The cost of computation necessary to validate that a transaction can spend the outputs referenced by its inputs, dominated by cryptographic verifications. 3) Bandwidth cost: The cost of network resources required to receive and transmit transactions, blocks, and metadata. 4) Storage cost: The cost of storing the data associated with the cryptocurrency. These are some of the key metrics we can use to talk usefully about the cryptocurrency scalability problem. Problem 1: Congestion due to maximum throughput being too low There is competition for a transaction to be included in a block when the number of new transactions is greater than the maximum throughput. This not only leads to a backlog of unconfirmed transactions, but also raises the transactions fees as higher transaction fees have a better chance of being included in a block. Thus a cryptocurrency will want to achieve the highest maximum throughput possible. On Scaling Decentralized Blockchains shows that designing maximum throughput is a balancing act: it is possible to achieve a very high maximum throughput by adjusting the block size and block time, however doing so would be at the cost of decentralization and/or security. Smart contracts also play into this problem. The impact of smart contracts on the usability of the cryptocurrencies which have them is well documented. This is in part because they introduce a whole new series of transactions which can further congest the network in the form of gas. The above backlog can then occur if there are many popular smart contracts deployed to the same blockchain. One possible solution to this is to have the smart contracts deployed to a cryptocurrency’s sidechains, rather than to its mainchain. This will offload the heavy lifting to sidechains while leaving the mainchain free to carry out transactions. Problem 2: Full Nodes become too large for practical blockchain applications and cost to the network per confirmed transaction grows as the cryptocurrency grows Blockchains can become very large very quickly. Many applications of blockchain technology require the user to be operating a Full Node which has downloaded a copy of the complete blockchain. Doing so incurs costs to the user and takes time. As the blockchain grows in size, the operational and time costs to the user may become a deterrent. This is not just an issue with public chains. Blockchain as a Service applications may end up using private chains which are recording a large volume of transactions. This may make the application unwieldy and is a common criticism of the technology. The above two problems are by no means the only ones which fall under the broader category “scaling difficulties facing cryptocurrencies”. They are probably the most common and both are relevant to content in this FAQ, which is why they have been included here.

About This Chapter International Trade Theories - Chapter Summary Our professional instructors present international trade theories in this chapter. You'll work through international trade patterns, free trade and trade protectionism in these lessons. Take a look at the quiz accompanying each lesson to make sure you've understood what you've learned and you're ready to move on. The Dashboard offers you a chance to keep tabs on your progress through the chapter and submit your questions to our experts. After finishing these lessons, you should be able to: - Discuss the economics and politics of international trade - Define gains from trade with examples - Outline the classical and modern approaches to international trade theory - Explain the implications of international trade theory on international retailing - Provide the pros and cons of free trade - Describe the impact of unrestricted free trade on international retailing - Detail the advantages and disadvantages of trade protectionism 1. The Economics & Politics of International Trade We will discuss the economics & politics of international trade through the definition of open trade and its benefits and drawbacks. In addition, the ideas of competitive advantage and political patience will be shown as key indicators of global success. 2. Gains from Trade: Definition & Example Sometimes doing everything yourself isn't always the best economic decision. This lesson explains and provides an example, showing how specializing and trading can benefit everyone involved. 3. Classical Approach to International Trade Theory This lesson explores and analyzes the history, importance, relevance, and uses of classic international trade theories. This includes a look at country-based theories like mercantilism, absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and Heckscher-Ohlin Theory or Factor Proportions Theory. 4. Modern Approach to International Trade Theory From Porter's National Competitive Advantage Theory to the New Trade Theory, there are many international trade theories that can help firms create a business plan or strategy. This lesson will look at different theories and their application in the world of imports and exports. 5. What is Free Trade? - Definition, Pros, Cons & Examples Is free trade a good thing? The issue of free trade has been a source of debate for centuries, and in this lesson, we will discuss the pros and cons of free trade that have led to this debate. 6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Trade Protectionism Countries want to win the game of international trade by exporting more than they import. Some countries pursue trade protectionism to do this. In this lesson, you'll learn about the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy and related concepts. Earning College Credit Did you know… We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level. To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page Transferring credit to the school of your choice Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you. Other chapters within the Business 205: International Retailing Strategy & Operations course - Introduction to Business Globalization - International Market Dynamics - Cultural Differences in Business - International Trade Policy - World Trade Organizations - Strategies for International Business - International Market Entry Strategy - International Production & Logistics - International Supply Chain Management & Distribution - International Product, Pricing & Marketing Strategy

Sugar tax causes huge drop in number of drinks containing too much sugar The number of drinks containing too much sugar fell from 49% to 15% following the sugar tax. A new study looked at the impact of the sugar tax on soft drinks between September 2015 and February 2019. It found, despite little change in the product size or number of products available, sugar content had dropped. ‘The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was associated with a large reduction in the percentage of soft drinks (particularly branded drinks) that are subject to the levy because of large reductions in the sugar levels of these drinks,’ the researchers said. ‘There was no evidence for similar reductions in control SDIL-exempt drinks. ‘This suggests the SDIL was the motivating factor for this change. ‘We found manufacturers weren’t directly passing the levy on to the consumer through commensurate increases in the prices of targeted drinks. ‘Manufacturers and retailers appear to have taken the opportunity to undertake wider revision of their entire soft drink market offer. ‘These changes could reduce population exposure to sugars and associated health risks.’ Sugar tax ‘earned its stripes’ The BDA has welcomed the findings encouraging the government to expand the levy to tackle child tooth decay and obesity. Despite raising £340 million in 2020-21, no money from the sugar tax is ring-fenced for spending on preventive programmes for children. The BDA wants the government to introduce milk-based drinks into the levy and for funding to go to oral health programmes. ‘The sugar tax has earned its stripes as a weapon in the arsenal of any government interested in tackling preventable disease among children,’ BDA chair, Mick Armstrong, said. ‘The question now is, are ministers prepared to follow the evidence, double down and really reap the benefits? ‘If we’re going to win the war against obesity and tooth decay, we must ring-fence revenues from an expanded levy. ‘Not left plugging holes in other budgets.’ Sugar levels in drinks covered by the sugar tax dropped 10 times faster than foods outside the levy, figures show. PHE consequently challenged the food industry to reduce sugar in the rest of its products by 20% this year. It hopes this drop in sugar will help to improve the level of obesity and tooth decay seen in children. ‘The report shows a mixed picture,’ Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said last year. ‘Encouragingly, some businesses have made good progress in reducing sugar. ‘But some businesses and categories have made very little or none. ‘We know the public wants the food industry to make food healthier. ‘It is clear we can do this. ‘But we urge the whole of the food and drink industry to keep up the momentum to help families make healthier choices.’

Bust before boom New gas finds, investments, and their implications in Mozambique Large flows of foreign investments have not been translated into a boom for the Mozambican economy. On the contrary, they have foreshadowed a sustained period of deep economic difficulty for the country. What is the story behind this phenomenon and what are its implications? Mozambique has been attracting large amounts of foreign direct investments during this decade. This should have led to a boost in economic growth but, on the contrary, Mozambique’s growth has been slowing down for several years. Because of the recent debt crisis, delays of gas projects and suspensions of donor grants, Mozambique faces most likely several more years with low growth, even though the country still attracts high rates of private investment. In 2009–11 large offshore gas fields were discovered in the Rovuma Basin, north-east of Mozambique. The country has been expected to benefit largely from new natural gas projects as several foreign enterprises have been investing heavily in the sector. Their total investments have been estimated to reach around US$100 billion, which would make the Rovuma gas fields the largest investment project in sub-Saharan Africa, if realized. Investments running in, but growth slowing down According to most traditional growth theories more investment means more growth. However, this has not been the case, at least thus far, in Mozambique. National accounts data of Mozambique clearly indicate the unique nature of the period after 2010. Prior to that, the investment share of gross domestic product (GDP) in Mozambique had typically hovered at or below 20%. By contrast, in all five years 2012 through 2016 the investment share of GDP was well over 40%. This big change was associated mainly with a large surge of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the gas projects. However, as Figure 1 below shows, there is no evidence of a growth spurt that might have been expected to follow from the very large FDI inflows. Indeed, growth in the period since about 2013 has been weaker than at any time in the past 20 years. Further, the projections from the IMF Regional Economic Outlook of April 2018 suggest that the growth rate through 2019 will remain below 3% and so the GDP per capita might even slightly decrease. What is behind the growth slowdown? The huge gas finds at the beginning of the decade led to inflated expectations of revenues from extractives. These high hopes in turn contributed to premature, undisclosed public sector borrowing, which then triggered a debt crisis in Mozambique. The gas projects have also been delayed from the earlier plans — which worsens the already difficult situation as it will take time for the revenues from the sector to flow in. The situation could have been eased somewhat if grants from external donors had not pulled back in the face of the changing situation. However, when the undisclosed loans came out the IMF and several other donors suspended their programmes in Mozambique because of the misreporting. Thus, the country has also been hit by a reduction of grants equivalent to around 4% of its GDP, as well as by a big increase in its debt service obligations. In addition, Mozambique has suffered from lower prices for many of its key exports and the damaging effects of the droughts in 2015 caused by the El Niño. These factors combined have led Mozambique to begin the coming era of new gas production in a much more difficult situation than what was anticipated — bust has come before boom. Building domestic capital and replacing extractives with other activities Even when the enlarged revenues from the new gas extraction do eventually materialize, they will most likely need to be committed quite heavily to deal with the still high rates of debt and debt service. It is likely that Mozambique faces at least six more years with fiscal restraints, high debt ratios and low growth, even though the country will still be attracting high rates of private investment. This shrinks the fiscal space of the country. Mozambique’s public sector will remain capital-constrained for several more years. Based on this result, any gas surplus, when it does begin to emerge, should arguably be concentrated on building domestic capital rather than accumulating balances in, for example, a sovereign wealth fund. Mozambique’s public sector will remain capital-constrained for several more years. This implies that if/when the surplus from the gas projects begins to emerge, it should be concentrated on building domestic capital rather than accumulating balances in a sovereign wealth fund. Extractives are a depletable resource. This means that if any initial boost to growth and development is to be sustained, other productive activities will in time need to replace extractives to ensure some transformation of the economy. Overall, future public investment has to be much more carefully and strategically managed. Mozambique would be well advised to increase investment in transforming the economy, as extractives are, after all, a depletable resource. Because of this reality, other productive activities will in time need to replace extractives if any initial boost to growth and development is to be sustained. This Research Brief, also available in Portuguese (disponível em Português), is based on the WIDER Working Paper ‘Mozambique—bust before boom – reflections on investment surges and new gas’, by Alan Roe. The study has been prepared within the programme Inclusive growth in Mozambique – scaling up research and capacity.

A lot of people have made fortunes by mining Bitcoins. Back in the days, you could make substantial profits from mining using just your computer, or even a powerful enough laptop. These days, Bitcoin mining can only become profitable if you’re willing to invest in an industrial-grade mining hardware. This, of course, incurs huge electricity bills on top of the price of all the necessary equipment. A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. It uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions as well as to control the creation of new units of a particular cryptocurrency. Essentially, cryptocurrencies are limited entries in a database that no one can change unless specific conditions are fulfilled. Many people believe that cryptocurrencies are the hottest investment opportunity currently available. Indeed, there are many stories of people becoming millionaires through their Bitcoin investments. Bitcoin is the most recognizable digital currency to date, and just last year one BTC was valued at $800. In November 2017, the price of one Bitcoin exceeded $7,000. There is ongoing research on how to use formal verification to express and prove non-trivial properties. A Microsoft Research report noted that writing solid smart contracts can be extremely difficult in practice, using The DAO hack to illustrate this problem. The report discussed tools that Microsoft had developed for verifying contracts, and noted that a large-scale analysis of published contracts is likely to uncover widespread vulnerabilities. The report also stated that it is possible to verify the equivalence of a Solidity program and the EVM code. Bloomberg reported that the largest 17 crypto merchant-processing services handled $69 million in June 2018, down from $411 million in September 2017. Bitcoin is "not actually usable" for retail transactions because of high costs and the inability to process chargebacks, according to Nicholas Weaver, a researcher quoted by Bloomberg. High price volatility and transaction fees make paying for small retail purchases with bitcoin impractical, according to economist Kim Grauer. However, bitcoin continues to be used for large-item purchases on sites such as Overstock.com, and for cross-border payments to freelancers and other vendors. Bitcoin is a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks! Bitcoin can be used to book hotels on Expedia, shop for furniture on Overstock and buy Xbox games. But much of the hype is about getting rich by trading it. The price of bitcoin skyrocketed into the thousands in 2017. Ethereum's blockchain uses Merkle trees, for security reasons, to improve scalability, and to optimize transaction hashing. As with any Merkle tree implementation, it allows for storage savings, set membership proofs (called "Merkle proofs"), and light client synchronization. The Ethereum network has at times faced congestion problems, for example, congestion occurred during late 2017 in relation to Cryptokitties. An official investigation into bitcoin traders was reported in May 2018. The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation into possible price manipulation, including the techniques of spoofing and wash trades. Traders in the U.S., the U.K, South Korea, and possibly other countries are being investigated. Brett Redfearn, head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets, had identified several manipulation techniques of concern in March 2018. Bitcoin is pseudonymous rather than anonymous in that the cryptocurrency within a wallet is not tied to people, but rather to one or more specific keys (or "addresses"). Thereby, bitcoin owners are not identifiable, but all transactions are publicly available in the blockchain. Still, cryptocurrency exchanges are often required by law to collect the personal information of their users. “If the trend continues, the average person will not be able to afford to purchase one whole bitcoin in 2 years. As global economies inflate and markets exhibit signs of recession, the world will turn to Bitcoin as a hedge against fiat turmoil and an escape against capital controls. Bitcoin is the way out, and cryptocurrency as a whole is never going away, it’s going to grow in use and acceptance as it matures.” The validity of each cryptocurrency's coins is provided by a blockchain. A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way". For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority. Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual "token," representing ledger entries internal to the system itself. "Crypto" refers to the fact that various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions, are employed. If you happen to own a business and if you’re looking for potential new customers, accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment may be a solution for you. The interest in cryptocurrencies has never been higher and it’s only going to increase. Along with the growing interest, also grows the number of crypto-ATMs located around the world. Coin ATM Radar currently lists almost 1,800 ATMs in 58 countries. Monero is the most prominent example of the CryptoNight algorithm. This algorithm was invented to add the privacy features Bitcoin is missing. If you use Bitcoin, every transaction is documented in the blockchain and the trail of transactions can be followed. With the introduction of a concept called ring-signatures, the CryptoNight algorithm was able to cut through that trail. Ethereum addresses are composed of the prefix "0x", a common identifier for hexadecimal, concatenated with the rightmost 20 bytes of the Keccak-256 hash (big endian) of the ECDSA public key (the curve used is the so called secp256k1, the same as Bitcoin). In hexadecimal, 2 digits represents a byte, meaning addresses contain 40 hexadecimal digits. An example of an Ethereum address is 0xb794F5eA0ba39494cE839613fffBA74279579268. Contract addresses are in the same format, however they are determined by sender and creation transaction nonce. User accounts are indistinguishable from contract accounts given only an address for each and no blockchain data. Any valid Keccak-256 hash put into the described format is valid, even if it does not correspond to an account with a private key or a contract. This is unlike Bitcoin, which uses base58check to ensure that addresses are properly typed. The unit of account of the bitcoin system is a bitcoin. Ticker symbols used to represent bitcoin are BTC[b] and XBT.[c]:2 Its Unicode character is ₿. Small amounts of bitcoin used as alternative units are millibitcoin (mBTC), and satoshi (sat). Named in homage to bitcoin's creator, a satoshi is the smallest amount within bitcoin representing 0.00000001 bitcoins, one hundred millionth of a bitcoin. A millibitcoin equals 0.001 bitcoins; one thousandth of a bitcoin or 100,000 satoshis.

Blog - 30 May 2019 The threat climate change poses to the long-term sustainability of our planet is widely understood and accepted. The rising levels of awareness and commitment to address the challenge are encouraging. The Paris climate agreement has 185 signatories and a growing number of countries, as well as companies, have ambitions to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. That is the good news. The harder part is that “solving” climate change poses very complex technical and political challenges. This is clear from the fact that, despite the efforts to date, global emissions continue to grow. And demand for energy, materials, transport and food will only intensify as the world continues to develop and the population further increases. Clearly it is essential we invent new ways of doing things that don’t rely on fossil fuels. For the global steel industry, that means while it continues to reduce its carbon footprint through energy efficiency, ultimately an energy source other than coal will be required to extract iron from iron-ore, a critical part of the primary steel-making process. ArcelorMittal is piloting several new technologies, including carbon capture and the use of alternative energy sources such as renewable carbon and clean energy. At least one of these initiatives needs to be viable. As Simon Thompson, chairman of Rio Tinto, noted recently, steel is “essential to human progress” and there are no obvious substitutes for it in a range of applications. The technology challenge, however, may be the easier part of the problem to solve. The harder part relates to the political complexities, which are considerable. In the developed world it can be hard to persuade current generations to make drastic changes, particularly if these threaten jobs, for benefits they are unlikely to see in their lifetime. No politician in a developing country can pursue policies that threaten economic growth and the fight against poverty. We are going to have to operate with a mosaic of uneven regional and national approaches and policies for some time to come. But from this leaders will emerge. It is imperative they succeed — not only in reducing emissions in their own countries but also in having a positive impact on global emissions. Unfortunately, the first does not necessarily lead to the second, so there is a major challenge here. The steel industry is a good example of this dilemma. As it stands, Europe’s mechanism to reduce emissions, the emissions trading system, is only applicable to steel companies producing in Europe. Those who export steel to Europe do not bear the same additional cost and therefore will gain an important competitive advantage. As an editorial in this newspaper stated last week: “There is little point shifting to low-carbon energy if the costs of the transition lead to more imports of steel from less green sources.” Doing so would have the opposite effect of actually increasing global CO2 generation, taking us further away from our targets. There are no borders in the sky. That is why ArcelorMittal is advocating the introduction of a green border adjustment to ensure there is a level playing field between those producing in Europe and those exporting to the continent. If the world is to successfully address climate change, the answer is not for one region to outsource its carbon footprint to another and claim victory. Rather, any country or region that wants to play a leading role in reducing global emissions needs policies in place that build a low-carbon industry. What this means in practice is that lawmakers must create an environment that fosters innovation and ensures a level playing field. No industry can decarbonise by itself. There must be collaboration and partnership between political, business and civil society leadership to establish a system that supports and enables sustainable decarbonisation, taking into account the unique economics and drivers for each industry. For example, much of the progress in the energy sector in Europe has been made through government subsidy and support: by our calculations, an annual subsidy substantially above €50 per tonne of CO2 emissions avoided. In the case of steel, investment to accelerate innovation, as well as access to clean energy and renewable carbon at competitive prices, will be essential. Link that to border mechanisms to ensure domestic producers are not rendered uncompetitive and there will be a structure in place to enable the steel industry to decarbonise in-line with the Paris agreement. It is this type of action that will be required if we are to succeed in solving one of the greatest challenges of our age. I remain optimistic about human beings’ ability to innovate and transform. But making progress will require a degree of co-operation and foresight, and an acknowledgment that this is a complex global problem. Unlocking significant contributions from industries like steel will take us all a step nearer to achieving the aspirations set out in Paris in 2015. Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal Lakshmi N Mittal is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal. He founded Mittal Steel Company (formerly the LNM Group) in 1976. In addition to forcing the pace of consolidation in the steel industry, he has also championed the development of integrated mini-mills and the use of direct-reduce iron as a scrap substitute for steelmaking. Following the transaction combining Ispat International and LNM Holdings to form Mittal Steel in December 2004, together with the simultaneous announcement of the acquisition of International Steel Group in the United States, he led the formation of the world’s then-leading steel producer. In 2006, under his leadership, Mittal Steel merged with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal.

By Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group Australia contributes 1.3% to global greenhouse gas emissions and various voices in the Coalition are saying that is so small we don’t need to act, or don’t need to act faster, to reduce emissions because the adverse economic impacts are not worth it. I don’t buy that argument. Reducing emissions does not mean destroying jobs and the economy. It means growing jobs and economic wealth in different parts of the economy. Let’s look at the recycling and waste industry as an example. The waste and recycling industry contributes close to 3% of Australia’s direct emissions, essentially from methane leakage from landfills and carbon dioxide emissions from trucks. In 1996 it emitted 16MT of CO2-e, had a recycling rate of 6% of waste generated, and employed 30,000 people. In 2019 it had an emission footprint of 10MT of CO2-e (almost 40% decrease), achieved a recycling rate of 58% and employed 56,000 people. The Australian waste industry achieved a 40% reduction in emissions while growing jobs, economic wealth and improving recycling rates. How? By imbedding the costs of climate change in the economic decisions of waste generators. What does that mean in English? By putting a carbon price on the waste we sent to landfill. This was done both directly via the Carbon “Tax” of Julia Gillard (though it was never a tax but a fixed price trading scheme) and indirectly by the State Governments in the form of the landfill levies. The effect has been significant. Firstly, the carbon pricing mechanism encouraged landfill owners to install gas capture systems to reduce fugitive methane emissions from landfills. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Put simply, every tonne of methane emitted from a landfill is equivalent to emitting 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Organics in landfill decompose anaerobically to generate methane. The result of the carbon price was every landfill in Australia emitting over 25,000t of CO2‑e per year has installed a landfill gas capture system. That single arrangement reduced landfill greenhouse emissions by at least 6 million tonnes per year. The biggest challenge remains the cumulative emissions from all of the small landfills and the continuing fugitive emissions from large landfills (around the edges of the landfill, cracks and the long tail emissions after it has ceased operating). With the axing of the carbon price there is a much reduced commercial incentive to improve gas capture. So fugitive emissions have continued. The second key mechanism hasn’t come from the Federal Government but from the States. The State landfill levies are an indirect price on the ‘externalities’ of landfill. That is, they are an attempt to price the unintended consequences of landfilling our waste including odour, loss of resources, emissions, traffic, dust and the opportunity cost of not being able to recycle these products back into the productive economy. State landfill taxes now range from $0 (NT, Tas and ACT) to $140 (in NSW and SA), with Vic, Qld and WA in between. They are the key driver of the significant growth in recycling rates across the country. And most important, the levy is only paid on waste to landfill. It is completely avoided if the material is recycled. (In the same way a carbon price would work). If you don’t cause pollution, you don’t pay the price. And this is where I need to discuss the significant INDIRECT emissions reductions deriving from recycling. While the direct emissions from the waste sector are 10MT (from landfill methane emissions), the indirect benefits of recycling are much bigger. The fact is that recycling sends useful products back to industry and by avoiding the extraction of raw materials it massively reduces associated GHG emissions. If we recycle, we don’t need to mine, transport and process the equivalent raw materials. These processes can be very energy and emissions intensive especially for products like aluminium, steel, glass and plastic. So by recycling we are capturing the embodied energy of the recovered materials. That is the energy that went into making the plastic, glass, steel, aluminium etc in the first place. In fact, recycling currently reduces the direct emissions of other manufacturing activities by at least 50MT of CO2‑e per year. That is, 50MT more emissions that glass factories, aluminium smelters, steel smelters, paper mills etc would be emitting if they did not have access to the recycled product. So, if we were to stop recycling, emissions would go up by 50MT of CO2‑e. That is 10% of Australia’s 533MT national emissions. (I must note that some of this material is exported so it shows up in emission reduction accounts in other countries – but climate change doesn’t care where the emissions occur, just that they do). So State government landfill levies have significantly reduced Australia’s emission footprint and contributed to global emission reduction of at least 50MT of CO2‑e, so far.Tweet Which brings me to future emission reductions. We currently achieve a 58% national recycling rate. What if we could do even better? Work done by Warnken ISE and MRA more recently, shows that Australia could achieve at least a further 50MT of CO2‑e emission reduction by expanding recycling and introducing Energy from Waste. Four simple and cost effective actions are required: - Divert organics from landfill and into compost for farmers – to reduce landfill methane generation and facilitate soil carbon storage - Expand recycling to avoid emissions associated with mining and manufacturing new materials - Expand Energy from Waste to displace fossil fuels, capture the embodied energy of non-recyclable materials and avoid emissions - Increase landfill gas capture to capture the remaining direct landfill emissions These four actions would reduce Australia’s greenhouse emissions by 10% (over one third of the total 26-28% Paris commitment). Put another way, if we expanded recycling, captured the fugitive landfill emissions, introduced energy from waste and banned organics to landfill, we could avoid another 50MT currently emitted by other sectors. (These savings also do not include the massive greenhouse gas benefits of sequestering organics in soil via compost and biochar). As I said, that is a third of our total Paris commitment. Not only would that massively reduce our contribution to global greenhouse emissions, it would generate at least an additional 50,000 new jobs and a huge variety of new businesses. That will drive economic growth (and resource conservation). So the idea that reducing emissions necessarily stifles economic growth and is a jobs destroyer, is simply not correct. We can create a more sustainable Australia by reducing emissions, increasing recycling and growing new green jobs. Simple. It just requires political will and the courage to take the next step. We shouldn’t need more disasters to make this transition happen. Note that, in some cases, landfill gas capture systems have been required by regulators in licence conditions even before the carbon pricing mechanism. Landfills that installed gas collection systems shall continue to get credits but there is no incentive to go after small amounts of gas. landfills that installed gas Shall continue to get credits but there is no incentive to go after small amounts of gas. The cumulative effect of these fugitive emissions is in the order of 10 million tons. Potential abatement was calculated at around 38MT while theoretical maximum was 56MT. Typically, when waste is landfilled, less than 50% of the generated methane is captured. Even taking into account transport to composting facilities, composting is always better than landfill in terms of GHG emissions. Capturing this “embodied energy” in recyclables going to landfill can provide significant abatement. In 2015, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (2015), estimated that new EfW and biogas projects “could avoid 9MT of CO2—e each year by 2020, potentially contributing 12% of Australia’s national carbon abatement”. EfW from waste alone would abate around 4MT of CO2-e each year. As always, we welcome your feedback on this, or any other topic on ‘The Tipping Point’. This article has been published by the following media outlets:

Global trading of emission credits refers to the ability of developed nations to purchase emission permits from the developing countries. A tradable permit system therefore allows any organization which emits greenhouse gases in the environment to own permits which are equal to the amount of greenhouse gases which it emits. For instance, an organization which emits two hundred tons of greenhouse gases will be required to have two hundred permits. The permits are normally allocated among nations through a treaty whereby each government in the nations will be charged with the responsibility of distributing the permits locally. After the permits are distributed, they could then be bought and sold on a world market without any restrictions (Great Britain, 2010). In the contemporary world, it is a crime for one to burn fuel fossils without having bought a permit and therefore governments all over the world are tasked with enforcing the treaty in their own borders. The trend of purchasing of emission credits by developed countries from developing ones has created debates with critics arguing that the trade will worsen the degradation of the greenhouse gases and further pollute the environment. However, the purchase of emission credits will indeed reduce the level of environmental degradation because developed countries like for instance Canada and the United States of America have advanced technologies such as solar energy, wind energy, CDM, Green Building and solar energy which are well implemented in the commercial and non-commercial sectors with an aim of reducing greenhouse effects (Antes, 2008). Buy Global Trading of Emissions Credits essay paper online In the recent past, there has been numerous development and growth of the commercial and industrial sectors of the economy in various countries all over the world which has therefore necessitated the need for a high amount of energy. The need for high consummation of energy by the industrial and commercial sectors therefore results in increased emissions of green house gases which in turn lead to degradation of the environment in the world. Debates have been elicited concerning the possibility or vitality of allowing the developed countries to buy emission credits from those countries that are developing. Even though some critics are against the idea of the tendency of the developed nations buying emission credits from the developing countries, this practice is significant and therefore beneficial to the economies of the developing countries (Carraro, 2007). One of the most significant benefit that will accrue as the result of purchasing of emission credits by the developed countries from the developing nations is that efficient policies will be promoted in the third world countries. One of the facts that should not be disputed is that whether third world countries or developing nations sold their emission credits to the developed countries or not, they will still have industries emitting green house gases which will in turn cause pollution. The purchase of emission credit by developed countries is therefore a blessing in disguise for third world countries. It is therefore economical to allow developed countries to purchase emission credits from the developing countries because they have advanced technology which will ensure minimal emission of green house gases as compared to the developing countries. Developing countries will, if left to use their emission credits, increase the levels of gas emissions released to the environment and therefore leading to increased levels of pollution in the environment (Hillebrand, 2008).Want an expert to write a paper for you Talk to an operator now Allowing the developed nations to buy emission credits from developing countries will lead to cost effectiveness since the developing countries will reduce their potential costs of production and as a result use the funds to develop other areas which may need urgent attention like for instance, building of social amenities and infrastructure. This will therefore lead to improved living standards for the citizens leaving in developing countries. The funds obtained from the developed world by the developing countries as a result of selling their emissions credits could as well be used in creation of employment which will in turn help to increase and improve the economy of these countries. Given the fact that the prices for the emissions are normally set a higher level, the developing countries can use the funds obtained from the developed countries to meet their development and social needs (House of Lords, 2008). Fairness and equity will be enhanced between the developed countries and the developing nations because of the international trading welfare. The trade barrier that has challenged the trading welfare of the developed and developing countries is based on the fact that the developing world have not yet been categorized as industrialized countries and therefore, they are not licensed to carry out any of their de-carbonization economic tasks until they are adequately supplied wit technology and adequate funds aimed which can meet these needs. The developing countries will therefore be able to grow economically as they will be better placed to do business transactions on a global basis with other developed nations which have been allowed to buy emissions credits from them. The funds got by developing countries as a result of selling their emission credits to the developed countries will in turn be used to acquire advanced technologies which will enhance the fairness and equity between them (Great Britain, 2010). In addition, developed nations have comparatively low levels of unemployment rates and affluence levels as compared to their developing nations which have low levels per capita income, low levels of capital formation and less education levels and are therefore coupled with a lot of poverty which cannot enable them to invest in reduction of gas emissions within their borders. The developing nations are still suffering as a result of diseases, abject poverty, natural disasters and diseases. The developed countries on the other had have high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per Capita and therefore they excellent roads and good technological improvements which translates into good health care, good education, steady governments and good health care systems. The developed countries are therefore in good position to purchase high technologies which can aid in reduction of the green house gases in the atmosphere. The value of productive economic activity that is expressed the standards of living is the major difference between developing and developed countries. Developed countries have more modern advanced technologies which can be used by its people. The literacy Rate, Gross Domestic Product per Capita and the Life Expectancy between the developed and developing countries are different. On the other hand, critics opposing the purchase of emission transmission by the developed countries from developing countries may base their arguments on the fact that this will equate to giving the developed countries the right to go on and pollute because they have the power of money to buy the emission credits. They may also argue that the trading of emission credits between the developed and developing countries may hinder the efforts of the welfare community and the scientists to implement or institute projects which are aimed at minimizing further destruction of the environment as a result of the greenhouse effect which may be disastrous to the human population (Jens, 2008). To counter the arguments of the critics against the emission credit trade, it can be argued that this trading system actually works positively in the reduction of environmental degradation arising from pollution of the environment. This can be attributed to the fact that the developed countries are more developed and well equipped with high tech machines and skilled personnel who operate efficiently to achieve minimal levels of pollution as opposed to the traditional means used by the developing nations who have known to lack efficient mechanisms or technologies aimed at reducing the levels of pollution in their commercial and industrial processes and operations. The critics of the emission purchase trade will not have efficient and viable systems that can be adopted and implemented with an aim of reducing green house gas emissions in the world if they were put to task to explain. They (critics) cannot therefore be in position to present practical and instrumental systems which can effectively yield to economic and social benefits coupled with equity and fairness between the developing and the developed countries. Based on the fact that both the developed and developing countries will go on emitting greenhouse gases in their industrial projects with or with no purchase of the emission credits, there is no harm in the trading of emission credits between these categories of countries (Jens, 2008). It is quite moral for developed nations to assist the developing countries by buying emission credits from them while it will be quite immoral for both the developed and developing countries to continue emitting green house gases in the environment with no mutual benefit in between them. To maintain this morality, it is therefore vital for developed countries to be allowed to continue buying emission credits from the developing countries because the funds will be used to supplement other taxes for provision of essential services to its customers. This will in turn minimize costs which could have been incurred by the developing countries to purchase expensive technologies aimed at reducing green house emissions (Kim, 2009). The human population should therefore acknowledge the fact that this is an era of industrial growth where every country's objective is to increase its production levels in order to gain economic development. It is with this fact in mind that well established systems should be put in place to oversee the reduction of gases being emitted into the environment and create policies which will guide the way on how the developed countries should buy emission credits from their developing partners. The purchasing of emission credits by the developed countries from the developing nations is a viable business because it creates a mutual relationship between them while at the same time minimizing the levels of pollution. Most popular orders

How can you avoid buying things you don’t need this Black Friday? Spending on Black Friday (25 November) this year could exceed the £1 billion spent back in 2015, but many in the UK are worried about the impact the shopping frenzy has on the environment, as well as their bank accounts. Black Friday is an annual sales event where retailers offer discount prices on goods during extended opening hours, often opening very early in the morning. The day originated in the US (it takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving) and was brought to the UK by Amazon in 2010. Many consumers here now see it as an opportunity to make savings on presents in the run up to Christmas. However, recent research released by environmental charity Hubbub shows that people are increasingly concerned by the financial and environmental strain Black Friday places on Britain. According to the charity’s findings, nearly two-thirds of people don’t enjoy taking part in Black Friday, while half feel ill at ease with the entire idea. Pressure to spend is felt most keenly by those under 35, half of whom said that Black Friday encouraged them to buy things they don’t need, while 45 per cent said they had spent money they could not afford. Moreover, seven out of 10 reported buying things that they have never used. Aside from concerns about its contribution to UK household debt, half of consumers said that they were worried about the environmental impact of their actions on Black Friday. Clothing and shoes top the list of items that shoppers regret buying. With an estimated 350,000 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill every year in the UK, and textiles making up five per cent of the UK’s total carbon and water footprints, the pressure to spend beyond one’s means on Black Friday aggravates the waste problem in the UK. This problem is further compounded by the quantity of electrical goods purchased on the day. According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), every year the UK buys 1.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment, with an equivalent amount discarded, a third of which goes to landfill. With an anticipated rush to purchase discounted electrical goods, the environmental impact of these purchases is likely to increase. This year, environmental organisations are acting to mitigate the negative environmental effects of Black Friday. WRAP is encouraging consumers to reduce their environmental footprint through its SMART initiative, advising that consumers should: - Shortlist their intended purchases, ensuring that the product is fit for purpose; - Make a decision based on value for money and the product’s environmental impact; - Act according to their plan and don’t get carried away; - Register their purchase online when they get home so that any faults can be fixed; and, finally, - Trade-in or recycle their old appliances to avoid them going to landfill. Sarah Clayton, Head of Products and Services at WRAP, said: “We’re working closely with leading electrical manufacturers and retailers to transform the industry and generate value through sustainability. But there’s a lot you can do as a consumer too, to ensure you are switched on to value and getting the most out of your electrical items, which includes buying only those you will use. “SMART buying is all about buying better, sensibly, and sustainably. Keeping a cool head, and our guide in mind, before you even step inside a store, or enter an online shop on Black Friday, should help you make the right buying decisions.” Furthermore, Hubbub, in response to the research that also says that 96 per cent of people would rather do something else on Black Friday, have launched its #BrightFriday campaign, supported by public figures such as Caroline Lucas MP and fashion designer Christopher Raeburn. Regarding the detrimental environmental impact of Black Friday, #BrightFriday also encourages people to save and reuse their old items of clothing and shoes through creating new outfits by restyling or borrowing or swapping with friends. Trewin Restorick, Founder and CEO of Hubbub, said: “It’s a real concern to see the pressure that people feel to join in with Black Friday when so many are already in debt. We’re keen to reassure people it’s OK to opt out and do something more enjoyable instead – spend time with friends or try something new. The best moments in life can be made, not bought.” In addition to an online platform full of ideas on what to do as an alternative to Black Friday, the #BrightFriday campaign is running a series of events in Brighton city centre, from a pop-up art installation to workshops on how to make and mend your own clothes. Speaking about the series of events, Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Environment, Sustainability and Transport Committee, said: “An art installation is an exciting and effective way to promote a serious message, and reducing waste and encouraging recycling are among the council’s biggest priorities. I hope the #BrightFriday initiative will help encourage residents to think before they buy, avoid expensive mistakes and encourage them to reuse and recycle.” More information about #BrightFriday and the #BrightFriday festival in Brighton, as well as ideas on how to reuse, repair, and swap clothes can be found on Hubbub’s website.

In the world of banking, you will hear words such as IBAN, SWIFT, and BIC. A Bank Identifier Code is known as a BIC code. Another name for the same function is SWIFT, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. The terms are interchangeable, and a BIC or SWIFT code is an 8 to 11 character number, which identifies a specific bank anywhere in the world. It is a form of registration, and B2B Pay also has a BIC or SWIFT code in accordance with regulations of banking. IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number, which can be verified worldwide to ensure the security and legitimacy of your virtual bank account and transactions coming in and out of it. It is easy to look up the IBAN of a person with whom you may wish to do business, and ensure that the payment you receive is legitimate. There are many calculators and software tools which will allow you to convert a customer or supplier's bank account number into an IBAN. BIC can tell you the bank and origin of the country of its account. When performing international exports and imports, these numbers are important to the financial transactions surrounding them, as well as adding a layer of security to each transaction. Here is how a BIC code is translated into numbers: - The first 4 digits of the number will be the Bank Code which is issued by SWIFT. - The next 2 digits in the numeric sequence refer to the Country Code. - The 7th and 8th digits provide the Location Code. After this, an optional 3 digit number may be provided. This is the Branch Code which is set by the individual bank of issue. Traditionally, BIC codes have been used by banks during wire transfer of funds. With new technology, this function can be performed quickly and easily via a secured Internet connection. Rather than going to a bank and filling out forms and waiting in line, a virtual bank account allows you to conduct wire transfer transactions from your own business, without leaving the building and expending valuable time in bank buildings. The savings which you can achieve with a virtual banking service such as B2B Pay can add up to as much as 80%, as technology takes over where the expense of paperwork, time, and paying for a building with employees to complete the transaction disappears.

Likert Scale Definition Likert Scale is a 5 or 7 point scale which is used to allow individuals to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement. It is a set of statements offered for real or hypothetical situations under study. Individuals are asked a specific set of questions on a metric scale where they will show their level of agreement for strongly agree to Strongly Disagree. Here all the statements should be interlinked with each other so that all statements in combination should lead to a specific outcome. They shouldn’t diverge from the common dimension. Likert Scale in Detail - You get framed questions with pre-judgment all leading to a common dimension. - It states how much people agree or disagree with a particular statement. - You get a range of options from where you can choose. - There is an option to choose “Neutral” as a response. - Individuals will have to choose within the specified option, so at times the real opinion of individuals are not shared. - If you just ask a question for a survey, then it may happen that the individual didn’t listen to your question properly and just gave an answer. So this is not reliable, so the likert scale increases the reliability factor by asking dependent questions to the same person at the same time. Example of 5 Point Likert Scale In this example, suppose Mr. X wants to open a Broking Firm. So for this, he wants to do a survey and see who all like to trade. Construct a questionnaire for 5 Point Likert scale survey and explain the post-survey result. - The most important part of this survey is set up the right statements. - Each statement should lead to the common dimension of Individuals either liking or disliking trading. - Statements shouldn’t be off-track and they should cover the common dimension in totality. Construction of Statements: - I like the Stock Market. - I like the Stocks. - I like Money. - I like Return. So if you see the questions carefully you will feel that if a person says that he likes the stock market then he can’t say that he hates stocks. So just by seeing the answer to the first statement, you can predict, what will be the answers to the rest of the statements? All the statements are interconnected. So this increases the reliability factor. The reliability factor of a survey is the factor that states how much the survey is fruitful and throwing the correct picture or not. If you see that an individual has chosen that he likes Stock markets but hates Stocks, then it means that the person has not read properly the statements before answering, so his answers will not be included in the final counting. So the reliability factor is increased in the likert scale survey. Now we will have to attach options to the statements. In the 5 Point Likert Scale, we will be attaching 5 options which will have a “Neutral” option. So the Options will be: - Strongly agree - Strongly Disagree Now we will have to attach numeric to each option. Say “Strongly Agree” is 1, “Agree” is 2, “Neutral” is 3, “Disagree” is 4 and “Strongly disagree” is 5. So from the above chart you can see that if an individual strongly agrees to all statements then the total score will be 4, because Strongly agree is Given the number “1”, so if he strongly agrees to everything, his total score will be 4, similarly if he just “Agrees’ to two statements and “Strongly Agrees” to rest two, then his total score will be (1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 6). Say now we have taken a survey of 120 individuals. Out of 120, you see that 20 surveys are not reliable, so you remove 20 surveys. Not reliable means that they have selected “Strongly Agree” in one statement and “Strongly Disagree” in another statement Now out of 100 surveys if the total score is more than (12 * 100) = 1200, then it means that in general people don’t like trading in this particular market. 12 is the midpoint, it is the total score if a person chooses Neutral in all its statements. So out of 100 Surveys, the midpoint should be (12 * 100) = 1200. If the total score of the survey is less than 1200, then Mr. X should open a trading firm as most people strongly or agreeably like trading. So we are basically clubbing opinions in order to generate a composite score and take decisions accordingly. What is 7 Point Likert Scale and Compare it With 5 Point? 7 Point Likert scale provides more varieties of options which in turn increases the probability of meeting the objective reality of people. If a person has an opinion about liking “Stock Markets” that doesn’t fall under “Strongly agree” and “Agree”, then he is forced to choose between these two opinions, as in the 5 Point Likert Scale there are no other options. In the 7 Point Scale, the opinions are further divided to meet the actual sentiment of the Individuals. Maybe they will add another opinion along with “Strongly Agree” and “Agree” say “Lightly Agree”. So 7 point likert scale is the same as 5 point scale but the opinion options are more in the case of the 7 point likert scale. As a 7 point scale reveals more description of the motif and thus appeals practically to the “faculty of reason” of the participants. Likert Scale is an important way by which we can objectify an opinion and take decisions accordingly. It is widely used in market research, where new markets are surveyed and analyzed for new products or business launches. This has been a guide to what is the Likert Scale and its definition. Here we the 5 point and 7 points Likert scale along with the example. You can learn more from the following articles –

What Is the Currency of Tunisia? Tunisia is a former French colony in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert. The country’s economy heavily relies on exports in agriculture and oil, with the GDP averaging 5% growth since the 1990’s. To cater to the demands of the expanding economy, the banking sector, through controls by the central bank, has developed and managed to create a stable financial sector for the country. The official currency in Tunisia is the Tunisian dinar, introduced in 1960 to replace the Tunisian franc. It is denoted in Arabic as دينار, coded as TND, and subdivided into 1000 millime. The Tunisian government has criminalized the import and export of the dinar. Currency conversion has also been limited to 6000 Tunisian dinars every year. Remarkably, prices at the duty-free shops are made in terms of foreign currencies such as the United States dollar, British pound, and euro. History of the Tunisian Dinar The Tunisian dinar was introduced in 1960 to replace of the Tunisian franc, which had been the official currency. The currency obtained its name from the Roman denarius, used in the antic territory of Carthage, which is the present day Tunisia. As a former French colony, it was expected that the currency would be devalued against the French franc, but the dinar was pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 1:1.90. Historically, Tunisia has experienced a low rate of inflation compared to neighboring countries, making the dinar less volatile. Tunisian dinar coins were introduced in 1960 in several denominations, including 1, 2 and 5 millime coins made from aluminum, and 10, 20, 50 and 100 millime coins made from brass. By 1990, the 1 and 2 millime coins had lost value and were no longer accepted as legal tender in Tunisia. In 1968, ½ dinar coins minted from nickel were introduced, but were replaced with cupro-nickel coins in 1976. In the same year, the 1 dinar coin came into existence. In 2002, bi-metallic 5-dinar coins were introduced, with the latest issue of the Tunisian dinar being in 2013, when the 200 millime and 2 dinar coins were added to the currency list. Tunisian dinar banknotes were first issued by the Central Bank of Tunisia in denominations of ½ and 5 dinars in November 1958. The denominations of the Tunisian dinar have been changed in five phases, with the last being done in 2011. In addition to the two denominations are the 30, 50 and 10 dinar notes, introduced in 1997, 2008, and 2005, respectively. The obverse side of the notes bears the portraits of different legends, while the reverse bears portraits of landmarks and economic activities of the Tunisians. Popular Currency Naming In day to day transactions, Tunisians do not use the dinar to quote prices. For prices below 2 dinars, they use khomstach en miya, while the 50 dinar is known as the khamsin alf. The former franc currencies are sometimes referred to in a convention of 1000 francs denoting a single dinar. However, the franc is never used as legal tender, but can be obtained from the Central Bank of Tunisia as souvenirs.

In the past handful of many years there has been a revolution in computing and communications, and all indications are that technological development and use of details engineering will carry on at a speedy tempo. Accompanying and supporting the dramatic boosts in the power and use of new information technologies has been the declining value of communications as a consequence of each technological enhancements and elevated competitiveness. In accordance to Moore’s regulation the processing electrical power of microchips is doubling each and every eighteen months. These developments present a lot of important opportunities but also pose significant issues. Today, improvements in details technologies are obtaining broad-ranging outcomes throughout numerous domains of modern society, and coverage makers are performing on concerns involving financial productivity, intellectual residence legal rights, privacy security, and affordability of and entry to information. Alternatives produced now will have prolonged lasting repercussions, and attention should be compensated to their social and financial impacts. A single of the most substantial results of the progress of details technology is most likely electronic commerce in excess of the World wide web, a new way of conducting organization. Even though only a number of a long time previous, it could radically alter financial actions and the social environment. Currently, it impacts this kind of large sectors as communications, finance and retail trade and may well broaden to locations this kind of as education and learning and overall health companies. It implies the seamless software of information and communication engineering along the whole worth chain of a organization that is executed electronically. The impacts of information technologies and electronic commerce on enterprise models, commerce, market construction, place of work, labour industry, schooling, non-public daily life and culture as a total. one. Business Models, Commerce and Marketplace Construction 1 essential way in which details technological innovation is affecting function is by minimizing the relevance of length. In numerous industries, the geographic distribution of perform is changing considerably. For occasion, some application firms have located that they can conquer the tight neighborhood market for computer software engineers by sending projects to India or other nations exactly where the wages are considerably reduced. Furthermore, these kinds of preparations can get edge of the time variations so that critical assignments can be labored on virtually close to the clock. Companies can outsource their producing to other nations and count on telecommunications to keep marketing, R&D, and distribution teams in close speak to with the producing groups. Therefore the technology can enable a finer division of labour amongst nations, which in change has an effect on the relative demand from customers for numerous abilities in each and every nation. The engineering permits a variety of varieties of work and work to be decoupled from 1 yet another. Firms have greater freedom to locate their financial activities, creating increased competition among areas in infrastructure, labour, capital, and other useful resource marketplaces. It also opens the doorway for regulatory arbitrage: companies can ever more select which tax authority and other laws apply. Computers and communication systems also advertise a lot more industry-like kinds of manufacturing and distribution. An infrastructure of computing and communication technologies, supplying 24-hour accessibility at reduced price to virtually any sort of value and item details wanted by consumers, will reduce the informational limitations to efficient marketplace operation. This infrastructure may possibly also provide the means for effecting real-time transactions and make intermediaries such as income clerks, inventory brokers and vacation brokers, whose function is to offer an essential data url among consumers and sellers, redundant. Removing of intermediaries would lessen the expenses in the production and distribution value chain. The info systems have facilitated the evolution of increased mail order retailing, in which goods can be ordered rapidly by employing telephones or personal computer networks and then dispatched by suppliers by means of built-in transport businesses that count extensively on computer systems and communication technologies to control their functions. Nonphysical products, this sort of as software, can be shipped electronically, removing the entire transport channel. Payments can be accomplished in new methods. The end result is disintermediation through the distribution channel, with expense reduction, reduce stop-consumer costs, and higher revenue margins. The influence of details technological innovation on the firms’ expense structure can be ideal illustrated on the digital commerce example. The crucial places of price reduction when carrying out a sale via digital commerce rather than in a standard store entail actual physical establishment, get placement and execution, client assistance, sturdy, stock carrying, and distribution. Though location up and preserving an e-commerce world wide web internet site may be costly, it is surely significantly less pricey to maintain these kinds of a storefront than a bodily one particular because it is usually open up, can be accessed by thousands and thousands about the globe, and has handful of variable charges, so that it can scale up to meet up with the need. By keeping a single ‘store’ instead of several, copy stock charges are removed. In addition, e-commerce is quite powerful at minimizing the costs of attracting new customers, simply because advertising and marketing is typically cheaper than for other media and a lot more targeted. Additionally, the digital interface makes it possible for e-commerce merchants to verify that an purchase is internally steady and that the buy, receipt, and invoice match. Via e-commerce, corporations are able to move much of their consumer support on line so that clients can entry databases or manuals straight. This substantially cuts costs although generally improving the top quality of provider. E-commerce stores demand much much less, but substantial-competent, employees. E-commerce also permits cost savings in stock carrying charges. The quicker the input can be ordered and shipped, the significantly less the need for a huge inventory. The impact on expenses related with decreased inventories is most pronounced in industries exactly where the merchandise has a constrained shelf lifestyle (e.g. bananas), is subject matter to rapidly technological obsolescence or price declines (e.g. personal computers), or the place there is a speedy movement of new goods (e.g. textbooks, tunes). Though SPN Networks can boost the price of many products obtained via digital commerce and incorporate substantially to the closing value, distribution fees are considerably reduced for electronic products this sort of as fiscal companies, software, and vacation, which are crucial e-commerce segments. Even though digital commerce causes the disintermediation of some intermediaries, it produces increased dependency on other people and also some completely new intermediary features. Amongst the middleman companies that could include costs to e-commerce transactions are promoting, protected on the web payment, and shipping and delivery. The relative ease of getting to be an e-commerce service provider and location up merchants results in this kind of a huge amount of offerings that consumers can effortlessly be overcome. This will increase the value of using marketing to set up a model identify and therefore produce client familiarity and trust. For new e-commerce commence-ups, this approach can be expensive and signifies a significant transaction value. The openness, worldwide reach, and deficiency of actual physical clues that are inherent traits of e-commerce also make it vulnerable to fraud and therefore increase particular fees for e-commerce retailers as in comparison to classic stores. New tactics are being produced to shield the use of credit history playing cards in e-commerce transactions, but the need to have for higher stability and user verification sales opportunities to elevated charges. A key characteristic of e-commerce is the usefulness of getting buys sent straight. In the scenario of tangibles, this sort of as books, this incurs shipping and delivery costs, which result in charges to increase in most circumstances, thereby negating several of the personal savings related with e-commerce and substantially introducing to transaction expenses.

Ragnar Nurkse’s theory of balanced growth R. Nurkse’s theory of balanced growth believes that the underdeveloped countries are suffering from the vicious circle of poverty, which is detrimental to economic development in these countries. According to him “a circular constellation of forces, tending to act and react upon one another in such a way as to keep a country in a state of poverty”. This vicious circle of poverty adversely affects the accumulation of capital in economically underdeveloped countries. If this vicious circle of poverty is broken then development will follow. According to Nurkse “the expansion of market can be realized only through a process of balanced growth, where people in different countries, working with new and better tools, become each other’s consumer.” The vicious circle works on both demand and supply side. On the supply side, there is small capacity to save due to low level of income, the low level of income result in low productivity which is again due to deficiency of capital which is the effect of low capacity to save. On the contrary, on the demand side, the inducement to invest is low due to low demand in the economy, which is because of low income. This is how the vicious circle works on both supply and demand side. Operation of vicious circle of poverty limits the size of the market in underdevelopment countries. Nurkse believes that the vicious circle of poverty can be broken through balanced growth. He was of the view that vicious circle can be broken by enlarging the size of the market which cannot be done by individual investor. It would be possible with the help of a group of investors in the market. Therefore, enlargement of market is possible with the help of development of complementary industries. This can break the vicious circle of poverty and release the forces of growth and expansion. He also suggested that market size can be expanded by salesmanship and advertisement and infrastructure development. Nurkse was of the view that the principle of balanced growth needs a balance between different sectors of the economy during the process of economic growth and development. These are: (i) balance between agriculture and industry; (ii) balance between domestic and foreign trade; and (iii) balanced between demand and supply factors. While talking of the balance between agriculture and industry, Lewis viewed that if agriculture stagnates, the capitalist sector cannot grow, capitalist profit remains a small part of the national income and saving and investments are correspondingly small. Smooth economic development requires that industry and agriculture should grow together. Secondly, the balanced growth must promote trade within and across the countries. In other words, there should be rise in trade within the country and also enhancement of foreign trade. Nurkse suggested that balanced growth is a good foundation for international trade as well as a way of filling the vacuum at the periphery. Thirdly, the balanced growth implies that different parts of the economy should grow in a smooth and harmonious manner so that no part is ahead of the other. It requires balance between the demand and the supply of factors of production. Some of the benefits of balance growth are as follows: (i) balanced growth can better promote equitable and balanced regional development: (ii) balanced growth can pare the way for division of labour and thus can raise the specialization and productivity of labour force; (iii) when there is balanced growth of both agriculture and industrial sector, it will lead to creation of social over head capital for the effective growth of all these sectoral activities; (iv) it will boost foreign trade as expansion of both internal and external markets of the product of an economy will to a great extent promote foreign trade; (v) it will lead to better utilization of both natural and human resources of an economy. Criticisms of Nurkse’s Theory of Balanced Growth Following are some of the criticisms of Nurkse’s theory of balanced growth: (i) Nurkse’s type of growth is difficult to achieve. Hirschman and Paul Streeten and others have argued that due to the lack of capital in developing countries, it is difficult to achieve balanced growth. (ii) One of the most important question remains that for balanced growth in the underdeveloped countries they require a huge investment for which the underdeveloped countries have to depend on the developed countries which is a difficult proposition.

Circular procurement sets out an approach to green public procurement which pays special attention to "the purchase of works, goods or services that seek to contribute to the closed energy and material loops within supply chains, whilst minimising, and in the best case avoiding, negative environmental impacts and waste creation across the whole life-cycle". Circular procurement approaches have the potential to deliver multiple benefits. For example, as well as allowing purchasers to focus on need fulfilment and consider life time costs with potential for savings, circular procurement also provides a framework for more holistic consideration of environmental impacts and waste creation across the whole life-cycle of goods and services. In order to support public purchasers to leverage support for a transition to a circular economy, in October 2017 the European Commission published 'Public Procurement for a Circular Economy'. This brochure contains a range of good practice case studies as well as guidance on integrating circular economy principles into procurement, and can be accessed here.

Keeping your children occupied at home can prove challenging; it’s a real strain, trying to keep them engaged and interested. With the COVID-19 outbreak causing the majority of children to be home-schooled, parents are understandably concerned about their education and development. One perfect way to help your children, a skill which isn’t necessarily on the curriculum but is vital for everyday life, is financial education. Due to limited curriculum time and financial knowledge, few children and young adults currently receive financial education lessons. Children’s attitudes to money are well-developed by the age of seven. Research* confirms that children and young adults who receive a formal financial education are more likely to be money confident. They are more likely to have a bank account, understand debt, be capable of saving and generally have the skills needed to make the most of their money in the future. Teach a life skill This is your opportunity to put financial education on the home learning curriculum. Simple things like playing family board games together promote financial literacy; games such as ‘Cashflow 101’ and the ever-popular ‘Monopoly’, which now has junior versions, are a good starting point. As is giving your children a small amount of pocket money, which you can encourage them to save and maybe earn a small amount of interest on. For tweens and teens why not let them help with the weekly online grocery shopping, set them the budget and discuss the menu planning for the week. Not only does this help them understand the value of everyday things, it also teaches them how to manage a budget – a great skill to have when they leave home. Talk to your children about how much things cost and very importantly, set a good example; your financial behaviour will lead the way. Emphasising that material goods are not what make people happy is a good lesson, as is reminding your child that some of the most valuable things in life, like spending time together, are free. * Conducted by The Financial Capability Strategy, part of the Money & Pensions Service. This article is intended for general circulation and information purposes only. It may not be published, circulated, reproduced or distributed in whole or part to any other person without prior consent of AAM. This article should not be construed as an offer, solicitation of an offer, a recommendation or provision of financial advice. The information does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any person. Advice should be sought from a licensed financial adviser before making any decisions. Whilst we have taken all reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this article is not untrue or misleading at the time of publication, we cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Any opinion or estimate contained in this article is subject to change without notice. AAM advisory Pte Ltd is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, FA Licence no 100032. Book a complimentary financial review with one of our wealth managers.

Capital expenses of the fixed assets Babel fixed assets management software What is the meaning of Capital Expenses? The expenses incurred by the institutions either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of fixed assets, the depleted part of it during the period is its expense, while the non expended part is capital expenditure. For example, the overhaul of the vehicle machine is in addition to the value of the asset and increase its useful life Capital expenses registration Capital expenses reports Accounting entry to prove capital expenses A detailed report on capital expenses