Month: June 2016

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Being with my feet on the sales ground for 25 years in IT, I can recommend that many steps in the sales process need to be discussed and agreed internally and with the business customer to come to an agreed and signed contract.

Following this sales process through a so called 'Sales Close Plan', describes all the necessary milestones that need to be agreed from a resource perspective, internally from a supplier perspective as well as from the business customer resource perspective. This Sales Close Plan will enable you to set upfront the right expectations during the contract negotiation milestones during an enterprise sales process.

Discuss with your business customer the close plan and have your customer sign / off the Sales Close Plan on timescales and milestones. If each milestone is finalized confirm this in email to your customer so all expectations and potential road blocks keeps transparent and visible to you as supplier and business customer.

1. Identify the Power Sponsors:

Which customer contacts have the power to approve or veto a major contract deal?
Who are the business owners?

2. Identify customer procurement process:

Send Non Disclosure for approval.
Perform Customer due diligence and screening.
Is supplier employee screening process required?
What are customer standard terms & conditions?
What are the expected legal challenges? Intellectual property, Warranty …?
What are the payment terms?
What is the VAT number?
What are the shipping address details?
What are the billing address details?
Discover expense costs cap guidelines.
What is the business identity code?
Will payment be in Dollars / Euro …?
What are the finance contact details?
Which legal resources are required from supplier, internally, externally?

3. Approval process:

Who needs to approve from the IT department?
Who needs to give approval from the business department?
Is budget available? If not when?
Is Board approval required to close the deal? I yes, when is next Board meeting
Which person from the Board supports business case?
Do we need a reference visit and who will attend from the customer?
Which reference do we nominate for site visit or phone interview?
Agree on travel arrangements for reference visit.

4. Feedback 1st round legal / proposal discussions :

Does the commercials / T & C's in the proposal need to be updated to get a deal?
If yes, which resources from supplier and customer are required?
Do we need internal approval from higher management for this?
Is customer requesting any legal adjustments that need further legal review by supplier?

5. Send new proposal / T & C 's contracts:

Agree date for presentation final proposal to customer.
Is customer verbally accepting new proposal / T & C's?

6. Contracts:

When will customer sign / off contracts?
When can signed contracts be collected at customer?
Reconfirm resources allocation.
Start of project or delivery.

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Source by John Kraak

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Infinity pools are also known as vanishing edge or negative edge pools. They have one or more sides where the pool edge terminates in a weir that is 15 to 25 mm lower than the median pool water level. The water cascades over the weir into a collection trough that runs along beneath the whole length of the weir. The effect when viewed by a bather in the pool is very dramatic when the edge appears to merge with sea in the background or even the sky if the pool is located high up on a hillside.

A properly designed infinity edge pool has two circulation systems. The infinity edge system is only designed to run when the pool is being used and consists of a circulation system that takes water from the collection trough, filters it and returns it to the main pool. The other system works in exactly the same way as a conventional pool, filtration and heating circulation system except that the ugly conventional skimmers are not required and the water circulates back through the pump via the drain in the pool floor.

The additional cost of an infinity edge pool arises mainly from the provision of: –

• The collection trough that acts as a buffer tank
• The water-proofing of the weir and the collection trough
• The large capacity infinity edge circulation pump and filter
• The electronic autofill sensor in the collection trough

The automatic level sensor / filling device is needed to ensure there is enough water in the system to prime the edge pump and to compensate for any waves sent over the weir by bathers and rainwater. For a 12 x 6 metre pool with one infinity edge the additional cost should be in the 8 to 10,000 Euros range excluding any taxes. The trough and autofill, edge filtration system and the additional water proofing costs will each amount to about one third of this or about 3,000 Euros each. The water-proofing may seem to be costly but a conventional factory made PVC liner is not suitable for an infinity edge pool and needs to be replaced by a PVC "liner armee" system that involves cutting and welding the PVC liner on site.

There is a very interesting alternative to infinity edge pools that is beginning to be sold into the French pool market where Bluepools operates. These are called mirror pools and they are an exciting option when the views from a garden are less than spectacular. In a mirror pool the infinity edge is taken around the entire perimeter of the swimming pool and the weir is drained by a perimeter trough that is much smaller than the collection trough of an infinity pool. The perimeter trough is drained by a network of gravity fed downpipes that take the water to a central collection tank that provides the buffer water storage normally provided by the collection trough in a conventional infinity pool. The cost of a mirror pool will be a little more than the cost of an infinity pool of the same size with the infinity edge along one long side.

The additional operating costs of either an infinity or mirror pool will not be that high because the big pump needed to run the infinity edge system will only operate when the pool is in use. The extra costs will be incurred from: –

• The power the pump uses
• The cost of the water that is lost due to evaporation from the flow over the weir
• The cost of replacing the heat loss caused by evaporation
• The heat required for the water replacing the evaporated water

The total additional operating cost is difficult to assess accurately because it does depend on so many variables but it will certainly be less than the cost of heating a conventional pool of the same size using a heat pump.

The development of infinity pools has coincided with the increase in a new trend towards designer pools that are now often seen at exclusive properties and on magazine covers. Many people have property in an ideal location for the installation of an infinity edge pool even more have gardens that would benefit from a mirror pool and I hope this article encourages the development of both.

Copyright Bluepools SARL

www.bluepools.com

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Source by Will Witt

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The vast majority of board games available today are fun board games for adults. They may be fun for other age groups as well, but they fit in the adult category because adults have already lived through those younger years. It's what qualifies them to be adults.

That said, it should be obvious that not all board games are fun for every adult. Fun board games for adults I'm associated with might not be the same fun board games for adults you have contact with. Among the dozens that I've played as an adult, there have been a small fraction that I have not particularly enjoyed. They are few and far between though.

When speaking of adult board games, I'm not going to devote time to those that have risque content. The adult-ness referred to here will only be a reference to an age group, not to games that are for "adults only" because they would be rated R if they were movies.

There are some traditional gateway games mentioned fairly often by those who make suggestions for board games for adults – and I think understandably so. Ticket to Ride and sometimes Carcassonne are most frequently brought up, and I agree that they should be as I would also recommend them, especially for adults who have not yet played anything remotely like a Euro board game before. Yes, that's how these fun board games have earned the moniker of gateway games. Once people see how much fun these are, they tend to look for more fun board games that they have not played before.

Sequence

Sequence is a combination card and board game for 2-4 players. It is somewhat reminiscent of the classic Pente in that you need to get a row (or two, depending on the number of players) of five chips – vertically, horizontally, or diagonally – for a victory.

The board shows all the cards in the deck twice except the jacks, which are wild and have special properties. Play a card and place a "poker" chip of your color on a corresponding card space. Then do not forget to draw a card to replenish your hand. If you do not pick up a new card before the next player plays, you have to finish the game with less cards in your hand than you deserve, which can severely limit your options – especially if you forget more than once.

Sequence is a light-weight board game strategy-wise, so there's plenty of time for socializing, if that's what you like to do while playing with friends and family. Still, there is enough challenge to make you think a little before placing just any old card anywhere.

Wits & Wagers

As its name suggests, Wits & Wagers is a combination trivia and betting game that is great for parties. It plays quickly, especially if you enforce the time limit imposed by the hourglass. And it does not really matter if you know the answers to the trivia questions; you can still win by intelligent wagering.

A question is read from one of the cards included. All answers are numeric. (This includes years.) Players write down their answers secretly within 30 seconds. When all are ready, answers are revealed simultaneously and are arranged on the betting table from low to high. When sorted properly, players then have 30 more seconds to place their "poker" chips on the answer they think is closest (without going over) to the correct one.

Winnings are paid only to the player or players who guessed the correct (closest) answer according to the odds shown on the betting table. The farther away from the median answer, the higher the odds.

Alhambra

Alhambra is another combination card and board game. Cards are money in four flavors usually identified by card color (though other cues can be used by those who have difficulty with colors) and come in various denominations. Normally, you pick up cards on your turn or discard some of your cards to pay for one of four tiles available on the board.

These tiles, most of which have dark-colored "walls", are used to construct your own personal Alhambra. The tiles also come in different colors. Twice during the game and once at the end, players score points based on how many tiles of each color are in their Alhambra.

The challenges come in deciding when to purchase a tile, when to bide your time and collect more cash, where to place a purchased tile in your Alhambra (as there are restrictions), and which tile to go after.

When playing with three or four people, you can usually do a fair amount of planning ahead. With five or six people, chances are that the tile you were waiting to buy is going to be taken by someone else before your next turn.

With just a little more strategy involved than in Sequence, this board game will provide many hours of fun for most adults.

Outburst

Party games like Outburst and Balderdash are two more fun board games for adults that you might like to try. Balderdash is virtually the same as the generic "dictionary game". Having the actual game just makes finding good words to stump people with a lot easier.

Outburst is similar to Family Feud in that you're trying to come up with lists of items in a category as a team. The main and significant differences are that everyone on the team participates at the same time and that the items in the unknown list are not necessarily the ten most popular answers. Sometimes you'll wonder why in the world they did not list an item that your team came up with, and other times you'll be puzzled at where the creators came up with an item that none of you thought of.

Quiddler

Quiddler is a card game that works best with players of roughly equal vocabulary levels and spelling ability. You have a hand of three to ten cards (depending on which round it is) that have letters instead of numbers. After drawing a card, you try to spell one or more words using all the letters except one, which you will discard. When one player accomplishes this, the rest have one more chance to do the same, or to at least play as many cards as they can. Any cards left in your hand score negative points. Bonuses are awarded for the longest word and most words each round.

With these suggestions as a starting point, you should be able to find your way to many, many other fun board games for adults.

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Source by Gary Sonnenberg

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Breaking 1996 down into the biggest news, sports and entertainment events; here's what happened …

Two tragedies hit the hearts of Britons in 1996, the nation's sympathies going out to the people of Dunblane and Manchester. In Dunblane, a crazed gunman went on a shooting spree in at a local infant school, killing an entire class and their teacher. Later in the year, as a direct response to those ill-fated events, the Government announced that it would be outlawing almost all handguns in the UK.

In Manchester, a huge bomb devastated its busy central shopping area just as it was filling up with eager Saturday shoppers. Police managed to start an evacuation before it blew up but scores of people were still killed or injured in the blast. Such was the damage caused, that the episode led to a total regeneration of Manchester city centre.

Also hitting the news in '96 was the introduction of the first genetically modified (or GM) food to go on sale in British supermarkets. Modified tomato puree was the cause of all the fuss with some critics dubbing it a "Frankenstein food".

The world of sport was dominated by England's hosting of the European football championships (Euro '96). The England v Scotland group stage match drew much attention with Gazza's wonder goal eventually stealing the win for the home team. Cheered on by home support, the 'Three Lions' made it all the way to the semi-finals, the nation going football crazy as it looked as if England were really going to win a major tournament for the first time since '66, then , as really should have been expected, they lost on penalties to Germany.

Entertainment wise, carrot topped Chris Evans re-invented the chat show format with his hit show 'TFI Friday'.Presenting celebrity gossip, the hippest bands and lad friendly guests, this unscripted, chaotic program briefly made Evans the most sought after man on TV . Over on the BBC, a group of thirty-something lawyers were gaining huge ratings; 'This Life' being a bit like the American 'Friends' but with much more 'bad' behaviour and saucy goings on.

The big screen was blessed with one of the jewels of the British film-making crown, 'Trainspotting'. Despite featuring heroin, needles, vomit and disgusting toilet bowls, this was the coolest thing of the year and took Ewan McGregor from nowhere to 'Star Wars'. The more family friendly film of 1996 was 'Toy Story'; it being the first feature length movie ever to be animated entirely by computer. The results were quite stunning and people flocked to see 'Woody' (a pull-string cowboy) and 'Buzz Lightyear' (a high-tech space ranger) battle it out to become little Andy's favourite toy.

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Source by Mark Thomas Walters

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Introduction of Case Study:

This case introduces the basics of monetary economics and demonstrating practical applications of monetary policies and exchange rates that pertain to business decisions. Supporting this case study will be a discussion on the exchange rate policy that China has adopted preceding and following 1978, a year in which significant economic liberation took place. Events within the past couple of years that took place in China concerning their exchange rate regime were deemed highly controversial by members of China's trade partners. The first objective of this essay is to trace the history of this discord surrounding China's currency, the Renminbi (RMB), which translates literally into English as "the people's currency". Next, questions from the case will be discussed. Lastly, the case will be made up-to-date with a brief excerpt concerning the current state of affairs surrounding this issue.

Background on Case:

In 2006, many countries that conducted trade with China made strong allegations against China's exchange rate policy. The major complaint was that China's currency was undervalued due to China's manipulation of exchange rates to suppress the prices of its exports. Among other damages, these countries have claimed that this action has cost them thousands of jobs. The US, which had a $ 233 billion trade deficit with China in that year, threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese imports if China did not revalue its currency. Japan and newly industrialized economies, such as Taiwan and Singapore, were less vocal, as they have been trying to strengthen their economic ties with China. Developing Asian countries, however, supported a revaluation in order for them to be better equipped to compete with China. One collective group that stayed relatively mute on the lively debates that ensued in the media between 2005 and 2007 were multinational companies. These companies benefited from low operating costs in China, which, for them, meant cheaper land and more competitively priced China-made exports.

China's exchange rate was deemed to be out of synch with market forces, with several reasons to support this conclusion. First, China's economy experienced 9% annual growth over the past decade. According to the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis, rapid economic growth is accompanied by real exchange rate appreciation because of differential productivity growth between tradable and non-tradable sectors. Secondly, China has become the world's third-largest exporter with at least $ 970 billion in 2006. China's exports have experienced approximately 30% growth in recent years. Lastly, there has been a compilation of $ 1.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves. These build-ups are claimed to be the result of manipulation of the RMB against natural forces of the market.

Chinese officials strongly oppose the idea of ​​a revaluation of their currency on several grounds, the strongest of which is probably that they are a country that is highly reliant on trade and growth of their exports is vital. Secondly, over two hundred million rural dwellers have left their farms to find work in urban centers. Higher economic growth is necessary to absorbing these workers into a functional economy. Apart from the economic reasons against changing the exchange rate policy, officials in China turn to several counterarguments. First, the RMB, according to them, is not really undervalued and China's economic growth has nothing to do with manipulation of the currency. Secondly, the US is running a large trade and budget deficit, which is partially attributable to capital inflows from China, and should look to the weakness in their economy before pointing fingers elsewhere. Also, China is a sovereign country with a right to choose its own exchange rate policy. Lastly, Chinese officials brought up the little known fact that despite its large trade surplus with the US and Europe, it also has large deficits with others, especially Asian countries.

As mentioned in the introduction, China began liberalizing its country in 1978. Prior to then, it followed central planning and was reliant on economic self-sufficiency. China's foreign trade was negligible and there were hardly any foreign companies doing business in China. The RMB, at that time, was pegged to a basket of currencies and an exchange rate was set at an unrealistically high level. The currency was virtually non-convertible. After 1978, China followed an "open door policy" and special economic zones were opened to foreign investments. A tiny private sector emerged. The RMB was devalued in 1981, 1985 and 1993 to the US dollar in order to promote Chinese exports. The RMB was revalued by 5% in 1995, which held until July 2005.

The squabbles started in July 2005 when China reformed its exchange rate regime. The RMB was revalued by 2.1% to the dollar. The peg to the dollar was replaced by a peg to a basket of currencies with an allowed fluctuation of a 0.3% band against the dollar each day. This basket was dominated by the US dollar, euro and yen. The currencies of baskets and weights were selected on the basis of trade volume conducted with China's partners, the sources of foreign direct investment ( "FDI") and the composition of China's debt. In May 2007, the Chinese central bank announced a widening of the RMB's daily fluctuation against the dollar to 0.5%. This followed an appreciation of their currency by 7.2% against the dollar.

Chinese officials site several alternatives that could be taken in place of a revaluation of their currency. The first suggestion is to reform the banking sector, where up to 40% of loans are underperforming and nine out of ten banks are state-owned. Secondly, they have proposed a "go abroad" policy, encouraging Chinese companies to invest abroad and thus stimulating outward FDI. Lastly, Chinese officials have suggested imposing a voluntary export tax. Unlike with a revaluation, a tax would not affect the value of foreign currencies. Furthermore, the Chinese government would receive much needed tax revenues.

Analysis and Discussion of Case Issues:

Now this essay will discuss responses to questions from the case itself. The first two questions from the case are concerned with how much further China should let its currency appreciate and to determine whether or it is not undervalued as of the time of writing this piece. First, China should never have let the currency fall this far. It has an abundant source of cheap and skilled labor, with a generally high educational attainment level, and does not need to manipulate their currency in order to benefit from strong exports. Yet, this is precisely the action Chinese officials took. This should be immediately corrected before more trading partners are forced to suffer. Regarding the second question, it is clear from the evidence that the currency was undervalued. Given the high level of FDI entering China and its significant trade surplus, the RMB should have appreciated relative to this basket of goods, especially given that the US dollar and Euro have both weakened lately.

The next questions are concerned with the consequence of a revaluation on China and its trade partners and whether any profound reform should be gradual or not. Also, the case study asks about how a floating RMB would impact the exchange rate. In simple terms, a revaluation would benefit most trade partners and come at a significant cost to China. Trading partners, including the US and the Euro Zone will benefit by not losing thousands of workers to the Chinese markets, as had been the case when domestic companies relocated to China under favorable economic considerations. Developing Asian countries will be better able to compete with Chinese exports if a revaluation takes place. Multinational corporations will not favor such a move, as maintaining the status quo allows them to continue benefiting from the low operating costs in China. China would lose in the sense that its economy would likely slow. One could argue, however, that this will happen anyways, given the current state of affairs in the global economy. Current business and political journals and magazines have pointed to the fact that Europe is now in a recession and that the US is not far behind. The credit crunch has not left China unaffected-its economic growth is expected to reduce to only approximately 8% in 2009 according to analysts at the Economists and the Financial Times.

As mentioned before, China is heavily reliant on trade and growth of its exports is vital. A revaluation will eat into its competitive position. This will also likely have a negative impact on their labor market, as fewer jobs may be available in the cities for those leaving the rural communities and entering the urban areas.

To answer the second question, the revaluation should be gradual in order to give the market forces a chance to react intelligently to the change properly and for affected constituents to adjust their business practices accordingly. In response to the final question, a floating of the RMB would cause it to strengthen relative to the other basket of exchange rates because it is currently undervalued due to market manipulation on behalf of Chinese officials.

The last two questions refer to different exchange rates and ask which one is most appropriate for China. There are six major exchange rate regimes. The first is an exchange arrangement with no separate legal tender regime. In this regime, the currency of another country circulates as the sole legal tender, or the member belongs to a monetary or currency union in which the same legal tender is shared by the members of the union. Adopting this regime implies the complete surrender of the monetary authorities' independent control over domestic monetary policy. The second regime is called the currency board arrangements. This is a monetary regime based on an explicit, legislative commitment to exchange domestic currency for a specified foreign currency at a fixed exchange rate, combined with restrictions on the issuing authority to ensure the fulfillment of its legal obligation. Some flexibility may be allowed, depending on how strict the banking rules of the currency board arrangements are. The third regime is the other conventional fixed peg arrangement.

Countries that adopt this regime peg its currency at a fixed rate to another currency or a basket of currencies. The basket is formed from the currencies of major trading or financial partners, and weights reflect the geographical distribution of trade, services or capital flows. There is a limited degree of monetary policy discretion, depending on the bandwidth.

China has adopted the fourth exchange rate regime into its monetary policy, which is known as the crawling peg. The currency is maintained within a bandwidth around a central rate, which is adjusted periodically at a fixed pace or in response to changes in selective quantitative indicators. Maintaining the exchange rate within the band imposes constraints on monetary policy with the degree of policy independence being a function of the bandwidth.

The fifth regime is the managed floating with no predetermined path for the exchange rate. The monetary authority attempts to influence the exchange rate without having a specific exchange rate path or target. Lastly, there is the independently floating regime, which has been adopted by the US The exchange rate is market-determined, with any official foreign exchange market intervention aimed at moderating the rate of change and preventing under fluctuations in the exchange rate, rather than at establishing a level for it. This is the regime that the Chinese government should follow because it is market-determined and not open to manipulation, while maintaining flexibility regarding monetary policy.

Third Party Opinions on Case Issues:

This last section will discuss the current situation regarding this debate. According to the latest news articles from such sources as Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, the Chinese economy has experienced weakening exports because of the US housing slump and the international credit squeeze. China's GDP growth is expected to slump, too. The Chinese government has options to stimulate the economy and protect exporters. Reports claim that officials at China's central bank plan on slowing the appreciation of the RMB. Indeed, this is a decision that should have been made a long time ago and would be a major breakthrough in the ongoing debate, which may actually reach a conclusion given the state of affairs in the global economy.

According to Professor Pan Yingli of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the RMB was undervalued since the 1997 Asian crisis and such a foreign exchange policy has been used to finance exports and imports sectors at the cost of non-trading industries. Basically, the crawling peg regime adopted by China allows it to manipulate exchange rates in its own favor in order for it to sell more products abroad, as exports are the lifeblood of China's economy.

The Asian financial crisis involves four basic problems or issues: (1) a shortage of foreign exchange that has caused the value of currencies and equities in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and other Asian countries to fall dramatically, (2) inadequately developed financial sectors and mechanisms for allocating capital in the troubled Asian economies, (3) effects of the crisis on both the United States and the world, and (4) the role, operations, and replenishment of funds of the International Monetary Fund.

Concluding Remarks:

In conclusion, this case showed how trading partners could be both positively and negatively influenced by the economic decisions by one or more of the players. It is important for countries to realize that we live in an interconnected, increasingly global environment in which important decisions are not made in isolation. In fact, China's decision to pursue exchange rate reform has, for better or worse, greatly impacted billions of people throughout both the developed and developing world.

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Source by David J Stone

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Anyone who has ever experienced the frustration of flight delays and even flight cancellations can now take advantage of a new European Union (EU) law which allows anyone who has been inconvenienced in this way to flight delay compensation.

The EU law, called the Denied Boarding Regulation, means that the airline must pay you flight delay compensation according to an agreed scale of payments laid down in the new law. The compensation can be anything up to 600 Euros, depending on a number of circumstances, per person affected by the delay or cancellation. The good news is that you can claim for flight delays and cancellations going back six years.

The Denied Boarding Regulation directive applies to any and all flights made from any airport within the European Union to another airport. This is irrespective of the airline involved. The law also applies to any flight from an airport which is outside the European Union but which is bound for an airport inside the European Union, as long as the airline concerned is a European airline (in other words, licenced to operate in any EU country and recognised by all European Union member states).

The level of flight delay compensation paid out is measured according to two broad criteria, and these are the length of the flight and the duration of the delay. The length of the flight is classified according to existing and established criteria, into short haul, medium haul, and long haul flights. The definition of each of these is as below:

• Short haul – any flight up to 1,500 kilometres (932 miles)
• Medium haul – any flight between 1,500 kilometres and 3,500 kilometres (2,175 miles)
• Long haul – any flight longer than 3,500 kilometres

The other criteria influencing the amount of compensation, the length of the delay, affects the level of payout in that the amount payable by the airline is reduced by 50% if the delay (as measured by the arrival time at the official destination of the flight ) is less than two hours in short haul cases, less than three hours in medium haul cases, and less than four hours in cases where it is a long haul flight. For obvious reasons, if the flight is cancelled altogether it does not qualify for the 50% reduction in payout.

Here one can see some doubts may be emerging as to what constitutes an experience which is considered worthy of such compensation. The airline, or carrier, has a bearing on whether a valid claim may be made, as is the starting airport and the destination airport, the length of the flight and the nature and length of the delay. The quickest way The So to see the if a claim is valid is to the enter all details anyway and see the if your flight delay compensation claim is Successful.

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Source by Gordon Goodfellow

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Futures trading is amongst today's most highly leveraged, potentially profitable financial pursuits. It allows traders to build up their trading accounts fast with only a small amount of capital at their disposal. However, if you take futures trading lightly, you could also wipe out your trading account in a matter of days. Therefore, it's crucial to your trading success that you diligently educate yourself in futures trading, and trade only with a proven and solid trading strategy.

If you're new to futures trading, it can be especially difficult to decide WHICH contracts to actually trade. There are a lot of options! The best approach would probably be to start with the more popular commodities, until you have a better idea of ​​which contracts most fit you and your trading.

The more you know about the basics of futures contracts and commodities like this, the better your chances of trading success. With any type of online trading, there are a number of factors that you should take into account. Here are four of those factors, along with an assessment of how futures trading measures up:

1.) The Capital Requirements

In order to trade a futures contract, you need to deposit an initial investment into your futures trading account. Currently, brokers require a minimum of $ 5,000, though some brokers are willing to open an account with as little as $ 2,000.

2.) The Leverage

The leverage depends on the futures contract you're trading and the contract value. Each contract requires an initial margin. Here are some examples for the most popular contracts (as of January 2008):

E-mini S & P – as low as $ 500 to trade a $ 75,000 contract

(Leverage 1: 150)

E-mini NQ – as low as $ 500 to trade a $ 45,000 contract

(Leverage 1:90)

E-mini Gold – as low as $ 400 to trade a $ 27,000 contract

(Leverage 1: 67.5)

3.) Liquidity

Again, the liquidity depends on the futures contract you are trading. Here are some numbers:

E-mini S & P: around 2,500,000 contracts / day

E-mini NQ: around 500,000 contracts / day

Euro Currency: around 200,000 contract / day

As you can see, the liquidity varies, and therefore you MUST check the volume of the futures market you are planning to trade.

4.) Volatility

You will find decent volatility in the futures markets. The high leverage will allow you to make decent profits, even if the markets move just a few points. Here are some average daily moves:

E-mini S & P: between 1% and 3% per day

E-mini NQ: between 1% and 2.5% per day

E-mini Gold: between 1% and 2.5% per day

Euro Currency: between 0.5% and 1.5% per day

Keep in mind that these moves represent approximately $ 500- $ 1,500 per day for each contract traded.

Conclusion:

Futures markets can be very liquid, and the capital requirements are as low as $ 2,000. The leverage is at least 1:50, and there's decent volatility.

Futures markets are regulated and the spread is typically 1 tick (minimum movement of the contract). Commissions are usually below $ 5 per transaction. It's no surprise that many day traders choose the futures market for their trading endeavors.

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Source by Markus Heitkoetter

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What is Osteopathic Health Care?

The health profession of Osteopathy (founded in 1874 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in the USA) is an established internationally recognized manual medicine system of diagnosis and treatment, which lays its main emphasis on the structural and functional integrity of the musculoskeletal system.

Osteopathic health practitioners use a variety of hands-on physical treatments. These include soft tissue techniques, joint mobilization & manipulation, muscle energy treatment and functional (strain and counter strain) techniques. These techniques are normally employed together with exercise, dietary, and occupational advice in an attempt to help patients recover from pain, disease and injury.

There are two types of osteopaths. European style Osteopaths (also known as osteopathic manual practitioners, manual osteopaths, traditional osteopaths & classical osteopaths) do not prescribe medications or perform surgery, while American style osteopaths (also known as osteopathic physicians) perform surgery and prescribe medications as well as using osteopathic techniques in managing a patient's condition.

Osteopathy as a Career Choice

Osteopathic health care is one of the most complete health care systems in the world. It is a distinctive form of medical practice. The practice of manual osteopathy utilizes all available modern manual medicine techniques to assess injury and diseases of muscles, bones, joints and nerves. It also offers the added benefit of hands-on diagnosis and treatment through a system of therapy known as osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). Osteopathic manual practitioners understand how all the body's systems are interconnected and how each one affects the others. They focus special attention on the musculoskeletal system, which reflects and influences the condition of all other body systems.

Osteopathy is the fastest growing health care profession in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Japan, China, India, Iran & Europe. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in a report released in December 2012 and published by the Toronto Star; titled "the Top 25 Occupations in Demand" included manual osteopathy in # 13 of the occupations in demand in Canada.

The average salary for a new manual osteopathy graduate who works as an employee in a health or rehab clinic is generally between $ 30 to $ 40 per hour in Europe, Australia, Caribbean and North America and $ 10 to $ 20 in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Manual osteopaths in private osteopathic practice generally charge between $ 90 to $ 140 per hour of treatment in Europe, North America, Australia & Caribbean and $ 20 to $ 60 per hour in Asia, Latin America & Africa.

For patients injured in a motor vehicle related accident in Ontario (Canada) all auto insurers cover osteopathic treatments at the rate of $ 53.66 per hour as per fee guideline set by Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).

The average income of manual osteopaths in Canada and USA is $ 90,000 per year. In Australia it is $ 78,000 and in United Kingdom (UK) it is 58,000 Euro. The average income of American style osteopathic physicians varies greatly as it depends on the speciality they practice. It is $ 161,000 to $ 576,000 per year.

There is virtually no unemployment in this health care profession. Almost all European style osteopaths find employment within a few months upon graduation.

European style osteopaths are found worldwide. There are approximately 4500 osteopaths in United Kingdom (UK), 1500 manual osteopaths in Canada, 1000 manual osteopaths in Brazil and 67,000 doctors of osteopathic medicine in the USA, and a few thousands more spread around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand , Panama, Colombia, China, Iran, India, South Korea, Japan, Greece, South Africa, Singapore, Vietnam, Venezuela, Latvia, St Martin, Barbados, Jamaica, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, Pakistan , Israel, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Netherlands amongst others. Nearly half of them are women.

The number of osteopaths worldwide has increased exponentially in the past few years largely due to National Academy of Osteopathy making the diploma program in osteopathy available to students worldwide through an online method of education.

Where do Osteopaths work?

European style Osteopaths have the option of opening their own manual osteopathy clinics; or to rent rooms in established medical, health or rehab clinics and benefit from cross referrals; or to work as employees in other osteopathic, medical, chiropractic, physiotherapy, athletic therapy, massage or rehab clinics.

Most osteopathic manual practitioners work in private osteopathy clinics, often as sole proprietor, associate or employee. However, the increase in multidisciplinary health care facilities and physical rehabilitation clinics in Canada, USA, Australia & United Kingdom has opened new opportunities for osteopathic manual practitioners to collaborate with other health care professionals (such as family physicians, chiropractors, registered massage therapists, naturopaths , athletic therapists, kinesiologists, podiatrists, chiropodists, occupational therapists, ergonomists, and physiotherapists) and benefit patients with interprofessional care. A small numbers of osteopaths also work in hospitals, nursing homes, health spas, sports teams, insurance companies claims services department, fitness clubs, osteopathic colleges, motor vehicle accident (MVA) assessment centres and other institutions.

Most new graduates start their professional work as employees. Later they establish their own private clinics.

Becoming an Osteopath

To become an osteopath one must graduates from an accredited osteopathic school, college or university. The programs vary in length and diplomas and degrees offered. The diploma programs are generally between 1000 to 2000 hours and the degree programs between 3000 to 4500 hours. The time it takes to graduate depends on the osteopathy program and ranges from 4 months to 4 years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 4200 hours (4 years) of osteopathic education for students without previous health education and 1000 hours (1 year) for students with previous health education. However WHO guideline is voluntary and not mandatory. It is not a requirement to follow the WHO guideline. Some osteopathic schools follow the WHO guideline voluntarily.

The diplomas and degrees offered by osteopathic schools, colleges & universities include:

– MPH (O) – Master of Public Health (Osteopathy)

– DO – Doctor of Osteopathy BSc (O) – Bachelor of Science in Osteopathy

– DOMP – Diploma in Osteopathic Manual Practice

– MO – Master of Osteopathy

– MSc (O) – Master of Science in Osteopathy

– FOCORS – Fellow of Ontario College of Osteopathic Rehabilitation Sciences

– FACORS – Fellow of Alberta College of Osteopathic Rehabilitation Sciences

– FBCCORS – Fellow of British Columbia College of Osteopathic Rehabilitation Sciences

– DCMOEB – Diplomate of the Canadian Manual Osteopathy Examining Board

– DIOEB – Diplomate of the International Osteopathy Examining Board

The Council on Manual Osteopathy Education (CMOE) of the International Osteopathic Association has accredited the following osteopathic schools, colleges & universities which provide diploma and degree programs in osteopathy:

Online Osteopathic Education Worldwide:

• National University of Medical Sciences

• National Academy of Osteopathy

Campus Based Osteopathic Education:

• Buenos Aires School of Osteopathy (Argentina)

• Instituto Argentina de Osteopatía (Argentina)

• Osterreiches Osteopathie Kolleg (Austria)

• RMIT University (Australia)

• University of Western Sydney (Australia)

• Victoria University (Australia)

• Chiropractic and Osteopathic College of Australasia (Australia)

• Escola Brasileira De Osteopatia (Brazil)

• National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada, Program offered online worldwide & campus based)

• Collège d'Études Ostéopathiques (Canada)

• Centre Ostéopathique du Québec (Canada)

• Canadian College of Osteopathy (Canada)

• Canadian Academy of Osteopathy and Holistic Health Sciences (Canada)

• Southern Ontario College of Osteopathy (Canada)

• The Osteopathic College of Ontario (Canada)

• British College of Osteopathic Medicine (England)

• British School of Osteopathy (England)

• College of Osteopaths (England)

• European School of Osteopathy (England)

• London School of Osteopathy (England)

• National Academy of Osteopathy (England)

• London College of Osteopathic Medicine (England)

• Oxford Brookes University (England)

• Centre Europeen d'Enseignement Superieur de l'Osteopathie (France)

• Institut de Formation en Ostéopathie du Grand-Avignon (France)

• Osterreiches Osteopathie Kolleg (Germany)

• Deutsches Osteopathie Kolleg (Germany)

• Istituto Superiore di Osteopatia – Milano (Italy)

• Unitec (New Zealand)

• Russian School of Osteopathic Medicine (Russia)

• National Academy of Osteopathy (South Korea)

• Swiss International College of Osteopathy (Switzerland)

• Madrid School of Osteopathy (Spain)

• National University of Medical Sciences (Spain, program offered online worldwide & campus based)

• Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain)

Osteopathic Care & Treatments

A number of researches have shown patients who have low back pain of mechanical origin are most satisfied with osteopathic treatments.

Dr. Lee Choi, MD, an osteopathy student of National Academy of Osteopathy has completed a research project as his thesis towards the investigative project requirement of course TH 980 of the diploma in manual osteopathy program.

Dr. Choi's research analysed 100 patients' response to low back pain treatments performed by manual osteopaths, registered massage therapists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, acupuncturists and physicians.

Patients who received European style osteopathic treatment had the highest rate of satisfaction with their treatments, followed by chiropractic, massage therapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture and medicine.

Over 95% of the patients surveyed who received osteopathic treatments indicated great satisfaction with their treatments, followed by 91% who received chiropractic treatments, 86% by those who received massage therapy, 75% by those who received physiotherapy, 60% by those who received acupuncture and 30% by those who received medical care for their low back pain.

This research confirms result of previous research indicating that patients favor manual osteopathy treatment above all other available treatments for low back pain of mechanical origin and that osteopathy is the number one health care system of choice for them whenever they suffer from low back pain.

World Osteopathy Day

As a result of tireless work of the world famous osteopath, Dr Shahin Pourgol, president of the National University of Medical Sciences & the National Academy of Osteopathy for suggesting a World Osteopathy Day and collaboration between National Academy of Osteopathy, International Osteopathic Association, Canadian Manual Osteopathy Examining Board, and a number of other organizations, manual osteopaths, and osteopathy students, June 22nd has been chosen and named "World Osteopathy Day".

For over 130 years the health profession of osteopathy has done so much to help human beings have a better quality of life and it deserve a day of its own as recognition of its contribution to human society worldwide.

At 10AM on June 22, 1874 in Baldwin, Kansas (USA), the 46 years old physician, Dr Andrew Taylor Still founded osteopathy. Dr Shahin Pourgol recommended this day in oppose to Dr Still's date of birth (August 06, 1828) as the World Osteopathy Day and his suggestion was accepted by the majority.

Dr Pourgol is bringing a private member bill to the Canadian parliament to request the government of Canada officially recognize June 22nd as the World Osteopathy Day.

International Osteopathic Association has committed to do the same with parliaments of a number of other countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

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Source by Amir Kazemi

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There are over 55 satellites in synchronous orbit over Europe broadcasting just about every language and from every country you can imagine. French is well catered for with three satellites covering all European territory, French citizens living in or out of France can receive, with domestic size satellite dishes of less than 1 metre diameter, these signals with the minimum of equipment.

Within France most of the country is covered by the usual terrestrial transmitters and an aerial is all that is required to pick up all the main French channels, such as TF1, France 2 etc. Those living in remote corners or sometimes in built up areas, with poor aerial reception, have to use the satellite systems to receive them. Outside France of course only the satellites are usable.

Hotbird, Astra 1 and Atlantic Bird3 are the three satellites used for all the French services. These are different providers, but mainly distribute the same group of channels. TNTsat and FranSat have identical lists of channels including TF1, France 2, France3, France4, France5, France o, Arte, direct 8, Monte Carlo and many more.

A third service by the provider BIS is available on both Atlantic Bird and Hotbird satellites. At the moment the signals from Hotbird are transmitted in MPeg4 format, which is normally used for HD, whereas the Atlantic Bird transmission is the older Mpeg2, so with an HD receiver the pictures from Hotbird are very good indeed. Oddly the TF1 channel, which is in HD on both TNTsat and FranSat is currently only in Mpeg2 (standard definition) on Hotbird. The main 4 channels TF1, France2, M6 and Arte are repeated on HD channels on both TNT and Fransat.

When receiving the French channels in the Uk, which system should you choose? The TNT and FranSat offer of 18 channels (plus a few more freebies) is very attractive. Probably the least hassle is FranSat who do not put a time limit on their card, unlike TNTsat which will expire after 4 years, however the renewal fee after the 4 year period is only 15 Euros, so there is only the small issue of actually renewing it. This is done for most French citizens on-line, on the TNT website, but you have to be in French territory to be eligible to use the website, so before the renewal dates are due, lets hope there is a procedure to allow Uk TNT watchers a method of renewal in place.

The set top boxes are now common in Darty and other electronics stores across France and most supermarkets too at around 120Euros for the SD standard definition box. Do not get confused with the terrestrial boxes though if purchasing in France, ensure that you are buying a satellite set top box. There are some boxes with very few extra features beyond the basic setup and some which can be used on more than one satellite and can be better organised into multiple 'favourite' groups, useful if you are watching different languages. Most receivers available today are fine, but there are still some early boxes around with poor remotes and reliability problems.

BIS despite its yearly subscription charges, offers at least 3 different cards. The base card is the Panorama, costing around 100 Euro and entitling the user to all the usual French channels to be found on the TNT platform. Next is the Cinerama, at around 160 Euros, also has the film channels from the AB sat platform – Cine FX, Cine First, Cine Polar and Action. Added too are channels like Orange Sport tv, Animeaux, Game One, L'histoire and RTL 9. Finally the top package adds adult entertainment to the mix. BIS is supplied as a pre paid card so the years payment is 'up front' and there is no phone call required to activate the card, simply insert into your Viaccess decoder card slot and turn to Hotbird or Atlantic Bird.

Lastly there is always the free channels option. With a good satellite receiver and dish with multiple LNBs or a motorised satellite dish, it is possible to get a good selection of the main and some of the smaller channels without a special box or a subscription, as long as you are not wanting TF1 or M6 channel, such a system will still receive some 30 possible French channels including France2 and 3, ARTE (also French language from other countries across North Africa.)

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Source by Andrew Baber

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Grifols is a producer of biotechnological products and services for the healthcare sector.

The website starts with strong statement: "What matters most: People." More difficult it is to evaluate the site and the annual report on this statement.

Their vision: to assist professionals in securing the health and well-being of humanity through dedicated service and innovative products.

Grifols is a group of companies, which serves healthcare professionals and patients in over 90 countries around the world. They research, develop, manufacture and market plasma derivatives, IV therapy, enteral nutrition, diagnostic systems and medical materials.

The mission statement is divided in five areas:
– Health. Our services and products help you improve the health and well-being of humanity.
– Innovation. New products and services from Grifols enable major advances in patient health and medical capability.
– Experience. Grifols: a proven, trusted plasma pioneer since 1940.
– Resources. As part of the global Grifols family of companies, Grifols gives you access to world-class resources and worldwide service.
– Commitment. A heritage of more than sixty years of innovation, safety and service.

The organization of Grifols is divided roughly into

Industrial area, dedicated to developing, research and manufacturing of products and services (diagnostic, laboratories, engineering, biomat, plasmacare and biologicals) and a commercial area (marketing, distribution and customer service) which is setup regionally (America, Asia and Europe) a third branch "Others" covers "grifols Viajes" (travel)

A family business: the company was founded in 1940 by Dr.Grifols i Roig founds Grifols (Laboratories) together with his sons.

Interesting facts on the timeline starts as soon as 1943 when "The first single donor lyophilized plasma in Europe and the first penicillin in Spain are produced." In 1945 the first private blood bank is opened in Spain and in 2006 the company Grifols is listed on the Spanish Stock exchange.

There are three divisions:

Bioscience Division. Specializes in the research, development, production and commercialization of high quality plasma derivates. Grifols' original product line.
Diagnostic Division. Focuses on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing diagnostics products for laboratory analysis, including products for Hospital Blood Banks and Transfusion Centers.
Hospital Division. Provides a wide range of non-biological products used in hospital pharmacies, surgery, nutritional support, fluid therapy and for other therapeutic uses.

Interesting about the annual report is its design, simple but the statistical and financial figures are represented with test-tubes stressing the laboratorial business.

In 2007 Grifols recorded total revenue of 703 million euros and total profit of 87.8 million euros.
We have a low level of debt (net financial debt is 1.9 times EBITDA), which gives us a comfortable margin for carrying out the next stage of our business expansion plan. (An ambitious, 400 million euro investment plan to fund its growth in the next five years, which it began implementing in 2008)

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Source by Hans Bool