The victim. Flor Alba Manio told Q

De 'shopping' in a strange house
IBAGUÉ. A neighbor of Flor Alba Manio was his guardian angel because with the support of the police prevented criminals will carry appliances. It all started when a resident of the neighborhood Roberto Augusto Calderón saw two women and a man. One of the women was trying to open the door of his mother's house and he asked them what they do: The answer to all three was that they were selling CDs, but it was not and the 'rascals' left. The man went to a neighbor and lead to the return saw the same people with black bags and the subject loading washing machine. She called the 123 line of the Metropolitan Police and reported that they would be conducting a theft. The taxi approached the two women on the run Quinta Karibana aside from the Garden Santander led the district where the race with Second street 100 were intercepted by the soldiers in the area.
The victim. Flor Alba Manio told Q'hubo that came to accompany her daughter to ask about authorizations Caprecom because the girl is pregnant: "When I was in the house of a relative of a neighbor called me to tell me that I had apparently stolen" she said. Upon arriving at the residence located airport west shopping centre in the apple house D 5, the police found: "I airport west shopping centre was asked to open and it was messy. The thieves entered using one of the keys they had. " Criminals took, clothing, household money, toys, among other items, which could not be recovered because the two apprehended accomplice escaped.
July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009

Besides adhering to U.S regulation, Alibaba has been challenging tucson movie theaters the Chinese t

Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce company which is referred to as China s version of Amazon or eBay. It mainly operates online shopping malls, Taobao and Tmall, for C2C transactions and B2C sales, together with an online payment tucson movie theaters platform, Alipay. Alibaba has announced an initial public offering in the U.S after negotiations with the HKSE were not successful. The U.S was able to fulfil Alibaba s requirement of having a partnership structure which involves partners, founder Mr. Ma and some senior executives, being able to nominate more than half of the board of directors even though the partners hold a combined stake of 10% in the company. Alibaba group is valued around $153 Billion and it is estimated that the IPO may be larger than the 2012 IPO of Facebook Inc. which raised $16 Billion, making it the biggest technology IPO ever. Alibaba also plans to buy back a portion of Yahoo s stake in the company once it goes public. Thus as the predicted IPO increases, it will become increasing more expensive for Alibaba to do so. Additionally, stalling tucson movie theaters the IPO any longer may hype up investor interest in the stock, further inflating its value and ultimately causing it to tank once it hits market; much like Facebook s IPO did last year. In anticipation for the Alibaba Group IPO, investment banks have been skipping certain clients- Alibaba s rivals or potential acquisition targets- so as to secure Alibaba s estimated $200+ million in fees total. Alibaba is in discussions with Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for the underwriting roles. Investors are optimistic about the IPO as recent figures have indicated that Alibaba s revenue has risen around 50% over one year.
The equity raised through their IPO would also allow them to better compete with the second largest e-commerce company in China, behind Alibaba, JD.com. JD.com is also currently filling for a listing in the US for $1.5 billion and is being backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd, the company behind the popular messaging application WeChat and social networking service QQ. The funds raised will also allow for more aggressive growth and competition against foreign firms such as Amazon.
Alibaba has to comply to U.S regulation in order to launch the IPO. Alibaba operates the biggest online marketplace Taobao and Tmall which account for about 80% of online retail sales in China. With China being listed as one of notorious marketplace of counterfeit in 2013 USTR Special 301 Report, Alibaba shares the same characteristics. Alibaba has been criticized for several years as some individuals and businesses on Taobao and Tmall sell substandard products as fine product and fake replicas as real ones. Being loosely regulated in China does not imply the same treatment in a country with strict regulations on trade. Therefore Alibaba has to comply to U.S regulation and it is likely to bring itself numerous class action lawsuits if Taobao and Tmall resort to old habits.
Besides adhering to U.S regulation, Alibaba has been challenging tucson movie theaters the Chinese traditional banking and payment system with various services and products, for example the currency fund Yu e Bao and Alipay. Consequently, the company is under strict tucson movie theaters scrutiny tucson movie theaters and regularly being investigated by authorities. On 14 March 2014, The People s Bank of China (China s Central Bank) announced to terminating QR code and virtual credit card payment to prevent risks and fraud involved. The essence of Alipay payment is to transform normal credit card or debit payment to online transaction, indicating tucson movie theaters a transformation of low risk transactions to high risk ones. Such online transactions do not identify customer identity, tucson movie theaters have no transaction details recorded and no report for analysis, which may be utilised for illegal financial activities and make it hard to be investigated. Alibaba however, recently cooperated with the Central Bank in regards to this issue, in the hope that its payment system will meet regulatory standards. How the American authority will view Alibaba s online payment system is another problem that the company will need to quickly accommodate for.
As a giant e-commerce company, Alibaba benefits from its complicated connection within its subsidiaries and related companies. Shown in the firm s disclosed information, there are nine major systems tucson movie theaters within the firm, including: companies in China, companies offshore, B2B firms in China, B2B firms offshore, Ali Cloud, Ali finance, Taobao, Alipay and Yahoo. Within each of these systems, there are dozens of related companies or subsidiaries. Therefore, services and products provided by Alibaba are all related to some degree. For example, Tmall is a subsidiary of Taobao; both of them require Alipay to complete transactions, therefore their business transactions are continuously tucson movie theaters highly related. Consequently, Alibaba has to disclose information tucson movie theaters about these transactions to high level of detail to satisfy U.S regul

Joe Hockey, Treasurer of Australia, has indicated wide-ranging cuts to come in the May Federal Budge

Joe Hockey, Treasurer of Australia, has indicated wide-ranging cuts to come in the May Federal Budget. The final report by the Commission of Audit, a document set to guide the government s first budget drafting, has recently been received by the government. The report indicated that, to reach The Abbott government s surplus target, savings of more than $60 billion a year will have to be found by 2023-24. duane reade locations Furthermore, The International Monetary Fund has estimated that Australia duane reade locations will need a budget saving of a massive $90 billion, to stabilise duane reade locations its government debt by 2030.
Joe Hockey blamed the previous Labor government for the expenditure growth, describing it as a tsunami coming across the water . However, according to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, the Government s dire budget warnings is nothing more than a political strategy. They have no intention of achieving that target, yet they actually are pretending to inflate the deficit so they can justify their sense of emergency. THE FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETY duane reade locations
With the government focusing on a rapid return to budget surplus, the education sector may be sacrificed as a cost. Western duane reade locations Australia has already been affected, as more than $180 million has been cut from school budgets this year and a vast amount of teaching positions slashed. Such funding cuts has caused Union members dismay and caused school teachers to go on strike, leading to the closure of 103 schools across WA in April alone. Unions duane reade locations WA Secretary Meredith Hammat commented, We re going to make some noise, we re going to continue to campaign until this Government puts back the money it has stolen duane reade locations from our schools.
According to a leaked assessment by the Victorian Auditor-General s Office, seven out of 14 public TAFE s are currently in deficit. Studies by The Age showed that State Government s operating contributions to the TAFE sector has dropped by $119 million in 2013, and this figure is likely to continue increasing, if the Federal government further decreases funds towards education. The importance of TAFE education is critical as the skills acquired such as carpentry; grounds management, sound production, and lighting are the foundations of society. It must be recognised that in order to produce such essential skills, TAFE s must be able to provide duane reade locations for equipment as well as offer affordable tuition fees for students. duane reade locations The skills taught at TAFE are simply too important to let slide. TAKING ON THE SENIORS
Modifying the current pension system in any country duane reade locations causes retirees to see red. France saw riots when it increased its retirement age. America falls into a political nightmare, with the mere mention of retiree entitlement reforms. Now in Australia, citizens have been warned that the Australian Government must make some difficult decisions when it comes to the 2014 budget. The warning that the next budget will target pensioners has led to increased opposition, with Labor s spokesperson for families and payments, Jenny Macklin, questioning, Why are pensioners duane reade locations the people who can least afford it the first to cop it?
So, what are the changes to the pension plan that may occur due to the new budget? One of the initial methods to manage a 11% annual increase in pension spending, is to raise the retirement age up to 70. Joe Hockey duane reade locations mentioned to the ABC It may be the case that my generation has to work for an extra three years . Something else , which appears to be targeted, is the means test. Economic forecasters have urged the Government to target wealthy seniors don t have as much need for pensions as they can make do using their own resources. With economists suggesting that pensioners homes should also be added to the means test, seniors who despite living in wealthy suburbs have low incomes are worried that they may have to move out. Many more warnings were given with no clear indication of exact plans, including linking the current indexation to the CPI and inflation rates. Yet come the second duane reade locations week of April, Tony Abbot, regarding his campaign of promising no changes to pensions, declared that If there is one lesson to be learned from the political quagmire that the former government got itself duane reade locations into, it is: keep your commitments. So we will keep them. The true outcome of the new pension plan will only be revealed in the upcoming May budget, the public can only hope that reality isn t as harsh as the on-going speculation. HEALTHY BUDGET OR HEALTHY PEOPLE?
There duane reade locations has been wide-ranging speculation around the Abbott duane reade locations Government s attack on the public healthcare system, with the $6 co-payments on GP fees being seen as the first move towards demolishing Medicare, which has been a public s favourite since its introduction on 1984. The health insurance system, which is funded through the Medicare levy, provide opportunities for all Australians to seek equal health duane reade locations treatments. Based on a survey in Sydney Morning Herald, 63% of people expressed discontent over payin

As the glades online stated previously, Bitcoins have a finite market cap. This scarcity subjects th

Like many of the other forms of digital currencies in the world today, Bitcoins are a form of electronic money independent of traditional banking. Two main characteristics which set Bitcoins apart from other, general digital currencies, the glades online however, would be the way in which Bitcoins are created, and their divergence from regular forms of currency.
Founded in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, the concept which eventually became the glades online the Bitcoin has been developed by many individuals since. Rather than rely upon a central authority to regulate the glades online Bitcoins, Nakamoto hoped to create a free floating currency which relied on peer to peer cryptography. In short, whilst most of the currencies of the world were largely physical, traceable, and regulated by monetary authorities around the world with their own agendas, the Bitcoin would be an independent, self-managed currency. the glades online
On a more technical note, Bitcoins are generated through a process called the glades online mining, a term which refers to third party individuals who offer up their specialised computer hardware to process Bitcoin transactions. In return, these miners receive new bit coins in exchange for their services. The number of bit coins created in a year however are automatically halved over time until issuance of said currency halts completely with a total of 21million Bitcoins the glades online in existence. This provides a market cap and thus helps to maintain the currency s value. Once the cap is hit, Bitcoin miners are then to be supported exclusively by transaction fees alone.
A by-product of this decentralised, and relatively secure method of regulation and creation is that Bitcoins are largely untraceable. This gives rise to both legitimate and illicit uses which have sparked legislative and moral debate in the use of Bitcoins. Despite such controversies however, the recent success in the growing usage of Bitcoins is undeniable; giving rise to a growing market for digital currencies which has spawned other currencies the glades online such as the Dogecoin, the Chincacoin, and many others. The question remains, instead, whether or not such a currency can continue to exist at its present value and perhaps even become a legitimate forum of exchange in the future. USES OF BITCOINS
In today s world, Bitcoins can be generally used for three main purposes. Firstly, the opportunity to mine Bitcoins can be conducted individually or in teams. Usually, a team of super computers are used to solve complex mathematical equations where, whenever an equation the glades online is solved, a reward of twenty-five the glades online Bitcoins are granted towards the account that oversees this process. However, due to the sheer number of people attempting to achieve a similar goal, competition makes the process the glades online of mining highly unprofitable. the glades online
Secondly, Bitcoins are also an extremely popular investment opportunity due to its price fluctuation. The price of Bitcoin during its time of writing was $42.98 per coin, which skyrocketed to an astounding $1074.50 in March of 2013 before the glades online plummeting to $454.4 USD in April 2014. Due to the inconsistent price of Bitcoin, investors are able to maximize their profit by buying and selling the glades online at the correct times.
Lastly, since Bitcoin the glades online is regarded as Internet currency, it can be used to trade between businesses. In fact, some businesses only trade with Bitcoin as it is conducted in a Peer-to-Peer environment, which can insure confidentiality between both parties. Furthermore, due to the absence of intermediaries, funds are capable of rolling into companies who are on the verge of bankruptcy. Of course, this also opens up the opportunity of Bitcoin being used for unethical methods. However, the risks of Bitcoins have been revealed after the closing of a Mt. Gox (Canadian Bank) due to a total of 440,000 euros worth of Bitcoins stolen by hackers after they exposed specific flaws within the system. This robbery occurred during the [transfer] between users and involved inundating the system with simultaneous requests to move coins between accounts. These three purposes only scratch the surface of the complex digital currency. VALUE DRIVERS OF BITCOINS
As the glades online stated previously, Bitcoins have a finite market cap. This scarcity subjects the currency to the whims of supply the glades online and demand, and thus, on the basis of fundamental economic theory, gives the Bitcoin a value. On its own, the Bitcoin offers a variety of attributes that make it desirable and thus give rise to demand, the first of which would be its unique qualities discussed above; as a form of untraceable currency which at the same time guarantees payment and protection against online fraud, Bitcoins fulfil the glades online a market niche needed the glades online in today s world. Its low transaction fees and payment freedom thus provide a medium of exchange on the internet.
Whilst the aforementioned factors provide a baseline of demand, the relative volatility behind the value of Bitcoins can be traced to what drives the price of Bitcoins; perception. Demand for the digital currency

Australia has been experiencing declining birth rates as the economy matures, with it being forecast

The life expectancy of a child born in the year 2012 has been predicted to be well over 90 years old, and these figures are likely to increase as medical breakthroughs are made and living standards continue to rise. In comparison to the 1900s, people have been living longer with more comfortable and convenient lives; however, this could place a serious strain on governments economic ability to support a large aging population – a problem that has begun plaguing developed countries only in the recent few decades.
In the $400 billion Australia budget, over $40 billion is expected to be paid out as an aged pension in the year 2014, remaining as one of the government s biggest omx tallinn expenses. Over the years, various schemes have been proposed to combat the aging population problem, such as an asset test, income test, and, importantly, increasing the retirement age.
The retirement age set in 1910 was 65, which was about the average male life expectancy. As life expectancy increased due to improvements in areas such as sanitation, housing, and education, a retirement age of 65 has appeared to be no longer compatible in the current socioeconomic context.
Australia has been experiencing declining birth rates as the economy matures, with it being forecasted that the ratio of working Australians to those aged over 65 could decline from 5:1 to 2.7:1 by 2050, further contributed by an exponential increase in the age 65+ bracket of the population (having increased from 11.6% to 14.4% of the population in recent years). Generally speaking, baby boomers and an increase in life expectancy have resulted in the pension becoming more and more unaffordable.
The Intergenerational Report 2010 (IGR) predicted that Australia would run out of steam in less than forty years, with the country spending more than it receives in revenue by 2.75% by 2050. According to the Productivity Commission, Australia is expected to have to spend an extra 6 per cent of national income to support an ageing population over the next 50 years.
As revealed in the Productivity Commission s report, taxes would need to rise 21 per cent in order to pay for the extra health and aged care costs of a population that will have more 100-year-olds than babies omx tallinn by the turn of the century. Ultimately, this means that it will become increasingly difficult to support the aging population without structural reform.
Whether or not a purely economic solution, lacking increased infrastructure and social support, is feasible is debateable. Since significant tax increases more or less are ruled out, and, with monetary and fiscal policy levers in poor condition, the only way for Australia to meet its growth targets and prospect of budget repair is through structural reforms that result in spending cuts; namely, raising the retirement age. Labor s previous decision to increase the retirement age to 67 by 2023 has already lead to a forecasted $6 billion in savings in the annual budget; but with no further omx tallinn upward pressure placed on the retirement age, government expenditure will not be reduced significantly enough and costs associated with the pension will only increase further. Without further increasing the retirement age it seems unlikely Australia will be able to diffuse the budget deficit bomb before it can balloon to unadaptable proportions. ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Some parties have argued that increasing the retirement age is the incorrect modus operandi; with the recent decline in job opportunities in the manufacturing industry, those aged 60 to 70 will be forced to compete with school leavers in an increasingly scarce job market. This means blue-collar workers will be hit hardest if they are forced to work longer. Furthermore, omx tallinn as Australia already has a relatively low level of expenditure per capita of welfare, it has been argued that more savings could be found by working out ways to tackle the rising costs of health care, that have essentially omx tallinn led to the average Australian s increased life expectancy. COMPARISONS
A myriad of economies are still in dire straits post GFC, and Spain may yet to have experienced the nadir of its woes. A plethora of factors, such as long-term loans, the building market crash, the bankruptcy of major companies and a violently sharp increase in unemployment (which rose to a maximum of 26.19 in mid-2013), crowned as the 2008 to 2014 Spain crisis, have backed the battered country into a corner. Interestingly, however, the Spanish government have aimed for a strategic comeback, increasing the retirement age to 67 (from 65) in order to save about 4 billion euros per year. This has already begun to be portrayed in Spain s budget with a significant reduction in their budget deficit omx tallinn from -10.6 in 2013 to -7.3% of GDP in 2014.
Whilst we are not in as a catastrophic position omx tallinn as Spain, another financial crisis could provide a slippery slope to immense budget deficits, and increasing the minimum retirement

This also comes at a time where the relevance of online retail has become ever more pertinent. Faili

Spanning 5000 m2 of floorspace and taking up the entire Melbourne tanger 24 GPO, the recent launch of H&M s new flagship Melbourne store has been hard to miss. Lauded by fashion aficionados across the country as being possibly the best thing to happen to Australia , many see this launch as an Australia s fashion industry s coming of age . Traditionally, high-street fashion has been monopolised by the large department stores but the expansion of H&M into Melbourne, along with a string of other recent foreign brand launches in Australia, (including Topshop, Hollister, Uniqlo and previously Zara) has meant that the already weakened department store duopoly, between David Jones and Myer, has become exposed to even stiffer competition from overseas.
This also comes at a time where the relevance of online retail has become ever more pertinent. Failing to recognise the potential of online trade, leading department stores have also been unable to capture a now booming virtual market. Unless tanger 24 David Jones and Myer can fend off competition from both fronts, mass defection of customers will continue. DECLINING RETURNS
For tanger 24 many years the decline in department tanger 24 store sales has remained in the spotlight as more international brands enter the Australian market. Despite recording tanger 24 an increase in sales, David Jones posted a 4.6% lower profit in the second half of 2013 year over year. Yet paradoxically retail giant Zara has recorded a gross profit margin of 66.7% since opening in Australia in 2011.
While these figures may not affect Australian retail in the short term, such figures prove concern for its long term survival in anticipation of the arrival of more fast-fashion tanger 24 brands as Melbourne s Emporium is set to open their doors mid April. The impending merger of Myer and David Jones serves as an indication of just how hostile the retail environment is in Australia. The cut-throat retail market that Myer and David Jones operate within has made the proposed $3 billion merger to be an attractive option as the two face synergy gains of $85 million a year.
To add fuel to the fire, Woolworths South Africa has unexpectedly proposed a takeover bid of David Jones. This will add to Woolworths portfolio of Australian retailers including Country Road, who has successfully tanger 24 transformed the retailer to be a leader in the market over the past 15 years; tanger 24 this suggests Woolworths understand the Australian retail industry. Such a takeover will require a majority vote by shareholders, where it is speculated that no short-term changes will affect Australian consumers. However changes are expected in the long-term in assisting David Jones operate competitively in the constant changing retail landscape. FAST FASHION THREAT
A major differentiating factor between the operation of local department stores and emerging foreign labels in Australia, has been their business model. Fast-fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion tanger 24 retailers to express that designs move from the catwalk rapidly in order to capture the current fashion trend. Such trends are designed and produced immediately to satisfy the demand of fashion needs. This is the production method of choice for debutant H&M tanger 24 alongside well-known foreign fashion favourites such as Zara and Topshop which are soon to launch or in Zara s case, have recently launched on local soil. Unlike tanger 24 department stores, these labels target youth-price-and-fashion market, tanger 24 with very affordable prices for the masses, taking advantage of volume tanger 24 rather than price, whilst reducing overhead.
The relentless push of these more agile competitors is set to continue with H&M Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson planning to aggressively expand toward half a dozen stores throughout Australian capital cities in the next few years. Furthermore, Japan retailer Uniqlo is also set to open on the 16th of April, suggesting far more robust competition in years to come. In light of these brand rollouts, broking analysts at Morgan Stanley have expect sales for overseas brands to rise from $700 million to $2.1 billion by 2018. To remain tanger 24 profitable, Australian fashion retailers will have to step up their game to stay relevant with changing consumer s needs and wants. STAGNANT PHYSICAL RETAIL – A HYBRID MODEL?
In tanger 24 2012, Bernie Brookes, Myer CEO, made the bold statement that traditional retailers would be able to overtake online retailers the next couple of years as traditional retailers have strong[er] brand loyalty and better supporting services . However, the establishment and promotion of new online stores, including Myer online have indicated otherwise. As technology continues to improve, customer preference has progressively shifted from bricks to clicks .
Innovation by physical retailers tanger 24 have been so stagnant that even the unique characteristic of being able to pick, purchase and wear an item from a physical store on the same day is being stripped away from them. Popula

Removing the cost of offices is a large incentive for businesses to go virtual Furthermore, Virtua

The online shopping phenomenon has changed the way people purchase goods all over the world. PwC reports that 26% of the US, 39% of the UK and 75% of China shop online weekly. Sites such as Amazon, eBay, ASOS etc. are household names while shopping malls are experiencing poorer sale records than ever before.
US department stores JC Penney, Macy s and Sears have announced closures; with the former announcing it will close 33 stores in the near future. In Australia, the two dominant department stores, Myer and David Jones have reported falls in profits over the past couple of years.
Statistics indicate stein mart locations that this lost store traffic will shift to online shopping permanently. Forrester Research predicts that 10% of retail sales in the US will be online by 2017. It is evident that this trend will continue to grow in the future as people become increasingly aware of the cheaper costs and loyalty programs associated with shopping online.
In the future, retailers must employ smarter marketing techniques, focusing on things such as social media, in-store pick-up for online orders, more competitive loyalty programs and free shipping if they wish to survive in this fierce market place. stein mart locations Yet, there may still be a faint glimmer of hope for retailers as experts still regard customer satisfaction as a valuable trait for retailers, something less achievable for online retailers. THE RISE OF ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT
Starting as a mail order DVD rental service. Netflix now streams video content to over 44 million subscribers worldwide and is continuing to grow each year. Consumers are now spoilt for choice with competitors including Amazon, HBO GO, Vudu and Hulu Plus all entering the market.
The clearest victim is the media companies as TV channel subscribers fell to 32% of US households in 2013 while Netflix and related products rose to 27%. TV channels, which traditionally held more market power, are losing ground due to the convenience of video-on-demand services as well as the reduction in costs to produce quality entertainment.
Both new and old entertainment media face the risks of video piracy. To curb this, Netflix has entered the entertainment creation industry. Unlike traditional players, Netflix can collect stein mart locations data ranging from a subscriber stein mart locations s movie preferences, stein mart locations when they start/pause and stop a show which it uses to keep a pulse on consumer preferences. Based on an algorithm analysing 33 million consumers choices, Netflix created the award winning television series House of Cards.
The entertainment battle of the digital world demands stein mart locations constant innovation, which Netflix is meeting with a new way of creating programming. TV will have to adapt to this disruptive technology if it is to keep its viewers from switching to streaming services. UNIVERSITIES AND VIRTUAL WORKERS
Removing the cost of offices is a large incentive for businesses to go virtual Furthermore, Virtual work also promotes productivity: A Study by Gallup found that employee engagement for remote workers was 4% higher compared to employees who work on site.
Regardless of what companies think is best, the trend is that employees want to work at home, 79% of US workers want to work virtually. Companies will need to restructure to accommodate virtual workers, with collaborative technologies, infrequent staff-wide meetings and other programs.
The number stein mart locations of students taking an online course has increased 6.1% to 7.1 million from 2011 to 2012. Online universities allow students to study regardless of financial, stein mart locations geographical or time constraints. Education is counter-cyclical to employment, so we expect rising enrolment in online education as unemployment increases and workers need to be re-trained. Indeed, the large majority of Australian online education users are re-skilling or unemployed.
Social Media is changing the way we interact with our friends and family. Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites, reporting revenue of $US243 million last year increasing a staggering 116% from the fourth quarter stein mart locations of 2012. From 2012 to 2013, Twitter s advertising revenue increased by 121%. Facebook has experienced a remarkable turnaround after its IPO debacle with revenue increasing 72% to $US2.5 billion in 2013, with 59% of ad sales coming from mobile advertising. Facebook s net income also tripled in the past year, to $US642 million.
Facebook stein mart locations itself has 1.28 billion monthly stein mart locations active users, which is almost half of the world s internet population. Investors, large corporations and small businesses alike clamour to have their voice and name heard on what is now the new TV , a platform from which millions of people can be reached at one time.
Twitter is an appropriate example, having 600 paid advertisers who merely expect their company account to be on Twitter s Who to Follow list. Not only is advertising stein mart locations now available on desktop computers, but also on mobile phones. In a world where most of

As it may be seen, the main allure of commercial space flights for private space companies lies with

Within our lifetimes, the potential wealth ltdcommodities of resources in space could very well be opened to humanity. Thanks to a new space race not between ltdcommodities nations, but rather between corporations, this could all be possible. As the private space industry gradually expands, the industry has started to draw people s attention towards the opportunities that the wilderness of space can provide. The beginning of this new space race is underway and will continue seemingly unabated with the recent successful docking of SpaceX s Dragon ltdcommodities capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). THE PRIVATE SPACE INDUSTRY
With major barriers to entry, the private ltdcommodities space industry is still in its infancy with a select few companies dominating the market. However, following its fourth successful mission to the International Space Station on April 22, 2014, SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology Corp.) has shown that the market is not impenetrable. The company, ltdcommodities founded in 2012 by Elon Musk, was the first to launch a privately funded rocket into orbit. Since then, SpaceX has secured ltdcommodities a $1.6 billion contract with NASA and as part of that contract, launched the first satellite delivered by a privately designed and developed rocket using their Falcon 1 launch vehicle and Merlin and Kestrel engines.
As it may be seen, the main allure of commercial space flights for private space companies lies with the launching of satellites. For example, the US government ltdcommodities currently has a $70 billion contract to launch military satellites with United Launch Alliance (ULA), a partnership between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. As well as ULA, the other major competitor in the aerospace industry is Arianespace, which holds a market share of over 50% for launching satellites to geostationary orbit. SpaceX is looking to secure its own stake in this lucrative market and has recently ltdcommodities filed a lawsuit against the US military to reopen competition to US military satellite launches. PUBLIC VS PRIVATE
In the past, all space-related projects such as space exploration and spaceship design were initiated by public space institutions like NASA. With the decommissioning of NASA s space shuttles however, tasks such as resupply missions to the ISS have been partially delegated to the private space industry through companies ltdcommodities like SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation, another aerospace company.
What has made public space institutions co-operate with private space institutions though? ltdcommodities With bureaucracy and budget cuts plaguing public space institutions and causing cost blowouts and delays to projects, private companies can facilitate a more efficient space industry. Through commercial contracts, ltdcommodities private space companies assume more risk from projects and public space institutions become demanding customers rather than worried supervisors. The cost of space-based research is obviously quite expensive and not all projects launched are successful; as Elon Musk has said The thing with the rocket is, the passing grade is 100%. You either get it all right or you re screwed . Public space institutions have consequently confined their research to certain areas and increased their co-operation with private space companies in order to allow themselves to carry out the more costly ltdcommodities research ltdcommodities projects.
Impacts from such greater collaboration include the continuation of space projects and the creation of new jobs. With up to 17 space-related companies and 3,000 employees, the location of America s first inland space port in Mojave, California exemplifies the positive economic effects of the private space industry. As public institutions ltdcommodities have increased their public-private partnerships, so have the number of private space companies expanded. THE FUTURE
A range of projects being run by various companies means that the space industry is likely to revolutionise ltdcommodities the world. With companies like Planetary ltdcommodities Resources and Deep Space Industries (DSI), one day robotic vehicles ltdcommodities will mine asteroids for precious ltdcommodities metals or transform moon dust into rocket fuel. DSI is looking into the prospect of launching a fleet of spacecraft in 2015 to harvest water and metals from near Earth asteroids. With more than 900 new asteroids passing ltdcommodities Earth every year, spacecraft and satellites will be able to refuel in space; reaching further distances and increasing the cost effectiveness for everyone. ltdcommodities DSI is also looking at extracting metals to build communication satellites in space, as well as building solar power stations which may even deliver electricity to Earth.
A more progressed project however, has been Bigelow ltdcommodities Aerospace, an extension of the hotel chain Budget Suites of America, which intends to open space hotels. Having licensed space and weight saving ltdcommodities inflatable space habitats from NASA, Bigelow intends these space hotels to be more comfortable and efficient ltdcommodities to transport while NASA intends to attach these to the ISS.
Another project is BitSat, which is funded by Bitcoins and which w

On February 27th 2014, Russian Armed Forces shepherds bush westfield crossed their western borders i

On February 27th 2014, Russian Armed Forces shepherds bush westfield crossed their western borders into Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula. The current Russian military action in Ukraine is escalating by the day, which will have serious implications on the current and future supply of European natural gas.
Russia is deemed one of the most significant players in the global energy industry. Figures show that in 2012, Russia held the largest natural gas reserves in the world, with approximately shepherds bush westfield 18% of the world s total, placing it second on the production and consumption ladder, behind the US. Currently shepherds bush westfield Russia is the dominant supplier of natural gas to Europe, shepherds bush westfield accounting for around one third of the EU s natural gas supplies.
Russia s state-owned natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, shepherds bush westfield exported 34% of the EU s total gas consumption, which includes 58% of Ukraine s consumption. The vast volume of imported Russian natural gas has meant that Gazprom has significant power in the European market. In a time of military tension and diplomatic deadlock, Gazprom, effectively controlled by oligarchs linked to Russian shepherds bush westfield President Vladimir Putin, can disrupt supplies in order to pressure the Western-backed Ukraine into surrendering their territories to Russia. By doing so, Russia will violate Ukraine s sovereignty claims on regions such as Crimea.
Ukraine, located between Russia and the rest of Europe, contains strategically important gas pipelines that connect Russian gas to other EU countries. Approximately 66% of Europe s gas supplies from Russia run through the Ukraine, before reaching countries such as Germany, France and Italy. Gazprom has in the past, offered natural gas to Ukraine at a discounted price from the EU. The current Western-backed Ukrainian government is split in its contractual dealings with Gazprom, as Gazprom demands payment of $11.4 billion for previously delivered gas supplies and Gazprom is increasing the price it charges from the discounted price of $268 per 1000 cubic metres to $485 per 1000 cubic metres, above the EU market price of $350-400. This would put further pressure on Ukraine s deteriorating finances as it aims to diversify its sources of natural gas to other European shepherds bush westfield nations. RUSSIA
The impact of energy dependence from Europe on Russia is primarily financial; but also with Russia being exposed to reputational risk. Gas sales to Europe will remain the bulk of Gazprom s revenue, with gas to Ukraine also of high significance. Russia is highly vulnerable to perceptions of being an unreliable supplier of gas. The PR effects associated with Russian politicians and gas industry managers would be similar to the situation in 2009 where Russia was blamed for the interruption of supplies to Europe, even though the fault lay on the Ukraine side. This is likely to resurface if Ukraine retaliates by interfering with transit flows, which could potentially reduce or completely cut off the gas flow for Europe. However, Europe is making efforts to reduce shepherds bush westfield reliance by increasingly shepherds bush westfield installing special terminals that allow gas to be imported in the form of LNG from countries such as Qatar and the US.
Following the sanctions imposed on Russia, the U.S economy has evidently experienced significant impacts from the slowdown. However, the Obama administration has shown all indications that they are prepared to continue levying shepherds bush westfield sanctions on Russia, planning to increase sanctions on Russian banks, corporations and even allies. shepherds bush westfield However, such sanctions play as nothing but gratuitous propaganda.
It appears that the long-term reliance on Russian natural gas will not be altered in the foreseeable future. This issue will continue to cause problems for Europe, with an estimated cost of more than $200 billion to eliminate shepherds bush westfield the dependence. The source of disruption creating volatility for Europe shepherds bush westfield s energy supply is most likely shepherds bush westfield to be Ukraine s inability to pay gas debts. EUROPE
G7 leaders pledged to find new alternative energy sources for Europe to prevent Russia from using its natural gas and oil resources as political leverage. However, it is possible that Russia may cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, which occurred in 2006 and 2009 due to unpaid gas debts. shepherds bush westfield As a result, gas prices shot up across the EU; due to the Ukraine being a transit point for almost half of Europe s natural gas imports.
Structural changes have lessened the potential impact of volatility in supply from Russia due to the new Gazprom pipelines through Belarus and the Baltic Sea to Germany, thereby cutting the potential proportion of supply to Europe that goes in transit through Ukraine to only about 15%. However a new infrastructure project the Black Sea pipeline, is expected to begin in 2015, which could allow Europe to bypass imports from Ukraine completely. This means that the dependence on Russia will be lessened, positively impacting prices and reliability of supply in the long term.
The most realistic options available to reduce po

Monetary policy binns is key to the operation of our economy; it enables our monetary authority, the

Monetary policy binns is key to the operation of our economy; it enables our monetary authority, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), to control the supply of money with the aim of influencing inflation, binns employment levelsand promoting economic prosperity. Controlling binns the supply of funds is an important role due to its significant impact on the economy; the balance required is reviewed monthly, with the aim, in Australia, of maintaining a 2-3% level of inflation per annum, preventing what the government sees as unstable growth , and helping the economy survive in times of little or negative growth. OPERATION
Specifically, two instruments commonly used in monetary policy are the cash rate (also knows the market interest rate on overnight funds) and quantitative easing (which is the purchasing of securities from commercial banks and other private institutions, raising the prices of those assets and lowering their yield). The cash rate is effectively the price of money. The overnight funds market is one in which the RBA and the banks loan money to other banks so that they may settle their accounts each night. Through arbitrage, (the practice of market entities taking advantage of pricing differences) a change in the lending rate in the overnight funds market changes binns lending rates throughout the economy, having the effect of increasing or decreasing the average discretional income and therefore binns increasing or decreasing the demand for goods and services. A higher demand drives up prices binns and a lower demand drives down prices. binns Through the issuing or purchase of securities, the RBA can also effectively either lend or buy from the public, increasing or decreasing the supply of money.
The Reserve Bank Board makes decisions about interest rates independently of the political process. That is to say, it does not accept instruction from the government on interest rates. Also, it has its own financing separate from government support. IMPACT ON THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY
Recently, the topic of monetary policy has again been hitting the headlines. The RBA s change of thinking with regards to the cash rate, the scaling back of quantitative easing in the US and the dramatic rise of the cash rate in Turkey have all demanded significant attention.
The RBA, in their March meeting, decided to keep the cash rate at 2.5%. This was surprising given that prior to the announcement, however, it was expected that the RBA would change cash rate, given the recent binns economic statistics that have been placing pressure on the RBA to change the rate.
Although the Australian economy is on the path to recovery, it is growing at a slow pace, as evinced, in particular, by the labour market. The slow wage growth of just 0.7 per cent in the December quarter made the wage price index 2.6 per cent higher for the year, the smallest growth in the index since the late 1990s.
The unemployment rate continued its gradual increase over the past 18 months to reach 6 per cent in January. Even though total hours had increased, the level of employment only changed slightly over the past year.
The binns housing market seems to have been boosted significantly by the low interest rates, as hoped. Conditions remain strong, coinciding with an increase in loan approvals and first home buyer grants, although house price inflation has declined slightly from the fast pace it had been increasing in 2013. Despite the slight decrease in housing investment in the December binns quarter, the strong increase in approvals for residential buildings in recent months binns points to a substantial increase in investment in the subsequent quarters.
The rise of Australian dollar s value in recent months also put downward pressure on interest rate. The exchange rate of Australian dollar has increased from 0.87 US dollar to near 0.93 US dollar in the past 3 months. Although exports grew strongly in the December quarter, with resource exports increasing at a quick pace, the strong currency will potentially hamper the development of export sector.
So, it seems that the RBA won t change interest rates in the near future; the shift in attitude binns towards relying on a decrease in the exchange rate to balance economic growth is prevailing, for now. U.S. INFLUENCE ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
The United States of America, one of the world s primary economic superpowers, has a great degree of influence over foreign economies. The great power the US economy wields and its global significance means that a great many have become reliant on its prosperity. Naturally, this dependence has profound consequences; countries must pay attention to the actions of the US and respond accordingly.
A recent example of this has been Ben Bernanke s parting decision for the Federal Reserve Bank to begin tapering binns the US quantitative easing policy in February. The $10 billion cut in monthly bond purchases from $75 billion to $65 billion binns has already forced the hands of countries to adapt th

At this stage, negotiations regarding the TPP are still on-going. However, the main road block is th

Negotiations between Japan and Australia on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), a free trade agreement (FTA), were finally concluded on the 7th of April this year. The agreement signifies a historic move towards greater economic and investment relations and will have beneficial impacts on both economies. As Australia s second largest trading partner, in 2012/13 Japan imported $13.9 billion of liquefied natural gas and $13.7 billion of coal and exported rehoboth beach outlets $8.1 billion of motor vehicles and $2.1 billion of refined petroleum.
Japan, the world s third largest economy rehoboth beach outlets with a population of around 127 million rehoboth beach outlets people, rehoboth beach outlets has an affluent, well-educated and industrious population and is one of the world s largest consumer markets. As of 2012-13, total exports to Japan from Australia were valued at $48.6 billion (16 per cent of Australia s exports) whereas Australia imported around $20.6 billion from Japan (Japan-Australia, 2014). Such a close trading relationship between the two countries led to discussions, which began on the 23rd April 2007 in Canberra, of a JAEPA. Negotiations occurred every two to three months, for a total of sixteen rounds of formal negotiations up to the conclusion of negotiations.
The JAEPA is a historical event as it is the first time Japan has negotiated a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with a major agricultural exporter. Japan s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, will formally sign the deal in July when he visits Australia. The JAEPA will then need to be approved by the governments of both nations before coming into effect around the end of 2014. IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF JAEPA
Given that the average Japanese farm is quite small and that farmers themselves are a diminishing and aging group, Japan would have a shortage of domestic agricultural products in the future. By implementing JAEPA and eliminating or reducing tariffs rehoboth beach outlets of up to 219% on agricultural products imported from Australia, Japanese consumers will have access to cheaper imported food. Even though domestic agricultural producers would not see this trade agreement as beneficial, the overall benefit to Japanese consumers would outweigh rehoboth beach outlets these costs.
For Australian rehoboth beach outlets businesses, the benefits to be gained rehoboth beach outlets include receiving duty free and preferential access for more than 97 per cent of Australian exports to Japan (Australian Government, 2014). Meanwhile, Australian consumers should benefit from the elimination of tariffs of 5% on imported electronics and cars, potentially reducing prices. Society will ultimately be better off as both Australian consumers rehoboth beach outlets and suppliers increase their welfare. NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF JAEPA
It is certain that cutting the tariff of Australian rehoboth beach outlets exports to Japan will have enormous rehoboth beach outlets benefit to Australian farmers, however this benefit is mainly limited to the cattle, wine and seafood industry. Dairy, sugar, grains and rice are left out of the plan. The National Farmers Federation is not satisfied with the overall outcome of the agreement for agriculture since a number of sectors face marginal improvements or limited commercial gains . Moreover, even if the cattle industry benefits from the agreement, rehoboth beach outlets it will take 15-20 years for the tariff to be gradually eliminated.
On the Australian consumer s side, the benefits of cheaper Japanese imports such as cars and electronic gadgets may not be that obvious either. The price cuts are in the hands of Japanese companies as the prices that finally reach consumers will depend rehoboth beach outlets on the marketing strategies of local supplier and retailers. JB Hi-Fi CEO Terry Smart, as well as Panasonic Australia and Sony, have all stated that it is still too early to determine whether the local prices will drop. Meanwhile, Toshiba Australia managing director Mark Whittard has said the trade agreement would have no impact on local prices of Toshiba s products.
Having negotiated JAEPA, Abbott rehoboth beach outlets s next target will be the completion of a free trade agreement with China. Yet his remark about Japan as Australia s best friend in Asia may come at the cost of the free trade agreement with China. China also has the greater potential economic leverage in negotiations of a free trade agreement. However, as the success of an agreement with China is seen as a key performance indicator of the Abbott government, rehoboth beach outlets the government may be tempted to sign a disadvantageous deal for political reasons.
Indirectly, the foremost issue with the JAEPA in the long run is Japan s interaction with the US, particularly in relation to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP); a regional FTA including Australia, Japan, the US and a number of other Pacific countries.
At this stage, negotiations regarding the TPP are still on-going. However, the main road block is that the US wants access to Japanese rice, beef and pork, dairy and sugar sectors; sectors which the Japanese Government have refused to open. With the signing of the JAEPA, the US has even less di

Patent lawsuits have been growing rapidly, with a 40% increase in lawsuits filed by patent trolls be

Patent trolls build up their portfolio by purchasing patents from bankrupt companies or individuals with insufficient funds to profit williamsburg outlet from their discoveries. Whilst patent trolls or patent assertion entities (PAE) have won lawsuits against larger companies, PAEs generally target smaller companies with sales below $10 million, as they do not have the financial means to defend themselves in court.
As many patents are too vague or technical to be understood, litigation involving patents are extremely complex as it is difficult to ascertain what constitutes an infringement. Furthermore, a clear precedent has yet to be formed for cases regarding ambiguous williamsburg outlet patents and the sheer volume of patents alone leaves many companies unsure if they are violating intellectual property.
Patent lawsuits have been growing rapidly, with a 40% increase in lawsuits filed by patent trolls between 2007 and 2011 alone. The 2013 patent litigation williamsburg outlet study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that biotech, software, williamsburg outlet computer hardware and telecommunication industries have seen a 300-500% increase in patent lawsuits, no doubt some of which is attributed to the rise in patent trolls.
These past years have seen the major players in the technology industries both fending off patent lawsuits and filing them. Patent trolls have also found it profitable to target big tech companies such as AT&T, Samsung and Verizon. In 2013, AT&T fought around 70 cases, Google was dealt 43 suits, Verizon, 42, Apple 41 and Samsung and Amazon were hit with 39 each.
As patent williamsburg outlet ownership becomes increasingly profitable, williamsburg outlet companies could become inclined williamsburg outlet towards investing in patent portfolios. Conversant, a patent williamsburg outlet licensing firm with US$100 million in revenue, has acquired more than 12,500 patents and tech-companies like Google and Facebook continue to purchase patents williamsburg outlet from their competitors Microsoft and Nokia. A CURRENT PATENT TROLL VRINGO
Vringo is a great example of a recent patent troll that switched from producing video ringtones williamsburg outlet to buying williamsburg outlet and leveraging patents. Back in 2011, the company purchased two patents related to an old search engine Lycos, which it then promptly used to sue Google. The jury found Google guilty of infringement of the two patents relating to the ranking and placement of ads, and was ordered to compensate Vringo a total of $30 million. In addition, Vringo was entitled to a royalty on top of the damages. During February 2014, the courts decided that the revamped williamsburg outlet AdWords system still replicated some elements of the old AdWords, and therefore williamsburg outlet the plaintiff was awarded a 1.36% running royalty on Google s U.S.-based AdWords revenue.
Similarly last year, Vringo sued Microsoft williamsburg outlet over their search engine s ads, which Microsoft opted to settle and paid $1 million for the infringement. Currently, Vringo is in the middle williamsburg outlet of a lawsuit against China s ZTE, and ADT among others. On top of all these lawsuits, Vringo has recently purchased 500 patents williamsburg outlet and patent applications from the ailing former mobile heavyweight Nokia for $22 million. RESTRAINTS ON RISING PATENT TROLLS williamsburg outlet
It appears that patent lawsuits are becoming increasingly popular, and changes williamsburg outlet in legislation have been the most successful solution to control its growth. The 2011 America williamsburg outlet Invents Act has forced williamsburg outlet PAEs to file multiple lawsuits if they seek to sue multiple unrelated companies, which drives up the cost of excessive litigation.
Since the legislation has been passed, williamsburg outlet the number of unique companies sued by PAES has dropped from the 4,500 in 2011. This has slowed, but not necessarily stopped the rising trend of patent lawsuits. Similarly, patent prices and transfers have declined in 2013 as the SHIELD Act gained momentum.
With annual litigation costs estimated at $29 billion a year, patent trolls have contributed up to two-thirds of all patent related lawsuits. Given the impact on both large and small business, the United States course of action has been to propose bills to discourage law suits. It has been recently proposed that the SHIELD Act should force patent trolls to cover both parties legal fees if there is no patent infringement or the patent is invalid.
One of the many concerns is that this phenomenon will discourage research if investors are uncertain whether there is a market interested in purchasing their patents or a business model based on licensing their patents. THE FUTURE OF PATENT TROLLS
There may be hope for companies and the public williamsburg outlet as anti-patent troll bills is being passed in several states within America, although it is limited to extent that such behavior cannot be continuously regulated by the states. However, the subsequent banning of faith patent assertions williamsburg outlet limits the possible violation of the consumer-protection laws.
A perfect solution to restrain patent trolls has yet to be developed, but America s rapid adoption of bills suggests williamsburg outlet that there is sufficient political support to stop patent trol

In the search for more promising sectors, investors are turning to the technology sector. Though US

It is common knowledge that only a select the greatest store in the world few have consistently beat the market with stock-selection. Of course, index-tracked the greatest store in the world funds are an option but the allure of stock selection has always been to outperform the market. When it comes to investments in emerging the greatest store in the world markets, country and sector selection are already crucial decisions given the sheer diversity among available choices. Then, choosing specific stocks to invest in the emerging markets would certainly be riskier and more complex, but if backed by big rewards, could it be the better investment strategy?
Within developing economies, the greatest store in the world the consumer goods indices have historically been kept strong by the consumers retail dream , outperforming the market overall. This dream where emerging market consumers buy everything and anything, provides astronomical returns to investors riding on the growth. Now, however, this trend seems to have weakened, with consumer surveys in emerging markets indicating a slow-down in consumer spending. This sober outlook is noticeable in Brazil and Turkey where the hiking up of interest rates by central banks to defend their falling currencies has caused consumer credit to become much less affordable. In contrast the greatest store in the world with Indonesia, where rates were held steady, consumer goods stocks have kept rising. The country s rising consumer confidence, however, marks a break with the wider Asean region.
In the search for more promising sectors, investors are turning to the technology sector. Though US tech stocks continue to be highly valued, historical data shows that emerging markets represent an ever-increasing share of the total high-tech goods export, accounting for 53% in aggregate in 2013. And although this growth is mostly explained by the internationalisation of supply chains, the technology spill overs from developed to developing markets is undeniable. the greatest store in the world Proof of which is seen in advances in R&D (see below), which indicates that emerging market companies are moving into high-value-added exports. Nevertheless, despite producing more tech goods and submitting more patents, emerging markets are still far behind in terms of valuable innovation. Some evidence of this comes from the aggregate royalty fee payments per country which uncovers a 17Bn USD deficit in China and an 82Bn USD surplus in the US.
The development of Exchange-Traded-Funds (ETFs) has enabled investors to obtain a blanket exposure to any emerging economy at lower costs. Furthermore, emerging markets equity prices are also characterized the greatest store in the world by a higher volatility which hints at greater, more frequent investment opportunities. Thus, the benefits of emerging market ETFs are clear to passive investors and less obvious to stock-pickers. This is because fundamental stock picking in emerging markets must take account of a number of factors that differ significantly from those in developed markets , says Luiz Soares, Head of BlackRock s Global emerging Markets Equity Team.
The spirit of fundamental investing is to find inexpensive shares of businesses with a resilient competitive the greatest store in the world advantage, discipline in capital management, wise corporate governance and the management ability to successfully deal with changes. So, when it comes to businesses in emerging economies, the investor also needs to put an emphasis on the firm s competitive environment, the role of governmental policies and global macroeconomics. Also, the companies operating environment being weaker in these regions, signs of earnings sustainability as well as of the health of public finance cannot be overlooked.
Stock selection thus seems more complex the greatest store in the world in emerging markets, but the rewards are considerable. Indeed, BlackRock s analysis of volatility in emerging market equities shows that stock-specific factors have accounted for more than half of the performance of emerging market equities since 2001. In addition, greater market inefficiency leads to a wealth of investment the greatest store in the world opportunities from stock selection.
Contrary to their performance in developed markets, ETFs haven t outperformed actively the greatest store in the world managed emerging markets funds over the past five years. Factors often available through the greatest store in the world ETFs such as country specific, sector specific or systematic factors explain a decreasing share of equity prices movements, thus reducing the ability of ETF investors to perform as well as actively managed funds after fees. This might be due to the fact that active emerging markets funds trade less than the ETF tracking indices. the greatest store in the world This lower trading frequency compensates them for the illiquidity of the assets through higher returns, while ETFs make investors pay a premium for being a liquid investment vehicle.
The same investors the greatest store in the world who favour stock-picking strategies for investing in emerging markets the greatest store in the world have also defined new winning stock profiles. Blackrock Global Emerging Market lists National Champions , such as the Panama s Copa Airlines, and Select Niche Players , such as the Indonesian Indocement

The discovery of penicillin is widely considered to be one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in

The discovery of penicillin is widely considered to be one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history. Mere infections, once considered life-threatening, became empoli outlet easily treatable and diseases such as scarlet fever were no longer death sentences. However, with drug-resistant empoli outlet pathogens (bacteria, fungi, empoli outlet and viruses to name a few) becoming more prevalent due to the overuse of antibiotics, empoli outlet antifungals and such, society may regress to a time where previously insignificant infections, injuries and diseases become deadly threats. Fortunately, thanks to modern medicine and technology, scientists empoli outlet have a clear picture of what they are up against, though failure to create a solution may result in dire consequences for humanity.
Drug resistant infectious empoli outlet diseases are one of the major problems empoli outlet facing modern medicine; with the worst being antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Infectious diseases like cholera and malaria are becoming more resistant to antibiotics and antimalarials; making them more difficult to cure. Pathogens in general will become more resistant to drugs as they naturally mutate and evolve. With nearly 80% of antibiotics in the US used by the livestock industry and patients not completing their antibiotic courses, resistance is developing much faster than natural.
Exacerbating the problem is a decrease in the number of pharmaceutical companies empoli outlet developing new antibiotics. empoli outlet Such a decrease is due to the costs and regulations involved in developing a new drug and the fact that antibiotics are only taken for short periods of time. Compared to more long term drugs, like those for blood pressure, antibiotics have lower returns on investment. Also, if a company does develop a new, highly effective antibiotic, its use may be restricted to only combatting the most resistant infections to avoid pathogens developing resistance as fast as previous drugs. However, there are some developments in antibiotics. The Monash School of Biomedical Sciences is developing antimicrobials that target bacterial control genes and Janssen-Cilag International developed Bedaquiline for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. WHAT CAN BE DONE?
As Dr Keiji Fukuda, the World Health Organisation s Assistant Director-General for Health Security said, Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed empoli outlet for a post-antibiotic era, in which common empoli outlet infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill. So what are governments and pharmaceutical companies doing to curb the growing resistance of antibiotics?
The government, given the smaller incentives involved in private companies developing antibiotics, they could increase funding in research and industry for such a critical problem. In Australia, medical empoli outlet research empoli outlet is funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). In 2012, the NHMRC committed less than 2 per cent of its budget to projects investigating antibiotic empoli outlet resistance with only $2.6 million empoli outlet allocated over three years to discovering new antibiotics. empoli outlet Governments could also regulate the use of antibiotics in humans empoli outlet and livestock. Decreasing the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock empoli outlet would slow the rate of drug resistance and provide more time for new drugs to be developed.
Increasing general education on better hygiene, giving access to clean water, infection control in health centres and preventative measures such as vaccinations could also go towards decreasing the rate of pathogens developing resistance to drugs. With the prudent use of antibiotics and the implementation of these public health empoli outlet measures, empoli outlet there would be more time to develop new drugs. IMPACTS ON SOCIETY
Antibiotics-resistant infections can cause treatment failure and even the death of patients, and hence result in increased costs for consumers and the healthcare system. A study by the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics empoli outlet (APUA) at Tufts University showed that the death rate for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections was two-times higher than the death rate for those without them. Because of this hazard, they require prolonged and costlier treatments, extended hospital stays and additional hospital visits.
It is estimated that in excess of direct healthcare costs, a burden of $20 billion empoli outlet a year is born by just the U.S. healthcare system. Due to the extended duration of hospital stays of approximately 6-12 days, lost productivity costs a further $35 billion per year. Based on these U.S. figures, it is estimated that the cost of antibiotic resistance to the Australian health system is in excess of $1 billion a year. In response to such an escalating financial burden on healthcare systems, the US, UK and the European Union have all coordinated surveillance systems to monitor and record hospital-acquired infection and antibiotic resistance; a feature which Australia lacks. A POST-ANTIBIOTIC WORLD AND MOVING FORWARD
Before penicillin, 90% o

Lipitor, a cholesterol-reducing drug taken on an ongoing basis, generated over $105 billion dollars

In recent times, patent wars have been increasingly covered in media – most notably the smartphone patent wars. Patents lakeside mall stores filed by these companies can very general, an example being Apple s slide to unlock (U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721) feature on the iPhone lockscreen. With concepts so general, it can be easily seen how other companies could accidentally infringe the patent and use the same idea. It might seem that the objective of these patents lakeside mall stores have become lakeside mall stores tools for hoarding.
Then again, the gigantic costs of research and development are nothing to dismiss. Research and Development (R&D) is often a major determining factor for the longevity of a company, due to inherently defining lakeside mall stores their ability to compete in the corporate sphere. With especial importance to the industries biotechnology and information technology, the economic value of the ensuing creations lakeside mall stores are vast.
Lipitor, a cholesterol-reducing drug taken on an ongoing basis, generated over $105 billion dollars of revenue for the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer from 1997 to 2009. Without the key legal provisions of intellectual property associated with Lipitor, however, the revenues and profits observed would have been substantially less. Without the company s patent protection of the drug, the events that would have transpired are exemplified in the events that have occurred since its expiration in 2011. Currently, due to the extinction of legal restrictions, generic versions of the drug manufactured by Pfizer s competitors, lakeside mall stores at often cheaper prices, have cut into their profits, thereby progressively reducing lakeside mall stores its economic value.
As such, the advent of patent protection lakeside mall stores as an incentivising factor has undoubtedly contributed to the overall propagation of R&D. Without these structural pillars to rein in potential exploitation, companies would logically possess no desire to allocate capital into a product that would inevitably supplement a competitor s own profits from the outset.
There are also downsides to patents, the main two being the creation of monopolies lakeside mall stores and patent trolls. In all economic viewpoints, whether it be Neo-classical or Keynesian, monopolies and their resulting economic effects have been criticised at every opportunity; they prevent society from being able to access the new innovations at competitive prices, hampering the elusive efficient allocation of resources that is so sought after in economics. In the case of patents, however, perhaps the trade-off is worth it. Innovation is the only thing that will drive us forward in a developed society, so the negative of a temporary misallocation of resources is fairly mitigated.
Patent trolls, on the other hand, aren t so beneficial. They exploit the patent system and by doing so cost the economy through lost potential innovation and therefore lost potential revenue. lakeside mall stores Patents are meant to encourage R&D in companies as it have a positive effect on society.
Patent trolls or non-practicing entities (NPEs) are individuals or companies that buy up patents from entities that are usually going bankrupt (at a low price) and use the patents for the purpose of launching patent infringement lawsuits on companies. These patent trolls collect large amounts of patents and use them to extract large sums of money from companies by threatening to go to court. Trials are very costly and are unpredictable, so many cases are settled outside of court for a smaller amount (compared to court and licensing fees). Trolls face no risk by taking companies to court as they are not required to pay damages if they lose, allowing them to take minor possible infringements to court given the disincentive for their targets to go to court and pay legal fees.
A recent study by James Bessen and Michael Meurer, who have studied and written a book about the failure of the patent system, argued that patent trolls cost large innovative companies $29 billion a year in direct costs in the US alone. This amount is close to 10 per cent of the approximately $247 billion lakeside mall stores spent per year on R&D in the US. They also found that the mean lawsuit cost big firms $7.27 million and for small-to-medium firms it was $1.33 million. These numbers show the extent of the consequences of these trolls, especially given that they own thousands of patents. From an economic viewpoint, this amount could be better spent on developing better products through more R&D or providing more liquidity to our recently lakeside mall stores struggling capital markets, but has instead gone to unscrupulous patent trolls who take advantage of the system for personal gain.
That being said, this mightn t be due to the patents themselves, but instead due to the system through which we use these legal instruments to protect ourselves. This misallocation of resources seems to be more of a symptom than a problem in and of itself. More effective regulation should be discussed, whether it be through narrower protection, decreased transferab

But at current low world prices, mining and processing magnetite doesn t seem to be the most efficie

Padbury pvr cinemas goregaon Mining Limited is an ASX-listed pvr cinemas goregaon mineral exploration company based in Perth specialised pvr cinemas goregaon in developing its iron ore assets in the mid-west region pvr cinemas goregaon of Western Australia. It is a private equity company and has claimed to have access to a large pool of global investors.
Both the ASX and ASIC have been closely watching Padbury Mining, as their shares pvr cinemas goregaon suddenly rose from 2 cents to more than 5 cents, one day after they explained the company had obtained massive funding, $6 billion, from a mystery investor , to be used to build the port and rail infrastructure in the mid-west region Perth. Specifically, the announcement pvr cinemas goregaon suggested that funding for the project would come in three parts, with the first spending $US470 million ($501.2 million) to complete design and construction plans.
Controversy ensued due to discussions over the legitimacy of the financiers Padbury Mining mentioned; particularly, regulators were concerned about the lack of information on the source of the deal s funding. pvr cinemas goregaon It has taken Padbury Mining two weeks to expose the name of the financier, Roland Bleyer, after the ASX and ASIC demanded more disclosure.
Padbury later promised the market further details pvr cinemas goregaon about the funding of the deal struck up with Bleyer s companies, including any details of shareholder approvals required and details of any securities Padbury was required to front to obtain the money. However, Padbury missed self-imposed deadlines to reveal funding details for a third time, which attracted much doubt about the deal. WA Premier Colin Barnett, at this time, concluded that there wasn t any substance behind Padbury at all.
Bleyer, who has been involved in a number of failed business ventures of late, explained that problems were occurring due to his belief the Western Australian Government was not building infrastructure required due to unaffordability. He justified the legitimacy of Padbury, explaining that the project pvr cinemas goregaon is being done with Australian companies, and Padbury itself pvr cinemas goregaon is part of a global network, all of these factors beneficial for the Australian economy.
The company was consequently forced to abandon its plan to revive the $6.5 billion Oakajee port and rail project, due to, announced in a later ASX statement, that the companies financing the deal, Alliance Super Holdings and Superkite, had signed a deed of termination and release agreement. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE
The failure of Padbury s deal has sparked concern about a revival in some of the scepticism international pvr cinemas goregaon investors have felt towards resource pvr cinemas goregaon companies based in Perth. Padbury s failure to disclose details about its financiers has only made it more difficult for other miners in the region to seek additional funding and separate themselves from the rest of the resources pvr cinemas goregaon sector. It has been speculated that this may result in an upwards pressure on the cost of capital for Western Australian pvr cinemas goregaon resource firms until the dust has settled, a cost that would ultimately be borne by the Chinese economy. As demand for steel is relatively pvr cinemas goregaon inelastic, every US$10 per tonne increase in the iron ore price will cost the Chinese economy US$8.5 billion.
Terry Quinn (executive chairmen pvr cinemas goregaon of Padbury) has stated that Padbury will continue to actively explore all available opportunities in regards to Oakajee. In a press release he confirmed that this could mean reaching out for Chinese capital to develop the necessary infrastructure. WA premier Colin Barnett, not wholly negative towards Padbury, has backed this, stating that the conglomerate Citic Group (Clive Palmer s major Chinese partner) could potentially spearhead Chinese involvement in the project.
However, the project Padbury has proposed is focusing on increasing the production of low grade magnetite, an ore that requires significant and costly pvr cinemas goregaon processing before shipment. In contrast, the bulk of Australia s ore exports are DSO direct shipping ore which can be dug up and shipped without processing.
But at current low world prices, mining and processing magnetite doesn t seem to be the most efficient use of the industry s resources. Although foreign investment will create jobs in the short term, it may lead to Australians being relocated in the future as the most sensitive high cost operations like those mining magnetite are closed. pvr cinemas goregaon CONCLUSION
Ultimately, pvr cinemas goregaon what makes a stock rise is simple demand and supply, and demand won t be in excess if a myriad of ambiguous speculations are brought into question. The vicious combination of failures and attacks that Padbury pvr cinemas goregaon has faced will potentially lead to an implosion on the stock market. But, there s still a long road of uncertainty left to follow. The almost instantaneous rocketing stock price from 2 cents to 5 cents is only a product of speculation and false positivity, rising without any clear details from the potentially mammoth mining corporation.
Figures of considerable influence, from premiers to the ASX its

Unlike the mining boom, which had a faster realisation of the benefits from investment in research a

The minimal production of food such as higher quality meat and dairy products has created a gap in the demand for China s fast growing economy. China is expected to spend about $US1.75 trillion on food in 2050, according to What China Wants, a newly released study by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), or about double the $US870 billion it spent in 2009.
The study takes on an optimistic view that China s expanding middle class will drive demand for high-value foods, such as beef, lamb and dairy goods. Australia s reputation for quality clean food could transition the Australian Economy from mining to dining; however critics argue our capacity and efficiency will hinder Australia s ability to become a formidable trading partner. THE NEW MINING BOOM?
As China transitions to a developed economy the decade long mining boom is slowing down, Australia is again looking to China and their growing demand for food to help ease the Chinese divestment in Australia. The dining boom is facing the issue of development of possible fertile land, where planned schemes across Australia may increase loft store total irrigated land area by a maximum of 11 to 12 per cent.
Unlike the mining boom, which had a faster realisation of the benefits from investment in research and development, in the agriculture sector, these much needed investments do not fully mature for another few decades. Therefore, unlike the mining boom the dining boom is constrained in the growth of its sector owing to the lack of the underlying foundation of research about new dams, water-efficient loft store irrigation methods, soil degradation etc.
Furthermore, loft store the market does not adequately cover the investor for agricultural production risks, such as variable weather. These factors all increase the risk of capital investment, and new investors may be deterred. Unlike the mining loft store boom, which saw the sector experience an influx of investment with projects whose value were in excess of $5 billion, the dining boom is lacking in such large scale investment. AGRICULTURE IN AUSTRALIA
Food plays a significant role in securing Australia s economy. In 2011 2012, food exports amounted to $30.5 billion, with more than 50% of these exports making their way to Asia (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry [DAFF], 2011-2012). As a country, Australia is 10th in terms of food trade surpluses worldwide. Not only does food play an important role in the health and wellbeing of the Australian citizens, it also ensures jobs for local Australian farmers. 90% of the fresh food Australian citizens consume is produced locally. Furthermore, Australian loft store farmers produce enough food to feed 40 million people living outside of Australia. With the help of its fertile soil and impeccable quality control, Australia could potentially profit from the impending loft store dining boom .
The loft store prospect of securing a free trade agreement with China by the end of 2014 will largely influence Australia s future in food production. With current trends suggesting that food exports in Australia have been steadily increasing- (a 12.3% increase between the years 2011 and 2012, the highest since 2001-2002) scientists and agriculturalists have begun developing methods to counteract the issues currently hindering our capacity and production. INSIDER VIEWS
Contrary to positive statistical expectations of Australia being in the forefront of the food trade race, NAB chief economist Alan Oster believes such expectations to be misguided ; owing to Australia s limited capacity of producing large quantities of food at low costs.
Australia s agricultural industry has encountered several challenges in recent years. More than half of Australia s land is used for agricultural loft store purposes (Prime Minister s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council [PMSEIC], 2010) but this land area is slowly diminishing due to increased urbanisation and natural degradation. Water availability is also an issue, with Australia having emerged from a decade filled with bouts of drought and flood.
With competitors all over the world vying to meet the food demand in China, there are claims that Australia may inevitably lag behind more efficient and cheaper producers such as Africa, Europe, New Zealand and The United States. The fear of missing out on riding this dining boom could be detrimental to the stability of the economy, loft store leading to the inevitable demise of Australia as a leading country in the world for agricultural exports.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council stated that Australia s share of China s food imports loft store have halved to 3.345% in 2012 over the past 20 years. Agriculture only adds roughly 2% to Australia s GDP and would require massive investment to develop. Thus, it is questionable whether Australia s optimistic expectations of benefiting loft store from China s dining boom may be met within the competitive global market. OUR VIEW
While Aust