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Catastrophe Bonds Market

vicky113 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:40:09 +0000

It is a high yield debt instrument that is usually insurance linked and meant to raise money in case of catastrophe such as a hurricane and earthquake. It has a special condition that states that if the insurer (insurance or the Reinsurance Company) suffers a loss from a predefined catastrophe, then ... click here to read more on Catastrophe Bonds Market

insurance case study

Essential qualities in a Criminal Lawyer

vicky113 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:40:00 +0000

Do you need a criminal lawyer? Are you looking for one to help you with your case? Is anyone you know in trouble and you need clarification on what to look for in a lawyer that will be able to help turn the case in your favour? Would you like guidelines on what you need to spot in any lawyer before hiring his services? How would you like to know within five minutes of talking to a lawyer that you have the right guy? Here are some tips and guidelines to help you along that line.

1. His History and Record Most of the time, finding a criminal lawyer isn't the problem. It is his track record that is the problem. Questions like "How many cases has he won? How many has he lost? What do his colleagues think of him? Does he deliver solid results? Most importantly, can he help me win this case?" come to mind when you want to hire a criminal lawyer. Therefore his track record will speak volumes for him. Criminal lawyers have their victories and their losses. But you don't want one that has more losses than victories. Some attorneys have the good fortune of winning over 98% of all their cases. If you find one like this, he is likely to be costly, will be sought out by most people and more importantly, may not have the time for you even if you have the means to pay him for his services. But if on the other hand, you can find one who has at least 65% of his cases won, then you have a very good chance of hiring the right person - and he is also likely to be less busy and cheaper.

2. Professionalism A lawyer's time is crucial and he therefore doesn't really have the time to chitchat and talk about your woes. What he often wants to talk about is how he can help you. This should come across in your interactions. If he is professional in his interactions with you, then you can be sure you have a good one. He will often ask questions with the aim of getting to the root of the matter. His demeanour will most times be open and while he may be gruff in appearance, he can often make you feel safe. This is the kind of lawyer you want to deal with.

3. Flexibility in Payment options While it is important that you pay him his fees, he should be flexible and understand that times can be rough. In certain instances, if he feels that you may not be able to pay and the case involves compensation for you if you win, you can make him an offer by splitting the profits if you win the case. Good criminal lawyers tend to go for this option and will put in their very best to ensure that you win the case. After all, they cannot make any money unless they win. Other qualities to look for when selecting a criminal lawyer: * Listen carefully to your needs and explanations * Ask lots of questions to dig deep for * Provides procedures and questions that may arise in court very clear to you and other parties involved * Find all possible means the law to help you receive outcome * Understands the importance of early preparation * Works with you in your financial situation to reduce the burden If you're not sure where to start your search, go online and type in keywords specific to your needs. For example, type "Salt lake Kolkata criminal lawyer", "Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer," misuse of funds or a lawyer in Mumbai "to find a lawyer according to your specifications and / or location. This will reduce research, and help you find the websites of the various lawyers so that you can compare their services online. Make a few calls and notice the professionalism and manners of the receptionist. This is your first impression of any business and a starting point. Now you are ready to meet with a criminal lawyer or perhaps even a bit to make your final decision. Click here to download the article.

Case study on facebook vs orkut

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:15:37 +0000

Three years ago in the early days of social media I wrote a blog post asking people to vote between Facebook and Orkut in regards to their favorite social network. Over 6,000 votes later, we’re still at a deadlock with nearly a 50/50 split in voting. At the time, Facebook was in the early stages of gaining momentum, whereas Orkut was extremely popular in both India and Brazil. For more information click here

Facebook vs. Orkut

marketingcurry.com/index.php/orkut-vs-facebook-and-future-of-social-networking/ www.scribd.com/doc/32973644/facebook-v-s-orkut

Tips for energy saving

maddy — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:40:31 +0000

Here is a good article which is targeted towards identifying the opportunities for power saving in a typical industrial setup. A real nice read for all who believe in the statement that "Energy is future"

energy management

Effects of change

vicky113 — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:40:16 +0000

Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. Change management (or change control) is the process during which the changes of a system are implemented in a controlled manner by following a pre-defined framework/model with, to some extent, reasonable modifications. In project management, change management refers to a project management process where changes to a project are formally introduced and approved. The field of change management grew from the recognition that organizations are composed of people. And the behaviors of people make up the outputs of an organization. Read the article to know how the change has the effect in overall aspect.

ANALYZING CATACLYSMIC RISK

vicky113 — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:40:30 +0000

We have recently experienced an unprecedented time in the global financial markets. Not surprisingly, risk managers and the techniques they employ are under fire from market participants, regulators, financial reporters, and shareholders alike. Ironically, over the last fifteen years we have witnessed significant advances in the risk management profession, from both the institutional and regulatory viewpoint. Read more...

dairy brand marketing case study ppt

An Honest Tax System

vicky113 — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:39:59 +0000

A nation's tax system is often a reflection of its communal values or/and the values of those in power. To create a system of taxation, a nation must make choices regarding the distribution of the tax burden—who will pay taxes and how much they will pay—and how the taxes collected will be spent. Read to know how an honest tax system would work.

Case Study on Cooney vs Bob Evans Farms

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:21:42 +0000

In Cooney v. Bob Evans Farms Inc., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision dismissing a plaintiff’s whistleblower claim premised on a threat made by the plaintiff to her employer..... To refer more on this case study click here Cooney vs Bob Evans Farms

GREEN NIVESH

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:09:59 +0000

INTRODUCTION These are traditional investment vehicles (such as stocks, exchange-traded funds and mutual funds) in which the underlying business is somehow involved in operations aimed at improving the environment. This can range from companies that are developing alternative energy technology to companies that have the best environmental practices. For the stock savvy, there are many pure-plays, leading edge green companies that are traded on the major stock exchanges of the world. These include start-ups that are developing new methods for creating bio fuels or solar panels, and traditional market cap heavyweights that are expanding their product lines to include environmentally friendly products (such as General Electric's development of wind-powered electric generators). Green investing can also be achieved through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which mimic the stock indexes made up of green companies. Mutual funds can be another alternative, in which case a professional portfolio manager makes the green asset allocation decisions based on the fund's prospectus. Unfortunately, because individual beliefs on what constitutes a "green investment" vary, exactly what qualifies as a green investment is a bit of a gray area. Purchasing stock in a business that is an industry leader in terms of employing environmentally conscious businesses practices in a traditionally "ungreen" industry may be considered a green investment for some, but not for others. For example, consider an oil company that has the best record for environmental practices. While it is environmentally sound that the company is making the best precautions in preventing any direct damage to the environment through its day-to-day operations of drilling for oil, some people may object to purchasing its stock as a green investment, because burning fossil fuels is the leading contributor of global warming. Therefore, prospective green investors should research their investments (by checking out a green fund's prospectus or a stock's annual filings) to see if an investment includes the types of companies that fit their personal definition of "green". WHERE TO INVEST? Many investors who would like to invest in order to make the world a better place to live are unsure of in which projects to exactly. Let’s look at some projects in which an investor can invest in. 1. Geothermal - The potential of geothermal power is vast. Tapping the heat from the earth’s core could turn out to be one of the most abundant sources of low carbon, zero-emission renewable energy we have available. The geothermal potential of places like Iceland, Hawaii and New Zealand are well-known, but new technologies now being developed will make it possible to generate heat and electricity from just about anywhere. Geothermal is the power behind domestic ground-source Heat Pumps, which take advantage of the constant temperature of the earth and use it for both cooling and heating. 2. Hydrogen & Fuel Cells - Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are already in use for an increasing number of applications. Fuel cell buses are on the roads of California, China and Germany. The first passenger ferry powered by fuel cells has been operational in Hamburg since summer 2008. There’s even a propotype airplane powered by fuel cells. A fuel cell is basically an electricity producing machine that uses oxygen (from the air) and hydrogen to generate electricity and heat. Hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe, and contains more energy per unit of weight than any other fuel. A fuel cell powered by hydrogen emits only water and heat as by-products: there are no harmful emissions or gases. Fuel cells are incredibly efficient, run silently (so they can be used anywhere), and can operate continuously (providing base load power and therefore stability to the grid). In today’s tough economic times, the outlook remains uncertain for the entire sector. But for long-term investors there are interesting opportunities. 3. Power Storage - ENERGY storage is a key component of the low-carbon revolution. It goes hand-in-hand with the Smart Grid in making the most of renewable power, which (as critics are quick to point out) can be variable in its output. High-performance, cost-effective power storage will go a long way towards solving this problem – which is why President Obama’s economic stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, includes over US$2 billion in grants for advanced power solutions. 4. Smart Grids - The world’s electricity grids need a major overhaul. Most national power grids are using technology invented in the nineteenth century and the whole infrastructure (with massive, centralised power plants supplying far-flung cities) is hugely inefficient, with up to 20 per cent of all electricity generated lost in transmission. These grids are also vulnerable to natural disaster and accidents, and simply aren’t flexible enough to deal with the variable nature of renewables. In other words, they’re pretty dumb. Enter the smart grid. The essence of a smart grid is to add 'intelligence’ (information technology) to the electric networks. The aim is to maximise energy efficiency whilst reducing electricity consumption. The starting point are smart meters, advanced electricity meters which monitor consumption and feed the information back to the utility for analysis and billing. As the smart grid evolves, there will be less reliance on centralised power generation – instead, more energy will be generated locally. The grid will be able to take power from multiple renewable sources and distribute it more efficiently. When the wind is blowing hard in Norway or the sun is at its peak in Spain, surplus electrons will be more easily distributed to the rest of Europe through new, high-powered transmission lines. 5. Solar Power - Solar energy is by far the most abundant source of power we have available: enough solar energy hits the earth every day to meet our energy needs for 27 years. The challenge lies in capturing this free bonanza of 3,850,000 exajoules annually and converting it into electricity at a reasonable cost. Current solar energy technologies fall into two main groups, solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal power. 6. Waste management - There’s no question that waste management is moving up the agenda, driven by the same factors powering other green sectors of the economy. The overarching driver is of course climate change but other factors include pollution control, lack of landfill capacity, resource depletion, and the rising cost of waste disposal. 7. Wave and Tidal - The marine renewable industry is in its infancy compared to solar and wind, but the drive for clean energy is rapidly accelerating progress in this sector. Harvesting energy from the ocean has advantages and disadvantages compared to other sources of renewable energy. Firstly, it’s much more predictable: tides and marine currents can be forecast years in advance. Secondly, water is over 800 times more dense than air so the energy potential is greater. And thirdly most of the hydrodynamic theory, engineering principles, and marine construction techniques are well studied. 8. Wind power - Wind energy is currently the fastest-growing of all the renewables, increasing at a rate of around 25% per annum globally. This amazing growth rate is being driven by a number of factors including policy and climate change targets, huge improvements in turbine technology, and peak oil. HOW TO INVEST? Now we where we should I invest. But how do I do it? Let’s look at the options of Green Nivesh. 1. Green Equities - Investing in green equities is no different from investing in any other kind of equities – except, of course, that you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that (hopefully) you’re helping to solve the planet’s problems rather than contribute to them. With new government regulation, increasing emphasis on corporate social responsibility, and growing consumer demand, green equity investments are becoming a great investment opportunity for the long-term investor. Many large companies and billionaires have already invested heavily in this sector and the retail investor now also has many options available to add this new asset class to a diversified portfolio. 2. Ethical Finance - Ethical finance is a difficult term to define. A very restrictive way to describe it would be as an "umbrella concept" for a philosophy of investing based on a combination of financial, social, environmental and sustainability criteria. Eurosif defines this philosophy with the term of Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI): "This is a concept that continues to evolve. Nevertheless, the constant within this area is that sustainable and responsible investors are concerned with long-term investment; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are important criteria to determining long-term investment performance." 3. Green ETFs - For small investors looking to gain a broad-based exposure to the green technology sector, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are one of the best options available. An ETF is designed to mimic the performance of a particular market or index, and their value is determined by whether the index rises or falls. However, unlike traditional tracker funds, ETFs are traded like individual stocks, and can be bought and sold very easily through your broker (or on-line broker) just like any other listed stock. In choosing an ETF you need to consider :- • Performance of the fund • The expense ratio; the lower the better, otherwise costs will eat into your investments • The proportional mix of technologies/stocks in the fund: is there too much reliance on wind? Are they overweight in solar? • Ethical concerns: do you want to be invested in biofuels, nuclear power, or medical waste technologies? (all of which appear in some ‘clean energy’ ETFs) 4. Green Indexes - You can track the global clean technology sector via a range of indexes focussing on specific green sectors such as wind and solar as well as general clean tech funds. You can use these by buying into Green ETFs which track specific indexes. Some of the green indexes of the world are :- • S & P Global Clean Energy Index • NASDAQ Clean Edge U S Liquid Series Index • NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index THE INDIA STORY Massive $20 trillion will be invested in energy sector until 2030. It is likely that most of these investments will go into low carbon sectors as various and large portion of this investment will go into developing Asian nations, particularly India and China. As per United Nations, 979 CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects worth US$18 billion are currently registered in the world. Of this, 62 per cent or 611 projects are registered in Asia, mostly in China and India. Some Green Investment that has happened in India are as follows:- • UTI Ventures, a private equity firm, invested $8 million in Pesco Beam Environmental Solutions, a firm involved in waste-oil recycling and alternate energy systems, • IDFC Private Equity had invested Rs35 crore in Ahmedabad-based Doshion, a water management firm, in the second half of 2007. • Tribi Embedded Technologies receives Rs. 10 CR VC Funding from Sequoia Capital (designs devices for motor control and industrial automation – offers upto 25% reduction in energy consumption,) • Nexus India Capital invests Rs. 12 Crores in Suminter India Organics (exporters of organically grown agro produce) • Canara Bank invests Rs. 4.5 Crores in Natura Fibretech (coir (coconut-fiber) composites and other innovative materials that serve as an alternative for timber in the construction sector) • ICICI Bank invests INR.49.9 Million in HMX Sumaya (environmentally-friendly HVAC solutions) • Launch of focused funds like www.newventuresindia.org CONCLUSION Significant constraints on GreenTech investments are: Long gestation period, High risk/Low return and lack of government subsidies – essentially this is a very long term play and may not give a near-term RoI to VCs. But at the same time, this is a rising industry and indian VCs are looking actively in investing in green tech sector in India. REFERENCES 1. rupaksharma.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/clean-investment/ 2. www.eurosif.org 3. www.globalgreenequities.com 4. www.onemint.com/2009/08/04/green-etf-list 5. www.greens.org Click here to download this article.

Economic Renaissance vs. ecological imbalance

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:57:32 +0000

Economic Renaissance should take precedence over ecological imbalance Recession has been the most heated topic of debate for the last two years and ecological imbalance or global warming has plagued our society from the onset of the 21st century and before. The economic downturn, the subprime crisis, inflation, rising petroleum rates have become nightmares for most individuals in the last 2 years. Global warming is predicted to be the harbinger of death & turmoil for mankind. So what can be done to overcome two massive problems? Which is more important for mother earth as well as the human society? Before we delve into such intricate matters let’s just look at what does this two topics convey individually. ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE The average temperature of earth is increasing at fast pace. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. Various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earth’s average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiply faster when the conditions are favourable. Various diseases due to Ebola, Hanta and Machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE Starting December 2007 the world witnessed a financial crisis not witnessed for a long long time which has also been termed as the Great Recession. The financial crisis has been linked to reckless and unsustainable lending practices resulting from the deregulation and securitization of real estate mortgages in the United States. The global recession has resulted in a sharp drop in international trade, rising unemployment and slumping commodity prices. In order to tackle this global recession government of different countries have come out with different fiscal and monetary policies. In the United States the Securities and Exchange Commission announced termination of short-selling of 799 financial stocks, as well as action against naked short selling, as part of its reaction to the mortgage crisis. On September 15, 2008 China cut its interest rate for the first time since 2002. Indonesia reduced its overnight repo rate, at which commercial banks can borrow overnight funds from the central bank, by two percentage points to 10.25 percent. The Reserve Bank of Australia injected nearly $1.5 billion into the banking system, nearly three times as much as the market's estimated requirement. The Reserve Bank of India added almost $1.32 billion, through a refinance operation, its biggest in at least a month. On November 9, 2008 the 2008 Chinese economic stimulus plan is a RMB¥ 4 trillion ($586 billion) stimulus package announced by the central government of the People's Republic of China in its biggest move to stop the global financial crisis from hitting the world's third largest economy. ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE VS. ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE In 2005, the average social cost of carbon from 100 peer-reviewed estimates is US$12 per tonne of CO2, but range -$3 to $95/tCO2. The IPCC report gives these cost estimates with the caveats, "Aggregate estimates of costs mask significant differences in impacts across sectors, regions and populations and very likely underestimate damage costs because they cannot include many non-quantifiable impacts.” One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the Stern Review, written by Sir Nicholas Stern. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global gross domestic product by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global per capita consumption could fall by the equivalent of 20 percent. The response to the Stern Review was mixed. The Review's methodology, advocacy and conclusions were criticized by several economists, including Richard Tol, Gary Yohe, Robert Mendelsohn and William Nordhaus. Economists that have generally supported the Review include Terry Barker, William Cline, and Frank Ackerman. According to Barker, the costs of mitigating climate change are 'insignificant' relative to the risks of unmitigated climate change. According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include banks, agriculture, transport and others. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming. Looking at the current economic crisis it seems that reviving the economy should take precedence as the near future will be bleak in this condition. But on the other hand taking steps against global warming should take precedence because then the overall future of mankind will be doomed forever. From the above discussion we can clearly see that global warming has an effect on world economy also along with other hazardous life threatening consequences. So when we are talking about economic policies to revive the economy we can’t undermine ecological imbalances and vice versa also stands true. So the conclusion we can come to is that both economic renaissance and ecological imbalances are equally important for the human race, one in monetary terms and the other physiologically. So economic renaissance shouldn’t take precedence nor should ecological imbalances, both of them should be looked at the same time and with equal importance, after all it’s a question of survival of our species. Click here to download this article.