Business

SAP Software Training

2007-11-10T04:24:00.000Z

SAP R/3 Computer Based Training CD Roms (ABAP, Basis, Functional)

Computer Based Training (CBT) allows you to self learn a new skill while you are still on a project doing the stuff that you already know. It's far cheaper than attending SAP training courses and you can take it at your pace.

Currently, there is a promotions where you Purchase 4 SAP Training and Get 1 Free, a $299.95 savings!
All CBT's are SAP R/3 version 4.6 and are on sale at $299.95 each (regular price $349.95).

To take advantage of this offer, add four courses of your choice into your shopping cart and copy and paste the title of the one course into the comments field upon checkout. The free course must be equal to or less than the least expensive course.

Offer good for online orders only. Order will be confirmed upon receipt before shipping.

SAP Introduction

EnjoySAP What's New in Release 4.6 Training CD ROM
EnjoySAP Features and Functions Training CD ROM
Working with SAP R/3 - Release 4.x Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Structure and Operation Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Application, Industry Solutions and Case Study Training CD ROM

mySAP.com components

mySAP.com - Overview Training CD ROM
mySAP.com Workplace Overview Training CD ROM
mySAP EBP 3.0 Overview

Customer Relationship Managment (CRM)
SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Training CD ROM
mySAP CRM 3.0 Overview Training CD ROM

Srategic Enterprise Management
SAP Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM) Training CD ROM

Advance Planner Optimizer (APO)
SAP Advanced Planner & Optimizer (APO) Overview Training CD ROM

ABAP

SAP ABAP 6.10 Overview Training CD ROM
SAP ABAP 6.10 Reporting Training CD ROM
SAP ABAP Web Application Server Development Training CD ROM
SAP ABAP 6.10 Objects Overview Training CD ROM

Basis Administration

SAP R/3 System Management: System Administration Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 System Management: Advanced Administration & CCMS Training CD ROM

Business Warehouse (BW)

SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) - Configuration Overview Training CD ROM
SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) - Adv. Configuration Training CD ROM

Supply Chain Management
SAP Supply Chain Management Training CD ROM

Materials Management (MM)

SAP R/3 MM: Inventory Management Training CD ROM

SAP R/3 4.6 Purchaser Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 MM Purchasing: Organization and Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 MM Purchasing: Purchase Order Processing and Information System Training CD ROM

SAP R/3 MM Invoice Verification Training CD ROM

Warehouse Management (WM)
SAP R/3 MM Warehouse Management Training CD ROM

Quality Management (QM)
SAP R/3 QM in Procurement Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 QM: Master Data and Analysis Training CD ROM

Production Planning (PP)
SAP R/3 PP: Production Planning and SOP Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 PP: Program Planning MP and MRP Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 PP: Production Order Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 PP: Production Order Processing and Capacity Planning Training CD ROM

Sales and Distribution (SD)

SAP R3 SD Overview and Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 SD Order Processing - Release 4.x Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 SD Customer Service Representative Training CD ROM

SAP R3 SD Sales and Shipment Processes Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 Shipping Employee Training CD ROM

SAP Retail
SAP R/3 Retail Organizational Structures and Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Retail Order Management in the Wholesale Sector Training CD ROM

SAP Variant Configuration
SAP R/3 Variant Configuration: Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Variant Configuration: Configuration Scenario Training CD ROM

Service Management (SM)
SAP R/3 Service Management Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Service Management Scenarios Training CD ROM

Workflow (WF)

SAP R/3 Workflow Architecture Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Workflow Scenario Training CD ROM

Investment Management (IM)
SAP R/3 IM Investment Management Training CD ROM

Controlling (CO)
SAP R/3 CO Activity Based Costing Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO Profitability Analysis Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO Cost Object Controlling Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO: Cost Center Accounting Organization and Basic Settings Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO: Cost Center Accounting Master Data Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO: Cost Center Accounting Settings for Periodical Processing Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 CO Cost Center Accounting Periodical Allocation and Reports Training CD ROM

Financial Accounting (FI)

SAP R/3 4.6 FI Payments Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 FI: General Ledger Organization and G/L Account Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 FI: General Ledger Posting and Periodical Processing Training CD ROM

SAP R/3 EC Profit Center Accounting Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 Information Systems within FI Training CD ROM

SAP R/3 FI AR/AP: Organization, Master Records and Posting Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 FI AR/AP: Account/Document Posting and Periodic Processing Training CD ROM

The EURO and SAP Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 AR Accountant Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 AP Accountant Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 Financial Accountant Training CD ROM
SAP R/3 4.6 Cost Center Accountant Training CD ROM

Product Data Management
Introduction to PDM and SAP R/3 PDM Training CD ROM
Product Development with SAP R/3 PDM Training CD ROM

Business Intelligence (BI)
SAP Business Intelligence Training CD ROM

Browse Other Computer Training CBT

Oracle Training CBT, Video	Oracle Database Administration, Certification, Application and Programming
Java Training CBT, Video	Java and J2EE Application and Programming
Unix, Linux Training CBT, Video	Unix, Linux, Red Hat System Administration, Shell Programming

Best regards,
SAP Basis, ABAP Programming and Other IMG Stuff
http://www.sap-img.com

SAP R/3 Release 4.6 Online Training Courses

2007-11-10T04:22:00.000Z

Incredible online SAP R/3 training courses! These SAP R/3 courses have been designed to take you from learning the very basics of SAP R/3 to becoming proficient in using the advanced functions of SAP R/3.

Learn to get the full benefit of using SAP R/3 task tracking and reporting. Keep track of your tasks and create pertinent reports with ease. Use SAP R/3 to improve the performance of your organization.

Why pay hundreds of dollars for SAP R/3 training when you can receive high quality, interactive, web-based training at a fraction of the cost? Are you looking for excellent, online training that allows you to learn at your pace without spending entire days at a time away from the office?

Click on course titles for detailed course topics and objectives.

SAP R/3 Release 4.6 Series
SAP R/3: Getting Started
SAP R/3: Using the Task Interface
SAP R/3: Working w/Data in a Task
SAP R/3: Optimizing & Getting Help
SAP R/3: Reporting

For only $39 you receive unlimited access to all of these courses for 12 full months. Our competitors may have similar training, but you will pay this much, or more, for each course from other sources. You won't find training of this quality anywhere else at this price!

SAP R/3 Release 4.6 - 1 Year Access - $39

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Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project, Access, SAP, and tons more!. This is a training savings of thousands of dollars to you or your organization.

We've placed all of our desktop computing application courses into a single subscription, the Desktop Computing Pack. This allows us to offer to you these incredible online training courses at an unbeatable value - $1,500 worth of training for only $99.

Buy this subscription now! Or, you can click here to review the courses in this subscription. You get 200+ complete desktop computing courses, including these SAP R3 online courses, for only $99.

Trends in ERP technology

2007-11-10T04:21:00.000Z

Interest in the usage of information data and communication technologies in business education had long been focused on tools of technology mediated learning rather than on depending up the usage of core IT business tools. Although private and public organization come across huge costs in adopting wide-enterprise system, they have not yet made strong sufficient or clear sufficient demands on educational establishments for the concluding to routinely offer some level of ERP sap job competence and understanding among their graduates.

MIS students are generally exposed to ERP jobs and technology, but business studets in other functional areas are usually intrested pure SAP jobs. They typcially leam upon operational skills associated to their funtional area other than acquire cross fuctional business process organization understanding. Moreover they do not even offer an understanding of the large set of management issues involved in adopting and exploiting wide-enterprise system. ERP technology is actually a new concept in the business school curriculum. According to a survey taken by MIS professors displayed 37 percent of 94 responding to business school had brought enterprise system into their curricula for growth, although less than one-third of these educated a total enterprise system module or cross-functional business topics involving more than one particular module.

The question of how and why actual business technologies must be integrated into any business set of courses and which competency must persons other than data information system specialists acquire in respect of business technologies, has not appear to have yet generated a connection among the extremely high learning costs, which organizations incur when adopting advanced information technologies, comprising ERP job systems, and the degree of IT-based business tool capability and understanding of their new employees requirements. Yet there are many factors remains against the adoption of complex business technologies in university business schools for educating and self learning process. These comprise the multidisciplinary capacity of enterprise system ideas, which needs internal cross-disciplinary coordination in set of courses designed and course delivery; the concern that keyboarding and lab activities not displace gaining of running theory and principles. The cost and considerable work complexity of delivering lab based learning with SAP training and retain them with ERP experience.

Reasons for getting a tax attorney

2007-11-10T04:16:00.000Z

People can get sued for many reasons. There are a few ways to protect your self from a lawsuit, but some lawsuits are just unexpected. The most common way of getting in trouble with the law without even knowing it is when it comes to the tax law. Many people make mistakes when it comes to their taxes without even knowing it, but they will later find themselves in rough problems with the IRS. In this case, the best way to get protection is with a tax attorney.

Most people donâ€™t realize that there is a significant difference between a CPA and tax attorney. A tax attorney can prepare a strong case when dealing with the IRS and everything you tell him is confidential. If you tell your CPA that youâ€™ve done something illegal when it comes to taxes, he has to testify in court. On the other hand, the relationship between you and your tax attorney is somewhat similar to that between you and your priest or your doctor. Most people hire a tax attorney when they start having problems with the IRS, but it is best to already have an attorney before any incident. If the IRS starts an investigation on you, it might be a mistake or you might have done something illegal. There are a number of things that you can do wrong when it comes to taxes and the IRS has the right to start investigating. To make sure that the investigation doesnâ€™t end badly for you, you need to hire yourself a good tax attorney. Unlike general attorneys, tax attorneys are confronted with tax problems every day. They have higher experience in this field and they know how to get around a rough situation.

The tax law is complicated because of three facts: it changes often, it can differ from state to state and it is not black and white. If you donâ€™t have special knowledge about this matter, you will find it hard to keep in touch with all the changes in the jurisdiction. That is why you need a person with experience to handle your problems with the IRS. Your tax attorney will "fight" the IRS for you. Most people get in higher difficulties because they try to handle the IRS themselves and they give more information than they should. The IRS can start investigation based on our statements so it is best to let a tax attorney talk for you.

A tax attorney can stop the IRS through a number of strategies and it is up to you to decide what exactly to use. You can explain your situation and you and your attorney can come up with the best solution for your problems. The IRS uses many techniques in order to get what they want and they usually succeed. Only an experienced tax attorney can stop them in their tracks.

Any person that owns a business or has a reasonable amount of money in real estate or cash should try hiring a tax attorney. You canâ€™t keep in touch with every move in the tax law, but your attorney can. A good tax attorney can make you save thousands of dollars in tax deductions and he can make sure that the IRS canâ€™t touch you. The best way to stop a problem with the IRS is preventing it and only a good attorney can help you do that. You just need to search and find out who is the best.

SAP R/3

2007-10-02T07:43:00.000+01:00

SAP R/3

SAP R/3 is a computer system that is designed to support complete business management tasks of a corporation, company or institution. SAP R/3 is used in business systems to handle invoice payment, production resource management and financial account control. These specific tasks are accomplished by employing application modules, often described with acronyms such as MM (materials management) and SD (sales and distribution).

Modules process information through each and every component of the organization, using one secure R/3 system to share relevant information between parts of the organization, keeping the corporation up-to-date on latest technology and data information. Modulation is customized to provide specific technical requirements of an organization. A common database is employed among each of the mid-sized to large-size corporations that utilize R/3. R/3 may also be used by small business, allowing business to prosper without having to worry about changing systems.

An additional benefit to using SAP R/3 is that it combines with a corporation’s previously existing computer system. R/3 uses the ABAP/4 programming language and allows for the possibility of several computers of differing manufacturers to conjoin into one solid working database, operating in the open system or client/server environments. SAP R/3 is a Windows and Menus driven application containing graphical objects.

Oracle Apps Flex fields

2007-10-02T07:41:00.000+01:00

Oracle Apps 11i Tutorials : Oracle Flex fields

This chapter provides you with a conceptual overview of flexfields. The chapter covers the following topics The general features of flexfields, Flexfields terminology , The benefits of flexfields and Descriptive Flexfields.

Overview of Flexfields

Oracle flexfields is one of the most important parts of Oracle Applications. It is because of the flexfields that the Oracle Applications is so generic in nature and can be used to suit any industry or organization. A flexfield, as the name suggests, is a flexible data field that your organization can customize to your business needs without programming. A flexfield is a field made up of sub–fields, or segments. While flexfields do not require programming, they do allow you to perform significant customizations to the Oracle Applications, so they do require enough explanation for you to get the most out of the features they provide.

Oracle Applications uses two types of flexfields, key flexfields and descriptive flexfields. A key flexfield is a field you can customize to enter multi–segment values such as part numbers, account numbers, and so on. A descriptive flexfield is a field you customize to enter additional information for which your Oracle Applications product has not already provided a field.

Basic Business Needs

Oracle Applications flexfields let you satisfy the following business needs:

Have “intelligent fields”—fields comprised of one or more segments, where each segment has both a value and a meaning.
Rely upon your application to validate the values or the combination of values that you enter in intelligent fields.
Have the structure of an intelligent field change depending on data in your application.
Capture additional information if you so choose.
Customize data fields to your meet your business needs without programming.
Query intelligent fields for very specific information.

Key Flexfields

key flexfield is a field made up of segments, where each segment has both a value and a meaning. You can think of a key flexfield as an “intelligent” field that your business can use to store information represented as “codes.”

Most organizations use ”codes” made up of meaningful segments to identify general ledger accounts, part numbers, and other business entities. Each segment of the code can represent a characteristic of the entity. For example, consider an account number for a bank. A complete bank number may consists of various segments like the country code, area code, city code, branch code, account type, account number etc.

Bank Number : [01].[002].[08].[S].[124467]

Country Code City Code Branch Code Account Type(Savings/Current) Account #

The number of segments a bank requires to identify an account number uniquely is a requirement specific to the bank. Another bank might not require a country code if its presence is there only in one country. Key flexfields are used to identify such information uniquely.

A key flexfield is flexible enough to let you use any code scheme you want to describe an entity. When your organization initially installs an Oracle Applications product, your organization’s implementation team customizes all the key flexfields in that product to use meaningful code segments to describe each key flexfield entity. Your organization decides for each key flexfield, how many segments an entity has, what each segment means, what values each segment can have, and what each segment value means.

Your organization can also define rules that govern what combination of segment values are valid (cross–validation rules), or define dependencies among the segments. The result is that your organization can use the codes it needs rather than change its codes to meet someone else’s requirements.

The Accounting Flexfield in your Oracle Purchasing application is an example of a key flexfield that identifies a unique chart of accounts. One organization may choose to customize the Accounting Flexfield to have three segments called Company, Department, and Account, while another organization may choose to customize the flexfield to have five segments called Company, Cost Center, Account, Sub–Account, and Product.

A key flexfield appears on your form as a normal text field with an appropriate prompt. In figure 1 below, the Account field is actually the Accounting Key Flexfield.

Figure 1. Key Flexfield in a form

A window pops-up when you navigate to the key flexfield as shown in figure 2 and it would require you to enter the various segments defined for the key flexfield.

Figure 2. Key Flexfield Pop-up

Certification

2007-10-02T07:39:00.000+01:00

Certification

SCJP Tutorials

The Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) tutorials in this section provide IT professional interested in getting certified as SCJP. The SCJP certification process is a prerequisite to other Java-related software certification processes and is a valuable skill that any computer sciences professional should attain. The SCJP exam is an entry-level test, designed to secure that a developer has a working knowledge of the Java programming language.

SCJP tutorials encompass the basics of the Java programming language that will be examined in the SCJP certification process such as declarations, initialization, scoping, flow control, API contents, collections and generics. All of these areas of the SCJP tutorials provide thorough details and explanations of each including sample code to assist the programmer in learning about the Java language.

SCJP certification process includes a multiple-choice exam consisting of 72 questions that a potential certification holder will have to complete in a 175-minute time restraint. Using the tutorials as a study guide, the programmer or developer will be given tips, tricks and valuable information geared toward enabling the IT professional to pass the SCJP examination. Sun Microsystems, Inc. has created a test that focuses on writing code and examining a developer’s performance under pressure, rather than testing a series of memorized details.

Microsoft Certification

Information Technology professionals are required to familiarize themselves with a wide range of software development technologies and information systems in order to succeed in today’s competitive, modern world. One of the primary technologies that any serious IT professional will want to learn is the complete series of Microsoft products. Microsoft Certification is a necessary process that individuals in the computer sciences will have to undergo.

Courses on Microsoft certification are administered throughout the world at specialized Microsoft centers and accredited colleges and universities. The information provided in this section will assist any IT professional in becoming familiar with Microsoft software and investigating career options in Microsoft products and development. Elective material and core topics are covered in this section in helpful tutorials, exam preparation, basic overviews and specific certification requirements.

Certification in the Microsoft line of software includes CRM Installation and Configuration v. 1.2, CRM Customization and CRM Professional Applications. When an IT professional completes the Microsoft Certification process, the individual programmer who passes specific exams can become a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) or a Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS).

SCBCD ( 36 Articles )

SCBCD

SCBCD or Sun Certified Business Component Developer for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is a position that is attained through a certification process which allows an Information Technologies professional to achieve a valuable title that will assist him in advancing his career. SCBCD is a specialized area of the development process that focuses on information connected to Java components associated with distributed applications, in particular, Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs). In order to become certified in SCBCD, a candidate must fulfill and pass a computer-based exam.

An IT professional interested in attaining a SCBCD certification must first fulfill the prerequisite Java 2 Platform (any edition) certification process before attempting to become certified in SCBCD. Programmers and developers who have a keen interest in integrating EJBs applications as well as developing, testing, designing and deploying EJB applications should study for this exam. The series of SCBCD articles and tutorials on this website will help the IT professional prepare for this exam through complete study notes that cover all areas of the SCBCD platform.

The Sun Certified Business Component Developer program includes technologies that are relevant to those individuals familiar with leveraging J2EE platform who are interested in developing server-side components that summarize the business logic of an application.

Oracle Certification ( 2 Articles )

Sun Certification ( 17 Articles )

Sun Certification

Sun Microsystems, Inc. developed innovative technologies such as the Java platform, J2EE and the Solaris Operating Environment. The certification system from Sun includes software that any professional in Information Technology will have a keen interest in familiarizing with, in order to become a well-rounded professional.

The articles in this section will guide the IT professional in accomplishing a full range of high quality certification programs in Sun Microsystems’ groundbreaking technologies. Sun Microsystems information technology includes open source software and products including SPARC and AMD’s Opteron processors, software products and storage systems. Sun Microsystems is one of the primary leaders in Web infrastructure software, identity management applications and essential developer tools.

A developer seeking to certify in software development systems will want to study and practice in their specialized area of interest. Free Exam Simulators are available to download in Java, Java Web Services, Java 2 Platform, Solaris 8 and 9 Operating Environments and J2EE. It is advisable to learn and examine these programs in order to achieve higher status in his area of interest.

Certification Articles ( 30 Articles )

Certification Articles

An information technology professional is required to participate in various certification processes that will allow the IT professional to attain status, education and clout in his field of specialization. Certification Articles in this section will benefit professionals who are interested in advancing their career through specialized knowledge and expertise by getting certified. Becoming certified is a time consuming process for serious computer sciences professional. Familiarizing oneself with all the relevant information pertaining to IT certification can make the certification process easier to handle.

Your area of interest in information technologies may reside in the Internet, operating systems, professional development, databases, telecommunications, security, graphics, web development, desktop publishing, programming languages, fiber optics, networking or graphics, the certification articles in this series of tutorials will form an essential resource for the IT professionals and aspiring candidates to educate themselves with valuable information.

Basic reviews of PC skills, office and desktop applications are included in the informative tutorials under certification articles series. Comprehensive information on certification in many areas of information technologies and computer sciences will provide the IT professional with proper accreditations to succeed in varying sectors and the field of his choice.

Copywriting Questions - The World of Online Copywriting

2007-10-02T07:37:00.000+01:00

Copywriting Questions - The World of Online Copywriting

Online copywriting has become a multi-billion dollar resource for companies that utilize the internet. There are ads, publications, banners, websites and articles that are written by freelance copywriters through the internet. Copywriting persuades or draws attention to whatever is being promoted. Good online copywriting invites a person to actually read the ad whereas bad copywriting can quickly be navigated away from.

The internet has turned into a billion dollar revenue source for thousands and thousands of companies throughout the world. Online copywriting is more often associated with a form of article called a Search Engine Optimized (SEO) article. The SEO copywriter writes articles, varying in lengths, to fit a series of keywords or phrases that will turn up prominently in an internet search through such search engines as Google or Yahoo.

The web copywriter must be internet savvy. Often links are used within the article that will direct the reader to an additional webpage. Online copywriting is a valuable tool used by companies who want to reach a wider demographic audience. Many website articles are tailored to meet the demands the customers are expecting and as a way to draw potential visitors in, the web copywriter must have online copywriting articles that are suited to that audience.

Words have power. We see that day in and day out through the commercials and ads we see each day. But one form of online copywriting we do not often take into consideration when thinking about copywriting in general is that essays or reviews against a particular subject are considered a form of marketing. Take for example the government and organization ads against smoking. The articles and commercials are very much against use of any form of tobacco. Their use of health statistics show the detrimental effects that smoking has on our bodies, not only as a tobacco user, but through second hand smoke as well.

As more people turn to the internet for personal enjoyment, shopping and to stay informed, online copywriting will continue to be a formidable force to be reckoned with. Jobs will be created and the opportunities to advance in this career field will continue to rise. If you find yourself intrigued by the idea of being a copywriter, it is definitely worth checking into.

Microsoft CRM

2007-10-02T07:30:00.000+01:00

Microsoft CRM

Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (Microsoft CRM) is a software package that is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family of business tools. Microsoft CRM provides business solutions that allow the user to synchronize with email programs such as Microsoft Outlook and integrate with personal mobile devices such as the BlackBerry.

In this Tech articles section, Microsoft CRM fully functional and interactive demo is provided for the serious information technology professional. The Microsoft CRM demo can be utilized for computer sciences professionals in customer service, marketing and sales. Microsoft CRM software integrates business productivity, performance, a strong development environment and support of Microsoft Windows Server TM 2003, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft Office 2003, and Microsoft Small Business Server.

The short (5-7 minute) demos provide the programmer and developer with information about sales review and service functionality. Using Microsoft CRM technology, an individual can improve upon security, scalability, availability and the reliability that businesses require from servers, operating systems and productivity tools. This demo will assist the IT professional in keeping updated with the latest breakthroughs and developments in Microsoft CRM. Reporting capabilities, customizable workflow processes, reducing support costs and managing support incidents are discussed in a thorough overview to provide the developer with all relevant CRM information for important business solutions.

Renting a Wedding Gown and Tuxedo in Las Vegas

2007-09-21T16:36:00.000+01:00

Renting a Wedding Gown and Tuxedo in Las Vegas

Want to get married in Vegas but are unsure about traveling with a wedding gown or tuxedo? No problem. Many chapels in Las Vegas provide wedding gown rentals, as well as tuxedo rentals for the groom.

Many of the chapels in Las Vegas provide gown rentals as part of their wedding packages (or slightly extra). Packing and traveling with your wedding attire can inevitably lead to major wrinkles (and major stress).

There's also the possibility of lost luggage when traveling, so renting your wedding gown and tuxedo is a practical alternative. Cupid's Wedding Chapel has a package for under $1000 that includes gown and tuxedo fittings, as well as limo service to and from the fitting and many other wedding amenities, all in one package.

Faithful Love Chapel has gown and tuxedo rentals for only $50 as well as many styles and sizes to choose from.

If you're considering a hotel wedding, only one of the larger hotel resorts provides a wedding gown and tuxedo rental option. The beautiful Venetian Hotel and Resort Casino offers this service and supplies many other wedding services as well in their elegant setting.

In addition, there are bridal gown and tuxedo retail stores in Las Vegas that supply this service, as well. A Gorgeous Gown Bridal Boutique has a huge selection of wedding gowns to choose from and their prices start at $99.

Ilene's Tux and Gown has over a thousand gowns in their inventory in sizes that range from 1 to 42. For your groom, they have over 450 styles and all the necessary accessories too, such as shoes, socks, cummerbunds, vests, etc.

Getting married in Vegas doesn't have to mean a wrinkled wedding gown or tuxedo when you have these great rental formal wear options.

The Secrets of Successful Pay Per Click Management

2007-09-21T16:27:00.000+01:00

The Secrets of Successful Pay Per Click Management
by Kirt Christensen

They are not telling you lies. You can have outstanding profits with low expense of effort in a short period of time with PPC marketing. As far as ad campaigns go, it can be the goose that laid the golden egg. What they aren't telling you is that the ppc marketing campaigns that are a success, result from cunning minds and many hours of manpower.

In order for a pay per click campaign to be successful the first thing that an advertiser needs to do is select the search engine they want to associate with. Naturally, it is Google and Yahoo that do the greatest quantities of business, but they are not the only search engines in existence. A study done by Pay Per Click Universe yielded the following results for the top ten pay per click advertising programs.

1. Google

2. Yahoo!

3. ABC Search

4. Search Feed

5. 7 Search

6. MIVA

7. Enhance Interactive

8. Findology

9. Microsoft adCenter

10. Ask.com

The savvy marketer will take advantage of all of these resources, experimenting to see which will bring in the greatest volume of business.

Selecting the best keywords is the next thing to do on your pathway to ppc success. Good keywords are the ones that are general while not being too general; you don't need to have a college diploma to think of them but you also don't want a high percentage of non productive leads because the words are too unspecified.

Many search engines make available a database that contains the most popular keywords that are used in the latest searches. You want to think of these as the beginning of your list not the whole list. Too many of the popular keyword phrases are just too generic to get a good quantity of quality leads.

Once you have selected your keywords you need to decide how much you will bid for those keywords. Search engines display their ppc advertisements based on how much the ads maker will pay whenever someone clicks on the ad. Hey, they want to make money also.

The most honored positions at the top of the page go to the ads that have the highest bidders. Their ads will be in a prime position to be seen. This is good because people who are searching are not going to wade through a dozen pages to find what they searched for, they want it in the first 5 or so pages.

Finally, there is no such thing as too much micromanagement when it comes to managing a pay per click marketing campaign. It is essential that a marketer know at all times precisely how much business their advertisements are bringing in. This allows them to redirect the campaign if it seems that the advertisements already in place are not doing their job, make minor adjustments as necessary and avert small problems before they become full blown disasters.

By carefully managing and researching hundreds of dollars can be made from ppc marketing; but it is vital to remember that this type of advertising is in large part a matter of trial and error. Don let yourself become discouraged if you don't have 500 dollars profit showing up in your bank account right after your campaigns are set in motion. Don't forget, "good things come to those who wait".

Adverse Credit Debt Consolidation Loans: Juxtapose Miscellaneous Ends

2007-09-21T16:24:00.000+01:00

Adverse Credit Debt Consolidation Loans: Juxtapose Miscellaneous Ends

It is very unfortunate that debts and bad credit might hit a person's credit status at the same time. In such a situation, external financial aid is usually opted if funds are insufficient. However, it is not possible and be obligated to different lenders by clicking different loan plan. Taking these issues in account adverse credit debt consolidation loans is introduced to serve and aid such category of individuals. Adverse credit debt consolidation loans are a great relief to the bad creditors which enables them to regain their devastated credit profile.

Adverse Credit Debt Consolidation Loans are ensured to provide loan in a simple and straight forward way. The monetary support can be subscribed with or without pledging collateral. If you are unable to pledge collateral you need not have to be desperate and loose hope of getting a loan. Loan amount acquired under this loan plan can be carried out for purpose of dissolving the adverse credit tags along with consolidating multiple debts. In a single amount of adverse credit debt consolidation loans, you can easily get rid of the numerous irritating debts and thus subtracting the mental stress.

The adverse credit debt consolidation loans make you get rid of all the debts and bad credit tags at a single stroke. Considering this loan is best and preferred because you will be obligated to a single lender. Moreover, lenders can get you loan at the earliest.

As you are already surrounded by crucial credit status which means that your credit is not in a sound position. Taking this point under valuation and consideration the interest rates of adverse credit debt consolidation loans are calculated reasonably without increasing the credit pressure. Among the offered rates you can spot a rate suitable and convenient for you to repay.

You can find information pertaining to adverse credit debt consolidation loan via preferring the online application method. Get it activate within less time because with the assistance of this technology you can approve loans at the earliest

A Home Based Business - How to Start!

2007-09-21T16:03:00.000+01:00

A Home Based Business - How to Start!

With so many opportunities promising riches, how do you know where to start an online home based business and which system to trust? The last thing you want to do is expend your valuable time on something that does not produce you profit at the end of each month.

Many people are in a vicious cycle jumping from one system to the next in search of that lucrative opportunity. Hopefully, I can shed some light on the best way to get your business started in the right direction.

The first aspect of starting your business is to evaluate the long term. I would suggest people do this even before starting. Where you end up is critical to where you begin. The biggest mistake you can probably make is to jump into something because of the lure of big rewards promised. When you do this, your eyes are likely deceiving you.

Be aware that there are many opportunities that are quick fixes. So to begin with, start making notes and timelines. What do you want to accomplish?

The next step! How can you can make a difference.

In order to be successful, you must give other people what they want and stop focusing on yourself and the money. Keep in mind that your customers can make or break you.

Identify potential markets, do some research to locate products and services to sell and promote for profit. The more underserved the markets are, the better they are for you. You can work with affiliate marketing, or you can create your own products.

You are ready to starting a home business. There is a more work involved, but focus on laying your foundation correctly from the at the outset. That way, you will not get distracted by all the get rich quick schemes.

It does not exist.

All the best.

Bob Black

Fundamentals of Forex and Forex market

2007-08-23T09:01:00.000+01:00

Fundamentals of Forex and Forex market
by Acmarkets

Forex stands for Foreign Exchange Market. It denotes a marketplace which is marked for its geographical dispersion. Often abbreviated as FX, Forex is a potential platform where currencies from all over the world are bought and sold for earning substantial profits. Forex market is not sheltered in any particular place and of course free from external controls. The investors or the participants of the market are real players in forex, who in many ways responsible for accelerating the market and its growth.

The forex is open for all. It welcomes investors of all sizes and income level. Thus anyone with a lust for trading and with a sound knowledge of forex market can participate in investing to gain profit.

The transaction at forex can take place anytime from anywhere in the world. The market is busy and remains alert 24 hours except weekends. While trading in forex market, you can either decide to trade your own money or you can opt for a broker, who will trade the same on behalf of you. In both the cases, it is suggested to take a strong stance of your self. If you are participating in the forex, its better to move with a strategy knowing every latest updates about forex market and your currency. Now if you are moving with a broker, wait and watch. Let him do the job but keep yourself updated about the activities.

Forex traders need to analyze the market at first for the market involves certain calculated risks. Now while analyzing the market, traders can mull over two important aspects namely technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis is the interpretation of facts and data based on the data generated by the market. Fundamental analysis seeks to trace out the factors and conditions which influence the market economy and play a pivotal role in altering opinions. Several economic, political, social events affect the forex and its workings. A perfect trader in forex is one who can understand these factors and feel the pulse of the market before striking gold.

Forex is beneficial provided you trade well. It can give substantial profit within a short time frame or in a long run. The whole process of forex revolves around the situation of market, value of currency and of course ideas of investors

Debt Consolidation Benefits and Drawbacks

2007-08-23T08:59:00.000+01:00

Debt Consolidation Benefits and Drawbacks
by Alex Ivanov

Debt consolidation comes into play right after you realize that you are in an urgent need for money because you are deep in debt and interest rates, and the premiums you pay on your loans are no longer affordable. So in case you feel that your current loans are no longer manageable and can easily result in bankruptcy, it's high time that you considered borrowing money for consolidating debts. At best, unpaid debts can have a strong impact on your credit history and result in poor credit report; and as a last resort, you can lose your property. However, it makes no difference how appealing debt consolidation loan can be, you should realize that this is nothing else but one more debt and if you obtain it unconsciously, it can lead you to even more serious financial problems such as bankruptcy.

The main idea of debt consolidation loans is to combine all the debts in one manageable loan, one interest rate and APR (annual percentage rate) for one simple reason - paying off this very loan as soon as possible. Basically, such option as consolidation of loans is available to all borrowers irrespective of credit score and status but still you should remember that poor credit leads to much higher rates and more difficulties with applying and getting approved for this type of loans. All loans designed for consolidating debts are broadly divided into two categories: secured and unsecured loans. Secured loans require putting any valuable property against the loan as a collateral. Unsecured loans, in their turn, do not require any security but result in much higher rates and less beneficial conditions. You choice should depend on your needs, your budget and your expectations. In case you hesitate whether to choose secured or unsecured loan, it's advised not to tempt the fate and consult with a qualified professional on this matter.

Debt consolidation loans, as well as all the rest of loans available in the market today, have their benefits and drawbacks, so you are to be well-aware of them before you take a decisive step and consolidate your debts.

In particular, the benefits are as follows:

1) Lower interest rates and monthly payments. It's useless to doubt that this benefit is not the major one because this is actually what all debt consolidation process is about.

2) One loan and one lender. You don't need to negotiate with many lenders every time you need to settle this or that issue regarding one of your loans. Debt consolidation loan means having one arranged loan and dealing with one lender you choose consciously.

3) Credit history improvement. Timely and regular payments will definitely improve your credit score and prove your paying capacity.

As for the drawbacks, you should consider these:

1) Higher overall cost. There are companies which conceal high additional fees you are to pay for the debt consolidation loan with low rates in order to attract the clients.

2) Property loss. If you fail to pay this consolidation loan, you can lose your property for all.

3) Scams. Since debt consolidation loans are highly demanded, there are quite many scams. Do proper research and consult specialists before you obtain debt consolidation loan and never trust offers which sound too good to be true.

A Career as a Pharmacist

2007-08-23T08:58:00.000+01:00

A Career as a Pharmacist
by Nihit Aurora

If you are looking for a rewarding career in the pharmaceutical industry, you might want to think about becoming a pharmacist. Pharmacists dispense drugs that doctors prescribe for patients. Additionally, they advise patients on dosages and side effects. Pharmacists also monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure that patients use prescribed drugs safely and benefit from them. Currently, most pharmaceutical companies manufacture drugs in standard dosages, reducing the need for compounding drugs in the pharmacy.

Overview

Many pharmacists choose to work in retail and community settings, while others prefer to work in-house for health clinics or medical institutions. Pharmacists who work for healthcare facilities often choose to obtain training in specialty fields like intravenous nutrition support, geriatric pharmacy, oncology, or nuclear pharmacy. Many pharmacists also prepare and administer intravenous drugs to patients, especially those suffering from cancer and other advanced diseases. Additionally, pharmacists are responsible for keeping accurate records of drugs administered to patients. Many senior pharmacists work as faculty members at academic institutions, where they teach, conduct research, and prepare students for graduation and licensure.

Many pharmacists find work with pharmaceutical companies, where they can become involved in research and development. Other pharmacists work in marketing and sales, promoting their companies' products to doctors, hospitals, and allied health professionals. Other employers include government bodies and public healthcare services.

Employment Opportunities

In the United States, a significant number of pharmacists work part time. Most full-time pharmacists work 40 hours per week with occasional overtime. However, many self-employed pharmacists put in more than 50 hours per week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 230,000 pharmacy jobs in the U.S. in 2004. Around 24% of salaried pharmacists work in hospitals, while others work for retail and community pharmacies, clinics, healthcare agencies, or the federal government.

Salaries

Pharmacy is a relatively high-paying professional field. In May 2004, the median earnings of pharmacists were between $75,700 and around $95,000 per year. Pharmacists working for department stores earned the highest salaries, followed by those employed by grocery stores, health and personal care boutiques, hospitals, and other general outlets.

Qualifications and Licensure

In the United States, all pharmacists need to have licenses to practice. Prospective pharmacists are also required to possess degrees accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education(ACPE) and pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). Furthermore, 43 states, including the District of Columbia, require candidates to pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE). Additionally, candidates licensed in one state may need to pass a reexamination in another state. It is always advisable to check the examination requirements of other states before applying for a licensing examination.

Summary

Pharmacists should be practical and methodical and should have scientific aptitude. They should also have a strong desire to help others. Aspiring pharmacists can conduct independent searches online to find relevant educational institutions and prospective employers in this field.

Bad Credit Tenant Loans: Effective And Secure

2007-08-23T08:54:00.000+01:00

Bad Credit Tenant Loans: Effective And Secure
by Peter Taylor

It is not surprising the tenants can enjoy the benefits of Bad Credit Tenant Loans, but the fact that makes it interesting and acclaimed one is that under the proposal of bad credit tenant loans, tenants can borrow funds despite their bad credit profile. As tenants falls under the category that are unable to pledge any form of collateral, so the bad credit tenant loans is unleashed without demanding any form of collateral.

Releasing funds in a phase of bad credit are worth giving, as it directly prop the bad creditors with finance to revamp and survive in the crucial stage of time. The tags of bad credit like defaults, arrears, CCJs, late payments, can be deactivated and will become less effective. To combat or supervise the grave credit score the bad credit tenant loans let loose an amount that starts from £1000 to £25,000. This amount offered carry a fixed repayment option which stretches from 1-10 years. Date of reimbursement and interest rates are determined at time of approval. Being an unsecured form of loans, bad credit tenant loans carry a slightly higher rate of interest. Lenders usually levy a slightly higher rate of interest because while advancing the amount they borne risk. But as number of lenders exists in the market securing a marginal rate according to ones payback ability is not a tough job.

Bad credit tenant loans process every activity in both traditional and online application. The latter application method has become a popular way of approval in the recent times because it allows borrowers to make approvals from home or office. Bad credit tenant loans policies are also capable to provide a financial stronghold hold to the bad creditors. Along with the main concern and objective the applicants can serve out additional demands without facing any hindrance.

Car Loans UK--Drive the Financial Deal Budget-Friendly

2007-08-21T17:14:00.000+01:00

Car Loans UK--Drive the Financial Deal Budget-Friendly
by Julia Russell

Considering a new car, think if you already have a car, what do you like and dislike about it? Do you want a lot of space for passengers? Do you prefer a standard or an automatic transmission? How much does status stuff? Is your heart set on purchasing a new car, or are you willing to settle for a well-maintained used one? How much can you afford to spend? Keeping all these questions into consideration, the lending authority has equipped the market with provisions of car loans UK across the country. These loan provisions turn individuals' dreams into reality. Availing that car, which is either brand new or good-conditioned used car, with a little help of these car loans UK get very easy.

After deciding what car best suits ones needs, fanatical research is going to pay off. Start your search online. There are many lenders available online for Car Loans UK. During research, incredible amount of data available come to fore. Select some of them, and go through the selected lenders' policies and plans of car loans UK.

Generally, there are two types of car loans UK i.e., secured and unsecured loans. To the former, applicants are required to arrange collateral as of security. On the basis of the placed item, the required sum of the money is sanctioned to the borrowers. Under these car loan provisions, candidates get cheap APR (annual percentage rate) and on extendable repayment period. To the contrary, unsecured forms of car loans UK, in which candidates do not require to produce any valuable item as of security. And lacking in placing makes car loans UK free from the tension of property seizure of the borrowers on unable to repay the loan amount on time.

If you have decided to buy a new car, and an image of your dream car hovers over your head, then it is apt time for you, since various car loans UK are blooming in the money market. Buying a car is a big investment, but it is exciting and rewarding, especially if you feel like you got the right car at a fair price.

Persimmon dismisses house market gloom

2007-08-21T17:13:00.000+01:00

Housebuilder reports record pre-tax profits, a 34% rise in the dividend and expects an autumn upturn in prices

Steve Hawkes

One of Britain’s biggest housebuilders today moved to dispel fears of a sharp housing slowdown as it unveiled record half-year profits and increased its interim dividend by more than 30 per cent.

Persimmon said there was every reason to expect the “normal seasonal upturn” in demand in the housing market during the autumn.

John White, chairman, added that forward sales for the second half were £1.35 billion, ahead of last year. Total sales, including completions, were currently at 85 per cent of the group’s forecast for the whole of 2007.

Mr White said: “During the summer months the housing market is usually quieter. This has been the case this year.

“We believe that as long as current assumptions on interest rates remain intact, and employment data continues to be supportive, purchasers will feel confident about job security.

“This coupled with general confidence in the housing market should deliver the normal seasonal upturn in activity throughout the autumn selling period.”

The comments come a day after industry figures showed that asking prices in London had fallen for the first time in a year.

Separate data showed that while mortgage lending remains strong, the activity is largely being driven by homeowners remortgaging to lock in close to current interest rates rather than for new home purchases.

Persimmon revealed today that the number of completions across its business fell nearly 3 per cent to 8,002 in the first half of the year to June 30.

But higher margins meant the group’s pre-tax profits rose nearly 10 per cent to a record £281.1 million. Selling prices were higher in the north and central divisions, but fell 4 per cent to an average of £182,322 in the south after increased sales of affordable housing units.

Persimmon put the lower level of completions down to the amount of low margin homes sold a year ago by the Westbury business it bought for £643 million at the end of 2005.

Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 18.5p per share, up 34 per cent. Persimmon said this reflected its strong performance and its stated desire to re-base the full-year payout at a higher level.

London shares zigzag amid credit crunch fears

2007-08-21T17:11:00.000+01:00

Markets hit by Bank of England emergency loan to mystery bank

Robert Lindsay and Joe Bolger

London shares jumped nervously from positive to negative territory today as traders tried to pinpoint the stocks at risk from a credit crunch.

The index jumped 40 points in opening deals and fell by as much as 40 points in morning trading. It was down 12.3 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 6,066.4 by mid-afternoon trading.

Amongst the worst performers were Cadbury Schweppes, off nearly 3 per cent following an earnings downgrade from Goldman Sachs which added its voice to the raft of brokers saying a sale of the drinks business was now at risk.

The Bank of England revealed that it had extended a £341 million emergency loan to an unnamed bank - the first time the facility has been used since mid July before the current credit market turmoil and attention turned to Northern Rock. Although Northern is said to have denied that it had borrowed the money.

The mortgage bank fell more than 2 per cent also following last night's statement that it had £275 million exposure to the US mortgage-backed collateralised debt market. Panmure Gordon questioned why a UK bank would have exposure to the US debt market at all.

Rumours circulated that it may have been another mortgage bank such as Alliance & Leicester or Bradford & Bingley that requested the loan, although both were off less than one per cent by early afternoon.

Persimmon, the housebuilder, was also a faller, off more than 1 per cent despite producing strong interim results.

Asian markets rallied overnight, building further on confidence brought about by Friday’s decision from the US Federal Reserve to cut its discount rate.

Japan’s Nikkei closed up 168.86 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 15,901.34 while the Hang Seng put on 133.72, or 0.6 per cent, to 21,729.35, having traded up nearly 3 per cent in midday trading.

Japanese stocks were bolstered by a weakening of the yen against major currencies, which drove expectations of a more positive trading environment for exporters.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 13,121.3 last night, after the Fed on Friday reduced its discount rate - the rate at which it lends to banks - from 6.25 per cent to 5.75 per cent, in an emergency move.

American blue-chip shares suffered renewed volatility in choppy trading on Wall Street yesterday, denting hopes that last week's surprise intervention by the US Federal Reserve would snuff out upheavals in global markets.

In a symptom that turbulence is lingering in the markets, US Treasury bonds rose again as investors sought safe havens. Steep gains in three-month Treasury bills saw their yield slide to the lowest since late 2004.

The City was in an upbeat mood yesterday, as trading opened, amid optimism that the Fed’s move to cut rates for short-term lending to US banks would stem recent turmoil.

Christine Lagarde, the French Economy Minister, said: "I think the worst is behind us". Rodrigo de Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said: "As we understand, there will be some impact on growth but we still believe that prospects for the world economy are good.”

Separately, UBS, the Swiss investment bank, is reported to be considering job cuts in the wake of the heavy market fluctuations. Investor relations staff have, according to Thomson Financial, indicated to shareholders that it was considering headcount reductions. UBS denied the reports.

Paulson warns no quick fix for credit crunch

2007-08-21T17:10:00.001+01:00

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the current crisis will take time to play out as Bank of England lends £314m of standby credit

Times Online and Agencies

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today gave his views on the the credit crunch roiling America’s financial markets, insisting he was confident it would ease over time as investors re-price risk.

Mr Paulson, a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs, told television news channel CNBC that US economic growth will likely be dented by the credit turmoil, but added the global and US economies were strong.

“I have great confidence in the Fed,” he said.

He also dismissed current turmoil, insisting the market would ultimately rebound.

“Markets ultimately follow the economy,” he said. However, he added, "This is going to take a while to play out.”

Mr Paulson declined to answer questions about what he might be able to do at the Treasury Department to help the market. He did say the Treasury is considering options to help borrowers who might be about to lose their homes because of rising interest rates, but did not say what those options might be.

The Treasury Secretary's comments came ahead of a meeting today between three of America's most powerful financial leaders to discuss the US sub-prime credit crisis and market turmoil which prompted a surprise half-point cut in the Federal Reserve's discount rate on Friday.

The meeting has been called by Christopher Dodd, chairman of the US senate committee on banking, housing and urban affairs, and will be attended by Mr Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

The three will discuss "the broader implications for the US economy, as well as possible additional steps that can be taken to help stabilise mortgage and financial markets and help homeowners nationwide".

Mr Paulson said that he often speaks with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about how the Fed is handling the current credit crunch.

Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley's Asian operation and the bank's former chief economist, yesterday accused the central banks of being "asleep at the switch" in managing their respective economies in the run-up to the current global credit crunch.

Mr Roach likened the US sub-prime mortgage market collapse to the dot-com bubble implosion in 2001. "As always, the cycle of risk and greed went to excess. Just as dot-com was the canary in the coal mine seven years ago, sub-prime was the warning shot this time."

Northern Rock falls on details of US debt exposure

2007-08-21T17:08:00.000+01:00

Fears over Northern Rock's liabilities in the American market have helped halve the shares this year

Rhys Blakely

Shares in Northern Rock fell this morning after the regional lender revealed a £275 million exposure to the US debt markets.

Last night in response to investor inquiries the bank revealed it has invested £200 million in US collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) and a further £75 million in US home equity mortgage-backed securities.

In reaction Panmure Gordon, the broker, said it would continue to put its forecast and price target for the group under review.

"Why should a UK mortgage bank have any exposure at all to US mortgage-backed securities and CDOs?" it said in a note.

"This news adds to our perception of downside earnings risk," it added.

Shares in Northern Rock fell 169p, or 2.2 per cent, to 700p in morning deals. Since a profit warning in early June, the stock has lost more than a third of its value. The shares are down by nearly a half since their peak this year in February.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of sub-prime mortgages are at risk of being written off amid a crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage market. Much of that debt was repackaged as CDOs and mortgage-backed securities.

Northern Rock described its total investment in these asset classes as “minimal, representing 0.24 per cent of reported total assets of £113 billion at June 30, 2007.”

The securities have a duration of less than two years and no exposure to 2006 or 2007 lending, it added.

However, the announcement came amid mounting concerns that lenders will face problems making new loans because of higher borrowing costs on their own financing.

Northern Rock has been singled out because it gets about 75 per cent of its funds from other financial institutions, which have tightened their lending terms amid fears of a global credit crunch.

Northern Rock added that it completed the sale of about £465 million of Commercial Secured loans to Lehman Commercial Mortgage Conduit Limited (LCMCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lehman Brothers.

The deal “followed the sale on 22 June of £838 million of Commercial Secured Loans to LCMCL and was the next phase of that transaction,” it said in a statement.

Panmure said the question was "what gains, if any, were recorded on the sale".

The broader blue-chip market also moved into the red, with the FTSE 100 reversing opening gains as a further flight to quality in the US overnight reignited concerns surrounding the possible fallout from the US mortgage market.

In mid-morning deals the FTSE 100 was down 38.3 points lower at 6,039.4, having quickly pulled back from an opening high of 6,118.9 and after closing Monday’s session 14 points higher.

UK July house price growth picks up slightly-RICS

2007-08-14T07:22:00.000+01:00

UK July house price growth picks up slightly-RICS

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - British house price inflation picked up unexpectedly last month but new buyer enquiries fell and surveyors' confidence in the price outlook hit its lowest in more than two years, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said 12.6 percent more surveyors reported a rise in prices than a fall in the three months to July, up from 10.6 percent in June which had been the lowest since January last year.

Analysts had forecast a further weakening to 8.8 percent.

Strong house price gains in London and Northern Ireland led the small recovery although the overall price balance remained below the survey's long-run average for a second month.

Forward-looking indicators suggested the recovery may be short-lived, however. New buyer enquiries declined at the fastest pace since August 2004 and surveyors' confidence in the price outlook fell to the lowest level since June 2005.

The ratio of completed sales to the stock of unsold property, seen by many economists as a more reliable indicator of demand, fell for a fourth consecutive month, to 37 percent from 38.9 percent in June, its lowest in a year.

"Buyer activity has pulled back a little over fears that we may have seen the top of the market," said RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

"With interest rates perched at 5.75 percent and a jump to 6 percent a strong possibility, aspiring first-time buyers are continuing to rent until the market trend becomes clearer."

Nord Anglia gives up on nursery schools and sells out at a loss

2007-08-14T07:11:00.000+01:00

An oversupply of children’s nurseries has forced Nord Anglia to sell its 88 kindergartens to an Australian rival for less than half the price it paid for them.

Nord Anglia was until yesterday the country’s largest nursery school operator, owning the Leapfrog, Jigsaw and Petits Enfants brands. It will receive £31.2 million for a business it built through £73 million of acquisitions three years ago.

Nord Anglia, which charges fees that are in line with leading private day schools, has struggled to generate profits.

The company will use the cash to pay off its debts, and concentrate on its faster-growing and more profitable international schools, aimed at the children of expatriates, and its educational services division, which helps to support Ofsted and to run the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s education services.

Andrew Fitzmaurice, chief executive, said: “What we saw in 2003 to 2005 were many people entering the market as a lifestyle business, often with the help of surplus property, behind a pub for instance.”

The emerging operators, who typically run just one or two nurseries, took the total number or private nurseries in the UK to 15,000. The market is extremely fragmented, and there are relatively limited benefits in scale, because the nursery business is so labour-intensive. One member of staff is needed to look after every three babies or seven toddlers.

That meant that Nord Anglia could not maintain the occupancy levels needed to offset running costs, although its average annual fee for full-time care is £9,152, rising to as much as £13,000 in London. According to the Halifax, an average private day school charges £9,677.

“To be sustainable a nursery has to be 60 per cent full in each of its ten sessions in a week – and many people chose not to use a nursery for a full week,” Mr Fitzmaurice said.

Last year Nord Anglia lost £3.5 million on its nursery operation, on turnover of £47.1 million.

Closures of poorly performing nurseries mean that the company is expected to generate around £1 million of profit for the year to August 2007. Even the value of the property sold, at £40.9 million, is in excess of the disposal price.

The buyer is ABC Nurseries, the world’s largest operator, which is listed in Australia. ABC’s strategy is to consolidate; it already owns 1,200 nurseries in the United States, and it entered the UK market with the purchase of the Busy Bees chain last year.

Taking advantage of cost savings, ABC said that the acquisition would enable it to generate £5.3 million in underlying profit in 2009, after it achieved “significant synergies” from the integration.

Investec, the stockbroker, estimated that Nord Anglia’s continuing businesses would generate about £11.7 million in profit in the year to August 2008, on the back of turnover forecast at £79 million.

The sale is expected to a lead to a writedown of shareholders’ funds from around £48 million to £8 million, meaning that Nord Anglia will have to apply to the courts to restructure its share capital to permit future dividend payments.

Business fraud jumps 42% amid explosion in 'carousel' scams

2007-08-14T07:06:00.000+01:00

Business fraud jumps 42% amid explosion in 'carousel' scams

VICTORIA THOMSON

BUSINESS fraud in the first half of the year was 42 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

The increase has been attributed to an explosion in so-called "carousel fraud" where criminals charge retailers VAT on imported items but do not hand the tax to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Reported business fraud - 141 frauds of more than £50,000 in value - amounted to £538 million for the first half of 2007. Of this total, £468m - or 87 per cent - was in the form of major VAT and tax frauds.

In the same period last year, there was £379m of fraud and for the whole of 2006 there was only £458m of VAT fraud.

The data was collected by audit, accounting and business services firm BDO Stoy Hayward, which believed recent legislation introduced to crack down on carousel fraud had been ineffective.

New rules mean that VAT on certain items is collected only once they are sold by the retailer, but it is thought fraudsters have simply switched the scam to goods not covered by the law.

The other kind of fraud committed is fraud against businesses. This typically involves employees or directors abusing a position of trust, often in conjunction with an outsider.

Research by BDO Stoy Hayward found that only 15 per cent of such frauds that were detected led to prosecution. The average sentence for criminals convicted of frauds totalling more than £50,000 is just over three years.

Simon Bevan, head of BDO's fraud services team, said: "Sadly, crime does often pay at the moment if you are a fraudster, which explains why large frauds are on the increase. This is a crime driven by greed, not need.

"Professional criminals have been quick to notice the millions that can be made from VAT carousel frauds. While there has been a crackdown, I am sceptical it will halt this avalanche of huge frauds against the taxpayer.

"If you make tens of millions, and then succeed in keeping even a few per cent hidden when you get caught, then you will end up with a small sentence and a large amount hidden in an offshore bank."

According to the research, the English Midlands is the UK's fraud hotspot.

The data was based on information supplied by the Serious Fraud Office, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Metropolitan Police.

Central Banks Intervene to Calm Volatile Markets

2007-08-11T10:13:00.000+01:00

Central banks around the world acted in unison yesterday to calm nervous financial markets by providing an infusion of cash to the system. But stocks still fell sharply in Asia and Europe, and in early trading in New York, before they recovered and closed essentially flat for the day on Wall Street.

As in recent weeks, the markets moved in wild swings — sharp drops were followed by steep gains and vice versa — underscoring the uncertainty. Investors weighed concerns that losses in the American mortgage market would deepen and spread against their faith in the ability of a strong global economy to withstand additional shocks.

Hoping to provide some comfort that there is ample cash available, the Federal Reserve made its largest intervention since the markets reopened Sept. 19, 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks. The central bank injected $38 billion into the financial system on top of the $24 billion it put in on Thursday.

The intervention steadied the markets — at least for the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index closed at 1,453.64, a gain of 0.55 point, and the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 31.14 points, to 13,239.54. For the week, the Dow was up 0.4 percent, the S.& P. 500 rose 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq was up 1.3 percent.

The question that remains is just how exposed the financial system and the economy are to losses in the credit markets and the increase in borrowing costs. The answer will set the agenda at the Federal Reserve, which finds itself confronting its first major financial crisis under the leadership of Ben S. Bernanke, who took over last year.

The Fed will be guided by its assessment of how much do banks, hedge funds, pension funds and others stand to lose and whether consumers and businesses will be able to stomach higher interest rates and stricter loan underwriting.

“There are a lot of risks in front of us,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. “Financial crises, in the past, when not accompanied with a recession have been good for the markets.”

But, she added, “if the economic landscape deteriorates much from here, then we are going to have to suffer through a more difficult market period.”

That debate, Ms. Sonders and others agree, will not be resolved anytime soon, which suggests that markets will remain choppy as information about failing hedge funds and mortgage companies dribbles out.

Investor anxiety has been so heightened in recent weeks that days of stability have been shattered by the first sign of trouble tied to the debt markets.

Volatility, as measured by one popular index of options trading, has surged to its highest levels in more than four years, though it remains far lower than it was early this decade and in the late 1990s.

The financial sector has been among the most volatile — stocks there fell by as much as 1.7 percent during the day, only to climb as much as 1.1 percent before closing little changed.

Shares of Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, and Washington Mutual, the sixth-biggest lender, opened sharply lower after both companies said they were facing a harder time selling loans and could potentially have problems raising money.

While those stocks recovered much of their losses for the day, they are both down significantly for the year.

A common pattern has been a surge in trading late in the afternoon, around 3 p.m., that has often sent stocks higher, as it did yesterday — though on some days, like Thursday, the move has been just as sharp on the downside.

Richard X. Bove, an analyst at Punk Ziegel & Company, noted the trend in a recent note to investors and suggested that the reason was strong buying from portfolios that use computer models to buy and sell quickly, a practice known as program trading, or a foreign source like the investment arm of the Chinese government.

“We are talking about such a sizable amount of buying and volume goes up and stocks react strongly one way or the other,” Mr. Bove said. “What I have trouble with is trying to figure out where it’s coming from.”

But he acknowledges that the pattern will probably not last long, because as sophisticated traders figure it out they will jump in on the other side to profit from the trades.

Using data from the New York Stock Exchange, Ms. Sonders of Charles Schwab estimates that program trading accounted for about 40 percent of all trades on the Big Board in recent days, up from the 30 percent range earlier this year.

“That’s why we are getting these swings, this is professional- to-professional trading,” she said. “This is money that has a time horizon measured in minutes.”

Indeed, there is evidence that the average individual investor has not been a big player in recent days.

Indians Protest Wal-Mart’s Wholesale Entry

2007-08-11T10:12:00.000+01:00

Money Sharma/European Pressphoto Agency

Protesters in New Delhi burned in effigy international retailers like Wal-Mart Thursday, reacting to plans for the chain to open wholesale stores in India.

By AMELIA GENTLEMAN

Published: August 10, 2007

NEW DELHI, Aug. 9 — Wal-Mart, in a struggle to expand its global reach, is trying to enter India through the back door, but many consumers here have taken notice.

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Tauseef Mustafa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Opponents of foreign direct investment in retailing initiated the rallies.

Wal-Mart completed a joint venture this week with the Bharti Group to build as many as 15 large wholesale outlets over the next seven years. Most Indians will not be able to shop directly in the new stores, but many took to the streets Thursday, fearing that Wal-Mart could eventually undermine the small retailers that dominate the Indian market.

India does not allow multibrand foreign retailers to sell directly to consumers, but such businesses can open wholesale operations.

Wal-Mart’s initiative is the largest push by a Western supermarket group into the Indian market, and analysts see it as the first stage in a long campaign to begin selling directly to Indian shoppers.

Several hundred shopkeepers gathered Thursday at the center of Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi’s main bazaar, to protest the prospect that foreign-owned corporate retailers might soon encroach on traditional Indian marketplaces.

Shouting “Go home, Wal-Mart,” owners of nearby produce stalls joined union leaders to burn in effigy 10 international supermarkets, represented as a 10-headed pink-and-yellow demon.

The protest coincided with similar demonstrations elsewhere in the country, an effort to mount a nationwide show of opposition to the arrival of companies like Wal-Mart.

Other international retailers like Tesco and Carrefour are lobbying the Indian government to allow them to open supermarkets here.

Protesters chanted “Quit retail,” their slogan a deliberate echo of Gandhi’s “Quit India” rallying cry, which led India to independence from Britain 60 years ago this month.

Dharmendra Kumar, of India FDI Watch, which organized the demonstrations against foreign direct investment in retailing, said large-scale retailing ran counter to Indian traditions.

“Our culture is not the wasteful consumption that we see in the first world,” he said. “This is the country where Gandhi taught people to live on minimum resources. These large retail companies will push us aggressively to consume more and more.”

Arvind K. Singhal, chairman of the New Delhi retail consultant KSA Technopak, said Wal-Mart should take these protests in stride. He said all large retail companies, Indian and foreign, should brace themselves for sporadic demonstrations, adding that “these are not mass movements.”

No Wal-Mart representative was immediately available for comment, but company officials have said they plan to buy more goods made in India, which could help Indian farmers and small manufacturers.

The protests were not likely to quell the company’s enthusiasm for expansion into the Indian retail market, estimated at $350 billion. Across Asia, the company’s presence remains small. Wal-Mart recently left South Korea and has posted five consecutive years of losses in Japan.

The entry of foreign retail giants into India is politically delicate: the governing Congress Party seems eager to be seen as protecting the needs of Indian retail workers.

Hakim Singh Rawat, general secretary of the Delhi Hawkers Welfare Association, told protesters, “Millions of people involved in the business will lose their jobs.”

Chand Gupta, 62, a vegetable seller, said such demonstrations would do nothing to change the direction of Indian retail.

Two months ago, an Indian-owned supermarket opened a few minutes’ walk from the spot of concrete where he has been selling vegetables for 17 years. The effect was immediate.

“My produce is fresher because what I can’t sell I have to throw away at the end of the day,” he said. “They have fridges to store things in, so their vegetables are older. The customers don’t know this, but they prefer the new shop because prices are lower.”

He said that he has taken home about 300 rupees a day less since the supermarket arrived and that he has been searching for a new line of work. “It’s all over for us now,” he said.

How to help secure investment

2007-08-11T10:05:00.000+01:00

Companies looking to attract investment or run their companies more efficiently should make better use of their people-related data, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The organisation claims that by effectively measuring the value their staff bring to the business, companies will be able to translate that into organisational value and could boost the price of their business when negotiating with potential investors or trying to convince stakeholders of likely future performance.

The CIPD’s Investors’ views of Human Capital report argues that in the next few years investors will demand information on human capital management as it becomes an even greater differentiator between successful and unsuccessful businesses.

“Even if company directors don’t necessarily appreciate the value of making fuller disclosure from a corporate perspective, the hope is that they will feel obliged to make such disclosures in order to meet investors’ demand for better information,” said Angela Baron, CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser.

The kind of information investors would find useful is not always available because organisations struggle to translate their people information into business outcomes

“However, the kind of information investors would find useful, such as organisational measures of performance, is not always available because organisations struggle to translate their people information into business outcomes."

Company directors should use human capital evaluation as a key analytical technique in running their businesses and link it to strategic objectives, she added.

The report argued that companies need a standardised framework to measure human capital but this should also be judged in the context of the individual company.

Investors and analysts tended to focus on senior managers and their ability to implement and develop strategy effectively, it added.

Ex-Comverse Chief Keeps Maneuvering to Avoid Return to U.S. in Options Case

2007-08-11T10:04:00.000+01:00

WINDHOEK, Namibia, Aug. 10 — Jacob Alexander, the former chief executive of Comverse Technology, who faces charges of options fraud and is regarded as a fugitive, took his latest step on Friday to fight extradition from Namibia to New York.

In a 94-page application filed Friday that will be part of a hearing on Monday, Mr. Alexander is asking the Namibian High Court to declare as unconstitutional the appointment of Petrus Unengu, the chief of Namibia’s lower courts, as presiding officer at his extradition hearing.

In an affidavit submitted by Mr. Alexander, he argued that Mr. Unengu’s appointment violated Namibian legal principles of the separation of powers because Mr. Unengu is an administrative official. Mr. Alexander wants the Ministry of Justice to reinstate Magistrate Uuatja Uuanivi, who originally granted Mr. Alexander a $1.4 million bail last October.

If successful, this will be the second magistrate whom Mr. Alexander has forced to step down from the case, which has been postponed nine times since his arrest last September at his home outside Windhoek.

A deputy prosecutor, Johnny Truter, acknowledged that if Mr. Alexander’s application is ultimately successful, it could mean that all rulings made by Mr. Unengu since taking his current position in 2005 would have to be set aside. “It would be a disaster,” he said. “We have a backlog of hundreds of cases.”

Mr. Alexander, 55, known as Kobi, faces charges in United States District Court in Brooklyn, including conspiracy, securities fraud and money laundering in connection with backdating of Comverse stock options. Mr. Alexander was declared a fugitive by the United States last year when he failed to return from a family holiday in Israel to face questions from prosecutors investigating the options matter.

He was indicted in September on 35 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion, and an Interpol warrant was issued for his arrest after it became apparent that he would not return. He fled with his family to Windhoek, where he bought a $450,000 home at a golf resort and enrolled his children in a local school.

In his extradition fight, Mr. Alexander has taken advantage of an understaffed Namibian legal system, lawyers close to the case said, and he may be able to stave off extradition for years until his appeals have been exhausted.

In December last year, Mr. Alexander won control back over his local bank accounts, frozen initially upon orders from the central bank of Namibia. Mr. Alexander’s money is a principal attraction in this small society. Since his arrival, he has invested in three low-cost housing projects with politically connected partners.

This week, Mr. Alexander also succeeded in having his bail conditions relaxed to allow him to travel outside of Windhoek to visit the building projects. Judge Elton Hoff ruled that Mr. Alexander should be allowed to leave the magisterial district of Windhoek as long as he gives 24 hours’ notice to the local Interpol representative.

But Mr. Alexander may still face trouble on a separate front. The Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs said in a filing in the bail matter that it was investigating his original application for a two-year work visa, which was granted soon after he entered the country.

The ministry’s secretary, Samuel Goagoseb, said in an affidavit that Mr. Alexander’s application might have included “some misrepresentation” for omitting to mention the 10 years he had lived in New York. Under Namibian law, applicants for such visas must produce police certificates from any country where they have lived in the last 10 years demonstrating a clean criminal record.

Although Judge Hoff rejected the application by the ministry to be included in the case and Mr. Alexander’s lawyers denied there was a problem, if Mr. Alexander’s visa was canceled he could be expelled from the country.

Oil Caused Prices of U.S. Imports to Top Expectations for July Rise

2007-08-11T10:02:00.000+01:00

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Bloomberg News) — Prices of goods imported into the United States rose more than forecast in July on higher oil costs, highlighting Federal Reserve concerns that inflation may not subside.

The 1.5 percent increase, the biggest since March, followed a revised 0.9 percent gain in June, the Labor Department reported Friday in Washington. Prices excluding petroleum rose 0.2 percent, the fifth consecutive increase, after climbing 0.1 percent in June.

Higher raw-material costs and a weaker dollar are pushing up prices for goods from all over the world, including China and Latin America. Rising prices from abroad make it more difficult for the Fed to lower rates if the economy stumbles after the global retreat in financial markets.

“There clearly are inflationary pressures in this report — we see them both in energy and outside of energy,” said Julia L. Coronado, a senior economist at Barclays Capital in New York. “It highlights the balance the Fed is trying to strike” in the middle of the market turmoil.

Economists had forecast that import prices would rise 1 percent for a second month, according to the median of 51 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The forecasts were for a gain of 0.2 percent to 2.3 percent.

The import-price index is the first of three monthly price gauges. The Labor Department’s report on wholesale prices is due Tuesday and the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday. Economists forecast that consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in July for a second month, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Compared with a year earlier, prices of imported goods rose 2.8 percent in July after a 2 percent gain in June. Excluding petroleum, the increase was also 2.8 percent in the last 12 months.

The price of imported petroleum jumped 7 percent in July, the most since March. Prices were up 4.1 percent from a year earlier.

Food and beverage prices climbed 1.6 percent and were up 9.8 percent in the 12 months ended July, the biggest year-over-year gain since 1995.

Oil price 'threatens US economy'

2007-08-04T05:36:00.002+01:00

Oil price 'threatens US economy'

Sustained oil prices close to $80 a barrel could hit US economic growth, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has said.

The US economy has never faced such high prices for "an extended period," Mr Bodman warned.

There is concern about whether oil supplies can meet global demand and Mr Bodman urged oil producing nations to increase output to avoid shortages.

Oil prices have fallen back slightly after hitting a record intraday high of $78.77 a barrel on Wednesday.

Sustainability fears

Analysts say that a price rise above $80 is inevitable, raising concerns about the effect of energy costs on inflation.

Higher oil prices drive up the costs for businesses who pass those increases on to customers. And with the price of petrol at the pump close to $3 a gallon, it is feared that higher fuel bills will begin to dent consumer spending.

Mr Bodman said that the high oil prices had inflicted only a "modest" impact on the economy but he was unsure that this was sustainable.

"I am concerned that where we are operating, in the ranges that we're talking about now," Mr Bodman said.

"I am concerned for each uptick (in price)."

And he called on the oil producers cartel Opec to "look carefully at the facts".

However Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said that Opec could do little about the high price of oil and that there was no shortage of crude in the market.

On Thursday US light sweet crude settled up 33 cents at $76.86 a barrel while in London Brent crude rose 41 cents to $75.76.

Before Wednesday's record high, the previous $78.40 high was recorded during the Israel-Lebanon conflict last year.

UK economy showing strong growth

2007-08-04T05:36:00.001+01:00

UK economy showing strong growth

The UK economy grew at a faster than expected rate in the second quarter of 2007, increasing the chance of further interest rate rises to curb inflation.

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.8% in the three months to June.

That was its sixth consecutive quarter of above-average growth, ahead of analysts' predictions of 0.7%.

Annual growth came in at 3.0%, ahead of the 2.9% forecast. The data led to sterling rising against the dollar.

'In a pickle'

Analyst Gavin Redknap at Standard Chartered said: "The result means that for the sixth straight quarter the UK economy has been growing at or above trend - raising further questions as to the extent of spare capacity in the economy.

It would be no surprise that the Bank is straining on the leash for another quick hike in rates

David Brown, analyst Bear Stearns

"For now the data supports the contention that further hikes from the Bank of England are necessary.

"If some of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee had their way, rates would head higher by August, though there are clearly many in the committee who are worried about monetary policy overkill."

UK interest rates now stand at 5.75%, after having been increased five times since last August as the Bank tries to rein in inflation to the government target of 2%.

Latest data showed it at 2.4% in June.

The Bank's rate policy remained "in a pickle" said David Brown of Bear Stearns, agreeing that further rate hikes were likely.

"UK growth is very strong, inflation is too high and monetary expansion is running far too fast. There is no end in sight to the current rate tightening cycle," he said.

"Since the bulk of growth comes from consumer spending, it leaves domestic demand at risk of over-heating with negative consequences for inflation. It would be no surprise that the Bank is straining on the leash for another quick hike in rates."

UK interest rates stay at 5.75%

2007-08-04T05:33:00.000+01:00

UK interest rates stay at 5.75%

The Bank of England's interest rate setters have kept the cost of borrowing on hold at 5.75%.

The news will come as a relief to people with variable rate mortgages, who have had to cope with five rate rises in the past year.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had been widely expected to keep rates on hold this month, as it waits to see the impact of the rises so far.

But many economists still predict that rates will go up to 6% later this year.

The rate-setters remain concerned about the rate of inflation.

The Consumer Prices Index fell back to 2.4% last month, but that is still above the government's 2% target.

A key factor in the delayed effect of the rate rises is that 1.3 million people took out fixed rate mortgages in 2005, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, most of which would have been two-year deals.

"A substantial number of homeowners will see their mortgage bills rise markedly during the second half of the year as the cheap fixed rates that they took out two years ago expire," said Howard Archer from Global Insight.

Oil prices pull back from record

2007-08-04T05:32:00.000+01:00

Oil prices pull back from record

Oil prices have fallen back after hitting a record high of $78.77 a barrel amid worries about whether supplies can meet global demand.

The price of a barrel of US light, sweet crude surpassed the previous high of $78.40 a barrel, seen in July 2006, before falling back to $76.53.

Prices have risen steadily in the past few weeks following disruption to output in Nigeria and the North Sea.

Wednesday's initial rise followed data showing a fall in US crude stockpiles.

Falling stocks

The Department of Energy said that oil inventories had fallen by a higher-than-expected 6.5 million barrels in the week ending 27 July.

Analysts had been forecasting a far more modest fall of about 700,000 barrels.

Experts said the later fall in the price was due to a decline in gas prices and a feeling that, with the peak summer holiday season nearing its end, prices may have peaked.

Oil markets have withstood recent stock market turbulence, taking their lead from positive economic signs in the US about employment and consumer confidence.

Despite a rise in output from the members of the Opec oil producers' cartel last month, traders are still worried about the amount of spare capacity in the market.

US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said Opec needed to commit to raising production levels when it met next month.

"I am concerned that we probably are going to need more oil," he said.

The previous $78.40 high was recorded during the Israel-Lebanon conflict last year.

In London, Brent crude fell $1.70 to close at $75.35 a barrel.

A Web Gambling Fight Could Harm Free Trade

2007-08-04T05:24:00.000+01:00

A Web Gambling Fight Could Harm Free Trade

America's stern approach to Internet gaming may lead to broader problems with the WTO

Few paid heed in 2003 when the tiny island nation of Antigua & Barbuda started griping about tough U.S. gambling laws. The complaint: Antigua's Internet gambling operations, a major source of jobs for the country, had been hurt because Americans weren't allowed to place bets online.

Four years later, this narrow and almost comical spat has boiled over into a broader dispute involving many of America's top trading partners. What turned up the heat? In May the U.S. unilaterally decided to exclude Web gambling from its list of services covered by the World Trade Organization. To do so, it invoked an escape clause in the WTO treaty that allows a country to "modify or withdraw any commitment" to provide open access. This move—almost unprecedented—came after the WTO ruled that the U.S. violated trade rules when it blocked "imports" of gambling services from other countries.

But the dispute could be a lose-lose proposition for free trade since the U.S. may have legitimized use of a big loophole in the WTO. Meanwhile an already intense populist American backlash against globalism could be exacerbated by steep sanctions.

The escape clause invoked by the U.S. requires reparations to any WTO members that claim to be hurt by the modified agreement. The diplomats who negotiated the treaty wrote the escape clause in a way that intentionally discouraged its use. The country imposing the trade restriction had to provide "compensatory adjustment" to other countries affected by the change—a vague term that includes the possibility of enormous claims.

Antigua wants the U.S. to pony up $3.4 billion a year in concessions to cover lost gambling revenues. Seven other WTO members—Japan, India, the European Union, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, and Macao—are also seeking unspecified but potentially big amends, saying that their Web gambling operations, either existing or to be started in the future, have been harmed.

Despite the furor, the U.S. has been unwilling to back away from its aggressive stance on Internet gambling. One reason: It's a rare area where many Republicans and Democrats agree, on both moral and law enforcement grounds. The argument is that it's too easy for minors to gamble online and for criminals and terrorists to use Web gambling to launder money. That's why the U.S. beefed up enforcement in recent years and banned the use of credit cards to place online bets.

Moreover, the U.S. says it owes nothing because it never envisioned online betting—or the World Wide Web for that matter—when the trade agreement was signed in 1994. "It never occurred to us that our schedule could be interpreted as including gambling until Antigua-Barbuda brought this case," Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John K. Veroneau told reporters in May.

Ultimately it could fall to the WTO to decide what, if any, economic sanctions the U.S. would incur. Major trading partners such as Europe and Japan could use the case to win concessions in other disputes. Smaller nations, such as Antigua, Costa Rica, and Macau, are more likely to ask the WTO to let them ignore copyright protections on software and entertainment. "You could have them be authorized by the WTO to essentially pirate stuff," says Chad P. Bown, an economics professor at Brandeis University.

On a broader level, the U.S. move, if successful, could invite other member nations to buy their way out of their trade commitments. "The last thing we want is for China or India or Russia to feel like they can withdraw some concession on intellectual property or aircraft," says Gary C. Hufbauer, a fellow at the nonprofit Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Reason could still prevail. The U.S. and Antigua launched formal arbitration proceedings on July 24, and other trading partners have begun bilateral talks. Meanwhile, offshore betting operations are trying to gin up congressional support for legalizing Web gambling. If the U.S. doesn't change its laws, "it's going to send a signal to the rest of the world that the WTO is really kind of a one-way street for the benefit of the big economies," says Antigua's lawyer Mark E. Mendel, a partner in the Cork (Ireland) office of Mendel-Blumenfeld. "We're gambling that the U.S. will do the right thing."

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Markets Fall as Lender Woes Keep Mounting

2007-08-04T04:35:00.000+01:00

Markets Fall as Lender Woes Keep Mounting

Stocks tumbled yesterday on fears that the worsening ills in the mortgage and debt markets could soon take a significant toll on consumers, businesses and the overall economy.

The latest decline capped a volatile two weeks on Wall Street in which the stock market has swung wildly from day to day, reflecting rising uncertainty about the outlook for markets and the risks plaguing the economy. The biggest moves lately have often occurred shortly before trading closed.

Indeed, the market dropped particularly sharply yesterday afternoon after investors were rattled by remarks by executives at Bear Stearns, the investment bank that has been heavily involved in mortgage securities. The firm’s assurances about its own financial position were overshadowed by bleak comments by its chief financial officer about the credit markets.
“I have been at this for 22 years, and this is about as bad as I have seen it in the fixed-income market,” said Samuel L. Molinaro Jr., Bear Stearns’s chief financial officer.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 2.7 percent yesterday, with much of the decline coming after Bear’s conference call started around 2 p.m. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 281.42 points, or 2.1 percent. And the dollar fell noticeably against the euro and the British pound.

While consumers continue to express confidence in the outlook for the economy, the government’s monthly employment report, released yesterday morning, added to worries about the spreading impact of the housing slump. The economy added only 92,000 jobs last month, down from 126,000 in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6 percent.
Mortgage companies have significantly tightened credit lately to borrowers with weak credit histories and are even cracking down on those with solid records who are taking on riskier loans.
On Thursday, the credit worries were so severe that even Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage company, felt compelled to tell investors that it did not face any difficulties raising money.

Lenders say they are increasingly unable to persuade investors to buy packages of home loans made to borrowers with little or no down payment or those who cannot fully document their incomes. As a result, many companies are no longer offering such loans to potential buyers.
“I have never seen it happen so quickly,” said Steve Walsh, a mortgage broker in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Banks always do these little cutbacks here and there. What they are doing now is a liquidity crunch. It’s a credit freeze.”

Richard F. Syron, chief executive of Freddie Mac, the large buyer of mortgages created by Congress in the 1970s, said yesterday that the speed and severity of the tighter credit terms are surprising, but perhaps necessary given the excesses in the market in recent years.
In a telephone interview from Washington, he was wary of the calls by some mortgage industry officials that Freddie Mac and its cousin, Fannie Mae, step in to buy loans and securities that private investors will no longer purchase. Mr. Syron noted that his company was operating under an agreement with its regulator that limited the size of its portfolio.
“There are some loans that are in difficulty” because credit pools are drying up, Mr. Syron said. “There are other loans that probably should never have been made and providing more liquidity will make that situation worse in the long term.”

The interest rates on many popular mortgages have risen by as much as a full percentage point, if they are available at all, said George J. Jenich, founder of FreeRateSearch.com, a consumer Web site. But rates on conventional fixed-rate 30-year mortgages have held steady.
Bear Stearns scheduled its conference call to reassure investors after Standard & Poor’s, one of the agencies that rates the creditworthiness of companies, said it was considering downgrading Bear’s credit rating because of the collapse of two hedge funds it recently put into bankruptcy after they made losing bets on mortgage securities.

Despite all the worries about credit markets, however, the economy continues to plow ahead and even yesterday’s jobs report was not weak enough to suggest that the Federal Reserve would cut its benchmark short-term interest rate when it meets next week.
But the risks to the economy do seem serious enough that investors now expect the Fed to cut its rate to 5 percent, from 5.25 percent by November, based on the price of a trading instrument that is tied to Fed policy. And the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.68 percent from 4.77 percent Thursday evening.

Wall Street analysts say they are increasingly concerned that consumer spending will weaken as more people in housing and related sectors lose their jobs. They also worry that many homeowners will cut back as they find it harder to refinance or borrow against the value of their homes.

“You have a broad sell-off because people don’t know how far the subprime cloud is going to hang over U.S. industries,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, an investment firm based in Tulsa, Okla. “If they don’t get assurance, they are just selling off rather than asking questions.”

The S.& P. has fallen 7.7 percent, to 1,433.06, since July 19, the day it established a record. The last two weeks were the worst such period in more than four and a half years, and the broad market index is now up just 1 percent for the year. The Dow is doing somewhat better; it has fallen 5.9 percent, to 13,181.91, since July 19, but it is still up 5.8 percent for the year.
And through it all, businesses have been reporting strong earnings. Profits are up 9.6 percent in total for the 80 percent of the companies in the S.& P. index that have released results for the second quarter, noted Douglas M. Peta, chief market strategist at J. & W. Seligman & Company, an investment firm based in New York.

Despite that, Mr. Peta said, he was not particularly optimistic about the near-term outlook for stocks and far less so about the market for debt.

“It seems to me things got every bit as silly in the credit markets in the last few years as they did in tech stocks in the late 1990s,” he said. “I still think we may have a ways to go in this.”
Eric Dash and David Leonhardt contributed reporting.
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‘Accredited loan providers’ mooted

2007-07-25T05:52:00.000+01:00

‘Accredited loan providers’ mooted
Our Bureau
Mumbai, July 24 A technical group set up by the Reserve Bank of India has suggested the creation of a new class of moneylenders called “Accredited Loan Providers”.
Unlike the traditional moneylenders, these new breed of lenders will provide loans to villagers with money borrowed from commercial banks.

The proposed lenders are expected to bring discipline in the informal credit delivery system, which is now being dominated by village moneylenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates.
An accredited loan provider (ALP) will be linked to a particular bank, which will monitor his lending activities. But the lender will do the business independent of the bank (at his own risk) competing with the existing moneylenders.

For the bank, the advantage would be that the money provided to ALPs will be treated as priority sector lending. “This would encourage the banks to take up the role of institutional creditors and disburse loans through the linkages with accredited loan providers as an additional business,” the report said

Existing moneylenders, agricultural traders, commission agents, vehicles dealers, retail petrol dealers or any other persons considered suitable by the bank can become an ALP. The group has also suggested a set of conditions to be entered into between the bank and its accredited loan provider.Interest Rates

The technical panel has also recommended compulsory registration of moneylenders in all States and capping of the interest rates charged by them.
It has suggested that state governments should notify from time to time the maximum interest moneylenders could charge.

This could be done in consultation with the state-level Bankers’ Committee. Such rates can be linked to a market-determined benchmark rate and provide mark up for cost of delivery, other expenses and a reasonable margin, the committee said in its report.
The Group, constituted by the RBI in May 2006 under the chairmanship of Mr S.C.Gupta, the then legal advisor-in-charge of RBI, proposed a model legislation on moneylenders to be adopted by the States.

Indian share sales on track to double this year

2007-07-25T05:44:00.000+01:00

Indian share sales on track to double this year

NEW DELHI: Indian share sales may double this year, buoyed by record demand from investors attracted by the fastest pace of economic growth in almost two decades, JPMorgan Chase said.

Companies in India have raised $12.1 billion in share sales so far in 2007, up from $6.34 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

ICICI Bank's record $5 billion sale, in India and overseas, drew demand for more than 11 times the amount offered to local investors.

"We wouldn't be surprised at all if this year the market were to double," said Vedika Bhandarkar, managing director and head of investment banking for India at JPMorgan Chase in Mumbai.

"There's a huge equity pipeline coming in the next 6, 12, 24 months from India."

State Bank of India, the nation's biggest by assets, will be allowed to raise as much as 80 billion rupees of capital once the government permits the state-owned holding to be lowered to 55 percent from 59.73 percent, the company's chairman, Om Prakash Bhatt, said last week.
Laws that will allow the bank to raise more funds are expected in two months, he said.

HDFC Bank, the nation's third-biggest by value, plans to sell $1 billion of shares and use the proceeds to meet accelerating demand for loans from consumers and companies. A date for the sale has not been set.

Indian banks will need to raise 500 billion rupees this year to bolster capital as lending rises, India's banking secretary, Vinod Rai, said April 19 in New Delhi.

Still, government curbs on ownership and foreign investment limits for state-run lenders could make it harder for them to sell stock, said Uday Kotak, executive vice chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Online and Ad spend nears $5 billion mark in January-March 2007

2007-07-20T05:52:00.000+01:00

Online and Ad spend nears $5 billion mark in January-March 2007

Mumbai: Online advertising revenues continued to increase in January-March 2007, nearing the $5 billion mark, according to a report prepared by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Internet advertising revenues reached a record $4.9 billion in the first three months of 2007, up 26 per cent from $3.8 billion in the same quarter of the previous year, and 2 per cent higher than $4.8 billion in the previous quarter.

The annual report for 2006 also shows combined revenues approaching $17 billion.
Interactive advertising in Europe has reached $10.8 billion (€8 billion) in 2006, with the UK taking up the lion's share at 39 per cent of online advertising spending, followed by a distant 22 per cent in Germany, and 15 per cent for France, a separate survey by the IAB's European division and PwC found.

The majority of advertising spending — about 45 per cent — related to online search, according to the study, while 31 per cent went to display advertising, 22 per cent to classifieds and 1.6 per cent on e-mail marketing.

The IAB conducts the study while PricewaterhouseCoopers collects survey information on online advertising revenues from websites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and others selling online advertising.

World's largest exchange is born as Chicago Board of Trade - Chicago Mercantile Exchange merge

2007-07-19T08:01:00.000+01:00

World's largest exchange is born as Chicago Board of Trade - Chicago Mercantile Exchange merge

Mumbai: Shareholders for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have approved plans to join forces with longtime rival, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME, also called Merc), in an $11.9 billion deal. (See: CME bids $11.5 billion for CBOT v/s ICE's offer of $11.4 billion)
The merger creates the world's largest exchange but ends 159 years of independence enjoyed by CBOT, the world's oldest commodities exchange.

The deal should close within days, the two exchanges said adding, the new firm operating the exchanges will be called CME Group, a Chicago Board of Trade company.

With the agreement to buy the Chicago Board of Trade sealed, CME, the biggest US futures exchange, will move trading to the CBOT's art deco building.

CME's purchase of the CBOT also marks a transition from pit-based to electronic trading. CME will be shifting pits to the CBOT building to preserves traditional face-to-face trading, which many traders still prefer. But, over a period, trading floors are expected to become obsolete as electronic trading takes over.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trust, established in 1969 to provide financial assistance to CME financial settlement firms that become insolvent, owns the current trading floor. The trustees may decide in the next couple of months on the future of the trading-floor space, said Kassie Davis, the trust's executive director.

CME's acquisition of CBOT ended four months of negotiating that also involved attempts by the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc., to cut a deal of its own with a $11.4-billion offer.
A deal with CME became a certainty only after Merc raised its offer a third time to win over CBOT's largest and most influential shareholder, Australia-based Caledonia Investments. Once that happened, the deal was all but done. ICE's most recent proposal had been valued at a still-hefty $11.7 billion.

CBOT was founded in 1848 by 83 merchants at 101 S. Water Street. The board moved in 1865 to the Chamber of Commerce Building on the corner of LaSalle and Washington streets, only to have it destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871.

Its next home was at LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard, which in 1885 was the tallest structure in Chicago and the city's first commercial building with electric lights. The CBOT tore down the building and replaced it in 1930 with its current 45- story art deco home.

CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board at Lake and LaSalle streets in the Marine Building, a site that's home today to a 27-floor office tower. The exchange's longest stay was at 110 N. Franklin Street — now a vacant lot — from 1928 until 1972, when it moved to 444 W. Jackson Street. It's been at 20 S. Wacker Drive since 1983.

7 landscaping tips

2007-07-15T17:18:00.000+01:00

7 landscaping tips

These ideas offer some of the best returns for your renovation dollar. Plus, the payoff increases over time.

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- If prospective buyers looked at your house today, what would they see outside? A giant evergreen that looks as if it might swallow the station wagon, perhaps, scraggly old foundation plants or maybe a kitchen-table view of the neighbors' kids' trampoline?

If so, you have a truly inexpensive opportunity to boost your home's curb appeal.

By spending $500 to $3,000 on plants and materials and a few hours of time, you can achieve a well-landscaped look without shelling out for professional help.

Besides the personal enjoyment you'll get from a prettier yard, landscaping adds more value than almost any other home renovation.

A recent Michigan State University study found that depending on where the house is located, high-quality landscaping adds 5 percent to 11 percent to its price.

If you have no immediate plans to move, all the better: Landscaping is the one home improvement that actually appreciates over time.

So how do you decide which projects to tackle? That depends on how long you think you'll be around to enjoy the results.

If you're selling in a year or less

Edge the beds Cutting fresh edges where grass meets mulch makes the lawn look well kept. A move as simple as curving the edge of your flower beds could increase the value of your home by 1 percent, says horticulture professor Bridget Behe, the lead researcher on the MSU study.

Also, if your foundation plants are overgrown, widening the beds by two feet will make the shrubs seem smaller.

Nourish the grass For truly lush turf, ideally you should start regular fertilizer treatments a year before listing the house. But you can green up the lawn with just a single application.

Spend $45 on a broadcast spreader, which quickly distributes fertilizer over a lawn, enabling you to nourish a quarter-acre lot in about 10 minutes.

For a yard that size, expect each monthly application to cost about $20 (for straight fertilizer) to $30 (with weed killer).

Scatter color throughout For about $1 a plant, you can blanket your yard with petunias, impatiens and other small annuals that will flower throughout the current growing season.

Also invest a few hundred dollars in some larger perennials and in shrubs that stand at least four feet high.

"A few good-size plants have more sex appeal than 20 little ones," says Chicago landscape architect Douglas Hoerr.

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World's largest exchange is born as Chicago Board of Trade - Chicago Mercantile Exchange merge

7 landscaping tips

7 landscaping tips

These ideas offer some of the best returns for your renovation dollar. Plus, the payoff increases over time.