Thursday, 17 December 2015

CHINA SECURITIES REGULATOR WILL EASE IPO RULES FOR FIRMS FROM POOR AREAS

SHANGHAI: Companies from western regions and five autonomous ethnic regions will be encouraged to list and receive policy support for initial public offerings, the state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday, citing comments from a regulatory official.

These companies will be eligible for expense deductions and other favorable policies when applying for IPOs, said Jiang Yang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission at a working conference.

More capital will fund agricultural projects to support leading agricultural companies, Jiang also said.

China has recently resumed IPOs after a long freeze this summer amid turmoil in its equity markets which took benchmark indices down around 40 percent from mid June highs.

Beijing has also struggled to reduce financing costs for small and medium sized firms, many of which have trouble accessing affordable bank credit even though they are responsible for much of China's employment and growth.

INDIA’S MARUTI WINS SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL FOR GUJARAT PLANT

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , India's top carmaker, has won shareholder approval to source cars from a Gujarat plant to be built by parent Suzuki Motor Corp, its chairman said on Thursday.

Maruti received 89.8 percent of minority shareholders' votes in its favour, R.C. Bhargava said. Nearly two years ago minority shareholders had opposed the original Gujarat plant plan saying Maruti would not benefit.

The carmaker, which contributes about a third of its parent's revenue, will now invest surplus cash in boosting its local research and development centre and doubling the number of dealerships, Bhargava said.

Maruti, whose market value surpassed that of Suzuki in July, sold 1.2 million vehicles in the year to end-March.

GREECE’S JOBLESS RATE DROPS TO 24PC IN THIRD QUARTER

ATHENS: Greece's jobless rate fell to 24 percent in the third quarter from 24.6 percent in the April-to-June period, data from the country's statistics service showed on Thursday.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the first quarter of 2014, at 27.8 percent. About 73.7 percent of Greece's 1.16 million jobless are long-term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for at least 12 months, the figures showed.

Athens has already published monthly unemployment figures through September, which differ from quarterly data because they are based on different samples. Quarterly figures are not seasonally adjusted.

The debt crisis and austerity imposed by the EU/IMF lenders in exchange for Greece's bailouts have wiped out about a quarter of the country's economic output, driving the jobless rate to record highs.

Greece's economy contracted by 0.9 percent quarterly pace in the third quarter as capital controls to shore up banks weighed down on investment, exports and consumer spending.

The 173 billion-euro economy is expected to shrink by 0.7 percent in 2016.

BANK STOCKS LIFT SAUDI AFTER RATE HIKE; SABIC UP

DUBAI: Bank stocks led gains on Saudi Arabia's bourse as investors bet that interest rate hikes at home and abroad would boost lending margins.

National Commercial Bank climbed 2.9 percent, Al Rajhi Bank jumped 6.4 percent and Samba Financial Group rose 2.8 percent.

Saudi banks' funding costs are perhaps the lowest globally because most depositors put their money in non-interest paying current accounts for religious reasons, said Hisham Tuffaha, head of equity investments at Riyadh-based Mulkia Investments.

Therefore, traders have bought bank stocks on expectations that interest rate rises will increase lenders' margins, he said.

The Saudi central bank has raised its reverse repurchase rate, the rate at which commercial banks deposit money with the central bank, to 0.5 percentage point.

That should limit the incentive for the banks to move money overseas in search of higher returns and came within an hour of the United States raising interest rates for the first time in nine years. The Saudi riyal is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE (SABIC) rose 2.1 percent after it proposed a cash dividend of 3 riyals per share ($0.80) for the second half of 2015. This would be the same as for the corresponding period of 2014 and comes despite a 9.3 percent drop in third-quarter profit.

"SABIC has maintained generous dividends and that's why it's popular with investors," Tuffaha said.

Some bank stocks such as SABB, Banque Saudi Fransi and Saudi Hollandi are trading at trailing price to earnings ratios of less than 8.5, Reuters data shows.

"We've not seen PE ratios this low for 7-8 years. Valuations are very attractive even with the low oil price," said Tuffaha. "We don't have listed energy companies - for most sectors where's the direct link to oil?"

He forecast Saudi's market would bottom out, pointing to a combined PE ratio of less than 13 when the historical average is 16-17.

Saudi's index rose 2.2 percent to 7,020 points, taking its gains to 5 percent since Monday's three-year low.

BlackBerry Z10 unlocked pre-orders appear online, price tag and release date not revealed

No word yet about the phone’s official price, but rumor has it that Canada’s BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion (RIMM), is taking the “premium lane” similar to the Apple iPhone 5 and few Android devices. A source from a third-party online store told us that the unlocked BlackBerry Z10 in white will arrive first this quarter sporting $700 to $800 price tag. It is worth noting that the model that will arrive online is the “unlocked” variant and not a carrier-subsidized model.

More Reading:Before its launch date, the white BB Z10 was leaked online.

In United States, major carriers will offer the BB Z10 for $199.99 with service agreement plus additional fees for taxes and data plan. Off-contract, the BlackBerry Z10 is priced $600 each. Verizon Wireless said in a press release that its BB Z10, as well as the BB Q10 (with physical keyboard), will tap its faster Long Term Evolution network or 4G LTE. Verizon also added that it will simultaneously launch the white and the black models on launch date.

With the new BB 10 mobile operating system, the BlackBerry Z10 offers a new “look and feel” and rivals the top 2 smartphone players, Android and iPhone — and threatens the anticipated growth of Windows Phone. The handset features a 4.2-inch LCD display with 1280 x 768 resolution at 356 pixels per inch, beating the display on the iPhone 5 and the Google Nexus 4. The Z10 also features an 8-megapixel back-facing camera, a front-facing video BBM video chat camera, dual-core processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB of on-board storage with micro-SD card slot for additional storage.

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

SWATCH WATCHES; BUILDING A PATENT ADVANTAGE

Ever since other companies started to develop smart watches, Swatch Group has filed 173 patents, especially after rise in smart watch trend from 2012. However this patent building spree is completely going over the head of competitors like Apple.

Even though Apple watches are also famous, they do not reach the level of Swatch, especially after the latter started acquiring patent after patent. Through this patent buying, it can be seen that swatch CEO Nick Hayek is not willing to take any chance of losing ground to competition. According to Envision IP’s managing attorney Maulin Shah, “The Swiss company has developed and patented watch circuitry and hardware that will allow them to introduce their own branded smart watch without having to partner with telecoms and handset makers.”

On other hand analysts are critical of Swatch’s patents buying spree. “The quartz crisis is in the background of everything they do,” says Jon Cox, an analyst at brokerage Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich. “It probably leaves a bit of a scar on them, and that’s something in the back of their minds when they have technology: Patent first, ask questions later.”

However, the company and its officials have refused to comment on the patent acquisition, or the designs and ideas for which these patents have been acquired. It is as if even Swatch does not know what it will be making in future

FORD ADDS ALUMINUM-INTENSIVE TRUCK BRAND, NOVELIS A SUPPLIER

NEW YORK: Ford Motor Co plans to launch a second line of aluminum-intensive trucks and Novelis Inc will supply the high-strength aluminum, Novelis said on Tuesday.

Novelis said it expects to begin shipping product from its Oswego, New York, plant for the F-Series Super Duty truck line in spring 2016. Ford's first aluminum-body truck, the 2015 F-150, was launched in December 2014.

The trucks will go on sale late next year, a Ford spokesman said, adding that Alcoa Inc, which supplies the F-150 along with Novelis, will also be a supplier for the Super Duty trucks.

Automakers have been looking for lighter aluminum alloys to replace high-strength steel, which is far heavier.

Lighter aluminum alloys would enable them to build vehicles that burn less fuel but meet safety standards. Growing aluminum demand from car manufacturers is one of the few bright spots in a severely oversupplied market.

The Super Duty series is the first major vehicle to announce it is becoming aluminum-intensive since the F-150 announcement last year. The move may restore positive sentiment on automotive demand for aluminum after an absence of new plans for aluminum-intensive vehicles following the F-150's shift.

Novelis plans to use "what we learned from the massive success of the game-changing 2015 Ford F-150" in working on the F-Series, Novelis North America President Marco Palmieri said in a statement.

The move comes a month after Novelis raised concerns about US automotive aluminum demand, with Chief Executive Steve Fisher saying the industry was going through a "digestion period" following Ford's F-150 announcement.

He said plants were shifting capacity to automotive purposes, and away from other applications, at a slower rate than anticipated.

Novelis, owned by Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, is in the process of constructing its third automotive sheet finishing line at Oswego to supply the F-Series, which will be the second-highest volume aluminum automobile after the F-150.

The use of aluminum in the F-Series will reduce the trucks' weight by 350 pounds (159 kg), compared with a 700 pound (318 kg)-reduction for the F-150.

The news comes as exports from top-producer China have pressured London Metal Exchange (LME) prices to 6-1/2 year lows, prompting curtailments at US primary aluminum smelters.

The US Midwest premium paid on top of LME prices for physical delivery has also tumbled by two-thirds this year, though it has increased slightly and stabilized around 8.75 cents a lb on news of the smelter closures.

APPLE IOS 9.2; REVEALING UNIQUE HANDY FEATURES

As Apple revealed its iOS 9.2, speculations were raised regarding new features, but Apple didn’t disappoint again. Upgrading from iOS 9, iOS 9.2 possess major improvements including bug fixes.

Forbes reported that over thirty improvements that have been made in the software update across apps like Apple Music, News, Mail, Podcasts and Safari. But there are six new features that especially stand out.

One such feature which was expected was AT&T at more advanced level. It lets the user place phone calls from iPad, Apple Watch and El Capitan-based Macs over Wi-Fi without requiring iPhone to be nearby.

Further there is an upgrade to Apple News app introducing ‘Top Stories’. Top Stories is a feature that enables users to ‘stay current with the most important news of the day, selected by the Apple News editorial team’.

Last but not least is improvement to Apple Music which can now create a new playlist containing the song you selected when you open the option to add it to that playlist. Most recently changed playlists will be listed at the top when songs are added to playlists and you can download albums or playlists from your iCloud Music Library by tapping on the iCloud download button.

TOYOTA SEES 2016 GLOBAL SALES FLAT

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp said it expected group-wide global vehicle sales to stay flat in 2016 at 10.11 million vehicles, likely keeping it ahead of rivals Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co as the world's top-selling automaker.

Global sales at the group, which includes mini-vehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd , would likely total 10.10 million vehicles this year, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Group-wide production is likely to rise about 1 percent to 10.20 million vehicles, Toyota said.

PRESIDENT, CHINESE COUNTERPART AGREE TO FURTHER BOLSTER BILATERAL TIES, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

WUZHEN: President Mamnoon Hussain and President Xi Jinping of China on Wednesday reiterated their resolve to further bolster the all-weather and multi-faceted strategic partnership and ties that exist between Pakistan and China in all areas of mutual interest.

The two leaders, who met here on the sidelines of the 2nd World Internet Conference, besides discussing the bilateral relations also exchanged views on the situation prevailing in the region.

President Mamnoon Hussain said that since 2015 was being celebrated as the "Year of Friendship" by Pakistan and China with the next year to be 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides should take this opportunity to further promote people to people contacts.

He expressed satisfaction over the progress on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and hoped that the projects under CPEC would be implemented in a timely and efficient manner.

The President apprised his Chinese counterpart that many Central Asian states were keen in developing linkages with CPEC to utilize the immense economic and trade potential after the completion of this project.

The President hailed China's support for Pakistan's admission as a full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and said Pakistan looked forward to become SCO's full member in the near future.

He also informed the Chinese President about the successes achieved by Pakistan in the on-going military operation Zarb-e-Azb in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the implementation of Counter-Terrorism Action Plan elsewhere in the country.

The President said that Pakistan was committed to combat terrorism and elimination from the region. The President informed his Chinese counterpart that Pakistan was raising a special force for the security of Chinese working on CPEC projects.

He also expressed satisfaction over the Pak-China defense cooperation that has expanded at a satisfactory pace in recent years.

The President informed President Xi about the successful hosting of the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference by Pakistan last week in Islamabad, where President Ashraf Ghani represented Afghanistan.

Both Pakistan and China will continue to support the Afghan- owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process. The President also informed President Xi that Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India in the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference.

He shared with the Chinese President that Pakistan and India have agreed to resume the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue process, which was a welcome development. The President welcomed China's initiative on organizing the 2nd World Internet Conference and Pakistan realized the importance of cyber-security.

President Xi Jinping while terming Pakistan and China as iron friends said that the strategic relations between the two countries are a driving force for attaining progress and prosperity. He expressed satisfaction over the substantive progress in CPEC projects and called for timely completion of the early harvest projects for the benefit of people.

The Chinese President extended his support for Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Policy (CTP) and appreciated its successes in the efforts for elimination of terrorism.

He underscored the need to celebrate the 65 years of Pak-China diplomatic relations by devising plans for increased people to people contacts and exchange of delegations in the areas of culture, education and youth.

President Xi congratulated Pakistan on the successful holding of the Heart of Asia Conference and expressed his happiness over the outcome. He hoped that Pakistan's efforts will lead to peace in the region. The Chinese President appreciated Pakistan's policy for good relations with its neighbours.

14 Best Online Jobs from Home – No Investment to Earn Money Online

Get Paid to Read Ads

This is one of the easiest way to earn money online & one of my favorite online job.

Advertisement is one of the biggest business in the world. Companies spend thousands to billions of dollars in advertising as per their budget. And their prime goal is to reach their words to people like you & me.

And they are even ready to pay you for watching these ads. Check the video below to check my live income proof.

There are number of websites where you can signup for getting paid for reading ads. After signup, you can login to these sites on regular basis & click on the ad links given in your account dashboard.

Many of the sites sends you the ads by SMS too & pay you for reading the ads in your mobile.

So its great online job for people who can spend 10-20 minutes daily on their PC. More ads you will check, more money you will earn.

You can see one of the live video proof of our earnings from this online

2. Online Micro Jobs

Micro jobs simply means small jobs (or tasks) which takes few seconds or few minutes to complete. There are dozens of sites like mTurk, MicroWorkers which provide online micro jobs. You can earn Rs. 5 to Rs. 100 for completing a task (depending on the length of the tasks).

There are hundreds of small tasks like sharing a page, giving review or rating for a product or page, writing a short article, searching something from Google, creating a testimonial or many other simple & easy tasks.

Although one of the biggest site mTurk is not taking signup at present but you can signup with other sites and earn some decent money.

If you work 2 hours daily on these sites then you can earn minimum Rs. 8000-Rs.10,000 per month from this internet job.

3. Online Survey Jobs

Online surveys are another best way to earn money online. In online surveys, different companies ask for your opinion for their product or services, so that they can increase their sales.

Here you can signup with different companies who provide online surveys. Once you join with online survey companies, they will send you the surveys in your email.

14 Best Online Jobs from Home – No Investment to Earn Money Online

OCTOBER 31, 2015 183 COMMENTS

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Top 14 Online Jobs from Home

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1. Get Paid to Read Ads

This is one of the easiest way to earn money online & one of my favorite online job.

And they are even ready to pay you for watching these ads. Check the video below to check my live income proof.

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You can see one of the live video proof of our earnings from this online wor

2. Online Micro Jobs

Although one of the biggest site mTurk is not taking signup at present but you can signup with other sites and earn some decent money.

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3. Online Survey Jobs

Online surveys are another best way to earn money online. In online surveys, different companies ask for your opinion for their product or services, so that they can increase their sales.

Here you can signup with different companies who provide online surveys. Once you join with online survey companies, they will send you the surveys in your email.

You can complete them & get paid.

Major problem here is, there are few handful of companies who are genuine, provide surveys & pay for them.

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4. Online Captcha Solving Jobs

If you are looking for online data entry jobs then captcha entry is best online job for you. You must be familiar about captcha. Whenever you create an account, you must have come across this type of image-

There are many companies who needs millions of accounts on thousands of websites and they do it with the help of account creating software. But these image captchas prevent them to create automatic accounts on these sites.

So you need to become a captcha solver and enter the character correctly into the software. There is a very huge demand for captcha entry worker.

You can solve 1000 captchas in 1 to 2 hrs depending on your speed. You can earn $1 to $2 for every 1000 captcha you solve. If you work on 2-3 sites then you can earn minimum Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month.

There are dozens of sites which provide Captcha entry work but we have selected 10 most genuine sites which have good feedback from their workers & the sites has good payment history.

You can refer this Captcha entry work link to know more details about Captcha work & to signup with these top 10 Captcha entry job providers.

5. Blogging from home

Blogging is another best internet job. You can create simple blogs, post something you know better and promote your blog.

You can create a free as well as paid blog. Creating a blog & posting something on your blog is simple. There are number of ways, you can earn from your blog.

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6. Affiliate Jobs

Affiliate program is nothing but a way to promote the products of popular sites like Flipkart, Amazon, SnapDeal, eBay etc. and get paid for your promotion.

Its becoming one of the hottest online job in India because online shopping is growing like anything in India. You can become Flipkart affiliate, Amazon.in affiliate or affiliate of other big Indian sites and earn minimum 4% to 10% commission from each sale.

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7. Freelancing Jobs

Freelancing means provide your services to your clients. Most of your clients are temporary. You can leave them as & when you want. You can work on your own terms & still make lots of money.

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If you know something most demanding, you will make more money.

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8. Online Writing Job

This online job is for those people who has interest in writing. Online writing jobs are becoming popular because each and every website on internet demands regular content to update their website.

You can get paid Rs.250 to Rs.1000 per article depending on the content length.

There are many websites where you can find online writing jobs and few of them are Fiverr, Elance, Freelancer.com etc.

Even if you don’t have any idea of writing but want to earn money through this job, then you can learn & start practicing and follow the blogs like CopyBlogger to become a good writer.

Once you are good to write, you can join the above mentioned sites, get the writing jobs and start making money.

9. Mystery Shopper

In this concept, you have to become an secret agent of the company & try different products of the company at their outlets.

Here you have to check your experience as a client & submit your feedback to the company.

e.g. Raymond wants to know, what treatment their customers get, when they go for shopping at their outlet in a particular city.

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You have to actually shop or stay at hotels & all the expenses are provided by the company.

You will get paid for all these real experiences.

10. Data Entry Jobs

There are various types of data entry jobs available in India. But there are hundreds of companies who cheat the people for providing fake data entry jobs. What they want is your registration amount & once you pay them by becoming a member, they will not respond you.

They will provide you with fake jobs with difficult terms & once you submit the work, you won’t get paid.

Remember 2 things-

Never pay any fee for any type of data entry or typing jobs.
Check the reputation of the company by searching in Google. Search in Google with keywords like “company name + complaints” or “company name + review” etc. You will really get the

11. Buy Sell Domain

If you are looking for something that can make you great money then this business is for you. You can buy domains at low prices from GoDaddy or other domain registrar and then sell it to the needy people for much higher price.

Here you need to do the research to find good domains and book them. After sometime, you can put your domains for auctions.

You can get minimum 10 times to 1000 times of the original domain price depending on the quality of the domain name.

12. Sell Photos Online

This is another online job you can earn good income from. Now a days, everyone has got their own smartphone.

If you like to shoot good photos of nature, animals, real life incidents, places etc. then you can sell your photos on number of photo selling websites like PhotoBucket, Shutterstock, iStock etc.

So next time, you use your mobile phone to shoot photos, you try to catch good photographs and sell these photos on the above sites.

13. Earn Money from YouTube

YouTube is the largest video sharing site owned by Google. Advertisers from all over the world, promote their products and brands on YouTube.

You can also create original videos of tutorials, humours, different places, music or anything you can imagine and upload on YouTube.

After sometime, you can join YouTube partner program and if accepted, your videos will start earning whenever people watch your videos.

After signup, we will provide you one of the best tutorial which will guide you about how to earn money from this online work.

14. Selling Online

If after reading the title “selling online”, you think, this work is not for you then you are wrong.

There are many normal people like you who are earning good regular income by selling different products on sites like eBay, Amazon, Flipkart and others.

You just need to find out a good product, signup on any or all of these sites, list your product with your price and start selling the same.

You don’t need to talk to anyone to sell online on these sites. You will receive the order in your mailbox and then deliver the same through a courier or post.

So you can see, there are numerous ways of earning money from online jobs sitting at home. All you have to do is review them thoroughly & then focus on one that fits in your interest.

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10 best (and real) work-at-home jobs

10 good stay-at-home careers

Virtual assistant
Medical transcriptionist
Translator
Web developer/designer
Call center representative

Tech support specialist
Travel agent
Teacher
Writer/editor
Franchise owner

V

Tech support specialist

Travel agent

Teacher

Writer/editor

Franchi

Virtual assistant

This is a field with much potential, in part because the title description covers many things. "You can fit your offerings to what you know how to do," says Foster. One can own a virtual assistant business or work from home for a company that makes you available to other employees or clients. HomeWithTheKids.com, for example, currently features several such companies. Small businesses hire virtual assistants to help when they can't justify a permanent employee. The International Virtual Assistants Association, which Durst co-founded in the 1990s, began with 28 members and has grown to more than 600 and charges from $15 per hour to more than $100 per hour.

Medical transcriptionist

As Foster knows, being a medical receptionist is a demanding job, and nearly every company listed on her site seeks applicants with experience and/or training from certain schools. The work involves listening to and typing up dictation from doctors -- some of whom have difficult accents, slur words together, and even "eat, drink, chew gum (and) talk to other people in the room" while dictating, she says. But hearing about medical matters can be interesting, and good transcriptionists are in very high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2010 data, the median hourly rate for transcriptionists is $15.82.

Translator

Those with fluency in more than one language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word, but often with cultural differences in mind. "Companies can access home-based translators with hard-to-find language skills without being held back by geographic location," says Fell.

Foster's site lists 14 companies that seek home-based translators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2012-13, which groups translators and interpreters, notes a projected employment increase of 42 percent over the 2010-to-2020 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations

The national median hourly wage for translators and interpreters was $20.82, with a median annual wage of $43,300 as of 2010, according to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some industries pay significantly higher, with the highest paying jobs generally in the professional, scientific and technical services areas, in which the annual median wage was $51,650.

Web developer/designer

Information technology is the sector, Durst says, where most of the home-based hiring is being done. Terri Orlowski, a virtual assistant and web developer based in Pittsburgh, offers services such as custom website design, template modification and redesigns, code updates, hosting and usability reviews. She previously held administrative positions in a variety of industries and makes a higher per-hour rate now. Out of more than 100,000 new monthly work-from-home job postings on oDesk.com, web developers are in high demand, says CEO Gary Swart. A list of companies that post at-home tech jobs is available at RatRaceRebellion.com.

Call center representative

When you phone to order something from a catalog or infomercial, a big office with rows of cubicles may come to mind. But the person on the other end of the line is likely to be sitting in a home office. "It's a huge and growing industry," Durst says of companies that hire independent contractors to take calls from home. She says the "home-shore movement" started in response to complaints about the many companies that looked offshore for workers. While some websites such as AlpineAccess.com actually hire representatives, most use subcontractors. Just be aware that the pay may be by the minute rather than by the hour, so you may not be paid for time you spend waiting by the phone. A list of companies that hire call center reps can be found at HomeWithTheKids.com.

Tech support specialist

Call centers also hire technical support specialists to work remotely. Kate Lister, co-author of "Undress for Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home," names it as one of her top three "best-bet work-at-home jobs." And according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, jobs for computer support specialists (on-site and remote combined) were expected to increase by 18 percent from 2010 to 2020 -- much faster than the average for all occupations -- with 110,000 new jobs.

Travel agent

Scams abound in the travel industry -- particularly organizations that charge for information on how to break into the field. But operating a home-based travel agency can be an excellent business, says Tom Ogg, founder of HomeBasedTravelAgent.com. "Real home-based travel agents have experienced robust growth over the last decade, and there are probably 40,000-plus of them and growing." A growing (although small) number of people earn $100,000 or more a year, he says. "A solid business concept and plan focused on profitability will take you a long way to achieving your monetary goals." There's also the joy of helping others enjoy their leisure time.

Teacher

From postsecondary education to elementary schools, there are opportunities for students to learn virtually. Along with that come opportunities to teach (and tutor) virtually. While distance learning is not new, advanced technology, collaborative multimedia software designed for schools and high-speed Internet connections have created more opportunities for teachers and students to work together from afar, says Fell. Durst has also noticed more teacher jobs being posted, and she knows of one professor who works mainly online and makes six figures -- although income "depends on how many hours you're applying to it and the type of classes you're teaching." A resource center for online teaching jobs can be found at GetEducated.

Writer/editor

Yes, the print publishing industry has been suffering, but Durst is seeing frequent listings these days for writing, editing and proofreading, particularly for the Web. Even those without writing experience can join the blogosphere. Not only can blogging be lots of fun, Foster says, but also there's money to be earned blogging for someone else's site, getting paid to post on your own blog or through revenue-sharing arrangements. A list of blogging opportunities, for which the pay range is less than $4 per post to more than $20 per post, can be found at HomeWithTheKids.com.

Franchise owner

It's a no-brainer: Owning a business can be the road to at-home work. For an initial investment, franchises may offer a ready-made business with brand awareness, a system and a territory, says Leslie Truex, founder of the website WorkAtHomeSuccess.com. She advises considering businesses that target the over-50 crowd or the self-employed, involve health and wellness, relate to the "green" movement, or involve electronic or online devices (i.e., accessories, applications

Monday, 14 December 2015

INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION QUICKENS FOR 4TH MONTH TO 5.41PC IN NOV

NEW DELHI: India's annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 5.41 percent in November, picking up pace for the fourth straight month, government data showed on Monday.

The print was almost in line with the forecast made by economists polled by Reuters. Retail prices were up 5 percent year on year in October.

Retail food inflation in November came in at 6.07 percent, sharply higher than 5.25 percent recorded a month ago.

SHELL WINS CHINESE CLEARANCE FOR BG TAKEOVER

LONDON: Energy major Shell's vast takeover of British rival BG Group has won approval from the Chinese government, it said Monday.

Shell's £55-billion (US$84-billion, 79 billion-euros) acquisition of BG Group had already been cleared by authorities in Australia and Brazil, as well as the European Commission.

"Royal Dutch Shell plc today announced that its recommended combination with BG Group plc has received unconditional merger clearance from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)," the group said in a statement.

"Following previously announced approvals in Brazil, the EU and Australia, MOFCOM clearance marks the final pre-conditional approval required for the combination."

The deal is aimed at helping Shell boost its flagging output thanks to BG's strong position in liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner alternative to coal and nuclear energy.

"I am delighted we now have all the pre-conditional approvals needed to move to the next important phase," added Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden.

"This is a strategic deal that will make Shell a more profitable and resilient company in a world where oil and gas prices could remain lower for some time.

Shell, which will now seek approval from both sets of shareholders, remains on track to complete the deal in early 2016.

SAUDI’S ALMARAI HIKES DIVIDEND FOR 2015 TO 1.15 RIYALS

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's Almarai said on Monday its board had recommended a cash dividend of 1.15 riyals ($0.31) per share for 2015.

Almarai, the Gulf's largest dairy firm, paid a dividend of 1 riyal for 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The total value of the latest dividend payout would be 690 million riyals, the company said in a statement to the Saudi bourse.

CHINA’S BAIDU SAYS TO DEVELOP SELF-DRIVING BUSES WITHIN 3 YEARS

BEIJING: China's top online search firm Baidu Inc said it aims to put self-driving buses on the road in three years and mass produce them within five years, after it set up a business unit to oversee all its efforts related to automobiles.

The unit will also include its initiative in partnership with BMW AG to develop an autonomous passenger vehicle, which may also be put into mass production within five years, a spokesman told Reuters on Monday.

Self-driving cars have emerged as a new battlefront for tech majors globally. Alibaba Group Holding says it will launch its first car in a partnership with China's SAIC Motor Corp, while US tech heavyweights Google and Apple are also developing autonomous cars.

The Baidu spokesman declined to give details on potential auto manufacturer partners for the bus project or investment amounts for the unit.

Baidu Senior Vice President Wang Jing will lead the new unit as general manager.

How to Organize Your Small Business

Purge Your Office

Even if you don’t mind a little mess and dust, too much clutter can add to daily stress and chaos. Clutter exists because we think that everything is important. With the new year, toss out whatever is outdated, no longer relevant or a duplicate.

For example:

Recycle the broken electronics you may have stashed in a closet.
Delete all those old voice messages.
Donate anything you don’t need or use.
Keep the basics and anything you’ve used in the past year; all else can go.

When your workspace is clean and uncluttered, you’ll enjoy spending time at your desk and won’t waste time searching through junk or moving piles around.

Organize Your Paper Files

One study found that the average person wastes over 4 hours per week searching for papers. Go through your filing cabinets and shred anything that’s out of date or no longer relevant to your business.

If you’re worried you might one day need four-year old notes from a client project, then scan the originals and throw out the paper files to make more room.

Ditch Paper Receipts

Considering the IRS accepts electronic copies of receipts, there’s really no reason for you to continue hanging on to all those tiny paper slips from restaurants, taxis, office supply stores, etc.

Find a receipt management scanner or app for your smartphone (such as Neat Receipts) and make sure your solution lets you export data to whatever expense reporting/accounting app you use.

Use the Cloud for Storage and Sharing

If you haven’t done so already, start using cloud-based tools to share and save documents. For example, Google Drive lets you store up to 15GB for free, while giving clients or colleagues access to collaborate. Other tools include Dropbox and Box.

By housing files in the cloud, you can help clean up your personal storage, as well as save valuable time spent emailing documents back and forth when collaborating with others.

Tame Your Inbox

If your email inbox has become a catchall for every email you’ve received over the past years, it’s time to clean house. It is possible to manage your email inbox so you only see the messages you still need to deal with and everything else is neatly archived for safe keeping. Start with a clean slate by filing away everything you no longer need to respond to.

Next, tame the level of new emails you get each day by unsubscribing to newsletters or other subscriptions you no longer read. Create specific folders where non-essential emails go automatically, so they don’t interrupt your daily flow.

Get the Right Note-Taking Tool

One key to staying organized and effective as a small business owner is having the right solution for jotting down any tasks or inspirations when they strike.

Whether you prefer to use pen and paper, voice recording on your smartphone or an app like Evernote, the most important thing is that the solution fits into your lifestyle so you’ll use it consistently.

Tidy Up Your Social Media Profiles

It’s not just your email inbox and desktop that fall prey to clutter. Your social media profiles can also become clogged and out of date.

First, take stock of where your business has a social presence and drop any accounts that are no longer in use. There’s no point in having multiple Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Instagram profiles if you’re not actively posting and monitoring each account.

You can also use a tool like JustUnfollow to weed out any followers who are inactive or aren’t following you back.

Meet with a Tax Advisor

Don’t wait until it’s time to file your returns to start thinking about taxes. Make an appointment with a CPA or tax advisor early in the year.

If your business is still structured as a sole proprietor, now’s the time to think about protecting your personal assets and gaining other benefits through a formal business structure like an LLC or corporation.

Take Charge of Your Books

If you run a small business, you already have some kind of process in place for invoicing, processing payments, recording expenses and tracking projects. But if you haven’t updated your process lately, chances are there’s an app out there to help make these administrative tasks easier and more efficient.

Take a look at your tablet/smartphone app store for a new tool that could help you get organized and take charge of your books in the new year. For example, there’s FreshBooks,Mint, Kashoo, and InDinero to name a few.

Tie Up Any Legal Loose Ends

This is a perfect opportunity to tie up any loose ends you’ve been putting off in prior years. For example, did you file a DBA (Doing Business As) for your business name? Did you get a Tax ID number? Are all your licenses and local permits in order? Did you make any changes to your corporation and LLC and still need to file an Articles of Amendment to record those changes with the state?