Australian economy grows 0.6 pc

MELBOURNE, Sept 2: Australia posted economic growth of 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, official figures showed today, confirming its status as the best performer in the developed world during the global downturn, reports AFP.
The better-than-expected figure means the economy expanded 1.0 per cent in the first six months of 2009, building on 0.4 per cent growth in the March quarter.
Analysts had predicted growth of about 0.2 per cent after weak export figures were released earlier this week.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Peter Anderson said the strong growth was welcome but the real test for the economy would come in the next nine months, when government stimulus spending dries up.
“What we are seeing is growth on the back of the contribution from the publicly-funded stimulus,” he told Sky Business.
“That will start to be eased out over the next quarter, which means that the economy will still be under pressure... the real test is yet to come.”
The Australian government has announced stimulus measures totalling more than 70 million dollars (60 million US) since the end of last year designed to cushion the economy from the global financial crisis.

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The unravelling of Germany’s Arcandor

BERLIN, Sep2: Thousands of workers at the insolvent German retail group Arcandor face an uncertain future amid growing signs that the company will be broken up, reports BBC.
The company’s collapse has also all but wiped out the $5.5bn (£3.4bn) fortune of its reclusive shareholder Madeleine Schickedanz, introducing her to a life of cheap pizzas, discount supermarkets and home-grown vegetables.
All eyes are now on Klaus Hubert Goerg, the court-appointed administrator who has the unenviable task of restructuring Arcandor.
On Tuesday, the insolvency proceedings were officially opened and Goerg presented the bankruptcy court in the German city of Essen with a plan mapping out the road ahead.
The plan coincided with news that there are 18 potential investors for Arcandor’s mail-order unit Quelle, with eight or nine of them interested in Arcandor’s entire mail order operation.
Yet many unresolved questions remain, not least with regards to how many jobs will be cut.
The saga surrounding the collapse of Arcandor has gripped Germany throughout this summer, ever since the retail giant filed for insolvency on 9 June.
With 40,000 jobs in Germany under threat, it was one of the biggest insolvencies Europe had seen since the financial crisis started last year.
German newspaper commentators referred to the “nightmare at Arcandor” and the company’s share price continued its downward slide.
Even its main investors, the Schickedanz family and the private bank Sal. Oppenheim, said they could not stump up any more cash.
Despite a heated public debate, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government refused to help Arcandor, claiming the group ran into trouble before the current downturn.
It was a controversial decision. At the time, there was much focus on how ministers had given the green light for a bail-out of the troubled carmaker Opel, whilst at the same time ruling out state aid for Arcandor.
The company’s Karstadt chain of department stores, the German mail-order unit, Quelle, and the Primondo service group were all affected by the insolvency, among other entities.
“Chancellor Merkel’s government was right not to bail out Arcandor because it’s better to let the market decide whether a company has a viable business model,” says Stefan Kooths, an economist at the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin.
“But the government sent a contradictory message when it [vowed to] bail out Opel.
“That was clearly a protectionist measure designed to help the German car industry.”
Back in June, Arcandor hoped a single investor could be found, but the company’s optimism proved to be ill-founded and separate investors are now being sought.
Arcandor is searching for buyers for its different divisions and the group’s creditor banks are looking to sell most of its 53% stake in Thomas Cook, the UK tour operator.
“Our priority is to save as many jobs as possible,” says Gerd Koslowski, a spokesman for Arcandor.
“We tried to find an investor for the whole Arcandor group, but that wasn’t possible in these difficult market conditions.
“We’re still looking for two investors for the Primondo mail order unit and the Karstadt stores and we’re hopeful.”
Arcandor’s decision to file for insolvency was seen by many as inevitable, given the group’s long-standing difficulties.
Once called KarstadtQuelle, Arcandor almost went bankrupt in 2004 and the company later struggled to stay afloat.
Karstadt’s department stores, which employ 30,000 people in Germany, were regarded by analysts as retail sector dinosaurs.
In recent years, large shopping malls were built outside city centres and the catalogue business of Quelle faced a massive threat from internet companies.
After the German Woolworth chain filed for insolvency in April, Karstadt’s days were numbered.
“We’ve seen a gradual demise of traditional department stores in Germany over the past couple of decades,” says Professor Thomas Roeb from the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.

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Global economy flashes recovery

LONDON, Aug 2: The world economy lurched toward recovery on Wednesday even as fears lingered on financial markets, brightening the sky for talks between G20 finance ministers in London later this week, reports AFP.
Australia surprised with a jump in growth in the second quarter, US manufacturing expanded, European economies continued their gradual emergence from the worst crisis in decades and company results showed an upturn.
The worst of the financial crisis is “over for the time being,” Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, told reporters as he arrived for a meeting in Brussels.
Finance ministers from the Group of 20, which comprises leading developed and developing nations, will be meeting in London at the weekend to lay the groundwork for a G20 economic summit in the US city of Pittsburgh on September 24-25.
World leaders have been upbeat but equally cautious about declaring victory in the epic battle against recession and have warned that recovery will be slow as they focus on the looming dilemma of how to exit stimulus programmes.
“The global economy is not out of the woods yet by a long stretch,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said even as data showed Australia’s economy growing 0.6 per cent in the second quarter — the best result among developed countries.
His Treasurer Wayne Swan sounded a more upbeat note, calling the result “remarkable” given the fragility of the world economy and saying: “Today’s result means we are the fastest growing advanced economy over the past year.”
Resource-rich Australia’s shipments to China and its government stimulus programme have helped shield it from the worst of the global downturn, with the only blip so far an 0.5 per cent contraction in the final quarter of 2008.
In the United States, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the growth in US manufacturing in August for the first time in 19 months was “a sign that we are on the path to economic recovery.”
But he also warned: “There is no doubt we have a long way to go.”
Analysts at Dutch bank ING said in a research note to clients: “A stronger US manufacturing sector could help underpin the global recovery, and provide support for commodity prices.”
They added however that US “economic activity remains exceedingly weak.”
Paul Dales from Capital Economics in London was also optimistic but cautious.
“The good news is that the recovery in the US manufacturing and housing sectors appears to be gathering pace. The bad news is that it is still not creating any extra jobs,” Dales said.
“It is worth remembering that the recovery has not even begun in the all-important consumer sector,” he said, adding: “Overall, it’s shaping up to be another jobless recovery.”
Experts warn major headaches for the world economy still lie ahead as some government stimulus programmes begin to wind down, unemployment rises and concerns linger over the banking sector.
In Germany for instance, fears rose on Wednesday of massive job cuts in the giant auto industry as a five-billion-euro (7.1-billion-dollar) government “cash-for-clunkers” programme wound down.
Stock markets have also shrugged off the upbeat economic data, tumbling around the world this week as traders rush to cash in quick profits.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was 0.36 per cent down in mid-day trading.
“Compared to last month’s optimism, investors seem afraid of fear itself, more than anything else,” said Daniel Roy, equities analyst at Newedge brokers.
“Across market players, it is generally accepted that a correction is due on equity markets” after strong recent gains, he added.
Stock market drops in turn prompted traders on Wednesday to buy up the Japanese yen — seen as a safe-haven investment — against the dollar and euro.
The trend “reflects the nervousness of investors about the sustainability of global economic recovery,” Barclays Capital analysts wrote to clients.
Oil prices, which tend to reflect economic recovery hopes, also remained below 70 dollars a barrel on Wednesday amid worries about energy demand.

German recovery faces setbacks

FRANKFURT, Sept 2: Germany got an economic boost yesterday ahead of a key election as consumption picked up, but unemployment is also rising and tight credit conditions could still choke off a recovery, analysts warn.
German retail sales posted their first increase since April but were overshadowed by higher unemployment that could confound the turnaround.
Sales gained 0.7 per cent in July from the previous month according to provisional data released by the national statistics office.
Auto sales boosted by a government subsidy set to expire on Wednesday were not included in the figures.
Meanwhile, in its last report before the September 27 general election, the Federal Labour Agency said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 8.3 per cent of the workforce in August, up from 8.2 per cent in July. The unadjusted number of unemployed rose by 9,000 to a total of 3.47 million, with a government plan to subsidise shorter working hours “stabilising the labour market,” agency president Frank Weise said. The data showed that between December and June, the number of short- shift workers had increased by around 1.3 million.

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US sees WTO ministerial talks key to Doha success

WASHINGTON, Sept 2: The United States expects a world trade ministerial meeting in India this week to be an “important step” in efforts to conclude the Doha free trade accord, President Barack Obama’s top trade envoy said yesterday, reports AFP.
The two-day informal talks beginning Thursday in New Delhi will be attended by World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy and ministers from rich and emerging nations with sharp differences on issues such as farm subsidies and tariffs on industrial products.
“I think this ministerial... can be a very important step for our goal for the successful completion of the Doha round of negotiations,” US Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters before leaving Tuesday for the meeting. “We all jointly share a common objective and belief that completion of the Doha round can be a key element to helping the world recover from this current economic crisis,” Kirk said.
He added that the talks provided a critical “window” between now and the WTO ministerial meeting later this year in Geneva, giving countries “the clarity needed to understand the opportunities for meaningful market access (and) allow Doha to come to successful conclusion.” The talks are also seen as critical as they come ahead of a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations in the US city of Pittsburgh on September 24-25.
India’s new trade negotiator, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, has said he wants a deal, but his ministry sought to manage expectations about the meeting’s outcome.
“This is not going to be a negotiating forum,” Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, the top civil servant in India’s commerce ministry, told reporters last week. “We are looking for a commitment to re-engage on Doha.”
The Doha round of talks began in 2001 with the aim of boosting global commerce to help developing countries, but deadlock between the major trading blocs has dashed repeated attempts to forge a new pact.
The last push in July last year in Geneva ended in failure, but with new governments installed in Washington and the host nation India, there is renewed hope for another drive for success sometime next year. “I think what may make this different is that with the change in the administration—in the United States and in India certainly, in South Africa, in other countries—you have a new cast of countries with new leadership that have... desire to try to make this happen,” Kirk said.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

World stocks slide despite upbeat data

LONDON, Sep 2: Global stock markets slid on Wednesday, with the heaviest losses seen in Asia, as investor confidence in economic recovery waned despite positive economic data from around the world, reports AFP.
“Compared to last months’ optimism, investors seem afraid of fear itself, more than anything else,” said Daniel Roy, equities analyst at Newedge brokers.
“Across market players, it is generally accepted that a correction is due on equity markets” after strong recent gains, he added.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index slumped 2.37 per cent to close at 10,280.46 points on Wednesday, hit by the double whammy of falling US stocks and a stronger yen, which is bad for exporters, dealers said.
Europe’s main stock markets also dropped but losses were less severe. The FTSE 100 fell 0.22 per cent to 4,809.30 points approaching midday in London, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.53 per cent to 5,299.24 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.67 per cent to 3,559.37.
The falls came despite signs that economies are on the long and bumpy path to recovery from the global downturn, as the United States, the eurozone and China posted manufacturing growth while Australia said GDP grew in the June quarter.
Investors instead took their cue from an overnight slump on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dived 1.96 per cent to finish at 9,310.60 points.
Figures released on Tuesday showing the US manufacturing sector grew in August after 18 monthly declines in a row was hailed by President Barack Obama as “a sign that we are on the path to economic recovery.”
The Institute of Supply Management said its index of the factory sector, also known as the purchasing managers index, beat analyst expectations to jump to 52.9 per cent from 48.9 per cent in July. Any number above 50 indicates growth.
“The year-and-a-half decline in manufacturing output has come to an end, as 11 of 18 manufacturing industries are reporting growth when comparing August to July,” said ISM survey chief Norbert Ore.
However it failed to sway sceptical investors waiting to see if such upbeat data would help buoy corporate earnings, dealers said.
The US results chimed with other manufacturing reports around the world.
A widely-watched index of manufacturing activity in the 16-nation eurozone hit a 14-month high in August, still indicating contraction but continuing a gradual rise from historic lows.
Meanwhile China’s manufacturing activity expanded in August at its fastest pace in 16 months. In response, Shanghai shares rose 1.16 per cent on Wednesday.
The data pointed to stabilisation in the Asian giant and a boost for the many countries that rely on Beijing for their exports.
However, China shares have been volatile in recent sessions amid fears that the government may curb lending, which in turn would crimp liquidity and stymie a regional recovery.
Australia posted economic growth of 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, official figures showed, confirming its status as the best performer in the developed world as massive stimulus plans boosted domestic spending.
“When every other major advanced economy has fallen into technical recession, we have not,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said.
However, Sydney’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 1.69 per cent on Wednesday as worries about Wall Street’s losses and the so-called “September effect” instead coloured sentiment.
“Welcome to September, historically the toughest month of the year for investors,” said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at DA Davidson & Co.
“We are seeing some pullback in the market as we begin September over the concern that the market has overextended itself,” said Andy Douglass of PNC Bank.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Square Hospital inks deal with BRAC Bank

SQUARE Hospitals Ltd. and BRAC Bank signed a corporate healthcare agreement in the city recently, said a press release.
Under the deal, premium banking customer of BRAC Bank will get privileged coverage of health check-ups, medical consultations, diagnostic services, and outdoor and in-patient services at a special rate.
Dr. Faisal Zaman, head of marketing and business development from square Hospitals Ltd., and Firoz Ahmed Khan, head of retail banking from BRAC Bank signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Govt warns hatchery owners of permitting more egg imports

Commerce minister Farukh Khan on Wednesday warned entrepreneurs that permission would be given to import chicks if hatchery owners failed to reduce their prices in the local market. His warning came as imports of eggs, despite protest from businessmen, apeared to have lowered egg prices in the domestic market, reports bdnews24.com.
The commerce minister said the government will continue to allow imports of eggs if the market remains unstable. He made the statement while a delegation of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association met him at his office.
The government recently permitted GM Enterprise to import 20 crore eggs from India, where the first delivery of 3 lakh eggs reached Monday.
Retail price of eggs as stated in the website of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh was Tk 24-25 per hali (four eggs) for red eggs while Tk 23-24 for white ones. It was Tk 29-30 and Tk 28-29 respectively in August.
Masum Khan, a wholesaler at Tejgaon, on Wednesday told bdnews24.com: “We’re selling red eggs at Tk 500 for 100 pieces and white ones at Tk 450, while the price was Tk 580 and Tk 550 respectively two days ago.”
Retail price should be Tk 24 for red eggs and Tk 22 for whites per hali, he added.
Anwar, a retailer at Segunbagicha market, said he was selling red eggs at Tk 26, white at Tk 25 and local eggs at Tk 30 per hali.
He said price of farm eggs was two to three Tk higher per hali three days ago, but the wholesalers have now reduced the price.
Meanwhile, the poultry association members on Wednesday again argued that imports of eggs were harming the local industry. During their meeting with the commerce minister they demanded an immediate halt to imports of eggs.
Syed Abu Siddique, president of the association, after the meeting told reporters: “We, the farmers, sell eggs at Tk 5 per piece, but the middlemen push the rate.”

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

New SME Foundation chief for rate cut

Newly appointed SME Foundation (SMEF) chairman Aftab ul Islam on Wednesday emphasized on lower interest for flourishing the small and medium enterprises in the country, reports UNB.
“SMEs won’t flourish if the interest rate (on SME loans) is not half of the general rate,” he said at a press conference at the Foundation office.
At present, banks charge up to 13 per cent interest on loans for agriculture, and medium and large enterprises while over 13 per cent for small enterprises.
Aftab ul Islam, a professional accountant and businessman, said: “Banks have a negative attitude towards the SMEs. This must change.”
He said the SME Foundation should have a bank of its own to provide much better financial support to the SMEs.
Replying to a question, Aftab, who has been appointed for two years, said: “I’ve a dream to see the foundation’s own bank during my tenure. But I’ll be happy if I can see the bank during my lifetime.”

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

0.3m sharecroppers to get Tk 500cr loan

The central bank on Wednesday signed an agreement with BRAC on a Tk 500 crore fund for collateral free loans to some 300,000 sharecroppers, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, reports bdnews24.com.
The Bangladesh Bank’s agriculture loan and special programme director general SM Moniruzzaman and BRAC director (finance) S M Koiri signed the deal on the fund titled ‘refinancing scheme’ .
After the deal, governor Atiur Rahman said: “The neglected sharecroppers do not get the farm loans given by the banks. But half of the farmers of the country are sharecroppers. “The central bank has taken the project keeping the sharecroppers in view,” he said.
Under the initiative, BRAC, the largest NGO, will borrow from the refinancing scheme at 5 per cent interest and distribute collateral free loans to sharecroppers at 10 per cent.
Deputy governor Nazrul Huda said the loan will be disbursed among some 300,000 sharecroppers of 150 upazilas of 35 districts.
Of Tk 500 crore fund, Tk 450 crore would be given in crop loan and Tk 50 crore in agriculture equipment loan.
BRAC executive director Mahbub Hossain said a farmer would get not more than Tk 20,000.
Farmers who did not pass the SSC exams would be come under the scheme, he said. The BB governor said BRAC would not realise the loan repayment installments as it does in case of regular credit. The installments would be payable based on harvest seasons.
The central bank will also see if the real sharecroppers are getting loans, Rahman said. It will take up similar projects with other NGOs if the scheme proves successful, he said. BRAC chairman Fazle Hasan Abed said though it was risky to distribute loans to farmers they had decided to give loans to sharecroppers.
The loans would be given though forming organisations with the sharecroppers, he said. “We have given 100 per cent guarantee to Bangladesh Bank much earlier. BRAC will face the risk of the project if any,” Abed said.
Rahman, the central bank chief, told bdnews24.com on Tuesday: “For the first time in the history of Bangladesh a fund has been created for sharecroppers which will play an immense role in development of agriculture.”
He said sharecroppers historically had little access to loan facilities as they usually had little or no collateral to guarantee their debt.
A number of NGOs applied to take part in the scheme, but BRAC was selected on the workability of their application, a BB official told the news agency.
The central bank earlier asked all government, private, specialised and overseas banks to assist in distributing Tk 11,500 crore in agricultural loans during FY 2008-09, of which over TK 9,000 crore has been disbursed to date.
Banks have disbursed farm loans of Tk 9, 284 crore in 2008-09.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Zamdani sarees in high demand in Eid market

The prestigious Zamdani sarees are top in the bursting Eid and puja market this time drawing increasing attention of most buyers from cross section of people, reports BSS.
And the very underlying factors behind this success lies in the initiatives of a section of producers who are adding new designs, styles and taste to classical zamdani fabrics to increase its use both as home-wear and party attire.
The industry sources said, zamdani is not limited now to its use as sarees. It is a popular wear now as salwar and kamis for female, panjabi for male, besides kuti, kurta, orna, ghagra, chuli, curtain and walmats.
More interestingly, local producers this time have put zamdani lehanga in the market as an alternative to popular Indian lehanga cloths largely sought after by young girls. It sells from Tk 5,000 per piece to Tk 15,000 depending on fashion, design and other quality.
Leader of the zamdani manufacturers and exporters association and proprietor of Moslin zamdani weaving factory M R Mostaque told the news agency zamdani as a prestigious cloths is having an unique feature and special urge to users.
It’s shinning design and linen have given it the recognition of the cloths for festivities. However its making needs special skill and learning of the intricate weaving which comes down only from generation of practice on family line.
And as the knitting of these sarees and other clothes take longer time and entails huge cost, its use still largely remained limited to wealthy people keeping most of the middle class and the poor out of the reach.
Producers have opened the zamdani export fair-2009 this time on August 18 at Uttara Friends Club ahead of the eid festival. A total of 108 stalls taking part in it, most of them selling zamdani outfits costing a saree for instance from Tk 5000 at the lowest to over Tk 50,000 on the top.
Most of the produce has come from Sonargaon and Rupganj in the outskirts of the city.
President of the zamdani manufacturers and exporters association Wahidul Azad said ,the fair this time has been arranged in a wider scale and the number of visitors are increasing every day.
Some stalls have also put in display the making of the zamdani saree to give buyers an idea what skill one needs to produce it and why it is so costly. One artisan in work on a saree in the stall said it would take at least 10 days to complete and he would get Tk 2,000 as workman charge.
A visitor to the fair Dr Tasnuba said, she takes interest in the fair although the products here sell at high cost. Sarees and other outfits can be used at home and in the social events as appreciable cloths, she said.
It is an indigenous industry having reputation beyond the border. We must preserve the trade and expand it, said another buyer.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Masks sell at higher prices

Unscrupulous businessmen are making fortune out of swine flu panic in the country after disposable surgical masks are sold at three times higher than the price of such a preventive device, reports BSS.
A number of pharmacies today said the mask importers and wholesalers in city’s Mitford area sold a mask of Tk 3 at Tk 10 yesterday, but the price has gone up further with its poor supply.
“We have bought a dozen of China-made surgical mask at Tk 35 on Monday, Tk 70 on Tuesday and Tk 120 today. However, the masks are almost out of market since this evening,” said a pharmacist of the city.
He also said the demand for masks has gone up sharply after the death of the country’s first swine flu case on Sunday night. The demand for drug has also risen, although the government repeatedly said it has more than enough stock of antiviral.
“We have ordered for the antiviral capsule of Square Pharma, which costs Tk 1,850 for 10 capsules,” Shafiul Haque Nipu, owner of Abhijit Pharmacy in city’s Shahbagh area, said.
“Masks are being sold in bookstalls at Nilket, replacing books by masks because of high profit margin,” added Dr Pinaki Bhattacharya, a pharmacist, at a roundtable on swine flu in the city today. The Daily Bhorer Kagoj organised the function at the Jatiya Press Club.
Pinaki said the country might experience a highest number of 100,000 flu cases in next four months, but the government has a stock of 900,000 capsules to treat infected people with mild attacks. He said the people should not pay heed to rumours and be panicked. Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh Dr Khairul Islam said overemphasis were placed on symptomatic treatment and drug procurement, but little attention has been given to strategic communication and campaigning.
Steps should be taken to change behaviour of the people, 80 per cent of whom do sneeze, cough and spit at open places without protection.
Official sources today confirmed 12 new cases of swine flu, totaling the number at 259 since the first case was detected on June 18. Initially most of the cases prevailed among people coming from abroad, but later the epidemiology has shifted to community level infections.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Stocks end up upbeat

Dhaka stocks finished upbeat Wednesday for the second straight day on an investor buying spree, which caused over 70 per cent of issues to gain, reports bdnews24.com.
The day’s highs were largely driven by pharmaceutical and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), according to brokers.
“NBFIs gained the most, on expectation of their capital base doubling,” an official of brokerage house Royal Securities told the news agency.
The official, however, said the buying spree had followed depressed market prices.
“Buying often occurs after a few days of losses to gain benefit from the low prices,” said Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, a former CEO of Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Salahuddin expressed doubt on the sustainability of the trend: “Market participation is dropping day-by-day, which is apparent from the declining turnover.”
He said a further fall in turnover is expected ahead of Eid: “Funds will probably be pulled for festival expenses.”
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical shares gained significantly, followed by mutual funds, although the bellwether, banks, ended mixed. Most insurers eroded Tuesday’s gains, although some ended upbeat while fuel and power shares edged up and cement shares continued their rise.
Dhaka Stock Exchange’s benchmark index gained around 24 points to end on 2974.49, while turnover slipped to Tk 4.46 billion from Tuesday’s Tk 4.99 billion.
The all share index or DSI ended on 2500.53 points, up 20.27 points or 0.81 per cent, while the blue chip DSE-20 closed 14.97 points up, or 0.71 per cent, to close on 2120.28.
Gainers outnumbered losers 172 to 58, with four issues holding steady.
Latest entrant to the market, Navana CNG continued to top the turnover board, with shares of Tk 245.807 million traded, although it fell 4.71 per cent to Tk 210.20 on profit taking.
Off-dock service entity, Summit Alliance Port Ltd followed with a turnover of Tk 198.109 million, climbing 3.44 per cent to Tk 2254.50.
Beximco edged up 0.55 per cent to Tk 287.40, with shares worth Tk 170.524 million changing hands.
ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund had a turnover of Tk 163.483 million, rising 1.86 per cent to finish at Tk 163.483.
State-owned entity Jamuna Oil ended on Tk 274.60, up 3.07 per cent. Its turnover reached Tk 143.653 million.
Among the other scrips on the board—Lanka Bangla Finance, AIMS 1st Mutual Fund, Bex Tex and Summit Power gained.
Profit taking, however, caused IFIC Bank to slip.
Indices on the Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended upbeat driven by real-estate, services and cement shares.
The benchmark selective categories index closed 33.89 points, or 0.51 per cent higher, at 6668.84 while the all share price index or CASPI ended on 10436.49, up by 57.26 points or 0.55 per cent.
Turnover on the port city bourse amounted to Tk 436.798 million.
Beximco ended turnover leader with shares of Tk 37.26 million traded.
Bex Tex, AIMS 1st Mutual Fund, ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund and EBL 1st Mutual Fund followed.

http://www.newstoday-bd.com

Will Ending Annual Reviews Make You More Like a Startup?

Here’s an unusual step a CEO took to make his company more entrepreneurial: Ban annual performance reviews. Sam Inman, CEO of Comarco, a small 32-person outfit which makes universal charge adapters, stopped giving out annual raises and holding the annual review session after noticing the process seemed to build a sense of entitlement. Says Inman:
“Someone would get a $20,000 bonus or a $5,000 bonus, and from no specific criteria. Everyone expected it. It became a little mind numbing.”

Wanting to make employees more responsive to customers, he decided the culture needed changing. So instead, he does what he calls “lightening strikes” rewards, where employees are given random awards and raises immediately after achieving a set goal or reaching a new level of performance. “I don’t believe companies of any size make milestones off a calendar basis,” he says. “We’re breaking that system up.”

As a result, he’s handed out gift certificates to a shopping mall, a plane ticket to China for his head of manufacturing’s wife to visit while he was on an extended stay in Asia, and a four-day vacation for two for a particularly hard-working director of planning. “People don’t expect it,” he says, adding “we raise people’s salary when we think they should get it.”

At the same time, he changed senior management’s compensation, getting away from “management by objective” goals—the sort of things “you’re supposed to do in the first place,” Inman says, such as getting a sales contract completed on time or deadlines for new product development. He replaced such task-oriented goals with stock options for senior executives to help better align executives with shareholders.

While some might say too many stock options can lead to an unhealthy focus on stock price, Inman says the move was needed. He acknowledges that stock options “can get people dong unnatural things,” but says the balance of performance-based options should help make sure executives are focused on the long term. “This company, in this case, was so far removed from being focused at all on what the share price was.”

http://www.businessweek.com

10 Small Business Trends for 2009

I love prognosticators! It’s the end of the year and now’s the time when all the predictions are coming in. I don’t really care what Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are up to (it’s OK if you do… No judgment from me) but give me some insight on small business trending and I’m all over that…

So it is on that note that I would like to share with you this great article form Small business Labs called: 2009 Top 10 Small Business Trends. The article is very timely considering that some economists estimate that as much as 95% of our economy is driven by small businesses.

However, it is number 10 on the 2009 small business trends list that caught my attention:

10. Small Businesses Will Expand Their Use of Online Marketing Tools: Despite the economic downturn, we expect the small business sector to increase its use of online marketing tools and methods in 2009. Online marketing is cheaper and often more effective than traditional approaches. And although online marketing can be complex, many tools and methods are accessible to DIY small business marketers. With small businesses focused on customer acquisition and re-defining their business methods, we expect their use of online marketing to grow in 2009.

Since those in the know realize that online marketing can be far less costly than traditional forms of marketing. Do newspaper ads really get people into your store? The answer: Yes, but… Of course offline marketing works – but even in a small market a newspaper ad might cost several hundred dollars.

If you take into account that a full 50% of your potential customers are looking for your small business online – What if you could be the first option they see when they are looking for your type of product or service online? Well, you probably can!

Utilizing the vast resources of the internet as well as variations of what savvy Internet Marketers use – yes indeed you can. Internet Marketing is a business and chances are you’re not in the internet marketing business. So, would it make sense for you to become a full time internet marketer? NO! You need time to run, maintain and grow your small business.

That being said, there is a lot you can do to market your small business online and chances are that your competition is not.

By blogging, social networking, social bookmarking, even strategically placed video, you can increase your presence on Google and on the web in general.

Hone your message, create multiple gateways to your web presence online, perform great customer service, and watch your small business grow.

http://www.freemarketmediagroup.com

How to find freelance writing jobs using the 2008-2009 Freelance writing job report

While I was doing my research online to find more informaton on how to find freelance writing jobs report, I came across this report written by Yuwanda Black, I found the information so useful that I wanted to share it with my fans and subscribers. Some of the things that Yuwanda mentions is good for anyone who is looking ot build a freelance writing career online from home. She has done it and is doing it so with an established role model to follow, its easy to see how you can become successful as a freelance writer.

Some of the many questions you may ask when starting out is how do you find freelance writing jobs, some helpful advice from the freelance writing job report is to look at what the trends are in the news, online and offline. Take what is around you in your own local area as well as the global economy and when you look at the emerging trends around you it makes it easier to find out what industries and what sectors will be in need of freelance writers. One thing to note that not all freelance writing jobs are listed on a job board.

One of the key things that you will find from reading articles written by the inkwell editorial.com author is that freelance writers need to be proactive and learn how to market their services. Basically going out and finding freelance writing jobs by sending email queries. Some companies may not have time to advertise or it could just be timing, they may have lost a couple of on staff writers and now they are looking to outsource the work to get done. As has been brought out the work still needs to get done no matter if a company is laying off workers or cutting jobs.

Content is something that no business can ignore, if they want to compete on the internet they will need to invest in getting as much quality content as they can for their blogs, websites and newsletters.

Outsourcing freelance writers will continue to be in demand and the more areas of expertise that you add to your portfolio the more work you will see in the coming years that will pad your bank account with enough cash to get through the approaching recession.

http://hubpages.com

2008-2009 Online Business Trends - Get the Amazing New Report!

Online business of course depends upon time and goes through significant changes as time passes. It has changed dramatically for the past few years, and the revolutionary changes are still going on!

You may have heard of this and you probably understand which trends we're speaking about but ... but there is one stuff you should check immediately anyway if you want to be among the top players in your online market.

This free stuff is definitely a MUST-HAVE for those who want to make real money on the Internet in 2008-2009!

You can get this free report here...

This is probably the best Internet marketing report of the year as it is extremely important to the future of your business. So you are highly recommended to reserve your copy before it's too late.

The report gives you the vision and meaningful, specific tactics you can start using right now... to blow past your competitors in 2008-2009 that don't know what you know about the new online business phase.

The quicker you use this information the more you'll profit from it.

So get your copy now!

Don't delay. This free report is only going to be available for a limited time. Then it will be gone.

For more info go to: Online Marketing Expertise.Com

Business Week's Twitter for Entrepreneurs - 20 to Follow

Smallbizlabs is honored to be on Business Week's list of 20 people for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. As the Business Week article points out, the list includes Twitter celebrities like Richard Branson, Chris Brogan, Tim Ferris, John Jantz and Anita Campbell.

Others on the list, like Smallbizlabs, are less well known.

They did not include their own twitter address on the list - @newentrepreneur - but it would be on the list if someone else had created it.

Our twitter address is @smallbizlabs and we hope to see you on Twitter.

http://www.smallbizlabs.com

2009 Top 10 Small Business Trends

It's prediction season and we've prepared our annual top 10 small business trends list. The economy is obviously the key issue facing small business in 2009. With the global recession and economic turmoil as our back drop, here is our list:

Economic Trends

1. The Recession Drives Small Business Innovation: With the economy mired in a deep recession, small businesses will focus on cash flow, cost containment, customer retention and survival. But economic stress will also lead to a wave of small business innovation. Driven by the need to improve productivity and increase customer value, small businesses will re-evaluate, re-design and refine their products, processes and business models. Despite the adverse economic climate, innovation will create new opportunities for many small businesses.

2. Government Plays an Increasing Role in the Economy: Economic turmoil, corporate malfeasance and regulatory failure are leading to much greater government intervention in the economy. While we believe that the long term, global trend towards market capitalism continues to be strong, governments around the world will take a more active role in managing and regulating their economies. Small businesses will need to be aware of federal, state and local government policy and program changes and their impacts.

3. Global Infrastructure Spend: President-elect Obama and his transition team are preparing a massive, $850 billion economic recovery package. China, Japan, the EU and other countries are also developing large infrastructure spending programs. In the US bridges and roads, alternative energy, transportation, clean tech and education will likely see substantial federal spending increases with the impacts likely being felt in the second half of 2009. Small businesses will benefit directly through government contracting programs targeted at them and indirectly through providing goods and services to larger firms.

4. The Number of Small Businesses Will Increase in 2009: With job losses high and traditional employment options limited, many will turn to self-employment and small business in 2009. The prior three recessions have seen small business formation rates increase. And with it easier and cheaper than ever to start small or personal businesses, we expect a strong year for small business formation – especially personal businesses. Failure rates will also increase, but not enough to offset the number of new small and personal businesses.

5. Small Business Globalization Will Temporarily Slow: While we believe the long- term trend towards small business globalization is still strong, we expect small business globalization to slow in 2009. The primary reasons are the global economic slump, turmoil in currency markets and small businesses focusing on local markets. We expect small business exports to pick up in late 2009 as the global economy starts to recover.

Demographic Trends

6. Baby Boomer Retirement Problems Will Lead to Increased Interest in Small Business: We’ve long forecasted that baby boomers will stay in the workforce past the traditional retirement age. Current economic turmoil makes this trend even stronger. Baby boomer retirement has taken a series of major blows. The value of their homes, retirement savings and inheritances has all declined substantially. Many have lost or will lose their jobs. Boomers will have to extend their working years and small and personal businesses will be their best, and in many cases, only option.

7. Generation Y Will Turn to Small Business: Gen Y will continue to be be more entrepreneurial than youth in recent generations. The economic slump will make this trend stronger as many Gen Yers face limited traditional employment opportunities. With their risks and opportunity costs relatively low, many Gen Yers will choose to start or work for small or personal businesses.

Technology Trends

8. Mobile Computing Continues Strong Growth: On our list last year, mobile computing is entering the US mainstream. Notebooks outsold desktop PC’s in the second half of 2008, smart phones sales continued their rapid growth and millions of netbooks (very small personal computers designed primary for mobile internet access) were sold. Adding the continued rapid growth of navigation systems, location-based services and mobile search results in mobile computing having a major impact on small businesses in 2009.

9. Cloud Computing Continues Strong Growth: Another trend that was on our 2008 key technology trends list. Cloud computing offers too many small business benefits not to continue its strong growth in 2009. In particular cloud computing lowers capital costs and turns fixed costs into variable costs – two powerful attributes that are very attractive in a down economy.

10. Small Businesses Will Expand Their Use of Online Marketing Tools: Despite the economic downturn, we expect the small business sector to increase its use of online marketing tools and methods in 2009. Online marketing is cheaper and often more effective than traditional approaches. And although online marketing can be complex, many tools and methods are accessible to DIY small business marketers. With small businesses focused on customer acquisition and re-defining their business methods, we expect their use of online marketing to grow in 2009.

Thank's to: www.genylabs.typepad.com

Google Expanding Access To Wave Soon, First “Hands-On” Impressions

At the end of next month, September 30, Google will expand the current “developer preview” of Google Wave to roughly 100,000 consumer users. According to Google, “included in this group of early testers will be some of the businesses using Google Apps.” In anticipation of this wider release, Danny and I got some time with Lars Rasmussen and the rest of the Google Wave team the other day.

By way of background, Danny and I wrote about Wave when it was first announced earlier this year and then offered some third-party developer observations.

Without doing a full “review,” I’ll offer some initial thoughts from my 50 or so minutes with the Wave team and hands-on experience with Wave:

It’s an exciting — possibly breakthrough — product that eludes simple categorization. Wave does lots of things and has the potential to do many more. However, there’s almost a “cultural” adaptation necessitated by it. People have to get used to communicating in a kind of “layered” way that Wave both allows and almost requires.

The screenshot above, from our Wave demo, looks a lot like an email client. But Wave permits multiple people to interact in real-time with each other. It’s a mix of email and IM with some Twitter and iGoogle thrown in. Speaking of the latter, Wave will spawn a developer ecosystem and permits existing Google Gadgets and the new social gadgets to work within it. In other words, developers can build apps and users can access or import them within the platform and individual waves (conversations).

There’s also drag and drop photo sharing. One cool related feature allows full-screen slideshows of images added by any user participating in a wave. (Yahoo has been taking incremental steps toward something more like this with its series of Yahoo Mail upgrades.)

Wave can also act as a Twitter client or embed Twitter clients (and one would assume eventually Facebook too). One could also imagine it as a feed reader for news. Indeed, third party developer efforts will enable Wave to grow and change, built around basic functionality of real-time communication and collaboration. One could easily imagine Google Voice and Google Talk integration into Wave, and so on.

It may be premature to discuss this, but a key to the mainstream appeal and adoption of Wave will be its ability to incorporate existing email accounts and to function as a client for traditional email.

During the demo most of the emphasis had been on enterprise or B2B collaboration. It struck me that teens would recognize this as a social tool and potential successor to IM — and would take to it accordingly. I made a comment along those lines and Google’s Rasmussen conveyed an anecdote about a test with Sydney (Australia) 3rd graders who used Wave and apparently had a great deal of fun with it.

That’s saying something if both developers and 3rd graders can equally use it. However, as Wave rolls out and more people are exposed, more of its potential and an expanding list of scenarios and use cases will likely emerge.

Thank's to: www.searchengineland.com

The #1 Dumbest AdSense Mistake or How NOT to Earn $10,000/Month

Almost all AdSense publishers are looking for the most expensive keywords. Let's have a look at the top 100 most expensive keywords. But first let's add 2 extra columns to the list: clicks/day and cost/day by Google AdWords estimation:

Keyword	Cost Per Click	Clicks/Day	Cost/Day
selling structured settlements	$64.81	0.1	$0.00
cash for structured settlements	$63.87	0.1	$0.00
auto insurance quotes florida	$62.57	0.1	$0.00
california auto insurance quotes	$57.34	0.1	$0.00
auto insurance quotes california	$57.01	0.1	$0.00
student loan consolidation interest rate	$56.86	0.1	$0.00
lendingtree .com	$56.35	3.5	$197.22
consolidate loan refinance student	$55.86	0.1	$0.00
audio conference calling	$55.32	0.1	$0.00
arizona divorce attorneys	$53.56	0.1	$0.00
dui attorney los angeles	$52.75	0.5	$26.37
business conference calls	$52.41	0.1	$0.00
personal injury attorneys chicago	$51.59	0.1	$0.00
mesothelioma treatment options	$51.31	0.1	$0.00
copper repiping	$50.94	0.1	$0.00
conference calling services	$49.65	1.0	$49.65
houston criminal lawyer	$49.59	0.5	$24.79
criminal houston lawyer	$49.59	0.5	$24.79
corporate conference calls	$49.35	0.1	$0.00
sell annuity settlement	$49.11	0.1	$0.00
student loan consolidation rates	$48.80	0.1	$0.00
irs tax attorney	$48.78	1.0	$48.78
california criminal defense lawyers	$48.38	0.1	$0.00
universal life insurance quote	$48.34	2.0	$96.68
san diego criminal lawyer	$48.30	0.1	$0.00
irs help	$48.27	4.5	$217.21
web based conferencing services	$47.80	0.1	$0.00
american tax relief	$47.37	0.5	$23.68
criminal defense attorney los angeles	$47.34	0.1	$0.00
pacific coast pillows	$47.24	1.0	$47.24
chicago personal injury lawyers	$46.81	0.1	$0.00
sell annuity payments	$46.73	0.1	$0.00
san diego criminal attorney	$46.61	0.1	$0.00
los angeles criminal defense attorney	$46.59	0.1	$0.00
data recovery seattle	$46.59	0.1	$0.00
student loan consolidation rate	$46.29	2.0	$92.58
college loan consolidation	$46.29	2.5	$115.72
dui attorney san diego	$46.04	0.1	$0.00
consolidate school loans	$45.94	0.1	$0.00
federal criminal defense attorneys	$45.86	0.1	$0.00
irs problem	$45.68	1.5	$68.52
mesothelioma lawyers	$45.48	2.0	$90.96
chicago injury lawyers	$45.22	0.1	$0.00
federal criminal lawyer	$45.18	0.5	$22.59
white water rafting maine	$45.18	0.5	$22.59
maine white water rafting	$45.18	0.5	$22.59
best home equity loans	$45.14	1.5	$67.71
universal life quote	$45.11	2.5	$112.77
consolidate college loans	$45.09	0.5	$22.54

Have you noticed that keyword price result in ZERO profit if there are no clicks? It's cost/day (keyword price X clicks/day) that makes you rich, not keyword price itself.

Here is the list of the most PROFITABLE, not the most expensive AdSense keywords:

Keyword	Cost Per Click	Clicks/Day	Cost/Day
insurance	$17.41	49,893.5	$868,645.81
hotels	$3.52	200,636.0	$706,238.75
film	$2.88	183,044.0	$527,166.75
home	$3.89	102,282.5	$397,878.91
car	$5.09	52,069.5	$265,033.75
schools	$4.13	60,913.0	$251,570.69
acting	$2.28	106,337.0	$242,448.36
credit	$8.67	25,705.0	$222,862.34
cheap	$2.71	82,139.5	$222,598.05
digital	$1.70	130,607.0	$222,031.91
hotel	$2.38	84,776.5	$201,768.06
film schools	$5.64	35,501.5	$200,228.45
software	$3.23	61,259.5	$197,868.19
new	$2.17	90,415.0	$196,200.55
auto insurance	$29.48	6,453.0	$190,234.44
rental	$5.97	31,635.5	$188,863.94
free	$1.06	172,680.5	$183,041.33
travel	$5.02	35,084.5	$176,124.19
auto	$7.28	23,610.5	$171,884.44
video	$2.01	83,295.0	$167,422.95
mortgage	$13.03	12,172.0	$158,601.16
flights	$1.91	75,692.0	$144,571.72
editing	$2.37	57,747.0	$136,860.39
refinance	$20.01	6,827.0	$136,608.27
loans	$9.38	13,966.5	$131,005.77
uk	$1.43	86,623.5	$123,871.60
computer	$3.67	33,043.5	$121,269.64
buy	$2.06	58,840.5	$121,211.43
extended stay	$20.13	5,758.0	$115,908.54
home insurance	$18.75	6,152.0	$115,350.00
training	$3.60	31,112.0	$112,003.20
travel insurance	$11.29	9,861.0	$111,330.69
cars	$3.90	26,198.5	$102,174.15
debt	$9.17	11,104.5	$101,828.26
furniture	$1.76	57,463.5	$101,135.76

Thank's To: www.xedant.com