World Bank

When poor countries become desperate for economic help, they turn to the World Bank for loans. However, these loans come with strings attached - the World Bank imposes certain harsh conditions on debtor countries to ensure that their loans will be repaid. The Fund's standard package is designed to "get the economy going again", but the consequences for the poor are catastrophic because the World Bank, to put it loosely, "encourages" more land to be put into exports (increasing dependence on costly food imports), wages to be cut, reduction in state assistance to the poor, and increased ease of access for foreign corporations. These policies are beneficial to the rich countries, but they have had such savage effects on poor Third World people that riots against the World Bank break out from time to time.

Far from progressing towards self-sustaining, economic growth, and prosperity, the Third World has fallen into such levels of debt that few would now hold any hope of repayment ($514 billion in 2007). Some countries now have to pay out most of their annual income just to meet interest payments on the debt. On top of that, the World Bank pays no attention to the environment by clear cutting unusable lands and destroying precious ecosystems, and have now be deemed responsible for a dollar amount of close to a trillion dollars in continuing destruction and wasted money during their "so called" economic projects that are always end up doing a lot more harm than good.

Established at Bretton Woods in 1944, the World Bank is the most controversial international organizations in the world today. This is due to the Bank's policies on the least advantaged countries of the world, which fall mainly in Africa and parts of Asia. More specifically, The World Bank, with their plan to "get the economy going again", demands "structural adjustment" and "conditionalities" to be met before any money is authorized to be sent out. Poorer countries have no choice because they desperately need the money to keep their country going. This is a mistake, because country ends up having little to no choice on how the money is spent. They end up with the money being put towards something they did not really need, or want, and it is usually useless to them. The country ends up being worse off then when they began; they have a bigger debt, a higher interest, and a project ex. (No short terms) (road / electrical system) that does them little to no good, and they still do not have a long-term solution to their economic problems.

As mentioned above, the term "Structural adjustment" refers to preconditions that the World Bank imposes before loans are made. These "conditionality’s" are based on market-oriented ideas that include devaluing the currency, increasing exports while decreasing imports, and decreasing social spending, among other requirements designed to ultimately balance the borrower's budget. This mode of operation was not envisioned to come from the World Bank. It was created as a specialized agency of the United Nations. The World Bank was designed to serve as a short-term lending agency to be able to provide a temporary balance of payment and debt because of World War II (or Two). But in the 21st century they have become more of a loan shark, then a friend.

Taken from the World Bank website, I was able to read about the diluted facts they have the nerve to put up (change wording). I summarized it as follows:

Last year in 2002, the World Bank provided 19.5 Billion US dollars to client countries around the world. The World Bank currently works in more than 100 developing economies, in which they bring different financial ideas on improving the living standard and target to eliminate the worst forms of poverty. For each "client" country, the World Bank works with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private sectors in their quest to formulate effective assistance strategies. The World Bank itself, which is owned by more then 184 member countries, has a main focus on helping the poorest people and the poorest countries with emphasis on:

• Investing in people, particularly through basic health and education

• Focusing on social development, inclusion, governance, and institution-building as key elements of poverty reduction

• Strengthening the ability of the governments to deliver quality services, efficiently and transparently

• Supporting and encouraging private business development

• Supporting and encouraging private business development

• Promoting reforms to create a stable macroeconomic environment, conducive to investment and long-term planning.

In many countries in the world, hunger, poverty and things like illiteracy run rampant, since the opening in 1944, the World Bank boasts to be one of the key elements in the improvement of living standards in many of these countries. They boast to have made the lives of millions of adults and their children. In the last few decades, they have said again, to be a key element in the following:

• Life expectancy has increased from 55 to 65 years

• The number of literate adults has doubled

• The total number of children in school has risen from 411 million to 681 million

• Infant mortality has been reduced by 50 percent

When reading this, how could one not become sick to their stomach? To say that they have been a tool in the reshaping and helping (use different word) of these countries is an outright lie. But this lie, kept by World Bank, is held in high regard. The World Bank is overly concerned, unlike most other modern corporations, about its image. The World Bank gets its product; loans and credits, "out the door" at the rate of two and a half million dollars an hour. Most poor borrowing country clients don't much care how the World Bank is "perceived" so long as the money keeps flowing in to them. Whatever the appearances, these developing countries are not the World Bank's real clients. The target audience it must impress is in the rich North Western Countries, and will stop at nothing to do it. If the World Bank's image deteriorates too sharply, in the rich countries, because of lack of interest in different projects, it will sooner or later feel the pain in its purse and its power will consequently be diminished.

How To Bank Offshore

Offshore Banking is having a bank account in a country where you are not a resident. Normally this would be in a tax haven (a country that has low taxes or no taxation). Because of the word “offshore” you would think that only remote islands are offering this type of banking. In reality even the USA and Canada can be offshore tax haven for you depending on your country of residence and nationality.

Why Bank Offshore?

For people living in a politically or financially unstable country banking offshore will allow them to keep their hard earned money in a safe place. One way to lower your taxes is re-invoicing using an offshore corporation.

Some of the other advantages of offshore banking are:

- Low taxes or no taxes at all. Avoid tax rate increases in your home country.
- Higher interest rates are often available due to non-existent corporate taxes.
- Possibility of investments that may not be available in your home country.
- Anonymous accounts and strict privacy and bank secrecy laws will keep your banking confidential.
- Increase the level of protection by having an offshore corporation.
- Asset protection.

How to get the offshore bank account?

First make a list of banking services you need. Then check carefully the background of the banks in the various offshore banking havens. Take into consideration the distance from your country of residence, if you need to visit your bank frequently. To keep your account confidential it may be wise to travel indirectly to your chosen tax haven.

Offshore banking can be found all around the world. Maybe you will find a bank in country where you would like to vacation. The Caribbean Islands have many offshore banks. Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore have taxation based on territoriality only taxing persons and corporations on business actually done in the country. Both are major financial centers with world class business facilities.

Depending on the services you require the initial bank deposit could be only $500 but may reach $500,000.00 if you desire private banking services.

Most offshore banks have web sites where you can see the services they provide. Look for a downloadable application form. Read it carefully and check what documents need to be submitted with your application. Some documents may need to be notarized.

Some offshore banks are stricter in compliance of KYC regulations and may require more documentation than others. Some banks may want you to appear in person to open the account.

You Can Bank On It.

Most U.S. citizens walk into, get online to, or drive up to their bank several times each week and hand over their hard earned dollars. Why do they do it? How many other strangers would they trust to hold their savings, and return the money and additional funds back to them at any point in time? What makes banks safe, and how do we know they are?

Well, the first indication that you're money's in a safe place is the placard that greets you at the door - FDIC. This federal U.S. agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, typically protects up to $100,000 of your deposited funds from loss. Established in the 1930's, the FDIC became a way to curtail the runs on banks that occurred directly after the Depression. By 1934, with the initiation and support of the FDIC legislation bank runs had been reduced by nearly 4000.

In addition to FDIC protection, banks also pay for supplemental banking insurance from private carriers. This insurance is set up to protect investors' funds from vandalism and bank robberies.

Banks offer a variety of options to their customers, many of them an evolution of the traditional checking and savings account operation. While a checking account is still the most familiar and most common banking feature, there are now a variety of checking account choices - some, known as negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts, actually pay interest on the balance. Besides the traditional savings account, banks also now offer loans, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. Some offer IRAs and education savings accounts.

With a traditional savings account, you are able to deposit and withdraw virtually at will, with no minimum deposit or balance required. For this you earn a small interest - currently at an all time low range of .6 - 2 percent.

A money market account offers the immediacy and convenience of a traditional checking account along with the interest bearing advantage of a savings account. There are some limitations, however. Generally you can write just a few checks per month - at some banks as few as three. You are also limited to just a few more withdrawals as well. You'll also be held to a minimum running balance, although a money market account almost always pays more interest than a traditional savings account.

A certificate of deposit is a banking account purchased in a specific amount for a specified period of time. Banks traditionally offer a variety of time periods for certificate maturities - anywhere from 30 days to 15 months. The longer the time to maturation the higher the rate of interest paid. For the length of the certificate, however, you are not able to withdraw any of the funds.

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and education savings accounts are designed to accrue a substantial amount over a lengthy time period for a specific purpose, IRA's for retirement, education savings account for college education. They generally offer the highest rate of interest but also deliver hefty financial penalties for early withdrawal except for emergency hardship situations.

With as many options as are offered by today's banks, and the protections established by the FDIC, you can indeed bank on your local bank.

The Foreign Currency Exchange Market

You’ve likely heard of the Foreign Currency Exchange Market, but do you know what it’s all about and how to participate in it? Some people do, but many don’t know that the world’s currencies are traded almost every day of the week around the clock. There is a lot of money changing hands across the globe by simply predicting whether one currency goes up or down versus another. The Foreign Currency Exchange Market is termed The Forex, which is an abbreviation that is easier to say.

Can I Participate in the Forex?

Just like the stock markets we are all more accustomed to, individuals can also participate in the Forex. Individual investors couldn’t always participate in the Forex, but now they can. Since the Forex is an extremely liquid market, everyone is afforded the opportunity to buy in and sell currency positions without having to worry if there are enough trades to buy or sell one’s position. There are some investment markets which naturally have very little liquidity or volume and thus an investor can get “stuck” in positions longer than they would like or they may find hindrances even getting a position they want. With Forex Trades, you can be assured of filling your orders without the worry of liquidity. Just remember that as an individual, you will be in the market trading with large banks, other financial markets, companies, currency speculators, other individuals and governments…all looking to make money on currency fluctuations.

How is the Forex Different from other Markets?

Little to No Insider Information: One of the major differences the Forex exhibits versus other financial markets is the fact that there is little to no insider information involved with the Forex. Major financial news such as trade deficits, GDP, growth, inflation and other figures are released publicly to everyone at the same time. The problem other financial markets often have is people illegally leaking information from companies with select people having an advantage when they go to trade the stock or commodity before others find out about the news. The Forex Market doesn’t have the level of risk in that regard that some markets have. However, with that being said, large banks can have an advantage because they can monitor their customers’ orders, but they work with difference spreads anyway since they do such a large volume. The spread between the bid and the ask is always more than it is when larger institutions are buying or selling currencies. It stands to reason that those who place larger orders are going to receive bigger discounts in the form of a tighter bid and ask.

Severely Leveraged Trading: Another difference between the Forex or FX Market and other financial markets is the possibility of severely leveraged trading, thus lowering the initial investment required. Some Forex Brokers can offer 300:1 or even 400:1, which means if you only have $1,000 to invest, you could open up a $400,000 position. This lower level of investment allows more people to trade in the Forex and decreases initial costs to enter the market.

Low to No Commissions: Forex Trading also offers little to no commissions, unlike equity trading. Not only do most Forex Brokers not charge a commission at all, but the spreads are tighter than they are in the equity markets. This means more of your money stays in your pocket instead of the Brokers’.

Easier Trading: Since the majority of Forex Trades take place among the top 7 currencies, you don’t have to learn about as many investments as you would with the stock market. This makes it easier to be specialized.

Forex trading has many advantages compared to other financial markets. However, as with any investment, you will want to do your homework to make sure that Forex is right for you. As far as the Forex being less complicated than other equity markets, less costly as far as commissions and entry costs, more liquid, more leverage available and little to no insider information to deal with, it appears it is hard to go wrong with Forex Trading. If you stick to your system and don’t get distracted, the sky is the only limit in the Forex Market.

Litigation In China For Foreign Investors

The People’s Courts

Chinese courts rely on a legal system more akin to continental Europe than the common law system of the UK, Canada, or the United States, yet there are distinctively Chinese characteristics. Get a good local lawyer before litigation in China - only Chinese nationals working for mainland Chinese law firms may appear in court.

Local Bias – Although there are a number of examples of foreign investors prevailing in Chinese courts against state-owned enterprises and other well-connected local parties, results vary drastically with location (big cities being considered among the safest bets for foreigners), and it is often difficult for the foreign party to enforce favorable judgments.

Jurisdiction and Forum Shopping- Lower courts in China operate on a regional basis, and the Supreme People’s Court is the court of last resort. Jurisdiction rules must be complied with - a corporate defendant must usually be sued in the jurisdiction where its headquarters are located.

Procedure

Some of the key features of the People’s Courts include:

lGreat emphasis on formal documentation over witness testimony

lA lot of attention to the production of powers of attrney, authenticated original documents, notarizations, and seals

lRelatively low-cost, high speed procedures, at least compared with the glacial speed of litigation in the United States

lStrict limits on ability to compel the production of evidence (discovery procedures), probably the greatest disadvantage of litigating in China

lLenient treatment of perjury

lLack of emphasis on precedent – judicial precedent is not binding in China, although higher courts do issue detailed legal interpretations to guide lower courts

lLower damage awards - damages awards are low by US standards, and it is more difficult to prove the amount of loss than in Western countries

lDifficulty in enforcing injunctions, seizure of assets, and specific performance - large bonds are often required before a temporary restraining order will be issued.

Administrative action (bypassing the couret system) is often available in cases or intellectual property infringement or counterfeiting.

Appeals – Dissatisfied claimants ar usually entitled to one appeal, whci is usually granted and executed speedily. However, some judgments are effectively unappealable.

Enforcement

Domestic judgments can be difficult to enforce. Local authorities may fail to assist the enforcement a judgment that is seen as damaging to local economic interests. Furthermore, the People’s Courts have a reputation of being vulnerable to the “Enron Effect” – they seldom bother to trace and seize assets deliberately hidden by defndants through the use of complicated corporate structures.

Foreign judgments are enforceable in theory but difficult to execute. Enforcement is generally based on the principle of reciprocity, meaning that China will only enforce judgments originating from jurisdictions that enforce Chinese judgments. However, since China is signatory to a number of relevant bilateral enforcement treaties, the principle of reciprocity is subordinated to treaty requirements. Of course the best way to enforce a foreign judgment is to locate overseas assets of the defendant in a jurisdiction willing to recognize the judgment and seize assets.

Judgments from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau - Judgments from Taiwan have long been enforceable on the mainland, and judgments from Macau have been enforceable since April 2006, in both cases subject to certain conditions. Nevertheless, expect difficulties in actual practice. Surprisingly, judgments from Hong Kong are currently unenforceable in the mainland except in cases where the judgment was rendered pursuant to an exclusive jurisdiction clause in a contract, and even this provision is subject to exceptions.

International tribunals

Other alternatives for foreign investors include adjudication by the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Both of these tribunals have serious drawbacks, however – the WTO because foreign investors cannot sue directly (the plaintiff must be a state), and ICSID because jurisdiction is based on consent and unless you are Dutch, German or Finnish, your country has not entered into a bilateral investment treaty with China that would authorize ICSID jurisdiction (although this situation may be about to change).

Investing In Foreign Currencies

Building a diversified portfolio gives you a lot more stability with your investments and enables you to keep on the profit side of things more easily. But if you already have a rather diversified portfolio and think you are now rather knowledgeable of the stock market, then you may be ready to expand your investments into FOREX - the foreign exchange. When currencies in the United States may take a plunge, or a lack of growth, markets in other countries are doing quite well and this is something that you can draw a profit from.

The FOREX market, listed simply as "FX," is the biggest market of all. A lot of money can be gained from it - and rather quickly, too. This market deals entirely with the exchange rates between two currencies on 5 days of the week. Two currencies are always in every exchange and they are exchanged the one for the other with a buy rate and a sell rate - at the same time. For instance, if you believe that the Japanese yen is about to increase in value, then you may offer to buy it at $1.10 and sell it at $1.25 - making a possible $.15 per yen purchased. Here are a few things you need to know about how to get started in the FOREX market.

Learn The System

Trading on the FOREX is generally more difficult than the regular stock exchange. It is easier to lose money if you do not know what you are doing. In order to prepare people to learn to deal with the FOREX, though, most online brokerages have specialized software that provides training - up to about 30 days, with "free money" to use to practice until you start being able to regularly see a profit. Only then is it wise to start doing some real trading. You also need to know how to determine the state of national economies and be able to predict their fluctuations. Other online companies provide many free booklets that they will mail to you only for the asking.

Potentially Safer Investing

Since all deals with the FOREX require a broker, your money is potentially safer. Every contract made with a broker will have a clause in it that allows the broker to actually stop the transaction if they feel it is a poor investment. The primary reason for this is because you are actually using the broker’s money to make the deal. When you use FOREX, you create a sort of "loan" that gives you an operating ratio of up to 100:1. This means that, for $3,000, you are actually controlling $300,000.

The FOREX is also a better investment because there cannot be any insider trading. Dealing with currencies means that the things that effect it would make national news. This kind of event would be known almost instantly around the world - and everyone has access to the same news.

Easy Liquidity

Trading in currencies occurs every single day - many trillions of dollars worth of it. Because of this feature, there is always someone who will buy or sell dollars, enabling you to have a very quick liquidity when needed.

No Fees

Brokers do not charge you a fee when you make a FOREX transaction. This enables you to be able to control even better the amount of money that you invest and it allows you to chart it a little better. Brokers make their money through the spread of what is sold, the difference between what is bid and the actual selling price.

Foreign Language Memory Technique

Learning a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort. Even so, most people spend countless hours memorizing vocabulary lists, when there is a better way. The Dunn memory technique is a faster, easier, and more enjoyable way to learn a foreign language.

In order to understand how the Dunn technique works, a little knowledge of memory is necessary. You have several levels of memory retention. Here are the levels of memory from worst to best.

1. You are able to relearn the material faster and more easily than new material.
2. You are able to recognize it in a group or list.
3. You are able to remember it if you are given a hint. (e.g. It starts with the letter H)
4. You can recall it without any help.

The Dunn technique makes two assumptions. One is that when you study new words, some of them will naturally fall into the deeper levels of memory than others. The other assumption is that it is more effective to have many words at a lower level of memory than to be able to perfectly recall a few words.

If you are able to recognize many words, even at a low memory level, then you are able to talk to native speakers, watch a foreign TV show, or listen to music in the language you are trying to learn. Since these activities are more enjoyable than staring at a vocabulary list for hours on end, you will probably do them more often. Every time you listen to that song or watch that movie you are actually practicing your vocabulary and moving your retention of those words to deeper levels.

Memorizing words this way is also more natural, and you will learn words in order of their importance. The importance of knowing a word is the frequency it is used in the language. Therefore the more important a word is, the more often you will hear it on TV and in music, the better you will remember it.

To learn a list of vocabulary words with the Dunn technique, you look at each word with its definition, and memorize it using whatever technique is most effective for you (e.g. form a mnemonic, picture it in your mind, repeat it a dozen times, etc). You need to memorize it well enough to have total recall for the entire list without looking at it. Once you can do that, forget about the list for a while. Review it every once and a while, but not too often. Don’t worry about forgetting a word or two. It is easier to put more new words into the lower levels of memory, than to try to forcefully pound those difficult words into the higher levels of memory.

If you keep a list with you everywhere you go, and continually review list over and over again, you are training your brain to memorize words that way. Then every time you want to learn a new word, you’ll have to go through that whole process again. It is better to memorize the word once, and let it fall back to the recognition level of memory, because then when you hear that word on a TV show or a song, your brain will realize that word was important, and it should memorize those words better.

It is also better for pronunciation to memorize a word from hearing native speakers say it than to memorize it from a list, since it’s your own voice in your head, and you have an accent. Your brain also prioritizes words more highly if you hear them in a real situation. Then your brain realizes why you needed to know that word, instead of just being another word on the list.

By focusing on quantity instead of quality, you are able to better learn from real life situations, just like you learned your first language. You will be able to learn words better, and more enjoyably by talking to native speakers and watching foreign movies than from memorizing lists. The Dunn technique doesn’t work for everyone. You have to know how good your own memory is, and adjust the method to fit your learning style. However, once you know how you memorize, you will be able to memorize words faster, more easily and more enjoyably with the Dunn memory technique.