10 most frequently asked questions on Forex

1.What is the best Forex platform?

There is no one way to answer such a question. This will of course depend on the trader, in accordance with his preference, knowledge, experience as well as what he intends to trade (which financial instrument). Many intermediate-experienced traders, especially when trading on the currency market, prefer to use platforms such as MT4 or C-Trader which are designed mostly for Forex trading, as well as CFD trading, and for someone with some knowledge of the trading market.
Others, more novice traders would prefer the use of such platforms as ones found from Easy-Forex, iForex, or eToro, where limited math/ computational knowledge is required for their use and are a lot more straightforward to use.
More advanced/ experienced traders, which may also prefer access to multiple markets would prefer to use such brokers as Interactive Brokers or SAXO Bank’s SAXO Trader. Such platforms usually contain much more advanced charting/ analytical tools (although to be fair most analytical tools can also be obtained from MT4/ C-Trader) and also give access to thousands of instruments including Equities, ETF’s, Swaps trading etc; and are designed with the ability to effectively allow traders to partake in such markets.

2. Forex Trader: What is the best way to do forex trading?
If you've looked into trading forex then you have most doubtable been exposed to all the various opportunities to make money and are wondering which is the best way to learn forex trading. First of all, the foremost thing I would advise is to get a Forex Education. There are countless material on Forex in the internet for newcomers as well as experienced traders – all you need to do is search. Spend some time reading up on how forex trading works, the concepts behind trades and how prices are impacted by economic and political conditions.
Secondly you must get some experience, if you want to learn forex trading, it's the only way. To begin with it is prudent for this to be on a demo account. This will give you a good technical foundation on the mechanics of making forex trades and get used to using a trading platform.
After having traded for some time on a demo account it is very important to also use a Real one, albeit with little investment amount – find a broker that will accept lower sized trades (0.01 lots for FX) so that you can get a real feel for the live market. It is a whole different game trading on a demo and real platform, due to the psychological effect that trading with real money has. Trading small will allow you to put your money on the line, but at little risk if you make mistakes or lose money.
From there, provided you are gaining more than you are losing, you should gradually increase your trading size and invested capital, always keeping in mind it should be an amount you can afford to lose and which you feel comfortable with.

3. What is the best forex trading software?
There are a number of Forex Trading software available, all with their specific advantages and disadvantages. Many trading companies have built their own platforms while others prefer to use, and in effect White Label, existing solutions which are commonly known within the industry.
To say which one is best would be invalid as this falls on the opinion of the individual user, however there has been a clear trend in terms of popular platforms, which have proven to be favored among both novice and veteran traders. These platforms are the Metatrader 4 and C-Trader. The former has been built primarily for Forex products, while the latter has been designed to accompany other instruments such as Equities and ETF’s. Both platforms are easy to use and master and come complete with full charting and technical analysis capabilities.

4. Forex Trader: How can one be a good forex trader?
If it was to be summed up in one word, the key to a good forex trader is discipline. Yes there are many things to learn and know before you make any trades or get involved in the financial industry, but one thing that must stay consistent throughout is discipline. Discipline in learning, in making your first trades and in sticking with your plan.
The basics that all new traders should follow are:
- Learn about Forex – there is an abundance of material on the net. Spend a good 1 month learning. Study Technical and fundamental analysis. Your learning should continue well into your trading and be ongoing.
- Come up with a strategy – Set rules that will determine your trading pattern and how you will enter and exit the market.
- Practice on a Demo – Open a demo account and trade as if for real. Of course this will not be ‘exactly’ as if you were trading on a real, due to the fact that fear of losing would not weigh in on your decisions. Do not proceed to the next step unless you can make a profit on the demo first.
- Practice on a real account with small amount – Do this so as to be able to understand the difference between trading with real money and trading on demo. Do this with substantially a small amount, but enough so that you are concerned over losing it.
- Trade on real account with substantial amount – Do this with an amount you are ‘comfortable’ to completely lose. Even if your strategy worked on the demo and on a real with a small amount it may not continue to do so in future. Stick to your strategy (have complete discipline). If you see the strategy is failing, then adjust your strategy accordingly, but stick to it (to the pip) at all times once it has been decided.

5. Foreign Exchange Market: Is it possible for an amateur forex trader to make sustainable profits trading forex?
Many Traders have made a living off of trading Forex and some have had very wealthy returns which have allowed them to become self-employed and leave the 9-5 work behind them. All of these traders have 1 thing in common – they all started out as an amateur forex trader! No one is born with the trading know-how; it is achieved through dedication and discipline.
So Yes! an amateur forex trader can indeed make sustainable profits from trading forex. As long as he is willing to put in the effort and has the discipline to follow through with such a commitment then there is no reason why he cannot do what others have done before him in the same shoes.

6. Forex Trader: Who is the best forex trader?
There is no one best Forex Trader – or at least there is no clear way to measure this (is it the amount one has won or the % gained from it). Also as many of the top forex traders in the world do not trade with their own money but instead funds and Company capital, it means that different psychological and risk appetite conditions exist for different traders and as such makes it bias to compare such traders success with those who trade with their own capital.
The one thing to know is that what a lot of Forex traders do have in common is their appetite for success, their diversified portfolio and willingness to take measured risk.

7. Has anyone ever made money trading FOREX?
Yes! Not only have people made money trading Forex but many have made a livelihood!
Although the majority of retail traders would not have as much success as professionals would, this is largely attributed to poor money management strategies and lack of discipline in sticking with their strategy.
With 100% discipline and a good money management strategy, there is no reason why anyone should not have a good chance in making money from trading Forex.

8. Is FOREX the best way to invest money?
It is hard to say if it would be the Best as there are numerous ways of investing money and would largely depend on what the individual is familiar with; however it is one of the best, largely to the fact that unlike stocks/ housing market – an investor can make money regardless of the how the instrument is doing by both selling/ buying that instrument (or doing both – known as hedging).
In the Stock market it is only possible to invest in the success of a stock – however in Forex you can both buy/ sell a certain currency against another and hence there is always a possibility for profit to be made.
Also the fact that Forex is commonly traded on leverage, it allows Forex trading to become one of the most volatile and hence allows for higher profits (as well as losses) to be made – if traded correctly.

9. Foreign Exchange Market: What are the best forex blogs?
There are a number of locations on the web to find a great forex related blog, in fact many brokers have their own blogs also; but in order to remain unbiased I will recommend a non-broker blog. One of the most useful blogs for both novice and veteran traders alike is at babypips.com – there is a regular update on current market movement as well as an abundance of information and back-forth ideas being expressed.

10. Why do individual investors usually lose money in Forex?
The majority of retail investors end up losing money in Forex. In spite of the fact that they may receive the right training and educative material (or at least the same as some other successful traders may receive) many often fail due to bad money management rules and/or lack of discipline. The latter is the most often.
The hardest thing in Forex is not making the calculations or predicting where to enter, how much to trade and/or what your limits should be; it is sticking to your strategy and following through with 100% discipline.
 
Source Vistabrokers.com

Isolated Peoples

Isolated peoples, also known as uncontacted peoples or lost tribes, refer to communities that live either by circumstances or by choice, without contact with advanced civilization. There are few peoples who have remained isolated from globalized civilization. The activists of indigenous rights suggest that these communities are left alone, explaining that it will interfere with their right to self-determination.

Most isolated communities are situated in densely forested regions in India, New Guinea and South America. Data on the existence of such groups comes particularly from rare, sometimes violent, conflicts with neighboring tribes as well as from aerial footage. It has been discovered that isolated peoples may lack immunity to diseases that are common to us, and they can kill a huge number of their people.

These peoples remain mysterious and avoid contact with people from modern world, preferring to keep their isolation.

Historical Data

The uncontacted peoples fascinate the modern society, and the idea of tour operators who go on trips to study the isolated tribes has become disputable. In 2006 a BBC Four documentary revealed a controversial American tour operator specializing in escorted tours aimed to search out isolated peoples in West Papua.

There have been many attempts to learn more about these communities, but they had fatal consequences. The last known attempt to initiate contact with the Tagaeri, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin, a tribe with the most severe voluntary isolation, was in July 1987, when two missionaries who tried to convince the community to allow oil extractors to enter its territory died. As a result, the Tagaeri left their homes and moved deeper into the forest, proving their refusal to contact with the globalized world.

A Way of Living

Uncontacted peoples see oil companies, miners and entrepreneurs as “ghosts of death” for the fact that they poison rivers and forests which are a source of life for these peoples. Isolated communities have developed their own health and food systems, but these systems are weak and the contact with the outside world very often leads to the spread of diseases which results in epidemics because these peoples have no immunities to common and treatable illnesses.

The Man of the Hole

There is a man living in the Brazilian rainforest today. He has been living there for at least 15 years. Nobody knows his name, but it is believed that he is the last member of his tribe the name of which is also unknown. He builds palm shelters and digs five-foot-deep rectangular holes in the middle of each. But, it is still a mystery what he uses them for as he abandons them as soon as anybody comes near them.

There have been several attempts to get in touch with the man of the hole, but nobody could see him. Scientists think it is better if he is left alone. They have studied this territory and decided to enlarge his territory.

It is amazing how these communities managed to keep away from modern world for so long. There are tribes that have no idea that globalized society exists. They become aggressive when explorers try to convince them to contact. They live in their own world with own rules and habits. They don’t want to change anything as they believe it is the only way of living.

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Gadgets and Technology Addiction

Have you noticed people spending most of their times in front of their computer or TV? Or parents who are fed up with their children playing video games the whole day? Today, technology addiction has become a serious problem in our society.

Modern Era

Nowadays, people are getting addicted to modern gadgets so that they forget that there is life around them. We become lazier in performing daily activities and face problems when trying to communicate face-to-face.

Human intelligence has evolved greatly and led to the emergence of new gadgets and technology. Due to the fact that there is a large availability of smartphones, computers and laptops, the number of devices that can been connected to the Internet got higher than ever.

It has been showed that 40% of people communicate on the web rather than face-to-face. And this figure is a dreadful one.
People are gifted with brain to think and choose right paths in life. Unfortunately, people are living unhealthy lives without even knowing about it.

Our work is 10 minutes away on foot, but we take a transport. We spend the whole weekends in front of our gadgets instead of going out and enjoy the great weather and allowing the sun to enrich our body. We can watch the TV for hours explaining that it is because we got bored. Children spend most of their precious time playing video games or chatting on social networks.

Of course, in a way, these modern day gadgets make our life easier, but still, we shouldn’t use them at the cost of our health. It would be great if people use all sorts of gadgets for informational purposes only.

Modern Day Slavery

The addiction to modern technology can be compared to slavery. People unthinkingly have become the slaves of computers and various gadgets. The modern technology became the most important part of many. They don’t live their life to the fullest due to the availability of such an enormous amount of gadgets. It seems like people have forgot the way they lived before this technology boom.

Today we see more and more parents who try to make their children spend more time with them and friends instead of playing video games almost all the time. And this is a real problem. It is extremely difficult to make a child stop playing. Very often it leads to serious arguments and even fights, because both children and parents lose control.

Technology Addiction Destroys Relationships

Everyone remembers those nights when we were talking with our mothers before going to bed. What do we see now? Children are sitting in front of their computers until their mother force them go to bed. They don’t have conversations anymore. The only thing they are interested in is a new video game, a new friend on a social network, or a new gadget.

When people are busy with their gadgets, they don’t want anybody to disturb them. In this way, they become nervous, bad-tempered; they avoid face-to-face communication, they just become isolated.

Technology addiction is an extremely serious issue that should be properly addressed. Children should use the gadgets moderately in order to prevent them from that day when they will interact with each other using the technology only.

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The Concept of Collective Consciousness

Many researches have been recently carried out trying to figure out the phenomenon of collective consciousness. It derives from French conscience collective and means a set of shared ideas, morals, beliefs, and attitudes that function as a connecting mechanism within society. The term was introduced for the first time by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his famous work “Divison of Labour in Society”, in 1893.

In his book, Émile Durkheim argued over the fact that in traditional societies, such as those based on a clan, tribal relationships or family, totemic religion played a crucial role in unifying members via the creation of common or collective consciousness. Is such societies, the contents of an individual’s consciousness are shared with all the members of their society, forming a mechanical solidarity with the help of reciprocal alikeness.

Other Opinions

There are some other modern sociologists who made attempts to define the term “collective consciousness”. Mary Kelsey, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, used this term in the early 2000s to describe people within a social community, for examples mothers, discovering their common traits and circumstances, and consequently acting as a group and achieving solidarity. People unite as dynamic groups and share knowledge, rather than live as separate individuals.

Our society is made up of different collective groups, including community, organizations, family, regions, nations, which have the ability to think, judge, take decisions, reform, etc.

It is worth mentioning that the term collective consciousness has been also used by some parapsychologists. Gardner Murphy, an American psychologist specializing in personality psychology and parapsychology, came up with the idea that a person’s mind may survive death in a fragmentary state and incorporates itself into collective consciousness. He denied the idea that personality and individual mind would survive as an entity. He claimed that our mind with our memories would merge itself into a broader field of consciousness. In addition, he said that personal ego wouldn’t stay, but the consciousness would be able to acquire new qualities.

Hundredth Monkey Effect

The phenomenon of the hundredth monkey effect can be used as an example of collective consciousness. It was a research carried out in order to analyze the behavior of macaques in the Japanese islands that refused to eat the fruits that washed ashore on the beach and were covered in sand. Nevertheless, a female picked up the fruits, went to a well, washed them, and ate them afterwards. As a result, other macaques, especially the younger ones, also began washing the fruits before eating them. This group expanded and there was a change in the consciousness of each macaque, and they all started washing the fruits.

As human beings, we are connected in a manner we are not fully aware of, but which many modern scholars are now discovering. 

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Everything Happens for a Reason

“If everything happens for a reason that means you made the right choice even when it's the wrong choice.” 

Lil Treyco

Our life is full of events that seem too cruel, absurd, and unfair – events that change our opinion about the surrounding world and shatter the understanding of ourselves. In such situations we are used to hear the statement “Everything happens for a reason.” These are several simple words that inspire both hope and confusion.

Many scholars try to explain that everything that happens in our lives has significance. They claim that we are able to discover meaning in what happens to us – interpreting these occurrences as lessons, opportunities, or gifts we couldn’t get in some other ways.

Each of you knows well that there are people who come into your life are meant to be there, to play a certain role, to teach you a lesson, to help you understand who you are and who you want to be. And you never know who these people might be, but when you meet them, you realize that they can change your life greatly.

Nothing happens by chance. Diseases, love, lost moments of happiness, foolishness, everything happens to test our strength. Without these challenges our lie would be comfortable, but pointless and dull. It would be like a straight flat road to nowhere.

Everything happens for a reason. It’s raining because there would be no life without water; it’s snowing because it’s important for agriculture, ecosystem and animals; the wind moves the air so that we have enough oxygen as well as it’s crucial for plants to reproduce. As we can see, there is nothing that takes place without purpose.

It sounds absurd, but even the worst moments in our lives are meant to happen in order to make us stronger. The people who hurt us, betray us, or break our heart, help us learn about trust and the importance of being careful when opening our hearts.

According to Aristotle, there is a reason for everything that happens to us on our journey. It is to offer certain insights to help us become stronger. Our experiences are designed to shape us, define us and grow us into the mightiest us.

If people could treat the challenges properly, they would be a powerful source of energy that could awaken us to rise up higher than we have ever expected. In other words, try to learn from everything that happens to you every day. Consequently, you will become more likely to live happier and set new goals. 

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EU Banking Union: Final Approval from MEPs

A new European authority will have the right to dissolve or restructure failing banks. This is called the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). These rules are aimed at preventing crises Ireland, Greece and Cyprus have been hit by, where banks were bailed out at high cost.

In the future, when a bank fails, shareholders and creditors will be first to pay. The EU banking union reforms will create a 55 billion-euro fund, supported by bank levies, so that emergency cash can be used by failing banks.

This rescue system will be brought about by the European Central Bank. The 18 Eurozone countries will take part in the SRM, nonetheless countries that are waiting to join the EU can sign up for it as well.

According to some analysts, the rescue system is not that powerful and the Eurozone still does not have credible support to face major failures such as the financial crisis from 2008. The crisis revealed the risk of “contamination” when the banks with trans-border operations hit trouble.

Michel Barnier, the EU Financial Markets Commissioner stated that the SRM will admit the effective and timely resolution of trans-border and domestic banks, within a week if necessary.

No UK Liability

Vicky Ford MEP of the UK Conservatives, one of the European Parliament's lead negotiators on the package of banking reforms, said that the UK would not take on any liabilities for the decisions of Eurozone members and would not pay into the SRM.

This proves that the EU countries want to integrate further and they can do so without asking the non-euro countries to entrust the powers or paying the taxpayers money to a currency that they decided not to join.

The ECB will begin to supervise the biggest banks of the Eurozone, with the powers to overturn national authorities.

Also, MEPs accepted stricter regulations in order to protect the deposits of all banks in case of bank failure. According to the deposit guarantee system, customers will be able to get the total amount guaranteed within seven working days. 

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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS EUR/USD 

The EUR/USD failed to break the range as the Bears brought some balance back into the potential uptrend we spoke about yesterday. This range has been hard to break with both S1 and R1 below proving to be very strong levels for both Bears and Bulls. As you can see from the below yellow channel, we are now entering into the 3rd week of this range with the Bears having a slight momentum from yesterday mid-day. This will be the 4th attempt that the EUR/USD will perhaps try to break the S1 level, after the Bulls failed to break past R1, producing a Double Top formation at 1.3879.

As the potential uptrend from yesterday failed to sustain momentum, forcing the EUR/USD to break past yesterday’s trend line and drop below the 50MA, the most probable scenario now is that the Bears will continue to put pressure and test the S1 line, a break of which will indicate a downward trend if the price convincingly stays below the S1.

On the other hand the Bulls may bring the price back up to an even playing field, which currently stands around the 50MA ~ 1.3835. Spurred momentum may see them try for a 3rd time to break the R1 level, which they have failed to do in the past 2 consecutive attempts at 1.3879. A break of which may see them test the R2 level, and this month’s High, at 1.3805.

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Panasonic reports first annual profit in three years

Panasonic reports first annual profit in three years

Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic has reported its first full-year profit for three years, with the weaker yen helping to boost sales. The maker of the Lumix camera posted profits of 120.4bn yen ($1.2bn; £710m) for the year to March, compared with a 754bn yen loss a year earlier. The company also said cost cutting had boosted its profitability.

Panasonic is forecasting a 16% jump in net profit to 140bn yen for the current financial year. This increase is based on the economic recovery in the US and Europe. Panasonic has more than 600 business units within the organisation, with interests ranging from home appliances to housing equipment such as ventilation systems, as well as industrial products in the automotive and robotics sectors.

Sales in its appliances division rose by 10% from one year ago, which was mainly driven by a surge in consumer spending in Japan ahead of the rise in the country's consumption tax. Japan increased the consumption tax rate to 8% from 5% on 1 April.

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UK economy grows by 0.8% in first quarter

UK economy grows by 0.8% in first quarter

The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014, according to the latest figures.

It marks the fifth consecutive period of GDP growth - the longest positive run since the financial crisis. Gross domestic product is a measure of a country's economic activity, including all the goods and services produced in a given period. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said the economy is now 0.6% smaller than its 2008 peak. Chancellor George Osborne said Tuesday's figure showed that "Britain is coming back", but that the recovery could not be taken for granted.

"The impact of the Great Recession is still being felt, but the foundations for a broad based recovery are now in place," he added. "The biggest risk to economic security would be abandoning the plan that is laying those foundations." Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that despite the positive growth figure, "millions of hardworking people are still feeling no recovery at all". "Now that growth has finally returned, the question is whether ordinary working people will properly feel the benefit and we have a balanced recovery that's built to last," he added. The ONS's first growth estimate for the quarter is a slight increase on the 0.7% recorded for the final quarter of 2013, and a rise of 3.1% on the same period a year ago.

Solid not spectacular

But many had been expecting it to be even higher, at 0.9%. "While this figure has missed estimates, slightly, the overall feeling is still one of strength in the UK," said Jeremy Cook, chief economist at currency brokers World First. "In fact, this is the kind of news the economy needs - solid but not spectacular." UK manufacturing was one of the strongest performers in the latest figures, with output growing by 1.3%, the ONS said, its strongest quarter for nearly four years. And the service sector, which includes everything from hotels and leisure to accountants, grew by 0.9%.

UK GDP growth, quarter on previous quarter

  

Construction output, which grew by 0.3%, was affected by the storms and high rainfall in January and February, the ONS said. But it added that the bad weather did not have a significant impact on overall GDP growth. Agriculture was the only one of the four main industrial sectors to register a fall in output, dropping by 0.7%.

Wage growth

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expected the UK to be the best-performing of the world's largest economies in 2014, with growth of 2.9% for the year. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts 2.7%, and in February the Bank of England (BoE) raised its 2014 growth forecast to 3.4%. The positive news on economic growth also follows recent data from the ONS that showed weekly earnings had finally caught up with inflation, after six years of falling behind.

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What is the Result of the Bees Decline?

In fact, ecosystems represent a complex of interconnected lifeforms, both animal and plant, which greatly depend upon each other. Ecosystems exist in comfortable balance and reasonable harmony. That’s how it operates: in case only one component of that ecosystem is out of synchronization, the whole system is overthrown. Bees are part and parcel of a beneficial ecosystem, as we count on bees’ pollination for a variety of food.

Collapse of Bee Colonies

The western honey bee or European honey bee so-called Apis Mellifera is considered native to Europe, Africa and Western Asia. Today it is disappearing around the world. There is also a noticed decline of the eastern honey bee called Apis Cerana.

This is no marginal species loss. Domestic and wild honey bees perform round about 80 % of all pollination worldwide. Each day one bee colony can pollinate about 300 million flowers. As we know, grains are mostly pollinated by the wind; however the best food, including nuts, vegetables and fruits are pollinated by bees. Moreover, 70 out of the top 100 human food crops are pollinated by bees.

According to Tonio Borg, a member of the European Commission responsible for Health and Consumer Policy, bees contribute over $30 billion US dollars to European agriculture annually. In fact, bees pollinate food valued at over $350 billion US dollars worldwide.

The bee collapse is a significant challenge to humankind on an equal basis with global warming, nuclear war and ocean acidification .

Bee Products

Human health is considerably improved by the existence of bee products. The following important products, which bees offer, can benefit humans:

Honey is a powerhouse of health benefits. Honey is not just a sweetener. It includes plenty of vitamin, such as iron, phosphorous, vitamins A/B-complex/C/D/E/K. It soothes coughs, boosts memory, treats wounds, provides nutrients, potentially prevents low white blood cell count, relieves seasonal allergies, kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria, helps metabolize alcohol, makes great workout fuel, resolves scalp problems and dandruff and much more.

•          Beeswax is used as a natural product to make crayons, lip balm, candles, cosmetics, moisturizers, etc.

•          Royal jelly has a variety of minerals, vitamins and fatty acids.

•          Propolis, created from tree resins, contains a lot of vitamins/amino acids and has a strong antibiotic effect.

•          Venom is widely used in the antivenin development to treat stings. Moreover, it also functions as arthritis pain reliever.

So you see that the bee can be called an integral part of the ecosystem.

Importance of Bees

Worker bees so-called female (eusocial) bees live several months. New eusocial bees are produced by colonies during the spring and summer period. During the winter period reproduction slows down. As a rule, a bee colony declines by 5-10 % over the winter and then replaces the lost bees in the spring.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the worker bees pollinate 80% of the flowering crops that constitute 1/3 of everything people eat.  Losing them can significantly affect not only such main products as broccoli, asparagus, cucumbers, apples, blueberries, strawberries and nuts, but even may  negatively affect our beef  in case alfalfa is not available for feed.

According to One Cornell University, “honeybees annually pollinate $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States. In fact, if honeybees disappear, they could take most of our insect pollinated plants with them, potentially reducing mankind to little more than a water diet.”

 Bees are of extremely high value as cross-pollination agents. The majority of plants are completely dependent on specific types of bees for the reproduction, including red clover that is pollinated only by the bumblebee.

What is pollination?

Pollination is transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower (the anther) to the female part of the flower (the stigma). Some plants are self-pollinating. In such a case the pollen passes from the anther to the stigma inside the same flower. Other plants require pollen to be transferred between different individuals of the plant or different flowers. This is called cross-pollination. 

Why the Decline in Bees?

Scientists are not sure about the real reason why bees are dying out. Under ordinary conditions 10% of bee hive are lost in the winter time; however official data shows bee-colonies losses of about 32% in 2007, 36% in 2008 and 29% in 2009. Extensive use of pesticides on crops, increasing monculture and destruction of habitat are contributing factors to the bee decline.

Solution Exists

Common sense actions could restore and protect the world’s bees. Experienced apiculturists, farmers and bee keepers outline the following problem-solutions:

•          Ban the 7 most dangerous pesticides

•          Try to restore ecological agriculture

•          Protect pollinator health by preserving wild habitat

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Aging – Chances for Longevity

Aging – Chances for Longevity

Today, there are a lot of gerontology researches that attempt to discover the “Fountain of Youth” in order to find eternal life. Unfortunately, this mythical spring has not been found, but anyway, there are several factors that may increase longevity.

Insights into Gerontology

First of all, let’s understand what gerontology is and how this discipline can improve our lives. The term “gerontology” comes from the Greek geron, “old man”, and logy, “study of”. In other words, this is the study of psychological, social and biological aspects of aging. Gerontology is a multidisciplinary science that incorporates various fields and subfields that study people as they age.

Gerontology scientists study aging according to four processes: biological aging, chronological aging, social aging, and psychological aging. Biological process of aging refers to the physical changes in organ systems. Chronological aging is defined as the process of aging based on the years lived from birth. Social aging refers to the changing roles of an individual in relationships with family, friends, colleagues, etc. Psychological aging refers to the changes in cognitive abilities, sensory and perceptual processes, adaptive abilities, and personality.

As we can see, gerontology encompasses almost each aspect of our life. As a result, this science is able to help us lead a longer and better life. Gerontologists carry out a huge amount of researches every day in order to find the keys to long and happy life and they succeed little by little.

Longevity Genes

Even if scientists still cannot predict how long we a going to live, today they have come to this issue closer than ever. They have discovered a suite of 150 long life variants in 70 genes that allowed them to guess if an individual can live to be a hundred.

The newly discovered gene variants may hold down genes associated with diseases related to aging, including heart illnesses and dementia. A biostatistician at the Boston University School of Public Health states that it is just a genetic susceptibility; it doesn’t mean that we are going to live into our 90s or even longer, because there are a lot of things in life that can happen to us.

The environment, our lifestyle, and even luck, play a crucial role in determining human longevity – as 23% of centenarian subjects who have been tested lack the telltale gene variants. Probably this minority lived a longer life because they avoided risk factors, such as smoking, abuse of red meat, etc.

Six Factors of Longevity

The gerontologist Peter Martin at Iowa State University has determined six important behavioral factors that may increase human longevity:

1. Social Support

It is impossible to live long by yourself. You should have a family, health facilities, community, etc. Also, you need financial resources to be able to survive.

2. Personal Characteristics

This factor deals with things such as gender, where women are more likely to live longer than men. Ethic groups differences, where life expectancy is higher for whites and lower for African-Americans.

3. Behavioral Capabilities

This has to do with the things we do every day, i.e. being active, having good cognitive functioning, etc. which play an important role in promoting a longer life.

4. Stay Healthy

Here we should point out the things we are able to do in order to be physically healthy. Obviously, there is a biological part in all these things, but anyway, it has to do a lot with our responsibility.

5. Proper Nutrition and Strong Health

It is well known that what we eat and the way we stay fit influence the quality of our life. That is why it is very important to practice proper nutrition and improve our physical health.

6. Mental Health

The more optimistic you are the greater the chances for a long life. Hence, it is important to avoid stress and things that may lead to depressions.

In the future, scientists believe to discover functional variants of longevity genes that would give us the opportunity to live to be a hundred. Obviously, people’s lifespan does not depend entirely on genetics, but however, scientists say that more than 15% of controls in their studies had genetic signatures that led to exceptional longevity.

Anyway, we should do our best to bear in mind the factors that can help us live to 100, until science identifies new methods to influence the probability of extreme longevity. 

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Apple announces reacquisition of shares

Apple announces reacquisition of shares

Apple has recently announced its profits of $10.2 billion as a result of selling 43.7 million iPhones during three months ending March, 29. It has also reported that they have plans to repurchase $30 billion of its stock from shareholders and lift its quarterly dividend by 8%.

Another important piece of news the technology giant brought is that for the first time in nine years it is going to split its stock. These changes are oriented towards appeasing investors because the company declares slowing income growth.

Post-Christmas Sales

The massive sale of iPhones surprised analysts, who forecasted a significant decline in the post-holiday period. Sales of iPhones – the company’s most popular product that contributes to more than a half of the firm’s income – fell by 14% because users are waiting for new models. Anyway, they increased by 17% if compared with the same period earlier.

Tim Cook, chief executive, stated that they are proud of the results, especially their high iPhone sales and huge income from services. As far as earnings are concerned, Mr. Cook said that it was the biggest non-holiday quarter ever. Apple faced fierce competition from Samsung that sells smartphones at lower prices that run Android operating system.

Mr. Cook and the new financial director Lucas Maestri tried to reassure investors about iPad sales that decreased 16% and was the sharpest decline ever for this particular device. They also discussed upon the way sales were calculated and emphasized that the iPad has been sold faster than any other product in Apple’s history, with over 210 million units sold since 2010.

As far as the iPod music player is concerned, it continues to drop steeply, falling to only 2.8 million units during the second quarter, which is a 54% decline if compared to previous three months.

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The Functions of Money

The monetary economy is a significant improvement over the barter system, in which goods were exchanged directly for other goods.

To understand some of fundamental principles of macroeconomics, it's extremely important to have an unambiguous definition of what money is. Generally people use the word "money" as a direct synonym for "wealth", however economists maintain that these two terms are not synonymous. Money presents a good, which functions as a medium of exchange in transactions.

In the majority of economies, this currency is presented in metal coins and paper bills, which were especially created by the government. Classically money functions as a medium of exchange, unit of account and a store of value. 

Money's most obvious function is as a medium of exchange. For an item to be generally accepted as money, it must be broadly used as payment for services and goods. Consequently money creates efficiency because it gives certainty about the widely accepted item of payment for various businesses.

Money's second function is as a unit of account. For an item to be generally accepted as money, it has to be the common base of comparison that people can use to present prices and record debts. When a new visitor walks into a cafe, the menu tells him that a Greek salad costs $6 and a Grilled Chicken and Avocado Sandwich costs $13. He knows what this means and he is able to compare the prices. Having a constant unit of account undoubtedly creates efficiency. Otherwise, it would be pretty confusing to have the price of bread quoted as a number of oranges, the price of an orange quoted in terms of apples, and so on.

Money's third important function is as a store of value. For an item be generally accepted as money, it must hold its purchasing power over a protracted period. Money has to able to be reliably stored, saved and retrieved. This money feature adds to efficiency as well since it gives flexibility in the timing of sales and purchases to consumers and producers, while eliminating the necessity to immediately trade one's income for services and goods.

To conclude, money was introduced to societies as a tool for conducting economic transactions more efficient and simpler.

Interesting to know..

History of money

Metals objects introduced as money dates back to 5000 B.C. There are a lot of myths about the origins of money. By 700 BC, in the Western world the Lydians became the first who started making coins. All countries started minting their own coins of different types of values. In fact, metal was used as a material for money because it was easily available, tractable and recyclable. Since coins have got a certain value, it became much easier to compare the cost of items that people needed.

Some of the earliest paper money was introduced in China about AD 960.

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Some Facts About Stock Exchange

There is much noise around the concept of stock exchange when it comes to its origin. Famous scholars who carried out various researches did not arrive to a consensus. Some believe that the founding of Dutch East India Company in 1602 is the key event, while others emphasize earlier developments. At the same time the other ones argue that a share market existed in ancient Rome.

A stock exchange is a form of exchange providing services for traders and brokers to trade stocks, securities and bonds. It usually functions as a continuous auction market where buyers and sellers consummate deals at a central location. But, obviously, stock exchanges were not always this way; there were a lot of changes until we have come to the current exchange system.

A Piece of History

The most important periods during the development of stock exchanges include the existence of organizations of traders in the Roman Republic who performed temple-building and various other services for the government; later commercial innovation moved to Europe with mercantile cities such as Antwerp and Bruges where counting houses operated to facilitate trade.  By 1500s, English merchants formed joint-stock companies that operated on a regular basis. The next major step was the foundation of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 which was based in six locations and had readily tradable shares; the stock market had begun then. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was founded that brought a new issuer to the bursting forth security market.

The Tulpenmanie

The tulip mania is a term used to refer to the period in the Dutch Golden Age when the prices for bulbs of newly brought tulip reached unbelievable high levels and suddenly fell afterwards. The extraordinary about this mania was that in 1637 single tulip bulbs were sold for more than ten times the income of a craftsman.

The tulip was something of a novelty in Europe at that time with petal color that no other flower had. The introduction of this plant was the beginning of the country’s Golden Age. The merchants from Amsterdam were in the middle of the East Indies trade. The great success of merchants was showed by building vast estates surrounded by flower gardens featuring sensational tulips as a status symbol.

In such as way tulips became luxury items and people were feverishly paying high prices which led to considerable price rise. By 1636 tulip bulbs were the fourth leading export product of the Netherlands. Tulip mania reached its peak in winter 1636-1637 during which some bulbs were changing hands over ten times in a day. Unfortunately, in February 1637 the tulip mania collapsed. It began in Haarlem when buyers refused to show up at a bulb auction probably because of the bubonic plague that struck Haarlem at that time.

Tulip mania is considered to be the first recorded economic bubble and nowadays this term is sometimes used to refer to a huge economic bubble.

The British East India Company 

The British East India Company is known for having one of the most significant advantages in financial history – a legal monopoly.

In 1600 the company acquired a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth becoming one of the oldest among similar European East India Companies. The company’s shares belonged to rich merchants and aristocrats. The government had only indirect control over those shares. Eventually, the company started to rule vast areas of India with private armies.

The East India Company was formed to carry on trade with East and Southeast Asia and India. Additionally, its activities in China gave an impetus to the expansion of British influence there and beginning with the 19^th century, the Company financed the tea trade with prohibited opium exports to China. As a result, the Opium War started (1839–42) which ended in a Chinese defeat and the expansion of British trading authority.

The political monopoly of the Company was broken in 1813 and in 1874, the Company ceased to exist as a legal entity.  

Stock Exchange Today

It is remarkable how much has changed since the first forms of trade emerged in the past.  The systems have been improved, new rules have been introduced, and everything continues to develop day by day. The introduction of electronic exchange that facilitated trades can serve as a good example of the evolution of stock exchange system.

There are several powerful stock exchanges today located in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.; but the NYSE is still one of the most influential and largest stock exchanges in the world. Obviously there are many stock exchanges that have grown stronger through the development of their economies; however it is still almost impossible for them to fly at a higher pitch than the NYSE.    

          

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