Commodity Trading

What have you put off today? Something important you had to do that you ended up not doing? Well i am sorry to say this but Forex doesn’t like you very much, it won’t actually come out and say this, but it will definatley show you by eating all your money.

Why do lazy people flounder in the forex market?

1. They put off getting a broker too long and then often make a bad choice.

2. They don’t do any research or engage in education and therefore end up gambling.

3. They clutter up informative blogs and forums with their incessant whines about how forex is a scam and can anyone lend them $20 because they are good for it.

4. They are often emotional about trades and will either get too excited after a good trade or try to take revenge on the market after a bad loss.

Does this look like a successful traders mindset to you? Of course it isn’t. Are you guilty of any of these things? If you are get it sorted ASAP, not or my sake, but for your own. It isn’t my money you are gambling away. “But i thought forex is investing not gambling?” Thank you! I don’t gamble in forex, i invest, many other traders i know invest as well. Whats the difference? Education my friend, education. We know what we are doing, and make educated decisions about where we want our money, a forex gambler wakes up in the morning and just decides then and there where he is going to flush away some more money. They don’t research, they don’t even know what a chart looks like, they just go with uneducated gut feelings.

But let’s stop talking about forex gamblers before i have a stroke, what about successful traders?

1. They research brokers and then choose one and stick to it until the broker gives them reason not to.

2. They are always learning. What is a better indicator to use? What have i done wrong in the last week? This is the kind of thing that sharpens their trading sword so sharp it could cut space and time.

3. They don’t post often, they might not ever post on a forum or blog. To them forex is about learning and they would rather listen then speak. Humble eh?

4. They keep their cool. They know that a win can turn into a loss and the other way around within the next 5 minutes. They have the experience and they have already set up their trades to accomodate for a turn in fortune. They are in control. Well mostly.

So the main point of all this text is to realize that if you can’t even bother having a shower when you wake up in the morning, how are you ever going to be successful in something as demanding, but equally as rewarding as forex? You aren’t because forex hates you.

Are you interested in finding more about this Forex business? Do you want to find a professional and trustworthy currency trading platform? If your answer to either of these two questions is yes, then you should definitely keep on reading. You will be informed about Forex, finding a trading platform and how can you earn money by making reference to the resource you are currently using. It all sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?

Before anything else, we should talk a little bit about the Foreign Exchange Market or Forex as we all know it. If you have experience in the field of currency trading, then you’ve surely used a currency trading platform at least once or twice. Forex is all about trading foreign currencies and these transactions manage to attract people from all over the world. We are talking about more than a simple Forex business. This worldwide phenomenon has been brought into the attention of the general public through the Internet, with an increased number of people entering the cyberspace in search of trading opportunities. They started looking at a currency trading platform and enjoyed the numerous benefits the FX market has brought right in front of their eyes.

In order to perform trades and engage in various investments on the FX market, one needs what is known as a currency trading platform. Searching the Internet for such specialized software will only take a couple of minutes but you have to be certain that you have chosen a reliable source. Forex is all about continuous trading, liquidity (you can modify the state of your trades at any given hour in the day) and leverage usage. If you want to win money by trading on the FX market, then you most definitely need a professional currency trading platform. This is serious Forex business and as important profits can be made, it is highly important that you understand everything there is to know.

To summarize, a currency trading platform represents the connection between you and Forex. It can be accessed through the Internet browser and it often requires a fast connection. The platform that guaranteed high-speed trading is used by millions of people every day, all being enticed by the attractive opportunities offered. You can be certain that you will be pleased with the features offered with your account, benefiting from 24/7 support and low spreads. The list of benefits continues with the opportunity to print reports of your activities, instant trading and a wide range of tools put to your disposal. Can you still say now to online trading after reading all that?

When you say Forex business, you can also think about the many benefits involved. We are talking about the incentives you will get for recommending the currency trading platform to your friends and other acquaintances. They sign up for some online trading, you get a piece of the Forex business pie. The bonuses are quite appealing and there are many benefits promised for you as an agent. Are you ready to discover them?

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The Supreme Court met Friday to decide which cases it will hear, including one that would more closely define when a public official has taken a bribe.

The case involves a $3.2 billion sewer project in Birmingham, AL. Two county officials were convicted of taking bribes from construction companies that repaired and replaced the Jefferson County sewer system.

The Supreme Court is trying to decide whether anti-bribery laws can result in convictions even when the proof is sketchy whether public officials gave something in return for the money they took.

In other words, did they commit a crime by merely accepting money or must there also be proof they promised an illegal favor in return for the cash?

Lower courts said taking the money was enough to convict the two county officials and four contractors.

The evidence was based on an FBI investigation that began in 2002.

The defendants appealed the trial court’s judgment against them to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, which affirmed the convictions in a May 12, 2010, decision.

The appellate court’s ruling said, “We conclude the evidence at the trials overwhelmingly established the defendant-appellants’ guilt, and they have shown no reversible error in the district courts’ rulings, pre-trial or in the trials, in the cases consolidated.”

The main issue for the Supreme Court would be how it interprets Section 666 of the federal funds corruption statute.

The law forbids local government officials who are administering federal funds from “corruptly solicit[ing] or demand[ing] … or accept[ing] or agree[ing] to accept, anything of value from any person, intending to be influenced or rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, or series of transactions” of the local government involving $5,000 or more.

The law also requires a “corrupt” intent by the persons accepting the bribes.

County officials Chris McNair and Jack Swann said they had no corrupt intent.

The Justice Department brief says that in 1996 McNair approved contractors’ pay requests and contract modifications as no-bid contracts.

About the same time, McNair owned a photography studio that was renovated with materials and labor donated by two of the sewer project contractors, Rast Construction, Inc. and Roland Pugh Construction, Inc., the Justice Department’s brief says.

Pugh Construction and another contractor also paid to build a retirement home for McNair in Arkansas.

Swann, who negotiated no-bid contracts for the sewer project contractors, received materials and labor from them to renovate his home, the prosecutors’ brief says.

The sewer project contracts McNair and Swann negotiated or awarded were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

During their trials, the county officials admitted receiving the services, but said they were acts of friendship rather than bribes.

Federal prosecutors say the county officials’ definition of gifts of friendship violates section 666 of the federal funds corruption statute.

Appeals courts have correctly and consistently ruled that public officials can be convicted of bribery “in cases involving an intent to exchange something of value for official acts, even where the official acts to be undertaken have not been determined with precision,” the government’s brief says.

The Supreme Court case is Rast v. U.S., Docket No. 10-516.

View full post on All Stories

Who hasn’t heard to the stock market? In fact, there are millions of people who are concerned about stock quotes and the various chanced happening on the market. Simply explained, a stock quote is the share price of a company present on the stock market. There are many exchange markets out there that are equally popular and the stock quotes differ, depending on individual preferences and needs. As for Zecco.com, they have one of the best trading platforms and many attractive features for those who are interested in online trading.

Once a company is listed on a well-known exchange market, stock quotes are given as price of the shares, allowing one to take trading decisions based on those numbers. Also known as stock tickers, these are different depending on the market one decides to trade in. The Internet is a valuable source of information for those who are interested in finding out more about popular stock quotes such as the ones from Intel Corporation (on NASDAQ – National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations), Google Inc., Apple Computer Inc. or Microsoft Corporation. These stock quotes are standing at the top right now and people from all over the world are interested in their place on the stock market.

Understanding stock quotes requires a lot of knowledge, preparation and experience in the field of stock trading. It is extremely difficult to read a stock quote, if you do not know the first thing about it. One might use the Internet to find out the needed information on the subject but the truth is that there is nothing better than having an online broker to provide specialized assistance. Stock quotes represent a very important part of the investing game and one should definitely be interested in the updates made on a regular basis. The stock quotes can change in a second and turn a situation all around. As an investor, you will have to keep an eye on the stock quotes and prepare yourself for unexpected situations.

We’ve mentioned Zecco.com as having a professional trading platform and a complete set of features for those interested in online trading. This online resource has become more and more popular in the past year, with people of different ages and occupations setting up an account at Zecco.com. For them, it was important to find a professional online resource where they could engage in trading, the part of becoming a member lasting only a few minutes. Zecco.com has impressed by offering easy transactions, fast execution for any trade and amazing prices for options. All these advantages have been well received by investors and trading enthusiasts.

If you are curious what Zecco.com has to offer, then you should definitely set up an account and see for yourself their trading platform. The moment you have become a member on the website, you can deposit a certain sum of money and benefit from a special offer guaranteeing ten free trades every month. It’s that simple but keep in mind that there are many more advantages to discover while using this investor’s portal!

Investing for retirement in IRAs is a good idea, especially right now when there are so many bargains in the stock market. A Roth IRA allows a contributor to have more flexibility in their plan when it comes to choosing stock in which to invest. Unlike other IRAs that do not allow the trading abilities and operate more like a savings account; the Roth IRA invests in stocks, commodities and some conservative investments. 

Starting a Roth IRA means finding a broker that will be able to open the account. As is the case whenever opening any kind of brokerage account, the fees should be checked. While some brokers charge reasonable fees, others are way over the top. One of the first things a person who wants to start an IRA account with a broker should look for is the fee to open the account and maintain the account. 

Contributing to the IRAs means fewer taxes on earnings. All of the capital gains earned in an IRA account is deferred until the time when the individual begins drawing out of the account. Currently, those who invest in IRAs can start to remove any of the money in the Roth IRA or other retirement vehicles, at the age of 59 ½. By the time the individual is 70, however, they must start taking some of the money out. 

Unlike other IRAs, the Roth IRA does not allow for tax deductible contributions. The reason that many people choose this vehicle is because they want to have the greatest flexibility with earnings and are looking for high yield. Other IRAs tend to be more conservatively invested, whereas Roth IRAs involve more risk. This risk usually ends up paying off by the time the person is able to start drawing out on it as the stocks continue to rise in value. Someone opening up a Roth IRA today may want to look into getting some solid, blue chip stocks in which to invest in their IRAs as the drop in the stock market over recent months has lowered the cost of purchasing stocks, even those that are traditionally big earners. This is a break that those who are looking towards investing should take advantage of to purchase stocks at a lower rate and watch them climb over the years. 

IRA brokers can help an individual open up their account and make it easy to make trades in the investment when desired. Those who are seeking to open up these type of retirement accounts should look towards the broker as well as the fees involved for trading and maintaining the account and choose one that will offer low fees and reliable service. 

Investing in stocks is becoming a great way for people to make some extra money. Some people work on it as a full-time job while others spend their free time to make some extra money. What with the incredible profits that it can bring in it is not at all surprising that you find more and more people moving towards stock trading or investing.

However, it is very clear that day trading is not a surefire way to quick and easy money. You will need to study it and know how you ought to proceed. There is no doubt that investing in stocks carries risks but if you learn the best methods of controlling these risks and make prudent selections the probability of raising you profits goes up reducing the lows considerably. The best way to earn good profits while investing in stocks is to buy when the price is low and sell when the price goes up. But the important part is to know when the right time to invest in a particular stock is. Read on for some tips on how to earn money while investing in the stock market.

Make preparations before investing in the stock market. You are required to be ready before carrying out your very first trade in stocks. You should keep abreast of the latest happenings in the markets be it stock issuances, mergers or financial reports of top companies. Getting an overall idea of the stock market including some of the recognized shares helps you make the correct financial analysis.

Make sure you do not spend much time in stocks which are hardly volatile. Fluctuations in prices are the answer to day trading. As you are probably already aware, day trading is nothing but investing in and selling of shares as the day progresses. There is absolutely no time for you to wait and see what is going to happen as there will be other chances to make money which you will miss.

Improve your skills in math. You should be able to analyze the financial data and trends of stocks just by giving them a glance. You are not required to me a math genius but it is necessary that you know what the financial data denotes so as to make judgments quickly and wisely before investing.

If you intend to dabble in stocks and investing you must have a lot of patience and be able to take mental strain. People who reap the maximum profits are able to hold their emotions throughout. Whether someone is elated about a big winning or overcome by a loss, any of such emotions can come in the way of a person’s ability to stay focused, think clearly and make prudent decisions.

Investing in stocks will definitely not make you rich overnight but these tips will put you on the right road to good money when it comes to day trading. There is plenty of money to be earned with day trading and with a bit of hard work till you learn the ropes very soon you will be earning high profits from this invigorating chance.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia The Media Line – In 2009, a judge sentenced a Turkish barber, Sabri Bogday, to death for blasphemy, and in the same year Lebanese television personality Ali Sibat also received death for “sorcery.” Another judge, in Medina, refused to release a well-respected physician from the guardianship of her abusive father because the family’s tribal ties outweighed the woman’s right to be released from her father’s custody.

The three cases received a lot of media attention – in the case of the two death sentences enough attention that King Abdullah set them aside – but they are not unusual in the Saudi judicial system where a hodgepodge of justice provides little protection or appeal rights for criminal defendants and women in family court.

That is about to change. A plan to codify the country’s Islamic law and require accountability from judges is near completion, a Saudi sharia expert and former Shoura Council member told The Media Line.

“Soon Saudi scholars are going to implement the sharia according to the new drafts,” said Khalil Al-Khalil, who was a member of the Shoura Council when it started the reform plans in 2009. “These days qualified Saudi experts in sharia and international law are working on this new codification system and I believe it’s going to be shocking when it is announced.”

Most Saudi judges earned their postgraduate degrees in Islamic studies from Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. Few have formal legal training. Judges currently exercise wide interpretations of sharia more or less on an individual basis. Tribal customs, social pressure and regional differences heavily influence rulings, especially in domestic cases.

Derived from the Quran and the example set by the Prophet Muhammad during his lifetime, sharia encompasses laws addressing public issues such as crime and business as well as private ones, like hygiene, diet and prayer. Codifying it will not only eliminate tribal customs, but also shift judges’ responsibilities from interpretation to the application of the law.

Court officials, however, have complained that codifying sharia will alter it and dilute Saudi Arabia’s Islamic identity, opening the door to secularism. Al-Shami insisted otherwise. “Codifying Islamic law has nothing to do with Muslim identity, but doing this [codification] will be more adherent and meritorious to the Islamic law,” he said.

Al-Khalil said the Shoura Council, Saudi Arabia’s consultative assembly, has made significant progress in judicial reforms. However, a timetable for completion hasn’t been set. The Council of Senior Ulama, the country’s top religious panel, endorsed codification of sharia in March 2010.

Saudi King Abdullah announced extensive judicial reform measures in 2007 with a budget of $2 billion. He hoped for a five-year transition period before the new laws became effective. But the absence of at least 10,000 qualified lawyers and hundreds of trained judges has hindered progress on some aspects of reform.

Legal reform is perhaps the king’s most ambitious program in scope and lasting impact on Saudi society. The reforms call for expanding the kingdom’s appeals courts from two to all 13 provinces and establishing a Supreme Judicial Council, which is now in place, to take over responsibilities once belonging to the Minister of Justice.

The SJC now supervises training, judicial appointments and disciplinary issues of the kingdom’s 721 judges that serve a Saudi and expatriate population of 26 million. The SJC’s role significantly reduces the justice minister’s power. The minister previously approved all rulings by Court of Cassation. Now the court bypasses the justice minister and its rulings are final.

Reform measures receiving the most attention, however, are efforts to codify criminal law to serve as precedent for cases. Judges in theory will render consistent rulings under a codified Sharia in criminal, civil, and the domestic courts where women usually end up on the wrong side of rulings.

Al-Khalil said codifying sharia is “shocking” because “Saudi Arabia is perceived as the only Muslim country that seriously implements sharia.” A codified sharia could serve as a precedent for other Muslim countries that use sharia in varying degrees to implement justice.

Al-Khalil said the Shoura Council made “major changes” to Saudi laws following a review of the judicial system over three years. He said most Islamic scholars believe the codification and sharia are compatible.

“Codifying the judicial system is allowed in the Islamic sharia,” he said. “Nowadays, the majority of Saudis and Muslims think it is a necessity to codify Sharia so it can be understood and reviewed. Judges can be held accountable for their rulings. Accountability is a very important issue when it comes to rulings.”

Al-Khalil and Abdulla Al-Shami, professor of comparative jurisprudence and Islamic Studies at The Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, said codifying sharia is rooted in the Ottoman Empire.

“Islamic law can be codified, and has already been codified during the Ottoman dynasty,” Al-Shami told The Media Line. “Many Muslim countries did the same as seen in Yemen and United Arab Emirates. Although a codified sharia is nearly ready for implementation, the kingdom is still struggling to find qualified judges and deal with resistance from current judges who believe only they can interpret Islamic law.”

Perhaps the face that best represents the judicial system’s old guard is the Saudi courts’ chief, Sheikh Saleh Al-Lohaidan, who gained notoriety in September 2008 for demanding on Al-Arabiya television that satellite television owners should die for airing “immoral” programs during Ramadan. The Saudi government fired Al-Lohaidan four months later as part of the king’s effort to bring sheikhs more in line with the government’s new policies on jurisprudence.

The Saudi government also forced Sheikh Sa’ad Bin Nasser Al-Shethri from the Council of Senior Scholars to step down following his criticism of co-educational policies of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The government then reassigned Justice Minister Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh in favor of the reform-minded Mohammed Al-Eissa, a former deputy director for a tribunal that settles commercial contract disputes. Also heading reform efforts is Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Huqail, the former chief of the Saudi Board of Grievances.

A Saudi lawyer, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified, said the religious conservatives’ resistance to change is the primary roadblock to full implementation of a codified Sharia.

“The conservatives think that any change to the way Sharia is implemented means liberal modernization and modernization is a western influence,” said the lawyer who practices in Jeddah. “I sincerely hope the government pushes them to the sidelines and moves as fast as possible so we can have a real judicial system.”

Al-Shami said Saudi judges should embrace Western legal concepts because the foundation of the world’s penal codes is in the Ten Commandments of Moses. Sharia, he said, is a direct descendant of the laws appearing in the Pentateuch law, or the Five Books of Moses.

“I do recommend the Saudi judges to be trained in Western law, to gain more experience in commercial property law as now practiced in most countries,” he said. “And also, I would recommend the West to do the same training in Muslim courts.”

View full post on All Stories

What are the most simple things you studied or knew in technical analysis that you can use in FOREX trading?, of course most will answer this without even thinking about it, trend lines, resistance and support points and moving averages. The more professional traders will think more about it and would answer “Yes, trend lines, resistance and support points and moving averages but who can use them alone successfully in trading FOREX?”.
     Here it is my turn to answer, trend lines, resistance and support points and moving averages are the best simplest ways to achieve success trading FOREX and keep in the positive area always.
     Just to make it simple we need first to state the definition of these tools and later to know how to use and apply them to our chart in order to succeed and build a real FOREX fortune.
     1. Trend Line : Trend line is the line that we can draw between two or more price tops or bottoms on a chart whatever was the type of the chart “linear, bars or candlesticks”, this line itself which could be an uptrend line which is being drawn between bottoms in a bullish market and it becomes a good support if the price goes south again or a downtrend line which is being drawn between price tops on the chart when market is down and it considered as a resistance when the price turns to up direction.
Note: The line which touches more tops or bottoms is more stronger and the signal produced by it is more reliable.
     2. Trend Channel : A trend channel is the space between two lines, the trend line and a parallel line to it which is always drawn on the opposite side of the trend line so it is drawn between tops in an up trend direction or through bottoms in a bearish price movement. The trend channel requires some conditions to give an accurate signal, the most important are: to be a wide channel, more wider more reliable and to last more longer.
     3. Moving Average : Moving average is a mathematical average of set of prices we can say that a simple moving average (SMA) with value of 5 and applied to close is the sum of close prices for 5 moving bars on the chart divided to 5 (eg. the average of Friday is the sum of the previous 5 days “week” on a daily chart divided to 5, while Thursday’s average is the sum of the 5 days before divided to 5 and so, the moving average is the line which passes through these averages points”, the most important condition for its reliability is its value, more greater value more reliable moving average.
Note: I suggest using more than one moving average, 2 or 3 are acceptable.
     4. Support And Resistance Points : Support points are the price points were tested more than two times when price was going south and it could not pass it, support points are completely the opposite. These points are being used to measure the probability of price turning at mean points, these points can be decided by using “pivot points, fibonacci rates….etc.”
Note : The more times price touches a point and turn its direction the more stronger it is.
     How can we apply this to chart and get money, I’ll summarize this in the following chart image, it explains itself, it’s a chart for GBP/JPY, signal return was 1000+ pips in 2 days:
     Three moving averages were going south, trend line was broken “price in green circle” a good support point “23.6% fibonacci was nearly broken”, strong signal, yes?   For the chart please visit moneytec
The best resource for FOREX  trading is MoneyTec MoneyTec,   – Active Traders Community Forum, Chat. MoneyTec is an online trading community that promotes mature, intelligent & respectful discussion in a positive & safe environment for everyone.

How can I manage my money in FOREX?, How can I control my money while trading and direct it in the positive way always and avoid to lose much money in such an aggressive and fast market?
These and much more questions are being asked daily by a lot of traders around the world, most of these questions are focusing on the best ways to get profits, from a long experience trading FOREX  I could say that the best way to get profits in FOREX market is to avoid or at least reduce loss and this can be achieved by a good money and risk management technique. A lot f these techniques were studied and published, a lot more are being published daily.
One of the best techniques I studied and used was applying Pareto law to the trading system, this law states “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”, this law is also known as the 80-20 rule, the Pareto principle, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity and it was named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who noticed that 80% of the lands in Italy was owned by 20% of the population at that time.
How can we use this as a money management technique?, while it is not hard to use this principle for that purpose it’s not easy to keep running in FOREX market “specially for fast traders and scalpers” because it requires to organize and observe trading , writing down every trade you enter and analyzing these trades digitally to get a specific results like which pairs are the best for your trading system and give the best return, what are the best suitable times for trading and which trading systems are the most profitable trading strategies.
Still we have to discuss the mechanism of integrating the Pareto principle into money management system for FOREX trading, as I mentioned above it is not hard to use and apply it to the trading system, it is very flexible so you can apply it in many ways like :
   1.    Some people will observe trades and will from the result of this observation focus       on the most profitable 20% of pairs those gave them 80% of income during exercise   period which I recommend it to be at least 3 months.
   2.    Some others will be focusing time of trading, getting the most suitable 20% time of trading for them “times of successful trades” that they made 80% of successful trades during and of that they can know when the most they are trading successfully.
   3.    Stop loss and take profit points are important spots to be highlighted by this system, imagine how much will you save if you know the 20% take profit points that gave you 80% of the return and the 20% stop loss points that gave you 80% of your loss, so you can get the best ranges to use when you setup a take profit or stop loss point “i.e. if get 80% of my return of 20% of take profits that ranges 50 pips, I would setup my take profit points around that number always and vice versa in stop loss points case”.
   4.    Others would be focusing on trading systems, indicating which are the responsible systems for the most of profits or the most of losses in that period of time.

There are a lot of other factors in FOREX trading for achieving gain that can be observed and analyzed based on this principle, combining three to four f them would maximize your profits and reduce your losses dramatically but this is the most hard way to maintain a suitable money management strategy using Pareto law as this requires you to observe your trades and organize them for a long time accurately, this only would affect your trading negatively as you would not be able to enter short term trades easily if you do not have good tools to do. The best resource for FOREX  trading is MoneyTec MoneyTec,   – Active Traders Community Forum, Chat. MoneyTec is an online trading community that promotes mature, intelligent & respectful discussion in a positive & safe environment for everyone.

This is why I recommend you to put every element in a spreadsheet separately and trade in a normal mood, after the examining period over you would be having a lot of data to analyze and get the results for them, hence you would have the ability to combine the results and get the best overall result for the best pairs you are trading profitably, the best take profit and stop loss points ranges and the best time you are trading them, combining these best results you will have a new result which would be for sure the responsible for around 80% of you return.
Once this get done, you are having a suitable FOREX money management strategy that you can depend on, but try to update it always to get the best out of it and notice that “80%” and “20%” are the theoretical numbers, they will differ for sure while keeping just around them.

It’s said that 85% of Forex traders are losing their money in the first three months of their trading, I think in some market cases it exceeds this ratio and may hits 95%, most of people say this loss is a result of trading while having no strong knowledge about Forex market, I don’t agree this all the way.
For me I think the most important reason is trading style including strategy, money management and risk management, another important reason is crowding up your mind with a lot of technical and fundamental tools and trying to apply all of them at once.
Theoretically all analysis methods “wither it’s technical or fundamental” are correct ways because they are only measuring tools, they differs in the accuracy of their results and this varies from time to time, they just give you inputs and you are responsible of applying these inputs that’s why I don’t mind which indicator you are using, just try not to crowd your mind with a lot of them.
To move yourself into the successful 15% you don’t need to know a lot in analysis field, you don’t need to have a big capital too. I wouldn’t encourage you to be calm, concentrate, look at your charts and go the way they tell you and such advices. We’ll be instead discussing the actual steps that you can take in order to get yourself out of loss and list your name in the 15% successful traders list. The best resource for FOREX  trading is MoneyTec MoneyTec,   – Active Traders Community Forum, Chat. MoneyTec is an online trading community that promotes mature, intelligent & respectful discussion in a positive & safe environment for everyone.
My strategy depends on simplicity as it just includes 2 indicators for the technical part of it. Let’s see how would it work:
a)    Money Management:
1.    First of all count your capital well and I mean by this the money you can afford to lose “this is rule no. 1 in investment as this will remove stress from you”.
2.    Decide your monthly return average expectation from this money : This will make you able to count the average weekly and daily return “Weekly and Daily Target”.
3.    Decide what will you do with your profits in case you achieve your targets, how much will you get out from it and how much will you re-invest : This will be enough to have a steady and stable trading strategy.
4.    Most important point, limit your trade size, this shouldn’t exceed 5% of your balance if you want to survive in this market.
These are all what we need from money management right now, it’s a huge subject to be involved in.
b)    Risk Management :
1.    Limit your loss : The whole money you can afford to loss from your investment budget.
2.    According to your daily and weekly target, you could limit your daily and weekly loss, so if it touch that limit you stop trading till the other period of time, risking of $1 per $3 expected profit is good while 1: 2 still accepted.
3.    Keep in mind that “If you lost a day, it means you lost that day’s profit of the total month’s profit” don’t try and squeeze yourself the day after to get a double profit, otherwise you will be spoiling your trading system.
c)    Technical Trading System :
This trading system is a common old system traders were used to use it randomly, we will be using it in a more modern way, it contains of :
1.    2 Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of values 7 – 15 .
2.    Relative Strength Index (RSI) as a confirmation tool.
Well, now as we have everything setup, it isn’t so hard to understand that system, the usual way was used by traders is : “once EMA-7 cross EMA-15 you go with it, so if it cross to up, you buy, otherwise you are selling”, this is completely true but you need to confirm this signal by another tool like “RSI”, once you get Moving Averages signal you check your RSI line direction and value, if it’s positive you can start trading, if not you should ignore till you get a positive signal that everything is fine, your stop loss would be if the EMA-15 returns to cross EMA-7 and your stop loss would be 20% of your daily affordable loss that you decided before, so you have a chance to trade for 5 times per day if you lost all trades.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t put all trade size limit “which you decide before while setting up your money management section” in just one trade, you may need to support your trade later or add more fund to it.
Last thing to be said is the classical advice “Don’t be greedy and don’t feel panic”, this is the best feature we have in Forex, take profit and stop loss points.

Jerusalem, Israel Arieh O’Sullivan – Imagine some driver has just cut you off, passing you illegally, speeding off recklessly, breaking a few traffic laws and generally endangering the public in the process. Many stressful fellow drivers would probably like to pull out their handy bazooka and blow him away.

But a new Israeli-designed iPhone application lets you take a softer response. Its slogan can be roughly translated as “Don’t fume – film.”

The free application allows users to record and report offensive driving. And it’s designed to work autonomously so drivers doesn’t endanger themselves or others by trying to operate a camera while behind the wheel.

Mediterranean countries are notorious for their awful drivers. In Israel, some 500 people are killed a year and about 100,000 injured. So the National Road Safety Committee, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing accidents, recently turned to an Israeli software company to create an application that would let the public get involved in promoting safer driving.

The firm Zemingo came up with “Traffic Observer,” an application that allows iPhone users to give bad drivers their just desserts.

“The idea is very simple,” Tsiki Naftaly, one of Zemingo’s founders and head of marketing and business development, told The Media Line. “Everyone at least once in their life has seen an accident or severe traffic felony, and wishes they could have taken a photo of that perpetrator to show the police or to publicize it.”

“We created an application, which on one hand helps catch bad drivers on the road and on the other, doesn’t distract the driver from taking the images,” he said.

The program works by placing the iPhone on the dashboard where it videotapes the road. To prevent overloading the hard disk, it saves images in two-minute segments and then records over them.

“Once you see an accident or a felony, all you have to do is pull over and click the black button on the phone and it transmits the recording. You can also add a vocal description. It sends the GPS location automatically,” Naftaly said.

The data are uploaded to a private YouTube account where volunteers from the National Road Safety Committee filter it. The most flagrant cases are sent to police for action. The volunteers track down the violators of the less severe infractions and replay for them their recorded driving behavior as an educational tool, Naftaly said.

For now, the application and volunteer network has only been set up in Israel. But organizations in other countries can easily adapt it for use there. So far, “tens of thousands” have downloaded the program in the short time it has been available.

The application has a double use. Besides recording proof of traffic violations that can deter future infractions; it also serves as catharsis to the victims of bad drivers.

“The saying goes ‘Don’t get angry, get even,’ well this is a way to feel that you got the guy without getting angry or losing your temper,” Naftaly said.

Since the application surfaced, it has led to an Internet kangaroo court for violators. Even some Israeli news shows have exposed and broadcast traffic violators in an effort to deter bad driving.

A popular news show on the Channel 2 television network broadcast a video taken by Traffic Observer of a driver purposely running a red light.

Prosecution, however, may be lagging. An Israel Police spokesman told The Media Line that the public was allowed to submit cases of bad driving, but had to do so in the form of a formal complaint, which requires identifying themselves and giving sworn testimony so that it can be used in a traffic court.

The spokesman added that he was unaware of the application, but welcomed the idea.

View full post on All Stories

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Monday unveiled a $3.7 trillion budget request for 2012, with the daring but painful fiscal cuts in his government’s spending programs but leaving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, out of the trimming zone.

Speaking at Parkville Middle School and Center of Technology outside of Baltimore with Secretary Arne Duncan and Budget Director Jack Lew, in attendance, Obama told his audience, “

Obama cited the “need to invest in education,” as essential for equipping Americans “to compete with any worker, anywhere in the world,” noting, “The only way we can make these investments in our future is if our government starts living within its means.”

Obama announced a”freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years,” that would result in cutting the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade.”

These cuts would require painful cuts in “community action programs in low-income neighborhoods and towns, and community development block grants that so many of our cities and states rely on,” the president said.

Obama listed “domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes,” as some of the sections where the austerity measures can yield results, urging both the Republicans and the Democrats to work together.

“There’s going to be more work that needs to be done, and it’s going to require Democrats and Republicans coming together to make it happen,” Obama said.

View full post on All Stories

Miami, FL, United States (AHN Sports) – Dave Duerson, a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears Super-Bowl winning team was found dead in his Miami home, the team announced Friday. He was 50.

The cause of death has not been determined.

“Our family asks that you please remember Dave as a good, kind, and caring man,” Duerson’s ex-wife, Alicia Duerson, said, according to NBCChicago.com. “He loved and cherished his family and friends and was extremely proud of his beloved Notre Dame and … Chicago Bears. Please keep Dave and our family in your prayers.”

The Bears selected Duerson in the third round of the 1983 draft after an All-America career at Notre Dame.

He became a full-time starter at strong safety for the 1985 team that was known as perhaps the best defensive team of all-time. That team finished the regular season 15-1 and had two shutouts in the playoffs before dismantling the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl.

“We really liked him a lot,” former Bears coach Mike Ditka said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “That was the year that Todd Bell and [Al] Harris held out. [Duerson] stepped right in and became a starter at the strong safety position and was outstanding. Did a great, great job.”

Duerson was selected to four Pro Bowls from 1986 to 1989 and was part of the 1990 New York Giants team that also won a Super Bowl.

He played three more seasons for the Cardinals before retiring at age 33. He finished with 20 interceptions in his career. He had seven sacks and six interceptions in 1986 – both career highs.

“We are stunned and saddened to hear the tragic news regarding Dave Duerson,” the Bears said in a statement. “He was a great contributor to our team and the Chicago community. Today is a difficult day for all of us who loved Dave. We’ll miss him. Our prayers are with his family.”

After football, Duerson owned Brooks Sausage Company, later called Fair Oaks Farms, which supplied sausage to fast-food restaurants. He sold the business in 2002.

View full post on All Stories

Svalbard, Norway (AHN) – Potatoes from Peru and chickpeas from Australia are among the latest additions to the “doomsday vault” where seeds from food crops around the world are kept safe from natural and human disaster.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located in an earthquake-free zone in the Arctic Circle, 810 miles south of the North Pole in Norway. The vault is built into solid rock just above sea level in permafrost, which means the temperature inside the vault will not rise above -4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Potatoes have been eaten for more than 8,000 years and are one of the world’s most important non-cereal food crops. The Andes are home to about 4,000 different varieties of native potato species. However, some native South American potato varieties are at risk. So South American highland farmers collected 1,500 varieties of potatoes and they have sent them to the seed vault for safekeeping.

Meanwhile, an Australian farmer and scientist is sending 343 seed samples collected from China and Lebanon as early as in the 1930s. That includes a rare chickpea that only Australia still has a copy.

The vault opened in February 2008 to provide a place to store duplicates of seeds from around the world that was protected from the effects of climate change. There are already seeds from thousands of species of food crops at the vault.

View full post on Environmental Issue Stories

New Delhi, India (AHN) – The Indian Agricultural Ministry Friday lifted the two-month-long export ban on onions after wholesale prices came down considerably and the threat of a mass movement by farmers losing out on the lucrative international market.

India stopped the export of onions in December following the spiraling cost of the essential commodity in the Indian market. However, the move proved counterproductive for the farmers who lost out to competitors in the international market, thus sending their minimum export price of $1,200 a tonne plummeting to $600.

Agricultural Ministry officials said on condition of anonymity that the absence of a concrete export policy was the bane of the country and this was the reason for the price of the vegetable crashing to an all-time low.

The officials said that not just India, but other South Asian countries too, didn’t have a tangible export policy. Recently, Sri Lanka also has seen huge fluctuations in the prices of essential commodities due to restrictions on the rights of citizens to deal freely in food.

The Lankan poultry sector has been hit hard by the restriction on the import of maize, with the government opining that this would help homebred maize-growers increase production. It’s another thing that the price of meat, eggs and chicken has gone through the roof, thanks to the new government regulation.

Despite Sri Lanka being one of the largest producers of rice, the country has persistently higher prices of the grain than the rest of the world, resulting in high incidences of malnutrition among children.

The Lankan government’s decision to limit the import of edible oils has sent the price of fresh coconut skyrocketing, and now the most readily available commodity in the island nation is selling at three times the price compared to other coconut oil producing countries.

Another policy by the Lankan government, to tax imported onions to assist local farmers, has also boomeranged on the economy, with the price of the vegetable going beyond the common man’s reach.

View full post on All Stories

Ann Arbor, MI, United States (AHN) – Borders will hold closing sales this weekend as part of its plan to shutter 30 percent of stores nationwide and ensure long-term viability.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the closure of 200 underperforming stores, a ruling that allows Borders to begin promotional sales on Saturday.

The stores, which are expected to be closed by April, are scattered in 35 states and in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. They include the location at Arborland in Ann Arbor, where Borders is based.

The liquidation of furniture and store fixtures is being managed by Hilco Merchant Resources, Gordon Brothers Group, SB Capital Group, and Tiger Capital Group.

The disposition of real estate is being overseen by DJM Realty. The stores range from 12,000 to more than 42,000 square feet.

The nation’s second-largest book retailer filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, saying it had $1.29 billion in debts and $1.27 billion in assets.

The bankruptcy filing had been expected. Borders had been losing money because of poor management and belated efforts to adjust to the fast-changing environment of e-readers, digital books and online commerce.

The company received immediate approval from the bankruptcy court for $505 million in debtor-in-possession financing from GE Capital.

Borders has made clear it “will continue to maintain its strong national presence” and that stores continue to be open for business. Orders made through the company’s website are being filled, and a successful rewards program launched last fall remains in effect. Payroll and benefits programs for the company’s employees are also unaffected.

View full post on All Stories

Jerusalem, Israel David Rosenberg – Since Mohamed Bouazizi set himself afire Dec. 14 in Tunisia, anti-government protests have erupted throughout much of the Middle East, bringing down two leaders and threatening others.

This table details the likely social, economic and political factors that might lead to mass protests, the means for organizing and leading it, and how significant the collapse of the government would be for the rest of the world. Countries that are relatively small and/or have been quiet to date have not been included in the survey.

For the sources and explanations of the material, see below.

ALGERIA

• Motivation Median age 26.2
• Poverty rate 22.6%
• Higher education 23.9%
• Jobless 10%
• Treated respectfully 84%
• Income inequality 35.3
• Corruption 2.9 / 105
• Human rights: Torture banned since 2004 but Red Cross cannot inspect all security facilities to verify; emergency rule in force since 1992.
• Leader in power: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika since 1999, won re-election in 2009 with 90.2% of the vote; last real elections were in 1991 when Islamists won and government canceled results.
• Means Internet access 11.9
• Press freedom 47.33 / 133
• Symbol: None
• Organized opposition: Rally for Culture and Democracy

Who Cares: Algeria has 12.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January 2009 (world’s 15th largest) and 4.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas (10th largest).

So Far: Anti-government protests broke out in early January after prices rose sharply for flour, sugar and other food staples but have more recently evolved into calls for the president to step down.

Concessions: Bouteflika promised Feb 14 to lift a longstanding state of emergency.

BAHRAIN

• Motivation Median age 28.1
• Poverty rate: NA
• Higher education 29.9
• Jobless: NA
• Treated respectfully: NA
• Income inequality: NA
• Corruption 4.9 / 48
• Human rights: Conditions deteriorated sharply in 2010; authorities have regularly employed torture since 2007.
• Leader in power: King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has ruled since 1999 as hereditary monarch. He appoints the prime minister; elected parliament has existed since 2001.
• Means Internet access 51.9
• Press freedom 51.38 / 144
• Symbol: Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima was killed in Feb. 14 Day of Rage protests

Organized opposition: Islamic National Accord Association represents Shiites in parliament; Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

Who Cares: No oil, but strategic location in the Gulf, off coast of Saudi Arabia; home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet

So Far: Demonstrations spurred mainly by Shiite majority protesting second-class status have left two dead.

Concessions: Government has handed out equivalent of $2,560 to each Bahraini family and has promised easing of media restrictions.

EGYPT

• Motivation Median age 23.9
• Poverty rate 16.7%
• Higher education 31.2%
• Jobless 9.2%
• Treated respectfully 90%
• Income Inequality 32.1
• Corruption 3.1 / 98
• Human rights: Police, security forces regularly employ torture in police stations, detention centers and points of arrest; emergency rule since 1981.
• Leader in power: Until he resigned Feb. 11, Husni Mubarak had ruled for 30 years; the head of Egypt’s Higher Military Council, Mohamad Hussain Tantawi, is now in control.
• Means Internet access 16.6
• Press freedom 43.33 / 127
• Symbol: Wael Ghonim, jailed Google executive who helped instigate protests

Organized opposition: April 6 Youth Movement organized mass protests via social media; Muslim Brotherhood is best organized and biggest of major opposition groups.

Who Cares: Egypt is world’s most populous Arab country, whose political influence extends throughout the Arab world; it is a key U.S. ally in the region and one of two countries to have signed a pace treaty with Israel; Suez Canal is a major world shipping route.

So Far: Unrest has persisted after resignation, compounded by labor strikes. 300 killed in protests.

Concessions: Since Mubarak resigned, army has dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and called for elections in six months.

IRAN

• Motivation Median age 26.8
• Poverty rate 18%
• Higher education 36.1%
• Jobless
• Treated respectfully 81%
• Income Inequality 38.3
• Corruption 2.2 / 146
• Human rights: Torture used to extract confessions; 388 people were executed in 2010, emergency rule
• Leader in power: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected in generally free elections in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 in a vote whose results were disputed by the opposition; Ali Khamenei, supreme leader, has been in power since 1989, appointed by assembly of experts.
• Means Internet access 32.0
• Press freedom 94.56 / 175
• Symbol: Neda Agha-Soltan, whose death by security forces was captured on video.

Organized opposition: Losing 2009 presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi; former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Who Cares: Iran has 138 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (world’s 4th largest) and 43.3 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves (world’s second largest); West believes Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

So Far: 2009 protests over Ahmadinejad’s election victory were quashed by the government; demonstrations erupted again this year on Feb. 14 with tens of thousands marching in Tehran streets; security forces fired tear gas and detained demonstrators.

IRAQ

• Motivation Median age 19.3
• Poverty rate 25%
• Higher education 15.7%
• Jobless
• Treated respectfully 84%
• Income Inequality 35.3
• Corruption 1.5 / 175
• Human rights: Widespread reports of torture, other abuse of detainees held by defense, interior ministries and police.
• Leader in power: Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has been in power since 2006 and was re-elected in generally free and fair elections in 2010.
• Means Internet access 1.0
• Press freedom 45.58 / 130
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: NA

Who Cares: Iraq has 180 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (world’s second largest) and 3.2 trillion of natural gas (11th largest).

So Far: Thousands have rallied to protest poverty, joblessness, and food, electricity and water shortages but not to bring down elected government.

Concessions: Maliki cut his salary in half, reportedly vowed not to seek third term in 2014.

JORDAN

• Motivation Median age 22.8
• Poverty rate 14.2%
• Higher education 37.7%
• Jobless 13.0%
• Treated respectfully 89%
• Income Inequality 37.7
• Corruption 4.7 / 50
• Human rights: Torture, routine and widespread at police stations.
• Leader in power: King Abdullah inherited the throne in 1999 as heir to dynasty in power since 1921.
• Means Internet access 27.0
• Press freedom 37.00 / 120
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front

Who Cares: Relatively small and poor country, Jordan is a key U.S. ally in the region and occupies a strategic position between Israel, Palestinian-ruled areas, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

So Far: Weekly demonstrations on Friday had called for prime minister’s resignation, but not king’s. Since new premier was named, protests have grown smaller, less focused.

Concessions: New prime minister, Marouf Al-Bakhit, and government named Feb. 1 with mandate for political reform and includes opposition and media figures; in January, government canceled price hikes and added subsidies and government jobs.

LIBYA

• Motivation Median age 26.2
• Poverty rate 33%
• Higher education 55.7
• Jobless: NA
• Treated respectfully 64%
• Income Inequality: NA
• Corruption 2.2 / 146
• Human rights: Numerous reports of torture by security agencies.
• Leader in power: Col. Muammar Qaddafi has ruled since 1969.
• Means Internet access 5.1
• Press freedom 63.50 / 160
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: National Conference for the Libyan Opposition (NCLO)

Who Cares: Libya has 41 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (world’s 10th largest) and 1.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas (22nd largest).

So Far: First demonstrations reported Feb. 15 in Benghazi; NCLO has called for mass protests inside and outside of Libya to mark Feb. 17, 2006, uprisings.

MOROCCO

• Motivation Median age 26.5
• Poverty rate 19%
• Higher education: NA
• Jobless 9.6%
• Treated respectfully 89%
• Income Inequality 40.9
• Corruption 3.4 / 85
• Human rights: Islamists and terror suspects have reportedly been subjected to torture.
• Leader in power: King Mohammed VI has ruled since 1999 as heir to dynasty whose authority is legitimized by religious tradition and history.
• Means Internet access 33.0
• Press freedom 47.40 / 135
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: NA

Who Cares: Morocco is friendly with the West and it shares control of the strategic Strait of Gibraltar with Spain and Britain.

So Far: No major reported protests to date. Facebook groups have called for nationwide protests on Feb 20.

Concessions: Government on Feb. 15 said it will almost double state subsidies by $1.8 billion to counter an increase in global commodity prices.

PALESTINE

• Motivation Median age 17.6
• Poverty rate 70% (Gaza), 46% (West Bank)
• Higher education 47.2%
• Jobless 30% (Gaza), 16% (West Bank)
• Treated respectfully 89%
• Income Inequality: NA
• Corruption: NA
• Human rights: Hamas police in some cases torture people suspected of homosexuality, extra-marital sex. Some 106 complaints of torture by PA security services.
• Leaders in power: Mahmoud Abbas was elected president in a semi-democratic election in 2005 but delayed scheduled 2009 elections and remains in office.
• Means Internet access 9.0
• Press freedom 56.13 / 150
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: Hamas (West Bank), Fatah (Gaza)

Who Cares: Palestinians are divided between Hamas-ruled Gaza and Fatah-ruled West Bank; collapse of Fatah, which backs peace talks with Israel, would mark a setback to the U.S. and Israel, especially if Islamists seized control.

So Far: Small demonstrations in the West Bank supporting Egyptian opposition were blocked by security personnel.

Concessions: PA cabinet resigned Feb. 14 and PA has called municipal and parliamentary/presidential elections for July and September.

SAUDI ARABIA

• Motivation Median age: 24.6
• Poverty rate: NA
• Higher education 29.9
• Jobless 10.5%
• Treated respectfully 77%
• Income Inequality: NA
• Corruption 4.7 / 50
• Human rights: Detainees face arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment in detention; Saudi judges routinely sentence defendants to lashings.
• Leader in power: King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud, scion of the ruling Al-Saud family, which came to power in the 18th century, has ruled since 2005. He is 86 years old and ailing.
• Means Internet access 31.5
• Press freedom 61.50 / 157
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: None

Who Cares: Saudi Arabia has 267 billion barrels of oil reserves (the world’s largest) and 7.3 trillion cubic meters of natural gas (5th largest); while militarily weak, its oil and financial resources make it a key Western ally.

So Far: Saudi Arabia has seen no anti-government protests, although demonstrators did organize to protest government failure to deal with flooding in Jeddah last month.

Concessions: The government opened a Facebook page in February to allow citizens to file complaints.

SYRIA

• Motivation Median age 22.5
• Poverty rate 11.9%
• Higher education NA
• Jobless 11% (2009)
• Treated respectfully 91%
• Income Inequality: NA
• Corruption 2.5 / 127
• Human rights: At least five detainees died in custody in 2010, with no serious investigations into deaths; emergency rule in force since 1963.
• Leader in power: Bashar Assad inherited presidency from father Hafez although officially subject to referendum, which he won with 97.6% in 2007; Assad dynasty has been in power since 1970.
• Means Internet access 17.3
• Press freedom 91.50 / 173
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: None

Who Cares: Syria is Iran’s chief ally in the Arab world and influences Lebanon; fall of Assad regime would likely undermine Iranian influence in region.

So Far: “Day of Rage” organized on Facebook for Feb. 5 failed to materialize.

Concessions: Assad told The Wall Street Journal Jan. 31 he planned reforms for local elections, a new media law and more power for private organizations; fuel subsidy for public workers boosted in January.

TUNISIA

• Motivation Median age 29.1
• Poverty rate 7.6%
• Higher education 31.6%
• Jobless 13.2%
• Treated respectfully 91%
• Income Inequality: 40.8
• Corruption 4.3 / 15
• Human rights: Frequent allegations of torture haven’t been investigated by government; emergency rule, declared in January, remains in force after Ben Ali’s resignation.
• Leader in power: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ruled for 23 years until Jan 15. Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi now heads a transition government.
• Means Internet access 27.1
• Press freedom 72.50 / 164
• Symbol: Mohamed Bouazizi, whose act of self-immolation inspired protestors, first in Tunisia and later elsewhere in the Arab world.

Organized opposition: Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT)

Who Cares: A small country, Tunisia doesn’t have significant natural resources or occupy a strategic location; influence as the cradle of revolution has been overtaken by Egypt.

So Far: Granddaddy of revolution, protests began in mid-December and forced Ben Ali into exile; transition government faced continued unrest until remnants of Ben Al’s allies were removed in early February; 200 killed.

Concessions: Ben Ali’s allies purged from interim government and his political party banned; interim government has promised presidential election by July, dissolution of parliament and election of constituent assembly to draft a new constitution.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

• Motivation Median age 31.7
• Poverty rate 19.5% (2003)
• Higher education 25.2%
• Jobless 4.0% (2008)
• Treated respectfully 94%
• Income Inequality NA
• Corruption 6.3 / 28
• Human rights: Allegations of torture by police.
• Leader in power: Confederation of seven emirates each governed by hereditary rulers; legislative body, Federal National Council, is half appointed, half elected by an electoral college.
• Means Internet access 65.2
• Press freedom 23.75 / 87
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: None

Who Cares: The UAE is a major business center and major producer of oil and gas. It occupies a strategic position in the Gulf

So Far: No significant protests to date.

Concessions: UAE said in early February that electoral college will be increased 300-fold to about 12,000 people, but delegates will continue to be chosen by the rulers (12 out of every 1,000 Emiratis will be entitled to vote).

YEMEN

• Motivation Median age 17.8
• Poverty rate 41.8%
• Higher education 10.2%
• Jobless: NA
• Treated respectfully 84%
• Income Inequality: 37.7
• Corruption 2.2 / 146
• Human rights: Arbitrary arrest and use of force against demonstrators; allegations of torture.
• Leader in power: President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ruled for 32 years.
• Means Internet access 1.6
• Press freedom 82.13 / 170
• Symbol: None

Organized opposition: Common Forum, an alliance of parliamentary opposition groups.

Who Cares: Arab world’s poorest, least developed country, Yemen has emerged as a base for Al-Qaeda, whose strength could be enhanced by the collapse of the Saleh government, and lies close to oil-shipping routes.

So Far: Organized and largely peaceful protests have occurred since January, but since Feb. 13, tone has changed, with demonstrators called for the president’s resignation.

Concessions: Saleh has pledged not to run for re-election when his term ends in 2013 or allow his son to run; he has raised army salaries, halved income taxes and imposed price controls.

Sources and Explanations

Median age assumes a younger population is more likely to take to the streets and, given high rate of jobless youth in Arab world, more likely to be facing economic distress or dissatisfaction. Median age for developed world is 39.9 and for Arab world 23.1. Source: UN Human Development Report 2010.

Higher education measures percentage of relevant population enrolled in post-high educational institutions in 2001-2009. It assumes that more educated people are more likely to engage in sustained protests. Source: UN Human Development Report 2010.

Treated respectfully refers to percentage of people who responded to a Gallup World Survey during the 2006-2009 period, “Were you treated respectfully all day yesterday?”

Poverty measures percentage of population under national poverty line. Sources: UN Development Program, CIA Factbook.

Jobless measures percentage of civilian labor force without work in 2010. Youth jobless rates are typically much higher. Source: International Monetary Fund.

Income inequality is measured by the Gini co-efficient. A higher score means more inequality. Sweden’s Gini co-efficient is 25. Source: UN Human Development Report 2010.

Corruption measures perception of malfeasance based on a survey of business people with a score of 10, meaning government is entirely clean and 0 entirely corrupt. Denmark was the cleanest country, scoring 9.3. Source: Transparency International 2010 report.

Human Rights focuses on torture and emergency rule, two violations that opposition leaders have cited as key to their demands. Source: Human Rights Watch 2010 report.

Internet access per 100 people is a measure of how deeply social media and other on-line tools reach the population. For comparison’s sake, the U.S. rate is 75.9. Source: UN Human Development Report 2010.

Press freedom measures censorship imposed by the government and self-censorship attacks on journalists. A lower score means greater press freedom. The second number is the country’s world ranking. Source: Reporters Without Borders 2010.

View full post on All Stories

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – A day after an Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay $8.6 billion in compensation, the American oil giant said it would appeal against the fine in the long-running dispute over pollution.

Meanwhile, Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson holds Ecuador’s state-run firm responsible for the pollution in the Amazon region. Robertson called the case an “extortion scheme.”

The two countries have been at odds since past two decades and had filed lawsuits in the U.S. and Ecuador. Experts believe that more appeals will further drag the case for several years.

In 2001, Texaco oil firm was merged with Chevron. Since then, it has been blamed for dumping several billion gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon River between years 1972 and 1992. Campaigners claim that locals are suffering from this pollution since many of their crops have been damaged and several of their animals have been killed. The residents also face the brunt of pollution with increased risk of cancer rates.

In response to the fresh court order, Chevron said that Texaco had spent some $40 million in cleaning up the area from toxic wastes during the 1990s. It also claimed to have signed an agreement with Ecuador under which the latter agreed to absolve it from any further responsibility.

In a statement to the BBC, Robertson admired Texaco’s operations and accused state-run firm Petroecuador of the pollution. “The oilfields in question have been solely operated by the government of Ecuador’s own oil company Petroecuador since past 20 years. Petroecuador has a deplorable environmental record and Chevron is getting blamed for actions in a country that we’ve never even operated in,” he added.

View full post on All Stories

New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The netbook is no longer the hottest technology gadget. The iPad has replaced the small notebook computer priced at about $300 as the most in-demand gizmo.

The fall of the netbook came in just about two years. Since Apple launched the tablet computer in April 2010, technology experts have warned of the death of the netbook. In January, computer maker Acer announced it will phase out its netbook and release by the first half of this year 7-inch and 10-inch Android tablets using Intel chips.

When the netbook was introduced to the market in 2009, 7.5 million units were sold in the U.S. and 34 million worldwide. However, sales noticeably began to dip in 2010. During the recent Christmas holidays, retail sales of netbooks in the U.S. dipped 38 percent compared to a year ago.

The fall from grace of netbooks and even laptops is because of the ability of iPads to provide search and email functions, which are two of the most popular functions of the netbook. According to a study by a market monitor, more than 90 percent of tablet computer owners search and email on their devices.

One downside, though, that iPad owners complain of is difficulty in typing in the tablet computer.

The popularity of Apple’s iPad had led rivals such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Research in Motion and Samsung to come up with their own versions of the tablet computer.

Industry observers, however, said the weak netbook sale is also because of the small computer’s underperformance. Many unit owners complained that their PCs were slow and could not handle many popular software applications.

Netbooks were the response of technology giants Intel and Microsoft to the nonprofit One Laptop per Child project in 2005 that aimed to provide computers to children in poor countries at a cost of $100 per unit. When the netbook was introduced, laptop prices dropped from an average of $1,000 per unit in 2005 to $465.

But analysts said new offerings only enlarge the computer market instead of eating into the sales of conventional products. Market research firm IDC forecast that global sales of netbooks will go down 7 percent in 2011, but estimates 32.9 million units would still be sold this year.

View full post on All Stories

New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Pepsi said Friday that it expects rising commodity prices to cut into its 2011 profits.

Company officials said the prices of the commodities it uses in its products could increase this year by as much as 9.5 percent or $1.6 billion over 2010, which will eat into the company’s profits. In addition, the ongoing weak economy and high employment mean lackluster sales and also rule out raising prices to match costs.

Pepsi issued its 2011 net earnings expectations along with the news that its fourth-quarter 2010 profits were down 5 percent from the previous quarter. It blamed the drop in Q4 profits on increased costs.

Commodities that Pepsi uses include oil, in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, fuel for plants and transportation costs; aluminum, in the manufacturing of cans; and corn, in the production of chips and as high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in its drinks.

The prices of all three of those commodities have increased on world markets and more increases are expected.

View full post on All Stories