Suggestions to Visitors to Shanghai
If you are going to visit Shanghai, here is some brief and useful suggestions:
1. Choose Pudong Airport to land at. All international flights arrive at Pudong Airport (PVG) only in Shanghai.
2. Choose a nice five star hotel that is in the center of Shanghai downtown, for example, JC Mandarin or JW Marriot. It is cheaper than the same standard hotels in other countries. To save money, you can stay at Youth Hotel for 40 RMB per night only but also enjoy the convenience of sleep at the heart of the city.
3. Visit the Huaihai Road. Unlike those roads in Hong Kong, the Huaihai Road is a strait road that you can go from the east to the west and all the big shopping malls line up on both sides. The only branch you need to go is the Xin Tian Di – to have a cup of wine there at night.
4. Spend half an hour at night on outside platform of the New Height Bar of Three on the Bund. It is the best view of the Bund and the Pudong skyscrapers you’ll find.
5. Go to the Yu Yuan Garden. It may not be so attractive to local residents, but foreigners are always excited about the Chinese traditions on the market.
6. Go to the top of the Pearl TV Station before sun set and wait until the whole city was lit up. The view of Puxi from the tower is fabulous.
7. Try the Maglev when you depart the city. The 8-minute at top speed of 430 km will be the last but most impressive experience in this city.
Have you ever been to Shanghai? And what’s your suggestions?
Most Expensive Road In The World
A survey by a highly placed and respected European banking internet site has just concluded a survey showing where the most expensive roads are in the world for property – and the top one is Avenue Princess Grace in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The bankers’ internet site suggest that four bedroom apartments are selling for over US 40 million dollars, and estate agents in Monaco confirm this to be about right.
And they describe the 190,000 US dollars a square metre as ‘eye-watering’ – a description few people would disagree with, and that buyers will need to be billionaires, or not far off being a billionaire.
The second most expensive street in the world is Severn Road in Hong Kong with prices fetching 120,000 US dollars a square metre, and it isn’t until third place that New York features, with Fifth Avenue real estate achieving a mere 80,000 US dollars a square metre – placing it firmly within grasp of some multi-millionaires. The upper East side side of Fifth Avenue is the part that gains most interest, and the site notes that some apartments can reach to 60 million – more than Monaco’s Princess Grace Avenue, but being such a long road in comparisom it brings the average below that of Monaco’s.
It’s back to Europe for the fourth most expensive road, London’s Kensington Palace Gardens, where property is fetching 77,000 dollars a square metre, and is symbolic of London where some areas continue to see price rises while others drop. London and Monaco normally vye for the most expensive real estate in Europe.
Helping Monaco’s Princess Grace Avenue to be the most expensive street in the world is a mix of British, Russian and Arab money, with the British buyers especially attracted by her tax haven status, and they continue to be among the top nationalities looking for property in Monaco
Monaco’s tourism is upmarket and exclusive too. In a recent report on Monaco’s tourism, the Director General of the tourist office announced that no less than 93 per cent of the Principality’s hotel capacity is in the luxury category – more than any other country in the world, and confirming Monaco’s status as haven for the wealthy.
Also in the report figures showed that Monaco increased her tourist numbers by 36 per cent between 2004 and 2007, and last year alone saw a 10 per cent increase over 2006.
But good as the figures are, Monaco wants to further increase her tourists numbers. Unusually it’s not just the numbers overall she wants to improve on, impressive though they are already – but one categoty in particular.
And it’s a category of tourist that Monaco is particularly well placed to attract compared to almost every other country in the world – URI’s.
URI’s could almost have been a class of tourist specially designed for Monaco and all that she offers – and it stands for Ultra Rich Individuals.
One URI could spend more in a week in Monaco than several hundred average tourists, with the casino in Monte Square quite capable of taking a few hundred thousand Euros off the ultra rich in an evening or two. One URI from Italy was recently reported in a British newspaper as cashing up 700,000 Euros for one evening on the tables!
Monaco has the most expensive street in the world, and looks like she intends to keep at the top of the real estate league with London, Hong Kong and New York for some time to come.
Camera Shooting Abroad
SHOOTING ABROAD
General
Shooting abroad can be a serious hassle if you don’t prepare properly. But if you follow a few guidelines, traveling with a kit is far more likely to go smoothly. Prepare and be prepared. The tips below address the most frequent problems we see.
Carnets
The countries listed below require carnets if you’re traveling with location production equipment. A carnet is essentially proof that a bond is held in your home country on the equipment and it will not be released until the equipment is returned to your home country. It is meant to stop people from taking goods from a country where they are relatively cheap and selling them in a country where they cost far more because of duties, taxes or other reasons.
The easiest way to get a carnet is to phone a company that processes them and they will post the bond for a fee. If you don’t know a company that offers this service, ask for a recommendation from someone who does and who can vouch for speed, reliability and efficiency. The charge varies depending on how quickly you need the carnet and on which country you’re visiting. Typically the charge will include:
Administration fee charged by the company processing the carnet
Local Chamber of Commerce fee
Charge for posting the bond
The bond required varies from country to country and is a percentage of the stated value of the equipment. The charge for posting the bond depends on the declared value of the equipment. Different people take different approaches to the declared value. Some use the new value of the equipment. Some list the used value. Some use an artificially low value to save on the charge for the bond. I recommend you seek advice on what value to declare. The values declared on a carnet have no bearing on the insured value of the equipment.
Once you have a carnet, make sure you have it signed and stamped every time you enter and leave a country. If you fail to do this, you will have to present all the equipment on the carnet to a Customs inspector once you’re back in the UK there is a fee for this and you risk a fine. If you’ve hired the equipment, you’ll need to hire the identical equipment to show Customs and this could incur hire charges and arranging for the exact kit with the serial numbers listed on the carnet to show the Customs inspector can be a major hassle. This can so easily be avoided by ensuring the right forms are signed and stamped on every entry into and departure from a given country.
Also extremely important is returning the carnet documents to the issuer immediately. If you send them by post, send them registered and phone to make sure they have been received. I know of a couple of cases of carnets apparently being returned to the issuer and apparently not received. The result was a hefty fine and a lot of trouble trying to reassemble the equipment on the carnet for a Customs inspection so the bond would be released.
The bottom line is the bond is only released once the equipment has returned to your home country and the carnet has been returned to whoever processed it with all the paperwork correctly done. This is essential.
Countries Requiring Carnets
Below is a list of countries that require carnets for camera kits. The list excludes EU countries because if you’re traveling from the UK and staying within the EU a carnet is not necessary.
Algeria, Andorra, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Canary Islands, China, Croatia, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, China, Iceland, India, Israel, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United States.
Countries That Do Not Require Carnets
If you’re traveling to a country or countries that do not require a carnet you should take a pro-forma equipment list. This is a list of all the equipment you are traveling with and should include the manufacturer and model number, the serial number, the country of manufacture and the value. Once again the value can be replacement value, used value or an artificially low value at your discretion. This list should be on company letterhead. Take several copies of it with you, ideally with a company stamp on it.
In addition to the pro-forma, there is one other piece of paperwork you’ll need – an HM Customs and Excise C & E 1246 form. The heading on this form is “Returned Goods Relief: declarations to be made when using duplicate lists.” These can be downloaded from the HM Customs and Excise, now part of HM Revenue and Customs, web site www.hmce.gov.uk. On the home page, click onto Forms, leaflets and booklets. Once there, go to “Forms published in respect of matters formerly dealt with by HM Customs & Excise.” Follow the list down to C & E 1246 and print it out.
Complete the form and take it and several copies of the equipment list with you when you check in at the airport you’re leaving from in the UK. When you check in, let the airline attendant know you have a “Returned Good Relief” list and need to have Customs stamp it. Customs will generally only want to see the highest priced items such as the camera, which you should hand carry, and you will need to take these items through the boarding pass checkpoint and to the Customs counter on the other side to get this stamped. If Customs wants to see everything you may have to hire an airport porter to take the equipment around. The stamped form and list prove you left the UK with the listed equipment so that when you return to the UK you can show it to Customs and you won’t have any problem getting the equipment back into the UK.
Excess Baggage
Excess baggage charges can make a production manager shake violently and look like the terrified victim of a maniac in a horror film. They can be outrageous. For example, BA charges £30.89 per kilo for all baggage above 20 kilos if you’re flying economy class to Sydney. That’s each way. So if you’re travelling with 150 kilos of kit and personal luggage and there are two of you with 20 kilos of baggage allowance each, that’s 110 kilos of excess baggage at £3397.90 each way. Sometimes you can negotiate but often the person you’ll be talking to will apparently take great delight in the pain these charges can cause.
So how do you beat these charges? First, travel light. If it won’t compromise your shoot, consider taking an LCD monitor instead of a Sony 9-inch monitor. If you can, keep your lighting kit portable. If possible, carry on the camera with the wide angle lens attached and wrap the standard lens in something protective so that it can be carried on with the camera and wide angle as well. Then send the case for the wide angle empty this also reduces the chance of losing your wide angle lens to theft or mishandling. If possible, try to carry one or two camera batteries onto the plane as well. And make sure there is one tape in the camera and at least one spare in the carry bag. This means if your luggage gets lost, you’ll at least have a camera with lenses and some batteries.
Before you fly, ring the airline and tell them you will have excess baggage and would like to prepay. Try to negotiate a better rate, particularly if you fly with that airline frequently. At the very least this prevents another problem I’ve seen many times. The crew arrives to check in and no provision has been made for excess baggage costs so they’re faced with putting significant charges on their credit cards. A few times I’ve seen this happen and no one in the crew had a credit card that could handle the charge so they missed their flight.
Another option is to use a specialist company that guarantees to save you serious amounts on excess baggage charges. One such company that’s been brought to our attention recently is Media Onboard. We haven’t used them yet so I can’t vouch for them. However, they claim to be able to save as much as 70 percent on excess baggage charges. The company has arranged “huge discounts” with several Star Alliance airlines for anyone travelling with the “tools of their trade.” These airlines include Lufthansa, Austrian and United Airlines. Anthony Miller of Media Onboard’s business development team says “current users have found the savings to be so significant that it has altered the way that they plan and budget for overseas productions.” My suggestion is to visit their website, www.mediaonboard.com, and call them to check out their service. If they do what they say they can, their service will be extremely worthwhile. If anyone does try Media Onboard, please let me know how it went.
Transport to and from Airports
If your crew is flying, make sure you budget for the cost of getting them to and from all the airports they’ll be using. These costs can be high in some places, especially if the crew is travelling to several airports on the same trip. Some hotels will provide complementary transport to and from the nearest airport just make sure you confirm this service and book it in advance. If you’re lucky enough to fly business class, some airlines include a limo to and from your hotel. Again, book in advance. If you need to use a taxi, make sure you check what the fare should be from the airport to your destination and make sure the crew knows this before they fly. Ideally, provide the crew with some local currency so changing money doesn’t become a last minute hassle.
Local Equipment Hire Facilities
It’s a sad fact but equipment does break down or get lost in transport or stolen. When this happens, it helps a lot if your crew has a list of local equipment hire companies ideally with maps on how to get to them and a list of kit they offer. Before the crew flies, check with others you know for references of companies operating in the places the crew is visiting or go on the internet to find them. For a quick check, go to www.mandy.com. Phone or e-mail these companies before the crew leaves to confirm what they have, what they charge and how you can pay them. The easiest option is to deal with companies that accept credit cards. Also, have your crew take photocopies of your insurance policy pages that outline the equipment hire coverage you have and some business cards of whoever will be processing payment in the UK if it’s not done by the crew on location.
Summary
I’m sure much of this is obvious, especially to anyone who’s travelled, but we still see things go wrong or budgets unexpectedly increase because some of these tips weren’t followed. The main points are:
get a carnet if you’re flying to a country that requires it
make sure the carnet is stamped and signed by customs every time the equipment is taken into and out of a country
if the country or countries you’re visiting do not require a carnet take several pro-forma equipment lists and a C & E 1246 form (except within the EU)
sort out excess baggage arrangements before the crew gets to the airport and try to get the best deal possible
travel as lightly as you can
don’t forget about transport costs to and from airports
identify equipment hire companies operating in the places the crew is visiting
An Addition to Last Month’s E-Zine
Mark Holmes of Prokit in London distributes the Wally Dolly and he advised me that the units sold in the UK include four metres of track and a hi hat, rather than just the standard three metres of track.
Last Month’s Lyrics
No one got the answer to last month’s lyrics question: who wrote: “I’ve never seen a night so long, as time goes crawling by.” The answer is Hank Williams and the song is “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” Two people guessed Johnny Cash. He sang the song on one of his last CDs but he didn’t write it.
This Month’s Question
Moving away from lyrics to fiction, who wrote this line: “From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something to look at from thirty feet away.” The first person to e-mail me with the correct answer gets a bottle of champagne. It won’t be Dom Perignon but it will be a decent bottle.
And if you have any questions or comments please e-mail cal@procamtv.com.
Until next time, happy shooting.
Cal Barton,
Procam Television
www.procamtv.com
Adoption stories: The best part of our adoption experience
Note: I’m telling this story in first person, but I’m using my best friend’s voice. This was her experience, and I have her permission to tell her story.)
For as long as I could remember, I had always wanted children. My husband, Robert, felt the same way. We felt that our lives would not be complete without sharing our love with our own little ones. We tried desperately for years, and I even endured several “tortures” to help me conceive, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I myself was adopted and well adjusted, so we turned to an American adoption agency. We stayed on the list for years, gradually inching towards the top. But by the time we made it to the head of the list, we were considered too old. Frustrated and heart broken, we turned to foreign adoption and chose China.
It took months to get everything approved, including reams of paperwork, background checks, and $20,000, but the moment finally arrived. We packed lots of clothes, drove an hour to Savannah, and flew to Atlanta, where we had to stay overnight. The next morning we flew to San Francisco, where we had to spend another night. The next day we made the looong flight to Hong Kong, where we spent the night at the YMCA. The next morning we took a train into China.
We finally arrived in China on a Friday, but we didn’t get our baby girl, who we had already named “Madison,” until Sunday. The wait was excrutiating, and being in China was pretty scary at that time – 1997. We never felt in danger, but everything was so different – the sights, the food, the sounds, and even the smells. Few people spoke English. We stayed close to our hotel room for the most part, waiting.
On Sunday, we took a bus with our adoption guide. We rode for over four hours through the Chinese countryside, dodging oxen, peasants, and other vehicles. In China, the larger vehicle, or the more daring driver, takes the right-of-way, so the journey was quite an adventure. We passed several poor villages, where “homes” were nothing more than a one-car-garage-type building with a dirt floor and an open front. People wer huddled around their meager fires seeking warmth. I couldn’t help but wonder if Madison had come from such a village.
When we reached our destination, we were not allowed to see the orphanage. Instead, we were met at a hotel by the adoption “nanny,” carrying our 10-month-old baby. When I first saw Madison, I fell instantly in love. She was beautiful, like a China doll. Once I held her in my arms, all my
The art of Feng Shui
There is more to the Art of Feng Shui than lighting incense – in short, it is more than just smoke and mirrors. A Chine tradition dating back 5000 years, Feng Shui is about living in harmony with your surroundings and allowing the good energy – the Chi – to freely circulate through your home and your lifestyle.
The Chinese believe very strongly in Chi, the good energy, so much so that it is incorporated into modern public buildings, like a hotel in Hong Kong that has an opening in the architecture to allow good Chi to flow through.
Feng Shui literally means Wind and Water and it is these elements that allow the easy flow of Chi. Making sure nothing blocks this flow is second nature in Asia, but in the west we seem bent on blocking it. Our houses and gardens are not designed to encourage good Chi, so we use Feng Shui to `cure’ the problems and restore harmony.
Look at any suburb and you will see these problems immediately. Houses that are built at the ends of roads or junctions leave the occupiers open to `deadly arrows’ of bad Chi coming straight at the house.
L-shaped houses often leave out whole areas without protection for the residents – the gap may fall in your wealth, family or career areas, with a corresponding lack of growth there. Flushing lavatories, showers and bathrooms inside the house are said to `wash away’ your finances, and as well, the western lifestyle encourages a lot of clutter. All of this confounds our efforts to harmonize with our homes.
Often there is nothing we can do if the house we want to buy and can afford breaks all the rules, but if you are building a house you might consider having an expert in Feng Shui check your house plans. If you are already in a difficult home, don’t despair – there are many ways you can use the art of Feng Shui to fix the problems. You don’t have to move!
It’s easy to estimate where the important areas of your house need fixing up.Stand at the main entrance, whether that is at the front or back, and look into the house. Look to the far left hand corner, and that is your money area. Fixes will be needed if you have a bathroom there! Next to this, in the center at the far back, is your Fame area. Clutter or disorder here will muddle your ambitions. To the far right, is your area of love and relationships. You will want to keep that in harmony.
Now consider the center of your home. Far left center is the family area, while far right center is creativity – a good place for a kitchen or home office,
Green Is the New Gold: Nine Environmentally Friendly Investment Tips for a Prosperous Future
Hoboken, NJ (June 2008)—Sure, you’d like to “go green” in your investments. If you could find some financially sound options, why not? As environmental issues have heated up and gained more and more press, you’ve embraced the concept of saving the planet. You’ve changed your light bulbs, strived to live the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” mantra, and even traded in your gas-guzzling SUV for a hybrid. (Well, at least you’ve considered it!) Problem is, you need to feel secure about your retirement years—and the concept of green investing just seems a little too, well, trendy for comfort.
Jim Mellon and Al Chalabi say such fears are unfounded. In fact, the opposite is true. As our planet’s dwindling resources become ever more scarce, and the need to find alternate energy sources becomes more pressing, green investing will start paying off in a big way. Getting in the right markets now can help you create a prosperous future—and in an age where traditional retirement avenues are failing, that’s no small feat.
“As baby boomers age and retire and modern medicine keeps us all alive longer, the pension plans set up by corporations and governments are becoming ever more strained,” says Mellon, coauthor along with Al Chalabi of the new book The Top 10 Investments for the Next 10 Years: BigIdeas, MoneyFountains and Your Path to Prosperity (Wiley, February 2008, ISBN: 978-1-84112-802-3, $29.95). “You simply can’t rely on those sources to keep you going when it’s time for you to retire. That’s why it is so important to be a savvy investor now. And going green with at least some of your investments is a sure moneymaker.”
The authors explain that, in investment terms, the biggest theme of all over the next ten years will be the broadly defined “green” movement. New methods of generating power, conservation measures, and changing fiscal regimes in relation to the use of power will create some of the biggest global investment opportunities.
“Significant amounts of capital in almost every part of the world are already being deployed to take advantage of these trends,” says Mellon. “New plants are being built to manufacture photovoltaic cells for solar power projects. Hydrogen fuel cells are being developed at a rapid rate to a point near commercialization. And nuclear power stations are being planned or built in quantity. In addition, wind farms now dot many landscapes. The whole ‘renewables and new energy’ industry is on the cusp of a breathtaking advance.”
Wondering how you can take advantage of these growing green opportunities? Here are just a few tips that could help you prosper:
Put your money in renewables. Most developed nations are racing to figure out how to make the move to green energy. From wind farms to tidal and wave projects; from waste-to-heat projects to more extensive nuclear generation; with, of course, solar power coming up on the rails—the race is on to transform the electrical energy generating landscape of the world.
“Perhaps the most visible of these initiatives occurs in the form of wind power,” says Mellon. “All across Europe, wind farms are sprouting like mushrooms. An industry once derided as a novelty is now a multi-billion euro/dollar sector all on its own. But beware: If you choose to invest in the wind farm sector, do your research first. This is a capital-intensive business, subject to a lot of government interference and scrutiny, and some sophisticated investors have already gotten there first and creamed off some of the good potential returns.”
Invest in these conservation companies. Companies involved in conservation, wind power, and nuclear power are likely to see significant growth in coming years, and that’s good news for the environment and their investors. One company worth looking into in those areas is Fuel Tech, a US company that is working to cut a substantial percentage of carbon emissions from fuel combustion units. Or check out Clean Air Power, which is a London-listed company working to get trucks to use natural gas. And, of course, there is nuclear. In this area investors might want to look at Niger Uranium, a London-listed company exploring for uranium in Africa.
“Like any realm of investing, it’s one thing to know the options are out there, and a completely different story knowing exactly which companies to look into,” says Mellon. “These are all great green options.”
G is for Green…and Germany. Germany is the world’s biggest consumer of PV cells—which are used to make solar panels—because of the favorable fiscal and monetary regime for solar power in that country. Today, the country accounts for half of all the solar PVs installed in the world. The reason that the German market is growing so fast is because of the so-called Feed-in-Tariff. This means that anyone connected to the grid (and that includes private homes) gets a guaranteed payment for putting green electricity into the grid of about four times the market rate—and that goes for solar PV, wind, or hydroelectricity.
“Germany has been so aggressive in promoting solar power that several world-beating companies have grown up to satisfy the local—and subsidized—domestic demand,” says Mellon. “Q-Cells is one example—the company started making PV cells in Germany in 2000 with 19 staff members. Today, it has over 1,500. It exports half of its product and is the world’s second largest maker of PV cells, after Sharp of Japan. And if you’re looking to invest, the company might be good place to start.”
Invest in the elements. Big money is in investing in the extractive industries, which mine the key components of solar panels. Gallium, indium, germanium, and other materials are vital to the PV story, and the companies that mine and extract these components are a great place to invest your money.
“Jellon Limited is doing it,” says Mellon. “Other promising options include: Recyclex, a French company producing gallium amongst other metals; New Jersey Mining Company, which produces gallium from mining operations in Idaho; Gold Canyon Resources, which has prospective gallium deposits in Nevada; Bluglass, an Australian producer of gallium; Dowa Mining, listed in Japan, it is the world’s largest producer of Gallium; and AXT INC, a NASDAQ-listed maker of satellite solar panels, mainly producing semiconductor substrates for electronic and optoelectronic uses.”
“Carbon” trading in the European Union shows promise. Countries that are part of the Kyoto Protocol have been forced to figure out how to limit their carbon emissions without damaging the economies in their countries. One way many European countries are doing this is through an Emissions Trading Scheme in which each country can emit one ton of carbon dioxide. The country then assigns permits to their biggest emitters allowing them certain amounts of emissions. Any company not needing its whole allocation is then free to sell the surplus in the ETS market where the buyers are typically companies that need more than their allocations.
“The idea is that, because there is value to these permits, companies will be encouraged to invest in green technologies, especially as the ‘cap’ on total allowable emissions gets progressively lower, making fewer of the permits available in future years,” says Mellon. “The ETS market is becoming a large and interesting one. Investors may wish to consider looking at funds that offer an entry to investing in such permits—one such is Climate Change Capital, listed on the London Stock Exchange.”
Learn more about camelina. Although most “bio fuels”—crop-based fuels—make very little ecological or financial sense, there is one crop that would be worth investors’ keeping an eye on. “This crop is ‘camelina,’ which is an interesting low-cost feedstock for biodiesel,” says Mellon. “It has high energy, is non-food (so that food production is being diverted into energy), uses marginal land that requires no irrigation, is sustainable, and has a very low cost per liter. There are no publicly available companies in this space as of yet, but if you’re interested, keep an eye out for some of them to pop up. Check out www.camelinacompany.com.”
A move away from landfills will be profitable. Another area of potential interest is waste-to-energy systems. Here, the problems from using landfill sites in many industrialized countries—including the space constraints and the by-production of dangerous methane gas—are opening the doors for a new industry to develop.
“The waste-to-energy industry is one that seeks to turn waste into energy by burning it, or by using the by-product methane gas, which results from disposal of any organic waste, to generate heat and electricity,” says Mellon. “Companies involved in the waste industry worldwide include UK companies Shanks and Biffa, both listed on the London Stock Exchange. These companies are already involved in landfill site management, waste collection, recycling, and disposal. Another is the Japanese company Daiseki, which is that country’s only nationwide industrial waste operator. Other promising opportunities are with Séché Environnement in France and Lasila Tikanoja of Finland, both involved in new recycling technologies.”
Energy-saving will help you save in more ways than one. Within the next few years, energy-saving gadgets could be commonplace in all households. Already people are switching to low-energy lightbulbs, and other products are sure to follow. “Imagine all the computers that are turned on in the world right now,” says Mellon. “How much energy would be saved globally if each new PC sold came with a fan or cooling device that was just 5 percent more efficient? The same goes for TVs, fridges, heaters, air conditioners, etc. With energy-savings, it’s a numbers game—historically, we haven’t bothered to fine-tune energy consumption of devices because energy supply has not been an issue. But now there are just so many devices in every household that it’s really adding to the problem. Look for more companies to pop up that will provide energy-saving solutions for the household appliances we use every day.”
Overwhelmed? Invest in an ETF. The sheer volume of opportunities in the green market can be overwhelming for any investor. Luckily, investors can take advantage of this market by investing in alternative energy in a more general sense through the Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF, which trades in the US under the symbol GEX. The holdings of the fund range between 1 and 11 percent. Before the fund invests, companies must meet the following requirements: 1) Represent the 30 stocks in the Ardour Global IndexSM (composite) with the highest average trading volume and market capitalization, 2) Have a market cap exceeding $100 million, 3) Have a three-month trading price greater than $1.00, 4) Be involved in the business of the alternative energy industry (i.e., derive over 50 percent of total revenues from the industry).You can read more about this ETF by visiting www.vaneck.com.
“It is not for us to judge whether or not we may all be burnt to cinders by the sun in 30 years or so, unless these developments are successful,” says Mellon. “It is enough for us to say only that these green opportunities are a gold rush at its very earliest stages, and it’s a gold rush that every serious investor should consider.
“That said, investors should remember to always diversify their investments,” he continues. “The green realm is full of promise, but having too many eggs in one basket always carries risks. There are other great opportunities out there with real estate, commodities, and more. To ensure your investments have made the most for you over the next ten years, you’ll want to check those out as well.”
# # #
About the Authors:
Jim Mellon is an investor with interests in several industries. After leaving Oxford in 1979, where he studied PPE, he worked in Asia and the United States in two fund management companies, GT and Thornton, before establishing his own business in 1991. This now has two components—a listed fund management company—Charlemagne Capital—and an Asian mining group, Regent Pacific. In addition, Jim is the controlling shareholder and a director of Conister Trust, an Isle of Man based bank, Speymill Group, a property business, and Betinternet. He is co-founder of Uramin and Red Dragon Resources, both listed mining groups. Burnbrae, his private company, is a substantial landlord in Germany and in the Isle of Man, and also owns the hotel chain Sleepwell Hotels. Jim spends most of his time working on startup ideas and on investing. He lives in the Isle of Man and Ibiza.
Al Chalabi is a business consultant, entrepreneur, and author who has been based in Asia for eleven years and has extensive experience of developing economies. He helps corporations establish and grow their operations in Asia, particularly in emerging economies like China. He has a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA in Finance & Management. Originally from Iraq, Al grew up in the UK after his family moved there when he was a young child. Al has also lived in Canada, France, and the United States and currently lives in Hong Kong.
About the Book:
The Top 10 Investments for the Next 10 Years: BigIdeas, MoneyFountains and Your Path to Prosperity (Wiley, February 2008, ISBN: 978-1-84112-802-3, $29.95) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797.
Most Expensive Street In The World
A survey by a highly placed and respected European banking internet site has just concluded a survey showing where the most expensive roads are in the world for property – and the top one is Avenue Princess Grace in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The bankers’ internet site suggest that four bedroom apartments are selling for over US 40 million dollars, and estate agents in Monaco confirm this to be about right.
And they describe the 190,000 US dollars a square metre as ‘eye-watering’ – a description few people would disagree with, and that buyers will need to be billionaires, or not far off being a billionaire.
The second most expensive street in the world is Severn Road in Hong Kong with prices fetching 120,000 US dollars a square metre, and it isn’t until third place that New York features, with Fifth Avenue real estate achieving a mere 80,000 US dollars a square metre – placing it firmly within grasp of some multi-millionaires. The upper East side side of Fifth Avenue is the part that gains most interest, and the site notes that some apartments can reach to 60 million – more than Monaco’s Princess Grace Avenue, but being such a long road in comparisom it brings the average below that of Monaco’s.
It’s back to Europe for the fourth most expensive road, London’s Kensington Palace Gardens, where property is fetching 77,000 dollars a square metre, and is symbolic of London where some areas continue to see price rises while others drop. London and Monaco normally vye for the most expensive real estate in Europe.
Helping Monaco’s Princess Grace Avenue to be the most expensive street in the world is a mix of British, Russian and Arab money, with the British buyers especially attracted by her tax haven status.
Monaco’s tourism is upmarket and exclusive too. In a recent report on Monaco’s tourism, the Director General of the tourist office announced that no less than 93 per cent of the Principality’s hotel capacity is in the luxury category – more than any other country in the world, and confirming Monaco’s status as haven for the wealthy.
Also in the report figures showed that Monaco increased her tourist numbers by 36 per cent between 2004 and 2007, and last year alone saw a 10 per cent increase over 2006.
But good as the figures are, Monaco wants to further increase her tourists numbers. Unusually it’s not just the numbers overall she wants to improve on, impressive though they are already – but one categoty in particular.
And it’s a category of tourist that Monaco is particularly well placed to attract compared to almost every other country in the world – URI’s.
URI’s could almost have been a class of tourist specially designed for Monaco and all that she offers – and it stands for Ultra Rich Individuals.
One URI could spend more in a week in Monaco than several hundred average tourists, with the casino in Monte Square quite capable of taking a few hundred thousand Euros off the ultra rich in an evening or two. One URI from Italy was recently reported in a British newspaper as cashing up 700,000 Euros for one evening on the tables!
Monaco has the most expensive street in the world, and looks like she intends to keep at the top of the real estate league with London, Hong Kong and New York for some time.
Malaysia – Land Of Festivals!
Anyone visiting Malaysia for the first time would not cease to be amazed by the number of festivals and events that are happening the whole year around. Malaysia, with its mix of ethnic races which include Malays, descendants of the Bugis and Javanese, Chinese, Indian and others, features a colourful potpourri of cultural traditions. Many of these traditions are expressed through the festivals that take place the whole year round!
Major festivals of Malaysia include
* Hari Raya Aidilfitri
After a month of fasting during the month of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the first day of Syawal which is the tenth month of the Muslim calendar with joyous enthusiasm. This is a major festival for Muslims and they usher in the day with prayers in mosques and remembering their departed loved ones. It is also the time for family reunion when members of the family from different parts of the country get together. The festival mood is with joyous enthusiasm. Special festival dishes are served for festivals and friends during “open house”. The festival mood is reflected is brightly decorated homes, government and commercial buildings. Homes are also lit with all lamps at the entrance in keeping with a long established tradition.
* Chinese New Year
This is the most important festival of the Chinese community and it lasts for a full two weeks! It begins with a reunion dinner which is traditional for every member of the family to attend. Chinese New Year is the time when spirits are appeared and offerings are made to Gods. It is a boisterous festival with the clang of cymbals accompanying lion dances and the thunder of fire crackles filling the air. Guests are entertained to a variety of sumptuous food and drinks and the unmarried youngsters are given Ang Pows – gifts of money enclosed in little red packets. Major hotels and shopping complexes celebrate the occasion by holding lion dances and special Chinese programmers to entertain their clients.
* Deepavali
This is a Hindu festival of light. Homes of Hindus are lit with little lights to signify the victory over darkness for the Hindus believe that this is the day when the forces of good overcame the forces of evil. Deepavali is a major festival of the Hindus and on the eve prayers are held both at home and in the temples.Hindus take a traditional oil bath in the early hours of the morning on Deepavali day and after prayers entertain their friends and guests to “open house.
* Christmas
The birth of Christ is celebrated by Christians in Malaysia in the true traditional style. Most Christians homes are decorated with festoon and coloured lights and the Christmas tree is a must! Young Christians go carolling days before Christmas day to usher in the Yuletide spirit. Churches hold midnight masses on the eve of Christmas. The festival is celebrated on a national scale in Malaysia and Christians hold “open house” to entertain their friends and colleagues.
* Thaiponggol
In Malaysia, Thaiponggol is a harvest festival celebrated out of season because it is fixed in the Hindu calendar. Tamils celebrate this festival around the second week of January. While it is still dark, farmers rise and cook some of the newly harvested grain. Ponggol is the presentation of the cooked harvested grain to the sun at dawn.
However, for urban families, this ritual has been adapted to their own living conditions. Here the family rises, bathes and gets dressed before dawn. This is done without the use of any form of light. When everyone is ready, wearing their best clothes, they assemble around a display of fruits and flowers. Only then are lamps lit.
* National Water Festival
Water resource plays an important role in the socio-cultural and economic development of the Malaysian society. Apart from functioning as a communication system, an economic, resource and determinant of early settlement pattern of the Malaysian society, it had also been a place where families carried out their recreational activities in the past. Therefore, water resource in whatever form should be protected, valued and utilized to the maximum.
The fun gets merrier with the drinking of the inevitable tapai which is an alcoholic drink made from rice wine. Apart from these, there are also organised agriculture shows, buffalo races, cultural performances and traditional games as part and parcel of the festive celebrations.
* Gawai Dayak
The Gawai Dayak festival is celebrated by the Dayaks of Sarawak who live in longhouses. Being one of the major festivals of the community, it is celebrated on a grand scale and lasts for a week. The Gawai Dayak festival marks the transitional period between the season of rice harvesting and the new planting season. Hence, it is a reason of thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest and also a time to rest from work before the new planting season. The sound of boisterous laughter, convivial talk, drinking, dancing and merry-making will echo relentlessly all through the days of this exotic and colourful festival.
* Penang International Dragon Boat Festival
The Penang’s first Dragon Boat Race was held in 1956 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Municipality of George Town. 10 years later the race was revived as part of the Pesta Pulau Pinang. The Pesta races was originally confined to participation from the local teams such as teams from Government Department, associations and commercial establishments. However, in 1979, the boat festival became an international tourism carnival with 2 participation from overseas, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The Penang International Dragon Boat Festival has participating teams all over the world include Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Macau, Thailand, Japan, Britain, West Germany, USA and others.
* Nine Emperor Gods Festival
The Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods falls on the ninth day of the ninth moon in the Chinese lunar calendar. Devotees flock to the temples throughout the country for this religious festival. The Nine Emperor Gods are part of a spirit-medium cult known locally as ‘Jieu Hwang Yeh’. These Nine Deities are believed to dwell in the stars in heaven under the reign of ‘Thien Hou’ – the Queen of Heaven.
A carnival-like atmosphere pervades the temple throughout the nine-day festival. During this period of time, the constant tinkling of a prayer bell and chants from the temple priests are heard. Most devotees stay at the temple, take vegetarian meals and recite continuous chanting of prayer. A procession to send the Nine Emperor Gods home then takes place to complete the rites of this religious festival.
More information about Festival in Malaysia just go to http://malaysia.tourism-asia.net/malaysia-festivals.html
10 Reasons Why The Evolving Information World Has Changed The Best Ways To Invest Money
Defined within the realm of the statistical Bell Curve, the long tail would reside in the skinny tail at the borders. The long tail, in regards to goods and services, refers to the evolution away from mainstream offerings towards more niche products and services. With the internet drastically reducing the costs of establishing distribution channels, the ability of entrepreneurs to focus more on the longtail sector to fit their customized needs is gaining increasing appeal.
However, almost no one speaks of the longtail of investing. To me, longtail investment strategies are the strategies that do not heavily rely on fundamental or technical analysis, but exploit other strongly predictive factors to produce not only superior returns to traditional investment strategies but also investment opportunities with far better risk-reward paradigms than those produced by traditional investment strategies. Here are 10 reasons why the longtail of investing is the only way to build wealth.
(1)You will never achieve the level of wealth you desire by handing your money over to a large investment firm.
The vast majority of private investors hand their money to large institutions and allow them to invest their money for them. If this were truly the best way to achieve financial freedom, then almost every one you know would be ecstatic with their financial consultant. Think of how many people you know that absolutely rave about their financial consultant.
The fact that 90% of people you know do not rave about their financial consultant should tell you that niche investment strategies, or longtail investment strategies, are far superior. The ones that are happy with the large investment houses already were independently wealthy before they sought out their help. Think about how many people you know that have ever told you, “I wasn’t wealthy before, but thanks to my investment firm, I am wealthy beyond my dreams now.”
(2)Thanks to evolving information technology, there are many better and more highly predictive means of making investment decisions than just utilizing fundamental and technical analysis.
Though people have been really slow to grasp this, once they do, longtail investment strategies, like those invented by SmartKnowledgeU™, will boom. There is no doubt that the level of top-notch financial, political and corporate information available to the average investor has increased by leaps and bounds within the past decade.
There is a virtual treasure map that was created by the flattening of the world over the past decade to selecting stocks that are poised to explode. However, because the largest, most powerful investment institutions in the world have kept the masses of investors fixated on traditional investment techniques such as value and fundamental analysis, the longtail of investment strategies is currently much further behind in its developmental phases than it should be.
The best analogy I can use when explaining why people have ignored the long tail of investment strategies is to compare it to the incredibly slow adoption of Internet Protocol Version 6 (Ipv6) by the United States. When China started preparing its country for Ipv6 a decade ago, the benefits in increased security and its added value properties in e-commerce were evident even back then. However, people in the U.S. were comfortable with the lesser Ipv4 so did not take any action until the progress and superior internet and business capabilities of China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong finally embarrassed the U.S. enough to move forward and catch up with Asia.
I see the same thing happening in the educational realm of investing. Everyone is comfortable with the traditional investment strategies that have been propagated for the last several decades so nobody sees a need to move forward even though much better strategies exist today. Just as with Ipv6, the world will eventually realize that the safest and best means of investing money reside in the longtail, and they will eventually adopt these strategies.
(3)With so much investor skepticism of corporate integrity sparked by past accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom, General Motors and the like, and the current, ongoing backdating option scandals, investors will increasingly seek alternate means of making investment decisions other than crunching numbers that they feel are untrustworthy.
Furthermore, technical analysis often yields false positives as well. A chart will show indexes that appear bullish having just broken through a ceiling of resistance only to have the index turn back downward for a prolonged period of time, or a chart will appear bearish having just broken through a floor of resistance only to turn around and begin another bullish ascent.
In fact, you have seen some of these turnaround trends with some of the technical posts that I’ve placed on my blog in previous months. In fact, that is why I always state that I never rely solely on technical indicators to make my decisions. I rely only on technical indicators to confirm or dispel what my long tail investment strategies tell me. Of the three types of analysis, fundamental, technical and long tail, long tail investment strategies yield by far the least amount of false negatives and false positives. That’s why I rely on them so heavily.
This sentiment will lead to an evolution of longtail investment strategies, and the discovery of more efficient and better predictive means of making investment decisions than even those that already exist. Even current longtail investment strategies, such as those utilized at SmartKnowledgeU™ are constantly evolving as access to reliable information increases every year. Making decisions as if you were a fly on the wall of boardrooms is no longer a fantasy. It is possible, thanks to the evolution of the information landscape.
(4)With the growth of blogs and pure information sites on the web, the stranglehold of global investment myths, including the Modern Portfolio Theory of diversification, will soon be exposed for what they are – cleverly disguised sales strategies posing as investment strategies.
Once people realize this, longtail investment strategies will gain wider acceptance, much like acupuncture and herbal medicine eventually gained credibility as healing regimens in the schools of Western medicine.
The new information age has stripped many accepted investment strategies such as diversification of much utility when attempting to build wealth. Furthermore, it has also rendered such beliefs as an inability to time the market and the efficient market model as mere myths. This has been proven time and time again by investment sites such as SmartKnowledgeU™ that have called for steep market corrections in certain global markets and in asset classes like gold with consistent accuracy.
(5)Wider acceptance of alternative, longtail investment strategies that far outperform those utilized by global investment firms will happen as word of successes via these strategies spread throughout the world via the internet.
The internet distribution channel can and will be used to change the mindset of investors.
(6)The Do-It-Yourselfers are Growing – With the success of books such as Stephen Covey’s “The Eight Habit” that emphasize personal accountability to achieve excellence versus handing control over to someone else, cultural shifts will happen whereby people will seek to seize control over their own financial future versus just handing their money to a firm to manage.
As this cultural shift happens, multitudes of people will realize that they are shorting their returns significantly every single year by handing their money to global investment houses.
(7)The flattening of the world and accessibility to previously inaccessible investment information will undoubtedly yield an increasing amount of investment strategies that reside in the longtail.
People will realize the foolishness of believing in the one investment strategy thrust upon them by global investment houses for the past half of century as “the only viable and safe way to invest.” If the younger generation takes an interest in investing, adding their creativity to the investment arena will result in explosive growth in the longtail of investment strategies. However, since the odds of this occurrence are quite low, a more gradual shift towards niche investment strategies is much more likely.
(8)The explosion of social networking sites like YouTube, MySpace, Friendster, Squidoo, Digg, and so forth, will amplify the viral marketing of longtail investment concepts.
Again, ignorance of longtail investment strategies causes fear and hesitancy to use them. Viral marketing of longtail investment concepts will increase millions of investors’ comfort level with these different and unique concepts.
(9)People are ultimately interested in returns, no matter how much global investment firms try to separate themselves from their competitors with smoke and mirror service claims.
All the gratitude for luxury box suites at Los Angeles Lakers games, suites at the Four Seasons Hotel, conferences at world-class golf courses and resorts will quickly wither once people realize how much more money they are earning with longtail investment strategies.
(10)Again, because people will readily abandon all the perks they get as a preferred client at a large investment firm for far superior returns on their portfolios, longtail investing will eventually reach a critical mass.
Eventually the longtail of investing will migrate towards the center and become the mainstream methods of investing, though this may take several decades to occur.
Fashion Designer John Rocha
Big name department stores seem to be attracting an increasing number of notable fashion designers as both sides of the fashion coin see the mutual benefits of this friendship. The stores on the high street benefit from innovative new looks and the designers see the advantages of the huge audience and clientele of the high street. John Rocha who made a name for himself with the Chinatown label in Dublin in the 1980s is a perfect example of this symbiotic relationship.
Born in 1953 in Hong Kong of Chinese and Portuguese descent, John Rocha graduated from the Croydon School of Art in London then quickly moved to Dublin, Ireland where he started his career with the Chinatown label. The use of Irish linen during his studies inspired his move to the country which he still calls home. Since the very start of his career, John has endeavoured to develop and refine his own distinctive style born during his first years in Ireland and is still heavily inspired by fabric, silhouette and technique.
John launched 5 distinct ranges for British department store Debenhams under the name Rocha.JohnRocha in Autumn-Winter 2000 including menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, accessories and homes and living. His unique combination of Chinese and Celtic design as his main influences can be clearly seen throughout his collections and have been described as plain, simple and fluid but at the same time funky and wearable.
In addition to designing for Debenhams, John has designed specifically for celebrity clients such as Angelica Huston, Marianne Faithful and pop star Ronan Keating.
He has extended his design outside of clothing into interiors and home accessories. In 1997 the John Rocha at Waterford Crystal collection was successfully launched and in May 1999, the Morrison Hotel in Dublin was John’s first interior design project and is now one of Europe’s most popular hotels. Successes of projects outside the realm of fashion have lead John to also begin a jewellery line for women.
John has been twice awarded the prestigious British Designer of the Year title in 1994 and in 2002. He has also received the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in The Queen’s New Years Honours list.
After his publication, John Rocha, Texture, Form, Purity, Detail, an illustrated study of John’s design philosophy and influences, it is clear that there is no route of design that will be left unopened by this designer. His creations appeal to the masses as well as the elite and he has an eye for both while retaining his own creative look and being able to explore all the while. A designer to watch for in the future as well as learning from his past designs, it is lucky for us that we can continue to watch his growth through his easily accessible lines at Debenhams.
