Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Grayling appoints global Industry Sector Heads

Grayling, the global Public Relations, Public Affairs, Investor Relations and Events consultancy announces the appointment of its six industry sector heads, with the aim to further develop its in-depth knowledge and understanding of each market it operates in, on a local and global level.  
Michael Murphy, CEO Grayling said: “In order to be effective as a global consultancy we need to operate with an international mindset reflecting the way that many large companies and organisations work. We conducted detailed research among a wide range of stakeholders and clients and many of them emphasised the importance of having experts in specific fields. These new roles will sit alongside our existing geographic structure.”
The newly appointed industry sector heads are:
Energy, Environment and Industry - Russell Patten. (Based in Brussels) Russell has specialised expertise in EU policies relating to the environmental, energy, transport, as well as agricultural, food and drinks policies. A British national, Russell’s career in Brussels spans 20 years, encompassing a wide range of corporations, trade associations and European Institutions. He was secretary-general of the European Express Association from 1994 to 2003, is currently Secretary-General of Transfrigoroute International and was President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium from 2005 to 2007. He is currently Vice President of the EU Committee of the Chamber. He is a professor at the College of Europe, ISMAPP and the University of Kent. Russell is also the CEO of Grayling in Belgium.  

Healthcare and Pharmaceutical - Stephen Lock. (Based equally in Moscow and Istanbul) Stephen joined Grayling in 2004 and currently runs Grayling’s businesses in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and our three offices in Central Asia. Stephen has over 18 years Public Relations consulting experience, especially in crisis PR, and 14 years in international public affairs and government relations management. At the start of his career, as a litigation PR practitioner, he worked on a number of 'class action' cases involving the pharmaceutical sector.  More recently, he has advised over a dozen healthcare and pharmaceutical firms on issues ranging from market access and state funding; foreign direct investment and localised manufacturing; drug licensing and disease awareness and patient advocacy. This includes running a 17-country integrated publics relations and public affairs campaign on Hepatitis C across Central & Eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries.

Financial & Professional Services - Ilka Schwarz. (Based in Frankfurt) Ilka has worked in the communications industry for 17 years in both agency and in-house positions and specialises in corporate and marketing communications for the financial industry. Before joining Grayling, Ilka worked at Kohtes Klewes (now Ketchum Pleon), in the business development department of a German banking group and as a financial journalist. Ilka is currently Managing Director of Grayling Germany.

Technology, Media & Telecoms - Christine Boehlke. (Based in San Francisco) CEO of Grayling Connecting Point, our specialist Technology and Media Telecomms business, Christine has helped pioneer categories such as digital and Internet video, Internet shopping and entertainment, online fraud protection, virtual conferencing, mobile and wireless computing and customer relationship management. She has spearheaded corporate, branding and product programmes for global leaders such as Cisco, Dolby, Hitachi, Lego, Logitec, Symantec, Sybase and Tetris. Chris has more than 30 years experience in corporate positioning, branding, marketing and crisis management, and her integrated marketing expertise helps clients build revenue along with image and reputation.

Consumer Brands - Loretta Tobin. (Based in London) With over 20 years' experience in consumer marketing and public relations, Loretta is also the CEO of Grayling UK. During her 16 years with Grayling she has led campaigns for The National Lottery, Land Rover and Coca-Cola and prior to Grayling her.  Consumer brand experience has encompassed Typhoo, MGF, Comet, npower, BUPA, Showerlux and a number of media sector clients. Loretta has been with the consultancy since 1994 and regularly champions the need for brands to get local to really engage with consumers and change their behaviour.

Government & Public Sector - David Beightol. (Based in Washington) David is the Chief Development Officer for Grayling sister company Dutko Worldwide as well as Managing Director for Dutko Government Markets.  Prior to joining Dutko, he was Director of Government Affairs for the large multinational Johnson Controls, Inc., Senior Associate/Partner at International Business Resources, Inc. and from 1991 to 1992 served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1992, President Bush appointed David Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on the Los Angeles Recovery. From 1987 to 1991 he served as Director of Wisconsin Governor Tommy G Thompson’s Washington, DC office. Mr. Beightol began his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives, first in the office of Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) followed by the Science, Space and Technology Committee.  In addition to his duties with Dutko Worldwide, David currently serves on the Republican Governors Association Finance Committee. David is also a member of Governor Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential National Finance team and serves as an advisor to both the Maryland Initiative of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the Texas Rangers and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Contact:
Name: James Acheson-Gray, International MD, Grayling
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7932 1850
Email: james.achesongray@grayling.com

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10603837-grayling-appoints-global-industry-sector-heads.html

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Buy Facebook Fans, Make More Money

We get and stay connected with people from our past and present, we showcase our lives in pictures, and we successfully avoid tackling our to-do lists.  But what fewer people realize is that sites lke Facebook are great places to promote a business.  After all, millions of people already use Facebook, so why not take advantage of that to peddle your wares?

The trobule with this scenario is that Facebook marketing is tough.  Or at least it used to be.  At one time, if you wanted to be successful with Facebook marketing you had to spend countless hours trying desperately to amass a significant number of Facebook fans to make it work.  It was a long, frustrating process, one that too often ended in frustration and defeat for many marketers.  That was before web promotions company uSocial.net changed the rules.  Now, thanks to their new, forward-thinking Facebook marketing service, you don't have to search for Facebook fans anymore – now, you can simply buy Facebook fans!

Basically, all you have to do is tell uSocial.net what kind of Facebook fans you need, based on some criteria that will help point to the fans that will likely buy your product or service.  After that, they'll take care of everything.  They'll do the targeting, gather the Facebook fans you need, and deliver them right to your Facebook page.  That's all there is to it!

The company's CEO, Leon Hill, explains further:

"We wanted to offer our clients the ability to buy as many followers as they wanted, without having to worry about the quality that is being delivered.  Businesses in particular are finding the service extremely helpful in generating marketable followers quickly.”

How would you rather spend your time, would you rather spend endless hours searching for Facebook fans, or would you rather buy Facebook fans and spend your free time spending your extra money?

Contact uSocial.net today and get all the details about this new Facebook marketing service.  Log on to:  http://usocial.net/twitter_marketing

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10601372-the-simple-equation-buy-facebook-fans-make-more-money.html

Monday, March 29, 2010

Caribbean’s Largest Hotelier Partners with EarthCheck

Sandals Resorts International (SRI), parent company of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts and The Royal Plantation Collection, recently unveiled an exclusive partnership with EarthCheck, the world's largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators.  Through the partnership, all Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts properties in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas, will upgrade to the EarthCheck Program for sustainability certification.

“Sandals Resorts International has a long-standing history of implementing environmentally-friendly practices throughout its properties. It was important to align with a certification company whose passion for protecting the Caribbean’s unique and delicate eco-system matched our own,” explained Richard May, Group Director of Environmental Affairs. “We are pleased to have found that partner in Earthcheck.”

The partnership further adds yet another level to SRI’s commitment to sustainable tourism. In 1998, Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa was the very first all-inclusive resort to earn the Green Globe Certification. Sandals Resorts successfully modified its water systems and energy requirements, adjusted its waste management program and bolstered its already-strong social involvements within the community to earn the important certification.

Within three years, the remaining 13 Sandals Resorts and four Beaches Resorts all earned the venerable award. In 2008, Sandals Negril achieved the highest possible level of certification (Platinum), becoming the first and only hotel in the world to do so. Since implementing sustainability practices, average resource savings achieved by SRI amount to 40 percent (water), 55 to 60 percent (waste) and 40 percent (energy).  

The announcement of the partnership arrives in tandem with the one-year anniversary of the The Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International. The Foundation represents nearly three decades of corporate philanthropy focused on action-based sustainable development in areas of education, environment and community.

SRI employees are also encouraged to act in accordance with sustainability policies.  Employees receive daily reminders in shift meetings, training courses and environmental awareness sessions.  Notice boards and competitions also play a significant role in the changing of attitudes and along with field trips and monthly awards, helps to maintain exposure.

But is the company’s commitment to sustainable practices making any impact upon consumer behavior? Again, Richard May comments; “Many hotels operate in the Caribbean, but we are the Caribbean, fiercely protecting the islands we call home. Over the years, our guests have taken notice. Current programs that allow guests to engage in clean-up activities or community work actually resulted from an increased demand from our guests. These experiences have prompted guests to return year after year with suitcases filled with toys, books and medical supplies for donation to area schools and hospitals.”

“Many of our suppliers and business partners have also developed internal sustainability and environmental policies as a result of our requests for change,” explains May. “They have adopted environmentally enhanced operating processes and those suppliers who have shown an extended resistance to change or fail to consider this new approach are no longer on our list as preferred suppliers.”

With the protection of the environment an important cause for many, SRI has also seen many conference organizers and planners place an increased emphasis on eco-friendly practices. Some – such as Nestle – will no longer book events with conference venues that cannot supply sustainability policies and assist them in staging carbon proceedings.

EarthCheck science has provided SRI with the framework for sustainable operations and the company focuses on expanding its programs to the proverbial next level via the reaches of The Sandals Foundation with its focus on education, environment, and community.

In this manner, SRI is creating a positive ripple upon host communities in the hope that by influencing future generations at a formative stage in their lives, the habits and cultural norms they adopt will imbed sustainability in their very DNA.

EDITOR'S NOTES
Sandals Resorts has earned a worldwide reputation for providing two people in love with the most romantic vacation experience in the Caribbean. Currently, there are 14 Luxury Included® Sandals Resorts located in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia and The Bahamas. Each offers stunning beachfront locations; a choice of à la carte restaurants, from white-glove dining to barefoot elegance; all premium brand wine and spirits, including an exclusive partnership with California's legendary Beringer Vineyards; luxurious accommodations in a range of categories; unrivalled watersports including the Caribbean's largest PADI certification program; Butler Service for truly indulgent pampering; Sandals Weddings by Martha StewartTM; and signature Red Lane® Spas, with services and treatments inspired by the region.  In February 2010, Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas made its debut, offering 183 all-butler service rooms and suites, an 18-hole championship Greg Norman-designed golf course and 150 slip marina.

Sandals Resorts has set the industry standard for the Luxury Included® vacation and has been voted the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand at the World Travel Awards for 16 years in a row, and World's Leading All-Inclusive Company for 14 years in a row.  For more information, call your local travel agent or 1-800-Sandals (1-800-726-3257) or visit www.sandals.com

EC3 Global is the world's largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators. With more than 1000 clients in over 60 countries, the company’s EarthCheck Program responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including climate change, waste reduction and non-renewable resource management. It provides benchmarking, certification and performance improvement systems that result in average savings of 30 per cent for energy and waste stream, and 20 per cent savings for water consumption. Go to www.earthcheck.org or www.ec3global.com  

For further information please contact:

EarthCheck
Chantal Dunbar
EC3 Global Communications Manager
P:  +61 401 058 159
E: chantal.dunbar@ec3global.com
W: www.earthcheck.org

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10598931-caribbeans-largest-hotelier-partners-with-earthcheck.html

Beartooth Harley-Davidson Partners With EagleRider Billings

Beartooth Harley-Davidson & EagleRider Billings are joining forces to give motorcyclists a customer oriented rental experience.  EagleRider Billings is relocating inside Beartooth Harley-Davidson spacious location at 6900 South Frontage Rd. Billings, MT.

   The partnership is officially underway with EagleRider Billings ready to provide a quality rental fleet to the adventure seeking motorcyclist through Beartooth Harley-Davidson on April 15, 2010.  One of the best rental features of EagleRider Billings is that as a franchise they offer one-way rentals, which means you can pick your bike up in Billings and drop it off anywhere there is an EagleRider in the United States.

   With competitive advantages like one-way rentals, guided tours with bike and accommodations price packaging it’s not hard to see EagleRider Billings as a strong business partner.  Ed Van Krieken Owner/Partner of Eagle Rider says, “Rentals go to local, domestic, and international customers.”

   A great percentage of these rentals come from outside economies.  Shane Fredrickson, Sales Manager at Beartooth Harley-Davidson said, “In past years the trend seems to show that about 80%-85% of all rentals through our store have been to motorcyclists from other states and international locations.”   This is great news for the local economy which should receive a nice spring/summer shot in the arm.

With strong travel revenue generated by the motorcycle rental business the owner of Beartooth Harley-Davidson, Barry Usher, is proud of the boon a strong rental industry can bring to Billings.  Usher said, “I am confident Eagle Rider Billings’ commitment to a quality rental program will only help the Billings economy by attracting visitors to Montana’s scenic roadways.”

Usher went on to say, “We are excited to have EagleRider Billings bring its’ quality rental services to Beartooth Harley-Davidson.  In today’s economy you can never have too many reliable business partners.”  These sentiments were reinforced by Van Krieken who said, “This winning combination focuses on excellence in customer service with the largest motorcycle rental company in the world, and an award winning dealership location.”

In its’ short history EagleRider Billings has provided hundreds of local, domestic, and international riders the adventure of a lifetime.  EagleRider Billings has been in operation since 2006 with two staff members who dedicated to the motorcycle rental industry.  They also offer Can-Am ATV rentals.  For more information visit www.eagleriderbillings.com

Beartooth Harley-Davidson/Buell has been a fixture in the Billings community for two decades.  The dealership’s state-of-the-art showroom is located at 6900 S Frontage Road.  The business is owned and operated by Usher Enterprises, Inc.  For more information visit www.beartoothharley.com

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10598054-beartooth-harley-davidson-partners-with-eaglerider-billings.html

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Red Condor Warns of IRS Underreported Income Notice Spam


Email security experts at Red Condor have issued a warning for a new blended email threat that once again spoofs the Internal Revenue Service. The text-based email, which has a variety of subject lines, such as “the CP2000 notice (Underreported Income Notice),” is asking recipients to “review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.” When someone clicks on the link, they are taken to a landing page that includes the IRS header, as well as a link to the IRS Privacy Policy. On the landing page, visitors are asked to “Please review (download and execute) your tax statement.” The link on the page actually installs a version of the Zbot Trojan, which hides itself on compromised computers and allows remote attackers to steal bank-related information, log-in details and other personal data. This campaign is being sent from a botnet, has a moderate to high volume, and more than 2,000 unique sending IP addresses. A similar campaign was blocked in the fall of 2009. 

“Given its familiarity with so many people, the IRS is a common target, especially during this time of the year as consumers and businesses are getting ready for tax season,” said Dr. Tom Steding, president and CEO of Red Condor. “In addition, many people fear the IRS, and an email with the subject line containing underreported income does catch people’s attention. Unfortunately, because the email appears to come from the federal government, they may be more likely to follow the instructions in the email. And it doesn’t take very many people clicking on the links for the spammers to profit from the campaign.”   

As with past IRS spam warnings, the IRS has made it very clear that it does not communicate with individual taxpayers via email, so any email with the IRS’ brand on it is likely going to be a scam and should be forwarded to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov and then deleted. 

This campaign was detected by Red Condor’s Spam Trigger filter, which quickly identifies spam and phishing campaigns before they penetrate users’ networks. Once identified, the campaigns are quarantined and reviewed as rules are written and automatically distributed to Red Condor’s antispam appliance and Hosted Service customers. 

Visit http://www.redcondor.com/resources/whitepapers/new-threa ... to download Red Condor's white paper on emerging email threats.

Sourec: http://www.prlog.org/10594525-red-condor-warns-of-irs-underreported-income-notice-spam.html

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

CNX Gas Corporation takeover under investigation for investors

CNX Gas Corporation faces multiple investigations on behalf of current investors in CNX Gas Corporation (Public, NYSE:CXG) concerning shareholder claims over possible breaches of fiduciary duty by the board of directors of CNX Gas Corporation (Public, NYSE:CXG) was announced.

If you currently hold shares of CNX Gas Corporation (NYSE:CXG), you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc by email at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1 (858) 779 – 1554.

The investigations by law firms focus on potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law by the Board of Directors of CNX Gas Corporation arising out of their attempt to sell CNX Gas Corp to CONSOL Energy, Inc. CNX Gas Corporation, located in Pittsburgh, PA, is engaged in the exploration, development, production and gathering of natural gas primarily in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins. CNX Gas Corporation reported in 2007 Total Revenue of $479.48million with a Net Income of $135.68million, in 2008 Total Revenue of $789.42million with a Net Income of $239.07million, and in 2009 Total Revenue of $683.44million with a Net Income of $164.46million.
On March 21, 2010, CONSOL Energy Inc announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase the remaining shares of CNX Gas Corporation that it does not currently own. ONSOL Energy currently owns approximately 83.3% of the approximately 151 million shares of CNX Gas common stock outstanding. According to the agreement, CONSOL Energy Inc will pay $38.25 per CXG share for the 9.5 million shares that are currently owned by investment advisory clients of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and CONSOL Energy agreed to commence a tender offer for the remaining outstanding shares of CNX Gas Corp. by May 5, 2010 at a price of $38.25 per share. According to CONSOL Energy Inc the offer represents a 24% premium over the closing price on March 19, 2010. Shares of CNX Gas Corporation traded after the announcement at $38 per share, and at $31 per share days before the news.

CXG shares reached over $41 per share in 2008, and closed at $35.45 as recently as October 20, 2010.

According to one investigation by a law firm “the transaction appears to be unfair” to current investors of CNX Gas Corporation (NYSE:CXG) because the “offer to purchase the remaining shares of CNX Gas Corporation (CXG) at $38.25 per share appears is grossly unfair, inadequate, and substantially below the fair or inherent value of CXG”. The investigations concern “whether the CNX Gas Corp. Board of Directors breached  their fiduciary duties to CNX Gas Corporation (CXG) shareholders by failing to adequately shopped CNX Gas Corporation before entering into the proposed transaction and whether CONSOL Energy Inc may be underpaying for CNX Gas Corporation (CXG), thus unlawfully harming CXG shareholders”.  

Those who currently hold shares of CNX Gas Corporation (NYSE:CXG), have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc by email at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1 (858) 779 – 1554.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10590810-cnx-gas-corporation-takeover-under-investigation-for-investors.html

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Real Estate Investing And Your Personal Goals

The term Real estate is associated with and also includes lands, buildings, plots, farm lands and any ground where the investment can be made. There is also an inclusion of leasehold, real property and stock-in-trade which is concerned with the business.  
In today's market, real estate investment is the business which offers more financial profits with less risk factor and this business is well thought-out to be the best option for investment.

For past few years Real estate investing is becoming popular among the investors and it is also considered as one of the most common investment vehicle. It has lot of opportunity to grow and increase the profits.

Few tips on how to go for real estate investing and gain profits:

1. Cash flow: Here the investor purchases the property and turn out to be its owner. At the time of going further for any deals see to that your payment and the expenses incurred is not exceeding your income which you will receive, and it advisable not to have any direct deals with the tenants.

For more : http://www.realestatemillionairecode.com/

2. Buying and selling of the property:  as a business tactics first buy the property for the lesser price and sell the same property by increasing the actual price of the property (i.e.) selling price of the property should be high than the buying price. If suppose it happens that you have bought the real estate property which needs some improvements and cost has to be incurred for its service. If so, then while the time of selling include all the cost incurred during the time of its improvement. The holding costs will be inclusion of utilities, taxes, mortgage payments and other normal maintenance cost.

3. Private lending: it is one of the best options for real estate investing. This is one of the best methods in real estate investment. By holding trust, you can charge more interest has your money is been cosseted by the property.

Financing in an artistic way: An investment in Real estate is not like a business of retail store. Once the investment has been made it is essential to identify what are the goals and objectives that have to be fulfilled. Make a decision whether you are willing to give your house for rent for enjoying the annuity or you are willing to flip the asset for making more short-term profits. For a long term investment it is better to have fixed mortgages as it helps in forecasting of cash flow. Ensure that you are leveraging all the benefits of tax by means of depreciation and expenses incurred.

There are various benefits in real estate investing you can arrange the money for investment from the financial institutions by keeping the property under their possession. You can earn income by renting out your property. As the year passes the term property appreciation applies (i.e.) the value of the asset keeps rising as the year passes.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10589023-real-estate-investing-and-your-personal-goals.html

Monday, March 22, 2010

Medivation, Inc. Long Term Shareholder Investigation

A MDVN investor filed a lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN) common stock during the period between July 17, 2008 and March 2, 2010, against Medivation, Inc. Meanwhile an investigation on behalf of current long term investors in Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN) was announced.

If you are a current long term investor in Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN) common stock, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc. by email at: mail@shareholdersfoundation.com  or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

Medivation, Inc., located in San Francisco, California, is a biopharmaceutical company with small molecule drugs in clinical development to treat three medical needs: Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and castration-resistant prostate cancer. According to the complaint filed in in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California the plaintiff alleges that Medivation, Inc. and certain of its officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing between  July 17, 2008 and March 2, 2010 false and misleading statements regarding its drug Dimebon. Then, on March 3, 2010, before the market opened, defendants were forced to publicly disclose that Dimebon did not meet primary and secondary goals in a Phase 3 trial for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and as a result of this news, Medivation’s stock plummeted $27.15 per share to close at $13.10 per share on March 3, 2010 – a one-day decline of 67%, so the lawsuit. Shares of Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN) continued to decline from its 52weekHigh of $40.49 per share to $12.10 per share on Tuesday, March 09, 2010.

Those who are current long term investors in Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN) common stock, have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc. by email at: mail@shareholdersfoundation.com  or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10586773-medivation-inc-long-term-shareholder-investigation.html

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Trading Forex Options and Options On Currency ETFs

Predictably, the 3G auctions have attracted only existing 2G players -- Aircel, Bharti, Etisalat, Idea, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone and Videocon Telecom -- with not a single new entrant, global or Indian, in the list.

TOI was the first to predict, way back on August 12, 2008, that new players would probably stay away from the 3G auctions after the auctions were first announced. Even after the guidelines were revised for the 2010 auctions, the barriers for new entrants remained unchanged. The absence of global bidders is likely to ensure that the bidding will be conservative, and probably lower than the ambitious Rs 40,000 crore revenue target first announced by telecom minister A Raja.

The BWA list has four new players -- Augere, Tikona Wireless, Infotel Broadband Services and The foreign exchange market is much larger than then equity markets although unlike equity (stock) options the currency option market is mainly Over The Counter (OTC). A global futures broker such as Enfinium International provides access to options on currency futures. However if your broker doesn’t support futures or options on futures you can still gain derivative exposure by trading options on currency exchange traded funds (ETFs), such as issued by Rydex CurrencyShares.

For example, if one wanted to take a bearish position on the AUD relative to the USD, then you could to do so via an Australian Dollar CurrencyShare ETF which trades with ticker code FXA. The CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust is designed to track the price of the Australian Dollar net of Trust expenses, which are expected to be paid from interest earned on the deposited Australian Dollars. www.etffunds.com.au provides a complete list of forex ETFs.
 
Various bearish strategies are:-

1.   Short the underlying
2.   Long put
3.   Bear call spread
4.   Bear put spread
5.   Ratio put spread
6.   Put time spread

The basic component of most bearish options strategies are put options. Put options changed the way traders profit when a stock goes down as there is no need to sell short, which resulted in a margin requirement. Previously, profiting when a stock dropped in price only happened when you short sold the stock itself. When shorting, margin is held to cover any potential risk with an adverse price move.

In summary currency ETFs are used to gain exposure to the world’s largest financial market – the forex market. If a trader is looking to take a speculative or hedged position on a currency, one can do so using a currency ETF.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10585881-trading-forex-options-and-options-on-currency-etfs.html

Saturday, March 20, 2010

New companies to bid for 3G spectrum

 Predictably, the 3G auctions have attracted only existing 2G players -- Aircel, Bharti, Etisalat, Idea, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone and Videocon Telecom -- with not a single new entrant, global or Indian, in the list.

TOI was the first to predict, way back on August 12, 2008, that new players would probably stay away from the 3G auctions after the auctions were first announced. Even after the guidelines were revised for the 2010 auctions, the barriers for new entrants remained unchanged. The absence of global bidders is likely to ensure that the bidding will be conservative, and probably lower than the ambitious Rs 40,000 crore revenue target first announced by telecom minister A Raja.

The BWA list has four new players -- Augere, Tikona Wireless, Infotel Broadband Services and Qualcomm -- while Spice is making a comeback into the telecom space. Infotel belongs to Anant Nahatta, the son of HFCL owner Mahendra Nahatta.
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It could not be confirmed if these are all pan-India applications or if players will eventually bid only for select circles. DoT is meeting at 11.30am on Saturday, March 20 to screen the applications. "We will check to see if the applicants meet the licence criteria. For example, no company can hold more than 10% in another applicant company," a senior DoT official told TOI.

The simultaneous, ascending auction designed by auctioneer N M Rothschild enables bidders to bid from their own computer screen with the value of the highest bid and number of bidders in each round for each circle visible to each player, the DoT official added.

However, he declined to reveal what the revenue expectations from these auctions were. "We expect it to be a good auction on the back of robust demand," he said. However, the government recently said it expects to earn at least Rs 30,000 crore from the auction proceeds.
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The reserve price for pan-India 3G spectrum is Rs 3,500 crore and the bids could go anywhere in the range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 crore for each pan-India slot. For BWA auctions, the reserve price is Rs 1,750 crore with bids expected in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crore per pan-India slot.

However, data revenue growth in the near term is not expected to be robust enough to justify extravagant bidding, as India is primarily a voice market with over 97% of the market still vanilla voice with rock bottom ARPUs (average revenue per user) of less than Rs 200.

"Unrealistically high 3G bids were witnessed in the UK, France and Germany in early 2000 because large tranches of spectrum were on offer and data growth was expected to take off. However, data has been slow to grow globally. The US is the largest data market today and this growth has only been fuelled lately after the launch of the Apple iPhone," said a telecom expert.

The 3G auctions are scheduled to begin on April 9. The government is auctioning three 2x5 MHz slots in the 2.1 GHz band in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) and Kerala (all A Category circles), Haryana, UP East, UP West, Rajasthan, MP (all B Category circles), Orissa, Assam and North East (all C Category circles). Four slots are on offer in Punjab (Category A), West Bengal (Category B), and Himachal and Bihar (Category C).

BWA auctions for two pan-India slots of 20 MHz each will begin after the close of the 3G auctions. BWA is used for high-speed data and video applications. 3G is also a technology that is preferred for data - essentially for triple play or voice, data and video which is far superior to the 2G networks used in India.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10585068-new-companies-to-bid-for-3g-spectrum.html

Friday, March 19, 2010

TV good for business

"TV good for business – says entrepreneur at Acua Limited event"

The man who helped rescue Little Chef has told other businesses you won’t get fried by reality television.

Peter Ward has witnessed at first hand the huge impact Channel 4 documentary Big Chef Takes On Little Chef has had on the chain after his turnaround company RCapital paid £9 million to save the road side restaurateurs from administration in 2007.

The series saw Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal revamp the Little Chef menu and the look of its restaurants under the watchful eye of chief executive Ian Pegler and has given the business a major lift according to Ward.

Speaking at a CBI West Midlands senior executive lunch hosted by Acua Limited at Coventry University’s TechnoCentre, he said: “It is a high risk strategy but one I would recommend to businesses when they feel they are ready.

“In fairness to Ian when he joined the business we had already committed to the programme with Channel 4 so it was sort of a poison chalice for him to pick up, but one he was very happy to and in the case of Little Chef it has been hugely successful for us.”

Ward, who has completed 25 investments in six years since launching RCapital with business partner Jamie Constable, said he would not hesitate to use reality television again.

“The impact of bringing someone like Heston Blumental to Little Chef, who was not an obvious match for the brand as he is seen as being a bit of a scientist in the kitchen, has been extremely positive and has given the business a big lift,” he added.

“While 93 per cent of the public recognised the brand name of Little Chef before the programme we didn’t have 93 per cent of the public going to Little Chef, but now we obviously have a lot more following the television programme.

“We have got one or two other businesses we are invested in that we would certainly do something similar to what we did with Little Chef if the opportunity ever arose.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10583609-tv-good-for-business-says-entrepreneur-at-acua-limited-event.html

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Executive Master in Marketing

The Executive Master in Marketing from CUNY’s Baruch College offered in France at AGS

The American Graduate School of Business and Economics at the American Graduate School in Paris (www.ags.edu) now offers a one-year Executive Master of Science in Marketing (EMSM) degree. This program is taught in Paris, France, and is fully accredited in the United States as an affiliated program of the Baruch College at the City University of New York (CUNY).

The EMSM program is based on the same curriculum, teaching methods, academic standards and career-oriented approach as the one delivered on the CUNY campus in New York. It is taught by the Baruch College professors who fly in from New York for each course.

“The degree obtained by students studying in this program in Paris is exactly the same as the one obtained by students studying at CUNY in New York” explains Professor Ali Fatemi, President of the American Graduate School of Business and Economics at AGS. “Additionally, we have incorporated an extra dimension by blending this program with the French setting to enhance the international experience for students."

The EMSM at AGS provides students with the necessary tools to pursue careers in senior-level marketing and sales management, international market consulting, brand and product management, and corporate communications.

It features a comprehensive curriculum allowing students to develop a wide range of skills from advertising strategy to product distribution. The faculty seamlessly blends advanced marketing theories with practical business applications. An emphasis is placed on staying up-to-date with the latest marketing techniques and remaining on the cutting edge of industry trends.

“I am very proud to welcome at AGS this high-standard program.” says Alexis Delabre, Chairman of the Board of the American Graduate School in Paris. “The academic excellence and career emphasis inherent to this program make the AGS-Baruch partnership a perfect match.”

The Executive Master in Marketing at the American Graduate School of Business and Economics extends over one year and is organized in a modular format, accommodating the schedules of working professionals. It consists of ten courses, each taught over two weekends.

In the classroom a strong focus is put on group work and interaction.  Class sizes are kept small and students are able to work closely with faculty and peers, building strong bonds and creating lifelong business relationships.

Applications for the first cohort, starting in the Fall 2010, are due by July 15, 2010. Applicants must have a recognized undergraduate or equivalent degree. Professional experience is valued.

The EMSM degree is accredited in the US by AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business) and by the Commission on Higher Education of MSA (Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools), through the Zicklin School of Business of the Baruch College at the City University of New York.

The American Graduate School in Paris (www.ags.edu) is a not-for-profit institution that offers U.S. higher education in France to students from every continent. It offers programs in Business and Economics and in International Relations and Diplomacy.

More information about the one-year Executive Master of Science in Marketing (EMSM) degree:
http://www.ags.edu/business-economics/executive-master-o ...

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10581776-the-executive-master-in-marketing-from-cunys-baruch-college-offered-in-france-at-ags.html

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Referral Networking - The Best Bet For Small Businesses

Chaitanya Sagar, the CEO of p2w2 has been attending various conferences, seminars and events in New York, California and Florida for the past 2 months. He has been networking with entrepreneurs from varied fields. He shares some of his insights on how small business owners can improve conversions and drive sales.

Focus on Sales than on Branding
Mr. Sagar’s meetings with small business owners have been quite successful so far. In Mr. Sagar’s own words “people are willing to network”.
“As far as small businesses are concerned, networking is much more important than social media,” Mr. Sagar notes. “Social media needs a lot of time but can payoff in the long run. Social media is more about ‘Marketing and brand building’, whereas networking and referrals can lead to immediate ’sales’. “

SEO is Critical
Mr. Sagar made a presentation about Search Engine Optimization and Link Building at one of the social media events at Social Media Week event in New York and it was well received.  Mr. Sagar felt that Marketing and Sales are just about the biggest challenges that small businesses face and that it is “very critical” for small businesses to have ongoing Search Engine Optimization for their websites. “Internet Marketing is definitely the right way to proceed for small businesses. The right strategy for achieving top search engine rankings is to get backlinks, especially relevant ones”, Mr. Sagar added.

For SEO and Link building services check out http://www.p2w2.com/link-building.php

Convert Contacts into Leads
Mr. Sagar also shared a few insights about getting the best out of such networking events. “Merely attending these events is not enough,” Mr. Sagar said. “It is very important to follow up one-on-one with the contacts you make during such events. Be clear of what your business goals are, and have solutions ready for your prospective clients. Most importantly, try to help others as much as possible - this will come back to you in one way or the other.”

About Chaitanya Sagar
Chaitanya Sagar is the CEO and one of the co-founders of p2w2. He is a Chartered Accountant by qualification, and has finished his MBA from ISB, one of India’s best B-schools. Mr. Sagar is also a qualified Excel Consultant. Check out Mr.Sagar's profile on http://www.p2w2.com/chaitanya_sagar/index.php

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10579857-referral-networking-the-best-bet-for-small-businesses.html

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Travel Management Group Praises British Airways

Travel Management Group Praises British Airways ‘flexibility’ Ahead Of Strike


A Midlands travel management company has praised British Airways for its ‘flexibility’ as the airline tries to deal with this weekend’s staff strikes.

Holidaymakers and business travellers are set to be affected by the cabin crew walk-out, which is in protest of staffing levels and working conditions.

But David Moore, business travel director at Leamington-based Travel Management Group, said BA is ‘doing its best’ to allow travellers to cancel, re-book or switch airlines, so that they are overly inconvenienced.

“This is an extremely frustrating strike because there has been so much uncertainty about it and the lack of advance warning has meant a scramble for everyone, particularly business travellers,” he said.

“It’s very hard to schedule events, conferences and meetings when you’re travel plans are up in the air, and it’s left people with just a few days to organise alternative travel.

“But in fairness to BA, it has tried to put customers first. They are allowing people who have booked to travel to cancel or re-book fairly simply and they’ve even helped some people to switch onto partner airlines or chartered flights.

“That has helped us – we’ve been contacting our customers as soon as flights have been cancelled to put alternate plans in place with as little disruption as possible.

“The fact that BA are trying to be accommodating is making our lives easier because we can re-organise faster and ensure we can call our business travellers to tell them their new details with minimal fuss.

“But this is a frustrating situation for everyone involved and I hope a resolution can be reached soon so there are no more inconveniences to passengers and businesses.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10578291-travel-management-group-praises-british-airways-flexibility-ahead-of-strike.html

Monday, March 15, 2010

Back to Basics for Success

Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP), a social networking organization which caters to professionals seeking to increase and develop their networking and potential abilities, continues to expand opportunities with the launch of “LEAD for SUCCESS” small business seminars. These seminars are designed to educate small business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals on specific training in business, sales, technology and networking to enhance business development.

Attendees will gain the power to energize their business performance in a weak economy and learn new ways to identify and capture new business opportunities.

Small businesses can benefit from these 90 minute seminars full of techniques, information and lessons from industry experts, with the opportunity to network with attendees and build professional relationships.

The “LEAD for SUCCESS” program series will be held once a month. This event is open to professionals seeking career changes, business owners, entrepreneurs, managers, executives, and decision-makers throughout Westchester County and surrounding areas. No membership is required to attend these events.

The first in a series of seminars “Making the Best of 2010 – Tools for Understanding Your Potential for Success” will be held April 13, 2010, 5:30pm – 8:00pm at the Doubletree-Hilton Hotel, 455 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY.

The Expert Speakers for the evening will be Lisa Kaslyn, Principle of Kashen Communications, she brings 30 years of traditional marketing communications to the panel. She will teach the audience how to effectively market their business and generate leads through social media and public relations.

Grant Schneider, Founder of Performance Development Strategies, LLC will share his 30 years of expertise in techniques for you to design a plan of action for success.

Event facilitator, Theresa Todman, President of Bookkeeping & More Services, located in Westchester County, NY and founder of Westchester Networking for Professionals says “As business owners, in this economy we have to find new way to overcome challenges and developing new business building strategies and attending these program series will be the first step”.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10574734-back-to-basics-for-success.html

Sunday, March 14, 2010

‘Smart Trade Group’- Worldwide Economics

Sources close to “Smart Trade Group” suggest that recent comments from a high-ranking Chinese official stating that gold is not considered to be a “primary investment” for China as it diversifies its $2.4trillion of foreign currency reserves should be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt.

The reasons given, including the fact that a much higher price would hurt Chinese consumers of gold, were called “implausible” by one of the sources who cited the fact that China is the world’s largest producer of gold and second only to India as a consumer.

The Asia-based private fund believes that the comments may be aimed at talking down the price in preparation for a large purchase and a “Smart Trade Group” analyst suggested that the comments echo those of George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund manager who described gold’s recent rises in price as a bubble whilst simultaneously increasing his fund’s holdings in the SPDR Gold ETF by $700 million.

‘Smart Trade Group’ still consider gold to be the ultimate hedge against global measures to combat the effects of the recession and urged clients to retain their holdings.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10574230-smart-trade-group-worldwide-economics-chinas-comments-on-gold.html

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Facebook Fan Page Pays Dividends for Entrepreneur

Like a lot of business people who knew they had to “get on Facebook,” Don Campbell started out two years ago by creating a personal profile.

Later, he realized it was a better fit for his business, Expand2Web.com, to have its own Facebook Fan Page. He created it himself, hoping to have unique content and added interactivity. But his business, creating WordPress websites and templates for small business, kept him busy and he never got much further than a basic fan page.

Then a colleague from the search marketing firm BlitzLocal offered to help him build out a fully featured, interactive fan page. The company’s developers built some pages and introduced him to some Facebook Apps and FBML, Facebook Markup Language, which allows page owners to customize and “brand” their Fan Page tabs to be consistent with their websites.
Even though it’s still quite new, the improved Fan Page has allowed Campbell to connect with fans, friends and potential customers, in ways different than through other social media.
“I've found the interactivity is much richer here than Twitter, or even my blog in some cases, because people can add photos, movies and other types of content. It’s a much more vibrant discussion,” Campbell says.

Campbell writes about his experiences here:
http://www.expand2web.com/blog/bringing-expand2web-facebook/

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10573213-facebook-fan-page-pays-dividends-for-small-business-web-entrepreneur.html

Friday, March 12, 2010

JP Sherman Interactive Marketing Strategist

Diane Kuehn, president and CEO of VisionPoint Marketing (www.visionpointmarketing.com), has announced that John Paul “JP” Sherman has joined the firm as interactive marketing strategist. In his position, Sherman is responsible for utilizing search marketing, social media marketing and analytics to create and execute data-supported marketing campaigns in conjunction with the business goals of VisionPoint Marketing’s clients. He has more than a decade of interactive marketing experience and earned a bachelor of arts in marketing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

QUOTES:
“JP has an extensive and impressive history of work in developing plans for search engine optimization, social media and related industries,” said Kuehn. “His insight and expertise will help us grow our brand and position VisionPoint as a leader in online marketing solutions.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10572574-visionpoint-marketing-names-jp-sherman-interactive-marketing-strategist.html

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A New Resource for Green Tech and Business to Meet

Green Technology provides a new method of developing products, goods and services that do not harm the environment and at the same time generating revenue to advance society. The Joy of Jesus Church has taken a faith based approach to green technology. Our goal is to foster this information in one major simplex.

The Joy of Jesus is a new and aggressive organization chiefly concerned about the social economic development of people and ideas. The Green Technology Center is one of many initiatives. We offer the following centers: Business, Education, Jobs/Careers, Parenting, Health-Care,and Poverty Research Institute to service peoples needs today.
http://wcex.blogspot.com/

The Green Tech. Center is ready to provide you with fast cutting-edge information. The Joy of Jesus Church needs your help to help others as well. Get our toolbars that invest in people in need. You may also donate too. Please share this news with your contacts. This will help our economy and create jobs. Dr. James A. Lee invites you to visit.
http://thejoyofjesuschurchonline.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

FXCM Introduces Mobile Forex Trading

FXCM, (www.fxcm.com) one of the world’s largest online forex brokers, has introduced a beta version of its mobile trading platform. Available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile phones, FXCM’s mobile Trading Station II provides forex trading anytime and anywhere.*

FXCM Mobile TSII gives traders the ability to keep track of their account (balance, equity, and margin), place trades, manage positions, watch breaking market news, and view real-time 5 minute charts. Similar to FXCM’s award winning desktop trading platform, FXCM Mobile allows traders to quickly react to changing market conditions.

“Forex is about capturing opportunities in a 24-hour trading environment. Even today, in our increasingly connected digital world, people spend a significant amount of time away from their desktop. Now they can easily stay on top of the market while away from their computer,” said Michael Buzzeo, vice president of marketing at FXCM. “We are launching our mobile trading platform and a suite of supporting tools to enable traders to get vital information and be able to act on it regardless of location, 24 hours a day. FXCM Mobile users can set mobile alerts through DailyFX.com as well as view rates, explore a daily economic calendar and watch forex videos to help gauge where the market is heading.”

FXCM Standard and Micro account holders can begin mobile trading immediately using their existing username and password. To learn more about FXCM’s full mobile offerings, and to download FXCM’s Mobile trading application now, click here: http://www.fxcm.com/fxcm-mobile-forex.jsp?CMP=SFS-701600 ...

As this is the beta version of the product, please be sure to review the execution risks. FXCM welcomes all client feedback as we continue to make improvements to the product.
To get FXCM and DailyFX on your mobile device now, click here: http://mobile.fxcm.com/ or http://mobile.dailyfx.com/.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10568621-fxcm-introduces-mobile-forex-trading.html

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

New Service Helps Businesses Get More Twitter Followers

We use it as a way to connect to friends and family and to stay up to date with what everyone’s doing. Recently though, the site has started allowing its users to use the site as a way to promote their businesses.

The trouble is, Twitter marketing isn’t easy. It’s a real challenge to get the right number of followers. At the same time, this is absolutely critical to any successful go at this marketing medium. After all, it will do you no good to have informative, exciting, interesting tweets when you have no one to read them, right?

So, how do you achieve that? You could sit back and simply wait for your followership to grow naturally, but that will take some time. And time is something of which you do not have the luxury when it comes to marketing your business. It’s much more effective to get your followers in place quickly, but that presents another problem: What’s the alternative to letting nature take its course?

Web promotions company uSocial.net has the answer. Their new service will help you get more Twitter followers quickly and with virtually no effort on your part. USocial.net’s Twitter marketing service allows you to simply purchase the followers your company needs to boost their online presence. Yes, it really is that simple. Leon Hill, the company’s CEO, explains the motive behind the service:


"We wanted to offer our clients the ability to buy as many followers as they wanted, without having to worry about the quality that is being delivered. Businesses in particular are finding the service extremely helpful in generating marketable followers quickly."

Find more information on this new service at: http://usocial.net/twitter_marketing

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10565890-new-service-helps-businesses-get-more-twitter-followers.html

Monday, March 8, 2010

Electronic Game Card, Inc. hit by investor lawsuit

An investor in Electronic Game Card, Inc. (Public, OTC:EGMI) filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Electronic Game Card, Inc. (OTCBB.EGMI) between April 5, 2007 and February 19, 2010, against Electronic Game Card, Inc.

If you are purchased shares of Electronic Game Card, Inc. (Public, OTC:EGMI) between April 5, 2007 and February 19, 2010, you have certain options and there are strict and short deadlines running. Deadline: April 30, 2010. Those EGMI investors should contact the Shareholders Foundation at:

mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges that Electronic Game Card, Inc. and certain of its executive officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing between April 5, 2007 and February 19, 2010 false and misleading statements.
The Complaint alleges that on February 10, 2010, Electronic Game Card, Inc. postponed a conference call, which was slated to discuss important internal issues at Electronic Game Card, Inc.. The postponement resulted in an immediate sixteen percent drop in stock price. On February 19, 2010, Electronic Game Card, Inc. (“EGC”) announced that: (a) its independent auditors withdrew its audit opinions for EGC’s financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007, and 2008; and (b) its financial reporting for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as its quarterly reports for its first three quarters of 2009 needed to be adjusted and reissued. Also on February 19, 2010, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission halted trading in EGC securities. As a result, class members have suffered substantial damages and their shares are currently illiquid. Electronic Game Card, Inc., located in New York, is a designer and manufacturer of a gaming device. The gaming device is marketed under the name of EGC Electronic GameCard referred to as GameCard. The shape of a pocket GameCard is approximately the size of a credit card, operated electronically by touch and incorporating a microchip and liquid crystal display (LCD) screen showing numbers or icons. EGC designs its GameCards to play game types, formats and prize structures as required by its customers and is building a software library of generic game formats of themes.
Electronic Game Card reported in 2007 Total Revenue of $6.04million with a Net Income of $3.46million and in 2008 Total Revenue of $10.65million with a Net Income of $6.27million. Shares of Electronic Game Card, Inc. (Public, OTC:EGMI) traded recently at $0.88 per share, down from its 52weekHigh of $2.24 per share.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10559775-electronic-game-card-inc-hit-by-investor-lawsuit.html

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Mobile Marketing To The Masses

Did you know Google believes that in three years desktop computers will give way to mobile as the primary screen from which most people will consume information? That’s according to Google's John Herlihy who said that smart phones enhance Google’s
mission to make information universal.

Can you smell how big mobile is?

Mobile Marketing Leadership

You better run over and jump on Howie's new mobile training AND grab his report while there are still available. The server is being hit pretty hard right now and I don't know how much longer Howie will keep this can of worms open.

RUN HERE:

http://www.mobilemarketingleadership.com/member/?r=222&i=2

Take care,
Brad
PS - Think about it - 5 billion mobile devices
ready to receive your marketing . . .

Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular ever since the rise of SMS (Short Message Service) in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content.

Over the past few years SMS has become a legitimate advertising channel in some parts of the world. This is because unlike email over the public internet, the carriers who police their own networks have set guidelines and best practices for the mobile media industry (including mobile advertising). The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and the Mobile Marketing Association, as well, have established guidelines and are evangelizing the use of the mobile channel for marketers. While this has been fruitful in developed regions such as North America, Western Europe and some other countries, mobile SPAM messages (SMS sent to mobile subscribers without a legitimate and explicit opt-in by the subscriber) remain an issue in many other parts or the world, partly due to the carriers selling their member databases to third parties.

Mobile marketing via SMS has expanded rapidly in Europe and Asia as a new channel to reach the consumer. SMS initially received negative media coverage in many parts of Europe for being a new form of spam as some advertisers purchased lists and sent unsolicited content to consumer's phones; however, as guidelines are put in place by the mobile operators, SMS has become the most popular branch of the Mobile Marketing industry with several 100 million advertising SMS sent out every month in Europe alone.

In North America the first cross-carrier SMS shortcode campaign was run by Labatt Brewing Company in 2002. Over the past few years mobile short codes have been increasingly popular as a new channel to communicate to the mobile consumer. Brands have begun to treat the mobile shortcode as a mobile domain name allowing the consumer to text message the brand at an event, in store and off any traditional media.

SMS services typically run off a short code, but sending text messages to an email address is another methodology. Short codes are 5 or 6 digit numbers that have been assigned by all the mobile operators in a given country for the use of brand campaign and other consumer services. The mobile operators vet every application before provisioning and monitor the service to make sure it does not diverge from its original service description.

Besides short codes, inbound SMS is very often based on long numbers (international number format, e.g. +44 7624 805000), which can be used in place of short codes or premium-rated short messages for SMS reception in several applications, such as product promotions and campaigns. Long numbers are internationally available, as well as enabling businesses to have their own number, rather than short codes which are usually shared across a number of brands. Additionally, long numbers are non-premium inbound numbers.

One key criterion for provisioning is that the consumer opts in to the service. The mobile operators demand a double opt in from the consumer and the ability for the consumer to opt out of the service at any time by sending the word STOP via SMS. These guidelines are established in the MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines which are followed by all mobile marketers in the United States.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10562426-mobile-marketing-to-the-masses.html

Friday, March 5, 2010

World's Cheapest Electric Vehicle Ev Coming To USA

Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, was introduced at the Delhi Auto Show in January, 2008 and retails for about US$ 2,500 in India.

There are millions of college and highschool students all over the industrialized world who would love to have an affordable EV as their first car. Another population who stands to benefit from such opportunity is the third world working population where gas price is exorbitant and hydroelectric energy is readily available. One such opportunity exists right now in the country of Haiti who's infrastructure is almost totally devastated by the earthquake. Combined with alternative energy development, a cheap EV would be ideal there. Tata Nano EV could replace or supplant gas cars in most island nations around the world whith short distance travel like exists in the Carribbean and Pacific Islands.

At the Detroit Motor Show Tata Technologies presented its ‘Better Innovation’ event at the Detroit Science Center and Ratan Tata, Tata Motors’ chairman, while speaking at the Delhi Auto Expo confirmed that his company was working on a Nano variant for the American market.

Here is what he said, “We also recognise there is a market for the Nano not only in developing countries, but possibly in the developed countries. For the United States we need a car which has a larger engine and we need additional crash test modifications and we are in the process of doing it. We should be there in about three years.” Most think he is referring here to an electric motor.

“The innovative thinking that brought the Tata Nano to market is symbolic of what Tata Technologies has to offer the automotive industry. Tata Technologies was front-and-center in engineering and developing the Nano; working closely with Tata Motors and with a significant number of the Nano project suppliers", said Warren Harris, Tata Technologies’ president and COO of the Center for Advanced Engineering and Design in Pune, India.

Tata is expected to keep its claim by also being the cheapest in the US for the EV variant as well. PTI reports that the small car being showcased by the Tatas is expected to be retailed there at around US$ 5,000. If the 4 seats Nano EV retails between $5,000 and 9,000 it is likely to be the world's cheapest electric vehicle EV.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10560200-worlds-cheapest-electric-vehicle-ev-coming-to-usa.html

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Twitter Marketing Services Surging

Because of that, more and more business have begun to realize that the popularity of social media sites opens up a new realm of possibility for promotion. The clincher is this: To be successful with Twitter marketing, you’ll have to find a way to get lots of Twitter followers. That’s the biggest problem people have when they try to promote a business on Twitter.

One company turned this problem into an opportunity of their own. USocial.net has developed a series of products designed to help businesses make money online. One product is specifically aimed at helping businesses make money by buying Twitter followers. No longer do marketers have to resign themselves so the fact that they are going to be stuck having rough it in the trenches, trying to find Twitter followers on their own. USocial.net has changed all of that.

USocial.net’s CEO, Leon Hill, has this to say about the company’s mandate:

“For some time we’ve know the power of Twitter, though it wasn’t until around a month ago that we ourselves decided to get onboard. Within around three weeks we were up to around 20,000 followers on our company accounts so we knew we had cracked the secret to huge numbers and fast.”

That realization compelled uSocial to develop their Twitter services. Less than two weeks after the launch, the company had served nearly one hundred clients.

Twitter followers are available in packages of between 1,000 to 10,000 and the service is fourth in the line of products the company has developed around the social marketing niche. The Twitter marketing service follows in the footsteps of the company’s enormously successful paid social bookmarking services (which, incidentally) earned them a little bit of online infamy, when they garnered a Cease & Desist order from Digg.com to stop trading!)

Twitter is here to stay, it seems, and it’s a great way to promote your business. What are you waiting for? Get on board!

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10558679-twitter-marketing-services-surging-through-the-stratosphere.html

Novell, Inc. Investor Alert: Offer under investigation

An investigation on behalf of current long term shareholders in Novell, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:NOVL) concerning shareholder claims over potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with an alleged unfair takeover was announced.

If you are a currently a long term investor in shares of Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL)
and / or if you have additional information relating the investigation, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation at:

mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

The investigations by law firms focus on potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law arising out of the offer to sell Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) to Elliott Associates, L.P. Novell, Inc., located in Waltham, MA, develops, sells and installs enterprise software that is positioned in the operating systems and infrastructure software layers of the information technology industry. On March 02, 2010 Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) confirmed that it has received an unsolicited, conditional proposal from Elliott Associates, L.P. to acquire Novell, Inc for $5.75 per share in cash, which implies an enterprise value net of cash of $1.0 billion. According to Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P the price represents a premium of 49% over Novell’s current enterprise value and 77% over its 90-day volume-weighted average enterprise value; the price represents a premium of 115% over Novell’s value on January 4, 2010, the last trading day before to Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P commenced actively acquiring Novell's common stock; and the price also represents a 37% premium to Novell's closing stock price on January 4, 2010 and a 20% premium to Novell's closing stock price yesterday.

But according to one investigation by a law firm “the transaction appears to be unfair” to current investors of Novell, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:NOVL) because the offer is “grossly unfair, inadequate, and substantially below the fair or inherent value of NOVL shares”.

Shares of Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) traded in after hours at $5.99 per share, thus above the proposed offer. NOVL shares traded at almost $5 per share as early as in Feb 2010, at $6.43 in August 08, at $7.08 in May 2008, at $7.45 in Feb. 2008, and at almost $10 per share in 2006.

The investigation “concerns, among other things, further whether Elliott Associates, L.P. may be underpaying for Novell, Inc. (NOVL), thus unlawfully harming NOVL shareholders”.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10556630-novell-inc-investor-alert-offer-under-investigation.html

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

ISCO Files for Cornea Transplantation Patents

International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO.OB), announced that it has discovered and filed for patents on a cell culture process for the synthesis of fully human, cornea-like structures using either its proprietary human parthenogenic stem cell (hpSC) technology or human embryonic stem cells.
ISCO’s parthenogenic stem cell technology enables synthesis of corneal tissue that is immune matched for millions of people. This may significantly reduce the rejection rates of 15-30% experienced in current medical practice.
Brian Lundstrom, ISCO’s President, says, “Given the substantial unmet medical need for human corneas in Asia and Europe, ISCO has commenced a targeted effort to partner with clinical development and commercialization partners in these regions. We believe clinical development in this area is particularly attractive given the rapid and easily measurable outcomes of vision restoration, the availability of large patient pools and modest competition from alternative technologies, particularly such involving live corneas.”
Cornea-related loss or reduction of vision can be caused by physical injuries, infections and a range of degenerative diseases that affect up to 10 million people worldwide. ISCO’s corneal structure may fit into existing medical applications where the surgical techniques are well established. Cornea transplantation has been greatly refined and is now typically performed as a one-to-two hour outpatient procedure using donated corneas from human cadavers. While most operations previously involved the entire corneal structure, it is now common to selectively replace solely the damaged portion.
In the US 52,487 transplantations were performed in 2008. Although the supply of corneas in the US is adequate at this time, a shortage of corneal tissue has been a significant problem in much of the rest of the world. Only 3,000-4,000 procedures were performed annually in the UK and Germany due to limited cornea supply. In Asia, the shortage of corneas has been an even greater problem. For example, in Japan during a ten-year period only 16,000 transplantations were performed. China has had over 2 million patients on waiting lists yet only a few thousand procedures have been performed annually. Over 3 million Indians are reported to be blind due to corneal defects.
Dr. Radhika Tandon, Professor of Ophthalmology and Officer-in-charge at the National Eye Bank, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi says: “Corneal vision impairment is a large medical problem in India and other developing countries. India has access to less than 20,000 suitable corneas per year yet would need 200,000 corneas to take care of the existing backlog and the new cases added each year. Supply of synthetic human corneas would alleviate the problem and provide great socio-economic benefit by enabling millions of Indians to get back to work and live a more normal life.”
While a number of companies are exploring synthetic approaches of combining layers of epithelial cells with layers of stroma-like materials such as collagen, ISCO is the only company known currently that actually produces live human cornea tissue, without the risk of infectious diseases and with an opportunity for immune matching.
The cornea-like structures are grown to clear hollow spheres with a size of 8-10 mm in diameter and contain tissues and cells similar to those found in normal human corneal tissue. Portions or all of these structures may be suitable for cornea transplantation in humans. Permeability and ocular histology testing has demonstrated compatibility with natural corneas. Future steps include scale-up of the manufacturing process and IND-enabling studies, to be conducted domestically and through international collaborations.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10554486-international-stem-cell-corporation-files-for-cornea-transplantation-patents.html

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

U.S. Government’s Global Tourism Tax Blitzkrieg: TPA

Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York – The recently passed Travel Promotion Act (TPA) is nothing more than an expansion of the federal bureaucracy and a government desperate for revenue streams placing an industry and job killing tax on the U.S. Tourism industry.


Currently U.S. individual states, counties and local governments in cooperation with private businesses promote U.S. destinations globally. In 1994, the entity within the U.S. Department of Commerce responsible for tourism promotions overseas was dissolved and the U.S. saw increases in tourism debunking the myth that the U.S. requires a centralized federal government tourism bureaucracy to compete globally for tourism receipts.

It is the role of the U.S. State Department and our embassies to engage their respective populations through public diplomacy campaigns which by definition includes tourism promotions.

“The irony is that national governments globally are decentralizing their tourism promotion operations placing greater responsibility and control at the local level,” said Gregory Kelly, CEO, K2 Global Communications LLC http://www.k2globalcomm.com/greg_kelly.html. “Does anyone really believe that Washington can promote and market New York City better than the current public-private partnership?”

The weak dollar is what made the U.S. an attractive destination for visitors; however, the tightened entry requirements in the name of national security encouraged many to vacation elsewhere.

The recently passed Travel Promotion Act (TPA) will do little more than turn away more travelers (revenue) with the ten-dollar tax going to the federal government rather than the local businesses and communities who are the major beneficiaries of tourism.

K2 Global Communications is a morally and socially responsible based full service public relations firm whose practice is built upon our excellent reputation for mutual regard, shared visions for a better tomorrow as well as common interests and values according to our core belief system that includes the Dignity of Life.

Our firm is comprised of a network of highly proficient professionals specializing in: Public Diplomacy, Tourism, Culture and Culinary Arts promotions.

For information on K2 Global Communications Public Relations and Marketing services visit us at http://www.k2globalcomm.com/index.html

K2 Global Communications LLC CEO Gregory Kelly’s experience includes public relations, international relations, public/government affairs, corporate communications, and relationship building from the local-to-international level.

He has worked as a U.S. Congress Assistant. He is also the former Manager of Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising for the Korea National Tourism Organization where his duties included speech writing for senior Korean government officials and establishing and maintaining working relationships with various foreign and domestic companies, government agencies and media outlets.

Mr. Kelly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York at Potsdam where he majored in political science and minored in communications.

Mr. Kelly resides in the Hudson Valley, married with one daughter.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10553798-us-governments-global-tourism-tax-blitzkrieg-travel-promotion-act-tpa.html

Monday, March 1, 2010

Increase Your Business With a Proper Web Design

Are you sure that you are satisfied with the income you are earning from your small town business? Do you have any idea about the sum of money you can earn with your products if you market them on a wider scale? Selling rare handicrafts made by the Red Indians in a small town near Detroit restricts your potential to earn huge sums of money. This is but obvious. The town you are residing in has a limited number of people and only a small percentage of them are your clients. By putting your business online you can showcase your products to an international audience.

The fact is that you had planned to do so and had even contacted a reliable organization to host your website, but you have no idea about web design. If this is your sole problem then you should stop bothering and start planning to take your business online. There are various Detroit web design organizations who will design your site for you in a professional manner. Just give them a call and they will send over their representative to your place. If you are so interested you can also visit their office. They will explain to you the tasks of web design and will also provide you with a step by step detail of how they shall design your site.

However, there are certain things that you should not forget. These folks might be expert designers, but they do not how to read minds. They shall not be able to undertake your web design job unless and until you provide them with the basics. You have to provide them with the images of the products that you are planning to sell along with their prices. You also need to give them details about your products so that they can get professional quality content written for the same.

These web design experts know every aspect of the business so you need not be worried. They shall also undertake to do SEO (search engine optimization) for your website so that it is visible at the top of the search results. There are various tricks used to do this including the usage of social media, but that is not something for you to bother about. The Detroit web design firm, which can also be found by searching for Michigan web design, will help you to take your business all over the world.

Showcase your Michigan Business with a professional web design from http://www.OptimalLeads.com/Web-Design/

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10552549-increase-your-business-with-proper-web-design.html