Market Studies

Market Studies
The OFT actively investigates markets that do not appear to be meeting the needs of consumers and publishes the results of these inquiries.Some inquiries will be in response to super-complaints, a route for designated consumer bodies to bring complaints to the attention of the OFT.Market studies will be in areas where there are concerns that a particular market is not working well for consumers but where competition or consumer regulation enforcement action does not appear, immediately, to be the appropriate response. The studies will involve probing examinations of markets, practices and regulation to explore whether the needs of consumers are being well served. These will be exploratory studies to gain the best possible understanding of how markets are working. If a study reveals the need for further investigation or action under any of our enforcement powers, we will act accordingly.The Barker Review ('Delivering stability: Securing our future housing needs') recommends that the OFT should in certain circumstances undertake a market study on new housing.Possible results of market studies include:
enforcement action by the OFT
a reference of the market to the Competition Commission
recommendations for changes in laws and regulations
recommendations to regulators, self-regulatory bodies and others to consider changes to their rules
campaigns to promote consumer education and awareness
a clean bill of health.

World Trading Datas and Statistics

World Trading Datas and Statistics
Stronger industrial activity was mirrored in world trade.Merchandise trade growth grew 11.0 percent during the first eight months of 2006, up from 6 percent the year before.Most of the acceleration occurred in the China, Japan and the United States and was concentrated in the first quarter.Weaker U.S. consumption and investment demand, and growing domestic demand in the developing world combined with the lagged effects of past depreciations to boost U.S. export volumes by an annualized rate of 13 percent in the first half of 2006, compared with 7 percent in the last half of 2005.Measured on the same basis and over the same period, exports in Japan and China increased by 10 and 30 percent, respectively.Trade flows weakened in the second quarter but show signs of picking up once again in the third quarter.Over the medium term, growth in merchandise trade volumes is projected to ease to about 9 percent, in line with slower global GDP growth.The recent relative strength of U.S. export volumes is projected to persist.
Those volumes are projected to rise by more than 9 percent in 2007 and 2008 as the cumulative effect of past and expected future depreciations increase the international competitiveness of U.S. products.
For developing countries, weaker U.S. import demand should be partially compensated by stronger demand from Europe, but, overall, developing-country export growth is projected to slow from an estimated 12.2 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2008, even as countries continue to increase their market share.Developing-country trade reached a landmark in 2006. Following 25 years of solid growth, the value of China’s exports overtook those of the United States, making it the world’s second-largest exporter.Increasing exports in other developing countries, notably Brazil and India, have further increased the weight of developing countries in world trade.
Over the long term, as these trends continue, the share of developing countries in world trade is projected to reach some 45 percent by 2030 (see chapter 2).
While the phenomenal success that China has enjoyed in expanding its world market share since the introduction of market reforms has increased competitive pressure on both developing and developed countries (see chapter 4), Chinese imports also have grown very rapidly (up 477 percent in value terms over the past decade), and China is a growing destination for the exports of other developing countries (Dimaranan, Ianchovichina, and Martin 2006).
Sixty-three percent of China’s imports are intermediate goods, 31 percent in the form of parts and components.
Overall, 79 percent of China’s imports are sourced from developing countries. Partly as a result of China’s rapid increase in imports, the value of other developing countries non-oil exports has risen by 153 percent, and their global market share has increased by 2.3 percentage points.
In addition to these direct effects, the expansion of developing-country commerce means that these countries are increasingly becoming privileged destinations for FDI, both as an export platform for multinational companies, and because they represent the fastest-growing market segment.
The extent to which other developing countries will be able to take advantage of the expected continued strong growth of China and India (see chapter 2) will depend on their ability to expand exports.
This requires eliminating the anti-export bias in their incentive framework, reducing costs of produced services, and improving customs procedures that undermine competitiveness.
It also requires investments in transport systems to reduce transit times (Newfarmer 2005) and in other forms of infrastructure, such as electrical generators. so as to facilitate the expansion of capacity.
In addition, as discussed in chapter 4, countries need to reduce rigidities in product, labor, and financial markets so that firms can react with agility to new opportunities to expand the range of products they produce and sell.
On the multilateral front, the suspension of talks on the Doha Round in July 2006 poses significant challenges.
Weakened confidence in the multilateral system could lead to trade disputes, rising protectionist sentiment, and trade diversion arising from proliferating bilateral and regional trade agreements.
To capitalize on progress already made in the Doha Round, such as the offer to end agricultural export subsidies by 2013, it is important that parties return to the negotiating table with the necessary flexibility to conclude an ambitious deal.

Proper Trading Knowledge and Business

Proper Trading Knowledge and Business
A business related to proper trading knowledgeOnce your business is up and running, you will need to be aware of the laws that govern fair trading in the day-to-day operation of your business. This is not as onerous as you may think, because our fair trading laws are a two-way street. They also recognise the fact that traders as well as consumers can suffer from unfair operators. The laws are reviewed from time-to-time to ensure competition and fairness in the marketplace and businesses and industry associations are invited to comment on proposed changes.Many of the NSW Government's fair trading laws are the same as in other states and countries around the world. These laws reflect the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection which recognise the 'eight consumer rights' developed by Consumers International. These rights include the right to information, choice, safety, representation, redress and consumer education.The main law covering business behaviour in NSW is the Fair Trading Act 1987.Under the Act, amongst other things, it is unlawful to:
make false claims about a product or service
operate in a misleading or deceptive way, or in a way that is likely to mislead or deceive your customers. You are required to tell the truth to your customers and not hide any relevant information. This also includes advertising your business.
take unfair advantage of vulnerable customers, which is also known as unconscionable conduct. This may occur where customers have no alternative than to do business with you (for example, you may be the only shop in a country town) or where you have a product or service that is in high demand, and you abuse your bargaining power. A common example of this is where customers are pressured to sign a contract that they can't understand and which includes unfair conditions.A good way to check whether you are engaging in unconscionable conduct is to ask yourself - is there any significant difference in what my customers pay and the way they are treated compared to businesses in similar situations? (think of location, product/service, sales tactics and customers). If there is, then you need to think whether the differences are justified. It could be that you offer other benefits to your customers.The Fair Trading Act gives the government a number of options to enforce the law and empowers the courts to punish those who have broken it.These include:
an enforceable undertaking. This is a legally-binding agreement to do certain things so that you comply with the law
an injunction to stop you continuing to do something which breaks the law. For example, you may have to cancel booked advertisements that have been considered to be misleading under the Act
a public warning notice
prosecution through the courts
financial penalties
a notice to place corrective advertising. For example, you may be required to place an advertisement in a major paper that gives customers certain information about your business such as fees not disclosed in previous advertisements
freezing of bank accounts
referral of complaints to other authorities or bodies.Consumers and businesses also have a right to compensation through the courts for any loss or damage that occurs due to the law being broken.
Running a business, you should be aware that Federal laws will also have a bearing on your operations. One of the most important Federal laws is the Trade Practices Act 1974 which complements the NSW Fair Trading Act.
The consumer protection/fair trading provisions of the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act are virtually the same - the Fair Trading Act is used within NSW while the Trade Practices Act may be used for NSW, national or cross-border issues.
The Trade Practices Act also provides protection for consumers against unfair practices by prohibiting anti-competitive or restrictive behaviour that lead to consumer problems.
The Trade Practices Act is administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which also looks at prices surveillance (are the prices customers pay, reasonable?) and strategies to prevent marketplace failure (where key industries are not delivering proper benefits for their customers).
The ACCC can be contacted on 1300 302 502.
Codes of practice and service chartersCodes of practice and service charters are guidelines for fair dealing between you and your customers. What they do is let your customers know what you as a business agree to do when dealing with them. Sometimes they relate to a single business. At other times they can represent a whole industry.
Codes of Practice and Service Charters can assure customers that your business is trading fairly and ethically. The Office of Fair Trading has already endorsed several voluntary codes of practice developed in consultation with different industry groups. These codes have resulted in better customer/trader relations by establishing agreed minimum standards of behaviour and conduct for handling various trading situations.
Service charters, on the other hand, are usually created on a business by business basis and give certain guarantees to customers about the service levels that they can expect and what will happen if they are not met. Areas identified in service charters are those of importance to customers.
If you decide to adopt a service charter or a code of practice, the most important thing to remember is that they are active documents. In other words, customers and the government expect you to live by the code or charter and not to simply launch it and forget about it. The code or charter is your written promise to the world about how your business deals with customers, not just a vague motto.

Real Estate Marketing

Real estate or immovable property is a legal term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate (immovable property) is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty). However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from real property, referring to ownership rights over real estate.

The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.

In law, the word real means relating to a thing (from Latin res/rei, thing), as distinguished from a person. Thus the law broadly distinguishes between [real property] (land and anything affixed to it) and [personal property] (everything else, e.g., clothing, furniture, money). The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to. (The word is not derived from the notion of land having historically been "royal" property. The word royal — and its Castilian cognate real — come from the related Latin word rex-regis, meaning king.)

Five Fundamentals of Real Estate Marketing

Your real estate marketing program needs certain ingredients in order to succeed. Chief among them — research, focus, testing, honesty and enthusiasm.

Fundamentals of research

Effective marketing demands thorough research, and the more of it the better. In fact, I would rank research as one of the top-three factors of successful real estate marketing.

Before you can write a brochure to inform your audience ... before you can write an advertisement to persuade your audience ... before you can write Web content to educate your audience ... you have to know everything about your audience.
You have to know what their days are like, how they define success, what they worry about. Everything. Only then can you begin to communicate to them effectively.

Fundamentals of focus

In real estate marketing, seduction lurks around every corner. New ideas emerge during a prolonged campaign. Distractions and side doors present themselves. “This is old,” you might think. “I need to shake things up a little.”
Focus and consistency bring benefits over the long haul, but it takes patience. An ad-testing program, for example, could take several months to start producing valuable insight. It takes steady measurement. It takes long-term vision. It takes focus.

Fundamentals of testing

Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it best: “There are no answers in direct mail except test answers. You donÂ’t know whether something will work until you test it. And you cannot predict test results based on past experience.”
What he meant was this. You can take an offer that has worked for somebody else in your industry, apply it to your audience, and have it flop.

Sure, there are “best practices” you can start with. And you can learn a lot from the successes and failures of other marketers. But to get the best possible ROI on your marketing investment, there is no substitute for testing.
Think of it this way. Best practices will put you ahead of 75% of your competition. Testing will help you surpass the other 25%.

Fundamentals of honesty

If you say “free,” it better be free — with no strings attached. If you say “number one real estate company on the east coast” ... you better be number one in some legitimate way.
Deceit and trickery only work the first time around.

Fundamentals of enthusiasm

Have you ever read an ad, article or website and found yourself thinking, “Boy, this writer doesn't even care.”?
If your designer, copywriter, webmaster — or anyone else involved with your marketing — lacks enthusiasm for a particular project, the project has already failed.

A wise marketing manager knows this and will take the necessary steps to inspire his or her team. All this being said, it always helps to have a superior or service. But that's another topic entirely.

Article-Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction

I recently had the pleasure of watching Marc Forster’s film, Stranger Than Fiction, which I found to be a delightfully charming, intelligent comedy written by first-time screenwriter Zach Helm. I give it two guitars up. Way up. (Platonically speaking of course).

It’s about an uptight IRS agent, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), who realizes that his mundane life is being narrated by the voice of a chain-smoking novelist played by Emma Thompson. The novelist is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because she can’t decide the ending to her story.

Going mad with the constant narration in his head that accurately predicts his every move, Crick solicits the help of a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) to help find his voice. To his utter shock and dismay, Crick learns that the voice of his narrator belongs to this eccentric author that writes tragedies in which her heroes are killed off.

But Crick does not want to die! For the first time in his life he is discovering who he really is and what his true passions are. He sets out to meet the author with the determination to alter his fate. And upon meeting, the two worlds collide. The author is petrified to see that her main character has come to life and that he is very real indeed.

I can certainly relate to this movie as a writer working on my first inspirational novel. The movie raises some intriguing questions: What does it mean to be real? To find one’s voice? To express one’s voice? Who is narrating our story? Can fate be altered? Where do the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction collide?

I certainly don’t pretend to know the answers. I can only share my perspective as a writer. One of the challenges writers face is to know their characters inside and out and to have a complete understanding of the world they have created so that everything magically comes to life. As the story-writing guru, Robert McKee, likes to say, “Not a sparrow should fall in the world of a writer that he wouldn’t know.”

I believe in a sense that we are all writers. We are writers of our own play. In The Hero Soul (http://www.HeroSoul.com), I close the last chapter of my book with a quote from Shakespeare:

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

The world is a stage upon which we perform. Each age consisting of the acts and scenes of the play. But it’s our play. We choose how we act in each scene moment by moment. What type of play do you want to write? What type of a life do you want to live?

Realizing that he is going to be killed off, Harold Crick asks the literary professor for advice. The professor gives him a deceptively simple answer, “Go live your life! Do what you love to do!”

At first, Crick is offended by the professor’s triteness; but he realizes later that he has no control over his mortality and decides to do just that: live his life. He’s always wanted to play the guitar but never really had the time. For the first time in his life he walks into a guitar shop and sees this wicked turquoise guitar starring back at him. He picks up the guitar and begins strumming. In that moment his life is transformed from a tragedy into a divine comedy.

What have we been denying ourselves? What type of play do we want to have a starring role in? Sometimes we act in an “If Only” play with a bit part in shoulding all over ourselves until we are mired deep in our own pile of dung. I should write a novel. I should exercise. I should be a painter. I should start my own business. I should go on a dream vacation. If only I was younger. If only I was older. If only I had the money. If only I had the time.

In the professional world of writing there is a clause known as the “kill fee.” The kill fee is a fee paid by the editor to the writer for an assigned piece of writing that is killed off and never published. It’s usually a percentage of the total amount that was originally agreed upon between the editor and writer. Although there can be many reasons for rejecting a piece, the kill fee is often executed because the writing simply isn’t up to par.

When we’re not being our best selves, when we’re not expressing our unique voice, when we’re not being true to ourselves and not doing what we love to do, something inside of us dies. Life then pays us a kill fee: something less than what we truly deserve.

Are we living a life that’s worthy of being published, or will we live a life of mediocrity and accept the kill fee that’s assigned to us?

Commercial Trade Info

Commercial Trade Information and Terms

Quantities per 20 ft. container (approx.):

Thickness (mm)	sq.m	sq. ft.
10 mm (3/8") thick tiles	720 sqm	7750
12 mm tiles	620 sqm	6675
15 mm tiles	520 sqm	5600
20 mm (3/4") tiles	360 sqm	3875
20 mm (3/4") slabs	310 sqm	3336
25 mm slabs	225 sqm	2420
30 mm slabs	210 sqm	2260
Blocks	9 cbm

The holding capacity of a 20 feet container for different sizes products:

Size	Holding capacity per 20 feet container
40 x 40 x 1 cm	736 Sqm
60 x 60 x 1.5 cm	550 Sqm
40 x 40 x 2 cm	420 Sqm
60 x 60 x 2 cm	420 Sqm
40 x 40 x 3 cm	280 Sqm
60 x 60 x 3 cm	280 Sqm
60up x 120up x 2 cm	380 Sqm
60up x 120up x 3 cm	250 Sqm
230up x 120up x 2 cm	350 Sqm
230up x 120up x 3 cm	233 Sqm
250up x 150up x 2 cm	300 Sqm

Metric Conversion

Meter / metre	Feet
1 sq.m	10.764 sq. ft.
10 mm.	3/8"
20 mm.	3/4"
30 mm.	1 1/8"

Feet	Inches	Cm	Mm
1' x 1'	12" x 12"	30.5 x 30.5 cm	305 x 305 mm
2' x 2'	24" x 24"	61 x 61 cm	610 x 610 mm
1.5' x 1.5'	18" x 18"	45.7 x 45.7 cm	457 x 457 mm
2' x 1'	24" x 12"	61 x 30.5 cm	610 x 305 mm

SPECIFICATIONS & PACKING DETAILS:

12X12 TILES 10MM +/- 0.5 THICK, POLISHED, BEVELED AND CALIBRATED 10 TILES IN STYROFOAM BOX, 36 STYROFOAM BOXES IN A WOODEN CRATE, 20 FULL CRATES + 4 HALF CRATES (18 STYROFOAM BOXES) IN ONE 20FT. CONTAINER TOTALING 7920 TILES= 7920 SQ. FT.

16X16 TILES 12MM +/- 0.5MM THICK, POLISHED, BEVELED AND CALIBRATED 7 TILES IN STYROFOAM BOX, 32 STYROFOAM BOXES IN A WOODEN CRATE,18 CRATES CRATES IN ONE 20 FT. CONTAINER TOTALING 4032 TILES= 7168 SQ. FT.

18X18 TILES 12MM +/- 0.5MM THICK, POLISHED, BEVELED AND CALIBRATED 6 TILES IN A STYROFOAM BOX, 12 STYROFOAM BOXES IN A WOODEN CRATE, 36 CRATES IN ONE 20 FT. CONTAINER TOTALING 2592 TILES= 5832 SQ. FT.

24X24 TILES 20MM +/-1MM THICK, POLISHED AND CALIBRATED

50 TILES IN ONE WOODEN CRATE, 20 CRATES IN ONE 20 FT.

CONTAINER TOTALING 1000 TILES= 4000 SQ. FT.

Marketing Policies of Life Insurance Policies

Act 154 of 1996, The Life Insurance Marketing Practices Act, amends the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L. 682, No. 284) known as The Insurance Company Law. Act 154 applies to all companies licensed to conduct life insurance and annuity business in Pennsylvania, and all producers licensed to sell life insurance or annuities in Pennsylvania.
Act 154 provides for changes to the Insurance Company Law regarding issues such as the "Free Look" provisions, financial planning practices, policy delivery, illustrations and internal audit procedures.

"FREE LOOK" PROVISIONS
FINANCIAL PLANNING PRACTICES
POLICY DELIVERY
ILLUSTRATIONS
INTERNAL AUDIT PROCEDURES
REPLACEMENTS WITH THE SAME COMPANY