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Business Legal Act / THE CUSTOMS ACT, 1969

« on: June 10, 2019, 02:34:25 PM »

THE CUSTOMS ACT, 1969


1. (1) This Act may be called the Customs Act, 1969.

(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint.





2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

3[ (a) “agent” means any person, including a shipping agent, clearing and forwarding agent, cargo agent, 4[ and freight forwarding agent], licensed under section 207, or any person permitted to transact any business under section 208;]

5[ (aa) “Appellate Tribunal” means the Customs, Excise and মূল্য সংযোজন কর Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 196;]

(b) “appropriate officer”, in relation to any functions to be performed under this Act, means the officer of Customs to whom such functions have been assigned by or under this Act;

6[ (bb)   “Bangladesh customs-waters” means the waters extending into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the appropriate base line on the coast of Bangladesh;]

7[ (c) “bill of entry” means a bill of entry delivered under section 79, and includes, an electronically transmitted bill of entry in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

8[ (d) “bill of export” means a bill of export delivered under section 131, and includes an electronically transmitted bill of export in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

9[ (e) “Board” means the National Board of Revenue constituted under the National Board of Revenue Order, 1972 (President's Order No. 76 of 1972);]

(f) “coastal goods” means goods transported in a vessel from one port in Bangladesh to another, but does not include imported goods on which customs-duty has not been paid;

10[ (ff) “container” means a receptacle of permanent nature, having an internal volume of one metre or more, fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment for containing goods and specially designed to facilitate carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading, and ready handling, particularly when transferred from one mode of transport to another and strong enough for repeated use;

(fff) “controlling authority”, in relation to any customs-airport, customs-port, customs-inland container depot or customs-station, means the owner or legal occupier thereof or any person having legal control thereof;]

(g) “conveyance” means any means of transport used for carrying goods or passengers such as a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or animal;

(h)   “customs-airport” means any airport declared under section 9 to be a customs-airport;

(i) “customs-area” means the limits of the customs-station specified under section 10 and includes any area in which imported goods or goods for export are ordinarily kept before clearance by the customs authorities;

11[ (ii) “Customs computer system” means the customs computerised entry processing system established by the Board for the purposes of this Act;]

12[ (iii) “customs-inland container depot” means any place declared under section 9 to be a customs-inland container depot;]

13[ (iiii) “customs inland-water container terminal” means any place declared under section 9 as a customs inland-water container terminal;]

(j) “customs-port” means any place declared under section 9 to be a port for the shipment and landing of goods;

14[ (k) “customs station” means any customs port, customs airport, land customs stations, customs inland-water container terminal or such other place as may be declared, from time to time, under section 9; ]

15[ (kk) “export manifest” means an export manifest delivered under section 53, and includes an electronically transmitted export manifest in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

(l) “goods” means all movable goods and includes-

(i) conveyances,

(ii) stores and materials,

16[ (iii) baggage,

(iv) currency and negotiable instruments,

(v) electronic data.]

17[ (ll) “import manifest” means an import manifest delivered under sections 43 and 44, and includes an electronically transmitted import manifest in such cases and in such manner containing such particulars as the Board may specify;]

(m) “land customs-station” means any place including an inland river port declared under section 9 to be a land customs-station;

(n) “master” when used in relation to any vessel, means any person, except a pilot or harbour master, having command or charge of such vessel;

(o) “officer of Customs” means an officer appointed under section 3;

18[ * * *]

19[ (pp) “person” includes a company, partnership, association, firm or a body of persons;]

(q) “person-in-charge” means-

(i) in relation to a vessel, the master of the vessel;

(ii) in relation to an aircraft, the commander or pilot in charge of the aircraft;

(iii) in relation to a railway train, the conductor, guard or other person having the chief direction of the train;

(iv) in relation to any other conveyance, the driver or any other person having control of the conveyance;

20[ (qq) “pre-shipment inspection agency” means any person appointed under section 25A as a pre-shipment inspection agency and includes a representative of that person;]

21[ (qqa) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules or order, as the case may be;]

22[ (qqq) “registered user”, in relation to a Customs computer system, means a user of that system and registered for the purposes of this Act;]

(r) “rules” means the rules made under this Act;

23[ (s) “smuggle” means to bring into or take out of Bangladesh in breach of any prohibition or restriction for the time being in force; or evading payment of customs-duties or taxes leviable thereon,-

(a) narcotics, narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance; or

(b) gold bullion, silver bullion, platinum, palladium, radium, precious stones, currency, manufactures of gold or silver or platinum or palladium or precious stones, or any other goods notified by the Government in the official Gazette, in each case exceeding 24[ Taka ten lakhs] in value; or

(c) any goods concealed in any manner in any place on board any ship, vessel or aircraft or in any other vehicle or in any baggage or cargo or on person; or

(d) any other goods by any route other than a route declared under section 9 or 10 from any place other than a customs-station; and includes an attempt, abetment or connivance of so bringing in or taking out of such goods; and all cognate words and expressions shall be construed accordingly;]

25[ 26[ (t) “special bonded warehouse” means a private warehouse licensed under section 13 and which is a hundred percent export oriented industry to be determined as such by the Board for the purpose of exemption from the provision of sub-section (2) of section 91;]

(tt)   “warehouse” means of place appointed under section 12 or a place licensed under section 13;]

(u) “warehousing station” means a place declared as a warehousing station under section 11;

(v)   “wharf ” means any place in customs-port approved under clause (b) of section 10 for the loading and unloading of goods or any class of goods.



27[ 2A.Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, or any other legal instrument having the force of law, the provisions of this Act shall have the effect.]

Reference:
http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/print_sections_all.php?id=354

Big Data / Big Data - A New Competitive Advantage

« on: June 10, 2019, 02:23:46 PM »

Big Data - A New Competitive Advantage

Using Big Data has been crucial for many leading companies to outperform the competition. In many industries, new entrants and established competitors use data-driven strategies to compete, capture and innovate. In fact, you can find examples of Big Data usage in almost every sector, from IT to healthcare. When it comes to healthcare, data pioneers have been analyzing the outcomes of pharmaceuticals. Companies have focused on discovering the risks and benefits that were not clear during initial clinical trials. Big Data can lead to a better analysis of the trials, and help predict outcomes. Some other early adopters of the concept have been using data from the sensors embedded in various products, ranging from industrial goods to children’s toys. This helps the companies determine how products are used in the real world. With such knowledge, it becomes easier to create new services and design future products. According to experts, Big Data can create a lot of new growth opportunities. It can even give rise to a new category of businesses, such as the ones that analyze and aggregate industry data.
Dialogue with consumers
These days, consumers are smart, and understand their priorities. Before making a purchase, consumers look around and compare different options. They even talk to businesses through social media channels, and demand special treatment. In fact, most customers want to be thanked for buying products from a company. Big Data allows a business organization to profile such customers in a far reaching manner. This allows a business to engage in real time, one-on-one conversation with consumers. In tough competitive times, this isn’t a luxury. You need to treat customers how they want. A good example is about a customer entering a bank. When a customer enters the establishment, the clerk can use Big Data to check his or her profile in real time. The clerk can learn about the customer’s preferences and desires. This allows him to advise relevant products and services to the customer. Big Data also plays an important role in integrating physical and digital shopping spheres. An online retailer can easily suggest an offer on the mobile carrier. This can be done on the basis of a consumer inclined toward increased social media usage.

Re-Develop Products
Big Data is one of the best ways to collect and use feedback. It helps you understand how customers perceive your services and products. Thus, you’re able to make necessary changes, and re-develop your products. When you analyze unstructured social media text, it allows you to uncover general feedback from your customers. You can even disintegrate the feedback in various geographical locations and demographic groups. In addition to this, Big Data allows you to test numerous variations of high end computer-aided designs within seconds. For instance, you can gather information about lead times, material affect costs, performance and more. It allows you to raise the productivity and efficiency of various production processes.

Perform risk analysis
Success depends on a lot of different factors. It’s not just about how you run the company. Economic and social factors play an important role to determine your accomplishments. Since Big Data leads to predictive analytics, it allows you to analyze and scan social media feeds and newspaper reports. Thus, you can permanently keep up with speed on latest trends and developments in the industry.

Data safety
Big Data tools allow you to map the entire data landscape across the company. This allows you to analyze all kinds of internal threats. With this information, you can keep the sensitive information safe. It’s protected in an appropriate manner, and stored according to regulatory requirements.Due to this, most industries have been focusing on Big Data to ensure data safety and protection. It’s even more important in organizations that deal with financial information, credit and debit card information, and other such practices. Create new revenue streams.Big data provides you with insights from analyzing the market and consumers. However, this data is not only valuable to you, but also other parties. You can sell the non-personalized trend data to large industries operating in the same sector. There’s no doubt that Big Data will continue to play an important role in many different industries around the world. It can definitely do wonders for a business organization. In order to reap more benefits, it’s important to train your employees about Big Data management. With proper management of Big Data, your business will be more productive and efficient. Companies will be sitting in the middle of large information flows about services and products, suppliers and buyers, consumer intent and preferences, and more. Companies across industries should start building their Big Data capabilities aggressively. In addition to the broad scale of big data, the high frequency and real time nature of data are crucial. For instance, the ability to estimate metrics, including consumer loyalty, was previously handled retrospectively. With Big Data, such practices are being used more extensively. This adds a lot to the power of prediction. Similarly, high frequency allows businesses to test theories in real time. Besides these general benefits, Big Data helps a business organization in many different ways. Currently, Big Data is used in both the public and private sector. In the next section of the post, we’ve discussed the most important benefits of Big Data.

Reference:https://www.simplilearn.com/how-big-data-can-help-do-wonders-in-business-rar398-article

Digital Marketing / Digital marketing process

« on: June 10, 2019, 12:54:42 PM »

Digital marketing process

1.Research – Learn what customers want and how they behave/interact with your brand. To a large extent, understand the market forces at play that help or hurt your chance for success; think SWOT analysis and marketing mix.

2.Planning – Align research with business goals and capabilities (often limited by resources) to attract leads into a paying customer or donor.

3.Implement – Identify and create content offers and promotion strategies that will get your message out to a qualified audience.

4.Measure – Prove to leadership that the investments made are yielding incremental results toward your goals.

5.Optimize – Report on goals and refine your strategies that increase the productivity of input > output. Then double down on investment in areas that show promising results.

Reference:https://nonprofitssource.com/digital-marketing-process/

Mobile Apps / Why is mobile apps important?

« on: June 10, 2019, 12:46:20 PM »

Why is mobile apps important?

1.We are spending more time online than with any different-different application
2.We are spending much of that digital time on smart mobile devices
3.80% of the time spent on mobile devices is spent using apps
4.Gives more value to the customers.
5.Mobile apps are faster and better alternative to web browsing.
6.Mobile apps provide your business a competitive edge.
7.Mobile apps are the best social media platform to connect with customers.

Reference:https://www.quora.com/Why-is-mobile-apps-important

Pricing / Seven ways to price your product

« on: June 10, 2019, 12:37:28 PM »

Seven ways to price your product
1.Know the market
You need to find out how much customers will pay, as well as how much competitors charge. You can then decide whether to match or beat them. Simply matching a price is dangerous, though - you need to be sure all your costs - both direct and indirect - are covered.

2.Choose the best pricing technique
Cost-plus pricing involves adding a mark-up percentage to costs; this will vary between products, businesses and sectors. Value-based pricing is determined by how much value your customers attach to your product. Decide what your pricing strategy is before making a calculation.

3.Work out your costs
Include all direct costs, including money spent developing a product or service. Then calculate your variable costs (for materials, packaging and so on) - the more you make or sell, the higher these will be. Work out what percentage of your fixed costs (overheads such as rent, rates and wages) the product needs to cover. Add all of these costs together and divide by volume to produce a unit break-even figure.

4.Consider cost-plus pricing
You will need to add a margin or mark-up to your break-even point. This is usually expressed as a percentage of break-even. Industry norms, experience or market knowledge will help you decide the level of mark-up. If the price looks too high, trim your costs and reduce the price accordingly. Be aware of the limitations of cost-plus pricing, because it works on the assumption you will sell all units. If you don't, your profit is lower.

5.Set a value-based price
You'll need to know your market well to set a value-based price. For example, the cost to bring a hairdryer to market might be £10. But you might be able to charge customers £25 if this is the market value.

6.Think about other factors.
How will charging VAT have an impact on price? Can you keep margins modest on some products in order to achieve higher margin sales on others? You might need to calculate different prices for different territories, markets or sales you make online. Do you need to allow for possible late payment by customers? Consider your payment terms and keep an eye on your cash flow.

7.Stay on your toes
Prices can seldom be fixed for long. Your costs, customers and competitors can change, so you will have to shift your prices to keep up with the market. Keep an eye on what's going on and talk to your customers regularly to make sure your prices remain optimal.
Reference:https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing-strategy/pricing/seven-ways-to-price-your-product

Human Resource / Recruitment & Selection Hiring Process

« on: June 10, 2019, 12:07:19 PM »

Recruitment & Selection Hiring Process

Step 1: Identify Vacancy and Evaluate Need
Recruitments provide opportunities to departments to align staff skill sets to initiatives and goals, and for departmental and individual growth. Proper planning and evaluation of the need will lead to hiring the right person for the role and team.
Step 2: Develop Position Description
A position description is the core of a successful recruitment process. It is used to develop interview questions, interview evaluations and reference check questions. A well-written position description:

1.Provides a first impression of the campus to the candidate
2.Clearly articulates responsibilities and qualifications to attract the best suited candidates
3.Provides an opportunity to clearly articulate the value proposition for the role
4.Serves as documentation to help prevent, or defend against, discrimination complaints by providing written evidence that 5.employment decisions were based on rational business needs
6.Improves retention as turnover is highest with newly hired employees. Employees tend to be dissatisfied when they are performing duties they were not originally hired to perform.
7.Optimizes search engine results by ensuring job postings rank high in candidate search results when searching on-line
8.Determines FLSA classification and is used to map to the appropriate Payroll Title.
9.Identifies tasks, work flow and accountability, enabling the department to plan how it will operate and grow
Assists in establishing performance objectives.
10.Is used for career planning and training by providing clear distinctions between levels of responsibilities and competencies required is used as a benchmark to assist in ensuring internal and external equity.
Step 3: Develop Recruitment Plan

Each position requires a documented Recruitment Plan which is approved by the organizational unit. A carefully structured recruitment plan maps out the strategy for attracting and hiring the best qualified candidate and helps to ensure an applicant pool which includes women and underrepresented groups including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

In addition to the position’s placement goals the plan contains advertising channels to be used to achieve those goals. The recruitment plan is typically developed by the hiring manager in conjunction with the Departmental HR Coordinator. Placement goals identified are displayed on the position requisition in the ATS.

Recruitment plan elements:

A.Posting Period
B.Placement Goals
C.Additional Advertising Resources
D.Diversity Agencies
E.Resume Banks

Step 4: Select Search Committee
To ensure applicants selected for interview and final consideration are evaluated by more than one individual to minimize the potential for personal bias, a selection committee is formed. The hiring manager will identify members who will have direct and indirect interaction with the applicant in the course of their job. Each hiring manager should make an effort to appoint a search committee that represents a diverse cross section of the staff. A member of the committee will be appointed as the Affirmative Action and Compliance Liaison who will monitor the affirmative action aspects of the search committee. Under-represented groups and women are to have equal opportunity to serve on search committees and special efforts should be made to encourage participation. Departments that lack diversity in their own staff should consider appointing staff outside the department to search committees or develop other alternatives to broaden the perspective of the committee.
Step 5: Post Position and Implement Recruitment Plan
Once the position description has been completed, the position can then be posted to the UCR career site via the ATS. Every effort should be made to ensure the accuracy of the job description and posting text. It may not be possible to change elements of a position once posted, because it may impact the applicant pool.

To post the position:

1.The requisition is created by the Service Center Human Resources Coordinator or Departmental Human Resources Coordinator and approved by the Service Center HR Organizational Coordinator or Organizational HR Coordinator.
2.Once approved, the Departmental HR Coordinator or Service Center will review the requisition and route online to the HR Classification Analyst who will assign the classification.
3.The requisition is then routed to the HR Recruitment Analyst who will post the position.
4.Applications can be reviewed and dis-positioned once the minimum number of posting days has been reached.
5.Internal candidates will apply through the regular application process and will be included in the candidate pool along with external candidates .

Step 6: Review Applicants and Develop Short List
Once the position has been posted, candidates will apply via UCR’s job board. Candidates will complete an electronic application for each position (resume and cover letter are optional). Candidates will be considered “Applicants” or “Expressions of Interest”.

Applicants are those who apply during the initial application period as described in Step 5. All applicants must be reviewed and considered. Candidates who apply after the initial application period will be considered “expressions of interest” and not viewable by the search committee.

It is recommended that all search committee members review all Applicants to ensure more than one person assesses their qualifications and that individual opinion or biases are avoided. It is permissible to have at least two committee members review all Applicants for certain recruitments in which there are extensive applicant pools to best narrow down the pool. Alternatively, Human Resources may perform this function. Each committee member may provide comments to each Applicant’s qualifications as they relate to the minimum requirements of the position.

A phone screen may be conducted to obtain information such as availability, salary requirements, special position requirements (e.g. ability to perform shift work), ascertain minimum requirements and other preliminary information to assist the search committee with their review. It is possible to screen out an applicant due to information obtained during this initial screening and therefore phone screens should be properly documented and attended by at least two search committee members or Human Resources.

Upon the search committee’s review of the applicants, the Chair or Chair’s Associate will review all search committee comments and develop the short list. Once the short list has been determined, the AACO or designee will submit the short list to the OFSAA for approval. If the short list is deemed to represent a sufficiently diverse applicant pool, the short list will be approved. Once approved, the applicants can then be contacted for interviews.

If the shortlist is not sufficiently diverse in light of the department’s placement goals, the OFSSA will contact the Search Committee Chair or Chair’s Associate to discuss how the pool might be diversified. One option might be to review the existing applicant pool to evaluate any additional qualified applicants prior to reviewing applicants who are expressions of interest status. If it is determined the expressions of interests are to be reviewed, the Search Committee Chair or Chair’s Associate may move those in the expression of interest status to the applicant pool, in one or more batches on certain date(s) and time(s), as needed to achieve a sufficiently diverse and qualified pool. All expressions of interest candidates moved to the applicant pool are to be reviewed by the search committee.
Step 7: Conduct Interviews
The interview is the single most important step in the selection process. It is the opportunity for the employer and prospective employee to learn more about each other and validate information provided by both. By following these interviewing guidelines, you will ensure you have conducted a thorough interview process and have all necessary data to properly evaluate skills and abilities.
Step 8: Select Hire
Final Applicant Once the interviews have been completed, the committee will meet to discuss the interviewees. Committee members will need to assess the extent to which each one met their selection criteria.
The search committee evaluation tool will be helpful in justifying decisions and making them as objective as possible.
Your documentation should demonstrate your selection decision. Documentation is required in order to comply with OFCCP requirements. As one of the most critical steps in the process, it is important to keep the following in mind:
Reference Checks
The purpose of a reference check is to obtain information about a candidate’s behavior and work performance from prior employers that could be critical to your decision, regardless of their skills, knowledge, and abilities. As past performance is the best predictor of future success, it is recommended references be obtained from current and previous supervisors who can speak to the candidate’s on the job performance. A hiring mistake is costly in time, energy, and money. Failure to check references can have serious legal consequences. If an employee engages in harmful behavior, which would have been revealed in a reference check, the University can be held legally responsible for “negligent hiring”.

When to Conduct References
Reference checks should be conducted on the finalist(s) prior to making an offer. For UC employees, in addition to conducting references, a review of the master personnel file should be completed. All applicants are to be informed (during or after the interview) should they be a finalist, an offer would be contingent upon a reference from their current supervisor (the University contacts current supervisor to request reference). The candidate should be informed that a single reference would not be the sole reason for a disqualification and all aspects of their candidacy, including their interview, will be taken into consideration.

References in the Overall Decision Process
Information that is obtained through the reference check process should be considered as part of the overall decision making and should carry considerable weight. Additionally if available, obtaining copies of signed past performance reviews is also recommended. Should a reference from the candidate’s current supervisor not be obtained, it is recommended Human Resources be contacted to discuss.
Step 9: Finalize Recruitment
Prior to initiating the offer, it is recommended that one more check of the selection process be completed as follows:

1.Review the duties and responsibilities of the position and ensure they were accurately described and reflected in the job description and interview process.
2.Review selection criteria used to ensure they were based on the qualifications listed for the position.
3.Confirm interview questions clearly matched the selection criteria.
4.Confirm all applicants were treated uniformly in the recruitment, screening, interviewing and final selection process
Should there be any issues with the above, contact your Organizational Human Resources Coordinator.

Reference:https://hr.ucr.edu/recruitment/guidelines/process.html

Credit Rating / Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs)

« on: June 10, 2019, 11:55:31 AM »

Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs)

Overview
Effective regulation of CRAs is necessary to encourage high-quality credit ratings and increased accountability for CRAs. A CRA is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor's ability to pay back debt by making timely interest payments and the likelihood of default. The “big three” CRAs are Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Group.Before the passage of Dodd-Frank, securities regulations required funds to maintain certain ratings supplied by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, which is the formal designation regulators have given CRAs. Many believed this led to a “captive market” in which the issuer-pay business model of traditional CRAs created potential conflicts of interest. Many critics believe these conflicts led to credit ratings that were intended to please issuers—in return for higher revenues—rather than an accurate assessment of credit and default risk.

Regulation
In the United States, Dodd-Frank took a number of steps to address these concerns:
1.Made CRAs liable for faulty ratings
2.Removed statutes and regulations requiring use of credit ratings
3.Created Office of Credit Ratings within the SEC
4.Increased oversight of internal controls
5.Increased transparency about ratings methodologies and performance
6.In Europe, the focus has been on many of the same issues as in the United States.

CFA Institute Viewpoint
CFA Institute supports the elimination of requirements in statutes and regulations to use credit ratings, which gave CRAs a captive market and insulated them from the consequences of poor ratings. Credit ratings can be useful benchmarks, but we do not believe it is prudent to require investors, institutions, and regulators to rely on the ratings of these agencies given the poor quality of their past work. We therefore support the Dodd-Frank provision to subject CRAs to liability for conflicted ratings as a means of holding these firms accountable for such ratings.We do not believe that public bodies could provide a better alternative to private credit ratings, as no evidence suggests that public ratings would be subject to even greater conflicts of interest than private ratings. Rather, authorities should lower the barriers to entry to the credit ratings industry and provide a level playing field to enable meaningful private competition.Firms using an investor-pays business model are limited in the scope of their coverage. This would make important macro information about debt markets unavailable to investors.We support increased transparency about conflicts, ratings performance, and methodologies to help investors compare and contrast the accuracy and approaches of competing CRAs.

Provide a Reasonable Bases for Ratings
CRAs should refrain from rating new structured products until the statistical data are sufficiently robust to produce a defensible rating. Credit rating analysts should have a reasonable and adequate basis, supported by appropriate research and investigation, for any ratings they issue. New structured products rarely have sufficient performance data to enable rating agencies to have an adequate basis for a rating. Only after sufficient data are available to help the analyst recognize how these instruments will function in different circumstances should a rating be given.

Prevent Ratings Confusion
Policymakers and regulators should refine or otherwise eliminate the concept of “investment grade” wherever possible to reduce the incidence of misconception about the purpose of the CRAs’ ratings. The statutory and regulatory references to credit ratings have had a number of negative effects on the markets. First, they have given the rating agencies a captive market independent of the quality of their analyses and ratings. Regulatory and statutory requirements for institutional investors to rely on these ratings also has reduced the need for investors to conduct their own due diligence on securities and rating agencies. Second, the term “investment grade” has given many investors a false sense of security about the purpose of the rating and the quality of the rated instrument. To prevent these misperceptions, we believe the term “investment grade” and the related reliance on credit ratings should be removed.

Provide Notification of Pending Debt Rating Action
Companies should have to immediately disclose to the market when they are notified by a rating agency of any initiation, withdrawal, or change in credit rating, including guaranteed or contingent obligations.A credit downgrade can affect not only the price of a company’s debt securities, but also the value of its equity securities.

Use Rating Terms
Rating agencies should use rating nomenclature or categorization that distinguishes structured products from corporate and commercial paper ratings to help investors recognize the differences. Some rating agencies use alternative nomenclature to distinguish between different asset classes, such as traditional debt and commercial paper. Because of the different payment mechanisms and issue structures, these instruments need a different nomenclature to help less-sophisticated investors recognize that these are different from traditional sovereign securities.

Prohibit Notching
CRAs should develop global best practices on prohibiting the practice of “notching.” Notching occurs when a CRA unilaterally issues a rating on an entity or structure to punish an issuer who has chosen a different rating agency.Notching has the potential to give the market conflicted signals. To prevent confusion, CRAs should not issue an unsolicited rating to punish a company that has declined to hire the agency. This, however, would not prevent small ratings firms from issuing ratings on specific companies or securities for the benefit of their clients but without issuer approval.

Reference:https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/advocacy/issues/credit-rating-agencies

Capital Market / Reasons to Invest in the Stock Market

« on: June 10, 2019, 11:12:30 AM »

Reasons to Invest in the Stock Market

The stock market has endured its fair share of ups and downs over the years, but, in fact, the benefits of investing haven't changed. What has changed—or needs to change—is the investing public’s perception of the stock market and its associated risks. In addition to investing some of your available cash in a savings account, consider the reasons why stocks continue to be a viable investment and why you should invest in the stock market whether you're a fledgling or a more-experienced investor.

Get Started on the Cheap
Investing in stocks is a well-worn path to making money work harder, but you don’t have to fork over thousands of dollars to get your feet wet. You can begin by setting aside the few dollars you would normally spend on a daily latte and investing the monthly total in stocks. It’s a virtually painless way to use your earnings in service of your future.
If you’re a new investor with only a few dollars to spare, putting your money in an index fund is often a good way to begin. Or you can try your hand with dividend reinvestment plans, or DRIPs, which are offered by hundreds of major companies and don't require much money, effort, or experience.
Once you own at least one share or fractional share of stock in a company that offers a DRIP, you can sign up for the DRIP and skip paying broker commissions by buying additional shares directly from the company or its agent. Any dividends earned by your stock are automatically reinvested in more shares or fractional shares, which ideally earn dividends of their own. This means that over a period of years, your stock holdings and earnings have the ability to compound or grow at an accelerating rate without your having to shell out more money or keep tabs on your investment.

Outrun Inflation
Inflation is not your friend when you’re trying to save for a major outlay, like buying a house or financing a comfortable retirement. Consider that the historical inflation rate in the United States hovers at around 3 percent. Then think about how this could eat into the purchasing power of money that's sitting in a certificate of deposit (CD) or savings account. It would have to earn at least 3 percent just to keep up with inflation, and even high-yield savings accounts don't offer much over 2 percent.You can usually earn a higher rate of interest on CDs than savings accounts—and you might even be able to keep up with or slightly surpass the historical inflation rate. But your money is tied up for the term of the CD, which may range from 30 days to 10 years. And in the event you have to withdraw your money before the term ends, you'll be socked with an early withdrawal penalty, which will further erode your earnings.

Grow Your Wealth
If you decide to invest in stocks to grow your wealth, understand that there’s no guarantee of how your stocks will perform. Still, it’s not necessary to buy stock in the next Amazon or Apple to earn a respectable return: Consider that the stock market has averaged a 10 percent annual return on investments since 1926, as measured by the S&P 500. This is in spite of the stock market's volatility, its tendency to change rapidly, which from time to time culminates in a historic crash characterized by a sudden double-digit decline in value.

Diversify Your Investments
Diversifying your investments by including some stocks, along with your bonds (and other fixed-income securities), CDs, and savings or money market accounts, can help protect you from the inherent volatility of the financial markets. Oftentimes, when the stock market is down, the bond market is up and vice versa. What this boils down to is that you can better control volatility where you're concerned by spreading your money around; in other words, don't put all your money in only one type of investment.

The Market Isn’t Out to Get You
The stock market is clueless where you and your plans are concerned. It doesn’t have any agenda, and it couldn't care less about yours. Despite what you may have gleaned from late-night infomercials or unsolicited emails, there are no magic formulas for investing success. The rich and famous don't have any well-guarded secrets up their sleeves, and there are no secret passwords or handshakes. In truth, there's little standing between you and successful investing, except a little research and a solid understanding of the basics such as how stock prices are set and how to apply the principle of "buy low and sell high."

You Don't Have to Be a Brainiac
A seasoned investor might have an advantage over you as you're getting started, but you don't have to be a math whiz, rich, or another Warren Buffett to invest in the stock market. Compared to investing in a franchise or creating your own business from the ground up, the requirements for investing in the stock market are modest. They include researching the companies you're considering investing in (e.g., reading their annual reports, which you can often find by poking around their websites), regularly setting aside some money to invest, and understanding fifth-grade math, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and working with fractions and decimals.

Take Time to Get Your Footing
There’s no need to rush out right now and invest in the stock market. First, do your homework, be realistic about your goals and expectations, and figure out how to use the information that's available to you to your best advantage.Get a better handle on the market by play buying and selling for a while as preliminary training to see how you do before you jump into the market. And keep in mind that although the stock market may seem unforgiving at times, investing can also be an interesting and possibly lucrative endeavor.

Reference:https://www.thebalance.com/part-one-the-stock-market-doesn-t-care-about-you-3141062

Bank Loan / 5 COMMON REASONS PEOPLE APPLY FOR A LOAN

« on: June 10, 2019, 09:15:51 AM »

5 COMMON REASONS PEOPLE APPLY FOR A LOAN

1. Automobile purchase

Auto loans are one of the most frequently issued types of loans. As our family, work or just personal situations change, so too do the requirements of our vehicles. Whether you’re buying a new or used car, truck, SUV or even scooter, most people don’t have that kind of cash just lying around. That’s where the auto loan comes in to provide a means to finance this new automobile purchase!

2.Bill consolidation

Just about everyone has bills or debt of some sort. Mortgage, car payments, schooling, power, water, cable, phone, credit cards… it’s just a fact of life! Many people choose to consolidate some or all of their debt into just one loan. This is done for two reasons.
Consolidating debt provides consumers with the convenience of only having to deal with one loan instead of several instances of debt. One payment is much easier to handle than several! Many people also choose to take out a loan for bill consolidation purposes because they can achieve a better interest rate. This will save them money in the long run on their interest.

3. Medical expenses

As unfortunate as it is, many people require a loan to cover unexpected or even planned medical expenses. As family members get sick or require procedures to improve their quality of life, it can leave behind costly bills. A loan can help with these medical expenses by paying the doctor or hospital up front and allowing you to make payments on this large expense over time.

4.Home improvement projects

It always seems like there’s something else that needs to be done around the house, right? These could be smaller projects like landscaping and painting the windows or larger projects like replacing the roof or adding a deck. Instead of continuing to put it off, many people take out a loan to pay for the expenses involved with tackling the home improvement project. Many people also use loans to pay for their new HVAC or water heater system.

5.Vacations or Getaways

Some reasons to apply for a loan are more fun than others! Vacations, while costly, are an important part of most people’s lives. Some people choose to finance their vacations and getaways using a loan. This gives them the up-front cash they need to enjoy this special time with friends and family.

Reference:https://ffsnc.com/5-of-the-most-common-reasons-people-apply-for-a-loan/

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