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Beijingers waste seven more minutes on clogged roads each day compared with two years ago, a report said.
The time increase is directly linked to the city’s soaring car population, which increased by one million during the same period, the biennial study on residents’ mobility from Beijing-based Horizon Research said.
Beijing residents now spend an average of 62.3 minutes on daily commutes made during rush hour, an increase of 7.3 minutes from 2007, according to the study.wholesale products
With no major traffic jams, residents still spent 40.1 minutes traveling to and from work everyday, said the survey, which will be officially released in January.
The study emphasizes the impact new cars on Beijing’s roads is having on the daily lives of residents here, Horizon research director Zhang Hui said Thursday.China wholesale products
“The noteworthy result this year is more residents are concerned with the growing number of vehicles on the streets,” Zhang said.
“A large group of them have urged authorities to restrict the car population.”
The number of cars in Beijing hit a benchmark of four million last Friday, completing a record breaking leap of one million cars in less than three years. Transport policy experts have warned the explosion of car ownership is sacrificing both air quality and road efficiency in Beijing.
The Economist magazine reported last week that Chinese commuters now spend an average of 42 minutes going to work each day, the longest commute time for workers in the world.
More than 65 percent of the 1,510 respondents surveyed in seven major Chinese cities blame the overpopulation of vehicles, the Horizon study said. One third of respondents think measures should be taken to limit the growth of private car ownership.
Another 14 percent suggested controlling the increasing number of government vehicles.China wholesalers
Residents in car-filled cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, picked Beijing’s traffic as the nation’s worst in terms of time and money consumed, the study said.
Based on a calculation of Beijing residents’ average monthly incomes, Horizon researchers determined traffic jams cost each Beijinger 335.6 yuan, the highest amount among the cities surveyed.

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Vancouver International Fashion Week (VFW) will be November 3 grand opening event on the eve of, the author interviewed a VFW director Jamal Abdurahman. 1999 Fashion Week in Paris, engaged in international design projects, Jamal Abdourahman derive inspiration and enlightenment, he began his search for an international fashion in Vancouver trip with these creatures. In April 2001, Jamal created the first session of the Vancouver Fashion Week, Canada’s best local and international design talent to show off the stage.
Commenting on this year’s VFW and China to enter the Chinese market–wholesale from China as well as the cooperation of the media, Jamal Abdurahman said the first co-operation there are too many thoughts and feelings. In the invitation designer, it may be because the Chinese brand and designer for the VFW mode of operation are not yet clear, a lot of discussion prior to the interest expressed by Chinese designer though, but still mostly spectators.China wholesale products

“In fact, VFW has already lasted nine years, there are numerous well-known and emerging designers have already borrowed by the VFW in this arena, the successful promotion of their own creative works and ideas, as if there are Versace, Parasuco, Roca Wear, Ecko, Anna Sui and so on. in March 2009 and the Shanghai designer Helen Lee (Yan Li) with a let us also very enlightening, specially organized for the Helen “Shanghai Nights” theme activities, then, have begun a formal expansion of the Chinese market–buy China wholesale, “Jamal Abdurahman said.
For the Chinese designer’s concerns, Jamal expressed his understanding, he said, VFW9 years of development, from scratch, in every open up a new field will face similar difficulties and challenges. “But in my opinion, the Chinese designers should be more daring path of internationalization. China’s garment industry the process of the internationalization of the obstacles, for example, wholesale China currently lacks the level of convergence with the world of marketing promotion and public relations personnel; apparel industry as a whole to face the situation of shortage of funds; and excellent Chinese designers do not have a high-quality international stage to showcase their talent, etc., can actually be coming out through the designer take the initiative to reduce the difficulty. “Jamal also said he expected to see to more Chinese designers and brands to go abroad to seek opportunities to integrate international resources at the same time, multi-professional groups and abroad, enhancing exchange of information between the designer and share resources, and planning and branding in the market over propaganda make greater efforts.

Perhaps, compared with the other four major fashion weeks, Vancouver International Fashion Week in the Chinese market there is not enough visibility. But Jamal stressed VFW is the only one not to set the threshold designer fashion week, designers only need to speak works. Pay attention to explore stylized, Nationalization of fashion, as well as representatives of designers, VFW so that designers can not only invest less in the economy circumstances to participate in international fashion and prosperity, to be absolutely fair and impartial information and courtesy, more by including North American and European media, buyers, distributors, agents and fashion show to join institutions, industry professionals directly concern and work with them directly on site in the weeks exhibition fairs, business opportunities.
Jamal for the Chinese market, a more long-term arrangements and ideas, he said, because China has a huge consumer market, as well as the rise of the emerging middle class, the market prospects immeasurably. Many apparel brands have competed to open up the Chinese market, to seek Chinese partners, hoping Vancouver International Fashion Week could serve as an important bridge linking the role to the designers, brands, buyers, such as the creation of a vast platform.

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There are two types of people who might consider applying for 0 interest credit cards. The first is the person who is desperate to get a low interest rate on a credit card and won?t bother to read the fine print before making an application. The second is the wary consumer who believes that 0 interest cards must come with a catch and so holds off on applying for them even though the absence of interest on debt would be nice. Both of these types of consumers can benefit greatly by understanding credit card laws and how they impact 0 interest credit card lenders.

Credit Card Laws

What many consumers don?t realize is that there is a whole system of laws which control the lending practices of credit card companies. The goal of these laws is to protect credit card consumers. However, credit card companies have found ways to make it so that consumers don?t necessarily know these laws. For example, it is a requirement by law that credit card companies offering 0 interest cards must reveal to you what the interest rate is going to be after the introductory zero interest period runs out. However, credit card companies have the right to insert that information into lengthy pamphlets with a lot of other details in them so it?s only the smart credit card consumer who benefits from knowing this law.

The Importance of Interest Rates

The reason that everyone wants 0 interest credit cards is because anytime that you pay interest, you?re essentially giving a company money just for them allowing you to have a debt. As you can see, interest rates are very important then. The higher the interest rate is, the more money that you?re paying to a lender for basically no reason at all. The smart credit card shopper is not only going to try to get a 0 interest credit card but is going to try to get one that?s going to remain 0 interest for a long time.

How To Take Advantage of the Law

The best way that a 0 interest credit card user can take advantage of the law is to be aware of the disclosures that are required by the government. Those disclosures are there to protect you as a consumer by providing you with the information that you need to make informed choices about applying for and using your credit cards. In the case of the law discussed above, it?s important for the consumer to read the fine print in applying for 0 interest cards. That fine print details the length of the zero interest period as well as what the interest will be after that period is over. It also reveals important information about fees that are associated with things like missed payments on 0 interest cards.

A Note About Online Applications

It?s easy to see the fine print when a pamphlet is sent to you in the mail. However, many people complete their applications online. Before hitting ?I Agree? on any online application for 0 interest credit cards, make sure that you?ve read and understand what you?re agreeing to. Those laws are there for a reason but they only work for people who opt to protect themselves by learning what the law does to help them.

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Credit cards are almost a necessity today, but they need to be used with accountability. Having a good credit score will help you with a good interest rate on your mortgage, get a car loan and make other important purchases in you life. A low or damaged credit score could raise your interest rates and make borrowing money very expensive

You need a lot of self-control when using credit cards, once you have a good credit history ,every day applications will come through your letter box and you could easily have a wallet full of plastic with thousands of dollars of credit at your fingertips.

The plasma TV, vacation, bathroom renovation, etc which was once unattainable is there now for the taking. But you could be digging a big whole for yourself, you could lose financial flexibility due to the fact that your balance and financial charges leave you broke or even in the red every month.

Take action and reduce credit card debt. Take account of all your credit card bills, create an office spreadsheet or just write it all down on paper, for each card write down the minimum monthly payment then prioritize your repayments. Look closely at where all your money is going and try to make some sacrifices (maybe the daily morning cafe latte needs to go!). Use this money to help reduce credit card debt.

A minimum monthly payment is required by the credit card companies, this is what they prefer and where they make their money . For example if you owe $2500 on a card at 21% interest and you paid the lowest monthly payment (typically 2%) it would take you 63 years to pay off the debt.

You would pay $14,699 in interest charges. This is a win win situation for the credit card companies.

If you want to reduce credit card debt you must make more than the minimum payment. In the example just mentioned if you added an extra $50 a month to the payment it would take 10 years to pay off as opposed to 63 years with the minimum monthly payment.

Pay off your highest interest cards first, or your cards with the smallest balances, once these are paid off use the cash freed up to pay off the bigger balances. Keep repeating this over and over until all your balances are paid off in full.

You can also reduce credit card debt by moving your balance over to a card with a lower interest rate, if it’s only for a short promotional period (usually a year) then move it to another low rate card once the promotion is over.

Don’t apply for any more credit cards or create more charges . Get the scissors out and cut up your credit cards to get rid of the temptation. You may need to adjust your repayment plan as you start to reduce credit card debt but whatever you do don’t stop making more than the minimum monthly payments or lose focus on what your trying to achieve !!!

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New Yorkers I talk to are pleased to see the sharemarket up 30% from its lows, but are cynical as to the rally’s resilience and are using the bounce to raise cash.

As I found in London, ‘the bounce’ is the number one topic of discussion across fund managers and analysts. Most are shaking their heads at the speed and steepness of the rally. Some recovery off lows was justified as news has certainly being “less bad” over recent weeks, but most struggle to see how a 30% bounce can be justified.

Many I talk to are sticking with their equities, but have used the bounce to raise some more cash by trimming some of their positions.

If the stories in The Wall Street Journal are anything to go by, we’re not out of the woods yet.

A front page article carried a photo of a bulldozer demolishing a row of half finished houses in California.A bank had ordered their destruction after the owners went into foreclosure and it took ownership. Given the huge decline in house prices, it was cheaper to demolish the houses than complete and on-sell them.

Another article recounted a survey that has found that 30% of homeowners in the United States have negative equity (they owe more than their houses are worth). The worst areas are Las Vegas where 67% of homeowners are under water and parts of California where half of homeowners have negative equity.

There was also the news that so far this year a total of 11,600 sharebrokers have left the sharemarket industry, which leaves ‘only’ 63,000.

Unemployment is the number to watch. All hinges on it. If unemployment rises less than expected the economy may be able to struggle through. But if unemployment hits high single or double digits the story gets a lot worse. Housing will fall further, consumer spending will fall and banks will face more pressure.

Given the relatively high level of ownership of the sharemarket by Americans (certainly compared to New Zealanders) the rise in the sharemarket has helped sentiment here. There has perhaps been a small wealth effect. House prices though have not yet stabilised, not even in Manhattan where prices of apartments in the “mid-range” of $2-$5 million have fallen 25% and are still slipping.

I met with a team of analysts that specialize in Exchange Traded Funds - listed funds that track underlying sharemarkets or sectors without any human involvement. These funds are increasingly popular with private investors in the United States as an alternative to trying to pick stocks and to managed funds.

Their advice centred around finding low-cost funds that gave broad sharemarket exposure, and that also generated some income. There are over 700 of these funds available covering everything like American shares, smaller companies, property, utilities, healthcare, emerging markets, ethical investing, income shares and so on.

Some of these funds are so large that fees are very low. The largest fund that invests in American shares has an annual fee of just 0.09%. Compare that to the 1.5% or more charged by managed funds and you can see why people are moving towards index funds.

The past year has been very difficult for investors in American shares although the recent bounce has helped settle nerves a little. Most advisers I talk to here that use index funds are recommending their clients own a range of funds that provide good income and that any money earmarked for shares be invested in instalments over a period of time.

The fluctuations in our currency have always being an ongoing frustration of investing in overseas equities. I see in past days our currency has hit US$0.5935. Given how far our Kiwi dollars don’t go in this town, this would appear to me to be a reasonable cross rate at which to send a little capital to the big apple.

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It’s hard not to notice that the markets have completely forgotten about fundamentals and instead are trying to bring “irrational exuberance” back into style. Raging bull markets that have lasted for years and years with one bubble after another, and a year of economic slump is just too much for everyone to handle. Instead of markets moving up on good news, they are now moving up on bad news with the only silver lining being it’s not as bad as expected. All of the news outlets and of course CNBC are on hand to announce a bottom, and ready to light the fuse on another economic ICBM on every up day. This of course is all in light of tragic 1st quarter earnings and jobless claims that are reminiscent of the early 80’s.

Oil is trading as if there was an immediate shortage and demand was burning out of control. The real story is that the storage facilities have enough oil to make everyone realize there is plenty of oil in the short term. Even gasoline supplies were up and that alone should have signalled that the recovery has not started. Stephen Schork, the well known oil analyst is throwing his hands in the air with the sheer frustration of the mob rally. So why is it happening? Why all of the forward momentum? Why are the fundamentals being ignored? I couldn’t answer those questions today from a fundamental sense any better than yesterday, but something hit me last night as I was taking an evening walk with my wife through town. It was a beautiful night that was warm with the scent of spring, and I just had that incredible happiness that comes around this time of the year.

Throughout town there was one empty retail space after another, and one going out of business sale sign for every other one that claimed a bankruptcy sale. Definitely not the signals that a recovery was in play nor one that would let me know that it was time to start making investments.

In my own mind which I so proudly gauge as rational, I had an incredibly irrational thought. For a moment I ignored all of the evidence of an obvious economic decline right in front of my eyes and instead, thought that things are getting better all based on how I was feeling. It dawned on me that spring was here and everyone across North America and Europe must be feeling this. Could it be possible from a biological perspective that we are all feeling better physically and it is affecting our mental state positively enough to change our perspective, and in turn, our confidence? Could the markets and the economy have temporary spring fever? If so, what happens when the fever breaks?

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You may be reeling under debt burden because you could not repay loans in time for different reasons. Now your focus should be how to reduce debt burden at low cost. One effective and proven way is going for debt consolidation secured loan. This loan gives you access to cheaper finance for consolidating debts.

Debt consolidation means all your debts are merged in one lender. Thus instead of paying installments to different lenders you now pay installments to only one lender. This saves lot of money. Usually the loan taken on previous occasions is of higher interest rate which consumes larger money. For debt consolidation the new loan is taken at lower interest rate as compared to previous higher interest rates. The monetary outgo is saved a lot.

Debt consolidation secured loan requires borrower to offer collateral in the form of any of his property like home, vehicle, jewelry or valuable papers to the lender. You can borrow any amount that is enough to pay off the debts, depending on the equity in collateral. So place higher equity collateral like home if larger debts is to be paid off. On the basis of collateral you get the debt consolidation secured loan at lower interest rate. But here note that the interest rate should essentially be lower than the interest rate you had availed on previous loans. You can take help of an expert or debt consolidation companies in calculating the interest rate you should take the debt consolidation secured loan.

There is a convenient repayment duration offered by the lenders. You can repay debt consolidation secured loan in 5 to 30 years as suits you. If you need to reduce monetary outgo towards installments, better choose larger repayment duration.

Because debt consolidation secured loan is fully secured by the lenders, they are ever willing to offer the loan to people suffering from bad credit. One can say that almost all the debt consolidation loan seekers have bad credit as they could not pay off the loans in time. So, bad credit does not come at all in the way of taking debt consolidation secured loan.

Numerous debt consolidation secured loan providers have displayed their loan products online which you can get by just clicking on computer. Compare different interest rates of lenders and settle for the one having lower enough interest rate to pay off debts at low cost.

Debt consolidation secured loan will enable you in improving credit score as well because you pay off debts in one go and the new loan also will be cleared in time. Pay off installments of the loan in time to avoid further debt burden and to start a new debt free life.

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Joint ventures can be a powerful business strategy to help increase your profit, market share, and position in your industry. With the right leverage of time, experience, and resources of your JV partner, you can not only benefit your company, but also provide higher value to your customers.

In order to create a successful joint venture, there are many considerations that you and your potential partner could strategically use, such as combining production resources, sharing customer bases, and even sharing administrative costs of the venture. Here are three particular considerations that can help solidify a successful joint venture strategy.

1. Analyze Your Target Market

Your potential joint venture will be more successful if you and your partner have a full understanding of the target market created through the venture. You and your JV partner could combine your corresponding customer bases and relationships. You need to know if your potential partner has a customer base that is a market for your products and services, and vice versa. If you both share a target market, then the extra added value that you can create through a joint venture could mean new revenue streams and even a larger joint target market for both you and your partner.

2. Assess Your Goals

When you and your JV partner team up, it is wise to go over the goals and outcomes that you both want. Clearly knowing what you and your partner want can help avoid confusion and misunderstanding in the future. Asking some of the following questions can help solidify goals and aid in the formation of a successful JV strategy:

- What are our common visions and goals?

- How can we both benefit from the JV?

- Do we need additional resources for the joint venture to work?

- Are there other partners that could be brought into the mix to create better success?

Before moving forward with a joint venture, always talk with your partner so you both are clear on the objectives, strategies, and perceived outcomes.

3. Create New Products or Services

One exciting prospect of a joint venture is the potential to create new products or services, either by packaging your respective offerings or jointly creating a new and innovative idea.

By packaging and marketing your products together, you can provide a value-added item to your customers. When your customers feel they have been given something special, you create loyalty and additional business through word-of-mouth marketing. A new product created jointly between you and your joint venture partner can give both customer bases a reason to continue coming back to see what’s new and exciting.

A joint venture can be well worth the time and effort it takes to form the partnership and coordinate with your partner on the final outcome. Your combined efforts make it easier to reach new customers and save money on marketing costs. Keep in mind the above strategies and you can be sure to create a successful joint venture.

Copyright (c) 2009 Christian Fea

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You have no doubt heard of the ?Baby Boomers?, those individuals born between 1943 and 1963. Following World War II, Australia?s population grew at record levels. Australia was not alone in this phenomenon. The United States, New Zealand and Canada all experienced Baby Booms at a similar time.

The Baby Boomers are an important phenomenon to understand. They have had dramatic effects on society and will substantially impact the way the stock market performs over the next 20 years. For this reason, it is important to understand some of the background on this interesting group of people.

As mentioned, the Baby Boom was experienced in various countries around the world. Part of the reason for the ?Boom? was that these countries were immigrant receivers and immigrants tend to be in their 20?s, the prime childbearing years. At its peak in 1957, the US boom hit 3.7 children per family. Canada hit its peak in 1959 with Canadian women averaging 4 offspring each; that was over 479,000 new births that year alone! Australia?s boom was not quite as big as the Canadian or US booms; however, we still have a disproportionate number of people who are today in their 40?s and 50?s. Following the Baby Boom, we had a Baby Bust. Far fewer children were born during the late sixties, leaving Australia with an asymmetrical population graph.

The Baby Bust group, born between 1964 and 1976 are a much smaller group than their predecessors and are commonly referred to as Generation X.

Baby Boomers are a very significant and important group. It is not that, individually, they are any different than any other group who preceded them, it?s just that there are so many of them. Due to their large numbers, Baby Boomers have had a significant impact on our society, making substantial changes as they grew. They have changed the economy, driven housing and other markets and transformed social attitudes and lifestyles.

In Australia and North America today, the fastest growing industries, apart from technology, are financial management, leisure activities and health care. It is very easy to see why. Boomers have been working all their adult lives, usually for someone else. They have raised their children and are now focusing on their retirement. They have had a magnificent time. They have not endured wars, or a depression like their parents and grandparents. They have enjoyed fantastic luxuries such as cars, world holidays and computers. They have been at the forefront of the age of discovery.

Unfortunately, the majority have not prepared themselves financially for their retirements, believing instead that like their parents, they would enjoy a comfortable pension from their employers and/or government. The stark realities are now coming to light. Everybody, especially the Boomers, must take responsibility for their financial futures. Our government will simply not be in a position to provide adequate pension incomes for a growing number of retirees. Today, for every person who is retired, there are four people working, providing income to the government. By 2025, there will be only 2 people working for every retiree. What?s more, the Boomers, as they start to retire, will live longer than any group before them, well into their 70?s and 80?s on average. As a result, it is up to each of us as individuals to take responsibility of our own personal financial planning.

The Australian government has made substantial improvements and preparations for the growing populations. They have introduced a compulsory superannuation scheme which all employers and employees must participate in and which is gradually rising in required contributions, but it will be too little, too late. The key to investment growth is time, a luxury many Boomers no longer possess.

Consider this fact, that at a return of 8% per annum, net of tax, an investment of $30,000 would require over 15 years to triple in value, not even considering the effects of inflation. Most investment strategies commonly promoted to the public boast returns of 4% to 10% per annum. We often see managed funds, superannuation schemes, bank term deposits and property investments offering such results. Many people consider these returns appropriate and even good! Unfortunately, many members of the public require a much greater return on their investments to adequately improve their financial positions before they retire (if they can ever afford to!).

In future issues we will explore ways of generating high returns and how to self manage your own super.

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Are you looking for a successful online business to make more money? Maybe you just want to make an extra $500 a month to help pay bills. Maybe you are looking for $1000 a month for your child?s tuition expenses or to support your hobbies. Or maybe you want to quit your boss and be in charge of your own business that will generate the kinds of income you crave with out the headaches of corporate life. If any of these scenarios match you then you need to understand one important aspect of an online business.

It is much easier to set up a website today than at any other time. It used to be you had to buy a domain, that?s the address of your website like www.yourbusinessname.com. Then you had to find someone to host your website. Host companies are like the owners of strip mall buildings. The host allows you to put your website on their web servers so people have a place to go to find your site. This is ust like a strip mall building owner who will rent out space to you if you want to start a store front business.

But that is not all. Now you have a business name and place for your business but you still need to build the business. The next step was to learn a new computer language called html. It took literally hundreds of lines of html code writing to build an effective website that people could visit to buy your products. Many people spent months building their websites before even one customer could visit.

Things are drastically different now. A few years ago blogs became popular. The word blog is short for web log. This is just a fancy name for a website that allows you to add pages or posts easily to a website without having to know any computer codes at all. This completely revolutionized setting up a web business. Recently there have been great numbers of businesses that will even host your blog for free. So now the barriers are almost completely removed to building an online business. In under 5 minutes you can have a blog, or website, on the internet for free that customers can visit.

This revolution is great but one thing has not changed. You still have to get visitors to your site so you can turn them into customers. You must get your business recognized by people who are looking for the product or service you are offering. The old line ?build it and they will come? does not work on the web.

Luckily there are a multitude of ways you can get your business name in front of potential customers. You can start by writing articles and submitting them to article directories. When you write a good article another website owner may publish it on their site. Then when the readers of that site read your article they visit your site to find out more. This is known as article marketing and is very effective.

Another method is to visit online forums and join in the conversations. Forums are websites where people with like interests meet up to share information. Find a forum on a topic related to your business and join the conversation. If people like what you have to say they will visit your site to learn more and you have another potential customer. A third method is to visit other blogs and leave comments. Again if your comments are interesting people will want to read more of what you have to say and they will visit your site.

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