Watching a loved one progress through the stages of Alzheimer's can be frightening, even for adults. Imagine being a child struggling to understand why grandma is acting so strangely or can't remember who you are.
You can help by noting your child's emotional responses to situations that arise and offering comfort and support when needed.
Anticipating your child's questions
When your child asks questions, respond with simple, honest answers. Alzheimer's often prompts questions such as these:
Is grandma crazy? Explain that Alzheimer's is a disease. Just as children get colds and tummy aches, older adults may get an illness that causes them to act differently and to forget things.
Doesn't grandpa love me anymore? If the person with Alzheimer's disease no longer recognizes your child, he or she may feel rejected. Remind your child that the disease makes it hard for your loved one to remember things — but your child is still an important part of the person's life.
Is it my fault? If the person with Alzheimer's accuses your child of some wrongdoing — such as misplacing a purse or keys — your child might feel responsible. Explain to your child that he or she isn't to blame.
Will you get Alzheimer's? Will I? Reassure your child that Alzheimer's disease isn't contagious. Most people don't get Alzheimer's.
What will happen next? If you'll be caring for the person with Alzheimer's in your home, prepare your child for the changes in routine. Reassure your child that he or she is loved — no matter what the future holds.
To boost your child's understanding of Alzheimer's, it may help to read age-appropriate books on the disease.
If your child has trouble talking about the situation or withdraws from your loved one, open the conversation yourself. Ask what changes your child has noticed in your family member with Alzheimer's disease. Your child's observations may lead naturally to an exploration of his or her own feelings and worries. Tell your child it's OK to feel nervous, sad or angry.
Staying involved
Most kids are amazingly resilient. Help your child stay connected to the person with Alzheimer's. Involve them in familiar activities, such as setting the table together. Shared leisure time is important, too. Even young children can stay connected with a relative who has Alzheimer's by paging through photo albums or listening to music together.
If your child becomes impatient with your loved one, reiterate that the behavior isn't intentional — it's a result of the disease. Find ways to show your family member how much you love him or her.
Senin, 02 Juli 2007
Harness the Health Benefits of Probiotics
Supplementing your diet with bacteria… sounds kind of crazy in our age of antibacterial and antimicrobial cleansers, right? But by some accounts, it won’t be long before we’re all using these microorganic supplements called probiotics in our diets. Many of us have been consuming probiotics in food for years without knowing it. Europeans and Japanese have been consciously consuming probiotics for many years, and the enthusiasm for probiotics is beginning to sweep through America. So what are probiotics, and how exactly can they improve your health and quality of life?
Good bacteria in our bodies? Our body is a veritable universe of microbial life – perhaps a slightly disconcerting thought, though our health depends upon them. While the definition of probiotics has been rigorously debated throughout the years, commonly they are defined as live microbes that, when taken in certain amounts, benefit our health. Think of probiotics as a sort of opposite of antibiotics; whereas antibiotics are used to kill harmful bacteria in our bodies, probiotics are taken to add to our populations of microorganisms that help us maintain proper health. In fact, probiotics are often prescribed to help your body re-equilibrate after an antibiotic regimen. But antibiotics aren’t the only substances that can deplete our symbiotic bacterial populations; alcohol, antibacterial soap, stress, travel and medical conditions can all contribute to the weakening of our friendly microorganisms. And anything that weakens them consequently reduces our ability to fight off true enemies of our health.
How long do the probiotics last? Studies of fecal matter suggest that probiotics do not establish themselves permanently within our bodies, but rather create a temporary beneficial population inside of us. When our friendly microbial populations are depleted for whatever reason, the right strains of probiotics can temporarily serve the same beneficial functions while our native microorganisms regain their former strength. Or, if our native populations suffer frequent depletion, regular supplementation of probiotics can allow our bodies to function healthily.
Where to find probiotics. You can most conveniently find probiotics in common foods like yogurts containing active cultures, miso and certain soy products and juices. Look for the yogurts that contain three or more strains of bacteria. Probiotic-laden drinks like Japan’s Yakult and France’s Actimel (those of us in the U.S. would know it as Activia) will become increasingly available sources of probiotics. Potent supplements are also available for those who seek to combat IBD with probiotics. Effective supplements should contain about 1 billion colony-forming units (CFU).
Digestive benefits of probiotics. You may have noticed a period of diarrhea and digestive discomfort after a run of antibiotics has ended. Your temporary digestive ailments are due to the fact that the antibiotic wiped out some of your body’s helpful bacteria in addition to the harmful bacteria it intended to destroy – sort of an instance of collateral damage, to put it nicely. In fact, though about 100 trillion microorganisms live in the human gut, sometimes they can use a helping hand. Probiotics boost your good gut bacteria, helping defend you against the collateral damage of antibiotics and even help defend vacationers from the dreaded 'traveler's diarrhea.' Additionally, those with irritable bowel disorder, as well as those with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can benefit from taking probiotics in their daily diet.
Fighting infection. Women and men will be happy to know that probiotic strains of lactobacillus help the immune system fight off vaginal and urinary tract infections.
Anti-carcinogenic properties of probiotics? Animal tests of lactic acid bacteria has shown that probiotics could potentially help defend our bodies against certain cancers like colon cancer. But evidence is far too preliminary; right now, we must contend with the exciting glimmer of potential.
Talk to your doctor or nutritionist. There are hundreds upon hundreds of microbial species in our bodies, but these species can be divided even further into specific strains. And specific strains are recommended to bring relief for specific ailments. As for the particular strains of beneficial bacteria you should take, the best advice is to talk to your doctor or nutritionist. For more severe conditions, a supplement would be needed; regular food sources like yogurt are probably not potent enough to make a difference. Lastly, though most side effects of probiotics are harmless (like temporary gas build-up), sometimes more serious side effects can occur. The safety of certain probiotics when taken by children, the elderly or those with compromised immune systems is as yet unclear; more research must be done. In the meantime, your doctor or nutritionist is the best source of up-to-date information regarding beneficial strains, research and the efficacy of different probiotic sources available to the consumer.
Prebiotics. Lastly, your doctor may recommend that, in addition to probiotics, you regularly supplement with fiber as well (known as a “prebiotic” substance). Prebiotics nourish the helpful microorganisms that already inhabit your body.
Stay tuned as ongoing research leads to a greater understanding of just how probiotics, in specific forms and dosages, can improve our health. Soon we may all find ourselves telling our children, “You can leave the table as soon as you’ve finished eating your bacteria!”
Good bacteria in our bodies? Our body is a veritable universe of microbial life – perhaps a slightly disconcerting thought, though our health depends upon them. While the definition of probiotics has been rigorously debated throughout the years, commonly they are defined as live microbes that, when taken in certain amounts, benefit our health. Think of probiotics as a sort of opposite of antibiotics; whereas antibiotics are used to kill harmful bacteria in our bodies, probiotics are taken to add to our populations of microorganisms that help us maintain proper health. In fact, probiotics are often prescribed to help your body re-equilibrate after an antibiotic regimen. But antibiotics aren’t the only substances that can deplete our symbiotic bacterial populations; alcohol, antibacterial soap, stress, travel and medical conditions can all contribute to the weakening of our friendly microorganisms. And anything that weakens them consequently reduces our ability to fight off true enemies of our health.
How long do the probiotics last? Studies of fecal matter suggest that probiotics do not establish themselves permanently within our bodies, but rather create a temporary beneficial population inside of us. When our friendly microbial populations are depleted for whatever reason, the right strains of probiotics can temporarily serve the same beneficial functions while our native microorganisms regain their former strength. Or, if our native populations suffer frequent depletion, regular supplementation of probiotics can allow our bodies to function healthily.
Where to find probiotics. You can most conveniently find probiotics in common foods like yogurts containing active cultures, miso and certain soy products and juices. Look for the yogurts that contain three or more strains of bacteria. Probiotic-laden drinks like Japan’s Yakult and France’s Actimel (those of us in the U.S. would know it as Activia) will become increasingly available sources of probiotics. Potent supplements are also available for those who seek to combat IBD with probiotics. Effective supplements should contain about 1 billion colony-forming units (CFU).
Digestive benefits of probiotics. You may have noticed a period of diarrhea and digestive discomfort after a run of antibiotics has ended. Your temporary digestive ailments are due to the fact that the antibiotic wiped out some of your body’s helpful bacteria in addition to the harmful bacteria it intended to destroy – sort of an instance of collateral damage, to put it nicely. In fact, though about 100 trillion microorganisms live in the human gut, sometimes they can use a helping hand. Probiotics boost your good gut bacteria, helping defend you against the collateral damage of antibiotics and even help defend vacationers from the dreaded 'traveler's diarrhea.' Additionally, those with irritable bowel disorder, as well as those with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can benefit from taking probiotics in their daily diet.
Fighting infection. Women and men will be happy to know that probiotic strains of lactobacillus help the immune system fight off vaginal and urinary tract infections.
Anti-carcinogenic properties of probiotics? Animal tests of lactic acid bacteria has shown that probiotics could potentially help defend our bodies against certain cancers like colon cancer. But evidence is far too preliminary; right now, we must contend with the exciting glimmer of potential.
Talk to your doctor or nutritionist. There are hundreds upon hundreds of microbial species in our bodies, but these species can be divided even further into specific strains. And specific strains are recommended to bring relief for specific ailments. As for the particular strains of beneficial bacteria you should take, the best advice is to talk to your doctor or nutritionist. For more severe conditions, a supplement would be needed; regular food sources like yogurt are probably not potent enough to make a difference. Lastly, though most side effects of probiotics are harmless (like temporary gas build-up), sometimes more serious side effects can occur. The safety of certain probiotics when taken by children, the elderly or those with compromised immune systems is as yet unclear; more research must be done. In the meantime, your doctor or nutritionist is the best source of up-to-date information regarding beneficial strains, research and the efficacy of different probiotic sources available to the consumer.
Prebiotics. Lastly, your doctor may recommend that, in addition to probiotics, you regularly supplement with fiber as well (known as a “prebiotic” substance). Prebiotics nourish the helpful microorganisms that already inhabit your body.
Stay tuned as ongoing research leads to a greater understanding of just how probiotics, in specific forms and dosages, can improve our health. Soon we may all find ourselves telling our children, “You can leave the table as soon as you’ve finished eating your bacteria!”
24 satisfying snacks that won't blow your diet
by Amy Palanjian
Experts say that up to 10 percent of your daily calories can come from a "fun food." A woman on a 1,500-calorie diet can easily afford one or two of the snacks below per day. Choose one by the type of craving you're having.
crunchy
1 graham cracker
59 cal
1.5 g fat
OR TRY
1/4 cup soy nuts
55 cal
3 g fat
6 mini breadsticks
70 cal
3 g fat
1 caramel-corn rice cake
80 cal
0.5 g fat
Advertisement
salty
25 salted peanuts
146 cal
12 g fat
OR TRY
5 pretzels
114 cal
1 g fat
20 baked tortilla chips
Experts say that up to 10 percent of your daily calories can come from a "fun food." A woman on a 1,500-calorie diet can easily afford one or two of the snacks below per day. Choose one by the type of craving you're having.
crunchy
1 graham cracker
59 cal
1.5 g fat
OR TRY
1/4 cup soy nuts
55 cal
3 g fat
6 mini breadsticks
70 cal
3 g fat
1 caramel-corn rice cake
80 cal
0.5 g fat
Advertisement
salty
25 salted peanuts
146 cal
12 g fat
OR TRY
5 pretzels
114 cal
1 g fat
20 baked tortilla chips
Moving right along: insurance can help smooth the road to disaster recovery
by Jacquelyn Lynn
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, many businesses were unable to operate for days or weeks. Many campanies have been aided in their recovery by business interruption insurance.
Business interruption coverage replaces lost business income and pays ongoing expenses if you are unable to operate due to circumstances described in your policy But this isn't a panacea for every possible disaster, says Anita Setnor Byer, president of Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk in Plantation, Florida. For example, your policy may cover business interruption due to fire but not wind damage, or water damage from rain but not from flooding. And it probably doesn't cover losses due to inaccessibility if streets are closed by the authorities in the event of, say, a potential riot or an imminent storm, although if you are unable to operate after the streets reopen, your coverage should kick in. Setnor Byer says basic policies typically stop paying damages at recovery or 30 to 60 days after the property is restored.
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, many businesses were unable to operate for days or weeks. Many campanies have been aided in their recovery by business interruption insurance.
Business interruption coverage replaces lost business income and pays ongoing expenses if you are unable to operate due to circumstances described in your policy But this isn't a panacea for every possible disaster, says Anita Setnor Byer, president of Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk in Plantation, Florida. For example, your policy may cover business interruption due to fire but not wind damage, or water damage from rain but not from flooding. And it probably doesn't cover losses due to inaccessibility if streets are closed by the authorities in the event of, say, a potential riot or an imminent storm, although if you are unable to operate after the streets reopen, your coverage should kick in. Setnor Byer says basic policies typically stop paying damages at recovery or 30 to 60 days after the property is restored.
Foreign Exchange Market
The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. Retail traders (small speculators) are a small part of this market. They may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks and may be targets of forex scams.
Contents
Market size and liquidity
Trading characteristics
Market participants
Banks
Commercial Companies
Central Banks
Investment Management Firms
Hedge Funds
Retail Forex Brokers
Speculation
Reference
See also
External links
Market size and liquidity
The foreign exchange market is unique because of:
its trading volume,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours - 24 hours a day (except on weekends).
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates,
Average daily international foreign exchange trading volume was $1.9 trillion in April 2004 according to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004
$600 billion spot
$1,300 billion in derivatives, ie
$200 billion in outright forwards
$1,000 billion in forex swaps
$100 billion in FX options.
Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Top 10 Currency Traders
% of overall volume, May 2005 Rank Name % of volume
1 Deutsche Bank 17.0
2 UBS 12.5
3 Citigroup 7.5
4 HSBC 6.4
5 Barclays 5.9
6 Merrill Lynch 5.7
7 J.P. Morgan Chase 5.3
8 Goldman Sachs 4.4
9 ABN AMRO 4.2
10 Morgan Stanley 3.9
The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 1-3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually $1,000,000.
These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' cheques. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 5 pips wide (i.e. 0.0005). Competition has greatly increased with pip spreads shrinking on the majors to as little as 1 to 1.5 pips.
Trading characteristics
There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate - but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs.
Top 6 Most Traded Currencies Rank Currency ISO 4217 Code Symbol
1 United States dollar USD $
2 Eurozone euro EUR €
3 Japanese yen JPY ¥
4 British pound sterling GBP £
5-6 Swiss franc CHF -
5-6 Australian dollar AUD $
The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open.
There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers order flow. Trading legend Richard Dennis has accused central bankers of leaking information to hedge funds. [1]
Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX currency is expressed. For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.2045 dollar.
On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were:
EUR/USD - 28 %
USD/JPY - 17 %
GBP/USD (also called cable) - 14 %
and the US currency was involved in 89% of transactions, followed by the euro (37%), the yen (20%) and sterling (17%). (Note that volume percentages should add up to 200% - 100% for all the sellers, and 100% for all the buyers). Although trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, the foreign exchange market is thus still largely dollar-centered. For instance, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ will usually involve two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The only exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market.
Market participants
According to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004
53% of transactions were strictly interdealer (ie interbank);
33% involved a dealer (ie a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution;
and only 14% were between a dealer and a non-financial company.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems, such as EBS, Reuters Dealing 3000 Matching (D2), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg and TradeBook(R). The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
Commercial Companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.
Central Banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high - that is, to trade for a profit. Nevertheless, central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives, however. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992-93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in South East Asia.
Investment Management Firms
Investment Management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds, endowments etc.) use the Foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager with an international equity portfolio will need to buy and sell foreign currencies in the spot market in order to pay for purchases of foreign equities. Since the forex transactions are secondary to the actual investment decision, they are not seen as speculative or aimed at profit-maximisation.
Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay units, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. The number of this type of specialist is quite small, their large assets under management (AUM) can lead to large trades.
Hedge Funds
Hedge funds, such as George Soros's Quantum fund have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1990. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor.
Retail Forex Brokers
Retail forex brokers or market makers handle a minute fraction of the total volume of the foreign exchange market. According to CNN, one retail broker estimates retail volume at $25-50 billion daily, [2]which is about 2% of the whole market. CNN also quotes an official of the National Futures Association "Retail forex trading has increased dramatically over the past few years. Unfortunately, the amount of forex fraud has also increased dramatically."
All firms offering foreign exchange trading online are either market makers or facilitate the placing of trades with market makers.
In the retail forex industry market makers often have two separate trading desks- one that actually trades foreign exchange (which determines the firm's own net position in the market, serving as both a proprietary trading desk and a means of offsetting client trades on the interbank market) and one used for off-exchange trading with retail customers (called the "dealing desk" or "trading desk").
Many retail FX market makers claim to "offset" clients' trades on the interbank market (that is, with other larger market makers), e.g. after buying from the client, they sell to a bank. Nevertheless, the large majority of retail currency speculators are novices and who lose money [3], so that the market makers would be giving up large profits by offsetting. Offsetting does occur, but only when the market maker judges its clients' net position as being very risky.
The dealing desk operates much like the currency exchange counter at a bank. Interbank exchange rates, which are displayed at the dealing desk, are adjusted to incorporate spreads (so that the market maker will make a profit) before they are displayed to retail customers. Prices shown by the market maker do not neccesarily reflect interbank market rates. Arbitrage opportunities may exist, but retail market makers are efficient at removing arbitrageurs from their systems or limiting their trades.
A limited number of retail forex brokers offer consumers direct access to the interbank forex market. But most do not because of the limited number of clearing banks willing to process small orders. More importantly, the dealing desk model can be far more profitable, as a large portion of retail traders' losses are directly turned into market maker profits. While the income of a marketmaker that offsets trades or a broker that facilitates transactions is limited to transaction fees (commissions), dealing desk brokers can generate income in a variety of ways because they not only control the trading process, they also control pricing which they can skew at any time to maximize profits.
The rules of the game in trading FX are highly disadvantageous for retail speculators. Most retail speculators in FX lack trading experience and and capital (account minimums at some firms are as low as 250-500 USD). Large minimum position sizes, which on most retail platforms ranges from $10,000 to $100,000, force small traders to take imprudently large positions using extremely high leverage. Professional forex traders rarely use more than 10:1 leverage, yet many retail Forex firms default client accounts to 100:1 or even 200:1, without disclosing that this is highly unusual for currency traders. This drastically increases the risk of a margin call (which, if the speculator's trade is not offset, is pure profit for the market maker).
According to the Wall Street Journal (Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud July 26, 2005) "Even people running the trading shops warn clients against trying to time the market. 'If 15% of day traders are profitable,' says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM, 'I'd be surprised.' " [4]
In the US, "it is unlawful to offer foreign currency futures and option contracts to retail customers unless the offeror is a regulated financial entity" according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [5]. Legitimate retail brokers serving traders in the U.S. are most often registered with the CFTC as "futures commission merchants" (FCMs) and are members of the National Futures Association (NFA). Potential clients can check the broker's FCM status at the NFA. Retail forex brokers are much less regulated than stock brokers and there is no protection similar to that from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The CFTC has noted an increase in forex scams [6].
Speculation
Controversy about currency speculators and their effect on currency devaluations and national economies recurs regularly. Nevertheless, many economists (e.g. Milton Friedman) argue that speculators perform the important function of providing a market for hedgers and transferring risk from those people who don't wish to bear it, to those who do. Other economists (e.g. Joseph Stiglitz) however, may consider this argument to be based more on politics and a free market philosophy than on economics.
Large hedge funds and other well capitalized "position traders" are the main professional speculators.
Currency speculation is considered a highly suspect activity in many countries. While investment in traditional financial instruments like bonds or stocks often is considered to contribute positively to economic growth by providing capital, currency speculation does not, according to this view. It is simply gambling, that often interferes with economic policy. For example, in 1992, currency speculation forced the Central Bank of Sweden to raise interest rates for a few days to 150% per annum, and later to devalue the krona. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is one well known proponent of this view [7]. He blamed the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit in 1997 on George Soros and other speculators.
Gregory Millman reports on an opposing view, comparing speculators to "vigilantes" who simply help "enforce" international agreements and anticipate the effects of basic economic "laws" in order to profit.
In this view, countries may develop unsustainable financial bubbles or otherwise mishandle their national economies, and forex speculators only made the inevitable collapse happen sooner. A relatively quick collapse might even be preferable to continued economic mishandling. Mahathir Mohamad and other critics of speculation are viewed as trying to deflect the blame from themselves for having caused the unsustainable economic conditions.
Reference
Gregory J. Millman, Around the World on a Trillion Dollars a Day, Bantam Press, New York, 1995.
Contents
Market size and liquidity
Trading characteristics
Market participants
Banks
Commercial Companies
Central Banks
Investment Management Firms
Hedge Funds
Retail Forex Brokers
Speculation
Reference
See also
External links
Market size and liquidity
The foreign exchange market is unique because of:
its trading volume,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours - 24 hours a day (except on weekends).
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates,
Average daily international foreign exchange trading volume was $1.9 trillion in April 2004 according to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004
$600 billion spot
$1,300 billion in derivatives, ie
$200 billion in outright forwards
$1,000 billion in forex swaps
$100 billion in FX options.
Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Top 10 Currency Traders
% of overall volume, May 2005 Rank Name % of volume
1 Deutsche Bank 17.0
2 UBS 12.5
3 Citigroup 7.5
4 HSBC 6.4
5 Barclays 5.9
6 Merrill Lynch 5.7
7 J.P. Morgan Chase 5.3
8 Goldman Sachs 4.4
9 ABN AMRO 4.2
10 Morgan Stanley 3.9
The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 1-3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually $1,000,000.
These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' cheques. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 5 pips wide (i.e. 0.0005). Competition has greatly increased with pip spreads shrinking on the majors to as little as 1 to 1.5 pips.
Trading characteristics
There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate - but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs.
Top 6 Most Traded Currencies Rank Currency ISO 4217 Code Symbol
1 United States dollar USD $
2 Eurozone euro EUR €
3 Japanese yen JPY ¥
4 British pound sterling GBP £
5-6 Swiss franc CHF -
5-6 Australian dollar AUD $
The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open.
There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers order flow. Trading legend Richard Dennis has accused central bankers of leaking information to hedge funds. [1]
Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX currency is expressed. For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.2045 dollar.
On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were:
EUR/USD - 28 %
USD/JPY - 17 %
GBP/USD (also called cable) - 14 %
and the US currency was involved in 89% of transactions, followed by the euro (37%), the yen (20%) and sterling (17%). (Note that volume percentages should add up to 200% - 100% for all the sellers, and 100% for all the buyers). Although trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, the foreign exchange market is thus still largely dollar-centered. For instance, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ will usually involve two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The only exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market.
Market participants
According to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004
53% of transactions were strictly interdealer (ie interbank);
33% involved a dealer (ie a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution;
and only 14% were between a dealer and a non-financial company.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems, such as EBS, Reuters Dealing 3000 Matching (D2), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg and TradeBook(R). The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
Commercial Companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.
Central Banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high - that is, to trade for a profit. Nevertheless, central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives, however. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992-93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in South East Asia.
Investment Management Firms
Investment Management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds, endowments etc.) use the Foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager with an international equity portfolio will need to buy and sell foreign currencies in the spot market in order to pay for purchases of foreign equities. Since the forex transactions are secondary to the actual investment decision, they are not seen as speculative or aimed at profit-maximisation.
Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay units, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. The number of this type of specialist is quite small, their large assets under management (AUM) can lead to large trades.
Hedge Funds
Hedge funds, such as George Soros's Quantum fund have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1990. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor.
Retail Forex Brokers
Retail forex brokers or market makers handle a minute fraction of the total volume of the foreign exchange market. According to CNN, one retail broker estimates retail volume at $25-50 billion daily, [2]which is about 2% of the whole market. CNN also quotes an official of the National Futures Association "Retail forex trading has increased dramatically over the past few years. Unfortunately, the amount of forex fraud has also increased dramatically."
All firms offering foreign exchange trading online are either market makers or facilitate the placing of trades with market makers.
In the retail forex industry market makers often have two separate trading desks- one that actually trades foreign exchange (which determines the firm's own net position in the market, serving as both a proprietary trading desk and a means of offsetting client trades on the interbank market) and one used for off-exchange trading with retail customers (called the "dealing desk" or "trading desk").
Many retail FX market makers claim to "offset" clients' trades on the interbank market (that is, with other larger market makers), e.g. after buying from the client, they sell to a bank. Nevertheless, the large majority of retail currency speculators are novices and who lose money [3], so that the market makers would be giving up large profits by offsetting. Offsetting does occur, but only when the market maker judges its clients' net position as being very risky.
The dealing desk operates much like the currency exchange counter at a bank. Interbank exchange rates, which are displayed at the dealing desk, are adjusted to incorporate spreads (so that the market maker will make a profit) before they are displayed to retail customers. Prices shown by the market maker do not neccesarily reflect interbank market rates. Arbitrage opportunities may exist, but retail market makers are efficient at removing arbitrageurs from their systems or limiting their trades.
A limited number of retail forex brokers offer consumers direct access to the interbank forex market. But most do not because of the limited number of clearing banks willing to process small orders. More importantly, the dealing desk model can be far more profitable, as a large portion of retail traders' losses are directly turned into market maker profits. While the income of a marketmaker that offsets trades or a broker that facilitates transactions is limited to transaction fees (commissions), dealing desk brokers can generate income in a variety of ways because they not only control the trading process, they also control pricing which they can skew at any time to maximize profits.
The rules of the game in trading FX are highly disadvantageous for retail speculators. Most retail speculators in FX lack trading experience and and capital (account minimums at some firms are as low as 250-500 USD). Large minimum position sizes, which on most retail platforms ranges from $10,000 to $100,000, force small traders to take imprudently large positions using extremely high leverage. Professional forex traders rarely use more than 10:1 leverage, yet many retail Forex firms default client accounts to 100:1 or even 200:1, without disclosing that this is highly unusual for currency traders. This drastically increases the risk of a margin call (which, if the speculator's trade is not offset, is pure profit for the market maker).
According to the Wall Street Journal (Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud July 26, 2005) "Even people running the trading shops warn clients against trying to time the market. 'If 15% of day traders are profitable,' says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM, 'I'd be surprised.' " [4]
In the US, "it is unlawful to offer foreign currency futures and option contracts to retail customers unless the offeror is a regulated financial entity" according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [5]. Legitimate retail brokers serving traders in the U.S. are most often registered with the CFTC as "futures commission merchants" (FCMs) and are members of the National Futures Association (NFA). Potential clients can check the broker's FCM status at the NFA. Retail forex brokers are much less regulated than stock brokers and there is no protection similar to that from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The CFTC has noted an increase in forex scams [6].
Speculation
Controversy about currency speculators and their effect on currency devaluations and national economies recurs regularly. Nevertheless, many economists (e.g. Milton Friedman) argue that speculators perform the important function of providing a market for hedgers and transferring risk from those people who don't wish to bear it, to those who do. Other economists (e.g. Joseph Stiglitz) however, may consider this argument to be based more on politics and a free market philosophy than on economics.
Large hedge funds and other well capitalized "position traders" are the main professional speculators.
Currency speculation is considered a highly suspect activity in many countries. While investment in traditional financial instruments like bonds or stocks often is considered to contribute positively to economic growth by providing capital, currency speculation does not, according to this view. It is simply gambling, that often interferes with economic policy. For example, in 1992, currency speculation forced the Central Bank of Sweden to raise interest rates for a few days to 150% per annum, and later to devalue the krona. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is one well known proponent of this view [7]. He blamed the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit in 1997 on George Soros and other speculators.
Gregory Millman reports on an opposing view, comparing speculators to "vigilantes" who simply help "enforce" international agreements and anticipate the effects of basic economic "laws" in order to profit.
In this view, countries may develop unsustainable financial bubbles or otherwise mishandle their national economies, and forex speculators only made the inevitable collapse happen sooner. A relatively quick collapse might even be preferable to continued economic mishandling. Mahathir Mohamad and other critics of speculation are viewed as trying to deflect the blame from themselves for having caused the unsustainable economic conditions.
Reference
Gregory J. Millman, Around the World on a Trillion Dollars a Day, Bantam Press, New York, 1995.
REITs' Investment Proposition
By Art Coppola
The REIT industry and many of its investors will gather in New York on June 5 through 7 for REIT-Week 2007: NAREIT's Investor Forum. REITWeek is the industry's largest annual investor conference. It showcases the companies, strategies and personalities that make up the publicly traded real estate marketplace. Last year's REITWeek set a new attendance record with more than 1,800 participants, including managers and analysts representing major investment portfolios in the United States and around the world.
The growth in this conference has reflected the growing interest in the REIT marketplace. In recent years, it undoubtedly also has reflected the growing market value of REITs.
This spring, we saw some pull-back in the share prices of some REITs—perhaps, due to market jitters about the cost and availability of credit, or the perception that the companies' share prices might be fully valued. However, the investment proposition that is the foundation of the REIT market is far broader and deeper than the simple story of share price appreciation.
The REIT story is singular in the investment marketplace. REITs deliver the portfolio diversification and continuing income flow of commercial real estate investment, coupled with the liquidity and transparency of publicly traded securities.
REIT performance is measured not just in share price appreciation, but in total return. By that yardstick, the REIT industry has outpaced the S&P 500 and other primary market benchmarks for the past 30 years.
This is the story investors find so compelling, including investors representing major retirement funds whose interests are focused on the benefits of diversification and are decidedly long-term. Earlier this spring, CalPERS announced that 7.5 percent of its $230 billion portfolio now is allocated to real estate. Additionally, a survey by the Pension Real Estate Association showed more than 40 percent of pension funds intend to increase their real estate allocations over the next few years.
NAREIT's own meetings with institutional investment managers point to the same trend and underscore the fact that publicly traded real estate—both in the U.S. and international markets—increasingly is a significant component of the overall real estate allocation.
Many of these same investors will be joining us at this year's REITWeek to hear the latest chapter in the REIT story. As this year's NAREIT chair, I'm privileged to help tell it, and I look forward to seeing you there.
The REIT industry and many of its investors will gather in New York on June 5 through 7 for REIT-Week 2007: NAREIT's Investor Forum. REITWeek is the industry's largest annual investor conference. It showcases the companies, strategies and personalities that make up the publicly traded real estate marketplace. Last year's REITWeek set a new attendance record with more than 1,800 participants, including managers and analysts representing major investment portfolios in the United States and around the world.
The growth in this conference has reflected the growing interest in the REIT marketplace. In recent years, it undoubtedly also has reflected the growing market value of REITs.
This spring, we saw some pull-back in the share prices of some REITs—perhaps, due to market jitters about the cost and availability of credit, or the perception that the companies' share prices might be fully valued. However, the investment proposition that is the foundation of the REIT market is far broader and deeper than the simple story of share price appreciation.
The REIT story is singular in the investment marketplace. REITs deliver the portfolio diversification and continuing income flow of commercial real estate investment, coupled with the liquidity and transparency of publicly traded securities.
REIT performance is measured not just in share price appreciation, but in total return. By that yardstick, the REIT industry has outpaced the S&P 500 and other primary market benchmarks for the past 30 years.
This is the story investors find so compelling, including investors representing major retirement funds whose interests are focused on the benefits of diversification and are decidedly long-term. Earlier this spring, CalPERS announced that 7.5 percent of its $230 billion portfolio now is allocated to real estate. Additionally, a survey by the Pension Real Estate Association showed more than 40 percent of pension funds intend to increase their real estate allocations over the next few years.
NAREIT's own meetings with institutional investment managers point to the same trend and underscore the fact that publicly traded real estate—both in the U.S. and international markets—increasingly is a significant component of the overall real estate allocation.
Many of these same investors will be joining us at this year's REITWeek to hear the latest chapter in the REIT story. As this year's NAREIT chair, I'm privileged to help tell it, and I look forward to seeing you there.
Bypass Real Estate Agents and Save?
These days, many buyers and sellers of homes are tempted. The price of homes has soared over recent years, and people are feeling pinched when they check out what they can buy. Sometimes, they mull over the idea of going it alone. After all, you can go to any open houses on your own, and you can make an offer on any home on your own. Likewise, you can put out signs and sell your home on your own, too.
So why not do so? Why not dump the agent and save some big bucks? After all, a traditional 6% commission on a $300,000 home is a not-so-insignificant $18,000.
Well, there are some good reasons to stick with the traditional buying-and-selling process. Real estate agents may sometimes look like they're earning some easy money, but appearances can be deceiving. Here are some things to consider.
A good buyer agent can help you spend your dollars wisely and save you money, despite what he or she earns in commissions. When I bought my own house, my agent told me several times to lower my bid. He said the house I was considering wasn't worth anything close to its asking price. He showed me dozens of homes and spent a lot of time doing so. When my parents used him later, he found a great house they hadn't even noticed yet, whisked them quickly off to see it, and helped them win a bidding war for it. He also persuaded my home's seller to sell to me.
If you're selling on your own, you might not have a really good handle on what your home is worth. A not-so-good agent might entice you with promises of high values, but a good one will give you a realistic expectation. On your own, if you just use some online resources, they won't always give you the most accurate information. The folks at Zillow.com, for example, have said that Zestimates, their estimates of home values, "are designed to be a starting point for consumers who want to learn about the value of homes. We make every effort to explain on our site the role of Zestimates as a research tool, as well as to clearly display our rates of accuracy for every area we cover."
Most of us buy or sell a home only a few times in our lives. Our experience with the process and its intricacies are rather modest, compared with a seasoned professional who has a bag of tricks to employ. For example, my house was being sold without its major appliances. My Realtor asked whether the seller would sell me the oven, fridge, washer and dryer for a dollar, and she said yes. I might not have thought to ask.
Now that I've sung the praises of real estate agents, let me also warn you about them. Thanks to the recent housing boom (which may be cooling off), the profession has exploded, with many people signing up to become Realtors. Not all real estate agents are created equal. When you select one, don't just go with the cousin of your good friend, unless you're fairly confident that he knows his stuff. Seek out glowing recommendations. It may be well worth it.
And meanwhile, with or without an agent helping you, you might find some useful information at sites such as Zillow, Trulia.com, Move's (Nasdaq: MOVE) Realtor.com, IAC/InterActiveCorp's (Nasdaq: IACI) RealEstate.com, HouseValues (Nasdaq: SOLD), and ZipRealty (Nasdaq: ZIPR).
So why not do so? Why not dump the agent and save some big bucks? After all, a traditional 6% commission on a $300,000 home is a not-so-insignificant $18,000.
Well, there are some good reasons to stick with the traditional buying-and-selling process. Real estate agents may sometimes look like they're earning some easy money, but appearances can be deceiving. Here are some things to consider.
A good buyer agent can help you spend your dollars wisely and save you money, despite what he or she earns in commissions. When I bought my own house, my agent told me several times to lower my bid. He said the house I was considering wasn't worth anything close to its asking price. He showed me dozens of homes and spent a lot of time doing so. When my parents used him later, he found a great house they hadn't even noticed yet, whisked them quickly off to see it, and helped them win a bidding war for it. He also persuaded my home's seller to sell to me.
If you're selling on your own, you might not have a really good handle on what your home is worth. A not-so-good agent might entice you with promises of high values, but a good one will give you a realistic expectation. On your own, if you just use some online resources, they won't always give you the most accurate information. The folks at Zillow.com, for example, have said that Zestimates, their estimates of home values, "are designed to be a starting point for consumers who want to learn about the value of homes. We make every effort to explain on our site the role of Zestimates as a research tool, as well as to clearly display our rates of accuracy for every area we cover."
Most of us buy or sell a home only a few times in our lives. Our experience with the process and its intricacies are rather modest, compared with a seasoned professional who has a bag of tricks to employ. For example, my house was being sold without its major appliances. My Realtor asked whether the seller would sell me the oven, fridge, washer and dryer for a dollar, and she said yes. I might not have thought to ask.
Now that I've sung the praises of real estate agents, let me also warn you about them. Thanks to the recent housing boom (which may be cooling off), the profession has exploded, with many people signing up to become Realtors. Not all real estate agents are created equal. When you select one, don't just go with the cousin of your good friend, unless you're fairly confident that he knows his stuff. Seek out glowing recommendations. It may be well worth it.
And meanwhile, with or without an agent helping you, you might find some useful information at sites such as Zillow, Trulia.com, Move's (Nasdaq: MOVE) Realtor.com, IAC/InterActiveCorp's (Nasdaq: IACI) RealEstate.com, HouseValues (Nasdaq: SOLD), and ZipRealty (Nasdaq: ZIPR).
Money Saving Tips for Your Wedding Flowers
CHOOSE FLOWERS IN SEASON
Avoid using flowers that are exotic or not in season. It is much more expensive to have to specially imported flowers. Plus, if you're looking for out-of-season blooms, they will be harder to find elsewhere, and their rarity can also add to the cost.
DECORATE WITH GREENERY
Use greenery such as trees and garlands of ivy to fill large areas. This will give a dramatic impact for relatively little money. Small trees, such as palms and ficus can usually be rented. Ivy garlands and eucalyptus leaves are also lovely when placed around the edge of the cake or gift table.
DECORATE WITH ROSE PETALS
You can choose from fresh or silk petals. A scattering of petals on each table adds a lovely touch of color, and petals en masse, such as a ring around the base of your cake, makes a dramatic statement. Petals come in different color choices and are inexpensive.
RE-USE ARRANGEMENTS AND BOUQUETS
Use your ceremony floral arrangements at the reception. You've already paid for them, why not get a whole evenings worth out of them? Floral arrangements and ribbons which decorated the aisle can dress up the cake table. Bouquets can also be used to decorate the cake, guest book or head tables. Altar arrangements can be placed on either side of the head table, or used at the entry to the ballroom.
CONSIDER SHARING CHURCH ARRANGEMENTS
If another wedding will take place at the same location and same day as yours, you may want to share altar arrangements, pew bows, and other flowers and split the cost.
CONSIDER SMALLER BOUQUETS
Rather than having you and your bridesmaids carry large, elaborate bouquets, how about smaller, elegant bouquets instead? The larger the bouquet, and the more time spent in putting it together will cost you more money. Consider the dramatic look of one or two white calla lilies or a single rose (what a classic!) with a lovely ribbon that coordinates with your color scheme beautifully tied on the stems.
About the Author
Jean Neuhart is the owner of Weddings From The Heart. As a Professional Bridal Consultant, she helps busy brides and their fiances plan creative, personalized and stress-free weddings.
Avoid using flowers that are exotic or not in season. It is much more expensive to have to specially imported flowers. Plus, if you're looking for out-of-season blooms, they will be harder to find elsewhere, and their rarity can also add to the cost.
DECORATE WITH GREENERY
Use greenery such as trees and garlands of ivy to fill large areas. This will give a dramatic impact for relatively little money. Small trees, such as palms and ficus can usually be rented. Ivy garlands and eucalyptus leaves are also lovely when placed around the edge of the cake or gift table.
DECORATE WITH ROSE PETALS
You can choose from fresh or silk petals. A scattering of petals on each table adds a lovely touch of color, and petals en masse, such as a ring around the base of your cake, makes a dramatic statement. Petals come in different color choices and are inexpensive.
RE-USE ARRANGEMENTS AND BOUQUETS
Use your ceremony floral arrangements at the reception. You've already paid for them, why not get a whole evenings worth out of them? Floral arrangements and ribbons which decorated the aisle can dress up the cake table. Bouquets can also be used to decorate the cake, guest book or head tables. Altar arrangements can be placed on either side of the head table, or used at the entry to the ballroom.
CONSIDER SHARING CHURCH ARRANGEMENTS
If another wedding will take place at the same location and same day as yours, you may want to share altar arrangements, pew bows, and other flowers and split the cost.
CONSIDER SMALLER BOUQUETS
Rather than having you and your bridesmaids carry large, elaborate bouquets, how about smaller, elegant bouquets instead? The larger the bouquet, and the more time spent in putting it together will cost you more money. Consider the dramatic look of one or two white calla lilies or a single rose (what a classic!) with a lovely ribbon that coordinates with your color scheme beautifully tied on the stems.
About the Author
Jean Neuhart is the owner of Weddings From The Heart. As a Professional Bridal Consultant, she helps busy brides and their fiances plan creative, personalized and stress-free weddings.
Credit Card Disclosures
The long-awaited proposal from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to revamp Truth-Lending-Disclosures on credit cards (Regulation Z, open-end credit not secured by home equity) has not satisfied key members of Congress who have been pushing for tougher restrictions on credit card terms and issuer practices. In late May the FRB issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that reflected three years of study and marked the first major overhaul of the truth-in-lending rules applied to credit cards in two decades. The FRB proposal is open for public comments for 4 months. The proposal would implement a number of new standards for disclosing information more clearly to consumers, but does not limit or ban many of the card industry practices that lawmakers have sharply criticized this year.
The FRB proposed changes to the format and content of the summary table of credit card pricing known as the Schumer Box that appears in credit card applications and solicitations. It also proposed changes in the appearance of credit card monthly statements as well as new content, including a requirement that interest and fees be broken out and a required statement regarding length of time needed to pay off the debt if only the minimum payment is made. Under the proposal, notices of changes in account pricing would need to be made 45 days in advance of the actual change in terms, including rate increases that stem from penalties for late payment or over-limit activity. However, at least 7 bills have already been proposed in Congress that would go further to restrict credit card practices. Several of the more prominent were featured in this column last month.
For its part, the card industry has voiced cautious support of the FRB proposal, undoubtedly with the hope that it will lessen the pressure for tougher legislative action. Robert Rowe, a regulatory counsel for the Independent Community Bankers of America, told the American Banker that "the FRB approach at least leaves flexibility. It is more: ‘We're going to make sure you know what you're doing", whereas the other bills in Congress take the approach "you cannot do this." Ken Clayton, managing director for card policy at the American Bankers Association said "Frankly, disclosures go a long way in addressing some of the problems that are out there. You arm consumers with the information, and you give them the time so they can make choices that work for them, and they pretty much can avoid a lot of what people are complaining about. If you get too specific in how you're trying to address these problems, you end up limiting consumer choice and hurting them, and in the long run, is that what you really want to do?"
The Congressional response has been tepid. In a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing in early June that featured federal financial regulators as panelists, Rep. Carolyn Maloney noted that only the Fed has rule-writing authority to ban deceptive practices under the Truth-in-Lending Act, and asked regulators from other agencies if they should also be granted such authority. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair and Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Reich all responded affirmatively. Maloney called the Fed proposal "a step forward and long overdue" but said "I'm concerned that even the best disclosures will not be enough to resolve some of the serious issues consumers are facing." Sheila Bair indicated that regulators and lawmakers may need to go further to address practices such as universal default (raising a card's interest rate based on credit report data), double-cycle billing (which imposes finance charges on balances paid by the due date) and applying payments first to balances with lower interest rates. She said "I am not convinced that fuller disclosure will completely address... problematic practices that are increasingly complex and difficult to explain."
Criticism of the industry from lawmakers was not confined to the Democratic side of the aisle. Rep. Spencer Bacchus (R-AL), the ranking Republican member of the Financial Services Committee said he failed to understand why credit card companies engaged in certain practices, such as applying payments to balances with the lowest interest rate first. He said to the regulators on the panel "Part of your duty is to listen to consumers. When they come to you with the complaint that their payments are going to the balance with the lowest interest rates — which is always unfavorable to them — is there any public interest argument that you can give them why that should be so?"
The FRB proposed changes to the format and content of the summary table of credit card pricing known as the Schumer Box that appears in credit card applications and solicitations. It also proposed changes in the appearance of credit card monthly statements as well as new content, including a requirement that interest and fees be broken out and a required statement regarding length of time needed to pay off the debt if only the minimum payment is made. Under the proposal, notices of changes in account pricing would need to be made 45 days in advance of the actual change in terms, including rate increases that stem from penalties for late payment or over-limit activity. However, at least 7 bills have already been proposed in Congress that would go further to restrict credit card practices. Several of the more prominent were featured in this column last month.
For its part, the card industry has voiced cautious support of the FRB proposal, undoubtedly with the hope that it will lessen the pressure for tougher legislative action. Robert Rowe, a regulatory counsel for the Independent Community Bankers of America, told the American Banker that "the FRB approach at least leaves flexibility. It is more: ‘We're going to make sure you know what you're doing", whereas the other bills in Congress take the approach "you cannot do this." Ken Clayton, managing director for card policy at the American Bankers Association said "Frankly, disclosures go a long way in addressing some of the problems that are out there. You arm consumers with the information, and you give them the time so they can make choices that work for them, and they pretty much can avoid a lot of what people are complaining about. If you get too specific in how you're trying to address these problems, you end up limiting consumer choice and hurting them, and in the long run, is that what you really want to do?"
The Congressional response has been tepid. In a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing in early June that featured federal financial regulators as panelists, Rep. Carolyn Maloney noted that only the Fed has rule-writing authority to ban deceptive practices under the Truth-in-Lending Act, and asked regulators from other agencies if they should also be granted such authority. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair and Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Reich all responded affirmatively. Maloney called the Fed proposal "a step forward and long overdue" but said "I'm concerned that even the best disclosures will not be enough to resolve some of the serious issues consumers are facing." Sheila Bair indicated that regulators and lawmakers may need to go further to address practices such as universal default (raising a card's interest rate based on credit report data), double-cycle billing (which imposes finance charges on balances paid by the due date) and applying payments first to balances with lower interest rates. She said "I am not convinced that fuller disclosure will completely address... problematic practices that are increasingly complex and difficult to explain."
Criticism of the industry from lawmakers was not confined to the Democratic side of the aisle. Rep. Spencer Bacchus (R-AL), the ranking Republican member of the Financial Services Committee said he failed to understand why credit card companies engaged in certain practices, such as applying payments to balances with the lowest interest rate first. He said to the regulators on the panel "Part of your duty is to listen to consumers. When they come to you with the complaint that their payments are going to the balance with the lowest interest rates — which is always unfavorable to them — is there any public interest argument that you can give them why that should be so?"
Banks Invade The Wealth Management Space
Everybody is a wealth manager these days. But just what does the term wealth manager mean anyway? The term used to be solely the domain of trust departments in blue-blood firms, such as J.P Morgan. But now everybody is getting into the action, including small community banks, according to a survey, “Who’s Who in Wealth Management,” published by The Bank Insurance Market Research Group.
The study says that wealth management is now much more than just private banking. It also includes estate planning, brokerage, asset management, insurance and “holistic” (itself a catchall term) financial planning. There are a number of permutations across the industry. “It’s a somewhat illusive term. It goes beyond trust and insurance,” says Andrew Singer, managing director of the Mamaroneck, N.Y., firm and author of the study.
In fact, many firms are combining the different business lines under one umbrella, further blurring the lines between brokerage and trust. In retail brokerage, Merrill Lynch restructured its business segments to include its global private client group under the global wealth management unit. Among banks, there are 29 bank holding companies that report net income from wealth management business lines, Singer says. “Wall Street analysts want to see these numbers,” Singer says. The top five banks on the list, respectively, are Bank of America with $2.4 billion, Citigroup at $1.4 billion, JPMorgan Chase at $1.4 billion, U.S. Bancorp with $589 million and Northern Trust at $314.6 billion. In addition, the survey lists 60 bank companies that are players in the wealth management space.
To be included on the list, an institution must have more than $15 million in annual trust revenues as reported to the Federal Reserve Board in 2006, or $20 million in trust plus brokerage services. The median contribution from wealth management in terms of net earnings in 2006 from these 29 institutions was 10 percent, the study says. Northern Trust had the highest relative wealth management contribution with 47 percent of the company’s $665 million in 2006 earnings.
Bruce Miller, national sales director at Independent Financial, says there is “a trend toward putting both trust and brokerage in a common reporting line” as part of a larger effort by banks to offer scalable advice. “It’s difficult to establish a hard line in the sand,” Miller says. “There’s been a meshing of these two business lines. And wealth transfers very quickly in this country. A person’s net worth can change significantly at any time.” Given that reality, banks want their different tiers of service to look and feel the same so there is a seamless transition when they move up the food chain.
But this hasn’t always been the case at banks. Five years ago, that line in the sand for brokers was a $100,000 in investable assets. If a client had more than $100,000 in investable assets, he or she had to be handed over to the trust department, Miller says. Today, that number typically hovers around $500,000, and in some cases gets as high as $1 million.
The shift in strategy was likely prompted by losses in market share, the report suggests.
Banks have been losing trust clients to the major wirehouses and investment advisory boutiques in recent years. Indeed, personal trust assets held by U.S. banks fell 10 percent to $986.2 billion in 2005 from a record-high of $1.1 trillion in 1999, according to the Spectrem Group of Chicago. (Although a three-year bear market is likely to have caused some of that bloodletting).
Another reason for the intermingling of banking and brokerage is what Miller calls “channel conflict.” Banks have long had brokerage clients and trust clients at opposite ends of the spectrum. But in recent years the gap has narrowed. “There are always customers that fall somewhere in the middle.” Cost savings are also a consideration when combining the two business lines. Since they have similar products and similar compliance requirements, it makes sense to have them reporting to one head executive overseeing the sales of those products, Miller says.
What’s next for wealth management at banking institutions? Expect banks to get more sophisticated in streamlining their services under wealth management. With the help of technology, minimums for separately managed accounts have come down significantly. Reliance Trust, for example, offers an SMA for as low as $100,000 to invest. Meanwhile, the SEC is considering raising the bar for those who qualify as accredited investors to $2.5 million in investable assets from $1 million in investable assets. Also, people are living longer. “That will clearly drive the wealth management industry for the foreseeable future,” says Chris Meares, CEO of HSBC Group Private Banking.
One of the things you’ll also see, Miller says, is more dually licensed reps. “You’ll see a dramatic jump in the number of advisory licenses on the bank RIA side,” Miller says. At his own firm, the number of reps holding a Series 65 or 66 license was “zero” 18 months ago. Today, he says, 23 percent to 35 percent of the firm’s reps hold a Series 65 or Series 66 license.
The study says that wealth management is now much more than just private banking. It also includes estate planning, brokerage, asset management, insurance and “holistic” (itself a catchall term) financial planning. There are a number of permutations across the industry. “It’s a somewhat illusive term. It goes beyond trust and insurance,” says Andrew Singer, managing director of the Mamaroneck, N.Y., firm and author of the study.
In fact, many firms are combining the different business lines under one umbrella, further blurring the lines between brokerage and trust. In retail brokerage, Merrill Lynch restructured its business segments to include its global private client group under the global wealth management unit. Among banks, there are 29 bank holding companies that report net income from wealth management business lines, Singer says. “Wall Street analysts want to see these numbers,” Singer says. The top five banks on the list, respectively, are Bank of America with $2.4 billion, Citigroup at $1.4 billion, JPMorgan Chase at $1.4 billion, U.S. Bancorp with $589 million and Northern Trust at $314.6 billion. In addition, the survey lists 60 bank companies that are players in the wealth management space.
To be included on the list, an institution must have more than $15 million in annual trust revenues as reported to the Federal Reserve Board in 2006, or $20 million in trust plus brokerage services. The median contribution from wealth management in terms of net earnings in 2006 from these 29 institutions was 10 percent, the study says. Northern Trust had the highest relative wealth management contribution with 47 percent of the company’s $665 million in 2006 earnings.
Bruce Miller, national sales director at Independent Financial, says there is “a trend toward putting both trust and brokerage in a common reporting line” as part of a larger effort by banks to offer scalable advice. “It’s difficult to establish a hard line in the sand,” Miller says. “There’s been a meshing of these two business lines. And wealth transfers very quickly in this country. A person’s net worth can change significantly at any time.” Given that reality, banks want their different tiers of service to look and feel the same so there is a seamless transition when they move up the food chain.
But this hasn’t always been the case at banks. Five years ago, that line in the sand for brokers was a $100,000 in investable assets. If a client had more than $100,000 in investable assets, he or she had to be handed over to the trust department, Miller says. Today, that number typically hovers around $500,000, and in some cases gets as high as $1 million.
The shift in strategy was likely prompted by losses in market share, the report suggests.
Banks have been losing trust clients to the major wirehouses and investment advisory boutiques in recent years. Indeed, personal trust assets held by U.S. banks fell 10 percent to $986.2 billion in 2005 from a record-high of $1.1 trillion in 1999, according to the Spectrem Group of Chicago. (Although a three-year bear market is likely to have caused some of that bloodletting).
Another reason for the intermingling of banking and brokerage is what Miller calls “channel conflict.” Banks have long had brokerage clients and trust clients at opposite ends of the spectrum. But in recent years the gap has narrowed. “There are always customers that fall somewhere in the middle.” Cost savings are also a consideration when combining the two business lines. Since they have similar products and similar compliance requirements, it makes sense to have them reporting to one head executive overseeing the sales of those products, Miller says.
What’s next for wealth management at banking institutions? Expect banks to get more sophisticated in streamlining their services under wealth management. With the help of technology, minimums for separately managed accounts have come down significantly. Reliance Trust, for example, offers an SMA for as low as $100,000 to invest. Meanwhile, the SEC is considering raising the bar for those who qualify as accredited investors to $2.5 million in investable assets from $1 million in investable assets. Also, people are living longer. “That will clearly drive the wealth management industry for the foreseeable future,” says Chris Meares, CEO of HSBC Group Private Banking.
One of the things you’ll also see, Miller says, is more dually licensed reps. “You’ll see a dramatic jump in the number of advisory licenses on the bank RIA side,” Miller says. At his own firm, the number of reps holding a Series 65 or 66 license was “zero” 18 months ago. Today, he says, 23 percent to 35 percent of the firm’s reps hold a Series 65 or Series 66 license.
Rental Market Builder Confidence Rises
WASHINGTON D.C. — Builder confidence in current rental apartment market conditions jumped in the third quarter of 2006, according to the latest results of the National Association of Home Builders’/Fannie Mae Multifamily Rental Market Index (MRMI), released Wednesday.
“Good economic conditions — particularly growth in the job market — are driving demand in the rental apartment market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “But the rental market is also benefiting from a tight supply. For-sale condo units have accounted for a large share of multifamily housing starts over the last few years at the same time a sizeable number of apartment units were being converted to condos.”
The component of the MRMI that tracks current demand rose during the third quarter for all classes of apartments, with moderately priced (Class B) apartments seeing the largest increase, reaching 66, up from 58.5 at the same time last year. The same demand index for luxury (Class A) apartments stood at 67.3, up 7.3 points since the third quarter of last year. Class C apartments saw the smallest jump, with the index gaining 3 points to 61.5, up from 58.5 from the same time a year ago.
The scale is from 0 to 100, with a rating of 50 generally indicating that the number of positive responses is about the same as the number of negative responses.
Developers also see supply now starting to inch up in the rental apartment market. The index tracking supply market conditions for the third quarter rose from 53.7 and 54.7, up from 48 and 47.8, a year ago, for moderately priced and market rate rentals, respectively.
When asked about their expectations for the rental market over the next six months, multifamily builders expressed continued optimism, with the MRMI reaching 70, 75, and 69.2 for Class A (luxury), Class B (moderately priced), and Class C (lower rent) apartments respectively. Those expectations are based on a strong volume of calls from prospective renters—the index tracking this component of demand was up to 61.5 in the third quarter of 2006, from 57.1 in the third quarter of 2005.
In addition, the index that gauges effective rents added 10 points from this time a year ago to stand at an index value of 70.4, although that number is down from last quarter’s record index value of 85.
“Good economic conditions — particularly growth in the job market — are driving demand in the rental apartment market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “But the rental market is also benefiting from a tight supply. For-sale condo units have accounted for a large share of multifamily housing starts over the last few years at the same time a sizeable number of apartment units were being converted to condos.”
The component of the MRMI that tracks current demand rose during the third quarter for all classes of apartments, with moderately priced (Class B) apartments seeing the largest increase, reaching 66, up from 58.5 at the same time last year. The same demand index for luxury (Class A) apartments stood at 67.3, up 7.3 points since the third quarter of last year. Class C apartments saw the smallest jump, with the index gaining 3 points to 61.5, up from 58.5 from the same time a year ago.
The scale is from 0 to 100, with a rating of 50 generally indicating that the number of positive responses is about the same as the number of negative responses.
Developers also see supply now starting to inch up in the rental apartment market. The index tracking supply market conditions for the third quarter rose from 53.7 and 54.7, up from 48 and 47.8, a year ago, for moderately priced and market rate rentals, respectively.
When asked about their expectations for the rental market over the next six months, multifamily builders expressed continued optimism, with the MRMI reaching 70, 75, and 69.2 for Class A (luxury), Class B (moderately priced), and Class C (lower rent) apartments respectively. Those expectations are based on a strong volume of calls from prospective renters—the index tracking this component of demand was up to 61.5 in the third quarter of 2006, from 57.1 in the third quarter of 2005.
In addition, the index that gauges effective rents added 10 points from this time a year ago to stand at an index value of 70.4, although that number is down from last quarter’s record index value of 85.
Living With Apartment Noise
From Jennifer Lai,
Your Guide to Apartment Living / Rental.
Noise filtering into your apartment is a natural and unavoidable aspect of living in an apartment building.
Whether it's the sound of running water from a toilet flush or a baby crying nearby, it's near impossible to eliminate all outside sounds.
This can be hard to adjust to at first, especially for those who grew up in a house in the suburbs where common sounds were birdsong and the occasional lawn mower in the summer. The sounds of human life -- footsteps on your ceiling or running water — could be attributed to your father, sister or other household member.
When these same sounds come from your neighbors, it's harder to ignore. For one thing, families and even roommates have agreements over acceptable volume levels.
Neighbors may play their music louder than you're used to or let their children play loudly in the hallways.
But perhaps what's most disconcerting about hearing your neighbors is anxiety over what to do if the noise becomes too loud.
It's easy to tell a family member or a roommate to quiet down. Even if they're annoyed, you know they won't hold it against you forever. But what about talking to your neighbors? I would say this is a task most people dread and dislike, and it's one reason why neighborly noise is so distracting. We're all subconsciously waiting for the moment it becomes too loud.
Adjusting to Apartment Noise
Some apartment buildings have thin walls that don't absorb noise. For such buildings, it's impossible to expect complete silence from your neighbors. The best option is to minimize the amount of noise that filters in and train yourself to ignore the rest.
White noise is a great solution to drowning out sounds from the building and the street, because it's easy to ignore and makes sudden noise less distracting. Try using a fan or playing soft music.
Fabric absorbs noise. So if you hear a lot of sounds from the street, make sure you have thick curtains over your windows. Rugs or carpeting on the floor can absorb noise from below, and tapestries hanging over the walls can absorb noise from surrounding apartments.
When Noise is Excessive and Rude
Though some noise is normal, sounds that go beyond normal expectations and interrupts the life of other tenants is not allowed by most landlords. These include music playing at a high volume, screaming or making loud pounding noises in the middle of the night.
For such cases, it's within your right to speak up, first to the tenant, and if it doesn't stop, to the super or the landlord.
Your Guide to Apartment Living / Rental.
Noise filtering into your apartment is a natural and unavoidable aspect of living in an apartment building.
Whether it's the sound of running water from a toilet flush or a baby crying nearby, it's near impossible to eliminate all outside sounds.
This can be hard to adjust to at first, especially for those who grew up in a house in the suburbs where common sounds were birdsong and the occasional lawn mower in the summer. The sounds of human life -- footsteps on your ceiling or running water — could be attributed to your father, sister or other household member.
When these same sounds come from your neighbors, it's harder to ignore. For one thing, families and even roommates have agreements over acceptable volume levels.
Neighbors may play their music louder than you're used to or let their children play loudly in the hallways.
But perhaps what's most disconcerting about hearing your neighbors is anxiety over what to do if the noise becomes too loud.
It's easy to tell a family member or a roommate to quiet down. Even if they're annoyed, you know they won't hold it against you forever. But what about talking to your neighbors? I would say this is a task most people dread and dislike, and it's one reason why neighborly noise is so distracting. We're all subconsciously waiting for the moment it becomes too loud.
Adjusting to Apartment Noise
Some apartment buildings have thin walls that don't absorb noise. For such buildings, it's impossible to expect complete silence from your neighbors. The best option is to minimize the amount of noise that filters in and train yourself to ignore the rest.
White noise is a great solution to drowning out sounds from the building and the street, because it's easy to ignore and makes sudden noise less distracting. Try using a fan or playing soft music.
Fabric absorbs noise. So if you hear a lot of sounds from the street, make sure you have thick curtains over your windows. Rugs or carpeting on the floor can absorb noise from below, and tapestries hanging over the walls can absorb noise from surrounding apartments.
When Noise is Excessive and Rude
Though some noise is normal, sounds that go beyond normal expectations and interrupts the life of other tenants is not allowed by most landlords. These include music playing at a high volume, screaming or making loud pounding noises in the middle of the night.
For such cases, it's within your right to speak up, first to the tenant, and if it doesn't stop, to the super or the landlord.
Flying Through Moscow
If you travel a great distance, the chances are that you will have flown at some stage.
In the pursuit of a bargain airfare, budget travellers may find themselves re-routed through Moscow on Aeroflot, and the experience can prove far from user friendly.
The Irish Bar and the Heineken Terrace both wait for your dollars at the airport, while you drown away the hours upon hours with further delays mixed in for good measure. Then what's another round of hours?
If you have all day to kill, a visa can be purchased at the airport for a visit to the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.
Those waiting overnight for their connection will be given meal vouchers and made to find a place among the sprawling Africans with their washing on the rails -- who may be waiting up to a week for their deportation flights.
Accommodation is possibile, without the need for a visa..... Join the jet-lagged queue at the small opening to the transfer lounge, and you have two choices: The Sheremetyevo, or The Novotel. If you think that, at $46/double (cash only), The Shereymetyevo is a prison, The Novotel, $119/double (credit card accepted), is worse.
At the Sheremetyevo Hotel, the door is locked as you enter the hotel, and only opened when your bus is ready to transfer you to the airport again. At least in this building there is a room where you can eat and drink something (if the girls are in the right mood), and talk to others; they call it a restaurant.
In the Novotel, it is room service only. You are on the second floor, but can not use the restaurant, bar or swimming pool unless you have a visa. A visa to walk around the hotel that would have been like a morgue if it wasn't for the aircrew feeding themselves before handing out the rations to passengers?
Change your mind in the Novotel, and you can not cross the road to the cheaper Sheremetyevo Hotel on foot. You will have to sit in the rear lobby and wait another hour, for another bus to escort you one hundred yards. All the time the airport lights can be seen from the back entrance, while delayed, de-iced, Ilyushins and Tupolevs roar up into snowy clouds. A great sigh of relief from bored passengers on board, I'm sure.
In the pursuit of a bargain airfare, budget travellers may find themselves re-routed through Moscow on Aeroflot, and the experience can prove far from user friendly.
The Irish Bar and the Heineken Terrace both wait for your dollars at the airport, while you drown away the hours upon hours with further delays mixed in for good measure. Then what's another round of hours?
If you have all day to kill, a visa can be purchased at the airport for a visit to the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.
Those waiting overnight for their connection will be given meal vouchers and made to find a place among the sprawling Africans with their washing on the rails -- who may be waiting up to a week for their deportation flights.
Accommodation is possibile, without the need for a visa..... Join the jet-lagged queue at the small opening to the transfer lounge, and you have two choices: The Sheremetyevo, or The Novotel. If you think that, at $46/double (cash only), The Shereymetyevo is a prison, The Novotel, $119/double (credit card accepted), is worse.
At the Sheremetyevo Hotel, the door is locked as you enter the hotel, and only opened when your bus is ready to transfer you to the airport again. At least in this building there is a room where you can eat and drink something (if the girls are in the right mood), and talk to others; they call it a restaurant.
In the Novotel, it is room service only. You are on the second floor, but can not use the restaurant, bar or swimming pool unless you have a visa. A visa to walk around the hotel that would have been like a morgue if it wasn't for the aircrew feeding themselves before handing out the rations to passengers?
Change your mind in the Novotel, and you can not cross the road to the cheaper Sheremetyevo Hotel on foot. You will have to sit in the rear lobby and wait another hour, for another bus to escort you one hundred yards. All the time the airport lights can be seen from the back entrance, while delayed, de-iced, Ilyushins and Tupolevs roar up into snowy clouds. A great sigh of relief from bored passengers on board, I'm sure.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover financial and other losses incurred while travelling, either within one's own country, or internationally.
Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased from (most often)[travel agents, travel insurance companies or directly from travel suppliers such as cruiselines or tour operators.
The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance are:
Cancellation
Curtailment
Delayed departure
Loss, theft or damage to personal possessions and money (including travel documents)
Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
Medical expenses
Emergency evacuation/repatriation
Overseas funeral expenses
Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
Legal assistance
Personal liability and rental car damage excess
Some travel policies will also provide cover for additional costs, although these vary widely between providers.
And in addition, often separate insurance can be purchased for specific costs such as:
high risk sports (e.g. skiing, scuba-diving)
travel to high risk countries (e.g. due to war or natural disasters)
pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)
Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased from (most often)[travel agents, travel insurance companies or directly from travel suppliers such as cruiselines or tour operators.
The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance are:
Cancellation
Curtailment
Delayed departure
Loss, theft or damage to personal possessions and money (including travel documents)
Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
Medical expenses
Emergency evacuation/repatriation
Overseas funeral expenses
Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
Legal assistance
Personal liability and rental car damage excess
Some travel policies will also provide cover for additional costs, although these vary widely between providers.
And in addition, often separate insurance can be purchased for specific costs such as:
high risk sports (e.g. skiing, scuba-diving)
travel to high risk countries (e.g. due to war or natural disasters)
pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)
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