Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Froxe United States

The following data have been gathered by Capgemini and are part of the World Retail Banking Report published annually in March.

Macro economic indicators (2006)

GDP at current prices	$13,225 billion
Inhabitants	299.7 million
GDP per head	$44,071
Economic growth rate	+3.3%
Consumer confidence indicator	99.6
Unemployment rate	4.7%
Consumer Price Index	4.0%
Banking Importance	20.8%
Number of branches	92,000
Number of ATMs	420,000
Households savings ratio	0.5%
Inflation rate	+3.2%
Interest rate, consumer credit	13.21%
Interest rate, residential	6.22%
Number of credit cards	1,46 billion

Type and size of players

Total Banking Income and Cost/Income Ratio
(Operating Expenses/Total Banking Income)

USA Retail Banking Income 2006

Products

USA Market Deposits & Loans

U.S. retail banking market is highly fragmented. This is illustrated by the fact that the top 10 U.S. Banks held only about 36% of the market share based on total U.S. deposits.

Total Deposits in US$ (31.12.2006 )

US Bank Entity

Trends

Customer Experience
• Banks are beginning to design products that cross customer silos:
- Customers in the past have had varying experiences and disparities in service quality across channels (branch, phone, internet) and across products (mortgage, etc.)
- Banks are beginning to improve and align processes like product applications and cross-selling
• Interactive products are increasing as customers become more comfortable using the internet:
- Banks expected to offer new products geared towards online self-service interactions
• Branch locations are increasing in number and being renovated:
- Self-service channels (ATM, phone, internet) are not effective for customer acquisition and cross-selling
- Branch locations are to be used as sales platforms by leveraging retail practices such as product displays, merchandising and layouts (demographic targeting)

Marketing / Target Products
• Faced with strong competition, banks are becoming more proactive with their marketing initiatives:
- Customer acquisition strategies being replaced by efforts to cross-sell products and services with marketing campaigns around specific customer interactions
• Continued investment in non-core product offerings:
- In redefining their marketing strategies, banks remain attracted to products traditionally offered by Financial Services companies
• Competition with Financial Services firms for retirement assets:
- Banks are marketing 401K programs to corporations in order to gain access to their employees in expectation of cross-selling other products and services

M&A Overload
• Recent acquisitions have resulted in some large banks having huge asset totals that must be earning returns for investors:
- Heated competition and sophistication in targeting loan offers to consumers

YOUR SWISS BANK ACCOUNT


Save time by having us open your Swiss bank account quickly and easily. We manage your account opening at a major Swiss bank with no reference or minimum deposit required. Your personal account opening package will be send to you directly from the Swiss bank. We make it happen with our all-inclusive opening service!


Security and privacy for your money. Switzerland has the highest level of banking secrecy and stability in the world. We work together with reliable and cooperative financial institutions in Switzerland. The banks can offer VISA and MasterCard credit cards and highly secure 24/7 Internet banking and payments.


Get ATM credit cards anywhere in the world without requiring a credit check or references!

The Swiss National Bank has one of the highest reserves of gold bullion to back up its currency. Banks in Switzerland are obligated by law to keep any and all information about their clients strictly confidential. Secrecy rules are vigorously enforced throughout the banking industry. This is especially true when it comes to civil matters. The Swiss constitution clearly defines and protects these secrecy laws. Any banker in the country who reveals information about clients will be prosecuted under the law. In today’s litigation-happy society, asset protection and estate planning are the main reasons for seeking a safe and secure banking center in Switzerland. People maintain Swiss bank accounts for the privacy and security they provide. No government, tax service, creditor, or agency can ever access information on your account.

SWISS BANK INFORMATION

Basics

Our Services

Basics

Do you open Swiss bank accounts for non residents ?

Yes we do: Most of our clients are non-residents. We have clients more than 100 countries.

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Can I close my account whenever I wish ?

Yes! There are no restrictions when it comes to closing an account in Switzerland. You are free to close your account if you wish. The procedure is immediate and cost-free. Of course, if your money is invested, it generally takes a day or two to liquidate positions, but even so, no one will prevent you from withdrawing your funds or charge you a financial penalty.

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Do you deal with banks that have branches in my country ?

No ! Swiss banks are what they are (secure and private) because they are Swiss companies in Switzerland. A foreign branch of a Swiss bank would be a local bank owned by the Swiss bank. This local bank would not be different from any of the banks you have been dealing with in your country. It would not be bound by Swiss bank secrecy laws but rather by the laws of the country where it is. This also means that you cannot make withdrawals nor deposits on your Swiss bank account from a non-Swiss subsidiary of the bank.
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I am not 18 yet. Can I open an account ?

No! You need to be 18 year old to open the account. We understand that you may be below 18 and already have an independent financial life, but unfortunately by law Swiss banks cannot open accounts for non-residents below 18. The only solution we can offer is to begin the procedure shortly before you turn 18 and open the account on your birthday.

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Which bank will my account be opened with ?

We have a large list of banks in Switzerland - Many of which have been in operations for over 100 years. Each account corresponds to one or more banks.

There are more than 400 banks in Switzerland. Each is different and specializes in particular type of clients or services. They can be divided in several groups:

We work with banks in all categories. Which bank is right for you depends on many things, such as where you live, how much you plan to deposit and what you will do with the money. Please visit the account description pages to read more about each account and the requirements of each account.
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Is there a deposits insurance in Switzerland? Do you have a Swiss FDIC ?

There's no government deposit insurance in Switzerland. But your deposits are probably safer in a Swiss bank than in most other banks in the world. Here's why:

Swiss banks have a private deposits insurance
Swiss banks have signed an agreement by which they agree to compensate depositors for up to Sfr.30'000 of their deposits in a bank if that bank goes bankrupt. Each bank would then pay a share of the total compensation proportional to their size. The Swiss postal is an exception since all deposits are fully guaranteed by the Swiss Government.

Swiss banks don't go bankrupt
Swiss banks have some of the strongest balance sheets in the world. They are regulated by the Swiss Federal Banking commission, the federal watchdog, which enforces very strict rules. Almost the only instances when banks encounter difficulties, about once in a decade, are for small savings and loans that loaned too much money on too little collateral. They are usually bought out by a larger bank.
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Can I choose the bank ?

Each account we offer is opened with a specific bank. You find the bank conditions in each account description. You choose the bank when you order your account. We select the bank with the best conditions at present from a permanently updated list of banks with the best price-ratio. We do not, however, give out the names of the banks before you actually fill an order.

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Our Services

What are the benefits of your services? Why do I need to pay to open an account ?

Opening a bank account in Switzerland is not like opening one in your home country, where all you need is a walk into any bank down the street with your driver's license and 10$. Swiss banks are very cautious in dealing with new clients wich are not introduced by somebody they know.

Using our bank introduction services, you benefit from the intimate knowledge of a professional. Finally, we make sure the opening procedure is as quick and straightforward as possible.

Our service brings you many benefits:
- You benefit from the neutral advice of a professional with an intimate knowledge of Swiss banks. This enables you to get the most out of your Swiss bank account right away. In many cases we can obtain better terms for our clients - lower commissions, lower agios, lower minimum balance, less restrictions on facilities offered, etc...
- You can compare the facilities offered by various banks - without having to explain why you want an account to three dozens bank clerks in a dozen banks. Most banks have many restrictions to what facilities you will actually get and you usually learn about it after you have opened your account.
- We can open accounts by mail . We opened hundreds of accounts for clients all over the world and can provide quick and reliable service so that you will not need to come to Switzerland to get your account opened.
- Through us you are assigned seasoned, professional and efficient account managers. In any given bank, there are good account managers and not-so-good ones. The good ones are always busy with clients and take only the most promising new clients or those sent by people they know, such as BBz International Finance.
We specialize in helping international clients open the Swiss bank account that will match their needs. We are not a bank and offer neutral advice and assistance in selecting and opening the right account for your needs in the right bank. We assist you through the entire account opening process by e-mail.
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Is it safe is it to shop with BBz International Finance ?

Yes - For Sure. Shopping with BBz International Finance is than safe. We use the latest data encryption techniques so that your data is safely transmitted across the internet. When you apply for a Swiss bank account on our site, your data is encrypted using SSL (secure socket layer) up to 128 bits so that nobody can intercept your application. Then, your application is processed in our headquarters in Germany before going to the bank.

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How can you open Swiss bank accounts with no minimum balance requirements?

Most Swiss banks will open you an account only if you deposit at least a million Swiss francs. These banks specialize in wealth management for private international clients and it would not be economically feasible for them to open smaller accounts.

We have clients who deposit more than a million Swiss francs. But not all of them do. Our company's role is to enable as many people as possible to take advantage of the convenience, security and privacy of a Swiss bank account. To do this every year we visit dozens of Swiss banks to compare services and negociate terms and conditions for our clients, including those who plan to deposit only a few thousand dollars.

The result is that we are able to offer a whole array of Swiss bank accounts with excellent, long established Swiss banks for both larger and smaller deposits.
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How much do you charge to open an account? Is this a one-time charge? When do I pay it?

Our company charge an one-time fee for our account opening services. We select the bank with the best conditions at present from a permanently updated list of banks with the best price-ratio. The fee is payable when you order the account and is fully refundable if the bank rejects your application. It is not refundable if you cancel your application.

You find the prices to order our opening service for each account in the Buy Now area or when reading each account description. Prices are listed in EUR but can be paid in any currency.

-----> (CONVERT in British Pounds or US Dollars) <------

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What happens when I click on 'Buy Now'?

When you click on the 'Buy Now' button on our website, you will be taken after payment to a application form where you can fill in your name, date of birth, type of account you wish and other information needed to open your account.

As soon as we have approved your application and we have verified your payment of the account set-up fee already, we will begin the account opening process immediately. If we cannot approve your application or we didn't received your payment, we will not charge you anything. You find the complete opening procedure at the Our Service page.
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Will you refund me if the bank rejects my application?

If the bank does not accept to open your account, which is very rare, you will receive a full refund. This refund is applicable only if you have sent us all documents we need to open the account, not if you decide to cancel..

norway forex

Forex AB is a Swedish financial services company. The company was started in 1927 as a currency exchange service for travellers, at the Central Station in Stockholm. The owner of Gyllenspet's Barber Shop, according to the legend, discovered that most of his customers were tourists in need of currency for their trips. The owner began keeping the major currencies on hand.
The company was subsequently acquired by Statens Järnvägar (SJ), the Swedish State Railways, which expanded the operations until it was sold off to one of the managers, Rolf Friberg, in 1965. The company was the only one apart from the banks that was licensed to conduct currency exchange in Sweden.
The company, which is still wholly owned by the Friberg family, has expanded into Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland and has over 60 shops, usually located at train stations or airports. The decrease in the business brought on by introduction of the euro has made the company look for alternative sources of revenue, like applying for a banking licence and attempting to move into more regular transaction services, earlier handled by Svensk Kassaservice, a subsidiary of the state owned Swedish postal company, Posten.
Since 2003 Forex is a licensed bank.

Denmark Forex

Forex is a Swedish financial services company. The company was started in 1927 as a currency exchange service for travellers, at the Central Station in Stockholm. The owner of Gyllenspet's Barber Shop, according to the legend, discovered that most of his customers were tourists in need of currency for their trips. So he started keeping the major currencies on hand.
The company was subsequently acquired by Statens Järnvägar, the Swedish State Railways, which expanded the operations until it was sold off to one of the managers, Rolf Friberg, in 1965. The company was the only one apart from the banks that was licensed to conduct currency exchange in Sweden.
The company, which is still wholly owned by the Friberg family, has expanded into Denmark and Finland and has over 50 shops, usually located at train stations or airports. The decrease in the business brought on by introduction of the Euro has made the company look for alternative sources of revenue, like applying for a banking license and attempting to move into more regular transaction services, earlier handled by the Swedish postal service.

Egypt Forex

Egypt, officially known as the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi), Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Its northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 80 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in the densely-populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artefacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.

Cyprus Forex

A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of goods and services. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value. Historically, currencies have developed items considered valuable such as shells, or cattle, to the use of precious metals first in forms such as ingots and later coins, and then to credit and paper money. Fiat money removes the concept of money as a commodity, guaranteeing that it has the value stated on it. There are also privately issued currencies that may be redeemed only by those who produce them.
In most cases, each country has monopoly control over the supply and production of its own currency, usually through a central bank. Member countries of the European Union's Economic and Monetary Union are a notable exception to this rule, as they have ceded control of monetary policy to the European Central Bank and accept the Euro as their common currency.
Although the United States dollar has been the de facto world currency, the possibility of developing an official world currency has come under discussion. Such a currency would be supported by a central bank for all transactions around the world, a step towards a more unified global society.

Brazil Forex

Brazil , Port. Brasil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, republic (2005 est. pop. 186,113,000), 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km), E South America. By far the largest of the Latin American countries, Brazil occupies nearly half the continent of South America, stretching from the Guiana Highlands in the north, where it borders Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, to the plains of Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina in the south. In the west it spreads to the equatorial rain forest, bordering on Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia; in the east it juts far out into the Atlantic toward Africa. Brasília is the capital; the largest cities are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro . Land Brazil's vast territory covers a great variety of land and climate, for although Brazil is mainly in the tropics (it is crossed by the equator in the north and by the Tropic of Capricorn in the south), the southern part of the great central upland is cool and yields the produce of temperate lands. Most of Brazil's large cities are on the Atlantic coast or the banks of the great rivers. The rain forests of the Amazon River basin occupy all the north and north central portions of Brazil. With the opening of the interior in the 1970s and 80s, these rain forests were heavily cut and burned for industrial purposes, farming, and grazing land. Beginning in the late 1980s, popular international movements, along with changes in government policy, began to reduce the rate of deforestation, but by the mid-1990s extensive burning was again occurring. New policies appeared to slow deforestation in the early 21st cent., but it reemerged as a significant problem in late 2007. The Amazon region includes the states of Amazonas , Pará , Acre , Amapá , Roraima , and Rondônia ; its chief city is Manaus . Although it is not as developed as other parts of Brazil, the Amazon region produces timber, rubber, and other forest products such as Brazil nuts and pharmaceutical plants. Gold mining, ecotourism, and fishing are also important. At the mouth of the Amazon is the city of Belém , chief port of N Brazil. Southeast of the Amazon mouth is the great seaward outthrust of Brazil, the region known as the Northeast. The states of Maranhão and Piauí form a transitional zone noted for its many babassu and carnauba palms. The Northeast proper—including the states of Ceará , Rio Grande do Norte , Paraíba , Pernambuco , Alagoas , Sergipe , and the northern part of Bahia —was the center of the great sugar culture that for centuries dominated Brazil. The Northeast has also contributed much to the literature and culture of Brazil. In these states the general pattern is a narrow coastal plain (formerly supporting the sugarcane plantations and now given over to diversified subtropical crops) and a semiarid interior, or sertão , subject to recurrent droughts. This region has been the object of vigorous reclamation efforts by the government. The "bulge" of Brazil reaches its turning point at the Cape of São Roque. To the northeast lie the islands of Fernando de Noronha , and to the south is the port of Natal . South of the "corner" of Brazil, the characteristic pattern of S Brazilian geography becomes notable: the narrow and interrupted coastal lowlands are bordered on the west by an escarpment, which in some places reaches the sea. Above the escarpment is the great Brazilian plateau, which tapers off in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, where it is succeeded by the plains of the Río de la Plata country. The escarpment itself appears from the sea as a mountain range, generally called the Serra do Mar [coast range], and the plateau is interrupted by mountainous regions, such as that in Bahia, which separates E Bahia from the valley of the São Francisco River. The chief cities of the Northeast are the ports of Recife in Pernambuco and Salvador in Bahia. There are a number of excellent harbors farther south: Vitória in Espírito Santo; Rio de Janeiro, the former capital, one of the most beautiful and most capacious harbors in the world; Santos , the port of São Paulo and the one of the greatest coffee ports in the world; and Pôrto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul. In the east and southeast is the heavily populated region of Brazil—the states that in the 19th and 20th cent. received the bulk of European immigrants and took hegemony away from the old Northeast. The state of Rio de Janeiro , with the great steel center of Volta Redonda , is heavily industrialized. Neighboring São Paulo state has even more industry, as well as extensive agriculture. The city of São Paulo, on the plateau, has continued the vigorous and aggressive development that marked the region in the 17th and 18th cent., when the paulistas went out in the famed bandeiras (raids), searching for slaves and gold and opening the rugged interior. They were largely responsible for the development of the gold and diamond mines of Minas Gerais state, the second most populous state in Brazil, and for the building of its old mining center of Vila Rica ( Ouro Prêto ), succeeded by Belo Horizonte as capital. Minas has some of the finest iron reserves in the world, as well as other mineral wealth, and has become industrialized. Settlement also spread from São Paulo southward, particularly in the 19th and early 20th cent. when coffee from São Paulo's terra roxa [purple soil] had become the basis of Brazilian wealth, and coffee growing spread to Paraná . That state, in the west, runs out to the "corner" where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet at the natural marvel of the Iguaçu Falls on the Paraná River. The huge Itaipú Dam, built from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s by Paraguay and Brazil, provides power for most of southern Brazil. The more southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul , developed to a large extent by German and Slavic immigrants, are primarily cattle-raising areas with increasing industrial importance. Frontier development is continuing in central Brazil. The state of Mato Grosso is still largely devoted to stock raising. The transcontinental railroad from Bolivia spans the southern part of the state. The federal district of Brasília was carved out of the neighboring plateau state of Goiás , to the east, and the national capital was transferred to the planned city of Brasília in 1960. People Brazil has the largest population in South America and is the fifth most populous country in the world. The people are diverse in origin, and Brazil often boasts that the new "race" of Brazilians is a successful amalgam of African, European, and indigenous strains, a claim that is truer in the social than the political or economic realm. More than half the population is of European descent, while another 40% are of mixed African and European ancestry. Portuguese is the official language and nearly universal; English is widely taught as a second language. Most of the estimated 350,000 to 550,000 indigenous peoples (chiefly of Tupí or Guaraní linguistic stock) are found in the rain forests of the Amazon River basin; 12% of Brazil's land has been set aside as indigenous areas. About 75% of the population is at least nominally Roman Catholic; there is a growing Protestant minority. Economy Brazil has one of the world's largest economies, with well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors. Vast disparities remain, however, in the country's distribution of land and wealth. Roughly one fifth of the workforce is involved in agriculture. The major commercial crops are coffee (Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter), citrus fruit (especially juice oranges, of which Brazil also is the world's largest producer), soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, cotton, tobacco, and bananas. Cattle, pigs, and sheep are the most numerous livestock, and Brazil is a major beef and poultry exporter. Timber is also important, although much is illegally harvested. Brazil has vast mineral wealth, including iron ore (it is the world's largest producer), tin, quartz, chrome ore, manganese, industrial diamonds, gem stones, gold, nickel, bauxite, uranium, and platinum. Recently discovered offshore petroleum and natural gas deposits could also make the nation a significant oil and gas producer. There is extensive food processing, and the leading manufacturing industries produce textiles, shoes, chemicals, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, and machinery. Most of Brazil's electricity comes from water power, and it possesses extensive untapped hydroelectric potential, particularly in the Amazon basin. In addition to coffee, Brazil's exports include transportation equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, motor vehicles, concentrated orange juice, beef, and tropical hardwoods. Machinery, electrical and transportation equipment, chemical products, oil, and electronics are major imports. Most trade is with the United States, Argentina, China, and Germany. Brazil is a member of Mercosur . Government Brazil is governed under the 1988 constitution as amended. The president, who is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (and may serve two terms), is both head of state and head of government. There is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper Federal Senate and a lower Chamber of Deputies. The 81 senators are elected for eight years and the 513 deputies are elected for four years. The president may unilaterally intervene in state affairs. Administratively, the country is divided into 26 states and one federal district (Brasília); each state has its own governor and legislature. The main political parties are the Brazilian Democratic Movement party, the Liberal Front party (now known as the Democrats party), the Democratic Labor party, the Brazilian Social Democracy party, and the Workers party. History Early History There is evidence suggesting possible human habitation in Brazil more than 30,000 years ago, and scholars have found artifacts, including cave paintings, that all agree date back at least 11,000 years. By the time Europeans arrived there was a relatively small indigenous population, but the archaeological record indicates that densely populated settlements had previously existed in some areas; smallpox and other European diseases are believed to have decimated these settlements prior to extensive European exploration. The indigenous peoples that survived can be classified into two main groups, a partially sedentary population that spoke the Tupian language and had similar cultural patterns, and those that moved from place to place in the vast land. It is estimated that approximately a million indigenous people were scattered throughout the territory. Whether or not Brazil was known to Portuguese navigators in the 15th cent. is still an unsolved problem, but the coast was visited by the Spanish mariner Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (see under Pinzón, Martín Alonso ) before the Portuguese under Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 claimed the land, which came within the Portuguese sphere as defined in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). Little was done to support the claim, but the name Brazil is thought to derive from the Portuguese word for the red color of brazilwood [ brasa =glowing coal], which the early visitors gathered. The indigenous people taught the explorers about the cultivation of corn, the construction of hammocks, and the use of dugout canoes. The first permanent settlement was not made until 1532, and that was at São Vicente in São Paulo. Development of the Northeast was begun about the same time under Martím Afonso de Sousa as first royal governor. Salvador was founded in 1539, and 12 captaincies were established, stretching inland from the Brazilian coast. Portuguese claims, somewhat lackadaisically administered, did not go unchallenged. French Huguenots established themselves (1555) on an island in Rio de Janeiro harbor and were routed in 1567 by a force under Mem de Sá , who then founded the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Dutch made their first attack on Salvador (Bahia) in 1624, and in 1633 the vigorous Dutch West India Company was able to capture and hold not only Salvador and Recife but the whole of the Northeast; the region was ably ruled by John Maurice of Nassau . No aid was forthcoming from Portugal, which had been united with Spain in 1580 and did not regain its independence until 1640. It was a naval expedition from Rio itself that drove out the Dutch in 1654. The success of the colonists helped to build their self-confidence. Farther south, the bandeirantes from São Paulo had been trekking westward since the beginning of the 17th cent., thrusting far into Spanish territory and extending the western boundaries of Brazil, which were not delimited until the negotiations of the Brazilian diplomat Rio Branco in the late 19th and early 20th cent. The Portuguese also had ambitions to control the Banda Oriental (present Uruguay) and in the 18th cent. came into conflict with the Spanish there; the matter was not completely settled even by the independence of Uruguay in 1828. The sugar culture came to full flower in the Northeast, where the plantations were furnishing most of the sugar demanded by Europe. Unsuccessful at exploiting the natives for the backbreaking labor of the cane fields and sugar refineries, European colonists imported Africans in large numbers as slaves. Dependence on a one-crop economy was lessened by the development of the mines in the interior, particularly those of Minas Gerais, where gold was discovered late in the 17th cent. Mining towns sprang up, and Ouro Prêto became in the 18th cent. a major intellectual and artistic center, boasting such artists as the sculptor Aleijadinho . The center of development began to swing south, and Rio de Janeiro, increasingly important as an export center, supplanted Salvador as the capital of Brazil in 1763. Ripples from intellectual stirrings in Europe that preceded the French Revolution and the successful American Revolution brought on an abortive plot for independence among a small group of intellectuals in Minas; the plot was discovered and the leader, Tiradentes , was put to death. When Napoleon's forces invaded Portugal, the king of Portugal, John VI , fled (1807) to Brazil, and on his arrival (1808) in Rio de Janeiro that city became the capital of the Portuguese Empire. The ports of the colony were freed of mercantilist restrictions, and Brazil became a kingdom, of equal status with Portugal. In 1821 the king returned to Portugal, leaving his son behind as regent of Brazil. New policies by Portugal toward Brazil, tightening colonial restrictions, stirred up wide unrest. Independence and the Birth of Modern Brazil The young prince eventually acceded to popular sentiment, and advised by the Brazilian José Bonifácio , on Sept. 7, 1822, on the banks of the Ipiranga River, allegedly uttered the fateful cry of independence. He became Pedro I , emperor of Brazil. Pedro's rule, however, gradually kindled increasing discontent in Brazil, and in 1831 he had to abdicate in favor of his son, Pedro II . The reign of this popular emperor saw the foundation of modern Brazil. Ambitions directed toward the south were responsible for involving the country in the war (1851-52) against the Argentine dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and again in the War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) against Paraguay. Brazil drew little benefit from either; far more important were the rise of postwar discontent in the military and beginnings of the large-scale European immigration that was to make SE Brazil the economic heart of the nation. Railroads and roads were constructed, and today the region has an excellent transportation system. The plantation culture of the Northeast was already crumbling by the 1870s, and the growth of the movement to abolish slavery, spurred by such men as Antônio de Castro Alves and Joaquim Nabuco , threatened it even more. The slave trade had been abolished in 1850, and a law for gradual emancipation was passed in 1871. In 1888 while Pedro II was in Europe and his daughter Isabel was governing Brazil, slavery was completely abolished. The planters thereupon withdrew their support of the empire, enabling republican forces, aided by a military at odds with the emperor, to triumph. In 1889 the republic was established by a bloodless revolution, with Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca as its first president. The rivalry of the states and the power of the army in government, especially under Fonseca's unpopular Jacobinist successor, Marshal Floriando Peixoto , caused the political situation to remain uneasy. The expanding market for Brazilian coffee and more particularly the wild-rubber boom brought considerable wealth as the 19th cent. ended. Brazil in the Twentieth Century The creation of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia brought the wild-rubber boom to a halt and hurt the economy of the Amazon region after 1912. Brazil sided with the Allies in World War I, declaring war in Oct., 1917, and shared in the peace settlement, but later (1926) it withdrew from the League of Nations. Measures to reverse the country's growing economic dependence on coffee were taken by Getúlio Vargas , who came into power through a coup in 1930. By changing the constitution and establishing a type of corporative state he centralized government (the Estado Nôvo —new state) and began the forced development of basic industries and diversification of agriculture. His mild dictatorial rule, although it aroused opposition, reflected a new consciousness of nationality, which was expressed in the paintings of Cândido Portinari and the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos . World War II brought a new boom (chiefly in rubber and minerals) to Brazil, which joined the Allies in 1942, after coming close to backing Germany, and began taking a larger part in inter-American affairs. In 1945 the army forced Vargas to resign, and Gen. Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president. Brazil's economic growth was plagued by inflation, and this issue enabled Vargas to be elected in 1950. His second administration was marred by economic problems and political infighting, and in 1954 he committed suicide. Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955. Under Kubitschek the building of Brasília and an ambitious program of highway and dam construction were undertaken. The inflation problem persisted. On Apr. 21, 1960, Brasília became Brazil's official capital, signaling a new commitment to develop the interior of the country. In 1960 Jânio da Silva Quadros was elected by the greatest popular margin in Brazilian history, but his autocratic, unpredictable manner aroused great opposition and undermined his attempts at reform. He resigned within seven months. Vice President João Goulart was his successor. Goulart's leftist administration was weakened by political strife and seemingly insurmountable economic chaos, and in 1964 he was deposed by a military insurrection. Congress elected Gen. Castelo Branco to fill out his term. Goulart's supporters and other leftists were removed from power and influence throughout Brazil and, in 1965, the president's extraordinary powers were extended and all political parties were dissolved. A new constitution was adopted in 1967, and Marshall Costa e Silva succeeded Castelo Branco. In 1968, Costa e Silva recessed Congress and assumed one-man rule. In 1969, Gen. Emílio Garrastazú Médici succeeded Costa e Silva. Terrorism of the right and left became a feature of Brazilian life. The military police responded to guerrilla attacks with widespread torture and the formation of death squads to eradicate dissidents. This violence abated somewhat in the mid-1970s. Gen. Ernesto Geisel succeeded Médici as president in 1974. By this time, Brazil had become the world's largest debtor. In 1977 Geisel dismissed Congress and instituted a series of constitutional and electoral reforms, and in 1978 he repealed all emergency legislation. His successor, Gen. João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo , presided over a period (1979-85) of tremendous industrial development and increasing movement toward democracy. Despite these improvements, economic and social problems continued and the military maintained control of the government. Civilian government was restored in 1985 under José Sarney, and illiterate citizens were given the right to vote. Sarney's reforms were initially successful, but increasing inflation brought antigovernment protests. In 1988 a new constitution came into force, reducing the workweek and providing for freedom of assembly and the right to strike, and in 1990 President Fernando Collor de Mello was elected by popular vote. As a result of increasing international pressure, Collor sponsored programs to decrease the rate of deforestation in Amazon rain forests and to protect the autonomy of the indigenous Yanomami. In 1992, amid charges of wide-scale corruption within his government, Collor became the first elected president to be impeached by the Brazilian congress; he resigned as his trial began, to be replaced temporarily by his vice president, Itamar Augusto Franco. In 1994 the supreme court cleared Collor of corruption charges, but he was barred from public office until 2001. Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected president in Oct., 1994, and took office in Jan., 1995. The Cardoso government reduced state controls on the economy and privatized government-owned businesses in telecommunications, oil, mining, and electricity. With the help of a new stable currency, Cardoso was able to bring inflation under control; he also signed decrees expropriating new lands from private estates for redistribution to the landless poor. Reelected in 1998, Cardoso was faced with an economic crisis as budget deficits and a decline in foreign exchange reserves led to currency devaluations and increased interest rates. Late in 1998, he appealed to the International Monetary Fund, which assembled a $42 billion aid package for the country. Brazil then began implementing a program of stringent economic policies that restored investor confidence by mid-1999 and led to economic growth. In May, 2000, Cardoso signed a fiscal responsibility law that limited spending by the states; the legislation was a result of fiscal crises in several Brazilian states. A series of corruption scandals that undermined the governing coalition in early 2001 was followed by an energy crisis that led the government to order widespread cuts in electrical consumption from May until Mar., 2002; the crisis resulted from a drought that reduced the water available to produce hydropower and a decade-long increase in the demand for electricity. Popular dissatisfaction with economic austerities helped fuel the election of Lula da Silva , of the opposition Workers' party (PT), to the presidency in 2002. Da Silva's subsequent inauguration also marked the increasing stability of Brazilian democracy; it was the first transfer of power between elected presidents since 1961. The new president did not deviate greatly from his predecessor's economic program, however, which alienated many supporters on the left. Da Silva's government was hurt by a campaign finance scandal in early 2004 and by an increase in unemployment, and suffered losses in popular and congressional support, although economic growth in 2004 was strong and unemployment subsequently decreased. In June, 2005, the president was further hurt PT officials were accused of buying the votes of some of its congressional coalition members. The charges, made by the leader of a party in coalition with the president, led to the resignation of the president's chief of staff (who was expelled from the congress late in the year) and of the Workers' party leader and treasurer and forced the president to reshuffle his cabinet to shore up coalition support for his government. A separate bribery scandal led to the resignation of the speaker of the House in September, and in Mar., 2006, the finance minister resigned when he also was ensnared in a bribery scandal. Although the president weathered the scandals, they led to the sidetracking of social-reform legislation he had proposed. Meanwhile, Amazonas state was hit by a severe drought in 2005 when the dry season saw much less rainfall than usual. A weeklong outbreak of rampant gang violence and, in turn, police vengeance against the gangs erupted in mid-May, 2006, in São Paulo state when a gang sought revenge for a government attempt to break the influence of its imprisoned leaders and members. The violence exposed a variety of ills in Brazil criminal justice system, including corruption in the prisons and lawlessness among the police. São Paulo experienced outbreaks of criminal gang violence in July and August as well, and Rio de Janeiro experienced a series of gang attacks in late December. The 2006 presidential election, in October, was inconclusive after the first round. Da Silva won a plurality, but failed to win the required majority; his campaign was hurt by the corruption scandals that affected the PT and a late-breaking dirty-tricks scandal involving his campaign organization. The runner-up, Geraldo Alckmin, the former governor of São Paulo state, saw his campaign hurt by the recent violence in the state. In the runoff at the end of the month, da Silva won handily, securing 60% of the vote. Corruption scandals continued to make news in 2007. The most prominent new cases occurred in May, when the energy minister resigned after corruption allegations against him became public and a major Brazilian newsmagazine reported that the Senate president had taken payoffs; toward the end of the year the Senate president resigned, though he remained a senator. In August, the supreme court voted to charge da Silva's former chief of staff and the former Workers' party treasurer with corruption. In Jan., 2008, Brazil became a net creditor nation, in large part due to debt-reduction measures undertaken by da Silva's government. Bibliography See G. Freyre, Order and Progress; Brazil from Monarchy to Republic (tr. 1970); F. de Azevedo, Brazilian Culture (tr. 1950, repr. 1971); E. B. Burns, A History of Brazil (2d ed. 1980); P. McDonough, Power and Ideology in Brazil (1981); T. C. Bruneau, The Church in Brazil: The Politics of Religion (1982); P. S. Falk and D. V. Fleischer, Brazil's Economic and Political Future (1988); R. P. Guirmaraes, Politics and Environment in Brazil (1991)

Australian dollor hike

Monday morning in Asia, the Australian dollar strengthened against its major counterparts as demand for the higher-yielding currencies increased following a surge in stock prices.

London Forex

The foreign exchange market (Currency, Forex, or FX) market is where currency trading takes place. It is where banks and other official institutions facilitate the buying and selling of foreign currencies. [1]FX transactions typically involve one party purchasing a quantity of one currency in exchange for paying a quantity of another. The foreign exchange market that we see today started evolving during the 1970s when worldover countries gradually switched to floating exchange rate from their erstwhile exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system till 1971.
Today, the FX market is one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, corporations, governments, and other institutions. The average daily volume in the global foreign exchange and related markets is continuously growing. Traditional daily turnover was reported to be over US$3.2 trillion in April 2007 by the Bank for International Settlements.[2] Since then, the market has continued to grow. According to Euromoney's annual FX Poll, volumes grew a further 41% between 2007 and 2008.[3]
The purpose of FX market is to facilitate trade and investment. The need for a foreign exchange market arises because of the presence of multifarious international currencies such as US Dollar, Pound Sterling, etc., and the need for trading in such currencies

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Every one has his days when no matter how well he has planned out his trades, he may find some of his trades not performing to what is planned. It is only natural for one to feel upset, but for the follower of a forex trading system, making money or losing money from that trade is not the paramount objective.
Why is this so?
For the trader who employs a forex trading system, he can still face the losing trade with a smile, because he has had followed through the trading signals in a disciplined way, and it is only when a trader follows a system, he can be sure of keeping his losses small and to live to trade again anotherday.
By using a forex trading system, the trader can have a cool head, and can face his trades rather unemotionally. He can execute his trades following pre-determined price levels of initial stop loss, trailing loss and computed and projected price profit

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Online Forex Trading is about buying or selling of currency pairs such as Euro versus the US Dollar, the Dollar vs. the Japanese Yen (and a lot more) without having to physically change your money. If you invest in company stocks, you invest in a corporation, think about Forex trading as investing in a currency versus another currency. In essence, Online Forex Trading is about using your money to invest in money.

Unknown to most people, the Forex Market is the Biggest Financial Market in the world with an average of approximately 1.9 Trillion US Dollars changing hands on any given day. It is where Banks, Investors, and Speculators exchange one Country’s currency with another. Although modern forex trading has been around since the early 20th century it was not easily accessible to individuals due to the high capital requirement and cumbersome technology. It was only well after the 1990s when the computer and internet revolution made it possible and more convenient for small investors like you and me to invest in Forex.

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Offered in limited numbers, this course is a comprehensive analysis of the Foreign exchange market and what you need to do in order to be successful in it. Forex Profit Accelerater comes in the form of a manual and video tutorials that teach you 4 major trading strategies which fit different market conditions and allow you to exploit both short term and long term opportunities. But what's special about this course is that it also teaches risk management and money management. This ensures that you modify the strategies to your own personal needs and condition, financial and otherwise.

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Sales forecast Digital Cameras USA market
Nic Rossmüller : June 17th 2006 - 21:19 CET

Sales forecast Digital Cameras USA market : Examine the Factors Driving Growth in the US Digital Camera Market Research and Markets has announced the addition of Digital Cameras

in the United States to their offering. Digital cameras have universal appeal, and have moved rapidly from an early adopter phase to the early stage of mass-market appeal. Even though digital camera sales now outpace sales of traditional cameras, it is clear that Americans have a strong interest in photography, as a hobby and as a means of preserving memories. Consumer research shows that while ownership rates for digital cameras are growing, a majority of households own traditional cameras, and also use disposable, instant and APS cameras.

Sales forecast Digital Cameras USA market

Online photo sharing
However, the appeal of a camera that provides instant results, the ability to delete and manipulate images, and the easy sharing of digital images via the Internet has made inroads with a growing number of U.S. consumers, and this trend will continue. This report clearly identifies the principal external factors driving or curtailing growth in the digital camera market. Exclusive consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics and by camera type. Six years of specific sales data provide a factual and impartial presentation of the market as a whole. The report also evaluates the performance of individual sectors in the market, and provides information about the companies and brands.

SPSS camera sales forecast - studies
Using the SPSS forecasting package, a five-year forecast of U.S. retail sales is created, revealing potential opportunities for growth and product development. Accessories, such as compact flash cards, tripods, lens attachments, photo quality printers, ink, paper, software and professional photo finishing are discussed but are not included in the market size. Traditional camera products, such as 35mm, instant cameras, advanced photo systems (APS), and single-use disposable cameras, are also discussed, but are not included in the market size or segmentation.

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SPSS Inc. is a leading worldwide provider of predictive analytics software and solutions. Founded in 1968, today SPSS has more than 250,000 customers worldwide, served by more than 1,200 employees in 60 countries.

Helping Organizations Improve Performance Through Analytics
SPSS has become a leader in predictive analytics technologies through a combination of commitment to innovation and dedication to customers. You will find SPSS customers in virtually every industry, including telecommunications, banking, finance, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, consumer packaged goods, higher education, government, and market research.

Predictive analytics
Customers use SPSS predictive analytics software to anticipate change, manage both daily operations and special initiatives more effectively, and realize positive, measurable benefits. By incorporating predictive analytics into their daily operations, they become Predictive Enterprises able to direct and automate decisions to meet business goals and achieve measurable competitive advantage.

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