Monday, July 29, 2013

Church of England?s holier-than-thou investment policy will cost it millions

Archbishop Justin Welby has ordered a review of the Church?s ethical investment policy after it emerged it had holdings in firms that profit from payday lending.

It has emerged that the Church?s existing ethical ?investment rules allow it to ?invest in companies that fund tobacco, gambling, alcohol or high interest lending as long as these activities do not form more than a quarter of its ?business.

Experts say if the Church decides to further ?reduce, or even cancel, its holdings in such firms, it will have a major knock-on effect on its finances.

Its ethical investment policy is already estimated to cost the Church more than ?10million a year in lost revenue and many within the organisation feel that with falling congregations, rising costs for maintaining its buildings plus an ever ?increasing pensions commitment, it can ill afford the luxury of becoming more ethical.

Promising to re-examine where the Church puts its money Archbishop Welby said: ?We have to review these ?levels and make sure we are ?consistent between what we are saying and what we are doing.?

He admitted he was ?irritated and embarrassed? to discover, after vowing to drive payday lenders out of business, that the Church had indirectly invested in payday loan firm Wonga, with a ?75,000 stake in US venture capital firm Accel Partners, which injected ?capital into Wonga in 2009.

It costs more than ?1billion a year to run the Church and by far the largest source of ?income, about ?750million, comes from revenue from the hire of its buildings and donations from parishioners.

Yet whereas 50 years ago more than half of Britain?s population went to church that figure is now 15 per cent and falling.

About 20 per cent of the Church?s annual income comes from revenue earned by its ?5.5billion portfolio of assets, managed by the Church ?Commissioners.

After suffering huge losses in 2008 as the global downturn bit, the Church doubled its ?investments in controversial hedge funds. It has also kept stakes in companies that have been dumped by other ?investors on moral grounds.

The biggest investment by the Church?s pension fund is in Royal Dutch Shell, which has been blamed by campaigners for oil spills and conflict in the Niger Delta in Africa.

Recent years have seen the Church win praise from experts for the performance of its investments with above average yields being achieved.

However an ?ethical? crackdown on where it can invest its money is likely to make that level of performance virtually impossible to maintain.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nsswtps/~3/j_Fh9wJEpZg/Fears-over-cost-of-church-crackdown

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Need a new laptop? Try AMD, save money.

Cash-strapped consumers, take note: buying a laptop with an AMD processor instead of an Intel one could save you up to 38 percent off of a new laptop. AMD systems tend to be outperformed by Intel, however, so take your needs into consideration when you're buying.

By Louis Ramirez,?Contributor / July 29, 2013

Visitors look at motherboards being displayed at the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) booth exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2012. Although Intel dominates the laptop market, AMD processors can save consumers looking for a new laptop significant amounts of money.

Yi-ting Chung/Reuters/File

Enlarge

These days it's easy to find any number laptop deals. Between back-to-school sales and falling consumer demand, notebook prices are at all-time lows. Furthermore, today's technology is so advanced that even last year's processors are still able to meet nearly all general computing needs.

Skip to next paragraph Dealnews.com

is devoted to finding the best deals on consumer goods, whether or not they're from an advertiser. For more great offers visit dealnews.com, which works with advertisers to craft offers for readers.

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However, for the truly cash-strapped who are in need of a laptop that can get online and smoothly stream some of those HD Netflix movies, there's one more laptop buying tip that we've left for last ? a tip that can slash up to 38% off your final price.

Intel Dominates the Market, But AMD Is Up to 38% Cheaper

There's no denying that when it comes to laptops, Intel owns the market. While AMD's processors have generally trumped Intel's CPUs in terms of graphics performance, Intel's Core series processors have outperformed AMD in every other test. In addition, with each CPU refresh Intel's integrated graphics have managed to ever so slightly close the gap between the two. As a result, Intel has dominated the laptop industry not just this year, but since the days of the Core 2 Duo.

However, AMD is far from doomed. Its APUs have boasted excellent graphics, power efficiency, and most importantly price. While Intel has concentrated on performance, AMD has dominated the budget market. Over the past year, our listings of 15" AMD dual-core systems have been, on average, 31% cheaper than 15" Intel dual-core systems, with prices at $251 versus $383, respectively. (Oddly, Intel's Core i3 systems have at times been pricier or equal to Intel's Core i5 deals, so for our purposes we compared AMD E- and A-series notebooks to the cheapest Core i3 or Core i5 laptops we could find for each month.) And some months the savings on AMD laptops reached as much as 58% over its Intel cousins.

That said, AMD's systems don't always stand toe-to-toe with Intel's laptops. For instance, prior to the release of Windows 8, most of the AMD systems we listed included a mere 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, whereas dual-core Intel systems we listed included 4GB of RAM and a minimum 500GB hard drive. It wasn't until after the release of Windows 8 that the majority of AMD systems jumped to the standard 4GB of RAM, while Intel systems slowly crept up to 6GB.

The same can be said of quad-core systems. For the past year, AMD's quad-core laptop deals have been 38% cheaper than Intel's quad-core deals, with an average price of $359 against Intel's $590. Again, AMD's systems typically came with just 4GB of RAM, whereas Intel's quad-core systems generally included 6GB, and on a few occasions up to 8GB. Regardless, the savings are substantial, and to date, deals on Intel quad-core machines haven't come close to matching the low prices of AMD's best quad laptops.

Cheap AMD Laptops Deals

Scoring a deal on a budget AMD system isn't hard, as we list many of them in any given month. This summer, the average price for an AMD dual-core system has been $262, whereas the average price of a quad-core system has been $350. If shopping for the former, look for specs that include 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. On the quad-core front, 6GB of RAM seems to be the max; a 4GB, 320GB hard drive setup is the norm.

Of course, these deals don't always last long, so the best plan of action is to set up an email alert for the AMD configuration you want; we'll notify you as soon as a deal is posted to the site.

Louis Ramirez is a senior features writer at dealnews.com, where this article first appeared. Original article:?http://dealnews.com/features/Opt-for-AMD-Instead-of-Intel-and-Save-Up-to-38-on-Your-Next-Laptop/793878.html

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/JoM_-Km3Z3E/Need-a-new-laptop-Try-AMD-save-money

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Animal health and welfare and food safety report published

The reports draw on evidence submitted to provide a wide ranging and balanced analysis of the EU?s ability to act, the impact that EU action has on the UK national interest and future challenges.

The Food Standards Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs worked on the Animal Health and Welfare and Food Safety report. This covers food safety, including feed, food labelling and food compositional standards. A separate report on health, also published today, covers nutrition and related matters.

The reports and submitted evidence can be found via the 'External sites' links.

Source: http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2013/jul/animal-health

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Sunday, July 28, 2013

X-Arcade's rugged Solo Joystick: supports PC, Mac, Linux and nine ...

XArcade's rugged Solo Joystick supports PC, Mac, Linux and nine gaming consoles

There's multifaceted, and then there's X-Arcade's Solo Joystick. Following up on the outfit's aptly-titled Dual Joystick, the Solo here is a 12-pound beast that's built to withstand just about anything. And, indeed, function just about anywhere. Up for pre-order now, the gamepad is set to ship to gamers everywhere on December 1st, bringing with it 11-inches of arcade-style glory. It'll function with PC, Mac and Linux rigs right out of the box for $99.99, while optional adapters enable support for nine different gaming consoles (PlayStation 1 / 2 / 3, Wii, Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Wii U). Oh, and since you're wondering, they company claims that it's "hard at work on new adapters for the upcoming Xbox One and PS4," and it's throwing in a fully licensed version of Maximus Arcade Software for anyone who places an order before September 1st.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/28/x-arcade-rugged-solo-joystick-pre-order-available/

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Japan's Abe vows maritime help to Philippines amid China row

MANILA: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged increased maritime cooperation with the Philippines on Saturday amid growing territorial disputes with regional rival China.

"For Japan, the Philippines is a strategic partner with whom we share fundamental values and many strategic interests," Abe told a joint news conference with Philippine president Benigno Aquino after their meeting in Manila.

"In order to further reinforce this relationship... we confirm continued assistance to the capacity-building of the Philippine coastguard."

Abe's overnight visit came as tensions have steadily risen between China and Japan, which accuses its neighbour of sending an increasing number of ships to exert its claim over unpopulated Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

The Philippines has also charged that China is asserting claims in the conflict-riven South China Sea.

Japan earlier this year announced it would extend yen loans to allow the Philippines to purchase 10 Japanese patrol vessels for its coastguard.

The poorly-equipped Filipino coast guard and navy have been at the forefront of tense encounters with navy and maritime surveillance vessels from China, which claims most of the South China Sea including areas close to the Filipino coast.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal, a South China Sea outcrop just 230 kilometres (140 miles) east of the main Philippine island of Luzon, last year after Manila backed down from a lengthy stand-off.

This year, the Philippines has complained about the presence of Chinese navy vessels near Filipino-held Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly islands.

"The Prime Minister and I agreed to strengthen maritime cooperation which is a pillar of our strategic partnership," Aquino said on Saturday.

"We reviewed the security challenges that confront our nations and pledged to cooperate in advancing our common advocacy for responsible action from international players.

"We believe this can be done by upholding the rule of law in international affairs and finding just and peaceful solutions to our territorial disputes and maritime concerns."

Abe said on Saturday he intends to use his party's decisive victory in the upper house of the Japanese parliament to pursue his vision of Tokyo's role in the region, many parts of which were under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II.

"Against this backdrop I intend to further proceed with strategic diplomacy which will contribute to regional and global peace and security," he said.

"I intend to attach particular importance to our relationship with ASEAN."

Association of Southeast Asian Nations members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, as well as claims from China and Taiwan.

Abe earlier pledged to ease limits on the military in Japan's pacifist, post-war constitution and stand up to China over their East China Sea dispute.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, who visited the Philippines last month, said the two countries would cooperate "in terms of the defence of remote islands... as well as protection of maritime interests".

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/japan-s-abe-vows-maritime/758032.html

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Use These Affiliate Marketing Tips To Grow Your Business | Content ...

Author: Tony Shawrtz | Total views: 72 Comments: 0
Word Count: 914 Date:

This sort of system is so attractive because it is fairly cheap and easy to manage. There is no product involved for the affiliated businessman. It is not as easy as it first appears, however. It takes a committed effort if you want to develop a reliable income stream.

Make sure that your partners don't take advantage of cookies, and certainly don't do it yourself. At best, this is irritating to the visitor. You could possibly spread viruses or break the customer tracking chains.

Always disclose when you are using affiliate marketing and see how it affects your readers and visitors in a positive manner. Transparency is always appreciated, particularly in the field of affiliate marketing. If your readers understand the reasons you utilize affiliate marketing, they may be more positive and responsive to the links provided on your site.

Selecting an affiliate products company with several payment options should be high on your list, especially if you need a quick turn-around for your earnings. There are affiliate companies that only offer payment once you have reached a particular dollar amount, while others will direct pay you through a checking account or other online payment services.

As a time saving tip for affiliates who are dealing with many emails with instructions that need to be addressed, don't waste time continuing to go back to the emails to reread the message. Save time and be productive put them into a word document. By using the document as your reference, you can work more quickly and efficiently.

When visitors come to your sports-focused website, they are expecting information about sports. Providing affiliate links may prove to be unfruitful if the links are forwarding visitors to websites that do not pertain to sports. If your link is close to the website topic, your visitors are going to be more interested in it.

Paid advertising, such as Google Ads, is a good way to make money from affiliate marketing programs. Use targeted keywords in your ads to attract customers to your site.

When selecting prospective affiliates, do so with purpose and with a clear idea of who your target audience is. This allows you to drive traffic and connect with your target market through a sense of shared understanding.

Choose affiliate companies that are supportive and help their affiliates by sharing resources that can help sell their products. Generally, affiliate businesses are not stupid. They do research to learn what marketing techniques convert customers. Successful companies share their information with affiliates in an effort to create customized marketing campaigns to sell products.

If you employ banner ads try to put a question on it, some people will click and not be able to refuse clicking. Most people will be unable to leave without clicking on the banner. Reward the visitors by presenting discounts to those that answered the question correctly.

When you are reviewing a product, spice up your opinions with movies, pictures, and whatever else you can think of that will really make that product look good to others. You will be able to bring in more income with affiliate marketing if you go this route. These will help people see how great the product is and convince them to buy one. Be very precise and specific in your reviews. Buyers want to know everything there is to know about something before they buy it.

Knowing real time statistics is incredibly important. These will help you to track how much traffic your site is getting, and exactly how many of your products have been purchased.

A crucial element of affiliate marketing is obtaining as many backlinks as you can, but it can backfire on you if your visitors feel deceived by inappropriate content. A visitor will not be happy if the link they clicked on did not take them to the destination that he or she thought it would. This will speak of dishonesty to your visitors, no matter how well the strategy is planned.

You should not conclude that 100% commissions are a program scam. Take the time to read through it and you may find that there is no scam to it. There are legitimate companies that offer such programs. While you enjoy the 100 percent commission, the company makes money on subscriptions that follow the original purchase. This can greatly benefit you, so pay close attention to an offer similar to this.

You need to make sure that you remain relevant if you wish to find success with affiliate marketing. Keep up with your affiliates and what sort of promotions they may be offering. Check out the constantly evolving tools that will draw customers into your affiliate marketing goals.

Be upfront and disclose that you do make money when your readers buy from your affiliate link. Visitors to your site are likely savvy consumers; resist the temptation to cover up the nature of affiliate links. Early honesty will improve your chances of increasing repeat visits and affiliate customers.

Always try to push your goals further. One day you could turn this into a real profit opportunity. Keep on pressing forward, never let up on working hard, and you will see your profits continue to grow. It can be hard to get started but if you keep at it you can succeed.

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1: Article Marketing Strategy: Putting Together a "Class Schedule" For Your Article Topics

Businesses go to so much trouble when there is one sure-fire, simple, very inexpensive way to attract new clients to a business: Teach a free class. That is what article marketing is like. Your articles are just like free classes. You teach your target readers something helpful in your article. Your resource box then says, "If you enjoyed this article you can visit my website and apply what you have learned."

2: Simple Article Writing: 5 Steps For Beginners Who Are Learning To Write Articles (Try This!)

When you look at an article, you may say, "That article looks great, but I have no idea how I would produce something that good." In this article I am going to help you break your article creation process down into "blocks"--smaller bits of information that when assembled together will form a top quality article submission.

3: Why You Need To Build Multiple Streams of Income For Yourself

Being an entrepreneur and earning multiple streams of income is a dream that many have, but in reality it does take some initial hard work to achieve this. Earning multiple streams of income is the wave of the future, and here are some tips and advice for you when you are looking for ways in which to do this for yourself.

4: Understanding Online Business Success

Starting a home based business to earn income online takes a significant amount of time and energy upfront to get things going. Not seeing results immediately can be discouraging and cause people to give up too early. In this article, we look at the process of starting a home based business and working through the frustrations to be there when the sales come flowing in.

5: Back Link Building - 6 Methods You Can Use To Rank Your Blog Posts

Panda and Penquin Google has changed the game with back link building. Here are the backlink strategies I use to get quality backlinks.

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/internet-marketing/use-these-affiliate-marketing-tips-to-grow-your-business.htm

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