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By Grant Saggers and Joel Strange
Is regulatory independence under threat? If it is, why? And does it even matter? These three questions were considered in the recent sixth Beesley Lecture by Tim Tutton, former Director of Regulation at National Grid, and Richard Price, Chief Executive of the Office of Rail Regulation.
Is regulatory independence under threat?
Tim Tutton argued that regulatory independence is always under threat, and that the real question is whether it is more or less under threat now. He believed it is. Tim cited the energy sector as a case in point, emphasising "diminution" of regulatory independence since the late 1990s, as successive legislative changes have limited the policy areas over which Ofgem has influence, and reduced the amount of discretion available to it within its policy domain. More widely, informal measures – such as public statements by politicians and conversations between regulators and political figures behind closed doors – may have played a similar role.
Why is it under threat?
Tim also explored the reasons why the threats to regulatory independence may be growing, and why some sectors may be more likely to attract political attention than others. By their nature, the markets with independent regulators tend to produce products and services that are very important to customers, comprising a significant proportion of their income. It is not surprising therefore, that politicians may seek to influence the way these markets work and so challenge the role of the regulator. This is particularly acute in product markets, such as energy, where prices have been on an upward trend and the products remain essential to households.
Does it matter?
The lecture isolated number of reasons why regulatory independence matters. Paramount among these is the need to support a regulatory regime which is stable and predictable (see also the BIS principles for economic regulation). Stability and predictability diminishes the risks of investing in, and lending to, regulated businesses. In turn, this reduces regulated firms' costs of raising funds, and the savings ultimately flow back to consumers. The importance of this issue is highlighted by the analogous debate around central bank independence. In a ground breaking academic article in 1977 (for which they won a Nobel Prize in 2004), Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott showed how even a government with stable, long-term objectives may make erratic policy decisions in the short-term.
Besides stability and predictability, independent regulation can help: overcome 'incomplete' contracts (the idea here is that, since it is not possible to write contracts which cover all possible future states of the world, regulators can promote certainty by 'filling in the gaps' in a consistent and objective way, rather like courts do in other areas); recruit and retain specialist expertise; provide a 'receptacle for blame' for governments when difficult trade-offs have to be made; and meet international obligations. There are checks and balances on regulators, insofar as government sets objectives for regulators and can change them through legislation. There is also the practice of publishing Strategic Steers from government to regulators, which focuses regulators on key issues to the electorate and does so in a transparent way that does not directly limit regulators' discretion.
What should be done?
Given the importance of regulatory independence, and the threats that it seems to face, the natural next question is: what should be done? Richard Price issued a call to action to regulators, companies, the public and politicians to do more to champion the advantages of independent regulation. Regulators should continue to develop a concerted voice to communicate their purpose to customers, and continue to engage with consumers at the grassroots level where appropriate.
Grant Saggers:
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Joel Strange:
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By Barret Kupelian and John Hawksworth
The Great British consumer has been fundamental in driving the UK economy out of recession and into the fast lane of economic growth. But what has really driven this revival and how sustainable is it?
Analysis in our latest UK Economic Outlook shows that the upturn in consumer spending over the past two years can be explained by two main factors:
Real household income growth should persist, but there are limits to how low the savings ratio can go. Our analysis suggests that it could continue its downward course in 2015 before stabilising in the medium term as it approaches pre-crisis levels. On an adjusted basis, excluding net increases in household equity in pension schemes, this implies a negative savings ratio of around -1% on average in 2016-20 (i.e. household spending would exceed household disposable income).
This means that consumer spending growth will become more dependent on real disposable income growth after 2015. As indicated in Table 1 below, our projections suggest that real consumer spending growth could moderate at around 1.7% per annum in the 2016-20 period compared to a projected growth rate of around 2.2-2.3% in 2014 and 2015.
Table 1: PwC projections of real household spending growth
% per annum
Real household disposable income
Adjusted savings ratio level
Real household expenditure
Source: PwC analysis – the adjusted savings ratio is defined as the difference between household disposable income and expenditure, expressed as a % of disposable income
This slowdown in consumer spending growth will only increase the pressure on retailers already hit by fierce price competition and the disruption to business models from the ongoing shift to online sales.
Housing and utilities share of spending to exceed 25% by 2020
From a business perspective, it is not just total consumer spending growth that matters but also how this is divided up by category of spending. So where will consumers spend their hard earned cash in the future?
Figure 1 shows that in our main scenario projections:
In summary, consumer spending growth has been relatively strong for the past two years, which has in part been fuelled by a declining savings ratio. But our analysis shows that there are limits to how low this savings ratio can go. As a result we project that real consumer spending growth is likely to slow down after 2015. This is likely to imply a more general moderation in UK economic growth in the second half of this decade – in terms of the pace of recovery, 2014 may be as good as it gets.
Barret Kupelian
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John Hawksworth:
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By Andrew Sentance, Senior Economic Adviser, PwC
The major political parties have the regional rebalancing of the UK economy high on their agenda - and rightly so. However, improving the prospects of cities and regions outside London and the South East must be based on a realistic view of our regional economies and the drivers of economic growth in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, too much of the debate on regional rebalancing harks back to myths from Britain's past rather than a sober analysis of present realities. Four common and misleading myths frequently surface in the policy and media debate on the UK regions.
The first is the view of Britain divided into an industrial north and midlands, and a commercial and financial south. According to this view, manufacturing industry is the key to regenerating the less well-off regions of the UK. This may have been an accurate description of the UK economy in the nineteenth century and much of the 20th century. But Britain is now a post-industrial economy. In the 1960s, around 35% of the total workforce was employed in manufacturing; that figure is now down to 8% nationally. In the 1960s, nearly two-thirds of employees in the West Midlands worked in manufacturing; the current figure is just over 11%.
UK manufacturing contains some very successful and highly productive sectors – aerospace, specialist engineering, cars and pharmaceuticals. But the bulk of economic activity and employment in all the UK regions is service-based. Across the country, the regional economies rely on services industries for around 70% or more of GDP and at least 75% of employment. Business and financial services are particularly important in supporting high-value added jobs and services exports, not just in London and the South East but across the country. For example, they account for nearly a third of economic output in the North West.
A second myth is that regional disparities between London and the South East and the rest of the UK mainly reflect differences in employment and unemployment. That was true in the 1980s, where many of the former industrial regions suffered persistent and chronically high unemployment. But differences in unemployment rates between the major UK regions are now much reduced. With the exception of the North East and the West Midlands, the unemployment rates across the UK regions lie in the range 4.5% to 7%, with an average of 6%. London's unemployment rate – at 6.6% - is above the national average.
Much more significant variations in employment rates exist within regions – between towns and cities which are well-connected hubs of economic activity, and those which struggle to attract business and jobs. This has created a North-North divide and a South-South divide which is as significant, if not more so, than the well-known North-South divide. Clacton in Essex has the lowest employment rate for 16-64 year olds of any UK travel to work region, while Bury St Edmunds less than 50 miles away has one of the highest. In the midlands and the north, employment blackspots include towns and cities like Wolverhampton, Hartlepool and Blackburn.
A third myth is that holding back London is the way to help other cities and regions. This would be a major mistake. London features alongside New York at the top of most surveys of global cities. The beneficiaries of an attempt to stifle London's economy would be New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Shanghai – not Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Belfast and Glasgow. Indeed, other UK cities could well suffer if London is held back, because it is such an important international hub for the British economy.
A final myth is that the High-Speed 2 rail link (HS2) is the main remedy for UK regional differences. HS2 will not reach Birmingham until the mid-2020s and it won't improve connections with the major northern cities until the 2030s. Meanwhile, it is subject to potential planning and political delays, and is likely to be heavily reliant on public money. HS2 may ultimately deliver some economic benefits in 15-20 years' time, but it is not a magic bullet.
So what should be done to promote stronger UK regions and more balanced economic growth? First, we need to create more powerful regional clusters of knowledge-based services industries, around major cities and their universities. Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Bristol provide good examples of success in doing this. Second, cities and regions outside London and the South East need better transport infrastructure. Improving connections to the global economy via ports and airports and improved links within regions should be the priority. This points to intra-regional projects like HS3, which aims to link up the north of England, and upgrading the A14 which connects the midlands to the east coast ports. Third, the skills base of all regions in the UK is vital to attracting high value-added economic activity. And finally, local government and business leaders need to be empowered to take charge of the economic development agenda, with devolution of decision-making to cities and regions in areas like transport, housing, skills and education. Local leaders, rather than Whitehall and Westminster, know best how to support development in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The coalition government is right to focus on the need for regional rebalancing. But a productive policy agenda must be based on realities, not myths rooted in Britain's industrial past.
A fuller analysis of the UK's regional rebalancing challenge is published in the PwC UK Economic Outlook out later this week.
Andrew Sentance:
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By Richard Laikin and Preithy Kumar*
Water is one of the few industries where meaningful competition has yet to be introduced. However, several developments this past year have made the opening up of this market more likely. This includes the passing of the Water Act which sets out the legal framework for retail and upstream competition in the sector and the publication of the Open Water Programme's draft Market Architecture Plan for the non- household (business and all other non-household customers') retail market. This, alongside the supporting regulatory and pricing framework being developed by Ofwat in the context of PR14 and more broadly, has encouraged competition. Water companies have started to prepare themselves for these changes, but how quickly, and what further options are there to develop the market?
At the most recent Beesley Lecture, Dr Tony Ballance, Director of Strategy & Regulation at Severn Trent Water, discussed these potential options, particularly focusing on the potential for upstream competition, along with an update on how the sector is preparing for non-household retail competition. Professor Gordon Hughes, Chairman of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, provided the response.
Full retail competition in the non- household segment is expected to be extended to England in April 2017. Water companies have largely accepted that this is positive for customers and the sector, and have started to adapt at least in their retailing activities. However, there will be many challenges in getting ready over the next two years, in particular focusing on data, systems and cultural changes in retail. Some companies will want to exit the market. Business separation will be complex, and many companies have not yet got as far ahead on the development of a compliant wholesale function as they have with retail. There will also be increased activity in the current Water Supply Licence market as full competition approaches.
But what are the prospects for upstream competition? It involves the market for the sale of treated and untreated water into the supply system or the disposal of waste into the sewerage system. Government policy is to introduce competition in the upstream elements of the value chain after 2019, but detailed policy decisions on the nature and extent of this have yet to be made. Unlike electricity and gas, the water industry has a number of characteristics that could impede the development of this. Dr Ballance, during this lecture, highlighted that although it will be difficult to implement this type of market, it will not be impossible.
Water is generally a cheap resource but is difficult and expensive to transport. The fact that there are multiple abstraction points and limited interconnected pipes, suggests that there could be an argument for a natural monopoly. However, Dr Ballance argued that this should not constrain our thinking. Productive efficiency is not the most important area of focus, and we should also consider allocative and dynamic efficiency benefits.
One potential option could be to trade water between companies. There are already some inter-company transfers, and different companies have varying marginal costs. By trading more between companies, more allocative efficiency could be gained. Where water is cheaper, it could be sold to areas where it is more expensive. However, Dr Ballance highlighted that current access prices are below long run marginal cost, meaning that there is limited incentive for interconnectivity or for new entrants.
The question should therefore be how can there be greater competitive entry? This could be achieved through a number of potential pricing options. This could include pricing based on the regulated asset base (Regulated Capital Value (RCV) allocated in proportion to assets), 'freedom to charge' (RCV allocated to networks) or based on equivalence (based on wholesale cost less long run marginal cost). However, it will be important that any prices set an appropriate signal for new market entrants and avoid margin squeeze. One option, as argued by Professor Hughes, is to develop a broader market view with all upstream resources (clean and dirty water) traded at a market clearing price, taking into account recycled water and netting of water that goes back into the environment. This will follow a scarcity pricing model but it will be complex to design and implement and further thought will be required in order to treat water as a true resource.
A clear understanding by policy makers and regulators of both the underlying economic issues and the desired policy objectives will be needed before rushing to open the upstream market. And a sound pricing methodology will therefore be critical but will not be straightforward to develop. Factors such as scarcity of water, the nature of the industry's networks and the variance between average and marginal cost will have to be understood clearly in order to make informed policy decisions. Consideration will be needed on the potential impact on existing industry players, e.g. stranding or over-remuneration of assets, and on customers through incidence effects deriving from de-averaging of prices. In addition, there will also need to be a cultural shift, to focus on ensuring new entrants are treated fairly and to develop a mind-set of sharing water between companies.
Overall, it is clear that upstream competition has a number of inter connected factors but the potential benefits could be large and competition could be a great success. Extensive discussion will be required to plan how this will be implemented in practice, and both Dr Ballance and Professor Hughes suggested that the policy and regulatory process should not be rushed just to accommodate the PR19 methodology development timetable. Certainly this will be a key topic for the water industry for many years to come.
*Richard Laikin is the UK Water Sector Leader and a Director in the Consulting team at PwC and Preithy Kumar is a Senior Associate in the PwC Economics & Policy team, focusing on regulatory issues.
Richard Laikin:
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Preithy Kumar:
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By Andrew Sentance and Charlotte Hacker
The Davies Commission is scheduled to report after the General Election on whether Heathrow or Gatwick should be the site of a new runway in the London airport system. When that decision has been made, it will fall to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to provide a regulatory framework which ensures consumers benefit from the additional investment.
This topic was the subject of the fourth Beesley lecture, and the speaker was Iain Osborne, the Group Director of Regulatory Policy at the CAA. The lecture was very timely as the CAA had published a consultation document on this issue earlier in the day.
Iain argued against two views that had surfaced in the debate around airport capacity expansion. First, some had argued that government subsidy might be needed to support the development of a new runway. This should not be necessary given that estimates of the value of the extra capacity to passengers suggested they should be willing to pay to cover the cost of additional runway investment. The investment case at both Heathrow and Gatwick was strong, particularly given that the counterfactual would be exponentially increasing "shadow costs" (cash and non-cash costs of scarcity) for passengers.
Second, the CAA should not be required to turn the regulatory regime into a "machine for making runways". There had been great benefits from the evolution of a lighter touch system of airport regulation following the implementation of the 2012 Civil Aviation Act. This new approach had led to a stronger focus on commercial negotiations between airports and airlines to underpin the setting of airport charges – particularly at Stansted and Gatwick. A similar approach should underpin the regulation of new capacity – with the CAA setting the ground rules while allowing scope for commercial negotiations between airports and airlines to shape the detail of the development and the financial arrangements.
In response to claims that private investment will only be feasible if regulation makes it so – by re-attributing risk and ensuring that private finance risk was underwritten by the passenger – Iain emphasised that in the UK context, economic regulation is to prevent abuse of market power, not to facilitate capital projects. Furthermore, even if the regulator did want to enable above-market prices to underpin such a project, who can confidently predict who will have market power in 2030, let alone 2040? Similarly, pricing power cannot be guaranteed for the future, and financing a runway on the back of commitments to such prices would require confidence that pricing power would endure for a substantial period – which the regulator could not guarantee.
Iain was optimistic that a lighter touch approach to regulation could underpin new runway investment, allowing commercial interest and the dynamism of the aviation industry to find the best solutions, rather than the heavy hand of the regulator imposing a solution. In the discussion which followed the lecture, there was support for his approach but caution about how it might work in practice, focused around four main issues.
First, the airline industry was volatile and business strategies can change. This may limit the scope for commercial contracts to underpin a long-term runway investment. Second, airports frequently looked for pre-funding to finance investments – whereas airlines can see this as a potential competitive disadvantage, with higher charges being levied ahead of the benefits of additional capacity being delivered. Third, European slot regulations determine the allocation of 50pc of new capacity to new entrants, limiting the scope for established airlines at an airport to benefit from new capacity. Fourth, surface access improvements – particularly rail infrastructure – would be needed to realise the benefits from new runway capacity. That could require additional public funding, even if a new runway development itself was privately funded.
These are issues which will need to be worked through once the report of the Davies Commission has been published next year and a government decision on a new runway taken. In the meantime, however, it is encouraging that the airports regulator is thinking through the implications of this decision and trying to develop new innovative approaches to ensure the benefits of airport expansion are delivered to consumers and the wider economy.
A full text of Iain Osborne's speech is available on the CAA website
Andrew Sentance:
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Charlotte Hacker
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By Conor Lambe
The UK recovery is picking up pace. Its economy is expected to grow faster than any of the other G7 advanced economies in 2014 and export growth is a key ingredient for economic performance. So, how will the UK's trade evolve between now and 2030?
New baseline projections, published in our latest Global Economy Watch, show that the UK's goods trade with emerging economies is expected to grow faster than that with advanced economies. But despite this, the US and Europe are still expected to dominate trade flows to and from the UK. In 2030, close to 80% of the UK's trade is expected to still involve advanced economies with European countries making up the majority of its top 15 trading partners. And the US is expected to maintain its position as the UK's second largest bilateral goods trade partner.
In the years to 2030, the real value of the UK's goods trade with the 28 other countries in our study is projected to grow by 2.2% per annum (though services trade could grow faster), quite close to the long-term growth rate of UK GDP. This is not surprising for a major advanced economy like the UK, where trade is unlikely to increase dramatically on the back of further improvements in competitiveness and strengthening international ties, like it could in emerging markets. The importance of trade is also unlikely to change much in the UK, unlike in the emerging markets where trade is likely to make an increasing contribution to GDP.
However, the real value of the UK's goods trade with emerging economies is estimated to grow by 4.7% per annum in the years to 2030, almost three times faster than that with other advanced economies (1.6% per annum). The chart below shows the breakdown of exports to and from the UK for its top 15 trading partners in 2030:
Some interesting relationships come out of this analysis, specifically:
But what does all this mean for UK businesses? There will be high-growth markets in Asia and Africa that British businesses should look to take advantage of. There could be opportunities for businesses in sectors where the UK is internationally competitive, such as manufacturing, while the growing consumer appetite in some emerging markets offers an opportunity for retailers of luxury and branded goods.
But, it is also important not to ignore existing mature markets elsewhere in the western world. The UK's geographical position means that North America and Europe will continue to be the core markets for trade in 2030 – and this trade relationship will continue to be critical for our economic success, despite the growing importance of developing economies and emerging markets.
Conor Lambe
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By Luisa Affuso and Alastair Sullivan*
What tools should be used by regulators to ensure that markets work well for consumers? This question formed the heart of a recent Beesley lecture, where Jon Stern of the Centre for Competition and Regulatory Policy (CCRP) and respondent Suyong Kim, competition and regulation partner at Hogan Lovells, explored the past, present and future of "concurrency" in regulated sectors in the UK.
But what is concurrency? Until recently, this area has largely been the preserve of regulatory specialists. However, the passing of the Enterprise Regulation and Reform Act 2013 (ERRA13), which most significantly led to the formation of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), explicitly seeks to incentivise the use of competition powers in regulated sectors and has led to wider interest in this area.
Concurrency refers to the various arrangements under which responsibility for applying competition law is shared by competition authorities and sector regulators such as the CAA, Ofcom, Ofgem, ORR, Ofwat, Monitor and, from April 2015, the FCA and PSR. This includes the power to pursue antitrust investigations under the UK Competition Act 1998 (CA98) and EU competition law for potential anticompetitive behaviour such as cartels or abuse of dominance, as well as the power to conduct market studies and make market investigation references to the CMA.
Yet measuring the success of concurrency arrangements is an exercise still in its infancy. The main effort to date in this space is the CMA's 'Baseline' annual report on concurrency – 2014, which provides an overview of how competition law has been applied in each regulated sector in the UK. The report summarises the number of complaints, investigations, and outcomes as well as the number of market studies and references to the CMAinitiated in each sector. Interestingly, whilst the regulators' record of applying CA98 is not very high, neither is that of the main competition authority with responsibility for its application, the CMA's predecessor, the Office of Fair Trading.
There is a feeling that reliance on basic summary statistics of the number of cases to measure the success of concurrency arrangements is overly simplistic. Not only do the statistics themselves not provide clear evidence that sector regulators are successfully working towards making markets work better for consumers, but the potential incentives arising from this system of performance measurement are also questionable. In particular, measures of success based purely on the quantity of cases or market investigation references made in each sector could promote an overly zealous approach to competition enforcement - regulatory bodies might seek to increase the number of investigations and cases they pursue to demonstrate their success and avoid any intervention by the CMA under the ERRA13, rather than to secure outcomes that benefit consumers. Indeed, regulators have often argued that in some instances the application of their ex-ante regulatory powers can lead to more effective and speedy outcomes than the application of their competition law powers.
What does concurrency mean for business in the UK? For businesses in regulated industries, it may mean that even as competitive markets replace previously monopolistic or oligopolistic settings, the sector regulator is likely to remain a familiar presence as it rebalances its role from one of ex-ante regulatory intervention to ex-post competition enforcement. Also, as suggested by Suyong Kim, robust sector regulation is experiencing something of a renaissance in the financial sector as the perceived failures of light touch regulation in the lead up to the economic crisis are addressed.
For now, effective regulation and competition enforcement appear to be complementary processes rather than substitutes for each other and the true measure of success of concurrency arrangements will be the benefits provided to consumers rather than the number of cases pursued.
* Luisa Affuso is Director of Competition Policy in the Economics and Policy team at PwC. She advises a wide range of clients on competition issues. Alastair Sullivan is a Consultant in the team, focussing on competition and regulatory issues.
Luisa Affuso
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Alastair Sullivan
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By Joel Strange, PwC Economics
The Beesley Lectures: Lessons from the US: what is the best framework for exploiting shale gas in the UK?
At the latest in this series of Beesley Lectures, Ian Murray, Vice President for Strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, provided a meticulous account of the US experience of exploiting shale gas, after which one could be in no doubt of its impact on the US energy market.
US production of shale gas has grown from close to zero at the turn of the century to around a third of natural gas output, and gas prices have fallen by three quarters over recent years.
Equally strikingly, the US shale gas revolution has arguably underpinned the country's recent economic resilience, and many of the 600,000 jobs created have been in Southern states such as Louisiana and Arkansas, and also in states like Pennsylvania that have suffered from decades of industrial decline. Ian Murray cited cases in the Marcellus basin in the North Eastern US, where counties in states which allow shale extraction are significantly outperforming neighbouring counties in states where a moratorium exists. In the UK, where the principal concentration of shale gas is situated underneath a broad swathe of Northern England, the question remains as to whether a similar approach could ultimately help bridge the North-South divide by creating jobs and economic benefits for these regions (while balancing the potential environmental impacts).
Ian's talk culminated in two thought-provoking and unexpected recommendations about how the UK could best exploit its considerable shale gas reserves. First, the Crown should give up its rights to this resource which could heat the UK's homes for the next 100 years and be valued in the trillions of pounds. Ian proposes allowing land owners to profit from the gas beneath their feet and suggests that doing so would not only hasten the exploitation of shale gas, but make the process safer (the idea here is that local ownership of the resource will bring with it responsibility and accountability which will promote good practice: as Ian put it, people don't like to 'spit on their own doorstep'). Ian's second recommendation was that regulation should be locally focussed, reflecting the geological and economic diversity, even in a small country like the UK.
Francis Egan, Chief Executive of UK shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla Resources, described the potential benefits of shale gas in the UK, building on the foundations already laid by Ian. However, Francis argues that allocating property rights to individuals could result in a 'pin-cushion' approach to the exploitation of the resource. Similarly, Francis countered that a single regulatory approach across the UK which would provide stable and certain environment in which the industry could flourish.
Ownership of shale gas rights, whether regulation should be regional or national, and how to address environmental concerns, are shaping whether and how way the UK progresses with shale gas and energy policy more generally. But, whilst the debate has so far revolved around the best way of facilitating rapid, efficient and safe expansion of the industry, these issues will also be key to whether the exploitation of shale gas in the UK could contribute to economic rebalancing across the UK.
Assigning property rights locally could increase the opportunity for local populations – particularly in the North of England – to be the main beneficiaries from the exploitation of the resources under their homes and gardens. Similarly, if regulation was to take a more local focus, perhaps it could help ensure that future moves towards the exploitation of shale gas help rebalance economic prosperity across regions.
By Stuart Cook and Sohasini Sudtharalingam
Energy policy objectives are simple: to achieve security of supply; to reduce carbon emissions; and to deliver affordable bills for customers. But where are we now? We are not on a journey which will achieve these objectives and in fact, we are diverging from them. This was the argument put forward by Professor Dieter Helm at the first Beesley lecture of 2014.
In contrast to the aims of policy-makers, recent years have seen a decline in the capacity margin from 40% in 1990, to around 2%. When you take account of the carbon emitted to produce imports, Britain's carbon footprint has increased. And bills have escalated so far that the affordability of energy has become a major political platform.
During the lecture, Professor Helm drew on his long experience as an academic and energy policy advisor. He began by describing how the energy market has evolved over time, from the point before the privatisation of the industry in 1990 - through the 'dash for gas' which was underpinned by cheap and abundant sources of energy - to the present time.
He noted that the privatisation of the electricity industry abolished the Central Electricity Generating Board and reduced direct intervention by government in the market. It also brought an end to long term contracts and, with the introduction of the New Electricity Trading Arrangements, the end of the mechanism designed to encourage adequate generation capacity.
But, Professor Helm argued, recent government policy has reversed these policies - the privatisation of the electricity market was the great market experiment, which is now firmly over. Through the Energy Market Reform programme, government has established itself as a central buyer of power and will determine the generation mix. The capacity mechanism and the provision of contracts for difference, re-establish long-term contracts which will underpin investment.
He also argued that government should radically simplify energy policy. He believes that market forces should be unleashed and that government should focus on just two policy instruments: the creation of a competitive capacity market; and establishing an appropriate carbon price.
But Professor Helm acknowledged this radical simplification would not be possible in the current environment. Where might we go from here? Either towards a market which is controlled more and more by the state, a market which reflects creeping nationalisation; or towards some crisis which provides the impetus for a future government to take radical, corrective action.
Only time will tell whether Professor Helm's prognosis is correct. In the meantime, the industry needs to respond to the considerable investment challenge. And as Sara Vaughan from E.ON argued in her response to Professor Helm, there is now an urgent need to focus on delivery.
Stuart Cook:
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Sohasini Sudtharalingam:
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By John Hawksworth
From the turn of the century until around 2012, the big story in macroeconomics was the shift in economic power to the BRICs and other large emerging economies such as Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey and South Africa. This story remains valid in parts, but the last couple of years have highlighted the growing pains facing some emerging economies. This was typified by Morgan Stanley's introduction last year of a less bullish grouping of large emerging markets – the 'Fragile Five' of India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa.
Our latest contribution to this debate is the PwC ESCAPE Index. This index combines 20 key indicators across five dimensions: economic growth and stability; social progress and cohesion; communications technology; political, legal and regulatory institutions; and environmental sustainability.
A particular objective of the index is to give an indication of how well different emerging markets are placed to escape the so-called 'middle income trap'. As the chart below shows, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Chile and China seem to be the front-runners here based on 2013 data.
Putting the Fragile Five under the microscope
The Fragile Five, however, generally score a lot less well on our ESCAPE index. Indonesia is the best of the bunch, but still only on a par with Mexico and Peru. Turkey, Brazil and India are near the bottom and South Africa fares even less well.
What's holding them back? To answer this, we need to delve further into the details of the index, looking at results for each of the 20 component indicators.
The first conclusion from this analysis is that technology is not the problem. All of the Fragile Five have, for example, made great progress since 2000 in adopting new digital methods of communication, like smart phones and broadband internet.
Environmental sustainability is a long-term concern in some cases, ranging from the need to protect Amazonian rainforests in Brazil to worries about rising carbon intensity in India. But in terms of derailing economic development, the bigger concerns at present relate first to economic stability and second to political and social institutions.
We can make this more specific by identifying those indicators for each of the Fragile Five that are either below average and not improving between 2007 and 2013, or about average but declining since 2007, or both. The table below sums up the major weaknesses of each country on this basis.
Relative weaknesses of the Fragile Five based on PwC ESCAPE Index components
Economic growth and stability
Political and social institutions
Inflation*, relative trade openness*, current account deficit*
Corruption*, income inequality
Current account deficit*
Political stability*, income inequality, low trust levels
Inflation*, relative trade openness*, investment to GDP ratio*, current account deficit*, government debt*
Low trust levels
Inflation*, current account deficit
Political stability*, corruption*, rule of law*, income inequality, ease of doing business
South Africa
Relative trade openness*, unemployment*, investment to GDP ratio, GDP growth per capita over previous ten years
Corruption*, political stability, ease of doing business, low trust levels
Note: relative trade openness is the ratio of exports and imports to GDP, adjusted for the relative size of economies
*Both below average for all 42 countries in 2013 and getting worse in absolute terms between 2007 and 2013 (components without an asterisk qualify on only one of these two criteria).
Source: PwC analysis of ESCAPE index components for 2007 and 2013
On the economic side of the equation, most of these economies (except South Africa) have delivered relative strong GDP per capita growth performances over the decade to 2013. But this growth has pumped up inflation and trade deficits to levels that started to be of concern to financial market investors in 2013 and early 2014. Although these market concerns have eased somewhat in recent months, they could always flare up again.
For Brazil and South Africa, low investment to GDP ratios are also of concern here. But government debt to GDP ratios don't look to be big worries yet, except perhaps for Brazil. This is in marked contrast to the fiscal vulnerability of Japan, the US and many EU economies.
Institutions - still a long way to go
The deeper problems, however, become apparent when we turn to political and social institutions. Research by academics such as Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson shows that these institutional factors can be critical to sustainable long-term growth. Where they are 'extractive', a small elite may get rich. But such countries are unlikely to graduate fully to the advanced economy club unless they reform their political, social and economic institutions to make them more inclusive and thereby provide the right incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship.
As the table shows, the Fragile Five have a long way to go on many key institutional measures, particularly in relation to corruption, political stability, income inequality and trust. Ease of doing business is also a major hurdle in India and South Africa in particular, based on World Bank analysis that we've incorporated into our index.
Interestingly, very little progress has been made by the Fragile Five on these institutional measures, even if we take the analysis back to 2000. This is in contrast to their generally strong performance on GDP growth, communications technology, rising education levels and increased average life expectancy over this period. Making deeper institutional reforms will take a long time, even if short term macroeconomic imbalances can be addressed.
Implications for business strategy
Our analysis has a number of high level messages for US and European businesses considering how to develop their emerging market strategies, although all of these would need careful tailoring to individual circumstances.
First, sustaining the growth rates of the 2000 to 2012 period in emerging markets like the Fragile Five will be difficult, given the combination of economic bottlenecks and institutional deficiencies.
Second, emerging markets vary greatly in their institutional strengths and weaknesses and need to be assessed in a nuanced way. There could also be major differences in institutional strengths between industry sectors within countries. Deep local knowledge that's updated in real time is critical here.
Finally, don't forget your 'home' markets in the US and Europe. These will remain significant players in the global economy for decades to come, with relatively high average incomes and relatively strong and stable political and economic institutions.
In short, by all means place some strategic wagers on emerging markets, but don't bet the house.
John Hawksworth:
Read profile | Contact by email | Tel: 020 7213 1650


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The latest crazy diet trend? Tongue patches
Updated On: Jun 10 2013 09:55:21 AM CDT
A new diet fad taking Venezuela by storm is hard for some health experts to swallow.
The brainchild of Beverly Hills-based cosmetic surgeon Dr. Nikolas Chugay, the tongue patch diet is designed to make eating food so painful that patients only consume liquids, losing up to 30 pounds in a month, MSN reported.
The postage stamp-sized patch is secured to the top of the tongue with six stitches.
It's made out of the abrasive material normally used to repair hernias, according to The Huffington Post.
Side effects can include difficulty speaking and a tendency to wake abruptly from sleep.
Also, it can only be worn for a month at a time because, after that, the patch fuses to the tongue surface, UPI reported.
While popular in Venezuela and other countries, health experts and cosmetic surgeons say the tongue patch diet is dangerous and can do more harm than good.
"With any kind of thing you put in there and suture into the tongue, you run the risk of getting an infection," California cosmetic surgeon Dr. Richard Chaffoo told the Christian Post. "You're going to be drooling a lot, it's going to be really painful... You could get an ulcer, an infection. It could dislodge and go down your throat and cause an airway obstruction."
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
City's "ugly" Christmas tree causes controversy
WWII vet shoots wife, kills self, Allentown police say
State police seek missing Palmerton teen
Local residents urged to be on alert for high levels of deadly gas
One year since mysterious disappearance of local woman
Construction worker struck by vehicle on turnpike
2nd truck drops into sinkhole in Bethlehem Twp. neighborhood
Fundraiser planned for teen injured in crash
Education fund set up for crash victim's young sons
Man struck, trapped by leaf collector in Kutztown

subset: commoncrawl


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Is Philippine President Benigno Simeon "BS" Aquino finally maturing? A lot of people have noted that his tone during his …Read the Rest
What we learned from PNoy's 5th State of the Nation Address
I stand corrected. Last night I issued this rather glib tweet: "So what do we at GRP do now? We …Read the Rest
Will PNoy surprise us for a change in his 5th State of the Nation Address #SONA2014 speech?
One thing we can credit to Philippine President Benigno Simeon 'BS' Aquino III is the consistency and predictability of his …Read the Rest
'Good faith' was the farthest from the mind of BS Aquino when he came up with the #DAP!
On one hand, Aquino apologists like to distract public opinion away from the "legalese" surrounding the debate around the manner …Read the Rest
DAP is the result of Noynoy Aquino's lack of planning, lack of foresight and lack of vision
Nobody knew about the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) outside of Philippine President Benigno Simeon "BS" Aquino's inner circle. Not even …Read the Rest
Why was PNoy DESPERATE to accelerate disbursment of public funds from 2011-2012?
Indeed, it is too bad for the administration of Philippine President Benigno Simeon 'BS' Aquino III that their brainchild, the …Read the Rest
Empowering Filipinos: why it hasn't worked
Inclusive growth – that has become sort of a buzz word for the government of current Philippine president Benigno Simeon …Read the Rest


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Photos and Description of this 2 bedroom holiday apartment in Gros Islet - Trouya Garden Villa
Decorated and well maintained apartment
Property Details of St Lucia Apartment
The hillside location is quiet and allows for complete privacy and relaxation, but within easy reach of the major tourist locations. It's close proximity to a major resort with 5 restaurants, secluded beach, spa, watersports, and much more, making these villas an ideal holiday location. Driving time to the resort is 2 minutes and guests of scenic mountain View are especially welcome by the hotel owners and management to use its facilities. Also available in the area within minutes is a Health, Beauty Club and Spa. Supermarkets are all within 5 to 10 minutes drive for restocking your villa. Car rental services are readily available.
Fully equipped house with private grounds, in a safe and secure residential area, away from the traffic and noise of a resort, for less than the cost of a hotel room.
Within stone's throw of all resorts, beach, eco walks, turtle watching, restaurants & local amenities.
The Gros Islet / bois d orange region
Gros Islet is St Lucias Northern tip punctuated by the Golden Mile of coastal beaches resorts and towns Rodney Bay contains the majority of this regions tourist trappings The town here is the most popular resort area with a deepwater yacht harbour and marina complex with bars and restaurants Gros Islet town is a quiet fishing village creole restaurants and Friday night street parties Pigeon Island is one of St Lucias national parks a historical place once a heavily fortified British base in the eighteenth century now transformed into an recreation park with its own very beautiful beach The climate in Gros Islet is alway warm with a nice breeze one of reason this area was selected for the National Cricket ground
- Suitability:
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- pets not allowed
- suitable for elderly or infirm
- wheelchair accessible


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Don't spike your teachers coffee
by Ron Olson
posted Oct 8 2012 9:14AM
In North Carolina, a high school student is being investigated for apparently spiking his 61 year old teachers coffee with a BUTT ENHANCEMENT DRUG, The student put an herbal supplement called GluteBoost in her coffee. Police were called. Never leave an open cup of coffee around students of any age. You are asking for it. Don't give them a chance to get you.
Police in Memphis pull over a truck with 'METH LAB" written on the back window. Check out our facebook page to see photo.
Mila Kunis- sexiest woman of the year? what do you think. Odd fact about Mila...one eye brown..one eye blue.
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The dynamic fourth edition of Potter and Perry's Fundamentals of Nursing presents an engaging approach to the fundamentals of nursing while building on its renowned reputation as the foremost text for nursing students across Australia and New Zealand. The new editorial team presents a critical thinking approach, to encourage the critical skills and understandings students require to maintain a high level of active engagement in the development of their practice within the health care systems they will work throughout their careers. Meaningful clinical examples combined with critical thinking questions, promote reflection and support deeper learning. These examples underscore how putting quality nursing knowledge and skills into practice can mean the difference between patient recovery and independence versus life threatening complications and patient decline. Current research examples encourage students to see the dynamic nature of evidence for nursing practice and gain understanding that ongoing change in practice is the norm and should be embraced.
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Currently in my first semester as a nursing student and I use this every single day! Very helpful and informative & I reference it in all of my assignments.
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Audience: Tertiary; University or College
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Number Of Pages: 1520
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Find records of Elizabeth Awiszus
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text: Lapeer Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade Deadline For Entries By Carl Coffey November 15, 2012 10:04 AM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter flickr.com The Lapeer Christmas Parade will be held on December 1, 2012, at 11 AM. The deadline to mail or fax entry forms is November 23rd. After November 23rd, please contact the Lapeer Area Chamber of Commerce office at 664-6641. Forms and information can be found at lapeerareachamber.org Category: Christmas, Lapeer County Event, Lapeer News Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr! More from US 103 'Jurassic Park 4' Trailer: Welcome to Jurassic World! Miniature Therapy Horses Are Even Cuter Than You Think Demolition Underway at Former Delphi Flint East Facility on Center Rd [VIDEO] Lapeer Co. Sheriff Offers Thanksgiving Home Safety Tips Best of the Web


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Aug 03, 2012
Bank of Melbourne today became a new Icon Partner and the official bank of the MCG. The partnership marks the first time in more than 100 years that the MCG has changed its banking relationship.
Jul 23, 2012
View the photos from the 2012 MCG Rite of Passage event, held on Sunday July 22.
Jul 19, 2012
The Melbourne Cricket Club regrets to advise that arenas operations manager Cameron Hodgkins has tendered his resignation. Hodgkins has been in charge of turf operations at the MCG for the past four years, after a five-year stint as head curator at Bellerive Oval.
The MCG will host the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Sri Lanka as part of the 2012/13 international cricket schedule, released today by Cricket Australia.
Jul 13, 2012
Yarra Park will be open for public vehicle parking at the Geelong v Collingwood match at the MCG on Saturday night. However, due to the wet condition of the park, only a limited number of spaces will be available.
AN amazing hundred by Steve Smith helped Australia pull off a thrilling win over South Africa at the MCG to seal victory in the one-day series.
JADE North puts the ball in his own net with 15 minutes left as Brisbane Roar's gallant rearguard action is eventually undone by Melbourne Victory.
CRICKET Australia chief James Sutherland wants an investigation into why crowd numbers have been so poor for the one-dayers against South Africa.
ONE of Australian cycling's most revered figures, Sir Hubert Opperman, has had his pioneering performances recognised alongside the champions of the modern era.
MICHAEL Clarke will be named in Australia's Test squad on Monday, but remains a long shot to actually play against India at the Gabba.


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Pharmaceutical International News - May 2011
Could Regular Paracetamol Use Result in Cancer?
Posted by Pharmaceutical International's Senior Journalist on 11/05/2011 - 16:45:00
Regular paracetamol intake could put users at increased risk of developing a rare cancer form, new US research suggests.
Based at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, the researchers state adults aged 50 or over who take paracetamol near enough every day are approximately twice as likely to develop blood cancer.
The usual risk of this, in adults of this age, is around one per cent but, when the ubiquitous painkilling drug is added into the mix, it inflates to two per cent.
The new figures come as a result of a study, carried out over many years, that involved close to 65,000 participants - all of them residents of Washington and all of them in healthy late middle-age.
Paracetamol Use and Cancer
During the course of the paracetamol use study, a blood cancer variety like MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome or Lymphoma, for example) developed in a total of 577 participants.
By examining the treatment regimes of these 577, the Seattle researchers established that frequent paracetamol use was a common trend. Within the majority, non-cancerous group, paracetamol use, four or more times a week, was confined to five per cent, but rose to nine per cent within those that got cancer.
"A person who is age 50 or older has about a one per cent risk in ten years of getting one of these cancers", researcher Emily White explained, adding: "Our study suggests that if you use acetaminophen at least four times a week for at least four years, that would increase the risk to about two per cent."
Cancer From Paracetamol Use
Responding to the report's findings that cancer could result from paracetamol use, charity organisation Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research's scientific director, Doctor David Grant, described them as "underwhelming", adding: "There is no known mechanism for paracetamol to cause cancer."
Over 18 months ago, Pharma News reported on another study that highlighted the possible dangers of paracetamol. It was suggested, then, that paracetamol could lower the effect of infant vaccinations given to protect against a variety of conditions including Hepatitis B, Whooping Cough and Tetanus.
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HIV Drugs To Treat Loss of Vision
Drugs for three decades used to treat HIV and AIDS might also help age-related macular degeneration patients, say researchers behind new study.
New Prescription Drug Lifecycle Costs Totalled
Taking into account developmental, approval-seeking, market introduction and post-approval figures, one firm has now worked out the overall cost of new drugs.
US CDC: Type 3 Poliovirus May Be Gone
With the last type 3 poliovirus case identified in Pakistan two years back, US researchers now think this version might be gone for good.
West African Ebola Treatment Drugs Trials
Brincidofovir and favipiravir will be used in first-time Ebola drug treatment trials in West Africa, spearheaded by Doctors Without Borders.


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On The Preibus Of Disaster
I am sure the bulk of the grassroots of the Republican Party haven't given the RNC Chair much thought and why should they? They just had a big win in November, right?. In 2009 when things were bleak with the Democrats having just taken all levels of government, the only thing we had was the Chair race. It seemed that Michael Steele had momentum at his back as he walked the walk and talked the talk of the grassroots. He of course ended up being a snake in the grass of the roots of the Party. He like liberals everywhere utilized the race card and he left the Party broke. Liberals have a way of destroying everything they touch and of course they are in the Republican Party The Hijacking of Conservatism By Big Government Progressives. It is now time to replace Michael Steele and be rid of the sorry state of the Republican National Committee that he created. Interestingly we have a "new" guy who couldn't have been closer to Michael Steele then if they were a newly married couple, Reince Priebus You Have Come A Short Way Baby . This "new" guy has a very interesting background, almost liberal like with his moves from the racist NAACP (who are no friends to the grassroots of the Republican Party) to his law firm, which not only encouraged obtaining funds from that 800B "stimulus" bill to discouraging fighting Obamacare There Will Be War I don't like the arguments about "he couldn't know", "its a big law firm". I think we have heard those excuses about lobbyist's no? yes we have! It is the inside elite in DC that have little by little stripped We The People of a voice but we changed that in November and we must continue to change that at every level of the Republican Party. I wonder, is Priebus friends with Al Sharpton as well Can we have a Party that is straight up Conservative? We certainly deserve it
It has recently come to my attention that the things I have seen about Reince have been observed by others in the RNC. Politico is reporting a RNC Chairman out of CT has the same concerns I Do Not Believe This Is The Man For Our Party
When the Executive Committee borrowed another $5 million in late fall, without seeking approval from the Budget Committee, Members were informed the matter was "approved by legal." And when Steele announced the "Fire Pelosi Tour" a self-indulgent waste of time and resources, Peibus was tossing "Fire Pelosi" hats to anyone who would have them. As we know, the tour was a joke and RNC subsidized "Feel the Love Tour" for Chairman Steele and his sycophant followers. Those precious funds could have been the difference in several key races, where victory was painfully elusive.
Let us not sit out here and pretend like this guy, this INSIDE guy did not have a clue what Michael Steele has been up to for the last two years. To ignore that is to stick our heads in the sand once again. Let us not quietly go back to our lives and let the DC insiders of either Party just resume their picking apart of Conservative values. Let us be heard, we donate to Conservatives and PAC's and we are the one's who make the calls and stuff the envelopes, knock on doors, put out signs on dangerous highways. We should have a say in this debate. Go here to submit a question for the debate on Tuesday Be Heard, It Is Your Party, And Your Country At Stake
You see it is the type of activities that Michael Steele and Reince Priebus have been involved in at the RNC, that have given Republicans the pathetic name of being the Party of the rich (when we damn well know that is the Democrat Party). There were a few times in history when the Republican Party was the Party of We The People, the Party of Lincoln, the Party of Reagan. It is time to return the Party back to the people. Make your calls and stop this insanity from continuing. It is indeed time for change, real change in the Republican Party!


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FeaturedEnterprise Search: Fee Versus Free
I read a pretty darned amazing article "Is Free Enterprise Search a Game Changer?" My initial reaction was, "Didn't the game change with the failures of flagship enterprise search systems?" And "Didn't the cost and complexity of many enterprise search deployments fuel the emergence of the free and open source information retrieval systems?"
Many proprietary vendors are struggling to generate sustainable revenues and pay back increasingly impatient stakeholders. The reality is that the proprietary enterprise search "survivors" fear meeting the fate of Convera, Delphes, Entopia, Perfect Search, Siderean Software, TREX, and other proprietary vendors. These outfits went away.
Many vendors of proprietary enterprise search systems have left behind an environment in which revenues are simply not sustainable. Customers learned some painful lessons after licensing brand name enterprise search systems and discovering the reality of their costs and functionality. A happy quack to http://bit.ly/1AMHBL6 for this image of desolation.
Other vendors, faced with mounting costs and zero growth in revenues, sold their enterprise search companies. The spate of sell outs that began in the mid 2000s were stark evidence that delivering information retrieval systems to commercial and governmental organizations was difficult to make work.
Consider these milestones:
Autonomy sold to Hewlett Packard. HP promptly wrote off billions of dollars and launched a fascinating lawsuit that blamed Autonomy for the deal. HP quickly discovered that Autonomy, like other complex content processing companies, was difficult to sell, difficult to support, and difficult to turn into a billion dollar baby.
Convera, the product of Excalibur's scanning legacy and ConQuest Software, captured some big deals in the US government and with outfits like the NBA. When the system did not perform like a circus dog, the company wound down. One upside for Convera alums was that they were able to set up a consulting firm to keep other companies from making the Convera-type mistakes. The losses were measured in the tens of millions.
InterviewsElasticsearch: A Platform for Third Party Revenue
Making money from search and content processing is difficult. One company has made a breakthrough. You can learn how Mark Brandon, one of the founders of QBox, is using the darling of the open source search world to craft a robust findability business.
I interviewed Mr. Brandon, a graduate of the University of Texas as Austin, shortly after my return from a short trip to Europe. Compared with the state of European search businesses, Elasticsearch and QBox are on to what diamond miners call a "pipe."
In the interview, which is part of the Search Wizards Speak series, Mr. Brandon said:
We offer solutions that work and deliver the benefits of open source technology in a cost-effective way. Customers are looking for search solutions that actually work.
Simple enough, but I have ample evidence that dozens and dozens of search and content processing vendors are unable to generate sufficient revenue to stay in business. Many well known firms would go belly up without continual infusions of cash from addled folks with little knowledge of search's history and a severe case of spreadsheet fever.
Qbox's approach pivots on Elasticsearch. Mr. Brandon said:
When our previous search product proved to be too cumbersome, we looked for an alternative to our initial system. We tested Elasticsearch and built a cluster of Elasticsearch servers. We could tell immediately that the Elasticsearch system was fast, stable, and customizable. But we love the technology because of its built-in distributed nature, and we felt like there was room for a hosted provider, just as Cloudant is for CouchDB, Mongolab and MongoHQ are for MongoDB, Redis Labs is for Redis, and so on. Qbox is a strong advocate for Elasticsearch because we can tailor the system to customer requirements, confident the system makes information more findable for users.
When I asked where Mr. Brandon's vision for functional findablity came from, he told me about an experience he had at Oracle. Oracle owns numerous search systems, ranging from the late 1980s Artificial Linguistics' system to somewhat newer systems like the late 1990s Endeca system, and the newer technologies from Triple Hop. Combine these with the SES technology and the hybrid InQuira formed from two faltering NLP systems, and Oracle has some hefty investments.
Here's Mr. Brandon's moment of insight:
During my first week at Oracle, I asked one of my colleagues if they could share with me the names of the middleware buyer contacts at my 50 or so named accounts. One colleague said, "certainly", and moments later an Excel spreadsheet popped into my inbox. I was stunned. I asked him if he was aware that "Excel is a Microsoft technology and we are Oracle." He said, "Yes, of course." I responded, "Why don't you just share it with me in the CRM System?" (the CRM was, of course, Siebel, an Oracle product). He chortled and said, "Nobody uses the CRM here." My head exploded. I gathered my wits to reply back, "Let me get this straight. We make the CRM software and we sell it to others. Are you telling me we don't use it in-house?" He shot back, "It's slow and unusable, so nobody uses it." As it turned out, with around 10 million corporate clients and about 50 million individual names, if I had to filter for "just middleware buyers", "just at my accounts", "in the Northeast", I could literally go get a cup of coffee and come back before the query was finished. If I added a fourth facet, forget it. The CRM system would crash. If it is that bad at the one of the world's biggest software companies, how bad is it throughout the enterprise?
You can read the full interview at http://bit.ly/1mADZ29. Information about QBox is at www.qbox.com.
Stephen E Arnold, July 2, 2014
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Encouraging Fine Motor Skill Development
0 to 3 Months
Most of the hand movement that occurs during the first three months is involuntary. Place your finger in your newborn's palm, and his fingers will close around it tightly. "Your child doesn't have superhuman strength," Erhardt says. It's simply his palmar reflex, an automatic response. Your baby may also knot his hands into tight fists or splay them if he's crying or surprised. In the months ahead, these reflexes will eventually turn into voluntary actions.
Helping Hands
- Stroke the backs of his knuckles with a rattle. Then, as his fingers open, place it gently in his palm. In the beginning, he won't be able to hold it very long, but the experience of holding and dropping it will let him practice for later play.
- Make sure your baby plays on his tummy. It's crucial for helping him strengthen his back, shoulder, arm, and hand muscles.
- Invest in a baby gym with dangling toys. Placing your baby under the arch and encouraging her to bat at the toys is wonderful practice for hand-eye coordination.


text: Printed for J. and R. Tonson Botany. Botany Lee, James, 1715-1795. Lee James 1715 1795 en The 2d ed. 5721402 An introduction to botany. Containing an explanation of that science, and an interpretation of its technical terms; extracted from the works of Dr. Linnæus; and calculated to assist such as may be desirous of studying that author's method and improvements. 1765 enk London Botany.


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Mold Market Golfer Size: 3.6" long Cavities: 3 Cavity Size: 5 oz.
Colorants used in example above are Chrome Green Color Block and Non Bleeding Ultraviolet Blue Color Block.
"Thank you for your prompt response. Bramble Berry has the best customer service of any company I know of. Pass the word!" -Rene
I have enjoyed seeing Josie's beautiful soap on the Bramble Berry Facebook page for some time. Right away, Josie showed immense talent and an eye for design. Josie began selling her […]
The post From Online to In-Store: Josie's Beauty Boutique appeared first on Soap Queen.


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MidFirst Bank is offering both a $150 and $200 bonus when you open a MidFirst checking account and complete qualifying actions with the $200 bonus only available at MidFirst banking centers through November 30th and the $150 bonus available through December 31, 2014.
MidFirst Bank has primary markets in Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Tulsa, and western Oklahoma, but these 2 MidFirst Bank promotions are only available for Arizona residents.
MidFirst Bank $200 Checking Account Bonus
The $200 MidFirst Checking Bonus is only available in Arizona banking centers for new consumer checking customers with accounts opened by November 30, 2014, and you must be 17 or older.
You must mention Promo Code Arizona200 at account opening in a MidFirst Bank Arizona banking center to qualify.
There is a $100 minimum opening deposit required to receive the offer.
In order to qualify, you must meet 2 of the following 3 requirements within 75 days of account opening:
1. Set up a $250 minimum monthly recurring direct deposit into new checking account.
2. Complete 10 check card purchases with your MidFirst check card. Multiple swipes for the same purchase do not qualify. ATM transactions are not eligible.
3. Open a new Performance Savings, Company Club Savings, or a Sun Devil Select Club Savings account with $250 minimum opening deposit; or Premium Savings account with $10,000 minimum opening deposit; or Titanium Money Market account with $5,000 minimum deposit.
You will receive your account credit within 90 days of account opening.
This offer is not valid on M Go!, Sun Devil, and Sun Devil Solution Checking accounts.
There is a limit of 1 new promotional account per household.
Accounts closed within 90 days of the account opening are not eligible for the offer and may be subject to charges equal to the value of the offer and an early account closure fee.
A special thank you goes out to Doctor Of Credit for being the first to post about this offer.
MidFirst Bank $150 Checking Account Bonus
While researching the above $200 bonus promotion, I also found this $150 MidFirst Bank Checking Account Bonus that is available through December 31, 2014.
This offer is only available to Arizona residents who are at least 17 years of age, but it doesn't indicate that you must open your account in person at a MidFirst banking center like the $200 bonus does.
However, it does say that you must mention the offer at account opening, which seems to imply that you must open your account in person, although it also provides an online account application directly next to the offer, which the $200 bonus page doesn't.
So it looks like you can earn this bonus when applying online, although I haven't personally gone through the online application process to see if an associated promotional code is automatically entered.
Beyond these differences, this $150 MidFirst Bank checking bonus has the same requirements as the above $200 bonus, as you must complete 2 of the 3 requirements including: setting up a $250 monthly direct deposit; completing 10 check card purchases; or opening a savings account with a qualifying minimum deposit.
So if you can't make it to a MidFirst banking center in Arizona to get the $200 bonus, then you may still be able to apply online for the $150 bonus as long as you are a resident of Arizona.
MidFirst Bank Checking Fees
M Account
A $6 monthly maintenance fee applies to the M Account.
The monthly maintenance fee is reduced by $3 for customers that qualify for M Privilege Accounts.
Customers that have $250 or more in total monthly direct deposits or a $1,000 minimum balance will receive a refund on their M Account or M Privilege monthly maintenance fee.
To qualify for package benefits, customers must meet the package tier requirements.
All M Account customers will be enrolled in the Bronze Tier.
M+ Account
A $10 monthly maintenance fee applies to the M+ Account.
The monthly maintenance fee is reduced by $3 for customers that qualify for the M+ Privilege Account.
Customers that maintain a minimum average daily balance of $1,500 will receive a refund on their monthly maintenance fee.
To qualify for package benefits, customers must meet the package tier requirements.
All M+ customers will be enrolled in the Bronze Tier for the first qualification cycle.
eChecking Account and Package
The eChecking Account and Package is available to customers who enroll in online banking and receive eStatements.
Customers in the eChecking Package will be enrolled in the Base Tier.
A $12 monthly maintenance fee will be refunded to the eChecking account if Bronze, Silver, or Gold Tier requirements are met.
To qualify for package benefits, including additional account interest, customer must meet the package tier requirements.
You can review the MidFirst Bank Checking Page for more details about meeting the tier requirements and qualifying for package benefits.
If anybody has any experience with opening a MidFirst Bank checking account under one of these promotions, please feel free to leave a comment to let us know how it goes.
Once you become a customer, you can also participate in the MidFirst Bank Referral Program to earn additional bonuses when you refer your friends to MidFirst Bank.


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- Freeport murder suspect Damon Dixson taken into custody in Rockford
- Local gas station employee arrested for selling liquor to minor
- Renewable Fuel Standard delay 'a mixed blessing,' Bustos says
- Rockford delegation presents inaugural 'Rockford Award' to Norwegian Air
- Education in Illinois making slow progress, according to report
- Illinois GOP Congressional delegation: Obama's immigration plan undermines rule of law
- Suspect, 17, charged in Halloween hit-and-run in Roscoe
- Saint Anthony College of Nursing president to retire
- Man found guilty in deadly August 2013 crash at Mulford and Garrett Lane
- 'The Price is Right Live!' at Coronado March 1; tickets on sale Nov. 21
Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet selected as Authorized Saturn Service Provider in the stateline area
From press release
Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet has announced it has been selected by General Motors (GM) to be the Authorized Saturn Service Provider in the stateline area.
Rockford's Zimbrick Saturn closed last month because the product line will no longer be produced by GM. This, unfortunately, leaves Saturn owners without a local provider to honor their warranty.
Lou Bachrodt Automall looks forward to providing superior service for warranty, extended warranty, repair issues, or maintenance items Saturn owners may have.
Locally owned and operated since 1953, Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet—at Lou Bachrodt Automall—is now managed by second- and third-generation family members Patrick Bachrodt and his daughter, Rachel Bachrodt.
Patrick Bachrodt said: "We are saddened to lose yet another great auto dealer in Rockford, especially when it affects our community so greatly. However, we are proud to welcome Jason Kline, one of the Master GM and ASE Technicians that took care of Saturn owners at Zimbrick Saturn, to our team here at Lou Bachrodt. We know that this will provide some consistency for Saturn owners as they get to know the rest of our Master ASE and GM-certified technicians at Lou Bachrodt Automall on CherryVale Boulevard. Our team is extremely qualified, and can provide service to all makes and models of vehicles."
Lou Bachrodt Automall hours are as follow:
Sales—9 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday and Saturday;
Service—7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday;
High-speed Service—7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday; and
Parts—8 a.m-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.
From the Sept. 8-14, 2010 issue


text: Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) Group 3: Giselle Garces Kristen Kohn Ryan Malloney Vitamins- organic molecules required only in trace amounts that must be obtained through diet. Vitamins are a dietary necessity for humans because we do not have the ability to synthesize them. ( source: our favorite textbook) Vitamin B12 Part of the complex of B vitamins, vitamin B12 is one of the most intricate vitamins. It is water soluble! Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in foods. During digestion, HCl releases the B12 from the protein and it combines with Intrinsic Factor before being absorbed into the bloodstream. What Does Vitamin B12 Look Like? Where You Can Get Some Vitamin B12! Mostly animal products: Meat Fish Eggs Milk and Milk products like yogurt Some foods that are not natural sources are fortified with Vitamin B12: Breakfast Cereals Bread So, This Thanksgiving… Turkey Mashed Potatoes Cranberry Sauce Deviled Eggs Pumpkin Pie ****Which of these will provide you with plenty of vitamin B12? *** Given the sources, who do you think might be at the greatest risk for Vitamin B12 deficiency? Vegetarians (especially Vegans) Elderly People with gastro- intestinal damage Fun Fact #1! • Vitamin B12 is excreted in bile, but the body is able to reabsorb a large percentage. People who consume diets very low in B12 may actually be reabsorbing more than they absorb from diet. This is why it can take up to 20 years to show symptoms of deficiency in people who have recently changed to low-B12 diets. If there is a complete absorption failure, however, deficiency symptoms can occur in 3 years. Fun Fact #2! • A study done of a group of Iranian vegetarians revealed that they consume adequate dietary B12 from unwashed fruits and vegetables fertilized with human manure. Human feces contain significant amounts of vitamin B12. To use B12, our body requires 5 peptides to deliver it to appropriate tissues and 4 enzymes to reduce it to a form where it can be functional. Therefore, it is necessary to get sufficient B12 from the diet to prevent deficiency. So….should we raise the RDI??? Should We Raise the RDI? Many researchers recommend raising the current RDI for B12 in order to prevent developmental abnormalities and diseases of old age. Another argument for raising the RDI comes from recent evidence that B12 may help prevent cancer: There is evidence that common SNP alter proteins responsible for absorption, transport, and metabolism of B12 and folate to their active forms. Decreased efficiency requires more B12 to meet body's needs. B12 also has been shown to prevent chromosomal damage, therefore leading to increased genomic stability and decreased cancer risk, regardless of exposure to carcinogens. Current RDIs Life Men Women Pregnant Lactating Stage 19+ 2.4 mcg 2.4 mcg All Ages 2.6 mcg 2.8 mcg Results of two national surveys, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III-1988-91) (8) and the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII 1994-96) (7) found that most adult men and women consume recommended amounts of vitamin B12 (6-8). B12 Deficiency Macrocytic Anemia Neuropsychiatric Symptoms (esp. in Elderly) Chromosome Damage Fun Fact #3! Folate (Folic Acid) can mask signs of B12 deficiency because it can correct macrocytic anemia, which is often the first symptom experienced in B12 deficiency. The folate won't correct the deficiency, however, and because it goes undetected severe nerve damage can occur. Macrocytic Anemia -Macrocytic means red blood cells that are larger than normal -Macrocytic Anemia is caused by retarded DNA synthesis, which is the result of B12 deficiency because B12 is required for thymidylate and purine synthesis. -B12 Toxicity can lead to polycythemia, or overproduction of red blood cells. This is indicated by a hematocrit over 50. Neurological Effects B12 is important in the synthesis of fatty acids that are required for formation of the protein Myelin. Myelin is the biggest component of the Myelin Sheath (yes, hence the name) which surrounds and serves as insulation for nerve fibers. (disintegration of these sheaths is also responsible for Multiple Sclerosis) Fun Fact #4! • Exposure to Nitrous Oxide can cause B12 deficiency in cases of abuse, anesthesia usage during surgery, or occupational exposure for hospital workers. • NO actually inactivates B12, so while those affected have enough in their system, they are effectively B12 deficient. Chromosome Damage There is evidence that vitamin B12 deficiency damages the chromosomes in white blood cells, leading to reduced numbers of white blood cells which in turn causes immune system problems. So, In Conclusion… • Eat lots of turkey and egg or dairy products this Thanksgiving (I suppose eggnog counts) • Make sure your grandparents do the same • Corner any vegans or vegetarians present and tell them to stock up on fortified foods and look into dietary supplements. Tell them scary results of deficiency that you learned in biochem. • Offer to help fertilize their fruits and veggies if they don't seem inspired to follow your advice. References http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html This goes to the Vegetarian Society's B12 info sheet. • http://www.ce.udel.edu/~pei/b12.html - This is where we got the structure of B12 pic. • http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm - General B12 info from the Vegetarian Resource Group • http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/vitb12.html - Facts About Vitamin B12 from the National Institutes of Health References Petchkrua, Wannapha et al., " Prevelance of Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Spinal Cord injury" Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Vol. 84 Issue 11. 1675-1679 Fenech, Michael. "The Role of Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 in the Genomic Stability of Human Cells." Research Fundamentals and Molecular Mutagenesis, Vol 475, Issue 1-2. 57-67


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text: I think I'd introduce all the children to Frames of Mind, the excellent book by Howard Gardner, of the Howard Gardner School of Education at Harvard, no less. He has found at least eight distinct, discrete intelligences and says that nobody is equally good at all of them and everyone is especially good in 1-2 of them. Music is the oldest one, followed by math/logic; linguistics; spatial (the architect, the interior designer); kinesthestic (the kid who runs to the place where the baseball will land before it's hardly left the bat); interpersonal and intrapersonal--a person who works well with others and a person who understands himself--seven intelligences, to which Gardner has since added an eighth: the ability to sort and seriate and classify--the museum curator and the librarian. Once the sibs understand that they too have special gifts, even if they're not on the level of your young composer, make a big point of stressing their strengths and encouraging them to bring their strengths as far as they can. They don't have to be great in everything, but they should stretch their talents as much as possible. By encouraging their abilities, they should be less jealous of their prize-winning brother


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How oversight changes affects federal grant recipients
Monday - 11/7/2011, 5:08pm EST
The dollar value of grants your agency is making has increased, but the oversight and compliance has gone up too.
The National Council of University Research Administrators is looking at the relationship between the Federal government and groups that receive grants from the government. The organization's incoming president is Dan Nordquist. He discusses what he's seeing in the world of federal grants.
OMB, Congress to put grant-making process under more scrutiny


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Home » News » Politics » Town Meetings
Raymond incumbents get challenges
Selectmen Lee Weldy and Wayne Welch are being challenged by three residents in their bids for re-election, including two former selectmen, Greg Bemis and June M. Hartford, and current budget committee member Harry "Bud" McClard.
On the school ballot, incumbents Kelly Lehman and current chairman John Stewart are both running for only a one-year seat on the school board against challenger Kyle Scofield, who has been serving on the Lamprey River Elementary School Building Committee. Moe Titcomb, who has filled the seat by appointment since another school board member resigned last year, is not running in that race but is seeking a three-year term on the budget committee.
Daniel F. Chouinard, Diane Naoum, Steve Reardon and Steven Wallerstein will compete for two three-year seats on the school board being left open by Stewart and Lehman.
Other races are being contested as well. Planning board members Jonathan Wood and Gretchen Gott are both seeking re-election to three-year terms on the planning board but alternate Don Hedman is looking to take one of their seats.
Kimberlee Tyndall is challenging incumbent Tina M. Thomas for a three-year term as trustee of the trust funds.
Tyndall is also running for an open one-year term on the budget committee.
Sandy Ellis is running for the second available three-year term on the budget committee.
In the last contested race, Barbara Edgar and Sabrina Maltby are running for a three-year term as library trustee.
No candidates filed for an open three-year seat on the ethics committee.
A candidates night is being held on Tuesday, Feb. 19 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Raymond High School Media Center for all town and school candidates to talk to residents about themselves and why they are running for office.
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