Posts Tagged ‘business finance’
iPhone market share in the first quarter was only 1.5%
U.S. technology blog Silicon Alley Insider Denver洛梅尔Author (Dan Frommer) today, the author pointed out that although Apple’s iPhone provides the company with a strong growth momentum, the leading mobile technology and the profits are very substantial, but its market share is still very limited . Following is the full text: mobile research firm ABI Research recently estimated that global mobile phone sales for the first quarter of 258 million, sales in March to 3,800,000. If there is no deviation in the forecast means that Apple’s iPhone accounted for only 1.5 percent of market share.
This also means that Apple is still huge room for growth, but also shows that the majority of mobile phone users to choose other brands of mobile phones, not all users have the opportunity to purchase the iPhone. We believe that the mobile phone market with more and more similar to the desktop market. With the importance of upgrading the software, users of mobile loyalty platform also improve. BlackBerry users are more willing to use the BlackBerry, and iPhone users more like iPhone … …
There are many users think that Apple should improve the current situation in order to maintain the growth of iPhone, the user’s recommendations include:
- IPhone software platform to keep ahead of the competition. This is Apple has already done that last month the company announced that it would launch this summer in the iPhone 3.0 software.
- Improve the iPhone. This may become a reality this summer. Apple is likely to be held in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, or to display a variety of new iPhone. Although unlikely with the current iPhone has too many different, but will be faster and better.
- To maintain low prices iPhone: iPhone sales of 199 U.S. dollars is more than double the 399 U.S. dollars. If the price is 99 U.S. dollars will be reduced to what? We believe that this year may see a ultra-low price of iPhone.
- The expansion of distribution channels of iPhone: Apple said this year will enter the China market, will also be in the United States with more operators, but a short period of time is also very difficult to become a reality.
- Continue to expand its iPhone operating system platforms. iPod Touch is a great product, why not introduce a range between the iPhone and the iMac flat-panel equipment?
Rules-based Trading is Fearless Trading
Renowned trading coach Price Headley, author of “Big Trendsin Trading”, once wrote about the dangers of letting your ego control your trading decisions, especially the three critical decisions of how much money to risk, when to enter a trade and when to get out.
“The ego desires to make discretionary decisions because it desires to appear sophisticated, and daring, and to relieve boredom. But the point of trading is not sophistication, or excitement. It is to make money. So the key question to ask is, ‘What is the most effective way to trade?’. And the answer is, ‘Very systematically’.”
The key to successful trading, he concluded, is the consistent application of clear, well-conceived and objective trading rules. One of the cruelest paradoxes of this incredibly fascinating and challenging pursuit is that trading seems to offer so much freedom, seemingly unlimited freedom to those who are successful at it, yet requires so much regimentation and self-control. An out-of-control trader, whether rookie or seasoned veteran, will crash and burn quickly. A trader in control of his emotions has the game nearly won at the start.
The problem is, once the game is on, self-control seems to evaporate like water in the Gobi desert. But a good set of trading rules will give the newbie a fighting chance, and keep the veteran in the game long after many of his or her fellow traders have moved on to less stressful pursuits. Your rules don’t have to be sophisticated or designed by a Nobel Prize-winning economist. In fact, the simpler the better – as long as they are clear and as long as you follow them! Otherwise you will succumb, as every trader does on so many occasions, to what the trading psychology guru Mark Douglas called “The Four Primary Fears”.
In his classic book “Trading in the Zone”, Douglas wrote that all trading errors – every single one – result from succumbing to one of these Four Primary Fears:
1. The fear of being wrong.
2. The fear of losing money.
3. The fear of missing out (on the trade and profits).
4. The fear of leaving money on the table, or giving back open profits.
These fears lead traders to second-guess their well-designed systems, causing them to exit before an exit signal is given, or to jump in before an entry signal is given. We’ve all jumped into trades too soon, afraid that the market was going to run away without us. And we’ve all jumped out too soon, whether second-guessing the entry and not waiting for the trade to develop or snatching the quick profit instead of letting the trade play out and hit our target. Witness the Four Primary Fears in action.
The solution?
1. Have a well-designed (and profitable) system.
2. Have a clear set of rules for entering and exiting trades.
3. Follow your rules!
A well-designed system allows you to trade securely, even serenely, in the knowledge that over time you will make money, and that the result of any single trade doesn’t matter to the profitability of your system. After all, losses are part of the best systems ever designed. So is giving back some open profits on each trade. To expect otherwise is to expect, literally, perfection! And in this business, as in life, that is not rational!
So, have faith in your system and faith in your rules and trade well. If your system is a good one you will make money. But perhaps just as importantly, if you follow the rules of your system, instead of reacting to your emotions when deciding whether to enter or exit a trade, the whole enterprise of trading will be much more enjoyable for you. CFD FX Report is a real time tool for clients with an interest in the trading of stock markets, stocks, indices and commodities globally and forex.
Make the Rules- Overcome the Fear
Renowned trading coach Price Headley, author of “Big Trendsin Trading”, once wrote about the dangers of letting your ego control your trading decisions, especially the three critical decisions of how much money to risk, when to enter a trade and when to get out.
“The ego desires to make discretionary decisions because it desires to appear sophisticated, and daring, and to relieve boredom. But the point of trading is not sophistication, or excitement. It is to make money. So the key question to ask is, ‘What is the most effective way to trade?’. And the answer is, ‘Very systematically’.”
The key to successful trading, he concluded, is the consistent application of clear, well-conceived and objective trading rules. One of the cruelest paradoxes of this incredibly fascinating and challenging pursuit is that trading seems to offer so much freedom, seemingly unlimited freedom to those who are successful at it, yet requires so much regimentation and self-control. An out-of-control trader, whether rookie or seasoned veteran, will crash and burn quickly. A trader in control of his emotions has the game nearly won at the start.
The problem is, once the game is on, self-control seems to evaporate like water in the Gobi desert. But a good set of trading rules will give the newbie a fighting chance, and keep the veteran in the game long after many of his or her fellow traders have moved on to less stressful pursuits. Your rules don’t have to be sophisticated or designed by a Nobel Prize-winning economist. In fact, the simpler the better – as long as they are clear and as long as you follow them! Otherwise you will succumb, as every trader does on so many occasions, to what the trading psychology guru Mark Douglas called “The Four Primary Fears”.
In his classic book “Trading in the Zone”, Douglas wrote that all trading errors – every single one – result from succumbing to one of these Four Primary Fears:
1. The fear of being wrong.
2. The fear of losing money.
3. The fear of missing out (on the trade and profits).
4. The fear of leaving money on the table, or giving back open profits.
These fears lead traders to second-guess their well-designed systems, causing them to exit before an exit signal is given, or to jump in before an entry signal is given. We’ve all jumped into trades too soon, afraid that the market was going to run away without us. And we’ve all jumped out too soon, whether second-guessing the entry and not waiting for the trade to develop or snatching the quick profit instead of letting the trade play out and hit our target. Witness the Four Primary Fears in action.
The solution?
1. Have a well-designed (and profitable) system.
2. Have a clear set of rules for entering and exiting trades.
3. Follow your rules!
A well-designed system allows you to trade securely, even serenely, in the knowledge that over time you will make money, and that the result of any single trade doesn’t matter to the profitability of your system. After all, losses are part of the best systems ever designed. So is giving back some open profits on each trade. To expect otherwise is to expect, literally, perfection! And in this business, as in life, that is not rational!
So, have faith in your system and faith in your rules and trade well. If your system is a good one you will make money. But perhaps just as importantly, if you follow the rules of your system, instead of reacting to your emotions when deciding whether to enter or exit a trade, the whole enterprise of trading will be much more enjoyable for you. CFD FX Report is a real time tool for clients with an interest in the trading of stock markets, stocks, indices and commodities globally and forex.
Contract Management Software
Companies tend to spend money in prosperous times to fund expansion and research & development, often oblivious of good common sense. It is well accepted also, that in tough economic times, organizations become better economic managers. The need to consider carefully every dollar spent is heightened by slower sales and lower revenue, though this should be the norm, rather than the exception.
We have already seen a cautiousness descend across the business landscape even within companies yet to feel any direct effects of the financial downturn; putting a freeze on hiring and taking a second look at upcoming expenditure ‘just in case’. This in-turn has a flow-on effect on the vicious circle that is the drop in consumer and business spending and the already severe credit crisis. Indeed the real effects are yet to be felt by business, because many customers are still spending 2008 budgets that were granted 12 months ago, and governments who do not spend these budgets will have no chance of seeing them again in 2009.
In these increasingly tough financial times, customers are now looking closer at their procurement processes and to where they can gain greater cost efficiencies, and the procurement profession that has been slowly gathering momentum inside organizations will now have a greater chance to have a significant influence at the C-level, because what they have been doing for the past several years has a direct and significant impact on the bottom line and financial reports. Where companies were solely or predominantly relying on sales growth, companies are now looking to both direct and indirect supply departments for cost savings to realize profit forecasts.
Good procurement practices including rigorous contract development and sourcing processes, and the governance and compliance of contracts post award is now more important than ever.
Delivering greater value in existing supply arrangements is a very important way of extracting cost savings and influencing the bottom line. This requires tighter management of relationships already in place and will see companies safely through to renegotiations of these agreements and to potentially more favourable conditions and service levels that may have not been considered during previous negotiations.
Customers now need to be tightly governing the compliance and performance for spend under contract, to allow the realisation of any rebates or discounts reached for group spend or penalties (and rewards) for performance measures. Often these targets are negotiated but never enforced, and group spend targets are not met because organisations have no visibility into supply contracts. They do not know what agreements they have in place.
Contract review and renewal dates become even more important, because if these are missed, customers will have to continue to purchase at rates negotiated prior to significant changes in market conditions or sell at lower than market prices or with no longer favourable terms and conditions. There is precedent of missed renewals costing millions of dollars in missed savings opportunities or increased revenue on single contracts.
The need to be tracking supplier insurance levels through agreement renewals is of critical importance, as is the tracking of contract issues, timelines and variations, to reduce budget blowouts and scope creep. Internal procurement processes must be tightened and corporatised to reduce off-contract purchasing and to place more rigour around the supplier engagement process, even for lower end spend.
An example of the efficiencies that can be created during renegotiations are tighter SLA and partnering arrangements that reward suppliers based on positive performance milestones in tighter market conditions. These milestones are difficult to negotiate unless existing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are already being monitored, or there are no benchmarks against which to measure existing suppliers.
The most important thing is that organizations know what their commitments are, know what their risks are, and implement a pro-active systems approach for administration tasks associated with contract management. This allows contract managers to get back to the real business of commercial management; people and relationships.
For further information on and Contract Managementfeel free to visit us
Payroll Services Makes the Task of Paying Employees Bearable
As a business owner, you cannot avoid processing payroll. You need to pay your employees, and the taxman wants his money. If you are like most business owners, you may not be a financial guru, so the prospect of payroll is not that appealing.
For most businesses, payroll is the largest expense and often times is the one that causes the most issues. Regardless of the number of employees you have, you are legally bound to pay your employees on time and accurately. For these reasons, a lot of companies make use of a payroll solution.
Payroll is an emotional topic for both employees and employers. An employee looks forward to payday and can get quite upset if something goes wrong with their paycheck. Employers often worry about doing payroll accurately and the problems that mistakes can cause.
Paychecks are something the average employee very much looks forward to, but are something that can cause much grief for the business owner. Whenever payroll time comes around, someone has to spend a good deal of time going over tedious calculations as they must ensure the accuracy of the payroll.
Then there is the task of filling out the necessary government mandated reports and paying withholding taxes. One mistake here and you could wind up in a world of hurt as the taxman comes knocking on your door. Payroll is a lot of work, and you could use all the help you can get to ensure it is done correctly.
Many small businesses make use of a payroll processing service to simplify the whole process. These services offer assisted payroll processing or they will do everything for you. When you have this kind of help, payroll is no longer something that you dread, but something that is accomplished in a minimal amount of time.
The issues that you face doing payroll is not something that your employees care about. A paycheck is what they want, so you may just be better off finding a solution to make the process of running payroll a much easier one.
Paying your employees is something that every business owner must face. Though the entire payroll process can be a tedious and daunting task, it doesn’t have to be. Take advantage of the available payroll services to turn payroll into something that you no longer dread.