Economy & Finances

ECONOMY & FINANCES

FINANCES IN A MARKET ECONOMY

In the markets for goods, services, and labor, prices are expressed in terms of some currency, or money. But money itself is also traded in market economies, because some people want to save money to use in the future, while other people -- including many businesses -- want to borrow money to use today. The price for the use of that money -- known as an interest rate -- is determined in the markets where these funds are exchanged.
From a broader perspective, banks and other firms in a market economy's financial sector are most important in linking those who have resources to save and invest with those who have the most promising uses for those funds, and are therefore willing to pay for their use. Through these markets, decisions about how and where to invest funds are decentralized, just as production and consumption decisions are decentralized in the markets for goods and services.

Here, the role of financial institutions such as banks is critical. Banks serve two related functions. On one hand, they accept deposits from savers who want to keep their money safe and to earn interest on it. On the other, they lend money to borrowers who can demonstrate that they have the financial ability to pay back such a loan over time. Borrowers and lenders are not only individuals, of course, but also private companies that wish to save their money or that wish to borrow money and invest in new or expanded businesses.
In a market economy, individuals can play the role of savers and borrowers at different times. To attract their money, banks offer savers a certain rate of interest in competition with other banks and savings institutions. If the bank finds that people have the income to pay back the loan in monthly installments over a period of years, the bank may loan them the money. It will, however, charge them a higher rate of interest as borrowers than it paid them previously as savers: the difference is the bank's rate of return for the financial services it provides.

Borrowing and InvestingThe same process takes place with businesses seeking investment funds for new factories, stores, and equipment. And as with other industries in a market economy, competition among banks helps ensure that interest rates will be as low as possible while still providing a satisfactory rate of return to banks that are run well and efficiently. Further, because the pool of money available for loans is limited, the borrowers -- individuals and companies -- will compete among themselves to win the bank's approval. This competition helps ensure that bank loans are allocated to investments with the highest potential return in a manner much more efficient than if the government made borrowing and loan decisions itself.
Businesses seek these investment loans for new facilities or machinery to increase their production and sales. These firms expect to earn profits on these new investments for many years, so they are willing to pay interest for funds they can use to purchase those assets and start their production now, not later.
Of course, if the interest they have to pay is higher than the rate of return they expect to earn, the businesses won't borrow the funds. And in fact, if a company doesn't have an investment in mind that pays more than the current interest rate on borrowed funds, it will save the money rather than trying to borrow more funds itself. Or, more likely, the company will try to shift its resources into a different line of business, where the expected rate of return is higher than the rate paid on borrowed funds. That is simply another way in which resources are directed to firms that have identified the most profitable uses of resources -- based, as we have seen earlier, on providing the things consumers want most, at prices that meet or beat the prices for similar products offered by competing firms.
Here, too, international trade can be important. Just as countries can exchange products, they can also exchange financial services and investment funds. Foreign investment can increase the amount of money, or capital, available for businesses seeking to borrow and invest. By competing with domestic banks and financial institutions, foreign investment can also help keep interest rates -- the cost of money -- down.


Stock Markets and Investments
There are other, even more specialized kinds of businesses in the financial sector of a large market economy. When people want to start a business, they could go back to the banks and try to secure a loan. Or they could sell ownership shares, known as corporate stocks, in their fledgling business to hundreds, even thousands of people who believe that their product has the potential to make a profit. Small entrepreneurs as well as the world's largest corporations, offer such stocks for sale through brokers who work on stock exchanges throughout the world.
The people who buy these stocks are willing to invest some of their own money in these businesses in return for a share of the businesses' future profits. These people become, legally, the real owners of the firms and receive voting rights for every share of stock they purchase. That gives them a voice in what the company does, and in deciding who the directors and executives of the company will be.
They also share in the risks of the company if it performs poorly, or fails altogether, the investors will lose some or all of their investment money. If the company succeeds, however, these same investors will have an opportunity to realize a profit on their investment, whether they choose to hold their shares for even longer-term gain or sell their shares for many times their initial value.
As long as stockholders expect a company to do well, they will hold that stock to claim a share of the firm's expected profits, and may even buy more shares. But stockholders who aren't happy with the company's future outlook for sales and profits will sell the stock they own on a stock market, through companies that specialize in finding both buyers and sellers of stocks of all of the major corporations in the economy. These companies are known as brokerage houses, and it is groups of these firms that have joined together to establish the major stock markets in locations around the world such as New York, Tokyo, and London.
Like the banking industry, these stock markets have come to play an important role in their national economies and in international trade. They help stockholders and other people make investment decisions, evaluate how efficiently corporations are being run, and assess the general business climate. This is done through the prices of the thousands of corporate stocks that are traded daily on these exchanges, rising and falling in response to changing business conditions for individual firms, their competitors, and the overall economy.
The investment process offers individual savers and investors a great deal of freedom and opportunity in deciding what risks and new ventures to undertake. They stand to gain substantially if they save and invest wisely; but they can also lose a great deal if their investments are not sound. That is why most investors choose not to put all of their investments in one project or company, but instead keep some of their assets in very safe, "tried and true" companies or accounts. Only those who choose to take a big gamble and put all of their assets in a small number of high-risk ventures are likely to lose a fortune in the financial markets or, on the other hand, to make one.
Over the past century, it is revealing to compare the record of private investments in the development of new products and technologies to the investment record of national governments, especially those with centrally planned economies. The record of the private-sector investments, despite periods of failure, is clearly superior. Why? The reasons again point to the very nature of market economies: a decentralized process in which large numbers of people are making investment and borrowing decisions in response to changing economic conditions, not a small group in a central government. Further, the decisions are made by those whose own money is at stake -- certainly a strong motivation for making careful, shrewd choices.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/market/mktec7.htm

I think this is a really interesting article, because, it explain mostly what economy does and it’s really easy to understand by anyone… even me!.
I believe that is important to know how this works because this is how the World works. From loans from the bank as simple as credit cards to corporate stocks, which, if we they don’t look for them, it could cause a disaster by loosing millions of dollars or unemployment.



Super Bowl of Spending

By Mary Dalrymple
January 29, 2007
On Sunday, millions of people will gather around their televisions, chips and beer at hand, and participate in a national ritual of sports and advertising: the Super Bowl.
We will not merely watch. We will spend.
Anyone who wants to actually see the game in person can expect to pay an average of $4,500 per ticket, according to The Miami Herald. That's before the airfare, hotel, car rental, and souvenirs.
Riled up into a high-definition frenzy, 2.5 million people will run out and grab a new television to bring the game right into their living rooms, according to a division of the National Retail Federation. That's not all. About 1.3 million consumers plan to buy new furniture, such as home entertainment centers, for the big day. Consumer spending on Super Bowl merchandise, such as apparel and accessories, will average more than $56.
What does all this add up to? The National Retail Federation expects total Super Bowl spending to reach $8.7 billion. (Yep, that's billion with a "b.") South Florida's official estimate is that Sunday's game will bring a $400 million boost to the region.
At the risk of causing my inbox fill with angry letters, my house to be pelted with rotten eggs, and my children's children to be hexed for all eternity, I feel compelled to point out -- it's only a football game.
I know, it's not just a football game. It's the football game. For some Chicago and Indianapolis fans, it's the game they've waited a lifetime to experience. I'm not one to begrudge someone the experience of a lifetime, even if it is expensive. But, I beg and plead with you, don't spend thousands of dollars on a Super Bowl experience you can't afford.
Don't raid the kids' college fund. Even if you think Junior will get a football scholarship, the Super Bowl is not educational. Don't raid the retirement fund. You can bet all the players on the field -- win or lose -- don't have to worry about whether they can afford knee replacements in old age.
Definitely don't pile on the credit card debt. If you buy a $2,500 television on a credit card and take until next year's Super Bowl to pay it off, you'll spend an extra couple hundred dollars you could have used to buy more cheese doodles and commemorative jerseys. Besides, watching the game on a brand-new, 40-inch, high-definition television with built-in surround sound, a 10-bit processor, and 12.8 billion colors will not ensure that your team will win the game. I hate to be the one to break the news to you.
(I can't say the same for all your regular football rituals, like wearing the same team jersey every game without washing it, or cooking up your world famous, hotter-than-Hades chili.)
So, what's a broke Bears or Colts fan to do? Figure out which of your friends has the biggest television and invite yourself over. Go to a bar. Or ignore the fact that you watched the 1985 Super Bowl on the same TV you have now, invite all your friends over to crowd around the tiny thing, and have a blast. After all, size isn't everything.
Or get creative. Sports Illustrated scanned some online ads in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Miami and uncovered some interesting barter offers from people looking for tickets:
A woman offering her pregnant belly for advertising.
An unnamed gentleman offering to trade a lifetime gold VIP membership at a Wisconsin strip club (worth $1,000 per year).
Offers to exchange sports memorabilia, and an offer to swap a signed lithography by the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead (appraised at $7,000).
A week at a condo in Hawaii (with airfare), or a timeshare in the Caribbean.
An exchange of professional services, including dental work, a professional fireworks display, and plumbing.
http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/general/2007/01/29/super-bowl-of-spending.aspx

Well, we´ve learned something really important and interesting with this article. Din you know how much people spend just to watch one football game?! You do now, and think one more time when you plan to watch your favorite soccer team, because, even if this Mexican culture is not to attach to football, they are to soccer and the numbers must be more impressive.
You have seen an impressive amount of money they get just for a game, now you have two options … either you do what ever you want with your money (That’s why you earn it) or join them in this wonderful business!!!!



The Business Of LoveEdited by Brett Nelson 02.09.07
What is the price of love?

Try $17 billion. That's how much throbbing hearts will spend on Valentine's Day this year.
In tribute to the sweetest of holidays, we bring you our first annual Business of Love special report. In it, we address the greener side of love, including such burning issues as the most expensive cities for a first date (No. 1: Stamford, Conn.); the number of candy hearts produced every year (8 billion); the size of the U.S. fertility industry ($3.3 billion); and the best method for ditching an unwanted admirer (get a cellular wingman).
We even throw in some finely tuned dating advice from a bona fide professional matchmaker and offer tips on what to do when your spouse-to-be just won't sign that prenuptial agreement.
Love, after all, can be one tough business.
http://www.forbes.com/finance/2007/02/08/valentine-hallmark-prenuptial-ent-manage-cx_mc_0209bizoflove_lander.html

Now we are done, criticizing the “Super Bowl” now we are gonna talk about Valentine’s Day!!
Well, it’s almost the same thing, this is the perfect season for you to spend all your money on gifts for every one you know, ‘cause companies don’t care if you are broke after this great Commercial Day … It’s business and this is how they work!
But isn’t in great when you receive something from the one you love?



When A Prenup Isn't An OptionMatt Woolsey 02.09.07

Some people will go to extremes to stick it to their exes.
Take H. Beatty Chadwick, a corporate lawyer in Pennsylvania. Eleven years ago, during his divorce hearings, Chadwick was instructed to turn over $2.5 million he had stowed away in overseas accounts. Chadwick refused--choosing instead to spend his days browsing magazines in county jail (where he still resides on a contempt charge) rather than watch his ex take her cut of the slippery largesse.
For many, floating prenuptials is flirting with disaster (especially near Valentine's Day). Unromantic as they sound, though, the agreements do come in handy. Sir Paul McCartney took a bath because he didn’t have a better one, and rapper Kanye West topped the charts singing about how one of these could thwart gold diggers.
Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces
"Prenuptials are now such a buzzword in popular culture that people are getting them more often just because they think ‘I need a prenuptial agreement,' " says William Beslow, a matrimonial lawyer in New York who represented Nicole Kidman, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Demi Moore.
In legal terms, prenups are designed to keep individual assets from being considered "community property" during divorce proceedings. "Prenup" is a general term: Depending on how it's written, the agreement can cut as sloppy as a sword or as sharp as a scalpel. The one critical element: It requires two signatures.
So how do you protect your assets if your spouse-to-be refuses to sign one (or if you are too afraid to ask)? Herewith, some options that require neither permission nor steel bars--though all have to be put in place before you say "I do."
1. Do A Prenuptial Inventory
Lines of "entitlement" get blurred over the course of a marriage. The best way to ensure an accurate divvying of assets (and any appreciation) is to have them independently assigned and appraised prior to the exchange of vows. Such reckoning eliminates having to prove such things years later to a skeptical and overworked judge.
Musicians and authors do this to protect royalty streams from material composed before the marriage but that won't show up on Amazon (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ) until after the wedding. Athletes who have their hands in many businesses should take inventory, too.
“A premarriage agreement is critical, but without one, I make sure my clients have all their corporations tied down and that the people on the board of directors are who they want them to be," says Steve Reed, president of Capital Advisors Consulting, a firm which advises professional baseball players. "Once they get married, things become tied to the spouse.”
2. Set Up An Investment Trust
To protect appreciation in your investment portfolio, make like a politician and set up an investment trust administered by cozy trustees willing to let you manage the money behind the scenes. (If the account is under third-party control, the assets are not considered community property.) Any appreciation, goes back to you--assuming the trust administrator doesn't skip town with the bread.
"It's legal," says Beslow. "But it requires trusting someone else a lot more than your spouse, which is antithetical to the whole concept of marriage."
3. Form A Joint-Ownership Agreement
Similar to No. 2, this preemptive tactic aims to protect your property. Again you'll need a third party--a trusted friend or family member--to pull it off. Sticking property in a joint ownership account separates it from the community pie, as long as management and maintenance payments flow through the third party.
"You'd have to make sure that payments made to the third party’s bank account during the marriage came from an account without your spouse's name on it," says R. Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School. "If you pay the third party from a joint account, the spouse has a good claim on the property."
4. Use Your Child's Trust As A Shield
Have nagging concerns about your second spouse's motivations? Stick that vacation home in the trust of a child from your first marriage. Children's trusts are off-limits during divorce proceedings--in an even more ironclad sense than with investment trusts or joint-ownership agreements--and you can still manage those assets on behalf of the youngster. (Of course, if you and Junior have a falling out, you may not see that second house again.)
Beware: While all of these methods are perfectly legal, they can have adverse psychological consequences, says Beslow. “The flaw of these methods--and of prenuptial agreements--is that in the zeal to protect against the contingency of divorce, they become self-fulfilling prophesies. Anyone who is seriously thinking about acting on some kind of dipsy-doo should not be getting married.”
http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/09/prenup-amazon-revlon-ent-hr-cx_mw_0209bizofloveprenup.html

From the “I love you so much and I can’t live with out You” to the “Step back!! This is mine!!!”
This new, let it be clear that when it’s about money, love have to step a side. Here it gives you the best tips to save and secure your money from the one you love. It practically tell you that when it’s about money you shouldn’t trust anyone, and if you are sooooooooooo in love that you just don’t want to see it, it gives you examples from famous people who has lost big amounts of money, because they made mad their couple.
Think about it.



Invest Like A BillionaireTatiana Serafin 02.08.07

Dean White, 83, started building his billion-dollar billboard business in his teens, selling signs for his mother and father while in high school. After a stint at the University of Nebraska and graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, White took over his family's Whiteco Industries in 1946 and spent the next 50 years buying up a mix of conservative (billboards, apartments) and cyclical (hotels, construction) assets before selling the billboard division to Chancellor Media for $960 million.
Today he's worth $1.4 billion and ranks 278th on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest citizens. These days White says he is giving equal weight to conservative and cyclical investments to get the best return on his cash.
On the conservative side of his portfolio, White is still invested in signage. With partners he owns and operates a Chinese billboard outfit, Whiteco Qingyu, which owns 550 billboards worth $95,000 each. He says he'd eventually like to get back in the U.S. market. White recommends investors by buy shares in a billboard company, such as Lamar Advertising (nasdaq: LAMR - news - people ), which owns 150,000 billboards in the U.S. and Canada.
Invest Like A Billionaire: Read Dean White's Investment Tips
White also owns a slew of apartments. "You don't have the ups and downs in apartments that you have in other real estate holdings," he says. Today he owns and manages 3,575 units from California to Connecticut.
But White says the average investor is better off buying shares in real estate investment trusts that own apartments, rather than buying and managing apartment buildings on their own. The reason: managing an apartment complex can be a costly headache. White recommends apartment REITs like billionaire Sam Zell's Equity Residential (nyse: EQR - news - people ) or Archstone-Smith Trust (nyse: ASN - news - people ).
The flipside of White's portfolio is made up of assets that take advantage of economic cycles, like hotels and construction companies--investments he says you should get in and out of depending on macro trends. "We started out with a couple of Holiday Inns way back when," says White. He built up a portfolio of midtier and high-end hotels, mostly Marriotts and Holiday Inns.
Last year, White Lodging Services sold 100 hotels (mostly Marriotts) to Black Entertainment Television founder and billionaire Robert Johnson for $1.7 billion, netting a "nine-figure sum." The company still retains a lucrative management contract for most of the properties. White believes hotels are at their peak right now, saying, "Everybody is making money."
If you can't afford a hotel, White says investors should own REITs that specifically target high-end hotel properties in urban areas. Two REITs that meet his criteria are:
LaSalle Hotel Properties (nyse: LHO - news - people ). LaSalle owns and manages 32 upscale hotels in urban, convention and resort markets. Two recent purchases include the Holiday Inn Manhattan on Wall Street in New York, for $50.5 million, and the Graciela Burbank across the street from the Warner Bros. Studio Ranch in California, for $36.5 million. For the first nine months of 2006, LaSalle revenue rose 65% to $467.4 million, and net profits nearly tripled to $68.9 million, mostly due to the sale of the Chicago Marriott hotel. LaSalle shares rose 29% in 2006.
Host Marriott (nyse: HST - news - people ). The nation's largest lodging REIT, Host Marriott operates 128 luxury hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico under posh brand names like Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons. The company is expanding abroad, using joint ventures to buy properties like the Hotel Arts Barcelona in Spain. For the first nine months of 2006, revenues increased 25% to $3.2 billion. Net income rose 21% to $565 million over the same period, due in part to the company's acquisition of Starwood (nyse: HOT - news - people ) hotel properties.
Another industry that White says has economic trends in its favor is construction. He says the labor shortages, especially in home building, make these companies extremely valuable. He recommends investing in national construction companies that are not exposed to one region and prefers those that build in urban areas. Check out Granite Construction (nyse: GVA - news - people ), which works on both private and public sector projects, including roads, highways, tunnels, bridges, mass transit facilities and airports.
http://www.forbes.com/finance/2007/02/07/dean-white-investing-pf_cz_ts_0208billionaire.html

You see!!! It’s not as hard as it seems!! Mmm… well, obviously, everything good comes after a huge effort!, so you must start now! Like White, who started really young, you just need to find which is your thing an go for it, but you must start now! Even if you have some troubles, White gives us tips to make our money worth 2, 3 o 1000 more!!



La venezolana CANTV cae un 15% en la Bolsa de Nueva York tras las últimas declaraciones de Chávez

La compañía venezolana de telefonía CANTV perdía más del 15% de su valor en la Bolsa de Nueva York apenas unas horas después de que el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, sugiriera que su Gobierno no pagará el valor de mercado de la empresa durante el proceso de nacionalización.
NUEVA YORK, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
La compañía venezolana de telefonía CANTV perdía más del 15% de su valor en la Bolsa de Nueva York apenas unas horas después de que el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, sugiriera que su Gobierno no pagará el valor de mercado de la empresa durante el proceso de nacionalización.
En concreto, los títulos de CANTV, que ya sufrieron una fuerte pérdida al conocerse a comienzos de mes los planes del Gobierno venezolano, se dejaban un 15,35% de su valor, hasta 11,42 dólares (8,85 euros).
Durante su comparecencia semanal en radio y en televisión, Chávez aseguró que el precio que el Gobierno pague por CANTV descontará deudas contraídas con los trabajadores, pensiones y otras obligaciones, además de pasivos "tecnológicos" que la compañía debe reembolsar al Estado.
"Pagaré cuando la ley lo dicte y en la forma en que el Gobierno lo decida", afirmó Chávez. "Les voy a decir algo, la CANTV la regalaron, así que ahora no vengan aquí con cuentos de que tiene que pagar a precio internacional", añadió.
CANTV fue privatizada en 1991. La nacionalización de la compañía puede obstaculizar un acuerdo alcanzado en abril con Verizon (NYSE: VZ - noticias) para la venta de su 28% en la operadora a una 'joint venture' entre América Móvil y Teléfonos de México, controlado por Carlos Slim. Telefónica (Madrid: TEF.MC - noticias) cuenta con un 7% en el operador venezolano.
http://es.biz.yahoo.com/22012007/4/economia-telecos-venezolana-cantv-cae-15-bolsa-nueva-york-ultimas.html

Realmente las declaraciones de este tipito han venido a estropear los planes de esta empresa que cotizaba en millones de pesos, ahora gracias a las declaraciones de Chavez se ha visto compromised a disminuir drasticamente su valor internacionalmente, y por lo tanto en el precio que el Venezolano espera comprar sus acciones.
Al parecer este será una crisis económica, aunque no se sabe de que magnitud para el super empresario Slim, solo quedará ver quien se aferra más a sus creencias o su capital.



DOCUMENTALES

SECRETARIA DE ECONOMÍA

La Secretaría de Economía es una Dependencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, la cual surge de la necesidad de atender y regular los aspectos relacionados con el fomento a la industria, el comercio interior y exterior del país. Sus principales funciones consisten en: Determinar las políticas generales de la industria, el comercio exterior, interior y de abasto; Promover la industria nacional y fomentar la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa; Generar las relaciones de intercambio comercial internacional que coadyuven a la política industrial y comercial de México.
Misión Crear las condiciones necesarias para fortalecer la competitividad, tanto en el mercado nacional e internacional, de todas las empresas del país; en particular de las micro, pequeñas y medianas. Instrumentar una nueva política de desarrollo empresarial que promueva la creación y consolidación de proyectos productivos que contribuyan al crecimiento económico sostenido y generen un mayor bienestar para todos los mexicanos. Visión Un sector empresarial moderno y competitivo operando bajo una nueva cultura empresarial, un marco regulatorio eficiente y con una alta vinculación de las cadenas productivas, como elementos fundamentales en el desarrollo económico sostenido del país y en la integración de nuestra economía a los diversos mercados internacionales.
Los objetivos estratégicos son: Programa de Política Industrial y Comercio Exterior *Crear condiciones de rentabilidad elevada y permanente en la exportación directa e indirecta, y ampliar y fortalecer el acceso de los productos nacionales a los mercados de exportación. *Fomentar el desarrollo de un mercado interno y la sustitución eficiente de importaciones, como sustento de la inserción de la industria nacional en la economía internacional. *Crear mecanismos que aceleren el desarrollo de agrupamientos industriales, lo mismo regionales que sectoriales, de alta competitividad internacional y fomentar la creciente integración a los mismos de empresas micro, pequeñas y medianas. Programa de Comercio Interior, Abasto y Protección al Consumidor *Promover la competitividad de las empresas mayoristas y detallistas, especialmente las de menor tamaño. *Fomentar la cultura de información al consumidor y garantizar la defensa de sus derechos. *Incrementar la eficiencia del sistema de comercialización de bienes y servicios.

¿Cómo puedo participar en una licitación pública de la Secretaría de Economía?
1. A más tardar el 31 de marzo de cada ejercicio fiscal, la Secretaría de Economía (SE) publica el Programa Anual de Adquisiciones, Arrendamientos y Servicios y Obra Pública en Internet http://www.economia-paasop.gob.mx con la finalidad de que las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas lo consulten y sepan las necesidades de la Administración Pública en materia de compras (forma genérica de información). 2. La SE emite convocatorias públicas, a través del Diario Oficial de la Federación cuando menos una vez al mes. En promedio se publican dos licitaciones de diversos bienes o servicios, los cuales son requeridos por la Dependencia. Asimismo en el sistema de compras gubernamentales de la Secretaría de la Función Pública (SFP) se dá a conocer esta información el mismo día de su publicación en el Diario Oficial de la Federación http://www.compranet.gob.mx 3. En la convocatoria del Diario Oficial de la Federación y en Compranet se establece el precio de las bases y el bien o servicio a adquirir. 4. Los interesados pueden comprar bases a través del sistema de Compranet o en cualquier sucursal bancaria con el formato SAT 16 y al presentarlo en la Dirección General de Recursos Materiales y Servicios Generales, se les entrega un ejemplar de dichas bases. 5. De conformidad con la Ley de Adquisiciones, Arrendamientos y Servicios del Sector Público es necesario que las personas interesadas no se encuentren en ninguno de los supuestos previstos por el artículo 50 de dicha ley.
http://www.pymes.gob.mx/Preguntas/Intranet.asp?IdP=35




IMF

The IMF, has the responsibility of providing loans to countries experiencing balance of payments problems. This financial assistance enables countries to rebuild their international reserves; stabilize their currencies; continue paying for imports; and restore conditions for strong economic growth. Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects.
When can a country borrow from the IMF?
A member country may request IMF financial assistance if it has a balance of payments need—that is, if it cannot find sufficient financing on affordable terms to meet its net international payments. An IMF loan eases the adjustment policies and reforms that a country must make to correct its balance of payments problem and restore conditions for strong economic growth.
The changing nature of IMF lending
The volume of loans provided by the IMF has fluctuated significantly over time. The oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s were both followed by sharp increases in IMF lending. In the 1990s, the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market economies led to further surges of demand for IMF resources, which have largely been repaid as conditions improved.
The process of IMF lending
An IMF loan is usually provided under an "arrangement," which stipulates the specific policies and measures a country has agreed to implement to resolve its balance of payments problem. The economic program underlying an arrangement is formulated by the country in consultation with the IMF, and is presented to the Fund's Executive Board in a "Letter of Intent." Once an arrangement is approved by the Board, the loan is released in phased installments as the program is carried out.
IMF Facilities
Over the years, the IMF has developed various loan instruments, or "facilities," that are tailored to address the specific circumstances of its diverse membership. Low-income countries may borrow at a concessional interest rate through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF). Non-concessional loans are provided mainly through Stand-By Arrangements (SBA), and occasionally using the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF), and the Compensatory Financing Facility (CFF). The IMF also provides emergency assistance to support recovery from natural disasters and conflicts, in some cases at concessional interest rates. As part of its Medium-Term Strategy, the IMF has been considering a new financing instrument designed for emerging market countries that have strong economic policies, but that remain vulnerable to shocks. The instrument would provide a substantial, contingent line of financing to help support confidence and reduce the risk of a crisis.
Except for the PRGF and the ESF, all facilities are subject to the IMF's market-related interest rate, known as the "rate of charge," and some carry a surcharge. The rate of charge is based on the SDR interest rate, which is revised weekly to take account of changes in short-term interest rates in major international money markets. Large loans carry a surcharge. The amount that a country can borrow from the Fund—its "access limit"—varies depending on the type of loan, but is typically a multiple of the country's IMF quota. In exceptional circumstances, some loans may exceed the access limits.
Where the IMF Gets its Money
Most resources for IMF loans are provided by member countries, primarily through their payment of quotas. Concessional lending and debt relief for low-income countries are financed through separate contribution-based trust funds. The IMF's annual operating expenses are largely paid for by the difference between its interest receipts and its interest payments.

The quota system
Each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative size in the world economy, which determines its contribution to the IMF's financial resources. Upon joining the IMF, a country normally pays up to one-quarter of its quota in the form of widely accepted foreign currencies (such as the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen, or the pound sterling) or Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The remaining three-quarters is paid in the country's own currency.
Quotas are reviewed at least every five years. The quota review that was concluded in 1998 led to a 45 percent increase in IMF quotas to SDR 213 billion (about $317 billion as of end-July 2006). The review concluded in January 2003 resulted in no change in quotas.
Gold holdings
Valued at current market prices, the IMF's gold holdings are worth about $65 billion as of end-July 2006, making the Fund one of the largest official holders of gold in the world. However, the IMF's Articles of Agreement strictly limit its use. Under some circumstances, the IMF may sell gold or may accept gold as payment by member countries; but the IMF is prohibited from buying gold or engaging in other gold transactions.
The IMF's lending capacity
The IMF can only use its quota-funded holdings of currencies of financially strong economies to finance lending. The IMF's Executive Board selects these currencies every three months. Most are issued by industrial countries, but the list also has included currencies of developing countries such as Botswana, China, and India. The IMF's holdings of these currencies, together with its own SDR holdings, make up its usable resources.
The amount the IMF has readily available for new (non-concessional) lending is indicated by its one-year forward commitment capacity. This is determined by its usable resources, plus projected loan repayments over the subsequent twelve months, less the resources that have already been committed under existing arrangements, less a precautionary balance. As of end-July 2006, the Fund's one-year forward commitment capacity was $175 billion.
Borrowing arrangements
If the IMF believes that its forward commitment capacity might fall short of its members' needs—for example, in the event of a major financial crisis—it can activate supplementary borrowing arrangements. The first and principal resort is the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), which was established in 1998. Under the NAB, 26 countries have agreed to lend SDR 34 billion (about $50 billion).
IMF concessional lending and debt relief
The IMF provides two primary types of financial assistance to low-income countries: low-interest loans under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF), and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). These resources come from member contributions and the IMF itself, rather than from the quota subscriptions. They are administered under the PRGF-ESF, PRGF-HIPC, MDRI-I and MDRI-II Trusts, for which the IMF acts as Trustee.
The renamed PRGF-ESF Trust (originally PRGF Trust) was established to provide lending in support of PRGF and ESF arrangements and to subsidize the market rate of interest down to the concessional interest rate of 0.5 percent per annum. Loan resources close to $23 billion have been committed by 17 contributors to the Trust, while a larger number of IMF member countries have made subsidy contributions.
The PRGF-HIPC Trust was established to provide debt relief under the HIPC Initiative and to subsidize PRGF lending. The resources available to the Trust consists of grants and deposits pledged from 93 member countries and contributions from the IMF itself. The bulk of the IMF's contribution comes from off-market gold transactions made during 1999-2000.
The MDRI-I and MDRI-II Trusts were established to provide debt relief under the MDRI. Financed from the IMF's own resources of SDR 1.5 billion in the Special Disbursement Account (SDA), the MDRI-I Trust is to provide debt relief to countries (both HIPCs and non-HIPCs) with per capita incomes at or below $380 a year (on the basis of 2004 gross national income). The MDRI-II Trust is to provide debt relief to HIPCs with per capita incomes above $380 a year, with financing from bilateral resources of SDR 1.12 billion transferred from the PRGF-ESF Trust.
In addition to the above, there is a separate administered account financed by a group of member countries for interest subsidies on IMF emergency assistance to PRGF-eligible countries in post-conflict or natural disaster situations.
IMF income and expenses
The IMF's annual expenses are financed largely by the difference between annual interest receipts and annual interest payments and by the returns on its investment account. In fiscal year 2006, interest and charges received from borrowing countries and other income totaled $ 2.5 billion, while interest payments on the portion of members' quota subscriptions used in IMF operations and other operating expenses amounted to $2.2 billion. The remainder was added to the IMF's reserves. Looking ahead, additional income will be generated from the net return on the IMF's investment account, which was funded in June 2006.

How the IMF Helps Poor Countries
The IMF provides low-income countries with policy advice, technical assistance, and financial support. Low-income countries receive more than half of the technical assistance provided by the Fund, and financial support is extended at low interest rates and over relatively long time horizons. Low-income countries with high external debt burdens are also eligible for debt relief.

What can be done to reduce poverty?
Despite progress in recent decades, the extreme poverty prevalent in low-income countries is a critical problem facing the global community. At present, more than a billion people are living on less than $1 a day. More than three-quarters of a billion people are malnourished—about a fifth of them children. One-hundred and sixteen of every 1000 children born in low-income countries die before reaching the age of five, the majority from malnutrition or disease that is readily preventable in high-income countries.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations are centered on halving poverty between 1990 and 2015. How can they be achieved, when the causes of poverty and the reasons it persists are complex, varied, and not fully understood? There is little dispute that a sustained, rapid rate of growth in average per capita incomes is essential for meaningful poverty reduction. In turn, the factors that have been shown to promote such growth include openness to international trade, sound economic policies, strong institutions and legal frameworks, and good governance.
Accordingly, in the March 2002 Monterrey Consensus, the international community adopted a two-pillar strategy for achieving the MDGs. The first is the pursuit of sound policies and good governance by the low-income countries themselves. The second is larger and more effective international support, including official development assistance and trade liberalization to open markets to developing country exports.
The role of the IMF
The IMF is helping low-income countries make progress toward the MDGs and contributing to the approach embodied in the Monterrey Consensus through each of the Fund's three key functions—lending, technical assistance, and surveillance.
Lending. The IMF provides financial assistance to low-income countries experiencing balance of payments problems through its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and, for temporary needs arising from exogenous shocks, through the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF). The interest rate on PRGF and ESF loans is concessional (only 0.5 percent), and loans are repaid over a period of 10 years (with 5½ years' grace).
PRGF and ESF lending programs are based on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP). A PRSP is prepared by the government of a low-income country, in concert with civil society and development partners such as the IMF and World Bank, to describe the policies that will be employed to promote growth and reduce poverty in the country. In addition to economic policies, PRSPs typically cover structural and social policies that are needed to improve health and education, safeguard the environment, and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. The IMF sees the PRSP approach as a key framework for implementing the Monterrey Consensus, and is working to ensure better alignment of PRGF lending programs with PRSPs.
Some low-income countries are eligible for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The joint IMF-World Bank HIPC Initiative entails coordinated action by the international financial community, including multilateral organizations and governments, to reduce to sustainable levels the external debt burdens of heavily indebted poor countries. The MDRI adds full debt relief by three multilateral institutions—the IMF, the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, and the African Development Fund (AfDF). The HIPCs that have already obtained debt service relief are spending much more on social services than on debt service—on average four times as much—and have shown a marked increase in the share of health and education in the budgets under their PRGF programs.
The Policy Support Instrument offers support for low-income countries that do not want or do not need financial assistance from the IMF but want its advice, monitoring, and endorsement of their economic policies. It is a vehicle intended to help them design effective economic programs and provide signaling to donors, the multilateral development banks, and markets.
Technical assistance. Adequate policy-making capacity is critical for sustainable development and growth. The IMF provides assistance and training—generally free of charge—to help member countries strengthen the capacity of their institutions and officials to manage economic and financial policies. In recent years, the Fund has reinforced its efforts in low-income countries by establishing regional technical assistance centers in the Pacific, the Caribbean, East, West, and Central Africa, and in the Middle East.
Surveillance. Low-income countries benefit from the full range of policy advice that is provided regularly to all 184 members through IMF surveillance. The objectives of this advice are to help countries: i) establish economic frameworks that can support sustained high growth and poverty reduction; ii) identify and manage sources of macroeconomic risks and vulnerabilities; and iii) strengthen institutions and policies that underpin sound macroeconomic management. Low-income countries also benefit from the Fund's surveillance over the policies of other countries and the international monetary system, which promotes global growth and economic stability. The IMF also uses the surveillance process to encourage developed countries to live up to their pledges toward the MDGs—especially, the long-standing target of 0.7 percent of GNP of official development assistance, and the need to reduce subsidies and other barriers to trade in order to improve access to their markets for low-income country exports.
Progress in implementing the policies and actions needed to achieve the MDGs and related outcomes is assessed annually in the Global Monitoring Report, a publication produced jointly by the IMF and the World Bank, in collaboration with other international partners.
http://www.imf.org/external/fin.htm

Conocimiento según Kuhn

CONOCIMIENTO PARA LA HISTORIA, SEGÚN
“LA ESTRUCTURA DE LAS REVOLUCIONES CIENTÍFICAS” DE KUHN


Thomas Kuhn, escritor de este libro (1962) es un claro ejemplo de un debate en la filosofía de la ciencia.
Antes que nada, cabe aclarar que para todo, siempre la ciencia se encontrará con diferentes paradigmas, los cuales utilizará para obtener otro paradigma. Pero, debido a que el segundo paradigma, nace de otro, este es más específico.
Ante todo, siempre habrá complicaciones, ya que sin ellas esto sería 1 dogma, por lo que el científico debe someter su análisis a un refinamiento.
Pero Kuhn hace una comparación en lo que es “Ciencia Normal” y “Revoluciones Científicas”, ya que en la primera, uno se basa en viejas teorías, mientras que en la 2° se busca una idea completamente nueva, la cual debe de tener una comunidad científica que lo avale.
Cabe destacar, que no cualquier paradigma será “Digno” de ser conocido como científico, pues además de lo anterior, deberá resolver los problemas del paradigma inicial y tener algún avance significativo. Es cuando se presenta “La crisis”
La crisis trata de la sustitución de un paradigma por otro, el cual ya es desechado. A causa de esto, el científico a veces tiene algunas dificultades para adaptarse al nuevo paradigma.
A este proceso de infinitas interrogantes, Kuhn las llama “Revoluciones”, las cuales afirma que a diferencia de “La ciencia normal”, no es acumulativa.
Kuhn afirma que la ciencia además de ser un proceso complejo, no es acumulativa como la mayoría de la gente tiene la idea, sino que son revoluciones que modifican lo ya establecido.

Pero todos estas revoluciones, no se dan solas, sino que es a través de los científicos que las conocemos. Pero también es indispensable reconocer que estos deben tener cierta tenacidad, la cual les permitirá resistirse a manifestaciones externas.
Este autor, también menciona lo que es la “matriz interdisciplinaria” y se refiere al grupo de científicos como la unidad social que comparte un logro paradigmático y ayudan a la resolución de enigmas.
Pero, a pesar de todas estas cualidades que deben de reunir los científicos, deben considerar que el cambio de un paradigma no depende únicamente de ellos, pues a final de cuentas, la aceptación de estos paradigmas debe ser por parte del mundo en general, considerando todo lo que en el proyecto anterior se mencionó: visión del mundo, creencias, educación, estilo de vida e influencias de todo tipo (tecnológicas, sociales, informativas, etc.).

Kuhn nos menciona que, ya cuando los científicos han adoptado el nuevo paradigma, es cuando las teorías anteriores son abandonadas y les denomina “perdidas kuhnianas” pues ya nadie se dedica a la resolución de estas. Pero aún así, es cuando se menciona que tal vez no es una revolución, pero aún así en contra del reduccionismo o acumulatividad le denomina “cambio científico”.

Thomas Kuhn expresa su idea acerca del progreso de la ciencia a partir de los siguientes puntos:
Pre-ciencia: Se presentan innumerables teorías, algunas incoherentes, pero no deja de lado a ninguna.
Ciencia Normal (paradigma) En esta considera 2 tipos de paradigmas, uno que será la base para nuevos paradigmas, y el otro que es un conjunto de valores compartidos (métodos utilizados por aquellos que se dedican a la creación de nuevos paradigmas o logros)
Crisis (anomalías)
Revolución
Nueva Ciencia Normal (nuevo paradigma)
Nueva Crisis

NATURALEZA DE LA CIENCIA

¿Por qué he elegido este dibujo? Sencillamente por la interrogante del perro, (no se trata en sí del perro, sino de la duda que le viene a la cabeza, por que es cuando realmente te esta enfrentando a un paradigma y es cuando hay una pequeña crisis en él y surgen las preguntas (crisis) y de ahí surge la ciencia, al menos a mi interpretación de Kuhn.

EL HOMBRE SIN NATURALEZA

Realmente, el hombre ha perdido su instinto y todo lo brindado por la naturaleza ya que se ha acostumbrado a facilidades que le brinda la ciencia, pero conforme pasa el tiempo, ya no utiliza su instinto, o lo ha “Evolucionado” en otro tipo de supervivencia, que ahora en vez de ser entorno a todo lo que le ha brindado la naturaleza, ahora se cuida de las
sociedades que le rodean.

Una de las desventajas que traen las ciencias, es que no tienen bien específico para quien se dirigen sus nuevos descubrimientos, y pues como todos son utilizados por el hombre, éste olvida que todas sus habilidades se le dieron por una razón, pero con el avance y aparición de nuevas formas de vida va perdiendo poco a poco estas capacidades otorgadas por la naturaleza.

EL HOMBRE SIN CIENCIA

Realmente, todos coincidimos que como ya se ha mencionado antes, el hombre es dependiente de la ciencia a un gran grado, pero también hay que aclarar que contadas las habilidades dadas al hombre, este no hubiera sobrevivido sin la ciencia, no importa que tan primitiva sea, como lo menciona Kuhn, todo surge del perfeccionamiento de otro paradigma, por lo que, nos podemos remontar al ejemplo más antiguo … el fuego. Considerando las altas temperaturas, los enormes banquetes crudo e infestados de microbios, parásitos y sus derivados, sin este el hombre pudo haber tenido oportunidades mínimas de sobre vivencia, además de que nunca hubiera tenido ningún avance y seguiríamos exactamente igual, pues todo lo que se encuentra en nuestro entorno es resultado de la ciencia (por mas mínimo que sea, pues en la creación del hombre, este no tenía conocimiento de estas habilidades que ha podido explotar gracias a la ciencia)
Realmente, el hombre y la ciencia son co-dependientes uno del otro.



SER HUMANO

Finalmente, el ser humano, el tema más difícil para poder explicar en una imagen a mi opinión, pues pudo haber sido muy fácil poner un hombre cualquiera, pero debido a que esta especie es extremadamente compleja, he decidido expresarlo en una balanza en la cual siempre intentará mantener el control sobre todas las cosas.
En esta imagen se puede apreciar una maleta que significa el dinero, pero también del otro lado, una grupo de gente que puede significar una familia, la sociedad incluso tener el poder del dinero y las personas, el cual puede ser obtenido gracias a la ciencia, ya lo vemos con Bill Gates, el hombre más rico del mundo, por encima de cualquier rey que no ha podido controlar tantos años de control o incluso con Carlos Slim, que mantiene el control sobre Latinoamérica con empresas multimillonarias de las que depende mucha gente.
Pero saliéndonos de las ideas Maquieavelicas y Políticas, como ya se había mencionado anteriormente, el hombre es el animal más complejo el cual, aún seas uno de ellos nunca podrás entender a tu especie.