China Cord Blood Corporation Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter and First Half of Fiscal 2015

HONG KONG, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- China Cord Blood Corporation (CO) ("CCBC" or the "Company"), China's leading provider of cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing, and stem cell storage services, today announced its preliminary unaudited financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal year 2015 ended September 30, 2014. Second Quarter of Fiscal 2015 Highlights Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased by 7.4% to RMB152.1 million ($24.8 million) from RMB141.6 million in the prior year period. New subscriber sign-ups and accumulated subscriber base were 15,584 and 407,755, respectively. Gross profit increased by 6.6% to RMB121.8 million ($19.8 million) from RMB114.3 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 80.1%, compared to 80.7% in the prior year period. Operating income increased to RMB57.5 million ($9.4 million) from RMB56.3 million in the prior year period, despite higher depreciation expenses as a result of the completion of the new Guangdong and Zhejiang facilities. Operating income before depreciation and amortization expenses of RMB13.3 million ($2.2 million) amounted to RMB70.8 million ($11.5 million), up 8.9% year-over-year.[1] Interest expense amounted to RMB25.2 million ($4.1 million), compared to RMB16.5 million in the prior year period due to the absence of interest expense capitalization. As higher interest expense was offset by lower income tax expense, net income attributable to the Company's shareholders increased to RMB27.2 million ($4.4 million) from RMB24.9 million in the prior year period. Operating cash flow for the quarter increased by 41.4% to RMB171.0 million ($27.9 million) from RMB121.0 million in the prior year period. First Half of Fiscal 2015 Highlights Revenues for the first half of fiscal 2015 increased by 13.0% to RMB305.5 million ($49.8 million) from RMB270.4 million in the prior year period. New subscriber sign-up reached 31,132 and accumulated subscriber base expanded to 407,755. Gross profit increased by 12.3% to RMB245.3 million ($40.0 million) from RMB218.5 million in the prior year period. Operating income increased by 15.1% to RMB117.6 million ($19.2 million) from RMB102.2 million in the prior year period. Operating income before depreciation and amortization expenses of RMB24.7 million ($4.0 million) amounted to RMB142.3 million ($23.2 million), up 19.1% year-over-year.[1] Interest expense amounted to RMB50.1 million ($8.2 million), compared to RMB31.2 million in the prior year period due to the absence of interest expense capitalization. Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders amounted to RMB57.0 million ($9.3 million), compared to RMB57.8 million in the prior year period. Operating cash flow for the first half of fiscal 2015 increased by 28.8% to RMB295.7 million ($48.2 million) from RMB229.6 million in the prior year period. "In the second quarter, we continued to execute our sales strategy that emphasizes the one-time upfront payment option, resulting in strong operating cash flow," stated Ms. Ting Zheng, Chief Executive Officer of China Cord Blood Corporation. "As of the end of the second quarter, our accumulated subscriber base increased 4% since last quarter and now has over four hundred thousand units, further solidifying our position as one of the largest cord blood banks on a global scale." Ms. Zheng further commented, "During the second quarter, we began a series of internal reorganization and marketing activities designed to strengthen the company's industry leadership position and long-term competitive advantage. For instance, we are increasing our recruitment efforts and adjusting our remuneration policies, redeploying our sales staff for improved coverage and initiating new advertising campaigns, all of which are aimed at enhancing our overall sales operations. For the second half of fiscal 2015, our primary focus will be reinforcing these new measures that drive customer enrollment." Summary – Second Quarter and First Half Ended September 30, 2013 and 2014 Three Months Ended September 30, Six Months Ended September 30, 2013 2014 2013 2014 (in thousands) RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ Revenues 141,635 152,122 24,784 270,356 305,453 49,764 Gross Profit 114,275 121,774 19,840 218,504 245,329 39,969 Operating Income 56,290 57,463 9,362 102,170 117,630 19,164 Depreciation and Amortization Expenses 8,715 13,301 2,167 17,308 24,708 4,025 Interest Expense 16,461 25,209 4,107 31,219 50,104 8,163 Net Income Attributable to the Company's Shareholders 24,904 27,249 4,439 57,810 56,985 9,283 Earnings per Ordinary Share – Basic[2] and Diluted (RMB/US$) 0.33 0.35 0.06 0.73 0.72 0.12 Revenue Breakdown (%) Processing Fees 71.6% 67.4% 70.6% 68.3% Storage Fees 28.4% 32.6% 29.4% 31.7% New Subscribers (persons) 15,928 15,584 31,188 31,132 Total Accumulated Subscribers (persons) 343,170 407,755 343,170 407,755 Summary – Selected Cash Flow Statement Items Three Months Ended September 30, Six Months Ended September 30, 2013 2014 2013 2014 (in thousands) RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ Net cash provided by operating activities 120,969 171,048 27,867 229,623 295,691 48,174 Net cash used in investing activities (17,531) (3,998) (651) (56,891) (22,395) (3,649) Net cash provided by financing activities 5,578 - - 2,336 - - Second Quarter of Fiscal 2015 Financial Results REVENUES. Revenues increased by 7.4% to RMB152.1 million ($24.8 million) in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 from RMB141.6 million in the prior year period, driven mainly by the increase of recurring storage revenues derived from the Company's enlarged total subscriber base. As the Company's accumulated subscriber base expanded to 407,755 by the end of September 2014, revenues generated from storage fees increased to RMB49.6 million ($8.1 million), up 23.4% from RMB40.2 million in the prior year period. As a percentage of total revenues, storage fees accounted for 32.6%, compared to 28.4% in the prior year period. Revenues generated from processing fees in the second quarter were RMB102.5 million ($16.7 million), up modestly from RMB101.4 million in the prior year period due mainly to the year-over-year difference in processing fees for the contracts signed between the two quarters. 15,584 new subscriber sign-ups were recorded during the second quarter of fiscal 2015, representing a slight decrease from 15,928 in the prior year period but slight improvement from the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Revenues generated from processing fees accounted for 67.4% of total revenues, compared to 71.6% in the prior year period. GROSS PROFIT. Gross profit for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased by 6.6% to RMB121.8 million ($19.8 million) from RMB114.3 million in the prior year period, mainly due to increased revenues and well-controlled direct costs. Despite the increase in depreciation expenses, the Company continued to report a solid gross margin of 80.1%, compared to 80.7% in the prior year period. OPERATING INCOME. Operating income for the second quarter increased at a slower pace to RMB57.5 million ($9.4 million) from RMB56.3 million in the prior year period, as a result of higher depreciation expenses. Operating margin in this quarter was 37.8%, compared to 39.7% in the prior year period. Depreciation and amortization expenses for the second quarter were RMB13.3 million ($2.2 million), compared to RMB8.7 million in the prior year period. Operating income before depreciation and amortization expenses totaled RMB70.8 million ($11.5 million), up 8.9% compared to the prior year period.[3] Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses, which have been stable in the last few quarters, were RMB2.3 million ($0.4 million). Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing expenses for the second quarter amounted to RMB31.0 million ($5.0 million), compared to RMB27.6 million in the prior year period. As a percentage of revenue, sales and marketing expenses were 20.3%, up from 19.5% in the prior year period but down from 20.7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Sales and marketing expenses continued to be correlated with the Company's revenue performance. Looking ahead, the CCBC management team intends to further expand its sales force and marketing and promotion activities to continue to increase public awareness of cord blood banking. General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses for the second quarter were RMB31.0 million ($5.1 million), compared to RMB28.0 million in the prior year period. Increased depreciation expenses and repair and maintenance fees contributed to the increase in general and administrative expenses. As a percentage of revenue, general and administrative expenses were 20.4%, compared to 19.8% in the prior year period. OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSES. Interest Expense. Interest expense is mainly related to the Company's outstanding convertible notes. In the current quarter, the Company incurred interest expense of RMB25.2 million ($4.1 million), without any capitalization. For the prior year period, interest expense was RMB16.5 million as RMB6.8 million of interest expense was capitalized for the construction of the Company's new facilities in Zhejiang and Guangdong. NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY'S SHAREHOLDERS. Due to higher interest expense, income before tax for the second quarter decreased year-over-year to RMB37.5 million ($6.1 million) from RMB44.7 million. However, net income attributable to the Company's shareholders for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased to RMB27.2 million ($4.4 million) from RMB24.9 million in the prior year period mainly due to lower income tax expense. Net margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was 17.9%. EARNINGS PER SHARE. The terms of the convertible notes issued to KKR and Golden Meditech provide each party with the ability to participate in any Excess Cash Dividend[4]. Therefore, the calculation of basic and diluted EPS has taken into consideration the effect of such participating rights, which was RMB0.02 ($0.003) per share. Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 were RMB0.35 ($0.06). LIQUIDITY. As of September 30, 2014, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB2,156.5 million ($351.3 million) compared to RMB1,882.9 million as of March 31, 2014. The Company had total debt of RMB857.2 million ($139.7 million) as of September 30, 2014. Operating cash flow for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased by 41.4% to RMB171.0 million ($27.9 million) from RMB121.0 million in the prior year period. First Half of Fiscal 2015 Financial Results For the first half of fiscal 2015, total revenues increased by 13.0% to RMB305.5 million ($49.8 million) from RMB270.4 million in the prior year period. The increase was largely attributable to the increase of the Company's storage revenue from the Company's expanded subscriber base, which reached 407,755 units by the end of September 2014. Revenues from processing fees and storage fees grew by 9.3% and 21.8%, respectively. Gross profit increased by 12.3% to RMB245.3 million ($40.0 million) from RMB218.5 million in the prior year period. Operating income increased by 15.1% to RMB117.6 million ($19.2 million) from RMB102.2 million in the prior year period. Operating income before depreciation and amortization expenses totaled RMB142.3 million ($23.2 million), up 19.1% compared to the prior year period.[5] Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders amounted to RMB57.0 million ($9.3 million). Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to ordinary shares were RMB0.72 ($0.12). Net cash provided by operating activities in the first half of fiscal 2015 was RMB295.7 million ($48.2 million). Conference Call The Company will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 26, 2014 to discuss its financial performance and give a brief overview of the Company's recent developments, followed by a question and answer session. Interested parties can access the audio webcast through the Company's IR website at http://ir.chinacordbloodcorp.com. A replay of the webcast will be accessible two hours after the conference call and available for three weeks at the same URL link above. Listeners can also access the call by dialing 1-631-514-2526 or 1-855-298-3404 for US callers, or +852-5808-3202 for Hong Kong callers, access code: 7331700. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures GAAP results for the three months and six months ended September 30, 2014 include non-cash item related to depreciation and amortization expenses. To supplement the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements presented on a U.S. GAAP basis, the Company has provided adjusted financial information excluding the impact of these items in this press release. The non-GAAP financial measure represents non-GAAP operating income. Such adjustment is a departure from U.S. GAAP; however, the Company's management believes that these adjusted measures provide investors with a better understanding of how the results relate to the Company's historical performance. Also, management uses non-GAAP operating income as a measurement tool for evaluating our actual operating performance compared to budget and prior periods. These adjusted measures should not be considered an alternative to operating income, or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity, presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These measures are not necessarily comparable to a similarly titled measure of another company. A reconciliation of the adjustments to U.S. GAAP results appears in exhibit 3 of this press release. This additional adjusted information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financials. About China Cord Blood Corporation China Cord Blood Corporation is the first and largest umbilical cord blood banking operator in China in terms of geographical coverage and the only cord blood banking operator with multiple licenses. Under current PRC government regulations, only one licensed cord blood banking operator is permitted to operate in each licensed region and only seven licenses have been authorized as of today. China Cord Blood Corporation provides cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing and stem cell storage services. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.chinacordbloodcorp.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance. The Company has attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "can", "continue", "could", "estimates", "intends", "may", "plans", "potential", "predict", "should" or "will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions, uncertainties and other factors may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The information in this press release is not intended to project future performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company does not guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company expectations are as of the date this press release is issued, and the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date this press release is issued to conform these statements to actual results, unless required by law. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company's businesses and business environments. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results of the Company's operations may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors some of which include, among other things: continued compliance with government regulations regarding cord blood banking in the People's Republic of China, or PRC and any other jurisdiction in which the Company conducts its operations; changing legislation or regulatory environments (including revisions to China's One Child Policy) in the PRC and any other jurisdiction in which the Company conducts its operations; the acceptance by subscribers of the Company's different pricing and payment options and reaction to the introduction of the Company's premium-quality pricing strategy; demographic trends in the regions of the PRC in which the Company is the exclusive licensed cord blood banking operator; labor and personnel relations; the existence of a significant shareholder able to influence and direct the corporate policies of the Company; credit risks affecting the Company's revenue and profitability; changes in the healthcare industry, including those which may result in the use of stem cell therapies becoming redundant or obsolete; the Company's ability to effectively manage its growth, including implementing effective controls and procedures and attracting and retaining key management and personnel; changing interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles; the availability of capital resources, including in the form of capital markets financing opportunities, in light of industry developments affecting issuers that have pursued a "reverse merger" with an operating company based in China, as well as general economic conditions; compliance with restrictive debt covenants under our senior convertible notes; and other relevant risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States. This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars as of and for the periods ending September 30, 2014 were made at the noon buying rate of RMB6.1380 to $1.00 on September 30, 2014 in the City of New York for cable transfers in Renminbi per U.S. dollar as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. China Cord Blood Corporation makes no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this press release could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, at any particular rate or at all. For more information, please contact: China Cord Blood Corporation Investor Relations Department Tel: (+852) 3605-8180 Email: ir@chinacordbloodcorp.com ICR, Inc. Mr. William Zima Tel: (+86) 10-6583-7511 U.S. Tel: (646) 405-5185 Email: William.zima@icrinc.com EXHIBIT 1 CHINA CORD BLOOD CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS As of March 31 and September 30, 2014 March 31, September 30, 2014 2014 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands except share data) ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 1,882,901 2,156,527 351,340 Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts (March 31, 2014: RMB20,322; September 30, 2014: RMB23,691) 95,273 110,412 17,988 Inventories 31,583 25,611 4,172 Prepaid expenses and other receivables 37,010 16,712 2,723 Debt issuance costs 3,616 3,608 588 Deferred tax assets 7,664 8,578 1,398 Total current assets 2,058,047 2,321,448 378,209 Property, plant and equipment, net 626,632 616,545 100,446 Non-current prepayments 208,894 208,429 33,957 Non-current accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts (March 31, 2014: RMB42,703; September 30, 2014: RMB48,300) 225,496 211,805 34,507 Inventories 48,385 54,062 8,808 Intangible assets, net 120,549 118,239 19,263 Available-for-sale equity securities 144,247 139,637 22,750 Other investment 189,129 189,129 30,813 Debt issuance costs 7,854 6,028 982 Deferred tax assets 1,789 2,648 431 Total assets 3,631,022 3,867,970 630,166 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Bank loan 60,000 60,000 9,775 Accounts payable 10,422 15,624 2,545 Accrued expenses and other payables 102,559 77,625 12,647 Deferred revenue 196,432 208,151 33,912 Amounts due to related parties 21,453 22,245 3,624 Income tax payable 2,571 7,202 1,173 Deferred tax liabilities 3,900 6,500 1,059 Total current liabilities 397,337 397,347 64,735 Convertible notes 777,753 797,227 129,884 Non-current deferred revenue 823,921 962,574 156,822 Other non-current liabilities 164,077 189,529 30,878 Deferred tax liabilities 27,938 27,331 4,453 Total liabilities 2,191,026 2,374,008 386,772 EQUITY Shareholders' equity of China Cord Blood Corporation Ordinary shares - US$0.0001 par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized, 50 50 8 73,140,147 shares issued, and 73,003,248 shares outstanding as of March 31 and September 30, 2014, respectively Additional paid-in capital 798,221 798,221 130,046 Treasury stock, at cost (2,815) (2,815) (459) (March 31 and September 30, 2014: 136,899 shares, respectively) Accumulated other comprehensive income 84,263 81,393 13,260 Retained earnings 555,323 612,308 99,756 Total equity attributable to China Cord Blood Corporation 1,435,042 1,489,157 242,611 Non-controlling interests 4,954 4,805 783 Total equity 1,439,996 1,493,962 243,394 Total liabilities and equity 3,631,022 3,867,970 630,166 EXHIBIT 2 CHINA CORD BLOOD CORPORATION UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME For the Three Months and Six Months ended September 30, 2013 and 2014 Three months ended Six months ended September 30, September 30, 2013 2014 2013 2014 RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ (in thousands except per share data) Revenues 141,635 152,122 24,784 270,356 305,453 49,764 Direct costs (27,360) (30,348) (4,944) (51,852) (60,124) (9,795) Gross profit 114,275 121,774 19,840 218,504 245,329 39,969 Operating expenses Research and development (2,310) (2,330) (380) (4,833) (4,829) (787) Sales and marketing (27,633) (30,953) (5,043) (56,057) (62,696) (10,214) General and administrative (28,042) (31,028) (5,055) (55,444) (60,174) (9,804) Total operating expenses (57,985) (64,311) (10,478) (116,334) (127,699) (20,805) Operating income 56,290 57,463 9,362 102,170 117,630 19,164 Other expense, net Interest income 4,312 4,704 766 8,494 8,970 1,461 Interest expense (16,461) (25,209) (4,107) (31,219) (50,104) (8,163) Exchange gain/(loss) 69 (182) (30) (55) (2) - Dividend income - - - 8,722 1,196 195 Others 514 680 111 1,044 1,297 211 Total other expense, net (11,566) (20,007) (3,260) (13,014) (38,643) (6,296) Income before income tax 44,724 37,456 6,102 89,156 78,987 12,868 Income tax expense (19,706) (10,214) (1,664) (31,079) (22,151) (3,609) Net income 25,018 27,242 4,438 58,077 56,836 9,259 Net Income attributable to non-controlling interests (114) 7 1 (267) 149 24 Net income attributable to China Cord Blood Corporation's shareholders 24,904 27,249 4,439 57,810 56,985 9,283 Net income per share: Attributable to ordinary shares - Basic 0.33 0.35 0.06 0.73 0.72 0.12 - Diluted 0.33 0.35 0.06 0.73 0.72 0.12 Other comprehensive income - Net effect of foreign currency translation, net of nil tax 2,789 913 149 9,594 1,442 235 - Net unrealized gain/(loss) in available-for-sale equity securities, net of nil tax 59,220 (8,818) (1,437) 83,558 (4,312) (703) Comprehensive income 87,027 19,337 3,150 151,229 53,966 8,791 Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interests (114) 7 1 (267) 149 24 Comprehensive income attributable to China Cord Blood Corporation's shareholders 86,913 19,344 3,151 150,962 54,115 8,815 EXHIBIT 3 CHINA CORD BLOOD CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP OPERATING INCOME For the Three Months and Six Months ended September 30, 2013 and 2014 Three months ended Six months ended September 30, September 30, 2013 2014 2013 2014 RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ (in thousands) GAAP amount of operating income 56,290 57,463 9,362 102,170 117,630 19,164 Depreciation and Amortization[6] 8,715 13,301 2,167 17,308 24,708 4,025 Non-GAAP operating income 65,005 70,764 11,529 119,478 142,338 23,189 [1] See exhibit 3 of this press release for a reconciliation of operating income to exclude the non-cash item related to the depreciation and amortization expenses to the comparable financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"). [2] The terms of the convertible notes issued to KKR China Healthcare Investment Limited ("KKR") and Golden Meditech Holdings Limited ("Golden Meditech") provide each party with the ability to participate in any excess cash dividend. Therefore, the calculation of basic EPS has taken into consideration the effect of such participating rights of RMB0.02 ($0.003) and RMB0.06 ($0.01) per share for the three months and six months ended September 30, 2014, respectively. [3] See exhibit 3 of this press release for a reconciliation of operating income to exclude the non-cash item related to the depreciation and amortization expenses to the comparable financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. [4] "Excess Cash Dividend" means any cash dividend to holders of shares that, together with all other cash dividends previously paid to holders of shares in the same financial year, exceeds, on a per share basis, an amount equal to the interest that has accrued and shall accrue at 7% in such financial year divided by the number of shares into which the note is convertible at the conversion price then in effect on the relevant record date. [5] See exhibit 3 of this press release for a reconciliation of operating income to exclude the non-cash item related to the depreciation and amortization expenses to the comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. [6] Depreciation and amortization expenses relate to our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets respectively. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-cord-blood-corporation-reports-financial-results-for-the-second-quarter-and-first-half-of-fiscal-2015-300000931.html Investment & Company Information Finance Operating income China Cord Blood Corp Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade (CO) China Cord Blood Corp logoChina Cord Blood Corp (NYSE:CO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after Roth Capital raised their price target on the stock from $6.25 to $6.50, Stock Ratings News reports. Roth Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. 106,602 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 66,747 shares.The stock last traded at $4.95 and had previously closed at $4.85. In other China Cord Blood Corp news, Insider Kent C. Mccarthy purchased 26,754 shares of China Cord Blood Corp stock on the open market in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.70 per share, for a total transaction of $125,743.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.94 and a 200-day moving average of $4.83. The company has a market cap of $361.4 million and a P/E ratio of 19.02. China Cord Blood Corp (NYSE:CO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.06. On average, analysts predict that China Cord Blood Corp will post $0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE:CO) is a provider of cord blood storage services in China. Receive News & Ratings for China Cord Blood Corp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Cord Blood Corp and related companies with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter. China Cord Blood Corp (CO) Releases Quarterly Earnings, Meets Expectations Tweet Share on StockTwits China Cord Blood Corp logoChina Cord Blood Corp (NYSE:CO) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.06, AnalystRatings.Net reports. In other China Cord Blood Corp news, Insider Kent C. Mccarthy purchased 26,754 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.70 per share, with a total value of $125,743.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Shares of China Cord Blood Corp (NYSE:CO) opened at 4.85 on Wednesday. China Cord Blood Corp has a 52-week low of $3.70 and a 52-week high of $5.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.94 and a 200-day moving average of $4.83. The company has a market cap of $354.1 million and a P/E ratio of 18.44. China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE:CO) is a provider of cord blood storage services in China. Receive News & Ratings for China Cord Blood Corp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Cord Blood Corp and related companies with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter.

'Ayurveda is medicine with intelligence, modern medicine is like a bullet'

Ayurvedic medicines‘As such classical Ayurveda is shrinking. Not because people don’t want it but because it is not properly placed in the public mind.’ ‘Health is more and more becoming a commodity to be purchased. Whereas in Ayurveda, it is held that health is a way of life.’ ‘Ayurveda is not only evolving, it is also changing. It is also growing. At the same time there are lot of challenges being faced within Ayurveda.’ Ayurvedic expert Dr G G Gangadharan on how the ancient Indian medical practice needs to be propagated in the country of its origin. In India, scholars who work with boundless passion devoting their life to field have the grievance that New Delhi rarely takes a correct view of them or their issues. Dr G G Gangadharan, (below left) 54, is a joint director of the Institute Ayurveda and Integrative Medicines. He and Darshan Shankar, one of the co-founders of Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions are brilliant scholars, are not heard in New Delhi as much as they should be. Just recently there was a huge hue and cry when former health minister Harsh Vardhan commented that Ayurveda treatment should be used more at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences. A few doctors in New Delhi complained, out of ignorance, that the Ayurveda prescriptions have to be first tested in a proper scientific format. The fact is neither Vardhan, nor the Prime Minister’s Office, or the health ministry, or most of the doctors practising allopathy are aware of or ready to acknowledge the huge work that is being done at FRLHT and at few other Ayurvedic institutions outside the national capital for the last two decades. The New Delhi elite’s ignorance in recognising Ayurveda as a viable option for the common man’s health issues is not surprising in view of the powerful lobbyists of national and multinational pharmaceuticals companies. The anti-Ayurvedic lobby all over India is so strong that it simply doesn’t allow a public debate on Ayurveda to be elevated to the next level where the common man could find the system scientifically trustworthy. In interviews to rediff.com’s Sheela Bhatt, Bangalore-based Darshan Shankar and Dr Gangadharan speak strongly in support of Ayurveda. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that rides on the nationalist plank has a bigger responsibility to take up issues like Ayurveda. The ancient science of life needs a push to become as international as yoga. Dr Gangadharan is known to have expertise in Panchkarma, Lepanam and infertility treatment and on authentic Ayurvedic methods of diagnosis -- specially pulse diagnosis and treatment. Dr Gangadharan is a soft-spoken Malayali who has studied in Tamil Nadu and now works in Karnataka. He and Shankar's life mission is to take local health traditions to the grassroots level in rural and urban India. After getting a degree in Ayurveda, Dr Gangadharan worked in Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore. He has done extensive work in making traditional Ayurvedic formulations -- classical and proprietary. Dr Gangadharan has also co-authored many books on medicinal plants and has more than dozen research papers to his credit. He has been an Ashoka Fellow too. He has done his PhD in rheumatoid arthritis from the Tilak Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, Pune. In this detailed interview Dr Gangadharan says why India needs a national movement to ensure that Ayurveda reaches every home in the country. From American President Barack Obama to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a national health policy remains an unresolved challenge. Tell us where the Ayurveda industry stands in the Indian landscape today. Ayurveda is the science of healing and rejuvenation. Its scope is beyond the physical existence of life. So, from the perspective of industry, it is a small, minute part of Ayurveda. In 2013-14, the income of the Ayurveda industry was only Rs 9,000 crore -- that is, people bought Rs 9,000 crore worth of Ayurveda products. But if you add extracts, drugs, cosmetics and health-related herbal products, it may go up further. But as such classical Ayurveda is shrinking. Not because people don’t want it but because it is not properly placed in the public mind. Also because there are few carriers for this system who are able to carry this heavy science in a contemporary mode. Anyone who is working in the area of Ayurveda knows it is a science of the 21st century and beyond, is not at all an ancient system because the science is universal, and it has got a great outlook which comprises all time to come. It is written in such a way that it is applicable to any given time and any given geography. What’s the challenge then? All the principles of Ayuerveda are based on universal principles like heat and cold, five sense organs, pancham elements, these are all universal, will never change. Fire, air, sky, light etc were there 5,000 years back, they are there today. Only the form is changing, not the principle. So the challenge of our physicians today is how do you change the form of Ayurveda without distorting its principles. Health is becoming more and more a commodity to be purchased. Whereas in Ayurveda it is held that health is a way of life, it has to be inculcated, it is a culture. This means strengthening the person and you are making the person self-reliant more and more. You are not taking away anything from him. Now people think that for everything they have to consult a doctor. From a small toothache, headache, pimple, stomach upset, constipation, scratch on the skin, indigestion, for every little thing people are depending on doctors. This was not the case at all in India. It is not needed also. It is not advisable and it is not healthy. There is a way to live a healthy life. To do so one should gain some knowledge, this will keep your primary healthcare needs within the house. This was the culture of this country. We have been doing this since the last generation, it’s not a very old thing. Now we have a Western ethos-centric worldview. Now we think that health can be purchased. It’s untrue. It can’t be. Longevity cannot be purchased, it has to be inculcated. It is a culture, it is a way of life. For that Ayurveda gives suggestions on how to live healthy. Not only physical health, it talks about emotional health, spiritual health, it talks about the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm, the man and the biosphere. All this is part of Ayurveda. In India, Ayurveda has been practised as a home remedy for centuries. There is a big transaction happening within the family, within the village, community, which does not reflect in the turnover of Ayuerveda industry so don’t confuse Ayurveda with the industry's income alone. Ayurveda is the oil I apply on my head, the way I eat my food, the way my food habits are. This is all Ayurveda, this is what keeps me healthy. This will not come to the industry’s net. What I mean to say is that the industry has also got a role. I don’t deny the role of industry, the role of hospital, the role of the practitioner, but there is more of a role for individual themselves in keeping the health. That is the science of Ayurveda. When I was studying Ayurveda for seven years, I studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy for two years. Then, we went to the jungles to understood nature. I got into spreading Ayurveda in Indian villages. We formed a group called the Lok Swasthya Parampara Samvardhan Samiti and I spent 25 years with them. That is my nurturing period. Then between that I became an Ashoka Fellow. They wanted to take Ayurveda to the village to give a model of primary healthcare based on Ayurveda. It can be done. In 2003, I came to Bangalore to start this hospital. I don’t have a goal. I have a vision to spread Ayurveda globally. I also did a management course in McGill University, Canada. The Foundation for the Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions is engaged fully in spreading awareness of Ayuerveda. Dr G G GangadharanIndian insurance companies don’t acknowledge Ayurveda as a science. What are the attempts made by your institution and why has it not been done yet? Last year, fortunately, insurance companies recognised Ayurveda and there are at least four-five companies who are ready to accept it. We are already getting reimbursed. Now we are trying for cashless transactions as allowed in modern science. The only thing is that the insurance regulation authority does not have clarity among its many agencies. In a village, where they are giving a treatment for Rs 5, a hospital in Delhi will be charging Rs 5,000 for the same treatment. What is to be charged is not clarified because it is not in the mainstream. It will take four-five years to understand. Once insurance companies start reimbursing, a lot of other players will come out. There will be many quacks who will raise a bill for Panchkarma without actually applying it. Insurance companies want to bring in some kind of restriction so that the cover is not misutilised by people. It is a shame that Ayurveda is getting insurance cover so late, after 63 years of independence. Last year a notification was issued, it’s in the government’s system. It says Ayurveda should be covered by insurance companies but it is limited to government Ayurveda hospitals and the National Rural Heath Mission accredited hospitals, and they have put one more line in the notification saying ‘other reputed hospitals’. It is very vague, so anyone can claim. Now, everyone will have to struggle to get into that ‘reputed’ bracket. The more shameful thing is that employees of the department of defence, railways and banks cannot get Ayurvedic treatment. Former defence minister A K Antony is a follower of Ayurveda. I know his personal physician Dr Namboodri who has been treating him for years. He himself went to Antony in Delhi and pleaded, 'Sir, I came only for this purpose to meet you, otherwise you come to meet me but I came to meet you to request, please take Ayurveda as one of the systems for the defence personnel because they are asking for it.' As defence minister he didn’t do anything. Such a person who is devoted to Ayurveda didn’t do anything. Why is there such a mindset for Ayurveda? Why? Why? The reason is that they have to make some effort. When you take Ayurveda you have to make so many parallel systems. Dr M S Swaminathan, who helped bring the green revolution to India, is a devotee of Ayurveda. He doesn’t miss the one-month treatment at the Kottakkal Ayurvedashalya every year for the last so many years. I was with him recently in Delhi in a meeting for the South East-Asian nutrition summit. He is 89 years old, and brimming with energy. His eyelids have become whitish but his face is shining and robust. I asked him what is the secret and he smiled and told me credit goes to Kottakkal. In a country like India, we should have a model of integrative medicine based on Ayurveda. Ayurveda should be at the centre, you mean? Yes. Other things should be peripheral. We take appropriate things from modern medicine where we need it. This is the model a country like India and China should have. They can have a Chinese medicine-based integrative mode. India should have an Ayurveda based integrative model. The US should have an allopathy based integrative model, no harm. But we don’t take leadership in health issues. Even if you do lot about Ayurveda, the problem is that people who are committed for the cause are not in the realm of power. The department of Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy is there in New Delhi (Note: After this interview was conducted, the government upgraded it to a ministry). Every three years the secretary of Ayush changes. He is a bureaucrat who doesn’t have any idea. By the time he learns something about Ayurveda, it will be time for him to leave the department. And many a time people are so arrogant they have no value for the Indian system. They do not propagate Ayurveda. Last year, can you believe that just one or two per cent of the total health budget was given to Ayush! The last secretary of Ayush has returned crores of rupees from his budget without putting it to good use. Not even a single person stands up in New Delhi and tells him this is not done. There is lethargy, there is no responsibility. The Ayurveda community is sleeping. S Jalaja, secretary, Ayush, had recently shown a devotion for Ayurveda. She spent all the money and asked for more. She went to the field and took a genuine interest. Is the Ayurveda industry growing? Ayurveda is not only evolving, it is also changing. It is also growing. At the same time there are lot of challenges being faced within Ayurveda. One of the big challenges faced by Ayurveda is education. The education of Ayurveda is a big catastrophe. Reason is that the model we have selected as in any other development sector is the Western model. The MBBS course is for five and a half years. Ayurveda is also five and a half years. They changed it to three semesters and we changed it to three semesters. They made one-year internship, we made one year, too. They made six-month internship, we made six-month internship. They have nine departments, we have nine. They have got 65 staff, we have got 65. What shameless copying! Have you ever thought that Ayurveda has got its own pedigree? At least have one experimental model. Ayurveda has to be taught in an entirely different perspective. You cannot break Ayurveda into different departments. Ayurveda is a holistic tradition and it is written in a way that every chapter is inter-connected. Every shloka is connected. The whole book is to be read in its holistic perspective to understand Ayurveda. You mutilate, one part is learnt in the first year, other part in the third year, students who come out of the Ayurveda course are the biggest enemies of Ayurveda because they don’t know Ayurveda. They want to practise allopathy actually. They want to get to allopathy through the backdoor. There are good people who want to practise Ayurveda but they are a minority, they are the ones who are spreading the awareness. Ayurveda is growing in villages. Ayurveda is growing through good old Ayurveda practitioners in isolated places. All good vaidyas have a good practice. People are coming to them. The sad thing is that this is not being recorded or documented. If you document, they will become world winners. Everyone is going with a begging bowl to America that, please accept Ayurveda as a science, please consider us too. Stop it. You do a good job in your country, establish a centre of excellence, document the cases, publish in some good journals, all the people will come to you. Everyone wants Ayurveda. How will you do that? Where do you go? The government is insensitive. People will force the government one day. In the US herbal medicines were accepted by the government because the people forced them. You can import medicinal herbal products provided you don’t declare them as medicines. If you can have scientific record of it as a food supplement you can import in the US. It opened a big market for it. This is the first time Ayurvedic herbs went from India. You have to work like that. We are documenting the cases being treated by vaidyas in a proper format which is universally accepted. If I get a case of hepatitis B virus infected liver we do tests, do the treatment, take all the documents, treat it, get it signed by the patient and by the doctor who treated it and publish it. People will come to you. Ayurveda takes the man as a whole. Treat the man as a whole, take the herb as a whole. That is what Ayurveda says. Take the man as a whole, not only physical man, but the entire man. Soul and body. In tune with the external universe. And take the herb as a whole. No as a bio molecule. When you take a molecule, the synergy is lost. When synergy is lost, it will have side effects. Ayurvedic medicines do not have side effects because it is acting and it is correcting and balancing. So if you take triphala today, I can guarantee you 95 per cent, get a good motion tomorrow morning, no doubt. Five per cent people may not get, there is a reason I can explain. I will change the dose. And while doing it, it will not harm your system. If you take any purgative of modern science, it will make your system die. You will get stomach upset, stomach cramps. So we say Ayurveda is medicine with intelligence. Modern medicine is like a bullet. Just go forth and kill. Whatever is on the path. It is a beautiful concept. But this is not an easy thing. Every Tom, Dick and Harry cannot become a practitioner. Unless he goes through the stream of education which Ayurveda is propounding. Don’t you think Ayurveda tourism has a big role to play in earning foreign exchange? It is already happening. There are two kinds of Ayurveda tourism happening. My colleagues has done a study. Rs 23,000 crore is the income of one simple state like Kerala last year from tourism. In that 40 per cent according to him is due to Ayurveda. Some of them are going to good established wellness centres. Most of them are going to some good curative centres like Kottakkal or the Coimbatore Ayurvedic Pharmacy and other small places. Do you have hope that the new government will act? We have big hopes because Modi is supposed to be more nationalistic, more patriotic, more traditional etc. I would say the new government should look into Ayurveda education. We can’t change overnight because there will be resistance. I would say let us have one or two Indian Institute of Technology-level institutions for Ayurveda. That will be a good investment. Give them seven-year course. Assure them of good outcome after that. Brilliant students should be taken with a good scholarship. Those people should become the ambassadors of Ayurveda. They will become good clinicians, good researchers, good teachers. This is what we need. Once it is done, that seed will grow. Start with one IIT-level institution for Ayurveda. Do we have good Ayurvedic products? Yes, we have. These are classical preparations. Since 2000 years we are making them in the same way. Only changes we are making is that we are concentrating it a little more so that it can reach people, and we are adding some kind of preservatives. That much distortion is there. But it is okay, it is understandable. Some of our products are good. It has to be very closely examined. Most of the Ayurvedic shampoos have 97 per cent chemicals, only three per cent herbs. People use it thinking it is Ayurvedic shampoo. So you should categorise when you use the name Ayurveda as to what is the criteria you should use. In Kerala not only Brahmins even Ezhavas helped Ayurveda grow. In Kerala everybody has contributed to Ayurveda science. It’s one of the richest places in India in terms of biodiversity. One of the earliest documentation of flora in 17th century was done here. Some 750 plants were documented which are still available. This came in 12 volumes of books. The first documentation of Kerala’s heritage in terms of Ayurvedic practice was done by the Portuguese. In Bangalore, we have documented 8,000 plants. We have recorded all the secondary sources available in the country. We have the richest and most comprehensive database with all information on the 8,000 plants. It’s all digitised. All the 8,000 names are botanical variation names. And we have correlated all that information from public practice to the textual references. Give us some dos and dont’s for urban people to lead a healthy life. That is very difficult to say. Brahma muhurta is for people seeking better health and longevity. They should get up early in the morning. Brahma muhurtam can be described as between 4 and 4.30 or 5 and 5.30 am. That is the best time. All the ozone layer is clear, the atmosphere is clear and we can get very good oxygen. All the surrounding area is calm. Your mind can expand. You can concentrate. And it says that not only getting up early is important; make sure that the previously eaten food is digested well. Don’t be dogmatic. You should have an early dinner so digestion will be proper. At night one should not take heavy food. What’s your suggestion for those who are addicted to mobiles, internet and computers? There are two-three things for them. Eat food of all tastes, don’t restrict to one. So select such food which has all the six tastes but according to the changing weather. If it is summer take more sweet, in winter a little sour is okay. Sweet is necessary too. Sweet is not sugar, it is ghee. Sweet is rice, wheat, starch. Starch with fibre is the most stable food one should have in larger quantity for more nourishment. So, the first thing is take all the six tastes -- sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy and stringent. These are six tastes, you should have all these in your food. Variety is recommended. Second thing is ardhashaktya, that you take only half the food that your system, stomach wants. Take half food, one-fourth fill with water and leave one-fourth for gaseous exchange. Never keep a full stomach. Third, exercise is a must. Every day you should walk. Walking is the best vyayam. Walking and swimming everyday helps. Fourth, have balance. Not going to the extremes is helpful. Don’t take extreme views of anything. Don’t be mauni, neither be talkative, don’t be angry, don’t go cold. Have a middle path so that everything is balanced, including your health. Balance is the essence of Ayurveda. Inside the body, metal, nature... everything has to be in equilibrium. Ayurveda greatly recommends body massage everyday. If you can do with your own hand, it is considered best. And take a bath after massage so blood circulation is well maintained, everyday. Blood circulation is the starting point for healthy longevity. Two things Ayurveda says to be done everyday: vyayayam, exercise, and abhyangam, oil massage. These two things with six varieties of food will make you healthy. Sleep on time, getting up on time is good, always. This is all physical health. But it gives more importance to mental and spiritual health. What it says through a shloka is that being empathetic about things happening around you is good for your own. If someone is in difficulty, feel for him and try to help. Don’t be greedy, just leave it for others. Control your body, the desires of your body. Control your weight, control your mind. This is the starting point of all illness. One should only control, not stop. Control means not putting it down, not abandoning, just directing it. Have a selfish motive in others' prosperity. You take a selfish interest in others' things. If you follow these, your mind will be in a state of great peace. If you can get this state of mind, all other positive energy will come to you. This is told in health science. Not in psychology. The first chapter of the first part of Ashtanga Hrudayam, the comprehensive book on Ayurvedic system composed by Vagbhata, is about peace of mind. These are two things we have to have. It doesn’t say that you go and sit under tree and do prayer to God. It says you help your community, your fellow beings. Be one with them. Then you’ll reach God.

Boys & Girls Clubs get boost from Comcast

The roof leaked. Purple paint colored the walls. Toilets sat open in the bathroom, with no stall doors. This was the condition of the Wayne Boys & Girls Club in Nicetown until a $520,000 renovation - completed in the last week - remade it into a spiffy hangout and brought the 100-year-old, two-story brick facility into the modern age with WiFi, technology labs, and 40 laptops, desktops, and tablets. Comcast Corp.'s David Cohen and others will announce the renovation project Thursday as part of the cable TV giant's five-year philanthropic commitment to the national Boys & Girls Clubs of America to expand digital literacy - knowledge of the Internet and computers - among low-income families. Comcast has not put a specific dollar value on its commitment to the Boys & Girls Clubs for sponsorship of its My.Future (pronounced "my dot future"). But the company says it amounts to tens of millions of dollars in cash and services, including cable TV advertisements. News conferences pledging Comcast's support to My.Future at Boys & Girls Clubs also will be held in Chicago and Washington on Thursday. Participating in the Philadelphia event will be Jim Clark, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which has 4,100 facilities and helps about four million young people a year. The youth-guidance organization aims to build character so boys and girls can become productive citizens. Libby Lescalleet, executive program officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, was walking around the Nicetown club on the 4200 block of Wayne Avenue late last week as contractors were polishing the floors and assembling furniture in time for the news conference. The Philadelphia Boys & Girls organization has 15 clubs with 7,000 boys and girls who are paid members. Overall, it helps 13,000 youths through its after-school and sports programs. Comcast's relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs began in 2001, and now 39 Comcast managers or executives nationally serve on Boys & Girls Clubs boards or advisory committees. One of those is Tom Firmani, vice president of operations for Comcast's Philadelphia region and a member of the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. At the Nicetown club, Comcast donated $120,000 in computers, furniture, and other equipment. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia leveraged the Comcast donation for an additional $400,000 to renovate the roof, stairs, bathrooms, and other parts of the building, said Lisabeth Marziello, who runs the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia with her husband, Joseph. Lescalleet gave a tour of the upgraded facility. The second-floor library has been converted into a digital literacy center, and the former TV lounge will now be a digital art and music studio. She said she hoped the renovation and new technology would allow children who participate in its program "to dream a little bigger." BY THE NUMBERS The Philadelphia organization has: 15 Boys & Girls Clubs. 7,000 Boys and girls who are paid members. 13,000 Boys and girls it helps through after-school and sports programs. Comcast's participation: 2001 Year the company began its relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs. 39 Managers or executives nationally serve on Boys & Girls Clubs of America boards or advisory committees. bfernandez@phillynews.com 215-854-5897 @bobfernandez1

Census: Arizona lags in homes with computers, high-speed Internet access

Working without a 'net A Census Bureau report said Arizona homes fell below the national average for both the number of households with a computer and the number with access to high-speed Internet service. Where Arizona stood, compared to top and bottom states: Computer ownership 1 . Utah: 94.9 percent 2. New Hampshire: 93.2 percent 3. Alaska: 92.9 percent 4. Wyoming: 92.4 percent 5. Colorado: 92.4 percent U.S. average: 88.4 percent 39. Arizona: 86.8 percent 46. Louisiana: 83.1 percent 47. West Virginia: 82.7 percent 48. Alabama: 82.6 percent 49. New Mexico: 80.9 percent 50. Mississippi: 80 percent With high-speed Internet 1. New Hampshire: 85.7 percent 2. Massachusetts: 85.3 percent 3. New Jersey: 84.5 percent 4. Connecticut: 83.9 percent 5. Utah: 83.8 percent U.S. average: 78.1 percent 35. Arizona: 76.2 percent 46. Louisiana: 70.3 percent 47. Alabama: 68.7 percent 48. New Mexico: 68.1 percent 49. Arkansas: 65.7 percent 50. Mississippi: 62.3 percent WASHINGTON – Arizona homes trailed the nation in both their access to high-speed Internet and their computer ownership, according to a recent report from the Census Bureau. The report, released this month, said 86.8 percent of Arizona homes had a computer and 76.2 percent had high-speed Internet connections in 2013, both about 2 percentage points below the national averages for the same categories. Experts in the state were not surprised by the numbers, pointing to the state’s largely rural make-up which they said leads to fewer providers, harder access and higher Internet costs. “Our problem over quite a while, is just the fact that bandwidth just hasn’t been available locally,” said Shirley Pulsipher,ÿa technician for Apache County Schools Business Consortium. “We don’t have the option of multiple providers like you do in the Valley,” said Pulsipher, noting that for the past year the local phone company has been the only provider available to Apache County schools. The Census Bureau report said Arizona was one of 20 states that fell below the national average for computer ownership and high-speed Internet. Utah topped the list for computer ownership, at 94.9 percent of households, and New Hampshire had the most households with high-speed access, at 85.7 percent. Mississippi was last in both categories, with 80 percent of homes having a computer and 62.3 having broadband. Patrick Sherrill, president and CEO of Zona Communications, said the biggest difference between Internet access in Arizona’s rural and urban areas is price. His Phoenix-based company provides telephone and broadband service to rural areas of the state. “Rural areas are much less populated, which means the cost of building the networks there are more expensive,” Sherrill said. That’s true in Apache County, where Pulsipher said schools pay $40 to $50 per megabit, compared to the $5 to $10 they might pay in the city for the same level of service. Pulsipher, who works in Sanders – population 630, according to the latest Census numbers – said the cost for putting in infrastructure is “just too high.” Mike Murphy, superintendent of Sanders Unified School District in Apache County, said his district was able to increase its bandwidth because of E-rate, a federally funded program that provides discounted telecommunications services for eligible schools. “We have boosted our bandwidth prior to the start of the school year, and the connection seems to be pretty solid,” Murphy said. But for the general rural population, Pulsipher said, getting access to high-speed internet and computers can be tough. That’s particularly true in areas like Apache County, where a sizeable number of homes might not have power or running water, he said. “The provider can’t really sell something to people that don’t have the infrastructure for that type of thing,” Pulsipher said. Sherrill said his company is seeing population growth in some rural areas of the state, where he said demand for broadband is “pretty solid.” “We are constantly trying to figure out how to get them a faster speed,” Sherrill said. But that takes money to construct the needed network facilities. Sherrill said the demand for Internet in rural areas is just as strong as those in more populated areas. And just as important: Having a computer gives people the ability to get access to healthcare and education, and to prosper economically, he said. “A network is more valuable for everybody when everybody’s connected to it,” Sherrill said.

Digital Marketing Is A Great Equalizer For Startups

Most technical entrepreneurs cringe when they finally realize that marketing is still king, despite the power of technology, and they are up against competitors who have a hundred times their spending power. Luckily, the digital revolution has been a great equalizer in the marketing world, if used effectively to target the audience, engage the customer, and measure results. Digital marketing is simply the move to the digital tools and technologies that most people depend on every day, including smartphones, search engines, tablets, video on demand, and the social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. The cost of entry to market on these is low, and marketing leverage has very little to do with the size of your budget. The best strategy and tactics to accomplish this digital marketing leverage are detailed in a new book, “Taking Down Goliath,” by Kevin M. Ryan and Rob “Spider” Graham. These industry veterans have been teaching smaller companies how to compete with digital marketing for many years, and have a wealth of case studies to show it really works. The first step is to create the perfect online marketing message. This message is defined as the knowledge or information that will be retained by customers after they are exposed to your company. The authors reiterate what I often say to business to business (B2B) entrepreneurs, it’s all about selling solutions (not technology) to real customers who have real needs and problems they want solved: How does this solution solve an existing problem? Every business faces challenges that affect their sales efforts, manufacturing efforts, human resources, and other things that keep them viable and profitable. Not only must the solution benefit the company as a whole, but there can be emotional benefits as well for employees who feel the pain. How does this solution provide a competitive advantage? Solutions that can turn a threat into an opportunity are especially enticing. In a world where the common scenario is “eat or be eaten,” being able to help companies to be better predators and less likely to be prey will be compelling. How does this solution make the customer a visionary/market leader? Part of the competitive advantage in the marketplace is being perceived by that market as a leader in some way. Every company is striving to find an identity that highlights its unique selling proposition, to stand out from the crowd as a visionary. How does this solution enable a significant value exchange? Smart companies are always looking for a return on investment. If they spend time, money, or other resources on a potential solution, then that solution should pay for itself. That’s a value exchange, as are solutions that empower employees to make better use of existing resources. How does this solution represent an exclusive opportunity? In the business world, exclusivity isn’t just a social ego boost. Companies that have access to, or can sell products and services not available to their competitors, can position themselves better in the marketplace. Like people, businesses need to be known for what sets them apart. How does this solution increase performance and productivity? Companies that are more efficient in the use of all their resources will be more profitable. Solutions that increase performance include automation tools, equipment upgrades, and new approaches to manufacturing and distribution. For business to consumer (B2C) audiences, effective marketing messages are also about triggering strong emotional triggers that consumers rely on to make decisions about the value and benefits of the offers they receive. These include a sense of well-being, convenience, security, significance, exclusivity, positive social standing, and others. In both business and consumer environments, with digital marketing technology, the playing field between big companies, mid-size businesses, and even startups has been leveled tremendously. The new success factor is not the size of your budget, but your skill in crafting the right message, sending it out through the right channels, and tuning the system for maximum results. Only in this age of digital marketing could a small non-profit, with a very limited budget, reach an audience of millions per month worldwide, with their “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” marketing message, and achieve results exceeding $100 million. Don’t let big-budget Goliaths trample you merely by the size of their footprint. Startups Integrating Marketing and Design Co-written by Cade Witnish 2014-11-26-marketingdesign.jpg Building a startup on a shoestring budget is possible up to the point when the first innovator and early adopter users have signed on and been identified. Then, the nascent firm needs to quickly scale up it's offering while creating a niche market and acquiring early majority customers. This is also the step in the process when serious risk capital is needed because it requires concurrent engineering development, manufacturing and marketing of the product. Might upfront imaginative coordination of design and marketing ease this critical transition? Good design has been shown in studies at Stanford University and Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, to increase investors' interest and valuation of new business opportunities. At the same time, superior design has been shown in Stanford University studies to create trends by fostering online buzz, as measured by the number of Web Citations commanded. So, if design can entice investors and customers alike -- how might marketing be used to systematically make this happen? The first question to ask is, does the startup's personality shine through its design? People still do business with other people and despite the advances in technology, the most successful startups are those that can create and maintain a human connection with their target customers. The first interaction a potential customer has with a new business establishes how they perceive the startup's persona. Consistent design is a critical component for ensuring that the persona initially established is portrayed throughout the life cycle of the startup. Below are the four key stages to a customer life cycle and the focused steps a startup must take when considering design. Acquisition Acquisition focuses on all tasks and activities related to acquiring potential customers prior to them becoming a customer, whether this is through paid advertising, social media or search engine optimization. Applying a company persona to these elements helps to differentiate their acquisition materials from those of competitors. It helps to communicate not only value proposition and price but also the personality of the business and product, which, on a human level, is how people ultimately relate. Activation and Engagement Potential customers have arrived on the new website and the offerings there have piqued their interest. Now, they need to quickly understand what action to take. Through design, the user is guided through not only the product offering, but through the product activation process. When visitors reach the startup's website, ensure that the same emotions are invoked as during the acquisition stage. By having consistency in communicating the startup's persona at all stages, chances are greatly increased for retaining the engagement of these visitors -- as they will be connected emotionally to the brand throughout the journey. Retention When activating -- communicate the value proposition message to customers and get them to take action. In the retention stage, encourage them to repeat their initial action (e.g. a purchase) or take different, further actions to re-engage. Therefore, the design of the materials you use to re-engage must not be overlooked. To keep people coming back, continue to portray the same persona that attracted them in the first place. Ensure that consistent messaging and personality shines through the startup's design and while no business retains every customer, a consistent persona will attract many more repeat visitors. What next? Get personal. Step back and take a look at your new startup -- whether it's still an idea or is a bit more established -- and ask, -- if your business were a person, what type of person would it be? Are you happy with that persona? And is that persona -- along with your values -- reflected in every stage of messaging that is displayed to your potential and current customers? If not, you may be missing out on many potentially lucrative business opportunities. Special thanks to Cade Witnish for researching and co-writing this article.

3 Affiliate Marketing Action Items for 2015

Set aside some time in December to map out what 2015 will look like for your affiliate marketing channel. Many times, “thinking” becomes consumed by “doing,” which results in a reactive rather than a proactive strategy. Knowing this, over the next few weeks, devote some time to consider each of the action items listed below, and you’ll be in good shape to take charge of your affiliate marketing activities for 2015. Commit to checking off all three items on this list before January 1, 2015. 1. Determine Affiliate Marketing Priorities for 2015 If your affiliate program is new, your top priority might be to grow your affiliate base. If this is the case, your 2015 strategies could include developing recruiting campaigns, building visibility at industry conferences and events, and evaluating paid placement opportunities to promote your affiliate program. On the other hand, if your affiliate program is more mature, your top priority might be engaging your existing affiliates. The first step would be to determine what your current activation rate is. You can quickly gauge this by taking the number of affiliates that drove at least one click to your site in November, and divide that by the total number of affiliates in your program. If less than 30 percent, your 2015 strategies could include developing activation campaigns, prioritizing inactive affiliates, and conducting personal reach-outs to high-potential affiliates. Or, let’s say you have a active base. Then perhaps it’s time to explore what new tools can be harnessed or developed. This year, 2014, was good for the industry in terms of new tools. AvantLink launched an ad marketplace, where retailers can bid on ad placements on affiliate sites. ShareASale launched a bookmarklet that enables affiliates to dynamically generate a tracking link to any page on a retailer’s site, provided an affiliate partnership is in place. AvantLink's banner ad marketplace launched in 2014. AvantLink’s banner ad marketplace launched in 2014. Or maybe there are tools out there that you haven’t incorporated into your affiliate program yet. Video continues to influence purchase decisions, and mobile has a growing share of ecommerce shoppers. Perhaps 2015 is the year your affiliate program expands into those channels. Research what new tools and technology are available to you, and work them into your 2015 strategy. 2. Set Quantitative Goals Based on Fact, Not Fiction Sure, driving 300 percent growth in net revenue year-over-year would be a good goal to have. But is it realistic? For a new affiliate program, this could be feasible, and perhaps even conservative. However, for a mature program, 300 percent year-over-year growth might be excessive. Either way, you’re not going to know unless you understand what triggers are in play. Once you know what your triggers are, you can map out when they will occur in 2015— based on 2014 performance. To start with, determine your key revenue drivers. Were there a few specific affiliates that drove most of your volume? If so, reach out to these affiliates and figure out how to ensure continued growth in 2015. Set up one-on-one meetings with them to go over 2014 performance and to plan out 2015 placements and budget. Perhaps you can start a customized, tiered incentive structure that pays if they hit a certain sales target. Also look at your 2014 promotional calendar. Did sales spike every time you ran a particular promotion? If so, put that promotion on the calendar for 2015. The point is, make sure the data exists to support the kind of growth you are projecting for 2015. 3. Understand Impact of Affiliate Issues The affiliate industry got its start in the late 1990s. It’s still young compared to other marketing and promotional tactics. It’s therefore still susceptible to innovation gaps, when technology develops faster than values, and new tools are created before processes are in place. These gaps are occurring right now. Consider the affiliate tax nexus legislation in many states. There is a gap here because sales tax laws were not created with online commerce in mind. (I addressed sales taxes and affiliate marketing earlier this year, in “Affiliate Marketing: 3 Legal Issues to Monitor in 2014.”) Another example of a gap is the use of social media by brands and companies. In January 2015, Facebook will reportedly be shifting its algorithm so that promotional brand messaging will be limited in user news feeds. This shift could drive many brands to rely on affiliates for brand visibility on Facebook. How to Keep Up? The affiliate industry is continually in flux, with new technologies, new players, and new platforms. To keep up with it all, read the website of the Performance Marketing Association, which is a trade association that focuses on affiliate industry issues. Also consider attending industry conferences such as Affiliate Summit or AM Days. Finally, do you have affiliate issues that you’d like to see covered here?, If so, please leave a comment below. One of my 2015 priorities is providing actionable content that is relevant to you, our ecommerce-merchant readers. Your feedback is definitely welcome.

Percentile and Torstone partner to offer integrated risk, finance, back & middle office technology solutions

Percentile, providers of technology for risk management and regulatory compliance, and Torstone Technology, providers of securities and derivatives processing software to the global financial markets, today announced a partnership to offer seamless solutions across risk, middle & back office and accounting for financial institutions. The Partnership will see Percentile’s RiskMine platform integrate with Torstone’s Inferno system to reduce risks, improve efficiencies and enable seamless regulatory and management reporting. Percentile’s RiskMine platform delivers cross-asset, enterprise-grade technology focused on risk management for financial institutions. The modular platform is designed to aggregate firm-wide market and credit risk exposures across all business lines, offering automated market data cleaning, a wide-ranging and sophisticated scenario generation engine and distributed pricing architecture for internal and regulatory calculations. Torstone’s award-winning Inferno is a complete securities and derivatives post trade processing system; it integrates the middle & back office and accounting functions for multiple asset classes and business types into a single coherent system, to support operations, finance, middle office, treasury, risk and compliance. Its real-time, event-driven, service-orientated and scalable architecture helps firms to achieve very high rates of STP and react to new market changes in a timely manner. Brian Collings, Torstone Technology CEO said “We constantly hear of disjointed, manual processes in preparing key risk and capital requirements for senior management. This exciting partnership will improve control and reduce this complexity for our clients. In today’s highly regulated landscape there is immense pressure from regulators to ensure consistent risk and financial numbers. Having technology in place which ensures this, on an ongoing basis, will improve operating efficiency. Costs will be reduced as clients are able to combine regulatory and management reporting.” Anthony Pereira, Percentile’s founder and CEO, added: “We have a long history of working with the Torstone team and our technologies complement each other perfectly. Financial institutions have a history of fragmented post-trade activity working off badly integrated components. RiskMine’s integration with Inferno showcases the benefits of having Risk and Finance technology seamlessly working together.”

Financial Health Software to the SMB Market

New SYSPRO Module measures critical profitability and liquidity factors K3 Business Technology Group (K3), a leading enterprise business software company, has announced the release of a groundbreaking Financial Ratio Analysis module for use with SYSPRO General Ledger software. The new module is designed to help monitor and measure financial health for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB). The Financial Ratio Analysis module incorporates more than a dozen financial metrics, including ratios for efficiency, profitability, business activity and liquidity enabling SMBs to accurately gauge their financial performance. K3 customers will gain the new functionality automatically as part of the SYSPRO General Ledger solution at no additional cost. K3's proactive approach to adding enhancements for its SYSPRO solutions removes the need of waiting months or even years to install a major release or expensive upgrade. The new SYSPRO financial capabilities include a comprehensive set of standard ratio/metrics, as well as specific financial health monitoring/analysis capabilities designed especially for the growing number of SMB manufacturing and distribution organisations served by K3. For example, the working capital cycle ratio allows companies to easily monitor daily operating liquidity, while the Du Pont analysis measures the rate of return on equity for stockholders. The library of ratios covers everything from inventory turnover analysis to payables turnover to debt ratios. All ratios are also available via standard reporting as well as through executive dashboards that provide management with instantly accessible reporting and querying capabilities. "The inclusion of financial ratio analysis as an out-of-the-box addition affirms our commitment to delivering value beyond accounting and transaction processing for our SYSPRO financial offering - it adds real business value and vision to ERP," said Howard Joseph, Managing Director, K3 Business Technology Group. "This new solution is extremely useful for top executives as well as for boardroom reporting, real-time performance monitoring, detailed analysis and what-if analysis." Howard Joseph, continued: "The added capabilities of providing business ratios to the general ledger without having to purchase an expensive business intelligence suite will be welcomed by our customers to enhance better decision making." These new financial capabilities for SYSPRO enable companies to compare operating results with those of specific competitors or the industry as a whole. Managers can identify relative strengths and weaknesses and by comparing changes in a firm's ratios over time can identify opportunities for improvements and cost cutting. K3's forward thinking approach to adopting new technology for its SYSPRO solutions, such as web services and SOA platforms, also reflects the desires of customers who are driven by business needs and not by the latest headlines. This exemplifies K3's ongoing strategy of helping to simplify the success of its customers. About K3 Business Technology Group K3 Business Technology Group employs 90 people at its Manchester head office and its branches throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, advanced planning and scheduling, warehouse management, human resources and e-business. SYSPRO is used by some 12,000 sites across the world. K3 Business Technology Group is part of K3 Business Technology PLC which is a global leader in providing next-generation enterprise software for businesses in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors. With more than 3,000 customer installations in over 30 countries, K3 is recognised as a safe, innovative and reliable provider of world-class solutions, backed by world-class service.

Got Problem Skin? Right here's Some Helpful Advice

You won't just be making yourself look better by using excellent skin care to your everyday routine. You can also compare taking care of your skin to promoting total health. You do not have to buy systems that are too intricate or things that cost too much money to have excellent looking skin. This article is going to review some of the things that you can do if you desire your skin to look much better. One of the evident points of skin care is the day-to-day cleansing of your face and pores. If you withstand this regular routine, your pores can build up and you will certainly notice annoying blackheads beginning to appear. Simply rinsing them out nighttime with warm soap and water is just enough to obtain the task done. Skin care is among those issues that is easier to avoid that to fix, so take the time to look after your pores daily with cleaning representatives and moisturizers . The best method to achieve this is with all-natural oils for that dry skin, and more light solutions for skin with more of an oily composition. Some lotions and moisturizers can in fact be liable for making your skin problem even worse! The key is to be mindful of your specific skin type and just utilize creams or oils that are specifically tailored towards your needs. Know how oily or dry your skin can get and make your choices based on that details. You should restrict the amount of sun direct exposure you get each day. , if you're going to be out in the sun for a extended duration of time make sure you put on some kind of defense.. Long term sun exposure can lead to a variety of troubles like early creases, sun burn, blemishes, as well as skin cancer. To keep your skin looking good, you need to find out how to wash correctly. You don't really want to utilize the wrong facial wash or scrub hard, because that can simply irritate your skin. Find that best item for your skin type, rub in a circular way and rinse well with warm water. Don't smoke if you desire healthy skin. Think of your skin as simply another organ - a extremely huge organ - however an organ. Every organ in your body needs proper flow to remain healthy. By smoking cigarettes you limit this flow, resulting in inadequate organ health. Instead of your organs getting a fresh supply of oxygen laden blood, they're getting contaminants and poisonous substances . A terrific way to obtain rid of unwanted blemishes is to utilize a well understood veggie. Cucumbers are in fact excellent for helping clear up your skin. Just grate up a cucumber and rub in into your face, much like a face wash and you will feel refreshed and be imperfection complimentary, in no time. It is essential to clean oneself to ensure that the skin is looked after appropriately. By cleaning regularly one will certainly wipe anything that they got on their skin as well as dead skin cells. The regular cleaning will lead to much healthier and total better looking skin. Sweating If you are going outside in the summertime, utilize a moisturizer or a sunscreen with SPF. SPF assists to fortify your skin with a guard to safeguard you from the sun, so that your face does not get burnt. Reapply your SPF lotion if you occur to swim or if you are involved in any kind of activity and wind up sweating a lot. Sweating may be irritating, however it's also the means your skin eliminates toxins. Working up a sweat on a routine basis helps your skin get rid of toxins, and your skin will certainly glow with health. If you are a teenager who plays football, ensure that the helmet that you choose is not too tight on your chin. The tighter your strap is, the more it will certainly rub against the surface area of your skin and cause irritability, especially when you are sweating and under high levels of anxiety throughout the video game. Make sure that you utilize bug spray on your face before the video game if you play sports at school or with close friends. Bugs are brought in to oil and sweating, and you will wish to minimize the amount of bites that you get on the surface of your skin. This can enhance your general skin tone and lower pain in the days to come. Athletes need to take extra safety measures with their skin. Sweat carries contaminants away from your body, so your skin will certainly require a boost after purging excess oil. Workout or make use of a sauna to obtain your heart pumping and to create sweat. Sweating is actually a natural means to clean out pores. It opens the pores and motivates fresh skin development. Increased heart rate and blood flow likewise helps skin restore. Make certain to gently wash your face later on. It is crucial to always shower after you exercise if you want to keep your skin looking fantastic. Ever time you sweat, your body produces excess quantities of sebum. Sebum is an oily pore-clogging secretion that can trigger acne breakouts. After sweating a lot, see to it that you take a cool shower and wash your confront with a quality cleanser. To eliminate contaminants from your skin, go to a sauna regularly. Sweating is believed to eliminate toxins which can age the skin. In addition, sitting in a sauna is unwinding and, considering that anxiety also can cause too soon matured skin, there is the included advantage of lowering tension as you sweat. Just remember to keep well-hydrated prior to and after. Botox Before you're believing about getting Botox, make sure you study additionally on the treatment and the possible side effects. Botox just lasts for about 6 months therefore do the side impacts if you're experiencing them. Some unkind negative side effects of Botox may be: nausea, respiratory infection, flu eyelid, forehead and syndrome drooping and swelling at the website of injection, with light bleeding. If you are dedicated to caring for your skin, the info offered here must have offered you some originalities with regard to skin care. There is far more you can continue to discover about correct skin care too. No matter the type of skin care you are looking for, there are lots of methods to try. You won't just be making yourself look better by applying excellent skin care to your day-to-day regimen. Know how oily or dry your skin can get and make your options based on that information. By washing regularly one will clean off anything that they got on their skin as well as dead skin cells. Working up a sweat on a routine basis assists your skin eliminate contaminants, and your skin will glow with wellness. If you are dedicated to caring for your skin, the info provided right here need to have offered you some brand-new concepts with regard to skin care. http://www.lexingtonismore.com/what-do-we-really-know-about-hyperhidrosis-treatment/

If You Are Looking Forward To Know More About The Significance of Book And Microfilm Scanners

Book and microfilms scanners belong to such an unfamiliar territory of machines that most of the people do not understand them properly. This is why; we at Ristech have taken it upon ourselves to get people familiar with this process. The whole thing may seem to be a bit too much at first or complete wastage of money, but that is not the case. In order to understand the concept properly, one needs to know about book scanners and microfilm scanners. These are basically machines which helps you to take care of and preserve various vulnerable documents. We at Ristech have been trying to make people come into terms with things as book scanning and microfilm scanning. We understand that, certain things are extremely important to you, but despite that, due to their vulnerable nature, it is not possible to preserve them easily. We bring particularly that opportunity to you. It is our duty to make sure that, all our clients are getting this opportunity without spending too much money and after having a long experience in this area, we are more than capable to provide these services. We are providing technological solutions to institutions like libraries and large offices from last 17 years to make life a tad bit easier for them. It may still sound a bit too much, but with a little more patience on your part, things can change for better. We in our website have made it quite clear that these things can be used for preserving documents, microfilms and such. All these things can have more emotional value sometimes and some other times we understand that they stand for your heritage a legacy. These are certain things which are quite important in anyone's life. As a result, we at Ristech have devised our book scanners and microfilm scanners to help people who are looking forward to preserve things which are so important. We are looking forward to work with you and providing with the chance that will allow you to achieve such things. It will be our pleasure at Ristech to help you anyway we can.

Among the various successful sales techniques used daily

Among the various successful sales techniques used daily, conversational hypnosis is definitely one of the most interesting. Exactly what is "conversational hypnosis"? And, how can it be used to significantly boost sales for your business? Conversational hypnosis, otherwise known as covert hypnosis, is a communication style. You may already be using conversational hypnosis without even realizing it. While it comes naturally to some people, others intentionally learn and practice the style of communication to benefit a specific purpose. This is true of successful sales executives. Sales executives use covert hypnosis as a means of relating a clear message that engages their client and gains their cooperation and agreement. Conversational hypnosis actually begins with the technique of starting a conversation that will cause the client to connect to you. This will be the starting point of building a relationship with the client. Once this is done, you can start adding in some meaningful words or body language that can help direct the client's actions. Conversational hypnosis doesn't rely on words alone. Body language and movement play a part in the conversation as well. Perhaps the person you're speaking with has not noticed the beautiful vase of flowers on the table next to you. But if you glance over at the flowers, most likely the other person will notice, and will also look at the flowers. Without saying a word, you have caused them to notice the flowers. This use of subtle body language is very effective in influencing people to take a specific action, without ever actually asking them to do so. Another approach, which is more verbal and direct, is to tell someone not to do something or think of something. As you may know, this automatically makes you do or think of what was spoken of. This approach is often referred to as reverse psychology. You may have heard parents talk about using reverse psychology to get their children to do what they want them to do, but reverse psychology is an important factor in conversational hypnosis. Reverse psychology can be effective because when a particular phrase is used, the mind has to process the phrase by using some point of reference. Some salespersons prefer to use a straight-forward approach with some customers. They may say something such as "Think about how nice it would be to have clean, fresh, odor-free carpet." They plant the idea in the customer's mind that all the customer needs to do is purchase his carpet cleaner to get fresh, clean, odor-free carpet. All the customer can think about now is how nice that would be. The customer has been influenced by the salesperson's words and thinks favorably about the product. Can you think of times when you've been susceptible to conversational hypnosis? Perhaps your son or daughter has unknowingly used conversational hypnosis techniques to persuade you to buy them a new video game, or new clothes. At other times you may have been susceptible to conversational hypnosis methods used by TV advertising, ads on the internet, or when speaking to telemarketers on the phone. If you're looking for a way to boost your sales, conversational hypnosis should be a strong consideration. Many sales executives have already proven that it can significantly boost sales. In a nutshell, conversational hypnosis is the ability to cause people to look at things from your perspective, instead of from their previous point of view. The ability to do this, without it being too obvious to the customer, is a sure way to close more sales for you and your company.

A mobile app developer contributes a lot towards the enhancement of technology

A mobile app developer contributes a lot towards the enhancement of technology. Innovative methods and creativity brings together the world of mobile technology at the doorstep of the customer. With the advent of the stunning Smartphones and the phenomenal iPhone in the market, the features on these devoices have captivated the customers. Apps have been a recent development. They are being conceived and executed by the experts from the tech domain. Well crafted intricacies involved in the building of apps create a big impact in the respective domains. The popular apps are developed for the music and gaming industry. Apps are also being developed for various requirements of the workplace. The inbuilt features of the cool gadgets make them indispensable at conferences, workshops and training programs. Some organizations hire experienced app developers to solve many work related issues. Entrepreneurs are busy building separate departments for the dedicated development of niche apps. Extensive research is conducted on the ongoing trends and efforts are made to make the final products extraordinary. Apps must have multifarious utilities. Apart from providing the obvious utility, these apps are also used to save time at workstations. Most of the offices are now monitored by centralized app technologies. Techies have devoted a bulk of their time in churning out just good apps for different sectors. Retail companies use apps to make the shopper’s experience a hassle free one. The major functionalities of such apps are to reduce the bill payment mechanism, offering opportunities to shop from your mobile phone sans any internet connection and more. Shoppers are glued on to the apps to catch the latest advertisement of the film on multiplexes. You can even place your orders through these apps. The finely created apps are the reason behind the gigantic surge in the sales of Smartphones. Apps are often customized to be in sync with the requirements of the customers. Tailor made apps are the results of hard, dedication and passion for gadgets. If you are a lover of gizmos, then probably you will be looking for the best mobile apps developers. The devices are all sleek. So the apps should also reflect the fresh feel of the gadgets. These developers are all available online. They can transform any sinking business into a highly profitable one through their app building skills. Some of the experts also have knowledge of the particular domain. Then it is an added asset for you. Now you can even have apps installed on your Smartphone instantly. You are just required to register yourself on the app development store. All your requirements would be met by the developers. They generally work independently. This allows them to harness their creativity without any unnecessary hurdles. You can get in touch with these skilled people to get your dreams turned into reality with apps meant for leisure and entertainment. Features to make your work life simpler can also be incorporated with the help of the experts. You must have some basic knowledge of the functionalities of at least the most popular apps in the market. Special business apps are often built to woo the people associated with trading industry. Apps development has been a boon in the field of Medical science too. Medical practitioners, researchers and other people associated with healthcare are busy contributing in helpful health apps. Some of the apps are used to detect deadly skin cancer like melanoma and help the users to approach a specialist in their locality through GPS technology. Credit Cards A big selection of Cards in all flavors: Bad Credit Cards, Secured Cards, Prepaid Cards, Credit Cards for Canada, Low Interest Cards, etc -

You want to be sure that not simply are you currently reading concerning the newest and most correct Internet marketing advice

You want to be sure that not simply are you currently reading concerning the newest and most correct Internet marketing advice, but you need to be sure that you double check any other data which you have picked up along the way. Use this article for the greatest Internet marketing suggestions available. Do not forget to concentrate on the visual appeal of one's business. The use of logos and unique styles will support your product and brand get imprinted onto the minds of one's guests. A customer who remembers you is really a consumer who is going to be a lot more probably to come back and purchase. Internet marketing is essential in this day and age. You'll be able to locate many creative approaches to market. You'll find methods to market with videos, as an example. Once you have a video around that people can relate to, it may just spread like wildfire. Not simply are you currently entertaining people, but you happen to be giving them the thought that your product is enjoyable. Your business must have slogans. In case your business is just not unique, it will not stand out to the people who check out your web site. Your logos as well as your slogans must follow the exact same theme to genuinely deliver a maximum impact. You may also create brand recognition by giving your business personality. Whether or not you comprehend it or not, you have anything that you simply need to make your internet marketing venture an achievement. You don't need fancy software or any other get wealthy quick medium, all you will need is oneself. You just have to operate hard and consider via your marketing decisions. An excellent segment in any internet marketing advertisement is the testimonial segment. It really is essential to consist of this section, in order for people to possess the assurance that the product operates. As the customer hears that normal people have tried the product and it worked excellent for them, the customer will likely be encouraged to purchase the product. Discover out your hosts uptimes before putting your web site reside. Every person will have some down time occasionally, but you need to watch out for websites which are down much more frequently that they may be up. If an internet site is down then the crawlers can't locate it. If the uptime is genuinely negative then eventually the engines will stop looking for your site and get rid of the URL. People prefer to belong to groups with other individuals who've similar interests. If you make a web-based community for your visitors to communicate with one another, they'll regularly return. Make a discussion board or perhaps a chat space for them to produce contacts and communicate with other people who've related interests. If feasible, speak to your buyers on the phone just before they purchase your products. If you're selling a service, offer a free of charge consultation. People who are hesitating about your products will see this as an opportunity to acquire to know you. Consumers who get to understand you personally are a lot more probably to use your services again. Be sure you distribute your articles to several on the internet directories. The far more directories you submit your articles to, the much more traffic you may have. The outcome of getting a lot more targeted traffic is having far more sales, or a minimum of obtaining much more leads. Don't focus too much on putting duplicate articles available, they're going to still get visitors and create sales. Share your web site with close friends and family to help get the word out on your organization. The people that adore you one of the most and trust you one of the most are the most effective to spread a positive word, as they'll promote the brand as credible and trustworthy. Your loved ones will aid improve your bottom line in an excellent way. Deciding on Google to deal with your ads is always the best bet, so attempt whatever it is possible to to ensure you happen to be using Google. You'll be able to use other ad services alongside Google, but remember that Google will be the king as well as the rest from the services are just pretenders towards the throne. Follow Google's guidelines for acceptance and bear in mind that this can be a make-or-break factor of the business. In conclusion, you wish to make sure that you happen to be getting the most effective suggestions in relation to Internet marketing. Use this guide to assure you happen to be making the correct decisions and to cross verify the tips and tricks that you may well have currently obtained. Start using this great advice right now!

Auto insurance may be an added cost,but you need to take note that this is one added cost that you wouldn't mind taking

Auto insurance may be an added cost,but you need to take note that this is one added cost that you wouldn't mind taking. Car ins will act as a buffer that can save you from possible liabilities. Auto insurance means different things for different people. Some may think of the insurance in terms of the kind of coverage offered. Two samples are the liability coverage and the comprehensive coverage. Others may think of car insurance in terms of the payment schemes required. Under this category is your monthly car ins. These different types will help different kinds of people, and choice will depend on circumstances. Now if the person wants to pay for his insurance in an installment basis, then what he needs is the monthly car ins. All these types of car insurance will have its own features. For someone looking to get auto insurance without having to pay the lump sum payment, then the suggestion is to pick up the monthly car ins. Choosing the best insurance means taking into account a number of considerations. For example, you need first to identify the convenient price range easy on your budget. Get quotes from many providers, and see the price differences. Price should only be just one of the many factors. Other factors to consider in selection include the customer service available, the claims assistance, and the overall reputation of the insurance provider. These will limit the choices. Once a selection has been made, check as well the payment scheme and person should ask himself if the monthly insurance is his final choice. Terms available include a year, six months or the monthly payments. If the decision is to get the monthly car ins, it pays to set automatic withdrawal from the bank to lower the billing fee or the person can consider paying all in advance to reduce or eliminate the billing fees.

With the advancement of digital technology and the introduction of iPhone the communication system has been improved to a great extent.

With the advancement of digital technology and the introduction of iPhone the communication system has been improved to a great extent. By developing the iPhone, Apple Inc. has truly provided a platform for the designers and programmers to give wings to their creativity and expertise. A year after the iPhone launched, Apple introduced store for third party application with SDK software. This has actually increased the opportunity for the brilliant developers who were looking for ways to excel their potential. The iPhone basically combines the functionality of three devices, a hi-tech phone, a wide screen iPod and a net accessing device with HTML, email and web browser. This smart device has actually changed the lifestyle of users by handing much of their work like remembering important dates and notes, maintaining the shopping records and accounts, memorizing the way to go and much more. So, let’s find some information about iPhone application development here. iOS application development is categorized into varied types like news, games, business, finance, utilities, arcade, personalized travel, weather, etc. These applications simply do the wonder by providing a complete update of the ongoing happenings, updated travel information, current weather positions, latest movies and booking status, nearest ATM counters, nearest banks information and more. The game apps work as the greatest stress busters sometimes even making the users addicted to it. The game apps are created using the 2D/3D effect and superior quality resolution to give the optimum thrilling effect to the interfaces. Most of the business owners are now going after iPhone Application Development Company to get their custom Smartphone apps developed in order to acquire the greater market field. Now if you too are looking forward to hire OS developers just make your search online. Besides looking at the skill set you must also consider the service cost as that sometimes appear to be one most vital issue. It is always wise to compare the service potential and quotes before making a final selection. So, shortlist more than two iPhone app developers at least and go through their portfolio or previous works, testimonials if available and the essentially the service costs. You must also explain your ideas about the application and ask for their suggestions. This type of sharing ideas will help you develop a better view about the application you are going to sell to the market. Besides, you need to go through the latest iPhone apps to get a better knowledge about the market trend. You need to hire the mobile application developers who are capable of offering a wide spectrum of application development services which are of great value and user friendly experience. Always keep the fact in mind that you should not compromise with the service quality to go with the cheaper service cost as only the expert team of application developers can help you in developing customized iPhone applications. Superior quality iOS application development enhances the functions of iPhone in the sphere of health, sports, games, business, entertainment, eBooks, multimedia and social networking. Based on your specific application requirements the experts of the Apple App developers make a technical proposal and estimation. If that comes mutually agreeable then the process of the app development takes off to its final stage of launch. So, get ready, your custom apps are just a few mouse clicks away!

Car owners think that getting vehicle insurance quotes is not vital in shopping for affordable car insurance

Car owners think that getting vehicle insurance quotes is not vital in shopping for affordable car insurance. On the contrary, getting and comparing vehicle insurance quotes is very important since you maybe at risk of purchasing a vehicle insurance policy that is twice more expensive than other similar car insurance policies. Getting a minimum of three insurance quotes is recommended in shopping for cheap car insurance, and you can do this by browsing the Internet. Car owners think that a particular cheap car insurance is good enough for their budget. What they don't realize is that there may be a cheaper car insurance out in the market. In the end, they wind up purchasing car insurance that may be twice as more expensive than the lowest car insurance policy the market has to offer. Car owners will surely regret their failure to shop and compare vehicle insurance quotes. Experts agree that it is advisable to shop for at least three vehicle insurance quotes. You can get an idea on the range of prices of a particular car insurance policy by getting at least three vehicle insurance quotes. Even better, you should visit at least three vehicle insurance comparison websites to verify the quotes you are comparing. This should enhance your chances of getting the most affordable car insurance. The better news is that you can always request and compare vehicle insurance quotes through the Internet. You can do this at the comforts of your home, or at a convenient time. There are a lot of insurance quote comparison websites in the Internet that you can use. Within a few clicks, you can find out which car insurance quote is more affordable for you, enabling you to purchase a cheap car insurance.

One may be experiencing difficulty on exactly how to host their website

One may be experiencing difficulty on exactly how to host their website. Everyone wants a way to do it that will not only be fast, reliable and easy to manage but one that will also be affordable too. Web hosting Albuquerque guarantees one a dynamic and reliable hosting partner. The web hosting platform is revolutionary as it delivers an unmatched reliability, scalability and speed than anyone can possibly imagine. Not only do they bring together all the new advances made in hosting over the years; it is quite easy to use. This undoubtedly sets them at the front of the pack in terms of offering the best and most innovative platform available. While other servers out there still offer older technologies on their hosting platform web hosting Albuquerque distinguishes itself from the pack by taking all the necessary steps in ensuring all clients are getting the latest in innovations. What Is The Difference With Other Hosing Sites? The web hosting Albuquerque is dynamic in its defense, server as well as traffic management. The servers on use are new and regularly maintained to deliver on their intended mandate without fail. In the case that one’s site gets in crippled or surges in visits the dynamic management of a traffic system will ensure that you will continue uninterrupted. This is achieved through the use of load balancers of high capacity. O irrespective of spikes in traffic one may experience, their sites will continue to run smoothly. What Are Its Advantages? • There are dynamic mechanisms of defense that are capable of detecting and eventually stopping malicious attacks before they find the opportunity to get to one’s website. All accounts are accompanied by an unlimited brand with accompanied by free email accounts not forgetting a setup that has been simplified enough for anyone to understand. One can also get the opportunity to add onto it some free apps. • The customer service is always available and open to all the clients on a 24/7 basis. They are capable of providing correspondence instantly upon being contacted irrespective of whether it was by phone, email or via web support. • The services provided are open for everyone. It can be for small businesses, large businesses, developers, gamers, bloggers or even individuals. The range of scope is unlimited. All one has to do is to register immediately. The web design Albuquerque gives assures everyone on just how it offers the next generation of hosting. Nowadays, there are lots of companies offering various packages and options on web hosting. All one has to first do is that they get a company with a reputable record of service. This should always be their principal priority. One should get the instant guarantee on the timeframe that the site will be running. In the case that you are to be offering both audio and video, a major consideration should be the bandwidth you are being offered. In the case, you anticipate large traffic the bandwidth being offered s not something to overlook. It is not hard to identify an ideal company that avails web design Albuquerque . It is not surprising that most of them are also specialized in www.thomasgarciastudio.com/web-hosting/ web hosting Albuquerque. This makes the whole process easier.

The process of finding the best Albuquerque assisted living facility for your loved one

The process of finding the best Albuquerque assisted living facility for your loved one is sometimes a very difficult and trying one. For some people, they do it by digging into the local directories and phone books trying to find some local assisted living communities after which they give them a call and visit a couple of them. While you might still be able to find an appropriate facility, this is surely something that you wouldn’t want to experience. Knowing about an easier option of finding a great facility is something that everyone will certainly appreciate. It is of paramount importance that you do everything possible to find the most ideal Albuquerque senior home in your home where your family members, parents or grandparents are assured of the best care on a daily basis. Internet advancement has however made things much easier and it is now possible to access the vital information easily. Moreover, the internet allows you to compare the different options available at your disposal and you can be sure that you will be able to make the best and most informed decision about the whole issue. According to a recent survey, more than 50% of people looking for centers of Albuquerque assisted living makes use of the internet in their search. This is incredibly amazing as the internet can help you undertake a comprehensive research of the various facilities available at your area at the comfort of your home in the most convenient way. Depending on your specific circumstances, you are able to determine which facility is capable of offering your aged or sick loved one with the kind of care that they need and help them lead a better quality life. Location matters a lot As every expert in this area will tell you, location of the Albuquerque senior home really matters a lot and this is one of the factors that will certainly determine the decision that you are going to make. You will need to find an assisted living community which makes it possible for friends and family to be able to visit the aged person regularly and once that can be accessed easily at all times. The good thing is that there are lots of excellent facilities of this nature located all over the country and you can always rest assured that you will be able to get the kind of care and support which is needed. Fortunately, the internet allows you to conduct your research at ease and be in a position to make the best decisions possible.

Misconceptions about private charter flights

The feeling of chartering ones own private jet sounds romantic and exciting. But many people have mistaken ideas about chartering their own plane. Most common myths concerning private jets are: Complicated and need to be reserved in advance The process would have been complicated before, but with tools like a Jet, Smarter App, one can reserve a chartered or a private jet immediately within 24 hours. This app helps in arranging everything from the mobile device. Ultimate in luxury and convenience is to own a Plane Though owning a jet is a good status symbol if one can afford, but are complicated. Between paperwork and maintenance, owning a jet can consume one time. But chartering jets are both convenient and fast. Required to pass through the routine TSA Screening Some people still think and have the misconception like they need to stand in a line in the main terminals to pass through routine TSA screenings for security. Though there will be security measures in some places just to check passengers on TSA or No Fly List, then after one can relax. The main perk or advantage in owning a private jet is that one do not need to deal with the TSA security lines and TSA screenings that come tagging along with it. Less choice of selection when Chartering a Flight Many people are under the assumption that there is only a limited choice in selecting a charter flight. But this assumption is a myth as the Jet, Smarter App provides access to almost more than three thousand air-crafts. This allows the passengers in choosing their own style and size of the plane, that is very right for their needs. Private Jets, only for rich and the Affordable Though chartering a plane or jet may be expensive, more than that flying with commercial airlines, it is affordable by anybody. If traveling with a group or a family, chartered or private jets are very economical as compared to booking individual tickets. Charter flights now have various options to fit any kind of budget. The whole world of private jets can now be accessed with convenience and affordability with introducing of Jet, Smarter App, which provides the anybody to tap onto large network of providers and air-crafts with a touch of a single button. Bringing own Pilots “Part 135 Operators” as called by FAA handles all the chartered flights. These are concerns that manage a full fleet of air-crafts, hire the pilots and ensure that the trip is flown safely. Flying with strangers When a private jet is booked, the entire aircraft is for oneself. One can have as many people on board as the number of seats available and whoever books the flight can exactly choose who flies with them. Paying extra for safe option All operators are tightly regulated by FAA. It is incredibly challenging in registering as Part 135 Operator and many companies are dedicated to the monitoring of the safety of the operators. Bigger operators better than small operators Though small operators have less inventory, they are preferred as the clients needs are taken care of personally. Visit Ventours Aviation, the professional, reliable and credible aviation service provider that offers airport assistance in India and Kathmandu with high safety standards.

The two main forms of VPS solutions are managed and unmanaged VPS services

For anybody who is fed up with the inadequate overall performance of their shared web server but not yet in a position to step up to a costly dedicated server than the most suitable option available for you would be a Virtual Private Server (VPS). The two main forms of VPS solutions are managed and unmanaged VPS services. Managed VPS hosting services are similar in a lot of ways to hosting that is shared. You'll receive skilled pros who will take care of any issues with your hosting server which could develop. Managed VPS hosting servers are the most useful way to go if you're not very tech savvy or do not have the employees available to take care of any technical concerns that will arise with the hosting. You may also decide on Managed hosting if you're a business owner who just desires to focus on operating their business rather than concern yourself with if your server is functioning so that your clients can reach and use it. You can sleep well at night knowing your website is in safe hands. Most good Managed VPS hosting providers will ensure you get 24/7 support that should quickly try to deal with any complications with your hosting server or if you would like to add new email accounts or domains to the server. It is possible to usually put in a simple request and this will be taken good care of. A great company is Tecsys who make available both virtual offices in India among their services. Unmanaged VPS hosting services will mean that you happen to be accountable for caring for your Windows or Linux server. Unmanaged servers tend to be made use of by businesses that either have proprietors that are technically very knowledge and can fix any problems that may crop up or they hire staff who are able to handle the problems on behalf of the company. Although unmanaged VPS hosting is frequently less than managed hosting simply because you are not paying for the technical support nevertheless, you have to make sure you'll be able to take care of any technical issues that happen or you might find yourself with no functioning internet site for hours on end or even days which ultimately means that you end up paying much more in lost business than it would should you have had used a managed VPS hosting account. If you're willing to take your online business to a higher level then you certainly should consider upgrading from a shared server to a VPS hosting account that you either are comfortable taking care of yourself or opt to have a great hosting company manage it for you.

These materials will be really useful when reviewing for the IELTS

IELTS is a standardized examination that tests proficiency in the English language. A lot of people aspire to pass this test. If you are one of the many people who wish to pass the IELTS, you should be well-prepared. One of the things that you should do is to take IELTS preparation courses. Taking an IELTS course has a lot of advantages. When you take an IELTS course, one of its advantages is getting yourself familiarized with the different examination sections. IELTS consists of four sections: reading, writing, listening and speaking. By taking a preparation course for the IELTS, you will have an idea on what kind of questions will be asked on your examination. This way, you will be prepared and will not be caught off-guard on the day of the examination. Just like any other examinations, there are certain strategies that you can use to make things easier for you. In an IELTS course, you will get help from experts who know a lot of things about the IELTS. These experts will help you find the most effective strategy for you, when it comes to taking the IELTS. Institutions that offer IELTS courses will be able to provide you training materials, as well. These materials will be really useful when reviewing for the IELTS. Taking an IELTS course will also let you save a lot of money. It is true that you can take the IELTS as many times as you want, but the entrance fee for this examination can be a little costly. Enrolling in an IELTS course will let you have all the practice you need. This will help you pass the IELTS on your first take. Aside from saving money, being well-prepared will let you save time and effort, as well. Taking the IELTS several times can be exhausting. If you are planning on taking the IELTS, start looking for an institution that caters IELTS preparation courses. You can find plenty of IELTS course providers online. Take your time when it comes to choosing the institution that will provide you IELTS course. Find the best school that can offer you the best trainings and the best deal. Joseph works for New College Manchester, a school that specialises in the IELTS course. In his spare time he has a passion for travelling and blogging.

Setting Up TypePad QuickPost

How do I set up QuickPost?

Answer

The QuickPost bookmarklet allows you to post to TypePad without going through the TypePad main interface. After installing the bookmarklet, you can post from anywhere on the web.
On your Weblogs tab, click the Set up QuickPost bookmarklet link in the blue box in the top right corner of the content area to enter the QuickPost setup:
1 Select the preferred Quickpost editor
Rich text ("WYSIWYG") includes the WYSIWYG toolbar with Compose and Edit HTML options.
Plain text allows you to edit the HTML of the post.
2 Select the fields to display on your QuickPost
Choose the items you would like to display on your QuickPost entry form by checking the boxes for the appropriate fields.
The fields you can choose from are: TrackBack items, Category, Allow Comments, Allow Pings, Text Formatting, Excerpt, Post Continuation (extended post), Keywords, and Technorati Tags. See the Advanced Post Fields section for more information about these items.
QuickPost Default FieldsBy default, a QuickPost window will always have: a pull-down menu for the weblog to post to, a pull-down menu to select the Post Status (Draft or Publish) of the new post, a text entry box for the Title of the post, and a text entry box for the post body.
3 Press "Create"
Press the Create button and the page will refresh with the link to create your TypePad QuickPost bookmarklet. You can later re-create your bookmarklet if you would like to change the initial selections.
4 Drag the QuickPost link to your browser
To install the bookmarklet, drag the link to your browser’s menu or Favorites toolbar. The bookmarklet is now ready to use for posting to TypePad.
Windows Right-Click Menu
Alternatively, if you are using Internet Explorer on Windows, you can install a TypePad QuickPost option into the Windows right-click menu:
Click on the "Add TypePad QuickPost to Windows right-click menu" link. When prompted, save the file quickpost.reg to your desktop.
Once the file has been saved to your desktop, right-click on the file and select "Merge" from the menu. Then quit and restart your web browser to add the link to the right-click menu. Now you can access TypePad QuickPost with your IE right-click menu.
To get started posting with QuickPost, see Using the QuickPost Bookmarklet.