WEST RIDGE EXECUTIVE PLAZA

Thomas Husnik asked:


Copyright (c) 2007 Thomas Husnik

The field of corporate finance deals with the decisions of finance taken by corporations along with the analysis and the tools required for taking such decisions. The principle aim of corporate finance is enhancing the corporate value and at the same time reducing the financial risks of the company. In addition to this, corporate finance also deals in getting the maximum returns on the invested capital of the company. The major concepts of corporate finance are applied to the problems of finance encountered by all type of firms.

The discipline of corporate finance can be split into the short term and the long term techniques of decisions. The investments of capital are the long term decisions relating to the projects and the methods required to finance them. On the other hand, the capital management for working is considered as a short term decision that deals with the short term current liabilities and asset balance. The main focus here rests on the management of inventories, cash and, the lending and borrowing on a short term basis.

Corporate finance is also associated with the field of investment banking. Here, the role of the investment banker is the evaluation of the various projects coming to the bank and making proper investment decisions regarding them.

The Capital Structure:

A proper finance structure is required for achieving the set goals of corporate finance. The management has to therefore design a proper structure that has an optimal mix of the different finance options that are available.

Generally, the sources of finance will comprise of a mix of equity as well as debt. If a project is financed through debt, it results in causing a liability to the concerned company. Hence in such cases, the flow of cash has various implications regardless of the success of the project. The financing done by equity carries a lower risk regarding the commitments of the flow of cash, but the result of this is the dilution of the earnings and the ownership. The cost involved in equity finance is also higher in the case of debt finance. Hence, it is understood that the finance done through equity, offsets the reduction in the risk of cash flow. The management has to hence have a mix of both the options.

The Decisions of Capital Investments:

The decisions of capital investments are the long term decisions of corporate finance that are related to the capital structure and the fixed assets. These decisions are based of several criteria that are inter-related. The management of corporate finance attempts to maximize the firm’s value by making investments in the projects that have a positive yield. The finance options for such projects have to be done in a proper manner.

Steven Walters asked:


While you can spend weeks in Thailand without ever seeing a ********** there are some areas of the City of Angels that are designed with nothing more in mind than the *** tourist. There are also some other places that tend to draw Thai girls who are looking for involvement with a farang – Khao San Road immediately comes to mind. Today’s post will focus on the largest of the pay4play entertainment areas in Bangkok known as Nana Plaza.

Nana Entertainment Plaza (or NEP) began 25 years ago when several bars on Soi 14-Soi 16 were forced to close indefinitely because of construction on Sukhumvit Road. In mid 1982 the Rosemarys (1&2) , The Three Roses and The Rainbow Bar all moved into Nana Plaza which was formerly your normal run of the Thai strip mall and parking area. Since that time it has grown to almost 40 bars packed into the central court area.

For almost 2 decades now Nana has been the center of naughty nightlife in Bangkok. It does see some competition from Soi Cowboy area bars, but Nana Plaza is the top of the heap when it comes to A-Go-Go bars, with stages and shows throughout the complex. Nana is famous for it’s Go-Go bars where you can find scads of scantily clothes Thai girls gyrating on stage and around shiny poles, all meant to excite and titillate the variety of visitors that come just for that purpose. Nana is also famous for the katoey or ladyboy bars in the area. Many are the man who hasn’t understood the difference between the lovely katoeys in Nana Plaza and been handed a large surprise later.

The Plaza does seem to fluctuate in popularity from year to year with the expatriates and sexpatriates visiting Thailand. One year you can go there and find the area packed to capacity and another year will see NEP almost empty. 2007 was a slow year and 2008 looks to be the same with many of the bars reporting their take to be down 20-30% from normal. Some of this is due to the strength of the Thai baht which is affecting all areas of tourism in Thailand. Other reasons mentioned are the declining upkeep of the clubs, the rising price of the girls and the poor attitude of many of the staff and girls. Another hit is coming in the form of a smoking ban in all restaurants and bars in Thailand which is supposed to take effect February 11th, 2008. It will be interesting to see if this ban is actually enforced.

The first time visitor to Nana Plaza should be prepared for a surreal experience with the area looking like a neon lit circus midway in full swing and music pumping from the various bars surrounding the Plaza. Bible thumping missionaries, prostitutes, western sexpats, camera wielding Japanese tourists and curious tourist young and old fill the area making it a great place to sip a beer and watch the diversity of humanity in all its forms. No matter how far and wide you travel you are unlikely to see another place even remotely like it.

With dozens of bars, brightly flashing neon, hundreds of girls and all the sights, smells and sounds of Nana Plaza I have only scratched the surface of what Nana Plaza is. Go and see for yourself, you’ll be amazed and possibly shocked, but it will be different than any other experience of your life.

ntl:Telewest Business asked:


Information Technology lies at the very heart of today’s organisations and many companies are now so dependent on their networks that they take them for granted. In today’s 24/7 digital economy, just imagine the business implications of critical data being lost, internet and email access being unavailable or your internal network going down.

The impact of the unexpected on your business, whether in the form of malicious damage such as hacking or some kind of natural disaster, can be devastating in the networked world. Take for example the 2007 flash floods across the UK. Following the wettest May to July on record, approximately 7,100 businesses were flooded and the resulting damage cost an estimated £3 billion1. However, this figure fails to take into account the cost of lost business during that period, when some companies were unable to operate a normal (if any) service, or the damage to reputation that the inability to communicate caused. No-one can predict the future, but by carefully planning in advance you can ensure that your business is in the best possible position, if and when disruption occurs.

To meet resiliency requirements for coping with both unexpected events and increasing volumes of data, today’s businesses require more than Next Generation Network capability alone. They need a combination of robust network capability and a next generation service mindset from their telecoms provider. When it comes to business resiliency, it’s not simply a case of ‘one size fits all’. ntl:Telewest Business closely collaborates with its customers and tailors its services to meet their needs. The next generation of business resiliency is here.

What level of resilience is needed?

Different industries have unique requirements for resilience. In the banking industry, for example, access to accurate, real-time buying and selling data is critical and business continuity and resiliency are considered so important that they are subject to specific regulations such as Basel II. However, for the majority of businesses, the rules and regulations are not so strict, and yet the implications of a network collapse without sufficient backup systems can be equally severe. This is particularly true when you consider that, according to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 80 per cent of small to medium sized businesses go out of business within 18 months of experiencing a major network problem and 90 per cent of businesses that lose data in a disaster are forced to shut within two years.

The indisputable fact is that all business premises, no matter what the organisation’s size or industry, face the risk of disasters and they need to bring certainty to how they store and use their information. Firms need to be able to move their data around freely and ensure that it is 100 per cent backed up from every site, minimising the exposure to risk at any one site and making sure that the most important data is prioritised.

What types of network meet the requirement?

Network capability and flexibility provide the technology platform for next generation telecoms providers to roll out a resilient service. As well as being able to withstand unexpected events, today’s networks need to be able to cope with the everincreasing amounts of information being transported by today’s businesses. Their needs have extended from just email and web browsing to encompass multimedia applications, image-driven, user-generated content and video. In order to cope with these burgeoning volumes of data and the swift pace of operational change, networks need to be both extremely resilient and scalable. Rapidly growing workforces require constant, uninterrupted access to business resources and only a Next Generation Network can provide the flexibility and resilience required.

ntl:Telewest Business’ £13 billion Next Generation Network was built specifically with the demands of the digital age in mind and, based on fibre-optic technology, it is highly resilient. The Next Generation Network is capable of delivering the next generation IP and Ethernet services required by today’s fast-moving business and, as bandwidth can be increased quickly and painlessly in line with demand, scalability issues are overcome. In order to significantly reduce the volume of faults on their networks, today’s telcos also need to engage far earlier in proactive network management. By constantly monitoring its network, ntl:Telewest Business ensures that potential issues can be identified before they develop into problems. As a result, both the network’s performance and the user’s experience are significantly improved.

How can every eventuality be covered?

Maintaining business continuity is not as simple as deploying two separate links to your business sites, there are a number of considerations that have to be taken into account. How far a customer wants to go in assuring resilience depends on the importance of their information assets and their budget, but there are four key business continuity measures that can be taken into consideration.

As there are two UK-wide access networks, ntl:Telewest Business’ and BT’s, it stands to reason that if information is your organisation’s lifeblood you should not trust all of your services to just one network. Having an alternative access network in place ensures that critical applications continue to run even if one provider has a major outage. An alternative transmission path can also handle unexpected peaks in traffic and provide protection against denial of service attacks, which are designed to swamp networks with traffic and cause them to buckle.

The second business continuity measure is eliminating a single point of failure for the availability of voice and data services. Rather than relying on a single network provider to deliver connectivity between a site and the rest of the private network or the internet, businesses can run multiple links to their sites, guaranteeing up-time should one of the lines be inadvertently damaged and rendered unusable. In the event of network connectivity being destroyed over one connection, services can seamlessly divert to the backup connection, maintaining continuous data transfer and call availability.

One of the most basic disaster recovery tools that businesses should consider is spreading their risks across the network. By creating a mirrored system in which all information and applications are regularly and automatically backed up at different points on the network, businesses can ensure that information is protected in the event that one part of the network experiences an outage.

Multiple Ethernet connections into a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with any-to-any connectivity enable organisations to decentralise their IT across multiple sites and replicate their business-critical data. If a problem does occur, whether it is a natural disaster or simply a power failure, employees should be able to work from home and log onto their VPN remotely, safe in the knowledge that the network is secure and work can continue as usual, albeit off-site. This any-to-any connectivity overcomes the needs for backup circuits.

Finally, in the event of one of an organisation’s main circuits going down, forcing all data to run over the other and increasing the risk of a network bottleneck, the prioritisation of critical data is essential. The application of up to eight classes of service over the ntl:Telewest Business network, with predefined Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, will also ensure that business critical data is delivered in advance of lower priority traffic such as internet data. This way organisations can ensure their business critical applications continue to perform at optimum levels, even in adverse conditions.

With such an array of business continuity options available, organisations require a telco provider that’s prepared to sit down and discuss the most appropriate solution for their unique needs, risks and budget. ntl:Telewest Business collaborates closely with all sizes of business, not just its largest customers with big communication budgets. Consultative and technologically-savvy local service teams, both at the presales and project management stages, work hand-in-glove with the customer to ensure they receive the most appropriate solutions for their business.

How can businesses design and provision truly resilient networks?

True business resilience can only be attained when network capability is fused with a high level of consultative input at the stage of designing new network infrastructures. Until now, the legacy telco practice has been to keep customers at arm’s length from the services they use and act as merely a circuit provider, rather than responding to customers’ requirements. The next generation of telecoms providers need to invest in their service delivery, and not solely their network, ensuring that their customers feel connected to their telco teams as well as their network.

As a next generation telecoms provider, ntl:Telewest Business is committed to sitting down with organisations, listening to and understanding their individual requirements. This way it can help the customer implement measures appropriate to the risk associated with the type of traffic on its network, with a design that reflects the confines of the budget.

A customer-centric mindset and ‘can do’ attitude ensures that ntl:Telewest Business collaborates with its customers from the start, helping to plan, design, and implement their networks. But it doesn’t stop there, many of the same teams remain all the way through integration and while the network is running. No one can predict the future, but by working with a telecoms provider that has such a Next Generation Network and a customer-centric mindset, you’ll be better prepared for any eventuality.

Rami Doleh asked:


Most of the people who are interested in starting their own business and opt for online business, do not know where to start. There are many questions related to the starting point in online business. Such questions would be:

-Where do I start looking for an online business idea?

-Where do I start learning about marketing online business?

-Where do I start looking for online advertising media?

Then most people will go for the search engines and start typing in what they are looking for, hoping that they will find something that will suit them. There is nothing wrong with this methodology. The problem here is that in most cases people do not really know what they are looking for.

In this article we will try to give recommendations and guidelines on the things that a person should be looking for when searching for the online business opportunity he/she would be most relaxed with.

In a previous article titled “Choosing An Online Business Is A Tricky Business” we categorized the different types of online businesses a person could be involved in. We will not repeat them but our advice is to begin with one particular type and then move to the other types when the person feels relaxed with the idea on online marketing.

If a person is totally new to the idea of online business he/she should start with an affiliate program. An affiliate program is one that allows you to sell other people’s products and services in return for a commission. Yet a person should not be involved in just any affiliate program. There are special requirements that a person should be looking for in an affiliate program if he/she is still new to the idea of online marketing.

We will look list and explain each one of these suggested requirements:

1-Design and setup your own website: There are a lot of affiliate programs out there that give you an assigned web page that you can promote. Although it is a very good feature that saves you the hassle of building your own web pages, yet it is limited in the ways you will be able to market it as most online marketing media do not accept affiliate pages. Therefore, you will need an affiliate program that incorporates setting up and designing your own website; in addition to advising you on the hosting service provider you should get. “Your own website” means that you should own the domain name. I have written a complete article about the benefits of owning a website with comparative analysis with the option of not having your own website.

2- Provide a systematic training: Most affiliate programs provide you with what they call marketing tools. But if someone is new to the internet and to online marketing, then there is no way that he/she would be able to use those tools effectively. Therefore, the affiliate program that you should be looking for is one that has a systematic and detailed training that can take you by the hand to show you how to promote your business.

3-Systematic and not individualistic support: Most affiliate programs depend on the sponsor support for their team. This system is very weak. This means if the sponsor is away, ill, vacationing or for any reason cannot and would not answer the support questions, the sponsored team is lost and cannot proceed with their business. The affiliate program that you should be looking for must have the following support levels:

a.Sponsor Support

b.High traffic and high quality forum especially dedicated for the particular affiliate program you are thinking of promoting.

c.Help Desk

With this system a person might not even need a sponsor support.

I have heard many recommend having a mentor that will be able to teach all the ins and outs of online marketing. I completely agree with them, but would not include it in the above criteria. The above criteria are recommended so that a person can examine any affiliate program against. Thus, they will facilitate for anyone the decision making process for choosing an affiliate program to work with. Therefore, a mentor is not a must have in affiliate program for the newbie. Still, I would highly recommend searching for and getting a mentor, as a mentor can act in many dimensions especially on the motivational and technical aspects.

Factory Plaza asked:


All of us love to be experimental with the look and interior design of our homes. As for the kitchen, we think that we have limited options. But we can use granite to remodel the kitchen. It is not only durable, but is known to be resistant to stains, cracks and burns. You can have granite countertops in the kitchen. This will look stylish and if you consider the durability factor, nothing can be better than a granite top.

A kitchen island will look especially good with a raised breakfast bar. This is a good place for quick snacks. Moreover if you are busy preparing the dinner, you can always ask the children to come and do their homework on the table. This place can also serve as a cosy place where you can enjoy a drink before the dinner. Granite is known for antibacterial properties. A granite slab is a good place for preparing the food. Apart from granite tops, you can also install a granite sink. In fact effective use of these natural stones can add a much needed spruced up look to your kitchen. Besides it would also serve as a way to depict your environmental friendliness and go green attitude.

Most granite sinks are extremely hardy and they do not retain the stains. Moreover because of the tough quality of the stone, it is difficult to make dents. Like all materials even granite needs good handling, and it is always better to clean them with granite polish. Instead of using regular cleaners which often contain harmful chemicals, granite polish creates a smooth surface and helps in retaining the luster of the granite surface. As for the size of the sinks, it is always determined by the space you can spare for the installation of the sink.

If you want to match the color of the countertops with the sink, you can choose the same material. Keep in mind the basic fact that countertops are easy to change. But in order to remodel the look of the kitchen, you can also install granite floors. They can be cleaned easily and it is easy to maintain. Moreover compared to any other material, granite flooring is considered to be attractive and durable. For a rustic look, you can add the matte floor. A polished floor will enhance the look of sophistication.

After you have installed the granite floor, you can select the neutral tones for the rest of the kitchen. They are generally subcategorized into two types-cool and warm. Adding neutral tones along with granite floors can do wonders for the kitchen. Granite can also be used as accents. Granite goes well with any kind of woodwork. So if you want to make a difference to the way the kitchen looks, you can combine wooden cabinets with granite accents.

To sum up if you are looking forward to spruce up the look of your kitchen then go for the judicious use of granite slabs. They are not only durable and resistant but also will allow you to create a look that is nonpareil and exquisite.

Factory Plaza asked:


Both granite and marble are known for their durability and exquisite quality. After diamond, granite is considered as the second hardest stone. Created from molten rocks this stone is found in various countries from around the globe. Countries like Asia, United States, Africa and Europe are known for their large quarries of granite. Granite is used extensively for interior designs. It is known to add a lot of warmth and color to a room.

Kitchens with granite countertops look especially nice. You can choose the color from thousands of options. Some of the common shades of granite include blues, browns, reds, blacks and greens. It is said that the variation in the proportion of minerals in each color creates thousands of shades. However the base color for granite remains only a few. People who love to experiment with the look of the kitchens and rooms combine wood with granite. Granite countertops are in great demand all over the world.

Granite is an ideal material for kitchens and is extremely popular among home owners who prefer a stylish décor. The durability of the material along with its warm shades makes it all the more desirable. Moreover granite can complement any other material and this makes it a popular choice. People concerned with the esthetic value of the design will love to experiment with different shades of the granite. The blue and the black color are extremely popular among the homeowners. At times one will notice different designs and movements on the natural color. These are rare.

The countertops which have the combination of movement and color makes the countertops look nice. Granite countertops go well with wood and rustic designs. So if you have a cabinet with a rustic look, you can easily go for the granite countertops. In case of shades, brown and beige tones are extremely popular among the granite lovers. They can sync well with any kind of kitchen color. Moreover the application of such granite shades allows flexibility and greater choices in future redecoration. Although most granite slabs are expensive, granites are one-time investment. And if you take proper care, they will remain shiny for years.

Apart from the beige and black tomes, the blue and black colors are becoming popular among the homeowners. If you have dark cabinets in the kitchen, you can warm light colors. There should be contrast in shades which makes the kitchen all the more appealing. Before choosing the color of the granite, you can visit the granite warehouses. Each stone comes with variations in shades. Instead of choosing from the chips, you can look for larger slabs. Once you look at the slabs, it will be easier for you to make a decision.

While choosing the granite countertops, you should not look for specific names. The more you look; the better will be your ideas. With each slab, you will have the names of the country of origin. Each supplier will have selections from different countries and thus you can easily choose according to your preferences.

Leon Klepfish asked:


ng your business, whether online or offline, can be quite expensive. In order to combat the rising costs of advertising, try seeking out free online advertising. You’ll be surprised that it’s not hard to find!

The goal with all businesses is to secure more business. To do this, whatever product and/or service being sold has to be made public. If you are tired of spending tons of money without getting higher results in return, we feel confident that using free online business advertising methods will help.

Today, internet advertising and marketing has become extremely popular, allowing you to reach well beyond local boundaries. This particular technique actually involves millions of businesses that offer free online business advertising, working in a tag team method. In other words, businesses work together, boosting sales. An option that works very well is free classified advertising.

With free online business advertising in the form of a classified ad allows you to list precise information for people to find. Typically, this option works by letting you sell your products and/or services in a personal way that connects easily with other people. With this, you can highlight what your business offers easily and widespread. While there are some classified ads that cost a little money, many are free.

What happens with this type of free online business advertising is that revenue is shared. These sites draw in a lot of traffic, which consists of individuals and businesses looking for something very specific. The items being advertised are neatly organized, making the process of finding a product and/or service fast, quick, and convenient. Therefore, to receive more visitors to your website online advertising space is bartered between businesses. Obviously, this strategy benefits everyone without costing a dime.

Not only is this type of advertising easy, it brings with it many features and useful tools. For instance, rather than have to go through tons of steps to get your products and/or services listed, the sites are easy to navigate using the tools provided. Of course, the key to any free online business advertising method being successful starts with finding the right service with which to deal.

Some ads, for example, are focused on a specific group, and others are more general and don’t focus on one type of audience. To get even more attention, we highly recommend you consider using several free online business advertising sites and methods. This way, you reach a much broader target, attracting not only more people but also the right people to your business. Online classified advertising is a huge bang for the buck, and brings a lot of value to your business no matter what size or type it is.

Lisa Grove asked:


Are you sick and tired of having to deal with the tough financial times? Do you want to know how the ‘other guys’ do it? How do they make all that money online? Have you ever asked yourself :’How can I make money online quickly?’ Well, you can, and I can show you how.

Imagine what it would be like to get up in the morning when you decide to, not when the alarm clock screams at you. What would it be like if your average ‘work day’ was only a couple of hours long? What would you do if you had plenty of money and plenty of time? These are questions most of us aren’t used to asking ourselves, but if you really want to know how to make money online quickly, and are ready to put what you learn to use, you had better learn to start thinking that way.

There are many ways to make money online quickly. I’ll list a few of the most common ways.

You could sell products on an auction site. This is probably what most people think of when you talk about an online business. This is a good way to make money, but there are some things you have to be aware of.

Selling on an auction site is by no means a sure thing. Your item may not sell and you won’t get back your listing fee if it doesn’t. You also need a source to provide a steady stream of products to sell.

Another very popular way to make money online quickly is with paid survey sites. There are several ways these sites work, one type involves you completing various offers. Some of the offers are free, some you will have to pay for. You can make money almost immediately on some of these sites.

The downside to survey sites, though, is that you probably won’t ever make a full time income. This is a better idea is you only want to make a few hundred dollars a month.

To really make money online quickly… a full time income, I recommend affiliate marketing. This is simply when you sell someone else’s products for a commission. Most affiliate marketing marketplaces will give you a free replicated website when you sign up to promote a certain product. That means you can have a website to send people to and a product to promote and it’s all absolutely free.

These are all good ways to make money online quickly. But no matter what method you choose there is one important factor you can’t forget: marketing. No matter how great your product or service you need a steady stream of qualified customers or you won’t make any money. Even if you have the absolute best website in the world, you won’t make any money without customers who are eager to buy your products.

I know this probably sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised by the number of people who think they can just put a website online and the customers will magically appear. Marketing online isn’t hard, as

a matter of fact, there are very effective free methods you can use to generate a steady stream of customers.

I hope this brief overview helped give you a better idea of how to make money online quickly. No matter what type of business you choose, don’t forget to take the time to educate yourself on Internet marketing. You need customers to make money and marketing is the way you’ll get them!