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Sugar is not a grain, or a meat commodity – it is regarded as a soft commodity in much the same way as lumber, cocoa, coffee, orange juice and cotton are. Sugar is primarily traded on the ICE exchange (Intercontinental Exchange) and it has the following ticker symbol: SB. However, sugar is also traded on other exchanges around the world, including the Zhengzou Commodity Exchange (CZCE), the National Commodity Exchange Limited (NCEL), the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange (BF&M), the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and the Kansai Commodities Exchange (KEX).

Each contract size for sugar is 50 long tonnes or 112,000 pounds. Sugar is delivered in raw sugar cane with 96° of polarization. Sugar contracts are traded in the following months: January, March, May, July and October from Monday through Friday 2:30 am through 3:15 pm Eastern Standard Time. The price of sugar is quoted at $0.0001 cents per pound, and the tick size is 0.01. Traders must meet specific margin requirements to trade sugar as this determines how much outlay is needed for each contract size.

For example a hypothetical sugar futures contract could take the following format: SB15F@13.12 means that the Sugar Contract for 2015 January is trading at $0.1312 per pound. This is precisely the type of format that a sugar trader would purchase a contract. When you are ready to trade sugar contracts on the ICE, the margin requirement is 12%. In the preceding example, the contract size of 112,000 pounds of sugar would cost a trader $14,672. With a 12% margin upfront, the amount needed to make the trade is $1,760.64.

Understanding How Profits are generated with Sugar

For every $0.0001 move in the price of sugar, the total price move for the contract is $11.20. Profits in sugar contracts are easily determined by the difference between the exit price and the contract price. The result is then simply multiplied by $11.20. Presently, the price of sugar is $11.57. The price of sugar is near its 5 year low figure, since it was trading close to $35 in 2011. The price of sugar has consistently declined over the past five years. Prior to the 2011 sugar price surge, trading sugar was well beneath $30, and in fact between late 2006 and 2008 was hovering around the $10 range.

Sugar is primarily available in the form of honey, Maple syrup, sugar beet and sugar cane. Its distinctive characteristic is that it is sweet and this carbohydrate is an instant pick me up by being able to generate rapid energy for the user. The refined form of sugar is white sugar and it comes from sugar beets and sugar cane. Some 78% of global production in sugar comes from sugar cane. This is why it is imperative to follow news updates regarding weather phenomena that impact upon sugarcane production. Shortages of sugar cane lead to price rises in sugar, depending of course on demand and sugar inventories.

The world’s major producers of sugar include Brazil and India, followed by the European Union. What is particularly interesting about this particular commodity is that the majority of sugar is consumed in the country of its production. This is in stark contrast to many other agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, soy beans, red meat etc. Many countries export the vast majority of their agricultural produce and soft commodities.

Determinants of the Sugar Price

Depending on which country or region we were talking about, demand for sugar will vary considerably. Western societies are moving away from sugar-saturated diets, in favour of sugar substituted diets. This trend is likely to continue as concerns grow about the impact of consuming too much sugar on the general health and well-being of society.

Sugar substitutes are now widely used across the US and Canada, with Europe close in tow. Some of the most pressing concerns with regards to sugar consumption are obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and the like. Even with declining preferences for sugar, the US remains a major consumer of world sugar.

The price of sugar is not free of market manipulation. In the US and many other countries, there are measures in place to protect producers by maintaining artificially high prices. This has the effect of causing consumers to look at alternatives. For example, many food companies are now turning to corn syrup as a substitute sugar. There are growing calls from sugar beet producers and sugar cane producers for a free-market system vis-a-vis sugar prices.

Of course an important determinant of the price of sugar is the quantity of sugar beets and sugar cane. As mentioned, the more abundant these commodities are, the lower the sugar price will be, all things being equal. Adverse weather has a detrimental effect on the production of these crops. Things like frost damage, excessive rains and flooding, droughts and other negative weather phenomena reduce the crop supply and raise the price of sugar on the markets.

It is clear that tariffs and subsidies are widely used to prop up the sugar markets around the world. Nobody knows quite what the real price of sugar should be, since there is so much artificial maintenance of market prices. In truth, the price of sugar may well be substantially less than what it presently is, but the clearest indicators yet of the price of sugar are likely found in things like export numbers, domestic consumption and society’s changing attitudes towards processed sugar.

Real estate investing can provide benefits of monthly cash flow, equity growth, appreciation. Many investors believe that you have to have sufficient money to invest in a property. However it’s always not the case. In some situations, the investor avoiding any further complications and abundant money goes for full cash payment for the property. A clever group would choose conventional mortgage where 20% down payment is required which may extend to 25-30% according to the property dealers in Delhi. The rest is paid through house loans where a minimum interest rate is charged. The mortgage loans can be from banks, from brokers or from credit unions. Though in most of the cases the real estate brokers in Delhi acquire the money from some other governmental institution or any other source but the bank or the credit unions can provide the entire sum from their own pocket and hence are called portfolio lenders. Their loans are more flexible to the investor. Another option for financing in a real estate investment is through hard money i.e. money obtained from any private institution or individuals. This money can be obtained without any income verification and credit history checking but it costs a higher interest on loans and high fees for obtaining the loan. The hard money can be obtained within days and thus if there is immediate requirement of cash inflow, hard lenders are the only option available to the investors.

A few property dealers in Delhi are Anushree Realtors, Absolute Solutions, North India Realty and Atul Mishra and associates. A limited number of specifically designed shops lying next to the bustling Noida metro station are provided by the real estate brokers in Delhi. These air conditioned shops of different sizes are collaborated to form a mall in future where all types of goods would be available. This mall would have certain advantages such as Radisson hotel, Golf course and Kalindi Kunj Bridge in the near vicinity.

The Narang Property dealers in Delhi provide access to certain properties for the customers. A property located in Vikaspuri has 3 bedroom apartment costing about 1 crore. There are 3 bathrooms and 2 balconies with Rs 8,900 per square feet. Another property shown by the real estate brokers in Delhi is the 2BHK flat in Vikaspuri costing 65 lakhs with 2 bathrooms but no balcony.

The real estate brokers in Delhi provide access to buyers in the Gulshan Bellina in sector 16 of greater Noida. 2BHK apartments with 1100square feet of total carpet area available at a price of 35 lakhs whereas 3BHK flats with carpet area extending from 1300 to 1750 square feet at a price of 42 to 52 lakhs. The general amenities available are jogging park, basketball court, kids play area, Aerobic centre; massage room, unisex parlour (AC), and wheel chairs for sick or disabled member of the co-operative. The best facility is its 24*7 security customer care centre team guarding the house.

Are you worried about the upcoming tax season? Are you just dreading getting all of your documents in order and calculating costs, expenses, and other financial details? When deadlines inch closer and closer, and you are not equipped with financial expertise, you want help, and you want it fast. There is nothing worse than being unprepared for the onslaught of tax returns and documentation that comes at the end of the year. For your preparation of financial statements in Calgary, you need the best of the best. Whether you have business needs, or require individualized assistance, highly qualified, professional accounting services can help you every step of the way. Fortunately, there are reputable services and staffers waiting to guide you through every step of the year-end process

Prep With The Best

With a professional accounting services company, you can rest assured knowing that the most highly-qualified and skilled experts are working with you and for you. These employees know how to sufficiently prepare and plan all of the aspects of annual bookkeeping, so they can provide top-performing assistance. With a wealth of knowledge, including expertise in the Canadian Income Tax Act and its obligations and regulations, businesses and individuals trust these professional accountants to handle all of their tax needs. With all of the required paperwork and actions, not to mention the national rules for filing taxes, things can seem overwhelming. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and trust the experts to walk you through every detail.

Trusted And Reliable Assistance

While dealing with the final preparations for tax filing is a concern for both people and businesses, there is also the financial planning that needs to go into next year. Reliable accountant specialists can work with you to develop a strategy that will guarantee a maximum investment return for you, as well as minimize added expenses and headaches. They have the trusted expertise you are looking for when handling the preparation of financial statements. With so much paperwork and documentation to locate, organize, and submit, why not depend on someone whose main focus is just that? Entrusting your financial statements with someone who has the certifications and appropriate training will help you secure your monetary assets and financial well-being. These benefits can set you on a path to financial stability for years to come.

Efficiency for Everyone

Finally, these accountants can be a wonderful advantage to anyone. Business owners use these professional services for all of their financial organizing tasks, such as keeping logs and records orderly and accurate. Individuals who employ these services for their particular financial circumstances no longer fret tax season, for they are armed with an experienced and qualified tax expert. It is about time that you enjoyed the ease, convenience, and reliability of such professionals.

In order to concentrate on their key areas of expertise as well as to save costs and resources in secondary areas, large companies often outsource certain tasks. The kind of tasks typically outsourced include payroll, HR services, translation/localisation of marketing materials or documents, tax administration and general administrative tasks.

What are the advantages of outsourcing for large companies?

The most obvious benefit of outsourcing is in cost reduction, but this should not be the only reason for outsourcing: no entrepreneur can do everything themselves, and contracting certain tasks out-of-house means one less thing for a busy company to juggle. It is also a way of getting expert assistance in a specific area without having to train existing staff or recruit new ones.

Outsourcing streamlines a business into the areas it wishes to concentrate on without having to spread resources too thinly, and a third-party supplier of HR, for example, will generally be more efficient in providing HR than a large company with many different departments. Well-trained, expert members of staff employed by the outsourcing company have access to superior technical equipment and systems and are up-to-date on current legal requirements. Outsourcing can reduce legal as well as financial risks.

When and what to outsource?

Almost everything can be outsourced, but it may not be prudent to do so. A large company should not outsource any activity that is central to generating profits or competitive success, for example; these would generally be tasks connected to the company’s brand name or core areas. For example, a company that invented a great engineering gadget should not outsource its production, but if sudden expansion put a strain on its resources, outsourcing payroll could be a sensible option.

Most large companies outsource routine tasks that waste valuable time that could be spent elsewhere, and/or temporary activities that are one-offs or occur once or twice a year and require extra resources unavailable in-house.

How are outsourcers paid?

When a large company finds a third party supplier to outsource certain aspects of their operations to, the two parties will sign a contract or Service Level Agreement (SLA) as regards payment. Outsourcers are normally paid a fixed cost for all services as defined in the contract; any additional services that may occur are charged extra.

Where are tasks outsourced?

Many tasks, including payroll solutions, IT and tax administration, can today be outsourced to a third party supplier based anywhere in the UK thanks to modern computer and communications technology that enables efficient business without the need for face-to-face contact.

How does a company find a good outsourcer?

Make no mistake: the selection process is of utmost importance. Choosing the right outsourcing partners is not only about finding the cheapest provider: the right partner must be good at what they do and be a trustworthy and legitimate enterprise. It’s also important to ensure that contracts and SLAs are written in a way that meets everyone’s needs, and that can be adjusted by the company to suit unforeseen changes should they arise.

The internet has made finding good outsourcers easier; for instance, typing get ‘tax help here’ into a search engine can bring up many qualified and reputable companies suited to one’s needs.

That is a very good question. How do you finance your small business? How small is your business? Do you dare go to a bank and try for a traditional loan? Well…. You can try. If you have immaculate credit and it screams good risk, you are likely to get that loan. But if you are under 700 in the credit score, forget about it!

Here are some other options to look at:

• You can try a pay day loan, but you may go broke trying to pay it back.
• Of course, there is a loan on your house. Do you really want to risk your home if the business fails? NO!
• You can try a loan shark. Do you like your legs? They are quick to loan and quick to ask for it back. Better hide the family too.
• How about a cash advance on your merchant account? What? You don’t know what I am talking about….. Well, let’s get you some information.

Loans for small businesses

When the market crashed and banks decided that the very people they were bailed out by should not be getting help, the merchant account servicers heard the cry. They put together packages to help anyone in need. All you need is a merchant account to make payments.

It’s really rather easy

Depending on the business you have, you adjust the kind of account you process credit and debit cards through. With that, you ask for a cash advance or loan. They will help you out up to $250,000. So let’s say you borrow $5,000 and you agree to the terms of 5% interest.

How it works

The Merchant account servicer has bought your credit and debit purchases at a reduced rate. Every day that you get paid with the cards, that five percent is taken out of the daily totals. If you have a bad day, they have a bad day. So, if you have $500 in sales that day and it was on the cards, your total payment for the day is $25.00. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not bad.

You will have the loan paid off in 200 days, or 6 months. Some merchant account servicers will do a traditional pay back program. You just have to ask to find out the best options and what programs they use.

For every good guy

Just like anything, for every good business is one that is a fraud. So, when you go about this, take the time to insure they REALLY are a business. Be sure they are one of the good guys. Check for online forums and their names. See what people are saying about them. Do several places; don’t give up. The right one is out there for you. It’s no different than trying to find the right boots. You have to keep looking to get them to fit correctly.