Gold - the Basic Element of the Financial System

Savings is now becoming more and more important, primarily because of inflationary pressures. The article attempts to answer the question of which financial assets can be placed in order to preserve, at least, purchasing power. In the current economic climate, the role of gold as a universal financial instrument is beginning to grow, not only for central banks but also for individuals. Certain characteristics of gold give it advantages over other types of investments and assets. Gold has been used as money for over five thousand years. Even after the abolition of gold and foreign exchange standard, gold retains important qualities, such as immunity to sustained inflation, initial intrinsic value and high money intensity. The article examines the role of gold as one of the main ways to preserve the purchasing power of savings. The article explores gold mining both in the world and in Russia. The study concluded that gold has advantages as an asset base on its physical properties and reputation it has developed over millennia.

Bad Bargains

It is often said that the courts will not save parties from bad bargains: as Lord Nottingham observed, even ‘the Chancery mends no man's bargain’. This article considers what is meant by ‘bad bargain’, and argues that courts should be reluctant to develop the law in a way which would allow sophisticated commercial actors to escape bad bargains. This analysis is timely since in the current economic climate a number of long-term contracts have become especially disadvantageous to one party, and one consequence of Brexit is likely to be an increase in instances where one party tries to escape a bad bargain. Sympathy for the party which finds itself subject to a bad bargain has led to pressure on courts to find that an agreement is not binding; to expand the scope of the vitiating factors; and to liberalise the principles of interpretation and rectification, for example. It is suggested that courts should not readily bow to such pressure.

New Kazakh leader will prioritise caution over change

Subject Challenges facing Kazakhstan under a new president. Significance When Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a comfortable victory in the June 9 presidential election, the vote was most notable for the new mood surrounding it: popular anger at lacklustre socio-economic development and the emergence of a new generation of political activists. In response, Tokayev's administration is weighing options for cooling passions and addressing popular grievances. Impacts Further spending will increase the budget deficit and add inflationary pressure. In the current economic climate, events such as disasters, protests and labour disputes have the potential to escalate dramatically. The government will continue to pursue inward investment despite limited reforms.

Cost awareness in urology: A nationwide survey

Introduction: In the current economic climate with continuous expenditure reviews and financial constraints, clinicians should remain conscious of making cost-effective choices on consumables and medications. In this survey, we evaluated the cost awareness amongst UK urologists. This is an observational study in which urology clinicians were asked to estimate the cost of 10 commonly used medications and consumables in urology by completing a questionnaire. Methodology: The survey was primarily conducted at the BAUS Annual Meeting 2017 with subsequent responders at local hospitals and urological courses. The costs of consumables and medications were verified with the relevant companies and the 73rd edition of the British National Formulary. Result: There were 139 responders from across the UK (46 consultants, 64 training registrars, 13 trust grades doctors and 16 senior house officers (SHOs)). In total, 16 and 60% of all estimates were within ± 25% and ± 100% of the true cost of the items respectively. Approximately 97.1, 95.7 and 97.1% overestimated the cost of a 14Ch urethral catheter, Ciprofloxacin and Sildenafil, respectively; while 78.4 and 84.9% of responders underestimated the cost of a JJ ureteric stent and Solifenacin, respectively. On multivariate analysis, SHOs significantly overestimated the cost of urethral catheters, suprapubic catheterization kits and JJ ureteric stents compared to other clinician grades. Conclusion: Cost awareness among UK urologists is poor. Expensive items (e.g. JJ ureteric stent, Solifenacin) tend to be underestimated while inexpensive items (e.g. catheter, Ciprofloxacin, Sildenafil) tend to be overestimated. This lack of appreciation of value may have an impact on drug and consumable expenditure. Level of Evidence: Level 3

Proposal for an innovating business model for supporting biotechnology companies, ecosystem and their founders

The pharmaceutical industry has been revolutionized by the new biotechnology companies during the last years. Facing patent expirations, lack of innovation and depleting product pipelines, the important structures turned to the funding of small biotechnology companies aimed at research and intellectual property securization. Alliances are primordial in the current economic climate. The market growth was questioned for years, but biotechnology companies shifted to product-driven strategies and the market performance has been verified during the last decade. Researchers still face challenges in transforming their science into businesses. They need to be fully equipped, and accompanied towards the right objectives to ensure the sustainability of the market as a whole.

Finding the Best Third-Party Logistics in the Automobile Industry: A Hybrid Approach

Given the current economic climate, many companies are considering outsourcing some activities to reduce costs and to focus on their core competency; thus, by adopting a competency-focused approach they enhance their chances to survive in a growing and competitive market. Third-Party Logistics (3PL) is a system that facilitates logistic activities. First, however, the organizations need to assess which companies are suitable for outsourcing. The aim of this paper is to depict a structural system for 3PL selection and validate it in real-world automobile companies. We use the Delphi method to determine criteria for 3PL selection and apply Evaluation by an Area-based Method for Ranking (EAMR) to prioritize the candidate alternatives. This method is used in combination with a Shannon Entropy based approach for determining the required weights. Computational analysis shows which criteria and companies have high priority, and based on that candidate alternatives for outsourcing are evaluated. The results suggest how automobile companies select 3PL companies and allocate their work to them.

Media rhetoric plays the market

This article examines the logic and power of financial news metaphors in the current economic climate. The sequence of global financial crises starting in late 2007 led to a particular discursive phenomenon in financial news. Newspapers constructed, with vivid imagery (e.g., toxic loans, nervous markets to be calmed down), a globalized register for talking and writing about the crises. The empirical study of 3,730 Dutch and Flemish-Belgian financial news articles (2,042,596 words) investigates how during 2006–2013 metaphor power (De Landtsheer, 2009) interacts with financial-economic indicators. It is suggested, on the basis of the case study, that financial news articles generally may be more metaphorical during crises; metaphor power significantly correlates with Eurostat financial-economic indicators in either a positive direction (unemployment rates, public debt) or a negative one (gross national product, consumer confidence).

Personnel Motivation Research in Russian Organizations of Construction Industry

The diffi cult socio-economic conditions, the problem of motivation in Russian companies has deteriorated, and its solution required by most organizations active search for new approaches to the personnel management. A special role in the current economic climate plays construction industry, which is characterized by a specifi c approach to the management of personnel in connection with specifi c activities. This is due to the relevance of research problems of staff motivation organizations whose activities are related to the construction, in the new socio-economic conditions. In the article the modern approaches to the interpretation of the term “motivation”. The paper includes analysis of the level of staff satisfaction material and non-material motivation as an example of a Russian organization specializing in construction. Authors considered the company’s existing system of benefi ts and rewards incentive and compensatory nature. The article presents the obtained data in the survey on the assessment of the employees of the current system of material and non-material motivation.

A METACOGNITIVE DECISION MAKING BASED-FRAMEWORK FOR BANK CUSTOMER LOYALTY MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Bank customer loyalty is becoming a priority concern for banking institutions, as a means of gradually increasing complementary margins and eliminating the lack of liquidity caused by the current economic climate. Following a top down process, this focus culminates at the branch level, where banks’ front office employees are seen as a driving-force for building customer loyalty. At the same time, however, the difficulty in identifying and operationalizing the factors or determinants that most contribute to creating and maintaining bank customer loyalty has long been recognized. In this sense, based on the integrated use of cognitive maps and measuring attractiveness by a categorical based evaluation technique (MACBETH), this study proposes a multiple criteria framework for bank customer loyalty measurement and management. The results show that our framework allows bank customers with higher rates of customer loyalty to be identified and, from a benchmarking perspective, indicates what best practices should be followed to boost long-term relationships. Implications for scholars and practitioners are discussed.