...PYRAMID SCHEMES: Saving the network marketing industry by defining the gray by Kevin Thompson kevin@theadvocategroup.net copyright of Advanced Advocates, LLC. I. INTRODUCTION In these trying economic times, responsible network marketing companies are positioned to offer viable opportunities for people that desperately need them. They combine passion for products with individual ambition to create a powerful testimony to the unyielding principles of free enterprise. With a fair compensation plan, an exciting product, and proper education, independent agents across the globe (also referred to as distributors) can leverage the power of networking to dramatically change their financial circumstances. Network marketing companies are responsible for providing its distributors with marketable products and compensation plans that rewards and motivates the sales force. Ideally, the rewards are designed to be commensurate with the work performed. With a good product and a fair compensation plan, !! the average person is given an opportunity to completely redefine their finances while operating a home based business. Distributors earn income primarily in two ways. First, they can purchase products at wholesale and mark them up for retail sales, thus earning an immediate profit. Secondly, they can form a “downline” by recruiting additional distributors and earn commissions on their sales to customers and purchases for personal use. Since distributors are paid...
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...Financial Market Definition of 'Financial Market' Broad term describing any marketplace where buyers and sellers participate in the trade of assets such as equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives. Financial markets are typically defined by having transparent pricing, basic regulations on trading, costs and fees and market forces determining the prices of securities that trade. Some financial markets only allow participants that meet certain criteria, which can be based on factors like the amount of money held, the investor's geographical location, knowledge of the markets or the profession of the participant. Investopedia explains 'Financial Market' Financial markets can be found in nearly every nation in the world. Some are very small, with only a few participants, while others – like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the forex markets – trade trillions of dollars daily. Most financial markets have periods of heavy trading and demand for securities; in these periods, prices may rise above historical norms. The converse is also true – downturns may cause prices to fall past levels of intrinsic value, based on low levels of demand or other macroeconomic forces like tax rates, national production or employment levels. Information transparency is important to increase the confidence of participants and therefore foster an efficient financial marketplace. Financial Markets: Capital Vs. Money Markets ...
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...What is a pyramid? * A pyramid scheme is an unsustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.[1][2] * Various forms of pyramid schemes are illegal in many countries including Albania, Australia,[3][4] Austria,[5] Brazil, Canada, China,[6] Colombia,[7] Denmark, the Dominican Republic,[8] Estonia,[9] France, Germany, Hong Kong,[10] Hungary, Iceland, Iran,[11] Italy,[12] Japan,[13] Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands,[14] New Zealand,[15] Norway,[16] the Philippines,[17] Poland, Portugal, Romania,[18] Russian Federation, South Africa,[19] Spain, Sri Lanka,[20] Sweden,[21] Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,[22] Turkey,[23] Ukraine,[24] the United Kingdom, and the United States.[25] * These types of schemes have existed for at least a century, some with variations to hide their true nature. Multilevel marketing plans have also been classified as pyramid schemes.[26][27][28][29] II. What is Multi-Level-Marketing? * Multi-Level Marketing really isn’t something that is bad. Some MLM companies have given the home business industry a bad name. Many companies will tell their associates to only take care of those that chose to be associates with the company and not just customers * Associate based companies will never survive and in a way they are more of a illegal pyramid company....
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...MKTG522 Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Campaign Plan Topic Proposal Form: Due Week 1 Complete this form and submit it to the Week 1 Course Project: Topic Proposal Dropbox. Your instructor must approve your idea, and will give you feedback and suggestions if you need help. Begin by brainstorming and generating a list—you have several options when choosing a product or service for your IMC plan. Consider choosing a brand that you have a passion for or creating a new brand for a new company or a new brand for an existing company. Perhaps you would want to select a product extension of an existing product. You might consider a different approach to marketing an existing service—you may select a product or a service. You can target consumers or businesses. You may choose a product or service offered by your employer or your own business, or one from another organization. Ultimately, to maximize your learning experience, choose a product or service brand that you have an interest in. Make sure there is information available about the industry and target market of the brand that you have selected. Think about why this brand needs an IMC Campaign—or why the existing campaign needs to be changed—what problem are you solving? Your name: BACHU LAXMI KIRTI Identify and describe the selected brand: Well,I have identified the most popular network marketing gaint,’AMWAY’. Which is an American company using multi-level marketing techniques to sell a variety of products, primarily...
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...network marketing can bring little by little economic growth to the country by means of work stability it can bring to those home base business ventures. it involves recruitment process in which efforts and only determination and perseverance on working habits can bring successful investing result. you only need to have your guts and strategies on work on your goal. Probably the biggest disadvantage to network marketing is that it can be difficult to embark in your own business. Network marketing unfortunately has a kind of negative stigma to it - and most people are suspicious of network marketing thinking that it is a pyramid scheme, etc. If you've never been in business for yourself, it's hard to adjust to being your own boss, and you definitely have to be a self starter. But the rewards can be just as great. The best advice I can give for avoiding these disadvantages is to join a great team. Work with people who know what they are doing and can teach you, support you, and help you. The worst experience in network marketing comes when you join a company, and then you're completely on your own. You'll fail everytime. But if you have a company that you like, products that you believe in, and most of all, a TEAM you can work with... then you can find some great success in network marketing! Today, students are also associated with this category of marketing. They are building there own future. Are you optimistic about the company’s future and your future with the...
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...LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 500 DIRECT SALES AND ANTI-PYRAMID SCHEME PYRAMID ACT 1993 As at 1 December 2011 2 DIRECT SALES AND ANTI-PYRAMID SCHEME ACT 1993 Date of Royal Assent … … … … … … 22 January 1993 4 February 1993 Date of publication in the Gazette Latest amendment made by Act A1379 which came into operation on … … … … 1 March 2011 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint Second Reprint … … … … … … 2002 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 500 DIRECT SALES AND ANTI-PYRAMID SCHEME ACT 1993 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. 2. 3. Short title, commencement and application Interpretation Controller, Deputy Controllers, etc. PART II REQUIREMENT FOR A LICENCE TO CARRY ON DIRECT SALES BUSINESS 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Direct sales business to be carried on only under licence Submission of application for licence Grant or refusal of licence (Deleted) Revocation of licence Imposition of restrictions in lieu of revocation of licence 10. Power to impose new conditions and to vary or revoke conditions 11. Notice of revocation of licence, imposition of restrictions, or variation, revocation or imposition of new conditions 12. Surrender of licence 4 Section Laws of Malaysia ACT 500 13. Prohibition on the carrying on of direct sales business upon revocation, expiry of duration, or surrender of licence 14. Authorization to carry on activities after revocation 15. Amendment...
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...WP/09/95 Ponzi Schemes in the Caribbean Ana Carvajal, Hunter Monroe, Catherine Pattillo, and Brian Wynter © 2009 International Monetary Fund WP/09/95 IMF Working Paper Western Hemisphere and Monetary and Capital Markets Departments Ponzi Schemes in the Caribbean Prepared by Ana Carvajal, Hunter Monroe, Catherine Pattillo, and Brian Wynter Authorized for distribution by Paul Cashin and David Hoelscher April 2009 Abstract This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. In several Caribbean states, unregulated investment schemes grew quickly in recent years by claiming unusually high monthly returns and through a system of referrals by existing members. These are features shared with traditional Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes. This paper describes the growth of such schemes, their subsequent collapse, and the policy response of regulators, and presents key policy lessons. The analysis and recommendations draw on country experiences in the Caribbean, and in such diverse countries as the United States, Colombia, Lesotho, and Albania. JEL Classification Numbers: G18 Keywords: Pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes, Caribbean Authors’ E-Mail Addresses: acarvajal@imf.org; hmonroe@imf.org;...
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...{DC(-P[,"^q-' li Frauds of the Century BERNARD MADOFF worked as a lifeguard to eam enough money to start his own securities firm. Almost half a century later, the colossal Ponzi scheme into which it mutated has proved impossible to keep afloat unlike Mr Madoffs 55-foot fishing boat, "Bull,,. The $ I 7. I billion that Mr Madoff claimed to have under management earlier this year is all but gone. His alleged confession that the fraud could top $50 billion looks increasingly plausible:, ' clients have admitted to exposures amounting to more than half that. On December l6th the head of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which is recovering what it can for investors, said the multiple sets of accounts kept by the 70-year-old were in "complete disanay" and could take six months to sort out. It is hard to imagine a more apt end to Wall Street's worst year in decades. The known list of victims grows longer and more star-studded by the day. Among them are prominent billionaires, including Steven Spielberg; the owner of the New York Mets baseball team; Carl Shapiro, a nonagenarian clothing magnate who may have lost $545m; thousands of wealthy retirees; and a cluster of mostly Jewish charities, some of which face closure. Dozens of supposedly sophisticated financial firms were caughl out too,.including banks such as Santander and HSBC, and Fairfield Greenwich, an alternative-investment specialist that had funnelled no ...
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...Case #1- Stanford Financial R. Allen Stanford, a Texas financier and the founder of the Stanford financial Group, was arrested in June 2009 for a civil charge of conducting an $8 billion fraud by deceiving more than 20,000 investors. He cheated investors in a Ponzi scheme through bogus certificates of deposit at the Stanford International Bank located in Caribbean island of Antigua. Stanford International Bank promised investors substantially higher rates of return on their CDs than U.S. banks. It offered investors an annual interest rate anywhere from “7.45 percent to 10 percent” (Goldfarb), which is more than double what rivals offered. Stanford’s clients were told that their funds were put into shares and bonds issued by “stable governments, strong multinational companies and major international banks” (Clark. A). In fact, Allen Stanford used his investor’s money to buy two airlines, build a cricket team and stadium, and he also transferred investor’s money to his bank account in Switzerland. He lied to the investors about how their money was being used. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 90% of the money went into illiquid property and private equity (Clark. A). The trial was delayed after Stanford was involved in a prison beating which held the U.S government back from liquidating his assets to repay investors who claim losses in the billions. Stanford’s investors would not have lost billions of dollars if the auditors audited the right opinions...
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...Stanford Financial Group Scandal HARD WORK, CLEAR VISION, and VALUE for the CLIENT were the leading slogans for the former jet-setting Texas tycoon Robert Allen Stanford’s business, Stanford Financial Group (Brear). Stanford Financial Group provided a wide variety of services ranging from brokerage and investment advisory, private and commercial banking, investment advisory, trust, real estate investment services, and investment banking services (Businessweek.com). This eight billion dollar Ponzi scheme came to a halt in 2009 when the SEC noticed an abundance of red flags. The fraudulent success of Stanford Financial Group did not happen overnight, nor did it occur without major help from the lack of independent auditors. Robert Allen Stanford was born on March 24, 1950 in the little town of Mexia, Texas. As a kid, family and friends said it became apparent he had an entrepreneur mindset and was destined for something, whether good or bad (chron.com). In 1974, he graduated Baylor University with a BA in finance. After college, he opened a chain of athletic clubs in Waco, which went bankrupt by 1982 (Blodget). He soon shifted his business strategy from an unprosperous gym owner to a flourishing banking tycoon. Stanford Financial Group can be traced back to an insurance company started by his grandfather in 1932. While the new business had nothing to do with insurance, he used the name and contacts to start the new Stanford business. His primary contact and new boss in...
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...is Bernie Madoff? Bernard L. Madoff, who is currently serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison, orchestrated a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that swindled money from thousands of investors. Unlike the promoters of many Ponzi schemes, Madoff did not promise spectacular short-term investment returns. Instead, his investors’ phony account statements showed moderate, but consistently positive returns — even during turbulent market conditions. In December 2008, the SEC charged Bernard Madoff and his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, with securities fraud for the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme he perpetrated on advisory clients of his firm for many years. The SEC filed emergency motions to freeze assets and appoint a receiver, and worked to return as much money as possible to harmed investors. Madoff had been a prominent member of the securities industry throughout his career. He served as vice chairman of the NASD, a member of its board of governors, and chairman of its New York region. He was also a member of NASDAQ Stock Market’s board of governors and its executive committee and served as chairman of its trading committee. Madoff founded his investment advisory firm in 1960. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1866680,00.html BRIEF HISTORY OF A Brief History Of Ponzi Schemes By Alex Altman Monday, Dec. 15, 2008 Ponzi was a charismatic Italian immigrant who, in 1919 and 1920, coaxed thousands of people into shelling...
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...WEEK 8 Discuss the similarities and differences between the Mesopotamian ziggurat and the Egyptian pyramid both in style and function. Man has a tendency to build large monumental things, not only today, but also during our ancient past. The Sumerians and the Egyptians are two cultures, from our past, that have accomplished these feats. The Sumerian ziggurats and Egyptian pyramids have some similarities and differences. The ziggurats and the pyramids have some similarities. They are both examples of the massive structures that were built in support of their cultural or religious beliefs. They were both built with a great deal of manpower with no use of any big machinery that we are familiar with today. Their society's leaders commissioned in building these massive structures were: the king of the Sumerian civilization for the ziggurats and the pharaoh of the Egyptian civilization for the pyramids. Their similarities pretty much ends here. At a closer look, the ziggurats and the pyramid had many differences. The pharaohs, in preparation for his death, built the pyramids as place for his tomb and his priced possessions and servers (to ensure that his needs are met in the afterlife) and also for his queen. It is said that the pharaoh ruled in the authority of the God and that the pyramid would help him ascend to the Gods. The Sumerian king had the ziggurats built for use as a place for worship, like a temple, for the Sumerian society. One story also suggest that...
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...Over the past years all sorts of wars have been won by many different ways. Some by who's running the show, some by who's fighting. The war against the Spanish and the Incas was won by the Spanish. They won because of the advantages the Spaniards had, things like better weapons, and animals. The things they had came with a benefit, like the weapons being steel they lasted longer and the animals being horses to make their travels easier and also a distraction to the Incas. Pizarro the Spanish governor was able to defeat the Incas by capturing the Incan emperor. Also by having superior weapons to fight with, and using different objects to scare the Incas. Kidnapping is one bad way that people try to solve problems. Pizarro kidnapped the Incan emperor Atahualpa, for many reasons. One was to receive a high payment for the emperor’s return. Jared Diamond says “Pizarro proceeded to hold his prisoner for eight months, while extracting history’s largest ransom..(68)” Pizarro is looking for a large payment before he releases the emperor. Another reason that Pizarro captured Atahualpa was for an easier victory. Jared also states “..the capture made the conquest quicker and infinitely easier.(68)” t the Incans were willing to give the payment for the return of their emperor. This made the Incas weaker by giving in to Pizarro’s wishes, making the fight effortless. The Spaniards had very modernized weapons, swords and armor made out of steel, guns, and horses to ride and fight with. While...
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...Harvard Management Communication Letter A Newsletter from Harvard Business School Publishing Tools, Techniques, and Ideas for the Articulate Executive Article Reprint No. C0504C The Best Memo You’ll Ever Write by Holly Weeks This document is authorized for use by Ethan Beldengreen-Karas, from 8/30/2012 to 12/1/2012, in the course: BUS 365: Communication and Professional Development - Epstein/Graves (Fall 2012), Emory University. Any unauthorized use or reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. For a complete list of Harvard Business School Publishing newsletters: http://newsletters.harvardbusinessonline.org For reprint and subscription information for Harvard Management Communication Letter: Call 800-988-0866 or 617-783-7500 http://hmcl.harvardbusinessonline.org For customized and quantity orders of reprints: Call 617-783-7626 Fax 617-783-7658 For permission to copy or republish: Call 12/1/2012, in the This document is authorized for use by Ethan Beldengreen-Karas, from 8/30/2012 to 617-783-7587 course: BUS 365: Communication and Professional Development - Epstein/Graves (Fall 2012), Emory University. Any unauthorized use or reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. Writing The Best Memo You’ll Ever Write Every memo—or report or e-mail—is important in today’s business environment. If you keep in mind that readers are content driven, time pressed, and decision focused, you can write right—every time. by...
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...1. In this assignment we will evaluate settings for events with common characteristics between the periods of ancient civilizations, Paleolithic, and Neolithic to Egyptian civilization. What we are looking for are changes in these cultures, if any, how and why did the change occur and what may have triggered them. As a civilization progresses and evolves they bring with them common characteristics from their predecessors. Some of these characteristics are government, economy, food and supplies, social equality, and religion. The Paleolithic were among the first to inhabit the regions of Western Europe stretching to Egypt. They were also the first to adapt to the land, hunt and gathered, and also experimented with art, textures, and colors. The Paleolithic didn’t have a form of government more of a tribe family which were ruled by the male and differed from city to city. They also didn’t have an economic system or a way to trade goods. However they were among the many to learn how to evolve their weapons into more effective ways to hunt. The Neolithic civilization carried these same common characteristics, but evolved it and organized it a lot better. There form of government was evolved into a chief and council system. Hunting and gathering was also in existence but were evolved to farming and creating surpluses. Art was also apparent more so in sculptures, textures, and more discovered materials. Also a barter system was established where one could trade their precious items...
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