Maintaining Malaysia’s International Property Rights Score

The recent release of International Property Rights Index (IPRI) showed that Malaysia retained its status quo for the year 2011. The Washington-based Property Rights Alliance annual comparative study which produced the IPRI report takes into consideration the strength and intellectual property rights, and rank countries accordingly. In its own words, the “International Property Rights Index helps illustrate the vital role property rights play in generating material well being”. It is noted that higher property rights scoring is related to the higher lifestyle and economic status of the country.There are many factors taken into consideration when it comes to the comparative study. The sources used in the generation of this report include:A. Legal and Political Sources

Judicial Independence – this reflects the question about whether the judiciary in the country is independent from political influence of members of government, citizens or firms. The source for this data comes from World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report.
Rule of Law – it combines several indicators, including judicial independence, the respect for law in relations between a country’s citizen and the administration, property rights, citizen confidence in the police force, the enforceability of contracts, direct financial fraud, law and order, and it also measures the existence of the rule of law.
Political stability – indicators include the measure perceptions of the likelihood of a destabilization of the government in power, or overthrown by some unconstitutional factors that may include violent measures, including domestic violence and terrorism.
Control of Corruption – The source comes from the World Bank Institute – Governance Matters 2010: Worldwide Governance Indicators between 1996 to 2009. It combines several indicators including whether public power is exercised for private gain, regardless of whether it is a petty or grand form of corruption, and the ‘capture’ of the state by elites and private interests.B. Physical Property Rights

Property Rights – The source for this comes from the World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Report. It is a survey which details participant’s comment on the property rights in the country, including over financial assets.
Registering Property – It looks into the number of procedures legally required for the registration of properties, and how much time is required to complete the procedures. This indicator is used to measure the standard case of an entrepreneur who wish to purchase land and a building in the largest business city. The source for this indicator comes from the World Bank Group – Doing Business 2011.
Ease of Access to Loans – Participants of the World Economic Forum survey is asked how easily they are able to obtain a bank loan in their country with only a good business plan and no collateral.C. Intellectual Property Rights Sources

Intellectual Property Protection – this survey requires participants to comment on the intellectual property protection and anti-counterfeiting measures taken by their countries.
Patent Protection – This source indicates a country’s rank in patent strength which is based on five criteria: coverage, membership in international treaties, restrictions in international treaties, restrictions on patent rights, enforcement and duration of protection. The source for this factor is from the Ginarte-Park Index of Patent Rights.
Copyright Piracy Level – It is based on the International Intellectual Property Alliance’s Special 301 Report which was submitted to the US Trade Representative. The Special 301 is an annual review process used in fighting international copyright piracy.A fourth consideration of the study includes variables regarding Gender Equality, viewing the rights of women in different countries pertaining to rights, ease and access to properties and credit. The source for this factor comes from the OECD Gender, Institutions and Development Database (GID-DB), using 60 indicators related to gender discrimination using a variety of sources.

Women’s Access to Land Ownership
Women’s Access to Bank Loans
Women’s Access to Property Other than land
Inheritance practices
Women’s Social RightsMalaysia’s score in IPRI remains unchanged for 2011. The Legal and Political factor fell 0.1 points due to a small drop in Political Stability and Control of Corruption. However, Judicial Independence and Rule of Law improved significantly. Meanwhile, Physical Property Rights increased slightly due to the Registering Property. The Copyright Piracy was unchanged, but improvements to the professional opinions cause Protection of Intellectual Property increased to give a 0.1 point gain in the Intellectual Property Rights. Overall, Malaysia ranked at position 44 worldwide, and stands at the 8th position regionally.Finland and Sweden stayed at the top with 8.5 points out of 10, and Finland is in its fifth year being at the top position in the ranks even though its score dropped slightly from last year which was 8.6 points. Singapore is the top scoring country in Asia and Oceana region with 8.3 points. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is at the lowest rank with just 3.6 points.

The Multiple Advantages of Childrens Entertainers

Childrens entertainers are all the rage at the moment, and with good reason. They do a whole lot more than just provide a guaranteed focus for a kids’ party: they can also represent better security and help deliver as smoother feel to the whole party experience. Leaving, generally, a lot more breathing space for the poor old parents, who usually end up twice as tired and scratchy as the children at the end of a birthday party or other celebration.The first and most obvious benefit of the kids’ entertainer is clearly his or her ability to entrance a whole house or garden full of children with jokes, games and magic routines. Childrens entertainers are highly skilled professionals, used to dealing with the most critical audiences in the land.Children are notoriously good at seeing through less than perfect routines, or spotting adults they know who have dressed up as something else. A kids’ entertainer is a different box of tricks entirely. Because the children in question don’t know the entertainer, they are incapable of divorcing the man or woman inside the costume from the character he or she is conveying. That means that to a child, a children’s entertainer really is whatever he or she purports to be – a clown or magician, for example. Because childrens entertainers encourage kids to suspend their disbelief in this way, the children who see them are more disposed to believe that the things they are doing are “real” – real magic, real tricks and real clown routines. Having mum or dad try to do the same thing, even if mum or dad happens to be pretty good at it all, will be seen through in seconds.The other obvious benefits of hiring and using a kids’ entertainer all revolve around the free time that mum and dad have when the entertainer is used. First, mum and dad are able to keep a much better eye on everything that is going on because they don’t need to provide the entertainment themselves. That means fewer upsets and no tantrums. Childrens entertainers take the focus of games and so on away from the parents, leaving them free to watch the kids as supervisors rather than nervous amateur magicians.Secondly, a kids’ entertainer’s presence gives the parents or house holders more time to arrange the food, liaise with other parents and so on. While the children themselves may not notice much of a difference, all the parents of those children will find a party staffed by a kids’ entertainer much easier to deal with, in terms of picking their charges up at the right time, feeding them at the right time and taking them home happy.Childrens entertainers are pretty much an all in one solution for any child’s party. Why waste time, energy and emotion trying to do everything at once – when a really good entertainer can take all the stress out of the occasion and make it a happy one for adults as well as kids? Choose the right one and there’ll be no tears before bedtime, no fights and no tantrums. Perfect.

All You Need to Know About Investment Funds

What is an Investment Fund?An Investment Fund is a form of collective investment that enables investors to invest indirectly in company shares or other types of investments.
It is a collective investment due to the fact that an investor’s money is pooled with that of other investors and invested on their behalf by an expert Fund manager.There are many different types that can be used to accumulate wealth. Each offers differing risks and benefits and the success depends upon the overall objective of the investor.Some examples of Investment Funds are;Equity funds
Cash funds
Bond funds
Currency fundsFunds such as these can potentially remove much of the complexity involved in making investment decisions, and as such they can be the preferred option new investors and those without the confidence to invest directly.How do they work?
Investment funds aggregate the funds of a large number of small investors into a specific investments which enables an investment company to access to a wider range of securities. Individual investors are not hindered by high trading costs as the company is able to gain economies of scale in operations.Most individuals choose a combination of funds to make up a diversified portfolio in order to mitigate risk. The differences in fund types can mean that a bolder investor may wish to invest in equity funds and accept a higher level of risk for the potential of greater returns. However, a more cautious investor may choose funds that are considered to have a lower level of risk such as some bond and cash funds.Most funds have a minimum lump sum investment of £1000 and investors can also invest in a monthly savings plan from £50 per fund per month.Unlike tax efficient ISAs, if money is placed directly into a fund any profit made could be liable to Capital Gains Tax when sold or transferred. However, each year an investor is entitled to a tax free allowance, currently £11,280 for the 2012/13 tax year, so if the fund activity results in a gain up to this amount, the investor is unlikely to be required to pay any Capital Gains Tax.What are the benefits?The wide selection of funds available offer the investor a range of benefits;• Investment Funds have different levels of risk which increases the options available to investors
• Funds cover all major geographic regions around the world enabling the investor to exploit differing markets
• Funds offer the opportunity for growth or generation of regular income – or a combination of both
• Funds with different investment objectives allow the investor to select a fund which matches their own investment goals
• Expert fund managers work to deliver the objectives of the fund on behalf of the investor
• Tax advantages with certain investmentsKey FeaturesAn Investment Fund is a form of collective investment
There is a wide range of investment fund types to suit different investment objectives
Investment funds offer a more simple way of investing money
Expert fund managers take control of the day-to-day running of the fundPlease do remember, the eligibility to invest in an ISA or similar will depend on your individual circumstances, and all tax rules may change in the future.
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested.

How to Plan Your Cruise Ship Properly

When it comes to organizing a holiday aboard a cruise ship, many individuals focus only on planning your cruise. For many people this is typically an expensive mistake, taking under consideration the assorted factors concerned in defining the price of a cruise. When many folks become mindful of this fact, it is usually too late to change the terms. It is always best to be well informed to make the best decision when it comes to go on a cruise.When booking a cruise, it is critical to try to be lots of time as near as feasible to the point of exit of the vessel. It is always advisable to try to locate the cruises leaving from any of the encompassing towns. Sadly, for many this is really improbable. A restricted number of coastal locations serve as ports of departure of the ship cruises, so you must travel with sufficient time not having to depend on reservations at the last moment.This situation is very important as it may end up in extra costs of your holiday taking into account what had been predicted earlier. In the event you have to make travel plans to arrive at your place of departure of cruise, you should consider all options.These options may include driving your own car, a rental car, flying in an aircraft, riding the bus, or take the train. All travel strategies above are achievable, but the option you select, perhaps, be based primarily on convenience and cost of the trip. There are numerous benefits that include travel agents when somebody takes both the cruise package as the excursion of arrival to the area where the ship depart.The best advantage of planning ahead is that his trip will be easy. More so if you can manage your own vehicle. When driving your own vehicle, planning is often more easy. The sole consideration to drive your own auto is the cost of petrol. If you’ve got to drive a long distance, the price could increase noticeably. If you’re concerned about on the way and this may affect your car, you may hire one. Rental cars are a good way to reach your designation without an insufficient quantity of planning. Unfortunately, the price of petrol will also have an effect on the budget.Another important factor is that the vehicle rental must be paid for days, and if your car leased must get left in a car park could be losing money. Flying is a popular system for this kind of route nevertheless, could be a bit dear. If the departure port of your cruise ship is just a couple of hours, air travel may not be the most suitable option.However there are some cases where air travel may be the only option. If you’re without your own automobile, flying might be an option to get to the placement of your cruise departure. Journeying to the exit locale of your cruise ship by bus or train are other travel options satisfying. Must travel with acceptable time, but both are cheap techniques to travel. Many of us can easily afford a bus ticket or train tickets. With the exception of excessive stops, it is possible that you could have some issues trying to find a station close to the departure point of the cruise. Bus and train stations are only available in limited locations. You may find it tricky or not possible to discover a station that offers a service to the location of your preference. Every one of the methods that have been discussed travel have their advantages and disadvantages but are commonest.