Did you know that Talking Geckos do not even come from Australia? So you may have saved a bunch of money on your car insurance, but Giekos (sp?) cannot even talk and Human to animal translation devices have only been made for Chimpanzees and Dolphins so far? And these are only available in the high-tech laboratories in research and development centers.

Between gecko’s telling us we need insurance and commercials telling us we must have a credit card so we can pay interest to a large company, it is amazing that anyone listens to this nonsense at all. But it is nice to know that getting a credit card you can save money on your car insurances and that it is so easy even a Cave Man can do it. My friend got a credit card for Mr. Katz, yah you guessed it his Calico Cat! Pretty good deal and now I suppose his cat is buying gourmet cat food on time. Of course a talking gecko takes the cake.

The whole thing is getting out of hand, as the other day I was in a pet store and a little girl asked her mom if they could get a talking gecko, I started to laugh until I realized the girl was actually serious and she looked like she was eight years old. I didn’t say anything because she probably still believes in Santa Claus, maybe he will bring her one. The store apparently had none in stock – how dare them!

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

A main stock index provides information about same basic structure of a country.

The article The IBEX 35 Index From Raw Data to Useful Information shows the distribution of companies amongst the various sectors and these sectors are taken as a starting point for this comparison..

There have been some shifts both in the relative weight of certain companies on both years and a significant number of companies left or merged (fourteen) and nearly an equal number of companies entered (thirteen). The business newspaper “Cincodias” (www.cincodias.es) provided an overview of the companies listen on the Ibex 35 in 2000 and 2006.

At the top of the index, there have been minor changes, although you should remember that the year 2000 was during the last phase of the new-economy trend. The market capitalization of Telefonica was about 10,6 billion euros and represented 28% of the Ibex 35 index. And Terra which is now part of Telefonica represented another 3,4 billion euros (9% of the Index in 2000). The market capitalization of Banco Santander nearly doubled in this period and this bank has now the highest capitalization.

Companies (Stocks) that left the stage (present in 2000 but not in 2006) are:

• Terra (communication sector),
• Amadeus (producer of airline systems),
• Alba (Real estate Promotion),
• Acesa (Road Infrastructure),
• Pryca (Consumer Retail),
• Agbar (Aquas de Barcelona – a water utility company),
• Sol Melia (Hotels),
• Hydro Cantabrico (Water Utility),
• Telepizza (Food),
• Dragados (Construction),
• Continente (Consumer Retail),
• Aceralia (Commodities – Steel),
• Aumar (Road Infrastructure),
• Mapfre (insurance) and
• Vallehermoso (Construction)

From these, the companies Pryca and Continente have merged. Vallehermoso has merged with a company that was (and still is) also in the Ibex 35: Sacyr. Dragados merged with the ACS group, which is still in the index.

Companies that entered the stage (which are only on the list of 2006) are:

• Arcelor (Commodities -Steel),
• Inditex (Textile),
• Abertis (Infrastructure and Communication),
• Banco Sabadell (Finance),
• Metrovacesa (Construction & Real Estate),
• Telefonos Moviles (Communication),
• Sacyr Valle. (Construction -the merger of Sacyr and ValleHermoso),
• Gamesa (Wind energy),
• Cintra (Infrastructure),
• Telecinco (TV, Entertainment),
• Antena3 TV (TV, Entertainment) and
• Iberia (transport).

At the moment, Telefonica is selling TPI (which market capitalization decreased from 8 billion Euros in 2000 to about 3 billion in 2006) in order to finance it recent acquisition of O2, the British telecommunication provider.

For one part, the shift shows a normal development similar to other countries after the new-economy in which the presence of Telecommunication is diminished. Although (water) utility companies left after 2000, new utilities entered and the presence of construction companies is still significant.

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account

One of the first questions insurance companies ask when you call for a quote is “Do you own a dog and what breed?”
Rates are higher for certain breeds because of the amount of liability insurance you’re going to need to carry and you’re best bet is to not lie to them because later on down the road if something should occur and your dog bites someone the insurance company may not pay the claim because you did’nt tell them you had a dog.And you have 2 fights on your hands instead of the one with the person the dog bit.
Insurance companies want your money but they don’t want to give it back and they won’t unless they absolutely have to.
If they feel the liability is too great yes they will deny you insurance or cancel any existing policies.One pitbull or Rott may raise the rate but 5 will get you canceled for sure.
It may be different in Australia than here in the US but I’m guessing not.

Maybe you can get a part time job after you have your baby just for a little while or before you have it to earn a little bit of money. If that’s not possible, maybe cut down on groceries a bit and go for cheaper brands and things. I’m not sure what else, just save as much as possible.

Investors used to withdraw from projects earlier, citing the lack of insurance cover as a reason. Under the new law, however, the developer will be made answerable to courts for any sub-standard construction. For example, any serious wall cracks taking place within the first ten years of property handover, can amount to be a case for compensation. Additionally, any electrical, mechanical or plumbing related irregularities can also be challenged during the first year. Any irregularities in the construction of Dubai apartments, hotels, furnished villas or Dubai hotel apartments could not be challenged in the courts earlier, since there was no clear framework to do it.

In addition, this law adds more clarity about the issue of maintenance of buildings. Under the new directive, a Home Owner’s Association (HOA) will be established for each jointly owned property and asked to look after the common areas, such as gyms, swimming pools, parking spaces, entrances etc. They will have to play the role of watch-dogs and see that the buyer’s money was properly made use of. It is surprising that, only five percent of Dubai’s households carry home insurance coverage, which is too few in numbers compared to what we may get to see from the countries like the USA, the UK, Australia or Japan.

The formation of HOA is key ingredient of this whole exercise. It will be required to maintain and be the beneficiary of the insurance cover in each case, while the constituent members, each having the ownership of one unit, will have to pay up the premium. Dubai may be a late entrant into this exercise, but it is expected to pursue it seriously now, and the buyers and promoters should be getting used to it now. The city needed to have it anyway, with so many high-end Dubai apartments, hotels, furnished villas and Dubai hotel apartments dotting its skyline.

Although, insurance cover is a basic necessity for any real estate buyer, people of Dubai did not shown any keenness about it in the past, may be, since most of them happened to be short term buyers. However, the introduction of the new law by RERA will change this scenario fundamentally, one hopes, and the awareness about property insurance will grow further. Dubai is as much known for its successful commerce, as for its shining real estate, which comprises of lavish hotels, shopping malls, Dubai apartments, villas and Dubai hotel apartments. The new property law by RERA will add more value to its real estate.

Pankaj Mohan is a freelance writer, who often writes on behalf of Dubaishortstay.com. Check this site to book your Dubai apartments [http://www.dubaishortstay.com/apartment/] and Dubai hotel apartments [http://www.dubaishortstay.com/hotel-apartments/].