The Market Coalition

Leather Care

When buying leather, the best thing you can do is ask the people
who you buy it from, what the manufacturer recommends for
leather care and cleaning. Don’t forget to ask what other
products may work well for leather care too, as there may be
something you’re more comfortable using. Also ask what the
product does to and for the leather.

While still alive, leather on the animal, fish, or fowl is
maintained in situ. (It’s their skin) The oils that keep leather
conditioned and help remove dirt and grime from the skin of the
animal are produced naturally by their body.

Once leather is processed, these “living” components cease to
exist although they do retain many of their physical
characteristics such as leather’s porous nature and chemical
reactivity. Leather is naturally acidic so anything alkaline is
bad. For proper leather care, you want to mimic some of these
natural processes. If you sift through all of the mythology,
home recipes, and good ol’ folk lore about leather care, you are
left with the two basic tasks that all those natural processes
accomplished: cleaning and conditioning.

Any leather care enthusiast will tell you that an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure, and if you want to protect
your investment keep it in top form. Leather care is relatively
easy but you need to be consistent. Leather can be restored, but
regular maintenance is highly recommended. If cared for
properly, your leather will last and stay in good shape for
years.

You want to know the type of leather you have, as well as the
way it was processed during tanning. For example, were any
anti-mold finishes applied or was a sealant used, and how was it
colored, if it was. Keep in mind that aniline, suede, and nubuck
are not as robust as pigmented leather because they do not
usually have a protective surface coating.

Pigmented leather is the most durable, full grain pigmented
leather has intact grain, and corrected grain pigmented leather
refers to whether or not the leather has been sanded to remove
imperfections.

Aniline

This top-grain or full-top grain leather is not pigmented, just
dyed whereas semi-aniline treatments combine pigment with dye,
usually to even out the grain because the leather has some
imperfections. The result is that the leather has a more
consistent color and some stain resistance qualities.

If you lightly scratch the surface of aniline, it will turn a
lighter color. Some nubuck leather will do the same thing. To
correct the problem, wet your finger lightly and rub it into the
leather. It should darken slightly, but dry the same color.

Antiqued / Marbled / Two-Tone

A second pigment may be rubbed over the original pigment to give
the leather an aged or antique appearance.

Nubuck

This is aniline leather that has been brushed to give it the
texture of velvet. In fact, nubuck is often mistaken for suede.
Nubuck is stronger because it is brushed on the grain side,
which is the side where the animal’s hair was, where suede is
made from the flesh side. If you apply the wet finger test to
nubuck, it will darken slightly and dry darker so be sure if you
do this that it is done in an inconspicuous area.

Pull-Up

Pull-up, also referred to as waxy or oil pull-up is leather that
lightens in color when stretched during wearing, creating a
broken-in appearance.

Suede

Suede leather is made from the fleshy side of hide. For leather
care of suede, it is important you make sure any product you use
won’t damage it. Find out as much as you can about the active
ingredients in the products you buy and the action involved. You
might want to bring your jacket with you or a swatch if you can,
and ask what would work best for it.

If you schedule leather care and cleaning you won’t end up with
a jacket that looks like someones cast off. I suggest scheduling
a cleaning at least once a year or so. (Mark it in your
daytimer)

Does the mere sight of fresh flowers make you sneeze? Are you like the many thousands of people that are allergic to the pollen in flowers? Do you like colourful pretty things around you? If so then read on……

Its quite sad to say, but there are thousands if not millions of people who can not enjoy the both the sight and scent of having a bunch of flowers around the home or office for fear that they will end up with a running nose and/or itchy eyes.

So what is the solution? Yes you guessed - artificial flowers!. Not only do artificial flowers stop you sneezing but they can last forever if you look after them, and as such will save you more money in the long run so that you have more money in your pocket.

Today there are many homes, hotels, offices and restaurants that use the alternative to real flowers. Artificial flowers if arranged correctly can give any environment a touch of elegance without the hassle of all the maintenance one would expect with real flowers and plants. (i.e. no watering, no having to change the water regularly, and as such no spillages).

Not only can you get artificial flowers, but also plants and trees. So if you want something a little large in order to decorate a room or office then this could be the answer for you.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages to Artificial flowers:

Advantages
No insects
No spillages to clean up
You have the option to change them around when you feel like it (thus making it look like you have a new arrangement)
Low maintenance (a quick wash now and again)
No more worries about who will look after them, if you go away on holiday
Cheaper than buying fresh flowers every week

Disadvantages
Of course everything has a downside, and although your flowers are artificial you will still need to keep then dust free and clean. So an occasional wash in soapy water should do the trick.

Where can you buy them?

There are lots of sources for buying artificial flowers nowadays, which include the following:
Florist, Garden Centre, Department stores, and even your local Supermarket.

The can be purchased individually so that you can create your own arrangement that will suit your particular needs, or you can ask for them to be arranged for you.

So goodbye to those sneezes and itchy eyes - I feel we have a solution do you?

John Gibb is the owner of artificial flowers guides, For more information on artificial flowers please check out http://www.Artificial-flowers-resources.info

We’ve all heard of the stock market and probably have a general idea of what it is and how it works either from high school economics classes, television financial reports, and the countless film depictions of what happens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But how does it really work and what is meant by “playing the stock market?”

The Stock Market in a Nutshell

Companies sell shares of stock as a means of raising capital. For example, let’s say that the XYZ corporation, makers of the finest whatsidoos and thingamabobs in the country, wants to open a new factory. Doing so will require a hundred million dollars. The company can get a loan from a bank, but it would wind up in debt. So, instead of borrowing, it decides to offer additional shares of stock. As investors purchase the stock they are giving the company the capital it needs to do business. In return the stockholders actually own a part of the company and have some say in its activities. If XYZ does well in the thingamabob market, its stock will raise in value as more people will want to have a piece of XYZ for themselves. If it doesn’t do so well (maybe it gets undersold by the Ichi Nee company, a Japanese conglomerate that has found a way to make smaller, cheaper thingamabobs), less investors will buy the stock, current stockholders may try to sell, and the value of the stock drops. The price of individual stocks will rise and fall several times a day. The price for a certain stock you may see on the evening news for any particular company represents where the stock was valued at the end of the business day. It will also tell you whether that price rose or fell from the previous day. It can be enough to make an investor tear his hair out. Didn’t you ever wonder why nearly all economists are bald?

“Playing” the Stock Market

You may have heard people refer to “playing” the stock market as if it were all a big game of Monopoly. This is an adequate term because that’s exactly what some people do, but the game is more like Roulette - sometimes of the Russian variety. People who “play” the market typically invest for short periods of time in the hopes to get a quick return. They will buy some stock, wait fro the price to go up, then sell right away and invest in another stock and await the next profit. They may do this several times a day in some cases as prices fluctuate. This can be a very risky way to behave because a lot of money can be lost, but a lot can be earned as well. It’s almost like a trip to Vegas without Wayne Newton.

Investment Tips by Mika Hamilton - Read more free investment tips, tutorials & reviews at http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com

Millions of people suffer from eczema, with cases ranging from extreme and debilitation to mild and annoying. Treatments for eczema range from simple lifestyle changes to prescription medications. Some of the most common treatments for eczema are reviewed below.

Perhaps the simplest treatments for eczema involve simple lifestyle changes. The dry, itchy skin of eczema can be greatly alleviated with several small adjustments to your skin care regime. First, take cooler baths and showers. Hot water can be very drying for the skin, so cooling down your showers will help your skin retain more moisture. Avoid harsh, drying soaps and detergents. Gentle, non-scented moisturizing soaps and mild detergents help the skin avoid dryness and eliminate some of the irritants that can aggravate eczema.

Moisturizing the areas affected by eczema is essential. Moisturize often and liberally. Treat irritated areas with 1% hydrocortisone cream to relive itching and irritation.

There are many more natural, home remedy treatments for eczema that have also had some success in relieving the itching and flaking of eczema. Placing an ice pack on the affected area can relive itching, as do oatmeal baths, like Aveeno. Another home remedy is treating an oozing patch of eczema with milk. Soak a cotton ball or piece of gauze in cold milk and apply to the itchy area. Reapply two to three times and then rinse to alleviate itching.

Humidifying your home is another great solution. By adding more moisture to the air, you’re adding more moisture to your skin. Purchasing a humidifier can help prevent the excess drying or ezcema.

Be especially careful with your laundry products. Harsh detergents and chemical fabric softeners can aggravate eczema. Switch to unscented, mild detergent and fabric softeners that work in the rinse cycle to minimize irritation.

Another popular herbal remedy for eczema is Evening Primrose oil. Taken orally, this herbal remedy seems to alleviate some of the symptoms of eczema, possibly because of its high concentration of an omega-6 essential fatty acid.

There are several simple lifestyle changes and remedies to help alleviate the symptoms of eczema. Incorporating several of these tips into your skin care regime may help guide your eczema into a state of remission.

Claire Bowes is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Eczema Causes & Cures. Claire provides more information on her site about Eczema Treatments that you can research at home.

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California Energy Crisis Heats Up

The match of deregulation lit the firestorm of rate increases and blackouts in California. Here is a look at the key issues building this climax. These same issues are smoldering across the United States.

The partial deregulation in 1996 in California of electric power has its roots in, of all things, the earth satellite business. You see, the long distance telephone business was efficiently and properly deregulated about fifteen years ago as earth satellites allowed many new companies to under-price the protected utilities (AT&T).

About six years ago a growing body of utility analysis suggested that the combination of a nearly national, interconnected power grid along with a growing number of small power generating companies would result in electric utility price competition similar to the long distance telephone case.

A California legislative committee, led by State Senator Steve Peace of San Diego, worked nearly two years crafting a master plan for power. In reality the legislation was crafted nearly single handedly by Sen. Peace. Other legislators recently commented, “It was so complex, we barely looked at the legislation. We just took Senator Peace’s word it would work.”

Each participating interest got part of the pie. Utilities wanted to divest nuclear power and some older plants as being financially non-competitive. Consumer groups wanted caps on prices and to foster multi-vendor competition. A couple of legislators wanted their name on showpiece legislation with national exposure. Academics wanted their theoretical auction pricing models validated.

The plan was authorized in 1996. The market was split into power producers, transmission companies and local delivery. Local utilities would sell their power plants and receive above market, subsidized compensation until they recovered their cost of sold facilities. The public got a 10% price reduction.

So why do we face the prospect of rolling blackouts? 1) Only a few power suppliers have the major portion of generation capacity and can “game” the system, 2) local utilities many not buy power on long term contracts, 3) they must pay the highest daily rate offered rather than the lowest, 4) power usage grew at 4% a year rather than the forecast 2%, 5) local utilities pay a floating rate for electricity they buy but must sell at a fixed price to the consumer, 6) continued tightening of environmental limits forces new power plants to use natural gas.

Governor Davis compounded the problem with an eight point program targeted at imposing pain on the utilities. Not one of his proposals increases power availability nor reduces consumption. The confirmation of seriousness is that Intel has blocked all further expansion in California.

Well, we are now into our second series of rolling blackouts. I hope you all saved your Y2K bottled water, packaged food and candles (just joking, but I do carry a small flashlight on my belt).

In the last month the situation became 1) the two major state utilities are technically bankrupt, 2) their cash and credit have been exhausted, 3) PG&E did petition for bankruptcy, 4) their debt is “junk” rated blocking refinancing, 5) the state legislature authorized $800,000,000 to buy power for resale to the utilities and 5) this emergency funding lasted a few weeks and 6) subsequent authorizations now threaten the solvency of the state. Our legislature now sees why the utilities ran through $8 billion dollars in six months.

I have never seen such a lack of leadership in a situation affecting so many people at once. Our Senator Dianne Feinstein advocates converting PG&E debt into bonds, selling them to some suckers and continuing business a usual. Maybe her financier husband, Robert Blum, will syndicate the bonds and take the fiduciary liability.

Oregon Senator Gordon Smith was resolute, “You folks are entitled to your life-style. But I think my state in being turned into an energy farm for California. I think Washington state feels the same.”

Governor Davis went to Washington, D.C., hat in hand as a supplicant. The outgoing and incoming Federal folks said, “You got into this trouble on your own; work it out.”

The local utility executives have become invisible. The CEO of PG&E should be on national TV news saying, “The way out of this mess is X, Y and Z. We have an answer; support us.” Instead we see only the system network control room operators phoning neighboring states begging for supply. Then PG&E declares insolvency.

The worst example of a pea-brained politician is San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne. At the time others are scrambling to court out of state providers to “please, please, cooperate and support us,” she describes the coordinated lawsuits she is filing against key firms accusing them of collusion. I might see prosperous companies colluding for market share and pricing power; it totally escapes my ability to fantasize to see CEOs colluding their way into bankruptcy.

Consumers are now subsidized by state money and have no incentive to conserve. The present pricing shortfall amounts to $24 monthly per Californian; rather than bust the system the short-term solution is to recover the true costs and motivate conservation by a power bill surcharge. The long term solution is a coordinated commitment to both new supply and conservation.

Bill Ragsdale
http://www.fundsystem.com
Bill Ragsdale has edited the Good Fortune advisory for eleven years, managed a mutual fund for three years and for 25 years was the CEO of an electronics manufacturer. He has an MS degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.