Biggest beer companies in the world

Beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. It is the third-most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is thought by some to be the oldest fermented beverage.


Let's take a look at some of the biggest beer companies in the world.

 Bud Light


Brand value: $8.368 billion
Global rank: 1

Budweiser


Brand value: $7.51 billion
Global rank: 2

Heineken


Brand value: $6.058 billion
Global rank: 3

Corona


Brand value: $5.114 billion
Global rank: 4

Skol


Brand value: $4.69 billion
Global rank: 5

Stella Artois


Brand value: $4.529 billion
Global rank: 6

Guinness


Brand value: $4.04 billion
Global rank: 7

Brahma


Brand value: $2.35 billion
Global rank: 8

Miller Lite


Brand value: $2.31 billion
Global rank: 9

Beck's


Brand value: $1.55 billion
Global rank: 10

Saving for the rainy day? Top 5 savings plans

Interest rates are rising. It is good news for some - those who look at making deposits; bad news for some -- those who are looking at taking loans.


Savings, however, have to be channelled carefully so that the maximum can be gained from the deposits. Here are the top five savings instruments in a rising interest rate regime.

In today's scenario the top 5 savings instruments are:


1. Debt Mutual Funds.


2. Mutual Fund Monthly Income Plan -- Growth Option.


3. Company Deposits.


4. Post Office Recurring Deposit.


5. Post Office Monthly Income Scheme.


1. Debt mutual funds


These are managed funds that invest the funds from the investors predominantly in debt and debt oriented schemes.


There are a number of advantages that these mutual funds give compared to a direct deposit. The most apparent is the fact that this is a managed fund and the returns can be better as the manager has access to more information and will leverage that compared to individual investors. There is no TDS or tax on the interest. The returns will be processed as capital gains.


Returns from this fund are expected to be good. The top five debt mutual funds have given compounded returns in the range of 10.50-14.50% in the last 3 years.


This is much better than the normal bank deposit or company deposit. The advantage is that debt mutual funds can create capital gains when the interest rates go down

 2. Mutual Fund Monthly Income Plan: Growth Option


For people who have a higher risk quoitent during the short term, monthly income plan (MIP) of mutual funds is good. Here a small portion (generally not more than 20%) of the funds is invested in equity.


So the returns can be better than the normal debt mutual fund when the market is rising. The typical returns in the last three years are 12% to 14% for the top 5 funds.


However caution needs to be taken when choosing the growth option. This is due to the fact that if we start to receive the monthly payouts there may be months when the principal is used for the payout. This will drain the fund particularly when the market goes down.


Being largely a debt oriented mutual fund, the tax treatment is the same as the debt mutual fund.

3. Company deposits


Companies that offer deposit schemes to consumers tend to offer rates that are in-between bank deposit rates and bank lending rates. This is a win-win situation for the company and the person saving.


The bank has to make a profit when borrowing from the public and lending to companies. So they have an interest rate difference (spread) of about 4.5%.


In effect, the deposit holders are paid less and the borrowers are charged more. When a company has direct access to the depositor, both benefit.


The depositor gets a better rate than what the bank can offer and the company is able to borrow at a lesser rate when compared to a bank interest rate.
However, it is in the best interest of the borrower to do his research thoroughly and double check how good the credit rating of the company is before investing. On an average estimates show that one can easily get 11-12% on reputed companies' deposits for a 3 year term.
The returns will be taxed as interest and will have TDS.

4. Post Office recurring deposit

This is a five-year scheme where one invests on a monthly basis. However, there does exist an option for the fund to be closed after 3 years, which comes with a penalty of 1%.

The advantage with the postal recurring deposit over the bank recurring deposit is that the minimum monthly investment is only Rs 10 with no upper limit. In case the payment is made once is 6 months or on a yearly basis, there are discounts for that too.

The limitation is that the interest rate is fixed at 7.5% only and auto-debit to bank account is not available.

There are no tax benefits from the scheme. However Post Offices have not been deducting TDS.

5. Post Office Monthly Income Scheme


For the retired people, the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme is a good savings instrument. The interest is 8% divided on a monthly payout basis. The payout if not required can be channeled to a recurring deposit. The effective returns increases by almost 10% by doing this.


The interest can be credited to a savings account of any bank too. The account can be closed after 1 year with a 5% penalty and after 3 years without any penalty. The limitation however is that the maximum investment for any individual is only Rs 600,000.


The ranking of the above five savings schemes have been done based on their returns, the convenience factor to close and change to another savings scheme (important when the interest rate is rising) and the safety for investments.


Of all the options the debt mutual funds appear to score the highest due to their flexibility and returns. This is closely followed by the mutual fund MIPs.

Biggest silver reserves in the world

World silver mine production increased to a new record of 23,800 tonnes as a result of increased production at primary silver and lead-zinc mines.


Production at the Palmarejo (primary silver) and Penasquito (lead-zinc) Mines in Mexico contributed to maintaining Mexico as the world's leading silver producer.


Production increases also took place in China and Australia - for example, at the Cannington Mine, the world's leading silver-producing mine.


Let's take a look at some of the biggest reserves of silver in the world.

Peru

Mine production (2010): 3,640 tonnes

Mine roduction (2011): 4,000 tonnes

Total reserves: 120,000 tonnes

Global rank: 1

Poland

Mine production (2010): 1,180 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 1,200 tonnes

Total reserves: 85,000 tonnes

Global rank: 2

Chile

Mine production (2010): 1,280 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 1,400 tonnes

Total reserves: 70,000 tonnes

Global rank: 3

Australia

Mine production (2010): 1,860 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 1,900 tonnes

Total reserves: 69,000 tonnes

Global rank: 4

China

Mine production (2010): 3,500 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 4,000 tonnes

Total reserves: 43,000 tonnes

Global rank: 5

Mexico

Mine production (2010): 4,410 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 4,500 tonnes

Total reserves: 37,000 tonnes

Global rank: 6

Bolivia


Mine production (2010): 1,260 tonnes
Mine production (2011): 1,350 tonnes
Total reserves: 22,000 tonnes
Global rank: 8

 The United States


Mine production (2010): 1,270 tonnes
Mine production (2011): 1,160 tonnes
Total reserves: 25,000 tonnes
Global rank: 7
 

Russia

Mine production (2010): 1,150 tonnes

Mine production (2011): 1,400 tonnes

Total reserves: N/A

Global rank: 9

Canada


Mine production (2010): 600 tonnes
Mine production (2011): 700 tonnes
Total reserves: 7,000 tonnes
Global rank: 10

Largest Economies in the World

 If we compare the largest economies in measures of the gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power of parity (PPP), then in the first position stands United States of America and on the second position is China. But it seems that in few years China will overtake U.S.A looking at their rapid growth. Here’s the list of the world’s largest economies in 2012.


United States

United States comprises fifty states and a federal district and is known as the federal constitutional republic. It is the third largest by both land area and population and one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. It has a capitalist mixed economy; it is the largest importer of goods and the third largest exporter. It is the world’s largest national economy with the estimated GDP at PPP as $14.66 trillion until 2010. The contribution of the industrial sector in the GDP is 22.1 percent, the agricultural sector in GDP is 1.1 percent and the service sector in GDP is 76.8 percent. Their population that was recorded in 2011 was 312,222,000 and the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent.



China 

China is the world’s most populous country and is a single party state governed by the Communist Party of China that exercises a jurisdiction over 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities and 2 most special administrative regions. It is world’s fastest growing economy and ranks after United States in terms of nominal GDP and Purchasing Power Parity. It is also the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. In 2011 china ranked 90th by nominal GDP and 91st by GDP (PPP) in terms of per capita.


Japan

Japan is an island in East Asia and an archipelago that comprises of 6852 islands. It is also known as the “Land of the Rising Sun” and is the world’s third largest economy in terms of nominal GDP. It ranks as the fourth largest exporter and fourth largest importer. Japan maintains a modern military force in self defense and peacekeeping roles. In 2011 it was considered as the third largest national economy in the world in terms of PPP after United States and China. Japan has the longest life expectancy according to UN and WHO. It has a large industrial capacity and holds some of the most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronics, machine tools, steel etc


India

India is the seventh largest country and the second most populous democracy with over 1.2 billion people. It is the tenth largest economy by market exchange rates and third largest by PPP according to the International Monetary Fund. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with the average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8 percent and reaching 6.1 percent in 2011-2012. It was the world’s tenth largest importer and the 19th largest exporter in 2011. It ranks 24th in banking sector, 17th in financial market sophistication, 39th in innovation and 44th in business sophistication. Its telecommunication industry is growing faster and the automotive industry is the second fastest growing industry in the world.


Germany

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe and consists of 16 states. It is the fourth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP and fifth largest by PPP. It is also the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods. It has high standard of living and ample of social security. Germany has a social market economy with a large capital stock, low level of corruption, high level of innovation and highly qualified labour force. The country is home of many scientists and inventors and the service sector contributes almost 71 percent of the total GDP. In 2011 the unofficial average unemployment rate was 5.7 percent.


Russia

Russia is a country situated in northern Eurasia and is a federal semi presidential republic comprising of 83 federal subjects. It has the largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is also the largest producer of natural gas and oil in the world. It has largest forest reserves in the world and its lakes contains one quarter of the fresh water of the world. The country’s economy ranks ninth in terms of nominal GDP and sixth by PPP in the world. It became the member of World Trade Organization in 2011 and could bring a bounce of 3 percent in the economy.


United Kingdom

United Kingdom is a sovereign state located towards the north western coast of the continent of Europe and includes Great Britain, north eastern part of the island of Ireland along with the smaller islands. It is the seventh largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP and seventh largest economy by PPP. During the 19th and 20th century it was considered as the first industrialized country and the world’s foremost power. It remains a great power because of its leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. U.K. would be the sixth largest economy and the third largest in Europe on the basis of market exchange rates.


Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America and is the world’s sixth largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by PPP. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The country has received new international recognition because of economic reforms. According to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank it is the largest economy in Latin America and world’s sixth largest economy at market exchange rates. It has a mixed economy with scarce natural resources and is predicted to become one of the five largest in the world on the basis of GDP per capita growth.


France

France is a unitary semi presidential republic in Western Europe that comprises of several territories and islands. It is one of the most developed country, the wealthiest nation in Europe and the fourth wealthiest in the world depending upon the aggregate household wealth. France is listed as the fifth largest economy in the world measured by GDP, ninth largest by PPP and Europe’s second largest by nominal GDP. It has one of the world’s longest life expectancies, high standard of living and high public education level. France ranks world’s 4th and Europe’s first in the Fortune Global 500 list as it holds 39 biggest companies of the world out of the 500.


Italy

Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in south central Europe and is a democratic republic. It is ranked as the 24th most developed country in the world and has high quality of life index in the world. It has high GDP per capita and also very high standard of living. Italy is characterized by high per capita GDP and low unemployment rates thus making it a free market economy. It ranks eighth largest in the world and fourth largest in Europe on the basis of nominal GDP, and fifth largest in Europe and tenth largest in the world by PPP. Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of their economy and is considered as the fifth most visited country with the highest tourism earner in the world.

India could be 1st BRIC to lose investment grade - S&P

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's said on Monday that India could become the first of the BRIC economies to lose its investment-grade status, sending the rupee and stocks lower, less than two months after cutting its rating outlook for the country.

Workers walk in front of a multi-storey commercial building under construction on the outskirts of Ahmedabad May 31, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave


"Slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to economic policymaking are just some of the factors pushing up the risk that India could lose its investment-grade rating," the ratings agency said in a Monday statement on a report dated June 8.
S&P said the new report, "Will India Be The First BRIC Fallen Angel?", gave further detail as to why India's investment-grade rating could be at risk. The report did not appear to represent a change in view since April.
India's sovereign rating is BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating, and in April S&P lowered its outlook on the rating for Asia's third-largest economy to negative from stable.
Indian stocks fell into negative territory after the S&P statement, while the rupee skidded to as much as 55.82 to the dollar, a near one-week low, from 55.45 earlier.
The benchmark 10-year bond yield rose 2 basis points following the statement release. Traders said the bond markets were affected lesser because offshore investors hold a small share of the market.
"While INR and bonds moved on this S&P headline, it may not have been warranted. While the report is new, the content in itself is probably not," said Kumar Rachapudi, fixed income strategist at Barclays Capital in Singapore.
"The discussion in this report has largely been covered in their previous report when S&P revised outlook in April."
The two analysts who wrote the report could not immediately be reached for comment.
India recently posted annual March quarter GDP growth of 5.3 percent, its weakest in nine years and far below expectations.
"Setbacks or reversals in India's path toward a more liberal economy could hurt its long-term growth prospects and, therefore, its credit quality," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Joydeep Mukerji.
The so-called BRIC economies consist of Brazil, Russia, India and China. India has the lowest S&P rating of all the BRIC countries, and is the only one with a negative outlook from the rating agency, it said in the report.
"The combination of a weakening political context for further reform, along with economic deceleration, raises the risk that the government may take modest steps backward away from economic liberalization in the event of unexpected economic shocks," Mukerji said in S&P's Monday statement.
The government's inability to push through reforms is widely blamed for yawning current account and fiscal deficits. In addition to slowing growth, India is plagued by persistently high inflation.
"S&P's warning clearly highlights the challenge facing the Indian economy, which has been crippled by the complete dysfunctionality of the government machinery," said Upasna Bharadwaj, economist at ING Vysya Bank in Mumbai.

Building Trust In The Company

Building Trust In The Company

 Stephen Covey's ode to awesome management, 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' is a must-read for the new breed of dynamic young managers.


In his book, Covey talks about the 'emotional bank account', where you would need to build a positive balance in your relationship with your colleagues, boss. Creating a positive 'emotional bank account' will help you earn the respect and admiration of your subordinates and they will willingly work twice as hard for you.


One of the easiest ways of building a positive emotional bank balance is to build an environment of trust and confidence in your team. This requires you to feel and act personally responsible for positivity at the workplace.


Mentioned below are things that will enable you to build trust in your company:-


Always tell the truth

How often we are guilty of doing otherwise! Being the boss means that your subordinates base their career decisions on what you say – so make sure that it’s the truth.


Keep promises


Being the boss, have to deal with so many people and say things which, at times,you don’t really mean. Don’t break your promises. If you say you will do someone a favor, then make sure that you do it.


Be fully attentive during a conversation


While talking to your colleagues and subordinates, make sure that you’re fully attentive during a conversation and give them enough time to have their say. While conversing with them, put their needs first. Switch off your cell phone and log from online messaging when you discuss an issue with your workers.


Always be fair to all


Become consistent with office friendships. While at office, make it clear  that you treat everyone equally. If you treat some people 'fairer' than others, it will soon result in a deficit in your 'emotional bank account'.


Always follow the rules you make


There are bosses who refuse to show favoritism towards their colleagues and subordinates but allow themselves to be lenient with their own rules. If you are adverse to the idea of your subordinates taking extra coffee breaks, avoid doing the same.


Help the younger lot learn and grow


Invest money and manpower to comprehensively train freshers before they join the team full time. Also ensure that they all feel comfortable enough to not let a few  initial mistakes rile them. Only when they are encouraged will they feel comfortable enough to take initiatives, and work with fearless zeal.


Discuss your problems with the person you are having it with


If you are facing work-related problems with some of your subordinates, honestly tell them how you feel.  They should feel a personal vendetta against them.  


Let your employees know that you trust them through and through


You know that your employees are working hard. You need to acknowledge to your employees that you are aware of this. This will only encourage them to trust the organisation.

Mukesh Ambani richest Indian on annual Forbes list

Head of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, was placed 19th on a list headed by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

Mukesh Ambani retained the top spot among Indians on Forbes' annual list of the world's billionaires released in March this year, with a net worth of $22.3bn. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

The head of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, was placed 19th on a list headed by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim (pictured). 'Mukesh Ambani is the world's richest Indian, despite losing $4.7bn in the past year,' Forbes said. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

Lakshmi Mittal (No.21) was listed as the biggest loser, with Forbes saying Mittal lost $10.4bn, falling to a net worth of $20.7bn and out of the world's top 10 for the first time since 2004. Mittal was placed 21st on the list. The drop came after shares in his company ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, fell due to surging costs and soft demand in Europe. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012) 

Billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia (No.133), who control Essar Group, suffered the second largest loss this year, losing $8.8bin on the year and placed 133 on the list with a net worth of $7bn. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro, was ranked 41 with a net worth of $15.9bn. Savitri Jindal, head of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, was India's richest woman, 80th on the list with a net worth of $10.9bn. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

Sunil Mittal (No.113), Kumar Birla (No.116), Anil Ambani (No.118) and Dilip Shanghvi (No.124) were among the 48 Indians on the Forbes list. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

Carlos Slim retained his position atop the list with an estimated worth of $69bn, while his Mexican rival Ricardo Salinas Pliego enjoyed the largest increase in wealth. Fifty-eight countries were represented on the list of a record 1,226 billionaires whose average fortune was $3.7bn. (Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.1: Carlos Slim Helu & family

$69bn

Age: 72

Industry/ Company: Telecom

Country: Mexico

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.2: Bill Gates

$61bn

Age: 56

Industry/ Company: Microsoft

Country: United States

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.3: Warren Buffett

$44bn

Age: 81

Industry/ Company: Berkshire Hathaway

Country: United States

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

  

No.4: Bernard Arnault

$41bn

Age: 63

Industry/ Company: LVMH

Country: France

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.5: Amancio Ortega

$37.5bn

Age: 75

Industry/ Company: Zara

Country: Spain

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.6: Larry Ellison

$36bn

Age: 67

Industry/ Company: Oracle

Country: United States

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.7: Eike Batista

$30bn

Age: 55

Industry/ Company: mining, oil

Country: Brazil

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

  

No.8: Stefan Persson

$26bn

Age: 64

Industry/ Company: H&M

Country: Sweden

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.9: Li Ka-shing

$25.5bn

Age: 83

Industry/ Company: diversified

Country: Hong Kong

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)

No.10: Karl Albrecht

$25.4bn

Age: 92

Industry/ Company: Aldi

Country: Germany

Also view: Meet Carlos Slim: the world’s richest man

(Source: Forbes ‘The World’s Billionaire’s List, March 2012)