Paraparaumu. 21 May 2008 - Political Stock Markets are a virtual stock market, where participants express their expectations about future events through the buying and selling of virtual shares. Several prediction markets relating to different issues about economic and political developments are offered together. The new service starts under http://esm.forecast4u.co.nz/ with topics like the National Elections in New Zealand or the Estimation of Property Growth for June 2008.

The "Wisdom of Crowds" is considered to outperform expert knowledge in areas like topicality as well as width, depth and references of knowledge. A principle of prediction markets, as of any electronic exchange, is that those who buy cheap and sell at a higher price benefit.

Practical evidence suggests that prediction markets are at least as accurate in forecasting events as other instruments used by polling institutes on similar demographic groups. This concept, part of a field of study called collective intelligence, is the ideal tool for market and event forecasts. The closer a participant's forecast matches the real event, the more the value of the virtual account rises. This stimulates forward strategies and therefore using quality information and experience in these virtual investments is paramount. The Political Stock Markets also rewards closely matching expectations when dealing with rate fluctuation and diligence.

Electronic Stock Markets (ESM)
The prediction market is based on the "Electronic Stock Market Technology" (ESM) developed by ECCE TERRAM. It is based on theses by Friedrich von Hayek, who in 1974 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. From Professor von Hayek's findings it derives that more accurate prediction of future events can be made if people trade shares about them with the opportunity to obtain a profit. Frank Simon, Managing Director of ECCE TERRAM: "ESMs in the form of prediction markets provide surprisingly accurate results for opinion research and serve as a prognostics instrument to generate forecasts". The user's interest in trading shares and the chance for personal gain as well as the opportunity to create accurate forecasts bind the user into the online service and increase traffic to the website. The technology starts from a base different to traditional opinion research. Interviews, polls and e-votes use questions like "how would you vote?" The Electronic Stock Markets ask "what do you expect the outcome to be?"� Traders therefore buy and sell based on their expectation of the outcome. These reflect in the prices at which shares trade. The system can then, based on the share price, calculate forecasts.

ECCE TERRAM has used prediction markets already in the run up to the German federal elections of 1998 with great success, achieving the second best forecast after Allensbach, one of Germany's leading public opinion poll institutes. In recent years ECCE TERRAM has organised more than two dozen prediction markets on a great variety of events. ECCE TERRAM Ltd, located in Paraparaumu, has started since May 2008 to offer Electronic Stock Markets to the New Zealand and Australian Market based on the 12-year-experience with this tool.

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Our Family Orphan Communities, Inc, (OFOC) is a nonprofit charity that is designing and developing a self-sustaining, environmentally green, high-tech Community in which street orphans will be raised in families with surrogate parents and grandparents. The children will receive healthcare, family values, education, and job and computer skills to prepare them for their future and the future of their country.  These communities are destined for third-world and developing countries.

Currently OFOC is working with the Vietnam Aid Society for Disabled Children to develop this Community in
Ninh
Binh
Province where the land has been donated for the project. You can see our progress at www.orphancommunities.org.

To assist this cause, Xippee, Incorporated has donated 300 shares of its corporate stock to OFOC.  Xippee, Inc. is a software company that has developed a free internet search tool that makes doing searches on any search engine easier and faster.  Instead of having to type in additional search terms to add or delete from your search criteria, you simply highlight a word in the search options, a small window with + and - will appear, you then click either option and your search will be automatically redone either adding or removing the term you had highlighted.   This is one of the few free software programs to ever receive a five star rating by download.com. You can download this free search tool at www.xippee.com.

The project, Ethanol & Orphans, is looking for celebrities who think it is a good idea and who will endorse the project.  The project sponsor is the not-for-profit charity, Our Family Orphan Communities, Inc. 

The Ethanol & Orphans project is currently underway in Vietnam where we will be building a cellulose ethanol refinery and using the profits to build:
 - a Self-sustaining, high-tech, green Community for street orphans where they will be raised in families with surrogate parents and grandparents, given care, skills (job, computer, familiy/life) and supplemental education.
 - a Medical clinic supported by the profits from the refinery so those who cannot afford it can still receive treatment.
 - more care for disabled children (who are still today being born with birth defects from Agent Orange which was used in the war in the 60's and 70's) so they can learn to be self-sufficient even with disabilities.

We are looking for people who care about:
 - improving the environment
 - using less petrochemical fuels
 - helping developing / third world countries to improve
 - street children living barely surviving
 - disabled children who need assistance
 - providing medical/dental care for those who cannot afford it
 - protecting food sources (we will use sugarcane for the refiery, NOT grains)
 - providing education for children, the future leaders of their country
 - and more humanitarian projects

The celebrities will be asked to speak about our project when they can, and to allow us to use thier comments/picture/name in our website and promotion materials.

For complete details about the project, see: http://www.orphancommunities.org
For questions, write to us at: info@orphancommunities.org
 
Please forward this to others who you know will be interested in supporting this project.

Milano  – IWBank, banca del Gruppo BPU (Banche Popolari Unite) specializzata nell’ e-finance, debutta nell’attività di bancassicurazione. Da oggi, prima banca in Italia, IWBank offre la possibilità di sottoscrivere direttamente online (www.iwbank.it, numero verde 800.991187) l’assicurazione RCA per automobili, motocicli e ciclomotori. 

IWBank, avvalendosi della collaborazione di BPU Assicurazioni, ha messo a punto per i propri clienti polizze assicurative di qualità a tariffe altamente competitive che consentono un  risparmio pari al 15% del premio nel caso in cui il veicolo venga utilizzato solo dall’intestatario e del 5% nel caso in cui il sottoscrittore scelga di estendere la copertura assicurativa al proprio nucleo familiare. 

In particolare, il nuovo servizio di IWBank permette di sottoscrivere direttamente on line il prodotto assicurativo consentendo al cliente di personalizzare la polizza, adattandola alle proprie esigenze, con le garanzie che si ritengono necessarie. Tra le quali: furto, incendio, atti di vandalismo e tutela giudiziaria per cause legate alla circolazione del veicolo assicurato.  

“Siamo la prima banca on line in Italia che offre ai propri clienti la possibilità di sottoscrivere un’assicurazione RC auto – commenta Pasquale Casale, Amministratore Delegato di IWBank. Con questo accordo di banca-assicurazione on line, IWBank amplia ulteriormente la gamma dell’offerta di prodotti e servizi, dimostrandosi ancora una volta banca dinamica ed innovativa, costantemente attenta alle esigenze dei propri clienti. A breve estenderemo, inoltre, l’offerta ai prodotti legati alla persona, alla famiglia e all’abitazione”.

eco6 – Zurich, Switzerland, 9-10 Oct 2006

“SRI – just another marketing ploy?” & “CSR - fact or fiction?”

whether you are a company seeking to improve your bottom line and ‘futureproof’ your organisation or a charity/NGO seeking to effect social or environmental change, you cannot afford to ignore two of fastest growing global economic movements…

• eco06 is the annual event of the international socially responsible community. A conference which draws together the world’s leading experts in these fields, economie 06 offers you a rare opportunity to meet, learn from and be inspired by passionate, creative individuals from all corners of the SRI and CSR community.

eco06 will be held on the 9th and 10th of October 2006, at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, Switzerland, a city at the heart of Europe's financial institutions - and in one of the most magnificent beauty spots in the world.

• A formidable array of international speakers includes
  • Professor Hans Ruh, Institute of Social Ethics, Zurich Iniversity
  • John Renesch, the acclaimed San Francisco based business futurist,
  • Dr Kevin Money, Director of School for Reputation, relationships and Respnosibility
  • Deborah Doane, writer and reseasrcher in the area of corporate social responsibility
  • and bestselling economist Noreena Hertz, dubbed ‘Britain’s Naomi Klein’
  • visit www.eco6.co.uk for the latest list of speakers
• Equally important is the opportunity to interact with hundreds of diverse and knowledgeable fellow delegates from across Europe and beyond - ranging from fund managers, insurance groups and multinationals to NGOS, charity trustees, environmental groups and academics.
• The format, including ‘open forums’ and expert panels, has been designed to facilitate audience interaction and provoke debate. It should prove to be intellectually stimulating, informative, intense, challenging - and hugely enjoyable.
• economie 06 is the only event to bring together the inextricably linked twin strands of SRI and CSR, giving delegates ‘the bigger picture’ .
• A number of bursaries are available to ensure as diverse a range of participants as possible. If you’re a charity/NGO/small company or from the developing world or a student/academic or other non corporate individual with an interest in SCR/SRI you may be eligible.
• At the heart of economie 06 lies a commitment to advancing education in SRI and CSR, subjects which will play an increasingly important role in our world’s future. As a demonstration of this the young winners of the economie 06 Student Bursary Competition will be attending – we hope you make them welcome!

For more details and registration, visit www.eco6.co.uk .