Less Oversight Of Derivatives Is Supported By Greenspan

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan,suggested that United States futures markets could operate with less Government oversight.

Industry leaders praised the speech and said it should influence Congress later this year when it started rewriting the laws on futures and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees brokerage firms and exchanges.

Profits from derivatives, have increased the earnings of large banks and are a factor in the financial sector's overall growth this decade, Mr. Greenspan said. 
The derivatives market was estimated to have a notional value of $70 trillion last year, ''a figure that doubtless is closer to $80 trillion this year,'' he said. Of that, United States commercial banks hold about 25 percent of the contracts and securities houses another 15 percent, he said.

Futures exchanges and brokerage firms have long sought to pare back regulations.
The exchanges contend that if over-the-counter, or privately negotiated, derivatives function well without regulation, the exchanges should operate under minimal regulation as well.

The exchanges and brokerage firms will get another chance to push for looser reins when Congress begins rewriting the Commodity Exchange Act.

Representative Thomas Ewing, an Illinois Republican who is chairman of the House agriculture subcommittee that oversees the commodity commission, said Mr. Greenspan's remarks would bolster ''our efforts to streamline and reduce Federal regulation of the futures markets.''

Avoiding Sugared Drinks Limits Weight

Avoiding Sugared Drinks Limits Weight

New York City government face a criticism of becoming a nanny state, city health officials banned the sale of supersize sugar-laden drinks. They are trying to come up with a solution for the problem of obesity that affected two-third of American adults and one third of children in the U.S.A. Scientists have handed the ban for strong evidence that replacing sugared drinks with sugar-free or water can slow weight gain in children.

        Beverage industry officials denounced the research that might end up with applying more taxes or other restrictions.

        Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital assigned 224 over weight teenagers to receive water and diet drinks for one year. The result was that they gained only 3.5 pounds, while a comparison group of similar teenagers gained 7.7 pounds in one year.

        Other researchers at Vu University Amsterdam randomly assigned 641 normal weight children to drink 104-calorie sugar-sweetened or sugar-free drink for 18 months. The result was 13.9 pounds gained to 16.2 pounds gained for those drinking the sugar-added version. Both studies suggest that soda is a pretty good place to start.

        Officials with the American Beverage Association criticized the studies, saying that obesity is not caused by a single food or beverage.

        A similar experiment of sugar-free drink is applied on Hispanic -who have high rate of diabetes- children by Dr Ludwig end up with 1 pound weight gain to 20 pounds in average.

        Dr Katan warned that studies need to examine consumer reaction to policies restricting sweetened drinks. Taxing soft drinks could result in buying fewer fruits to afford soft drinks.

        Both clinical trials have limitations, they demonstrate the effect of a single behavioral change on weight gain, said Dr Seema Kumar, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic Children Center. In fact there are multiple aspects such as portion sizes, frequency of snacks and types of snacks, she said. So, curbing soda consumption “is not a magic pill”. 

Some important factors foster planning for Ice Cream business

Here is some important factors to be put in consideration when we had to plan for Ice Cream business.such as:

2013 Market Research Report on Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Manufacturing

Current Research on the Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Manufacturing Industry

This section provides answers to the fundamental and commonly-asked questions about the industry:

1. What is the total market size ($ millions)?
2. Has the market grown or declined?
3. What is the market growth rate?
4. Are long term forecasts positive or negative?
5. What is the industry size and average company size?
6. How many companies are in the industry?

Market Size Statistics - Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Manufacturing

The total U.S. market size for the Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Manufacturing industry includes statistics on all companies, both public and private. In addition to total revenue, the table contains details on employees, companies, and average firm size. Use this market information to research and analyze growth rates and the Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Manufacturing industry trends and market outlook based on quantitative research and hard data.