Exporters have been expressing concern over the fact that Bangladesh is losing on the United States market for garments to competitors like India, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia, among others.

Bangladesh has witnessed overall negative growth in shipments compared to other competitors in Asia, as per exporters making a reference to a recent report of US Commerce Department, exporters say Bangladesh, recording a marginal fall during January-April this year.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

The report on ‘US apparel imports from major Asian sources in January-April 2010′ shows Bangladesh’s apparel shipments saw one percent decline over the like period of the past year.

The report shows that in January-April, shipments from China grew more than 13 percent to $6.8 billion, Vietnam 9.6 percent to $1.7 billion and Indonesia 6.1 percent to $1.46 billion.

Shipments from India in the period grew by 1.8 percent to $1.15 billion, Pakistan 8 percent to $0.4 billion and from Cambodia they grew by 3 percent to $0.65 billion.

‘The post-recession US market appears to be harsh to Bangladesh,’ a Bangladeshi executive who works for the Dhaka sourcing office of an US importer told New Age.

In the first four months of the current year, Bangladesh’s apparel shipments to the US were worth $1.21 billion against the figure of $1.2 billion in the like period of the 2009.

Sourcing dynamics have changed a lot in the post-recession market and it appears that the US market after recession has been harsh to Bangladesh.

Tags: apparel imports, apparel shipments, recession, Sourcing dynamics

Tom Leung, Business Product Manager for Google Website Optimizer, talks about the changes in online marketing strategies and how this form of marketing has moved from clicks to conversions. This YouTube video helps viewers in using controlled online experiments for increasing conversion rate of their websites.

Tags: conversion rate, Marketing, online marketing, online marketing strategies, YouTube video

Botox (an anti wrinkle treatment) is a protein derived from botulism toxin that is injected underneath skin in order to minimize or smooth out lines and wrinkles on the face. The experts believe that botox prevents individuals from physically expressing negative emotions and, actually makes them feel much happier. A recent study suggests women who get Botox starting in their late 20s develop fewer wrinkles than women who age naturally.

From zeenews.com:

London: A study has revealed that Botox can make people feel happy because it stops them frowning when they are unhappy.

The anti-wrinkle drug sends back the signal to the brain reducing the intensity of the feeling. Scientists at University of Wisconsin in the US tested 40 volunteers who had small doses of Botox into their forehead. They were then asked to read out a series of written statements ranging from ones that were “angry” to “sad” to “happy” both before and after their treatment.Like any kind of paralysis, blocking the body’s natural movement can have an effect on emotion, said the study authors.When those who had received the treatment read out the more negative statements they took slightly longer to do so than they had before having the injections.According to researcher David Havas, the time delay was tiny but significant because it suggests the brain takes longer to process the emotion behind the statements.”There is a long-standing idea in psychology called the facial feedback hypothesis Essentially, it says, when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you. It’s an old song, but it’s right,” telegraph.co.uk quoted Havas as saying.”Actually, this study suggests the opposite: When you’re not frowning, the world seems less angry and less sad.”

Research leader professor Arthur Glenberg added: “Normally, the brain would be sending signals to the periphery to frown, and the extent of the frown would be sent back to the brain.

“But here, that loop is disrupted, and the intensity of the emotion and of our ability to understand it when embodied in language is disrupted.

However, having Botox in the lower part of your face can prevent a smile and have the opposite effect, a research last month from Barnard College, New York, suggested.

Although the study is small but the scientists still hope that their findings could be helpful in discovering the new treatments for depression.

Tags: Botox, Depression, Scientists, Treatment

Want to get ahead of competition with inspiring business quotes? Then, you are at the right place and about to read motivational quotations to attain success and satisfaction at the workplace.

Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.  – Shakti Gawain

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?  - Fanny Brice

At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.  – Friedrich Nietzsche

There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself.  – Samuel Johnson

Rabbi Zusya said that on the Day of Judgment, God would ask him, not why he had not been Moses, but why he had not been Zusya.  – Walter Kaufmann

Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.  – François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims, 1665

You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny. The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand.  – Irene C. Kassorla

When a man comes to me for advice, I find out the kind of advice he wants, and I give it to him.  – Henry Wheeler Shaw, a.k.a. Josh Billings

Tags: Business Quotes, guidance, inspiring business quotes, motivational quotations, Success

After many years of political wrangling, EU health ministers are all set to reach a hard-fought agreement on cross-border healthcare.

This move came after Spain pushed for political agreement on an issue which has divided governments since it was proposed by the European Commission in July 2008.

From Euractiv.com:

Conditions attached to mobility

Patients will have to seek “prior authorisation” before travelling for treatment and member states will only have to reimburse costs based on the price of the operation in their own health services.

In effect, this means a Polish citizen who has a hip replacement in Germany will be able to recoup what the operation would cost in Poland. The prior authorisation clause means health authorities will have the last word when it comes to granting permission to travel – ending speculation that widespread “medical tourism” would arise from the directive.

It is also expected that general practitioners (GPs) will act as “gatekeepers” who decide whether their patients should be considered for treatment overseas.

Public and private hospitals could be covered equally by the new arrangement, provided that they meet strict quality standards, allowing patients on public waiting lists to request treatment in private hospitals outside their home member state.

It is believed by officials that compromises have been reached in key areas which will see the controversial plan passed during meet of ministers in Luxembourg.

Tags: health, health services, healthcare, medical tourism

The weather office said that rain and thundershowers are expected in parts of the capital on Tuesday which leads to water logging and traffic jams in many parts of the city.

From Timesofindia.com:

NEW DELHI: It was a cool Tuesday in Delhi with rains lashing many parts of the city and the weather office predicting thundershowers through the day.

Delhi received 14.4 mm of rainfall from Monday to 8.30 am Tuesday, said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

“Skies will remain cloudy with the possibility of one or two spells of thundershowers,” he said.

The minimum temperature settled at 25.6 degrees Celsius, 1.4 notches above average. The maximum temperature was expected to hover around 35 degrees, the official said.

The rains started in the capital on Monday night, eight days after the advent of monsoon on July 5.

“The rains began in Delhi July 5. On July 7, there was heavy rain. But then the rain stopped from July 8. The showers started again Monday night,” the official said.

The national capital has received 174 mm of rain from July 5 to Monday, almost 90% more than the average for this time of the year.

The maximum humidity was recorded at 97% and the minimum humidity was 52%.

Overnight rains created traffic chaos in many parts of the National Capital Region, including Udyog Vihar and Shankar Chowk in Gurgaon.

In Delhi, Badarpur Road and Sangam Vihar were flooded with rain water. Traffic slowed down in Dhaula Kaun and on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road as well.

Further, there were reports of heavy winds disrupting electricity supply at many places in the city. Still we hope to cope up with the monsoon season and rainfall expected to continue in the coming days.

Tags: Delhi, Rain, Tuesday, Weather