Categories
Business Sales

How small businesses are being locked into long term bad value gas and electric contracts

Energy brokers around the UK have been using hidden business energy commissions to con businesses out of significant amounts of money

Businesses and organisations all over the UK are finding themselves trapped in bad-value business gas and business electricity deals, leaving them paying more than they should be for their energy.

According to energy regulator Ofgem, small businesses in particular are being conned out of upwards of £2 billion by rogue energy brokers. These brokers lock their customers into long-term bad value electricity and gas contracts that are hard to break.

Among the many organisations impacted by this are churches, charitable organisations and care homes, all of whom are paying far too much for their gas and electricity. As such, increasing numbers of organisations are making a mis sold business energy claim to try and reclaim the money that they’re owed from these unregulated brokers.

Unlike with residential or individual energy deals, business energy security is virtually non-existent. This is because business energy rollover contracts (and commercial energy deals in general) aren’t regulated by Ofgem in the way that domestic contracts are. Because of this, brokers can miscommunicate, withhold information and set fees without fear of consequence.

According to one claims management firm that is helping businesses to fight back against brokers, some organisations are owed pay outs of up to £1 million. No win, no fee specialists, Winn Solicitors, also highlights the severity of hidden business energy commission, helping clients claim rebates of between 10-20% of their energy costs through a mis sold business energy claim.

The extent of the damage from each mis sold energy contract is still being determined

Last year, Ofgem launched a call for evidence to determine just how far the damage of mis-selling in the energy market goes. The report says energy brokers consistently promise the best energy deals at no charge, but go on to offer poor-value deals picked because the suppliers offer the most lucrative terms for the brokers. This hidden business energy commission is costing small businesses significant amounts of money.

In fact, the report says that some brokers are claiming billions of pounds in hidden business energy commission due to inflated supply deals, many of which stretch over three to five years. In addition, many energy traders were found to be totally complicit, helping to hide the broker commission in their energy bills.

Under current regulations, even verbal agreements with brokers are binding for businesses. The number of brokers in the UK has risen dramatically to around 3,000, as outfits are cheap to set up and there are virtually no regulations in place.

The report from Ofgem includes case studies of unnamed companies that won significant sums for undisclosed commissions, including £10,000 for a care home, £8,200 for a charity and £3,200 for a church. One company with more than 200 UK sites was found to be owed £500,000 in hidden business energy commission through their mis sold business energy claim.

And experts fear that, without action, the misconduct of these energy brokers and suppliers has the potential to get worse, with business energy security become more and more jeopardised. The need for business energy claims has never been greater.

Legislation and regulations are needed as, without interference from the likes of Ofgem, brokers are unlikely to change their behaviour, and businesses will continue to suffer. A representative from Ofgem confirmed that a database is in works regarding the issue, and that these findings will be added. This will ultimately help micro-business consumers facing problems ensure that the market is meeting their needs.

In the meantime, a mis sold business energy claim is a must for any organisation that suspects it may have paid too much for its energy.

If you think that you may have been mis sold a business energy contract, get in touch with Winn Solicitors today by visiting https://www.winnsolicitors.com/energy-mis-selling-claims

Categories
Business Sales

How to Improve Sales with 5 Simple Tools

Sales can be one of the most challenging things to manage for any business. But not all sales are the same, so you can’t just apply one strategy to every type of sale.

However, by using a few simple tools, you can enter the world of sales in a productive and profitable manner. We have listed five simple tools you can use to improve your sales and increase profitability with respect to the buyer, their needs, or even their goals.

Best Tools to Improve Sales

#1. Hub spot

If you are looking for an effective sales-boosting tool for your business, Hubspot is an ideal tool. You may select any of the three different pixels solutions depending on your needs: HubSpot Sales Free, HubSpot Sales Professional, and HubSpot CRM.

You can begin with the Sales Free Version. It gives access to valuable features to boost your sales strategy, plus the live chat. Further, companies looking to know about their prospects can make use of the feature decision-maker.

Want to know how many users are getting engaged with your business. Analyze it using Hubspot and get a clear idea of what products and services your visitors are engaging with the most. Not only this, the sales tool has some fantastic features to help every member of your sales department differently. Can anything be better than that?

#2. ProPofs Chat

How wonderful it would be if software could help you know why a visitor is coming to your website. ProPofs Chat is that tool for you. It starts chatting at an appropriate time with the visitor.

This chat software helps your business gauge the visitor’s intention, start a conversation in real-time, and organize the selected leads appropriately. The tool is fast and helps you engage with visitors with eye-catchers and live chat triggers.

ProPofs is exceptional in storing the leads and adding them automatically to the CRM using an integration process. Then the sales department can use the insight to know how satisfied your visitors were and recognize the upsell technologies. 

#3. Nextiva

Voice calling is an integral part of business operations. All businesses use it to some extent, if not more. Using a VoIP service like Nextiva liberates you of the traditional PSTN and the associated hassles.

Nextiva is the best VoIP services provider for midsize businesses. This business phone service is a must-have tool in addition to all other tools on this list.

With it by your side, the sales team need not worry about extension phone calls. With a cloud business phone service, they can attend calls from anywhere using any device. This also eliminates the risk of missing important customer or client calls.

Interestingly, they also work well with other software. For example, many organizations use SalesForce. VoIP can be integrated into SalesForce. As a result, the salesman need not switch between software to look for customer information. When the call ends, Salesforce records the data, such as call details, automatically.

#4. Zoom

In these times, when face-to-face interviews have become obsolete and unsafe, you need a tool that is as effective as physical meetings. Zoom fulfills this criterion completely. In addition, there is no need to collaborate with the prospective client to watch the demonstration.

Zoom is a digital marketing sales tool for web conferencing and video hurdles. With 300k followers, you can trust the tool for all the remote communications with the team. And it is not only for sharing PowerPoint; the sales team, if selling software, can share the interface.

Another notable feature is recorded video instructions. You can use this to send all the information, such as your introduction, your organization, and how your product will be helpful for the prospective client. Take the downloaded video, send it to other clients, or customize it. The feature makes it easy to reach out to multiple clients in a short span and generate sales.

#5. LinkedIn Sales Solution

If you are eyeing the global market, then LinkedIn Sales is for you. The social media platform has more than 450 million users worldwide. So creating a buzz for your service or product to generate leads and sales is easy and quick.

The platform allows you to make connections far and wide and create sales opportunities in the digital marketing space. This is also where finding details about the prospects is easy and that too without spending too much time.

The app can prove helpful in knowing what products to push into the market and what services to continue. In addition, it has a sales tool Sales Navigator to help to make prospective sales. LinkedIn offers a full trial, leverage the opportunity if you haven’t used it before.

Other sales-related features include InMail to contact a LinkedIn member (read prospect client), get a customized lead recommendation, real-time sales updates for customers and prospects, and more.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking for more opportunities for sales, these are some great tools to improve your chances and speed up delivery. Apply these simple practices that can help you increase sales by leaps and bounds!

If you have used any better tool, let us know!

Categories
Products

4 Things That Fix False Belief of SARMs as Safe Steroid

SARMs or selective androgen receptor modulator is believed as a new supplement to build muscles and gain strength. People even say that this product is a steroid alternative that is safer than the anabolic steroid. Read the information below before using this product to support your workout.

The Overview of SARMs

Some people use SARMs because this product works by binding to the androgen receptors. It affects the DNA. The significant impact of using this product is that your muscle mass grows significantly more than before.
So, what is the difference between SARMs and anabolic steroids? The difference is in the way the compounds choose the tissues. Like the name, SARMs choose specific tissue without affecting other non-targeted tissues.
Users can consume SARMs orally, whereas anabolic steroid has to be injected through the skin. The problem is that SARMs are not for human use. James T Dalton as the founder of SARMs used this product for treating prostate cancer.

The next research found that this product also has a remarkable effect on muscle growth. It is the health side effect that makes the FDA doesn’t approve this product as a drug, food, or cosmetic.

The Cases Related to SARMs

Some people still use SARMs even after the FDA announces that it is not for human use. People love to use this product due to its effects on their muscles and stamina. That’s why SAMRs are popular among athletes.

The fans of the Florida Gators will know about Will Grier. He is a football quarterback on this team. In 2015, Grier was tested positive for Ligandrol, although the University of Florida denied it. In 2017, a Chicago Bulls player, Joakim Noah was also tested positive for Ligandrol.

The NBA took this case very seriously. As a result, Noah was banned for twenty games by the NBA. The case has also happened in Mixed Martial Art. Sean O’Malley, an MMA artist who competes in the Bantamweight division was also tested positive for Enobosarm.

Due to this case, the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided to temporarily suspend him. As a result, O’Malley failed to fight against Marlon Vera at UFC 239 in Las Vegas in July 2019. A tennis player, Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil got the same case.

In July 2019, she was tested positive for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators. Like other athletes involved in this case, Maia was also suspended. Shayma Jack was another athlete who also got this drug case. This Australian swimmer was tested positive for Ligandrol.As a result, he had to withdraw from the national squad and failed to join the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2019. The cases above show that SARMs are not allowed for human use even for athletes.

The Effects of SARMs

People believe that SARMs can selectively target the androgen receptor in different tissues. The truth is that this product is still producing androgenic effects in tissues. Most people who use SARMs or steroids often suffer from the prostate gland.

Remember! This product is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The agency explains that SARMs can lead to serious health problems, especially liver toxicity, heart attacks, and strokes. The long-term effects of using SARMs are unknown yet.
The thing to consider is that you don’t know what you are putting in the body. Even if some researchers use this product in humans, the status is still on trial and under investigation.

The Possibility to Find SARMs Out There

Indeed, you can find some stores that offer SARMs for sale. The stores are allowed to sell this product as long as they inform that SARMs are not for human use. Melanotan Express is one of the online stores that offer SARMs.

This store even sells a variety of SARMs. The store offers the products for laboratory research only and not for human use. Buyers can read this information on the label on the bottle. It means that the store is not responsible if buyers use this product for humans.This store offers Anaztrozole, Avanafil, Clomiphene, Clenbuterol, Dapoxetine, Finasteride, and many more. All of them are in the form of a 300 ml bottle. The dosage varies, such as 0.5mg/ml, 5mg/ml, 25mg/ml, 10mg/ml, and others.

You can read the description on the label. The points in the description are including the unit size per ml, molecular weight, molecular formula, the color of the liquid, the physical form, and the way to store the product. This store is offering SARMs from the best SARM company. The company produces this product with a high standard for accurate laboratory research only.

Categories
Business Products

The Best Packaging Options For Your Cosmetic Lotions and Creams

In today’s world, there are countless of packaging materials to choose from for your cosmetics. But how do you know whether you’re using the right bottle or jar for your lotions or creams? The truth is, there are so many different materials, styles, and packaging techniques on the market, which makes it difficult to make a decision on which one to use.

When you’re choosing a packaging for your cosmetics, there are several things you have to keep in mind. For instance, are you using the packaging to store liquid lotions and thus need a bottle? And, if so, does your bottle require a pump, spray, or dropper cap? Or are you looking for a packaging for your cream and thus need a container instead? It is furthermore very important to consider what material you wish to use for your packaging. Are you using your packaging for sensitive products that needs to be stored in a food-safe manner? Are your products sensitive to external light? Do you require vacuum packaging and should you consider an airless bottle? Do you require a corrosion resistant packaging? And what about the sustainability of your cosmetic bottles or jars? These are just a handful of questions you need to ask yourself before you’re able to select the right packaging for your product.

Throughout this sort article, we will have a quick look at the different type of cosmetic jars and cosmetic bottles on the market. While doing so, we will mainly focus on the different materials used to create these packagings. For each type of material, we will briefly cover its main benefits and disadvantages. This will hopefully help you select the right packaging for your cosmetic goods.

Aluminum Packaging

Aluminum tin containers and aluminum bottles are becoming increasingly popular in the cosmetics industry. The main reason why aluminum packaging is becoming more and more popular are its environmental benefits. When we look at the sustainability of different packaging materials, aluminum is, by far, the cleanest option available. Aluminum packaging is 100% natural and furthermore fully recyclable. In fact, aluminum has the highest recyclability rate of any type of packaging material available. Besides, it’s extremely light in weight which makes it cheap and easy to ship compared to other, heavier, packaging materials such as glass.

Besides its environmental benefits, aluminum also brings along the added benefit of being food-safe. Aluminum is a material that can be used safely for the storage of sensitive products such as cosmetics but also for foods and medicine. Because it is a natural material, aluminum packaging also does not include any chemicals such as BPA. Besides, aluminum is fully corrosion resistant, giving it an advantage over traditional tin packaging. Aluminum packaging furthermore features a sleek and premium appearance thanks to its metal finish. That being said, it is a relatively affordable packaging material, which makes it attractive to both large and small companies alike. If you’re looking for a safe, affordable, and sustainable packaging material; you can’t go wrong with aluminum.

Glass packaging.

Glass bottles and jars have always been a classic packaging for cosmetics, foods, and a whole lot of other products. Unlike aluminum, glass packaging has been around for ages. And given the benefits of this material, it’s no surprise that it has been around for so long.

Just like aluminum, glass is a 100% natural material. Both glass jars and bottles are considered to be a sustainable packaging material that is free from chemicals such as BPA. Glass is furthermore fully recyclable, however, it has to be kept in mind that many glass packagings come with a plastic lid. As a result, not the entire packaging will be sustainable. There are, however, some alternatives for glass jars that can be supplied with an aluminum lid instead. Besides being free from chemicals and recyclable, glass packaging is furthermore completely food-safe. It is safe to store your cosmetics into a glass bottle or jar without having to worry about the packaging affecting the quality of your goods. Glass furthermore brings along the added benefit of being UV-resistant, making it perfect for light-sensitive lotions or creams.

The disadvantage of glass packaging, on the other hand, is that it’s relatively expensive. Compared to plastic and aluminum packaging, glass certainly is pricy. Besides, glass is furthermore heavy which results in higher shipping costs. Also, because of it’s weight, shipping glass is far less environmentally friendly compared to shipping light weight aluminum. It has to be kept in mind that glass is a fragile material that can easily break.

Plastic Packaging

When we look around us in the market, plastic packaging is everywhere. Although plastic packaging is becoming more and more criticized due to its negative impact on the environment, it still is today one of the most popular packaging materials. So, why is that?

Simply put, plastic brings along a number of benefits. Plastic is extremely cheap to produce, easy to mould in different shapes,  and very durable. All-in-all, it has all the requirements that companies require for their packaging. That being said, plastic packaging does bring along some disadvantages.

Plastic is not a natural material and producing plastic is quite a chemical process. As such, plastic packagings are often full of (sometimes) harmful chemicals. In some cases, these harmful chemicals may leach out of the packaging and into the product stored inside – affecting its quality. One of the most famous chemicals is BPA. Therefore, if you do choose to go for plastic packaging, it’s highly recommended to pick a plastic that is BPA-free and food-safe.

Besides the health concerns, one of the main disadvantages of plastic is the impact it has on the environment. Plastic is hard to recycle and thus leaves a large impact on our nature. This is one of the main reasons why more and more companies choose to move to aluminum or glass packaging instead.

Categories
Advertising Business

Make Conversions with Google Ads

Paid media is one of the most effective and efficient ways to market online – it’s fast, delivers great results, and can be customized to fit a specific audience. One of the principal platforms for paid media is Google Ads, Google’s comprehensive and diverse network of advertising opportunities.

Google Ads comprise a host of different advertising solutions, each with its own unique benefits and functionalities. It is not a matter of one being better than another; rather, marketers should look at which Google Ads service best fits their marketing objectives.

If you are interested in learning more about Google Ads and the different offering the service has, we’ve got you covered.

Search Engine Marketing

Google Search Ads, a form of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), is one of the primary Google Ads services and was previously known as Google Adwords. With SEM, you can ensure that your website and ads appear atop Google’s first page of search results.

Google Search Ads appear like a general search result to the user. Most consumers show disdain for ads and prefer to avoid or ignore them, but with Search Ads, the advertisement feels natural and is undetectable on first glance.

Considering that most users don’t click past the first page of search results, appearing at the top is the prime position. Businesses in highly competitive industries that are reliant on search engines should consider this method of paid media.

Display Ads

Display Ads are a form of Google Ads that appear on 3rd party websites and which look like your traditional digital advertisement. It is likely you have encountered these ads before while you scroll the internet.

Display Ads are visual and are designed to catch the attention of users and deliver quick information about a brand, product, or promotion. Considering that most internet users will avoid ads altogether, you will want to make sure that your ads are not obnoxious!

Google Shopping Ads

Shopping Ads are a preferred method of advertising products on Google. Taking a page from ecommerce sites, Shopping Ads are made to look like listings on an ecommerce site. Brands can list their product photos, prices, and product features much like you would see on a site like Amazon.

Since Google is not an ecommerce site, Shopping Ads will link a user to your website to complete a purchase. This is great for gaining customer data to be used for targeting or remarketing campaigns.

Track Your Ads

Like most Google products, Google Ads is intuitive to use and easy to learn. Their comprehensive system gives users full control over what their ad looks like and where their ad goes.

It also has a designated analytics section where marketers can track their campaigns and evaluate their return on investment. From the data provided, marketers can additionally draw conclusions on how they want to tweak their campaigns for better results.

Categories
Marketing Social Media

Invest in Social Media Marketing in Malaysia

If the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed any positives, it’s that the world can adapt to a digital economy if needed. Some countries were able to adapt more quickly than others because they had started the process of shifting towards digitization much earlier. In contrast, other countries, like Malaysia, struggled since their existing economy is steeped in traditional roots. As Malaysian businesses have grown after adapting and transforming their models to be more online, so too has social media marketing in Malaysia grown to drive sales to these newly digitized businesses.

Social media marketing in Malaysia has skyrocketed because more and more businesses are joining the digital sphere. A local restaurant or mom & pop shop that previously succeeded purely with walk-in customers needed to start selling online to survive. But, with a competitive market all moving digitally at once, business owners needed to find a way to effectively advertise their business.

Social Media as Business Tool

Malaysians are not new to social media. Applications like Facebook and WhatsApp dominate the market as the primary communication and socialization tools. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find an urban Malaysian who isn’t on social media. That said, the realm of social media marketing in Malaysia is relatively new to some.

Social media is a fruitful business tool that helps connect brands to current and potential customers. Because social media is so prevalent for entertainment, marketers have grabbed the opportunity to reach incredible audiences that they otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to reach.
Aside from those benefits, social media marketing in Malaysia is extremely cost-effective. Brands or businesses can create official profiles for free and begin marketing to their customers immediately. They can post on their pages or 3rd party pages free of charge or choose to spend money on ads. The beauty of social media advertising is that businesses have full control of how much they wish to spend.

The opportunities for businesses in Malaysia to grow by using social media marketing is tremendous.

Choose the Platform That Fits Your Business

Facebook and WhatsApp are just two pieces of a much larger social media puzzle that includes such platforms as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and more. Each of these platforms differentiates themselves from each other from the user’s perspective, which in turn creates opportunities for advertisers.

For example, Instagram is a platform for sharing photos and short videos, whereas Twitter is for microblogging. Advertisers who want to share photo ads should choose to advertise on Instagram over Twitter because that type of ad best suits Instagram.

All of this is to say that marketers choose to advertise on platforms that fit their marketing strengths and that are used by their target audience. This is an important step for social media marketing in Malaysia, and in some cases, may require working with a digital marketing agency to achieve the best results.

Categories
News Smartphone Technology

Try to Trick Your iOS Group Texts are Worth with a bit of Effort

You may confuse between the holidays, the election, and the need to stay connected with your family and friends virtually during this pandemic. You may find that your group texts have been popping out since they want to get in touch. 

Although this thing can be so fun, group texts on iMessage sometimes get bad feedbacks of the free-wheeling chaos along with nonstop notifications as well. Luckily, there are some Apple’s updates for your group texting over the years,  especially the latest update that can be found in iOS 14. It makes communication sometimes bothersome, but it’s still essential to get better in some most unexpected ways as well. 

So, it is better to spend your time, find out how these new options work, and you can start to apply them in your group text. The messaging features can make your group text less annoying. You should know that the personalization options and new design also can make your whole experience become more fun, and it also promotes the feeling that you are not too far away from your friends or family. 

Threading and Tagging 

So, tagging is the best feature for those who are annoyed most with notifications but do not want to miss something necessary. When you open an info, then you have options to hide it. However, if someone writes a name in the group chat, then that name will turn blue. Click it will give you some options to tag that person as well. Then that person will get notifications that they have mentioned, although the alert is hidden. For those who slack and threading will feel more familiar as well. 

Threading can be used when you are on the group text, and someone asks a question that you want to give a response to. If you press and hold the message, there is an option to replay it. You can write your message. and your text will pop out as the threaded response under the original message. Other people can give a response as well. 

You can start to personalize your chat 

This new update can be your favorite feature. Apple has introduced more ways to personalize your chatting or messaging look. It may not be as crazy as other platforms offer you, such as WhatsApp and Messenger. However, these changes are so useful and meaningful at the same time. 

You may just start to use older options in the messaging, but it makes a difference. Do you know that you can give a name to your group text? Although you can name it with your best friends only a simple one, there is no rule that this name should be permanent or informative. You can use or name it however you are. For example, during the election, your sub-group of some of your friends make a chatting group to share links and journeys in different ways. Of course, you can name it as well. It is a good way to keep organized, however, this is also another way to stay on the same page with many laughs as well. 

The look of group chats, whether you just open the message or see a vertical list of all your chats, and the top part of the specific conversation – this is another opportunity to give you much joy and personality as well. Chats will be represented by a grouping of circles, each circle also represents one member. In default, this circle will turn grey and contain the initials of people as well. Even the size of the circle turns from time to time based on the most and least active members. 

By doing this, all photo collections will be displayed – people will laugh or do whatever in that photo that you choose to represent them. It is at the top of your group chat. Although it is a simple change, just the visual representation in the top part, however, it can make you feel more like texting is about spending the best time with each other. 

There is also an option to apply a photo or emoji to the group chat image. Of course, the photo bubbles will still occur in the chosen group photo, but there is an icon that pops out in the message list rather than small circles only. This feature is quite similar to the group name. It can be more helpful and descriptive. So, there are many ways to make your chatting group feel more joyful, and you get the best quality time with your friends or family as well.

Categories
Business News

Tension US-China and Virus Causes Oils Falls

Under tension between US-China and the ongoing pandemic virus has led to a fall in oil prices by 1% although it has a positive impact on OPEC deal production. The price of oil fell varies Brent crude oil settled at %48.79 per barrel fell 46 cents or 0.9% meanwhile the US crude oil fell to $45.76 per barrel or fell 50 cents or 1.1%.

The oil prices have been under pressure due to the exclusive reports from Reuters that report the United States was prepared to impose sanctions on at least a dozen official Chinese due to their involvement in Beijing’s disqualification of the elected opposition legislator in Hong Kong.   In Hong Kong, thousands of people are rallying against Beijing’s plan to impose National Security Laws in the city that returned to China in 1997. Police use water cannons and tears to disperse those people and react to controversy internationally.

For the last years, the tension between the United States and China has weighed the price of oil.  The United States and China ties have been worsening since the coronavirus outbreak. Both of the presidents have the debate over the outbreak included the lack of transparency and accusation to cover up the virus until it creates a pandemic over the world. Washington blames Beijing and says that the pandemic could be stopped at the source and also accuses of hiding the information to the world about the virus. The clash of the superpowers country also related to human rights, Hong Kong government, and trade war, and also US’s support to Taiwan.  The increasing tension between the US and China has added more anxiety to the market.

China is one of the world’s largest importers of crude oil and supports the rising of crude prices this year. During 11 months of the year, China has imported 503.92 million tonnes or 10.98 million barrels per day. This count has risen 9.5% from the previous year.  In November, the General Administration of Customs reported that the oil import has risen from the prior month of the countries. 

China also plays an important role in the global economy. China is a country that becomes one of the fastest-growing countries. China has support for the global economy including opportunities in several aspects such as investment, international cooperation, trade, and more that support the prosperity and stability in the world.  

In the United States, gasoline consumption has fallen into the lowest rank in the Thanksgiving holiday for more than 20 years. OPIS reported that this condition happens because fewer Americans do travel during the Corona pandemic. The United States has totaled more than 16.6 million cases with more than 301.000 death cases. The United States is a country that has the highest number of coronavirus cases. Donald Trump as well as his wife,  Melania are tested positive for covid just weeks before the US election day.  Both get tested after the senior politics Aiden wound gets positive. 

Coronavirus cases surge globally and have forced a series of lockdowns in new regulations to include tight restrictions measures that regulate in Germany, United States, South Korea, and California. The coronavirus second wave is not an impossible matter and policy on lockdown and restriction can send crude oils to fall back to the lower rank fast. This is global knowledge that the market knows well.   In 2020, oil prices will fall by 40% so far. 

After OPEC+, both oil contracts were gained. OPEC+ are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies. They agree to reduce the oil production in January and continue limitation to immense existing supply curbs. The production reduces expected 7.2 million BPD or 7% from global demand in January. It has cut 500.000 BPD from the current. The existing cuts are predicted will continue until March. 

With the OPC deal agreed, now traders are looking back to the fundamentals of trading, supply, and demand. They are forced to do this as it does not look good in the short term. 

Demand for global oil has been slumped by 30% because the coronavirus pandemic has restricted the movement through the world. The decreasing rate in oil demand has led to growing oil inventories globally.  

Vaccine optimism hopefully will increase the global economic sentiment, including the price of oil. The expectation of vaccines helps to offset the fears of coronavirus cases. Vaccine euphoria has started and the vaccine program is expected to be able to awaken the market and crude oil prices.

Categories
News Technology

Sweet Spot as the Most Precise Position for Atom Qubits in Silicon for Quantum Processor Improvements

A group of researchers from the Center of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T) in cooperation with Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) has invented the quantum of Sweet Spot. The quantum is to position qubit in silicon to improve the atomic based quantum processor.

Sweet Spot is known to have some benefits in the world of quantum computing. One of them is to make the quantum bit, known also as qubit, to place phosphorus atoms in silicon more precisely. This method is pioneered by the Director of CQC2T, Professor Michelle Simmons. Currently, the method is the leading approach in the world in the area of silicon quantum computer development.

It Develops Stronger Interaction

From the result of the research that has been published in Nature Communications, precise placement is proven to be important to develop a stronger interaction among qubits. Not only is it related to the interaction but uniquely, stronger combinations of qubits also happen with Sweet Spot.

In his statement, Professor Sven Rogge who leads the research said that his team has invented the most optimal position to create interactions between qubits that are stronger, faster, and reproducible. The professor also adds that the strong interaction is needed to engineer a kind of multi-qubit processor. In the end, a functional quantum computer can be created as well.

There is also a term namely the gate of two qubits in the research. It refers to the blocks that arrange the center of a quantum computer. It uses an interaction between a pair of qubits to do the quantum operation. For the atomic qubit in silicon, there has been other research to conduct before that. In the previous research, it is suggested that for a certain position in the silicon crystal, the qubit interaction contains oscillation components to slow down the gate operation as well as to make it more difficult to control.

Prof. Rogge stated still in the interview that in almost two decades, the potency of oscillation characteristics from the interactions has been predicted to turn into further challenges for the improvement.

Now, through the new measurement of the qubit interaction, Prof. Rogge’s team has developed a deeper understanding related to the oscillation characteristics. At the same time, it suggests further placement strategies that are more precise. The strategies are to generate a stronger interaction between qubits. Interestingly, the result is what has been believed by many people to be impossible to happen for a long time.

Figuring Out Sweet Spot in the Crystal Asymmetry

Furthermore, the researchers also state that they currently have found out that placing qubits is very important to create stronger and more consistent interactions. This important view has a significant implication for the big-scale processor design.

The main author of the research, Dr. Benoit Voison, states that silicon itself is a kind of anisotropic crystal. It means that the placement direction of the silicon atom significantly influences the interaction between them. 

Dr. Voison said that his team has acknowledged the anisotropic crystal even before. However, further studies have just been done currently. Besides, there is no other team that has been investigated in detail how the crystal is used optimally to reduce the oscillated interaction strength.

The team also has figured out that there is a special corner, which is later called the sweet spot, in a particular area in the silicon crystal. The sweet spot is where the strongest interaction between qubits is done. More importantly, the sweet spot can be achieved by using a lithography technique namely the scanning tunneling microscope (STM.)

STM to Map the Functions of Atomic Waves

By using STM, the team can do some other actions. One of them is mapping the functions of an atomic wave on the 2D image. Besides, it is also to identify the spatial location right in the silicon crystal. Those functions were firstly shown in 2014, in research published in Nature Materials. It was also filed in one of the Nanotechnology papers in 2016.

In the latest research, the team applies the STM technique to observe the details of atom scales from the interaction between atomic qubits that have been combined. According to Dr. Voisin, by using the technique of quantum imagery, his team is able to observe anisotropy in the wave functions as well as the direct interference in the area. It is basically the starting point to understand how the problem happens.

His team understands that in the beginning, they must know the effects of each material separately. It is before seeing the complete imagery to solve the problem. This is how the team found out the sweet spot that is compatible with the atom placement precision offered by the STM lithography technique.

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Timnit Gebru: Google Staff Gathers Behind Fired AI Researcher

It is reported that hundreds of Google staff have recently signed a letter supporting a famous Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics researcher who was fired by Google. The leading ethics researcher is Timnit Gebru. Her position in Google was the co-lead of the Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team. Timnit Gebru was fired after sending an email that accused Google. Her colleagues in the giant IT company have signed a letter accusing that Google is doing censorship and racism.

On the other hand, Twitter users gather together around Dr. Gebru to support her as well by using a hashtag #BelieveBlackWomen. However, Google denies the AI researcher’s version of events. Timnit Gebru is a well-respected AI researcher in the use of artificial intelligence and the field of ethics. She is famous for her work on racial bias in technology. She also has criticized that failure to recognize black faces. Joy Buolamwini, Timni Gebru’s co-author mentioned in one of those well-known papers that Dr. Gebru deserved more from Google.

She says that Google’s credibility can be severely damaged by firing Dr. Gebru for her courage to demand integrity. Joy Buolamwini also adds that we all owe Dr. Gebru a debt for advancing the artificial intelligence field as well as equality with grace and humility.

What Exactly Happened?

Timnit Gebru alleges that she was summoned to a meeting that would discuss a research paper she had co-written when she was about to go on leave. Dr. Gebru mentioned that she was ordered to withdraw the research paper. She was also told that Google was not ready to get involved in a discussion about the matter. After the meeting, Timnit Gebru criticized the decision via an email sent to an internal group called ‘Brain Women and Allies.’ Platformer has published the copy of the email.

Dr. Timnit Gebru started the email by saying that her fellows in the group are not worth having a conversation she would talk about. She also said that members of the group do not have to write their documents anymore because it would not make any difference. Timnit Gebru had sent an email to her management laying out several key requirements to remove her name from the paper. And if they were not met, she would ‘work on the last date’ for her employment.

According to the female AI researcher, Google replied, “We respect your decision to leave Google… and we are accepting your resignation.” Google continued by saying that the end of Dr. Gebru’s employment should happen quicker. The reason is because Google finds that some particular aspects of the email sent by Dr. Gebru to her non-management group reflects behavior that does not meet Google’s manager expectations. This is what is considered as Google fired Dr. Timnit Gebru.

Dr. Gebru disputed whether she had resigned. She tweeted that Jeff Dean, a senior manager at Google who handles AI research, had fired her. She guessed that the management decided for her. The research paper that Dr. Gebru had co-written remains unpublished. However, the MIT Technology Review has summarized the content of the research paper, stating that it focused on the risks of training AI by utilizing huge archives of text data.

How Has the Reaction Been?

The open letter that shows support for Dr. Gebru has attracted almost 2,000 signatories since her dismissal. The signatories are both from within Google and the wider industry. Timnit Gebru said on her Twitter, “It has been very uplifting for me to see.” The news about her dismissal came out on the same day when a US labor agency accused the research giant of illegally firing staff because of their involvement in union activity. Staff at Google who worked with Dr. Gebru have praised her academic contributions as well as her work as a manager.

An AI researcher, Deb Raji said on his Twitter that he cannot count how many times she encouraged them, spoken out for them, and defended them. Deb Raji also tweeted, “She has made real sacrifices for the Black community. Now it’s time to stand with her!”

What Does Google Say?

Jeff Dean mentioned in an email that there had been so many speculations and misunderstandings about the firing incident. Mr. Dean alleged that Timnit Gebru’s research paper was submitted a day before the deadline. So that there was not enough time for Google to review it. He also added that the research paper ignored relevant research.

What do you think about this event?