Business Golf Etiquette

The business of business golf etiquette is a delicate one. Whether you’re playing with a co-worker who is a good friend or an intimidating boss, you want to enjoy the experience while still maintaining a relaxed and professional relationship.

Invitation
Whether you extend the invitation or are the invited, make sure you arrive at least 30 minutes before your tee time so you can get settled by checking in with the pro shop and maybe purchasing some practice balls  for yourself and your partner.

Getting to the Course
If you are doing the inviting, make sure your partner knows how to get to the course and understands any fee structures if you are requiring him to pay. If you have not been to the course before, call the pro shop and ask what clothing options are acceptable and get a rundown of amenities such as locker rooms.

Courtesy First
Be sure to extend every courtesy to your partner. Insist on buying the first round of drinks and snacks from the beverage cart. Always compliment your partner on a good shot and offer a brief consolation or none at all after a poor shot from your partner.

Benefit of the Doubt
Never question your partner’s integrity on the course. If he is blatantly cheating, let him have his way. If he is particularly slow, do not hurry him. If he offers unsolicited advice, accept it graciously.

The Bet
If your partner wants to place a wager on your round, accept it and do not get into an intense discussion about the rules of the contest. To put yourself at ease, consider it money that is being spent as an investment in strengthening a business relationship.

19th hole
If you and your partner decide to enjoy a beverage after the round, be sure to buy the first round, and be careful to not drink too much or to discuss your workplace or coworkers too much.

Source: articlesbase.com

 

How do I invest in gold ?

Here are key facts about the market and different ways to invest in the precious metal.

• Spot markets

Large buyers and institutional investors generally buy the metal from big banks. London is the hub of the global spot gold market, with more than $33bn in trades passing through the city’s clearing system each day. To avoid cost and security risks, bullion is not usually physically moved and deals are cleared through paper transfers.

Other significant markets for physical gold are India, China, the Middle East, Singapore, Turkey, Italy and the United States.

• Futures markets

Investors can also enter the market via futures exchanges, where people trade in contracts to buy or sell a particular commodity at a fixed price on a certain future date.

The COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange is the world’s largest gold futures market in terms of trading volume. The Tokyo Commodity exchange, popularly known as TOCOM, is the most important futures market in Asia.

China launched its first gold futures contract on January 9 2008. Several other countries, including India, Dubai and Turkey, have also launched futures exchanges.

• Exchange-traded funds

Media coverage of high gold prices has also attracted investments into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which issue securities backed by physical metal and allow people to gain exposure to the underlying gold prices without taking delivery of the metal itself.

Gold held in New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, rose to a record high of 1 320.436 tonnes in June 2010. The ETF’s holdings are equivalent to nearly half of global annual mine supply and are worth about $62bn at today’s prices.

Other gold ETFs include iShares COMEX Gold Trust , ETF Securities’ Gold Bullion Securities and ETFS Physical Gold, and Zurich Cantonal Bank’s Physical Gold.

• Bars and coins

Retail investors can buy gold from metals traders selling bars and coins in specialist shops or on the internet. They pay a premium for investment products of 5% to 20% above spot prices, depending on the size of the product and the weight of demand.

Read more on news24.com

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