Namibia- Diamonds

Namibia is world-renowned for its gem quality placer diamonds that occur along the Orange River as well as, onshore and offshore along the coastline of Namibia. The Namibian diamonds were originally transported via the Orange River into the Atlantic Ocean and distributed northwards by long-shore currents. Diamonds typically occur as placers within raised and“drowned” beach terraces, gullies in the bedrock, and eluvial deposits in wind corridors within southern Namibia. As onshore diamond reserves are depleted, future diamond production will predominately come from the seabed. Mid-water to deep-water mining operations requires sophisticated marine vessels and crawlers that are capable of retrieving diamondiferous gravels/sands from the seafloor.

The major diamond producing company in Namibia is Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd, which accounts for an average of 1.6 million carats per annum. Other companies mining diamonds in Namibia include Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samincor) and Diamond Fields Namibia (Pty) Ltd.

Parking Clocks

Charges apply in most of the Council's town and village car parks. In order to help motorists (particularly residents and those who work in our towns/villages) the council operates a clock parking scheme.
Car Park Photo
Car Parks at Ringwood

The display of a correctly set valid clock, will allow motorists to park in the relevant NFDC car parks without incurring a further charge. Motorists who do not wish to purchase a clock can pay at the ticket machine. Holders of the clock are subject to the waiting restrictions which apply in NFDC car parks.Parking is free for those displaying a valid Blue Disabled Parking Badge.

Funds of hedge funds

"Funds of hedge funds," a relatively new type of investment product, are investment companies that invest in hedge funds. Some, but not all, register with the SEC and file semi-annual reports. They often have lower minimum investment thresholds than traditional, unregistered hedge funds and can sell their shares to a larger number of investors. Like hedge funds, funds of hedge funds are not mutual funds. Unlike open-end mutual funds, funds of hedge funds offer very limited rights of redemption. And, unlike ETFs, their shares are not typically listed on an exchange.

FDI measured and compared between countries

There is no one simple method of measuring inward investment, but most methods of measuring it either focus on the number of projects or jobs, or the financial value. Financial measurements are either of stocks or flows.

FDI stocksFDI stocks measure the level of cumulative FDI stock of capital investment by foreign enterprises at a single point of time that takes account of both new investment and disinvestment. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) produces annual statistics of global stock movements in their World Investment Report.

FDI flowsFDI flows are new investments by foreign enterprises made during a period of time – either by calendar or tax year. While much inward investment is included in FDI flow statistics, not all of it will be. For example, if an inward investor decided to expand its facilities in the UK but used local finance, this would not appear in FDI flow statistics as it involves no inflow of
money to the country.

Italian painting of the 16th century

In a brief moment of equilibrium, artists achieved the harmonious balance and elevated conception that is the High Renaissance. In Rome this was shortly replaced by the self-conscious artifice of the style we call mannerism. Venice, on the other hand, produced a succession of artists devoted to color, light, and a more sensual approach to paint.

In the early sixteenth century, the center of patronage in the arts shifted to Rome. Pope Julius II recruited the finest artists of the day for his ambitious building program; Raphael and Michelangelo continued and expanded Leonardo's High Renaissance style, characterized by classical balance, controlled movement, and an elevated conception. Raphael learned from Leonardo that a fully resolved composition was attained only after intensive study of the human figure.

The High Renaissance drew to a close in the 1520s with the death of Raphael and the political and social upheaval following the Sack of Rome. Raphael's gifted Roman pupils dispersed as new ideas were ripening elsewhere in Italy. In Venice, for example, brilliant painters came forward at a phenomenal rate. New subjects for painting were devised: landscapes and cityscapes, still lifes, ecstatic visions of saints, and genre scenes of everyday life. Artists greatly expanded the expressive potential of the relatively new medium of oil paint.

Subsequent generations of artists reassessed the Renaissance norm of superb drawing combined with an idealization of nature, which had been established by Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. A group of central Italian painters, including Perino del Vaga and Pontormo, devised mannerism, a style of self- consciously elegant poses and markedly unnatural colors. The style of these artists was not fully accepted by Venetian artists, however, who were more interested in effects of color, light, atmosphere, and texture: Titian instilled a new sensuality in his art, while Tintoretto's scenes are boldly sketched and highly dramatic in mood.

Later in the sixteenth century came stylistic developments that are now called the baroque. A family of artists in Bologna, the Carracci, set about reinvigorating the grand tradition of Italian painting. Their efforts to combine central-Italian skill in drawing with the lifelike warmth and coloristic richness of the Venetians led to a new synthesis of nature and the ideal. The revolutionary dramatic naturalism of the short-lived Caravaggio influenced the work of dozens of artists all over Europe.