Rehoboth Business Center

Posts Tagged ‘Offshore’

Offshore Banking in Switzerland

The Central European country of Switzerland has been know for decades as a tax haven and offshore banking destination for the rich and famous. Coining the term “Swiss Banking” Switzerland is perhaps the most famous and well known tax haven in the world.

Covering only 15,940 square miles and surrounded by  Germany, Liechtenstein, France, Italy and Austria, the landlocked country of Switzerland is most known for fantastic skiing in the Swiss Alps and for “Swiss bank accounts”.

Switzerland first came to the world’s attention after WWII, when the country’s banking secrecy laws were found to have helped keep the government of Nazi-Germany from gaining control of many fortunes belonging to German-Jews.

Switzerland has 4 official languages consisting of German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic, with German being the most prevalent among its more than 7 million people.  While German is the most popular language, English, French and Italian  also used in matters of finance.

At almost $ 40,000, Switzerland has one of the highest GDPs in the world, proving that its citizens are some of the highest payed and most prosperous.  Of course in a country whose economy is built around a reputation as one of the premier banking capitals of the world, this should come as no surprise.

The official currency is the Swiss Franc(CHF), which has an exchange rate of 1CHF=.934 cents.

Trade exports contribute to Switzerland’s prosperity, but it is its banking industry, long known for its high standards, liberal investment policies and conservative monetary policies, that have  helped Switzerland establish a reputation that has brought in investments from around the world.

Switzerland’s laws have a basis in civil law.  The government is a federal republic with a Presidential office.  7 department heads make up the Presidential office, which is similar to the U.S.

Cabinet.  These department heads are elected every 4 years by the full assembly.  There is a  Supreme Court and 2 houses in the Federal Assembly. The Federal Assembly is made up of  the National Council’s 200 members  who are elected every 4 years, and the State Council which  has 2 members for each of the 26 catons they represent.

Switzerland has been seen for many decades as the leader in offshore tax havens and offshore banking.  That reputation has come about because of an investor friendly tax code, and a banking system based on some of the most comprehensive privacy regulations in existence.

Zurich is the capital city in Switzerland and is also the heart of the commerce in the country. From here, myriads of Swiss banks do their business in the excess of 1.3 trillion pounds a year. The financial sector of Zurich makes up nearly 70% of the entire countries economy, with offshore banking at the core of that number. Backed by ironclad secrecy and privacy laws, Switzerland has maintained a neutral political position and a powerful spot on the world offshore scene. If you are a non EU resident, then there are many reasons why you would want to consider opening a Swiss bank account.

McCain Reverses Position on Offshore Drilling – Oil Contributions Skyrocket

In mid-June John McCain reversed his stance on offshore drilling, and called to lift the federal moratorium. McCain said that his reversal came because, “We have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production…It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions” (Washington Post).

However his attacks against Senator Obama on his support for the moratorium on offshore drilling become less and less believable. The Washington Post reports that, “McCain delivered the speech before heading to Texas for a series of fundraisers with energy industry executives, and the day after the speech he raised $ 1.3 million at a private luncheon and reception at the San Antonio Country Club”. A look at campaign finance over the time period since his reversal on the ban sheds light on the possibility of ulterior motivations for John McCain’s offshore drilling push.

“Oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $ 1.1 million to McCain last month — three-quarters of which came after his June 16 speech calling for an end to the ban — compared with $ 116,000 in March, $ 283,000 in April and $ 208,000 in May”. Thus in just half a months period of time following the reversal, McCain received more contributions from oil executives and employees than he had in the proceeding three months.

When McCain claims that the “My friends, we have to drill offshore – we have to do it”, is he speaking about the well being of America or the finance of his personal campaign. It is not believable to say that the oil executives are suddenly shelling out money to McCain because they believe that lifting the moratorium is going to help ease America’s energy problems and decrease the cost of gasoline, they are investing in a candidate that they suddenly see has the potential to bring them huge profit dividends.

High Demand For Catering Jobs Offshore

Article by John Lorano

For those seeking jobs offshore, possibilities carry on to grow, even with the financial slowdown. Half of your current workforce inside the oil and gas business is retiring inside the next ten years. This is certainly creating an enormous labor shortage for the energy companies and drilling contractors, along with an enormous chance for those searching for jobs offshore and on land. There has by no means been a superior time for either experienced or entry-level workers to find jobs offshore.

This expanding workforce shortage is developing a groundswell of chance for catering personnel who would like to discover an offshore catering job. Jobs offshore in catering in 2009 – 2010 is anticipated to speed up because the economic system begins turning about. Even though all career classes are encountering vacancies and shortages, the possibilities are particularly excellent for offshore cooking jobs along with other catering personnel.

There are many openings for a variety of jobs offshore in catering positions, which includes Chefs, cooks, assistant cooks, night bakers, galley hands, stewards and stewardesses, housekeeping and cleaning employees. Offshore catering is generally contracted out and managed by catering and meals service providers. The catering contractor is responsible for all food service, to contain meals, snacks, and special Holiday needs. In addition, the offshore catering service manages the cleaning and upkeep from the kitchen and chow hall, too because the recreational and prevalent locations and sleeping quarters. The following jobs are in large demand and available now.

Offshore Catering Jobs, Responsibilities and Wages

Camp BossThe Camp Boss is responsible for operating the catering department. He oversees the chefs, cooks, night bakers, stewards, and housekeepers. The rig crew operate long, difficult hours, and an necessary component of running the operation is guaranteeing they have enough power and good morale. Making certain the kitchen puts out great tasting and nutritious foods is what the Camp Boss does every day. He’s assisted on this obligation with a tiny crew of Chefs, Cooks, Night Bakers, Galley Hands and Stewards Stewardesses. Four to Six most important programs are ready and served every single 24 hrs, split into 12 hour shifts, so that each shifts get excellent meals. The Camp Boss also manages the Stewards and Stewardesses, making certain the rig’s recreation locations, downtime regions and, residing quarters are stored clear, and also the laundry finished.

Chef Head CookFor that Chef or Lead Cook position, whilst earlier offshore experience is not a requirement, earlier cooking experience is. The quality of offshore foods planning is typically similar towards the fare one would receive inside the nicer Hotels and Restaurants; the foods is great, nutritious, and there’s lots of it. The Chef plays an significant position in trying to keep morale high amongst the drilling crews; looking ahead to a good meal goes a long way in maintaining career satisfaction. Expertise managing a kitchen is a must. This is not an entry-level cooking place, 1 is anticipated to have a confirmed file of preparing quality meals. On the other hand, these with less expertise might be regarded as for the Galley Hand or Evening Cook. Salaries operate in the mid 60s – 70s, depending around the rig, the catering service provider one is functioning for, and expertise.

Evening BakerThis is a rather critical place on the rig. All bread onboard is baked by the evening baker, as well as pastries, muffins and desserts. On smaller rigs, this could possibly be rolled up with the Assistant Cook Sous Chef as one employment; on bigger rigs, the positions is going to be two separate jobs. Offshore Evening Baker wages will run from your 50s to 60s.