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Bruegel HomeSite MapMediaMembers AreaCareers aboutscholarsresearchpublicationseventsblogdatasetsvideosmembershipcontact us The SMP is dead. Long live the OMT by André Sapir on 6th September 2012 Discover Italy and Spain "must break down barriers to growth" by Klaus Desmet and Loris Rubini on 10th September 2012 Pierre Moscovici's speech at Bruegel Annual Meeting by Pierre Moscovici on 7th September 2012 Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you so much, Mr. President, for your leadership here at Bruegel, and thanks to all of you in attendance. Independent think tanks can make valuable contributions to public debate - and the Bruegel Institute certainly does. It’s a pleasure to be with you today and share France’s vision – or at least mine – of where the eurozone stands at the moment, and what we think should be the path forward. The eurozone is afflicted by three interconnected ills which form all together the crisis mentioned by Jean-Claude Trichet earlier: a banking crisis which has morphed over the past couple years into a sovereign-debt crisis, insufficient solidarity among its members, and a democratic deficit which grows every day. These challenges are not new: we’ve been wrestling with them for some time, and some have been more than a decade in the making. To be effective, our response must be comprehensive, encompassing simultaneous action on these three fronts. Let me expand on this for a moment. The eurozone binds diverse economies with a single exchange rate and a single monetary policy. Diversity – and different exposures to shocks – is only natural in such a large currency area. Diversity can lead to divergence, and this has to be addressed. But this was in the DNA of the euro. But it is by no means the only challenge the eurozone is facing. Insufficient budgetary and economic coordination among euro members, inadequate decision-making processes, suboptimal levels of workers’ mobility and the lack of truly integrated European financial regulation all played a decisive role in our current difficulties to absorb asymmetric economic events. We all share the same goal for the eurozone: turn it into a fully successful currency union. France believes that the solution Member States are coming up with to reach this objective should rest on two pillars – what we’ve called in my country “intégration solidaire”, i.e. the promotion of mechanisms for risk sharing among Member States, and greater integration of European economies. I’ll discuss in more details in a few minutes what initiatives and priorities are encompassed under this I would say umbrella term, but our ambition must be clear: we should get more out of being in the eurozone than we would get if the eurozone did not exist. Getting more means resisting better to economic shocks, and being able to use European instruments to multiply the effects of growth-enhancing measures adopted at national level. We will only get more out of being in the eurozone if we adopt a comprehensive approach to the economic challenges we’re facing, and if we are able to offer a promising perspective to the Member States and to their citizens. More of the same – more of the same budgetary discipline, more of the same fiscal consolidation, more of the same social unrest – is not going to work, and it certainly does not qualify as a promising perspective for the people of Europe. It is obvious to anyone that the patient has not correctly responded well to the austerity medicine. When pronouncing this word “austerity”, don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that we should not meet our budgetary obligations, quite the contrary. As some of you may know, France has embarked on an ambitious path to return to budgetary balance by 2017, with two intermediary targets: a 4.5% deficit in 2012, followed by a deficit limited to 3% of the GDP next year. We’re on track to reach our objective this year, after Parliament passed a financial bill in July to make the necessary fiscal adjustments. And I’ll be finalizing in a couple days now, with the other ministries, under the approval of the President and the government, next year’s Finance Act, with a view to meeting the 3% deficit target. President Hollande has campaigned on a platform of fiscal responsibility, not for the sake of it but because we do not want financial markets to constantly be breathing down our neck, and because the French government would rather direct public funds towards public services or growth- and competitiveness-sustaining measures than toward servicing the public debt. One euro less for debt means one euro more for healthcare, education and other public services. 4.5% in 2012, 3% in 2013, budgetary balance by 2017 – at the end of President Hollande’s mandate – that’s the plan, and we will stick to it. Let’s not be mistaken, we are not tempted to rely exclusively on tax increases to meet our targets. Not so. While the French government will indeed increase revenue at the beginning of its term, we intend to stabilise the overall tax burden by 2014 and focus afterwards on cutting spending and shifting the weight of fiscal contributions away from small businesses and low-income households. Make no mistake: our determination to implement sound budgetary and fiscal policies is absolutely intact. Given France’s poor budgetary record under the previous administration, it would be understandable if some of you in the audience felt a little bit sceptical, and I imagine that you do. As Minister of the Economy and Finance, however, I see no contradictions between our national reform agenda, and our European reform agenda - quite the contrary. I believe that they complement and reinforce each other, that we should build on European initiatives to obtain better results in France and conversely that we should draw on our achievements in France to strengthen France’s voice on the European arena. Let me be more specific about that. It is precisely because France has favoured, under President Hollande, a realistic yet ambitious budgetary path and a heightened credibility for its financial policy, that our European partners, and also the markets turn to us again, as illustrated by the satisfying results of the June European Council. The same logic applies the other way round, too. In June, France successfully instigated the reorientation of Europe’s priorities and policies toward an economic and political agenda not entirely dominated by austerity measures, but dedicated more and more to growth. In return, the growth-sustaining measures Europe agreed upon in June will amplify the effects of France’s economic policies in the long run. The domestic stage and the European stage should be viewed as two faces of the same coin, just like we should build complementarities between the pursuit of credible fiscal adjustment measures and the pursuit of economic growth. I believe in symbiotic relationships, not artificial oppositions. That was just by way of introduction. Let’s consider now where we stand today in the eurozone, and where we should be headed next. A major step for financial stability and growth was achieved at the European Council in June. We agreed that stabilizing the eurozone, breaking the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns and preventing contagion among other European economies was the number-one priority. Markets suspected that weaker members would fall out of the eurozone, calling for immediate action. France’s views - and this is the position that my government defended in June – is that the eurozone is not a collection of national units that may break up, but a coherent, valuable political and economic accomplishment that must be preserved. All eyes are on Greece at the moment, for obvious reasons. Let me put this in unambiguous terms: Greece belongs in the eurozone. There is no question that Greece made mistakes in the past, but today France favours a balanced approach combining concrete results on the ground, and effective support by Greece’s European partners and the IMF. Greece has a new, democratically-elected government that must meet the commitments Athens has made over the past months, while other eurozone members provide unambiguous support. We must support them. Let me say again that Greece must stay in the eurozone. Spain has been another subject of concern. I am confident that under the circumstances, we are on the right track, both in Madrid and in Brussels. Spain’s restructuring plan for its banking sector will be supported by existing financial instruments, but new, innovative instruments have also been foreseen for the near future. From my standpoint, opening up this perspective was a major achievement in our collective response to the crisis. I’ll get back to that in a minute. From France’s perspective, the June Summit was also a success as it initiated a wider, much-needed effort to strike a better balance between the various macro-economic objectives we’re pursuing. It is high time for growth to reclaim its essential position on the European economic map. In this respect, the European Council’s agreement on a 120bn € “compact for growth and jobs” was a major step forward, with new cash coming from a combination of short-term growth instruments such as project bonds, reallocated EU structural funds and fresh investment capital from the European Investment Bank. So the June Summit was a promising development. But more has to be done. I also want to salute the action of the ECB for saying that the euro is irreversible. The ECB is right in saying that Member States have to act together and France welcomes the ECB proposal. A fully-fledged banking union – i.e., a system to wind down or recapitalise troubled banks, combined with a Europe-wide bank-deposit insurance scheme – would go a lon

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Please be advised that this site is not optimized for use with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. John C. Gerspach Chief Financial OfficerCitigroup Section 16 Reports John Gerspach was named Chief Financial Officer of Citi in July 2009. He is responsible for the financial management of the company and also spearheads Citi's Expense Management, Enterprise Payments and Citi Ventures initiatives. Prior to being named CFO, John was Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Citi. Mr. Gerspach has been with Citi since 1990 and has held various CFO and Chief Administrative Officer positions throughout the company. He has experience in both the Regional Consumer Banking and Institutional Clients Group and has worked closely with all of the regions, including serving as the CFO/CAO of Latin America. Before joining Citi in 1990, Mr. Gerspach was CFO at Penn Central Industry Group. Prior to that, he was Comptroller for the Defense Contracting Group at ITT Corporation. His professional career began at Arthur Andersen & Company. Mr. Gerspach earned his degree in accounting at the University of Notre Dame and is CPA certified in the State of New York. He is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council. Need to book a Citi Speaker? Email [email protected] Citi is looking for talented people to join us. Learn about careers at Citi

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Brockton Credit Unions in Massachusetts Merger February 01, 2013 • Reprints The $402 million Crescent Credit Union said Friday it will be merging the $10 million Brockton Postal Employees Credit Union, both in Brockton, Mass. The merger of the state-chartered institutions in pending regulatory and member approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of March, Crescent CU said. “I can’t think of a more logical and mutually beneficial combination of strengths as this merger. Both credit unions are well capitalized, operate under similar charters and are located in Brockton,” said Crescent President/CEO Robert W. Gustafson. Brockton Postal Chairman Edward Kenney said, “Members will benefit from access to Crescent’s eight branch locations, a larger array of products and services and the convenience of ATM, online banking and electronic banking options.” The 18,000-member Brockton Postal was established in 1923 and primarily serves current and retired employees of the USPS and government employees from inside the postal facility on Liberty Street in Brockton. The credit union’s ATM there will continue to operate under the Crescent name, the surviving credit union said. The 46,800-member Crescent was founded in 1919 and now serves anyone who lives or works in Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk or Barnstable counties in Massachusetts.

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Save Your Refund National Sweepstakes Launched February 07, 2013 • Reprints The Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis., is hosting a webinar on Friday to show credit unions how to involve their members in a national Save Your Refund Sweepstakes that was recently launched by the non-profit group Doorway to Dreams Fund of Boston. D2D was founded by Peter Rufano, a former Filene Fellow who has a long history of finding ways to motivate consumers to save, the institute said. Rufano worked with Filene Research on the development of prize-linked savings, including the Save to Win program that has been adopted at credit unions in North Carolina, Michigan and Nebraska. The first-ever Save Your Refund Sweepstakes encourages tax filers over age 18 to save a minimum of $50 of their federal tax refund, by splitting their refund using Form 8888, and to enter the sweepstakes at http://www.saveyourrefund.com. The sweepstakes, which ends April 15, has a $35,000 prize purse, including a $25,000 grand prize and four $250 prizes per week. The Internal Revenue Service Form 8888 is used to deposit refunds into more than one account. “Our goal with the sweepstakes is to bring attention to the tax-time savings opportunity and the tools available to facilitate it,” Timothy Flacke, executive director of D2D, said. “We want to help transform saving money from a mundane act of sacrifice into an exciting and fun event infused with possibility.” Visit Filene Research’s site for more information about the webinar. Show Comments

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Flamand's Edoma to close Harriet Agnew 01 Nov 2012 Updated at 18:50 GMT Pierre-Henri Flamand, the former Goldman Sachs partner and head of its principal strategies division, is shutting down his hedge fund firm Edoma Partners after two years because he is unable to “make money in the current environment,” Financial News can reveal. Flamand is the fifth-largest individual investor in the fund, which uses an event-driven strategy and employs 20 people. He told Financial News today: “There’s close to no corporate activity. I’d rather be honest with investors because I don’t think I can make money in this environment. Our first responsibility is to investors and their money. We thought carefully about our options and feel this is the most appropriate decision to take.” The firm expects to take between three and four months to wind down its operations and return capital to investors, according to people familiar with the situation. Edoma was the largest European hedge fund launch of 2010 but has shrunk from over $2bn at its peak to $855m following lacklustre performance, according to investors. It is down 4.9% over the first 10 months of the year. Between its inception in November 2010 and the end of October the fund has fallen 7%. The EURO STOXX 50 Index is down 12% over the same period. Flamand is one of several high-profile hedge fund managers to quit the markets against a backdrop of high correlation, market volatility and unprecedented political and regulatory intervention. Two weeks ago, Greg Coffey, the co-chief investment officer at Moore Capital in London, said he was retiring to spend more time with his family and in his native Australia. Chris Rokos, the ‘R’ in Brevan Howard Asset Management, announced in August he was retiring to “pursue his other interests”. A month later, Driss Ben-Brahim, a former Goldman Sachs partner who joined GLG in 2008, said he was taking early retirement. Flamand left Goldman Sachs in March 2010 after 15 years. He was a partner and had run the US bank’s principal strategies division – its largest internal hedge fund – and led a 30-strong team in the equities-focused division since 2007. Goldman Sachs’s principal strategies division has since been wound down to comply with the Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks trading for their own account. Flamand was joined at Edoma by several former Goldman Sachs colleagues, including founding partners Ali Hedayat and Emmanuel Niogret. Martina Slowey quit as head of European prime brokerage at UBS to join Edoma. Two other partners, Oliver Haslam and Casper Lund, left earlier this month as Edoma cut costs. Event-driven strategies, which trade around corporate activity such as mergers, takeovers, restructurings and initial public offerings, have suffered in the past couple of years from a dearth of deal activity. This has been particularly pronounced in Europe, where the sovereign debt crisis has hurt management confidence in deal making. The average hedge fund is up 4.86% this year to the end of September, while the average event-driven hedge fund has gained 5.30% in the same period, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. Global M&A volumes stand at $2.17 trillion for the year-to-date, according to Dealogic, down 7% from a year previous. The volume of deals targeting European companies stands at $601.3bn, down from $678.1bn, a fall of around 11%. --Write to [email protected] Share SIGN UP TO EMAILS The many lives of Goldman's partners 26 Sep 2012 Ex-Goldman traders outperform peers with new fund 12 Jan 2012 Story Tags Please enter the recipients email address for who you wish to send this article to. Email address 1: Add +

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Public Money Credit Rating Risks Ahead If you thought the Great Recession was the most trying time for state and local government credit ratings, think again. by Penelope Lemov What does Standard & Poor's credit downgrade have to do with states and localities? Nothing, says Robin Prunty, a senior director in S&P's Public Finance Ratings Group. "Obviously," she adds, "there are funding interdependencies and that is something we would continue to evaluate. There will be fiscal consolidation at the federal level, and there is potential impact related to those decisions." But, when all is said and done, there is no direct linkage. In a report released Tuesday, S&P spelled out its criteria for maintaining or lowering AAA-rated states and localities in light of the lowering of the U.S. rating. The report did not, as feared, downgrade hundreds of muni bonds. The U.S. credit rating issue aside, fiscal pressures on state and local governments continue. Last month, Moody's issued a report noting that downgrades of U.S. public finance credits outnumbered upgrades for the 10th consecutive quarter. In a move that foreshadowed S&P's reasoning for downgrading the U.S., Moody's and Fitch put Minnesota's credit rating on negative watch, citing "political intractability" as one of the reasons for the action. Moody's Lowers Credit Rating for Pennsylvania State College System Lowered Taxes Could Put Alaska's Credit Rating At Risk Bonds Trump Pensions in Rhode Island What Central Falls and the Debt Deal Mean For Cities Get Ready for GASB The factors complicating state and local ratings are deepening. To get a sense of the rating challenges states and localities face, I talked to Robert Kurtter, managing director for Moody's U.S. State and Regional Ratings. Here are some of the key points he made: The dangers of a U.S. credit rating downgrade. There is a relationship between the U.S. sovereign debt rating and state and local governments. Around the world, it is rare for a lower unit of government -- a sub-sovereign, like a state or municipality -- to have a higher rating than the sovereign government itself. There are circumstances where that occurs: It has a lot do with the dependence of local economies on that nation's economy, on the federal government's interaction with the banking sector and the degree to which government creates an environment that allows lower governments to be stronger than the parent. But if the parent weakens and can't support a banking industry in distress, that has implications for lower units of government in that country. Given the circumstances and approach to ratings globally, Moody's looked at states that have a AAA rating. There are 15 of them, and we applied a series of screens to those states to try to identify, based on certain characteristics, which of these states might be vulnerable to downgrade if a downgrade of the U.S. rating should occur. We looked at a variety of things, including economic sensitivity to the U.S. macro economy, vulnerability to capital market disruption and vulnerability to reductions in federal spending either through programmatic support, such as Medicaid, or just state spending. We also looked at the ability to mitigate some of these risks. As a result of this analysis, we identified five of the 15 states that would be vulnerable to a change in a federal government rating. They are Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. We have resolved and confirmed their AAA rating, and assigned them a negative outlook. We'll be reviewing each of these states individually to further refine their degree of vulnerability to a federal rating change, and will have some further conclusions when their reviews are finalized. Fallout from the Great Recession. States are facing a revenue and spending crisis, not a debt crisis -- most states and localities are not highly leveraged. They do, however, face significant budget imbalances. In order to address those imbalances, state and local governments have had to cut programs that previously were off the table, like Medicaid and K-12. Of course, when states make cuts, there are downstream impacts on local governments. It's stressful for the local economy and puts credit pressure on local governments to absorb those cuts or to raise taxes to fill the gap. Moody's has had negative outlooks on the state and local government sectors for three years. But just when states and localities were seeing an uptick in revenue and employment, they are now faced with a new set of problems: The rapidly rising risk of a new recession and the prospect of deep significant federal spending reductions. The uneasy economy. Economists have been ratcheting down forecasts for economic growth for the U.S. since the beginning of the year, but recent events surrounding the spreading of the debt crisis in Europe and the debate here over the debt ceiling have obviously caused investors, as well as economists, to be much more concerned about the course of the economy. Recent data released about a slowdown in consumer spending (which accounts for close to two-thirds of the GDP), the continued weakness in the housing market and anemic job growth have created concerns that another recesssion is probable. That creates challenges for state and local credit ratings. The past few years were characterized by unprecedented credit stress and problems for state and local governments in balancing budgets and meeting obligations. Now it looks like they may not be out of the woods yet. GASB's proposed accounting rules to make pension liabilities more transparent. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued an exposure draft and a solicitation for comments. They may make changes and modifications before they issue rules, and there will be a phase-in period for complying. We are still a bit away from seeing results. Moody's is very supportive of increased disclosure and transparency, and of providing more information for all kinds of market participants about the nature of these liabilities. We have done our own analyses and taken into account the impact of funding pension obligations in our ratings. We have accounted for and identified those circumstances and situations where negative pressure of funding those obligations have had an impact on credit ratings. But, we don't see any immediate repercussions to a credit from this new rule. Impact of the declaration of bankruptcy by Central Falls, R.I., and and the talk of bankruptcy in Jefferson County, Ala., and Harrisburg, Pa. Defaults among general governments are rare. These three instances are evidence of the rarity of this. The U.S. Census counts some 90,000 municipal entities. Moody's has ratings on 18,000 of them. If we look at the defaults in the past three and a half years among the municipalities we rate, we saw five defaults in 2008, one in 2009 and three in 2010 and two this year. This is a higher instance than we've seen historically -- between 1970 and 2009, we had 54 defaults. We've seen a few more than we would expect during a period of stress, but we expect defaults to continue to be low. These three instances are important, notable events. but they also are relatively rare. Moody's views them as being part of the legacy of the Great Recession and not so much a portent of what's coming. Penelope Lemov | correspondent [email protected] More from Public Money Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the State System of Higher Education's long-term credit rating, citing challenges from declining enrollment and slumping state support to its limited ability to curb labor costs and its escalating construction debt.

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Street Unwise by Noam Scheiber | February 25, 2002 With ten congressional committees holding hearings on Enron, it's almost impossible for any one member of Congress to distinguish himself on the issue. But that hasn't stopped Senator Jon Corzine from trying. These days the freshman New Jersey Democrat sounds more like Ralph Nader than the former investment-banking pooh-bah he is. In an interview with The Hill newspaper last week, Corzine announced, "We need accounting reform, pension reform, corporate governance reform and, obviously, campaign finance reform." Accordingly, in the last two months, Corzine has sponsored a pension reform bill as well as legislation to ensure the independence of financial audits. He's called for consolidating financial-services regulation under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve, and for giving the SEC the resources it needs to fill that expanded role. And he's spoken out in favor of ending the conflict of interest among stock analysts whose own firms underwrite stock offerings. When it comes to the behavior of former Enron executives themselves, he's been even more outspoken. Reflecting on the investigative report recently released by a committee of Enron board members, Corzine declared that "if the facts of it are accurate, it's quite despicable and damning." To hear Corzine tell it, his years of experience in the corporate world-- culminating in his chairmanship of Goldman Sachs from 1994 to 1999--give him special insight into how to restore confidence in the stock market, and the credibility to pull it off. But his years of experience in the corporate world also make him partly responsible for what went wrong. And it's not just the vague responsibility that would fall on anyone who'd been a major Wall Street player at a time when dubious companies were being hawked to credulous investors at an unprecedented rate. As BusinessWeek and The Wall Street Journal recently reported, Corzine's former firm directly contributed to Enron's collapse by creating and marketing a financial instrument that the failed energy trader used to hide as much as $3 billion in debt between 1993 and its collapse l

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Judge approves $2.43B Bank of America settlement NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge approved Bank of America's $2.43 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by shareholders over its acquisition of former competitor Merrill Lynch. A Bank of America Corp. spokesman says a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Manhattan approved the settlement Friday. In the lawsuit, shareholders had alleged that Bank of America and some of its officers made false or misleading statements about both companies' financial health when Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill for $20 billion, at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America later disclosed that Merrill would take $27.6 billion in losses that year.

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example: life, funny (comma separated)example: Einsteinexample: one small step for manSearch HelpAdvanced Search “Dale was a valuable member of our team almost a decade ago before deciding to try his hand as a corporate controller of a publicly traded company. That experience allows Dale to bring substantial real-life knowledge of a broad range of financial and business issues that challenge our clients and solutions to help them meet their goals.” “He is a very valuable member of our team. Given the scenario, it's nice to have a player like that with the experience he has who can play at the level he can.” “Takuma Sato has been an extremely valuable and much-liked member of our team for four years in the roles of test driver, third driver and, latterly, race driver. He has made an enormous contribution to B*A*R Honda's development. Takuma's current contract reaches its conclusion at the end of 2005 but B*A*R Honda is in discussions with Takuma and his management regarding possibilities for the future.” Nick Fry “He's been a valuable member of our team both on and off the floor in each of his first three years, ... I'm pleased that he will continue to wear a Pistons' uniform through the 2010-11 season.” “We feel like he's a valuable member of our team and we put the transition tag on him in an effort to keep him.” Marty Hurney “Carlos is a valuable member of this team and we look at him the way we look at all of our players: Everyone gets evaluated at the end of the year,” “We're very pleased to have Nolan Pratt back for another season. Nolan has been a valuable member of the team and contributed significantly to our outstanding season last year. We know he will come into camp ready to battle for a spot in our top six on defense.” Jay Feaster

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Battle-tested prosecutor at SEC Sunday, January 27, 2013 3:30am Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, was nominated by President Barack Obama last week to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. As he settles into a second term, President Barack Obama has taken some heat for failing to appoint more women to high-level positions within his administration. By nominating former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the president has tapped an aggressive, no-nonsense veteran prosecutor. With White's nomination, Obama is sending a clear message to Wall Street and the banking community that it will continue to be held accountable for the complex financial shenanigans and insider trading that contributed to the economic collapse. White brings an impressive track record of law enforcement to her new position. During her nine years as U.S. attorney, she oversaw the successful prosecutions of mob boss John Gotti and the plotters behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. White also pursued white collar crime during her tenure as the federal government's top prosecutor in Manhattan, securing a $340 million fine against Daiwa Bank for its cover-up of trading losses. The SEC's shortcomings as an effective regulator came into sharp relief with its failure to pursue Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme, despite repeated warnings of wrongdoing dating back to 1999. More recently, the SEC, working along with the FBI and federal prosecutors, has pursued successful insider trading cases against high-profile Wall Street figures such as Raj Rajaratnam, who is serving an 11-year prison term and faces $158 million in fines and penalties, and his associate Rajat Gupta, who received a two-year prison term and a $5 million fine. But White takes over an agency that has been historically understaffed and underfunded. The SEC needs more than a hard-charging bulldog at its helm if it is expected to take on deep-pocketed and well-defended Wall Street firms with the wherewithal to stall investigations. Too often a stretched-thin SEC has been forced to settle potential criminal cases with only a modest fine and no admission of guilt. Obama's appointment of a battle-tested and respected woman to lead the nation's top financial enforcement agency is welcome. But White cannot fully protect the interests of investors and consumers unless she also has the investigative and prosecutorial weapons at her disposal to do the job on a level playing field with the industry she is charged with regulating. Battle-tested prosecutor at SEC 01/27/13

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Banks and Finance Credit crisis: Sticky wicket for Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley CEOs Cricket mad Adam Applegarth By Alistair Osborne and James Quinn 12:01AM BST 09 Aug 2008 Some executives may have retired hurt, but not their bank balances, write Alistair Osborne and James Quinn Cricket and heart failure. No, this is not the story of some poor England fan laid low by the latest Test defeat. But the abiding images of two former chief executives bowled out by the credit crisis. Tot up the casualties on both sides of the Atlantic and top of the list over here are Adam Applegarth, the ex-boss of Northern Rock, and Steven Crawshaw, his erstwhile opposite number at Bradford & Bingley. The cricket-mad Applegarth, 45, got the ball rolling a year ago when the bank he ran produced the sort of batting collapse that would have astounded even the lachrymose Michael Vaughan. "Life changed on August 9," moaned Applegarth. "That's when the markets just froze." Part 1: Newcastle is still reeling from Northern Rock Part 2: US property dream is now a nightmare At least, he didn't. Applegarth raced off cap in hand to the Bank of England for what turned into the biggest bank bailout in UK history, followed by a grisly nationalisation. Applegarth, who cleverly cashed in £2.6m of shares towards the stock's peak in August 2006 and January 2007, got the heave-ho from the aggressive mortgage lender in November. He has since been spending more time with his £760,000 payoff, while dodging the media by flitting between his house in Matfen, Northumberland, and flat in Newcastle. A rare sighting saw him snapped in beard and T-shirt, looking every inch a former chief executive. But it is cricket fans who have had more luck spotting him. Applegarth is now Sunderland Cricket Club's most famous batsman. He has been turning out for the 2nd XI on a regular basis and, what's more, his average has shot up to a respectable 36.6. So, who can say no positives have come out of the credit crisis? Well, Crawshaw maybe. He was forced to retire hurt after trying to deal with a vicious googly: the definition of a rights issue. Having vigorously denied that he was having one, Crawshaw later produced a reverse swing worthy of Freddie Flintoff before limping out of the match - just before things cut up really rough at B&B. Reports from the bank's physio attributed Crawshaw's swift departure to his angina, which, says the Collins dictionary, is "a sudden intense pain in the chest caused by a momentary lack of adequate blood supply to the heart muscle". B&B shareholders should know exactly how he felt. At least the pair have company in other UK victims of the credit crisis. Back at the Rock, seven other directors (including non-exec Derek Wanless, the former NatWest boss) quit the day that Applegarth left. It was former chairman Matt Ridley, however, who beat them all out of the door. Ridley, a journalist and geneticist, quit in October only three days after MPs on the Treasury Select Committee accused him of "clinging to office". He had followed in the footsteps of his father, Viscount Ridley, also a former Rock chairman, and has been keeping a low profile since rocking off. Even so, that has not stopped Ridley popping up as a judge for the Bastiat prize for journalism. It is in honour of 19th-century French philosopher Frédéric Bastiat and "celebrates writers whose work clearly and wittily promotes the institutions of the free society". No questioning Ridley's credentials. His knowledge of some institutions - the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury spring to mind - must have risen immeasurably. They formed the so-called Tripartite Authorities - the trio put in place by Gordon Brown to ensure that nothing so fanciful as a bank collapse could ever happen here. Whoops! Part 3: Risky debt notes could be a losing game Part 4: After the binge, the UK's almighty mortgage hangover Clive Briault, the official in charge of supervising the Rock, became the FSA's fall-guy, leaving in March by "mutual consent" - not to be confused with the consent of all mutual lenders. A near £530,000 payoff, taking his total pay to £884,000, added a bit of brio to his departure, drawing predictable "enormous payoff" ire from the Rock's stiffed shareholders. Over at the BoE, it was deputy governor Sir John Gieve, 58, who was crocked by the Rock. He was the Bank man in charge of financial stability. Where was he when the Rock was teetering on the brink last August? That's right, on a two-week holiday. Back from the beach, Sir John insisted he had always been "alert to the dangers in the financial markets". John McFall, the TSC chairman, had other ideas, accusing him of being "asleep in the back shop while there was a mugging out front". Luckily, the Bank has signalled a much more serious approach from now on. The other deputy governor, Rachel Lomax, is being succeeded by Mr Bean - a proper Charlie, apparently. With two of the Tripartite losing senior executives, only the Treasury's bloodletting is to come - clearly an ongoing case of "Not tonight, Darling". Perhaps surprisingly, some of the biggest corporate victims of the credit crisis - begging bowls to hand - are holding on to their chief executives. Think Sir Fred "The Shredded Balance Sheet" Goodwin at Royal Bank of Scotland or the still youthful Andy Hornby at HBOS. On the other side of the Atlantic, it's been a different ball game entirely. Golf, actually. Stan O'Neal, Merrill Lynch's ex-chairman and chief executive, spent much of last summer perfecting his backswing, confident his trusty lieutenants could avoid those sub-prime bunkers. Bad call. Come October, Merrill had come up with an $8.4bn bogey and critics lined up to take a swing at O'Neal - not least when it emerged he'd played 20 rounds of golf in the last six weeks of that tricky third quarter. And they were just the ones he registered on his golf club's online score-card. Although most rounds were at weekends - including three games one Saturday - it did allow people to suggest he'd taken his eye off the ball. He "retired" on October 29 after 21 years at the bank, though even Tiger Woods would blanch at his prize money - a stonking $159m payoff. It's enough to fund a few more rounds in retirement, though O'Neal has popped up as a part-timer on the board of Alcoa, whose speciality is a different kind of iron: aluminium. Jimmy Cayne, the septuagenarian chairman and chief executive of Bear Stearns, also believed golf was no handicap to running a bank. During his 15-year tenure at the top, he would rush from Wall Street by chopper to the private Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, New Jersey. There he would get in his 18 holes before dark. Famously, Cayne was said to be on the course in June last year just as his Bear dropped the first of many clangers with a 10pc dive in profits. Worse followed, with the bank having to put up $3.2bn (£1.7) in an attempt to rescue its imploding hedge fund. Away from the greens, Cayne was working hard. To improve his bridge. When the bank collapsed in mid-March - as a result of an old-fashioned "run" based on rumours of its dwindling liquidity - Cayne had already relinquished the chief executive's role, handing over to Alan Schwartz. Where was Cayne when Schwartz went cap in hand to the New York Fed for a $30bn bail-out? That's right: competing in the North American Bridge Championship in Detroit. Having taken a proper clubbing, Bear was eventually rescued by JP Morgan for a price well below par. In the days that followed, Cayne was occasionally spotted prowling the corridors in Bear's Madison Avenue Tower. But then he was gone. Part 5: Governments caused the credit crisis, but capitalism gets the blame More on the financial crisis He and wife Patricia sold all their 5.66m shares in Bear - worth as much as $1.2bn in January 2007 - for $61.3m at the end of March. That came in handy. They recently bought two adjacent apartments in New York's plush Plaza building for $28.2m. With a name like Chuck Prince, there was only one outcome when the going got rough, for the boss of Citigroup. His downfall was banking analyst Meredith Whitney, who dared to suggest Citigroup might have to cut its dividend in the face of forecast future write-downs. Citigroup shares tanked, causing $369bn of collateral damage across the US market, and two days later the Prince was gone. He drove off with a $30m golden goodbye - enough to do up his homes on Park Avenue, and a mock Tudor mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Quickly it emerged that the mansion, set on 2.34 acres of land, was surplus to requirement. "It no longer meets his needs," said the local estate agent, trying to sell it for $6.15m. Appropriately, Prince became a victim of the credit crunch, forced to cut the asking price by $300,000. Now the mansion has mysteriously vanished from the agent's website, though no-one's saying if it has been sold. Prince was most recently spotted sitting outside a restaurant in Manhattan's trendy Tribeca district - just a stone's throw from Citigroup's investment banking HQ. Only a curmudgeon could complain that the rewards for failure for this lot simply aren't cricket. Banks and Finance Celebrities who went bust In Banks and Finance New mortgage drought could 'kill housing recovery' Hold fire for best cash Isa rates – but lower your expectations Help to Buy: Key questions answered Savings tricks: How to earn 5pc

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Home Paul De Grauwe Paul De Grauwe Paul De Grauwe is Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Leuven, the author of The Economics of Monetary Union, and the editor of three previous books in the CESifo Seminar series. Titles by This Editor Illicit Trade and the Global EconomyEdited by Cláudia Costa Storti and Paul De Grauwe As international trade has expanded dramatically in the postwar period--an expansion accelerated by the opening of China, Russia, India, and Eastern Europe--illicit international trade has grown in tandem with it. This volume uses the economist's toolkit to examine the economic, political, and social problems resulting from such illicit activities as illegal drug trade, smuggling, and organized crime. Dimensions of CompetitivenessEdited by Paul De Grauwe Competitiveness among nations is often approached as if it were a sports competition: some countries win medals, others lose out. This view of countries fighting it out in the economic arena is especially popular in business circles and among politicians. Economists, however, take a very different approach to international economic relations, arguing that international trade leads not to winners and losers but to win-win situations in which all countries profit. Prospects for Monetary Unions after the EuroEdited by Paul De Grauwe and Jacques Mélitz The process of monetary integration in Europe began amid widespread skepticism among economists about the project. But today the success of the euro has prompted a reconsideration of whether monetary unions should be implemented elsewhere. This CESifo volume assesses contemporary theoretical and empirical work on optimal currency areas, considering such questions as the expansion of the eurozone, the institution of monetary unions in Latin America and East Asia, and the effect of monetary unions on the working of the "real economy." Exchange Rate Economics Where Do We Stand? Edited by Paul De Grauwe Recent theoretical developments in exchange rate economics have led to important new insights into the functioning of the foreign exchange market. The simple models of the 1970s, which could not withstand empirical evaluation, have been succeeded by more complex models that draw on theoretical work in such areas as the microstructure of financial markets and open economy macroeconomics. Additionally, new and powerful econometric techniques allow researchers to subject exchange rates to stronger empirical analysis.

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Play and Rest: Asian Casinos and Resorts By Damian Illia - LVS, MPEL, WYNN Damian is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited. Buying stock has similarities with gambling. Think about it, chance and luck are diminished with more information. Also, random occurrences may give way to important information. Here there are a few pointers about three companies involved in the resort and casino business: Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), and Melco Crown Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL). Viva Macau! Viva GDP! Regarding gambling, the first thing that typically comes to mind is Las Vegas. But, investors must think Macau (China) when talking about Las Vegas Sands. China has experienced unprecedented growth, aiding the company to revert a negative revenue and free cash trend. Additionally, the firm is said to hold a 20% and 50% share of the Chinese and Singaporean gambling market, respectively. Sands created for itself an economic moat in Macau, holding one of six gambling licenses given out by Chinese authorities. Additionally, in Singapore, the firm holds one of two gambling licenses, and will operate in a competition-free market until 2018. With current market positioning and circulating rumors about gambling being legalized by other Asian countries, management will find new opportunities to replicate successful past experiences. Since 2007, Sands has constructed three out of the seven casinos the firm operates in Asia. There are further plans to keep investing on capital in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Analysts blame increasing debt for the halt of the Las Vegas and Madrid project, but GDP slowdown in Asia and the U.S. economic recession have played a part, too. At the moment, the most urgent need is to sustain cash flow in order to scare off any debt phantasm. Remarkably, Sands opened new facilities, expanded geographically, keeps a 20% operating margin, and rewards shareholders. The current share price is closer to its 52-week high, but remains fairly priced. Yield stands at 2.62% and the dividend at $0.35 (specials dividends have also been paid). It is recommended to buy the stock because it is the most diverse and best-positioned company in the industry. Volatile income people Wynn is another resort and casino conglomerate riding on Macau’s economic performance. Holding another of the six licenses provided by Chinese authorities, the company cemented its premier brand aimed for VIP customers. Additionally, the firm operates two casino and resorts in Las Vegas. Almost three-quarters of Wynn’s revenue is generated in the Asian market. The competition there is tighter than before, as new players come to the table. Hence, the firm’s revenue has seen a small reduction, and the market is expected to clog within five years. Before land plots are full, the firm has started work at the Cotai Strip. Like Sands, Wynn’s operations in the U.S. lagged behind, but in comparison, exposure is higher. However, the greatest threat is dependence on VIP customers, due to their volatility. On the management side, Steve Wynn has enough credentials, and the finances to show for it. Additionally, Wynn has a history of rewarding shareholders. Revenue, cash flow, and net-income have risen during the last five years. Debt has considerably risen over the last year, in line with new projects, but the firm has previously shown a capacity to pay debt obligations. Most importantly, operating margin is one of the highest in the industry at 21.1 points. Share price is close to its 52-week high, so it is recommended to hold until the price drops more, or VIP customers return for another season. Forward betting: losing is possible Since June 2012, Melco’s shares have risen 60%. The casino and resort conglomerate owns one of six Chinese licenses, and has commenced work on the second of four new facilities in the Philippines. Due to its focus on the Asian market, the firm was not exposed to the U.S. market downturn. Further, it is important for revenue and cash flow to continue climbing to quiet debt alarms. The product of a joint venture, aided by a later spin-off of its entertainment branch, Melco quickly gained an important share of the gambling market in Macau. The company has successfully stepped up to the table, but as market supply exceeds demand and competition tightens, the firm will be tested in the near future. So far, expansion in the Philippines is the short-term objective, while Macau’s market share is expected to hold up with the opening of Macau Studio City. Concentration on the Asian market has helped Melco to better weather the U.S. economic downturn. Also, the new Macau strip is expected to benefit the firm. Gambling enthusiasts talk about a move from the peninsula to the strip, similar to Las Vegas’ move from downtown to the strip. If customers do, in fact, prefer the strip to the peninsula, Melco will be less affected. Melco’s last stand is to divert some of the profits to shareholders. With five years of increasing revenue, net-income, cash flow, and a 20% operating margin, the company is financially solid. But, the firm does not make the cut because it depends heavily on the move from the peninsula to the strip. It is recommended to hold because the risk is too high to start a long-term investment. Enjoying the game In the end, all three companies depend on at least one catalyst. Melco depends on a power shift to the strip in Macau, and hopes for the U.S. to recover very slowly to keep competitors at bay. Wynn has also placed a bet on the strip to balance market share lost to Melco, and hopes to improve performance in Nevada. So, in my opinion, Sands prevails because of its clean sheet, market diversity, and shareholder rewarding policies. Plus, it holds the best potential for entering new markets. Tired of watching your stocks creep up year after year at a glacial pace? Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, founder of the #1 growth stock newsletter in the world (Hulbert Financial), has developed a unique strategy for uncovering truly wealth-changing stock picks. And he wants to share it, along with a few of his favorite growth stock superstars, WITH YOU! It's a special 100% FREE report called "6 Picks for Ultimate Growth". So stop settling for index-hugging gains ... and click HERE for instant access to a whole new game plan of stock picks to help power your portfolio. Damian Illia has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is this post wrong? Click here. Think you can do better? Join us and write your own! Email Damian Illia damianillia Damian Illia, MBA, is a fundamental geek analyst with a passion of the stock market. Focus on analyzing growth trends and superb companies. MPEL Also On This Topic The Five Most Expensive CEO Perks in America Buy These Bold Calls on Cheap Stocks? Checking In With One of the World's Top Hotel Chains These Companies Control 50% of the Casino Licenses in China Buying This Bargain on the Pullback

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A Cautious Value Investor Finds Three Buys Wally Weitz is wary of the market, but bullish on Wells Fargo, Texas Instruments, and DirecTV. Ever since Wally Weitz launched his own money-management firm nearly 30 years ago, he has put a big emphasis on buying stocks of companies that have strong free cash flow. The Omaha-based value investor has had a lot more ups than downs, but in 2008, the Weitz Value Fund (ticker: WVALX) lost about 40% amid the market rout. That placed it in the bottom quarter of its Morningstar category. Enlarge Image "Compounding, even at a very modest rate of return, can make you very wealthy over time. But you have to make sure you don't give back those gains." -- Wally Weitz Scott Dobry for Barron's Still, Weitz's long-term record remains strong. The fund's average annual total return over 15 years is 6.9%, some 2.6 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500's, and better than 93% of its peers'. Although Weitz, 63, has been developing some younger portfolio managers at his firm, he doesn't plan to step aside soon. He still relishes finding undervalued stocks, especially of companies that generate lots of cash. Barron's recently spoke with Weitz by telephone. Barron's: You've been investing for a long time. What are some of the key lessons you've learned? Weitz: We base buy and sell decisions on the actual business value behind the stock we are buying. That's not the only way to do it. But if you want to have consistent results and if you want to be comfortable in a stressful market, you really need to believe in your underlying philosophy or your valuation method. That's because it is only at the extremes of the market that we make the really important moves, whether it is to buy more in a time like March of 2009, when everything was just being thrown away, or whether it is selling out and stepping aside when the market is just crazy, as was the case at the end of 1999. It's also very important to have the courage of your convictions at the critical times and to make sure you feel very comfortable with your decision—not to shoot from the hip or to feel rushed. You need to make sure you don't give back the gains if you want compounding to work. You are an avid golfer. It seems that the best golfers focus on avoiding costly mistakes, rather than on always making birdies. There's definitely a similarity to investing, isn't there? That's a big part of it, and it's really another way of describing my second point—that compounding, even at a very modest rate of return, can make you very wealthy over time. But you have to make sure you don't give back those gains, because if something goes down 50%, it has to go up 100% to break even. It's fun to watch [golfer] Phil Mickelson, and he is a nice guy. But you are always holding your breath when he is on the tee and there are trees and water around. You wrote this fall that you weren't finding a lot of investment opportunities. Is that still the case? The market overshot incredibly on the downside 3½ years ago, and then snapped back to more normal valuation levels. Between early June and mid-September of this year, it went up 13%, even though the news was getting worse. The average price-to-value of the companies in our portfolio was in the 60% to 65% range in early June. By September, it was up to 75% or 80%, and it's still in that range. That is a lot less attractive, so we were selling into the rally, and our cash levels are at 25% to 35%. Now, 75% to 80% price-to-value isn't horrible. But the market has gotten some artificial stimulus from the Federal Reserve's pumping in hundreds of billions of dollars, first into the bond market, but it is affecting all financial assets. So, with a mediocre-to-poor near-term outlook for the fundamentals and the sense that stocks are up for the wrong reasons, we are comfortable holding 25% to 35% cash; we would love to redeploy it. Stocks have started to correct in the past few weeks. If the general market goes down another 10% or 15%, that might make some of our stocks attractive again. We are strictly reacting to valuations. We aren't trying to predict where the market will be in six months or a year. That doesn't work very well. Why do you put so much emphasis on free cash flow? If a business needs more cash to operate than it generates, then it is always going to have to go back and borrow. Or it is going to have debt that needs to be rolled over. And while that financing is available most of the time, when you get to a liquidity crisis or a recession, it isn't available. So, what we really look for is companies that generate more cash than they actually need to keep going at that level, and then they have the choice of reinvesting more of the same or they can expand their business. Or they can make acquisitions, buy back stock, or pay dividends to investors. It gives them more control over their destiny, and it allows us to get paid along the way. What are your thoughts on the fiscal cliff? Weitz's Picks Recent Company Ticker Price Wells Fargo WFC $33.14 Texas Instruments TXN 29.81 DirecTV DTV 50.05 Source: Bloomberg We've been running a deficit of about 7% of GDP [gross domestic product], which everybody agrees is too high. Deficit spending, all things being equal, stimulates the economy. So, if the deficit needs to be brought down—and there seems to be some agreement that 2% of GDP is acceptable—it will remove stimulus from the economy and be a drag. Whether that occurs from actions taken on Jan. 1 or over the next year or two, the effect is likely to throw another wet blanket on the economy. But, long-term, reducing the deficit is a positive for confidence and real growth. Turning to your portfolio, what's your thesis about Wells Fargo WFC +0.64% Wells Fargo & Co. 04/16/14 Reserve Releases, Once a Big B... 04/16/14 Bye-Bye Refi Boom 04/16/14 Banks Increase Borrowing From ... WFC in (WFC)? Wells Fargo is the one of the few big banks that came through the great recession almost fully intact. In fact, they were able to take advantage of that by taking over Wachovia in 2009 to help out the government. So, Wells has come out of the recession in a position to play offense, and it has taken share in mortgages. And it has lots of cheap deposits, even though there are not great outlets for those deposits in a very low-interest-rate environment. Still, Wells is a clear winner in the industry. We've owned it off and on for the past 20 years, and we came back to it about a year ago when the stock was in the low-to-mid-20s. It seems that the stock's first move from $23 or $24 up to the low $30s reflected having investor attitudes come up to indifference, because all banks were just very depressed. So, with the stock at $33, it is selling at just under 10 times next year's earnings. And it looks very plausible that earnings can grow around 10% a year, maybe faster. But let's use 10%, and their dividend will be growing as well. So, we see earnings going to $3.50 or $3.60 next year and somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 a couple of years out, and the stock sells at nearly 10 times earnings now. It is very plausible that, from time to time, it will sell at 12 times. So, even if it takes three years to get to $45, $50, plus dividends, that's a total return of 15% to 17% a year. The dividend yield is 2.7%. Yes, and they can afford to pay more than that. All of the banks were forced to hold back on both dividend increases and stock buybacks while they restructured their balance sheets. But what counts for me is sustainable earnings power, and after 20-plus years, I trust them. It is not going to be up every year in perfect stair steps. But I trust them to be, as Warren Buffett would say about stock investing, greedy when others are fearful, as they have been the past three or four years, and fearful when others are greedy, and that's the way they stayed out of trouble in the first half of [the first decade of] the 2000s. I trust them to do that again, going forward. It is sort of a supertanker, moving in the right direction at an acceptable speed. It is not exciting. But if we can see a 50% total return in two to three years, that is very good. Is the biggest risk for Wells another recession? If there is a recession and business slowed down and their credit losses rose a little bit so their earnings were hurt, it would be strictly a temporary and nonlethal combination of ingredients. Now, the stock might go down a lot. Wells actually got down under $10 in March 2009, even though there was really nothing wrong. That was just about people being afraid to own it, no matter what. And a recession can be really helpful to certain companies. It allowed Wells to buy Wachovia cheaply. Let's move on and hear why you believe Texas Instruments TXN -1.31% Texas Instruments Inc. 03/25/14 Intel Moves into Wearables Wit... 01/21/14 Texas Instruments Plans Cuts D... 01/21/14 Morning MoneyBeat: The New Cor... TXN in (TXN) has upside. I would call Texas Instruments a cyclical growth company. We got involved 2½ years ago, when they were in one of their periodic times of reinventing the company. Two or three generations ago, they were known as a calculator company. They reinvent themselves every eight or 10 years. This latest time, the company had a big dependence on the cellphone industry. So, they phased out of that business, which had become a commodity business, and shifted aggressively into analog devices, embedded processors, and that sort of thing. So, earnings were going down in one part of the business and coming up in the other. Their earnings were higher a couple of years ago—in the low-to-mid $2 range—and we thought that they would be able to keep on going up from there. The stock was around $23 at that time, versus nearly $30 recently. They've continued to work their way out of the cellphone business, building capacity on the analog side. The applications there include industrial test equipment and power conservation in various kinds of motors. But, cyclically, the demand isn't terrific for those businesses, so earnings have been languishing. During the recession, however, Texas Instruments bought more than $1 billion worth of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment for something like 15 cents on the dollar. That's capacity that they will be able to use going forward, and that they won't have to invest in. Last year, they also bought National Semiconductor, which gave them not only new products but also a lot of engineers. Analog engineers are in short supply. They bought the company for $6.5 billion. Texas Instruments is a coiled spring with much more capacity that it can use when the economy rebounds and a very broad analog product line that can have a long cycle. What is the stock worth? When we make guesses about how much free cash the company will generate over the next four or five years and do a discounted cash-flow analysis, we get a stock price around $42. The company has been very good about capital allocation over the years. Eight years ago, it had about 1.7 million shares outstanding, versus 1.1 million now. And since the vast majority of the capital spending that they are going to need in the next several years has been done, they will be able to dedicate a good part of their cash to buying back stock and raising their dividend. The DCF [discounted cash flow] process involves a lot of guesswork. But if you believe that the earnings can get up to $3 and higher over time, and the stock sells at 12 or 13 times, plus the dividend, it is pretty easy to look out two or three years and see something like a 50% return from here. OK, let's discuss another of your picks: DirecTV DTV +1.49% 04/08/14 Weather Channel Returns to Dir... 04/02/14 DirecTV Signs Multiyear Deal W... DTV in (DTV). The economics of its business are terrific. Once the satellites are in place and subscribers signed up, subscription revenue is very predictable, and the profit margins are high. Continuing capital expenditures are not significant, and most of the cash flow can be returned to shareholders through share repurchases. DirecTV doesn't need to keep putting money back into satellites, so they get the use of that money. And we really trust Mike White, who is the CEO and chairman, and expect the company to continue to buy back stock aggressively. They are on target this year to spend about $5 billion on stock buybacks. If they complete that, it will take out 16% or 17% of the whole market cap. Could you elaborate on how the company is using its cash flow? They are constantly paying interest and paying down principal on existing debt, but releveraging so the debt level stays constant or even rises slightly in dollar terms. But they are only leveraging at about two times their cash flow, whereas Liberty Global LBTYA +0.05% Liberty Global PLC Cl A 04/03/14 EU Antitrust Chief Signals Bru... 03/27/14 Brussels or The Hague – Who Wi... 03/27/14 John Paulson's Journey, From S... LBTYA in [LBTYA] is more like four times. So, DirecTV generates extra cash, and they can use most of it for stock buybacks. It makes the per-share value grow faster than the total enterprise value. What's your response to concerns about competition and sluggish subscriber growth? Well, no story is perfect. There has been price competition at times, and lately DirecTV has taken a position that it would rather have fewer, more premium customers than just all the customers it could have in a price war. So, they've been firming up their prices, and that has cost them some growth domestically, but it has improved their profitability. They compete with cable, and we've always preferred cable because that hard-wire can carry broadband, which is a wonderful thing that satellite can't provide. So, satellite has always been our second choice to cable. But DirecTV produces a very stable stream of free cash flow that can be used for buybacks that increase the growth rate per share. It is growing slowly domestically, but the fast growth is coming from Latin America. They have about 20 million subscribers in the U.S., and they have about 14.5 million in Latin America. That includes a 41% interest in a Mexican company, Sky Mexico, with 4.9 million subscribers. So, when DirecTV generates excess cash, they use it for buybacks, but they also are using it to expand their Latin American subscriber base. When I consider what value to put on that future cash flow, I have to think about what DirecTV might look like in five, 10, 15 years. One potential problem is that when it does really stop growing, even outside the U.S., it is important that management recognizes that and that it deals with the balance sheet and the cash flow appropriately. But for the next three to five years, they have a plan that they should be able to execute it pretty well. And then, because of the buybacks, you get earnings that go to $5-plus in 2013, something over $6 in 2014, and something over $7 in 2015. What's the stock worth? It was at about $50 late last week. We have it at about $70, using a 12% discount rate. I always like to see a realistic path to a 50% gain in two or three years, and we've got that with DirecTV. Thanks, Wally. E-mail: [email protected] Email

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Vindication for a Contrarian Vision Focusing on unpopular debt and currency markets hurt the Templeton Global Bond Fund in 2011. But this year, the bets are paying off nicely. Email The contrarian investment philosophy of Michael Hasenstab, portfolio manager of the Templeton Global Bond fund for 11 years, was severely tested in 2011. His bullish bets on several Asian currencies versus the dollar didn't pan out initially and led to net cash outflows as some investors pulled out. The fund's minus-2.37% total return last year placed it in the bottom 4% of its Morningstar peer group. However, those positions, along with some other holdings that include a big slug of distressed Irish sovereign debt, have paid off this year, and the fund's performance—and cash inflows—have recovered nicely. Through Thursday, Templeton Global Bond (ticker: TPINX) was up 13.12% in 2012, and its one-, five-, and 10-year results ranked it in the top 10% of its category. "It is really in periods like last year that you can demonstrate if you really are a contrarian," says Hasenstab, 39, who oversees about $165 billion of global bond assets at money manager Franklin Templeton. He spoke with Barron's by telephone last week from his office at Templeton's headquarters in San Mateo, Calif. Barron's: What's your outlook for interest rates? Hasenstab: Over the medium term, we expect interest rates to be higher. The reasons will vary by region and by country. But, generally, if we look at valuations on government debt across the world, in developed and emerging countries, they're at pretty extreme and expensive levels, both on a nominal and a real basis. And then you compound that with the extraordinary amount of money printing that has been occurring in the U.S. and Europe, and is likely to happen in Japan over the next few years. Enlarge Image "U.S. fiscal concerns continue to grow, and policy makers don't appear able—or willing—to tackle them." -- Michael Hasenstab Robert Houser In the U.S., the fiscal concerns continue to grow, and policy makers don't appear able—or willing—to tackle them. A lot of central-bank intervention into the government bond markets is propping up prices and suppressing yields, and that's obviously not sustainable over the longer term. That's more of a U.S.-centric issue. The emerging markets don't have the same problems as the developed markets do. But given all of this money printing and large capital flows and some shocks coming out of China, inflationary pressures are starting to rise. So even though emerging-market countries are not facing the fiscal concerns that would drive up the risk premium in the U.S. market, they probably will be subject to rising inflationary pressures over the medium term. That would argue for higher interest rates. What's important to consider when you look at central banks and their policies? It is important to view the monetary system as a global system—that is, no country really exists in isolation. So the money- printing that happens in the U.S. or Europe doesn't just affect those economies. Capital accounts are porous, and money flows globally. We have the largest printing of money in the history of central banks occurring, and we have a more open capital market today than arguably we have ever had. As a result, these consequences are far-reaching. This money-printing will affect different assets and different countries at different times. The most immediate impact is that when you print all of this money in the euro or the dollar, you debase those currencies. As a result, currency weakness will be likely for any country that is undergoing massive quantitative easing. This, in turn, will create a demand for other assets, including commodities. But higher commodity prices quickly translate into inflationary pressures, particularly in the emerging markets. Why are emerging markets the most vulnerable to the inflationary impact of global quantitative easing? There are a couple of conduits for inflation. Debasing a currency pushes up commodity prices. In an emerging-market country, a lot of money, when measured as a percentage of income, gets spent on food and fuel, and wage demands quickly follow. The other mechanism for inflation is that all of this money being printed in the U.S. and Europe doesn't just stay in the U.S. and Europe. Emerging markets, because of their relatively better fundamentals, receive a large amount of that capital. So you are boosting investment, which is boosting growth, and it is a good dynamic for emerging markets. But it does create complications, and it has to be dealt with. Also, in emerging markets there isn't a deleveraging overhang, the way there is in developed markets. You don't feel the inflationary effects of money printing in the U.S. or Europe because they are going through deleveraging and they have so much excess labor. But those conditions aren't the same in emerging markets. What's ahead for the dollar? Against the euro and the yen, the dollar could actually do reasonably well. The U.S. is years ahead of Europe in working through the imbalances tied to the global financial crisis, although the U.S. still has years to go to really work off those excesses. Still, Japan has far greater structural problems than the U.S. does. Eventually, the Bank of Japan will have to print a tremendous amount of money, and that will weaken the yen. So the U.S. is ahead of the curve relative to our two G3 peers. But against the non-G3 countries, the U.S. dollar has a lot more to fall. Against Asia, except for Japan, and other emerging markets, the U.S. dollar will continue to weaken. Quite simply, we are increasing the quantity of something without improving the quality. So we are printing a lot of money, but the quality of our finances only gets worse and worse. Why don't you have any investments in Japan? Japan faces a lot of challenges. The first is clearly the government's indebtedness. As I mentioned, Japan is an even a worse outlier when compared to the problems in the U.S. or Europe, and there doesn't seem to be any tangible way for the country to deal with that other than to monetize its debt. The Japanese central bank has been very hesitant to aggressively embark on quantitative easing, but it only is a matter of time before it is required to do that, and when it does, the Japanese yen could suffer significantly. We are also concerned about interest rates in Japan, given the country's massive level of indebtedness. The very low nominal returns that you are getting there don't seem to compensate you for the fiscal risk. And in terms of the structure of the Japanese economy, there are a lot of impediments to growth. There has been really a lack of effective competition policy in Japan. The demographics, without any sort of immigration policy, will be a huge constraint on growth. The electric-power crunch that Japan has faced further exacerbated that. And there has been a decade-long hollowing out of industry there. What about the euro zone? There are a lot of problems, but it is unlikely to end in Armageddon. I break Europe into two components. One is the short term. The European Central Bank, with the support of the major powers and with its latest proposal of conditional purchases of government debt, is the war chest that is big enough to calm the markets. So, finally, the short-term policy measures have been large enough and coordinated enough to do that. That's encouraging. Over the long term, what Europe needs is along the lines of what Ireland has demonstrated—a policy of growth and austerity. Austerity means the euro zone has to deal with some of the fiscal challenges. But on the growth side, the euro zone really needs to improve the efficiency of labor and to free up product markets, something that the pro-growth and pro-austerity model in Ireland has followed. It is what has allowed that country to come back to the public-debt markets. A lot of countries can learn from that prescription, including the U.S. Could you elaborate on why that model is worth copying? On the growth side, Ireland has maintained its competitiveness by allowing a fairly significant and painful downward adjustment in real wages. The effect of that is continued export growth. Even without a change in the value of the currency, an internal devaluation, through wage adjustments, can restore a country's competitiveness. That's something that Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece need to do. Additionally, Ireland has remained very competitive in terms of its tax regime. It has very low corporate and income taxes; that attracts skilled people. It brings in a lot of good foreign direct investment, and the country has continued to be a destination for innovation. So its growth policies have been strong. Then, on the fiscal side, the Irish government realized that it had to bend the curve and bring debt-to-gross-domestic-product levels down over time, and so it imposed some pretty tough measures, such as big cuts in government spending. Historically, however, that kind of tough medicine isn't always palatable politically. During the years leading up to the financial crisis, Ireland was living beyond its means. There was a recognition there that, when you have a period of excess, it needs to be followed by a period of retrenchment, but that the retrenchment doesn't have to last forever. This is the problem with some of the other countries in Europe or here in the U.S. Instead of taking the pain today, we basically have pushed the problem on to future generations and will make them pay the cost; that never cleans the system. The Irish approach has been to deal with the problem more upfront, knowing that it will be hard but that it is not going to last forever. How have you changed your Irish-government-debt holdings, which you initiated in the summer of last year after that debt was downgraded? It has been somewhat constant over that period. We have continued to hold Irish sovereign debt and opportunistically add exposure there. The success in Ireland—as well as in Hungary—really affirmed our investment philosophy that it pays to be fundamental, long-term, and contrarian. Let's talk about a few of those contrarian investments. When we made our large investment in Ireland over the summer of 2011, the debt was trading at fairly distressed levels. Ireland was not a popular investment destination for most people. We saw long-term value there with some short-term difficulties. The other contrarian investment that we did came in September 2011, when there was a lot of noise out of Europe and it caused a lot of selling off in other markets around the world, particularly in Asian currencies. Our assessment was that these currencies had very good long-term value but were being distorted by some short-term panic. So we held those positions, which included the Korean won, the Malaysian ringgit, and the Singapore and Australian dollars. We even added to some of them, and over the past year those positions have really turned around. Also, emerging markets didn't perform particularly well last year. We saw that as an opportunity to add holdings, such as in Eastern European sovereign debt. What are you avoiding? We are really looking to position the portfolio for a higher interest-rate environment. Generally, we are avoiding longer-maturity assets that are more sensitive to interest-rate increases. So the portfolio's duration is reined in to guard against any spike in rates? Yes, the portfolio's duration is very reined in. And we are looking for opportunities in currencies that actually can do well when interest rates in emerging markets start to go higher. That actually tends to benefit some currency markets. In fact, the Singapore dollar, the way that nation's currency regime is set up, actually allows for currency appreciation when inflation picks up. So in that sense, the Singapore dollar is a very good inflation hedge. What's also continuing to create good value is the effect of debasing the U.S. dollar, the euro, and, over time, the yen. It will be to the benefit of other currencies. Since every currency is a pair, if you debase one, another will benefit. We are looking for investments in local markets where the countries aren't printing money and do not have overly easy monetary conditions or huge fiscal imbalances, but do have relatively higher growth. We're finding all this in Asia, including Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, and other regions, including Poland in Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. The currencies in those places are good long-term investments in the face of the policies of massive easing in the G3 countries. In addition, emerging markets, in terms of credit risk, have greatly improved. Over the past decade, most emerging markets have moved away from boom-bust cycles. Their policies have become a lot more sustainable. Finances have gotten a lot better. Policy making has become much better and, as a result, you are taking less risk in emerging markets. I don't believe emerging markets are the new safe haven. There are risks there, but at least you are getting compensated for those risks, whereas in many of the developed bond markets, you aren't getting compensated for the risks. Thanks, Michael. E-mail: [email protected] Email

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Array BioPharma Inc. via PR Newswire November 08, 2012 at 16:07 PM EST Array BioPharma Announces Proposed Public Offering Of Common Stock BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Array BioPharma Inc. (NasdaqGM: ARRY) announced today that it is offering to sell, subject to market and other conditions, shares of its common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement in an underwritten public offering. Array also intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. All of the shares to be sold in the offering are to be sold by Array, with the proceeds to be used to fund research and development activities and for general corporate purposes. Jefferies & Company, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering, with Piper Jaffray & Co., Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and William Blair acting as co-managers.A shelf registration statement relating to the public offering of the shares of common stock described above was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and is effective. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted. Any offer, if at all, will be made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming part of the effective shelf registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained from either: Jefferies & Company, Inc., Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, at 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10022, or by calling (877) 547-6340, or by emailing [email protected]; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by calling (866) 803-9204. About Array BioPharmaArray BioPharma Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small‑molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer. Array is evolving into a late-stage development company, with two wholly‑owned programs, ARRY-614 and ARRY-520, and three partnered programs, selumetinib (with AstraZeneca), MEK162 (with Novartis), and danoprevir (with InterMune / Roche), having the potential to begin Phase 3 or pivotal trials by the end of calendar year 2013. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the completion, timing and size of the proposed offering and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Because these statements reflect our current expectations concerning future events, our actual events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: the risk that the financing may be delayed or may not occur due to market or other conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed public offering. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of Array's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, in our other periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the prospectus supplement related to the offering. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Array on the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.CONTACT:Tricia Haugeto(303) 386-1193 [email protected] Array BioPharma Inc. Related Stocks: Array Biopharma, Inc.

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U.S. Seeks Answers in Liechtenstein on Tax Cheats By Dylan Griffiths - Mar 24, 2013 The U.S. has asked Liechtenstein to hand over data on foundations that may have been used to hide untaxed American money from the Internal Revenue Service, a step that may threaten Swiss banks. The U.S. wants to know the number of foundations set up by fiduciaries -- lawyers, accountants, financial advisers and asset managers -- for American taxpayers, according to a letter sent by the Department of Justice to authorities in the Alpine principality. A “formal request” to fiduciaries will follow, the DOJ said. “Seeking documents from the Liechtenstein fiduciaries is an important investigative step,” which will shed light on “the roles of banks, of bankers outside of Liechtenstein,” the Justice Department wrote in the letter, adding that it looked forward to receiving the data by March 29. The DOJ is investigating at least 11 financial firms, including Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), for allegedly helping Americans hide money from the IRS. The Liechtenstein request will add to the information the IRS garnered as 38,000 Americans avoided prosecution through an amnesty program, which involved paying back taxes and penalties and disclosing their offshore accounts and bankers. “It’s a further evolution of the Department of Justice using third-party fiduciaries to gather more information on these structures and the banks involved,” said Milan Patel, a former IRS trial attorney who is now a partner at Zurich-based law firm Anaford AG. “This could be bad news for Switzerland, as the information could be used against more Swiss banks.” Seeking Settlement Katja Gey, director of Liechtenstein’s Office for International Financial Affairs, declined to comment. Justice Department spokesman

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It appears your browser has JavaScript disabled. Please return to our main page Home // About the CFTC // Reports // CFTC Agency Financial Report 2012 Strategic Goal Four Table of Contents > Enhance integrity of U.S. markets by engaging in cross-border cooperation, promoting strong international regulatory standards, and encouraging ongoing convergence of laws and regulation worldwide. FY 2012 INVESTMENT Net Cost: $6.9 Million Staffing: 23 FTE The implementation of comprehensive regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act legislation marks a new era in the swaps marketplace by mandating, among other things, the regulation of swap dealers, clearing of swaps, and transparency with respect to those transactions. However, regulation in the United States alone will not be sufficient to protect the financial system. Because the swaps market is conducted on a global basis, it is possible for swaps executed offshore by U.S. financial institutions to transmit the risk of those transactions back to the United States. This happened with the offshore affiliates of AIG, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and Long Term Capital Management and most recently when JPMorgan Chase executed swaps through its London branch. Recognizing this risk, the United States joined with other G20 leaders in 2009 to require that all major market jurisdictions bring swaps under regulation. Since that date, the Commission has been engaged in an unprecedented outreach to major market jurisdictions and expanded involvement in numerous international working groups to encourage the adoption of robust swaps regulation. This added emphasis is in addition to the Commission's long-standing engagement with foreign regulators to establish customer and market protection arrangements in futures trading. It is also in addition to the Commission's strong role in international standard setting organizations such as IOSCO, which recently recognized the Commission's long history of contributions by voting to make the Commission a full member. Finally, the CFTC also provides technical assistance to emerging and recently-emerged markets to help these jurisdictions in establishing and implementing laws and regulations that foster global market integrity. The Commission's international training symposium has consistently attracted wide attendance by foreign regulators who look to the Commission as a global standard setter in derivatives regulation. Goal Four Key Results The Commission's international staff coordinated the Commission's engagement with the European Commission and Parliament with the objective of encouraging harmonization of European regulatory development with Dodd-Frank Act policies. The Commission initiated similar discussions with other foreign regulators. Additionally, the OIA organized a roundtable on the cross-border application of the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFTC exceeded its performance target for international working group participation as it continued its engagement in technical level working groups on OTC derivatives with global regulatory authorities, such as the European Commission, European Securities Markets Authority, and regulatory authorities in Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Commission staff participated in the OTC Derivatives Regulators Forum, which has created new subgroups for FX and Commodity Derivatives repositories. The Commission also participated in the Financial Stability Board (FSB) OTC derivatives working group, which is monitoring progress by countries in implementing the G20's OTC derivatives mandates and the FSB legal identifier task force. The Commission, as co-chair of an IOSCO-CPSS task force on OTC derivatives regulation, authored a report on data reporting and aggregation requirements. The Commission's international staff participated in Dodd-Frank Act rulemakings in order to provide input on the cross-border implications of those rulemakings, continued to coordinate a review of cross-border arrangements that will be needed under the Dodd-Frank Act with major market jurisdictions such as the European Union, and developed draft memoranda of understanding on the supervision of dually-regulated cross-border clearinghouses. The Commission led a joint CFTC-SEC study on swap and clearing regulation in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The Commission successfully advocated for the CFTC to be considered as an Ordinary member with full voting rights, thus ending decades of being considered an Associate member. This will allow the Commission to have a greater voice in shaping international policies within IOSCO. Commission staff continued to participate actively in the various IOSCO working groups: Standing Committee 2 on secondary markets, Standing Committee 3 on intermediaries, the OTC derivatives task force, and the newly established Assessment Committee. Commission staff are participating in a working group to issue a report regarding effective and practical access by regulators and other official international authorities to trade repository data. The Commission also co-chaired the IOSCO committee on commodity futures markets and in that capacity took a leading role in developing a final report that established principles for price reporting agencies in oil. This report was requested by IOSCO and the G-20 as a means to enhance transparency in global oil markets. The Commission also co-chaired an international study on the extent of derivatives regulators' implementation of the IOSCO principles for commodity derivatives markets. The Commission participated in several bilateral meetings with European Financial regulators led by the U.S. Department of Treasury to discuss, among other things, the E.U. Data Protection Directive, crisis management, Basel II and III, the Volcker rule and OTC derivatives, China Strategic and Economic dialogues with China and India, dialogues under North American Free Trade Agreement, and U.S. Treasury-led dialogues with the European Commission. The Commission participated in a G-20 study groups on commodities and on fossil fuel volatility. The Commission met its performance target of training at least 65 non-U.S. regulators in FY 2012 primarily through the annual symposium for foreign regulators organized by the Commission. Additionally, Commission staff provided technical assistance training to authorities in Brazil and Jamaica. The Commission also coordinated the annual international regulatory conference at Boca Raton, Florida. International data on position limits, accountability levels, reporting levels, and aggregated contracts data for U.S. and International Exchanges is now being shared with surveillance and enforcement staff to increase awareness of cross-border activity. < Previous page | Table of Contents | Next Page >

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From the March 20, 2013 issue of Credit Union Times Magazine • Subscribe! Filson’s Petition Debated Within Industry March 20, 2013 • Reprints A White House petition written by Callahan & Associates Chairman Chip Filson asks President Obama to select NCUA board members who “understand the shared economic value for people and communities created by the cooperative model.” Filson’s petition, which as of March 13 had collected just 4% of the total needed by March 26 to elicit a White House response, also states that board members should be motivated by the unique contributions and needs of a cooperative business. What exactly does that mean? Filson said when Congress originally set up the American credit union system, it intended to do more than merely establish a new financial charter that would serve a different need. Because there wasn’t much to regulate in the early days of the NCUA, Filson said the regulator encouraged new federal charters. “The hardest charter to get today in America is a credit union charter,” he said. “Part of the cooperative spirit that needs to be restored is the attractiveness and desirability of the credit union charter, rather than the Draconian process now in place where people who submit charter requests are asked to go through more planning and projections than existing credit unions.” Chuck Bruen, president/CEO of the $1 billion First Entertainment Credit Union of Hollywood, Calif., said he disagrees. “It would be irresponsible to charter new credit unions in our current regulatory environment where many struggle every day to keep up with the avalanche of rules, especially those mandates coming from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Bruen said. “The recent track record for newly chartered credit unions has not been a good one.” CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes said regulators shouldn’t necessarily cheerlead for the industry and advocate growth and success, but instead, they should be a part of that success. To do so, regulators must understand that credit union members are not only consumers who need protection. They are also the owners of the system. “If [regulators] don’t understand credit unions have a responsibility to both, they risk destroying the system from either side,” he said. “Right now, given the relationships regulators have with credit unions, it’s like, who even wants to come to this party?” While the cooperative structure is important, there are more important issues facing credit unions and their regulators, said Henry Meier, associate general counsel for the Credit Union Association of New York. Meier said in his opinion the ideal NCUA board candidate would be a small business owner who understands the importance of lending, has borrowed from a credit union and can explain the value of credit unions to lawmakers. “Yes, the cooperative structure is important, but in terms of our survival and advocating for the industry, an appreciation for the impact legislation has on us is more important,” he said. CUNA Executive Vice President of Credit Union System Relations Susan Newton made a point in an email to league presidents obtained by Credit Union Times that trade association advocacy of a White House-appointed and congressionally-confirmed regulator is inappropriate. “While we admire and respect Chip and his passion and commitment, given CUNA’s role here in Washington and our work with the Obama administration and Congress, we believe it is simply not appropriate for us to lead the effort. Any public involvement by CUNA to advance someone forward onto the board of the agency that we actively advocate with on a daily basis would likely be detrimental to both the candidate and us,” she said. Cooperative principles like autonomy and independence have gone by the wayside at the NCUA, Filson said. “I think that is the tragedy of the CLF story, that essential pillar of autonomy and independence,” he said. “Our own liquidity safety net has been tragically compromised. The system’s ability to provide its own self help is part of the reason other regulators defer to the cooperative charter and the regulatory system established there.” Bruen said he thinks the CLF has outlived its usefulness and should be closed down, and the Federal Reserve’s discount window is a better emergency liquidity option. “I fear that if some folks at the agency and in a few credit unions had their way, the CLF would be transformed into a government-run U.S. Central Corporate Federal Credit Union substitute,” he said. “That’s not a very good idea at all considering what we have just been through with the corporate credit union crisis.” Karnes said cooperative principles could help relieve constant pressure on the NCUA to prove credit unions need their own independent regulator, “Cooperative principles make us different,” Karnes said. “When the NCUA believes that, Washington believes that, and we have a stronger system. But when nobody believes that, when it’s simply about banking regulations, I think their position is weaker, and they’re not even thinking about their own brand.” Congress didn’t create the credit union charter because the nation needed “nice banks,” Karnes added. Bruen said while he is empathetic to Filson’s desire to change the status quo at the NCUA, the attention to cooperative principles belongs at the credit union level. “The NCUA should stick to safety and soundness and stay out of everything else,” he said. Meier said he thinks those advocating for the cooperative structure to play a larger role in the credit union industry seem to be promoting it for its own sake. “One of the things the petition reflects is this belief that if only we emphasize cooperative structure more, everything else will fall into place,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s the case.” Meier said he also thinks the cooperative structure isn’t as important to potential young members as some think. He said he does like the idea of leading with the cooperative structure when recruiting volunteers and employees, but potential members are mostly looking for convenience and a good deal, regardless of age. “At the end of the day, is someone going to expect good service or cooperative structure?” he said. “I understand cooperative structure is part of how we achieve good service in credit unions. But your average potential member doesn’t care, and I think we tend to exaggerate how idealistic each new generation can be.” « Previous Page 2 of 2 Show Comments

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Delta Community Hires New Marketing VP August 20, 2013 • Reprints The $4.5 billion Delta Community Credit Union in Atlanta said it has hired Eve Nimkar as its new vice president of marketing. Nimkar succeeds the retired Mary Olson in the position at Georgia’s largest credit union and most recently was first vice president of credit card services for SunTrust Banks, her new employer said. Her more than 20 years of marketing and public relations experience also includes stints at NetBank, Chase and Fiserv, Delta Community said. She has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. “Eve brings a great blend of passion and experience to our team,” said Matthew Shepherd, the executive vice president and chief operating officer at the 282,500-member Delta Community. “We know she can help us articulate the difference Delta Community stands for in a way that allows us to deepen our relationship with existing members and furthers our reputation as Atlanta’s best place to bank,’ Shepherd said in the credit union’s announcement. Delta Community now serves the entire metro Atlanta area, including residents of the 11 surrounding counties and employees of major businesses such as Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, UPS and Racetrac. Show Comments

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Advia Merger and Branding Complete January 03, 2014 • Reprints Advia Credit Union, a billion-dollar cooperative formed by a merger effective Jan. 1, plans to expand its field of membership to include the entire state of Michigan and counties in Wisconsin and Illinois. The 21-branch institution is based in Parchment, Mich., hometown of First Community Federal Credit Union, the surviving $700 million credit union that announced plans last summer to merge the $280 million E & A Credit Union in Port Huron, Mich. The headquarters will remain in Parchment, a suburb of Kalamazoo, Mich., in south-central Michigan. Advia has more than 100,000 members and serves a field of membership with more than 10 million residents, the credit union said. The name change was effective Thursday. “The advantages of membership with Advia Credit Union will focus on community, trust, innovation and convenience,” said Advia President/CEO Cheryl DeBoer, “in other words – giving, investing, volunteering, educating, advancing, improving, and dedicating ourselves to the financial wellbeing of our members.” DeBoer had been president/CEO of First Community. In the release announcing its new name on Friday, Advia said it plans to expand its membership to anyone who lives and work in Michigan. In Wisconsin, membership will be available to anyone living or working in Rock, Green and Walworth counties, while membership is available in Illinois to those who live or work in Winnebago County, the credit union said. Then-$474 million First Community assumed the assets and liabilities of First American Credit Union of Beloit, Wis., when that $137 million credit union was liquidated in 2010. Operations at First American locations continued under that credit union's name after its liquidation. Those locations will now carry the Advia name and branding. In an FAQ section on its website, Advia said, “Our new name of Advia Credit Union was selected by our Board of Directors as a reflection of the value we provide our members: The ability to experience advantages via innovative financial solutions. In developing our new name, we worked to introduce one that identifies with our commitment to providing extraordinary service, as well as able to be trademarked as unique to us moving forward as we continue to grow into new communities.” Show Comments

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Condor Resources Inc. TSX VENTURE : CN Francisco de Undurraga Joins Condor's Advisory Board VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 23, 2014) - Condor Resources Inc. ("Condor" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:CN) is pleased to announce that Mr. Francisco de Undurraga has joined the Company's Technical Advisory Board. Mr. de Undurraga is a resident of Santiago, Chile, a significant shareholder of the Company, and formerly served as a director. Mr. de Undurraga is a member of the board of Sundance Investment LLC, a company controlled by Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI), operating in oil exploration in the Peruvian Amazonia since 2006. He is also the founder and Chairman of FIP Ariston Cima, a private investment fund based in Santiago, Chile, since 2004, and managed by BTG Pactal, one of the most important South American investment banks. Ariston Cima manages diversified investments in the forestry, real estate, oil and mining exploration and financial sectors. Mr. de Undurraga has had an extensive corporate executive career, holding positions as senior executive and CEO in several Chilean based companies that include Enersis and Laboratorio Chile, both with wide international operations in South America and listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange and NYSE as well. Mr. de Undurraga originally graduated as Civil-Industrial Engineer from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, and subsequently graduated in Nuclear Engineering from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Madrid, Spain. He also graduated from the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University in California. In conjunction with his appointment to the advisory board, Mr. Undurraga has been granted 200,000 incentive options, with an exercise price of $0.12. The Company currently has four of its properties under active exploration by third parties, and looks forward to a steady flow of results from these programs. In addition, the Company is actively seeking partners on its other projects, and reviewing new opportunities identified by its Lima based technical team. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Lyle Davis, President & Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information: All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release relative to markets about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements even if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contact Information Condor Resources Inc.Lyle DavisPresident & Chief Executive Officer1-866-642-5707info@condorresources.comwww.condorresources.com Condor Resources Inc.

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www.mcall.com/news/local/watchdog/mc-payday-loans-watchdog-20120922,0,2727351.column Records show the cost of payday loans Senate reviewing bill to legalize payday loans Paul Muschick 9:28 PM EDT, September 22, 2012 The debate over whether to allow payday loans in Pennsylvania continued in Harrisburg last week with the same stale arguments. Supporters said the loans are needed by people who don't have credit and run into unexpected expenses. Opponents said the loans are made at interest rates so high that people can't pay them off by the deadline and they must borrow more and fall deeper in debt. What was missing from Wednesday's legislative hearing, again, was the voice of anyone who had actually taken out a payday loan and either been saved by it or suffered for it. The hearing was just another few hours of talking suits — lawmakers, lenders, community activists and special interest groups — walled off from the outside world in a Capitol chamber. I guess it's up to the Watchdog to shine some light on how payday loans can work in the real world. Documents from recent Banking Department investigations cite examples of people who complained they were buried in debt by loans they couldn't shake. A man from North Wales, Montgomery County, complained that he borrowed $500 and was told he'd have to pay $150 in interest and fees, according to records. He paid a total of $600 over eight weeks and when he called the lender to ask what his final payment would be, was told he still owed $650. A couple from York complained they'd borrowed $1,000 and were told they'd have to make four payments of $200 to cover interest or finance fees, and o

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Cypress Realty Sells Red Robin Ground LeaseMemphis-based Cypress Realty Holdings Co. has sold the ground lease of the Red Robin restaurant at 1231 N. Germantown Parkway in Cordova for $2 million. Operating in the deal as Cypress Realty Holdings Co. II LLC, the company sold the lease to The Humphreys Fund LLC of Oklahoma City in a Sept. 11 special warranty deed. Built in 2007, the 6,235-square-foot restaurant sits on a 1.68-acre outparcel of the former Kmart at 1245 N. Germantown Parkway. That center was redeveloped into an America’s Incredible Pizza Co. and other stores by NPK Cordova LLC, which sold the ground lease to Cypress Realty Holdings in 2008 for $1.4 million. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal is $1.95 million. In conjunction with the purchase, The Humphreys Fund LLC filed a $2 million loan through Kirkpatrick Bank. Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports – Daily News staff National Bankers Trust Receives Tax Break for RelocationNational Bankers Trust Corp. received approval Wednesday for a four-year tax break to create 43 new jobs and invest $6 million in a new corporate headquarters in East Memphis. National Bankers Trust will move from its 13,750-square-foot location at 8245 Tournament Drive in Southwind to 813 Ridge Lake Blvd., after receiving a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes incentive from the Economic Development Growth Engine of Memphis and Shelby County. The company plans on buying the vacant 51,000-square-foot building on Ridge Lake and using 34,000 square feet right away, with the remainder available for future expansions. The PILOT would save the company $588,649 in city and county property taxes, according to EDGE, while generating $824,887 in new tax revenue over the PILOT period. The average salary of the 43 new employees will be $42,906. The firm said it had received multiple offers from several states to relocate its headquarters, including Fayette County, DeSoto County and Las Vegas. – Amos Maki First Contract for Main to Main Connector VettedThe first contract in the $35 million Main to Main Connector project was approved Wednesday, Sept. 18, by a project coordinating committee. The $1.9 million contract with Ferrell Paving Inc. of Memphis is the connection of South Main Street to the Harahan Bridge and a pedestrian and bicycle walkway on the bridge that is another phase of the project. The work will better light and improve and install sidewalks as well as add street markings to Carolina Avenue. The bid by Ferrell Paving came in 15 percent below the amount budgeted for that part of a project with a lot of different segments and ironclad dollar amounts as well as timelines because of the $15 million in federal government funding involved. Under that timeline, construction on the project must begin in late October and will continue for several years. Several segments of the project including the Carolina improvements are expected to begin simultaneously. The eight-member coordinating committee, which includes three Memphis City Council members, makes recommendations to Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. who then acts on the contracts. The Main to Main Connector Project is a set of improvements to North and South Main Street as well as improvements to Broadway Street in West Memphis, Ark., with the boardwalk connecting bicyclists and pedestrians to the two thoroughfares. – Bill Dries FedEx Ground Plans Rock Island Distribution Site FedEx will open a new distribution facility in Rock Island, Ill., in 2015. The 189,000-square-foot operation is replacing a smaller facility in Moline. Allison Houser is a spokeswoman for FedEx Ground. She tells The Rock Island Argus that the new building will be part of the company’s effort to expand its network across the country. Preliminary construction work on the property has already begun. The company says workers will be transferred from the Moline operation to the new facility in Rock Island. FedEx also plans to hire additional workers, but authorities haven’t said how many. FedEx Ground is a subsidiary of Memphis-based FedEx Corp. The Quad City Times says the company chose the site in part because of its proximity to major highways. – The Associated Press Moser Achieves Certified Financial Planner DesignationPhilip Moser, a financial adviser in the Memphis office of Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors, has achieved the certified financial planner professional designation. Moser joined Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors in March and leads the firm’s wealth advisory practice in Memphis. He has been a registered investment adviser representative since 2009 and has been working in the financial services industry since 2004. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC is an independent fee-only registered investment advisory firm owned by Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP. – Andy Meek Unemployment Aid Applications Increase to 309,000The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 309,000. But the data was distorted for the second straight week by reporting delays. The Labor Department says the less volatile four-week average fell 7,000 to 314,750, the lowest in nearly six years. Applications plummeted two weeks ago when California and Nevada were unable to report all their data because of computer upgrades in both states. A government spokesman says those states reported all the applications that came in last week. But backlogged data from two weeks ago may elevate the figures in the coming weeks, he said. The broader trend in applications has been favorable, signaling fewer layoffs. The four-week average fell 6 percent in the two months before the computer upgrades distorted the figures. While layoffs are down, companies have yet to rapidly step up hiring. Employers have added an average of just 155,000 jobs a month since April. That’s down from an average of 205,000 for the first four months of the year. That’s a big reason the Federal Reserve on Wednesday held off slowing its $85-billion-a-month in bond buying. Those purchases are intended to keep mortgage and other longer-term interest rates low and encourage more borrowing, spending and growth. The economy grew at a modest 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. That’s too slow to generate hiring strong enough to rapidly lower the unemployment rate, which is a still-high 7.3 percent four years after the Great Recession ended. And economists forecast that growth has slowed to an annual rate of 2 percent or less in the current July-September quarter. Consumers have grown more cautious about spending, while higher interest rates have threatened to slow the housing recovery. – The Associated Press Measure of Economy’s Health Increases 0.7 Percent A gauge of the U.S. economy’s future health posted a solid gain in August, signaling stronger growth in coming months. The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.7 percent in August from July. That followed a 0.5 percent gain in July from June. The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months. Conference Board economists said that the solid gains in July and August were a good sign following an earlier slowdown. “The latest reading points to more pep in the pace of economic activity in the near term,” said Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein. “One unknown is how resilient confidence will remain, both consumer and business, given the mixed signals from the housing and labor markets.” Goldstein said another unknown is how confidence will be affected by the upcoming debates over passing a federal budget to avoid a government shutdown and raising the borrowing ceiling to avoid a market-rattling default on the government’s debt. The gain in the index in August was driven by strength in the labor market and financial sectors as well as by rising manufacturing orders. There was weakness in residential construction and consumer expectations. – The Associated Press

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Tags: Corzine Testify Global Corzine Asked to Testify Before Congress in MF Global Probe Wednesday, 23 Nov 2011 07:01 AM Former customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd. got some good news Tuesday, as the bankruptcy trustee secured more assets and the CME Group Inc expanded a guarantee to speed the return of frozen funds. Meanwhile, Jon Corzine, who has been publicly silent since resigning as MF Global's chief executive on Nov. 4, was asked to appear before Congress next month to explain how his futures brokerage, among the largest in the United States, collapsed into bankruptcy so fast. Also Tuesday U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn at a hearing in Manhattan approved the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee to oversee what remains of MF Global, wresting control from the remnants of its management team. James Giddens, the trustee liquidating MF Global's broker-dealer unit, said he expects to soon recover $1.3 billion of assets from Bank of Montreal's Harris Bank unit, but these funds are not those missing from customer accounts. Giddens still estimates the shortfall in customers' accounts at $1.2 billion - a figure the CME said Tuesday was an overestimate. Giddens said the funds from Chicago-based Harris Bank will go toward repaying some customers who had feared the loss of more than 20 percent of their accounts. CME, which was MF Global's first-line regulator, more than doubled the size of a fund to help expedite the return of client cash to $550 million from $250 million. The Chicago exchange operator, which initially estimated the shortfall to be about $600 million, also said it is confident that recent reports of a more than $1 billion shortfall are "incorrect." "With CME, we want to say in one word, 'finally!"' said John Roe, a spokesman for the Commodity Customer Coalition, which represents more than 7,000 former MF Global customers. "If they had done it on Oct 31, things would not have locked up." MF Global filed for Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 31 after the New York-based company revealed it had made a $6.3 billion bet on European sovereign debt. The revelation worried investors, credit rating agencies and trading partners, and resulted in a liquidity crunch. James Kobak, a lawyer for Giddens, stood by the trustee's shortfall estimate at the hearing. "The apparent shortfall could go up. We hope it could go down as well. But that was the best information at the time." NEW CASH The $1.3 billion of cash, securities and foreign currencies recovered from Harris would be pooled with $3.7 billion of other assets already under Giddens' control -- all segregated accounts in U.S. depositories -- for eventual distribution to customers, spokesman Kent Jarrell said. The combined $5 billion total would be close to CME's initial $5.45 billion estimate for all MF Global segregated funds requirements, in theory leaving customers out less than 10 percent of what they might otherwise expect to recover. A $520 million disbursement from those funds is underway now. Jarrell disputed the CME estimate for the amount of customer funds at MF. "We don't know whether that's the (final) number," he said. "We'll see what it is when this is all over and we've fully reconciled customer claims." The CME's increased guarantee was aimed at quelling criticism that it has done too little to help customers with billions of dollars of cash stuck in MF Global accounts. "The protection of our customers and the integrity of all futures markets continue to be our two chief concerns," CME Chief Executive Craig Donohue said in a statement. CME said its $550 million guarantee would allow a return of $4 billion of the $5.5 billion meant to be held in segregated accounts, including all $2.5 billion at CME Clearing. Experts have said customers should be first in line to recover funds from the bankruptcy, even if the missing customer cash is not discovered. TRUSTEE TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT MF Global and JPMorgan Chase & Co, one of the company's main lenders, had asked Glenn to authorize the appointment of a trustee for the parent company. No one has yet been named to the role. In approving the request, Glenn also authorized JPMorgan to pledge $26 million of collateral, up from $8 million, to keep MF Global operating in bankruptcy. A trustee is often named to serve the bankruptcy estate's best interest, or when company executives are suspected of wrongdoing. Corzine, a former New Jersey governor and chief of Goldman Sachs & Co has not been accused of wrongdoing. Bradley Abelow, MF Global's chief operating officer, was also asked to testify on Dec. 15 before the House Financial Services Subcommittee for Oversight and Investigations, along with Corzine and several top U.S. regulators. Lawyers for Corzine and Abelow were not immediately available for comment. Others invited to testify were Robert Cook, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's division of trading and markets; Gary Gensler, who heads the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Gensler and SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro are also slated to appear on Dec. 1 before the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC. Regulators are trying to determine what happened to the missing money, and whether MF Global may have mixed customer funds with its own, a major violation of industry rules. Federal prosecutors are also looking into the matter. CUSTOMERS OBJECT At Tuesday's hearing, Glenn approved the adoption of a parallel claims process for securities customers and commodities customers of the broker-dealer, MF Global Inc. He declined to approve the creation of an official committee of commodities customers, but urged Giddens to keep those customers in the loop. "If there's 38,000 separate voices, they're going to drown each other out," Glenn said. The judge also advised Giddens to make it a priority to focus on small claims "from people who are really suffering." JPMorgan is also expected to soon announce it will pay 25 million pounds (US$39.1 million) for MF Global's 4.7 percent stake in the London Metal Exchange, making it that exchange's largest shareholder, two people familiar with the matter said. An announcement could come this week. JPMorgan already has a 6.2 percent stake in the exchange. A sale could leave more money for MF Global creditors. © 2014 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

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Crosslink Capital Adds David Courtney February 1, 2013 9 Views 0 Comments Crosslink Capital has added David Courtney as general partner and chief operating officer. He will be based in San Francisco. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of JiWire Inc. Crosslink Capital, a leading venture capital and growth equity firm, today announced that David Courtney has joined the firm as General Partner and Chief Operating Officer. His responsibilities include direct oversight of Operations, Finance, Compliance and Human Resources. He reports to Michael Stark, Founder and General Partner of Crosslink Capital, and is based in the firm’s San Francisco headquarters. “The Chief Operating Officer is an important component of our leadership team at Crosslink,” said Mr. Stark. “We have known David for many years. He has exceptional operational and leadership skills, as well as a strong background in compliance that will further strengthen the team we have in place today.” Prior to joining Crosslink Capital, Mr. Courtney served in several executive roles in the technology and digital media industry. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of JiWire, Inc., where he led the company through a period of rapid growth and oversaw its entry into new markets. Prior to JiWire, Mr. Courtney served as President and COO of Adify Corp. and as CFO and Board Member of TiVo TIVO +6.63% . In both of those roles, he had responsibility for operations, accounting and reporting, finance and planning, investor relations, human resources, as well as all legal activities. In addition to his role with the TiVo Board of Directors, he has previously served on the Boards of numerous public and private technology companies, often as the head of the audit committee. Mr. Courtney is also a veteran of the financial services industry. Most recently, he served as an Executive-in-Residence at Venrock, assisting the venture capital firm with its portfolio companies and assessing needs for both people and funding. He also has over 15 years of experience in investment banking at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Courtney holds a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. “I first met Crosslink Capital when the firm became a value added investor in TiVo about 10 years ago,” noted Mr. Courtney. “I have always had great respect for their process and integrity. I am excited to join their team and help them address the operational needs of a growing investment firm. I am particularly excited to be able to do this for one that invests in both public and private companies, as the needs can vary.” About Crosslink Capital Crosslink Capital is a leading stage-independent venture capital and growth equity firm with over $1.6 billion in assets. Crosslink, which traces its roots back to 1989, was among the first and largest investment firms in the U.S. to integrate public and private growth/technology investing in three families of funds: venture capital funds, long/short hedge funds and a unique hybrid crossover fund. This strategy allows Crosslink to partner with its portfolio companies on a long-term basis. With more than 20 years behind it, Crosslink Capital has invested in over 100 private equity portfolio companies, at the early, mid, and late stages including Pandora P +0.52% , Ancestry.com , Omniture (acquired by Adobe Systems), Equinix EQIX +0.49% , Carbonite CARB +0.73% , SeaMicro (acquired by Advanced Micro Devices), Intematix, DataStax and Bleacher Report (acquired by Time Warner, Inc.). For more information on Crosslink, visit http://www.crosslinkcapital.com MVision’s Guen risks extreme cold, polar bears for North Pole trip GTCR loses healthcare co-head Katz David C. Turner, Guardian Life’s PE architect, to step down next month: Buyouts TigerText taps three for board GreenAngel Energy Corp beefs up board with two new additions Quartilium loses senior leader Richard Clarke-Jervoise Name Email Address Website Comment Twitter Just type your tip in this box and hit the submit button. It's anonymous.NameThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. peHUB March Madness ’13 active 8 hours, 57 minutes ago Emerging Managers active 2 days, 16 hours ago M&A Madness active 3 weeks, 5 days ago Ask the Editors active 1 month, 3 weeks ago Venture Capital Journal active 4 months, 1 week ago What Readers Are SayingJoanna Glasner on Venture funding goes ballistic: VCJMark Boslet on Venture funding goes ballistic: VCJBAndersen on Energy Future Holdings on verge of bankruptcy: ReutersBAndersen on LPs want to see your SEC deficiency letterAlastair Goldfisher on Next-generation corporate VCs are here to stay

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Is there a conservative case for QE2? I haven’t written about the Federal Reserve’s QE2 program, a loosening of monetary policy for the purpose of stimulating the economy. The reason for my silence is straightforward — I don’t know whether QE2 is a good idea. Initially, I was surprised by the vehemence with which Sarah Palin and other Republican politicians lashed out at the program. For it was not clear to me that these figures have a significantly better idea of the intricacies of monetary policy than I do. Recently, however, conservative economists who do understand monetary policy have weighed in against QE2. In a post below, Scott points to an open letter to Ben Bernanke published in the Wall Street Journal and signed by prominent economists. On the other hand, Ramesh Ponnuru has been reading economists who support QE2, and finds force in their arguments. Ponnuru cites David Beckwith, Scott Sumner, and Josh Hendrickson. He concludes: [C]onservatives are talking about runaway inflation at a time when the consumer price index, which itself is generally considered to overestimate inflation, has been registering 1-2 percent inflation. The spread between inflation-indexed and unindexed bonds has also yielded a market prediction of inflation in that range. Opponents of QE2 say that the Fed should not be deliberately raising expectations of future inflation. Maybe they’re right. But let’s have some perspective. If the Fed delivers on the 2 percent average inflation it seems to want, we’ll still be below the average inflation rates of each of the last five decades. And let’s remember as well that both Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek would probably have favored something like QE2. Ponnuru has more on QE2 here. SCOTT adds: John Taylor disputes the proposition that Milton Friedman would support QE2, and notes that Allan Meltzer “is certain he would not.” PAUL adds: I’m told that Doug Irwin, a distinguished conservative economist at Dartmouth, believes Freidman would support QE2. I probably shouldn’t have introduced (via Ponnuru’s quote) the “what would Milton do?” issue because I don’t think it’s a fruitful line of inquiry. The debate on the merits, by contrast, is beginning to intrigue me.

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An optimistic case for the euro If the euro falls close to parity with the US dollar, the current-account deficits in Italy, Spain and France would shrink and their economies would strengthen By Martin Feldstein / Thu, Nov 08, 2012 - Page 9 The prospects for the euro and the eurozone remain uncertain, but recent events at the European Central Bank (ECB), in Germany and on the global financial markets make it worthwhile to consider a favorable scenario for the common currency’s future.The ECB has promised to buy Italian and Spanish government bonds to keep their interest rates down, provided these countries ask for lines of credit from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and adhere to agreed fiscal reforms. Germany’s Constitutional Court has approved the country’s participation in the ESM and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given her blessing to the ECB’s bond-buying plan, despite strong public objections from the Bundesbank. The international bond market has expressed its approval by cutting interest rates on Italy’s 10-year bonds to 4.8 percent and on Spain’s to 5.5 percent.Italian bond rates had already been falling before ECB President Mario Draghi announced the conditional bond-buying plans. That reflected the substantial progress Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government had already made. New legislation will slow the growth of pension benefits substantially and the Monti government’s increase in taxes on owner-occupied real estate will raise significant revenue without the adverse incentive effects that would occur if rates for personal-income, payroll or value-added taxes were raised.Reflecting these reforms, the IMF recently projected that Italy will have a cyclically adjusted budget surplus of nearly 1 percent of GDP next year. Unfortunately, because Italy will still be in recession next year, its actual deficit is expected to be 1.8 percent of GDP, adding to the national debt, but economic recovery will come to Italy, moving the budget into surplus.When the markets see that coming, they will drive Italy’s sovereign interest rates even lower. Given Italy’s very large national debt, interest payments add more than 5 percent of GDP to the fiscal deficit.The combination of economic recovery and lower interest rates would produce a virtuous dynamic in which falling interest rates and a rising budget surplus are mutually reinforcing.The situation in Spain is not as good.Despite cuts in government spending and increases in taxes, the IMF still projects the cyclically adjusted fiscal deficit will exceed 3.2 percent of GDP next year and 2.3 percent of GDP in 2015.The key to solving Spain’s fiscal problem lies in the semi-autonomous regions that generate spending and shift the financing burden to Madrid. Perhaps Italy’s success will help to convince Spain to adopt the tough measures that reduce projected future deficits without more current austerity.If Italy and Spain have budget surpluses and declining debt/GDP ratios, financial markets will reduce the interest rates on their bonds without the proposed ECB purchases. That would remove the serious risk that the ECB could start buying bonds on the basis of agreed fiscal packages and then be forced to react if governments fall short on implementing them.None of this would be enough to save Greece, where the fiscal deficit is 7.5 percent of GDP, or Portugal, where it is 5 percent of GDP.However, if Italy and Spain are no longer at risk of default, or of abandoning the euro, Germany and other eurozone leaders will have room to decide whether to continue funding these very small states or politely invite them to leave the euro and return to national currencies.Moreover, even under this optimistic scenario, the problem of the current-account deficits of Italy, Spain and the other peripheral countries will remain. Differences among the eurozone countries in growth rates of productivity and wages will continue to cause disparities in international competitiveness, resulting in trade and current-account imbalances.Germany now has a current-account surplus of about US$215 billion a year, while the rest of the eurozone is running a current-account deficit of about US$140 billion.Italy, Spain and France all have current-account deficits equal to 2 percent or more of their GDP. As they come out of their cyclical recessions, incomes will rise, leading to increased imports and even larger current-account deficits. Those deficits must be financed by net inflows of funds from other countries.If Italy, Spain and France were not part of the eurozone, they could allow their currencies to devalue — weaker exchange rates would increase exports and reduce imports, eliminating their current-account deficits. Moreover, the increase in exports and the shift from imports to domestically produced goods and services would strengthen their economies, thereby reducing their fiscal deficits as tax revenues rose and transfers declined, and a stronger economy would help domestic banks by reducing potential bad debt and mortgage defaults.However, Italy, Spain and France are part of the eurozone and therefore they cannot devalue. That is why I believe that those countries — and the eurozone more generally — would benefit from euro depreciation. Although a weaker euro would not increase their competitiveness relative to Germany and other eurozone countries, it would improve their competitiveness relative to all non-eurozone countries.If the euro falls by between 20 percent and 25 percent, bringing it close to parity with the US dollar and weakening it to a similar extent against other currencies, the current-account deficits in Italy, Spain and France would shrink and their economies would strengthen. German exports would also benefit from a weaker euro, boosting overall economic demand in Germany.It is ironic that the ECB’s offer to buy Italian and Spanish debt has exacerbated external imbalances by raising the value of the euro. Perhaps that is just a temporary effect and the euro will decline when global financial markets recognize that a weaker exchange rate is needed to reduce current-account deficits in the eurozone’s three major Latin countries. If not, the ECB’s next challenge will be to find a way to talk the euro down.Martin Feldstein, a professor of economics at Harvard University, was chairman of former US president Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers and is a former president of the US National Bureau for Economic Research.Copyright: Project Syndicate

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Search: About Treasurer /STO STO Home The Weekly Briefing - Sign Up Sign Up to Get STO News Pooled Money Investment Account Time Deposit Program Local Agency Investment Fund Events scheduled for 4/16/2014: PMIB Meeting Centralized Treasury and Securities Management Division California Healthy Food Financing Initiative Council California Green Bank Building a Stronger California Home ->> Responsibilities and Functions Responsibilities and Functions The office of California State Treasurer has broad responsibilities and authority in the areas of investment and finance. The Treasurer is elected statewide every four years. In addition to being the State's lead asset manager, banker and financier, the Treasurer serves as chairperson or a member of numerous State authorities, boards and commissions. Below are some of the Treasurer's key responsibilities: The Treasurer's Office manages the State's Pooled Money Investment Account, which invests monies on behalf of state government and local jurisdictions to help them manage their fiscal affairs. The Treasurer serves on the boards of the Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). CalPERS and CalSTRS are significant investors/stockholders in the American and global economies. The pension funds provide for the retirement of their members and also perform a variety of other services for them. As an example, CalPERS is the second largest purchaser of health care services in the country. The Treasurer's Office finances a variety of important public works needed for the State's future, including schools and higher education facilities, transportation projects, parks, and environmental projects. The Treasurer chairs authorities that finance a wide range of significant projects, including pollution clean-up, small businesses and health care facilities. The Treasurer chairs the State commission that awards low-cost, tax-exempt financing for various purposes such as housing, economic development, and student loans. The Treasurer plays a key role in statewide housing finance as Chair of the Tax Credit Allocation Committee that awards hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for affordable housing and as a member of the Board of the California Housing Finance Agency, which finances affordable housing. The Treasurer oversees the ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB), which administers the State's tax-advantaged college tuition savings plan. Complete List of Boards, Authorities and Commissions State authorities, commissions and boards chaired by the Treasurer, or on which the Treasurer serves as a member STO Home | Unclaimed Property | En Español | Contacts Comments | Privacy Statement | Accessibility Statement | Site Map | Download Adobe Reader © 2014 California State Treasurer's Office

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Resource Center Current & Past Issues eNewsletters This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the top of any article. JPMorgan Chase, 12 More Banks Said to Be Sued Over Libor U.S. credit union regulator cites loss of income to five failed corporate credit unions. By Andrew Harris, Bloomberg September 24, 2013 • Reprints JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG and 10 other international lenders were sued by a U.S. credit union regulator alleging they illegally manipulated benchmark Libor interest rates. The National Credit Union Administration, an Alexandria, Virginia-based regulator, said it sued the banks today at a U.S. court in Kansas. The filing couldn’t immediately be confirmed in court records. Their alleged manipulation “resulted in a loss of income from investments and other assets held by five failed corporate credit unions: U.S. Central, WesCorp, Members United, Southwest and Constitution,” according to an NCUA statement issued today. The banks are accused of giving false information in response to a daily survey by the British Bankers’ Association, which asks lenders how much it would cost to borrow money from each other for various intervals in 10 different currencies. Libor, the London interbank offered rate, is a key metric to set interest rates for trillions of dollars in financial instruments. The misinformation allowed them to “benefit their investments that were tied to LIBOR, to reduce their borrowing costs, to deceive the marketplace as to the true state of their creditworthiness, and to deprive investors of the interest rate payments to which they were entitled,” according to the NCUA. Kerrie-Ann Cohen, a New York-based spokeswoman for Barclays, declined to comment on the allegations. Brian Marchiony, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, also declined to comment. Credit Suisse media relations in New York didn’t immediately respond after regular business hours to a voice-mail message seeking comment. The case is Nation

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Dr. Cynthia Tori, a Valdosta State University professor of economics, believes the economy is stabilizing and could see slow growth in 2013. Breakfast draws business leaders to hear expert economic forecast VALDOSTA — The outlook for growth in the Valdosta-Lowndes County area is not terrible, but it’s not great, either. At the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Business Outlook Breakfast Tuesday morning, economists from Valdosta State University, the University of Georgia and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta projected growth in 2013, but not by much. Dr. Cynthia Tori, professor of economics at VSU, predicts that the population of Georgia will grow at a rate of 2 percent during 2013, but will match the unemployment rate, showing more of a leveling out rather than an expansion of the job market. The housing foreclosure rates for Lowndes County have improved, with rates the highest in 31601 and 31605 area codes. And companies surviving the recession include those in retail, health care and social services, leisure and hospitality, and administrative markets, among others, Tori said. Tori expects continued growth for the region, but a reduction in discretionary spending due to higher payroll and public health coverage taxes. She projects energy prices to rise steadily and state appropriations and regulations to put a damper on market growth. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Valdosta is full of young, well-trained people graduating from VSU and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College who are interested in staying in the region. Expansion of harbors in Savannah and the widening of the Panama Canal could increase capacity for Georgia exports, and the real estate market is stabilizing, Tori said. “We can’t say we’re just going to go into a hole and hide ourselves,” Tori said. “We have to look for opportunities.” Dr. Jeffrey Humphreys of UGA believes Georgia’s economy will grow in 2013, perhaps faster than the rest of the nation. Humphreys predicts a 2.1 percent economic inflation for the state compared to a 1.7 percent national figure. Much of Humphreys’ projections are based in politics, he said. “If we don’t raise the debt ceiling, we’ll go into a much deeper recession,” Humphreys said. “This forecast is based on a reduction in federal spending.” Humphreys claims it is more important for Congress to act in regard to the debt ceiling than on sequestration of whole portions of the national budget. “We don’t get a recession if Congress fails to act on the sequester; we do see a recession if they fail to act on the debt ceiling,” Humphreys said. Humphreys called the political climate “downright hostile” to economic growth, leading him to believe that the recession will continue, but not necessarily worsen. The housing market in Georgia has improved, he explained, and much of Georgia’s exports go to southeastern Asia rather than to the European Union, where the economy is linked to that of the U.S. However, if oil rises to more than $140 a barrel, Georgia could see yet another recession since its economy relies so heavily on exports. Because federal fiscal policy and the changes to spending remain uncertain, much of Georgia’s growth will depend on small business in 2013, Humphreys said. He is expecting job growth of 1.4 percent, but that job growth is pacing population growth, leaving the same number of people unemployed. “It’s new companies that create new jobs,” Humphreys said. “Georgia is making progress, its leaders have made some big changes, and we have a tailwind behind us.” Dr. Thomas Cunningham, senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, had a more optimistic outlook. The Fed predicts growth as high as 2.5 percent, even though “labor markets are complex and are unable to be reduced to a statistic,” Cunningham said. Because the federal government “is likely to continue on this policy path,” Cunningham said, economic developers must begin looking into the habits of consumers. Auto sales continue to do well, and consumer debt is on the rebound. “If you want to stay in the game, you have to invest,” Cunningham said. “Kicking the can down the road can work.” Cunningham reported that the multi-trillion-dollar federal deficit is like firefighters trying to put out a house fire. Firefighters are allowed to break windows, spray water into rooms and other damaging activities because we trust them to stop when the fire is out, Cunningham said. Like this scenario, Americans should trust the government to stop spending when the economy begins to turn around, according to Cunningham. “The numbers are really big, but the economy is very big, too,” Cunningham said, but he admitted that the country is on an unsustainable path when it comes to entitlement spending. Overall, Cunningham’s projection is an inflation of 2.1 percent. He left the stage advising those in the audience to “buy stuff.” For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Valdosta Daily Times e-Edition, or our print edition. 1 Text Only

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Small scale, energy-efficient desalination demoed Combining a voltage difference with a selectively permeable membrane can … Right now, estimates are that a few hundred million people suffer from limited access to fresh water, and population growth and climate change are expected to rapidly exacerbate that problem. Many of these people have access to brackish or salty water, but desalinization plants only work efficiently on the large scale, with an attendant infrastructure. A paper released by Nature Nanotechnology on Sunday describes a microfluidic approach to desalinization that is roughly as energy-efficient as a large-scale plant, but compact enough that it could operate as a small, battery-powered device. The basic idea behind the device is extremely simple: send a flow of salty water down a channel with a Y-shaped junction, and convince all the charged items, whether they're salt ions or cells, to take the left turn. That leaves a flow of relatively pure water running down the right fork. Convincing everything to make a left turn requires a technique termed ion concentration polarization. The right-hand fork of the device has a small channel covered with a membrane called Nafion that only admits small, positively charged ions (called cations). There's also a voltage difference across that channel that repels the cations. Instead of backing everything up right at the Nafion membrane, this setup actively repels all charged particles. Placing it at the mouth of the right-hand channel neatly forces all the charged materials to the far-left-hand wall of the device, where it will be carried down the left turn of the device. The water that flows down the right-hand side will be free of charged materials—meaning salt-free. Membranes are currently used in desalinization processes, such as reverse osmosis, but those techniques require a great deal of care to be taken in order to avoid clogging the pores of the membranes. In the technique outlined here, most of the material is actively repelled before it gets anywhere near the membrane, which the authors suggest should greatly expand its usable life span. The authors tested a small version of the device using sea water obtained from a beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts (they were based at MIT), which was passed through a filter to get rid of particulates. To monitor the flow and confirm that biological materials would go along for the ride (most biological materials carry a charge under voltage), they spiked the sea water with red blood cells and a fluorescent molecule. Under a bit of pressure, the material would flow evenly down both the left and right channels. But, almost as soon as the voltage is applied, the active repulsion kicked in, and an ion depletion boundary formed just upstream of the right-hand channel. As a result, the fluid that flowed down the right-hand passage was clear (the process was so efficient that about half the material flowing down the left-hand passage was also clear. The material collected from the desalinized channel had about 180mg/l of ionic material in it; that's a significant improvement from the 30,000mg/l in the source material, and it is less than a third of the upper limit for potable water. The power requirements are estimated at between four and five Watt-hours for each liter of water, which is in line with large commercial desalinization techniques. The water requires so little force to move through the channels in this new system that the hardware could simply be gravity fed. Leaving the realm of implementation, the authors consider how to scale the device up by expanding the diameter of the channels and adding multiple channels to a single device. They come up with a six-to-eight inch chip (<20cm) that would be capable of producing over 200ml of fresh water every minute. By combining the Nafion membrane and one of the electrodes, it's also possible to cut down on the energy required, but in any case, it should require far less power than current commercial devices, which aren't nearly as portable and require in the neighborhood of 100W-hr/liter. (For context, it's possible to pick up 100W solar panels on Amazon for roughly $300; they cover roughly a square meter.) There are a couple of major caveats to this work. For starters, the filtering technique doesn't get rid of an neutral organic materials, which means that, although the water that comes out is relatively salt-free, it may not be safe to drink until it's also passed through a material like activated carbon. The other issue is that concentrating calcium ions tends to cause them to precipitate, so the authors added sodium hydroxide to the sea water first, which precipitated out the calcium before it hit the filter. Neither of these steps are show-stoppers, but they would add to the complexity of the device. In any case, the authors don't think that the hardware's ready to replace large-scale facilities. Instead, they suggest that it might make sense in "disaster- and poverty-stricken areas," where there's either a need for temporary desalinization, or access to the infrastructure needed to support industrial desalinization is unlikely to arrive any time soon. (The paper's supplementary data contains diagrams of the device.) Nature Nanotechnology, 2010. DOI: 10.1038/NNANO.2010.34 (About DOIs). Expand full story

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Corporate Owner’s Stock Plunges. Category: Extra from The Berkeley Daily Planet Golden Gates Fields Fate Uncertain; Corporate Owner’s Stock Plunges Friday February 20, 2009 - 09:06:00 AM After failing to raise enough cash to reorganize, the owners of Golden Gate Fields face the threat of liquidation—leaving the future of the Albany race track in doubt. Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC), the company created by Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach after investors in his parts company demanded that he spin off his money-losing racing ventures, issued a warning to investors Wednesday. MEC became the nation’s largest owner of race tracks, acquiring some of the nation’s premier venues. The company failed to pull off a joint development at the Albany track with Los Angeles “lifestyle” shopping mall developer Rick Caruso, which would have resulted in an upscale mall topped by condos at the track’s northern parking lot. The company hired a law firm specializing in bankruptcy reorganization to help with a corporate restructuring, but the company announced it was abandoning the plan Wednesday. Company shares plunged on the news, dropping more than 30 percent to an all-time low of 35 cents Thursday before closing at 36 cents—a precipitous fall from the stocks’ 52-week high of $20. The share price plunge prompted the Toronto Stock Exchange to announce Thursday that it was reviewing whether or not the company’s Class A subordinate voting shares should be removed from the exchange’s listings. “The Company is being review on an expedited basis,” the exchange announced in a formal statement posted in the afternoon. Magna had already said that all its assets were on the table when it announced the planned restructuring in November (see www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-12-04/article/31718). At the time, the company valued its assets at between $100 million and $120 million. In addition to Golden Gate Fields, the company owns Santa Anita Park in Southern California, Laurel Park and Pimlico in Maryland, Portland Meadows in Oregon, Lone Star Park in Texas, Remington Park in Oklahoma, The Meadows in Pennsylvania, Gulfstream Park in Florida and the Magna Racino in Stronach’s native Austria. Originally created as part of Magna International, Stronach’s car parts firm, the race tracks and associated ventures were spun off into a separate firm, MI Developments (MID), with Magna Entertainment as a subsidiary. The goal of the reorganization had been to consolidate the company into Stronach’s hand, with MID arranging the financing. But it was that plan which collapsed when MID company found itself unable to renew the interim financing arrangement which begins to come due next month. It is those obligations the company announced it may not be able to meet. Wednesday’s bad news is merely the latest in a series of blows which have shaken the company. Magna had hoped to win a Maryland state license to install video slot machines at its Laurel Park track, a potential source of ready new cash to supplement the steadily declining revenues from the track. But Maryland’s Video Lottery Facility Commission rejected the park’s bid earlier this month. Magna’s local affiliate, the Maryland Jockey Club, has filed a legal challenge. Next month Magna faces a series of critical due dates on loans arranged through MID, including $126 million borrowed through an MID subsidiary, another $100 million borrowed for a project at Gulfstream Park project, plus a third loan of $48.5 million. Magna had suffered two other major setbacks locally. On April 17, 2007, voters in Dixon rejected Magna’s plans for a high tech television-friendly track adjacent to that rural Sacramento Valley community. The proposed Dixon Downs would have brought a major racing facility within a half-hour drive of the state capital, featuring what a Magna executive called a “California fair type facility ... together with mixed use retail.” Nine months earlier, LA mall developer Caruso had backed out of his proposal to team with Magna on a $300 million waterfront mall at Golden Gate Fields after the Albany City Council rejected his demand to give his project a full environmental impact review (EIR) even before the council had seen an application describing exactly what the project entailed. What next? Robert Lieber, the Albany city councilmember who was serving as mayor at the time of the failed mall project, said he doesn’t believe the track is viable any longer. With liquidation of Magna’s assets on the table if the company is unable to reach a financing agreement, Lieber said, “I just hope that whoever acquires the track is willing to work with the community.” Marge Atkinson, the city’s current mayor, was elected as an opponent of the mall project along with current Vice Mayor Joanne Wile. Lieber said a community process now underway is working on alternative visions for the shoreline. He said the city hasn’t received any word that a sale might be near, “but we’re always the last to know. We weren’t notified before the sale to the previous two owners either.” Rumors are flying about talks between the track’s owners and one possible buyer, but no one was willing to go on the record as of Thursday afternoon. Links we like:

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> 2012 Banking and Consumer Regulatory Policy Release Date: May 30, 2012 For immediate release The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced the approval of a final rule outlining the procedures for securities holding companies (SHCs) to elect to be supervised by the Federal Reserve. An SHC is a nonbank company that owns at least one registered broker or dealer. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act eliminated the previous supervision framework that applied to SHCs under the Securities and Exchange Commission and permitted SHCs to be supervised by the Federal Reserve. An SHC may seek supervision by the Federal Reserve to meet requirements by a regulator in another country that the firm be subject to comprehensive, consolidated supervision in the United States in order to operate in the country. The final rule specifies the information that an SHC will need to provide to the Board as part of registration for supervision, including information related to organizational structure, capital, and financial condition. Under the final rule, an SHC's registration becomes effective no later than 45 days from the date the Board receives all required information. The final rule provides that upon an effective registration, an SHC would be supervised and regulated as if it were a bank holding company. However, consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act, the restrictions on nonbanking activities in the Bank Holding Company Act would not apply to a supervised SHC. For media inquiries, call 202-452-2955. Federal Register notice: TEXT | PDF Board Votes 2012 Banking and Consumer Regulatory Policy Last update: May 30, 2012 Home

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Teekay Offshore Contemplates Norwegian Bond Issuance HAMILTON, BERMUDA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/10/13 -- Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (Teekay Offshore or the Partnership) (NYSE:TOO) announced that it intends to issue minimum NOK800 million in new senior unsecured bonds in the Norwegian bond market, split between two tranches that will mature in January 2016 and January 2018, respectively. At current conversion rates, the aggregate minimum principal amount is equivalent to approximately USD140 million. The proceeds of the bonds will be used to repay a portion of amounts outstanding under the Partnership's revolving credit facilities and for general partnership purposes. Teekay Offshore will apply for listing of the new bonds on the Oslo Stock Exchange. A portion of the bonds may be offered in the United States to qualified institutional investors (or QIBs) as defined in Rule 144A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) concurrently with bonds offered outside of the United States pursuant to Regulation S of the Securities Act. DNB Markets, Nordea Markets and Swedbank First Securities have been appointed as Joint Lead Managers of the contemplated bond issuance. Nordea Markets is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a U.S. registered broker-dealer and will not participate in the offer or sale of the bonds within the United States. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the bonds or any other security of Teekay Offshore. The bonds have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. Unless so registered, the bonds may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which include statements involving the contemplated bond offering, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to be materially different. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the bond issuance may not be completed in the aggregate principal amount contemplated, or at all, and those discussed in Teekay Offshore's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Teekay Offshore undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward looking statements, unless required to do so under the securities laws. About Teekay Offshore Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. is an international provider of marine transportation, oil production and storage services to the offshore oil industry focusing on the fast-growing, deepwater offshore oil regions of the North Sea and Brazil. Teekay Offshore owns interests in 37 shuttle tankers (including four chartered-in vessels and four committed newbuildings), five floating storage and offtake (FSO) units, 6 conventional oil tankers, and three floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units. Teekay Offshore also has rights to participate in certain other FPSO and shuttle tanker opportunities provided by Teekay Corporation (NYSE:TK) and Sevan Marine ASA (Oslo Bors:SEVAN). The Partnership has recently accepted an offer from Teekay Corporation to acquire the Voyageur Spirit FPSO. The majority of Teekay Offshore's fleet trades on long-term, stable contracts and it is structured as a publicly-traded master limited partnership (MLP). Teekay Offshore Partners' common units trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TOO". Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. Kent Alekson Investor Relations Enquiries + 1 (604) 609-6442 www.teekayoffshore.com

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Online PR Media February 24, 2012 at 13:50 PM EST AccountingDepartment.com To Exhibit At Inc's GROWCO 2012 AccountingDepartment.com To Exhibit At Inc's GROWCO 2012AccountingDepartment.com to showcase full outsourced accounting department solutions at Inc's annual business growth conference.Online PR News – 24-February-2012 – Pompton Plains, NJ AccountingDepartment.com will be an exhibitor at Inc's GROWCO 2012, an annual conference dedicated to helping businesses continue to grow and develop. As one of a select group of sponsors and exhibitors, AccountingDepartment.com will help business owners explore the advantages of outsourced accounting departments, including full bookkeeping and controller services. AccountingDepartment.com has long been a leader in outsourcing, providing accurate and ethical service to companies throughout the United States. The AccountingDepartment.com service model is unique, connecting each company with its own US-based bookkeeper who is then available to them for questions and support on a regular basis. This system has a number of advantages for businesses compared to an in-house team. Privacy, reliability, and ethical conduct are all assured by the system AccountingDepartment.com uses to ensure complete security of all client data while simultaneously providing transparency and oversight of all bookkeeping services."When businesses let us become their accounting department, they're always surprised at just how much of a burden is lifted off their shoulders," notes Bill Gerber, a founder of AccountingDepartment.com. "We are a full accounting department, with all the benefits you'd expect from an in-house team and more all without the ethical problems, inaccuracy, and other issues of in-house accounting."AccountingDepartment.com uses only US-based CPAs and other accounting professionals. Every client is assigned a dedicated contact within the company who is available on a regular basis for questions and information. This unique structure appeals to businesses who worry about losing control due to outsourcing. The strong transparency, privacy, and security protections that the company employs further enhance confidence. With the trend toward outsourcing and the advantages provided by outsourced accounting, it seems likely that AccountingDepartment.com will only grow in the future.About AccountingDepartment.com: Founded in 2004, AccountingDepartment.com (http://www.accountingdepartment.com) provides full service virtual accounting and bookkeeping. For large companies, AccountingDepartment.com offers a full accounting department with complete accounting services, including a bookkeeper and a CPA/Controller. For smaller businesses, monthly and daily bookkeeping without controller services are available.Company Contact Information Bill Gerber http://www.accountingdepartment.com

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Banking & Capital Markets September 1, 2010September 1, 2010 Captains of Capex Some companies have outpaced the field in capital investments even as they've kept the cash flowing. What are their secrets? David M. Katz To reverse the cliché, every silver lining is covered by a cloud. That’s something CFOs should remember as they focus on a metric that most hold dear: free cash flow. For many finance chiefs, the ability to liberate cash from revenue and its attendant costs gets at the very heart of their value to the organization. Investors, boards, and chief executives tend to regard such free money as a cloudless benefit. But free cash flow isn’t completely free, particularly if it is generated at the expense of a company’s (not to mention an economy’s) ability to grow. During the financial crisis, many corporations shifted into survival mode, slashing expenses in order to maintain enough liquidity to pay down debt or provide a backstop against future financial meltdowns. Unfortunately, a big portion of that ax-wielding entailed cuts to long-term productive corporate assets like property, plant, and equipment. Two diverging trends tell the story. After reaching a three-year low of $14 million in December 2008, reported median free cash flow for about 4,000 U.S. public non-financial-services companies soared, doubling to about $28 million by March 2010 (according to a study by the Georgia Tech Financial Analysis Lab using data provided by Cash Flow Analytics). That marked the highest level of free cash flow in at least 10 years. On the other hand, starting in March 2008, reported median net capital expenditures (capex) as a percentage of revenue plunged to less than 3% in March 2010, a 10+ year low. Together those two metrics tell a dark tale indeed, say some experts: the drastic cutbacks in capex amount to firms swapping long-range economic health for a short-term glow to please (or at least appease) investors. “Over the last few quarters, free cash has been growing for many companies, but they’ve been achieving it in nonrecurring ways,” says Charles Mulford, a professor of accounting at Georgia Tech and managing director of research for Cash Flow Analytics. Those ways include “the crutch of reducing capex to grow free cash flow,” he says, along with reducing inventory and expenses. There is no denying that in this still-uncertain economy, holding tightly to your cash can make a great deal of sense (see “Time to Get Off Your Cash?” July/August). And, along with preserving liquidity, another reason for capex caution may be that boosting capex could run counter to the perpetual push for manufacturing efficiency: how “lean” can a company be if it’s pouring money into plants and equipment? Pretty lean, as it turns out — at least in some cases. A few large public companies have maintained an upward trend in capex as well as healthy free cash flow over a relatively long period, according to an analysis of Cash Flow Analytics data conducted for CFO by Mulford. Six U.S. public, non-financial-services companies with market caps of more than $1 billion grew their capex/revenue ratios by more than 10% over the one-year and three-year periods ending in March 2010, even as they maintained positive free cash flow. As Capex Slows, Free Cash Margin Rises Capex Cuts Still Boosting Cash Flow The Plight Before Christmas CFOs See 12% Capex Rise, Deloitte Survey Finds Beyond the Data Debates

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Home : Lifestyle : Education Civilian life can be costly: Money tips for those leaving the military Updated: 2/03 12:06 pm (BPT) - No right-thinking person would ever claim that the financial side of military life is the land of milk and honey. Even so, military life provides some perks that don't exist in the civilian world.If you're active-duty military and thinking about getting out soon, it pays to understand how your personal financial landscape will change when Uncle Sam is no longer issuing your paychecks.First, don't overlook the not-so-small matter of finding a suitable place to begin your post-military career. Take a look at the 2013 Best Places for Veterans: Jobs list for metro areas that offer America's new generation of veterans more opportunities to find a job that correlates with their military-related skills. Houston, Dallas and Minneapolis landed the top spots in the study, commissioned by USAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes program.Once you secure that civilian gig, here are two specific areas where USAA Certified Financial Planner Scott Halliwell predicts you'll see the biggest differences in benefits and pay.No more tax-free allowances: If you've been in the military for any length of time, you've no doubt realized some of your pay comes to you free of tax. Basic allowance for subsistence (BAS) and basic allowance for housing (BAH) are two of the most common sources. What you may not realize is just how much of your hard-earned cash this tax treatment saves you.For example, a married E-6 living in San Antonio who has one child and has been serving for more than 10 years would have a taxable base pay just shy of $39,600 annually. His non-taxable BAS and BAH would total just more than $21,300. Looked at another way, about 35 percent of this family's income would be free from taxes. If this BAS/BAH combo was instead taxable, the service member and his family could lose around $250 each month to taxes - and that's just in federal taxes. State taxes, if applicable, could make it even more.In other words, civilian pay and military pay are not an apples-to-apples comparison, so you've got to plan accordingly.No more free health insurance: And while a couple hundred bucks a month is nothing to sneeze at, that could just be the tip of the iceberg. Health insurance in the military is, to put it lightly, very cost-effective. Not everyone is always thrilled with how the whole system works, but you just can't get much more cost-effective than free.In the civilian world, the average cost for employer-based insurance plans for a family of four is around $1,300 per month, according to a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The good news is that most folks don't have to foot that entire amount. Civilian employers typically subsidize these costs so that the average monthly employee expense is about 28 percent, or $360 per month. Even so, costs for health care can vary widely from one employer to the next.Also, it's important to know these numbers are just the premiums employees pay for the insurance. The numbers don't include co-pays, co-insurance or deductibles you might have to pay. The national average for these expenses for a family of four is about $3,600 per year, according to a study reported in the Milliman Medical Index. When you add these costs to the insurance premiums you'll have to pay, health care-related costs can easily be one of the single biggest cash outflows each month for civilians. And that's without adding in expenses for vision and dental care.These are just two of the big financial changes people face when they leave the military, but they aren't the only ones, so it's important to have a solid game plan in place ahead of time. To help build out a plan, spend some time with the Separation Assessment Tool and the Separation Checklist on usaa.com.

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Where Are They Now? Catching Up With the 2011 Elite 8 As mobile and digital technologies continue to reshape banking, we caught up with some of the 2011 Elite 8 to see how the changing expectations of consumers, employees and partners are transforming their focus. By Peggy Bresnick Kendler September 28, 2012 Aman Narain, Global Head of Online and Mobile Banking, Standard Chartered (London) Aman Narain, global head of online and mobile banking for Standard Chartered since 2008, has kept busy since being recognized as an Elite 8 honoree last year. In addition to overseeing the bank's mobile and online channels, he is now responsible for digital channels within branches and ATMs and for developing integrated solutions across all of them. According to Narain, Standard Chartered has been ramping up a focus on monetizing the web, using the online channel for sales and wealth management capabilities in particular, especially in Hong Kong, where the firm recently launched mobile trading applications. The firm also has extended its suite of mobile applications, Breeze, in terms of both geography and capabilities. Breeze now enables equity trading, for example. The mobile app suite even supports the home-buying process, generating mortgage business. "With Breeze," Narain explains, "you can point a mobile phone at a building and it will tell you everything you need to know about it." Breeze currently is available in nine markets and will be in three more by the end of the year. Standard Chartered is beginning to offer its smartphone banking solutions from more developed markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea, in Africa, starting in Nigeria and extending across the continent. The firm also launched smartphone banking in China in the spring. "That was extensively an iPhone client, but now we're using mobile web to help serve our Android users in these markets as well," Narain relates. From a servicing perspective, Narain says, Standard Chartered will work to help customers serve themselves and manage their account relationship directly, without having to come into a branch. "In some of our markets where we don't have a wide branch presence, travel times are long -- in places like India, for instance," Narain explains. "So we will focus on self-service through the online channels and on integrating that information into a CRM system that we've been building over the past year."

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KMP to Sell Its One-Third Stake in Express-Platte Pipeline System HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its one-third interest in the Express-Platte pipeline system to Spectra Energy Corp for approximately $380 million pre tax. KMP’s joint venture partners in Canada (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Borealis Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the OMERS pension plan) are also selling their interests in the pipeline system, as Spectra Energy Corp is purchasing 100 percent of Express-Platte. The transaction is subject to customary consents and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013. Express-Platte is a 1,700-mile oil pipeline system connecting Canadian and U.S. producers to refineries in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the United States. “This is a win-win transaction for both KMP and Spectra Energy Corp,” said KMP Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder. “Spectra Energy Corp is purchasing a good pipeline system. In exchange, KMP will receive a very attractive price. Based on the structure of KMP’s investment with our Express-Platte partners, KMP receives approximately $15 million of cash flow on an annual basis from this investment, which is primarily debenture interest. We will redeploy the proceeds from this sale into various growth projects to further benefit our unitholders. I would like to thank the Express-Platte and Kinder Morgan Canada employees for their hard work and outstanding service in operating this pipeline system.” Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company and one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 53,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI). Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $100 billion. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 75,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the general partner interest of KMP and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), along with limited partner interests in KMP, and EPB and shares in Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR). For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com. This news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, based on information currently available to them. Although Kinder Morgan believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that such assumptions will materialize. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein include those enumerated in Kinder Morgan’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and ex

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← The Correlation Conundrum Can The Fed Prevent The Next Recession? “None of the U.S. expansions of the past 40 years died in bed of old age,” MIT economics professor Rudiger Dornbusch famously observed in 1997. “Every one was murdered by the Federal Reserve.” Researchers tend to agree, as shown by numerous studies that link inverted yield curves with economic contractions. But does the history of the business cycle and monetary policy in the decades prior to the Great Recession of 2008-2009 still resonate today? In other words, what are the odds that the next recession will be a byproduct of monetary policy decisions, intentional or otherwise? I’ve been running such questions around in my head for a while, pondering why and how the business cycle could make another trip to the dark side. There’s minimal risk on that front at the moment, as last week’s review of indicators suggest. But assuming that the business cycle hasn’t been repealed (a reasonable assumption, to say the least), we’ll see another downturn one day. But given the Fed’s extraordinary efforts of late in keeping that risk to a minimum, is the probability of a new recession lower than it might otherwise be? It’s an interesting question for a number of reasons, starting with the fact that the central bank’s posture is somewhat unique, particularly for this stage in the business cycle. It’s been four years since the last recession ended and yet monetary policy, at least by the standards of history, is unusually accommodative. One clue is the year-over-year real (inflation-adjusted) change in the monetary base, which was higher by roughly 20% through last month vs. a year ago. That’s not all that high relative to the last several years, in the wake of the economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009. But in the grand scheme of modern Fed history it’s fair to say that Bernanke and company are pumping up the monetary base at an unusually high pace. Looking at the chart above inspires the question: Can we have a recession if the monetary aggregates are rising at a robust clip? If the Fed is actively determined to keep the economy out of the cyclical ditch, are the odds favorable for thinking that it’ll succeed? I ran the question by Robert Dieli, an economist who publishes macro research at NoSpinForecast.com. He says that if we take the Fed out of the picture as a real and present danger for the business cycle, it’s only prudent to look for other catalysts that could trigger a recession. Not surprisingly, there’s no shortage of possibilities. But as Dieli reminds, we don’t live in an economic vacuum. Whatever scenario you can dream up for risk factors that could, in theory, push the economy over the edge, the question becomes: How would the Fed react? Meantime, there are few, if any, smoking guns in the here and now, starting with the biggest kid on the block. “There’s a list of things you hear when the Fed is on the warpath, and we’re not seeing any of those,” Dieli says. Indeed, the yield curve isn’t inverted, nor is it anywhere close to being inverted. As of yesterday, the 10-year Treasury Note’s yield is 2.61% vs. roughly zero for a 3-month T-bill. Never say never, but for now it’s hard to fathom how short rates could move over a 10-year rate any time soon in the current climate. Some analysts say that looking at the yield curve and related measures is no longer relevant because the Fed is “manipulating” short rates. Isn’t that always true? In any case, some economists say that the reliability of the yield curve as a risk factor in business cycle analysis has been rendered null and void. But is this circular reasoning? It’s clear that recessions in the past have been associated with tighter monetary policy. But that factor has been taken off the table for the foreseeable future, which implies that recession risk is low. Yet some analysts look at a positively sloped yield curve and say that it no longer matters, which amounts to arguing that it’s different this time. Perhaps. But if it is, we should expect to see some trigger (or triggers), apart from tighter monetary policy, that elevate recession risk. In that case, would the Fed respond? Could it respond? If you accept that the central bank’s monetary policy can be effective when the policy rate is zero, then the answers to those two questions are likely to be “yes” and “yes.” All of which brings us down to the real question: Can we have a recession if the Fed is keenly focused on keeping one at bay? No one really knows the answer, in part because the Fed has often been a key factor, perhaps the leading factor, in causing recessions. But this time really could be different. Imagine that in six months we see a chain of events that scares the heck out of consumers and retail spending drops like a rock. In turn, that leads to a deep round of layoffs and unemployment starts moving higher in rapid fashion. The Fed sees this and rolls out a new and aggressive round of quantitative easing. Does that nip the recession in the bud? There are a number of reasons for thinking that the Fed would be successful in heading off a cyclical attack. But in the realm of macro one can never really be sure. In some sense we’re in uncharted territory. The expansion, modest and unsatisfying as it is, is now 48 months old, by the NBER’s accounting. That’s still below the average expansion since World War II, which weighs in at 58 months. According to the Dornbusch doctrine, age has nothing to do with recession risk. But if the Fed isn’t a risk factor, what does that say about the business cycle for the foreseeable future? In some sense it’s back to the drawing board. What are the causes of recessions generally? Economists have never really come up with a satisfying answer, which is probably one reason why recessions are a constant through time. Sure, we can point to the telltale signs, such as rising unemployment, lower spending, and tighter monetary policy. But what’s the source of those changes? If you spend any time looking for robust answers, you quickly realize that cause and effect in this corner of economics is a bit like walking in a house of mirrors. This much, at least, is clear. If we do have a recession while the Fed is aggressively trying to avoid one, we’re in deep trouble. July 26, 2013 ← The Correlation Conundrum One Response to Can The Fed Prevent The Next Recession? Tony Ferreira says: July 26, 2013 at 4:56 pm James, be aware that of our last ten recessions, four of them had no inverted yield curve. Those were the 53-54, 57-58, 60-61 and 90-91 recessions. Japan’s last three recessions did not have a inverted yield curve. Interest rates are the main reason that recession occur in my opinion, but the long end of the curve can also cause the problem. Since 1947, we have had 18 large increases in long term interest rates, and 11 of them gave us a recession. Long rates have moved up enough that this is number 19. We are already seeing the impact of rising interest rates on the housing market, as Housing Starts have already dropped by over 15% from there most recent peak. We are seeing lumber prices c

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Multiple threats loom for recovery Even if Washington somehow finds a way to avoid the fiscal cliff - the automatic tax hikes and federal spending cuts that threaten to plunge the nation back into a recession - the economy could suffer a stiff blow next year from other looming changes in public policy. A payroll tax cut benefiting 160 million workers is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, as are unemployment benefits for millions of people. Also on tap are new taxes on the wealthy and cuts in tens of billions of dollars in domestic and defense spending that will occur regardless of the fiscal cliff. With the government putting less money into the economy and taking more out of people's wallets, many economists estimate that these changes could reduce growth by at least one percentage point and leave at least 1 million more people jobless. While economists and politicians have been warning about the dangers of the fiscal cliff, far less has been said about the more modest, yet serious, toll that these other government actions would take. Of these, the biggest impact would come from the expiration of the temporary payroll tax cut, enacted in December 2010. Since then, the payroll tax that funds Social Security has been 4.2 percent, down from 6.2 percent, giving the average family an extra $1,000 to spend. The disappearance of unemployment benefits would also hamper economic activity, especially because recipients usually spend most of the cash on food and other goods rather than saving the money. Meanwhile, upper-income earners would see a slight increase in the taxes they pay under President Obama's health-care law. Finally, under an agreement forged last summer, the government is required to trim about $60 billion from domestic and defense spending next year. Together, these changes could do at least as much to slow the economy as any other government action in the past half-century, according to Moody's Analytics. Coming out of the recent recession, it was inevitable that the government would eventually curtail policies that had been enacted to stimulate the economy. But some economists say it doesn't make sense for the government to retrench while the economy remains fragile. "The weakness of the economy means that 2013 is not a good year for any tax increase or spending cut," said Joseph E. Gagnon, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former top official at the Federal Reserve. "Tax increases and spending cuts hurt the economy. So do them when the economy is healthy, not when it's weak." Neither the White House nor leaders in Congress are calling for an extension of payroll tax cuts this year. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said earlier in the year that they should not be renewed. Still, the issue could be revisited after the election, when Congress will enter a period of furious fiscal negotiations. A White House official said the president wants the extension of unemployment insurance at the end of the year and would take a look at the payroll tax cut as part of a host of issues to be discussed after Nov. 6. Congress may consider extending the payroll tax cut and other provisions then as part of the broader discussion of tax-and-spending policy, especially if the economy does not appear to be firming up. There would be precedent. Despite gridlock, starting in late 2010, Congress and the White House have been able to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy through payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance extensions. This helped buffer the U.S economy from the European financial crisis, rising oil prices and the Japanese earthquake. The economy is now growing at about the same pace as or more slowly than in previous years. It is facing fresh threats, too, including a historic drought and a global economic slowdown that is sapping U.S. manufacturing and exports, which had been fueling the recovery. "This is not the right moment to repeal the payroll tax cut," said Obama's former top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, in a speech Thursday. Even without an immediate way to make up the lost revenue, extending the payroll tax would be helpful, as long as the government eventually takes steps to control the federal debt, he said. Alex Brill, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute and former top economist for the Republican-led House Committee on Ways and Means, said he would oppose another temporary payroll tax cut. "I don't think a one-sided approach where we make further commitments to unsustainable deficits is going to be an effective approach," he said. "We need permanent tax policy and not to use the tax code as a turn-it-on, turn-it-off tool for managing the quarter-to-quarter performance of the economy." Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Analytics, said that it's important for Congress to replace the severe tax increases and spending cuts of the fiscal cliff with a long-term plan that raises tax revenue and more gradually reduces spending. The cliff consists primarily of automatic $1.2 trillion of cuts in domestic and defense spending over the next decade, which Obama and lawmakers agreed to last summer if they could not reach another deal to trim the deficit. The cliff also includes the expiration of George W. Bush-era tax cuts. But Zandi said the government should allow the other policies - such as the expiration of the payroll tax cut - to go ahead, even if it causes short-term pain. "It's a big drag and it's very significant head wind to the economy, but I think that 1.5 percent drag is manageable," he said. "The economy is going to struggle early next year, but we will avoid recession." There's also another way the economy could suffer even if Washington finds a way to avoid the fiscal cliff. If policymakers decide, for instance, to delay the steep cuts and tax increases but fail to come up with an alternative to tackle the soaring federal deficit, growth could slow over the coming years. Concern about the fiscal health of the U.S. government could undermine business confidence and lead to higher borrowing costs for consumers, companies and the government itself. Moody's has warned that the failure to make any progress on long-term debt reduction would mean that the economy would grow much slower over the subsequent decade, with unemployment staying above 6 percent. Moreover, credit-rating companies could further downgrade the U.S. rating if the White House and Congress fail to come up with a plan for putting the government's finances on a sound footing. Last summer, after the bruising fight between Democrats and Republicans over raising the federal debt limit, Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. rating. That has had a negligible impact on the nation's borrowing ability so far. But a second downgrade by another agency might be more significant, because many types of investors, such as pension funds, cannot buy bonds if they do not carry the highest ratings of two agencies.

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Quotes 27 Poems17 Facebook193 Twitter123 Tumblr85 Wayne Ayers Quotes Found 44 quotes by Wayne Ayers. [ Page 1 of 3 ] "We're nowhere close to the Japanese example. When you have real deflation as they have in Japan, consumers expect prices to be lower, and they defer purchases, which makes the spiral worse. That's not an apt description of what the American consumer has been doing." Wayne Ayers "We'll probably have a moderate-paced recovery. I couldn't agree more with the Greenspan's forecasts that it would be a sub-par recovery." "They've got more room to move, and they will move. That's what they've always done in past recessions and what they'll do again." "It's clear the consumer has progressively turned more cautious and conservative. Given that, and given that business capital spending has yet to come back, how long can this recovery keep on going? These numbers certainly make that a legitimate question." Topics: Business "I think (Fed Chairman) Alan Greenspan has made it all but official, we'll get another rate cut in June, but my guess is a quarter point rate cut, principally because of what we're seeing on the inflation report. The CPI and PPI have been trending up over the last two years." "This liquidation has been so sharp, so severe, not just in this last quarter, but over the past year, that even with a modest pickup in demand, production is almost bound to increase as we move through the balance of this year." "Inventories are at rock-bottom levels -- even if economic growth slows in the fourth quarter, those inventories will have to be rebuilt, otherwise businesses risk losing business." "Firms in the past year have continued to invest in equipment and technology to improve productivity. And with good reason -- the cost of capital is below the cost of labor." "It is a genuine shocker... I don't think anyone anticipated a decline of this magnitude." "It's unclear what lower rates would do. If it's really true that productivity and structural changes are causing labor market weakness, it's not clear that another cut in rates would be helpful to the labor market." "The second half will show some better growth. Will that be sustained past the second half? For that, two things have to happen: we have to see a pickup in business spending, and the labor market has to stabilize and improve, creating permanent employment. We don't expect to see that until year-end." Topics: Growth "I think the Fed felt this was not the time to be cautious and conservative." "I think the general message here is that despite the fears about a low savings rate, the consumer continues to hang in there, and that's essentially the only thing that's going to keep the economy on track." "Certainly those auto incentives were helpful in giving us that growth in the fourth quarter. But we have to remember that even outside of autos, the consumers have really hung in there. I don't think it's entirely a fluke. I don't think it accounts for the ongoing strength of the consumer." "You can't read too much into any one number, but it's a sharp rebound from the lows of October. Given that and a few other things, the bond market's more recent expectation is that the Fed, if it's not finished, is close to being finished." "At labor market turning points, the household survey does better because it picks up self-employed workers and others not reflected in the business survey. But I'm still not convinced the labor market is quite as strong as the household data say it is." "Productivity growth helps keep inflation at bay and allows real incomes to grow, but it makes businesses even slower to hire than usual." "This is the third decline in the last four months. Again, it's worrisome, but not surprising." Topics: Decline "I'm not sure Taylor has the political savvy for the job." Topics: Job "I think their desired stance is to stand pat for an extended period of time rather than cut rates, unless they are confronted with an external shock to the global financial system." "The good news is that this is going to go directly to the corporate bottom line. That's a real plus for profits, which means a real plus for corporate spending and the recovery going forward."

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Home > LEAGUE SERVICES > Indepth > Feb 2012 > Events February 2012 | Important News | Events | Dates | News & Notes | | Legislative | Compliance | Education | Chapters | | Small CUs | Snapshots | Dan's Blog | Headlines | Events Young professionals have until February 17 if they want to "Crash Illinois" Upcoming Events Young professionals have until February 17 if they want to "Crash Illinois" Young professionals age 30 or younger will have the opportunity to "crash" the Illinois Credit Union League's (ICUL) 82nd Annual Convention April 26 – 28, 2012. This initiative is part of The Cooperative Trust (formerly The Crash Network), a grassroots organization comprised of hundreds of young credit union professionals. With most credit union employees under 30 having limited or no access to networking, professional development and growth opportunities, the idea behind Crash Illinois, like other Crash events, will be to create a low-cost event within and alongside major credit union conferences, such as ICUL’s Convention. Sponsored by ICUL and CUNA Mutual, Crash Illinois will give young credit union professionals the opportunity to participate in the event by attending the full convention as well as additional mentor sessions with industry thought leaders each day and building relationships with other young credit union professionals. After a Crasher welcome on Thursday, prior to the Annual Convention kick-off, a half-dozen other sessions and a lunch will be held for this special group. Brent Dixon, young adult adviser at the Filene Research Institute is the founder of The Crash Network, which has evolved into The Cooperative Trust. This effort began informally as a revolutionary conference for young professionals under 30 that has been meeting around other conferences since 2012. At the ICUL Convention, Dixon will be presenting two sessions for attendees: "Attracting and Retaining Younger Members" and "Design Thinking: A Human Centered Approach to Innovation." Crash Illinois is limited to 15 people and those interested must apply by February 17 via the Crash Illinois Web site (http://il.crash.coop/). Crash attendees will be announced during the week of February 20. The League has worked out a deal with the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel for low-cost rooms, and in addition, Crashers will also be responsible for their transportation to Schaumburg and meals. "We are thrilled about being chosen as a 2012 Crash site by The Cooperative Trust and CUNA Mutual Group," said Gregory Framarin, ICUL Director of Educational Development. "It will be exciting to provide a fun, positive experience for our young professionals. This year's convention is not just for the Board anymore!" To be held April 26 – 28, 2012, ICUL’s 82nd Annual Convention will tout many changes and highlights, not the least of which is a brand new location for the event– the Renaissance Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, which is host to many amenities, including a mecca of world-class shopping options, including Woodfield Mall, and upscale dining. The theme is "Get in the Game!" Connie Payton, wife of the late football legend Walter Payton, has been announced as the Keynote speaker and will present "Family Values, Teambuilding, Embracing Life." Her address will be part the Keynote and Awards Ceremony, which will include the changing of the gavel and is among a jam-packed schedule of 24 educational opportunities that will also consist of a free pre-con workshop and a closing session. The Disclosures, an acoustic thrift-rock duo from the land of credit unions are also scheduled to perform. The 82nd Annual Convention officially kicks off at 4:00 p.m. on April 26th with the exhibit hall grand opening, where more than 80 business partners and other vendors are anticipated to be on display. Full details of the event can be found at http://www.iculeague.org/2012AC. Upcoming Events Check out "Dates" for details about other upcoming events. Our Mission: To Serve You We, as the financial support system of credit unions, are committed to the "people helping people" concept of credit unions as cooperative financial institutions. Our purpose is to provide credit unions with a favorable operating environment and quality information, products and services which have value, and which enable credit unions to exist, compete and prosper in the financial marketplace. Illinois Credit Union League Home | Site Map | Privacy | Contact Us | Directions | Careers

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A Preliminary Evaluation of NAFTA by C. Fred Bergsten, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Jeffrey J. Schott, Peterson Institute for International Economics Testimony before the Subcommittee on Trade Ways and Means CommitteeUnited States House of RepresentativesWashington, DC There has been much talk about structural change in the current United States economy, and our session chair has presented some of the hard facts underlying it. In keeping with the mandate of the panel—and recognizing the comparative advantage in forecasting of the chair, Monday's speakers, and many in the audience—I will stick to the general question of what monetary policy's response to structural change should be. Then I want to go a bit further and suggest what the apparently successful U.S. monetary framework at present can do to lock-in and build upon the achievements of the last few Any evaluation of NAFTA to date must analyze the detailed trade and investment flows among the three member countries since the agreement was implemented at the outset of 1994. We will do so in this statement. We will also offer our evaluation of the Administration's official report on the agreement. Before proceeding, however, we wish to emphasize several broad strategic considerations that must be accorded substantial weight in assessing the results to date. NAFTA must be judged against a series of fundamental US policy goals rather than simply on a narrow assessment of changes in trade and investment, and their effects on the American economy. Indeed, we believe that NAFTA shall be evaluated primarily on these broader considerations. We feel compelled to emphasize these factors in our own evaluation because the Administration's report, like its overall trade policy, gives short shrift to these strategic perspectives. Even before addressing the strategic impact of NAFTA, however, three caveats must be stressed. First, it is far too early to reach a considered judgment on the success or failure of the arrangement. Like any trade agreement, NAFTA aims to improve the economic structures of the participating countries. It is not a cyclical or short-term tool for creating jobs or anything else. It will be years, if not decades, before anyone can objectively reach a comprehensive judgment on the impact of NAFTA. Our assessment covers a longer period than the 3 1/2 years since the agreement was formally launched. The reason is that much of Mexico's liberalization and deregulation in the late 1980s and early 1990s was undertaken at least partly to enable it to enter into NAFTA negotiations. From the time that Mexico proposed the idea in 1990, the United States made clear that Mexico would have to greatly improve its trade, investment and related policies before an agreement could be concluded. Hence NAFTA deserves credit for a substantial part of the Mexican economic reforms implemented since 1990 as well as the substantial further reduction of Mexican tariffs, and other trade and investment barriers, since NAFTA formally took effect. The second caveat is that NAFTA necessarily has a very small impact on the American economy. The addition of Mexico to the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement essentially expanded our free trade area by 4 percent—the ratio of Mexico's GDP to our own. Any impact is therefore inherently modest. For example, the US economy has created 7.5 million jobs since NAFTA went into effect, swamping any conceivable “NAFTA effect”.1 Neither judgments about the American economy nor about future American trade policy can be driven very far by NAFTA. The third caveat is that much of the NAFTA debate, certainly during the Congressional approval process and even today, addresses the wrong questions. Neither NAFTA nor any trade agreement should be judged on its contribution to achieving full employment in the United States. The total level of jobs in our economy is basically determined by macroeconomic and monetary policy. The current period presents dramatic evidence of this conclusion: we are at “full employment,” and the unemployment rate has dropped far below the level that most economists had felt was safe from the standpoint of price stability. This positive employment situation has developed despite a large and growing trade deficit, including an “adverse” shift in our trade balance with our NAFTA partners. Trade rather helps to determine the quality of jobs in the economy. It shifts output from sectors where we are least productive into those where we are most productive. Hence it increases wage levels and standards of living; export jobs pay about 15 percent more than the national average. Indeed, the export boom of the past decade has stopped the decline of high-wage manufacturing jobs in our economy and, if it continues at the recent pace, could even restore the level of manufacturing employment to its previous high over the next decade or so. Since our major national economic problem has been a long-term stagnation of per capita incomes and wage levels, increased trade—including via agreements like NAFTA—clearly contributes positively to our national economic interest. NAFTA's Strategic Objectives: An Early Appraisal With those very important caveats in mind, let us begin the evaluation itself by analyzing the record of NAFTA to date in achieving seven of its central strategic objectives: A key American strategic goal was to promote pluralism and democratization in Mexico, on the (correct) view that this would enhance both political and economic stability in Mexico over the long run. There is still a long way to go, and obvious problems remain, but the recent election suggests that there has been solid progress on this front. NAFTA obviously cannot take credit for this evolution but the economic opening that the agreement has reinforced has helped push developments in the right direction. A central Mexican goal, strongly shared by the United States, was to lock in the de la Madrid-Salinas reforms against the risk that future Mexican governments would undo them. Such policy renewals have occurred frequently in Mexican history and could resurface in the future in light of the increasing democratization of the Mexican political system. NAFTA obligations raise the cost of such a policy backlash and thus protect both US and Mexican trading interests. This key purpose of NAFTA was unfortunately put to a very early test with the peso crisis less than one year into the agreement. But NAFTA and the Mexican reforms clearly held: unlike virtually all previous cases, such as the debt crisis of 1982, the Mexican government responded with an appropriate package of macroeconomic and further structural reforms rather than by rolling back its past liberalization. Open access to the US market, reinforced by NAFTA, helped prevent an even more drastic recession and thus still greater pressure to reverse the reform program. At the same time, Mexico should be faulted for paying too little attention to the macroeconomic and monetary implications of its trade liberalization. To be sure, NAFTA-related liberalization was only a minor factor in bringing on the peso crisis, and the United States responded properly by helping finance a constructive Mexican policy response, but preemptive action would have been far better and should have resulted from ongoing consultations between the US Treasury and its Mexican counterparts. The results have been notable, although more progress needs to be made in restoring the real income levels of the poorer segments of Mexican society. Mexico already achieved 5 percent growth already in 1996, in stark contrast to the five-year recession that followed its 1982 crisis. Since mid-1996, the Mexican recovery has been led by a revival of domestic demand, primarily in the labor intensive construction sector. United States exports to Mexico exceeded their 1994 level by 11.8 percent in 1996. This stands in stark contrast to the 50 percent cut in US exports from their 1981 level in the aftermath of the Mexican debt crisis of 1982-3 when our sales did not recover to their pre-crisis levels until 1988. NAFTA thus passed its first major test with flying colors. Another central purpose of NAFTA was to provide both Mexico and the United States with insurance that their market access would not be curtailed in the partner country. As noted, the United States has already cashed in on that policy. Mexico did raise its duties against some other countries in response to the peso crisis but could not do so against the United States because of NAFTA; the United States in fact increased its share of the Mexican import market from 69 percent to 76 percent as a result of the agreement. A related Mexican goal was to convince multilateral firms via NAFTA that its liberalized regime would be sustained and that Mexico would thus be an attractive site for foreign direct investment (FDI). This objective too has been realized: flows of FDI into Mexico from all countries rose from an annual average of $3 billion in 1988-90 and $4.5 billion in 1991-93 to $9.4 billion during 1994-96 (despite the peso crisis). This relatively stable source of foreign funding for Mexico of course also serves US interests by promoting economic growth and creating a more sizable market for US products. NAFTA must also be seen in the broader context of overall US trade policy. The startup of NAFTA negotiations in 1991 gave renewed impetus to the Uruguay Round in the GATT, which had stalled in 1990 because of US-Europe differences over agriculture, by reminding the Europeans that the United States could pursue alternative trade strategies. Congressional passage of NAFTA in November 1993 enabled President Clinton, only two days later, to launch a new era in Asia-Pacific economic cooperation via the APEC summit in Seattle; the two events together played a critical role in completing the “trade triple play” of 1993 by bringing the Uruguay Round to a successful conclusion in the following month. Moreover, both Presidents Bush and Clinton used NAFTA to launch their Enterprise for the Americas Initiative/ Free Trade Area of the Americas that promises to broaden trade liberalization to the entire hemisphere. NAFTA also represents an initial test of the US strategy of asymmetrical trade liberalization with important developing countries. Since the United States has already eliminated most of its own barriers, the only way it can achieve truly fair trade and a level playing field with the large, rapidly growing nations of Asia and Latin America that still have high barriers is by negotiating free trade pacts. The key question is whether the other countries will agree to such arrangements and NAFTA represented a first step down this path. Here too, NAFTA has worked well. Mexico will eliminate tariffs that averaged about 10 percent on US goods compared with US tariffs that averaged about 2 percent on Mexican products. The NAFTA ratio is thus about 5 to 1 in our favor and, at least to date, full implementation (7 percentage points of Mexican tariff cuts, 1.4 percentage points for the United States) is proceeding on schedule. Even more important, NAFTA has provided a model for the proposed Western Hemisphere and APEC free trade arrangements where the ratios are even higher and where free trade is thus so clearly in the US interest. Finally, the United States sought to increase its imports from Mexico as a result of NAFTA. In particular, we wanted to shift imports from other countries to Mexico—since our imports from Mexico include more US content and because Mexico spends much more of its export earnings on imports from the United States than do, say, the East Asian countries. That shift is occurring and helps, not hurts, the American economy. During its first 3 1/2 years of existence, NAFTA has thus already fulfilled its most fundamental strategic goals to a considerable extent. O

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Singapore Subsidiary Company: Feasible Singapore Business Model by danielyio Singapore company formation Sep 16, 2010 | 2005 views | 0 | 25 | | | permalink September 15, 2010 - There are three business models which foreign business owners, shareholders, and companies can use in order to effectively and legally operate in Singapore namely: a subsidiary company, representative office, and branch office which have their own purposes and goals.According to the leading Singapore Subsidiary Company registration company AsiaBiz, it is vital for foreign entrepreneurs to correctly set their objectives before adopting the type business model they want to operate.“Each of these business models has a specific purpose which ideally should be thoroughly considered in order to ensure a successful company or auxiliary entity in Singapore, AsiaBiz spokesman said during an interview.For entrepreneurs planning to conduct in market research, the firm believes that a Singapore representative office is usually the most ideal, particularly for foreign company owners who are not yet sure of the viability of their business in the country.It is important however to note that a representative office is prohibited to engage in any activities that will generate revenue since it is not considered as a business entity per se.Generally, this auxiliary office is seen as a short-term arrangement since the government does not allow this to operate for more than three years as it deems that this period is enough for foreign companies to determine the profitability of their services or goods.According to AsiaBiz, a representative office may upgrade to a subsidiary company or branch office if it wants to continue its presence in the country and engage in a full-blown operation. However, the company said that these two business models have differences that must be considered.First, a subsidiary company is allowed to engage in any business activities unlike a branch office which should only perform the undertaking of its parent company.Another difference is that a subsidiary company is treated as a separate legal entity from its main office unlike a branch office which is considered as an extension of its parent company. With this arrangement, a branch office does not enjoy local tax benefits while a subsidiary company is eligible for these advantages.Also, a foreign company with a branch office is legally liable for the latter’s losses, liabilities, and debts. This is not the case for a subsidiary office in which its parent company enjoys limited liability protection.“Because of the advantages of being a subsidiary company, most foreign entrepreneurs, investors, and business organizations prefer this model over a branch office,” AsiaBiz said.However, note that that foreign businessmen are prohibited to self-register their own Singapore company which means they are required to hire a professional firm that will conduct the processes involving business registration.More information on how to form a Singapore company. AsiaBiz has successfully helped thousands of foreign entrepreneurs who wish to form a Singapore company by securing their work visas using employment pass route once they have incorporated a Singapore Company. For more information:AsiaBizServices.comaddress: 120 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068589phone: 6563034614email: [email protected]: http://www.asiabizservices.com/

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A Failure of Capitalism (VI): Fear, Uncertainty, and the Economy Richard A. Posner May 20 2009, 9:53 PM ET In his first inaugural address, at the pit of the Great Depression in March 1933, Franklin Roosevelt famously said: "This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." This was considerably overstated, since there was more to fear than fear itself, and the fear--given the unemployment rate of 25 percent and the fact that output had fallen by a third since 1929--was not unreasoning or unjustified. But Roosevelt was on to something. A sharp drop in the economy--what we are experiencing today--can generate fears or anxieties that retard economic recovery. The explanation for this effect requires drawing a distinction between "risk" and "uncertainty." The former (for purposes of the distinction) is a risk to which a probability can be assigned--a calculable risk, such as a 20 percent chance of rain tomorrow. The latter word, "uncertainty," refers to a risk that cannot be quantified: the risk of a terrorist attack, for example. The two concepts actually form a continuum, because one can have more or less confidence in an estimate of a risk, less or more uncertainty. Decisions by businesses to invest long term are examples of economic decisions that are made in a setting of considerable uncertainty, because so much that cannot be anticipated may happen to upset the expectations on which the investment was made and cause it to flop. Yet businessmen make such investments all the time. Are they rational in doing so? Well, they are collectively rational, because if no one were really to engage in a business venture without an exact knowledge of the risk, there would be no business, no economy. The human race would not have gotten far without a genetic predisposition toward venturing in circumstances of uncertainty. The ancestral human environment, in which we evolved, was pervaded by uncertainty, so that an extreme aversion to uncertainty would have frozen activity. Some people are more averse to uncertainty than others, but--and here is the connection between the risk/uncertainty distinction and our current economic distress--almost everyone is more averse to uncertainty the greater the uncertainty is. This is implicit in such expressions as "fear of change" and "fear of the unknown." These are rational fears because change alters the environment that one knows and because an unfamiliar environment is often full of potential menace, though perhaps of opportunity as well. It makes sense to "freeze" temporarily, as a way of gaining time to learn more about one's new environment and adjust to it. In an economic setting, the natural "freeze" reaction to increased uncertainty is to increase one's cash balance, to hoard in other words, and thus, for the businessman, to reduce investment. (Were it not for this reaction to uncertainty, an increase in uncertainty would stimulate rather than dampen investment. The reason is that uncertainty implies a widening in the range of possible outcomes of an investment decision, and because the investor has limited solvency and anyway his personal assets are shielded if he operates in the corporate form, his downside risk is truncated, but there is no limit on his profiting from the investment if it's a success.) Cash does not yield any return (except in a deflation, when the purchasing power of money increases, so that money grows in value without being invested), but it has value because of its liquidity. If you have an unexpected expense, you can pay it immediately rather than having to liquidate an asset, such as a house, which may take time, and in addition the asset may have to be sold at a distress price to raise the cash that you need to pay the expense. The greater the uncertainty of the economic environment, the more likely one is to need "emergency" cash, and so the more cash one will hold, despite the sacrifice of potential profits from investing rather than hoarding the cash. The crash of the banking industry last September greatly unsettled the economic environment of the banks, and led them to hoard cash. Today the banks are holding a total of more than $800 billion in "excess reserves," compared to about $2 billion a year ago; the term refers to cash that the banks are free to lend (as distinct from their "required reserves"). On the consumer side of the market, personal consumption expenditures are down and savings in the form of cash or close equivalents such as a checkable money market account are up. People who have lost or fear losing their jobs hoard cash to be able to pay expenses should they be unable to hold on to their jobs or find a new job quickly. Hoarding in these circumstances is individually rational, but it is collectively irrational because it does not contribute to economic activity. We see this in the reduction in purchases of luxury items from retailers like Saks and Neiman Marcus; the effect is to reduce the sales revenues of these stores, which causes them to lay off employees, which reduces those employees' incomes, which causes a reduction in purchases by them, and thus in sales to them, and thus in employment, and so on in a dismal downward spiral. If I am correct that "fear of the unknown" and resultant hoarding increase with the uncertainty of the environment, then anything that the government does to reduce that uncertainty is positive from the standpoint of early recovery from the depression and anything it does to increase that uncertainty is negative. The government is doing some things that reduce uncertainty and other things that increase it. On the positive side are the enhanced unemployment benefits, which reduce the uncertainty of the unemployed and of people who fear becoming unemployed concerning their possible emergency needs for cash. (At the same time, it reduces the urgency of the unemployed to find new jobs, but perhaps there are very few jobs for them to find.) Also on the positive side, I believe, is the $787 billion stimulus program, which, if it succeeds in reducing unemployment even slightly, will make people who are employed less fearful of losing their jobs and therefore less fearful about spending rather than hoarding. The stimulus program also raises confidence by signaling the government's determination to do whatever is required to speed recovery from the depression. On the negative side is increased government interference in business, as in the limits on executive compensation imposed on banks and other businesses that have received federal bailouts and in the credit card legislation now passed by both houses of Congress; the threat of greatly increased regulation of financial institutions; the huge budget deficits that the government's longer-range (post-depression) social and economic programs will create; and the prospect of pro-union labor legislation. All these measures, even in the proposal stage, increase the uncertainty of the economic environment for business--and for consumers too. But the negative effect on consumers may be offset by their feeling that the flurry ot programs shows that the government really is "doing something" to restore and increase prosperity. In that respect, the programs may have the same positive psychological effect as the New Deal programs that, at the same time they uplifted the spirits of consumers, dampened those of businessmen. Jump to comments Richard A. Posner Richard Posner is an author and federal appeals court judge. He has written more than 2500 published judicial opinions and continues to teach at the University of Chicago Law School. Richard A. Posner worked for several years in Washington during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. He worked for Justice William J. Brennan, Jr, the Solicitor General of the U.S., Thurgood Marshall, and as general counsel of President Johnson's Task Force on Communications Policy. Posner entered law teaching in 1968 at Stanford and became professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School in 1969. He was appointed Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1981 and served as Chief Judge from 1993 to 2000. He has written more than 2500 published judicial opinions and continues to teach at the University of Chicago Law School. His academic work has covered a broad range, with particular emphasis on the application of economics to law. His most recent books are How Judges Think (2008), Law and Literature (3d ed. 2009), A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression (2009). He has received the Thomas C. Schelling Award for scholarly contributions that have had an impact on public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Henry J. Friendly Medal from the American Law Institute. All Posts Rebecca J. Rosen Apr 16, 2014 China's Forgotten Liberal Hero Peter-Christian Aigner Apr 16, 2014 More video A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression Most Popular

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Resource Center Current & Past Issues eNewsletters This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the top of any article. EU Swaps Trading Platforms Win U.S. Rule Reprieve Agreement between CFTC and EU grants short-term relief to MTFs, billed as 'an important step but far from the final one' on road to rules convergence. By Silla Brush and Jim Brunsden, Bloomberg February 13, 2014 • Reprints European swap-trading platforms won a reprieve from Dodd-Frank Act rules in a regulatory deal that puts U.S. and European authorities on a path toward sharing oversight of most of the $693 trillion global market. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and European Union (EU) officials, in an agreement announced yesterday, granted the trading facilities relief until March 24 from having to register in the U.S. At the same time, U.K. and European regulators are implementing trading rules designed to meet U.S. standards and that could then be relied on to substitute for Dodd-Frank oversight in the long term, said Mark P. Wetjen, acting CFTC chairman. “There is going to be every incentive to make their regime as close as possible to ours,” Wetjen said in a news conference in Washington. “We’re obviously sensitive to the so-called regulatory arbitrage. We don’t want to incentivize people to move their trading away from the U.S.” The CFTC said in a summary of the deal that it would revoke the relief to trading platforms if they fail to meet U.S. conditions for competition and transparency. Many interest-rate swaps will be required to trade on swap execution facilities, or Sefs, in the U.S. under CFTC rules starting Feb. 15. Platforms owned by Tradeweb Markets LLC, ICAP Plc, GFI Group Inc., and Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News, have temporarily registered with the CFTC. The Sefs facilitate transactions among banks and also between banks and asset managers or other clients. The international reach of CFTC rules has been among the most contentious issues between the Washington-based regulator and financial firms that operate around the world. Wall Street lobbying groups that represent banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., sought in a December lawsuit to limit the agency’s ability to impose rules outside the U.S. Yesterday’s deal to grant relief to EU trading platforms known as multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) may lead European and U.S. authorities to eventually share oversight of most of the global swaps market. Wetjen said U.S. and European regulators oversee about two-thirds of the market, split about evenly between the regions. “Today is an important step but far from the final one on the road towards global convergence,” Michel Barnier, the EU’s financial services chief, said in a joint statement with the CFTC. The CFTC published two so-called “no-action letters” to give the trading platforms the relief. Wetjen said the primary platforms affected are in London. “This pragmatic approach will enable U.S. participants to con

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Follow Breakingviews Bids & Buyouts Stocks & Investing Davos desperately seeking the next Internet By Chris Hughes Email Print davos | economics | Gas | shale | world economic forum By Christopher Hughes To feel good again, the world’s financial elite need a growth catalyst like the Internet. America’s shale gas revolution fits the bill. Ask delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos for their 2013 outlook, and that simple idea features in most answers. It may only surface as a passing reference in conversations around the Swiss ski resort. But in the echo chamber of Davos, the notion that shale gas is a reason to be bullish has become common wisdom. The argument is familiar. As fracking – the technique to extract gas from shale – takes off, that benefits satellite businesses that serve the industry. That stimulates the broader economy. What’s more, shale lowers energy costs, benefiting American industry by lowering expenses. Factor in a healthier housing market, and you have the makings of a durable recovery in a region accounting for about a quarter of the global economy. In one form or another, this thesis is being touted by corporate executives, bank bosses and politicians navigating the icy byways of this mountain village. It’s easy to see why. This year, the WEF takes place when the world is more composed than it has been for ages – the acute phase of the sovereign debt crisis is past, yet there is no exuberance either. Masters of the universe feel things are looking up, but they’re mindful of latent risks. Shale supplies grounds for reasoned optimism. Lower energy prices thanks to abundant natural gas in the United States saved $107 billion, or $926 per household, last year, according to research by IHS. The boom has created 1.7 million jobs already. But it’s a big leap from this to believe shale will lead a global recovery. Shale is still a small element of the overall U.S. economy. The U.S. oil and gas sector is only 1 percent of GDP, according to Credit Suisse. While it brings advantages, it is more of a mini stimulus than a saving grace, which would require the side effects of shale to be both large and entirely positive. In reality, only a handful of industries – like petrochemicals or fertiliser – will enjoy game-changing benefits. Then again, maybe the details of the shale thesis aren’t so important. The assurance expressed among business leaders and their entourages in Davos may be misplaced. But confidence, even one derived from gas, can be self-perpetuating. Let them keep believing. April 17 - The $37 billion merger of CITIC Group and its listed subsidiary will give investors an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of China's state-owned giants, says Breakingviews' John Foley.Video Breakingviews: The why in Yahoo April 16 - As Chinese internet giant Alibaba, about a quarter of which is owned by Yahoo, prepares to go public, Breakingviews columnists wonder if the U.S. company's earnings will much matter anymore.Video ABOUT BREAKINGVIEWS Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. The company was founded in 1999 as Breakingviews.com and was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2009, becoming Reuters’ brand for financial commentary. Every day, we comment on the big financial stories as they break. Our expert analysis is provided by a global team of 30 correspondents based in New York, Washington, London, Hong Kong, Madrid, Dubai and Mumbai. For the full commentary and analysis service from breakingviews.com, including regular emails containing the latest views, contact [email protected]. BREAKINGVIEWS ON TWITTER Books Breakingviews has published a selection of books for purchase and download. LATEST TITLES Predictions 2014: Reversals and Revivals Edited by John Foley The Great Monetary Experiment Edited by Edward Hadas

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The Commercial Observer Sales Beat Stephen Meringoff Sells Last L.A. Asset By Daniel Edward Rosen | 01/31/12 10:04am He’s putting all his chips on New York City. Himmel + Meringoff Managing Partner Stephen Meringoff told The Commercial Observer that he has sold the last building in his Los Angeles portfolio, leaving the firm with a roster made entirely of New York City properties. 1680 Vine Street, in L.A. “We have gone in a direction of consolidation and we are going to put all our energy and passion into New York,” Mr. Meringoff told The Commercial Observer during a telephone interview yesterday. Last month, Mr. Meringoff sold the Taft Building, a 12-story, 117,000-square-foot structure on 1680 Vine Street that once counted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and The Hollywood Reporter as tenants, to DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners LLC. The deal, which closed Dec. 28, raked in $27.5 million. It also tied a Hollywood ending to Mr. Meringoff’s long-standing love affair with Los Angeles real estate, where he had become the largest office owners in the late 1980s when he amassed upwards of 900,000 square feet. At its peak, Mr. Meringoff’s L.A. portfolio featured the CNN Building and two of the four corners of Hollywood and Vine, arguably the most famous intersection in California. “We are out of LA,” said Mr. Meringoff. “We had a good run there from 1983 to now.” Mr. Meringoff decided to sell the Taft Building at what the owner perceived to be a profitable period. “Rents seemed relatively static for long periods of time, but you could always find a right time in the cycle to sell, which is what we did,” he said. The firm’s decision to divest its LA portfolio was spurred on by a strategy to be “more committed that ever to upgrading and expanding our New York portfolio and I wanted to make sure I was able to focus 100 percent of my energy and passion on that pursuit as we move forward,” he said in a prepared statement sent to The Commercial Observer. “We believe in the market here more than any other market in the country,” he said. Co-owned with Leslie Wohlman Himmel, Himmel + Meringoff owns and operates in excess of 2 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space. Its most recent acquisition was an office building at 158 West 27th Street in December 2010 for $25 million, a cheaper price than what the $47 million seller The Louis Dreyfus Property Group paid for when it bought the building during the height of the market). [email protected] FacebookTwitterGoogleLinkedInPrintEmail Filed under: 158 West 27th Street, 1680 Vine Street, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Himmel + Meringoff, Leslie Wohlman Himmel, Los Angeles, Stephen Meringoff, Taft Building, The Louis Dreyfus Property Group More from our network

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AskVi.com Sign in • Newsletter signup [X] Register • Forgot password Profile • Log out • Newsletter signup • Op-Ed • Records Banco Popular celebrates 118th anniversary Banco Popular celebrated the 118th anniversary on Wednesday by reaffirming its commitment to the growth and development of the community and the region with the construction of a new branch on St. Croix.For Senior Vice President and Regional Director Antolin Velasco, the 118th anniversary of Banco Popular in the region served as the perfect opportunity to reinforce the promise of investing in the region. "Is always a joyous occasion to celebrate another year of continuous service to the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Tortola. This year it's even more special because we are dedicating our celebration to our clients by reaffirming our commitment of growth in the region with the much anticipated construction of our new branch on St Croix," said Velasco. "We work in a very competitive environment and we know that our clients have options. Therefore it is of utmost importance to offer the best service available for all their needs."With construction underway, the Sunshine Mall branch is expected to open by December.Wednesday's celebration coincided with the 30th anniversary of Banco Popular in the Virgin Islands region and the launching of the institutional campaign "Let's build something special." Just recently the second installment of the campaign was launched with print, television and radio ads featuring local talent.On Wednesday, employees wore bright yellow clothing.Banco Popular opened its first branch in the U.S. Virgin Islands in Christiansted, St. Croix in 1981. Sixteen months later it opened its first branch on St. Thomas. In 1993 it acquired five additional branches, including one in the British Virgin Islands. There are currently five brancheson St. Thomas, two on St. Croix and one in Tortola. Banco Popular Virgin Islands is one of the leading financial institutions in the area. It offers a wide range of services using many different concepts from retail and commercial, to processing and insurance. It has four credit centers and three mortgage centers in operation where customers are provided with innovative products in the market, offering more than one option for their needs. Island Action Your complete guide to where to go and what to do this week in the Virgin Islands. Home| | Records | Place a Classified Ad | Digital Edition | Help Copyright ©2014 Virgin Islands Daily News | 9155 Estate Thomas | St. Thomas, V.I. 00802 | 340-774-8772

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hide U.S. financial stability group discusses debt ceiling, shutdown Tuesday, October 08, 2013 4:38 p.m. CDT By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators discussed the federal debt ceiling and the effect of the government shutdown on market monitoring during a phone conversation on Tuesday, a Treasury Department spokesman said. The Financial Stability Oversight Council might meet again as October 17 approaches. That is the date on which Treasury expects to exhaust its borrowing authority, spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement. The council, a group of regulators led by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, is charged with overseeing financial system stability. The U.S. Congress has so far failed to strike a deal to raise the government's borrowing cap. Treasury officials have said hitting that limit and defaulting on government obligations could cause lasting damage to the United States' international reputation. The group also discussed the effect of the week-old federal government shutdown on market monitoring by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Most financial regulators are not funded by Congress and so have not been affected by the shutdown that began on October 1. The CFTC and SEC do get funding from congressional appropriations. The SEC had enough funds on hand to stay open for a few weeks, the agency said last week. But the CFTC had to send most of its employees home. That means hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives are changing hands on Wall Street without government supervision, a CFTC commissioner said on Tuesday. "The cops aren't on the beat looking at the derivatives markets in the United States," Commissioner Bart Chilton said in a television interview. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Jim Loney)

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Strategy September 3, 2004September 3, 2004 Happy, but Hesitant The attitudes of U.S. CFOs are being influenced by such factors as high oil prices, the continuing fallout in the jobs market, and the upcoming Presidential election. Joseph McCafferty Not much has changed since last quarter’s CFO Global Confidence Survey. Finance executives are still fairly bullish on the economy, and they even expect that raises may be on the horizon. The evidence on this latter point can be found in the top business concerns U.S. CFOs cite these days. Last quarter, finance executives were troubled by weakness in the local economy, but now the number-one business concern is attracting and retaining employees. And there’s plenty of angst that the job-retention issue could mean higher expenses in the form of higher salaries. In fact, a full 70 percent of respondents say they will increase spending on salaries, while 40 percent expect increases in bonuses. That increased spending will likely mean pay raises (finally), since CFOs are still not doing a lot of new hiring. Forty-three percent say they will keep the same number of employees, and 11 percent say they will decrease that number. Otherwise, plans are on hold. In fact, 58 percent of respondents say they have no plans to conduct an acquisition, issue debt or equity, divest a business, conduct a stock buyback, or introduce a dividend payout in the next quarter. Still, their economic outlook remains incredibly upbeat. Last quarter, 70 percent felt optimistic about the domestic economy; this quarter, 67 percent do. While the index was the lowest recorded this year, it was still within the margin of error, indicating that CFOs’ views on U.S. economic conditions have changed little during the course of the year. Growth and profit expectations also haven’t changed much. The percentage of CFOs who expect revenues to increase during the next quarter, for instance, fell from 77 to 73 percent. As for profits, 66 percent of U.S. CFOs say they expect an increase in income during the next quarter, compared with 72 percent when the survey was last conducted. In all likelihood, U.S. CFOs’ attitudes are being influenced by such factors as high oil prices and the upcoming Presidential election. Globally, however, finance chiefs are more optimistic: more than half (52 percent) hold a positive attitude about the global economy, up from 44 percent last quarter. Their European counterparts are more optimistic about their own economy than they’ve been in some time, with 55 percent holding a positive outlook, compared with 39 percent last quarter. That’s still gloomier, however, than the way in which their Asian and U.S. counterparts view their own economies. European CFOs are also more cheerful about the global economy: 65 percent expect improvement during the next year. And Asian CFOs are the most hopeful about their own prospects, with 83 percent predicting a positive economic environment for the next year. One thing they have in common, however, is November 2. And just how positive everyone will be in the next survey will be determined in part by what happens that day in the U.S. elections. Discuss Cancel reply Economy: Reloaded? And a Happy New Year? Good, but Not Great Curbed Enthusiasm

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Technology May 1, 2007May 1, 2007 Going Away The doubts that finance executives once had about offshoring are quickly disappearing as savings and process improvements become too good to pass up. Randy Myers Frank Cocuzza’s first visit to an outsourcing vendor in India seven years ago left him intrigued but not ready to jump. “Nice story,” the senior vice president of finance for Penske Truck Leasing Co. recalls thinking. “But we weren’t going to trade our processes for a nice story.” Eighteen months later, Cocuzza flew back for a second look, stuck around for a five-day visit, and left dazzled. The vendor’s 600-person workforce had swollen to 3,000, service offerings had been expanded, and best-practice processes were in evidence everywhere. “We came away so impressed with what they had built that we realized we needed what they were doing,” Cocuzza recalls. He soon began shipping bits and pieces of his finance operation to the outsourcer, which was then a subsidiary of General Electric Co. but is today an independent company operating as Genpact. It now handles some 40 different finance processes for Reading, Pennsylvania-based Penske, including collections, various accounting and financial-reporting activities, and even on-demand data analysis for the business units. Penske’s experience mirrors that of a growing segment of Corporate America. TPI, a Houston-based outsourcing advisory firm, says that while the total value of business-process-outsourcing contracts signed in 2006 was down for the second consecutive year, the total value of outsourcing contracts for finance services nearly doubled. Don’t look for the latter trend to end anytime soon. Richard Roth, president of Global Enterprise Solutions for consulting firm The Hackett Group, predicts that over the next three years the overall percentage of U.S. finance costs that are spent on outsourcing will double from about 4 percent to 8 percent. Two factors are fueling the surge in finance and accounting outsourcing. First, cost pressures continue to drive companies to take advantage of cheap labor in developing countries like India, Poland, and China. Depending on how efficient a company’s finance operations are to begin with, net cost savings can reach 20 to 40 percent. Susan O’Day, chief information officer and vice president of global shared services for $17.9 billion Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., says that just 18 months into a finance, accounting, and information-management outsourcing agreement with Accenture, her company is realizing about a 30 percent return on its investment, in line with expectations. Second, as outsourcers refine their capabilities and processes, companies want to take advantage of the productivity and quality improvements outsourcers can offer. “For us, the cost of labor arbitrage was secondary,” Cocuzza says. “It’s there, but the primary goal has been to improve what we do.” So, while Cocuzza is happy to acknowledge the $20 million a year he is saving on labor by outsourcing to Genpact, he gets excited talking about the 2,000 “lean” operating improvements his organization has made in the past three years by “shamelessly stealing” from Genpact’s own Lean Six Sigma program, and about reducing his company’s delinquent receivables rate to 6 percent from 14 percent, which he estimates is allowing him to carry between $40 million and $50 million less debt on Penske’s balance sheet. For Bristol-Myers Squibb, says O’Day, the goal for outsourcing finance and accounting work — part of a broader, enterprisewide initiative aimed at saving hundreds of millions of dollars each year — was both cutting costs and improving processes. “We think about standardization of processes as a means of driving greater integrity to our reporting,” she says. “We found that an outsourcer could help drive that standardization as effectively or more effectively than we could. An outsourcer also provided a scale and access to labor markets we would not necessarily have.” Outsourcing Frontier: Yanks Need Apply Setting up Shop in India Why Did the Chicken Cross the Atlantic? Manager, Offshore Thyself Hungry Tiger, Dancing Elephant

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CapitaLand Mulls Dim Sum Bond on China Expansion: Southeast Asia By Tanya Angerer and Pooja Thakur - Jan 9, 2013 CapitaLand Ltd. (CAPL) Chief Financial Officer Arthur Lang wants to diversify funding by issuing yuan-denominated bonds for the first time, with China making up more than a third of assets at Southeast Asia’s largest developer. It will be a matter of time before the company taps the offshore yuan bond market, Lang said in an interview in Singapore on Jan. 4, a day after the developer announced it will exit projects in the U.K., India and the Middle East. The developer, whose shares rose 67 percent last year, issued $400 million of 10-year bonds in September, its first U.S. dollar bond in eight years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “With the size of our business, we need all types of capital sources,” the group CFO said. “It’s unwise to rely on one market so I am quite focused on diversifying into the renminbi market as well.” CapitaLand, which announced the retirement of its founding chief executive officer and top management changes in the past year, is keen to expand its investor base by selling debt in different currencies. With 80 percent of its assets expected to be based in China and Singapore in three years, from 70 percent now, the “funding profile of the company needs to reflect the multi-geographical nature of the business,” Lang said. “At the end of the day, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket,” he said. The Singapore-based company said Jan. 3 it is reorganizing into four main units and will get out of businesses where it doesn’t have a significant presence. The stock slid 0.3 percent to S$3.86 at the close in Singapore today. Neater Structure “This new structure makes it a bit neater for them t

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A Record Buyout Turns Sour for Investors Peter Lattman|The New York Times Wednesday, 29 Feb 2012 | 9:41 AM ETThe New York Times Struck at the peak of the buyout boom five years ago, the $45 billion acquisition of the Texas energy giant TXU — the biggest leveraged buyout in history — has been a painful investment for its private equity owners. Lm Otero TXU They did not need Warren E. Buffett to remind them how bad things were.America’s most famous investor, in his annual shareholder letter on Saturday, highlighted his $2 billion wrong-way bet on the bonds of the company, which its new owners have renamed Energy Future Holdings. He called the investment “a big mistake” and said it was at risk of losing all of its value. “In tennis parlance, this was a major unforced error,” Mr. Buffett wrote. Mr. Buffett’s grim view of his Energy Future Holdings position underscores the troubles facing the Texas utility, which is owned by a group of private equity firms led byKohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG Capital and the buyout arm of Goldman Sachs. Last week, Energy Future Holdings reported a 2011 loss of $1.9 billion amid record low natural gasprices. Its retail business has lost about 17 percent of its customers over the last three years to cheaper rivals. Worsening the company’s weak financial performance is its prodigious debt load of $35 billion, most of which was added to the balance sheet to finance the buyout.Energy Future Holdings was the biggest of the so-called megabuyouts — huge deals struck during the market boom of 2005 to 2007. After the financial crisis hit, it seemed that these deals were destined for bankruptcy. Instead, most of them — a group that includes and Caesars Entertainment — have made it through the downturn, though the investment returns on these deals are expected to be modest. A few, like the hospital chain H.C.A., have earned big profits. Not so with Energy Future Holdings. For now, the $8.3 billion in equity invested in the deal by the private equity owners has been all but wiped out on paper. K.K.R. is holding its Energy Future Holdings investment at 10 cents on the dollar, or down 90 percent, according to its latest securities filing. Allan Koenig, a spokesman for Energy Future Holdings, defended the company. He said it was operating extremely well across all of its businesses, had increased its employment by 25 percent under private equity ownership, and was hedged against low natural gas prices this year. The company’s weak financial performance won’t cause any defaults on its debt obligations, he said, because it has restructured its balance sheet so the first maturities on its bonds do not come due until 2014. Yet a growing chorus of analysts and bond investors is skeptical of Energy Future Holdings’ ability to survive under its current debt-heavy capital structure. The company’s bonds are trading at deeply distressed levels that suggest a high likelihood of default. Energy Future Holdings bonds due in 2015 recently traded at 28 cents on the dollar, offering a yield of 60 percent. “If natural gas prices remain low, there is no way this can work in the long run,” said Peter J. Thornton, an analyst at KDP Investment Advisors. Energy Future Holdings has avoided deeper problems by tapping the hot market for high-yield debt, or junk bonds. With the Federal Reservesignaling low interest rates into 2014, investors are shunning Treasuries and pushing into riskier bonds that pay higher yields. This has allowed troubled companies like Energy Future Holdings to raise money in the bond market. In recent weeks, the company raised about $1.1 billion in high-yield bonds in part to repay loans that it owed to one of its subsidiaries. But Mr. Thornton, the KDP analyst, said that repeatedly tapping the bond market to raise new funds was a Band-Aid solution to a larger problem. “It seems to us that they’re effectively borrowing more now to increase cash and be able to pay interest in the future,” he said. “That’s not a good long-term strategy.” The TXU takeover, which was announced in February 2007, was not supposed to turn out this way. A storied century-old business originally called Texas Power & Light, TXU was one of the most profitable utilities in the country. It operated in the large and deregulated Texas electricity market, with holdings that included the state’s biggest power-generation business and largest electricity retailer. And as the economy boomed, demand for electricity rose. It was such a promising deal that several of Wall Street’s largest banks — Lehman Brothers and Citigroup among them — invested alongside K.K.R. , TPG and Goldman . The new owners recruited several Texas power brokers to join Energy Future Holdings and help the heavily regulated utility with government relations. They named as chairman Donald L. Evans, the former commerce secretary under President George W. Bush. James A. Baker III, a senior official in the Reagan and Bush administrations, was named advisory chairman. While Mr. Evans and Mr. Baker have assisted the company on political and regulatory issues, they have no control over the price of natural gas, which has fallen since the buyout, putting pressure on the price of wholesale electricity. U.S. Natural Gas Exploration Natural gas prices dropped to a 10-year low of $2.32 per million British thermal units last month, from about $13 during the summer of 2008, mainly because of an unusually warm winter. Andrew DeVries, an analyst at CreditSights, estimates that natural gas needs to reach a price of at least $6.15 for Energy Future Holdings to break even after its interest payments and other expenses. Consensus expectations put long-term natural gas prices between $4.50 and $5, according to the futures market and an average of Wall Street analysts estimates as compiled by Bloomberg. “The low price of natural gas provides a significant challenge for the company,” John F. Young, the chief executive of Energy Future Holdings, acknowledged in the company’s earnings call last week. One reason for the

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Ahead of what's supposed to be a pretty heavy snowstorm, this will be quick: Times are tough for traditional retailers, and they're not likely to get any easier as Internet shopping becomes more popular, according to this treatise by a retail expert that includes a comment from Daniel Hurwitz, president and CEO of DDR Corp.The author, Jeff Jordan, is a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz who previously served as president and CEO of OpenTable, which he took public in 2009. Before OpenTable, he was president of PayPal, so he understands the retail landscape.America, he states flatly, “has too many malls.”“I believe we're seeing clear signs that the e-commerce revolution is seriously impacting commercial real estate,” Mr. Jordan writes. (These weak figures for 2012 holiday sales support the claim.)“Online retailers are relentlessly gaining share in many retail categories, and offline players are fighting for progressively smaller pieces of the retail pie,” he says. Mall and shopping center stalwarts “are closing stores by the thousands, and there are few large physical chains opening stores to take their place,” Mr. Jordan writes. “Yet the quantity of commercial real estate targeting retail continues to grow, albeit slowly. Rapidly declining demand for real estate amid growing supply is a recipe for financial disaster.”He performs an analysis of the National Retail Federation's list of the Top 100 retailers in 2012, focusing on merchandise retailers that would likely be located in malls (removing grocery, drug, restaurant and online retailers). Mr. Jordan focused on three measures of retailer health: total sales growth, comp store sales growth and number of stores.“The analysis doesn't paint a very pretty picture regarding the health of the leading physical retailers in the United States,” Mr. Jordan writes. “Total sales growth is mixed and is negative for 20% of the sample. Comp store sales growth — arguably the key measure of retailer health— is also mixed and a quarter of the sample is negative. And note that many of these sales results include the retailers' online segments, so the picture for their physical stores is even worse.”On a positive note, he says most real estate professionals “understand that profound changes are afoot” and are trying to change the retail mix at their shopping centers and to downsize in smart ways.Among those real estate pros is Mr. Hurwitz, who observes, “I don't think we're overbuilt. I think we're under-demolished.” Just a day after Christmas, I feel like a Grinch pointing to this CNNMoney.com list of the worst-performing Fortune 500 stocks of 2012, which includes Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.Cliffs ranked No. 6 on the list, with the stock down 50% as of Dec. 21.“In the first quarter, higher mining and transportation costs contributed to a decline in earnings, despite a boost in revenue,” the website notes. “The story hadn't improved much by the third quarter, when the company announced another round of miserable profits: $85 million for the quarter, down from $601 million the year before.”In November, Goldman Sachs analysts downgraded the stock from hold to sell, and shares went down 12% in a single day, according to CNNMoney.com.“Goldman analysts also noted that the company had repeatedly failed to hit its internal financial targets, and the chances that they'll start hitting those targets any time soon aren't particularly good,” according to the story. “A month later, Goldman issued a further warning about the firm's competition: China's ore producers could ratchet up production by 30% in 2013.” So maybe this lighthearted ranking will keep you in the holiday spirit.TheAtlanticCities.com highlights a report from the Martin Prosperity Institute that rated and ranked U.S. metro areas primed for "converting the Grinch," or, as the site puts it “real-life Whovilles with demographic characteristics that could turn even the strongest-willed holiday-merriment-haters into jolly good fellows.”To create the "Grinch Conversion Index," the institute considered seven key community characteristics, based on elements of the Dr. Seuss story. Among them were population density ("greater amount of merry people within an area"); costume rental stores per capita ("the Grinch can get his Santa disguise"); selected retail outlets per capita ("more presents for the Grinch to steal and eventually return"); musicians, singers, music directors and composers per capita ("to first annoy, then touch the Grinch's heart with singing"); and night-time light ("to draw the Grinch's attention").By these (admittedly, probably nonsensical) standards, Trenton, N.J., took the top spot as the most likely city to convert a Grinch. Most of the top 10 are clustered in the northeastern part of the United States, and Cleveland is tied for fifth with New York City.You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio. PRINTED FROM: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20121226/BLOGS03/121229936&template=printart&template=printart&template=printart

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From the August 8, 2012 issue of Credit Union Times Magazine • Subscribe! Security Failures: Who Pays The Tab? By Robert McGarvey August 05, 2012 • Reprints The question does not get any blunter. When cyber-criminals empty a bank or share draft account, who is left holding the losses? The answer to the question has financial industry security experts buzzing about a recent ruling handed down by a federal appeals court in Maine that, in many ways, is “a game changer,” said George Tubin, senior security adviser for Trusteer. “Financial institutions had believed that as long as they provided generally accepted security they would be covered. The Maine court disagreed,” said Tubin. In the early July ruling of Patco Construction vs. People’s United Bank (formerly Ocean Bank), the appellate court said the community bank had generally followed accepted best practices but that these were simply not good enough. The bank could have done more, ruled the appellate court, and it is therefore on the hook for the nearly $590,000 that was looted from Patco over seven days in 2009. “The perpetrators correctly supplied Patco’s customized answers to security questions. Although the bank’s security system flagged each of these transactions as unusually ‘high-risk’ because they were inconsistent with the timing, value and geographic location of Patco’s regular payment orders, the bank’s security system did not notify its commercial customers of this information and allowed the payments to go through,” the court wrote in its decision. Ocean Bank was able to block or recover about $243,000, leaving a residual loss to Patco of about $345,000. The court’s decision has sent shock waves through the security community. “The Patco ruling absolutely should change how financial institutions behave,” said Tubin. But maybe not so much at credit unions, said some experts. In one respect, credit unions can breathe easily because the decision appears to apply only to commercial and business accounts, not to the consumer accounts that are the lifeblood of the credit union industry. However, it also seems that matters are not that clear cut and all accounts may well face a raised security bar if the Patco decision stands, said many experts. In the case of Ocean Bank, it had bought a suite of security products (mainly from Jack Henry) and only chose to implement certain ones. The court raised questions about how good the bank’s implementation process had been, blaming the institution’s IT staff and not its vendors. Longtime financial industry security expert, Bill Murray, who now blogs on the topic, recently explained, “There was a problem with those [products that Ocean Bank] chose not to implement. First, they did not implement the user-selected image, a shared secret, intended to help the customer distinguish between the bank’s system and a spoof of it before exposing his credentials. However, they also failed to implement the measures most effective against the favored attack, credential re-play, i.e. out-of-band or one-time-password authentication and transaction risk scoring and monitoring.” The bank also misused a common security feature, according to the court, by lowering the threshold for requiring a challenge question from transactions above $1,000 to those above $1, thereby increasing the probability that the system would be compromised, said Murray in an interview. Experts expect the decision will be appealed, so it is not yet engraved in stone. But they also suggest that it will serve as a precedent for rulings in similar cases. That means security demands will be lifted for all financial institutions and puts them on notice that they just may be held responsible for customer and member losses, despite their efforts to safeguard accounts. “It’s not good enough just to meet compliance guidelines. The court is asking, how good are your defenses at actually preventing fraud,” said Tubin. “What this means is that financial institutions have an obligation to properly authenticate transactions. You cannot just check off the boxes and say you did enough,” warned Jon Callas, chief technology officer at Entrust. “Security too often is done as a ‘check the box thing,’ as a way to pass the buck. The court said that is not good enough.” Ken Citarella, managing director of the investigations and cyber forensics practice at Guidepost Solutions, said, “The decision creates a dilemma for financial institutions. The court said a generic, one size fits all solution is not sufficient, but who said what is sufficient?” Citarella suggested that one consequence of the ruling may be raised security demands for clients at financial institutions. “If this decision stands, every transaction may have to involve more inconvenience,” he said. But that is its own slippery slope, said Rob Ayoub, technical marketing manager at Fortinet, who explained that the more required security alerts and measures, “the more likely we are to ignore them.” Show Comments

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102.04 ¥/$ (4 p.m.) Opinion Sign Up | Login » Commentary / Global-related A summer reading list for eurozone leaders by Barry Eichengreen Aug 23, 2012 Article history Online: Aug 23, 2012 Print: Aug 23, 2012 Last Modified: Feb 14, 2013 BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – In August, Europeans head for the beach. The continent shuts down on the assumption that nothing of consequence will happen until everyone returns, suitably tanned, in September. Never mind the subprime crisis of August 2007 or, closer to home, the European monetary crisis of August 1992: the August holiday is a venerable tradition. So, what should Europeans be reading beneath their sun umbrellas this year? Milton Friedman’s and Anna Schwartz’s “A Monetary History of the United States” belongs at the top of the list. At the center of their gripping narrative is a chapter on the Great Depression, anchored by an indictment of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board for responding inadequately to the mounting crisis. Friedman and Schwartz are generally seen as reproving the Fed for failing to react swiftly to successive waves of bank failures, first in late 1930 and then again in 1931 and 1933. But a close reading reveals that the authors reserve their most scathing criticism for the Fed’s failure to initiate a concerted program of security purchases in the first half of 1930 in order to prevent those bank failures. That is a message that the European Central Bank’s board members could usefully take to heart, given their announcement on Aug. 2 that they were ready to respond to events as they unfolded but were taking no action for now. Reading Friedman and Schwartz will remind them that it is better to head off a crisis than it is to rely on one’s ability to end it. A second recommendation is another account of the crisis of the 1930s, Charles Kindleberger’s “The World in Depression, 1929-1939.” (If vacationing officials detect a pattern in their summer reading, all the better.) Kindleberger’s point is that avoiding a crisis — and when failing to avoid one, successfully exiting from it — requires leadership. Specifically, it requires leadership by a country with the power of the purse and the willingness to use it. The problem in the interwar period, as Kindleberger recounts it, was the reluctance of the leading power, the U.S., to provide the leadership and financial wherewithal to resolve the crisis. In Europe today, reunified and reinvigorated Germany is the only country capable of assuming this role. It could agree to swift bank recapitalization, a banking license for the European Stability Mechanism, and a more expansionary ECB policy. If Germany provided this kind of leadership, other countries would be quick to follow. Europe’s crisis would then be well along the path to resolution. Germans sunning themselves on Greek islands, one hopes, would be inspired by such reading. But it is hard to be confident. Of course, books by economics professors about the Great Depression hardly a summer holiday make. For variety, European leaders could take along Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was a colorful character, born out of wedlock, raised in the West Indies, and captain of an artillery company in America’s revolutionary war. More to the point, as George Washington’s Treasury secretary, he crafted the bargain that successfully rationalized the U.S. states’ debts. U.S. states entered their new union with different debt loads and different capacities to service them. Hamilton made the case that the federal government should assume responsibility for their liabilities stemming from the costs of financing the war. Hamilton identified a source of revenue — the tariff — that could be devoted to this end, and he rendered the bargain politically palatable by making clear that if state governments accumulated additional debts, and again got into trouble, they would not be bailed out a second time. European officials will argue that their problem is more difficult. Not only does Europe lack a federal government, but there is no desire to create one. A close reading of Hamilton’s accomplishments, however, will remind European readers that there was an equally deep aversion to federalism in the early U.S.. It took politicians with vision and diplomatic skills to craft the political entity that emerged after independence. Finally, European leaders should consider adding to their book bag Barbara Tuchman’s “The Guns of August.” Tuchman describes how a series of individual decisions, all of which seemed sound when considered in isolation, had the unintended consequence of leading Europe into the First World War. No one is predicting war in Europe today. But what is true of international diplomacy — that a series of seemingly reasonable decisions can have cataclysmic consequences if no one bothers to figure out the endgame — is equally true of international finance. Europe is dangerously close to its financial Sarajevo. The continent’s leaders, while relaxing on southern Europe’s crisis-ridden shores, should take Tuchman’s message to heart. Barry Eichengreen is professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His most recent book is “Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar.” © 2012 Project Syndicate Immigration reform will benefit both U.S. and Asia When will Netanyahu nail himself to the cross? India’s election will not be decided on old lines Internet raises misconduct risk

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About the Task Force Task Force Leadership Task Force Members Victims of Fraud Home » News » News U.S. Department of JusticeUnited States AttorneySouthern District of New Yorkwww.justice.gov/usao/nysFriday, April 19, 2013 Former New York Fund Manager Pleads Guilty in Connection with Multi-Million Dollar Commodities Fraud Scheme Thomas Hampton, formerly the Managing Director of Hampton Capital Markets LLC, pleaded guilty today in New York federal court to commodities fraud in connection with an investment scheme in which Hampton concealed millions of dollars in losses he incurred trading various securities, including S&P 500 futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 stock index, announced U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. Hampton was charged in December 2012 and pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis, IV. U.S. Attorney Bharara said: “Thomas Hampton blatantly deceived his investors in a scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in losses for scores of people. His guilty plea today ensures that he will be punished for those deceptions and that, to the extent possible, his investor victims will be made whole.” According to the charging instruments in this case and statements made in open court today at the plea proceeding: From September 2010 through September 2011, Hampton was the managing director of Hampton Capital, an Arizona limited liability company that had more than $4 million in assets under management. Hampton Capital engaged in the business of buying and selling exchange traded funds (ETFs). An ETF is an investment fund that holds assets such as stocks, commodities or bonds and typically tracks – or attempts to replicate the performance of – an underlying benchmark or index, such as the S&P 500 equities market index. Hampton Capital purported to utilize specially designed computer software to trade ETFs based on pricing inefficiencies. In his role as managing director, Hampton bought and sold various securities, including futures contracts, on behalf of Hampton Capital. When Hampton Capital began to suffer substantial losses as a result of Hampton’s trading, he concealed those losses from investors by, among other things, falsely representing that the investments continued to earn profits. For example, Hampton provided monthly statements to investors as early as April 2011 that falsely reflected a positive return for Hampton Capital instead of disclosing the actual losses suffered. Based on his misrepresentations and omissions, Hampton Capital investors did not seek to redeem or withdraw their investments. In fact, some investors provided additional investment capital. As a result of the scheme, more than 50 investors lost millions of dollars in the aggregate. Hampton, 44, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to one count of commodities fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $1 million or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense. In connection with his guilty plea, Hampton agreed to forfeit the illegal proceeds of his crimes and will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his offense. U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for their assistance. This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov. This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jillian B. Berman and Emil J. Bove, III are in charge of the prosecution. Reporting Suspected Fraud The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force maintains a wide list of resources and information dedicated to helping find and report suspected cases of financial fraud. Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Eric Holder, Attorney General, Chair Michael Bresnick, Executive Director [email protected] Task Force Annual Report 2010 Protect Yourself from Fraud Financial Fraud encompasses a wide range of illegal behavior - from mortgage scams to Ponzi schemes, credit card theft to tax fraud. Everyone is affected by financial fraud. About the Task Force | Report Fraud | Protect Yourself | Victims of Fraud | News | Multimedia Task Force Leadership | Task Force Members | Accessibility | FOIA | Privacy Policy Legal Information & Disclaimers | Linking to StopFraud.gov

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5 Takeover Targets to Buy Before Wall Street Finds Out - views Stock Quotes in this Article: HRL, ICE, KLAC, SNA, TER BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Jumping in front of corporate buyouts can fuel lottery-like gains for your portfolio. But focus in on a couple of factors, and you can do it without the lottery-like odds. Mergers and acquisitions, better known on Wall Street on M&A, is starting to pick up again in late 2012. The latest high-profile example is Sprint (S), whose deal with Japan’s Softbank has helped to spur a 64% rally in shares this quarter. Mid-cap cell carrier is another example -- it’s rallied more than 73% over that same period after announcing a takeover deal with T-Mobile. Small-cap Canadian energy stock Nexen (NXY) is up more than 50% after announcing that China’s CNOOC (CEO) was acquiring it. M&A volumes have been struggling for much of this year, with corporate managers unable to shake the scariness of stocks that’s plagued investors for most of 2012. But there are attractive deals to be found out there now, and that limits the amount of time buyers are willing to sit on their hands. That’s why M&A deals are starting to pick up again. As I write, interest rates are near zero, corporate debt is cheaper to issue than it’s ever been, and firms’ cash holdings are bigger than they’ve ever been. That, and a stock market that’s trailed fundamental growth for the past few years, make the perfect environment for buyouts to come back in favor. The trick is finding the firms with the biggest targets on their backs. >>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings To do that, we’re focusing on acquiring firms’ favorite attributes: solid balance sheets stuffed with tangible assets, consistent earnings and cash flow generation and bargain valuations. Here’s a look at five stocks that could be buyout targets as M&A activity picks up in the final quarter of 2012. IntercontinentalExchange First up on our list is IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), a firm that operates four regulated futures and OTC exchanges located in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Times have been changing for financial exchange operators, and ICE is no exception. The firm’s status as a relative newcomer to the field means that ICE is less entrenched and more flexible with the products that it carries on its exchanges. That flexibility has helped IntercontinentalExchange build an attractive niche in the energy derivatives business, a market that could grow quickly in the next several years. >>5 Big Trades From the Financial Sector By focusing on what I call “less commoditized commodities,” IntercontinentalExchange is able to earn more for its trouble of pairing buyers with sellers -- and that shows up in the firm’s hefty net margins. The firm’s clearing business is a very attractive complement to its exchange and OTC trading arm -- it essentially lets ICE fill a role that a third-party would otherwise get a piece of. Regulation is the biggest barrier to a takeover deal for ICE. The firm has been a takeover target in the past, taking an offer from Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) that ultimately unraveled because regulators were hostile. While that fact limits the takeover options for ICE, there are plenty of potential courters in the financial sector that wouldn’t draw the same regulatory pushback. Other companies want IntercontinentalExchange’s foothold on a lucrative corner of the exchange and clearing business, and they’re willing to pay for it. KLA-Tencor It’s been a pretty tepid year for KLA-Tencor (KLAC). So far in 2012, shares of the semiconductor manufacturing supplier have slid around 4%. That’s significant underperformance versus the broad market. But KLAC’s inability to get any love from buyers puts this $7 billion stock in the acquisition crosshairs of bigger names right now. >>3 Tech Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying KLA-Tenor supplies process management systems for chipmakers. Essentially, that means that the firm’s business is built around helping chipmakers improve their manufacturing lines through automation and high-level monitoring. Because KLAC’s products directly reduce chipmakers’ costs, the firm’s revenues are less susceptible to industry headwinds than those of its customers. To date, that fact hasn’t been reflected in KLAC’s share price; the cyclical rut in semiconductor manufacturing is hitting this name every bit as hard in 2012. But financially, KLAC is turning out some impressive performance. The firm’s net margins are deep in the double digits, its revenues have been growing briskly for the last four straight years, and it carries a nearly $1.8 billion net cash position on its balance sheet right now. Effectively, the cash in those coffers means that a quarter of KLAC’s market capitalization is risk-free right now. An acquisition could be in the cards for this firm. Not surprisingly, with the poor performance semiconductor sales have had over the last couple of years, KLA-Tencor isn’t the only chipmaker or supplier that’s looking like a bargain. Another name is Teradyne (TER). >>Buffett's “Secret” Reveals 5 Stocks to Buy Teradyne is in a similar business to KLAC. Its automation products show up on chipmakers’ assembly lines, testing chips and analyzing performance before they leave the line. The firm’s relatively new FLEX testing platform has been a popular system among chipmakers, and helped TER to reign in its costs. Instead of manufacturing the testbed in house, for instance, Teradyne opted to outsource the manufacturing and keep the capital needs of a manufacturing facility off of its plate. The early results are promising: profit margins have climbed to new highs and the firm’s balance sheet has swelled with cash. Today, Teradyne holds more than $840 million in cash and investments, offsetting $167 million in debt. The result is that, like KLAC, around 24% of TER’s market capitalization is made up of cash. TER’s smaller size makes it a more accessible target for a semiconductor firm that wants to use a tuck-in acquisition to enter the automated testing equipment market. Hormel Foods Food stocks are some of the biggest players in the M&A business, frequently buying and selling brands piecemeal or whole hog (pun intended) to build exposure to a particular type of packaged food product. That’s why Hormel Foods (HRL) makes our list of potential takeover targets. In addition to Hormel’s eponymous label, the firm also owns household brands like Jennie-O, Spam and Country Crock. >>5 Dividend Stocks Ready to Pay You More Hormel is a meat stock. The firm earns more than half of its revenues in the fresh meats business, producing ham, bacon, and turkey for grocery stores across the country. Customers are more flexible about fresh meat prices than they are with shelf stable products. That fact gives Hormel considerable pricing power at the cash register. On the other side of the equation, vertical integration has helped Hormel keep its own costs lower. Because Hormel generally raises the animals that it sells, it’s able to save costs and absorb more inflation in its cost of goods sold. HRL’s balance sheet looks attractive right now, with more than a billion dollars in cash and less than a quarter of that amount in debt. While a brand acquisition attempt is more likely than a buyer looking to takeover the whole firm, either scenario unlocks considerable value for shareholders. Snap-On The last takeover target we’re looking at is toolmaker Snap-On (SNA). Snap-On is having a good 2012. So far this year, shares of the firm have rallied more than 44%. But there’s still considerable value that can still be unlocked from shares right now, and other companies know it. Snap-On’s target market is the professionals. It sells its tools and diagnostic equipment primarily to techs who work on cars, trucks, planes or other machines. That pro image carries over to the retail market too, though. So-called “prosumers” want to use the same tools that the pros use, and ultimately Snap-On has a big untapped market to in the retail space. Despite some modest advertising to consumers, the firm’s bread and butter remains the professional market. A fleet of 3,200 franchised vans sell and deliver tools directly to repair shops across the U.S. That control of the product from manufacture to delivery gives SNA precision control over its costs that outsourcing rivals don’t have. While the firm’s balance sheet is more leveraged than most of the other names on this list, Snap-On’s still in decent financial shape, especially when compared to peers. A potential suitor could unlock significant value in making a bigger retail presence from what’s already a valuable brand. To see these takeover names in action, check out Takeover Targets Q4 2012 Portfolio on Stockpickr. -- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore. >>5 Big Stocks to Trade This Earnings Season >>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar >>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy This Week At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned. Jonas Elmerraji, based out of Baltimore, is the editor and portfolio manager of the Rhino Stock Report, a free investment advisory that returned 15% in 2008. He is a contributor to numerous financial outlets, including Forbes and Investopedia, and has been featured in Investor's Business Daily, in Consumer's Digest and on MSNBC.com. IBM Beats Analyst E... Abbott Labs' Adjust...

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London gets ready for giant Glencore By Alex Brummer Alex Brummer on Business The upcoming London and Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of the secretive global commodities, mining and production group Glencore International AG, will be one of the most fascinating of modern times. In size terms alone it will be the biggest ever flotation on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) raising up to $11 billion of new cash and valuing the whole group at around $45 billion. Glencore, which is the successor company to the controversial Swiss-based commodities group Marc Rich & Co, has a highly unusual partnership-style management structure. The public quotation will allow the partners the opportunity to cash-out at a market price for the first time. It will also give Glencore the paper currency it may need if it wants to go on the expansion or acquisition trail. Ahead of the flotation there has been much speculation as to whether Glencore would achieve its stock market quotation through a merger with Mick Davis's Xstrata in which it holds a 39 per cent stake. Relations between Glencore and Xstrata have been close. Mick Davis, chairman of the UJIA, is a

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Meet the Treasurer State Calendar Board of Treasury Investments iPas Revenue Distribution SMART529 College Savings Treasury Online Payments System WV Retirement Plus Home > Contacts > Suggested Links Suggested Links As part of our mission to keep you well informed, we offer the following links to sites we feel may be of interest to you. STATE AGENCIESWest Virginia Governor's OfficeWest Virginia State AgenciesGovernor's Office of TechnologyWV Board of Treasury Investments (BTI) U. S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIESWhitehouse.gov United States TreasuryUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission ASSOCIATIONS & BOARDSWV Licensed Boards National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, & Treasurers (NASACT) National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) OTHER SUGGESTED LINKSTomorrow's MoneyInvesting in Bonds.comThe Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Represents securities firms and banks that underwrite, trade and sell debt securities, both domestically and internationally. These debt securities include: Municipal bonds; U.S. Treasury securities; Federal Agency securities; Mortgage and other asset-backed securities, Corporate Debt securities; Money Market instruments; and Repos. NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market is the largest electronic, screen-based market in the world with the capacity to handle share volume in excess of one billion shares a day. Known for its innovative, leading-edge growth companies, Nasdaq has two tiers: the Nasdaq National Market, with Nasdaq's larger companies whose securities are the most actively traded, and The Nasdaq SmallCap Market, with emerging growth companies. CNNfn “CNNfn Interactive” is the interactive on-line service operated by the financial branch of Cable News Network, Inc. (“CNN”) on the World Wide Web of the Internet, consisting of information services and content provided by CNN, affiliates of CNN and other third parties. Bonds Online Tried to find out what's available to buy? To study? Ever tried to find what your bonds are worth? What the credit rating agencies and other research experts have to say about your bonds? Have you tried to calculate the price of a bond? BONDS ONLINE has been developed to help individual and small institutional investors access the information to address these issues. Esignal America's leading provider of real-time market data to the individual investor. Dow Jones Dow Jones publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information. Since 1882, the Dow Jones name has been synonymous with accuracy, integrity and trust. Barron's The Dow Jones Business and Financial Weekly, which celebrated its 75th year of publication in 1996. United States Treasury Bureau of the Public Debt Contains interesting information regarding savings bonds, U.S. Treasury Direct Program, and the total debt of the United States down to the penny. Questions or comments about this web site. Do we have your Property? Claiming your Property Reporting Unclaimed Property Investing for the Future NetWorth - Personal Finance Free Money Conferences Teacher & Youth Resources iPAS - Internet Participant Access System TOPS - Treasury Online Payments System Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Site Map | ©Copyright 2013 - West Virginia State Treasurer's Office

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Originally published January 11, 2013 Mortgage Servicers to Pay $8.5 Billion in Federal Settlement by Zenitha PrinceSpecial to the AFRO (Stock Photo) Federal regulators’ review of deficient practices in mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing concluded in a $8.5 billion settlement with 10 of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers. The settlement, announced Jan. 7 by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), involves some of the giants of the financial industry including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. The banks will pay $$3.3 billion to more than 3.8 million borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 and 2010. Homeowners could receive as much as $125,000 depending on the type of bank error. The mortgage servicers will also provide $5.2 billion in other assistance, such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments. Federal regulators said the decision ensures that more money goes directly and more quickly into the hands of affected homeowners. “When we began the Independent Foreclosure Review, the OCC pledged to fix what was broken, identify who was harmed, and compensate them for that injury,” Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry said in a statement. “While today’s announcement represents a significant change in direction, it meets those original objectives by ensuring that consumers are the ones who will benefit, and that they will benefit more quickly and in a more direct manner.” Curry said the regulators had learned a great deal from the review process, “it has become clear that carrying the process through to its conclusion would divert money away from the impacted homeowners and also needlessly delay the dispensation of compensation to affected borrowers. Our new course of action will get more money to more people more quickly, and it will speed recovery in the nation’s housing markets.” Some critics say the judgment is a slap on the wrist, which will not deter banks from the criminal behavior that brought on the near collapse of the U.S. economy. “It’s not a huge amount of money when we consider it in respect to the bailouts that have happened or the cost to households in the U.S. The banks are not paying enough for what they actually had done,” James Heintz, an economist at the Political Economy Research Institute in Amherst, Mass., told The Real News Network. He added, “$8.5 billion, when we compare it to the amount of wealth that’s evaporated from households, which is about $6.9 trillion, is a drop in the bucket at the very best.” Maryland Democrat Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and an outspoken voice on the foreclosure issue, said he was concerned with the haste in which the decision was made, and feared banks would sidestep their full obligations. “I am deeply disappointed that the OCC and the Federal Reserve finalized this settlement and effectively terminated the Independent Foreclosure Review process before providing Congress answers to serious questions about how this settlement amount was determined, who these funds will go to, and what will happen to other families who were abused by these mortgage servicing companies, but have not yet had their cases reviewed,” Cummings said in a statement. “I do not know what the rush was to make this settlement without answering these key questions, and although I look forward to obtaining information about how this deal may assist homeowners, I have serious concerns that this settlement may allow banks to skirt what they owe and sweep past abuses under the rug without determining the full harm borrowers have suffered,” he added.

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Antonakes Named CFPB Acting Deputy Director January 31, 2013 • Reprints The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that Steve Antonakes, currently associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending, will now serve as acting deputy director effective Friday. Departing Deputy Director Raj Date last day with the CFPB was Thursday. "We will be forever grateful to Deputy Director Raj Date for his tremendous work to protect American consumers. As the CFPB's first deputy director, Raj has helped to lead the agency's organizational, strategic, and policy efforts and put in place key new mortgage rules that will benefit all Americans,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Although we will miss Raj, he has helped to build a strong, talented team and I am pleased that Steve will be taking on the role of acting deputy director,” Cordray said. “Steve’s knowledge, expertise, and judgment will continue to be invaluable as we move forward with our important work --making markets work for consumers and responsible businesses.” Antonakes’ background includes more than two decades as a financial services regulator. He first joined the CFPB in November 2010 as the assistant director of large bank supervision and was named to his current position in June 2012. He began as an entry level bank examiner with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Banks in 1990 and worked his way up to Commissioner of Banks, serving in that capacity from December 2003 until November 2010. Date, who was seen as the heir apparent to take over the bureau after Cordray’s term expires, served as the CFPB’s first deputy director and spent more than two years helping to build the agency. He filled a number of key leadership roles, including special adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury and associate director for research, markets and regulations.

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FDIC and United Way Partner to Increase Bank Access and Expand Delivery of Financial Education to "Underserved" David Barr (202-898-6992) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the United Way have signed an agreement that will strengthen mutual efforts to increase access to mainstream financial products, promote bank relationships and expand financial education efforts among low-income, unbanked and underserved families throughout the country. "We are pleased to partner with United Way to promote economic inclusion and financial stability among the millions of Americans who do not have a bank account," said FDIC Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg. "The issue of economic inclusion, greater competition, and access to the financial mainstream is a top priority for the FDIC." The partnership will advance initiatives and strategies specifically targeted to the FDIC Alliance for Economic Inclusion's (AEI's) markets as well as on a broader basis, in conjunction with the United Way Financial Stability Initiative. AEI is a national initiative to form a network of local coalitions around the country – comprised of banks, community organizations, academics, government agencies and others – that help underserved communities gain access to federally insured institutions. AEI is focused on unbanked and underserved populations in 10 diverse markets across the country, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, urban neighborhoods, minority communities and rural areas. The nearly 1,300 local United Way organizations work with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and others to deliver its programs and initiatives. Through the coordinated efforts of the FDIC's AEI and United Way's Financial Stability Partnership, the two organizations will work together to expand existing strategies and build new ones to: Identify client needs for bank products and services within the United Way network organizations. Forge partnerships with financial institutions to increase access to transactional accounts, affordable small-dollar loans, Individual Development Accounts, savings deposits from Earned Income Tax Credits and split tax refunds, savings campaigns, and other bank products and services. Establish workplace-based programs and delivery channels for financial education, direct-deposit accounts, individual development accounts and mainstream financial products and services. Create delivery channels that will equip youth and young adults with knowledge and tools to make informed financial decisions, build wealth and manage assets. Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,494 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations. FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-44-2008 Last Updated 6/6/2008

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Home > News & Events > Press Releases DeYoung Named Associate Director of FDIC's Division of Insurance and Research DeYoung will head division's research branch FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 4, 2006 Media Contact: David Barr (202) 898-6992 [email protected] Dr. Robert DeYoung has been named Associate Director of the FDIC's Division of Insurance and Research (DIR), FDIC Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced today. DeYoung will head the division's Research Branch. "Bob DeYoung brings a wealth of experience in the publication of original research and in its application to the banking and financial system," said Art Murton, DIR Director. "We look forward to the contributions he will make to the policy leadership and research efforts at the FDIC." Dr. DeYoung joins the FDIC from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he served as a senior economist and economic advisor in the research department. For the past two years, Dr. DeYoung has played a key role in the advancement of the FDIC's Center for Financial Research as the Coordinator of the Center's Banking Policy and Regulation Program. Dr. DeYoung also serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Financial Services Research and the Journal of Economics and Business, and as a lecturer on economics and finance at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business DePaul University in Chicago. Dr. DeYoung's previous positions include senior financial economist at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Joyce Foundation Teaching Fellow of economics and management at Beloit College in Beloit, from 1988 to 1992. Dr. DeYoung holds a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. # # # Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,854 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations. FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov or through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or (703) 562-2200). PR-1-2006 Last Updated

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The case for doing nothingSome argue there is a greater risk of long-term damage if Congress passes a big stimulus bill for the economy, which these experts say is already on the rebound. EMAIL | PRINT | SHARE | RSS By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writerLast Updated: January 8, 2009: 6:34 PM ET ROAD TO RESCUE Obama: Need to move quicklyMore VideosThrowing money at problemsMore Videos NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress will soon debate what kind of economic stimulus package should be passed, but some economists are increasingly wondering whether it's a good idea to approve any stimulus at all.President-elect Obama again called for quick action Thursday on a yet-unspecified economic stimulus plan that could cost as much $800 billion.Yet, some argue that the economy is already poised to rebound on its own. They point to steep rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and trillions of dollars in loans and assistance approved by the government in the past year as enough stimulus to get the economy back on track.In addition, some stimulus skeptics believe that increased government spending will cause more problems than they solve.Talkback: Is more stimulus needed to boost the economy?Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust Portfolios, said the current economic downturn is due to the financial panic that occurred in September after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. That caused a crisis in financial markets and led to the controversial bailout of Wall Street firms and banks and many new programs by the Fed.Wesbury said consumers and businesses were more reluctant to spend after the collapse of Lehman led to concerns about how other banks would be in danger if a bailout was not passed. He said he now fears that similar talk about how bad the economy could get if there isn't a stimulus package could cause further declines in spending."In the middle of trying to sell a humongous new stimulus package, we'll be creating new panic," he said.Wesbury acknowledges his view is a minority one, but he's hardly alone. He and Bob Brusca of FAO Economics said they both see signs that the economy might be ready to turn around already, including an unusually large drop in initial jobless claims this week, and a slight increase in the Conference Board's December reading on business activity in the service sector.Lower taxes now = more taxes laterOther economists expressed concerns about the longer-term damage that could be done to the economy by spending so heavily to fix short-term problems.Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, an investment firm specializing in overseas investments, wrote in a research note the stimulus debate has not done enough to focus on the cost to taxpayers that will come from the programs."The truth is that the only way out of this mess is less government, more savings, and increased production," Schiff wrote. "Obama's plan is a recipe for economic ruin."Wesbury said he is pleased by various tax cut proposals being discussed as part of the plan, but he is worried that taxpayers will still have to eventually foot the bill for all the new government spending. He said the only way to pay for stimulus is by taxing those who are productive, joking that the plan is more like a Ponzi scheme than any creation of wealth."Every time we bail somebody out, we have to get that money from somebody else. It's like [Bernard] Madoff," he quipped, referring to the financier accused in a $50 billion securities fraud case. Other economists added that many of the steps taken so far have not yet had a chance to work. Those efforts may prove to be sufficient enough to stimulate the economy without additional spending.Can't afford to 'wait and see'But since there is so much uncertainty about the economy, some think the government can't afford to wait to see what happens next, especially since this recession is much different in nature than previous ones."We have an unprecedented financial crisis being met by an unprecedented policy response," said David Kelly, the chief market strategist for JPMorgan Funds. "The problem is, forecasters work off precedent."Kelly said he's particularly worried that the economic stimulus plans being discussed, such as construction projects, will take too long to make an impact. Even sending out tax rebate checks, as was done last year, won't necessarily spur spending if people are nervous about the economy.Kelly said he would prefer cash incentives from the government specifically designed for people to go out and buy a car or a house as a way to jump-start those two battered sectors. He said the incentive program could be set up so that the amount of money available could drop the longer people take to make the purchase. That way, people willing to spend sooner rather than later would be rewarded and the economy could rebound more quickly."The big problem here is we've got a wait-and-see economy," said Kelly. "'Wait and see' are the three most dangerous words in economics."Brusca agreed that there are major risks of the economy continuing to weaken further. He said that even though "there's a case for not doing anything more," Congress can't afford to wait to act."It is gambling on something you can't afford to lose," he said. "You run the risk, if you are being patient, of becoming the patient."Finally, there are some who believe that the actions taken so far by Congress and the Bush administration, like the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, for banks and Wall Street firms, have done little to help consumers and businesses so far."You need something to start the engine," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "Just having a full tank of gas doesn't get you anywhere. TARP is just a full tank of gas." First Published: January 8, 2009: 3:42 PM ETCrisis and plan to fix it unprecedented Bailout rage divides GOP Fed predicts economy will get worse Unsafe? Unsound? Here's a taxpayer bailout Stimulus may spur jobs abroad Features

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China to expand OTC market Yang Yi BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to expand its over-the-counter (OTC) market to all qualified small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to an official statement released on Saturday. The State Council, China's Cabinet, announced that the OTC market, a national share transfer system for SMEs that is also known as the New Third Board will be expanded to cover all innovative and promising companies. Qualified companies can apply for listing on the board for public share transfer so as to realize equity and bond financing as well as asset restructuring, according to the statement. The companies should ensure accurate and complete information disclosure on their operations. The statement said that qualified enterprises can apply directly to be listed on the New Third Board through stock exchanges. The State Council demanded the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) simplify approval procedures for higher efficiency in accordance with the reform plan for the initial public offering system unveiled on Nov. 30. The CSRC will exempt approval procedures for applying joint-stock companies with 200 or fewer shareholders and listed ones with private placement and no more than 200 shareholders, according to the statement. The State Council also required nurturing of institutional investors like security companies, insurance companies, investment funds and those overseas. The CSRC vowed to enhance monitoring and strictly punish illegal activities like false disclosure, insider trading and market rigging, in order to preserve the rights of investors. The country's OTC board was officially established in January after years of trials in several cities. The New Third Board was initiated in 2006 as an experimental platform intended to facilitate financing for China's non-listed small, promising high-tech enterprises in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park, allowing them to transfer shares and raise funds for specified purposes. The trial was later expanded to cover several high-tech zones in Shanghai, Wuhan and Tianjin. As of the end of 2012, around 200 companies traded on the New Third Board. In 2012, transactions on the board decreased 22.8 percent from 2011, and the average funding per firm came in at only 33.8 million yuan (5.53 million U.S. dollars), far from enough to feed China's hungry SMEs. Related: China Focus: Reform makes financing easier for innovative SMEs CHENGDU, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan Coremer Materials Co., Ltd. managed to get a loan of five million yuan (about 814,000 U.S. dollars) this year from a commercial bank by pledging its patent rights. Full story Xinhua Insight: China's SMEs struggling for land and private capital NANNING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Bailin has been feeling a little jaded recently. His company just received an order worth over 400 million yuan (about 65.6 million U.S. dollars), but he had to hold back from the lucrative deal.Full story Xinhua insight: SMEs seek equal footing in China's new reform GUANGZHOU, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Although China's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still grappling with a sluggish economy, they are cheered by initiatives that will hopefully pull them out of their predicament. Full story SMEs main driver of European economy: EU data China small banks innovations: Lenders launch services to support 18,900 SMEs NASA sees thick smog layer over China Female soldiers' daily life on PLA warship Gorgeous scenery of Mountain Siguniang UK destroyer departs from Shanghai port Classic fighter planes around the world Snapshots of India's LCA Tejas fighter aircraft Highlights of photo collections in 2013 Roadside bomb kills 3 police, wounds 2 in Afghanistan

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Celestica Inc. via PR Newswire November 16, 2012 at 17:31 PM EST Celestica Waives Condition to Substantial Issuer Bid (All amounts in U.S. dollars) TORONTO, Nov. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Celestica Inc. (NYSE, TSX: CLS), a global leader in the delivery of end-to-end product lifecycle solutions, today announced that it has waived a condition to its previously announced substantial issuer bid (the "Offer"). Celestica has waived the condition that would have permitted the Offer to be withdrawn should Celestica determine, in its sole judgment, acting reasonably, that the purchase price per subordinate voting share (a "Share") under the Offer exceeds the fair market value of a Share as of the expiration date of the Offer, determined without reference to the Offer. This condition has been waived because it is not capable of independent verification and therefore may not be appropriate under the U.S. regulations applicable to the Offer as it does not provide tendering shareholders with reasonable specificity as to the condition. Celestica commenced the Offer to purchase for cancellation up to 25,000,000 of its Shares for an aggregate purchase price not exceeding US$175,000,000 on October 29, 2012. The Offer is being conducted through a "modified Dutch auction" within a price range of not less than US$7.00 per Share and not more than US$8.00 per Share (in increments of US$0.10 per Share within that range). Celestica has not revised the specified price range for tenders pursuant to the Offer. The "modified Dutch auction" tender process allows shareholders to individually select the price, within the specified range, at which they are willing to sell their Shares. When the Offer expires, Celestica will select the lowest purchase price that will allow it to purchase the maximum number of Shares properly tendered to the Offer, and not properly withdrawn, having an aggregate purchase price not exceeding US$175,000,000. If Shares with an aggregate purchase price of more than US$175,000,000 are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn, Celestica will purchase the Shares on a pro rata basis except that "odd lot" tenders (of holders beneficially owning fewer than 100 Shares) will not be subject to pro-ration. The Offer is not conditional on any minimum number of Shares being tendered to the Offer, but is subject to other conditions customary for a transaction of this nature. The Offer will remain open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (EST) on December 3, 2012, unless withdrawn or extended by Celestica. A complete description of the terms and conditions of the Offer are contained in the Offer to Purchase, Issuer Bid Circular and other related documents, including any amendments thereto, filed with the applicable Canadian provincial and territorial securities commissions and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to shareholders on October 29, 2012. The Offer documents are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and on Celestica's website at www.celestica.com. The Celestica Board has authorized the making of the Offer. Neither Celestica nor its Board makes any recommendation to shareholders as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering their Shares to the Offer. Shareholders are urged to consult their own financial, tax and legal advisors and to make their own decisions whether to tender or to refrain from tendering their Shares to the Offer and, if so, how many Shares to tender and at what price or prices. Scotia Capital Inc. and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. have been retained by Celestica to act as dealer managers in connection with the Offer in Canada and the United States, respectively. Any questions or requests for information regarding the Offer may be directed to Computershare Investor Services Inc., as the depositary for the Offer, at 1-800-564-6253 (Toll Free - North America) or 1-514-982-7555 (Overseas). About Celestica Celestica is dedicated to delivering end-to-end product lifecycle solutions to drive our customers' success. Through our simplified global operations network and information technology platform, we are solid partners who deliver informed, flexible solutions that enable our customers to succeed in the markets they serve. Committed to providing a truly differentiated customer experience, our agile and adaptive employees share a proud history of demonstrated expertise and creativity that provides our customers with the ability to overcome any challenge. For further information on Celestica, visit its website at www.celestica.com. Celestica's security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Shares in the Offer. The solicitation of offers to purchase Shares is made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase, Issuer Bid Circular and related materials that Celestica has filed with the Canadian provincial and territorial securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and distributed to its shareholders, as they may be amended or supplemented. Shareholders should read these materials carefully before making any decision with respect to the Offer because they contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the Offer. Each of these documents has been or will be filed with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulators, and shareholders may obtain them free of charge from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or at www.sedar.com. Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement This news release may contain forward-looking statements related to our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, including our expectations regarding the terms, conditions and expiry date of the Offer, and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are predictive in nature and may be based on current expectations, forecasts or assumptions involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements themselves. Such forward-looking statements may, without limitation, be preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "continues", or similar expressions, or may employ such future or conditional verbs as "may", "will", "should" or "would", or may otherwise be indicated as forward-looking statements by grammatical construction, phrasing or context. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations, including, our assumptions, beliefs and expectations regarding Celestica's future capital requirements, market and general economic conditions, and its ability to obtain regulatory approvals. These statements are inherently subject to significant risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond the control of Celestica. Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including as a result of changes in global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. These and other risks and uncertainties, as well as other information related to Celestica, are discussed in our various public filings at www.sedar.com, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Except as required by applicable law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Celestica Inc. Related Stocks: CELESTICA, Inc. Celestica Stock Market XML and JSON Data API provided by FinancialContent Services, Inc.

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hide Fed's Evans says no need to alter easy money policy yet Thursday, May 19, 2011 1:50 p.m. EDT Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans attend a dinner function at a hotel in Hong Kong March 30, 2010. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is on a firmer footing after a deep and lengthy recession, but still-high unemployment is keeping inflation under wraps and continues to warrant ongoing support from the Federal Reserve's ultra-easy money policy, a top Fed official said on Thursday. The U.S. central bank will watch inflation and inflation expectations closely, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in remarks prepared for delivery to the AFP Global Corporate Treasurers Forum, "and we will adjust policy if developments move our forecast to rates incompatible with our inflation mandate." But Evans said he expects moderate economic growth to trim the unemployment rate, which was 9 percent in April, only slowly, and inflation to crest this year at between 2 percent and 2.5 percent before returning to below the Fed's informal 2 percent target. New information, such as stronger-than-expected GDP growth or evidence that wage pressures are boosting inflation, could force a reassessment of policy, he said. "Contemplating such adjustments in advance will help prepare us for the eventual time when a change in the stance of monetary policy will be necessary," Evans said. "Despite recent improvements to the outlook, we are not yet at that point." The Fed, which has kept interest rates near zero for two and a half years and bought more than $2 trillion in long-term securities to lower borrowing costs further, is nearing the end of its most recent round of bond-buying. A sharp rise in oil, wheat, and other commodity prices earlier this year sparked worries that inflationary expectations could take hold, but most Fed officials, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, said they expected the rise to be transitory. That view appears to have been vindicated by a recent pullback in commodity prices, as well as data released last week showing the pace of food and fuel price rises slowed in April. U.S. consumer prices rose to a 2-1/2-year high of 3.2 percent in the 12 months to April, though core inflation was only 1.3 percent. Evans on Thursday said he does not expect headline inflation to run above core inflation for very long, and called it a mistake to point to higher prices in any one good, such as gas, and conclude that inflation is rising. Bernanke said after the Fed's most recent policy meeting that he is in no hurry to raise rates anytime soon, and Thursday's comments from Evans, regarded as one of the central bank's most reliable doves, are in line with that sentiment. Evans said he believes that continued resource slack will put downward pressure on inflation, limiting the effect of the surge in oil prices. (Reporting by Ann Saphir, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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Bitcoin and the English Legal System, part III: a warm welcome to Cody Wilson Type: Think PiecesWritten by Preston Byrne | Monday 14 April 2014 A few days ago, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the 2014 Liberty League Freedom Forum with City AM's Marc Sidwell, Big Brother Watch's Nick Pickles, and the authors Daniel Ben-Ami and Nick Harkaway; we discussed the implications of advanced technology for liberty. Seeing as most people are not obsessed with blockchain-based technologies as I, before the talk began I asked the attendees how many of them used cryptography - such as PGP/GPG or cryptocurrency - in day-to-day life. Of 100-odd individuals present (perhaps fifty more stumbled in later, having overindulged during the previous night's festivities), perhaps six hands went up, underscoring a significant problem with technology-as-liberator: adoption. In a room full of activists who oppose state surveillance, only a handful had taken measures to protect themselves from it - measures which, it should be said, may be taken at nil cost. Just as we criticise our philosophical opponents on the political left for denying individual agency in favour of political action, which is rightly viewed as a "convoluted and roundabout" method of accomplishing individual goals, so too should we criticise our own continuing behaviour which makes this surveillance easier to conduct. Though as the panel discussed, there is a general perception of a "technological arms race" between individuals on the one hand and states on the other, the best technology in the world is utterly useless if it is not employed. We should nonetheless be grateful that the technology is there, developed and promoted by a handful of brilliant mathematical and political minds. One of these minds belongs to Cody Wilson, designer of the 'Liberator,' the world's first fully-3D printed firearm (as well as designer of a number of 3D-printed components for the AR-15). More recently, Wilson has been working as a spokesperson for the "Dark Wallet" project, a collaboration of some of the world's leading cryptocurrency developers aimed at augmenting the functionality and independence of the Bitcoin blockchain, as well as adding trustless privacy features. The problem they seek to solve arises from a fundamental aspect of Bitcoin's design, viewed by some as a weakness: each bitcoin (or part thereof) is a chain of digital signatures and though in aggregate the network behaves like a ledger, this particular feature renders all transactions public - and thus perfectly traceable back in time, all the way to an individual bitcoin's first creation. Because of this, a number of lawyers have crassly taken to calling bitcoins "prosecution futures," and indeed law enforcement has been able to make a number of arrests in the United States based on analyses of these records. Wilson will be speaking to the ASI this evening. Although I do not know exactly what he will say, I think it is fair to presume he will not endorse the expansion of industry cooperation with regulatory authorities. Indeed, "if Bitcoin represents anything to us," he has said, "it’s the ability to forbid the government." The unSystem group of which he is a member has expressed similar sentiments to that of the Freedom Forum panellists, referring also to the idea of an arms race, and arguing their work can "gain a new territory of freedom for several years." "We don't need to cooperate with control freaks," they add; "disobedience is the only way." It is a view with which I sympathise but, despite considerable admiration for their work, respectfully disagree. When I was younger, it was all too easy to become frustrated with the intransigence of social democracy and the seemingly endless trampling of individual endeavour in the name of collective welfare this system legitimises. Given the widely-publicised abuses of state security apparatuses in democracies everywhere, it is perhaps easier still to look to technology to secure an advantage for liberty outside of legally permissible channels - even if that victory will be fleeting at best. That notwithstanding, implementation of this technology in full compliance with the law, not civil disobedience, is the way forward. This is not to say that anonymity and privacy are unimportant. Clearly they are, and men like Cody Wilson draw much-needed attention to questions of state overreach at great personal risk to themselves. Where we diverge is that I am of the view that the proper means of accomplishing this change is through democratic consensus. Bitcoin and its derivations are already challenge enough to state institutions, with its strong cryptography and decentralised character confounding all efforts at state control. No Act of Parliament, no court order, no standing army and arguably not even vast amounts of state-backed computing power are presently thought capable of taking the network offline on their own (at least, not for long). While Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency protocol, it will not be the last. Commercially, its most significant achievement is in outsourcing the element of discretion from the unilateral act of payment to an algorithm; industry cooperation with state authorities in respect of this aspect of the technology has resulted in favourable regulatory outcomes in the UK and the United States, with the consequence that hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into the sector, and mainstream businesses large and small are beginning to enter it. Successor platforms close to release will extend this functionality in respect of multilateral, two-way instructions, importing the cryptographic security of Bitcoin into self-regulating agreements and other communications. In theory, the range of proposed uses for these second-generation platforms is limitless: decentralised crowdfunding, frictionless microfinance, autonomous peer-to-peer banks, and even decentralised social networks have been proposed, all of which would be run by decentralised mining from which virtually anyone can profit. Prudence demands restraint when extolling the potential of these platforms. However, the degree of investor and developer attention upon them suggests they may be deployed in practical roles rather sooner than we think; and just like Bitcoin, I suspect they will take many people by surprise. This will have implications for conceptions of liberty. What could promote a culture of privacy more efficiently than incentivising households to put the world's most advanced cryptographic technology in their living rooms? What better way could there be to convince a man of the value of free enterprise than to allow him to hold his own commercial bank in the palm of his hand? What kind of world will we live in where a shopkeeper in Kibera can safely invest in a property development in Kensington at the push of a button, while paying no fees? How then, with deployable personal capital at their very fingertips, will people view state interference in markets and human interactions in which, perhaps for the first time in human history, they have a stake of their own? I suspect they will

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Management Strategies 2014 Forecast: Many Community Banks to Increase IT Investment Next Year Jonathan CamhiSee more from JonathanConnect directly with Jonathan Bio| Contact Many community banks are planning to increase investment in IT and new products and services like mobile banking and payments. Tags: Regulation, Security, Fraud, Data Management, Data Warehouse, Budgets, IT Trends Community bank executives expect their revenue to increase in the year ahead and plan to invest more of that revenue into IT, according to the 2013 KPMG Community Banking Outlook Survey. With 85% of the survey respondents reporting they expect their bank’s revenue to increase in the next year, 61% of them planned to increase capital spending. The most popular areas that bank plan to increase spending were IT (46%), new products and services (37%) and regulatory controls (24%), the survey found. The most important IT projects cited in the report revolved around mobile banking and payments (40%), leveraging data (22%), social media (15%) and online banking (15%), according to the survey. “Last year executives were telling us that mobile costs too much money to implement and they would wait on implementing it. This year branch traffic is down and customer demands are evolving,” says John Depman, KPMG’s national leader for regional and community banking. Few of the banks involved in the survey (13%) said they had high data and analytics literacy. “I think community banks need to understand the power and usefulness of dat and analytics. Once that’s understood culturally they’ll invest in it,” Depman notes. “If you think about how community banks can compete with big banks, they can find a way to outsource data and analytics. If they know how they will use it, they will find a vendor or partner.” Cyber security is also an area that community banks will focus on in the next year, the survey found. Nearly half (48%) of the respondents said they are moderately concerned about cyber security, with another 15% saying that it was an extreme concern for them. Although big banks are facing more sophisticated cyber threats than smaller institutions, community banks are still under constant threat from fraudsters, Depman points out. Regulatory Focus and Increased M&A Interest Many of the respondents (65%) said that they think it likely their bank would be involved in a merger or acquisition. Forty percent said they expect their bank to be on the buying side of a transaction, and 25% said they expect their institution to be on the selling side. The increased interest in M&A among community banks is tied to the growing cost of regulatory compliance, KPMG’s Depman says. “Compliance costs are up and it’s expensive to be a bank right now. It’s logical to spread that compliance cost over a bigger revenue base,” he explains. And with increased regulatory focus on capital levels with new Basel III and Dodd-Frank requirements taking effect, some community banks in need of new capital might find that it’s easier to simply sell the bank, he adds. ABOUT THE AUTHORJonathan Camhi is a graduate of the City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism, where he focused on international reporting and interned at the Hindustan Times in Delhi, ...See more from Jonathan

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Feb. 21, 2014, 5:00 a.m. EST Obama plan: Cut tax breaks for richest retirement savers Plan designed to spur saving by low-, middle-income earners By Robert Powell, MarketWatch President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress in early March, as part of his fiscal 2015 budget, to reduce some of the tax advantages for employer-sponsored retirement plans for higher-income earners, according to published reports. Plus, the president wants to limit the value of all tax deductions, defined contribution exclusions and IRA deductions to 28% of income — and include an overall cap on all retirement accounts, including pensions, that could bring in $1 billion a year in new tax revenue, according to a Pensions & Investments report. Read Companies bracing for 1-2 retirement punch According to the report, the proposals are designed to direct more of the tax preference for retirement savings toward getting more low- and middle-income people into the habit of saving. Based on current tax brackets, Pensions & Investments reported that the 28% limit would reduce the tax advantages of retirement savings for people earning more than $183,000 or couples earning more than $225,000. And the overall cap for all tax-preferred retirement accounts would limit them to providing an annual retirement income of $205,000, which would currently cap tax-preferred accounts at $3.4 million, but could go lower as interest rates rise. Four estate-planning mistakes to avoid There are several estate planning mistakes folks need to avoid. Here are a few of them. So, who might feel the effects of this proposal? Largely, the top 5% of tax payers. According to the Tax Policy Center, a partnership between the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, there are about 6.07 million Americans who earned above $200,000 in 2011 and they make up the top 4.2% of taxpayers, according to published reports. Read more about the president’s tax proposal here: Who makes more than $250k, and are they rich? And what do experts have to say about what the president might propose? In the main, they say the rich need not worry that their tax breaks for saving for retirement will be cut. “We’ve heard these kinds of proposals being discussed in policy circles for a couple of years now,” said Skip Schweiss, president of TD Ameritrade Trust Co. and managing director of TD Ameritrade Institutional. “It would not surprise me to see these ideas become more formalized through President Obama’s 2015 budget proposal.” But even though experts expect the president to propose reductions to some of the tax advantages for employer-sponsored retirement plans for higher-income earners, few expect any congressional action. “Given the congressional divide, it’s hard to see something like this becoming law, but of course one never knows,” said Schweiss. From his perspective, Schweiss said there are at least three problems with the proposal that should be considered carefully. The first, said Schweiss, is that contributions to retirement plans are made on a tax-deferred basis, not a tax-deductible basis. “That is, while I may receive a tax deduction this year for making my contribution, the government will get its money down the road when I withdraw the funds in my retirement years,” he said. “And it will get more, as it will tax the earnings as well as the contributions.” This stands, Schweiss said, in contrast to deductions like home mortgage interest and employer-sponsored health insurance premium deductions: once those deductions are received by the taxpayer, the government will not realize the tax revenues from those items, ever. The second consideration, said Schweiss, is that if someone is in an upper-income bracket, say 35%, and only gets a 28% deduction on her retirement plan contributions, she will pay taxes on the other 7% this year, and pay taxes on those funds later when withdrawn in retirement. “So those income dollars would be taxed twice under this type of proposal,” he said. And a third potential problem, said Schweiss, is that the more restrictions on tax benefits we impose on retirement plans, the less attractive it will become for a business owner to sponsor a plan. “And who loses then?” he asked “The worker, not the business owner.” Lena Haas, senior vice president of retirement, investing and saving, for E*TRADE Financial, said those in the industry have a sense of what makes for a good individual retirement plan. And President Obama’s proposals might not be in the best interest of savers. “There are many ways to encourage individuals to save for retirement: through education and guidance, automatic contribution features, or incentives in the form of tax advantages,” said Haas. “A successful plan uses a combination of these. If one of these features is reduced or taken away, these plan designers are going to have to rely more heavily on the other features to drive participation and engagement.”

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News & Resources > Publications & Resources > Updates Seminars & ConferencesPublications & ResourcesUpdatesE-ReviewsOsler GuidesBlogsMultimediaOsler ArchivesEmail SubscriptionsOsler RSS FeedsNews & Media Six Lessons Learned from the CP Rail Proxy Battle View All Osler Updates By Andrew MacDougall In late September 2011, funds controlled by Pershing Square Capital Management, Inc. (Pershing Capital) began acquiring common shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP Rail) at prices approximating the 2-year low in CP Rail’s trading price. By October 18, 2011, Pershing Capital had acquired over 5% of the outstanding CP Rail shares, prompting an obligation to file a Schedule 13D report with the Securities Exchange Commission. By the time that report was filed on October 28, 2011, Pershing Capital’s interest exceeded 10%, resulting in an obligation to file an early warning report with the Canadian Securities regulators, which ultimately was filed five days later. Pershing Capital disclosed in those reports its belief that CP Rail’s shares were undervalued and that it was engaging in discussions with management, the board and other shareholders regarding CP Rail. Subsequent negotiations between CP Rail’s board and Pershing Capital broke down and by early January 2012 the two sides were entrenched in their positions and the public was aware that a proxy battle was imminent.Pershing Capital sent a requisition for a shareholder meeting to CP Rail on January 23, 2012 but when CP Rail later that same day announced that its annual meeting would be held on May 17, 2012, Pershing Capital withdrew its requisition.Pershing Capital filed a dissident information circular on January 24, 2012 and began holding public investor meetings to build support. CP Rail filed its proxy circular on March 22, 2012 and began holding its own public investor meetings. Support for Pershing Capital’s proposal grew over the months, including support from proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis), and established Canadian institutional investors, such as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. Prior to the shareholder meeting, it became clear that Pershing Capital’s nominees would be elected. Prior to the shareholder meeting, and to avoid further embarrassment, CP Rail’s CEO left the company and he and five other directors decided not to stand for re-election. Immediately following the meeting, the board consisted of seven Pershing Capital nominees and nine continuing directors; a continuing director was appointed as acting Chair and a Pershing Capital nominee was appointed as interim CEO.The story did not end with the annual meeting. On June 4, Paul G. Haggis, a Pershing Capital nominee, was appointed Chairman of the board. Subsequently, two non-Peshing Capital nominees resigned from the board - David Raisbeck on June 11, 2012 and Rick George on June 26, 2012. On June 29, 2012, Hunter Harrison was appointed as CEO and as a director. As a result, within 1½ months following the shareholder meeting, Pershing Capital nominees constituted a majority of the board, holding eight of the fifteen positions, with Pershing Capital nominees serving as CP Rail’s Chair and its CEO.Key Lessons LearnedNo Public Company Is Immune From Shareholder Activism – Pershing Capital took on one of Canada’s biggest, widely-held, blue chip companies, with a well-respected board of directors and deep connections in corporate Canada. And they won.Relative Performance Matters, Not Absolute Performance – CP Rail has been consistently profitable, notwithstanding the economic downturn. Dividend rates on its shares have increased steadily. However, CP Rail’s performance over time consistently lagged its peers. For example, the five-year shareholder return in the Globe & Mail’s board games analysis in each of the last six years for CP Rail has consistently underperformed the five year shareholder return reported for CN Rail. It was CP Rail’s historic relative underperformance and the absence of any change in the trend to relative underperformance which appears to have motivated shareholders to support change at the board level. Corporate Governance Best Practices Are Necessary But Not Sufficient – CP Rail has generally been ranked within the top 20 companies included in the Globe & Mail’s annual board games analysis and tied for fourth in 2011 and tied for sixth in 2010. In the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance’s annual Governance Gavel Awards CP Rail received an honourable mention in 2005 for excellence in the disclosure of director information and in 2009 won the award for Best Disclosure of Board Governance Practices & Director Qualifications. However, external recognition of CP Rail’s corporate governance practices was not enough to dissuade CP Rail shareholders from voting for change to address CP Rail’s historic relative underperformance.Canadian Institutional Shareholders Will Support Change To Improve Returns – Generally, Canadian pension funds prefer to make their views known or instigate change through dialogue rather than costly, public proxy battles or litigation. However, the CP Rail battle shows that in the current low-yield environment, institutional shareholders are willing to support change if someone else spearheads a proxy battle and provides a compelling argument for change.Proxy Advisory Firms Do Have Influence – The debate continues on the prominence and perceived power of firms which provide proxy voting advice, such as ISS and Glass Lewis, and is the subject of a recent consultation paper issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA Consultation Paper 25-401 “Potential Regulation of Proxy Advisory Firms”). (See our Osler Update.) But there is no question that Pershing Capital’s strategy was influenced by the need to court and win the support of proxy advisory firms. Pershing Capital deliberately chose to nominate less than a majority of the board, thereby avoiding detailed review of its plans for CP Rail, questions about the loss of continuity on the board, and concerns about triggering of a change in control under CP Rail’s contracts and agreements. Pershing Capital’s disclosure emphasized ISS’ key performance metric, total shareholder return and performance relative to peers. And Pershing Capital ensured that the recommendations of both proxy advisors were widely distributed.Boards Need to Engage More With Shareholders – Effective shareholder engagement can help build resiliency to withstand criticism by activist shareholders or to defuse matters before parties become entrenched in their positions. There were warning signs that CP Rail was a potential target for activism – its relative stock underperformance was easy to assess, none of the businesses spun-out from CP Rail in 2001 were ultimately able to succeed on their own and of those spun-out businesses, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. had even been targeted by an activist shareholder. Despite these warning signs, there are reports that the CP Rail board did not do enough to seek and respond to input from its shareholders on company performance. Through engagement, other Canadian boards, such as Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and Cott Corporation, have been able to establish a working relationship with an activist shareholder on the board. But clearly there was a breakdown in constructive engagement between Pershing Capital and the CP Rail board. And Pershing Capital, by issuing a proxy circular even before a record date for determining shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting had been set, and well before CP Rail distributed its proxy circular, was able to take the lead in communications with CP Rail’s shareholders. Client Service Terms Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP © Copyright 2014 Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. All rights reserved.

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SEC News Digest Issue 2008-249 COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS SEC Modernizes Oil and Gas Company Reporting Requirements to Provide Investors With More Meaningful and Comprehensive Disclosure The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has unanimously approved revisions to modernize its oil and gas company reporting requirements to help investors evaluate the value of their investments in these companies. "In the more than a quarter century since the SEC last reviewed its rules in this area, there have been significant changes in technology that have increasingly limited the usefulness of current disclosures to the market and investors," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "These updates to the SEC rules will help ensure more meaningful and comprehensive disclosure of information that, even though it does not appear on a company's balance sheet, is of significance to investors in making informed investment decisions." John W. White, the Director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, added, "The Commission's adoption of these rule amendments is the final phase of a key, long-term initiative of the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant. These updated rules consider the significant changes that have taken place in the oil and gas industry since the adoption of the original reporting requirements more than 25 years ago." The Commission staff first recommended the issuance of a Concept Release for public comment. Those public comments were used to formulate the rule amendments that the Commission proposed earlier this year. The new disclosure requirements approved by the Commission include provisions that permit the use of new technologies to determine proved reserves if those technologies have been demonstrated empirically to lead to reliable conclusions about reserves volumes. The new requirements also will allow companies to disclose their probable and possible reserves to investors. Currently, the Commission's rules limit disclosure to only proved reserves. The new disclosure requirements also require companies to report the independence and qualifications of a reserves preparer or auditor; file reports when a third party is relied upon to prepare reserves estimates or conducts a reserves audit; and report oil and gas reserves using an average price based upon the prior 12-month period rather than year-end prices. The use of the average price will maximize the comparability of reserves estimates among companies and mitigate the distortion of the estimates that arises when using a single pricing date. (Press Rel. 2008-304) RULES AND RELATED MATTERS Temporary Exemptions Granted An Or

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Reasons To Renovate! JM Auto Inc Practice the art of haggling Learning to haggle can save you lots of money. Experts advise starting small, at garage sales for example. CALGARY Haggling wasn’t something that came naturally to personal finance blogger Cassie Howard. Related Stories 101 ways to save money this year “It took a long time for me to have the guts to actually try to negotiate with people, but with practice I’ve become much better and I think I’m pretty good at it now,” said the 27-year-old behind MrsJanuary.com The mother of two said she was reluctant to ask for deals because she didn’t want to be seen as broke — a sentiment she now admits was “really ridiculous.” Howard, based in Mississauga, Ont., said she started out small at yard sales before aiming higher. “My advice would be definitely to start with smaller purchases first. Don’t try it on something like a vehicle or thousands of dollars worth of products right away, but with something like yard sales or even thrift stores,” said Howard. Eventually, Howard managed to buy two computers — one for herself and one for her husband — at a discount at Future Shop. She even got a new printer thrown in for free. “The best thing in my opinion to do is to go to a store that offers their employees commission because then they’re going to do whatever they have to do to get the sale,” said Howard. Kerry Taylor, who blogs about frugal living at Squawkfox.com, said it also took her a while to get up the nerve to negotiate. Her first haggling experience was over a mirror for her bathroom. It had a scratch on it, and she managed to get a discount just by politely pointing out the flaw to a salesperson. Taylor, who lives in Vernon, B.C., with her husband and baby daughter, said timing is key when asking for a bargain. Early in the day, salespeople will be less busy and will be able to give you their undivided attention. Late in the day, they might be under pressure to meet sales quotas, and may therefore be more inclined to sweeten the deal. She said it’s also important to know who to approach. Salespeople on the floor might not budge, but their managers might if you ask to speak to them. Taylor also advises negotiation newbies to do their homework. Ask around to find out what a fair price for a product is and comparison shop amongst competing retailers. “I’ve gone into stores many times with my husband’s iPad and looked for a better deal on an item I was interested in and I found it and right there in the store. I got an instant discount just by showing the competitor’s website,” said Taylor, 38. “So I think that’s a huge tactic people can now use because everyone’s got a mobile device.” She said playing competitors against each other also works when it comes to negotiating better service plans for things like cell phones, cable, Internet and banking. Whatever the negotiating tactic, Taylor said being nice gets you further than being a jerk. “I think if you’re just a positive person with a great disposition, these sorts of deals will land in front of you and you won’t even have to work for them. It just happens,” she said. “Demanding a better deal is a sure-fire way to get the door shut in your face.” Sara Laschever has co-authored two books on women and negotiation — “Women Don’t Ask” and “Ask for it!” — alongside economist Linda Babcock. She said men are generally more comfortable with negotiation than women are. “(Men) tend to see negotiation a little bit more as a game or as a competition, which is a type of interaction that women perceive as a little bit aggressive,” Laschever said from Concord, Mass. The irony is that women tend to be great negotiators because their approach tends to be more collaborative than adversarial. And that type of problem-solving often leads to better outcomes for all involved than a more combative one. When it’s on behalf of someone else — an employer, a client or a patient — women tend to excel in negotiation. But it’s a different story when it’s on their own behalf, said Laschever. “Women don’t negotiate more in part because they don’t realize that they can negotiate,” she said. “They assume that a lot more things are kind of fixed — these are the rules, this is the price, and they just need to make the best of things.” And when women do negotiate, they tend not to aim high enough, she said. Laschever recommends role-playing a negotiation scenario with a friend before trying it out in real life. And then, start acting on the premise that everything is negotiable. “It’s really a radical experience to discover how much more is negotiable than you might have thought.” The Canadian Press

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A better way to design global financial regulation Viral Acharya, T Sabri Öncü, 14 January 2013 Internationally prominent economists and politicians have been pushing for effective implementation and better coordination of the new financial regulations currently under construction across the globe. This columns argues that at a time of crisis, financial regulators were forced to act on systemically important assets and liabilities, rather than just on the individual financial institutions holding them. A key turning point towards better regulation will be when we recognise the need for such action ahead of time, building the essential infrastructure that ensures excessive risk-taking is discouraged. Systemic risks in global banking: What available data can tell us and what more data are needed?Eugenio Cerutti, Stijn Claessens, Patrick McGuire Banking reform: Do we know what has to be done?Wouter den Haan Over the last year, it has seemed as though not a single day passed without an internationally prominent figure – economist or politician – urging effective implementation and better coordination of the new financial regulations currently under construction around the globe. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors were a new addition to the choir who, at their 19-20 April 2012 meeting, reaffirmed their commitment to common global standards (FSB 2012). First established by the G7 in 1999, the Financial Stability Board was re-established by the G20 in 2009 to coordinate the work of national financial authorities and international standard setting bodies at the international level, and now functions as the regulatory arm of the G20. As has been widely acknowledged, one of the several regulatory failures behind the global financial crisis that started in 2007 was the regulatory focus on individual rather than collective or systemic risk of financial institutions. Despite this, even the new international standards issued by the Financial Stability Board in its October 2011 "Key Attributes" document mostly focus on individual financial institutions (FSB 2011). Importantly, the main focus is not on all financial institutions as a collective group, but only on those financial institutions to be deemed systemically important. This will likely divert risks to the weakly regulated or unregulated parts of shadow banking. Slow progress Even ignoring the issue of regulatory arbitrage and shadow banking, the progress on the global implementation of new financial regulations has been slow. The main reason behind this is that many systemically important financial institutions operate across borders, but there are different styles and interests of regulators in different countries. There is, however, a alternative and better design for global financial regulation: one that is likely to harmonise existing regulations and is reasonably immune to the risks posed by shadow banking evolution. As we argued at the Federal Reserve conference in Washington in March 2012, regulators such as the Financial Stability Board should design the architecture of global finance around the safety and soundness of systemically important financial instruments (Acharya and Öncü 2012). Examples of systemically important financial instruments include demand deposits, repos and over-the-counter derivatives on the liabilities side. Such liabilities, when faced with losses in case of counterparty’s default, would trigger runs on other entities. On the assets side, they are potentially illiquid, high risk assets financed through systemically important liabilities. Fire sales of such assets lead to a collapse in their value inflicting collateral damage on other holders of such assets. Examples include exposures to asset-backed securities backing asset-backed commercial paper and mortgage-backed securities backing repurchase agreements (‘repos’). Why design regulation at the level of these assets and liabilities? The point is to regulate all institutions holding such assets, regardless of their home country or whether they are deemed systemically important by a regulator in another part of the world. What would the regulation of such assets and liabilities entail? It would require dedicated utilities, such as ‘clearinghouses’ for derivatives. These utilities, operating at the level of individual assets and liabilities (for example, a ‘repo’ clearinghouse), would deal with defaults by ensuring orderly liquidation of positions. And, recognising that such liquidation poses significant risks, there would be limits imposed on the risk of positions in the first place. This could be achieved through upfront margins, variation margins based on changes in market values, position limits, and in extreme cases, imposing circuit-breakers. The Financial Stability Board can coordinate at the global level the setting up of such utilities and can harmonise and enforce their risk management standards. This would be far easier than designing regulations that operate at the level of individual institutional forms. If shadow banking develops newer assets and liabilities, then, as and when they mature (e.g. when the become commoditised or standardised), newer utilities would be introduced in the financial sector. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the ECB set up several facilities to halt a total financial collapse during the heydays of the ongoing global financial crisis. These have invariably been facilities set up for systemically-important financial instruments. For instance, the Fed introduced the Term Auction Facility, which auctioned term loans to depository institutions, and the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, which provided overnight loans to primary dealers, to effectively lengthen the maturity of their systemically important liabilities. The Fed’s Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility and Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which provided liquidity directly to borrowers holding systemically important assets. Stated differently, financial regulators around the globe were forced in the midst of a crisis to act on systemically important assets and liabilities, rather than just on individual financial institutions holding them. The key is to recognise the need for such action ahead of time and build the essential infrastructure to ensure that excessive risk-taking is discouraged and markets know that regulators have an orderly resolution plan. Acharya and Öncü (2012), “A Proposal for the Resolution of Systemically Important Assets and Liabilities: The Case of the Repo Market”, Federal Reserve Board’s research conference on "Central Banking: Before, During and After the Crisis" in honour of Don Kohn, 23-24 March. Financial Stability Board (FSB) (2012), “Financial Stability Board reports to G20 on progress of financial regulatory reforms”, press release, 20 April. Financial Stability Board (2011) “Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions”, October. Topics: Global economy, Global governance, International finance Tags: financial institutions, financial regulation, global finance, global governance Professor of Finance, Stern School of Business, New York University and Director of the CEPR Financial Economics Programme T Sabri Öncü Head of Research at CAFRAL, Reserve Bank of India The E

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No Big Waves In The Labor Pool Share Tweet E-mail Print By Marilyn Geewax Originally published on Fri June 7, 2013 11:44 am Shoppers walk along Broadway in New York City. Retailers added 28,000 in May amid signs of strength in consumer spending. June is a nice month for treading water — if you happen to be in a swimming pool. But if you are in the labor pool and trying to make your way toward a job, a stronger current in the right direction would be appreciated. Unfortunately, the jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department showed that the economy continues to drift along at a languid pace. "This rate of growth is right in line with the average growth rate of the last year and is a perfect example of the ongoing slog in the labor market," Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a research group, said in her written assessment. Four Years After The Recession The Labor Department report showed employers added 175,000 jobs in May, a slightly better number than most economists had been forecasting. But the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 7.6 percent as more people entered the labor market, seeking paychecks but not finding them. The latest jobs report was issued at a time when the U.S. economy is marking the fourth anniversary of the official end of the Great Recession. The economy hit bottom in June 2009 and has been growing ever since, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Alan Krueger, head of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, pointed out that steady improvement. "The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for 39 straight months, and a total of 6.9 million jobs has been added over that period," he said in a statement. "So far this year, 972,000 private sector jobs have been added." Digging Out Of A 'Deep Hole' But he also recognized that, with 11.8 million people still unemployed, things aren't exactly going swimmingly. "We continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007," Krueger said. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement that the "modest job growth is a positive sign," but he noted that "millions of Americans have been out of work for more than several months, wages are stagnant, and the unemployment rate is still far higher than the Obama administration promised." Most economists and Wall Street investors were just glad the economy didn't do a spring swoon, as it has for the past three years. In those previous years, the economy would start the year fairly strong, then lose momentum in the spring. This year, the pace has held steady. Keeping The Fed On Hold? That steadiness bolstered confidence among investors, who interpreted the report as good news because it was neither strong enough to push the Federal Reserve to suddenly stop pumping money into the economy, nor weak enough to signal a looming recession. Most stock indexes moved up in the wake of the report. This latest employment report showed that private employers added 179,000 jobs last month, while the federal government cut 14,000 positions. Local governments added 13,000 jobs. The U.S. labor force grew by 420,000 in May, and average hourly wages nudged up 1 cent to $23.89. The average workweek held steady at 34.5 hours. Consumers have been helping the economy with additional spending, and that caused retailers to add 28,000 jobs while restaurants added 38,000. Because of growth in residential housing, construction companies added 7,000 jobs, but manufacturers pulled back, lopping off 8,000 jobs.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. KTEP

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2014-15/0556/en_head.json.gz/16931

tweet to @_mattters_ using hashtag #personalfinance and include a photo and a link Debt Consolidation Care With their PhDs and economic jargon and mysterious market-moving meetings in Washington, D.C., the Federal Reserve may seem pretty far removed from the day-to-day finances of the average person. But there are few humans on the planet who... With their PhDs and economic jargon and mysterious market-moving meetings in Washington, D.C., the Federal Reserve may seem pretty far removed from the day-to-day finances of the average person. But there are few humans on the planet who have more power over the economy we all live and work in than the chairman of the [...]Why I’m glad Yellen was tapped to run the Fed from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com. The post Why I’m glad Yellen was tapped to run the Fed appeared first on Bargaineering. MintLife First established in 1789 by an act of Congress, the United States Department of the Treasury is responsible for federal finances. This department was created to manage the U.S. government’s expenditures and revenue, and hence the ... This department was created to manage the U.S. government’s expenditures and revenue, and hence the means by which the state could raise money to function. Here we examine the Treasury’s responsibilities and the reasons and means by which it takes on debt. The Treasury’s Responsibilities The U.S. Treasury is divided into two divisions: departmental offices and operating bureaus. The departments are mainly in charge of policy making and managing the Treasury, while the bureaus’ duties are to take care of specific operations. Bureaus such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is responsible for tax collection, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), in charge of printing and minting all U.S. money, take care of most Treasury work. The Treasury’s primary tasks include: Collecting taxes and custom duties Paying all bills owed by the federal government Printing and minting U.S. notes and U.S. coinage and stamps Supervising state banks Enforcing government laws including taxation policies Advising the government on both national and international economic, financial, monetary, trade and tax legislation Investigating and federal prosecuting of tax evaders, counterfeiters and/or forgers Managing federal accounts and the national public debt A government creates budgets to determine how much it needs to spend to run a nation. Often, however, a government may run a budget deficit by spending more money than it receives in revenues from taxes (including customs duties and stamps). To finance the deficit, governments may seek to raise money by taking on debt, often by borrowing from the public. [Read: 4 Credit Card Rewards Gimmicks Revealed] The U.S. government first found itself in debt in 1790, after taking on the war debts following the Revolutionary War. Since then, the debt has been fueled by more war, economic recession and inflation. As such, the public debt is a result of accumulated budget deficits. The Role of Congress Up until World War I, the U.S. government needed approval from Congress every time it wanted to borrow money from the public. Congress would determine the number of securities that could be issued, their maturity date and the interest that would be paid on them. With the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917, however, the U.S. Treasury was given a debt limit expressed as a number, or a ceiling, of how much it could borrow from the public without seeking Congress’s consent. The Treasury was also given the discretion to decide maturity dates, interest rate levels and the type of instruments that would be offered. The total amount of money that can be borrowed by the government without further authorization by Congress is known as the total public debt subject to limit. [Read: How Debt Limits a Country's Options] Any amount above this level has to receive additional approval from the legislative branch. In September 2013 the debt ceiling was $16.699 trillion. When that limit is maxed out by spending and interest obligations, the president must ask Congress to raise the limit again. In 2013, the government shut down over disagreements on raising the debt limit. Who Owns the Debt? The debt is sold in the form of securities to both domestic and foreign investors, as well as corporations and other governments. U.S. securities issued include Treasury bills (T-bills), notes and bonds, as well as U.S. savings bonds. There are both short-term and long-term investment options, but short-term T-bills are offered regularly, as well as quarterly notes and bonds. When the debt instrument has matured, the Treasury can either pay the cash owed (including interest) or issue new securities. [Read: Why Your Pension Plan Has Sovereign Debt in It] Debt instruments issued by the U.S. government are considered to be the safest investments in the Department S Hordes of vampires and zombies can be terrifying—particularly if your home is on a popular trick-or-treat route. Then, the scare factor isn’t so much about the costumes as the candy bill. The average family plans to spend a little less t... The average family plans to spend a little less than $25 this year on candy, according to the National Retail Federation, but the bill can easily amount to more in high-traffic neighborhoods. The good news? It can easily be less, too, with the right savings tricks: Pick low-cost candies. Chocolate tends to be more expensive. Stick to fruit-flavored candies to cut costs. “As kids, you loved the parents who gave you the good stuff — Snickers, Butterfingers, Almond Joys — but as adults, you suddenly understand the ones who handed you Dots and Dum Dums,” says Kendal Perez of CouponSherpa.com. Browse the sales. Stores offer tempting sales on candy to get shoppers in to buy other items. Keep an eye on weekly store circulars to get a few bags here and there, says Jon Lal, the founder of BeFrugal.com. Watch for coupons. This time of year, candy coupons often pop up in the Sunday newspaper ads, says Stephanie Nelson, ?founder of CouponMom.com. There are also online manufacturer’s coupons. For example, Coupons.com currently has one for $1 off two bags of fun-size Mars Halloween candies. Buy just enough. “The challenge is to avoid overbuying,” says Nelson. “Who ?wants bags of leftover candy when our kids come home with far more than they need?” Err on the side of caution and buy a little less. “If you run out of candy, you can always give out ?nickels or dimes to the later trick-or-treaters,” she says. Open as you go. “Forget the idea that you need to have a full bowl every time the doorbell rings,” says Candice Cerro of PromotionalCodes.com. “Opening bags only when necessary and handing the candy out yourself can mean using less candy, which means you may be able to return unused bags after the night is over.” Stock up. Buying bulk bags at a warehouse club can be 25% cheaper, says Perez. By her count, a 32.9-ounce bag of Hershey’s Super Mix Assorted Candy from Walmart costs $8.98. At Sam’s Club, a 57.35-ounce bag of the same variety runs just $2 more. Even if you don’t need much, consider splitting the big bags with a friend or neighbor to save, says Lal. Recycle. Don’t be afraid to raid your kids’ bags—within reason. “Families who go out earlier in the night should feel free to use extra unopened candy from their trip for trick-or-treaters who show up at the door later in the evening,” Cerro says. Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner. Chat with her on Twitter through @MintFoodie. Gogs Neville Medhora I’ve sold a crap-ton of things online over the years. Physical stuff, digital stuff, services, software…..so I know a bit about this. But a lot of people still have trouble trying to sell even ONE thing online. But don’... But don’t fret, your Uncle Neville is here to help you out! So awkwardly come sit on my lap, and I’ll quickly explain the 4 different ways I’ve personally used to sell stuff online (depending on your situation): I’ll make each of these quick-n-basic. Even if you’re NOT planning on selling something online right now, I suggest you read this email and save it for future reference (or forward to someone who can use it): IF YOU’RE SELLING: an ebook, Excel file, video, piece of software….. (Setup time: 5 minutes including sign up). The best and fastest way to sell a single file type of product is GumRoad. It’s retardedly simple (is that politically correct to say anymore)?? When I would sell my class notes in college, I sincerely wish I had something like GumRoad, because it totally automates the whole paying/delivering process. You see….the DELIVERY process is always hardest. I could easily accept PayPal payments, but then I’d have to manually send people their purchase through email. GumRoad does all of this without you lifting a finger. All you do is upload the file you want to sell to GumRoad, set the price….and you’re literally done. Wanna see it in action?? I did a project called the ProblemSolvingChecklist which was a veerrryy short PDF document meant to sit on your computer desktop. All I needed to do was collect $10 from people and send them a PDF file. GumRoad was PERFECT for this. You can see it here: (this image is just linked to GumRoad directly where people can buy) Even if I wanted to sell it through email because I have low website skills, all I have to do is include this short link, and it’ll take you directly to the sales page: https://gumroad.com/l/VVTf I sold hundreds of these through GumRoad in this manner. GumRoad Pro’s: Insanely fast and easy to use. Amazing for selling/delivering individual things. GumRoad Cons: They don’t accept PayPal. IF YOU’RE SELLING……a small amount of something or consulting services: (Setup time: 5 minutes) I’d suggest PayPal for selling ANYTHING in small amount. You can put little buy buttons anywhere on a website or email, and pretty much EVERYONE already uses PayPal. Usually when buying a digital product I PREFER to pay with PayPal since it’s super-easy to request a refund if needed, and I don’t have to enter my credit card info (not concerned about safety, it’s more a laziness thing) :-P Like if I made pet hamster costumes as a hobby and wanted to sell them myself, I’d just stick up a PayPal button, like this: Just go to PayPal –> Merchant Tools –> Make Button ….and you can set the price and style of your button to get paid! (btw…I knoowww I knowwww I spelled “Hamster” wrong). So STILL TO THIS DAY I have some old digital products that are sold through PayPal, and not integrated into a fancy delivery system. I get the persons order, and manually send them access through email. Don’t be afraid to be ghetto!! IF YOU’RE SELLING……a bunch of physical stuff: (Setup time: 1 hour) If you want a legitimate eCommerce STORE on the internet that sells a lot of items, has a built in shopping cart, inventory tracking etc….then I would suggest using one of these three: -Shopify.com -BigCommerce.com -Volusion.com NOW…..I know you’re gonna want to compare them all, but you’re too lazy. FORTUNATELY your old Uncle Neville has you covered, and has extensively used all three of those platforms (I’ve used a ton other too, but these are the best services I’ve seen). Shopify by far is the easiest and most intuitive to use (and the fastest). I MyBankTracker If you’ve ever been unhappy with your bank, you’ve probably considered switching — but did you know sometimes there’s a fee for that? There are many choices made available to consumers when it comes to finding th... There are many choices made available to consumers when it comes to finding the right bank. According to first-hand customer reviews on MyBankTracker, many customers decided to leave their bank because they were dissatisfied with the service, complained of mistakes made by the bank or thought the fees were unfair. Besides these types of reasons, many sign up for certain checking accounts to reap the benefits of enticing bonuses. After taking advantage of the initial bonuses, they will close the account a few weeks later and repeat — this is called “churning,” and is not recommended. Others close their account because they have too many unnecessary accounts open, which can be confusing. If you had a small business, for example, and now you don’t, you can get rid of some of the accounts you have and simplify your finances. Once you do close your checking account, make sure that it’s actually closed. There have been instances in which a customer closed an checking account and did not realized it wasn’t closed. If you have bills going out, the bank may allow the transaction to go through, charging you overdraft fees. If you’re ready to switch banks, there a few factors to keep in mind before doing so. Do you research and find out how many branches and ATMs they have, and how their rates and fees compare with other banks. In the past, many of the top 10 banks would charge a fee if you closed your checking account before a certain amount of time, usually within 60-90 days of opening the account. Good news — as of 2013, it seems all but two of the top 10 major banks have dropped this fee. Rank by Deposits (6/30/13, FDIC) Within 120 days of opening Within 90 days of opening SunTrust What to Consider When Deciding on a Large vs. Community Bank What It Costs To Cash A Check At Someone Else’s Bank 5 Checking & Savings Money Hacks What It Costs to Close Your Bank Account Consumerism Commentary Consumerism Commentary and the articles I write here have changed since I started writing about personal finance in 2003. I’ve personally gone through four financial phases over the thirteen years or so, and because I draw much of ... Consumerism Commentary and the articles I write here have changed since I started writing about personal finance in 2003. I’ve personally gone through four financial phases over the thirteen years or so, and because I draw much of my writing from personal experiences, any readers who have been around over the past decade might have noticed the changes and how they’ve affected my perspective. Phase 1. Financial ignorance. It was easier for me to close my eyes to the financial trouble I was getting myself into. I’m still pleased that I pursued a living I was passionate about through and after college without regard to possibility of an insecure financial future, but there came a point where I needed to change my declining situation. Phase 2. Personal and financial stability and growth. I began learning about managing my money, spending less than I was earning, and growing my wealth. In this phase, I began a personal blog, Consumerism Commentary, to document my progress, keep myself accountable, and expand my knowledge. In a new job and a new living situation, I was able to save money from every pay check. Before long, I was on my way to getting out of debt and building a solid emergency fund. I started saving for retirement for the first time. Phase 3. Approaching financial independence. In Phase 2, I was concerned about my ability to negotiate a decent raise every year. There’s nothing more annoying than having to put up with the corporate environment where you constantly need to fight for getting the bonus you deserve. I was starting to build my own business in Phase 3, and when I had more control over my own destiny, the pettiness of corporate life stopped mattering as much. By the time I quit my day job, I had financial independence in my sights. Phase 4. Achieving financial independence. The point at which finances are no longer a constraint brings its own problems. The need for financial stability can instill a drive for success, and financial independence eliminates that type of desperation. My financial needs have never been great in the first place, but now I struggle with taking some of my other passion projects to the next step. Framing one’s life phases by changes in one’s relationship with money is only one way to look at life. It’s worthwhile to look at something more core to humanity’s existence than something as material as money. I’ve always said that net worth is not a real goal, that money is only valuable in terms of what it can do for you ability to live how you want. If your only goal is to retire at age 60 with $3 million — or to retire at age 35 with $10 million — you’re missing the point of financial independence. Until you can answer the question, “Why?” you have to give your life more thought. This is a publication where the focus is on money. It makes sense for me to write articles that frame life in financial terms. But it’s good to go occasionally beyond the confines of money and look at life in a broader context. One philosophical theory I hear often is that life is not about the pursuit of money, it’s about the pursuit of happiness. Humans want to increase their wealth because financial independence removes barriers to living life in a way that evokes happiness. Scientists have studied money and happiness to look for correlation and to determine if one has any effect on the other. This article from Forbes gives a summary of many of the major studies pertaining to money and happiness; there doesn’t seem to be much agreement. Not mentioned in the article is the famous study — at least among financial experts — that happiness is correlated to your financial standing among peers when measured by income. That is, you’re happier if you earn $50,000 while your cohorts earn $30,000 than you would be if you earned $100,000 while your friends and colleagues earn $150,000. I have no reason Today's economy blog Too few Canadian students are focusing on an education in science, technology, engineering and math. That’s bad for the kids, and for our economy. Fewer than half of Canadian high school graduates complete Grade 12 math and science cours... Fewer than half of Canadian high school graduates complete Grade 12 math and science courses. That’s just one of the headlines in a report released yesterday on the sorry state of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies across the country. Produced by Let’s Talk Science, a national group that promotes STEM learning, the report has recommendations for government, educators, industry leaders and parents. “It’s a very complicated issue,” said Bonnie Schmidt, president of Let’s Talk Science in an interview with me yesterday. “I don’t think that any one stakeholder can actually fix this. I think this is going to take a national concerted effort in which governments are involved, industry is involved and parents start to realize that by allowing or enabling their kids to drop out, they’re effectively closing the door on 70% of the top jobs that are forecast to come in the next decade.” That 70% statistic is just one of the numbers that jump off the pages of the report. Some others: The job vacancy rate for science-based jobs is about 6%, almost twice that of other occupations (3.6%). People who work in a STEM-related job earn 26% more, on average. They’re also less vulnerable to job loss, according to a 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to the Conference Board of Canada, the country will need a million skilled workers by 2020. Yet in 2011, fewer 25-to-34-year-olds held a trades certificate than did 55-to-64-year-olds. That has the makings of a labour shortage. Schmidt told me this is “a growing problem.” At a time when economic productivity is lagging and youth unemployment is running about twice the national average, there is good reason to promote STEM education and careers. “Science and technology drive the economy,” said Schmidt. “They also drive global issues we’re dealing with: health care, agriculture, water, energy and sustainability … If young people are not seeing the relevance or the applicability of what we’re trying to encourage, there are long-term implications. Now is the time to make these changes, to get more people engaged and excited and make sure we’re prepared for the next wave of jobs that are coming.” More on youth and careers: Generation Y is going to blow us away Four things I learned in college on Friday Youth unemployment: Actually, I’m not blaming the victim Here’s what youth unemployment is costing us Eleven job search tips for young adults Are you on track to meet your financial and retirement planning goals? It’s never too early or too late to start! Learn about Sun Life’s Money for Life. Keep up to date on what’s happening in the capital markets and the real economy. Subscribe to receive Today’s economy blog automatically by RSS or email. Department S Yesterday I met the second happiest person* on earth. It's Billy from Affordable Glass. I needed a windshield replacement and that's what he does. Greeted me with a smile shook my hand and thanked me for the business. Two days earlier... Two days earlier, I had told my wife to book the cheapest guy who could the job. Windshield repair is not something that you do very often... and it's not like we'll be crossing paths again. She insisted that Billy was really nice. I went on a mini-rant (the Patriots were losing, so I wasn't in the best of moods), about how it doesn't matter if he's close friends with the Pope. Nonetheless, Billy's prices were competitive and in hindsight, I should have trusted her woman's intuition. Customer service does matter, even if it's only for a 45-minute job. He said he's been replacing windshields for 20 years and that it is the best job ever. I wonder how many would believe him, but he sold it well. He said that he gets to travel all over the state and meet all these interesting people. I originally thought he was an employee of a big corporation, but I was wrong. He's literally a man with a van. His wife does the scheduling and internet advertising. She comes with him on some calls. I imagine that she can do most of her work with a tablet or cell phone on the road. We talked about many things. He ask how I found him and I told him that my wife found him on yellowpages.com (I miss San Francisco's use of Yelp.) He told me that they spend thousands each month to appear in such directories. Then he went into something up my alley, advertising on search engines. He said that Google was the most expensive and his competitors would purposely click on his links to deplete his budget (this is commonly known click fraud that I thought Google had figured out). He said that Bing and Yahoo were a much better value for his advertising dollar. We talked about his son and daughter and their career plans, what my wife does, what I do (I didn't mention the blogging thing). We talked about the Patriots and other teams around the NFL. I feel like I could have brought up complex software algorithms and he'd be able to speak intelligently on it. At the end of the visit, I thought to myself, "The American Dream isn't home ownership. It's lifestyle ownership." Billy had that figured out long ago. * Who is the happiest person on earth? My son. Just smiles for days. No one can believe that he is this happy. Yesterday he got four shots for vaccinations and screamed from the pain for about 80 seconds and then resumed his laughter. It's almost like the reaction my dog gets when we go to the dog park, but all the time... lottery-winning level joy. The post A Man, A Van, A Plan appeared first on Lazy Man and Money. I recently realized that, in a lot of ways, I treat my work – professional, household, and so on – as a game in a lot of ways. I keep score. I try to top that score. I know that the best way to do that is to look for better... I keep score. I try to top that score. I know that the best way to do that is to look for better techniques and improve my focus. I feel really good when I break that record. Games can teach a lot of good lessons about real life. Are You Drowning in Debt? Advice for Men on Emotional Spending Although the advice here is theoretically male-centered, the ideas apply perfectly well to women, too. (@ dumb little man) Wine Buying for Frugal Folks A lot of inexpensive wines are very, very good. I’m a pretty big fan of Charles Shaw wines from Trader Joe’s. “Two Buck Chuck” is quite good. (@ get rich slowly) The Four Types of Impulse Purchases I actually think the “planned impulse purchases” are the most nefarious of them all. Planning to buy something you don’t need or even really want just because it’s cheap? Really? (@ happiness project) The easiest way to disagree with someone … is to assume that they’re uninformed and that you must provide knowledge for them. It generally doesn’t end well. Why not try a different approach? (@ seth godin) The post The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Work as Game Edition appeared first on The Simple Dollar. The front-page of just about every major news agency (print, TV, or otherwise) is seemingly completely focused on the government shutdown. It’s obviously the story of October 2013, and history will remember it (mostly as a footnot... The front-page of just about every major news agency (print, TV, or otherwise) is seemingly completely focused on the government shutdown. It’s obviously the story of October 2013, and history will remember it (mostly as a footnote). But while history is still being made, an eyeball grabbing obsessed media has been creating news almost around the clock to keep us glued to the latest news. If it isn’t a rumor about a new deal, it’s the speaker, Senate majority leader, some other elected person, or the president reacting to something someone else said about the shutdown. On Tuesday there was talk of “unconditional surrender” and “nuclear option” as if this was some type of war. It certainly is to the people that created it: the media. A government shutdown may be the story of the year, but that doesn’t mean it really needs our attention hour to hour, or even day to day. Let me save you some time, until the head line says “deal done” there’s no point in paying attention. Everything that is said in between is simply the media carrying messages back and forth between the branches of government. Imagine a press contingent on the White House lawn asking Obama questions. Obama says he won’t negotiate on anything until the government is open again. Joined at the hip, the press contingent shuffles down Pennsylvania Ave (while writing a story about the questions they asked) to the Capitol where Boehner is standing at a podium. They ask him what he thinks of what they just published Obama saying. He says Obama is being stubborn and Senate Democrats need to stop up. The contingent writes stories while running to the other side of the Capitol where Harry Reid is waiting. They ask him when he thinks of Boehner’s comments. He says what he thinks about Boehner and the Tea Party. More stories get published and questions asked until the front page of the Washington Post is filled with garbage about who said what about who. It looks like the media are stooges for a political game, but it’s really the other way around. The politicians are puppets and the media are pulling the strings. The show is put on for us, an audience that doesn’t really want to watch. But there’s nothing else on because the stories are written by the puppet-masters. Can we honestly say that the government would still be shut down of our elected officials didn’t spend all their time talking to each other through the press? As bad as Congress and the president are, the media cycle’s lack of any ability to investigate and report real news is just as much a problem. As I said before, there is no news until a deal is reached. Tell your congressperson how disappointed you are in the process, how they let you down. And then just ignore the circus that was created by the press, and the mess created by our “leaders”. As Usual the Media Ignores the Only Good News Lamestream Media: Puppets Of A Show No One Cares About Three Headlines From Yesterday That Make Me Hate The News

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How Can Mature Economies Achieve Stronger Global Competitiveness? Against the backdrop of a slow American recovery — and increasing concern about much deeper calamity in Europe — revived competitiveness in manufacturing is often viewed as key to turning around mature economies. In the new issue of StraightTalk, a quarterly newsletter for members of The Conference Board, Chief Economist Bart van Ark analyzes how mature economies can achieve even stronger competitiveness. The report concludes that simplistic calls to bring assembly-line jobs back onshore miss the real interconnectedness of the manufacturing value chain and the opportunities it presents. “In today’s world of global competitiveness, what you do matters more than what you sell,” said van Ark. “A global value chain perspective on competitiveness challenges the view that cheap goods from China only destroy domestic jobs. The United States, for one, obtains large positive effects from the creation of service jobs that serve global value chains, especially if the jobs can be supported with higher skills.” Among his main findings: Four years into the global economic and financial crisis, several mature economies, including the United States and Germany, show signs of stronger competitiveness in manufacturing, due to reductions in labor costs and increased productivity. Substantial reshoring or nearshoring from China back to the U.S. and a “manufacturing miracle” in Germany are signs of improved competitiveness. However, raw export numbers are often a poor measure of competitiveness. Today’s complex global value chains mean producers of crucial intermediate products and services in mature economies add significantly more to the final global expenditure on a product than export numbers suggest. For example, 15 percent of China’s exports of high-tech and medium–high-tech products consist of imported content from the U.S., the E.U., and Japan. Based on sophisticated measures that account for each country's value added to exports, irrespective of which country exports the final product, Europe has in fact significantly increased its income from the global value chain since 1995, while the U.S. has remained stagnant. Japan and other mature East Asian economies have lost large ground as China has captured more and more of global value chain income in the region. Despite recent gains in auto-assembly and other industries, U.S. and European competitiveness in manufacturing is largely driven by non-manufacturing activities, in particular services. In 2008, 7 million of the 16 million jobs in the U.S. that contributed to global manufacturing value chains were non-manufacturing jobs. In Europe, the proportion was as high as 16.5 million out of 35 million jobs. For mature and developing economies alike, a zero-sum view of competitiveness that encourages neomercantilist trade policies focused on exports is likely to be counterproductive. Especially in the U.S., the creation of high-skilled jobs related to the production of essential tools, components, and business services offer better competitiveness gains than challenge (or resentment) of cheap Chinese goods. The report makes extensive use of the new World Input Output Database (WIOD), designed to facilitate macroeconomic measurement of global value chains. The publically available database has been developed by a consortium of universities and research institutes across Europe, including The Conference Board Europe. The project was financed by the European Commission in its 7th Framework and received institutional support from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Daily Newsletter Subscription Consumer Confidence Rebounds in March The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Increases Again U.S. Consumer Confidence Rebounds in December Consumer Confidence Declines Again in November Disappointing Job Growth Continues into the Fall

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hide World Bank's Kim warns even U.S. default threat hurts poorest World Bank President Jim Yong Kim gestures during a press conference held in Beijing, September 18, 2013. REUTERS/China Daily WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday said even the threat of a U.S. default could hurt emerging markets and the world's most vulnerable people. "We're very concerned. Because right now there's so many headwinds as it is for emerging markets and the developing world, that that kind of impact really could be devastating," Kim said in an interview with CNN broadcast live at the World Bank, the Washington-based poverty-fighting institution. He pointed to the persistent market impact from the last time the United States approached defaulting on its debt, in August 2011, when markets in developing countries dropped. Falling markets hurt not only large corporations, but also small business owners and farmers around the world, he said. (Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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An officer and a banker SVP serves both his country and his customers By Ashley Bray Comments: comments The map of Iraq is as familiar to John Qualls as the map of Oregon where he lives. The senior loan officer did two 18-month tours during the second Iraq war. This January, John Qualls will mark his 17th anniversary as a National Guard member. Qualls, currently battalion executive officer in the Guard, not only has served his country, he also has served his bank customers as senior vice-president/senior loan officer of the $287 million-assets Bank of Eastern Oregon, Heppner. It’s no easy feat to manage a career, the Guard, and a family, but it’s a balancing act that Qualls has been performing for years. It was partly family history (both his father and grandfather served in the military) and partly the desire for a change from the college lifestyle that drove Qualls to join the Guard at the age of 20. “Frankly, I was getting a little bored with the books and wanted some change that was physically and mentally challenging,” he says. “[I] figured that the National Guard would be a way for me to stay in school, make a little money, and provide some challenging work once a month.” A few years later, Qualls was hired by the Bank of Eastern Oregon. He made sure the bank knew up front that he was in the Guard and had duties to fulfill that would take him away from his bank position. At the time, neither the bank nor Qualls knew these responsibilities would include two deployments to Iraq. Qualls’ first deployment took place from May 2004 until November 2005 with the 3-116th CAV Battalion from Eastern Oregon. He served as first lieutenant and also as a platoon leader overseeing 24 soldiers. “My platoon performed over 200 missions,” says Qualls, “which included route clearance, cordon and searches, personnel escorts, fire missions, and even a few air insertion missions, which involved being flown in with Black Hawk helicopters in the dark to secure a target located in small villages.” He was deployed a second time from June 2010 until November 2011 with the same battalion. He served as battalion personnel officer, and during the deployment, he was promoted from captain to major. This second trip to Iraq included duties that were much different from his first trip. “I spent 99% of my time behind a desk,” says Qualls. “I managed all the personnel functions in the battalion, which included mail delivery, promotions/demotions, tracking all soldiers by name/location in the battalion, health services, annual review management, all awards, Red Cross messages, and emergency leave.” His banker experience proved to be useful in his military duties. “I used my banker skills several times while deployed—both in analysis of current operations (number of people/supplies) for forecasting as well as to assist my fellow soldiers by creating personal budgets and answering loan questions,” he says. “During the second deployment,” he adds, “I also volunteered in preparing federal and state tax returns for soldiers on a pro bono basis.” On the banking side of things, Qualls’ leadership and communication skills from his time as an officer are assets to his position. “No hand-to-hand stuff in the office, thankfully,” he jokes. With so many roles to fulfill, Qualls measures his success today by how many people he is able to mentor and assist. “I love to see successful business owners, soldiers, and, of course, my family,” he says. “I’ve been a part of all of their lives, and if I can assist them in being successful, I have done my job.” Topics: People, Community Banking, Tweet Ashley Bray Ashley Bray is a contributing editor of ABA Banking Journal and has written on a number of subjects ranging from insurance to fraud to personal profiles. She is also the associate editor of Sign Builder Illustrated magazine, a how-to publication covering the sign industry. She graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Preparing a witch/magician for advancement When “termination” means good news Atlanta, phoenix of Southeast “I can’t wait to get to work!” Velocity before breakfast Latest from Ashley Bray Covering a lot of ground! The game of life Chairman and chief welder back to top Get ABA Banking Journal Newsletters

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Criteria for Financial Assistance Selection AGRM members, business partners, and �friends� regularly contribute funds to help new and older missions in their growth and development. Although the Expansion Program Project receives the bulk of this funding, AGRM also provides qualified missions with sponsored attendance to the AGRM Annual Convention and district training events, as well as scholarships and grants to assist with specific needs that will accelerate the mission's growth and development. Criteria for selection: The mission should be two years old or newer, or has gone through a major reorganization in the last two years. The mission must be a U.S. government-recognized 501(c)(3) religious or charitable organization, or a Canadian NPO charity (filing a T3010), or the equivalent in the country of its establishment. The mission must have a board of directors of at least five individuals, a majority of whom shall be unrelated, and should have one ex-officio member who is part of the executive team at another AGRM member mission in the same district. The mission should have a mission statement that is compatible with the principles, precepts, and practices of AGRM and its existing members. The mission should have a realistic three-year plan outlining proposed growth. The mission�s chief executive should be able to sign AGRM�s Code of Ethics and Statement of Faith on behalf of the mission. The mission should be located in a city of 50,000 or more people, or a county (or the equivalent) of 100,000 or more people, or should be able to demonstrate the sustainability of financial support. The mission should have the backing of at least five churches in its immediate area, three of which should be considered evangelical. The mission must agree to become and remain an AGRM member for a period of not less than five years from the time of selection, with membership dues being the responsibility of the mission.

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Bobby Jindal’s Tax Failure By Josh Barro - Apr 9, 2013 This week, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he is backing off his signature plan to repeal his state’s income tax and replace it by raising the sales-tax rate and expanding the sales tax to more items. This is not surprising. In the last 50 years, exactly one U.S. state has repealed a major (personal income, general sales or property) tax: Alaska, following the discovery of massive oil deposits. If you don’t find the equivalent of the North Slope in your state, you shouldn’t expect to get rid of a major tax.Sales-tax expansion proposals have nearly as grim a track record as tax-repeal proposals. It’s easy to draw up a sales-tax reform plan that will get the support of tax policy experts from the left and the right: A sales tax with a lower rate applying to a broader swath of consumption is better for the economy than one with a high rate applying to few items. Yet expansion efforts repeatedly fail, with proposals dying in the last few years in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.Why? People get used to paying no taxes on certain things. Businesses whose goods and services are exempt from tax tend to effectively lobby for special exemptions. Such exemptions water down reform, requiring a higher tax rate and producing arbitrary rules that become politically difficult to defend. For example, Maine’s 2009 sales tax reform, repealed by popular referendum, extended taxes to miniature golf but not regular golf.I will admit to having once been a part of this problem: As an intern for a congressional campaign in 2004, I convinced our finance director to insert a single sheet of toilet paper, stamped with the phrase “Taxed by Allison Schwartz,” inside a fundraising letter attacking our opponent for voting to expand the sales tax to toilet paper. (Most other paper goods are taxable in Pennsylvania.) We lost the election, but the tax exemption for bathroom tissue survived.Jindal’s sales-tax expansion proposal faced all these problems plus two more. One is that instead of using sales-tax base expansion to cut the sales-tax rate, he wanted to raise it to pay for income-tax repeal. This meant his plan would shift Louisiana’s tax burden away from the rich toward the middle class, and therefore he did not get the support from the left that a sales-tax reform might otherwise draw.The other problem was that Jindal’s method

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For Release: November 2, 2010 Joint Statement by CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler and European Commissioner Michel Barnier on Financial Oversight Chicago, Illinois – United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler and European Commissioner Michel Barnier met today in Chicago to discuss a range of issues concerning the oversight of commodity markets and the regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. Chairman Gensler also accompanied Commissioner Barnier to meetings with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, industry traders and intermediaries and the Chicago Climate Exchange. Chairman Gensler and Commissioner Barnier reaffirmed their commitment to strong regulation and enhanced transparency of the commodity markets. They also expressed general support for the IOSCO Task Force on Commodity Futures Markets and related efforts in the G20, which are working to improve the regulatory oversight and transparency of futures and physical commodity markets. Commissioner Barnier and Chairman Gensler discussed position concentration in commodity markets and the role that position limits play in the oversight of physical commodity futures and swaps markets. They also discussed potential reforms to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the Market Abuse Directive, which will assist in the overall efforts to reform commodity oversight in Europe. They stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to reform the OTC derivatives markets, reviewing four key objectives set forth by the G20 in September 2009, namely clearing through central counterparties, trading on exchanges or electronic trading platforms, where appropriate, reporting and higher capital requirements for non-cleared swaps. Finally, they noted the importance for regulators to take into account technological developments in the markets and consider the effects of high frequency trading. “Today’s meeting built upon the United States’ strong partnership with the European Commission with regard to regulation of the swaps markets,” Chairman Gensler said after the meeting. “Based on the European Commission’s proposal for regulatory reform of the swaps marketplace as well as the Dodd-Frank Act passed in the U.S., I am confident that we will bring strong and consistent regulation to both the European and U.S. swaps markets. Our staff is consulting frequently with Commissioner Barnier’s staff. We look forward to continued cooperation and coordination as both the U.S. and Europe implement comprehensive oversight of the swaps markets.” Commissioner Barnier stated that: “In drawing all the lessons from the recent crisis and ensuring that we bring transparency and stability back to the financial markets, I am committed to continue our reforms of OTC-derivatives and commodities markets. I look forward to the continued close co-operation with Chairman Gensler and his staff in order to ensure that Europe and the United States continue to make progress in parallel on these important matters”.

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Private equity owner puts Cleveland's ColorMatrix on the block Reuters reports that private equity investor Audax Group “has put Cleveland chemical company ColorMatrix Corp. on the block in a sale that could bring in more than $400 million.”ColorMatrix, which makes liquid color and additive concentrates for thermoplastic products, has projected annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around $45 million to $50 million, Reuters says, citing sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the auction is not public.Audax “is hoping to get north of 9 times forward EBITDA for the company, according to the sources, who said the price target may be aggressive,” Reuters reports. The private equity firm has hired Robert W. Baird to advise it on the sale, the sources tell Reuters.ColorMatrix didn't respond this morning to a Crain's Cleveland Business inquiry about the Reuters report. Take it slow My vote for least surprising story of the day goes to this one from Bloomberg, which starts with this sentence: “Speeding labor elections would deny companies a fair chance of persuading workers to reject organized representation, employers are telling U.S. regulators.”“The National Labor Relations Board, which investigates unfair-labor practices, is considering adoption of steps sought by unions that would lead to quicker votes,” Bloomberg notes. More than 60 speakers are scheduled to testify before the board on the proposed rule this week.Among those quoted in the story is Peter Kirsanow, a partner at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP in Cleveland, who represents the National Association of Manufacturers.The rule would have a “significant adverse impact” on businesses, resulting in votes being cast before employers started to craft a defense, Mr. Kirsanow says.“An election would be carried out even before an employer figures out what it wants to say,” says Mr. Kirsanow, who served on the NLRB from 2006 to 2008.Among changes proposed by the NLRB “are letting unions file petitions electronically, deferring ‘litigation of most voter eligibility issues until after the election' and consolidating appeals to the board ‘into a single post-election appeals process,' according to a statement from the agency,” Bloomberg reports. The median time for a union election is 38 days from petition to vote, according to the NLRB. The proposed rule will force elections “in 10 to 21 days after the filing” of a petition to unionize, says Brian Hayes, the NLRB's only Republican member. State of the arts Cleveland's two leading cultural institutions — the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art — come in for significant praise from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, respectively.The Times reviews four concerts that made up “Bruckner: (R)evolution,” the Cleveland Orchestra's contribution to this year's Lincoln Center Festival.“In pairing symphonies by Anton Bruckner, long portrayed as the sacred fool of 19th-century European music, with works by John Adams, a sophisticated, protean contemporary American, the orchestra's music director, Franz Welser-M�st, sought to cast both composers in a new light by illuminating connections,” The Times says.It appears to have gone quite well.In the Bruckner pieces, “The orchestral playing was transcendently beautiful, with warm, burnished strings and radiant, weighty brass chorales that were particularly breathtaking,” according to The Times. “A roaring ovation rang out at the end, undiminished for more than five minutes.”The orchestra “handled the bracing momentum and jagged rhythmic crosscurrents of Mr. Adams's symphony with confidence,” The Times says.Meanwhile, The Journal highlights what it calls a “rare carved masterpiece” that will be on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art from July 29 to Aug. 28.“Two birds fly among peonies on a box made with a lacquering technique that can take more than a year to complete,” The Journal says of what looks to be a gorgeous object, based on the accompanying photo. “The early example of Chinese carved lacquer, which dates to the late 13th century, was acquired by the museum from a private collection in Japan.” Take me out Slate.com's latest ”Hang Up and Listen” podcast features a lively discussion with infographics specialist Craig Robinson, whose new book, ”Flip Flop Fly Ball,” looks to offer a decidedly fresh take on an old game.The interview includes a discussion of Mr. Robinson's witty and offbeat infographics covering, among other things, the proportion of Native Americans in Cleveland and the number of gay players in Major League Baseball.By all means, click those links — as a heads up, the graphic on Cleveland is not flattering — and check out Mr. Robinson's excellent website.You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio. PRINTED FROM: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110719/BLOGS03/110719843/-1/BLOGS&template=printart

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votes NY Times: HSBC $2 B Settlement. Too Big to Indict December, 2012. Submitted by Mark Twain on Wed, 12/12/2012 - 17:07in Economy [Nary a mention of Gold nor Silver.] Too Big to Indict, December 11, 2012 (w/ 273 Comments) [Note to DailyPaul Readers: Nary a mention of Gold nor Silver.] HSBC $2 billion settlement, London UK. NY Times Editorial: ~ It is a dark day for the rule of law. ~ Federal and state authorities have chosen not to indict HSBC, the London-based bank, on charges of vast and prolonged money laundering, for fear that criminal prosecution would topple the bank and, in the process, endanger the financial system [the one w/ no Gold nor Silver]. They also have not charged any top HSBC banker in the case, though it boggles the mind that a bank could launder money as HSBC did without anyone in a position of authority making culpable decisions... Related: HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion to Settle Money Laundering Charges, December 11, 2012 Read All Comments (273): Clearly, the government has bought into the notion that too big to fail is too big to jail. When prosecutors choose not to prosecute to the full extent of the law in a case as egregious as this, the law itself is diminished. The deterrence that comes from the threat of criminal prosecution is weakened, if not lost. In the HSBC case, prosecutors may want the public to focus on the $1.92 billion settlement, which includes forfeiture of $1.26 billion and other penalties, as well as requirements to improve its internal controls and submit to the oversight of an outside monitor for the next five years. But even large financial settlements are small compared with the size of international major banks. More important, once criminal sanctions are considered off limits, penalties and forfeitures become just another cost of doing business, a risk factor to consider on the road to profits. There is no doubt that the wrongdoing at HSBC was serious and pervasive... --------------- Hong Kong Shanghai Sustainable Wars --------------- For HSBC, being sustainable means managing our [opium & other] business across the world for the long term. That means achieving sustainable profits for our shareholders, building long-lasting relationships with customers, valuing our highly committed employees, respecting environmental limits and investing in communities. Future First: HSBC flagship education programme for disadvantaged children is Future First. ... This programme provides access to education for deprived and excluded children, whether on the streets, orphaned or in care. --------------- Hong Kong Shanghai Opium Wars --------------- Hong Kong Bank Corp., aka: HSBC ~ Flagship Bank Of Britain's Dope, Inc It should come as no surprise that British banking giant HSBC was caught laundering money for drug cartels and terrorist groups. HSBC... is the kingpin bank of the global drug trade. A bank which, since its founding in 1865, has been devoted to financing drug crops and laundering the proceeds. HSBC is, in fact, one of the key controlling institutions of the global illicit drug cartel we call Dope, Inc. If you think that is an outlandish claim, consider the fact that EIR, through its book Dope, Inc., and in its affilicated War on Drugs magazine, published in the early 1980s by the National Anti-Drug Coalition, have made this charge for over 30 years, and have never been sued or challenged by the bank. For years, when banks have been caught laundering drug money, they have claimed that they did not know, that they were but victims of sneaky drug dealers and a few corrupt employees. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that a considerable portion of the global banking system is explicitly dedicated to handling the enormous volume of cash produced daily by dope traffickers. This banking apparatus is essential to the functioning of Dope, Inc.—without it, the drug cartels would quickly choke on their own cash. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not “demand” from the world’s population which creates the mind destroying drug trade. Rather, it is the world financial oligarchy, looking for massive profits and the destruction of the minds of the population it is determined to dominate, which organized the drug trade... Dope, Inc.: Serving as the central bank of this global apparatus, is HSBC.The Bank of Opium: HSBC was founded in Hong Kong in 1865 as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company by a consortium of British opium, silk, and tea-trading companies which themselves were the spawn of the notorious British East India Company... The opium trade began in the early 1700s as an official monopoly of the British East India Company, which conquered India, and ran it on behalf of the British Crown and the financiers operating through the City of London. Indian-grown opium became a key component in the trade for tea and silk in China. The East India Company ... ran into problems with the opium end of the trade. The influx of opium caused major problems for China, and led the Emperor to issue an edict in 1729 prohibiting opium consumption. Then, in 1757, the Emperor restricted all foreigners and foreign vessels to a trading area in the port city of Canton. A stronger edict in 1799 prohibited the importation and use of opium under penalty of death. None of this stopped the British from continuing to flood China with opium... shifting its Chinese opium operations to nominally independent drug runners who bought opium legally from the East India Company in Calcutta, and smuggled it into China..... ... the British launched a propaganda campaign against China, accusing it of violating Britain’s right to “free trade.” Britain sent its fleet to China, to force the Chinese to capitulate to the opium trade. The ... First Opium War, resulted in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, under which China not only capitulated to the opium trade, but also agreed to pay reparations to the opium runners and gave the British control of the island of Hong Kong. However, the treaty did not specifically legalize opium, so the British launched a second Opium War, which resulted in the 1856 Treaty of Tientsin, which legitimized the opium trade and opened China up to foreigners even more....Gold

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The Year In Business December 29, 2013, 10:10 PM by Angela Kennecke SIOUX FALLS, SD - Nationally 2013 shaped up to be a good year for the economy. The stock market was up, housing starts were up and unemployment was down. Sioux Falls continued to do better than the rest of the nation as it experienced a record building boom. Tax Return Delay 01/10/13 2013 started off with a delay for people filing tax returns. Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act in the 11th hour, extending many tax credits. "We did a lot of work ahead of time; as much as we could. And then as soon as that bill was passed then we were able to dig into the meat of it and see how is this going to impact all the forms and all the processing we do," Shane Ferguson with the IRS said. The IRS couldn't start processing individual income tax returns until Jan. 30. Big Numbers in the Housing Market 2/7/2013 The Sioux Falls housing market took off in 2013. Sales sky rocketed and the supply of homes on the market was down by 34 percent in February. "We have a shortage right now. There is an extreme shortage of inventory," Brandon Martens of the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire said. Arborists Aplenty 4/15/2013 The April 11 ice storm attracted dozens of out-of-state arborists to town. Most of them were legitimate businesses who applied for licenses in the city. The High Price of Tree Damage 4/17/2013 But there were some fly-by-night operations that showed up, including one who charged a homeowner $10,000 for removing two trees and trimming four. Angela Kennecke: I've had a local arborist tell me that's two and a half times what it should have been. Jared Brigmon: It depends. Every job is different. Jared Brigmon didn't have the proper licenses with the city or state and was later charged with misdemeanors. PREMIER Bankcard CEO on Lawsuit Resolution 5/03/2013 In May, after a two year battle with the government over upfront fee rules for credit cards, Premier Bankcard of Sioux Falls won a legal victory. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it would change the rule and not limit upfront fees and the lawsuit was later dismissed. Premier Bankcard says the ruling will enable it to grow its workforce to 2,000 employees in the next year. Construction Worker Shortage 6/18/2013 Construction grew at a frenzied pace in June in Sioux Falls and there was a shortage of workers to keep up. There were more than 800 construction jobs open across the state at the start of the summer. Costco Takes Shape 7/03/13 Some of those jobs were for building the new Costco store at 41st and Grange. Costco Opens in Sioux Falls 10/03/2013 The $14 million store employs nearly 200 people and opened in October. New Development For Sioux Falls' Northwest Side 7/10/2013 The building didn't stop there. A new Walmart broke ground on the city's Northwest side. $100 million dollar retail, office and residential and retail development called University Hills broke ground near University Center. Other developers spent the summer putting up homes and apartments. Over at the Sanford Sports Complex a new restaurant and hotel went up. Hotel Boom 7/17/2013 It was a bit year for hotels in Sioux Falls. Six new hotels with an additional 500 rooms went up in every area of the city. Inside Downtown Hilton Garden Inn 11/07/2013 One the most notable projects was the Hilton Garden Inn downtown. The $25 million, 136 room hotel took over a year to build. Canadian Company Begins Producion on Wind Towers 08/13/2013 Quebec-based Marmen Energy began making wind towers off Interstate 90 near Brandon. The Canadian company brought 250 new jobs and became fully operational this fall. It continues to hire. Gov Shutdown Stalls New Business 10/11/2013 South Dakota was named the 12th hardest hit state by the government shutdown in October because of the number of small businesses started here. Small Business Administration loans came to a halt, including one for these three auto mechanics who quit their jobs to open their own shop, but couldn't do so without the loan. "It's following the American dream. We've done everything by the books to make this go as smooth as possible. We just never saw this coming," White said. Business Moves Forward Despite Setback 10/25/2013 A few weeks later, even though SBA loans were backlogged, the bank took a chance on the men and fronted the money so they could open. New Sioux Falls Plant About To Start Manufacturing 10/29/2013 At the beginning of November the new Glanbia Nutritionals plant started production. The 43,000 square foot seed processing plant that produces the healthy, high omega-3 flour used in 40 different products on grocery store shelves. Glanbia plans to double in size in the next seven years. Healthcare.Gov Gets Up to Speed 12/10/2013 The rocky start for healthcare.gov caused plenty of problems for individuals trying to shop for insurance and the three providers in South Dakota on the government exchange. December 23 was the last day to sign up for insurance on healthcare.gov to get covered by January. The website glitches were diminishing and insurers in the state managed to sign up hundreds of people at last check. "I'm paying a little less than I was before. I'm getting much better coverage. Before it was 50/50 and now I'm 20 percent; that's 80/20," Kathie Dubbelde said. Record Building Boom For Sioux Falls 09/05/2013 But the biggest business story of the year is the record building boom in Sioux Falls. Building permits surpassed the half a billion dollar mark in 2013, shattering a record set pre-recession in 2007. Those numbers include single family homes, apartment buildings, retail stores and new manufacturing plants. Sioux Falls Breaks Building Permit Record 10/22/2013 "We celebrated a record that I think any town across America would even dream, and we busted through the construction record Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and I'm just thrilled by it," Mayor Mike Huether said. While the new Denny Sanford Premier Center tops the list as the most expensive project this year, it only accounted for five percent of the $590 million in building permit values. A number of new projects are also in the works for next year in Sioux Falls. Developers have already requested rezoning of land to start on projects immediately in 2014. 12/29/13 - MBK: Coyotes Fall At Penguins Next Story 12/29/13 - Stampede Knock Off Rival Force View featured stories Trooper Steen's Road To Recovery In uniform and behind the wheel, South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew Steen has returned to the job he left 18 months ago after he was seriously... Ziolkowski Fights Cancer & Reflects On Crazy Horse Legacy Ruth Ziolkowski has led operations at the Crazy Horse Memorial since 1982, but now the 87-year-old says she only has a short time to live as she battl... Inside KELOLAND: What's Next For Sioux Falls? Following decades of debate, the city of Sioux Falls is one step closer to an indoor pool. But there's still a lot of work that needs to be done b... Ice Storm Anniversary One year ago, Sioux Falls experienced one of the worst natural disasters it's ever seen. A devastating ice storm hit the city and it took mo... Raven Goes Green Nearly 80 percent of businesses surveyed say a shortage of natural resources will affect their business in the next three to five years. Full Story | Watch

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Rediff News All News Rediff.com » Business » 'Govt is running from one crisis to another' 'Govt is running from one crisis to another' Last updated on: September 6, 2012 08:40 IST India may need to take a fresh look at its monetary policy, says Amartya Lahiri, professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia. Lahiri, who has written several papers, including Breaking the Caste Barrier: Intergenerational Mobility in India, with Viktoria Hnatkovska and Sourabh B Paul, says the image that the government is projecting is of one that is running from one crisis to another. Reforms, growth and rise in service sector have helped SC/ST climb the social and economic ladder, says Lahiri in an email interview to Faisal Kidwai Here are the excerpts: You have said that when it comes to monetary policy, India follows practices of the developed world even though this approach is not appropriate for the country. Why is the current monetary policy not appropriate for India? What I have said is that the current policy being pursued may not be appropriate. The RBI's monetary policy appears to follow developed country practices which are based on the idea that prices adjust very slowly. The slow response of prices implies that if the central bank eases monetary policy during a downturn, then the extra liquidity in the hands of people does not immediately lead to higher prices. The resultant increase in purchasing power of consumers induces higher demand for goods which, in turn, leads firms to expand production to meet this demand. This is the standard thinking. The effectiveness of this kind of monetary policy intervention is the subject of a lot of debate in developed countries, with opinions quite divided. There have, in fact, been a number of studies in which researchers have examined the actual degree of price variability in the publicly available data in these countries. The takeaway number from these studies is that the typical price of goods remains set for around four months at a time. With this level of price rigidity, researchers often argue that monetary policy cannot be too effective in stimulating output in developed countries. The problem with applying these principles to India directly is that there is virtually no study that I know of that has tried to examine the speed with which prices of goods and services change in India. Given the higher structural inflation rate in India (relative to developed countries) the speed of price adjustment is likely to be even faster in India. Click NEXT to read more... Image: Amartya Lahiri, professor of Economics, University of British Columbia.Photographs: Courtesy, Amartya Lahiri Tags: India , Amartya Lahiri , RBI , Sourabh B Paul , Intergenerational Mobility Next 'Govt is running from one crisis to another'

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Home » News » Business March 27. 2013 8:56PM Boston Federal Reserve CEO, in NH, says money supply policies are working By DAVE SOLOMONNew Hampshire Union Leader ROSENGREN MANCHESTER - The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston told a group of New Hampshire business leaders Wednesday that the Fed policies of expanding the money supply have been key to the economic recovery, and that the benefits of the policies far outweigh the potential downsides.Eric Rosengren made the comments Wednesday in a presentation to members of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Bankers Association at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Saint Anselm College.Rosengren is currently a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, a committee within the U.S. Federal Reserve System that sets U.S. monetary policy, including key decisions about interest rates and growth of the U.S. money supply."The Federal Reserve's policy of open-ended purchases of mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasury securities - currently proceeding at a pace of $85 billion a month - has contributed importantly to the gradual improvement in labor markets that we have seen, despite the fiscal headwinds," he said. "The costs of these policies are outweighed by their benefits, and by the costs likely to result if we did not pursue them."In response to critics of the Fed, who fear the expanding money supply will trigger severe inflation when the economy rebounds, Rosengren said the Fed has been aggressively pumping money into the economy for five years, with no sign of inflation on the horizon."The expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet began in 2008 and five years later, we currently have a PCE (personal consumption expenditures) inflation rate of 1.2 percent, well below our 2 percent target," he said. "As the years have passed, and inflation has remained stable, this criticism has become more muted."He also defended the Fed's policy of maintaining historically low interest rates against criticism that such low rates threaten financial stability by encouraging investors to seek higher yields through more risky investments. Despite a historic run-up in the stock market, he said, stock prices are not out of line with corporate earnings, and housing is recovering at a reasonable rate that does not suggest rampant speculation."The economy continues to improve, but at a painfully slow pace," he said. "Actions taken by the Federal Reserve to speed up the pace of the economic recovery seem to be having the desired impact. Interest-sensitive sectors are growing more rapidly, asset markets are returning to pre-crisis levels, and economic forecasters are expecting continued improvements over the next several years."[email protected] Tweets by @NHULBiz Record Store Day becomes a boon for independents

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A Luxury Stock You Can Afford By Declan Fallon - COH, KORS, MOV, TIF Declan is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited. The Consumer Discretionary sector continues to fly high as one of the lead performers in the current rally. For the last three months, the sector SPDR (NYSE: XLY) has gained just over 9%, and is up almost 24% for the last 12 months. Gains haven't just come at the low end of the scale, but have been enjoyed by luxury brands too. However, this may be about to change as recent holiday sales disappointed some of the top tier brands, and this will likely filter down through the retail market. The most recent hit to the sector was delivered by Coach (NYSE: COH). The stock dropped 16% on a combination of bad earnings, and a strategy switch to selling shoes. The company was "clearly disappointed in our North American performance notably in women's where results were below expectations." Lew Frankfort, CEO, blamed the fiscal cliff and a slow recovery from Hurricane Sandy as factors for the drop, but they were also forced into "heightened promotional activity" (but not price drops) in their core business of women's bags and accessories, effectively 70% of their business. The underperformance was not the result of natural disaster or politics, but was instead the result of market share losses to Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) amongst others. Digging a little deeper, weakness was not the fault of sales of high price items, such as $400+ leather handbags (which remained strong), but instead came from the lower end mixed material and logo products. Michael Tucci, President of Coach North America Group did suggest a macro shift towards leather goods and away from the traditional logo business, but this in itself doesn't explain the strong performance from its competitors. For example, Coach's same store sales fell 2%, while Michael Kors rose 30%; Coach EPS was up 5%, Michael Kors did 96% year-on-year; Coach net sales rose 4% , Kors retail sales grew 82%. Coach's reaction to launch into footwear has a 'two wrongs don't make a right' ring to it. Not only is it a venture for which Coach has no history, but it also places itself deeper in competition with the very same companies stealing market share from it. However, it wasn't all bad news for Coach. Internet sales "remained strong", but actual figures were lacking. International sales were robust, up 12% for Q2 and accounted for one third of total sales. Chinese growth was up 40% from the prior year, with 13 new stores coming on line over the quarter. Men's sales jumped over 50% for the year, to $600 million, providing an alternative avenue which the company can work. The earnings miss by Coach was greeted with a downgrade to Neutral from Buy by ISI Group. The miss also swept up Tiffany and Co (NYSE: TIF) as it experienced a similar downgrade. This time for missing consensus expectation for four consecutive quarters, although the last miss was most egregious. Tiffany has yet to release its holiday sales figures, but given Coach's earnings and its own history, it's probably not going in with much optimism. Tiffany's Expectations are for an EPS of $1.43 for Q4, some $0.04 above last year's reported Q4. The company experienced a 30% decline in earnings for Q3, squeezed by tightening margins. This factor will just compound troubles generated by a drop in sales. Europe was the only bright spot in sales growth. Interestingly, both Coach and Tiffany attributed their respective sales drops to 'cheaper' items, in Tiffany's case, to jewellery priced below $500. Tiffany reported increased sales volume in all other, higher product price points. One of the few highlights from Q3 was the 5% rise in sales from its New York flagship, despite Hurricane Sandy, but impacts from the hurricane are likely to continue into Q4. Unlike Coach, Tiffany's internet sales were reported as "modest", although the Tiffany 'experience' isn't really suited to the online space. Despite the damage to Coach's share price, Tiffany and Co's share price has remained firm. Earnings aren't due until the end of March, so it's possible investors have adopted a wait-and-see approach. A stock which has also bucked weakness in the luxury sector is Movado Group (NYSE: MOV). It supplies watches to a number of luxury brands, in addition to a retail arm of its own. Its wholesale business accounts for 42% of its revenues, providing insulation from the vagaries of individual brand performance. It serves the luxury sector, which at the high end (as most watches are) appears more resilient based on comments from Tiffany and Coach. The company's inventory metrics also suggest increased demand on the horizon. Of the mentioned stocks, Movado has enjoyed the greatest buying activity. The push to $37 (a new all-time high) was achieved on three times typical trading volume. Even Michael Kors has traded within norms these past few days. Movado Group's P/E of 15.8 is more competitive than Tiffany & Co.'s 19.4 and Michael Kors at 44.8, but is slightly worse off that Coach's 14.4. Forward projections are less competitive than its rivals at 20.30, but given the optimism at Michael Kors it's easier to understand how positive price momentum can quickly push P/E ratios out. Certainly the top end of the luxury market looks in good shape, and this is unlikely to change as lesser mortals turn their backs, or at least their wallets, away. fallond has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Coach. The Motley Fool owns shares of Coach, Movado Group, and Tiffany & Co.. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is this post wrong? Click here. Think you can do better? Join us and write your own! Email fallond Blogger, investor and ex-nematologist; digging for treasure in the stock market. Latest Editor's Choice Three High Flying Performers From 2012 KORS Also On This Topic 4 Opportunities for Growth This Apparel Company Is Crushing Estimates Is This Company Worth Investing? Why Coach Shares are More Attractive than Its Bags A Little-Known Stock That's Outperforming Michael Kors

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8 TV Dads With Bad Credit June 15, 2012 by Credit.com In honor of this Father’s Day, we at Credit.com wanted to pay homage to a few iconic TV dads and their credit catastrophes. Why? Of course, because we love them. Also, in taking a moment to celebrate some of the best televised money mistakes, we can learn something and maybe laugh about it along the way. So here’s some advice from your good ol’ TV dads about what not to do with your credit. Homer Simpson, The Simpsons He may have been featured in a MasterCard commercial, but Homer Simpson is definitely not a model of financial responsibility. In this season 12 episode, Homer’s credit card is denied at a restaurant. Maxing out your credit card can have a significant impact on your credit score, but that’s not the worst financial offense Homer commits. In the 20th season, the Simpsons’ home is actually foreclosed upon after Homer takes out a home equity loan saying that he thought the house had to pay back the loan, not him. D’oh! A foreclosure is one of the most damaging items to have on your credit report, so take a lesson from Homer and don’t take all of the equity out of your home. [Related Article: Underwater On Your Home Option 5: Walk Away / Foreclosure] George Bluth, Arrested Development The Bluth family may be wealthy, but they have their own fair share of money problems. The series begins with George Bluth being arrested for shady bookkeeping and fraud. In an early episode, Michael says the family’s finances have been frozen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and viewers later discover that George Bluth was involved in building houses overseas for Saddam Hussein even though Americans are not allowed to do business in Iraq. While the account freeze would not necessarily show up on a standard credit report, it would show up on an investigative report that creditors will sometimes use. Needless to say, George Bluth’s credit is definitely not “solid as a rock” — the company slogan thought up by Gob. Thankfully, there’s always money in the banana stand. Jimmy Cooper, The O.C. Jimmy Cooper, played by Tate Donovan, may come across as a nice guy compared to his cold wife Julie in the first season of this hit TV drama from the mid-2000s, but he has a dark secret — money problems. Jimmy comes under investigation by the SEC in the first season for using his position as an investment manager to embezzle some of the money from the portfolios

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Mountain National announces enforcement action Mountain National Bancshares announced last week that it has entered a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. According to an SEC filing, the company has agreed that it won't incur, increase or guarantee debt without prior approval and that its board will take appropriate steps to serve as a source of strength to Mountain National Bank, among other things. In October, the company said Mountain National Bank had accepted a consent order from Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that required it, among other things, to boost its capital levels and reduce its concentration of commercial real estate loans. In a news release last month, Mountain National Bank's president and CEO, Dwight Grizzell, said the bank's compliance with the OCC order "should help the bank to become a stronger institution, better able to support its customers as they recover from the economic downturn that has severely impacted our local and national economies." Posted by Josh Flory at 8:25 PM | Permalink FSG stock dives after big loss From the Times Free Press: Shares of First Security Group Inc. fell Monday after the Chattanooga banking firm reported last week that it lost another $7 million in the third quarter. Stock in the parent company of FSG Bank slid 11.4 percent, or 24 cents per share, to close at $1.86 per share. Monday's closing was the second lowest ever for the bank, nearly matching the equivalent $1.80-per-share closing on Aug. 8. In its third-quarter results filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, First Security said it is "not in compliance" with required capital ratios and will remain under federal oversight under a yearold consent order with the Federal Reserve System. Posted by Josh Flory at 9:36 AM | Permalink Regions sells portion of Belle Island A new owner has bought part of the Belle Island property, in Pigeon Forge, and is planning an attraction whose centerpiece will be a 200-foot skywheel. On Monday, LeConte Village LLC paid $10 million for the retail portion of Belle Island, an unfinished project near the Parkway that includes an steamboat-shaped museum shell and that has lain dormant since Regions Bank took the property at a foreclosure sale in 2009. Darby Campbell, the Knoxville-based developer who has partnered with Bob McManus to spearhead the deal, said several potential tenants are looking at the project and predicted that the eventual tenants would invest around $75 million. Campbell said his group plans to demolish the steamboat building, which at one time was expected to house the Hollywood memorabilia collection of actress Debbie Reynolds. Campbell said his group paid cash for the site, and expects to invest another $13 million in improvements, not counting the skywheel. He said the $13 million includes $5 million that will be provided by the city of Pigeon Forge for infrastructure improvements, including a road connecting the Parkway and a planned $45 million event center that will also be developed by Campbell and McManus. Campbell estimated the island attraction will open in the spring of 2013. Brian Tapp and Trey Miller, of NAI Knoxville, represented Regions Bank on the deal. The purchase does not include a partially constructed 138-room hotel on the island, but Campbell said his group has that property under contract. The developer estimated that three years ago, the land his group just purchased would have appraised for $12 million, not including the 250,000 square feet of buildings on the site that he estimated are 85 percent complete. "We feel like even a couple of dumbasses like us could make it work," he said. Mountain National cuts positions Dwight Grizzell, the president and CEO of Mountain National Bancshares, said Friday that the lender has eliminated about a dozen positions. Grizzell said about seven of those positions were already vacant, but that four or five employees lost their jobs. Referring to the total positions eliminated, he said that

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Does Paul Ryan Know What’s in His Budget? By Yahoo! Finance By Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research If the news media had to work for a living, this is what they would all be asking right now. The reason is simple. The projections the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) made for Representative Ryan's budget imply that he literally wants to shut down the federal government. View photo.His budget implies that after three decades the federal government will have no money to spend on health research, education, highways, airports, and other infrastructure, the Food and Drug Administration and most other activities that we associate with the federal government. His budget has money for Social Security, Medicare and other health programs and the Defense Department. That's it. This is not a vicious anti-Ryan attack coming from hyper-partisan Democrats. This is what the analysis of his budget by the non-partisan CBO shows. It's right there in the fifth row of Table 2. The table shows that in 2040, Representative Ryan would allot an amount equal to 4.75 percent of GDP to all these other areas of government including defense spending. By 2050, Ryan's allocation for these areas, including defense, falls to 3.75 percent of GDP. The defense budget is currently a bit over 4.0 percent of GDP. Ryan has indicated that he would like to maintain or even increase this level of spending. The arithmetic is then straightforward. In 2040, Ryan would leave less than 0.75 percent of GDP for areas of spending that currently require more than five times this amount. In 2050, all these areas of spending would literally have to be zeroed out as defense spending will take up every cent and more that Ryan has left in his budget. In CBO We Trust It is important to understand that CBO tried to accurately present the implications of the budget that Representative Ryan gave them. CBO works for Congress. These are career civil servants. They cannot be easily fired, but if CBO's staff deliberately misrepresented a budget proposal from a powerful member of Congress like Paul Ryan, that is the sort of thing that could get them put out on the street. The way CBO would typically analyze a proposal is that they would sit down with Representative Ryan and his staff and determine as closely as possible the outlines of the budget he is proposing. They would then produce projections which would be shown to Ryan and his staff to ensure that they had accurately represented his proposed budget. CBO would only publish a document with these projections after Representative Ryan and his staff had a chance to review them and agreed that they had accurately represented his proposal. This means that there can be no accident here. CBO did not blindside Representative Ryan with a half-baked analysis they did in the middle of the night. We can safely assume that the projections from CBO do in fact represent the budget proposal as presented to them by Representative Ryan and his staff. (For more from Dean Baker, check out his recent appearance on The Daily Ticker below.) Is He Serious? This leaves the obvious question. Is he serious? Does Representative Ryan really think it is a good idea to end the federal government's role in building and maintaining infrastructure, in financing education, in funding basic research in health care and other areas, in maintaining our national parks, federal courts, the FBI? His budget says that this is what he thinks, since these services will not be provided for free (FBI agents expect to get paid), but it is difficult to believe that a politician running for national office would really want to eliminate most of the government. Anyhow, this is the most basic question that reporters should be asking Representative Ryan now that Governor Romney has selected him as his vice presidential candidate. We know that they all have to run stories about his high school friends and his college courses, but the public has a right to know where he stands on the policy issues that he has put at the center of his political agenda. If reporters do their job, they have a simple question to put to Mr. Ryan. "Your budget would put an end to everything the government does, except for Social Security, health care and defense. Is this really what you want to do?" Dean Baker is an economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He has written extensively on a wide range of topics, including the housing bubble. His most recent book is The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive (free download available here). Politics & GovernmentBudget, Tax & Economyfederal governmentPaul Ryan The Exchange has two meanings for the writers and editors at Yahoo Finance -- it represents both an exchange of ideas and top news from the financial exchanges. This blog covers a wide range of topics, from story stocks, government policy and IPOs to the latest in tech and the world of food finance. If it's important to our readers, it’s likely to be found on The Exchange. SPY186.125+0.71% DIA163.88+1.02% QQQ86.18-0.73% SPDR S&P 500 186.125+1.300(+0.71%) Stock Rally: Will Third Time Be A Charm For Dow? The Yell over-under, fading Madam Hobbit and Sam E’s ‘easiest trade in the books’ MrTopStep.com SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Aver … PowerShares QQQ NasdaqGMWed, Apr 16, 2014 4:00 PM EDT Market News Play Europe opens mixed after Yellen 01:40 Play Opportunity in stocks that didn't get 'Draghi … 00:55 Play Chocolate could become like Champagne: Pro 02:54 Copyright 2012 The Exchange

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In Case You Missed It:Ditching Real Estate Brokers Home » Metro » The perfect financial crime—almost The perfect financial crime—almost by Bill Heltzel (Public Source)—How would you construct the perfect financial crime? First, you need the prey—someone who has a big pot of money to invest and needs financial advice. Like a large transit agency. Then you line up bankers who conspire to make profits big enough to pay kickbacks to the advisers who set up the deals. East Busway Extension ribbon cutting Finally, you hope no regulators are watching. Such a plan worked for eight years and one of the entities defrauded was the Port Authority of Allegheny County. This spring the authority was one of the patsies featured in a New York City trial. That trial was part of a six-year federal probe that has exposed political corruption, predatory practices and crooked financing that have diverted billions of dollars from building schools, roads and bridges in almost every state. Nineteen people have been convicted or pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Five big banks have paid $745 million in fines and penalties. Some of that money has been returned to the victims: $26.5 million was given back to local governments in Pennsylvania, $4.9 million to schools and towns in the Pittsburgh area, and $256,000 to the Port Authority. [See table for local reimbursements.] A parade of witnesses provided a peek behind the curtain at how the conspirators operated and why it’s tough to catch the bad guys in these complex, but important, financial transactions. No one in Pittsburgh wants to talk about it. Stephen Bland, chief executive officer of the Port Authority, would not discuss the case, said the authority’s spokesman Jim Ritchie, because the transaction happened before he joined the agency in 2006. Paul Skoutelas, who was CEO at the time, declined to talk. “Given the years that have passed,” he wrote in an email, “I don’t recall details.” Board members of the authority at the time of the deal either could not be reached, declined to comment or did not speak directly to the issue. Dean Richardson of the law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott said in an email that he was unable to respond about his role as bond counsel because of attorney-client relationship with the Port Authority, “as well as the ongoing legal proceedings.” A raid in Los Angeles In 2006, federal investigators raided Chambers, Dunhill, Rubin & Co., a municipal finance adviser in Los Angeles. CDR’s role was to set up the schemes, according to court documents. In 2001, the Port Authority sold $251 million in bonds to pay for construction projects, such as extending the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway. The transit agency could invest the revenue before the money was needed for construction. That was the big pot of money that the conspirators coveted. CDR owner David Rubin figured he could represent the Port Authority in an investment auction, “if we went in low enough,” company vice president Doug Goldberg testified in federal court in Manhattan in April. CDR asked for an unusually low advisory fee of $5,000. The Port Authority jumped at it and hired the firm. Rubin could ask for such a low fee because he knew that a General Electric Co. subsidiary wanted the Port Authority deal and was willing to pay a kickback. The more money that GE made on the transaction, Goldberg testified, the more GE would kick back to his firm. CDR and GE officials could reasonably expect that no one was looking. Historically, municipal financial advisers, and their activities, have been largely unregulated. CDR did have to circumvent a tax law. It was required to get at least three secret bids. In an honest auction, the bank that pledges the highest interest rate wins the right to invest the public’s money. CDR and several banks were not running honest auctions. Designated losers deliberately submitted low bids. Designated winners bid just enough to get the business. Rubin admitted that his firm rigged the market from 1998 to 2006, and he and his employees cooperated with prosecutors. GE settled charges by paying $70.4 million in fines and penalties. But three former GE bankers decided to fight the charges. Dominick P. Carollo, Peter S. Grimm and Steven E. Goldberg (no relationship to CDR’s Doug Goldberg) went on trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in April. Prosecutors used the Port Authority transaction to illustrate how the advisers and the bankers skimmed public money. Lowering the bid On March 12, 2001, Doug Goldberg at CDR called Steve Goldberg at GE, according to a tape recording of the phone call played at the trial. American International Group, an insurance company, had offered a 4.97 percent return on the Port Authority’s $227 million construction fund, and that was the highest offer so far. This is what a sham auction sounds like, according to the tape recording. “AIG is pretty aggressive here,” Doug Goldberg says. “What are you thinking?” GE bids 5.04 percent. Doug Goldberg wants to shave more off the bid and he ignores the bid. “So, five percent,” he declares. Steve Goldberg hesitates. “Five percent? … Five point oh oh? “Yep,” Doug Goldberg responds. “Done,” Steve Goldberg says. The contrived auction took 37 seconds. “I provided him information about my other bidders, told him approximately where he needed to be, and let him reduce his initial bid,” Doug Goldberg explained to the jury. CDR managing director Stewart Wolmark “told me to make sure that Steve won at a rate he was happy with.” Two weeks after the deal was struck, GE kicked back $57,400 to CDR, disguised as a commission on an unrelated deal. CDR certified to the Port Authority that no bidders had received inside information and that the only money it had collected was its $5,000 fee. The difference between GE’s top bid of 5.04 percent and final bid of 5 percent was just four one-hundredths of a percent. If applied to a personal savings account, no one would notice. But tiny amounts multiplied by the Port Authority’s $227 million, and to billions of dollars from other municipal investments, add up to big profits for banks and big losses for transit agencies and schools and cities. GE skimmed $12.4 million from 229 transactions and submitted 125 intentionally lower bids to allow other banks to win, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Port Authority was defrauded of at least $87,600. The jury found the three bankers guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the United States. Last month a judge sentenced Steven Goldberg to four years in prison, and Grimm and Carollo to three years each. Stalled rules The obscure corner of public finance whose players swindled state and local governments for eight years remains lightly regulated. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 requires municipal advisers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to conduct themselves as fiduciaries. That means that advisers would have to put the public’s financial interests above their own and that regulators could monitor them. But the fiduciary standard cannot take effect until the SEC defines what a “municipal adviser” is. The regulation has been stalled for two years, as the municipal finance industry fights over whom the rule should cover. The federal probe into bid rigging in municipal finance continues. (Reach Bill Heltzel at 412-315-0265 or at [email protected].)

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Agendia BV Pulls IPO Citing Volatile Conditions 6/21/2011 8:33:00 AM AMSTERDAM and IRVINE, California, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- - Not for release, distribution or publication in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, into or in the United States, Australia, Canada, OR Japan Agendia (or the "Company"), a commercial-stage molecular cancer diagnostics company, announces the postponement of its Initial Public Offering ("IPO") that was due to price today. Agendia announced its intention to float on 20 May 2011 and started its book building process on 6 June 2011. The timetable has coincided with an extraordinarily volatile period in global capital markets resulting in high levels of uncertainty and volatility that do not meet the existing shareholders' and the Company's desire to achieve a successful IPO with an orderly aftermarket. Commenting on this announcement, Bernhard Sixt, Agendia's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are pleased by the response we have received from investors but current volatile and uncertain market conditions do not allow us to launch the transaction and achieve a smooth transition into the public markets. Agendia's product offering is strong and our world-class team will continue to increase the pace of commercial growth as a private company, supported by our existing shareholders who are committed to the successful future growth of the Company. We would like to thank both Dutch and international investors who took the time to meet us and who showed great interest in our company." About Agendia Agendia is a commercial-stage molecular diagnostic company focused on the discovery, development and commercialisation of genomic-based diagnostic products to improve the quality of life for cancer patients by providing healthcare professionals with critical information to enable safe and effective personalised treatment. The Company's Symphony™ suite of four complementary breast cancer tests, TargetPrint®, MammaPrint®, BluePrint™ and TheraPrint®, provides a comprehensive support system for oncologists to determine whether a breast cancer patient is likely to benefit from hormonal therapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies, saving patients from unnecessary treatments and lowering healthcare costs. Agendia's lead test, MammaPrint®, currently the only molecular diagnostic breast cancer recurrence test to receive clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration, gives physicians a tool to clearly and decidedly separate "high" risk from "low" risk recurrence in early stage breast cancer patients, thereby better gauging the "high" risk patients' need for chemotherapy. Agendia is advancing a pipeline of new products, which includes a further extension of its breast cancer suite of tests as well as products for colon cancer and lung cancer. The Company's research and development activities are driven by its deep scientific roots and supported by collaborations with leading academic consortia, cancer centres and pharmaceutical companies. Agendia was founded in 2003 as a spin-off of the Netherlands Cancer Institute and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Irvine, California, United States. For more information, please visit http://www.agendia.com. This announcement and the information contained herein are not for distribution in or into the United States of America (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia) (the "United States"), Australia, Canada or Japan. This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to purchase the shares of Agendia (the "Company", and such shares, the "Securities") in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or in any other jurisdiction where such offer or sale could be unlawful. The Securities have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. Consequently, the Securities may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly or indirectly, into or within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. No public offering of the Securities is being made in the United States. This communication is only addressed to, and directed at, persons in member states of the European Economic Area who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive ("Qualified Investors"). For the purposes of this provision, the expression "Prospectus Directive" means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EC, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive. This document is an advertisement and not a prospectus for the purpose of the Prospectus Directive. A prospectus dated 3 June 2011 prepared pursuant to the Prospectus Directive has been published which can be obtained through Agendia. In addition, in the United Kingdom, this communication is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, Qualified Investors (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within the definition of "investment professional" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), or (ii) who are high net worth companies, unincorporated associations and partnerships and trustees of high value trusts as described in Article 49(2) of the Order, and (iii) other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to and will only be engaged in with such persons. This communication must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom, by persons who are not relevant persons and (ii) in any member state of the European Economic Area other than the United Kingdom, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. In connection with the Offering, one of the Underwriters (the "Stabilising Manager") (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) may over-allot shares or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the shares at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilising Manager (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) will undertake stabilisation action. Any stabilisation action may begin on or after the date on which adequate public disclosure of the final price of the shares is made and, if begun, may be ended at any time, but it must end no later than 30 days after the date of commencement of trading of the shares. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice. All investment is subject to risk. The price of the securities offered may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Potential investors are advised to seek expert financial advice before making any investment decision. Aan de belegging zijn risico's verbonden. De waarde van de aangeboden effecten kan fluctueren. Rendementen uit het verleden zijn geen garantie voor de toekomst. Potentiële beleggers wordt geadviseerd om eerst hun eigen beleggingsadviseur te raadplegen alvorens een beleggingsbesluit te nemen. Agendia Dr. Bernhard Sixt, President & CEO [email protected] International media and investor enquiries M:Communications Mary-Jane Elliott / Emma Thompson Tel: +44(0)20-7920-2345, E-mail: [email protected] Dutch media enquiries Huijskens Communications Ian Bickerton Tel +31(0)20-685-5955, E-mail: [email protected]

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From the April-23, 2003 issue of Credit Union Times Magazine • Subscribe! Banks must Win Over Minorities, according to OCC April 23, 2003 • Reprints ARLINGTON, Va.-In a recent speech before the Consumer Bankers Association, Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke, Jr. encouraged banks to direct their focus with shifts in the U.S. population for continued success. "It is no exaggeration to say that the industry's future success hinges on its ability to meet the needs of the nation we are in the process of becoming," Hawke said. He noted many minorities are often led to use nonbank financial services providers. Ten million U.S. households, or 10% of the total households, do not have a banking relationship and 60% of those are minorities. Check cashers alone generate $60 billion a year from those households, Hawke explained. He added that banks should not discount the effectiveness of electronic account access and pointed out that 45% of the Hispanic population in America are under the age of nine and growing up with computers. "I have long advocated that banks make wider use of technology, especially through the promotion of direct payroll deposit and the offering of electronic account access, to deliver banking services to low-income Americans at prices they can afford," Hawke said. He continued, "It should go without saying that numbers of this magnitude can be ignored by the banking industry only at its peril. The people who patronize nonbank fringe providers should be your customers." Hawke noted that the most successful banks at serving minority communities have been those who have done their homework and developed local partnerships. Many have found that marketing an entire product line in these areas does not serve the consumer or the institution very well, he said.

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From the December 5, 2012 issue of Credit Union Times Magazine • Subscribe! CUNA Mutual Plants $15 Million Stake in Investment Services December 05, 2012 • Reprints With a team of 10 advisers helping to oversee a retail investment portfolio of $402 million, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union places high value on being able to respond to members quickly, seamlessly and efficiently. Those standards are among the reasons the $9.4 billion SchoolsFirst in Santa Ana, Calif., is looking forward to reaping the benefits of CUNA Mutual Group’s multi-year, multi-million dollar investment in its broker-dealer, CUNA Brokerage Services Inc. to help credit unions better address a growing need to serve members’ investment goals. More than $15 million has been committed to CBSI for state-of-the art technology, staffing, training and other resources for members’ pre-retirement and retirement needs, CUNA Mutual recently announced. “For us, essentially, what we’ve seen over the last two years is added support in terms of more resources from technology improvement to being able to get immediate assistance from the CBSI’s home office in Waverly, Iowa,” said Carol Silva, vice president of investment and retirement planning for SchoolsFirst. CBSI said it has more than 250 credit union programs, 400 advisers, with more than $2.3 billion in mutual fund, annuity and managed account sales, and more than $136 million in annual revenue. In 2012, the affiliate of CUNA Mutual said it will pay credit unions more than $60 million in fee revenue. A significant investment CBSI has already made is with Pershing, the company’s clearing broker-dealer, according to CUNA Mutual. The resulting brokerage platform is providing benefits to advisers and members, including seamless, online brokerage account transactions, e-signature capabilities and mobile technology. Investor Connection is CBSI’s newest member/investor-facing technology that serves as an investment relationship portal from the credit union’s website, CUNA Mutual said. Its goal is to showcase the credit union’s financial adviser and gives members access to their brokerage relationship online. The site also allows access to account and investment information, research tools, calculators and financial articles. Another technology enhancement CBSI is implementing is MEMBERS Inscope, which is a tool that helps credit unions identify high-value members based on specific, investment-centered profiles. “Credit unions have told us one of their top needs is noninterest income, especially during these times of tight margins,” said Bob Trunzo, president of CUNA Mutual Insurance and Financial. “Our $15 million investment in CBSI is one of the ways we are addressing those needs. This investment will better position CBSI to help credit unions meet the investment needs of members, while at the same time deepening relationships with members.” Silva at SchoolsFirst said the credit union has been with CBSI since 2007. Internally, the cooperative wanted to grow its investment program but didn’t think it could do so with its vendor prior to then. Like some in the industry, SchoolsFirst continues to chip away at a common perception and is optimistic that CBSI’s improvements will make a significant dent. “Credit unions are not top of mind when it comes to investments. They tend to think of us for more traditional products,” Silva said. “We’re adding 40,000 to 50,000 members so it’s definitely a challenge when it comes to the awareness component.” Suneast Federal Credit Union knew that with the rapid changes in technology, the $457 million cooperative in Aston, Pa., could never keep up with them on its own, said Jon Barrett, vice president of market development and programs. Having the expertise and the wherewithal to deliver is what put CBSI ahead of other competitors. “It was important to us to have a connection with a credit union-linked company because the movement is important to us,” Barrett said. “It’s a pretty competitive world out there with a lot of choices. We want a partner that’s going to be with us down the road.” Suneast’s investment portfolio is creeping up towards $95 million, Barrett said. Members who use the credit union’s service run the gamut from the young and old to retirees. The mantra has always been it’s never too early to have a conversation about retirement planning or saving for college. “CBSI promised they would give us the tools we need to grow our business and they delivered MEMBERS Inscope,” Barrett said. “We’re discovering new ways to use the information all the time. It’s exactly what we needed.” Training is another investment focus of CBSI, according to Jim Metz, president/CEO of CBSI. In addition to its ongoing training, the company added the Honors Academy in 2011 through Cannon Financial Institute. It’s a year-long program of face-to-face, remote and self-study training that helps advisers take their business to the next level. The first Honors Academy graduates have achieved a year-over-year average increase in revenue production of nearly 39% at their credit unions, Metz said. Two of SchoolsFirst’s advisers have gone through the academy, Silva pointed out. New programs to train registered member services representatives, investment program coordinators and sales assistants are also being developed, Metz said. Mike Bunge recently rejoined CUNA Mutual in the new position of CBSI business development director. He led business and community development efforts at the $1.8 billion led Summit Credit Union in Madison, Wis., the company said. “I’ve been in both chairs and understand the challenges credit unions face in growing noninterest income. I’m excited about CBSI’s commitment to partnering with credit unions. There’s great potential for credit unions in member investments,” Bunge said. Barrett said in addition to having a committed partnership, Suneast has the advantage of a board that recognizes the importance of integrating an investment program. “Culturally, everyone gets it. Many of the board members are clients and that helps,” Barrett said. “We’re here for the long term and we see investments as a completion of the circle.” Show Comments

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SEC Charges Couple in $75 Million Charitable Annuity Scam February 05, 2013 • Reprints A husband and wife who raised millions of dollars selling investments for a purported charity have been charged with fraud by the SEC for allegedly bilking senior citizens across the country. According to the SEC’s complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, after Richard K. Olive and Susan L. Olive were hired at We The People Inc., the organization obtained $75 million from more than 400 investors in Florida, Colorado, and Texas among more than 30 states across the country by selling an investment product they described as a charitable gift annuity. However, the CGAs issued by We The People differed in several ways from CGAs issued legitimately, namely that they were issued primarily to benefit the Olives and other third-party promoters and consultants, the SEC said, adding only a small amount of the money raised was actually directed to charitable services. Meanwhile the Olives received more than $1.1 million in salary and commissions and siphoned away investor funds for their personal use, according to the SEC. The SEC further alleged that the Olives lured elderly investors with limited investing experience into the scheme by making a number of false representations about the purported value and financial benefits of We the People’s CGAs. The Olives also lied about the safety and security of the investments, the SEC said. Investors were coaxed to transfer assets including stocks, annuities, real estate, and cash to We The People in exchange for a CGA, according to the SEC complaint. We The People claimed to operate as a nonprofit organization while it was offering the CGAs from June 2008 to April 2012, the agency said. However, it was not operating as a charity but instead for the primary purpose of issuing CGAs and using the proceeds to pay substantial sums to the Olives, third-party promoters, and consultants, the SEC said. On rare occasions when We The People did actually direct money raised toward charitable services, it was insignificant, according to the SEC complaint. For instance, the organization made public statements that it donated $21.8 million in relief aid to AIDS orphans in Zambia, but the supplies were donated by others and We The People merely made a small payment to the third party that was shipping the supplies, the SEC said. The SEC’s complaint charged the Olives with violations, or aiding and abetting violations, of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws as well as violations of the securities and broker-dealer registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC said it is seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus pre- and post-judgment interest and financial penalties against the Olives. Separate complaints were filed Monday against We The People as well as the company’s in-house counsel William G. Reeves, the SEC said. They both agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations. The settlements are subject to court approval. We The People consented to a final judgment that will enable the appointment of a receiver to protect more than $60 million of investor assets still held by the company, according to the SEC. The final judgment also provides for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and provides injunctive relief under the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Reeves entered into a cooperation agreement with the SEC, and the terms of his settlement reflect his assistance in the SEC’s investigation and anticipated cooperation in its pending action against the Olives, the SEC said. Reeves agreed to be suspended from appearing or practicing before the SEC for at least five years, and consented to a final judgment providing injunctive relief under the provisions of the federal securities laws that he violated, according to the SEC. The court will determine at a later date whether a financial penalty should be imposed against Reeves. “The Olives raised millions from senior citizens by claiming that We The People’s so-called CGAs provided attractive financial benefits and were re-insured and backed by assets held in trust,” said Julie Lutz, associate director of the SEC’s Denver regional office. “Investors were not given the full story about the true value and security of their investments.”

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