Datasets:

BAAI

/

IndustryCorpus_finance

like 10

Follow

Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence 855

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/15581

Debt Free For Life Video Series Read David's Blog Latte Factor® Calculator Calculate Your DOLP™ Choose To Save Calculators Get Motivated By Success Newsletter Archive Books FinishRich Book Series Debt Free For Life Start Over, Finish Rich Fight for Your Money Go Green Live Rich Automatic Millionaire Homeowner Start Late Finish Rich Automatic Millionaire Automatic Millionaire Workbook Smart Women Finish Rich Smart Couples Finish Rich Finish Rich Workbook Finish Rich Dictionary El Millonario Automatico Dueno de Casa See David Live Get David to Speak at Your Event David in the News Watch David on TV Contact Us About... Meet David Bach Press and Media Requests About FinishRich Media About David Bach NEW! David's Blog Print David's Bio David Bach has helped millions of people around the world take action to live and finish rich. He is one of the most popular and prolific financial authors of our time with eleven consecutive national bestsellers, including two consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers, Start Late, Finish Rich and The Automatic Millionaire as well as Start Over, Finish Rich,Fight for Your Money, Go Green, Live Rich, The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner, Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, The Finish Rich Workbook and The Automatic Millionaire Workbook.David Bach carries the unique distinction of having had four of his books appear simultaneously on the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and USA Today bestseller lists. In all, his FinishRich Books have been published in more than 18 languages, with more than seven million copies in print worldwide. David's is now on a mission to get America out of debt. To this end he has just released his 12th book, instant New York Times bestseller, Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan For Financial Freedom. Bach is regularly featured in the media. He has appeared six times on The Oprah Winfrey Show to share his strategies for living and finishing rich and you can catch him most Wednesdays on Today's Money 911 segment on NBC. He's also a frequent guest on Weekend Today, CNN's Larry King Live, ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly, The View, CBS's Early Show, ABC News, ABC's Good Money, Fox News, and CNBC. He has been profiled in many major publications, including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, USA Today, People, Reader's Digest, Time, Financial Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Working Woman, Glamour, Family Circle, and Redbook. He has been a contributor to Redbook Magazine, Smart Money Magazine, Yahoo Finance and AOL Money. A renowned motivational and financial speaker, Bach regularly presents seminars for and delivers keynote addresses to the world's leading financial service firms, Fortune 500 companies, universities, and national conferences. He is the founder and Chairman of FinishRich Media, a company dedicated to revolutionizing the way people learn about money. Prior to founding FinishRich Media, he was a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley and a partner of The Bach Group, which during his tenure (1993 to 2001) managed more than half a billion dollars for individual investors. Bach is involved with many worthwhile causes including: Habitat for Humanity - New York City where he is a board member. In consideration of all of Bach's past and present success, what he is most proud of is his seven year old son, Jack Davis Bach and his 1 year old son, James Philip Bach. David Bach lives in New York.Please visit his web sites at www.finishrich.com and his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DavidBach. Real Advice, Real People, Real Results. Hi David, I have been reading so many books about how to succeed. I'm still shocked on what I have found, my latte factor was $2,956 per month for the last 5 years. So what that means is I have wasted $177,360 instead of putting it in my bank account, I feel so bad! I didn't get the amount of how much I could have in 10, 20, 30, 45 years because the limit on how to calculate was $20 per day my latte factor it's $98.53 per day! Please help me on how to manage my money, I'm starting to put my exp ... more - Jesus Dominguez Browse through hundreds of success stories or even add your own! In Debt Free for Life, #1 New York Times bestselling author David Bach has written his most groundbreaking and important book since The Automatic Millionaire, giving us the knowledge, the tools, and the mindset we need to get out of debt and achieve financial freedom -- forever! Free Finish Rich tools to help you achieve your goals. Figure out your Latte Factor™ The Five Secret Questions to Finish Rich Get Organized with Our Worksheets Tips on Hiring a Financial Advisor Learn about Investment Basics Find out about College Savings and Planning home | free stuff | books | live events | shop | media | contact us | about us terms of use | privacy policy | bookmark | careers | site map | ©2012 FinishRich Media, LLC.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/15589

2014 Looks To Be A Better Year For Yum! Brands Mark Yagalla | Last year was certainly a tough year for Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM ) . The problems started in December 2012 at KFC in China over issues with one of its poultry suppliers. Things steadily deteriorated as worries over bird flu cropped up again and drove customers from its stores. The company posted double-digit drops in comparable store sales within the People's Republic of China. However, things are starting to look up and this Fool sees the light at the end of the tunnel for Yum! Brands and its shareholders. Now is the time for us fools to be looking ahead and see what's in store for 2014. Sales in China showing signs of improvementKFC's China business is critical for Yum! Brands. Yum! Brands has more than 6,000 restaurants in more than 850 cities in China. So when there's a problem in China, it has a huge impact on the top- and bottom-lines for Yum! Brands. In November, same-store sales for Yum! China posted a 1% gain. This was a positive sign since September and October same store sales comparisons to the previous year were negative. Part of the reason for this turnaround was due to promotions that the company ran. Now all eyes will be watching to see how sales fared in December. Citi believes that KFC China will post back-to-back positive same-store sales for December when the company reports its results. For 2014, Yum! forecasts operating profits to grow 40% in the China Division. The company plans to open 1,850 new restaurants next year, of which 700 will be in China. Plenty of potential in IndiaOne country that has Yum! Brands extremely excited is India. There, the company sees a lot of potential for all three of its restaurant concepts. I touched on a lot of the positive developments going on for Yum! in India with "Forget China, the Real Potential for Yum! Brands is in India". Yum! Brands already has about 730 locations in India. When Yum! opened its 40,000th location, the company chose to make a symbolic move by opening the location in Goa, India. Pizza Hut has a growing presence as well with about 181 casual-dining restaurants and 132 home-delivery locations in India. Taco Bell has the smallest presence with only four locations in and around Bangalore. Overall, Yum! plans to have more than 2,000 locations by 2020. Breakfast from Taco Bell launches this yearIn a direct challenge to McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , Taco Bell is launching its new breakfast menu this year. It will include favorites like the waffle taco, Cinnabon Delights, and plenty of different burritos. Yum! Brands CEO David Novak is certainly excited about breakfast since he said on the company's earnings call that "the good news is that based upon our extensive market test, 90% of the breakfast sales are incremental, and it looks like the breakfast advertising is also driving total brand sales." There's plenty of growth opportunities ahead for Taco Bell since 99% of its locations are in the U.S. Therefore, international expansion is definitely in the cards. By 2022, Yum! Brands hopes to double Taco Bell's sales to $14 billion from $7 billion today. This year, Taco Bell will open about 190 new restaurants and the plan is for more than 200 next year. Competition with McDonald's is fierceIn terms of size and scale, Yum! Brands and McDonald's are intense competitors. Each one continues to try and top the other one. In Asia, McDonald's even offers chicken on its menus to go up against KFC, where each company typically has locations across from one another. I talked about their rivalry in "McDonald's and KFC Are Going Head-To-Head". Both companies are also competing for our investment dollars. Yum! Brands trades at 20 times next year's earnings, while McDonald's trades at only 16 times next year's earnings. In terms of dividends, McDonald's wins here as well with its richer 3.3% dividend yield. But where Yum! gets the edge is in growth potential. Yum! Brands has three concepts that it can expand, while McDonald's has only one. Foolish assessmentThe year 2013 was a rough one for both Yum! Brands and McDonald's. However, in a competition between the two right now, I would give the edge to Yum! Brands. I see things turning around for the company in China and I think the new breakfast menu from Taco Bell will really spark same-store sales. Both the menu and the shares of Yum! Brands look appetizing to me. The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014There's a huge difference between a good stock, and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company. Mark Yagalla has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends McDonald's. The Motley Fool owns shares of McDonald's. 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. CAPS Rating: YUM Yum! Brands

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/15593

Help | Connect | Sign up|Log in Ian Callaghan Let Me In! What makes a ticket hot? Novelty and publicity are two essential ingredients, but real incandescence only comes with scarcity. When a United Nations “Year of Microfinance” in 2005 was followed in 2006 by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Grameen Bank and its founder, Dr. Muhammed Yunus, the world got to know about the supposedly esoteric business of providing financial services to the poor. By the time Mexican microfinance bank Compartamos came to the market with the sector’s first IPO in April, the white heat of interest in the offering caused a 13-times over-subscription for the 30% of the bank on offer–and created the first microfinance millionaires. When there are 1.5 billion potential microfinance customers to serve, when existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) are growing their portfolios at annual rates of 30% or more and new MFIs are springing up every day, why are the opportunities to own a piece of the action so scarce? The first reason is lack of information. It’s a strange truth about an asset class that’s had so much publicity. Although there are a number of private-equity funds out there, it’s not all that easy to find them. True, information about these funds is available on microfinance site MixMarket.org. But a real change for the better should come with the imminent launch of the International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI), which will specifically target the “limited partner” universe. It will offer clear and solid data to its members. This data will include not just the investments that are available, but also, over time, common metrics to evaluate the performance of funds. Another reason microfinance opportunities seem scarce is that there is almost no liquidity in microfinance investments. Few are listed (and none on any major stock exchange) and very few private stakes ever change hands. The ownership of MFIs is often a mix of equity and donor capital–development agencies, for example–thereby making fair treatment of all parties on exit difficult. Similarly, the motives of early-stage shareholders are often completely different. It is very common to find shareholders driven entirely by the “mission” of serving the poor, alongside shareholders with a purely commercial interest in microfinance. These differing agendas can lead to paralysis in terms of optimizing the MFIs’ capital structure. Also, key shareholders, such as the International Financial Institutions, are often reluctant to free up stakes. Many argue that these shareholders should be selling their stakes, thereby opening up the market to new microfinance institutions and territories. For a fully commercial investment, the easiest option is probably to buy into one of the private-equity funds or funds-of-funds, which can be found on MixMarket.org. Yet most are new and still in the ramp-up phase, so there is little prospect of early exits or returns. Looking for stakes in individual microfinance institutions requires some unusual considerations above and beyond the standard risks associated with investing in emerging markets, like currency volatility and political risk. There will, for example, be questions about “mission.” Is this institution driven purely by profit or by some more socially responsible motive of service to the poor? The latter can take many forms, from lending at effectively subsidized rates to what in industry parlance is often referred to as “microfinance plus.” (The “plus” can refer to health and education programs, for example.) But the underlying idea is that finance alone doesn’t create the development effects that truly lift people out of poverty. Needless to say, evaluating such fungible definitions can be difficult. Also worth noting is that many MFIs start life as not-for-profits, and are often seeded by donor money from aid agencies. Many of these MFIs have transformed to for-profit structures, meaning that donor money could be sitting alongside a variety of quasi-equity instruments (such as convertible debt) as well as common stock. Valuing all this is an art form, with few comparables available to inform either book multiple or cash-flow valuation models. Unfortunately, the industry’s sole mega-deal, Mexico’s Compartamos IPO, with its 13-times book valuation, probably hasn’t helped, as it’s given some MFI owners a somewhat inflated sense of their own stock’s worth. Ian Callaghan is head of the Microfinance Institutions Group at Morgan Stanley, based in London. Comments are turned off for this post.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/15611

Gulf States Leaving the Dollar Behind? – by Vasko Kohlmayer November 24, 2009 by Vasko Kohlmayer 7 Comments Print This Post “The Gulf single currency is not happening tomorrow or the day after,” says Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali. “Sufficient time” is needed to prepare for such a move the minister told the Kuwaiti parliament last week. Al-Shamali’s statement is startling in how matter-of-factly it reveals the intent of the Gulf states to abandon the dollar. Last month, veteran British journalist Robert Fisk filed a story titled “The Demise of the Dollar” in which he claimed that the Gulf countries were secretly working to set up a new currency to be used for oil trade. The report shook the markets and provoked a furor across the globe with many accusing Fisk of posting sensational stories based on obscure sources. It turns out that Fisk was right. If anything his article understated how far along the Gulf countries had come in their quest to replace the dollar. So much so that they had set the beginning of the next year as the start of the new monetary regime. And even though they will not be able to meet the ambitious deadline, its very existence underscores the earnestness of those countries to decouple themselves from the dollar framework. Such a move would have devastating repercussions for the United States, because it would deal a major blow to the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. Once the dollar loses that special standing foreign central banks and investors will no longer be willing to continue purchasing Treasury bonds at low interest. Deprived of the ability to borrow cheaply from abroad, the American government would be forced to monetize portions of its debt in order to obtain cash for its expenditures. This would lead, among other things, to runaway inflation. Perhaps the most telling thing about the ongoing effort of the Gulf states to drop the greenback is that none of them is an outright enemy of America. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia maintain – for the most part – friendly relations with the United States. Their effort is thus not driven by some insidious desire to harm the US, but by the reckless monetary and fiscal policies of our own government. The spectacular growth of our national debt and the rapid expansion of the money supply have debased the dollar which has been dramatically losing value. It is all too understandable that resources-rich countries do not wish to trade their national wealth for an increasingly valueless currency. There may still be those who think that all this is just a plot by Arabs to weaken the United States by sabotaging our currency. Arabs, however, are not the only ones trying to decouple themselves from it. Tuesday last week, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, made a sobering speech in which he said: The imperative of greater global currency stability means the world can no longer rely, as it has done since the end of the gold standard, on a currency issued by a single country. The “currency issued by a single country” is, of course, the dollar which has been the foundation of the global monetary system ever since the Bretton Woods conference which took place in 1944. The statement of Strauss-Kahn clearly indicates that IMF leadership is of the view that the dollar era is coming to an end. This is not so surprising given the dollar’s deteriorating condition. For world finance and trade to function smoothly, a strong and stable medium of exchange is required. The dollar no longer possess these qualities and its fall is wreaking havoc all across the globe. What will replace the dollar is unclear. Strauss-Kahn suggests that it may be Special Drawing Rights which will grow out of the IMF’s in-house account. This would, in turn, be backed by a basket of national currencies. Such an arrangement, however, would have even lesser chance of success than the current regime as it would based on fiat paper currencies of selected nations. And if we can be certain of one thing, it is that fiat currencies will never be stable for very long because politicians will always debase them by excessive printing. This is what has ultimately happened to the dollar. Its fate was sealed when Richard Nixon took it off the last vestiges of the gold standard in 1971. Since then it has been steadily losing value, a process which has dramatically accelerated in recent years. One hundred thousand dollars went a long way in 1971. Today the same one hundred thousand possesses only a fraction of its former worth. Whatever the future may hold, one thing is clear: The era of the dollar is drawing to an end. Saddled with debts that government cannot make possibly good on, the greenback has lost the world’s trust. The plan of the Gulf countries to give it up is one evidence of that. Its precipitously falling value is another. A week does not go by when officials of countries do not plead with our government to do something about our excessive indebtedness. Most recently, President Obama was told by Chinese officials during his visit that China will not keep buying our rapidly expanding debt indefinitely. There are no signs, however, that either the president or the Congress are serious about doing anything about it. On the contrary, they are compounding the crisis by contracting even more obligations. Our national debt has recently broken through the $12 trillion mark even as those in Washington are attempting to implement a series of costly measures that would cost tens of trillions in the long term. In light of this, is it any wonder that the world is trying to decouple itself from the currency that our own politicians are debasing with such astounding recklessness? Filed Under: FrontPage Print This Post About Vasko Kohlmayer So. How MUCH longer will it be before people in this country realize that this is a deliberate plot not of the Arabs, or of China, but from within this country. To crash our country for the creation of a new post-American state to come. Either coupled with Canada and Mexico in the North American Union, or coupled to the European Union. The next few years will be interesting. I predict that we will have UN Peacekeeping Troops based on our soil within just a few years. One world government is on the way. Not that we weren't warned. http://www.facebook.com/people/Amil-Imani/100000240770813 Amil Imani What Gulf are you talking about? The Mexican Gulf? Or The Persian Gulf? stefcho The IMF (like the Fed) caters for the international banking cartel – not for America. America has been a puppet of the international banking since Lincoln. Now the international banking cartel – unable to make disgraceful amounts of profit in post-bailout America are about to bail themselves. Soon the US of A will be in a steep nosedive with dollar inflation going through the roof… And when the dust has settled a little, the banking cartel will have itself a bumper fire sale when everything in America down to 1/10th of its current value. America is about to be slain by the very bankers who installed the gold standard, and the dollar will succumb to hyper-inflation just like like Mexico did when the international bankers mass dumped their currency. But you can bet Soros, Citibank, J.P. Morgan et. al will be rolling in it and toasting in a new post-American banking era. Long live 'free market' capitalism. From an economic point of view, the government is relying upon the people as can be seen by new demands for tax increases. On the other hand, the people are relying upon the government as seen by the health care legislation and the high rate of unemployment. This is obviously a vicious circle. The ship of state will continue circling in circles of ever decreasing radius until it sails up its own rear end and vanishes altogether. Well, what's happening is that the banking cartel has completed its 70 year ponzi scheme with the complete bankrupting of America. They've raked in the max profits in fiat currency, traded all the worthless cash in for solid assets like gold and silver and land and real estate around the world. And now they are leaving the investors high and dry with hyperinflated currency and soon to be ruined investments. Time soon to move on to the next victim nation. By the way, the world banking cartel is in the hands of the communists. Most of the big movers at that level are communists and socialists. LucyQ “This is what has ultimately happened to the dollar. Its fate was sealed when Richard Nixon took it off the last vestiges of the gold standard in 1971. Since then it has been steadily losing value, a process which has dramatically accelerated in recent years.” This is an excellent article by Kohlmayer. Obviously, this dire situation means we can't have never-ending wars unless the majority of Americans want to pay higher taxes. It means we will have to become energy-independent sooner rather than later and that our govt cannot afford health care at this time nor new weapons systems. It means that the American govt will have to be on a tight budget just like we are on. I tend to see the glass half-full so none of this is surprising. We may have to go back to hunting and fishing for food but the fact is, there's plenty available, including water and shelter. I'm a bit surprised the Gulf States took this long to figure out they needed their own monetary system based upon oil. Really. Has the Arab world and China really thought this one through? The last time American went into what I liked to think as rogue currency status culminated in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Does the rest of the world really want to put their faith in China, who have been operating under one standard business model since Nixon? It is not that their currency is strong due to their manufacturing, but the reverse. The only reason they are competitive at manufacturing is due to an artificially devalued currency. How about Russia? Just wait until they start poisioning neighborhoods with radioactive metals. How about this one? Just as easy as Mr. Miyabi does “wax on wax off” America does “nuclear missile shield on/nuclear missile shield off.” Has the world really thought what is going to happen when they ostracize America? We are just going to say “sure. ooohhhkay” and be bad and let genocides happen. Heck, if Europe is any indication we will probably turn into hacker's paradise and bred a new generation of uber-terrorists who start genocides like Beavis and Butthead mess up at the fast food counter. Whoops! Half of Asia started a 10 million person genocide because of R.Snake's latest attacks vectors. Whoopsy daisy!

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/15929

Peter Brimelow May 29, 2008, 12:01 a.m. EDT The cost of soaring public and private debt levels Commentary: Examining Kevin Phillips' theories By Peter Brimelow & Edwin S. Rubenstein NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Is Kevin Phillips right that something funny is going on in the economy? Yes, although just how funny is less clear. The numbers do suggest he's correct about one thing at least: public and private debt has indeed reached unprecedented levels. Recently, we described Phillips' thesis, in his new book "Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Finance of American Capital" that the U.S. economy has been run by a Washington-Wall Street mercantilist alliance for the benefit of the finance sector. See column. Phillips doesn't flat-out predict that the resulting distortions will result in a crash. He says it's too early to say. But he meaningfully quotes a number of authorities, such as Yale economist Robert Shiller, to the effect that it will. Phillips relies heavily on charts, which we like. In this column, we look at one that is at the heart of his book: public and private debt as a fraction of Gross Domestic Product. It looks like a barbell, with peak debt of 299% in 1933 falling to below 150% from the 1950-1980s, spiking again to a recent 353%. We've checked the numbers -- updating them to 2007 -- and he's right. Phillips calls this "The Great American Debt Bubble". He says, somewhat melodramatically, that the financial media haven't been running it recently "Analogies to the 1920s would have been too disturbing." This hurts our feelings. Early this year, we ran a chart of the unprecedented level of foreign holdings of federal debt, which is one part of America's dubious debt development, and is equally disturbing, especially because it suggests the dollar is very vulnerable. See column. Phillips is also right that that the finance sector has been involved in this leveraging up more than any other sector -- because of securitization, derivatives and highly leveraged hedge funds. He traces this finance sector debt expansion to easy money and to a series of bailouts orchestrated by the Federal Reserve, going back to the Arab rescue of Citibank in 1981. Phillips also takes at face value colorful reports that the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, a public sector-private sector consultation group formed after the 1987 Crash, amounts to a "Plunge Protection Team" that has orchestrated systematic grooming of markets. The objective: getting the system to swallow more debt and produce a bubble in the interests of Wall Street. Much as we love charts, however, you have to be careful about them. For example, the debt peak in 1933 was four years after the stock market crash. It may have been a symptom rather than a cause, reflecting the sharply contracting economy in the Depression. In contrast, the economy has been growing as debt levels rose for most of this decade. Conversely, credit controls and regulation may have artificially depressed debt levels during World War II and throughout the middle of the last century. Is there a better way to look at America's debt dilemma? We prefer charting the interest burden rather than gross debt. To see what we find, stay tuned for our next column. This Story has 0 Comments

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16009

Successful Family Perspectives Online « YOU DECIDE: Are we in trouble? | Main | Economist sees slow economic recovery» YOU DECIDE: Is capitalism up for grabs? MEDIA CONTACT: Dr. Mike Walden, 919.515.4671 or [email protected] Media representatives:For a high-resolution version of this photo, call 919.513.3127 or e-mail [email protected]. More so than at any time in the last 70 years, our fundamental economic system -- capitalism -- is being questioned. Capitalism is a system of private ownership of resources and private decisions about how those resources are used. While we certainly don't have a pure form of capitalism -- public decisions (government) do play a major role in our economy -- business decisions about what to produce and what prices to set and household decisions about where to work and what to buy are largely left in private hands. But some are now saying the capitalist system has failed us. The basis for this statement is the recession. While recessions occur with some degree of regularity, the severity of the recession which began in late 2007 has shocked most people. It has revived ideas that capitalism is inherently unstable and requires more government control. What is the intellectual basis for this claim? There are two fundamental roots to the argument. One comes from the English economist Keynes who believed capitalist economies go through periods of optimism and pessimism. During the optimistic times, consumer spending is high and investment returns are significant. Then, something sparks a mood change to pessimism. Investors sell, returns fall and consumers retreat by curtailing spending and increasing saving. These economic conditions prompt a recession. Several factors could cause the change in attitude ("animal spirits" in Keynes' language). Bad weather could cause crop failures or floods. International political tensions could increase the chance of war. Or technological advances may cause investors initially to over-estimate the resulting investment returns. Then, when reality sets in, there's an investment pullback (a bust) and subsequent decline in the broader economy. In the 1970s the economist Hyman Minsky offered a somewhat different, although related, cause for capitalism's instability. Minsky focused on the banking system and the instability caused by fractional reserve banking. Fractional reserve banking results in depositors' total claims on banks' reserves exceeding those reserves. For example, a bank may have $10 million in loans but only $2 million in reserves. The system works fine when the banks' loans succeed. But if a substantial number of the loans fail, the result can be a run on the bank by depositors and collapse of the financial system. Some observers say a "Minsky moment" occurred in the 2007-09 recession, when a drop in housing values effectively prompted a run on the "shadow" banking system (hedge funds, investment banks) and brought the nation -- and world -- close to a financial calamity. Believers in either of these two bases for capitalism's instability see a need for greater regulation of our economic system, including restrictions on how financial managers are compensated, what products financial firms can offer and additional public funds to be used for the rescue of large (too big to fail) companies. Some of these ideas are embodied in legislation currently being considered by Congress. But there is an alternative view, which says that rather than private decision-makers making capitalism inherently unstable, it is the actions of public decision-makers that are the source of the problem. The Federal Reserve can create economic instability by alternatively increasing and then decreasing the availability and cost of credit. This realization led the economist Milton Friedman to propose replacing the Federal Reserve Board with a computer programmed to increase the credit supply at a constant rate. Public decision-makers can also create instability by changing tax rules and government spending programs. Indeed, a strong argument can be made that the housing market crash and 2007-2009 recession resulted from easy and ample credit provided by the Federal Reserve in the early 2000s, a change in the tax law in the late 1990s increasing the tax value of homeownership and the aggressive promotion of homeownership by the quasi-governmental agencies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Many economic historians have argued that capitalism has brought more prosperity to more people than any other economic system developed. But the economic events of the last two years have called the system into question. Each person will have to decide the degree to which capitalism is at fault. My own advice, as a professional economist, is to carefully consider any changes. Dr. Mike Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Professor and North Carolina Cooperative Extension economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics of N.C. State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He teaches and writes on personal finance, economic outlook and public policy. The Department of Communication Services provides his You Decide column every two weeks. Earlier You Decide columns are at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/writing/walden/decide.htm Related audio files are at http://www.ncsu.edu/waldenradio/ For more news from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, please visit http://www.ncsu.edu/project/calscommblogs/news/ Posted by Dave at June 24, 2010 04:34 PM 3210 Faucette Drive Raleigh NC, 27695-7603

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16194

Notes on the crisis By: Paul Cella (Diary) | December 13th, 2008 at 04:12 PM | RESIZE: AAA I’m standin’ in the shadows with an aching heart I’m lookin’ at the world, tear itself apart — Bob Dylan, “Mississippi” Here Dylan has given us a brilliant summation of the condition of the simple citizen in the face of the economic crisis that exploded in our faces in mid-September, and which may well prove more momentous than another calamity, another September, seven years earlier. This thing has had the general characteristics of a Bob Dylan song: a long tale of human squalor and calamity, punctuated by flashes of biting humor and vaguely undergirded by a strange sense of sympathy, even a touch of paradoxical joy. I can only speak, of course, as the simplest layman, and even that may be too bold. No doubt whatever I say about the crisis will include error, for the world of finance, despite by best efforts, remains to me mind-bogglingly opaque in many respects. Nevertheless, I feel it is a perfectly defensible statement to say that we have beheld some astonishing sights in these last two months. What follows is a scattershot set of what can only be called notes. The notes of citizen watching the world tear itself apart. At the height of the crisis in September, I asked a knowledgeable friend to try to explain what he was observing. He groped briefly for a way to convey it, then said, “Imagine you woke up and the sky was green instead of blue.” Another analogy he used was, “What if you looked, and found that the sun was rising in the west?” We have witnessed Porsche take control of Volkswagen, not by purchasing shares (the old fashioned way), but by purchasing, outside from view, derivatives that force other people to sell VW stock. Disgruntled Europeans took to the papers to denounce the mercenary shrewdness of Porsche, accusing it of behaving like ruthless hedge fund. The charge is not far-fetched: Porsche made substantially more profit exercising options (another company’s options) than it did selling cars. We saw the world’s biggest insurer, with an empire of sturdy assets, brought to its knees by the weight of some other, even more arcane derivatives. We saw the country of Mexico, a big oil-producer, hedge an entire year’s worth of oil exports against oil, again through the mechanism of financial derivatives. These derivatives, as I understand them, amount to a kind of unregulated market in abstracted risk. Companies and banks and hedge funds buy and sell, not products, not even futures on products, but packages of risk on the profitability (or lack thereof) of products. Mexico paid several investment banks a cool 1.2 billion dollars to assume the downside risk on oil. No product changed hands, only an abstraction of risk. Everything happening so fast. Recall that for a couple weeks in late September, the Europeans were enjoying a good laugh at our expense: there was giddy talk of the end of American economic hegemony, the resurgence of the European model, and so on — until the crisis vaulted the Atlantic. Now we read that the recession in Germany — a country which wisely avoided the both a housing bubble and an overextension of consumer credit — may well be deeper than the one in America. The dread word DEFLATION has appeared in newspapers and on the business news channels with appalling regularity of late. It is pretty clear that the bursting of the housing bubble provoked a hysterical flight to commodities, above all oil, which in turn experienced its own rapid and ruinous bubble. Perhaps the only pleasurable thing in this whole mess has been watching the spectacle of OPEC’s pathetic flailing against forces beyond its control. Now the worry is that fears have driven panicked investors to inflate a new bubble: that of American sovereign debt, which the Federal Reserve has been selling like hotcakes. Is it possible that we’re in the midst of the death throes of the Globalization project of the last 60 years? The Financial Times reports on how manufacturers with huge globalized supply chains have taken the striking step of encouraging their suppliers to come to them for aid in lieu of the banks when things get tight. Now obviously these manufacturers are not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. It’s a matter of interest and even necessity. If some link in those supply chains is irrecoverably broken, companies could be ruined in a matter of days. But the undercurrent of the FT article, as I read it, is that globalization has made even solid, conservatively-financed companies extremely vulnerable, and that they are rethinking Globalization itself. Likewise, it’s probably only a matter of time before someone influential proposes an American sovereign wealth fund. Everybody’s doing it, you know. Watching this mess, you really do have the feeling that you’re watching the world tear itself apart. The Treasury Department, hoping to save the banking sector that is the lubricant of the whole economy, is shoveling money into the banks with abandon, but (a) the banks are so desperate to deleverage that the money is vanishing as fast as it arrives, and (b) it’s an open question whether anyone out there among consumers is even looking to borrow from them in any aggressive way. Senators, in turn, threaten to “mandate” that the banks start loaning. But only a very strange mandate indeed would insist that they lend money they don’t have to people who don’t want to borrow it. The whole Republic had a somewhat rancorous debate over the merits of the Troubled Asset Relief Program proposed to Congress back in September by Treasury Secretary Paulson and finally passed with modification in October. Its purpose was ably analogized by my friend Zippy Catholic at another website. Well, forget about all that. The TARP money is doing different things now, mostly purchasing preferred shares and warrants in banks. In short it’s assisting in the deleveraging of the financial sector. The picture of Wall Street, stock markets and investment that most of us have grown up with is shattered, probably irretrievably. Someone sent me an email some weeks which made mention of the fact that in the year 2000 the NASDAQ was above 5000. I laughed out loud at that. But it was hollow laughter. You watch these developments and your first instinct (if you are, say, me) tends towards outrage. Where is all this flipping money coming from? And just what the hell happens when US sovereign debt is no longer seen as a secure investment by China, Japan, the Gulf states, etc.? Why won’t the bloody banks start lending? What about buying up bad mortgages, Mr. Secretary? — But after a bit of investigation, the enormity of the whole situation hits you, and outrage is replaced by resignation tinged with sympathy. (Glib answers: The banks ain’t lending because no one wants to borrow money, and no one wants to lend it. The TARP transmogrified into a quasi-nationalization program because the opportunity to put a firewall around the bad mortgage-backed securities had passed, and maybe never really existed in the first place. The money is coming from the sale of US debt; and for the time being, everyone and their uncle is racing to protect what wealth they have left in US debt. So

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16307

AgentSite Home Contact UsSite Map Enter ZIP code: About Us Main Office and Locations State Auto Values Diversity State Auto is Social State Auto Financial Reports Impact of Storm Activity Columbus, Ohio (February 14, 2008) – State Auto Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: STFC) today announced its preliminary estimates of 2008 catastrophe storm activity through February 8, 2008. The company expects first quarter 2008 earnings will include between $30 and $33 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses related to abnormal January and early February storm activity. STFC Chairman, President and CEO Bob Restrepo stated “Severe wind and tornado activity has been unusually harsh for this early in the year. Storms that hammered the Midwest during the first five weeks of this year are estimated to contribute significantly more losses to STFC’s first quarter 2008 results than are normal. Over the past five years, we have experienced an average of $6.7 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses during the first quarter and reported $8.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. We have dispatched special catastrophe claims teams to two of the most heavily damaged areas in Jackson, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. Our claims staff continues to work hard to provide our policyholders the overwhelming service they expect from State Auto during these difficult times,” added Restrepo. State Auto Financial Corporation, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company. The company markets its personal and business insurance products exclusively through independent insurance agencies in 33 states and is proud to be a Trusted Choice® company partner. STFC stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which represents the top third of all NASDAQ listed companies. The company is one of NASDAQ’s listed companies to be named a 2007 Mergent Dividend Achiever for having increased its dividends for ten or more years in succession. The State Auto Insurance Companies are rated A+ (Superior) by the A.M. Best Company. The State Auto Insurance Companies include State Automobile Mutual, State Auto Property & Casualty, State Auto National, State Auto Ohio, State Auto Wisconsin, State Auto Florida, Milbank, Farmers Casualty, Meridian Security, Meridian Citizens Mutual, Beacon National, Beacon Lloyds, Patrons Mutual and Litchfield Mutual Fire. Additional information on State Auto Financial Corporation and the State Auto Insurance Companies can be found online at www.StateAuto.com. Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in State Auto Financial's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) legislative changes at both the state and federal level, state and federal regulatory rule making promulgations and adjudications, class action litigation involving the insurance industry and judicial decisions affecting claims, policy coverages and the general costs of doing business, the impact of competition on products and pricing, inflation in the costs of the products and services insurance pays for, product development, geographic spread of risk, weather and weather-related events, and other types of catastrophic events. State Auto Financial undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements Policy Number Enter a policy number AVP, Director of Corporate Communications Larry Adeleye AVP, Director of Treasury and Finance Copyright © 2014 State Auto Insurance Companies. All rights reserved. Site Map

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16475

More than 2,800 employees work at six United States Mint facilities. One facility is a depository, one is Headquarters, and four produce coin products. In managing its facilities, the United States Mint has a program of improving sustainability regarding energy and the environment. Touring the United States Mint is a fascinating experience for all ages and one to remember for a lifetime. Tours cover the present state of coin manufacturing and the history of the Mint. Visitors learn about the craftsmanship required at all stages of the minting process, from the original designs and sculptures to the actual striking of the coins. If you aren't near Philadelphia or Denver where you can take a real tour, you can see the coin-making process online on our How Coins Are Made page. Sales Counters: Where to Buy Our Coins Of course, you can buy our coins online 24 hours a day, but genuine United States Mint products are also sold over the counter at several locations around the country. Sales counter at headquarters in Washington, D.C. Current hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hours are being extended. Please check back for updates. Closed federal holidays. Gift shop at the facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gift shop at the facility in Denver, Colorado Visit the United States Mint online Virtual Tour Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [BUY] a coin made here. Denver, Colorado [BUY] a coin made here. San Francisco, California [BUY] a coin made here. West Point, New York [BUY] a coin made here. Bullion Depository, Fort Knox, Kentucky Former locations: Charlotte, NC; Dahlonega, GA; New Orleans, LA; Carson City, NV See past facilities in their historical context Interactive Timeline

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16550

ABOUT WPC > SUBMISSIONS Thank you for the opportunity to have input into this important dialogue. We are pleased to respond to the questions posed and would be prepared to elaborate when the opportunity presents itself. Enbridge's responses to the questions include the following thoughts. 1. Key strengths and weaknesses of the current structure The key strengths of the current Canadian securities regulatory system include a concentration of expertise and related regulatory activities in areas of Canada where there are corresponding concentrations of Canadian business and financial services. It is a strength that the resources on the regulatory side are available where businesses need them. Another strength of the system is the high degree of collaboration and coordination which exists amongst the various provincial and territorial securities regulators. Although each of these regulatory agencies is responsible to its own provincial or territorial government, they function with a high degree of collaboration on the development and implementation of a consistent regulatory approach. Weaknesses in the current structure include a certain degree of fragmentation that exists because the province of Quebec does not have a regulation style which matches as closely, the other provincial and territorial regulators. 2. Enforcement activities related to capital markets It is difficult to answer this question from the perspective of a regulated corporation other than to speak with respect to our own affairs. The Enbridge group of corporations complies with the law in all continuous and timely disclosure filings and other market activities, and has a strong commitment to ensuring that the statement of business conduct of the Corporation is adhered to by all employees and our external advisors and independent contractors. It is difficult to comment and measure the effectiveness of enforcement activities carried out in Canada other than to comment that it appears that corporate Canada cooperates with the extensive and demanding rules applicable to Canadian market participants concerning disclosure, financing and securities related transactions. The spectacular capital market failures which have occurred in the United States have not appeared on the Canadian landscape. It is similarly difficult to gauge whether the current structure in Canada enhances or diminishes the effectiveness of enforcement. 3. Canada's regulatory structure effect on international competitiveness Canada's regulatory structure may appear to be intimidating because of the number of regulators involved for national financings. Canada's regulatory structure appears to be as rigorous a system and as good a system as in any other capital market in the world, so that Canadian capital markets and the economy have performed well against peers and competitors. Canadian capital markets appear to have attracted a significant amount of foreign investment and the ongoing disclosure standards and the policing of the stock exchanges and corporate reporting provide a general sense of confidence in the quality of our Canadian capital markets. As evidence of the confidence which others have in Canadian markets, we can look to the United States and point to the continued existence of the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system, a series of policies entered mutually between Canadian and American securities regulators enabling the market participants in one country to access capital in the markets of the other. Such a mutual system would not exist if a strong degree of confidence amongst the regulating officials did not exist. 4. Costs of complying with securities regulation The current regulatory structure has its own costs for compliance and it is difficult to compare this structure against another when there is no benchmark. For example, if there were a national securities commission, would such a commission take the place of the provincial regulators so that only one fee and set of filings would be required? Would a national securities regulator be a new addition to the currently existing provincial regulators so that new costs and a new number of filings would be required? Canadian Securities Administrators have worked well to focus on the efficiency which Canadian issuers have in their access to capital markets in Canada, achieving a high degree of coordination and cost control. It would be unfair to criticize these efforts without a clear model to compare the current structure against. Over the years, it can be said that differences between the provinces and territories on specific topics has resulted in extra effort, increased costs and filing fees. Obviously, Canadian issuers would prefer an even simpler and more streamlined system than the current structure. Great success has been achieved with the implementation of SEDAR, and the variety of coordinated national policies and national instruments which members of the Canadian Securities Administrators have achieved. Our perception of trends concerning the level and costs of regulation would be an observation that things appear to be improving. The use of electronic filings, electronic payment and the amount of collaboration and coordination among CSA members demonstrate that these regulatory agencies are pursuing operational efficiency. 5. Unique regional and local characteristics of capital markets across Canada The Enbridge group of corporations has had positive experiences in issuing securities on a national basis, so that we can say we have not been truly adversely affected by unique regional and local characteristics of the capital markets. Enbridge entities with publicly traded equity are currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Our access to capital debt markets is likely impacted by regional and local characteristics of capital markets which are unique as the debt markets are more significantly concentrated in a small number of major Canadian financial capitals. We are aware that small and medium sized growth companies are vocal in expressing their desire to avoid the complexity and costs of becoming public companies. The current regulatory structure makes some concession to small businesses. We understand that smaller businesses lack the infrastructure and often expertise to deal with the compliance burden so that reliance on external services is required and is costly. 6. Timeliness, responsiveness and flexibility of the current system In terms of timeliness, responsiveness and flexibility, the current system rates well although there is room for improvement. Collaborative and cooperative work amongst Canadian securities regulators is a significant achievement although it is not necessarily as speedy as it could be. The current system responds well to crisis type issues and is slower in developing policies in response to larger structural issues. In all circumstances, the regulators need to strike a balance when considering revisions to simplify or strengthen policies, rules and regulations. The balance must protect the public interest and respect the marketplace participant's need for efficiency. Often these two goals appear to be at odds and the balance struck tends to be towards a willingness to err on the side of over-regulating and perhaps requiring over-disclosure. This propensity is not unique to Canada and is perhaps even more extreme in the United States. However, the desire for operational efficiency must not result in a compromise of the appropriate dedication to justice and integrity, and the public perceptions thereof. 7. Assessment of regulatory structures in other countries The experience at Enbridge with other countries consists largely of the capital markets in the United States and American regulators. The American systems tend to be very similar to those in Canada in concept. In practice, because of the volume and variety of activity, regulators appear to be caught in a race to provide certainty by providing an ever-increasing number of rules. Corporations appreciate certainty for planning purposes although this certainty itself becomes an obstacle when it is complex disclosure that results. As with any growing plant organism, the rules and policies generated by regulators may in fact benefit from a pruning and a trip back to fundamentals, from time to time. Capital markets are dynamic places and regulators do a good job in following the innovations created. Certain European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom have securities regulators that take a more academic approach in the framework of the development of corporate governance or other aspects of market regulation and likely experience certain benefits from this. For example, their systems may have somewhat more clarity and logical consistency. On the other hand, such thought framework may create a rigid approach and hamper the regulatory response to developments in the market. 8. Best securities regulatory system for Canada An evolution of the current securities regulatory system towards greater operational efficiency and greater national uniformity, while maintaining Canadian standards for quality disclosure, credible enforcement and efficient capital markets is desirable. The current Canadian Securities Administrators have done an admirable job as civil servants to create collaboration and coordination in the securities regulatory area. The involvement of provincial and territorial governments more formally, and including the federal government would no doubt be desirable from a political point of view. The general structure of securities law in Canada, the United States and elsewhere has been to recognize the expertise of outlining the powers of an administrative agency and self-regulatory bodies, setting standards, and empowering them to play the expert role of regulating the markets. The best model for Canada in the future will likely recognize these realities and continue to subject market activity to the rule of law through expert administrative agencies and self-regulatory organizations accountable through legislation. Logical evolution of the current Canadian Securities Administrators may be the creation of a single securities regulatory agency. Please note that the Enbridge contact person is Mr. Blaine Melnyk, Corporate Secretary. He can be reached at (403) 231-3938 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Contents � 2003 Wise Persons' Committee � Important Notices

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16675

An analysis of the economic climate for foreign investment in Uganda, Post 1986 Griessel, Werner For twenty years Uganda suffered the disastrous consequences of a system of rule in which there were no limits to the exercise of power. During this period the country went through no less than seven different regimes, all of which ignored the rule of law and left people without a sense of personal security or power. Many Ugandans were forced into exile and those staying on withdrew from politics, leaving politicians to conduct their business without any accountability. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government, led by President Y oweri Museveni, came to power in early 1986. This brought an end to the political instability and economic decline, which had plagued the country hitherto. Under his leadership, the nation embarked on an ambitious economic recovery program, supported by the IMF, the World Bank, and other donors. The key elements of this successful program have been the restoration of fiscal and monetary discipline; the improvement of the incentive structure and investment climate for exports and other production activities; the rehabilitation of the country's social, economic and institutional infrastructure; and the promotion of increased savings and investment. The economic reforms implemented by the present government in Uganda since 1986, coupled with political stability, have contributed to economic growth rates averaging 6% per annum in the last decade. This has made Uganda one of the fastest growing countries in Africa. Inflation is under control and has been maintained below 10% per annum for the last four years. Most economic activities are fully liberalized and open to foreign investment. There are no restrictions to 100% foreign ownership of investments and no barriers to remittance of dividends. Uganda's shilling is fully convertible and has remained stable over the last years. The foreign exchange market is now wholly liberalized following a move by government, effective July 1997 to liberalize capital account transactions. Uganda is now one of about only five countries in the whole of Africa that have no restrictions on capital amount transfers. Within Africa and the emerging markets, Uganda enjoys a high status with donors and lenders. For the future, it is important to ensure that economic policy does not ignore social expenditure or the poverty dimension. In addition, President Museveni himself has repeatedly stressed the importance of attracting more private investment to Uganda in order to replace the foreign aid which can only be regarded as temporary. Other sectors needing attention are industrialization and privatization. As a landlocked country, Uganda needs to look to markets among its immediate neighbours. The new strategy should further include development of more linkages between agriculture and industry. It also needs to respond to people's basic needs and small-scale industries must be developed further. Only thus can industrialization contribute to economic welfare and sustainable development in Uganda. Privatization also needs to be reconsidered. It has contributed to the country's record rate of economic growth of 7-8 per cent, but so far it has not increased employment opportunities at all significantly. Nor has it enlarged the number of Ugandan entrepreneurs. Poverty, too, has not been reduced so far by privatization. There remams substantial room for development in most sectors of the Ugandan economy, creating opportunities for further and increased foreign investment. These sectors include food processmg and packing, construction equipment and electrical power systems, telecommunications equipment and services, travel and tourism services, light manufacturing, household consumer goods, footwear, furniture and textile fabrics, mining, mining industry equipment, non-ferrous metals, marine fisheries products and agriculture, including traditional crops such as coffee, cotton, tea and tobacco, fruit and vegetable processing, edible oil production, staple food crops processing, flowers and livestock. The vehicles for the facilitation of foreign investment are in place, the investment climate is open and friendly towards foreign investors, with an established investment code and incentive regime, offering generous capital recovery terms, particularly for investors whose projects entail significant investment in plant and machinery and whose investments are medium to long term. Uganda offers a predictable environment having achieved macro-economic stability at a time when clouds of uncertainty rock many regions in the world. M.Comm. Griessel.pdf Department of Business Management [800]

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16678

Hear Top Experts Answer Your Most Pressing Investing Questions Richard Lehmann Jim Oberweis Matt Schifrin Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media Mr. Forbes writes editorials for each issue of Forbes under the heading of "Fact and Comment." A widely respected economic prognosticator, he is the only writer to have won the highly prestigious Crystal Owl Award four times. The prize was formerly given by U.S. Steel Corporation to the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year proved most accurate. Mr. Forbes is the author of: Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets are Moral and Big Government Isn't, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (Crown Business, August 2012); How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (Crown Business, November 2009); and Power Ambition Glory: The Stunning Parallels between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today . . . and the Lessons You Can Learn, co-authored by John Prevas (Crown Business, June 2009). He also wrote: Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS (Regnery, 2005); and A New Birth of Freedom (Regnery, 1999), a book of bold ideas for the new millennium. President, Income Securities Advisor and Editor, Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor Richard Lehmann is president and founder of the advisory firm of Income Securities Investor Inc. Richard is also the editor of the Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor newsletter and the author of Income Investing Today. Richard is also a regular columnist for Forbes magazine. With more than 30 years of bond investing experience, Richard is a recognized expert on fixed-income securities, high-yield bonds, and bond defaults. He has taught finance and accounting in the MBA program at Barry University in Miami and has spoken at numerous investment seminars. Richard holds an MBA from Columbia University, is a CPA and a registered investment advisor. President, Oberweis Asset Management and Editor, The Oberweis Report Jim Oberweis is president of Oberweis Asset Management and Oberweis Securities, portfolio manager of The Oberweis Funds, editor of The Oberweis Report and a columnist for Forbes magazine. Jim earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has been a featured guest on CNBC and Bloomberg and has authored a monthly growth stock column for Bloomberg. He has also provided market commentary for Investor's Business Daily, Reuters News and Smart Money magazine. He has been a director of Easter Seals, the Northern Illinois Food B

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/16690

Raymond James Reps Reflect on Women and the Industry By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor October 12, 2012 • Reprints Boosting the number and role of women is an objective of Raymond James and other firms in the wealth management business. But how do you make that happen? During the 18th annual Women’s Symposium hosted by the firm in St. Pete Beach, Fla., a roundtable of six advisers discussed that issue with AdvisorOne over lunch on Thursday. Of Raymond James' 6,000-plus advisers, about 14% are women. In the first year of its training program for new reps, the Adviser Mastery Program, 35% of its participants were women. READ MORE about women leaders in the credit union industry. An important part of supporting women in the business, they say, is having the right culture. This includes taking steps to support female advisers and other women throughout the firm and doing as much as possible to encourage the formation of adviser teams. “I am pleased with the program that — through a system of competency points — recognizes support staff,” said Kathleen Crowley of Raymond James Morgan Keegan in Panama City, Fla. “The culture is very different from what I experienced in the past at some places.” “I see it as family friendly and as more than a corporation,” added Cheryl Peschke, an employee adviser with Raymond James & Associates (RJA) in Houston. The support advisers need in the field, they note, can mean shaking things up a bit at headquarters — which Raymond James has been willing and able to do — and talking up such challenges openly. “At the corporate level, some people had gotten very comfortable in their jobs, but they had to improve. So Raymond James is taking these employees that are seen as “nice but …” and moving some along,” said Margaret Starner with RJA in Coral Gables, Fla. “It’s uplifting to those of us looking for [top] service. And we had heard about what Raymond James was doing, but then we heard more about it here today with coherency and continuity,” Starner said. “It was well articulated, and it never crossed my mind that it would be discussed like this.” Others agree. “The fact that it was spoken about is very good,” said Rachel McNeil, an adviser and participant in the company’s training program in St. Petersburg, Fla. “It’s not about changing the culture but addressing these issues.” Starner sees the move to boost service and performance at the corporate level as a renewed drive for accountability led by CEO Paul Reilly. “It’s a big morale lifter,” she added. For those joining the firm, these measures translate into positive results. “I was afraid when I would dial the 800 number at some other firms,” said Sarah Komischke, who is part of the bank channel and works at the United Nations Federal Credit Union. “Raymond James is very helpful in the back office, which is a very positive surprise,” said the ex-JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch employee. “You get an answer very quickly.” Glass Ceiling? As for women having the influence and presence they would like to have in wealth management, “We and the industry are not quite there yet, but we hope to get there,” said McNeil. And the firm they’re with supports this effort, they add. “We see with what [RJA President] Tash Elwyn and others are saying that there is big commitment to it,” explained Starner. Do they feel, as women, that they are an equal part of the Raymond James organization? “We have brought that up every year,” said Starner, whose practice manages $350 million in assets. “And there are women executives, like Bella” Loykhter Allair, head of technology and Operations for RJA. “The leadership wishes we had more [women in management] and aspires to that goal,” the veteran adviser noted. “This is a situation common to all firms and to the industry.” When it comes to increasing the number of women advisers in the business, some female reps say this can best be supported through team building and succession. “My theory is that women are more comfortable giving advice if they feel they have a high degree of competency,” said Starner. If they know they are set to be part of experienced teams, “Women will be more comfortable joining and being advisers.” McNeil says that is certainly the case for her. “As part of my training, I joined a team one year ago,” she said. “I decided I wanted to join an established group and not go out on my own.” For her—as well as for other advisers, young and old alike—it’s an issue of watching their own finances while striving to help their clients do the same. “It’s tough to be out on your own, in terms of financial stability. For me, it’s helpful that I can join a team through the training program.” The team support can also help advisers better serve clients, other reps say. “Many young people have not had the life experience of going through different markets and seeing lots of volatility,” said Jodi Perez, an affiliate of Raymond James’ independent channel in Land O’Lakes, Fla. “It’s a good choice to join a team.” Generally speaking, women know they can’t do everything and be experts of everything, Perez says. And like their clients, they want to have backup at all times. With the market’s low returns today, “We are busier than ever. This is tough,” said Starner. “But it’s an opportunity, and we don’t know how long this opportunity will last.” This article was originally posted at AdvisorOne.com, a sister site of Credit Union Times.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17176

February jobs report: Unemployment falls again By Chris Isidore, senior writerMarch 4, 2011: 2:13 PM ETNEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The jobs outlook brightened in February, as strong business hiring helped trim unemployment to its lowest level in nearly two years.The unemployment rate fell to 8.9% last month, from 9.0% in January, the best reading since April of 2009. The unemployment rate has now fallen nearly a full percentage point in the last three months, the most rapid improvement in nearly 28 years. Email Economists surveyed by CNNMoney were expecting the unemployment rate to edge up to 9.2%.The economy gained 192,000 jobs in the month, roughly in line with economists' forecast of 190,000 jobs. Businesses added 222,000 jobs -- their best hiring month since last April -- while state and local governments cut 30,000 jobs.Another good sign: More jobs were added in the previous two months than originally thought. Readings for December and January were revised upward by a combined 58,000 jobs. The report could mean that the labor market has finally turned the corner and should start to help overall economic growth going forward, said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Cal State University Channel Islands."The last piston in the economic engine has begun to fire," he said.Despite the recent improvement, unemployment remains significantly higher than before the Great Recession hit. Austan Goolsbee, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, acknowledge more needs to be done to replace the 8 million jobs lost during the worst of the recession, despite the signs of improvement."The overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years, but there will surely be bumps in the road ahead," he said. "It is important not to read too much into any one monthly report."Why unemployment is fallingStill, businesses are clearly becoming far more confident about adding workers. Private businesses gained a total of 457,000 jobs over the last three months, even as state and local governments continued to lose jobs.The gains have been widespread, with 68% of industries tracked by the Labor Department adding jobs in the month -- the most broad-based gain in employment across the business world since 1998.And more job seekers are finding work. The unemployment survey -- which is compiled from a separate survey of households -- showed that 664,000 additional workers reported having a job compared to three months ago.Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute, said this is likely a sign of a pickup in new businesses opening up, though new employers can be difficult for the government to track."These are things that fall under the radar," he said. "All of us probably know, anecdotally, stories of our friends and family who lost a job at a big place and took the opportunity to strike out on their own."Another factor helping unemployment is a sharp decline in job losses. The number of people losing their jobs fell by 1.1 million since November, the biggest three-month decline since the Labor Department began tracking that number in 1967. That improvement has also shown up in readings on jobless claims -- the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits hit a three-year low last week."We're not firing like we were and there is new business formation," said Achuthan. But he cautioned that the market is still difficult for the long-term unemployed. Nearly 6 million Americans have been out of work for more than six months and the average duration of unemployment climbed to 37 weeks in February, a post-World War II record.And the unemployment rate is likely to rise as the labor market continues to improve and job seekers sitting on the sidelines return to the work force, said Tig Gilliam, president of the North American unit of job placement firm Adecco.The number of jobless people who are no longer counted as unemployed because they're not actively seeking work remained little changed at about 2.7 million."There are enough people who are discouraged about the job market that they just haven't actively looked," he said. Print Small businesses ramp up jobs More jobs equals tougher commutes Jobless claims fall to three-year lowFirst Published: March 4, 2011: 8:48 AM ET

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17545

AICPA In the News Back Millions face tax refund delays Published October 23, 2013 The IRS announced that the federal government shutdown could delay tax refunds for millions of Americans by one or two weeks. During the closure, the IRS received 400,000 pieces of correspondence, on top of the 1 million items already being processed before the shutdown. Writing in USA Today, John Waggoner reported that every year brings new changes and tweaks to the tax law, all of which have to be entered into the IRS computers. “There are a lot of tax changes, particularly due to the 3.8% net investment income tax from the Affordable Care Act," Melissa Labant, director of tax advocacy for the American Institute of CPAs told the newspaper. "The IRS has a lot of guidance they have to issue. … What concerns me is not the initial delay, but if there is any additional hiccup between now and January, the delays could be longer," Labant said.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17552

Animal Gospel - Christian Faith as Though Animals Mattered by Andrew Linzey (Hodder & Stoughton, 1998) Rightly described by its author as a "pastoral, evangelical sequel" to his earlier "Animal Theology" (SCM Press, 1994), this is a profoundly sincere account combining cogent argument with personal testimony. In 17 chapters followed by a "notes and acknowledgements" section, it is divided into two parts, each of which begins with an overview chapter (one and nine). Part one, entitled "The Gospel for Every Creature", points to a theology of animal treatment in view of their general historical neglect by Christians, while part two, entitled "Disengaging from the Works of Darkness", describes contemporary misuse of animals as "unenlightened" and culminates with two final chapters which present hope for the future together with pragmatic procedures to bring this about. As an ordained Anglican priest, as Professor of Theology and Animal Welfare at Mansfield College, Oxford University, and as a leader in the non-violent, legitimate Animal Rights movement, Andrew Linzey writes from heart, head and hands-on experience. Whatever one's prejudices or previous lack of suffi

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17615

New HQ for Bank of Cape Cod Written by Edward F. Maroney January 24, 2014 CONTRIBUTED PHOTO NEW LOCATION – Bank of Cape Cod is moving its main office from downtown Hyannis to this site on Route 132. The 232 Main St. location will continue as a branch. Adds location on Route 132 Bank of Cape Cod was happy having its main office in downtown Hyannis, President and CEO Tim Telman said. “We weren’t out searching for a location, but when I was made aware that the [Route] 132 site was available… I would categorize that as one of the best bank sites on the Cape.” By mid-summer, the bank plans to open its headquarters office and another banking branch in the building recently vacated by New York Life, which has moved to larger quarters nearby. The Main Street site will continue service as a branch operation, along with others in Falmouth and Osterville. The Route 132 site, with easy access from Route 6, was nevertheless a tough location for decades until the recent double-barreling of the road and the addition of a nearby stoplight. It has hosted a long list of banks dating back to the Bank of New England more than 25 years ago. “From an exposure perspective, it’s terrific,” Telman said. Bank of Cape Cod has a long-term lease for the building, which assessors records show last sold for $1.2 million in 1999. “We took control of the building in early September and have retrofitted both levels,” Telman said. “There’s a lot of construction going on.” The bank’s total assets have been building as well over the last seven-plus years. “We grew from zero to $100 million [in total assets] the first four years,” the bank president said, “and $100 million to $200 million the next two years. We finished this past year at $225 million.” Banker & Tradesman called Bank of Cape Cod the No. 1 commercial lender on the Cape in the third quarter of 2013, and No. 2 for the year. There are 78 commercial lenders on the Cape (the bank recently added a residential lending unit). “Another thing we’re proud of is that we created 32 jobs, and will probably add three more in 2014,” Telman said. The bank is committed to keeping its branch in the East End of Hyannis, according to Telman. “It’s very successful,” he said. “It gives us access to Yarmouth and all the Main Street merchants. Around us are a lot of good things; Main Street businesses do a tremendous job keeping the lights on at night.” Speaking of relations with the community, Mark Skala, director of marketing and community services, said Bank of Cape Cod will announce shortly a “major sponsorship” of downtown’s JFK Hyannis Museum. “We will be the legacy sponsor for 2014,” he said. “That speaks volumes about where the bank sees itself.” Subscribe to E-mail Updates Click HERE to subscribe to e-mail updates from barnstablepatriot.com. Popular Current News More funding options sought for roads

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17808

Privacy Notice Bill Reintroduced in House February 15, 2013 • Reprints Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s (R-Mo.) is re-introducing legislation Friday that would eliminate the current requirement that financial institutions mail annual privacy notices to all customers explaining information sharing practices, even the policies that have not changed, his office said. Instead, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), would require banks and credit unions to provide the information only if privacy policies have changed. A similar version of the bill passed the House in December but was not taken up by the Senate in that session of Congress. “I was extremely pleased that the House previously supported this legislation to eliminate unnecessary, costly, confusing and often ignored mailings that clog up people’s mailboxes and I am hopeful that this new measure will ultimately be approved by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by the president,” Luetkemeyer said. “Not only will this bill reduce the costs passed onto the customers of banks and credit unions but also will make it more likely that people will pay closer attention to important mailings they receive from their financial institutions because they are receiving fewer,” he said. CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney said the streamlined requirement would reduce the amount of diverted time and resources that credit union staff could be using to provide services to members. NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker lauded the bill as one of the priorities outlined in his organization’s five-point regulatory relief plan. Show Comments

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17809

From the August 14, 2013 issue of Credit Union Times Magazine • Subscribe! Judge Dismisses Dodd-Frank Suit August 14, 2013 • Reprints A lawsuit that challenged the authority of Dodd-Frank to regulate the financial services industry was dismissed Aug. 1 in Washington, D.C. in U.S. District Court. According to Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, the plaintiffs did not adequately demonstrate the alleged financial injury they would suffer under the act. The suit, filed in June 2012, was brought by the $275 million State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based policy group that promotes limitations on government oversight. Eventually, 11 states joined the suit, including Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. The suit challenged the constitutionality of provisions of the act, claiming Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created to execute its mandates, fell under limited government oversight, which all but eliminated the checks and balances needed to assure public accountability. The suit also challenged Title II, which gives the Secretary of the Treasury what the law called “Orderly Liquidation Authority.” The attorneys general claimed that OLA stripped states’ property rights for investments of taxpayers’ revenues and government employees’ savings. The ability of the federal government to divvy out funds during the liquation process would incent it to compensate Wall Street and big banks at full value, due to their too-big-to-fail status, at the expense of other creditors, the plaintiffs said. Had the suit succeeded, the CFPB and its mandates to date would most likely have been rendered null and void. C. Boyden Gray, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, called the court’s decision “deeply flawed.” Dodd-Frank’s “complex regime” of unchecked regulations will not guarantee that consumers will be made whole in the event of another financial crisis, Gray said. “Instead, Dodd-Frank creates a ‘star chamber’ procedure that provides states and other creditors with no notice of impending bank ‘liquidations’ until after they have begun, after which Dodd-Frank denies the states meaningful judicial review to protect their rights and their financial investments--including the states’ pension funds,” Gray said in a formal statement after the ruling was handed down. “We will file a notice of appeal.” Show Comments

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17931

'Economic Gardening' Is New Buzz Term by Barbara Miracle Updated 2 yearss ago Traditionally, local economic developers have sought growth by trying to lure businesses from outside a region — so-called "economic hunting." Hunting can produce big economic gains, but it poses lots of challenges: It’s slow, uncertain and usually requires big marketing budgets and travel along with a raft of local and state incentives. It also may end up attracting highly mobile companies looking for the cheapest place to do business at the moment — and willing to leave for another town as soon as they believe the grass is greener elsewhere. In recent years, economic developers have begun experimenting with another approach that has gained momentum as Florida’s unemployment rate has risen to over 10% and local governments and economic recruiters have seen their recruitment budgets shrink. "Economic gardening" focuses on helping so-called second-stage companies with 10 to 50 employees and revenue of $1 million to $25 million — local businesses that have survived at least five years and are growing revenue and adding employees. The gardening approach doesn’t view all businesses equally. Startups with fewer than 10 employees appear to produce more growth, accounting for a 40.7% increase in employment in Florida between 1993 and 2007, according to the Edward Lowe Foundation, a Michigan non-profit group that assists entrepreneurs. But the foundation points out that startups have a high failure rate, meaning many of the jobs they generate quickly disappear in the churn of business formation and failure. Proponents of economic gardening say startups are important but believe the most effective way to build a local economy is to focus on helping the second-stage businesses, which accounted for a 36% employment increase in Florida between 1993 and 2007. The second-stage firms, they say, have demonstrated staying power and also tend to pay higher wages than startups. Economic gardening — the term originated from the approach used to resurrect the economy of Littleton, Colo., in the late 1980s after an economic meltdown — doesn’t generate the headlines associated with big business relocations but can produce solid results within two to three years, its adherents claim. The approach is also attractive to economic developers because it doesn’t require lots of capital. More than money, second-stage businesses need the kind of sophisticated marketing information, information technology and management advice that much larger firms take for granted — and are often the key to expanding further, says CEO Nexus President Steve Quello, a Winter Park consultant who has worked with many of the economic gardening projects around Florida. Case in point: Entrepreneur Jim Cossetta, co-founder of Naples-based 4What Interactive, a 14-year-old marketing, training and communications consulting company with $2.5 million in revenue and 19 employees, says his biggest challenge at th

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17936

Could Pearson Sell the Financial Times? Gerelyn Terzo | Now that The Washington Post is in the hands of Jeff Bezos some $250 million later, could Pearson (NYSE: PSO ) again be thinking of unloading the Financial Times? John Fallon, who replaced Marjorie Scardino as Pearson CEO in January, doesn't appear as devoted to the financial newspaper as his predecessor. Scardino, for instance, vowed only to rid Pearson of the reportedly struggling financial newspaper over her dead body. Pearson, an education publisher, just shed financial news publisher Mergermarket to private equity firm BC Partners, with $16.3 billion in assets under management, in a £382 million ($622.7 million) transaction. (Pearson paid £101 million plus an earn-out of less than £29 million for Mergermarket in 2006.) Mergermarket wasn't a core asset, and Pearson wants to keep its focus on education. "The transaction provides us with additional financial capacity to accelerate our push into digital learning, educational services and emerging markets," said Fallon in a press release. Does the FT still fit? So what does this mean for the Financial Times? How does it fit into a "digital learning, educational services" strategy? Pearson insists Financial Times, which along with The Economist (and previously Mergermarket) is part of the FT Group, isn't on the block, according to The New York Times Dealbook. And in its 2012 annual report, Pearson identifies Financial Times as its vehicle to pursue the business education market, making the financial newspaper a core asset. Nonetheless, Pearson is in the middle of a restructuring, one in which it's shedding non-core assets and making the shift from print to digital, and you can't discount the possibility of a sale of the FT. In its mid-2013 financial report, Pearson said: We expect the FT Group to benefit from continued growth in digital and subscription revenues in 2013 but advertising to remain weak and volatile with profits reflecting further actions to accelerate the shift from print to digital. And no matter how much you might love your salmon-colored FT newspaper, the truth of the matter is that print is a dying breed. On the plus side, Pearson continues to see growth in digital subscribers. In 2012, the number of Financial Times' digital subscribers grew by 18% to 316,000 and the company has some 3.5 million app users. Last year, the number of online subscribers exceeded print subscribers for the first time, and the company has a combined (print + online) paid circulation of 602,000. Breaking it downIn 2012, the FT Group generated £443 million in sales, up 4% from 2011 levels. But profits fell 36% to £49 million as a result of the fact that index provider FTSE International was no longer part of Pearson's portfolio amid the company's sale of its holding. Does this mean that in 2014 Pearson will experience declining profits and point to the sale of Mergermarket? The FT Group, per Liberum Capital estimates, are valued at approximately £647 million, which is broken down as £400 million for the FT and £247 million for The Economist. Pearson sold Mergermarket for £382 million, which is slightly above the consensus valuation. And despite some analyst buzz as recently as a few months ago surrounding the possible sale of the FT Group, those rumors have been quelled for the time being. But Pearson may find that its shareholders are disappointed with the fact that there does not appear to be a plan to return any of the cash from the Mergermarket sale to investors directly. Instead the company intends to invest in digital publishing and education. So if there is enough of an investor backlash, Pearson could theoretically rethink a sale of the FT Group. But analysts say that selling The Economist would be a more complex undertaking than unloading Financial Times because of certain ownership terms. And if shareholders clamor enough, the potential sale of Financial Times could be back on the table. Deja vuShould Pearson decide to put FT on the block, and word on the Street a year ago was that the company had unofficially tasked investment bankers with scouting offers for the business newspaper, would anyone want to buy a brand that is synonymous with the dinosaur that print media has become? When scuttlebutt of an FT sale surfaced last year, reports suggested that the publication could fetch a valuation of up to 37 times this year's projected earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation, or as much as £1 billion, according to The Telegraph. But that was the reported asking price, not any offer price. Media and financial juggernaut Bloomberg was named as the likely buyer at the time, and such a combination wouldn't be that much of a stretch. But Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg, with a reported net worth of $31 billion, has an affinity for the FT Group closely tied to The Economist, reports say (although the former trader also reads the FT), and as mentioned a straight-forward sale of that magazine is complicated. Another name that has been tossed in the rink as potential bidder is Bloomberg-rival Thomson Reuters. Indeed, in a world where the chief executive of an online retailer is now running one of the most traditional newspapers with 80 years of family ownership behind it, you can't discount the possibility that the FT could be next. It is pure speculation, but perhaps Virgin Media founder Sir Richard Branson would be interested. Branson, worth a reported $4.6 billion, remains a full-fledged entrepreneur with the recent launch of Virgin Galactic, which is owned by Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS in Abu Dhabi, has at a quarter-million dollars a pop flights scheduled for space in 2014.And he and Bezos might have more in common than you think. Bezos' outer space company, Blue Origin, is similarly making plans to send passengers into space. While Pearson hasn't officially put the FT on the block, that doesn't mean it isn't for sale. Everything has its price and it seems as though Pearson may be holding out for the big one. Investing for the long run It's no secret that investors tend to be impatient with the market, but the best investment strategy is to buy shares in solid businesses and keep them for the long term. In the special free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich," The Motley Fool shares investment ideas and strategies that could help you build wealth for years to come. Click here to grab your free copy today. Gerelyn Terzo 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. Pearson PLC (ADR)

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/17937

Will Tim Hortons Come Out With Guns Blazing? Nickey Friedman | Growth continues to turn from good to better for Tim Hortons' (NYSE: THI ) competitors Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ) , Dunkin' Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN ) , and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD ) . Though Little Timmy has lagged behind, that could change, beginning with the five-year strategic plan the company will outline on Feb. 25. What's going on? Tim Hortons will hold an investor conference on the morning of Feb. 25. At this event, "the Company plans to communicate its new strategic plan for the next five years." Normally it would be easy for you to dismiss this as the eyewash that every company says ahead of each and every presentation, but in this case there may be much more to it. For one thing, Tim Hortons is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 20. Analysts expect another semi-uneventful report with the company's sales up by 3.5% and earnings per share up by 10%. This isn't bad on the face of it, but it's not nearly as exciting as what we've seen from the company's rivals. Peers are growing faster -- is Timmy next? Starbucks for example reported a 12% revenue rise with traffic up 4%. Its earnings per share popped 25% to an all-time high of $0.71. CEO Howard Schulz sees continued rapid growth in sales and earnings for Starbucks even while shoppers retreat from the malls. Krispy Kreme is seeing quarter after quarter of success as it landed its 20th quarter in a row of positive same-store sales last quarter. Revenue climbed 6.7% and adjusted operating income rocketed 26.5%. Krispy Kreme sees more "accelerated growth domestically." Meanwhile, Dunkin' Brands as well sees opportunity. Last quarter it reported a revenue gain of 13% and a diluted earnings per share gain of 26.5%. Dunkin' Brands plans to aggressively expand its Dunkin' Donuts brand where it does not yet have locations or where it barely has any presence yet, such as California. Tim Hortons expansion spree time? Speaking of expansion opportunities, Tim Hortons currently has 4,350 restaurants. With only 817 of those in the United States and almost all of the others in Canada, Tim Hortons has barely tapped the vast coffee and treat market that exists. In the last conference call, CEO Marc Caira may have dropped a hint that aggressive United States expansion is coming next. He stated, "Turning to our U.S. business. Our goal is to focus on the core to develop a successful, thriving and profitable business that can be scaled aggressively to become our longer-term growth engine." "Scaled aggressively." It doesn't sound like Tim Hortons plans to be sticking with 817 U.S. locations much longer. Caira also gave a number of clues for the upcoming presentation that will outline Tim Hortons' strategy for "sustainable and profitable growth." This includes a number of new menu items, especially outside of the traditional breakfast and lunch hours, and new technology investments to get the drive-through moving more quickly such as the ability to take orders further back in the line. It seems there is no bigger opportunity available to Tim Hortons than simply "scaling aggressively." For that the company has the largely untapped U.S. market and the almost completely untapped international market. We may get some details on that as well on Feb. 25. Caira said, "Finally, while Canada and the U.S. will remain top priorities, we believe we have longer-term international opportunities." Foolish final thoughts Cautious Fools should consider sitting firmly in place until the presentation. Until there are details out, Tim Hortons' future remains somewhat speculative but it could be very promising. The company's locations are nicely profitable and growing, and the environment as judged by Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin' Brands is quite healthy. If Tim Hortons has the right ideas and expansion plans, look for it to post improved growth numbers similar to those of its rivals. Is Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dunkin' Brand Group, or Krispy Kreme Doughnuts the one?There's only one way to find out if one of these is Motley Fool's top stock for 2014. There's a huge difference between a good stock and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company. Nickey Friedman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool owns shares of Starbucks. 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. at 6:16 PM, downandout wrote: Tim Horton's coffee is extremely over-rated. It has simply become watered down caffeine. McDonald's coffee seems to have come a long way over the last few years and in my opinion and that of my colleagues, is superior to Tim's. CAPS Rating: DNKN Dunkin' Brands Gro… CAPS Rating: KKD Krispy Kreme Dough… CAPS Rating: SBUX

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18080

Home Depot on target to reach $100B by '05 Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, December 10, 2001 Though it anticipates the home improvement industry to grow only about 3 percent annually over the next three years, The Home Depot announced at a recent meeting with investors that it expects its revenues to grow between 15 and 18 percent from 2002 through 2004. This would keep the home improvement retailer on track to double its size to $100 billion in revenues by 2005. It also expects to grow earnings and earnings per share at 18 percent to 20 percent annually through a combination of gross margin expansion and expense control. In addition, Home Depot will add about 200 new stores per year for the next three years, which includes 184 Home Depots in fiscal 2002, as well as four Home Depot Pro stores and the initial rollout of two Home Depot Urban stores, a new smaller store format targeting the convenience customer. However, the Expo Design Center division will slow its annual growth down from about 70 percent to about 25 percent. New Expo stores will focus on the top 100 U.S. metropolitan markets, and will include 10 openings for fiscal 2002. "We are enhancing our relationship with current customers, expanding our product and service offerings, and extending our brand into new business ventures, allowing us to grow our current business and tap into large new markets," ceo and president Bob Nardelli told investors. Nardelli, who celebrates his one-year anniversary as ceo and president this week, also said that he expects sales in fiscal 2001 to approach $53 billion. He also affirmed that for fiscal 2001 the company expects comp-store sales growth in the low single digits, stable gross margin performance and leverage of expenses in the fourth quarter to produce earnings of $0.28 earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001 and $2.17 per share for the full fiscal year. "We are embarked on a transformation of Home Depot," he said. "Building on the proud past of being the fastest growing retailer in history, we are moving from growth based on incremental square footage to growth based on the expansion, extension and enhancement of our business." In addition to new square footage, the company will expect existing stores to experience a greater rate of sales growth in the future. Existing stores contributed about 85 percent of annual sales growth in fiscal 2000, and the company anticipates that percentage to grow to 90 percent over the next three years. Enhanced existing store productivity is expected to be brought about by ongoing business initiatives, such as the service performance improvement (SPI) initiative and pro initiative, and the development of new product and service offerings. The new Home Depot Urban stores will open next year. One is located in in Brooklyn, NY, scheduled to open April 4, and the other to open next summer in Lincoln Park, IL. The Brooklyn store will be 58,000 square feet, half of a typical HD, said John Simley, spokesperson. The assortment will be slightly less deep, but the turns will be higher, he said. The company has also looked to enhance its relationship with its customers. It has completed its SPI initiative rollout and is seeing better efficiencies in customer service levels and freight handling, both of which are improving sales in stores, the company said. There is also a decor initiative centered on the company's Design Place program, a location in the stores that brings all of the departments together in a 10,000 to 15,000 square foot space, Simley said, and includes the help of in-store designers. The Home Depot will also improve its gross margin by more than 100 basis points by 2004, said senior vp Jerry Edwards. "We will emphasize a neighborhood store that meets the customer's product and pricing needs at an ever tighter geographic focus." Expo Design Center will slow its growth over the next few years, due in part to current economic pressures. "Home Depot's Expo Design Centers will also undergo some change, as management refines the concept's product assortment and pricing to reach a broader consumer segment and integrates key operating functions with Home Depot service and merchandising," said Bob Wittman, Expo president. Though the company targets a 25 percent growth rate for the future for the division, it may accelerate that to about 50 percent in future years if the economy improves and stores expand their customer base.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18107

Home > The Origins of the IEA The Origins of the IEA upldpressArticle343photo.jpg [1] 24 October 2007 John Blundell looks back at the IEA's very first publication and a pivotal article in Newsweek by Henry Hazlitt The Origins of the IEA - A Pivotal Moment, July 25th 1955 By John Blundell In late June or early July 1955 the Batchworth Press Ltd, 54 Bloomsbury St, London WC1, published The Free Convertibility of Sterling by city journalist George Winder. It was published for "The Institute of Economic Affairs" and the introduction signed by Antony Fisher, Director, went as follows: "The issue of whether Great Britain should return to the free convertibility of sterling or continue Exchange Control is rapidly becoming a live and vital political issue. As, in the long run, the people themselves have to decide this very important question it is extremely desirable that they make their decision with a knowledge of the facts and a full understanding of the economic and moral issues involved. For this reason the Institute of Economic Affairs has asked George Winder, well known in the City of London for his articles in the Press on economic matters, to write this booklet. It is of special interest to business men, and of value to students, but it is also, of course, of vital concern to all those who are interested in their own freedom and the freedom of their country. If England is again to take up her position as the business centre of the world, it is to sound economic principles we must return, and there is no excuse for the delay." In what is in fact the very first IEA publication, the Institute was described as follows: "The Institute of Economic Affairs is a non-profit making body which has for its object the education of the British public in the knowledge of Economic and Social problems and their solution. The Institute is not necessarily in agreement with the opinions expressed in this booklet, which is published by them as a contribution to the attainment of the object of the Institute. Further particulars may be obtained from: The Institute of Economic Affairs 24 Austin Friars, London, E.C.2 Telephone: LONdon Wall 1804" A copy found itself across the Atlantic and into the hands of Henry Hazlitt who wrote the weekly economic commentary in Newsweek . Under the headline "Abolish Exchange Control" here is what he wrote: "Since the new Conservative victory at the polls, there is once more serious discussion of Britain’s abandonment of exchange control. If the government is to act, it should act now, when its victory is fresh and its prestige high, and when Labor cannot threaten to restore controls. Recent discussion of British abandonment of exchange control has been much more realistic than the previous perfunctory discussion. It now envisages return of the pound first of all to a free or 'floating' rate. Unless Britain contemplates returning immediately to a gold standard (which seems outside the realm of realistic discussion), a transitional free market for the paper pound is the only feasible method of ending exchange control. If it is ended in Britain, it will collapse in most of the rest of the world. An enormous step will have been taken back toward that inter-convertibility of currencies and freedom of international trade that the world’s politicians have so long professed to want - and done almost everything to prevent. For the last ten years many of us have been hoping for some clarity, courage, and common sense on this subject in Great Britain, only to be repeatedly disheartened by the confusion or acquiescence of most British discussion on the subject. But at last the tide seems to have turned. I recently received from England a booklet of 62 pages, 'The Free Convertibility of Sterling', by George Winder (Batchworth Press; London), which is the most lucid, thorough and uncompromising protest against continuation of British exchange control that I have yet read. Winder has published something more effective than a mere polemic. He has written a sort of elementary textbook. It begins by explaining exactly what foreign exchange is, how exchange rates are arrived at, and how foreign payments are made. It leads by that means into an explanation of how great the injustice and folly of exchange control really is. He emphasizes especially two aspects: (1) It involves price-fixing in currencies; (2) It involves arbitrary confiscation of the overseas earnings of a country’s own citizens. It is only by rare accident, as Winder points out, that the arbitrary price put on controlled paper currencies can correspond with the relative real values of currencies as they would be reflected in free markets. Therefore, 'where currencies are sold at controlled rates, one of the parties to every transaction will inevitably receive less than he is entitled to. Someone, in fact, is robbed.' The so called 'dollar shortage' was brought about simply by the underpricing of dollars. This underpricing of dollars (or overpricing of sterling) also had the effect of encouraging British imports and discouraging British exports. 'Sir Stafford [Cripps] over a long period, was paying our exporters 5 shillings for their dollars when in fact they were worth 7 shillings. All the time he was robbing our exporters he was pleading… that Great Britain must "Export or Die".' Perhaps worse than this economic damage is the immorality of exchange control - its complete disregard of the individual’s right to dispose freely of his own overseas earnings. 'To be effective, currency laws must not only provide that people leaving a country be carefully searched, but that all overseas mail be censored… All foreign currencies… owned by Englishmen must be surrendered to the government. There is here far more than control; there is quite literally confiscation… Of course, compensation is paid but invariably it is insufficient. If this were not so there would be no need for punishment to enforce the surrender of currencies.' A crowning irony, I may add, is that under our own foreign-aid program we have not only been subsidizing exchange control in Europe, but we have actually insisted that as a condition of receiving our aid the recipients must discriminate against American (i.e., dollar) imports! But it does not follow that because we have been injured by England’s exchange control; England has benefited. It has retarded the expansion of its essential export markets." Forty years later Fisher confided in me that it was that column and the fact that the monograph sold out (I think that print run was 2,000) which convinced him that he had hit on something and that in turn persuaded him to go after Ralph Harris to become (part-time initially) General Director as of January 1st

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18350

Tags: Citigroup Citigroup, BofA May Pare Dividend Ambitions on Stress Tests Wednesday, 23 Nov 2011 02:48 PM Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are among lenders that may have to temper plans to raise dividends and buy back stock next year as the Federal Reserve strengthens capital tests for the biggest U.S. banks. The Fed imposed the tougher standards on the 31 largest U.S. banks yesterday, releasing the criteria for measuring their wherewithal if the U.S. economy sours and major trading partners default on their debt. Lenders need to prove they have the capital to withstand a “severe” U.S. recession with 13 percent unemployment and an 8 percent decline in gross domestic product before they can increase dividends or repurchase shares. The more pessimistic scenario will damp banks’ ambitions to return more capital to shareholders, whose holdings have been decimated. The KBW Bank Index of 24 U.S. lenders has plunged 31 percent this year through yesterday and was down 70 percent from its all-time high in February 2007. “It’s going to be very difficult for any of these companies to do any major buybacks into next year,” said Paul Miller, a former examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and an analyst at FBR Capital Markets Corp. in Arlington, Virginia. Bank of America and Citigroup’s “chances of upping a dividend or buying back any stock next year are almost zilch.” The Fed limited banks to returning 60 percent of their retained earnings to shareholders in 2011, split evenly between dividends and share repurchases. Glenn Schorr, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., said some banks may be restricted even further, to about 40 percent, under the more adverse scenario. ‘That’s a Disaster’ “The tighter you stress and the more extreme you stress, the more careful you’ll be in terms of letting banks return capital,” Schorr said in a phone interview. The Fed’s stressed scenario calls for unemployment to hit 12 percent by next year and 13 percent in 2013. It also tests banks’ performance in an economic decline that begins this quarter and bottoms in the first quarter of next year, with real gross domestic product falling 8 percent and home prices dropping 20 percent during the next two years. “An 8 percent decline in GDP, that’s a disaster,” Miller said. “That’s not a recession.” The so-called supervisory stress scenario used earlier this year examined how lenders would fare if U.S. unemployment climbed to 11 percent, real gross domestic product dropped 1.5 percent, house prices fell 6.2 percent and stocks plunged 28 percent by year-end. The jobless rate has remained at about 9 percent all year. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs The test also subjects the trading operations of the six- biggest U.S. banks -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley -- to portfolio “shocks” based on asset price moves in the second half of 2008. “This is similar to what we saw them do in the original stress tests in 2009,” said Andrew Marquardt, an analyst at New York-based Evercore Partners Inc. “That will be more painful for those banks. In 2009, that was a particular point of contention.” Bank of America fell 3.7 percent to $5.17 at 2:03 p.m., the biggest drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Citigroup also declined 3.7 percent to $23.55. Citigroup, the third-biggest U.S. lender, has been touting a 2012 payout since October 2010, when CEO Vikram Pandit said shareholders could gain from a “return” of capital. Pandit, 54, introduced a 1-cent dividend in May after scrapping the payout in February 2009. Citigroup’s Plans Charles Peabody, an analyst at Portales Partners LLC, predicted in an Oct. 18 note that the bank would introduce an annual dividend of up to 76 cents a share next year. Citigroup may opt to buy back shares if the stock remains “depressed,” he wrote. That dividend is still “well within reason” even with the tougher test, Peabody said today in a phone interview. Citigroup had dropped 48 percent this year through yesterday. “Our plans have not changed,” Jon Diat, a spokesman for New York-based Citigroup, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “Subject to regulatory approval, Citi intends to begin returning capital to shareholders next year and believes the pace of return can increase in 2013 and beyond as economic conditions improve.” A 2012 payout also depends on the firm reducing unwanted assets in its Citi Holdings division while taking advantage of tax benefits, Diat said. Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan, 52, who already backtracked on plans to raise the dividend earlier this year, may not be able to increase the payout in 2012 either, analysts including Miller and Marquardt said. ‘Darn Well Sure’ “We will ask for a dividend when we’re darn well sure that we’ll get approval, and we’re not going to ask for it a minute before,” Moynihan said during an Aug. 10 conference call with investors. “This is one that I’ve had no success on so far” in predicting, he said. The firm had a 64-cent quarterly payout until 2008. Jerry Dubrowski, a Bank of America spokesman, declined to comment on the Fed announcement. Healthier U.S. banks including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley may be allowed to buy back some stock and moderately boost dividends next year, Miller said. “This is further confirmation that we will have a growing divergence among the bank group, between those with good fundamentals able to deploy capital versus those who are not there yet,” Marquardt said, citing Citigroup and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America as lenders whose plans to return capital may be curtailed. ‘Pull the Reins’ While the Fed probably won’t “pull the reins on the current pace of capital returns among banks, we think the bar has been raised for incremental requests,” Schorr told clients in a research note today. “Any banks that were likely close to receiving approval last year will need to wait a bit longer.” The test will be “more onerous” for large banks with significant ties to Europe, posing the biggest burden on JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, according to a research note today by Goldman Sachs analysts led by Richard Ramsden. Lenders including Wells Fargo and American Express Co. will perform well under the new parameters and are the best-positioned among banks to increase dividends or buy back more shares next year, the analysts said. JPMorgan, led by CEO Jamie Dimon, quintupled its dividend to 25 cents earlier this year and received the go-ahead to repurchase $8 billion of shares in 2011 out of a total $15 billion approved by the Fed. ‘Hard to Tell’ “It’s hard to tell what we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to do it,” Dimon, 55, told analysts during an Oct. 13 conference call. “We’ll be figuring it out, having conversations with regulators.” Joe Evangelisti, a JPMorgan spokesman, declined to comment on the new test criteria. Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf boosted the quarterly payout at the San Francisco-based bank from 5 cents to 12 cents earlier this year, and the company announced it would repurchase 200 million shares. Chief Financial Officer Timothy J. Sloan told investors Nov. 3 that he was “optimistic” the Fed would let the firm boost the payout and repurchase more shares next year. “We look forward to the process, we’ve got a great story to tell,” Sloan said. Ancel Martinez, a Wells Fargo spokesman, declined to comment on yesterday’s announcement. The Federal Reserve expanded its capital test to companies with at least $50 billion in assets, adding 12 banks to its list for 2012. The stress tests, officially called the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, or CCAR, have become a centerpiece of the central bank’s oversight of the largest financial firms. Capital Buffer Lenders must show that their capital -- the buffer between a bank’s assets and liabilities that helps shield depositors from losses -- would remain above 5 percent of assets even if the dire economic scenario materializes. On that basis, most of the largest banks will pass the tests, Edward Najarian, head of bank research at International Strategy & Investment Group Inc., wrote today in a note to clients. The Fed rejected MetLife Inc.’s request to raise its dividend earlier this year, telling the New York-based insurer it had to wait until its portfolio was tested against a “revised adverse macroeconomic scenario” being developed for the 2012 tests, the company said in an Oct. 25 statement. The biggest U.S. life insurer may speed plans to shed its bank subsidiary, which subjects it to Fed oversight. “At the end of the day, a stress test is to demonstrate to investors and the marketplace that the banks are strong and can withstand problems in their portfolios,” said Fred Cannon, a bank analyst with KBW Inc. in New York. “It’s all about credibility.”

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18393

Loveland’s development incentives begin to see return By Molly Armbrister April 20, 2012 Despite a couple of flops, the City of Loveland is slowly but surely seeing a return on the investment of most of the $2.2 million in economic development incentives it handed out in 2008 and 2009.Of the 11 businesses to which incentives were provided, nine have met the city’s incentive agreement requirements. Two, Colorado vNet and Lightning Hybrids Inc., have failed to do so. Colorado vNet, which received a $900,000 cash incentive, is no longer in business, a casualty of the recession.The majority of its incentive went toward real estate improvement, according to Loveland Economic Development Director Betsey Hale. Because of this, City of Loveland property taxes for the building in which Colorado vNet was located increased from $14,145 in 2005 to $16,086 in 2011.When Colorado vNet requested the funds in 2008, it estimate it would create 450 jobs within four years. The company produced lighting, media, security and climate systems for high-end homes, and when the real estate market tanked, so did vNet’s business.In December 2009, Loveland City Attorney John Duval filed suit with Larimer County District Court against vNet owner Bill Beierwaltes in an effort to recoup $500,000 of the investment. The case remains unresolved.Lightning Hybrids, while still in business, has fallen short of the 25 jobs promised when it was provided with a $50,000 cash incentive. As of 2010, the company employed 13 people.The remaining nine investments provide a much brighter look at the incentive program in Loveland. In total, the city has collected $782,320 in direct revenue from incentive recipients, for a combined ROI of 35.76 percent for investments made in 2008 and 2009, according to a report compiled by Hale.Incentives such as those provided by Loveland are evaluated on a timeline of five years, Hale said, and many of the businesses that received incentives are ahead of schedule in terms of making good on their promises for job creation.Jobs created are not factored into ROI for incentives because the direct economic impact of job creation cannot be measured in the same way as property and sales tax, the two metrics taken into account when figuring the return on the incentives granted.The two shining stars in terms of job creation do not collect sales tax, but Crop Production Services and Agrium Advanced Technology had created a combined 390 jobs as of 2010. In total, the companies incentivized by the city created 419 jobs as of 2010, according to the 2010 State of Colorado Census of Employment and Wages. That number is even higher now, Hale said, but exact calculations beyond 2010 are not available.Another highlight is JAX Outdoor Gear, one of two incentivized businesses that collects sales tax. With property tax and sales tax combined, JAX has generated $582,189 in revenue to the city, far exceeding the $300,000 cash payment provided to them. An added bonus of JAX’s presence in Loveland is the $388,000 in sales tax from the surrounding businesses that are drawn to the area by the popular sporting goods store.Most of the incentives provided by the city are cash, according to Hale, totaling $1.8 million in 2008 and 2009. Another $24,240 was granted in waivers and backfills and $353,143 was provided in fee deferrals.The city is also still actively providing incentives to businesses. Earlier this month, Loveland-based Yancey’s Food Service requested $102,000 in fee waivers from the city for an 84,000-square-foot business expansion at its location at 5820 Piper Drive.The expansion is expected to create $140,000 in additional property taxes for the city. The Loveland City Council met to make an official decision on the matter on April 17, after the Business Report went to press.When making recommendations to council in regards to incentivizing businesses, city staff makes use of third-party analysis, provided by Colorado State University economist Martin Shields, according to Hale.Shields uses a conservative model designed specifically for Loveland to determine the economic impact of providing incentives to a company. The analysis for Yancey’s shows that new net revenue to the city over a five-year period would be $287,883.The purpose of the economic impact survey is to help city council make smart decisions, and it sometimes recommends against providing businesses with incentives, Hale said.“We try to help council take calculated risks,” she said. Record floods batter Northern Colorado Flooding from heavy rains in mid-September touched almost every industry in Northern Colorado, including agribusiness, oil and gas, MORE New banks alight in Northern Colorado Banks continued to expand their physical presence in Northern Colorado in 2013, with two new banks moving into the region and others MORE Oil booms despite mounting opposition Voters banned the contentious drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing in Fort Collins, Lafayette, Broomfield and Boulder in November, MORE Voters defeat Weld County Commission’s secession bid Care Act’s impact grows; new hospital rises Mall, stadium hit bumps; Woodward cruises EAGLE-Net tries to bounce back Pro Challenge pedals through NoCo Ten companies to watch in 2014 Job-seekers, economic development meet at workforce center

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18833

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. Partnering with the Business Michelle Scheer of Thomson Reuters talks about the lessons of project management. By Dave Lindorff December 11, 2012 • Reprints Michelle Scheer, vice president for finance at Thomson Reuters, is at home in the matrix. “Thomson Reuters has a matrix style of management,” she explains. “Instead of being organized into divisions, all with their own finance departments, we have five different product lines and five heads of those product lines, but we also have functional leaders, like myself, who manage things across all the product lines.” This style of organization can make things challenging, Scheer says, but she calls that a good thing, because it means she and other functional leaders are always trying to manage all the product lines and “looking to see where the growth areas are.” “That’s part of my role, coming up with those priorities, and putting funding in place to drive those priorities,” she says. Scheer, 38, joined Thomson Reuters in 2009 after working in the treasurer’s office at General Motors, where her positions included director of business development and director of worldwide pension funding and analysis. As assistant treasurer at Thomson Reuters, she led a project designed to model the company’s foreign exchange risk and devise a forex hedging program, a project that won an Alexander Hamilton Gold Award in financial risk management in 2010. While the project itself has “little application” to her current job, Scheer says the process of building and heading the team for that project gave her experience and skills that do carry over. How has it helped?That treasury project was a comprehensive forex strategy, which we needed because Thomson had just bought Reuters. So we were suddenly a global company and needed to develop a hedge program to deal with forex risk. Doing that meant trying to manage a project that involved a lot of teamwork across the company. And it turns out that managing in a matrix is a lot like managing a project. Everyone has their own goals, and yet you need to win their cooperation. What is the biggest challenge in your finance position?Trying to make everyone understand the goals of what we’re trying to accomplish so everything gets done. All the product line heads have their goals, and we functional leaders have our goals. I have to get buy-in from the product line heads. Global growth is what we’re focusing on now, so we need to make sure we provide product development and product management with the resources they need. In the current economic environment, it’s more important than ever to have a strong finance operation, to focus on key growth areas and on efficiency, and to really support a lean business. Corporate finance is more important now than ever. What do you like best about this job?I really love being closely involved in the business operation side. I love being part of such a talented and motivated business team. It’s exciting!

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18905

Top 40 Investment Highlights in Africa 2012 December 28, 2012 Busayo Investing, Investors, Markets 3 comments VENTURES AFRICA – Africa has been regarded as the next investment hub in the world. As global economies struggle to keep afloat, Africa has become the new location for business. A continent looked at for its resources and image of hunger and poverty has suddenly become the new destination for business sustainability. While several investments were made in the continent this year, Ventures Africa has selected 40 notable investment deals for the year 2012. These investments were chosen based on the effect it has on the African economy and potential profit to be derived thereof. The investments range from initial forays into the African market to opening shop, mergers and acquisitions as well as investment plans that will sprout to significance in 2013. In no respective order, the investments include: OPIC’s Amethis Africa Finance Ltd: Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) recently approved $150 million for a new company (Amethis Africa Finance Ltd) which is designed to support their growth in Africa’s lucrative sector – Agribusiness, energy & infrastructure and financial services. The new investment will help fill a financial gap that has prevented investors from taking advantage of sound investment opportunities in Africa. Emfuleni’s $115 million Port Elizabeth Hotel: Emfuleni Resorts launched a new $115m five-star hotel and convention centre in Port Elizabeth. The project is part of the Broadwalk Casino and Entertainment World, which was opened in 2001. According to Bongi Siwisa, Chairperson of Emfuleni Resorts, “This is the largest single entertainment and tourism investment in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, and is a vote of confidence in the region.” Nigeria/ Sinohydro-Cneec Power Project: The $1 billion deal signed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Chinese synergy corporation, Sinohydro-Cneec, is an investment that will see to the stability of power supply in Nigeria. The project – a 700 mega watt Hydro Power station on the Northern Zungeru River, Niger state and a 3,050-Megawatt Hydro Power Plant on eastern Mambila Plateau – is expected to be completed by 2014. Emirates NBD/BNP Paribas’ Deal: Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD agreed to buy BNP Paribas’ Egyptian banking unit for $500 million – a deal which will help the Dubai bank expand its regional footprint. “This deal represents an excellent opportunity for Emirates NBD to enter the promising Egyptian market and achieve our strategic aspiration of expanding regionally,” Emirates NBD’s chairman Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said. Barclays, Absa Deal: South Africa’s biggest retail bank, Absa, acquired African assets of Barclays, its parent company, for R18.3 billion ($2.1 billion) – 20 percent of its present market value- in December. This deal brings to a conclusion a longstanding Absa plan to combine its parent company’s African operations with expected growth from the continent. Shanduka’s MTN Nigeria Stake: South African Black Economic Empowerment investment holding company, Shanduka Group acquired a $335 million minority stake in MTN’s Nigerian business from three private investors via its wholly owned subsidiary Shanduka Telecommunication Mauritius. “This is Shanduka’s most significant investment in another African country. It is a business that is well established within a market that has great potential for further growth,” Shanduka Group CEO, Phuti Mahanyele said. RLG $100 million Technology Centre: Africa’s leading mobile phone and computer assembler, RLG Communications, plans to build a $100 million technology centre in Ghana by 2014 with expansion plans to spread out to six other West Africa countries and three Southern African countries by first half of 2013. The company also signed a deal with the world’s biggest software and program developer, Microsoft in August as a “partnership for the future”; granting RLG an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) status. The partnership involves allowing Microsoft’s software and programmes including the just-released Windows 8 to run on RLG branded laptops and phones. Alcatel-Lucent Investments: In December 2012, Alcatel-Lucent and Tunisia signed a four-year agreement to build a new superfast wire-line broadband high capacity access network across Tunisia. The company also helped extends Ghana’s e-government services to rural regions for NITA Ghana’s National Information Technology Agency in September, 2012. Dupont African investment: With the opening of its maiden office in Nigeria this year, the global science and innovation company also have plans to invest $150 million on the continent. The Dupont Nigeria office which serves as the company’s hub for the West African region is currently assessing Nigeria’s energy sector, agriculture, infrastructure and other capabilities. Anglo/ Mozambique Coal Project: Anglo American Plc acquired a 59 percent stake worth $540 million investment in a Mozambican metallurgical project – Minas de Revuboe project. The investment is part of Anglo’s move to secure a strong foothold in Mozambique – a nation that has become a major coal producer. Tiger Brand/Dangote Flour Mills Takeover: South Africa’s foods company Tiger Brands, acquired a 63.3 percent stake acquisition of the $150 million-valued Dangote Flour Mills Plc (DFM) with plans to acquire more. While Tiger brand gets the largest shunk, the remaining stakes belong to Dangote and the shareholders with each owning 10 percent and 26.7 percent of the shares respectively. PIC’s Ecobank Investment: Africa’s largest pension fund manager, Public Investment Corp. (PIC) invested $250 million in Africa’s most geographically diverse bank, Ecobank Transnational Inc this year. The $250 million share purchase will be affected by the issuance of 3,125,000,000 shares in Ecobank, representing 19.58 percent of the total outstanding number of shares. Elcrest’s Shell 30 percent stake: Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, a majorly Nigerian-owned company acquired 30 percent stake in Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Oil Mining Lease (OML 40). Elcrest also bought a 10 percent stake in the field from Total and another 5 per cent from Nigeria Agip Oil Company. The OML 40 covers an area of some 498 square kilometres and includes the Opuama, Abiala and Adagbassa Creek fields and related facilities. NNPC/ND Western Deal: The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and ND Western, a local company purchased an onshore oil block that was formerly operated by Royal Dutch Shell. The deal has been described as “a major milestone in the [Nigerian] oil and gas sector.” SoleRebels Asia Expansion: Young African business leader and CEO of Ethiopian Footwear Company, SoleRebels, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, opened her company’s first stand alone store in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city. She has since opened other stores in Taichung and Pingtung city, Taiwan. With three more outlets expected to be opened at the end of 2012, SoleRebels plans to open about 30 outlets in Taiwan as Asia is considered a booming retail footwear market. “We are extremely excited by this store opening. Taiwan is an incredible market and the stores we are opening here give us a fantastic platform to showcase our incredible products and our innovative brand in an equally dynamic and fantastic market. This is the perfect place for soleRebels to anchor our Asia wide roll-out of soleRebels stores – truly historic strides for soleRebels,” Alemu said. Africa’s low cost airline, Fastjet: With its first flight launched at Dar-es-Salaam, the new pan-african low-cost airline, fastjet offers flights at the lowest rate of $20 and aims to undercut long-distance bus prices, and shift the main mode of travel in Africa’s airspace. Oando ConocoPhillips $1.79 Billion deal: Nigeria’s leading indigenous energy group, Oando PLC announced that its affiliate Oando Energy Resources (OER) entered into agreements with ConocoPhillips (COP) to acquire its entire business interests in Nigeria for an estimated cash of $1.79 billion including customary adjustments. Earlier in the year, Oando Plc made a landmark move as it completed its reverse takeover (RTO) of Oando Energy Resources Inc. (OER), previously known as Exile Resources Inc., with the pioneer listing of the company’s shares on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Thus, becoming the only Nigerian company with three trans-border listings – Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the TSX. Ventyx’s $7 million deal with Eskom: Africa’s largest electricity provider, Ventyx signed two software license agreements worth more than $7 million with South African utility company, Eskom. The deal involves Eskom undertaking Ventyx’s largest implementation on supervisory control and data acquisition/distribution management system (SCADA/DMS) for real-time network monitoring and control of electric power operations. Nigeria’s $1 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund: Africa’s largest crude producer, Nigeria launched a $1 billion sovereign wealth fund (SWF) in August. Nigeria’s SWF has three main aims: saving money for future generations, funding infrastructure and defending the economy against commodity price shock. However, the country’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala did not mention when investments would start, although a management team has been announced. Angola’s $5 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund: Africa’s second largest oil producing nation also followed suit launching a $5 billion Angolan Sovereign Fund (ASF) in October. The oil rich nation will be investing in domestic and overseas assets like agriculture, water, power generation and transport, with an early focus on the hotel industry in sub-Saharan Africa while channeling vast oil wealth into infrastructure, hotels, financial securities and other high-growth projects. SABMiller’s Africa Expansion Investment: SABMiller opened its first Greenfield brewery in Onitsha, south-eastern Nigeria in August. Work began on the Onitsha site in 2011 following an investment of over $100 million, making it the largest single investment in Anambra State for almost 20 years. Over the past five years, the company has invested over $1 billion in Africa. The company also invested about $16-million over the last 18 months to increase the product penetration of Chibuku across new markets in Africa. The world’s No. 2 brewer after Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) spent about $260 million across Africa this year, partly to expand production of Chibuku as a commercial alternative to a corn-and-sorghum-based drink called Brukutu that’s traditionally brewed and enjoyed at home. Morocco’s $40m Marrakech Healthcare City: Abu Dhabi firm Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing launched a $40 million Moroccan healthcare project, the Marrakech Healthcare City with the prospect of gaining a 30 percent return on investment (ROI). The new complex – which will take two years to construct – will be 21,000 square metres in size, providing space for a 160-bed private hospital, as well as a 40-room hotel and 56 residential apartments.Tasweek expects to recoup its entire investment by the completion of the project, with Tasweek CEO Masood Al Awar telling Arabian Business that ROI would be around 30 percent, adding to the firm’s entire $250 million portfolio’s annual yield of between 5 and 7 per cent. CoAL’s Chinese Investment: Haohua Energy International (HEI) – a unit of the Shanghai listed Beijing Haohua Energy Resources – made a $100 millon the equity offer to Coal of Africa (CoAL) to acquire a 23.6 percent stake in the South African mining outfit. The investment is HEI’s first investment outside of China. Renault’s Algeria Plant: French automaker, Renault, signed a three year deal with Algeria government to build a 75,000 unit per year plant in the city of Oran, Algeria. The plant which will be co-owned by Algeria (51 percent) and Renault (49 percent) will begin operation in 2014 with an initial production capacity of 25,000 vehicles and the possibility of growing to 75,000 annually. Renault had opened a major new plant in Tangier, Morocco in February 2012, to assemble the no-frills Lodgy people-mover and Dokker delivery truck for export markets around the Mediterranean. Geely’s Egypt Facility: Middle East and North Africa biggest car importer and distributor, Ghabbour Auto (GB Auto) motors launched a new facility to assemble Hong Kong-based Geely Automobile Holding cars in October. The facility will give the Egypt’s leading automotive assembler the range of assembling up to 70,000 cars from 30,000 cars a year. The Egyptian automobile company had signed an agreement in February with Geely Automobile to begin distributing Geely cars in North Africa. The agreement also include giving the automobile company the power to assemble cars using complete knock Down (CKD) kits supplied by Geely. GA Autos controls a third of the Egyptian car market and it is the only listed automobile company on the Egyptian Exchange. Zimplants’ Refinery: Zimbabwe’s largest platinum producer, Zimplats invested $30 million to employ the services of international experts in carrying out a feasibility study ahead of the construction of the mega project- a pioneer platinum group of metals refinery - which is expected to create jobs and more revenue in the country. Emaar Property’s African Investment: Dubai’s Emaar Property, one of the world’s most valuable companies, sealed an agreement to build its five star premium hotel brand, “The Address Hotels + Resorts brand” near the world famous national park, Masai Mara (Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve) in Kenya. A similar contract was sealed to build The Address Marassi Golf Resort & Spa in Egypt. “Emaar group has thrived in Dubai and our country will benefit tremendously from the expertise, international standards and practices that they bring. Emaar Hospitality Group has responded favourably to our country’s call for more investment in tourism and the Masai Mara venture is a timely boost to the sector,” Kenya’s Tourism Minister, Danson Mwazo, remarked on the investment. CocaCola’s Aujan Acquisition: The Coca-Cola Co. purchased 50 percent stake of the Saudi Arabia’s beverage company Aujan Industries, as well as 49 percent ownership of its bottling and distribution operations for a sum of $980 million in September. Coca Cola’s move to acquire stakes in Aujan industries was first announced December 2011. The investment is part of the world’s largest beverage company’s $5 billion investment strategy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the next one decade.“Today begins the next era of growth for our system across the Middle East and North Africa,” Coca-Cola Eurasia and Africa president Ahmet Bozer said. Mara’s Oyster Bay Investment: Billionaire Ugandan Ashish Thakkar’s Mara Capital Group, invested $270 million in Tanzania’s Oyster Bay (an area of Tanzanian capital city Dar-es-Salaam that is currently home to one of the city’s biggest police stations and barracks) to finance the construction of East Africa’s largest retail chain and other important infrastructural projects. The project will include the construction of the biggest shopping mall in East Africa to date, construction of two hotels, a conference centre and a business park; alongside other vital infrastructural developments such as the building of a new hospital, a police centre and plentiful residential properties for those staffing the various proposed institutions. “Because of the huge demand of housing within the Police Force, which is estimated at 34,710 units, the Ministry of Home Affairs realised that this 24-hectare Oyster Bay plot of land is ideal for investment in the quest to increase housing units. The venture will also provide a sustainable source of revenue for the force,” Spokesman for the police force, Isaac Nantanga said on the investment. LINK Healthcare Merger With Equity Pharma: Australian-based pharmaceutical and medical technologies business, LINK Healthcare, expands into the African market via a complete merger with South Africa’s Equity Pharma Group, a strong brand in Southern Africa with focus on specialty medicines, specific generic medicines (such as HIV medicines) and specialist medical technology products. Executive Chairman of LINK Healthcare, John Bacon said, “This acquisition is particularly pleasing because South Africa’s pharmaceutical sector is increasingly being supported by government with strong growth anticipated for the foreseeable future.” GlaxoSmithKline $1Billion Investment: In November, Britian’s largest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) disclosed plans to invest $1 billion in its Nigerian and Indian units, in order to reduce reliance on pharmaceutical products and western markets and increase shares in the fast growing emerging markets. The Pharmaceutical giant will spend $98 million to acquire an additional 33.7 percent share in its GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, shooting its total holdings to 80 percent from 46.4 percent, leaving the minimum 20 percent public shareholding required for a company to remain listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). David Redfern, Chief Strategy Officer, GSK said: “This Proposal to increase GSK’s ownership of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria reiterates our long term support of the Company’s strategy and our confidence in the continuing growth prospects of the business.” Tunis Report on African Health Investment: African government were advised to invest more in their Health sector. “The gap in health investment between industrialised and developing countries is currently too wide. Average percentage allocation of budget to health in Africa region is only 9.6 percent – but a much higher 16.9 percent in America; 14.6 percent in Europe; and 14.4 percent in Western Pacific,” Coordinator of the Africa Public Health Alliance 15 percent Plus Campaign, Rotimi Sankore said. BEML First Regional Office In Africa: Indian State-owned diversified manufacturing and engineering company, BEML, made a move to maximize the viable investment opportunities in Africa by opening its first regional office in Johannesburg in June. The company plans to use South Africa as a springboard into the rest of African countries in order to provide products for regional mining, construction, defense, as well as rail and metro markets. “Johannesburg will be the hub of activities. The reason we chose Johannesburg is (its) connectivity.” BEML’s General Manager, International business division, Narayana Bhat said. South Africa, Saudi Arabia’s SASAH: South Africa and Saudi Arabia strengthened their political and economic ties by creating a new company – Saudi Arabia-South Africa Holdings (SASAH). The company was launched during the fourth Saudi Arabian African Joint Committee held in Riyadh. The new company is entitled to free 5 percent equity in any joint venture initiated by SASAH. The partnership will help the two countries to invest in profitable business ventures and facilitate joint ventures. LeapFrog’s Investment In Express Life Insurance: World’s largest investor in inclusive insurance and related financial services, LeapFrog Investments, injected $5.5 million into Express Life Insurance Company – making it the largest foreign investment in the history of Ghana’s Insurance Industry. The investment with LeapFrog positions Express Life Insurance Company to benefit from LeapFrog’s capital distinctive operational expertise to become the market leader in serving the large untapped market of low-income consumers in Ghana with products often costing less than US$10 per month. Franklin Templeton’s African Fund: Global investment manager, Franklin Templeton initiated an African Fund. The fund which will be managed by the executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Emerging Markets Group, Mark Mobius, will be used for long-term capital growth in African-listed equities or companies based elsewhere but with principal business activities in Africa. Mobius says: “We believe that Africa’s markets present significant opportunities for development due to a combination of strong economic growth, rising demand for the region’s vast natural resources and a growing consumer market.” Bujagali Hydropower Plant Investment: Blackstone Group LP invested about $120 million, with other partners in the $900 million Bujagali hydroelectric dam in Uganda, a project that helped alleviate the East African nation’s chronic energy shortages. The250MW Bujagali Hydropower Plant was jointly funded by Industrial Promotion Services (IPS), the infrastructure and industrial development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Sithe Global Power LLC (USA), a company majority owned by Blackstone Capital Partners IV, L.P., a fund managed by Blackstone on behalf of its investors, and the Government of Uganda. Terra Mauricia Sugar Investment Bid: With some African governments, like Nigeria, keen on developing the sugar production, Mauritius largest sugar producer Terra Mauricia Ltd., plans to invest $200 million in a new sugar production plant in Africa, as it expands its successful agricultural unit. The investment company may have to buy an existing mill or start from the scratch. Ecobank Beijing Office: Pan African bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, opened a representative office in Beijing, China after it received an approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission in July and a business registration certificate from Beijing’s Administration for Industry & Commerce in October. The new office is expected to strengthen the cooperation between Ecobank and the Chinese financial authorities, as well as facilitate bilateral trade and investment for the continent. WEMPCO Cold Steel Mill: Western Metal Products Company Limited (WEMPCO) test- ran its new multi-billion naira integrated cold roll steel mill at Magboro, Ogun State, Nigeria. The steel plant is expected to fill in the vacuum that has riddled the Nigerian steel industry after the failure recorded at the Ajaokuta Steel Company. African business 2012African business newsAfrican business round off 2012African investment highloghtsBusiness news in AfricaM&A in Africa 2012Ventures Africa Diary Of An Under 30 CEO: What Is Your Brand? Meet “The Rising Star” of South African Business – Jessica Shelver About Busayo Oluwabusayo Sotunde is a versatile writer with interest is in business analysis, the Stock Market, book and music reviews. She also has keen interest in developmental issues, reading, adventure and innovation. Her writing experience includes stock market updates on InvestingPort.com and contributing to CP-Africa.com. She also had an internship with Eko FM, Lagos (at the news and current affairs department) before proceeding to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) to complete her studies. View all posts by Busayo → Related Posts Evraz CEO Michael Garcia Resigns... April 16, 2014 BHP Billiton Posts Record Production Inc... April 16, 2014 Singapore’s Temasek Bets More On A... April 15, 2014 SABMiller Posts Robust Profits... April 15, 2014 Now On Sale! SUBMIT PRESS RELEASE

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/18972

Retirement Savings Tax Breaks Safe—for Now At a House hearing, neither Dems nor Republicans seemed eager to tinker with main selling point of 401(k)s and IRAs. Mark Schoeff Jr. Tax breaks for retirement savings plans emerged unscathed from a House hearing Tuesday that focused on whether their favorable treatment should be curbed as part of comprehensive tax reform. The session marked the first time that the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee has tackled the potentially explosive issue. Last month, the House approved a Republican budget along partisan lines that included major tax reform. The plan, offered by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, would streamline the current six tax brackets to two and lower the top rate from the current 35 percent to 25 percent. It also would require the elimination of many so-called tax expenditures. The proposal didn't identify which ones, although retirement plan tax breaks are considered tax expenditures. On April 17, however, Republicans and Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee expressed support for retirement savings incentives that would allow workers to put money into 401(k) and individual retirement accounts on a tax-free basis. The continuation of such special treatment would come at a price, though. Such breaks would cost the federal government $375.9 trillion in revenue for defined-contribution plans and $86 trillion for IRAs over the next five years. That would make retirement savings plans one of the biggest tax expenditures, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Michigan, however, said that Ryan's budget wouldn't force Congress to put eve

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/19193

Flame Out To Buy Out? DNKN, KKD, SBUX, WEN The fast food industry is a hard industry to break into. Far too often new concepts catch on fast, but management isn't up to the challenge of profitably growing the business. After the almost inevitable flame out is when the company gets to prove if it is a survivor or just a fad. Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) has had its time in the flame and now it has a chance to prove it’s more than just a market confection. Only there are rumors that it might get bought out first. Into the Fire Krispy Kreme isn't really a new restaurant chain. The company, known for its sickeningly sweet glazed doughnuts, was founded around the time of the Great Depression. It remained a regional sensation for decades until the late 1990s when management went on an expansion spree. The shift from regional sensation to cultural icon was pretty swift. However, moving from being a hard to find specialty to an easily found commodity made the sugary treats much less culturally desirable. People no longer saw the company as special and sales fell, hard. Throw in an accounting scandal and ousted CEOs and it’s not surprising that the stock has been trading in the single digits for several years. Righting the Ship It hasn't been an easy road for Krispy Kreme or its shareholders, which have endured years of red ink while the company has tried to downsize to a more manageable size through store closures. Now, with quarterly sales on what appears to be a notable uptrend, the company is again looking to expand. It has plenty of room for that based on its small size, but it is a severe underdog. Clearly Dunkin' Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN) and its name sake restaurant own the doughnut space. Then there's Tim Horton's (THI), a solid number two as it expands from Canada into the United States. This duo has clear leads in the doughnut space. While Krispy Kreme could become a solid number three, it also means that the company has two entrenched industry leaders to fight along the way. And now that Krispy Kreme isn't new and cool, since the brand has been around the block once already, it might be difficult to break through. Branching Out Of course the big thing about Dunkin isn't its doughnuts, it’s the coffee. The company has also been branching out into other products, trying to take on the challenge from fast food companies looking to expand into the breakfast segment, like McDonald's (MCD). Tim Horton's has followed an almost identical course. That Krispy Kreme is going down the same expanded menu avenue doesn't help it stand out. In fact, with companies from McDonald's to Burger King (BKW) trying to reach into the breakfast segment, Krispy Kreme is going to have an uphill climb on its hands. That doesn't even include coffee king Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). While that company has had a hard time reaching beyond its coffee roots, there is little question that it has the higher end, trendy pitch down pat. That said, Starbucks is possibly a cautionary tale. The company is known for coffee, even though it has tried for years to sell other things, including food and, at one point, music. Coffee, however, is the only thing that has ever stuck. Luckily for Starbucks that has been enough for it keep its business growing for years, though it, too, went through a brief rough spot. That said, the coffee giant has been buying up other concepts recently, including tea stores and a French bakery concept, in an effort to increase its growth potential. Krispy Kreme might have more troubles than it thinks trying to imitate its main competitors. A Buyout? Krispy Kreme's shares, however, have been on an upswing lately because it could be a buyout. Turning profitable again surely helped the share price, too. But the 75% advance the shares have experienced over the last three months is too large to be explained by a return to the black. The only problem with the buyout rumor is who would the buyer be? KKD data by YCharts One name thrown around is Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN), the struggling burger joint. This seems an odd fit for two reasons. First, the company once owned Tim Horton's and got rid of it. Why buy another breakfast chain? Second, the experience of buying Arby's should have taught Wendy's management the lesson that combining two struggling brands doesn't make a good company. Moreover, since Wendy's is having a difficult time right now, why would Krispy Kreme want to be bought by the company? After Wendy's there really aren't too many other options. Yum! Brands (YUM) is focusing its efforts on China and other emerging markets, so it probably wouldn't want to bother with Krispy Kreme. That said, Yum! is a collection of brands, so the doughnut company might fit well inside that company. Most other restaurant chains simply wouldn't be a logical fit or aren't financially strong enough for the pairing to make sense. A buyout by a private equity firm seems far more likely. A Fitting End? This wouldn't be the first time a restaurant coming back from near disaster spent time in the hands of a private equity shop. In fact, Burger King has played that game a couple of times in its effort to compete with industry giant McDonald's. What type of buyout offer the company would receive, however, with its shares up so much in such a short period of time, is a big question mark. A 75% gain would seem to discount much of the prospective offer, which would leave the deal either dead in the water or at only a modest premium to recent prices. Investors are probably better off avoiding the speculation around Krispy Kreme. If the rumor mill proves untrue and the shares drop accordingly, however, it might be worth considering for aggressive investors willing to bet the company's recent efforts will garner it additional market share. ReubenGBrewer has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool owns shares of Starbucks. 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 DNKN Also On This Topic Fantasy Football Meets Million Dollar Reality Did David Einhorn Give Up on His Green Mountain Short? Coffee Picks for Even the Grumpiest of Investors These 3 Trends Should Worry Investors This Kreme Is a Rising Star

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/19659

JR: Wealth Adviser Thinking About an Overseas Transfer? First, get the answers to these four questions Some employees want to work abroad because they love the idea of living the life of an expatriate. Others look at an overseas assignment as golden for their résumés. But working outside of the U.S. isn't necessarily good for everyone's pocketbook. More in Wealth Adviser The Latest in High-Tech Security Gadgets How Much Is That Auto in the Window? How to Make Safes Safer Read the complete report . With many countries embroiled in economic crises, things are getting more complicated for some would-be transferees. Currency fluctuations, in particular, are a worry, especially for those considering a move to the euro zone. "The decline in the value of the euro versus the U.S. dollar means that expats are finding their overseas earnings buy less back in the States, which is a real problem for those who still have U.S. dollar-based obligations," says Jeff Born, professor and faculty director of the executive M.B.A. program at Northeastern University in Boston. "For those who do not have U.S. dollar liabilities, the decline in the value of the euro means that imported goods from the U.S. probably cost more now in Europe than before." Job security can also be an issue, especially if the employee's job is tied to what's happening in the country to which he or she is transferring. And those aren't the only concerns for would-be transferees. So for those planning to take an overseas assignment, here are some things to consider to reduce the odds of an unwelcome financial surprise: 1. How will I be paid? How currency fluctuations affect you will depend greatly on how your company pays you and whether you plan on returning to the U.S. Enlarge Image Customers talk with a cashier at a foreign-exchange shop in Rome. Bloomberg News For short-term assignments of up to three or five years, employees are often paid in their home currency, says Ed Hannibal, partner and head of the Global Mobility Practice for North America at Mercer LLC, a global human-resource consulting firm based in New York. There also is a good chance that the employer will assist with the cost of an apartment. Employees with this setup have less to worry about. They simply transfer funds at the current exchange rate into local currency to pay expenses. Some relocation packages, however, require that the employee be paid in the local currency. That's when things can get trickier, especially for those who have U.S.-based obligations or who plan on moving back to the U.S. If that is your situation, convert the local currency you earn into U.S. dollars periodically to protect funds you won't be using until you get back home, says Matthew P. Pascual, senior vice president for assignment management solutions at Weichert Relocation Resources Inc., a Morris Plains, N.J.-based firm. That will help ensure that you capture the best exchange rates at various points in time. Enlarge Image Some employees have split-pay arrangement, in which they are paid in both the home and local currency, Mr. Pascual says. "You can decide how much you will leave in the host-country versus the home-country currency," he says. "As long as you're getting paid enough in the host country to pay your living expenses…you've created a natural hedge." Most companies provide a cost-of-living differential to bridge the gap between the cost of living at home and abroad, also taking into account foreign exchange-rate volatility, Mr. Hannibal says. Companies generally review and update those periodically. And there are some benefits to currency fluctuations: If you plan to buy real estate in a euro-zone country, for instance, your U.S. dollars will stretch further. 2. How will I manage my money? Whatever way you're getting paid, it is important to set up an international bank account, most likely in the host country, that will allow you to exchange funds at competitive rates, Mr. Pascual says. Forget about going to a foreign automated teller machine and withdrawing funds from your U.S. account on a regular basis—that will add up to loads of costly fees, he says. Also curb purchases on credit cards denominated in your home currency, since those transactions often come with high fees. While it is often hard to qualify for a credit card in the local currency, getting a debit card is easier because you likely won't have to go through as detailed a credit check, Mr. Pascual says. 3. What if I need help? Hire a financial professional in the U.S. before you go abroad to assist with complex issues such as taxes and how to manage money in two locations at once, says Lauren Herring, chief executive of Impact Group, a global career-management firm based in St. Louis. Issues such as Social Security and retirement savings also should be discussed, she says. Sometimes, employers will offer tax services through a corporate provider, Ms. Herring says. If you own a home in the U.S., find out what help—if any—you may receive from your company if you need to sell it. Company assistance, including buying the house, helping to sell it or even replacing some of the value lost for underwater homeowners, is more common in domestic relocations and typically benefit senior executives, says Ms. Herring. For an international relocation, the company might assist in maintaining the property while you're gone or helping you rent it, she says. 4. Will my spouse be able to work? If you're relocating with a spouse who isn't being dispatched from a U.S. firm, he or she will need to get permission to work in the country on their own. In some places that is a manageable task, but in other places it is nearly impossible, says Andreas von Strachwitz, vice president of business development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Weichert. He recommends making a trip to the country before committing to the transfer. Sometimes an employer will pick up the tab for a three- or five-day predecision trip to look at housing, schools, communities and potential jobs for spouses. Ms. Hoak is a reporter for MarketWatch in Chicago. She can be reached at [email protected]. Email

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/19751

Thursday, April 17 2014 Wall Street Corruption: Are People Losing Faith in the Financial System Monday, May 24, 2010 By Paul Martin by Michael Snyder In order for a financial system to be able to function properly, it is absolutely essential that the general population has faith in it. After all, who is going to want to invest in the stock market or entrust their money to big financial institutions if there is not at least the perception of honesty and fairness in the financial marketplace? For decades, the American people did have faith in Wall Street. But now that faith is being shattered by a string of recent revelations. It seems as though the rampant corruption on Wall Street is seeping up almost everywhere now. In fact, some of the things that have come out recently have been absolutely jaw-dropping. The truth is that the corruption on Wall Street is much deeper and much more systemic than most of us ever dared to imagine. As the general public digests these recent scandals, it is going to result in a tremendous loss of faith in the U.S. financial system. Once faith in a financial system is lost, it can take years or even decades to get back. So how is the U.S. financial system supposed to work properly when large numbers of people simply do not believe in it anymore? Just consider some of the recent revelations of Wall Street corruption that have come out recently…. *Bloomberg is reporting that a massive network of big banks and financial institutions have been involved in blatant bid-rigging fraud that cost taxpayers across the U.S. billions of dollars. The U.S. Justice Department is charging that financial advisers to municipalities colluded with Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia and 11 other banks in a conspiracy to rig bids on municipal financial instruments. Apparently what was going on was that it was decided in advance who would win the auctions of guaranteed investment contracts, which public entities purchase with the proceeds from municipal bond sales, and then other intentionally losing bids were submitted in order to make the process look competitive. The U.S. Justice Department claims that this fraud has been industry-wide and has been going on for years. In fact, at least four financial professionals have already pleaded guilty in this case. FREE Breaking Investment & Geopolitical Intelligence – Previously only available to Governments, Intelligence Agencies & selected Hedge Funds. Click here for more information on our Free Weekly Intelligence Report *An industry insider has come forward with “smoking gun” evidence that some of the biggest banks have been openly and blatantly manipulating the price of gold and silver. For a time it looked like the federal government was just going to ignore all of this fraud, but after substantial public uproar some action is indeed being taken. In fact, it has been reported that federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals markets. *New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether eight major Wall Street banks purposely misled the big credit ratings agencies so that they would give their mortgage-backed securities AAA ratings that they did not deserve. *There has been a ton of legal action surrounding mortgage-backed securities lately. For example, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are now investigating Morgan Stanley as part of a probe into whether Wall Street firms deliberately misled investors regarding the sale of mortgage-related securities. *Goldman Sachs is getting most of the press about fraud in the mortgage-backed securities market these days. Of course Goldman is strenuously denying that it “bet against its clients” when it changed its position in the housing market in 2007. But we all know the truth at this point. The truth is that Goldman Sachs clearly bet against its clients and was involved in a whole lot of things that were even worse than that. Many did not think the U.S. government would dare go after Goldman, but that is what we are starting to see. U.S. federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs or its employees committed securities fraud in connection with its trading of mortgage-backed securities, and it will be very interesting to see if anything comes of that investigation. *But not everyone is being held accountable for their actions. The guy who helped bring down AIG is going to get off scott-free and is going to be able to keep the millions in profits that he made in the process. *Entire U.S. cities have been victims of this rampant Wall Street fraud. In fact, it is now being alleged that the biggest banks on Wall Street are ripping off some of the largest American cities with the same kind of predatory deals that brought down the financial system in Greece. *The really sad thing is that fraud is very, very lucrative. Executives at many of the big banks that received large amounts of money during the Wall Street bailouts are being lavished with record bonuses as millions of other average Americans continue to suffer economically. Even the CEOs of bailed-out regional banks are getting big raises. It must be really nice to be them. So does all of this make you more likely or less likely to invest in the stock market? Do you think that the American people can see all of this and still believe that the financial system is “fair” and “honest”? The truth is that Wall Street is full of rip-off artists and fraudsters who don’t even try to hide their greed anymore. It is as if a thousand junior Gordon Gekkos have been unleashed and they are all trying to be masters of the universe at any cost. But what they are doing is ripping the heart out of the U.S. financial system. If people lose faith in the system the system will ultimately fail. A financial system that allows open fraud and manipulation is operating on borrowed time. So will the rampant corruption on Wall Street now be cleaned up? Only time will tell. on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 8:25 am and is filed under Civil War II, Economics.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/19930

hide Exclusive: Societe Generale said to explore sale of Asia private bank Wednesday, September 11, 2013 9:48 p.m. CDT By Saeed Azhar and Denny Thomas SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Societe Generale, France's No. 2 listed bank, is exploring the sale of its Asia private banking arm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, seeking to exit a market where small managers are getting hit by rising costs and competition. The Singapore-based division could fetch around $600 million, the people familiar said, though the actual sale price has yet to be determined and may exceed that figure. The sources declined to be identified as the discussions are confidential. A Paris-based spokeswoman for SocGen declined comment. SocGen is the third major global financial institution to seek to sell its Asian wealth arm in the last five years, as the region's surging tide of millionaires and billionaires have posed a challenge to smaller private banks, which lack the asset base to compete with large global players and local upstarts. According to the 2013 Capgemini/RBC Wealth Report, Asia Pacific is expected to be the region with the world's biggest population of high net worth individuals by next year. Asia's high net worth individuals - a term used to describe people with more than $1 million of investable assets - hold $12 trillion in assets, just shy of North America's total. While Asia is among the fastest growing regions in the world for individual wealth, its millionaires and billionaires tend to offer small chunks of their riches to many wealth managers, rather than picking one to preserve over time. That goes counter to the pattern in the U.S. and Europe where private bank clients tend to hand over their money to the managers for the long haul. Private bankers in Asia often remark that because the money they receive is usually first or second generation wealth, they act more like brokers than private bankers - an arrangement that can be costly. Standard Chartered Bank plc, Singapore's United Overseas Bank Ltd and DBS Group Holding Ltd are among the companies that may express interest in the business, according to the people familiar with the matter. All three banks declined to comment. Although SocGen does not break out country details for the private bank, the Asia business may account for around 10 billion euros to 12 billion euros of assets under management, according to Jean-Pierre Lambert, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. The potential sale of its Asian private bank would be the next step in a series of initiatives the French bank has taken to cut costs and boost profits. The French bank is restructuring its asset-gathering operations after recently combining them with its corporate and investment bank under Didier Valet. SocGen earlier this year sold its Japan private bank to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp for an undisclosed sum. ASIA WEALTH Bank of America Corp last year sold its Asia and other non-U.S. private banking business to Julius Baer for 860 million Swiss franc ($911 million). ING Groep offloaded its Asian private bank to Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in late 2009 for $1.5 billion. One factor leading to private bank consolidation in Asia is competition. Barclays said in a research note on Monday that 15 private banks have opened in Asia since 2009, bringing the total to 45. Another is the growing separation between the big and smaller players in the field. The world's top 5 private banks have around 50 percent of assets under management in the industry, according to consulting firm Scorpio Partnership, showing how the industry is consolidated around a few top players. UBS and Citigroup for example, both manage over $200 billion each in Asia-Pacific. In Asia, the fastest growth is in the lower-to middle end of the wealth management market rather than so-called ultra high net worth individuals, whose numbers contracted in China last year thanks to the economic slowdown according to the Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report. That trend serves the bigger banks with the scale to serve the mass affluent high net worth, rather than the ultra-rich high end of the market targeted by more niche firms. OCBC paid a net multiple of 5.8 percent for ING's Asian private bank, which was managing $16 billion when the deal was announced in late 2009, allowing the Singapore lender to triple its private banking assets. The sale of SocGen's private bank in Asia, one of only a few managing more than $10 billion, is expected to attract suitors ranging from global lenders to major regional banks in Asia, people familiar with the matter said. ($1 = 0.9448 Swiss francs) ($1 = 0.9348 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Denny Thomas; additional reporting by Lionel Laurent in Paris and Lawrence White in Hong Kong; Editing by Michael Flaherty and Jeremy Laurence)

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/19988

NationaLease appoints Spence VP North America Thursday, November 29, 2012 Oakbrook Terrance, Ill.-based truck leasing company NationaLease has appointed Jeffrey Spence to vice president of national accounts. He comes to NationaLease from Idealease Inc., where he served as director of lease development. He earlier served as general manager for PacLease in Chicago and began his career in transportation with Ryder Transportation and Logistics, where he held several managerial positions for 16 years. NationaLease operates in more than 600 locations in the United States and Canada and operates a combined fleet of over 125,000 tractors, trucks, and trailers....

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20049

Payments & Cards Deutsche Bank’s Harold Young Predicts SEPA Opportunities By Maria Bruno-Britz http://www.informationweek.com/ Tags: Single euro payments area, International Organization for Standards, Deutsche Bank, Harold Young, Cross-border payments, Direct debit, Payments, ISO 20022, Standards, ACH, SEPA, ISO The January 2008 deadline creeps ever closer and many banks are at full throttle in their efforts to gear up for the advent of the single euro payments area (SEPA). SEPA is intended to create a more uniform payments environment throughout the E.U. that will require banks to treat ACH payments as domestic-based payments, even if they occur between different countries. Although this makes things simpler, there is the fear that banks will lose some fee revenue on what were previously considered cross-border payments. However, there are financial institutions that see SEPA as an opportunity to differentiate themselves in what is often considered an increasingly commoditized market. Harold Young, managing director, global head of payments products with Deutsche Bank (Frankfurt; $1.3 trillion in assets), says the financial institution is fully committed to making SEPA a reality. From the start, Deutsche Bank has been involved in the shaping of the directive with the European banking authorities. "SEPA harmonizes ACH payments across Europe," Young says. "It also introduces true direct debit functionality throughout Europe for the first time. This is a major step forward and marks a leveling of the playing field for Europe with other markets in the Americas and Asia." Deutsche Bank finds itself in a favorable position since it's one of a few financial institutions also able to offer SEPA processing to banks on a correspondent basis. Experts in the industry agree that there will be a purging of European banks as some realize they don't have the resources required to upgrade their systems to be SEPA-compliant. Either they will fold or will farm out their SEPA processing to larger FIs such as Deutsche Bank. "Deutsche Bank's position is full commitment to SEPA and the earliest possible retirement of individual legacy national ACH schemes," says Young. "We intend to use the pan-European EBA infrastructure, or bi-lateral clearing for payments settlement, not the local infrastructures." According to Young, Deutsche Bank had a bit of a head start on SEPA since it had already consolidated its ACH processing in three of the countries in which it operates in Europe. "We just extended that base to our remaining European regions," he says. "We anticipated SEPA and replaced what we had with a platform we knew could be SEPA- compliant. We did all our learning, the coding and integration two or three years ago. Now it's just a matter of learning on the new formats, replicating the processing, then performing user-acceptance and stress testing." Deutsche Bank also is looking to SEPA for the value-added services it can help the bank provide. These involve reporting, transparency and visibility around transactions, and the ability to make routing decisions more easily. The bank is building routing intelligence into its individual and file-based message flows, Young explains. The routing software used by Deutsche Bank is proprietary while the processing piece involved modifying a vendor-based solution, he adds. Yet SEPA is not just about making money. Long-term, Young predicts that SEPA will set a precedent for the rest of the world around standards and formats in banking since it uses an XML-based ISO 20022 standard. ISO 20022 is the format agreed upon by several standards groups working on the end-to-end payments chain. ABOUT THE AUTHORSee more from Maria

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20060

U.S. and U.K. Consumers Are Scared, Stressed and Anxious While Chinese Consumers Remain Optimistic in the Face of the Economic Slowdown, According to New Research by The Boston Consulting Group A New BCG Book Says That China’s Consumers Offer a Beacon of Hope to Western Companies Amid Low Relative Confidence Levels Among U.S. And U.K. Consumers, and That by 2020, Chinese Consumers—in Combination with Those in India—Will Be Spending Nearly $10 Trillion on Goods and Services, or Three Times the Amount They Spent in 2010 BOSTON, October 1, 2012—Chinese consumers remain optimistic, even as their economy experiences a temporary slowdown, according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). This optimism is in stark contrast with U.S. and U.K. consumers, whose confidence in their own future and the future of their country in the global economy remains at low levels. In a survey of Chinese, U.S., and U.K. consumers, BCG found that 40 percent of Chinese consumers said that they are planning to spend more money in the next 12 months than they did in the past 12 months—ensuring that they will continue to be an engine of consumer expenditure for the global economy. This level is up from 36 percent in 2011 and 23 percent in 2010. By contrast, fewer than one in ten consumers (9 percent) in both the U.S. and the U.K. said that they are planning to spend more in the next year. The findings coincide with the launch of The $10 Trillion Prize: Captivating the Newly Affluent in China and India, a book by a team of BCG consultants that is being published by Harvard Business Review Press. The book presents in great detail the expected growth in spending in China and India between 2010 and 2020. By the end of the decade, consumers in the two countries are predicted to spend nearly $10 trillion annually—three times the amount they spent in 2010. It also presents a manual for business leaders who want to capture a slice of the prize. Michael J. Silverstein, a senior partner based in BCG’s Chicago office and a c

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20095

Minority Firm Receives Historical Investment in the Big Apple NYC Pension Funds invest $225M with Vista Equity Partners by Alan Hughes Posted: December 29, 2011 A- A A+ The New York City Pension Funds recently invested $225 million with Vista Equity Partners (No. 2 on the BE PRIVATE EQUITY list with $2.7 billion in capital under management), one of the largest single investments made by the city with a minority-owned firm. The transaction also brings total investments made with Vista by the city to $339.7 million. According to John C. Liu, Comptroller of the City of New York, the city how has some $6.1 billion currently managed by MWBE firms. “I’m a firm believer that the public is served best when we level the playing field and allow everybody to show what they can do,” says Liu. “This is part of our on-going efforts to bring along emerging managers and to give emerging managers a chance to show what they can do.” According to Liu, a previous investment with Vista earned a rate of return of 29.4%, a solid performance when compared with the turbulence of the financial markets. “Vista Equity is an emerging manager that has clearly emerged.” Vista, which was founded in 2000, has offices in San Francisco, Austin and Chicago and primarily invests in privately held software development companies. Robert F. Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, the transaction will bring the firm’s assets to nearly $6 billion. “I have to applaud John [Liu] for this – looking at the communities they serve and trying to find vendors who are managed and owned by people who look like the people who they serve,” he says. “And they’re very conscious about it, very thoughtful about it and very deliberate about it.” ACROSS THE WEB NYC Appoints First Chief Diversity Officer Best of America's Largest Black-Owned Companies To Be Honored At Entrepreneurs Conference Daymond John Moderates Early Stage East's Gathering of Startups & Investors How to Effectively Fund A Project on Kickstarter 75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street A- A A+ Pingback: Minority Firm Receives Historical Investment in the Big Apple – Pearland In Color GPS tracking system reviews You are in reality a just right webmaster. The site loading speed is incredible. It sort of feels that you’re doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you’ve performed a magnificent process in this topic! TV SHOWS » | MORE VIDEOS »

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20150

Churches Make Tough Decisions in Bad Economy - Finance - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com Churches Make Tough Decisions in Bad Economy By John Jessup CBN News Anchor WASHINGTON -- Each week, hundreds walk through the doors of Metropolitan Baptist Church to worship in the heart of the nation's capital. It's been a witness to history. Freed slaves formed the congregation during the Civil War almost 150 years ago. Since then, the church survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, and 28 presidents. Now, this body of believers faces its own challenge: moving. "We did not seek this land. It was literally offered to us and that is why we call it God's land in largo," said Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., pastor of Metropolitan Baptist. A growing congregation led to the planned move into Maryland. The project, once considered a blessing, has become an urgent prayer burden. Construction crews completed more than 50 percent of the new building when the economy imploded and credit dried up. "The problem with all of that of course is that just at the time we needed to do some re-financing work, that was the moment the national economy fell through the bottom." Hicks said. Then came rising unemployment. With the jobless rate in Washington D.C. over 10 percent, the recession has hit the church and its members hard. Losing a paycheck means less money in the offering plate. That eventually forced Metropolitan to move from its original location and temporarily meet at a local charter school. "The reality is there's a choice that has to be made," Hicks said. "Very often, the choice is extremely stark: 'Shall I place food on the table for my children? Or shall I place money in the plate as I've been instructed?' That's not an easy choice to make," Hicks added. With a rough road still ahead, Pastor Hicks is encouraging his congregation to keep the faith. "What makes us different is that we do not shrink in the face of recession; we do not walk in fear in the face of recession, but we still rely on the word of God to be that lamp, to be that light, to give to us that confident assurance that everything we need will be provided," Hicks said. And Metropolitan is not alone. According to Christianity Today, 40 percent of churches have seen at least a two percent drop in weekly giving since last year. One-third estimates giving is the same. And nine percent have actually seen an increase. One of those churches is called The Living Room in Martinsburg, W.V. The pastors took us to land where they're raising money for a 75,000 square foot performing arts and sports arena. "We've captured a vision. We're not asking people to need, we're just asking them to be part of something that is bigger than themselves and we're seeing it's working," said Kevin Green, pastor of The Living Room. "And God's returning blessing to them," he added. Metropolitan is also seeing God's blessing through partnerships with other churches. Those congregations have raised thousands of dollars despite their own hardships to help the historic church move to its future home. This principle of "being your brother's keeper" is championed by many leaders including Los Angeles Bishop Noel Jones. His megachurch, City of Refuge, has become just that -- a refuge for struggling churches. "Some have in excess, some have too little. We need to partner, but again, we need to get over our egos and all of the things that go with our territories," Jones said. "It's about ministering to people. We need to partner and we can get the job done." Pastor Hicks says the recession energizes him to preach about God's faithfulness. And for the members of Metropolitan Baptist Church, the economic downturn is just another opportunity for God to show his greatness. "So I'm willing to wait and to see what God's going to do," Hicks said. I'm confident that through all of this, God is getting ready to do something so spectacular and so phenomenal that we can hardly understand it. We won't believe it." *Originally aired July 20, 2009. John Jessup John Jessup serves as the main news anchor for CBN, a position he assumed after 10 years reporting for the network in Washington, D.C. His work in broadcast news has earned him several awards in reporting, producing, and coordinating elections coverage. Follow John on Twitter @JohnCBNNews and "like" him at Facebook.com/John.V.Jessup. Chaos continued in eastern Ukraine, with pro-Russia militants seizing armored vehicles and parading them through Slaviansk, a town controlled by insurgents. Divers Search for Survivors of Sunken S. Korea Ferry Nearly 300 people are still missing and two are confirmed dead after a ferry sank off the coast of South Korea. The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram is being blamed for kidnapping about 100 girls from a school in northeastern Nigeria Tuesday.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20161

Print this article | Return to Article | Return to CFO.com A New Era in Corporate GovernanceDirectors and investors are demanding reform. Companies had better prepare for it.The McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Co.April 15, 2004 More progress has been made improving the governance of US corporations during the past couple of years than in the several decades preceding them. New reporting requirements that stock exchanges have ordered in response to high-profile scandals, together with tougher auditing standards under the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act, have pushed boards and managers to become far more diligent in preparing and reporting accurate financial information. Boards have also grown acutely aware of their responsibility to shareholders and of the consequences of failing to live up to it, so many have become more independent from management. But our latest research on board governance in the United States indicates that directors and investors alike feel that, so far, reform has led to only modest improvement. Much more must change, they think, before high-quality board governance can be achieved. Although the reforms so far have created more work for finance departments, as well as higher accounting expenses, the direct impact on executives and directors hasn't been particularly troublesome. But the reforms now being demanded by investors and activist advisory groups will be much more of a burden. The investors and directors we surveyed want companies to move toward separating the roles of CEO and chairman, to make directors more independent and accountable, and to scale back and restructure executive compensation so that it is aligned more closely with the creation of long-term value. It is perhaps understandable that these deeper reforms haven't yet been pursued. As high-profile corporate abuses have unfolded, one after the other, most boards have become preoccupied with reassessing their responsibilities and implementing the new accounting rules. Although directors themselves shoulder a good deal of blame for the lack of profound reform, they join with investors in pointing to CEO resistance as a primary impediment to it. Certainly, few CEOs see the need for change. The US model of capitalism—with a combined chairman and CEO and a board comprising both insiders and independent directors—has worked well for many companies. So it is hardly surprising that CEOs have little desire to share their power or to sacrifice any of their stature or compensation. Nonetheless, maintaining the status quo is probably a high-risk option. Investors seem intent on pushing a reform agenda—including regulatory change—that will make boards more responsive to their interests. Given the pressure from shareholders and the resistance from management, it will be up to boards to craft solutions that balance the expectations of all parties. Any failure to respond will leave boards more exposed to the investors' ire and less prepared to handle a more challenging governance environment. A Clear SplitIn the summer of 2003 and the winter of 2004, McKinsey surveyed 150 US directors as well as 44 US institutional investors with more than $3 trillion in assets under management. (The surveys were undertaken in partnership with the Directorship Search Group and the Institutional Investors Institute.) Although the surveys were conducted 12 to 18 months after the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley, they revealed an even greater appetite for reform than did a comparable survey conducted in May 2002, just before the law's enactment. (See Robert F. Felton and Mark Watson, "Change Across the Board," The McKinsey Quarterly, 2002 Number 4, pp. 30—45.) For activist advisory groups, perhaps the most important item on the near-term agenda is splitting the roles of chairman and CEO. Both directors and investors believe strongly that this separation must occur if boards are to provide the kind of independent oversight of management that investors demand. Investors are acutely aware that CEOs have tended to dominate boards over the past decade—sometimes with disastrous results—and wonder how a board with the CEO as chairman can oversee management. They also point out that the split structure works quite well in parts of Europe, in Canada and Australia, and in a small number of US companies. CEOs, though, are resisting the change. Many argue that the combined model has served the US economy well and that splitting the roles might set up two power centers, which would impair decision making. CEOs also point out that finding the right chairman is difficult and that there are real negative consequences for choosing the wrong person. Clearly, they will strongly oppose giving up the power and influence they have worked so hard to accumulate. Yet given the growing demand for change, CEOs, directors, and investors must form a plan that works for everyone. Since the topic of separating these roles can be highly charged and very personal, the board should discuss it solely as a business problem. Collectively, the board and the CEO need to come up with an approach that satisfies investors while retaining and motivating the CEO. At a minimum, a lead (or presiding) director should be appointed as an interim step. To bring more credibility to a role that many shareholders view as merely symbolic, however, the lead director must have clearly defined responsibilities and meaningful authority. At the same time, the board should at least consider the idea of installing a nonexecutive chairman over time. The current CEO might support such a plan upon his or her retirement, which for many companies would be two or three years away. (The average CEO's tenure is now five to six years.) Any prospective new CEO would be recruited on the clear understanding that the plan will be implemented. Shareholders are likely to consider these arrangements preferable to losing or diminishing the motivation of a high-performing CEO. In fact, discussions with CEOs indicate that many of them think that the roles of chairman and CEO will eventually be divided; they just hope this doesn't happen on their watch. Investors shouldn't underestimate the challenge of finding the right non-executive chairman, who must have not only the experience, personality, and leadership skills to mesh with the current board and management but also sufficient independence to show that the board is no longer a rubber stamp for the CEO. If boards wait until regulators or investors force them to start searching for candidates, they may well find that other boards have already snatched up the best ones; in any event, the transition will be delayed. Soon enough, moreover, investors may well have the tools—proxy-voting provisions and the like—to drive change. It would be better for boards to engage the issue now, and seriously. Make Directors Independent—and AccountableImproving a board's performance entails more than separating the roles of CEO and chairman. Significant reforms, ensuring greater independence and accountability, have already occurred in the composition of boards. Recent NYSE and Nasdaq rulings increase the independence of boards and require listed companies to change certain board practices—for example, by improving the audit committee process and retaining auditors and compensation consultants. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is exploring ways to promote "shareholder democracy" by making it easier to elect independent board members directly. (Although this proposal is proving to be very controversial and the final details have yet to be worked out, the SEC will almost certainly allow long-term shareholders of a company to propose an alternative slate of a few directors if the company is resisting the wishes of its shareholders.) Still to come, however, are changes in board practices and behavior that will be essential if directors are to provide independent oversight of executives. Most of the directors we surveyed said that they still depended on management to set the agenda of board meetings. Few respondents felt that they really knew what was going on in their companies, and most believed that this state of affairs would become increasingly unacceptable. The overwhelming amount of material that directors must master before board meetings, coupled with a lack of time and a culture that precludes open and unstructured discussion, has left many board members feeling that they could offer little more than marginal, pro forma counsel. As a result, some directors want real-time performance information unfiltered by management (see "Information Technology's Role in Governance," at the end of this article), new meeting formats that foster more open discussion, and the freedom to interact, unfettered by management, with the leaders of business units. Increasing the accountability of directors is equally important. Although they report that nearly one-third of their peers are barely adequate or worse as board members, rare—until recently—was the board that evaluated its own performance, whether of individuals or as a whole. In this respect, the change has been dramatic: the percentage of S&P 500 companies conducting board evaluations jumped from 37 percent in 2002 to 87 percent in 2003 (as reported in these companies' 2003 proxy statements; the Spencer Stuart Board Index, 2003; and Korn/Ferry's 30th Annual Board of Directors Study). These evaluations include everything from the composition of the board to the length and quality of its meetings. Boards taking this approach feel that it gives directors a forum to reflect on their effectiveness as a team and exposes the short- and long-term issues they face. Evaluations of individual directors are also becoming more common—but less so than evaluations of boards—and tend to be done with a light touch. To help ensure that individual directors take part in the oversight and governance of the company, and to clarify their roles and responsibilities, many boards are considering more formal evaluations, which examine the contributions of directors to the boardroom: their professional experience, the roles they play, their participation in committees. These more formal evaluations also cover the teamwork of individual directors by asking how well they interact with other board members and with management and how conscientiously they prepare for and contribute to board meetings. While many boards have opted for nonbinding self-evaluations, others have experimented with appraisals that not only incorporate peer and management feedback but also provide an objective base of information for deciding whether consistently underperforming directors should be reelected. These are important steps forward in what is undoubtedly an extremely delicate issue. Boards can probably best start by using basic evaluation tools that provide developmental and constructive rather than punitive feedback. Intel, for example, is said to require that all directors complete a structured questionnaire and discuss it with the (nonexecutive) chairman to identify how they can improve. This fairly unobtrusive approach has apparently raised the performance of individuals and of the board as a whole significantly. Whatever evaluation tools may be adopted, directors must understand that over time their workload will increase, especially in view of the added work of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley and with the new NYSE and Nasdaq listing rules. These developments make it essential to have a clearer sense of the effectiveness of the board and its directors and to implement a process for improving both. Money, Money, MoneyFinally, there is the issue of executive compensation, which both the directors and the investors participating in our surveys regarded as an important element in the recent spate of corporate scandals. And with good reason: the transfer of wealth from owners to top management over the past decade has been astounding. In 1992, the top five executives at the 1,700 largest US companies cashed in options worth $2.4 billion; by 2000, that number had soared to $18 billion. (Joseph Blasi, Douglas Kruse, and Aaron Bernstein, In the Company of Owners: The Truth about Stock Options, New York: Basic Books, 2003.) In 2000, moreover, the annual income of US CEOs peaked at a multiple of 531 times the average production worker's wage; in short, the combination of cash, bonuses, stock grants, benefits, and options has decoupled compensation from performance. Investors and directors, upset with absolute levels of pay and with forms of compensation that have created risky management incentives, want concrete changes. In a few extreme cases, regulators and investors may ask CEOs to return some of the exorbitant sums they have been paid, as Richard Grasso (formerly of the NYSE) recently discovered. Institutional investors such as Vanguard have recently made it a policy to vote their proxies against directors who serve on compensation committees that continue to give CEOs excessive compensation. Influential investment advisers, such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), have started advising clients to vote against members of compensation committees or against compensation plans that exceed certain competitive benchmarks or don't have close enough ties to performance. Of course, a rising stock market in 2003 may have kept some of these tensions at bay. It's one thing for management to claim a large chunk of the profits when the economy booms, but as returns settle down to historical averages—and some stock market forecasters predict returns below them—investors won't remain idle if an executive team's share of the pie gets larger. As a result of these pressures, the day is drawing nearer when executive pay will be scaled back. Simpler, more transparent compensation will be more tightly linked not just to the stock price of a company but also to its overall health—as measured, for example, by market share, product quality, and customer satisfaction. Boards will have the unenviable task of balancing management's inflated expectations with what investors think is fair. In the past, the board's compensation committee would typically benchmark executive pay against a broad industry average and then, as a show of support and goodwill, peg total compensation to the top quartile. With every company trying to pay its executives above-average salaries, the average inevitably spiraled upward. The solution is for a board to index its CEO's compensation to the average of a more narrowly drawn peer group. Higher compensation would then be awarded only for beating it, over two or three years, in total returns to shareholders. Few CEOs will do so consistently. While CEO compensation will probably never get back to the levels of 1982, when it was a mere 42 times the average worker's pay, it is equally clear that shareholders will resist compensation levels anywhere near those seen in 2000. (Executive Excess 2003: CEOs Win, Workers and Taxpayers Lose, Boston: Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy, 2003.) Boards will have to understand what groups such as ISS and investors such as Vanguard think about compensation and then balance their views against the realities of the marketplace for managerial talent. If boards scale back compensation too fast they risk losing their best managers, but if they don't go fast enough they could remain targets for reform. In any case, shareholders expect a significant—not an incremental—recalibration of executive pay. In addition, the structure of compensation packages must change. Cash should become a much larger proportion of the total, and special elements, such as forgivable loans and termination bonuses, ought to be scaled back or eliminated. Many companies have already replaced stock options with cash bonuses or with restricted equity, both of which can improve transparency and better align incentives with performance. To prevent the kind of "pump and dump" timing of equity sales that was common in the recent past, some restrictions now being placed on equity awards actually stretch well past an executive's retirement. Restricted equity also gives management more of an incentive to leave companies in the strongest long-term competitive position. An Uncertain PathBoards and management teams will find it hard to avoid addressing these three issues: separating the roles of CEO and chairman, increasing the independence and accountability of boards, and controlling executive pay. Investor outrage at corporate scandals drove the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley and the changes at the NYSE and Nasdaq. During the most recent annual director election cycle, investors kept up the pressure by submitting an unprecedented number of shareholder proposals. Investors have also forced companies to drop two antitakeover provisions they have long resisted eliminating: poison pills and staggered boards. (In 2003, investors passed 34 of 46 shareholder proposals to abolish staggered boards, and leading companies, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca-Cola, and Hasbro, adopted annual director elections.) The investors' success in pushing through these reforms will only fuel enthusiasm for more change. This new assertiveness will undoubtedly meet with headlong resistance from directors and management teams, especially CEOs. But unless the prevailing mood changes, the investors—with help from regulators and the courts—will likely prevail. Boards should thus prepare for reform. Those that don't will run the risk of being singled out, unfairly or not, by the media or overzealous prosecutors looking to make them the latest examples of corporate malfeasance. A final reason for action is the upcoming battle for director talent. The combination of Sarbanes-Oxley, which has materially increased the time boards must spend on their fiduciary responsibilities, and investor pressures for board accountability is changing the value proposition of service as a corporate director. The rewards—prestige and compensation—may remain the same, but the risks have grown. Fewer high-caliber people will therefore be willing to serve on boards in coming years. In addition, some companies have adopted limits on the number of boards that their CEOs and other senior executives can serve on. As the talent pool of directors begins to shrink, the best ones will favor companies that have adopted the best governance practices. The remaining companies may have to resort to second-string directors and then confront a vicious cycle of board decline. The impact of this deterioration may be felt in both the quality of a board's oversight and the capital markets' perception of a company's trustworthiness. As the quality of board members falls off, so too will the quality of the board's oversight and advice. For anyone—like most of the directors in the survey—who believes that a board's performance can significantly affect a company's, this will be an omen of continuing decline. As corporate performance sags and boards become weaker, they will have an increasingly difficult time attracting suitable new members. Substantial progress has recently been made in US corporate governance, not least because of the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Yet investors and directors are clearly calling for more—and deeper—reforms. Boards that embrace them may well reap a trust premium,(Roberto Newell and Gregory Wilson, "A Premium for Good Governance," The McKinsey Quarterly, 2002 Number 3, pp. 20—23.) while those that continue to ignore the call for change serve neither management nor the shareholders well. The author, Robert F. Felton, is a director in McKinsey's Seattle office. Information Technology's Role in Governance The directors and senior executives with whom we work say that the most critical requirement in corporate governance is raising the quality of the strategic dialogue between the board and management. To do so, both sides must see timely information that shows a company's progress in implementing its strategy—information that isn't necessarily found in quarterly financial filings or in today's board books. What's needed is a set of consistent, unbiased reports, delivered routinely to all board members, that paint a broad picture of the company's situation. Most companies will need to change their IT systems in four ways to achieve this goal. First, they must ensure the integrity of the data, which should be easily traceable back to original transactions. Managers and board members must be able to drill down through performance metrics to find the root cause of problems—or the genesis of opportunities. Second, more attention must be paid to the timeliness of information, not only to accommodate shortened reporting deadlines, but also to facilitate faster, more flexible decision making. One CEO told us, "Getting data that is one or more months old just isn't enough. . . . I need highly filtered, insightful data at least every other week, preferably weekly." IT systems that are integrated across the company reduce the time needed to reconcile performance data and thus make it possible to deliver information rapidly. Third, efficient IT systems will tailor reports to the needs and capacity of individual users—from board members looking for insights on strategic risks to managers comparing regional sales data. IT systems should deliver information on business drivers to decision makers according to their individual responsibilities and requirements. One controller told us, "The trick is to move from mountains of data, all synthesized from different sources with different methods, to delivering targeted, consistent, context-specific information. . . . This is hard but drives real performance." Finally, companies should standardize the gathering of data for reports and automate them where possible to create a common, company-wide set of performance metrics—a basic good-governance requirement that a surprising number of companies lack. Standard performance metrics also make it easier to see exceptions and aberrations. The best systems deliver automated warning alerts to senior management and the board when key performance thresholds have been passed (positively or negatively) or use other feedback mechanisms to assure compliance with company policies and standards or with legal and regulatory requirements. Companies that use their IT systems to improve corporate governance will probably improve their long-term performance as well. Given the effort and expense of meeting the rather narrow concerns of current compliance, the investment is very worthwhile. —Ken Berryman and Tom Stephenson Ken Berryman is a principal and Tom Stephenson is an associate principal in McKinsey's Silicon Valley office. � CFO Publishing Corporation 2009. All rights reserved.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20204

5 Dividend Hikes to Watch for This Earnings Season Jonas Elmerraji | Contributor Friday, 11 Jan 2013 | 12:27 PM ETThe Street Getty Images A driver backs his truck into a bay at a Waste Management trash processing facility in Cicero, Illinois. It's earnings season, and that means that good times are here again for income investors. The past couple of months have been a tumultuous time to be an income investor. The biggest challenge came from the "fiscal cliff" debacle, which threatened to smash real income returns with a dramatic increase in tax rates on dividend income. A last-minute agreement spared investors of that threat for 2013 — even if dividend rates increased for the top 2 percent of earners, it beats what would have happened had the old tax laws just expired. Now earnings season is offering up some extra upside. Traditionally earnings season and dividends go hand in hand; when firms announce how much money they're making, they also typically announce how much they're paying shareholders. And just like positive earnings numbers can spark buying in shares, so too can a big dividend boost. But it's not enough to just react to the dividend hikes — you've got to step in front of them if you want to capture the biggest gains. That's why we're looking at a handful of stocks that could be getting ready for a dividend boost this quarter. In other words, these five firms are getting ready to boost dividends; they just don't know it yet. In the past few months we've had some stellar success in finding future dividend hikes just by zeroing in on a few key factors. Now we'll look at our crystal ball and try to do it again. For our purposes, that "crystal ball" is composed of a few factors: namely a solid balance sheet, a low payout ratio, and a history of dividend hikes. While those items don't guarantee dividend announcements in the next month or three, they do dramatically increase the odds that management will hike their cash payouts, especially as investors start to get antsy about the New Year. Without further ado, here's a look at five stocks that could be about to increase their dividend payments in the next quarter. Apple We'll start from the top — with Apple, the biggest publicly traded company in the world. Apple made waves in March, when the firm announced that it would be initiating a $2.65 dividend payout — the first dividend from Apple since the mid-1990s. But with Apple sitting on a mountain of cash, the move made more sense than most other uses of the firm's bank account. Even though this stock has been under pressure for the past few months, there's still reason to believe in shares of Apple right now. (Read More: Apple Bull Munster Shaves Price Target to $875) Apple enjoys stellar positioning in the electronic device market. Its iPhone, iPad, and iPod lines remain massively popular, its online media distribution arm ranks as the biggest in the world, and it's literally the only PC maker that's able to command premium pricing in this market. By integrating its mobile platform across all devices, the firm makes customers much more likely

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20205

China's Strength Could Become Its Weakness John W. Schoen | @johnwschoen Wednesday, 5 Jun 2013 | 9:42 AM ETCNBC.com Federic Dubray | AFP | Getty Images China's President Xi Jinping speaks at a press conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on June 1. Who's afraid of China? Everyone apparently. As China's economic might grows, trading partners from Europe to Asia to the U.S. are crying foul, some louder than others. But growing domestic tensions and internal economic imbalances are forcing Chinese leaders to overhaul the very economic model that has served them so well for the past decade. "China's economic policymakers are facing a crunch moment in the next few years because the economic model that has served them well for the past decade is no longer working," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. The new blueprint for the world's second largest economy—just now taking shape—promises to transform China's relations with U.S. and the rest of the world. This week's upcoming summit between President Barack Obama and newly installed Chinese President Xi Jinping comes as an emboldened new Chinese leadership seeks to establish a larger role in world trade. As growth in the developed world slows, China's global ambitions have drawn fire from its trade partners. The latest U.S. complaint centers on China's state-sponsored theft of trade secrets, an issue that is expected to top Obama's agenda at Friday's meeting in California. The U.S.-China summit follows a series of announcements by the new Beijing regime aimed at liberalizing the state-run economy, relaxing regulations, allowing market forces to set interest and exchange rates and encourage greater competition from privately owned companies. Led by Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, the new leadership—barring some catastrophe—is expected to rule for the next 10 years. If those reforms succeed, they would also transform China's model of state-sponsored capitalism in ways that could level the playing field with trading partners like the U.S. "You're not going to get a more vibrant private economy unless you have greater protection of intellectual property," said Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "Clearly one of the things that inhibit private economy is lack of protection for intellectual property." (Read More: China Hits Back at EU Wine Over Solar Panel Duties) For the past three decades, China's technocratic leadership has invested heavily in coastal factories, modern cities and transportation and shipping infrastructure. The resulting export juggernaut, aided by an artificially depressed Chinese currency, helped Beijing accumulate vast reserves of foreign currency from massive trade surpluses. Much of that cash—some $1.3 trillion—has been plowed into U.S. Treasury debt. That makes China the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, leading some to wonder if Beijing's role as "America's banker" could give it outsized influence on U.S. policies. But dumping U.S. debt in any quantity would likely reduce the value of China's remaining holdings. And harming the U.S. economy—one of China's most valuable markets—would be self-defeating. That's why fears of China using U.S. debt as a diplomatic or economic weapon are overblown, according to a Pentagon report last year assessing the national security risk of China's large holdings of U.S. debt. Instead, China has used is vast holdings of trade surplus cash to invest in more infrastructure and expand state-owned enterprises. Until recently, the formula sparked the nation's unprecedented pace of double-digit economic growth and launched China as a global power. China Is Not Dumping Solar Panels: Pro Stephen Perry, chairman of The 48 Group Club and Edward Guiness, fund manager at the Guiness Alternative Energy Fund, argue against the EU's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese solar products. But beginning in 2008, the state-run economic engine began to sputter. Demand for exports shrank sharply as the world slipped into recession. For the next few years, massive state spending and investment helped blunt the impact. But the heavy reliance on state investment produced unintended consequences. Overbuilding of housing created a real estate bubble. The government stimulus produced painful bouts of inflation, including spikes in food prices that threatened to spark social unrest. The investment spurt that produced a surge in construction of new roads, airports and factories also left the Chinese economy with more capacity to produce goods and services than demand for those products, both domestically and overseas. Meanwhile, rising wages and a strengthening currency eroded the Chinese manufacturers' global competitive edge. Now, that massive government spending has left China with a debt problem of its own—not unlike that faced by the developed economies of the U.S. and Europe. Fitch Ratings has estimated that China's overall sovereign debt amounts t

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20278

BMO Harris Banks on Digital to Build Customer Engagement Customer engagement isn't just a nice-to-have for Midwest bank BMO Harris; it's an essential part of the firm's longer-term customer acquisition strategy. Mike Sanders, director of advertising for BMO Harris, says that this strategy starts with awareness, including making sure that consumers are familiar with the bank and that it's top of mind. The next phase is consideration, which requires building a relationship with consumers over time. “Financial services isn't like consumer packaged goods where people can make a simple purchase. Starting a relationship with a financial services company or with a bank is a complicated thing, and it's not something that happens overnight,” he says. “For us, building our brand in the consumer's mind and adding a number of factors into their consideration is what's really important. It's not enough for us to just advertise, [and] it's not enough for us to just be out there. We also have to engage, create a positive feeling, and get people thinking ‘that's an interesting brand doing interesting things.'” To help families associate this “positive feeling” with BMO Harris, the bank sponsors Chicago's Magnificent Mile Lights Festival—a tree lighting ceremony that's held the weekend before Thanksgiving. For the past two years the bank has partnered with interactive technology company elevate DIGITAL to extend awareness of the company's sponsorship and drive engagement. BMO Harris first partnered with elevate DIGITAL in November 2012. To promote the festival that year the bank placed eight elevate DIGITAL interactive units along Michigan Avenue for the full month of November. The digital units were human-size interactive screens that allowed BMO Harris to provide information about the event's activities—and build consumer engagement, as a result. For example, consumers could use the unit's photo technology to take pictures of themselves on Michigan Avenue, add BMO Harris–themed frames, and share the photos with family and friends via social channels or email. Participants could also play an interactive board game that offered financial tips for kids. And to promote the event and the sponsorship, the units displayed event information and played BMO Harris TV commercials. But the digital units weren't the only form of advertising. BMO Harris also promoted the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival via its partnership with Radio Disney and print advertising. Sanders adds that the event's partners, including the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, promoted the festival, as well. The digital units generated more than 12 million impressions, 72,500 direct interactions with the interactive screens, more than 20,000 photos taken, and an increase in the number of likes on BMO Harris' Facebook page. In addition, Sanders says that the cost per engagement with the digital units is similar to other forms of digital media. In fact, the units were so successful that BMO Harris decided to use them for this year's Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. However, at the time of this interview this year's event results had not been reported. The bank also took a few lessons from last year's event and applied them to this year's. For instance, BMO Harris decided to keep the photo technology but eliminate the board game. In addition, Sanders says BMO Harris promoted the lights festival for an extra week, through the first week in December, and provided consumers with the opportunity to contribute to a community mural. “What we learned was ‘let's pick the things that worked the best and had the highest level of engagement,” he says. And while Sanders says that experimenting with a new technology was a challenge for BMO Harris, he notes that “test and learn” has always been one of the brand's core values. “Test and learn is a huge part of our overall philosophy, especially in the digital space,” he says. “This is just one piece of the digital puzzle.”

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20297

CINERGY AND DUKE ENERGY FILE AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE MERGER REVIEW IN KENTUCKY CINCINNATI – Cinergy and Duke Energy today filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) a proposal to resolve all issues related to the Commission’s review of the companies’ planned merger. The agreement, which was reached with interested parties to the proceeding, including the Attorney General of Kentucky and the Kroger Company, has yet to be considered by the PSC. Key elements of the agreement include: $7.6 million merger savings rate credit. Cinergy/ULH&P will credit to its gas and electric customers in Northern Kentucky a total of $7.6 million over a five-year period following the closing of the merger. Electric customers will receive a credit of $1.3 million and gas customers $183,000 in each of the five years. Profit-sharing for off-system power sales. Cinergy/ULH&P will share profits from off-system sales; in 2006, the first $1.45 million of sales profits will be guaranteed to Cinergy/ULH&P customers. Merger consistent with public interest. The agreement stipulates that the merger is consistent with the public interest, and the parties encourage the Commission to approve the planned combination. The parties also agree, and request the Commission to find, that the new Duke Energy is fit to own and operate ULH&P. “This agreement demonstrates that the merger of Duke and Cinergy will have value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers in Northern Kentucky,” said Greg Ficke, president of The Union Light, Heat and Power Co., Cinergy’s Kentucky operating company. “The parties worked together constructively to complete this agreement for the Commission to consider.” Also as part of the agreement, Cinergy/ULH&P provided a list of merger commitments designed to protect its customers from adverse impacts in retail customer service, customer satisfaction and reliability in achieving merger savings. As noted in previous filings with the PSC, retail rates will not be impacted by the costs associated with the new Duke Energy acquiring Cinergy stock or any premium paid in the acquisition. ULH&P serves approximately 145,000 customers in six Northern Kentucky counties and is an affiliate of Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN), which has a balanced, integrated portfolio consisting of two core businesses: regulated operations and commercial businesses. Cinergy’s regulated public utilities in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its Indiana regulated company owns 7,000 megawatts of generation. Cinergy’s competitive commercial businesses have 6,300 megawatts of generating capacity with a profitable balance of stable existing customer portfolios, new customer origination, marketing and trading, and industrial-site cogeneration. Cinergy’s integrated businesses make it a Midwest leader in providing both low-cost generation and reliable electric and gas service. Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in the Americas. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com. Forward-Looking Statements This document includes statements that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. Such statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding benefits of the proposed mergers and restructuring transactions, integration plans and expected synergies, anticipated future financial operating performance and results, including estimates of growth. These statements are based on the current expectations of management of Duke Energy and Cinergy. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements included in this document. For example, (1) the companies may be unable to obtain shareholder approvals required for the transaction; (2) the companies may be unable to obtain regulatory approvals required for the transaction, or required regulatory approvals may delay the transaction or result in the imposition of conditions that could have a material adverse effect on the combined company or cause the companies to abandon the transaction; (3) conditions to the closing of the transaction may not be satisfied; (4) problems may arise in successfully integrating the businesses of the companies, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected; (5) the combined company may be unable to achieve cost-cutting synergies or it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies; (6) the transaction may involve unexpected costs or unexpected liabilities, or the effects of purchase accounting may be different from the companies’ expectations; (7) the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect; (8) the businesses of the companies may suffer as a result of uncertainty surrounding the transaction; (9) the industry may be subject to future regulatory or legislative actions that could adversely affect the companies; and (10) the companies may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors. Additional factors that may affect the future results of Duke Energy and Cinergy are set forth in their respective filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which are available at www.duke-energy.com/investors and www.cinergy.com/investors, respectively. Duke Energy and Cinergy undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed transaction, a registration statement of Duke Energy Holding Corp. (Registration No. 333-126318), which includes a preliminary prospectus and a preliminary joint proxy statement of Duke Energy and Cinergy, and other materials have been filed with the SEC and are publicly available. WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ THE DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT-PROSPECTUS WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND THESE OTHER MATERIALS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DUKE ENERGY, CINERGY, DUKE ENERGY HOLDING CORP. AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors will be able to obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement-prospectus as well as other filed documents containing information about Duke Energy and Cinergy at http://www.sec.gov, the SEC’s Web site. Free copies of Duke Energy’s SEC filings are also available on Duke Energy’s Web site at http://www.duke-energy.com/investors/, and free copies of Cinergy’s SEC filings are also available on Cinergy’s Web site at http://www.cinergy.com. Participants in the Solicitation Duke Energy, Cinergy and their respective executive officers and directors may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Duke Energy’s or Cinergy’s stockholders with respect to the proposed transaction. Information regarding the officers and directors of Duke Energy is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2005 annual meeting filed with the SEC on March 31, 2005. Information regarding the officers and directors of Cinergy is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2005 annual meeting filed with the SEC on March 28, 2005. More detailed information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities, holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the registration statement and proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Contact: Cinergy Media Contact: Steve Brash [email protected] Peter Sheffield [email protected] ©Copyright 2005 Duke Energy

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20556

Simon Kuznets Filed Under: Finance/Economics Pioneer, Statistics Definition of 'Simon Kuznets' A Russian-American economist and statistician who won the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on economic growth. He also set the standard for economic research on national income, computing GNP for the United States all the way back to 1869. His measurements of savings, consumption and investment contributed to Keynesian economics and to econometrics. Kuznets also analyzed trade cycles that are referred to as "Kuznets cycles." Investopedia explains 'Simon Kuznets' Kuznets was born in Ukraine in 1901. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University and was a professor of economics and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins and a professor of economics at Harvard. He died in 1985 in Cambridge, Mass. Related Definitions Economist Laissez Faire Macroeconomics Microeconomics Free Market Market Economy Free Enterprise National Income Accounting Econometrics Gross National Product - GNP Articles Of Interest The Uncertainty Of Economics: Exploring The Dismal Science Learning about the study of economics can help you understand why you face contradictions in the market. Why Can't Economists Agree? There are many reasons why economists can be given the same data and come up with entirely different conclusions. Free Market Maven: Milton Friedman As proponent of free market capitalism, this economist changed the way the world's economies operate. Can Keynesian Economics Reduce Boom-Bust Cycles? Learn about a British economist's proposed solution to a common economic problem. Giants Of Finance: John Maynard Keynes This rock star of economics advocated government intervention at a time of free-market thinking. Accelerating Returns With Continuous Compounding Investopedia explains the natural log and exponential functions used to calculate this value. Calculating Covariance For Stocks Learn how to figure out how two stocks might move together in the future by calculating covariance. Seven Market Anomalies Investors Should Know Though they're unpredictable and heavily contested, market anomalies can often work in an investor's favor.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20600

Icahn proposes alternative to Dell buyout Published: Mar 7, 2013 at 9:26 AM MDT Last Updated: Mar 7, 2013 at 9:26 AM MDT Dell Inc.'s offices in Santa Clara, Calif. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn wants Dell Inc. to remain a public company and proposed rewarding shareholders with a large dividend payment instead of becoming private in a $24.4 billion buyout.He says the amount being offered by a group led by Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell substantially undervalues the slumping PC maker.Icahn wrote in a March 5 letter to Dell directors that the Round Rock, Texas, company should chose his alternative, which would involve a special dividend totaling $9 per share, if shareholders reject the buyout plan that was announced last month.If the board declines to promise that, Icahn said the company should combine a shareholder vote on the buyout with its annual meeting to elect new directors, for which he will nominate a slate of candidates."If you fail to agree promptly to combine the vote on (the buyout) with the vote on the annual meeting, we anticipate years of litigation will follow challenging the transaction and the actions of those directors that participated in it," said Icahn, who joins other major shareholders in opposing the buyout plan.Michael Dell, backed by other investors led by investment firm Silver Lake, is trying to buy out the company for $13.65 per share. The company has been trying to reduce its dependence on PCs, which are becoming tougher to sell as more people switch over to smartphones and tablet computers. Michael Dell says the company can thrive again by expanding into business software, data analytics and storage and other more profitable niches in technology — a transition that he says will be easier without having to worry about the short-term financial interests of Wall Street.If the current agreement is approved, Dell will end its 25-year history as a publicly traded company.But Icahn wrote that the PC maker's future is bright, and all shareholders should benefit from that, not just Michael Dell. He said Icahn Enterprises holds a substantial stake in Dell but did not specify how much.Icahn specializes in buying out-of-favor stocks and then pressuring corporate boards to make deals or other moves to boost the share price. He said in the letter that Dell could pay for the special dividend with available cash and as much as $5.25 billion in new debt.Dell's special committee has said it already considered a special dividend during a "rigorous" five-month review that culminated with the buyout plan. It said Thursday in a statement that it is conducting a search for better alternatives to the proposed buyout, and Icahn and others are welcome to participate."Our goal is to secure the best result for Dell's public shareholders — whether that is the announced transaction or an alternative," said a statement from the committee.Southeastern Asset Management, an investment firm that owns an 8.4 percent stake in Dell, has contended that Dell is giving its founder a bargain with the current buyout offer. Mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price, which owns a nearly 5 percent stake in Dell, also is lobbying against the deal.Shareholder Forum, a group that seeks to protect shareholder interests, has said it wants access to the same information that influenced Dell's special committee to sell at $13.65 per share. The information would be used by experts to perform an independent evaluation of the proposed sale to help shareholders understand if it's the best choice.Dell shares have traded above the buyout offering price since the deal was announced, a sign that investors expect a sweeter offer. The stock climbed 3 cents to $14.35 before markets opened Thursday morning.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20639

Global finance officials watching U.S. debt talks By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew shares a laugh with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, and others, as they gathered for a photo with the Group of 20, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP) - The threat posed by the U.S. debt standoff is sure to be a prime topic of discussion when finance officials from major nations gather for their latest stock-taking of the global economy.Finance ministers and central bank officials from the Group of 20 nations are in Washington ahead of weekend meetings of the 188-nation International Monetary Fund and its sister lending organization, the World Bank.U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will represent the United States at the discussions. Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen will also participate in some of the meetings over the weekend. The sessions will be something of a farewell appearance for Bernanke, who will be attending his last G-20 session, and a coming-out for Yellen, who was tapped this week by President Barack Obama to succeed Bernanke as head of the Fed.The G-20 session is scheduled to wrap up in early afternoon Friday with a news conference by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Russia is chairing the G-20 this year. The G-20 represents around 85 percent of the global economy. It includes established industrial nations such as the United States, Germany and France and rapidly growing emerging market economies such as China, Brazil and India.The finance officials are meeting at a time when growth in emerging market economies has cooled and some of them have struggled to contain the fall-out from worries over rising interest rates if the Federal Reserve begins trimming its bond purchases.IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Thursday warned that a failure by the United States to increase its borrowing limit could do deep damage to both the American and global economies.Lagarde told reporters at a news conference that the U.S. needs to put its fiscal house in order, referring to the current budget deadlock in Congress that has forced a partial shutdown of the government and the impending deadline to raise the country's $16.7 trillion borrowing limit."Obviously, we know, and you know by now, that failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause not only serious damage to the U.S. economy but also to the global economy as a result of the spillover effects," Lagarde said. "It is not helping the U.S. economy to have this uncertainty and this protracted way of dealing with fiscal issues and debt issues."Lew delivered a similar message in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, pointing to a Treasury report that detailed the "potentially catastrophic impacts" if the United States ends up failing to raise the debt limit and the government defaulted on debt.The Treasury report said that such an event, which has never happened, could result in a significant loss in the value of the dollar, markedly higher U.S. interest rates and negative spillover effects on the global economy.As the finance officials met, members of Congress and President Barack Obama searched for a solution but appeared to make little progress on Thursday. Lew repeated a warning that he will have exhausted all the extraordinary measures that have allowed the government to keep borrowing by Oct. 17.Lew said that just the prospect of a default had already caused interest rates to rise and he warned of worse consequences to come such as possibly missing payments of Social Security benefits and pay for active duty military troops.Finance officials from other nations were keeping a close eye on developments in Congress. Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the failure to reach an agreement was adding to economic uncertainty."It is a source of uncertainty now while we are not short of sources of uncertainty in the global economy," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So I think that we should try to close the issue as soon as possible."Other finance officials expressed worries about future moves of the Federal Reserve to begin slowing economic support the U.S. central bank has provided by buying $85 billion per month in bonds to put downward pressure on interest rates.Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram of India said that the signals sent by the Fed in June that it could before the end of the year start to reduce the bond purchases had caught other nations by surprise. Many emerging markets had benefited from a surge in foreign capital as investors searched for higher returns in the face of ultra-low U.S. interest rates.But with the Fed's signals, that money began flowing out, destabilizing foreign markets and forcing some nations to defend their own currencies through such measures as raising interest rates.Chidambaram said that the Fed's decision in September to delay for a time any reductions would give international markets time to factor in the eventual tapering of the bond purchases. He said he expected the Fed to begin trimming its bond purchases in December or January, which he said would give India time to prepare through reforms and building its own currency reserves.___Associated Press reporters Marjorie Olster and Matthew Pennington contributed to this report.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20734

Home > VOL. 127 | NO. 235 | Monday, December 03, 2012 Triumph Bank Reports 15th Straight Profit By Andy Meek From (email): Message: Triumph Bank has enjoyed one of the most consistent success stories among Memphis-area community banks.Triumph, which was founded in 2005, has reported its 15th straight quarterly profit, meaning even 2008’s Great Recession was not enough to ding Triumph’s prospects.The bank’s pre-tax earnings for the third quarter topped $1 million for the first time and represented a 60 percent increase over the second quarter and a 67 percent increase over the same quarter in 2011.Positive signs also were exhibited by several other metrics. Triumph’s year-to-date pretax earnings are up 42 percent over the same period last year, with the increased income driven by growth in net interest income and non-interest income.Triumph’s year-to-date provision for loan losses also has not increased much over the past year. The bank’s expenses are up, but Triumph’s leadership says that’s part of a growth plan.“As we noted in last quarter’s report, our expenses have increased primarily due to the hiring of new employees and new facilities,” wrote Triumph president and CEO Will Chase and chief operating officer Mike McCarver in a letter to shareholders. “During 3Q2012, we began to realize the growth we had anticipated from these moves.“During 3Q2012, our loans grew over $13 million, or 5 percent. Our investment securities also grew by a like amount. After breaking through $350 million in total assets in 2Q2012, we stayed above that level every day in the month of September. As our balance sheet grew, our efficiency also increased. This is exhibited in improved returns on assets and equity.”The executives went on to point out that Triumph’s asset quality held up in several categories during the quarter. There was only one loan more than 30 days past due, for $37,000.The purposeful expenses around new employees and facilities included in the first half of the year hiring 12 employees and acquiring a new Germantown banking office at the corner of West and North streets. Triumph also is pursuing a five-year goal of doubling the size of the bank.Chase told The Daily News his bank has been growing by about 20 percent annually.“We’ve been very blessed,” Chase said. “We have not had the asset quality issues that other people have experienced, which has given us more time to concentrate on getting new customers. We’ve been successful in doing that so far, and we think we can continue the momentum.”In other recent Triumph news, Chase has been tapped to serve on the Community Bankers Council, a division of the American Bankers Association in Washington. The council’s mission is to advise the American Bankers Association on issues affecting the nation’s community banks and their customers.During its most recent session in Washington, council members discussed trends in the payments industry, issues surrounding policy compliance and financial services-related patent wars.The bankers also met with representatives from regulatory agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.Chase said the group intends to work toward several goals, including improving the image of community banking.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20758

Publications and Papers CDFI Resources Minnesota Healthy Communities Housing Market and Mortgage Conditions Economics Challenge Central Bank History Financial Education Day Road Map to Financial Independence Event Articles and Class Supplements Economic Education for Teachers Our Money Teaching Unit CPI Calculator Information Financial Learning for the Public Financial Education State Resources Financial Education National Resources Intro to U.S. Money 2008-2009 Essay Contest first Place Essay—Standard Economics Vroom Vroom Vroom Jake DevineLittle Falls Community High School As Americans, our cars are almost members of the family. We spend hours of quality time with them while commuting, lovingly treat them to regular car washes, and perhaps even shed a tear when their paint gets scratched. It's hard to measure emotional attachment economically, but clearly Americans need incentive to abandon their gas-sucking mechanical monsters. Why should they be abandoned? Whether global climate change is a reality or not, pumping hundreds of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year certainly can't be benefiting our environment. Switching over to hybrids or using other, more environmentally friendly modes of transportation would do much to ease the fears of climate-change adherents. The current cost of gasoline and car usage simply doesn't reflect true cost to society, and the market has not been producing new, efficient energy sources and transportation on its own. Because of this, government should intervene by enacting Pigouvian taxes in order to decrease gasoline consumption. Whether or not politicians want to believe it, gasoline in the United States is cheap, especially compared to Europe. According to the Energy Information Administration, Italy, Germany, and France all had prices between five and six American dollars per gallon as of March 1, whereas the U.S. barely broke two dollars. The U.S. did get a taste of higher prices last summer, when the record of $4.11 per gallon was set on July 17, according to AAA. There was outrage from consumers who had grown accustomed to their cheap gas, and politicians joined in the outcry. Presidential candidate John McCain even supported a suspension of the federal gas tax over the summer months to ease the pain at the pump. Amidst the naysayers, however, there was a quiet buzz throughout the media, one that whispered: "Maybe this isn't so bad." This isn't to say there weren't negative effects; the New York Times reported the high prices particularly hurt rural communities and the lower class. Some rural workers who relied on gasoline found staying home more cost-effective than making the long, expensive trip to work. But despite these hardships, there was undoubtedly a silver lining. An estimate in Time calculated that over a year (from 2007 to 2008) of higher gas prices, lower air pollution saved 2,220 lives. Time also pointed out advantages such as decreased obesity (people walk more when not using their cars), less traffic (which leads to fewer accidents and lower insurance rates), and an adaptation of the housing market (suburban homes with no urban transport nearby suffer greatly). Unfortunately, one of the greatest results of high gas prices—the development of alternative energy sources—probably didn't occur. Gas prices weren't high enough for a long enough period of time for Americans to truly suffer consequences. Americans found short-term solutions such as simply driving less rather than permanent fixes. Luckily, its possible to artificially create an economy where consumers will be encouraged to look elsewhere for their energy sources. A sharp increase in gasoline price (a Pigouvian tax) with no expectation of relief would quickly force consumers to reevaluate any wasteful habits. Demand for gasoline would decrease, while demand for public transportation and more efficient cars would increase. Suppliers would have to comply with the new need, and Americans would be abandoning their precious cars in no time at all. The new tax would certainly hamper the lower class' ability to travel from place to place, but a gas tax would create enough revenue to allow an income tax decrease for the lower and middle classes. The revenue could also be used to improve and expand current public transportation, a public good that the masses would surely be craving if gas prices were what some are suggesting (Harvard's N. Gregory Mankiw suggests that the optimal Pigouvian tax on gasoline is $2.10 per gallon). In fact, there's no reason for government to stop at the gas tax when they could create more toll roads or even put a tax on cars themselves. Designating more toll roads would both raise revenue and encourage other forms of transportation. Taxes on the sale of cars could be based on a mile-per-gallon basis, that is, more efficient vehicles (with less social cost) would be mostly unaffected, while less efficient vehicles (which will have a negative social impact) would be more heavily taxed, further discouraging their use. Revenues from these taxes, as well, could be put toward softening their blow on the lower class. The car is a unique American status symbol. To some, it is a waving red flag that signals "I have money!" To others, their car is a tool, a stalwart companion whose technical aspects are most important. And to others, the car is a reminder of their poverty, perhaps even a temporary home. It. will be tough to let go of the roles these vehicles play in our lives, but our culture may evolve with the changes. It is already somewhat fashionable to own a hybrid, but perhaps someday soon, riding the bus to school will be the cool thing to do. People may eventually realize, even though it is a tough sell, that leaving the car at home is well worth it. “AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.” 19 Mar. 2009. AAA. 20 Mar. 2009.“International Energy Price Information." 20 Mar. 2009. Energy Information Administration. 20 Mar. 2009. Mankiw, N G. "Smart Taxes: An Open Invitation to Join the Pigou Club." Harvard University. 20 Mar. 2009. Ripley, Amanda. "10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas." Time. July 2008. 20 Mar. 2009 Topic Background

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20765

Tags: IPOs Companies Launch IPOs Before Investor Enthusiasm Wanes Wednesday, 27 Jul 2011 12:45 AM By Michelle Smith When it comes to initial public offerings, or IPOs, it appears that companies and investors have the same thought: get in now. The Los Angeles Times says investors are seeing the huge gains from the recent IPOs of Internet-related companies such as LinkedIn and Zillow and they are being drawn to the sector. On the other side of the aisle, “companies and their investment bankers are pushing out deals before investor enthusiasm for the sector wanes,” said Scott Sweet, Senior Managing Partner at IPO Boutique. As a result of all of this enthusiasm, the Times says that the 11 IPOs scheduled for this week is the largest number seen since 2007. Included on the roster are Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, a seller of beverages such as coffee, tea and cocoa, and C & J Energy Services Inc., which provides premium hydraulic fracturing and coiled tubing services. Though none of the companies going public this week are Internet-related, IPO Scoop says that combined, the deals on the table are expected to raise $2 billion. The Globe and Mail calculates the number of IPOs thus far this year at 84, which is an 18 percent increase over the number of companies going public during the same period last year. IPO Scoop says “next week, the IPO traffic just keeps coming.” And the Times forecast for the furor extends beyond that. “As long as the economy stays favorable, the IPO pace is expected to increase in the second half of the year as Zynga and Groupon make their public entrances.” The astronomical surges in value of companies such as LinkedIn and Zillow may have some investors impressed and ready to throw their cash around, but for some others, this furor has “stirred unpleasant memories of the late-1990s dot-com boom that popped in 2000,” says the Times. Investors who haven't taken the time to think back to the turn of the century may want to excuse themselves from the frenzy for a moment to ponder their decisions. Overall, says the Globe and Mail, “IPOs continue to deliver poor results for investors – an underperformance that has been supported by academic evidence.” © 2014 Moneynews. All rights reserved.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20835

Rockwood invests $196M in equity in lithium mining joint venture News You Can Use Rockwood announces share repurchase of up to $500M Rockwood declares dividend Latest sale for Rockwood: Chemical company raises $1.1B in unloading specialty businesses Rockwood completes $1.96B CeramTec sale Princeton-based specialty chemicals company Rockwood Holdings Inc. announced today it has entered into a joint venture with Chengdu Tianqi Industry Group giving Rockwood a 49 percent ownership interest and Tianqi a 51 percent interest in Talison Lithium Pty Ltd. According to the announcement, it is expected that Rockwood and Tianqi will contribute equity of $196 million and $204 million, respectively. In addition, Rockwood will also provide to the joint venture a two-year secured loan of up to $670 million at 8 percent interest.Proceeds to the joint venture will be used to pay off existing debt and equity holders including Tianqi Group HK Co., Limited and Leader Investment Corporation. Rockwood is expected to fund its investment in the joint venture from cash on hand. Lazard acted as Rockwood's financial advisor and Clifford Chance as legal advisor, the company said in a statement.Follow @NJBIZ Write to the Editorial Department at [email protected]

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/20873

About Da King All Da King's Men Peter Schiff, Part II By Da King Here's more of Peter Schiff conversing with the OWSer crowd in New York: I don't agree with everything Schiff said there, but most of it is exactly right. FDR didn't cause the Great Depression. It started a few years before he even took office. There is, however, a great deal of evidence that his policies interfered with economic recovery (read The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes, among other sources). What ended the Great Depression was WWII, not any of FDR's economic policies. Speaking of FDR policies, one New Deal policy was the creation of the secondary mortgage market. That started in 1938 with the creation of, drumroll please, Fannie Mae. Fannie created the mortgage-backed security in 1981. Fannie Mae, via the government, started the housing casino market on Wall Street. How'd those government policies work out ??? Here's something else interesting about Peter Schiff. As he tried to tell the OWSers, he warned of the real estate implosion before it happened: In an August 2006 interview he said: "The United States economy is like the Titanic and I am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States." On December 31, 2006 in debate on Fox News, Schiff forecast that "what's going to happen in 2007" is that "real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth". Schiff is one of a minority of economists credited with accurately predicting the financial crisis of 2007–2010 while "nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs". Bingo. Schiff was right on the money. What does Schiff see coming in the future for the United States ? That can be summed up in one word - hyperinflation. It's hard to argue with him. The only question is when it will happen. The main reason will be our debt: In a March 2009 speech Schiff said that it would be impossible for the U.S. debt to China to be repaid unless the U.S. dollar's value is substantially diluted through inflation. In September 2009 Schiff said that "I would not be surprised to see [gold] at $5,000 over the next several years" and that the 2009 stock market rally was a "bear market rally". Diluting the value of the dollar to pay the debt is commonly called "monetizing" the debt, and I see no other way for us to payoff our debts either, given our current shortsighted debt-advocating government leadership. Unfortunately, monetization means the value of every asset of every citizen in the country becomes worth substantially less. Whatever method of debt repayment is ultimately used, there is no way to payoff the debt that will not extract tens of trillions of dollars from the citizens of this country. We will most likely be substantially poorer in the future. That's why this massive debt runup is a phenomenally bad idea that will harm this country for a generation or more, and that's why Schiff is recommending a gold investment. Gold, unlike our fiat currency, has a tangible value. The price of gold has risen by around 200% over the last 5 years, so Schiff is not the only person who sees the writing on the economic wall. And as always, anyone who thinks we can fix our economic woes by imposing exorbitant new taxes on corporations and the rich, or by sending ever more of our hard-earned dollars to the government, should have his/her head examined. The biggest effect of those wrongheaded strategies will be more job losses and the further impoverishment of our citizens, exactly what we don't want. Click here to read or leave a comment on this story. All Da King's Men Archives 2014 (24)

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/21146

Strengthening the IMF's surveillance - Taipei Times Thu, Aug 02, 2007 - Page 9　News List Strengthening the IMF's surveillance By Rodrigo de Rato In today's globalized economy, one country's economic and financial policies can reverberate far beyond its borders. Be it the spread of inflation or the impact of currency devaluation half a world away, global economic forces can have a direct impact on every person's livelihood.Under such circumstances, international cooperation is essential to ensure stability and growth and prevent disruptive crises. But for such cooperation to be effective, the international community needs the right tools.The IMF provides one of the most important tools. For many years, the fund has engaged its member countries in a process known as "surveillance," in which it monitors, analyzes and consults on each country's economic policies -- both exchange rate policies and relevant domestic policies.These regular checkups help to identify potential vulnerabilities and to maintain economic stability.However, the increasingly complex policy challenges of the globalized economy demand a fresh look at this process.A FRESH VIEWThis June, the IMF's executive board did just that, reaching a broad consensus on updating surveillance to make it more focused and effective. This is one of the most important reforms to the fund's work in the 30 years since the surveillance process was designed.Indeed, it is part of a much broader reform effort aimed at strengthening the IMF and will have implications extending well beyond the Fund's boardroom.The new reform brings three critical changes.First, it affirms that surveillance should focus on what matters for stability, and gives detailed guidance in this area. IMF advice should not be spread too thin.Second, there is now clear advice to the fund's member countries on how they should run their exchange rate policies, and on what is acceptable to the international community. Finally, the reform sets out clearly for the first time what is expected of surveillance, and so should promote candor and evenhanded treatment of every country.In other words, the fund must ensure that it deals with every country the same way, including delivering clear and sometimes difficult policy messages and sharing its views with the international community.NEW APPROACHThe new approach to exchange rate policies represents one of the most significant advances. Under the IMF Articles of Agreement, members are required to collaborate to promote a stable system of exchange rates and to avoid manipulation with a view to gaining an unfair trade advantage. Past guidance in this area was limited, focusing entirely on manipulation and on avoidance of short-term volatility.This guidance remains, but what we meant by manipulation is now clearer. We have also addressed those policies that have caused the most harm to the system in recent years, including overvalued or undervalued exchange rate pegs maintained for domestic reasons.This change comes at a crucial time for the world economy. Countries are experiencing strong growth, inflation is low and the threat of crisis has receded considerably. Few countries need to borrow from the IMF -- a highly positive trend.But improved surveillance is essential to ensure that the global economy remains on an even keel. By clarifying what surveillance entails, the new decision should help the IMF and its members see eye to eye on the fund's role, help those involved in surveillance do their job properly and make the fund more accountable for delivering on this key responsibility.

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/21149

Economic threat card must be anticipated By Huang Tien-lin 黃天麟 / Tue, Jan 22, 2013 - Page 8 What is next after the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) “Fury” (火大) demonstration? The pan-blue camp, which has criticized the demonstration, is asking about the party’s policy.The question is whether a demonstration organized by the opposition needs to mention policy.A look around the world shows that participants of demonstrations held by civic groups and student movements only express their feelings and demands. Proposing policy is the government’s job, therefore the opposition does not have the responsibility to include policy measures in a protest. The time for the opposition to do this is during elections or when offering alternatives to government policy.So what should the opposition do following the “Fury” rallies?Its main responsibility at the moment is to help the public understand why the starting salary for university graduates is NT$22,000, why so many people have problems making ends meet and why there are no jobs for the young. They should start doing the groundwork now so that when they do propose policy, the public will react positively.There are two sets of reasons for the current public discontent.First, there is the distribution system focused on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s official community. The unfairness and injustices perpetrated by this community include: the KMT’s ill-gotten party assets; the 18 percent preferential interest rate enjoyed by retired military personnel, civil servants and public school teachers on part of their pensions; imbalance in pension distribution; pay raises for government officials; and the unfair year-end bonuses for employees of state-owned enterprises that have caused so much public anger lately. These issues are all part of the remaining legacy of the KMT’s former one-party dictatorship.The second set of reasons consist of the proliferation of pro-unification media outlets, government policies that are China-centric and the core-periphery economic structure that treats Taiwan as a satellite to the core Chinese economy.This core-periphery economic structure has caused high unemployment; dropped wages to a level not seen in 14 years; slowed domestic investment; reduced consumption; led to an economic performance ranked among the worst in Asia; devastated retail investors over the past four years and led to the disappearance of almost half of the year-end markets.The public has come to accept the first set of reasons after hearing the DPP’s continued critcism of them, reflected in the party winning about 40 percent of the nation’s votes in the past.However, due to diverging opinions within the DPP, the party has never offered a full and forceful criticism of the second set of reasons. As a result, pro-Chinese media outlets and the government have been given free rein to influence the public, resulting in China being seen as the best option for the nation’s economy.This belief has been created by the economic threat card played by the government during last year’s presidential election.The public needs to fully understand that the government’s excessive and misguided unification policies, aimed at promoting integration with China, are the reason that some people can no longer make ends meet.Educating the public on this will be crucial to the DPP’s ability to walk that extra mile in the next presidential election.The priority following the “Fury” demonstration should be to focus on the countryside and make an effort to explain the perils of economic integration with China to prepare voters for the next time the KMT plays the economic threat card.Huang Tien-lin is a former national policy adviser to the president.Translated by Perry Svensson

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/21163

Tom Stevenson Today's market reminds me of working with Jim Slater in the dotcom boom Money habits are 'formed by age seven' The government-backed Money Advice Service has warned parents "not to underestimate the effect of their own bad money habits". The Money Advice Service is calling for personal finance to be taught in primary schools Photo: Alamy By Andrew Oxlade 11:50AM BST 23 May 2013 Most children's financial habits are formed by the age of seven, it was claimed today by the government-backed Money Advice Service (MAS), as it urged parents not to "underestimate the effect their own good (and bad) money habits will have on their children". The organisation pointed to a Cambridge University study that suggested that most young children had grasped all the main aspects of how money works and formed "core behaviours which they will take into adulthood and which will affect financial decisions they make during the rest of their lives". Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the Money Advice Service, said: “This study really demonstrates the power of parental influences, and illustrates how much of what you learn and absorb when you are young, both consciously and subconsciously, affects the choices you make throughout the rest of your life." The MAS said it would establish a forum to create "world-class parenting and teaching resources" and has called for money education to be included in the primary school curriculum in England. Michael Gove, Education Secretary, announced plans earlier this year to put personal finance education on the curriculum for secondary school pupils. Related Articles Personal finance education to be compulsory First steps on the finance footpath Martin Lewis: My mission to teach children finance UK demand for financial education highest in Europe Martin Lewis: The advice I will give to my daughter The best money advice you can give a child The MAS, which is funded by levies on financial companies, some of which is ultimately passed on to customers, said the study results showed most children of seven knew how to recognise the value of money and to count it out, understand that money can be exchanged for goods, as well as what it meant to earn money and have an income. They could also plan ahead with money and delay a decision until later, and they understand that some choices are irreversible. But it was also suggested that children under eight years old had not developed an understanding of the difference between "luxuries" and "necessities". David Whitebread of Cambridge University, a co-author of the study, said: "The 'habits of mind' which influence the ways children approach complex problems and decisions, including financial ones, are largely determined in the first few years of life. Simply imparting information is now recognised as being ineffective in this area. "By contrast, early experiences provided by parents, caregivers and teachers which support children in learning how to plan ahead, in being reflective in their thinking and in being able to regulate their emotions, can make a huge difference in promoting beneficial financial behaviour.” Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of the Personal Finance Education Group, said: “This useful research underlines how crucial it is that financial education starts from a young age, which is why we need to see it taught in all primary schools as well as at secondary level. Parents have a key role to play in reinforcing this by talking to their children about money and helping to pass on good financial habits. "After our recent victory in securing a place for financial education in the secondary national curriculum, now is the perfect opportunity to build on this success. We are looking forward to working with the Money Advice Service and others to make this happen.” [email protected] – Get the best of Telegraph Money, sent once a week Primary education » Education News » In Personal Finance Calculator: Rent or buy? When will rates rise? Help to Buy map: Where it could work Mortgage calculator: how much will you pay?

金融

2014-15/0558/en_head.json.gz/21479

Conferences Conferences & EventsConferencesResearch SeminarsTeacher WorkshopsMultimediaVideoPodcastsPresentationsPress ReleasesAtlanta FedBusiness Inflation ExpectationsPress KitAnnual ReportFact SheetMedia FAQsResourcesStaff and DirectorsPublic Affairs ForumSpeechesRequest a SpeakerProvide Feedback The U.S. Leadership Challenge in an Evolving Global Economy - October 9, 2012 Featured speaker: John Lipsky Former Deputy Manager Director, International Monetary Fund Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University Former IFM Leader Foresees Manufacturing Renaissance In a wide-ranging speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on October 9, former International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive John Lipsky detailed a grim short-term economic outlook but voiced optimism about the longer-term prospects for the United States. Lipsky discussed an array of concerns facing the global economy. In particular, the former first deputy managing director of the IMF noted that international economic cooperation has flagged in part because of a lack of leadership from the United States. Lipsky, now a distinguished visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University, contrasted the present day with the unprecedented cooperation among leading industrial nations in tackling the global financial crisis. The 2009 London Summit of the G-20 countries produced coordinated fiscal and monetary stimulus, along with moves to bolster financial stability, he noted. "I fear that that process is losing momentum," he said. For example, the G-20's November 2010 gathering in Seoul produced a commitment to increase the voting power of emerging economies in the IMF. That agreement has yet to be instituted in large part because the United States, for one, has still not formulated legislation to approve the measure, Lipsky said. Amid the uncertainty of an election season and congressional gridlock, little progress on global economic cooperation is evident, he remarked. And he lamented the lack of serious discussion of international economic policy during the presidential campaign. Lipsky said he has learned during his many years in Washington, D.C. that in world economic affairs, nothing happens without the United States, and nothing happens if only the United States is involved. Lipsky listed several other worldwide concerns: "A worrisome dichotomy" of slow economic growth and high energy prices A view among some serious observers that China is worse off than it appears to be Japan's apparent inability to rekindle sustained economic growth Europe's fiscal woes Uncertainty surrounding the United States' fiscal problems Negative public attitudes toward the financial sector The growing possibility of protectionism in many countries "There's no reason for great optimism, so it would seem," Lipsky said. A coming U.S. manufacturing renaissance Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that the United States will lead the world's recovery. Sluggish though it may be, America is outperforming other major developed economies, and will likely continue to do so for the next few years. The United States, Lipsky acknowledged, faces serious and well-documented challenges, including widening income disparity, legislative gridlock, housing woes, fiscal problems, and concerns about the stability of the financial sector. On the other hand, he listed three major forces that bode well for the country. First, U.S. corporations boast strong balance sheets and are by and large profitable and positioned to remain so. Second, domestic oil and gas production is rising and is forecast to rise more rapidly in the next three to five years. Third, Lipsky said he is "convinced we're on the edge of a manufacturing renaissance in the United States." This manufacturing resurgence, he believes, will be fueled by advanced technology, mainly three-dimensional (3-D) printing. This technology will lead to "mass specialization," allowing smaller enterprises rapidly to design and build unique prototypes and products, Lipsky said. In 3-D printing, a computer-aided design image is fed to a special printer. Instead of spraying ink onto paper, the printer's syringe shoots a substance such as wax, plastic, or a composite material onto a surface, building an object by depositing the material layer upon layer. This technology-driven manufacturing renaissance won't happen without some other elements in place. Lipsky said it will require considerable private-sector investment, a wave of start-up companies, and improvements in education. Related Links Research & the Economy Share the Wealth: Teaching Tips for International Economics New York Fed's International Affairs

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3

Newly Legal: Buying Stock in Start-Ups Via Crowdsourcing What happens if the creator fails to deliver on-time whatever was promised—the T-shirt, say? You wait and grumble. Aggravations such as this, says Kazmark, are between the funders and the creators. Kickstarter chooses not to get involved. "Delays happen a fair amount," he says. "But it's uncommon for a project just to disappear or fall off the face of the earth." It does, though, happen. Kickstarter does not provide detailed statistics on the outcome of its funding campaigns. Nor does it track how or on what the money got spent. Mollick, though, has done his own analysis, in which Kickstarter did not participate. To make his findings, he and two graduate assistants combed the Internet for every Kickstarter campaign about which they could find information. "We assessed whether what was promised was delivered or not, whether it was late. We looked on Facebook for complaints by contributors." Asked to give examples of Kickstarter campaigns gone wrong, he says the most famous to date was one to develop eyeglasses capable of capturing video. That project, he says, has now "gone silent," with the creators saying nothing about the disposition of the more than $300,000 raised. He says there also have been "many" campaigns in the $40,000 range that remain unaccounted for. KICKSTARTER VENTURE WOULD HELP RECORD YOUR DREAMS Kickstarter's website says that creators who have received funding have an obligation to return it to their donors, if they find they cannot complete their projects or deliver on their promises. Mollick's research shows that the incidence of these negative outcomes is small. "Failure to deliver is under 4 percent of projects," he says, "and less than 1 percent of money raised." The incidence of outright fraud, too, is low, he says, in part because the online dialog between donors and creators is public and completely open. "When something suspicious comes up, there are lots of eyeballs to see it," Mollick says. He gives the example of an effort to raise money to produce a super-premium brand of Kobe beef jerky. The funding campaign sailed along happily until a would-be contributor who knew something about jerky asked why Kobe would be the right beef to use: wasn't it too fatty? Wasn't the best jerky lean? Somebody else asked what the tag numbers were for the beef (portions of Kobe beef are identified by serial number, Mollick says). When plausible answers to these questions were not forthcoming, donors blew the whistle, and Kickstarter took down the page. No money ever changed hands. Regarding the sale of equities, Mollick says he sees the greatest potential for fraud in situations where the crowdsourcing site does not permit open, public communication between investors or between investors and the entrepreneurs. Questionable, too, would be sites that make no claim to have exercised sufficient diligence to confirm that their cash-soliciting ventures are legit. What signs should inspire confidence? "If the principals behind the start-up have prior experience in their industry, that's good. If they've got a working prototype of what it is they want to make, that's good, too. If those are lacking, your alarm bell ought to go off." Mollick says that for the present the SEC has adopted an attitude of "wait and see." On the one hand, he says, the intent of the JOBS Act is to make it easier for legitimate start-ups to raise money. On the other, the SEC has a responsibility to protect investors from fraud. "There's some danger of fraud in this kind of funding. That's the reason for the qualified-investor rule." Asked the best word to describe regulators' attitude right now, he opts for two: "Worried, nervous." An App that Helps You Remember Your Dreams Your Own Space Cargo for Less Than $150'Veronica Mars' Movie Raises $5.7 From Fans Related Topics: Securities Exchange Commission, Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, Facebook, Indiegogo, Planet Mars

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/102

Slouching toward geezerdom Feature by Edward Morris > Business & Finance / Retirement Want to savor your retirement years? Then dream big, eat wisely and develop the financial acumen of Ben Bernanke. That’s the distilled advice from three new “geezer guides” for all those Baby Boomers now shuffling along the path to the Abyss.Living the dreamRobert and Patricia Gussin’s What’s Next . . . for You? is more how-we-did-it than how-you-can-do-it. In... Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power Two of the president's men <b>Two of the president's men</b> Like Nixon, Henry Kissinger who began as the president's national security adviser and then moved on to become his secretary of state achieved political power by a combination of raw intelligence, towering ambition and unremitting guile. And, just as with Nixon, it was never quite clear when Kissinger was animated by political conviction and when by... Castles of Steel A riveting account of war at sea The land battles of the First World War with their miles of muddy trenches and coils of flesh-shredding barbed wire were such horrific scenes of slaughter that it's easy to forget that there was a huge and complex naval component of the war as well. Robert K. Massie's massive and meticulously detailed Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea should... Looking For My Country Newsman Robert MacNeil reflects on his adopted homeland You can't accuse Robert MacNeil of being impulsive. The novelist, playwright and former host of The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour worked in the United States on and off for 45 years before he decided to cast his lot with the Yanks and become an American citizen. Looking For My Country explains how he reached this decision and traces his career as a frontline newsman. MacNeil, who was born in... Cold War spy game on a grand scale / Suspense Don't be surprised if this generation-spanning spy saga ignites widespread nostalgia for the days of the Cold War. It immerses the reader in a world of comparative political clarity, a time when clear-cut secular ideologies clashed on a grand scale. Robert Littell's characters spend little time, though, discussing political philosophies. They know from the start which side they're on. The... - Suspense - Retirement - Business Finance - May 2003 - Dr. William Sears - Taylor Larimore - Robert & Patricia Gussin - Robert Dallek - Robert K. Massie - Robert MacNeil - Robert Littell - Wiley - Overlook - Oceanview - Nan Talese - Little Brown

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/254

Chapter 13 MULTIPLE CHOICE: Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. ____ 1. Which of the following expressions is least likely to be included in a client's representation letter? a. No events have occurred subsequent to the balance sheet date that require adjustment to, or disclosure in, the financial statements. b. The company has complied with all aspects of contractual agreements that would have a material effect on the financial statements in the event of noncompliance. c. Management acknowledges responsibility for illegal actions committed by employees. d. Management has made available all financial statements and related data. ____ 2. When reviewing working papers, an audit supervisor will be primarily concerned with determining whether the a. Audit programs have been carried out without deviation. b. Working papers adequately support the audit findings, conclusions, and reports. c. Working papers reflect adherence to budget constraints. d. Auditing department's standard formats and tick marks have been used consistently. ____ 3. A written representation from a client's management which, among other matters, acknowledges responsibility for the fair presentation of financial statements, should normally be signed by the a. Chief executive officer and the chief financial officer. b. Chief financial officer and the chairman of the board of directors. c. Chairman of the audit committee of the board of directors. d. Chief executive officer, and the chairman of the board of directors, and the client's lawyer. ____ 4. Generally accepted auditing standards require the auditor to apply analytical procedures in both the planning and review stages of the audit. The major reason for applying analytical procedures as part of audit review is a. To identify abnormalities that warrant audit attention. b. To assist the auditor in establishing materiality thresholds. c. To ascertain that the auditor has gathered adequate evidence to resolve suspicions arising during the planning stages of the audit. d. To provide documentary evidence in the event of future litigation. ____ 5. The existence of a related party transaction may be indicated when another entity a. Sells real estate to the corporation at a price that is comparable to its appraised value. b. Absorbs expenses of the corporation. c. Borrows from the corporation at a rate of interest which equals the current market rate. d. Lends to the corporation at a rate of interest which equals the current market rate. ____ 6. The main purpose of the auditor/client conference held at the close of audit field work is to a. Discuss unresolved matters and audit fee arrangements. b. Review proposed audit adjustments, internal control weaknesses, and needed disclosures, and agree on the type of audit report to be rendered. c. Discuss areas of major audit risk and use of client personnel to assist in high risk areas. d. Arrange for a meeting with outside legal counsel for the purpose of discussing pending litigation. ____ 7. After discovering that a related party transaction exists, the auditor should be aware that the a. Substance of the transaction could be significantly different from its form. b. Adequacy of disclosure of the transaction is secondary to its legal form. c. Transaction is assumed to be outside the ordinary course of business. d. Financial statements should recognize the legal form of the transaction rather than its substance. ____ 8. Which of the following matters describes a "reportable condition" that should be included in the auditor's communication of the same? a. A significant audit adjustment was required because a major year-end adjustment was inadvertently overlooked by the client. b. The client's recently installed on-line real-time computer system lacks necessary input editing features. c. A major customer of the client is verging on bankruptcy. d. The auditors do not agree with the economic feasibility of the client's proposed acquisition of a new subsidiary. ____ 9. An attorney is responding to an independent auditor as a result of the audit client's letter of inquiry. The attorney may appropriately limit the response to a. Asserted claims and litigation. b. Matters to which the attorney has given substantive attention in the form of legal consultation or representation. c. Asserted, overtly threatened, or pending claims and litigation. d. Items which have an extremely high probability of being resolved to the client's detriment. ____ 10. An auditor is verifying a company's ownership of equipment What is the best evidence of ownership? a. The current year's depreciation expense journal entry. b. A canceled check written to acquire the equipment. c. An interview with the equipment custodian verifying company ownership. d. The presence of the equipment on the company's balance sheet. ____ 11. If a lawyer refuses to furnish corroborating information regarding litigation, claims, and assessments, the auditor should a. Honor the confidentiality of the client-lawyer relationship. b. Consider the refusal to be tantamount to a scope limitation. c. Seek to obtain the corroborating information from management. d. Disclose this fact in a footnote to the financial statements. ____ 12. In auditing investments for proper valuation, the auditor should do all but the following: a. Confirm securities held in safekeeping off the client's premises. b. Vouch purchases and sales of securities by tracing to brokers' advices and canceled checks. c. Compare cost and market by reference to year end market values for selected securities. d. Recalculate gain or loss on disposals. ____ 13. When examining a client's statement of cash flows for audit evidence, an auditor will rely primarily upon a. Determination of the amount of working capital at year-end. b. Cross-referencing to balances and transactions reviewed in connection with the examination of the other financial statements. c. Analysis of significant ratios of prior years as compared to the current year. d. The guidance provided by the APB Opinion on the statement of cash flows. ____ 14. A limitation on the scope of the auditor's examination sufficient to preclude an unqualified opinion will always result when management a. Prevents the auditor from reviewing the working papers of the predecessor auditor. b. Engages the auditor after the year-end physical inventory count is completed. c. Fails to correct a material internal control weakness that had been identified during the prior year's audit. d. Refuses to furnish a client representation letter to the auditor. ____ 15. When an audit is made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, the auditor should always a. Test control procedures by reprocessing a representative sample of completed transactions. b. Examine all negotiable and nonnegotiable securities, regardless of location. c. Obtain certain written representations from management. d. Observe the taking of the physical inventory on the balance sheet date. ____ 16. Which of the following audit procedures provides the best evidence about the collectability of notes receivable? a. Confirmation of note receivable balances with the debtors. b. Examination of notes for appropriate debtors' signatures. c. Examination of cash receipts records to determine promptness of interest and principal payments. d. Reconciliation of the detail of notes receivable and the provision for uncollectible amounts to the general ledger control. ____ 17. An audit program for the examination of the retained earnings account should include a step that requires verification of the a. Market value used to charge retained earnings for a two-for-one stock split. b. Approval of the adjustment to the beginning balance as a result of a write-down of an account receivable. c. Authorization for both cash and stock dividends. d. Gain or loss resulting from disposition of treasury shares. ____ 18. In testing the reasonableness of interest income, an auditor could most effectively use analytical tests involving a. The beginning balance in the investments account for fixed income securities. b. The average monthly balance in the investments account for fixed income securities. c. The ending balance in the investments accounts for fixed income securities. d. Documentary support of specific entries in the account. ____ 19. Which of the following would provide the best form of evidential matter pertaining to the annual valuation of a long-term investment in which the independent auditor's client owns a 30% voting interest? a. Market quotations of the investee company's stock. b. Current fair value of the investee company's assets. c. Historical cost of the investee company's assets. d. Audited financial statements of the investee company. ____ 20. Which of the following is a "Type I" subsequent event? a. The client's Long Island warehouse was destroyed by fire two weeks following the balance sheet date. The warehouse and its contents were uninsured and represented 15% of the client's total assets. b. As the result of an uninsured flood loss, one of the client's major customers declared bankruptcy. The client doesn't expect to recover more than 5% of the outstanding receivable which accounts for 30% of total accounts receivable. The flood and bankruptcy declaration both occurred after the balance date but before the release of the audit report. No additional provision for loss had been made as of year end. c. Three weeks after the balance sheet date, a major strike was called by the labor union representing 80% of the client's work force. d. After the balance sheet date, but prior to release of the audit report, a product liability judgment against the client was rendered by a judge. The judgment assessed damages and fines totaling 30% of audited net income. The events giving rise to the judgment occurred prior to the balance sheet date. The client does not plan to appeal the decision. ____ 21. Which of the following statements regarding the audit of negotiable notes receivable is not correct? a. The auditor should confirm all notes receivable as of the balance sheet date. b. Materiality of the amount involved is a factor considered when selecting the accounts to be confirmed. c. Physical inspection of a note by the auditor does not provide conclusive evidence. d. Notes receivable discounted with recourse need to be confirmed. ____ 22. Which of the following matters should not be included in the auditor's letter of communication with the client's audit committee? a. An audit adjustment was required reducing inventory by 40%. b. Management was reluctant to answer the auditor's questions concerning the economic substance of material related party transactions. c. Contrary to a previous understanding, the client did not have an adjusted trial balance completed prior to the commencing of audit field work. Moreover, several errors were detected by the audit team as a result of significant weaknesses in internal control. d. An internal control weakness discovered during the previous year's audit was corrected during the current year. ____ 23. Apex, Incorporated issued common stock to acquire another company, in an acquisition that was accounted for as a pooling of interests. The auditor examining this transaction would be least interested in a. The net book value of the acquired company. b. The par value of the stock that was issued. c. Whether or not the acquisition was approved by the board of directors of Apex, Incorporated. d. Whether the fair market value of the acquired assets were independently appraised. ____ 24. An internal auditor discovered an error in a receivable due from a major stockholder. The receivables balance accounts for less than one percent of the company's total receivables. Would the auditor be likely to consider the error material? a. Yes, if relative risk is low. b. No, if there will be further transactions with this stockholder. c. Yes, because a related party is involved. d. No, because a small dollar amount is in error. ____ 25. Two months before the year end, the bookkeeper erroneously recorded the receipt of a long-term bank loan by a debit to cash and a credit to sales. Which of the following is the most effective procedure for detecting this type of error? a. Analyze the notes payable journal. b. Analyze bank confirmation information. c. Prepare a year-end bank reconciliation. d. Prepare a year-end bank transfer schedule. ____ 26. Of the following statements regarding further analysis of materiality thresholds during audit review, which one is true? a. Audit adjustments reducing net income may suggest a need to lower individual item and aggregate materiality thresholds. b. Audit adjustments reducing net income may suggest a need to lower the individual item threshold, but should not affect aggregate materiality thresholds. c. Audit adjustments that increase net income may suggest a need to lower aggregate materiality thresholds. d. An increase in the assessment of control risk suggests a need to lower the individual item materiality threshold. ____ 27. A written understanding between the auditor and the client concerning the auditor's responsibility for the discovery of illegal acts is usually set forth in a(an) a. Client representation letter. b. Letter of audit inquiry. c. Management letter. d. Engagement letter. ____ 28. A letter from the company's attorney in response to inquiries about possible litigation is best described as: a. Confirmation evidence. b. Analytical evidence. c. Documentary evidence. d. Physical evidence. ____ 29. The auditor can best verify a client's bond sinking fund transactions and year-end balance by a. Confirmation with individual holders of retired bonds. b. Confirmation with the bond trustee. c. Recomputation of interest expense, interest payable, and amortization of bond discount or premium. d. Examination and count of the bonds retired during the year. ____ 30. Which of the following procedures would an auditor ordinarily perform during the review of subsequent events? a. An analysis of related party transactions for the discovery of possible fraud. b. A review of the cut-off bank statements for the period after the year-end. c. An inquiry of the client's legal counsel concerning litigation. d. An investigation of material weaknesses in internal control previously communicated to the client. ____ 31. Which of the following is not an audit procedure which the independent auditor would perform with respect to litigation, claims, and assessments. a. Inquire of and discuss with management the policies and procedures adopted for identifying, evaluating, and accounting for litigation, claims, and assessments. b. Obtain from management a description and evaluation of litigation, claims, and assessments that existed at the balance sheet date. c. Obtain assurance from management that it has disclosed all unasserted claims that the lawyer has advised are probable of assertion and must be disclosed. d. Confirm directly with the client's lawyer that all claims have been recorded in the financial statements. ____ 32. The auditee has acquired another company by purchase. Which of the following would be the best audit procedure to test the appropriateness of the allocation of cost to tangible assets? a. Determine whether assets have been recorded at their book value at the date of purchase. b. Evaluate procedures used to estimate and record fair market values for purchased assets. c. Evaluate the reasonableness of recorded values by use of replacement cost data. d. Evaluate the reasonableness of recorded values by discussion with operating personnel. ____ 33. A CPA has received an attorney's letter in which no significant disagreements with the client's assessments of contingent liabilities were noted. The resignation of the client's lawyer shortly after receipt of the letter should alert the auditor that a. Undisclosed unasserted claims may have arisen. b. The attorney was unable to form a conclusion with respect to the significance of litigation, claims, and assessments. c. The auditor must begin a completely new examination of contingent liabilities. d. An adverse opinion will be necessary ____ 34. An audit procedure that provides evidence about proper valuation of marketable securities arising from a short-term investment of excess cash is a. Comparison of carrying value with current market quotations. b. Confirmation of securities held by broker. c. Recalculation of investment carrying value by applying the equity method. d. Calculation of premium or discount amortization. ____ 35. Hall accepted an engagement to audit the 2002 financial statements of XYZ Company. XYZ completed the preparation of the 2002 financial statements on February 13, 2003, and Hall began the field work on February 17, 2003. Hall completed the field work on March 24, 2003, and completed the report on March 28, 2003. The client's representation letter normally would be dated a. February 13, 2003 b. February 17, 2003 c. March 24, 2003 d. March 28, 2003 ____ 36. The auditee has just acquired another company by purchasing all its assets. As a result of the purchase, "goodwill" has been recorded on the auditee's books. Which of the following comparisons would be the most appropriate audit test for the amount of recorded goodwill? a. The purchase price and the book value of assets purchased. b. The figure for goodwill specified in the contract for purchase. c. Earnings in excess of 15% of net assets for the past five years. d. The purchase price and the fair market value of assets purchased. ____ 37. All corporate capital stock transactions should ultimately be traced to the a. Minutes of the Board of Directors. b. Cash receipts journal. c. Cash disbursements journal. d. Numbered stock certificates. ____ 38. A logical substantive test for accrued interest receivable would be to a. Compare the interest income with published interest- investment records. b. Verify the interest income by a calculation based on the face amount of notes and the nominal interest rate. c. Verify the cost, carrying value, and market value of notes receivable. d. Recalculate interest earned and compare it to the amounts received. ____ 39. In verifying the amount of goodwill recorded by a client, the most convincing evidence which an auditor can obtain is by comparing the recorded value of assets acquired with the a. Assessed value as evidenced by tax bills. b. Seller's book value as evidenced by financial statements. c. Insured value as evidenced by insurance policies. d. Appraised value as evidenced by independent appraisals. ____ 40. An auditor who wishes to substantiate the gross balance of the account "Trade Notes Receivable" is considering the advisability of performing the four procedures listed below. Which pair of procedures is best suited to this objective? I. Age the receivables. II. Confirm the notes with the makers. III. Inspect the notes. IV. Trace a sample of postings from the sales journal to the notes receivable ledger. a. I and III. b. I and IV. c. II and III. d. II and IV. ____ 41. Jones was engaged to examine the financial statements of Gamma Corporation for the year ended June 30, 2002. Having completed an examination of the investment securities, which of the following is the best method of verifying the accuracy of recorded dividend income? a. Tracing recorded dividend income to cash receipts records and validated deposit slips. b. Utilizing analytical review techniques and statistical sampling. c. Comparing recorded dividends with amounts appearing on federal information forms 1099. d. Comparing recorded dividends with a standard financial reporting service's record of dividends. ____ 42. An auditor's program to examine long-term debt most likely would include steps that require a. Comparing the carrying amount of the debt to its year- end market value. b. Correlating interest expense recorded for the period with outstanding debt. c. Verifying the existence of the holders of the debt by direct confirmation. d. Inspecting the accounts payable subsidiary ledger for unrecorded long-term debt.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/262

Why Knight lost $440 million in 45 minutes By Stephen Gandel, senior editor August 2, 2012: 4:32 PM ET The high frequency trading battle between exchanges and market makers is resulting in big losses not just for Wall Street, but, likely, for us too. Update 11:00 pm FORTUNE -- In life there are few coincidences, and this one probably isn't either: The day Knight Capital Group's computers nearly blew up the market and lost the firm $440 million in 45 minutes is the same day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYX) launched a new trading system that was, in part, meant to take business away from Knight (KCG). For the past half decade or so, there has been a tug of war over who completes the buy and sell orders for stocks that average investors like you and I make. It used to happen in the pits of the NYSE. These days, almost none of the trades that folks like you and I make ever get to the exchange. Instead, they get cut off, diverted into the computer systems of Knight or its main competitors Citadel, Citigroup and UBS, which match those with the millions of other orders they collect. MORE: Should we listen to a bond king trying to time stocks? And the pace at which these firms have been able to divert traffic from the NYSE has been accelerating. In 2009, about 15% of all trades took place away from the NYSE. Now about a third of all the trades in NYSE-listed shares happen elsewhere. It's not clear why this battle over individual stock trades is so pitched. Knight pays brokers for its so-called order flow. And it guarantees that individuals get a slightly better price than what they would get at the exchange. Those stock trades get fed into Knight's computers, which use lightning fast trading algorithms to figure out how to make money off the orders the firm has just paid up for. This is, in part, the high frequency trading that you have heard about. Some say that market makers provide a service. Others say Knight and others seek out the orders of individual investors because they view those orders as so-called dumb flow and easier to trade against. What is clear is that Knight and others have figured out how to make money off the stock trades of you and me in ways that we can't detect but we probably pay for somehow. Eric Scott Hunsader, who runs trading research firm Nanex, estimates market makers have been able to generate $5 billion in profits rapidly trading the orders of individual investors and others in the past seven years. MORE: Wall Street's hottest investment idea: Your house On Wednesday, the same day that Knight lost $440 million, the NYSE launched its own computer driven trading system, called the Retail Liquidity Program, that the exchange hopes will reclaim some of the trading volume it has lost to market makers. NYSE hopes RLP will create more competition among traders and brokers and market makers so that more of those orders get filled at better prices on the exchange. The new system also offers financial incentives for brokers to complete their orders on the exchange, similar to the payments long made by Knight and others that lured trades away from NYSE. Knight says the computer problems it ran into had to do with NYSE's new trading system, but it didn't say what. Tellingly, all of the stocks that Knight's computers did bogus trades in were listed on the NYSE. It's likely that Knight tried to upgrade its own algorithm to allow its computers to do an end around the NYSE's new system. But it messed up somehow. Instead, Knight's computer system, launched on the same day as the NYSE's, went on a trading frenzy, buying and selling millions of shares on its own shortly after both systems were switched on when the market opened at 9:30 Wednesday morning. Normally that shouldn't have produced any real losses. These weren't actual orders, so Knight's system should have just been buying and selling to itself. But that's not how the world of high frequency trading works. When other traders, i.e. computer systems, saw the spike in activity, they jumped in too. MORE: NYSE: Hey stock picking on us Knight disabled the faulty algorithm by 10:15. But by then the damage was done. Knight was out $440 million. Dozens of stocks, including Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), had gyrated up and down, and our faith in the market was shaken once again. In theory, we should all benefit from this competition, being able to trade at cheaper and cheaper prices. But in practice the "price improvements" that Knight and now NYSE offer are fractions of a fraction of a penny. At best, what we are getting in return is a market that is less stable. At worst, we are getting a system that is picking our pockets. If this isn't a clear case where we need regulators to step in, I don't know what is. Update: The original version of this story said the NYSE's computers provide price improvements. In fact the NYSE's new platform hopes to provide better pricing through increased competition. Posted in: investing, knight, New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street Join the Conversation Stephen Gandel has covered Wall Street and investing for over 15 years. He joins Fortune from sister publication TIME, where he was a senior business writer and lead blogger for The Curious Capitalist. He has also held positions at Money and Crain's New York Business. Stephen is a four-time winner of the Henry R. Luce Award. His work has also been recognized by the National Association of Real Estate Editors, the New York State Society of CPA and the Association of Area Business Publications. He is a graduate of Washington University, and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children. Email | @stephengandel | RSS

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/372

hide Fed's Plosser calls for sole inflation mandate for U.S. central bank Thursday, November 14, 2013 8:01 a.m. CST Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser speaks at an Economics21 event in New York, March 25, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve should have a single mandate of fighting inflation rather than its current dual focus on stable prices and jobs, a top Fed official said on Thursday. Charles Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Fed, said changing the Fed's mandate and setting strict limits on its operations would improve the working of monetary policy, which had stretched out of shape after policymakers sought new tools to deal with the financial crisis and its aftermath. Trying to have the central bank do too much blurred communication and risked a "highly discretionary" form of policymaking where officials could move the goal posts as they saw fit, he said. "I have concluded that it would be appropriate to redefine the Fed's monetary policy goals to focus solely, or at least primarily, on price stability," Plosser said at a Cato Institute conference about the role of the Fed. Plosser is just the latest Fed official to offer his backing for a mandate centered on controlling inflation, as opposed to also steering the economy to full employment. About a year ago, Dallas Fed chief Richard Fisher and James Bullard of the St. Louis Fed similarly called for a single Fed mandate. Other policymakers, including Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and vice chair Janet Yellen, have defended the dual mandate. Yellen is expected to do so again on Thursday as she appears before the Senate Banking Committee, which is vetting her nomination to be Fed chair. Some Republicans have also called for changing the Fed's congressionally set mandate to one that focuses solely on inflation, but those efforts do not have support among Democrats, who control the Senate, and have gone nowhere. Plosser, a longtime critic of the Fed's bond-buying program, said the central bank should limit any asset purchases to U.S. government debt, selling all mortgage-backed securities in its portfolio. The purchase price could be the starting point for working out at what price to sell these, he added. The U.S. central bank is buying $85 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage bonds in an effort to boost investment, hiring and growth, which have quadrupled its balance sheet to $3.8 trillion. The Fed should also follow strict rules in setting policy to limit policymakers' discretion and make them more accountable, Plosser said. For example, the Fed might outline how it would conduct policy in normal times in its regular reports to Congress, and if it deviated, be forced to explain how it intended to return to its planned path. "My sense is that the recent difficulty the Fed has faced in trying to offer clear and transparent guidance on its current and future policy path stems from the fact that policymakers still desire to maintain discretion in setting monetary policy," Plosser said. "Effective forward guidance, however, requires commitment to behave in a particular way in the future. But discretion is the antithesis of commitment and undermines the effectiveness of forward guidance. Given this tension, few should be surprised that the Fed has struggled with its communications." Plosser, an inflation hawk who is not a voting member this year on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, made no comment on the outlook for the economy or monetary policy in his prepared remarks. Economists generally expect the Fed to maintain its current pace of bond purchases into 2014. Some see a chance of a scaling back at the Fed's December policy meeting given a strong jobs report for October, but some policymakers have pointed to very low inflation as a reason not to rush. Asked after his speech about the dangers of deflation, or a spiral of falling prices, Plosser said that mild deflation might not be such a bad thing and he personally would have preferred an inflation target lower than the Fed's current 2 percent. "I'm not nearly as afraid of zero inflation or mild deflation" as some colleagues, he said. "The value of the target is the commitment rather than the number." (Reporting by Krista Hughes; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/508

What, If Anything, Will Speed Economic Recovery? Share Tweet E-mail Comments Print By editor Originally published on Wed November 16, 2011 7:39 am Listen Transcript RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. After all the economic news of the past several years, one big question remains unanswered. That question is: How do we finally get out of this? MONTAGNE: Two administrations now have made massive and much-debated efforts to stabilize the economy. This year, despite a constant flow of economic setbacks at home and abroad, the economy has been growing, but it hasn't been growing swiftly or adding many jobs. INSKEEP: So we're asking what could change that. We put the question to two of our regular guests: David Wessel, economics editor of the Wall Street Journal; and his counterpart at The Economist, Zanny Minton Beddoes. Where could economic growth in this country, substantial economic growth, come from right now? DAVID WESSEL: Well, the building blocks of the economy are quite simple. It's either going to come from consumer spending, from business investment, from construction, from government, or from what we sell to the rest of the world in the form of exports. INSKEEP: OK. WESSEL: And you can go through that very quickly. Consumers aren't going to spend very readily unless they have jobs, and the value of their houses go up. Government is in the process of cutting back that - the federal, state and local level. Business - fixed investment, the stuff that they - money they spend on computers and the machinery and software, actually has been quite strong, surprisingly strong, given how weak the economy has been. But construction, both houses and commercial construction, has been very weak. The game plan of the Obama administration was to rely more and more on growth in exports to keep the economy moving, and that was a reasonable strategy until Europe fell apart. INSKEEP: Well, OK, Europe's falling apart. What does that do to the export market, Zanny Minton Beddoes? ZANNY MINTON BEDDOES: What I think it means - that there is much less potential there than there was. If Europe's crisis spirals out of control and there's a financial catastrophe, then that has all kinds of other knock-on effects. First of all, it'll hit business and consumer confidence; secondly, it'll mean, probably, that money will pour into the dollar as one of the few safe-havens assets around... INSKEEP: Mm-hmm. BEDDOES: ...which will mean a stronger dollar, which will hurt U.S. exports elsewhere. INSKEEP: Oh, let's explain that. People go to the dollar as a safe haven. We feel kind of good in an abstract way because the dollar is strong; that sounds good. But it actually raises the price of American exports overseas. BEDDOES: Absolutely. And the other part is that a real catastrophe in Europe would have knock-on effects on growth in the rest of the world. And Europe is a huge export market for the U.S., but other parts of the world matter enormously. The president is talking about, you know, the potential for export growth in Asia. The emerging world is where the hope for exports for the U.S. comes from. INSKEEP: Let me ask about some of the other items on the list that you began us with, though, David Wessel. You talked about consumer spending, which has been improving in recent months in spite of people's lack of confidence, in spite of all the bad economic news. What's driving that? Is it necessity? Is it impatience - people's cars are breaking down, they have to buy a million more cars? WESSEL: Yeah, there's some of that. Look, there's a natural tendency of people to want to spend, and we still do have people who have jobs, people who have money. And those people are spending. Yeah, sometimes when your washing machine breaks, your hot- water heater breaks, you have to replace it. Car sales have come back some. Actually, if you look at the numbers, it looks like people are spending less on what are sometimes called discretionary services. They're less likely to buy the movie theater tickets or the entertainment or spas, or something like that. INSKEEP: Zanny Minton Beddoes. BEDDOES: Yeah. I wanted to focus on two of the other components that David talked about, because I think there are two areas where we could be surprised - one potentially positively, and one negatively. That's investment in construction, and that's traditionally been the part of the economy that has been the sort of motor of a recovery. In traditional post-war recessions, when the economy turned a corner, construction investment - building of houses - was one of the engines that got the economy going again. This time has been totally different. There's been no construction - it's been flat on its back; the house prices are still way, way, way, way below their peak. I think there is a potential, though, that this could, at some point, turn around. If you look at the rental market, it's tightening. If you look at the potential demand for housing, there's a lot of young people living with their parents. INSKEEP: Mm-hmm. BEDDOES: People are not kind of going out and setting up home. There's a lot of demand there that when the economy turns around, could turn into a - sort of positive cycle. The negative that I worry about is government. If government policy is unchanged right now, if Congress does absolutely nothing, we are on track for quite a big budget tightening starting early next year - as the payroll tax-cut extensions expire, as the unemployment insurance extension expires. And that means that there's a drag coming from less government. That means that in the short term, that will pull the economy down. So that's an area I worry about negatively, in the short term. INSKEEP: I want to ask about some of the buzz phrases that politicians throw out as possible sources of economic growth or specifically, of new jobs. The phrase "green jobs" - how are we doing on green jobs, and how could we be doing on green jobs in a year or two years from now? BEDDOES: Well, we've... INSKEEP: The look on your face is priceless... (SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER) INSKEEP: ...Zanny, priceless. But go on. BEDDOES: Green jobs. I'm inherently skeptical of the government's ability to pick a sector, to pick a subset of a sector and to say, this is where the jobs of the future are going to come from. There are plenty of things that governments can and should do to kind of set the stage for growth. But industrial policy, which is really what this is, picking winners, we have historically - every country, virtually, has a pretty bad record of doing this. WESSEL: I don't disagree with that, but I think that there is an aspect in which people really need hope. People have this idea that we're going to run out of jobs; that somehow, all the manufacturing jobs are going to China, and all the service jobs are going to be computerized, and no one will ever work again. So if green jobs is a metaphor for government subsidies - as it is, and as Zanny said - then that's the right case. But it's also a way to tell people that there are going to be some jobs that we think up that we can't imagine now. And they'll probably have something to do with energy conservation, fighting global warming, and stuff like that. INSKEEP: OK. Let's talk about another buzz phrase: "drill, baby, drill." Can conventional energy drive some kind of major economic growth in this country? BEDDOES: In the short term, does the U.S. have potential from shale gas and so forth? Yes, it does. I resist the idea that we should be finding three or four sectors and saying, this is absolutely where the future is. But I so wish the conversation was focused on, let's think about what it is - what is the skill set that is most likely to be useful in this world? Whether it is solar, whether it is, you know, conventional energy, whether it is innovation in information technology - wherever the jobs are, what is it that we can do to equip people to be able to perform them? WESSEL: Right. At a time when there's a shortage of jobs, people use jobs as an excuse to do the stuff that they wanted to do before. So suddenly, oil drilling is seen as a great job producer. Or suddenly, manufacturing is going to be the source of lots of jobs. And sometimes they do create jobs, but that's not the reason to be doing these things. Do we need some coherent set of energy policies that help make energy as expensive as it should be, in order to resist global warming, provide for the security of the United States? Yes. But should we do something that doesn't make sense because somebody says it'll create 47 jobs? No. INSKEEP: One more thing - one more buzz phrase that's used a lot: "government is the problem." Can you change a bunch of regulations and quickly change economic performance in this country? WESSEL: No. Are there regulations that are screwing up American business? Absolutely. But is that the overwhelming problem, the reason we have 9 percent unemployment? No. INSKEEP: One last thing. Have we all, in your view - as painful as it is to admit - just had the wrong time frame for this entire crisis? Is this something that we maybe should have recognized several years ago, that it was going to take quite a few years to get out of no matter what we've tried? BEDDOES: I think there's some truth to that. There was definitely a pervasive view in this country towards the - in the immediate aftermath of the financial crash, and in the depths of a recession - that the U.S. traditionally has, after a very deep recession, had a very vigorous recovery. A V-shaped recovery was traditional. And that kind of dominated the debate, in the sense that a lot of people felt that the U.S. would do the same thing again because that's what had always happened. That said, I don't think anybody really planned for A, the kind of policy mistakes that have been made; and B, the fact that the eurozone is likely to blow up - or has blown up. INSKEEP: David Wessel, I'll give you the last word. WESSEL: Yes. But with the benefit of hindsight, there are probably things we could have done differently. One of them is housing. I think it's very hard to defend the - both the Bush and Obama administrations for not being more aggressive on housing. We would still have all the problems Zanny said, but we'd be better off if the housing problem were closer to being solved. INSKEEP: David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal, thanks very much. WESSEL: You're welcome. INSKEEP: And Zanny Minton Beddoes of The Economist, thank you. BEDDOES: You're welcome. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) INSKEEP: And Zanny and David are both regular guests right here on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/535

420 F. 2d 400 - Mooney Aircraft Inc v. United States Home420 f2d 400 mooney aircraft inc v. united states 420 F2d 400 Mooney Aircraft Inc v. United States 420 F.2d 400 MOONEY AIRCRAFT, INC., Appellant,v.UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit. Rehearing Denied January 12, 1970. Hal Rachal, Kerrville, Tex., Travis M. Moursund, San Antonio, Tex., for appellant. Richard C. Pugh, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Mitchell Rogovin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lee A. Jackson, Elmer J. Kelsey, Frank X. Grossi, Jr., Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., Jones O. Jones, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Tax Div., Forth Worth, Tex., Ted Butler, Asst. U. S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex., for appellee; Ernest Morgan, U. S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex., Jamie C. Boyd, Asst. U. S. Atty., of counsel. Before THORNBERRY and SIMPSON, Circuit Judges, and CASSIBRY, District Judge. CASSIBRY, District Judge. Mooney Aircraft, Inc. (taxpayer) seeks refund of federal income taxes for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1959, October 31, 1962, and October 31, 1963. The district court granted the Government's motion for summary judgment and the taxpayer appeals. This is yet another case in the continuing conflict between commercial accounting practice and the federal income tax. The facts, as accepted by the parties for the purpose of the motion for summary judgment, may be summarized as follows: During the years 1961 through 1965 taxpayer was in the business of manufacturing and selling single-engine, executive aircraft. The taxpayer's practice was to sell exclusively to regional distributors throughout the United States and Canada. These distributors sold to more localized dealers who in turn sold to the ultimate consumers. During the fiscal years ending October 31, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1965 taxpayer issued, with each aircraft which it manufactured and sold, a document captioned "Mooney Bond" setting out an unconditional promise that taxpayer would pay to the bearer the sum of $1,000 when the corresponding aircraft should be permanently retired from service.1 By far the great majority of the "Mooney Bonds" issued by the taxpayer were retained by the distributors to whom they were originally issued, or by persons related to such distributors as the result of reorganizations, liquidations, etc. By October 31, 1965 many distributors had accumulated quite large holdings in the certificates; one distributor, for example, held no fewer than 122.2 Taxpayer seeks to exclude or deduct from gross income the face value of either all Mooney Bonds, or those Mooney Bonds which it is estimated will ultimately be redeemed,3 in the year the instruments were issued. It is the Government's position that the Mooney Bonds may be deducted only in the year the aircraft to which they relate are in fact permanently retired from service. The Government has alleged, and the taxpayer has not denied, that perhaps 20 or more years may elapse between issuance of the Bonds and retirement of the aircraft. The district court sustained the Government's position and, for the reasons to be discussed, we affirm the judgment of the district court. The issue in this case is whether the taxpayer's "accrual" system of accounting is acceptable for tax purposes. In order to better understand this issue it may be helpful to first discuss the purpose and techniques of accrual accounting as they relate to the federal income tax. "Income" has been defined as "a net or resultant determined by matching revenues with related expenses."4 Since the Internal Revenue Code allows the deduction of substantially all business expenses it seems reasonably clear that Congress intended to tax only net business income. This objective, however, is complicated by the fact that the tax is exacted on an annual basis5 whereas business transactions are often spread over two or more years. A business may receive payment for goods or services in one tax year but incur the related expenses in subsequent tax years.6 The result is that the expenses cannot be used to offset the receipts, and the full amount of the receipts is taxed as though it were all net "profit."7 The purpose of "accrual" accounting in the taxation context is to try to alleviate this problem by matching, in the same taxable year, revenues with the expenses incurred in producing those revenues. Accurate matching of expenses against revenues in the same taxable year may occur either by "deferring" receipts until such time as the related expenses are incurred or by "accruing" estimated future expenses so as to offset revenue.8 Under the deferral concept present receipts are not recognized as "income" until they are "earned" by performing the related services or delivering goods.9 It is thus not the actual receipt but the right to receive which is controlling; and, from an accounting (if not from a tax) point of view, that "right" does not arise until the money is "earned."10 A corresponding principle states that expenses are to be reported in the year the related income is "earned" whether or not actually paid in that year.11 Another accounting technique for matching expenses and revenues is the "accrual" of estimated future expenses which has been described as follows: "The professional accountant recognizes estimated future expenses when the current performance of a contract to deliver goods or render services creates an incidental obligation in the seller which may require him to incur additional expenses at some future time. Instead of deferring the recognition of a portion of the revenue from the sale transaction until such time as the future expenses are incurred, accepted accounting procedures require inclusion of the total revenue in the current determination of income when the contract has been substantially performed, and the simultaneous deduction of all the related expenses, including a reasonable estimate for future expenses."12 The early Revenue Acts of 1909 and 1913 did not recognize accounting techniques designed to match receipts and expenses in the same taxable year, but required the reporting of income on the basis of actual receipts and disbursements.13 It was soon realized that such a requirement could seriously distort income — especially in a business of any complexity in which payment is frequently received in a different accounting period than that in which expenses attributable to such payment are incurred. In order to alleviate the situation the Commissioner of Internal Revenue permitted some departures from the strict receipts and disbursements basis. United States v. Anderson, 269 U.S. 422, 423, 440, 46 S.Ct. 131, 70 L.Ed. 347 (1926). Finally, in the Revenue Act of 1916, Congress provided that a corporation keeping its books upon any basis other than actual receipts and disbursements could report its income on the same basis, "unless such other basis does not clearly reflect its income. * * *"14 The substance of this provision was carried forward into the Internal Revenue Code of 193915 and the present Internal Revenue Code of 1954.16 The 1954 Code specifically permitted the reporting of income under the "accrual"17 method, unless the Commissioner determines that such method "does not clearly reflect income."18 These provisions seemed designed to reconcile the tax laws with commercial accounting practice,19 but unfortunately they have failed to do so. The Commissioner has consistently opposed deferral of prepaid income, or accrual of estimated future expenses, on the ground that for tax purposes such methods do not clearly reflect income.20 In the "deferral" cases he has argued that when the taxpayer receives payment under "claim of right," — i. e., without restriction as to disposition — deferring such payments to a future year violates the annual accounting concept, and they must therefore be reported in the year received.21 Similarly, in the "accrual" cases, the Commissioner has maintained that it is equally violative of the annual accounting concept to allow present deduction of a future expense unless "all the events"22 fixing the fact and the amount of the liability occur in the taxable year.23 Both of these positions are legal crystalizations of the Commissioner's discretionary power under § 461(b) of the Code to reject an accounting method when it does not clearly reflect income. The principal question in the present case is whether, in the light of the statutory policies these doctrines are intended to implement, the Commissioner was justified in disallowing a present deduction of the Mooney Bonds as "not clearly reflecting income."24 Although the Government admits that the retirement of the aircraft in this case is inevitable, it contends, nevertheless, that taxpayer cannot deduct the bonds in the year of issuance because the obligation they represent is contingent upon the happening of a future event — retirement of the related aircraft. Therefore, "all the events" creating the liability have not occurred in the taxable year. We cannot agree. In all the cases cited by the Government there was uncertainty as to whether the future event would actually happen;25 here there is none. There is no contingency in this case as to the fact of liability itself; the only contingency relates to when the liability will arise.26 To be sure, technically, the liability is "created" by the event of the retirement of a particular plane; if a plane lasted forever there would be no liability. But taxation has been called a "practical field," and we do not see how the technical position the Government takes is designed to further the purpose of the statute. One commentator has argued, and we think justly, that the all events test is designed to protect tax revenues by "[insuring] that the taxpayer will not take deductions for expenditures that might never occur. * * *"27 If there is any doubt whether the liability will occur courts have been loath to interfere with the Commissioner's discretion is disallowing a deduction. See note 25, supra But here there is no doubt at all that the liability will occur since airplanes, like human beings, regrettably must cease to function.28 The "all events test," however, is not the only basis upon which the Commissioner can disallow a deduction. Under § 446(b) he has discretion to disallow any accounting method which does not clearly reflect income. As previously stated, the Commissioner has often relied on the "claim of right test," see cases cited, note 21, supra, to disallow a deduction or a deferral of income in cases where the taxpayer's receipt of the funds was unrestricted. He appears to be doing so here, for the Government says in its brief, "Taxpayer received the full economic benefit of these proceeds, without any restriction as to use or enjoyment, and without any duty to return or transfer any part of these proceeds." The claim of right doctrine, however, has not enjoyed universal acceptance in the courts, see e. g., Schuessler v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 230 F.2d 722 (5th Cir. 1956); Beacon Publishing Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 218 F.2d 697 (10th Cir. 1955), and in two recent major decisions in this area, American Automobile Assn. v. United States, 367 U.S. 687, 81 S.Ct. 1727, 6 L.Ed.2d 1109 (1961) (hereafter AAA) and Schlude v. Commissioner of Inter

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/633

Cerner Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript | About: CERN by: SA Transcripts Executives Jeffrey Townsend - Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President Neal Patterson - Co-Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Acting President Marc Naughton - Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Treasurer Michael Valentine - Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Corey Tobin - William Blair & Company L.L.C. Michael Cherny - Deutsche Bank AG Atif Rahim - JP Morgan Chase & Co George Hill - Leerink Swann LLC Charles Rhyee - Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. James Kumpel - Madison Williams and Company LLC Jamie Stockton - Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. Steven Halper - Thomas Weisel Partners Richard Close - Jefferies & Company, Inc. Sean Wieland - Piper Jaffray Companies Cerner (CERN) Q2 2010 Earnings Call July 28, 2010 4:30 PM ETOperator Welcome to Cerner Corp. Second Quarter 2010 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The company has asked me to remind you that the various remarks made here today by Cerner's management about future expectations, plans, perspectives and prospects constitute forward-looking statements for the purpose of the Safe Harbor provisions of the Security and Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements may be found under the heading Risk Factors, under Item 1A in Cerner's Form 10-K, together with other reports that are on file with the SEC. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Marc Naughton, Chief Financial Officer of Cerner Corp. Marc Naughton Thank you, Jeremy. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the call. I’ll lead off today with a review of the numbers. Mike Valentine, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will follow me with sales and operational highlights and marketplace trends. Mike will be followed by Jeff Townsend, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, who will discuss strategic initiatives. Neal Patterson, our Chairman and CEO, will join us for Q&A. Now I'll turn to our results. All key measures in Q2 were at or above expected levels. Our bookings were strong and exceeded a high end of our guidance range. Our income statement performance was very good, with revenue above the high end of our guidance range and continued strong margin expansion and earnings growth. We again had great cash flow performance with record levels of free cash flow reflective of high quality earnings. Moving to the details, our total bookings revenue in Q2 was $468 million, which is 19% higher than Q2 '09 bookings. Bookings margin was $397 million or 85% of total bookings revenue, up from 84% in Q1. As Michael will discuss, we are pleased to announce that we did sign our RevWorks client this quarter. In discussing our overall bookings, I do want to point out that due to the structure of this initial RevWorks contract, bookings will be recognized over time as the client achieves benefits. Thus the strong overall bookings performance this quarter did not include any current impact from the RevWorks contract. Our total backlog increased 21% year-over-year to $4.48 billion. Contract growing a backlog of $3.85 billion is 24% higher than a year ago. Support revenue backlog totaled $637 million, up 7% year-over-year. Our revenue in the quarter was $456 million, which is up 13% year-over-year. The revenue composition for Q2 was $136 million in system sales, $128 million in support and maintenance, $184 million in services, and $8 million in reimbursed travel. System sales revenue reflects growth of 19% compared to Q2 '09, with strong software and sublicense software growth more than offsetting flat hardware revenue. Services revenue was up 16% compared to Q2 '09 with good growth in both managed services and professional services. Support and maintenance revenue increased 4% over Q2 '09. As we indicated last quarter, we expect support and maintenance revenue growth to improve in the second half of the year based on enhanced software sales the past several quarters. Looking at revenue by geographic segment, our domestic revenue increased by 13% to $381 million. Global revenue grew 12% to $75 million, reflecting another solid quarter following the challenging 2009. Moving to gross margin. Our gross for Q2 was 82.8%, which is down 60 basis points year-over-year and 140 basis points sequentially. The gross margin decline was driven by lower system sales margins which were down 160 basis points year-over-year and 60 basis points sequentially. The lower system sales margins were related to lower margins on hardware, with licensed software margins remaining flat year-over-year and sequentially. Looking at operating spending, our Q2 operating expenses were $285.6 million before share-based compensation expense of $5.8 million. This is up 7% compared to a year ago. Sales in client service expenses were up 10% compared to Q2 '09, driven primary by growth in managed services and professional services. Software development expense was up 3% compared to Q2 '09, reflecting continued control of this expense line. G&A expense decreased 3% year-over-year. The decrease is primarily related to the year-over-year difference and the impact of foreign currency as we had an FX loss in the year-ago period compared to a small FX gain this quarter. Moving to operating margins. Our operating margin in Q2 was 20.2% before share-based compensation expense. This is up 290 basis points compared to last year, and keeps us on track for our full year 2010 target of 20% operating margins. Moving to earnings and EPS. Our GAAP net earnings in Q2 were $55.5 million or $0.65 per diluted share. GAAP net earnings include share-based compensation expense, which had a net impact on earnings of $3.7 million or $0.04 per share. Adjusted net earnings were $59.1 million, adjusted EPS was $0.69, which is up 29% compared to Q2 '09. Our tax rate was 35.7% which is slightly higher than our projected level of around 35%. We expect to be closer to 35% for the rest of the year, assuming the R&D tax credit is extended. Now I'll move to our balance sheet. We ended Q2 with $678 million of total cash and investments, which is up from $609 million in Q1. Total cash and investments include $633 million of cash in short-term investments and $45 million of highly rated corporate and government bonds with maturities over one year. Our total debt is $116 million. Total accounts receivable ended the quarter at $442 million, which is up $19 million from Q1 but represents a lower percentage of total revenue. Contracts receivable, or the unbilled portion of receivables, were $130 million and represent 29% of total receivables compared to 30% in Q1. Cash collections were $447 million, which is a record for a second quarter. Third-party financings were $7 million, representing 1% of total cash collected. Our DSO in Q2 was 88 days, which is down from 89 days in Q1 and 100 days in Q2 '09. The year-over-year decline was primarily related to the Q4 '09 reclass of Fujitsu receivables to other assets which we discussed on prior calls. Operating cash flow for the quarter was an all-time high at $110.2 million. Q2 capital expenditures were $23.9 million and capitalized software was $20.7 million. Free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures and capitalized software, was also an all-time high at $65.6 million. It is worth noting that free cash flow for the quarter again represents more than 100% of net earnings and reflects continued strengthening of our earnings quality. Also note that our year-to-date capital spending of $56 million is below our planned level for this point in the year. We do expect capital spending to be higher in the second half of the year, but we are still positioned to keep full-year capital expenditures at the low end or below our initial guidance of $130 million to $150 million. Moving to capitalized software. The $20.7 million of capitalized software in Q2 represents 29% of the $72.3 million of total spend on development activities. Software amortization for the quarter was $16.4 million, resulting in net capitalization of $4.3 million or 6% of the total. Based on our current release schedule, we still expect amortization to increase by about $1 million per quarter for the rest of the year, which would put it at about $18.5 million by Q4. Now I'll go through the guidance. Looking at Q3 revenue, we expect revenue in the $455 million to $470 million range, with the midpoint of this range representing 13% growth over Q3 '09. For the year, we expect revenue between $1.83 billion and $1.875 billion, up from a range of $1.8 billion to $1.875 billion and reflecting 11% growth at the midpoint. We expect Q3 adjusted EPS before share-based compensation expense to be $0.71 to $0.76 per share, with the midpoint reflecting 20% growth. For the year, we expect adjusted EPS of $2.85 to $2.92, which is up from the prior range of $2.80 to $2.90, and reflects about 20% growth over 2009. Q3 guidance is based on total spending before stock compensation expense of approximately $285 million to $290 million. Our estimate for stock compensation expense is approximately $0.04 to $0.05 for Q3 and $0.17 to $0.18 for the year. Moving to bookings guidance. We expect bookings revenue in Q3 of $450 million to $480 million, with the midpoint of this range reflecting 10% growth over last year. In closing, we are pleased with our results in Q2 with all key metrics at or above our expected ranges. Specifically we are pleased with our strong bookings and revenue growth, continued strong margin expansion and growth in earnings, and record levels of free cash flow generation. With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike. Michael Valentine Thanks, Marc. Hello, everyone. Today, I'm going to provide observations on the marketplace, some operational updates and results highlights. I'll start with observations on the U.S. marketplace. Overall, the market continues to improve compared to the conditions we saw for most of 2009. The impact of the lingering economic downturn is less severe in part due to stimulus activity. In regards to the stimulus, we believe the recent release of the final Meaningful Use rules is a positive for the industry and for Cerner. In our opinion and based on feedback from many clients, the final rules appropriately provide flexibility and address most of the concerns of those who provided feedback on the interim rules. And they do this without compromising the end goal of driving tangible benefits to the widespread adoption of HIT. The adjustment should allow for more practical rollout of the program and make the incentives more broadly attainable. For Cerner, stimulus activity has contributed to strong results so far this year and we expect momentum to build as we move throughout the year and into the next several years. In our view, this will clearly be a multi-year journey with each stage of the stimulus requirements building on the prior stage. Cerner is very well positioned to grow as we work with our large existing client base to get them to Meaningful Use. And for clients that are already at or near Meaningful Use, the stimulus dollars could provide capital to purchase solutions and services that will bring them beyond Meaningful Use. As demonstrated this quarter by our strong bookings outside of our install base, the stimulus is also creating new footprint opportunities as hospitals that don't have an EMR are now engaging and others are looking to switch suppliers for a safer path to Meaningful Use. Looking at the competitive landscape, we feel very good about Cerner’s positions due to depth and breadth of our solution, readiness to meet Meaningful Use, and proven services capabilities. In contrast, many of our competitors have solution gaps, multiple versions of solutions with unclear migration paths, scarce services resource and/or they are involved in M&A activity. This is creating confusion and disruption in their install bases and is leading to opportunities for Cerner. Our pipeline already reflects specific prospects that we refer to as rebounds, where we have the opportunity to gain a client that chose a different supplier many years ago, but has chosen to reenter the market to make a new platform decision now. In summary, we continue to believe the next few years will be a major opportunity to grow the breadth and depth of our market share. Beyond the stimulus opportunity, healthcare providers will also be dealing with health reform in coming years. As I discussed last quarter, this will change many things in the healthcare landscape and will create opportunities for Cerner. Creating coverage for the uninsured will bring second-order effects such as increased volumes that will create capacity constraints and changes to reimbursement models that may make it challenging to provide care profitably. The legislation also creates more compliance and reporting challenges for our clients in the areas of paper quality and waste fraud and abuse measures. These challenges create strong incentives for our providers to maximize efficiency and represent another long-term positive for HIT. Another part of the changing landscape will be the evolution of reimbursement and care delivery models designed to align incentives between the payer and providers and between the physicians and the community and major acute-care hospitals. Accountable care organizations, or ACOs, represent one potential model which would involve contracting entities representing the physician, hospital and possibly others across the continuum of care for major high cost or high prevalence medical conditions. These new models will likely create both challenges and opportunities for our clients, and as Jeff will discuss a little bit later, they clearly will create opportunities for Cerner to play an expanded role in driving higher quality, better coordinated and more efficient care. Now I will provide results, highlights and observations. Our bookings revenue in Q2 of $468 million represents a 19% year-over-year growth and includes 16 contracts over $5 million, including 10 over $10 million, which is a record for our Q2. Our bookings from new footprints were strong with 34% of bookings coming from outside of our core Millennium install base. This includes success against all major competitors and represents a very diverse group of new clients. The new footprints included a children's hospital, several mid- to large-sized hospitals, several critical access and community hospitals taking advantage of our community works ASP [application service provider] offering, a county provision health department and a large multi-facility health system. This volume and diversity of our new footprints reflects the strength across all segments of the market. We also had contributions from a wide range of solutions beyond just core EMR and CPOE. This is reflected in good performance by many of our agile business units, or AVUs, where we align sales, services and development resources to focus on specific vertical market opportunities. This approach contributed to good Q2 bookings from areas like device connectivity, Rx station dispensing units, critical care, women's health, lab, clinical process optimization and imaging. In the physician practice space, we had another good quarter. The momentum we are building in this market is in part due to the improvements we have made in our user interface and workflow over the past several years, which have made our offering much more attractive to the end-user. We are also seeing more hospitals and health systems influencing physician practice decisions, which is clearly a trend that favors Cerner’s integrated offering. We believe this trend will accelerate in the coming years with the evolution of the new care delivery and reimbursement models, such as ACOs, which will blur the lines between different venues of care and make having a common system across all venues more important. Also, I think the pending acquisition of Eclipsys by Allscripts is an example of industry suppliers trying to create a broader offering to be more competitive as well as align with the direction the provider market is heading. We believe this activity validates our view of where the market is going and illustrates the importance of having the solution breadth and common platform that we’ve had for many years. Another noteworthy solution category for Q2 was revenue cycle. Operationally, we brought seven client sites live with our patient accounting solution during the quarter, and continue to receive very positive feedback. In addition, 10 more clients purchased revenue cycle solutions and we signed our first RevWorks client. As I've discussed previously, we have made great progress with our patient accounting solution, and this progress has allowed us to advance conversations with clients about our broader Cerner RevWorks offering, which goes beyond patient accounting and provides solutions and operational services to help healthcare organizations with their end-to-end revenue cycle functions. Despite the clinical focus of stimulus requirements, it is clear that the revenue cycle systems will need to be updated in coming years to be more clinically driven so they are capable of supporting required clinical reporting, bundled payments, pay-for-quality and a transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Navigating this transition along with organizations looking to cover a greater continuum of care through ACO’s will add a great deal of complexity to the revenue cycle, which we believe creates a great opportunity for our RevWorks offering. Similar to our ITWorks, we think RevWorks represents a significant growth opportunity for Cerner. In both cases, we are increasing our alignment with our clients by becoming directly involved in their operation. Whether it is IT operations or revenue cycle operations, Cerner becomes more strategic to our clients, and we are able to create incentives that define success with shared objectives. And both services drive additional revenue to Cerner without increasing our clients' existing spend. They are just directing existing spend to Cerner and letting us use our scale and capabilities to drive efficiencies. Now I'll provide a brief update on the CareFusion agreement we announced last quarter. As a reminder, Cerner and CareFusion will be offering enhanced medication management capabilities to existing and new clients of both companies. As part of the agreement, Cerner will serve as a channel for this CareFusion Pyxis dispensing technologies into our strategic Millennium client base. This agreement is valuable to Cerner because it extends our device source strategy to a leading global supplier of medical devices and validates Cerner clinical workflow vision were the EHR serves as a single source of truth. It also creates an opportunity to significantly increase adoption of our iBus device connectivity solutions. For CareFusion, the agreement allows them to offer a complete closed-loop medication system with fluid EHR integration, and it also gives them a strong distribution channel. This partnership also creates a better option for providers by creating a solution for integrated and automated workflows that is prebuilt and simple to purchase and implement. Currently, we are still in the transition period and are setting up operational processes. This is going very well and we expect to be fully operational very soon. We also continue to make good progress on plans to integrate additional CareFusion devices, which was part of the intent of the original agreement. From a financial standpoint, we still expect the impact to be immaterial this year during the initial stages of the agreement, but have a larger impact in 2011 and beyond. Moving to our global business. As announced earlier this month, Trace Devanny, our President, who was going to relocate in England to focus on our global business, left the company to pursue another business opportunity. We wish him the best and thank him for the substantial impact he had during his 16 years at Cerner, particularly his role in expanding our global business. Trace's responsibilities have been transitioned to our current leadership team. And as we announced last week, we will continue to expand our teams and make further investments in the global markets, which we see as a key driver of future growth. On the business side, we had a solid quarter globally with 12% revenue growth and good contributions to our bookings from several regions. We are pleased with this performance, particularly given the state of the global economy. In England, activity is ramping up following the restructuring of our agreement with BT last quarter. The restructuring has created much more clarity and allows for a greater emphasis on Cerner's more flexible implementation approach that has contributed to the improved satisfaction with our most recent go-lives. We now have a more strategic platform in both implementations and training and a more direct relationship with the trusts. While speculation about the direction of the NHS program continues, we believe the need for information technology will continue to play a central role in modernizing the NHS. Cerner's proven delivery capabilities and commitment to the marketplace position us to expand our work with the NHS Trust as we continue to deliver demonstrable value and benefits. With that, I'll turn the call over to Jeff. Jeffrey Townsend Thanks, Mike. Today, I'm going to build on some comments Mike made about opportunities for Cerner created by the shifts that are occurring in the healthcare landscape. I'll try to share a glimpse of what we're predicting as the next wave of opportunity as healthcare becomes more digital. As Mike indicated, stimulus is driving a multi-year opportunity for Cerner's providers’ top technology to meet the meaningful use requirements. In our view, stimulus is just part of the shifting landscape and there are substantial opportunities beyond stimulus. While Stage 1 of Meaningful Use is now locked down, there are currently three stages or requirements that's tied to the payment opportunities, and many of our clients are using this opportunity to both work ahead and prepare for the next round of investments and their roadmaps as the stimulus dollars begin to arrive. As we’ve shared before, our prediction is that the policy mechanism established by stimulus will continue as a more permanent expectation, continue to add measurements and minimum capabilities, which will be tied to reimbursement. I share just one example of the second-order effects. Device integration is targeted in one of the latter stages, but also provides significant benefits to the organization, making their EMR efforts more effective by capturing and interoperating between the device and the EMR. When we launched DeviceWorks, stimulus didn't exist. It was just the next logical wave. While the legislation around stimulus and health reform are separate, the two are clearly connected. The digital environment that will be created by stimulus will link into the clinical reporting and quality requirements included in health reform. We believe there will be a new wave of demand for Cerner solutions and services to facilitate better coordination of care and new payment models in an environment that will require a systemic shift in healthcare delivery organizations. As we introduced some time ago, more and more of this opportunity will expand beyond the four walls of a single organization and move coordination of care along with managing health status of communities to the cloud. Cerner's deep strategic relationships with large health systems is a big advantage in the shifting landscape as it will be the large systems that drive the early innovation and consolidation of care venues to create new delivery models such as accountable care organizations. As outlined in the reform legislation, early pilots are being awarded to validate the concepts of shifting the accountability of care coordination and bundled services to providers. We are already working with several clients on their strategies to lead the way in become new age health systems, and I expect that you'll continue to hear ACO is the focus of provider strategies in the near term. To highlight one area where coordinating information across the fragmented delivery system is gaining traction, our Cerner network in health information exchange offerings facilitate better clinical integration and coordination of care in the connected healthcare landscape. We have had early success with our clients in building out HIEs and Cerner network services that are providing great value, and the interest is accelerating as evidenced by eight new Cerner network clients signing in Q2. Currently, the total traffic on the Cerner network is nearly 30 million transactions a quarter compared to less than five million transactions a year ago, which gives you a sense of how much our HIE and Cerner network activity has increased. Making the assumption that more information is digitized and connected to cross the community creates a new challenge for healthcare delivery: How to sort through it all. Today, the common practice is to diagnose and treat within the four walls, using information collected and managed during the visit. At best, personal history is provided by the clipboard. Going forward, the entire continuum of medical history will be available around the person, and the expectation to manage chronic conditions and quickly know the entire history of the patient will put significant time pressure and reimbursement risk on the delivery system. While more and more systems will be connected, the challenges of unstructured data and varying nomenclatures will highlight the second-order effect of the digital infrastructure. Some of you may recall seeing the early stages of semantic search during our Investor Day in March. Assume that your lifetime record is potentially hundreds if not thousands of discrete results, vital signs, documents and images spanning years, providers and likely geographies. Underpinning this capability is the sophisticated natural language processing engine which understands clinical concepts and maps this information to ontologies and nomenclatures, each with the ability to be tagged to concepts and categories, each of which are ultimately indexed for search. It leverages knowledge of the clinical meanings of words, as well as the context in which they occur to create algorithms that identify and rank the most important information contextually. We are now experiencing results of early pilot activity and plan to launch this at our healthcare conference in October to prepare our clients for the next wave of solutions. The disruptive element of this stack of technologies is the base ability to improve value of the information originating in a non-structured form, providing the potential to skip over a multi-year journey to evolve standards and implement capabilities within each organization’s EMR. By providing this as a set of cloud services, it makes this consumable, not only within our client base, but across the evolving HIT digital platform. There will be many applications for this capability beyond just finding things. Given the entire record is mapped and indexed, the ability to just overnight to a note-quality reporting metric would be deployed through a clinical agent versus an upgrade to the EMR. We have experienced similar success with this style of deployment approach as our H1N1 efforts from last year have been reapplied to support the CDC in monitoring health concerns in the Gulf Coast region. The applications in both revenue cycle and emerging ACO reimbursement will require much more rapid response to regulatory requirements. The applicability to disrupt the current approach to medical research and remove the fragmentation of information is significant as well. In summary, there continue to be several significant opportunities to capitalize on the second-order effects of both stimulus and reform, as more of the healthcare delivery system is digitized and connected in the coming years. With that, I would like to open up the call for questions. Question-and-Answer Session [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Michael Cherny from Deutsche Bank. So just quickly, I know there’s going to be a lot of questions on the stimulus. I want to jump into one quick on the revenue cycle business. Obviously you guys are starting to get some traction here. You saw some nice orders and go-lives in the quarter. Can you talk about the type of clients that are buying revenue cycle solutions? Are they clients that don’t have anything currently in-house, are these replacement solutions, are these existing Millennium clients that are kind of building up their offering? I just want to get a sense of kind of who is the early adopters of revenue cycle solutions. Yes, this is Mike. For this quarter, most of the business that we described, the new footprints, were net new footprints to Cerner. So it was essentially clients making a full revenue cycle and clinical decision together as part of their selection of Cerner as a new footprint. What you see historically is it's about a 30%/70% mix. So about 30% is back into the base and about 70% is net new footprints. The revenue works client that we announced, or the footprint that we announced, was back into our base. And then you obviously -- it’s exciting to see the first RevWorks client. Could you talk about some of your pipeline expectations on near-term basis or any more color to see -- thinking about how quickly that could ramp up? Neal Patterson The pipeline has been growing. Our expectation is we really wanted to ramp it similar to what we've achieved in the ITWorks front. So we signed three clients last year in ITWorks, and we want to see a similar growth pattern from RevWorks. And what we're seeing so far in the pipeline, we think we can achieve that. Our next question comes from Charles Rhyee with Oppenheimer. A couple questions here. First, just let’s talk about the stimulus here. Mike, you gave some color around what you're seeing. Can you give us a sense on -- do you see any shifting or as you approach a client, when you look at your base, to the extent that those are ready for Stage 1, have you been pulling other clients further behind forward in the queue? In other words, trying to get as many people ready for Stage 1. I guess that's the first question. And then are you also seeing if people are already done with Stage 1 spending, have you -- I know you made some mention about it. Are you seeing a big devotion of budget now to sort of expected requirements for Stage 2 and 3? Yes. The first question, let me clarify it that I'm understanding it. You're asking are we, Cerner, prioritizing the implementations for the clients to achieve Stage 1 of Meaningful Use? No, we’re not. We’re working on -- we treat the backlog of consulting business as a single entity. We're not prioritizing within that. We have the capacity to deal with that. We've actually ramped up our consulting capacity by 159 people in the first half of the year. We expect to do about the same if not a little bit more in the back half of this year. So we're not throttling or phasing our clients in any manner. Is that something you're kind of seeing maybe with some of your competitors at all? Yes, this is Marc. We can't speak to how our competitors are going to get to Stage 1. We sign a contract and we start that project right away. And if that project is for a client who’s already at Stage 2, then we're going to go proceed. Because a lot of these clients that have been on the journey are actually spending their next set of dollars to go further down the path and we don’t -- there's no way we're going to slow them down by any actions in our side. The answer to your second question, relative -- are people continuing their journey, and the answer is yes. I think what you see is the folks that are close to Stage 1 Meaningful Use there, their roadmaps are considering the attributes that were defined in Stage 2 and Stage 3 and, as Jeff mentioned in his comments, from the top down, there are requirements that are going to be driving from -- just to address the aspects of health reform. So I think that what we're seeing is their roadmaps are continuing into a multi-year journey and everyone is starting from a different point. But it's not exclusive focus on the Meaningful Use attributes, which is a trait that we would say that we’re seeing. And that they may not always buy the entire journey at once. And so what we see in terms of our pipeline for services, we see a big pipeline that has a multi-year tail to it. So we're not seeing all upfront purchases for that journey, but they are defining that journey. And a question for Marc. If I look at sort of the bookings and the system sales revenue, and given your last quarter's contract backlog, I would have estimated the contract backlog for the current quarter to be higher than where it is. Is that a function -- I know there has been some talk in the market of a client that you lost to one of your competitors. Is that maybe what we're seeing in there, or maybe you can speak to that? As you lose clients, is that -- how does that treat in the backlog? Relative to the backlog, the backlog represents contracts that have been signed, that have a future stream of revenue, and that revenue continues to come in. Obviously, this contract backlog is for -- a backlog for any client that’s been out there for a while. To the extent that they have bought new stuff, there’d be some things in the backlog. To the extent they haven't bought anything recently, there would be very little in the backlog. But to specifically address your question, clients -- very, very few times a client would make a decision to go away from Cerner. That's a multi-year process by which they are going to switch, if they actually end up making the switch. So from our standpoint, there's really usually no impact on backlog. And I would think that the -- we can go through the math with you after the call, but I think the math should work out fairly consistent that the contract bookings, if you do the math, should -- there are no adjustments to backlog inherent in the roll forward calculation that we do this quarter. One more last question. Obviously, there's news that the decentralization of the NHS is being proposed, putting really more of the decision making in the hands of the general practitioners to sort of purchase healthcare services on behalf of the patients. How do you think this is going to affect the way the Trust then purchase a technology, or do you think it might not have any real impact? This is Mike. I think if it goes to independent buying decision basis, we will address that marketplace in an identical fashion to what we do here in the U.S. We’ve already started to build out that capacity. We've created essentially a vision center in our facilities over there to help tell the story of the journey. So we would address it just like we do the U.S. marketplace in addition to fulfilling our requirements around the program. Our next question comes from Corey Tobin from William Blair. Two quick ones, if I could. Marc, on this RevWorks contract. Can you just give us more details, please, as to how this contract’s different from either a -- I guess primarily from an accounting standpoint versus the other contracts that are in backlog? That's the first question. And then I'll follow up with the second one after that. Primarily it's a services contract, so it's not a whole lot different from what the other ones are. The only difference is relative to margins that you might recognize. There are some performance requirements that we’re going to be conservative and probably not recognize that portion of the revenue. So it’ll be a little bit kind of like the U.K. for a while where it’s revenue equals expense. Because it's basically at that point, under that concept, a zero-margin contract, we haven't taken any bookings into account relative to our backlog or our bookings and announced numbers. So as we get more experience, sign more of these contracts, that likely changes, but we try to be conservative when we’re getting into one of these new areas. So just evolve and they’ll find the out years, and when you do start to take revenue on it, it becomes very profitable? In terms -- the margin that we are deferring certainly as we earn it will be profitable, and there will be some impact relative to -- have some type of a small level catch-up. But once again, these initial contracts, we’re really want to get in the business, so there's not a high level of margin that’s going to come from some of the first one or two of these. And then switching gears for a second, just hitting on the Cerner network, which was highlighted in the prepared remarks, a couple of questions on that. How many hospitals are submitting data into this today -- and I apologize if you already gave that number, but can you give us a feel for how many hospitals are submitting, how may ambulatory physician offices are submitting, or lab facilities or whatever it might be? And what's the revenue model around this product for Cerner? This is Marc. We don't have any numbers to share with you yet about the total. It's obviously tentative in the initial stages. So it's growing as -- when we get to a point where it makes sense to start sharing numbers with you, we will do that. And the business model can vary. The basic business model we're looking at from these networks relies heavily on taking the transactions that are already running through those organizations to other -- through other suppliers who take kind of a toll charge, running those through Cerner and us taking the toll charge to fund the network, and that's how we make money on these. Our next question comes from Atif Rahim from JPMorgan. In the past you've talked about a third of your customers potentially waiting on the sidelines until the final MU rule is out. Now that, that's behind us, what kind of conversations are you having with these guys, and any tangible metrics you can give us on what percentage of those you think will sign maybe by the end of the year or so? This is Marc. You always ask very good, detailed questions and to answers we can’t really provide detailed data for. But, Mike, you want to give us just a sense of clarifying what we said, what we mean when we say a third of our clients are not necessarily on the journey yet? Yes. I would just say that now that the final ruling is out, it's very actionable. And the people who have an intent to achieve Meaningful Use are moving forward. We've already -- in most of those cases in our install base we've certainly built out what that roadmap and journey and those project plans would look like. And by and large, our client base is moving down that path. There are rare exceptions that they're not. As I mentioned earlier, that Meaningful Use is really manifesting itself, and not in really in the terms of a bubble as you would describe. It really looks more like a shift in spend, an increase shift in total spend around HIT that has a multi-year look to it. So it's not really a bubble in the way we're viewing it and the way it’s showing up in our pipelines. And we talked about this a little bit on the last call. This time last year to this time this year, we've seen about a 20% or more increase -- 20% or plus percent increase in our total pipeline. And that's a multi-year view. So I think it really is manifesting itself in an increased ongoing spend versus a bubble per se. Maybe I could take a stab at that in a different way. So if you look at the deals that are in the $5 million plus or $10 million plus range, how many of those are clients who are just on their way to maybe Stage 1 criteria, meeting the Stage 1 criteria versus someone you think who might meet schedule and are going beyond that? Is there any way to segment that perhaps? The easiest way to answer that is to actually tie it at the -- the percentage of our business’s core that came from our base was about 66%. And every one of those would tell you that they're working on Meaningful Use, and no one has achieved 100% of Meaningful Use for 100% of their eligible professionals and at the hospital level. So there are attributes of that, that may apply to Stage 2 when that gets defined. But there -- I would say 66% of it came back to the base and they're all working on components of Meaningful Use. Our next question comes from George Hill from Leerink Swann. Mike, you alluded earlier to a business combination by a couple of your competitors and I thought maybe you could revisit and give us an update on Cerner's ambulatory strategy and how aggressively are you guys thinking about the practice market, either is there a way to pursuing it on its own or pursuing it as an extension of the hospital strategy? Well, we're pursuing both angles. What we've seen thus far this year, the first half of the year has produced as many net new providers to Cerner as all of 2009. So we're off to good start. I would say it was a little bit -- we didn't meet our internal expectations in this quarter. We had two large transactions that were through a client, an existing health system, that didn't get completed in the quarter, but we expect to happen in the next quarter. And our expectations for the back half of the year are continued growth. So it's on. We see ramped-up activity in RFPs and demonstrations and proposals and we expect that activity to produce results through the back half of the year. And it will be both independent buying and through our existing client base. So our competitiveness has definitely increased, improved, in specifically around the physician, and it's making a difference. We're seeing that in our win rate of these individual physician solutions and we're seeing it in our win rate overall for complete EMR purchases. Our win rate has never been -- it’s as high as it's ever been in head-to-head competition in the marketplace. It's good that you guys continue to see new facilities like new children's and new multi-hospital systems come to you guys. I guess, can you provide us a little color when you go to a -- when Cerner puts a new footprint in a new children's hospital or a new multi-facility situation, in what type of technology situation are these organizations coming to you, and what are they starting down the path with Cerner with? Are they starting with kind of the core six products, are they starting with just like a lab or a pharmacy functionality? Just kind of -- trying to get a sense for a before, what they buy and where they're going. They are largely going after Meaningful Use in its definition of Stage 1. So all of the footprints that I talked about adding in this quarter are starting journeys to get to Stage 1, Meaningful Use. Their existing profile is always mixed. We actually had two what I would describe as rebounds, so folks that made decisions in the last several years and are reentering -- reenter the marketplace and pick Cerner. So we see a greater volume of those rebounds in our pipeline going forward, which is good news. But most of them are -- they come from some level of automation, they don't have confidence in their current platform and they're in the marketplace to start the journey to Stage 1. And, Marc, just briefly, Corey's question asked another way. The RevWorks initiative recognizing the margin expansion that the company has achieved, what is the margin drag on the RevWorks initiative, I guess over the near term, what’s it expected to look like? It’ll be very small, given that we’ll have some level -- some small level of revenue equal expense. You won't notice it in the margins. Our next question comes from Richard Close from Jefferies. Yes, just to be clear, Mike, with respect to the 10 revenue cycle clients added in the quarter, can you clarify how many of those are new footprints, or did you say all of them are new footprints? This quarter, all of them were new footprints. When you look at your pipeline -- I think you mentioned the $10 million deals at record levels. When you break down your pipeline, do you see a similar level of $10 million contracts going out over the next year or so, or continuing to grow off of the current level? Yes, I think as we continue to offer solutions that represent broader capturing of a client's existing spend, that the mix is going to continue to grow. I think you’ve seen, if you followed the shift over the last 12 to 18 months, we're securing more and more larger transactions that are making up our mix. So I would expect that trend to continue as we expand our ITWorks capabilities, our RevWorks capabilities and as these new footprints enter the marketplace and sign up for at least Stage 1 in Meaningful Use. And then we've also -- we always have big swing opportunities that will represent large transactions, and we're going to continue to take big swings. And then just a final question real quick here. On the new decisions or new footprints, obviously a nice rebound first quarter to second quarter. Do you see the level that you achieved in the second quarter, that carrying through over the remainder of 2010? Yes, I do. Our next question comes from Steven Halper from Stifel, Nicolaus. Could you just give us an update on the activity in the small hospital market? About a year ago you sort of outlined that as a strategic objective for you in terms of displacing some existing competitors there. Just wanted to know how the -- what the product offering, how the product offering has come along and maybe some signs of success in that market. This is Mike. We started reengineering our Millennium solution to allow for essentially a multi-tenant capability similar to what we have in our PowerWorks offering for physicians. We completed that work and the final stage of that work will be completed this summer. So from a solution perspective, we feel very good. From a market perspective, we now have a little more than 15 footprints in that business model. So that business model didn't exist about a year ago. And our pipeline is very solid. There is a lot of activity, the reimbursement inclusion of critical access hospitals will make a difference. So I have high expectations for this group and I think they're executing well, off to a good start, and the back half of the year should show some good things as well. They’re not -- as you've seen, they're not large transactions. It’s a different competitive landscape, mostly obviously in the lower end. We see Meditech a lot, we see CPSI. We see them all. But I think we're getting better at competing, our win rates there are high when we engage, and we're going to have -- we have plans to broaden out the capacity of our sales force. So I think so far it's been a good investment. We've seen some success and we're going to continue to make investments in that area. So just to clarify, the sales function is within that small group, correct? Right. We don't allow it to be a distraction for our core sales force, so we delineate the marketplace generally at the 75-bed and below level. Would you disclose how many sales people you have in that group at this point? Our next question comes from Sean Wieland [Piper Jaffray Companies]. Last quarter you talked about a certain percent of your clients that were on track to pursuing Stage 1. And so given the changes to Stage 1 under the stimulus, what's your updated view of that percentage? And if you have an update view on the bookings opportunity within the base, that would be helpful. I think the percentage is about the same, so that the Meaningful Use -- and I'm speaking from a do they have the capabilities of achieving Meaningful Use and are they on the right roadmap. They still have to attain Meaningful Use by utilizing the system. So given that those parameters have been lowered, there's a higher probability that they'll attain it, but our figure right now is 75%, ballpark, will receive 100% of the funding. We're going to go revisit that statistic because of the shifting in the timeframe to allow for the two year, the two-year window to slide with the health system or the provider. So I would expect that to go up as people kind of reinvigorate their journey. And we haven’t -- on the bookings question, we haven't provided guidance around the bookings associated with that client base. This is Marc. The high level numbers we’ve talked about relative to the stimulus opportunity, we haven't updated those obviously, with the change of Meaningful Use. As we do more work on it, see it change significantly, we can do that. But I don't think it's going to make a huge difference overall in those large numbers. And if I could ask a follow-up question on the RevWorks strategy, could you -- it seems like you're really hitting the gas here in revenue cycle management, and could you articulate as to why? Is that because of macro issues that are going on in the marketplace, is it because of competitive pressure, is it because of the incremental growth opportunity? Why the big push into revenue cycle management? Yes, this is Mike. I would say there’s a couple dimensions to it. First, the marketplace that we're going through relative to some of these new footprints, they're willing to make a decision that is an integrated clinical revenue cycle decision. So we went through a period of time where people were largely making clinical only decisions and they were separating out the revenue cycle, and now what -- and it's likely that they're attributing it to some of the aspects of health reform, tying reimbursement to clinical outcomes, et cetera. So we're seeing more activity on the new footprint front in the revenue cycle business. I think our solutions have improved substantially. Our delivery capability has improved substantially. We have organized the teams in a way that has created a high level of focus, and they're hitting the marketplace with that focus. And I think it's making a difference. So I think the market's ready for it, I think we'll see more of it, and our solutions are getting better and better by the quarter. Our next question comes from Jamie Stockton from Morgan Keegan. I guess, Mike, when you think about net new customers that are coming to you on the hospital side as a result of the government program, would you say that the majority of those decisions are still ahead of us? The question is do we think there are more clients, more hospitals and health systems out there that are not current clients that are going to make decisions. Yes, we think there is a lot more to be made than have already been made. I think Mike’s point that he made earlier was it's not a bubble, though, it's not something you're going to see in the next six to nine months. We actually see a consistent growth of our pipeline spread over a multi-year period, which I think is -- for us is a much healthier growth opportunity. But yes, there's a lot more business ahead of us than what we've seen to date. And then maybe as somewhat of a follow-up on that, Marc or Mike, the pricing environment. Could you just give us some color on how pricing has been holding up? I think it's held up fairly well. There are some situations that get incredibly competitive, and there are situations where we like to limit the up-front scope of work. And quite honestly, we have some offerings that allow for additional revenue generation on the client's behalf for cost savings and we try to align incentives around those in revenue sharing- or gain sharing-like opportunities to preserve the overall margin of the relationship between us and our clients. So there are some that are pretty competitive. They get there, but by and large, I think that the valuation of the journey itself has remained intact. Jamie, this is Marc Naughton. I just look at kind of discounts-off lists as a measure, as I’ve talked about before, and we track those graphs every quarter and they are consistent with what they've been in the last six to eight quarters. So as Mike said, in certain circumstances, pricing is competitive, but overall our pricing has held pretty steady. Our last question comes from James Kumpel from Madison Williams. A lot of headlines recently have shown that Epic is winning an awful lot of big academic medical centers from a competitor. But you guys seem to have momentum amongst publicly traded hospital systems. Can you maybe distinguish between the needs and demands of that customer base versus those of the academic medical centers? Yes. I would say that the for-profit space puts a high valuation on predictability and implementation, the ability to have a partner with scale that holds itself accountable for all aspects of the delivery, including services, technology, software solution and has the scale to do that across what tend to be larger organizations that have a geographic spread. So I think the alignment in that space is good. I think the fact that we're improving on the revenue cycle and we're winning in that space makes a big difference. And I would just point out that we -- our strategy has not been to announce individual wins historically. So we added 15 new footprints this quarter. In more than half of those we competed against the firm that you mentioned that gets mentioned a lot on the HIT blogs, and that's good. We’re like the strong silent type. We're going to continue to compete with them. We think there are areas that we excel and we're making really good progress in the area of physician usability. And so we think our competitiveness against them and all other competitors has never been stronger. So we feel good. And just to follow up, Marc, can you highlight what you've done differently on the cash management side to drive up free cash flow, and do you think you can continue to run free cash flow above and beyond the net income level? I think key, as we mentioned, is CapEx has been a little bit lower than we would have projected for the year. Some of that is just some timing on projects a little bit. Some of it is innovations we're making relative to platforms and hosting, which is the main capital expenditure we have. The introduction of Linux into that environment is helping us relative to our costs. So I don't know that it's something that is getting communicated. The last half of the year that number probably goes up a little bit, but we still see us throwing out significant amounts of cash, and we would expect CapEx still to be at the low end or below the low end of our $130 million to $150 million guidance. I'd like to turn the call over to Neal Patterson for any closing comments he might have. Thanks, Marc. Thanks to all of you all for staying on here with us and the very good questions. Just a couple comments. If you look at the quarter, I think that this was a very good quarter. Frankly, we're in a very good environment. There's no question the stimulus had -- kind of changed a not as good environment to a very good environment. That’s got a fairly long tail to it, so that takes through the -- basically, when you add the stages together and the length of the stages, that takes it through the really middle part of this decade. The things you didn't really ask about are the bigger questions around health reform. How do we fundamentally take the health system in this country -- and every other country has asked the same question, and how does -- what is the health system we’re going to leave our kids. Those are big, profound questions. The fact that we're digitizing healthcare in this era is going to create a whole bunch of opportunities, in our opinion. So the one question they actually had told me that if it comes, I get, was the United Healthcare's acquisition in the HIT space and frankly, I think if you asked them -- I didn’t, they didn't call us and share with us their thoughts, but there’s platform that is going to be created once the digitization happens and there's an opportunity for a platform and I think other people see that. There's not a lot of people see that, but we've shared with you our ideas about that quite a bit, and in there is just we believe a lot of opportunities for the last half of the decade. So I think you saw the results of a good environment. I think you saw the results of a pretty good business plan and pretty good set of business strategies, and I think you saw a very good execution on this quarter. So with that, I'll let you go back to your day jobs. Thank you very much. Good luck. See you -- talk to you next quarter. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Have a great day. Source: Cerner Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript All CERN Transcripts Cerner Corporation released its FQ4 2013 Results in their Earnings Call on July 29, 2010. Do you feel more positive or less positive about Cerner Corporation after ready these results?

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/914

Nanogen, Inc. (NGEN) Files for Chapter 11, to Sell Assets to Elitech 5/14/2009 7:38:47 AM SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nanogen, Inc. (Pink Sheets: NGEN - News), developer of molecular and rapid diagnostic products, today announced that it has executed an asset purchase agreement with The Elitech Group (“Elitech”), a privately held diagnostics company, to acquire substantially all of the assets of Nanogen. As part of the sale, Nanogen filed a voluntary petition under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, including a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval of the sale, subject to a court-supervised auction pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and designating Elitech as the stalking horse bidder. The auction bidding procedures, if approved, would require interested parties to submit higher and better binding offers to acquire all of the Company’s assets within approximately 30 days, and, assuming any qualified overbids are submitted, an auction would be held within approximately one week of the bid deadline. The filing does not affect the operations of Nanogen Advanced Diagnostics, Srl (NAD), the Company’s European affiliate located in Milan, Italy, or NAD’s creditors and lenders as NAD is not a party to the Company’s bankruptcy filing. Under the asset purchase agreement, Elitech will acquire ownership of NAD. Nanogen has agreed to sell substantially all of its assets to Elitech for a purchase price of $25.7 million. The sale is subject to customary closing conditions, approval of the Bankruptcy Court and the auction process in which the Company will seek competing bids to achieve the highest price possible for the assets. The Company will continue to manage and operate its businesses and assets during the pendency of the sales process, subject to the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court. In conjunction with the filing, Nanogen is seeking customary authority from the Bankruptcy Court that will enable it to continue operations and deliver products to customers in the ordinary course of business and without interruption. The requested approvals include requests for the authority to make wage and salary payments, continue various benefits for employees, and honor basic terms of business for its customers. In addition, Nanogen expects to honor its obligations to its vendors and other business partners for goods and services received after the bankruptcy filing. On January 21, 2009, Nanogen announced that it would seek alternatives to the previously announced share exchange agreement with Elitech. Despite extensive and thorough efforts by the Company and its advisors, the Company was unable to secure sufficient working capital or alternative corporate transactions to enable the Company to service its debt obligations and fund its operations. The Company’s management believes that filing for relief under Chapter 11 and the proposed sale of its businesses are in the best interest of the Company, as well as its partners, vendors, customers and creditors. The Company will not have sufficient proceeds to permit distributions of cash or other property to its holders of common stock unless the Company succeeds in selling its assets for an amount significantly in excess of the amount contemplated by the asset purchase agreement with Elitech. About Nanogen, Inc. Nanogen provides innovative, high quality diagnostic products to clinicians, physicians and researchers worldwide, making it easier to predict, diagnose and, ultimately, help treat disease in a timely fashion. The Company's products include molecular diagnostic kits and reagents and kits for rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests. Nanogen has pioneered research in areas involving nanotechnology, biomarkers, and molecular biology to bring better results to diagnostics and healthcare. For additional information please visit Nanogen’s website at www.nanogen.com. Nanogen Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward looking statements contained in this press release include statement which may be preceded by the words “plan,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” or similar words. Such statements are based upon current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors. Factors that could affect future performance include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to fund its working capital needs from cash receipts during the Chapter 11 process; operate pursuant to the terms of the asset purchase agreement with Elitech; obtain bankruptcy court approval of the asset purchase agreement with Elitech and consummate the agreement in a timely manner; complete the Chapter 11 process, including the auction of the assets of the Company, in a timely manner; continue to operate in the ordinary course and manage its relationships with its creditors, noteholders, vendors, employees and customers given the Company’s financial condition; limit the amount of time the Company’s management and officers devote to restructuring, in order to allow them to run the business and retain key managers and employees, and other risk factors described in detail in our most recent periodic reports most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Nanogen disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Nanogen, Inc. Nick Venuto Kelly Gann [email protected] • Reuters • Nanogen, Inc. • Medical Dev. & Diag. - Chapter 7, 11

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1024

Published on Career Center on ClassifiedPost.com Source URL: http://www.classifiedpost.com/hk/career-centre/your-industry/insurance/tighter-regulations-ahead Tighter regulations ahead John Cremer [1] Steps are being taken to reorganise regulation of Hong Kong's insurance sector and streamline a system which, many have said, lacks logic and clarity. The basic plan is to set up an independent insurance authority (IIA), with financial and operational autonomy. The government is now consulting relevant stakeholders for their views on a detailed framework of proposals. In essence, the aim is to tighten regulation of insurance companies, implement international standards, and provide better protection for policyholders. The new authority will supersede the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, which is now the only local financial services regulator operating as part of government machinery. Other expected changes will see the planned IIA responsible for the licensing and supervision of insurance intermediaries, the frontline sales agents. This will replace the current system, in place since 1995, which depends on three self-regulatory bodies - the Professional Insurance Brokers Association, the Insurance Agents Registration Board and the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers - overseeing these activities. In future, these three bodies will continue as trade associations, no longer having a direct role in the licensing, conduct, inspection or disciplining of agents. According to the latest timetable, the government intends to make available draft legislation provisions in early 2012. A period for further discussion and feedback will follow but, on the whole, insurance industry leaders in Hong Kong seem to be behind the imminent changes and confident things are on the right track. "We are supportive of the government's proposal to reinforce market regulations," says Stuart Harrison, CEO of AXA Hong Kong. "This will help strengthen customer confidence and the professionalism of the industry. We are ready to work closely with the authority and other key stakeholders during the development of the legislation." A priority, Harrison notes, must be to align local codes and standards with international practice. This is fundamental in bolstering Hong Kong's regional role and standing in the sector. It is also essential to design measures that give better protection to policyholders and allow a level playing field for all insurance intermediaries. "In drafting any new legislation, there is bound to be disagreement from different parties," Harrison says. "But we believe a single regulatory body with a unified set of codes of conduct and industry standards avoids the multiple standards, which may [otherwise] occur." He adds that whatever legislation is ultimately enacted, AXA will be fully compliant. Michael Huddart, CEO for Manulife (International) Hong Kong, also believes an independent regulator and streamlined structures will bring clear positives. On one level, he suggests, the new authority can facilitate opportunities and create an environment that encourages industry growth. On another, it must see that day-to-day practice moves with the times by laying down the right rules and guidelines for the efficient operation of a specialised financial market. "The primary role of any regulator is to ensure companies have adequate capital and, of course, there are already plans here to build up a policyholder protection fund as a final safety net," Huddart says. "However, the government should also take the opportunity to review the regulatory regime from a holistic point of view. The increasing complexity of financial institutions [means they can] offer a range of insurance, banking and investment services." Pending such a wholesale review, the IIA, when set up, should have oversight of all institutions offering insurance products in Hong Kong, Huddart says. However, around 18,000 bank staff handle about 30 per cent of all policies sold in the local market. If, in the first instance, their employers are subject to a different authority, the potential for discord and different standards clearly exists. With regard to funding the new IIA of perhaps 200 staff, the government will provide a one-off subvention to cover set-up costs. After that, the plan for recurrent revenue is to impose a levy of 0.1 per cent on premiums for all policies issued. "[There should be] a cap on the levy on premiums," Huddart says. "And we hope such a levy will not have a significant impact on insurers' administration costs." For more great career-related articles and to find your next dream job, please visit http://www.classifiedpost.com

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1030

Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett's Live Lunch Interview on CNBC Alex Crippen | @alexcrippen Wednesday, 24 Jun 2009 | 4:05 PM ETCNBC.com Warren Buffett appeared live on CNBC with Becky Quick today, Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Buffett told us the economy is in a "shambles" with no signs of a recovery anytime soon. He also criticized Apple for not disclosing earlier that CEO Steve Jobs had received a liver transplant.This is a complete transcript of their conversation:BECKY QUICK: We are here at Smith & Wollensky where Warren Buffett is paying off last year's winner for this auction. This is, right now there's another auction underway. And this is the tenth year in a row he's been doing this. Warren, we want to thank you very much for joining us. Buffett on America's "Economic War" Billionaire investor Warren Buffett discusses America's "economic war" with CNBC's Becky Quick. WARREN BUFFETT: It's a pleasure.BECKY: You've been doing this for 10 years, raising money for the Glide Foundation. Why the Glide Foundation?BUFFETT: I think it's probably as remarkable a social organization as there is in the country, and it's run by Cecil Williams, who, for 45 years, has taken people that have hit bottom and said, 'You're still a worthwhile individual and we're going to do what we can for you in terms of housing, medicine, vocational training and you're going to become the kind of person that you can become.' He believes in people and he carries it out every day and I've never found a more effective place at lifting people from bottom.BECKY: This year's winner, last year's winner showing up today, Zhao Danyang, who is someone who paid 2.1 million dollars. That's a remarkable amount of money that's out there. Last year, obviously, the markets were in a very different place than they are this year. The auction is underway. I know the bidding goes through Sunday. (Note: Bidding actually ends this coming Friday at 10p ET). Do you think someone can bid as much as you saw last year?BUFFETT: (Laughs.) Well it surprised me last year. They have qualified a number of bidders that are good for very big figures. They make sure of that beforehand. So we'll see what happens. (Laughs.) Two-point-one million is a pretty good number to shoot for. I hope I don't have to leave a 10 percent tip at the end of the lunch. (Laughs.)BECKY: The last time we sat down to talk to you was on May 4, and at that point you told us that you think we're in an economic war right now. How much progress do you think we've made in that war?BUFFETT: Well, it's been pretty flat. I get figures on 70-odd businesses, a lot of them daily. Everything that I see about the economy is that we've had no bounce. The financial system was really where the crisis was last September and October, and that's been surmounted and that's enormously important. But in terms of the economy coming back, it takes a while. There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still underway and it looks to me like it will be underway for quite a while. In the (Berkshire Hathaway) annual report, I said the economy would be in a shambles this year and probably well beyond. I'm afraid that's true.BECKY: We hear people on our air all the time who talk about the 'green shoots' that they're seeing. Are you seeing any of those green shoots?BUFFETT: (Laughs.) I looked. I wasn't seeing anything. I had a cataract operation on my left eye about a month ago and I thought maybe now I'll be able to see green shoots. We're not seeing them. Whether it's retailing, manufacturing, wherever. We have a big utility operation. Industrial demand is down like we've never seen it for a simple thing like electricity. So it hasn't happened yet. It will happen. I want to emphasize that. But it hasn't happened yet.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1071

Space Coast CU’s Mortgage-Backed Securities Suit on Hold February 08, 2013 • Reprints A suit filed by Space Coast Credit Union against several Wall Street banks and ratings agencies over claims it lost more than $100 million from collateralized debt obligations that were sold to Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, was recently put on hold. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said this week it would need more time to review the banks’ and rating agencies’ motion for dismissal. Among the banks named in the Space Coast suit were Wells Fargo Securities, formerly known as Wachovia Capital Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities, formerly known as Bearn Stearns & Co. Inc., Merrill Lynch and its subsidiary, Merrill Lynch Home Loans, UBS Securities, and Barclay’s Capital Inc. Other defendants named were Richard S. Fuld Jr., former chairman/CEO of Lehman Brothers, and Moody’s Investors Service Inc. Eastern Financial Florida was conserved by the NCUA in 2009 and merged soon after with Space Coast. In its complaint filed in early 2012, the $3 billion Space Coast in Melbourne, Fla., said the CDOs led to a phony demand for residential mortgage loans, which also led to creating one of the state’s largest housing catastrophes. Space Coast said creating and selling CDOs revolved around shoe-horning residential mortgage securities into Moody's and S&P's credit rating models to generate investment grade ratings, according to the CU’s suit. Investors were misled because they relied on the credit ratings, the credit union said. In May 2011, Space Coast filed a suit against Barclays saying the $10 million worth of the firm’s Markov CDOs bought by Eastern Financial Florida were based on riskier synthetic assets. The purchase allegedly led to losses on the entire investment. Last spring, the Wall Street banks told a federal court judge in Miami that Eastern Financial was warned about the risks associated with CDOs. “Each of the 12 CDOs at issue here was offered pursuant to a separate offering circular. These offering circulars contained page after page of disclosures and disclaimers, explaining to Eastern Financial the nature and risks of the particular CDO investments, the place of each tranche within each CDO, and the credit rating expected to be assigned by the rating agencies of each tranche,” according to a joint motion from the banks and ratings agencies to dismiss the suit. A separate U.S. Department of Justice suit filed this week against the S&P and other firms claimed the agency assigned false high ratings on the CDOs in exchange for payments from several of its Wall Street clients.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1083

Savings account seizure plan draws fury in Cyprus Published: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 5:30 a.m.�CDTCaption(Petros Karadjias)A woman holds a banner during a protest Monday outside of the parliament in Nicosia, Cyprus.By DAVID McHUGH and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS - The Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus – A plan to seize up to 10 percent of savings accounts in Cyprus to help pay for a $20.4 billion financial bailout was met with fury Monday, and the government shut down banks until later this week while lawmakers wrangled over how to keep the island nation from bankruptcy.Though the euro and stock prices of European banks fell, global financial markets largely remained calm, and there was little sense that bank account holders elsewhere across the continent faced similar risk.Political leaders in Cyprus scrambled to devise a new plan that would not be so burdensome for people with less than $129,290 in the bank.The authorities delayed a parliamentary vote on the seizure of $7.5 billion and ordered banks to remain shut until Thursday while they try to modify the deal, which must be approved by other eurozone governments. Once a deal is in place, they will be ready to lend Cyprus $13 billion in rescue loans.A rejection of the package could see the country go bankrupt and possibly drop out of the euro currency — an outcome that would be even more damaging to financial markets' confidence.Even while playing down the chance of fresh market turmoil, experts warned that the surprise move broke an important taboo against making depositors pay for Europe's bailouts. As a result, it may have longer-term consequences for confidence in Europe's banking system — and its ability to end its financial crisis."It's a precedent for all European countries. Their money in every bank is not safe," said lawyer Simos Angelides at an angry protest outside parliament in Cyprus' capital, Nicosia, where people chanted, "Thieves, thieves!"Eurozone finance ministers held a telephone conference Monday night, and concluded that small depositors should not be hit as hard as others. They said the Cypriot authorities will stagger the deposit seizures more, but they remained firm in demanding that the overall sum of money raised by the seizures remain the same.In the short term, there was little sign of a new explosion in the European financial crisis. Stock markets dropped in early hours but stabilized by the close. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,452.06 Monday. The euro fell 0.6 percent — a bad day, but hardly a token of impending doom. Government bond prices for Italy and Spain were roughly unchanged, suggesting that investors do not expect the market trouble to spread beyond Cyprus for now.In part, that may be due to the fact that Cyprus' case is by many measures an exception.The decision to hit deposits up to $129,290 — the deposit insurance limit in Cyprus — with a 6.75 percent tax and those above that with a 9.9 percent tax was dictated partly by the unusual qualities of the country's financial system.Cyprus, with only 0.2 percent of the eurozone economy, has a bloated banking system seven times the size of the island's economy. Losses on Greek government bonds had crippled Cypriot banks and required government money to bail them out. Meanwhile, a large proportion of deposits — 37 percent — come from people outside Cyprus and the European Union, much of it from Russia. European leaders wanted to limit the size of the rescue loans — which are backed by European taxpayers — to $13 billion. Leaders were also reluctant to bail out Russian depositors whose funds may be the result of tax evasion, crime or money laundering.Dario Perkins, an analyst at Lombard Street Research, noted that "the German government couldn't be seen bailing out Russian mafiosi just before an election."He said the bailout also showed that European leaders were willing to decisively confront Cyprus' problem — rather than postponing the day of reckoning with a partial solution. "On one level, you could argue this deal is good news," he wrote in a note to investors.Officials say by tapping the depositors, they are reducing the total amount of debt taken on by the government, keeping it to a high but manageable 100 percent of GDP by 2020. That will mean less-painful austerity cutbacks than those that were imposed on Greece as a condition of its loans. Partly as a result, Greece is in the sixth year of recession.Markets have been more resistant to new shocks since the European Central Bank's offer to purchase the bonds of indebted countries, lowering their borrowing costs. No bonds have been bought, but the offer's mere existence has calmed markets and left the eurozone far more resilient than it was a year ago. Last month's indecisive election in heavily indebted Italy, for instance, ruffled the market for only a day or two. Such fears were shortly dismissed by ECB President Mario Draghi as only "the angst of the week."European authorities, meanwhile, have ways to defuse bank runs, should they occur. If depositors start withdrawing money, the ECB and national central banks can replace the funds with cheap credit through their emergency lending programs — so long as the banks have securities to put up as collateral.But down the road, the Cyprus precedent, even if quickly reversed, could come back to haunt eurozone policy makers by making depositors less sure about the safety of their money in case of trouble. It could also complicate creation of an EU-wide system of bank deposit insurance, part of long-term efforts to create a more robust financial system and prevent future crises.Technically, the national deposit insurance scheme remains intact. The money is being taken as a one-time tax — little comfort to those who thought their money was safe. If another eurozone country runs into a banking crisis, a run on the banks there will be more likely."The damage is done," said Louise Cooper, who heads financial research firm CooperCity in London. "Europeans now know that their savings could be used to bail out banks."The deal adds uncertainty for depositors and investors because it underlines to ordinary people that there is no EU-wide deposit guarantee. Insuring deposits is a national responsibility — and can only be done when the government has the money."Basically, Cyprus has not honored, at least as of Saturday morning, an obligation that is enshrined in EU legislation," said Nicholas Veron, a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. "It clearly has consequences because I think there is a very clear message to depositors in Europe. "It will not affect their behavior immediately, but it might affect their behavior in a future crisis," he said.__McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany. AP Business Writer Sarah Di Lorenzo in Paris contributed to this report.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1211

A Win for BP Tony Reading | After several months of uncertainty, we now have some idea of what BP's (LSE: BP.L ) (NYSE: BP ) business in Russia will look like in the future. I have previously described BP as a relatively high-risk share for the FTSE 100 (UKX), due to uncertainty over its Russian joint venture TNK-BP and the as-yet unquantified settlement for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The new deal lowers its risk in Russia, and provides it with plenty of cash to cover its U.S. liabilities. It suggests the possibility that, as the consequences of the transaction become clearer, the risk discount that has been weighing on BP's shares will start to unwind. The dealBP is selling its 50% stake in TNK-BP to state-owned oil company Rosneft for cash and shares, using some of the cash to buy further shares in Rosneft from the Russian government. Together with its existing 1.25% stake in Rosneft, BP will have a 19.75% shareholding and cash of $12.3 billion. The oligarchs who own the other half of TNK-BP are selling their stake to Rosneft for $28 billion in cash. That equates to over $1 billion more than BP is receiving, but foreigners cannot expect equal treatment in Russia. Effectively, BP swaps a 50% interest in TNK-BP for a near 20% interest in a much larger entity, which includes all of the TNK-BP assets, in partnership with a Russian state-owned organization rather than independent oligarchs. It will get two seats on Rosneft's board, enabling it to equity account its interest. DilutiveThe transaction is dilutive. Initial estimates suggest that BP's share of production from Russia will drop from around one million barrels per day to 900,000, while its share of earnings will drop from some $4 billion to $3 billion. Dividends that were running close to $2 billion a year will be slashed by more than half. Together with proceeds from other asset sales, BP should have more than enough cash to settle its U.S. liabilities. What it does with the surplus, how much is returned to shareholders, and how much is reinvested, is the next strategic question facing the company, which may have a significant bearing on the share price. The deal cements a strong long-term position for BP in Russia. The acquisition of TNK-BP will make Rosneft the world's largest oil producer in terms of volume, and BP's share of Russian oil and gas reserves will rise from $4.8 billion to $5.4 billion. The state-owned company should also be a safer partner. The high court case earlier this year between Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky introduced westerners to the Russian word krysha, literally meaning "roof" but carrying the uglier connotation of protection. Nobody provides better krysha than the state. RiskThe flipside is that there is no one to protect you if you have a disagreement with the state. The rule of law is still weak in Russia, and BP's board members are unlikely to have much influence over Rosneft's direction. Remember that TNK-BP's board withheld the dividend to put pressure on BP. There is little doubt that Rosneft's coup in taking TNK-BP's assets back into state ownership owes much to the close relationship between its CEO Igor Sechin and president Vladimir Putin. Sechin is a former deputy prime minister and was a leading member of the Siloviki, the group of former FSB agents gathered around Putin. The successful outcome of the TNK-BP situation is due as much to it being convenient for the state as to any actions on BP's part. But factions change and governments change. BP still has a lot of embedded Russian risk. Rosneft itself is slated for privatization in 2013 or 2014, and is not immune to market forces. The acquisition of TNK-BP will strain its balance sheet, prompting Moody's to put the company's rating on review for downgrade. But there is no reward without risk in the oil and gas business. BP invested $8 billion into TNK-BP in 2003, and is now selling its stake for some $27 billion, having taken $19 billion out in dividends. It was a big bet that paid off. To learn more about how to balance risk and reward when investing in this sector, you can download this free report from the Motley Fool: "How to Unearth Great Oil and Gas Shares." It's packed full of tips on stock-picking, valuation and building a portfolio. Are you looking to profit as a long-term investor? "10 Steps to Making a Million in the Market" is the latest Motley Fool guide to help Britain invest. Better. We urge you to read the report today -- while it's still free and available. More investment opportunities: The Biggest Threat to BG Group Top Sectors of 2012 The One U.K. Share Warren Buffett Loves Tony Reading does not own any shares mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. BP p.l.c. (ADR)

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1279

Reminders and check-ins By Brian Friel Tie a string around your finger, write a note on the back of your hand or put a sticky note on your computer screen. Here's a quick rundown of some pay and benefits concerns that you won't want to forget. TSP Contributions Want more money stowed away in your Thrift Savings Plan account? Now's the time to do it. The TSP open season, which began Nov. 15, runs through Jan. 31. After Jan. 31, you won't be able to change the amount of money you contribute from each paycheck to the TSP until May, when the next open season starts. Back in April, Pay and Benefits Watch reviewed the key issues worth considering when making decisions about TSP contributions. (See Understanding TSP Contributions, April 12.) You can still use the procedures in that column, but remember that the contribution limits will be higher in 2002. Federal Employees Retirement System enrollees will be able to contribute as much as 12 percent of their basic pay per pay period, up to the annual IRS limit of $11,000. Civil Service Retirement System enrollees will be able to contribute as much as 7 percent of their basic pay per pay period, up to the annual IRS limit of $11,000. (Next week's column will be devoted to TSP issues, by the way, so if you have any questions, send them in!) Health Insurance There are only a few more days left to change your health insurance coverage for next year. Many federal employees felt sticker shock when they found out how much their insurance premiums are going up next year. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program open season runs until Dec. 10. Premium information, previous health insurance articles and links to the Office of Personnel Management's health insurance materials are in GovExec.com's Open Season Guide. Christmas Eve President Bush today gave federal workers the day off on Christmas Eve. For more information, see the breaking news story: Bush gives feds the day off on Christmas Eve. And don't forget to download GovExec.com's Leave Calculator or Leave Calendar for 2002. You can learn more about them in the Nov. 15 Pay and Benefits Watch. Longstanding Lawsuits The dispute over back pay for federal employees who received special rate pay in the 1980s marks its 20th anniversary in January. The National Treasury Employees Union and the Justice Department are continuing to work out the details of a settlement for an estimated 200,000 current and former federal workers who were paid on special salary schedules from 1982 to 1988. The latest news: the two parties are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 18 to provide an update on their progress toward an agreement. Such appearances have been postponed several times this year, but NTEU President Colleen Kelley says the two sides are "moving toward finality in their negotiations." Meanwhile, no official court action has been taken this year in an overtime pay case brought by Justice Department attorneys. Some lawmakers and attorney groups have put pressure on Attorney General John Ashcroft to resolve the DOJ lawyers' push for overtime pay, but so far, there's no resolution. Long-Term Care Insurance Itching for federal long-term care insurance? Looks like you won't have to wait until October 2002 to get it. While the Office of Personnel Management has yet to announce the contract holder for the long-term care insurance program, OPM officials say there will be an early enrollment period in February or March. The early enrollment period will be for people who know all about long-term care insurance and know they want it. Early enrollees won't be able to have premiums deducted automatically from their paychecks until after the official launch of the program in late summer or early fall of 2002. That's when OPM will conduct an education campaign on the new benefit. Long-term care insurance covers services in nursing homes and chronic or extended illnesses that are not covered by standard health insurance. OPM expects to offer long-term care insurance at rates 15 to 20 percent lower than the premiums available in the general market. For a look at the limits of long-term care insurance, see the July 19 Pay and Benefits Watch. http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/pay-benefits-watch/2001/12/reminders-and-check-ins/10617/

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1813

You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Daily Hansard - Written Answers 18 Mar 2009 : Column 1203W—continued Departmental Pay Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has allocated for staff bonuses in 2008-09. [252259] Jonathan Shaw: Of the total pay bill, less than 1 per cent. has been used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff during 2008-9. These payments are funded from within the existing pay bill. The payments do not add to future pay bill costs. 18 Mar 2009 : Column 1204W DWP employees in pay bands below the Senior Civil Service are eligible for non-consolidated performance pay if they attain a “Top”, “Higher” or “Majority” rating under the annual performance and development system. The amount of non-consolidated performance pay is differentiated on the basis of an employee's pay band and the performance level achieved. For the Senior Civil Service, non-consolidated performance pay is determined on an individual basis by the relevant DWP SCS Pay Committee. The size of the available pot is based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Performance awards are payable in July and are attributable to performance in the previous financial year. In the 2008-09 financial year £23.32 million was paid in July 2008 for performance in the previous year. This is broken down as follows: Staff bonuses: 2008-09 Pay Band Total p aid (£ million) Total number of recipients Below SCS Departmental total In-Year Reward Individuals may also be entitled to one-off special payments either as cash or retail vouchers. These are one-off recognition awards, payable at any time during the performance year and are not linked to the annual pay award. Up to 0.25 per cent. of staff budget is allocated to fund special payments and in 2008-09 this equates to £6.33 million. In 2007-08 £2.7 million was paid in cash payments and £1.77 million in retail vouchers. Departmental Public Appointments Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on the number of persons appointed to executive positions in bodies for which his Department has responsibility in the last five years who previously had careers in the banking industry. [261227] The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Funeral Payments Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Social Fund funeral payments were awarded where the claim for other funeral expenses was under £700 in the latest year for which figures are available. [263437] Kitty Ussher: The information requested is not available. A funeral payment claim is said to be 'capped' if the amount claimed for non-specified funeral expenses is more than £700. In 2007-08, in Great Britain, of those claims which satisfied the eligibility conditions, the number of claims which were not capped was 2,160. After the amounts payable for specified and non-specified funeral expenses have been determined, deductions are made for any money immediately available from the deceased's estate, payments from funeral plans and contributions 18 Mar 2009 : Column 1205W received (but the claimant's savings are not taken into account). As a result of deductions, some eligible claims are refused. 1. The figure is based on initial decisions. Re-considerations and appeals have not been taken into account. 2. The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10. DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System. Mortgages: Government Assistance Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wales (a) applied for and (b) received assistance under the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme in January and February 2009; and how much was granted in total. [261932] The information is not available. Official Engagements Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what official engagements each of the Ministers in his Department undertook from 1 to 31 January 2009; and how much time was spent on each engagement. [254960] Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 9 February 2009]: I am depositing a table of information in the Library. Accurate information on the length of time spent on each engagement could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Poverty: Children Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent research his Department has conducted into the living standards of children below the poverty line. [260793] The Department for Work and Pensions has recently published three research reports related to the living standards of children in poverty. These are all published in the Department's research report series and are available online. “Work and well-being over time: lone mothers and their children” follows, over four to five years, lone mothers who voluntarily moved into employment, following a period of unemployment in receipt of income support or jobseekers' allowance. This is available at : http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep536.pdf “Employment transitions and the changes in economic circumstances of families with children” explores the impact of movements in and out of paid employment on the economic circumstances and living standards of families with children. This is available at: “Making decisions about work in one-earner couple households” explores the circumstances of low-income couple families with children, where only one parent is in work. This is available at: The Child Poverty Unit, which the Department for Work and Pensions co-sponsors, has two research projects currently in progress which specifically look at the living standards of children living in poverty. The first is a review of all existing research on the views and experiences of poverty of deprived children and families. The second is analysis of existing survey data, to provide information on the living standards of children below the poverty line. This project examines their standards of living using measures such as level of expenditure, material deprivation, ownership of consumer durables, condition of housing, and presence of financial difficulties. Reports of these projects will be published in the Department's research report series and will be made available online. Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to include targets on reductions in child poverty for local authorities in local area agreements. [263069] Child poverty is already reflected in the National Indicator Set (Indicator 116—Numbers of children in households dependent on out of work benefits). Local authorities can therefore choose to select child poverty as a target in their local area agreement and 45 have already done so. The Government are already committed to refining this indicator to ensure that low income families are included in this measure. But we need to do more to ensure that all delivery partners prioritise child poverty and take action. That is why the Government published the child poverty consultation document on 28 January. It set out options for driving forward action to tackle child poverty and asked how best to support local authorities and their partners. The consultation closed on 11 March. We are currently considering the responses to ensure we design support effectively and will respond in due course. Poverty: North East To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency qualified for cold weather payments between October 2008 and January2009. [257539] Estimates of the number of people who qualified for cold weather payments between October 2008 and January 2009 are not available by constituency, but only by weather station. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency is covered by postcodes TS3-5, 7-9,11-14 and 17. Postcode TS9 is linked to Linton on Ouse weather station which has triggered twice so far this winter. The remaining postcode sectors are linked to Loftus weather station which has triggered once so far this winter. All triggers are based on those notified up to 11 March 2009, though the last trigger was notified on 16 February 2009. Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent version of Jobcentre Plus's Social Fund Work Status Report statistics. [245480] Kitty Ussher [holding answer 12 January 2009]: Jobcentre Plus's social fund work status reports are an internal management tool. They are produced weekly and are a snap shot of how much work is outstanding in order to help manage the business. Work status reports are clerical statistics and are collated weekly at national level to provide management with information on the current levels of work in benefit delivery centres. This enables Jobcentre Plus to promptly move work around the network if needed rather than waiting for the monthly computer produced figures. Outstanding cases in each benefit delivery centre are clerically counted, collated at regional level and regional returns are then turned into the national picture. These are not robust enough to use as official data. It is therefore not appropriate for a copy of the work status report to be placed in the Library. Verified data are published in the annual report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund 2007-08, a copy of which is in the Library. It is also available on the Department's website at: www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2008/2008-annual-report-social-fund.pdf David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much lent under the (a) budgeting loans and ( b) crisis loan scheme in each of the last three financial years has been written off. [261508] The amounts written off under the budgeting loans scheme for awards within the last three financial years are: £000 Written off in : Year of award 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Total The amounts written off under the crisis loan scheme for awards within the last three financial years are: Social Rented Housing Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to remove people under the age of 25 years from the purview of the single room rent regulations; and if he will make a statement. [262549] We have no plans to abolish the single room rent, which is designed to ensure that the level of housing benefit for single young people is based on the size and type of accommodation that they would typically occupy and, importantly, be able to afford. To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what formula his Department uses to calculate (a) council tax benefit and (b) housing benefit entitlement. [262218] While the Department is responsible for housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) legislation, both benefits are administered by local authorities. There are no formulae, but the assessment processes are set out in the Housing Benefit Regulations and the Council Tax Benefit Regulations. The calculation of entitlement to HB looks at how much a person should pay towards their rent, assessed against their income and circumstances. The maximum HB that can be paid is the full amount of the customer's "eligible rent". This is the amount of the rent which the legislation says can be covered by housing benefit, and may not be the same as the full rent charge. From April 2008 local housing allowance (LHA) has been rolled out nationally in the private rented sector. LHA has changed the way HB is calculated, so it is not just based on the rent, but on a flat rate amount which is determined by factors such as the area someone lives in and the household size. For private tenants not yet on LHA, the local authority has to decide the "eligible rent". To do this, they have to look at whether:

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/1901

SEC Proposes Rules for Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities Video: Open Meeting Chairman Schapiro discusses proposal for security-based SEFs: Text of Chairman's statement Washington, D.C., Feb. 2, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to propose rules defining security-based swap execution facilities (SEFs) and establishing their registration requirements, as well as their duties and core principles. Additional Materials SEC Rule Proposal The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorized the SEC to implement a regulatory framework for security-based swaps, which currently trade exclusively in the over-the-counter markets with little transparency or oversight. The Dodd-Frank Act sought to move the trading of security-based swaps onto regulated trading markets, and therefore created security-based SEFs as a new category of market intended to provide more transparency and reduce systemic risk. "Our objective here is to provide a framework that allows the security-based swap market to continue to develop in a more transparent, efficient, and competitive manner," said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. "This is an important and complex undertaking that adds a significant new component to the regulatory framework for over-the-counter derivatives." The Commission's proposed rules: Interpret the definition of "security-based SEFs" as set forth in Dodd-Frank. Set out the registration requirements for security-based SEFs. Implement the 14 core principles for security-based SEFs that the legislation outlined. Establish the process for security-based SEFs to file rule changes and new products with the SEC. Exempt security-based SEFs from the definition of "exchange" and from most regulation as a broker. Public comments on the rule proposal should be received by the Commission by April 4, 2011. Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities Division of Authority The Dodd-Frank Act established a comprehensive framework for regulating the over-the-counter swaps markets. In the process, it divided regulatory authority over swaps between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFT

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2254

Your location: Home > Fast Start Finance At the Conference of the Parties (COP15) held in December 2009 in Copenhagen developed countries pledged to provide new and additional resources, including forestry and investments, approaching USD 30 billion for the period 2010 - 2012 and with balanced allocation between mitigation and adaptation. This collective commitment has come to be known as "Fast-start Finance" (FSF). Following up on this pledge, the COP in Cancun, in December 2010, took note of this collective commitment by developed country Parties and reaffirmed that funding for adaptation will be prioritized for the most vulnerable developing countries, such as the least developed countries, small island developing States and Africa. Further, the COP invited developed country Parties to submit information on the resources provided to achieve this goal, including ways in which developing country Parties access these resources by May 2011, 2012 and 2013. At COP 17 Parties welcomed the fast-start finance provided by developed countries as part of their collective commitment to provide new and additional resources approaching USD 30 billion for the period 2010–2012, and noted the information provided by developed country Parties on the fast-start finance they have provided and urged them to continue to enhance the transparency of their reporting on the fulfillment of their fast-start finance commitments. Fast-start Finance Module This module comprises of information submitted in 2011, 2012, and 2013 by developed country Parties in relation to the implementation of their FSF commitments. The module allows users to search information of contributing countries , as well as on recipient countries. It also allows users to search for information on specific projects and programme, recipient countries/regions activities, and channels of resources whenever they are provided in the FSF submissions. The data presented in this module has been extracted from the FSF submissions and related updates provided by developed country Parties and every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and consistency of the information presented. Users may wish to read the full reports and visit the country websites for more detailed and comprehensive information on the implementation of FSF.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2470

Is Schenectady the next stressed city? Posted on August 23, 2012 at 12:35 pm by Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau in Small government, big cost Share this:EmailCommentsPrint0 The latest installment in our Small government, big cost series was a look at the Capital Region municipalities that are feeling the most fiscal strain. Yes, that’s a subjective label. Lauren Stanforth and I concluded that Schenectady is a hot spot when we learned that auditors from the Office of State Comptroller were there, looking at the books. But according to a report the OSC put out earlier this month, the major indicators of fiscal solvency are a cash ratio, which measures the relationship between money in the bank and the total number of short-term liabilities on a municipality’s books, and how close it is to its tax limit. Below is a copy of the story from today’s newspaper, as well as a spreadsheet showing those ratings for each municipality in the region (except, inexplicably, Mechanicville — they just didn’t send me the data.) Schenectady could become the next hot spot in the municipal finance crisis sweeping across upstate New York. The Electric City’s rainy day fund is down to about $75,000 — a tiny piece of its $79.3 million annual spending. City officials have raided reserve funds to the tune of $15 million in the last four years to cover shortfalls after a once-lucrative deal to collect on delinquent property taxes dried up in the recession. The city is forming a new budget for 2013 as its restricted reserves, funds not typically touched, are only $4 million. Concerned, auditors from the state comptroller’s office arrived in July to assess the situation. “We became aware of possible fiscal stress issues in Schenectady and thought the city could benefit from an audit,” Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in a statement. “By alerting local officials to impending problems sooner, we can give them sufficient time to take corrective action before state intervention might be needed.” Schenectady Finance Commissioner Ismat Alam promised there would be “no sacred cows” safe from elimination during this year’s budget cycle, but Mayor Gary McCarthy said the situation is far from dire. “We’re not in as bad a shape as some people would say,” said McCarthy, the former City Council president who won last November’s election in a nail biter with former Union College President Roger Hull. “But we’re an urban city in the state of New York, and we’re not in good shape.” While it has unique issues, Schenectady is hardly alone among upstate cities grappling with their annual budgets. Years of population decline and the erosion of a once-robust manufacturing base have strained municipal finance, but a drop in revenues and a spike in pension contributions that followed the 2008 stock market crash made matters worse. While the Capital Region’s status as a center of government and nanotechnology has helped insulate it from upstate economic woes, it is not immune. Many localities limped from year to year, using one-time shots of revenue to keep its accounts balanced and avoid major service cuts or tax hikes that could render them unlivable. In a report this month, DiNapoli’s office found that “the liquidity of local governments is deteriorating” as a result: almost 300 municipalities ended 2010 or 2011 in a deficit, and 27 completely drained their reserves. The city of Albany joined Syracuse and Rochester in using one-time payments of state aid to close its budget. Albany got a $7.8 million “spin-up” — or advance — on future money it is owed by the state in lieu of taxes on the Empire State Plaza and still expects to tap roughly $5.6 million from its reserves to balance the books this year. The 2012 spending plan came in under the state’s new 2 percent cap on property tax increases, laid off no workers and even included raises for some non-union city workers who had gone three years without them. Long term, Albany officials plan to continue to lobby for what they say would be a more equitable share of state aid to the city — a share that factors in the costs to Albany of hosting state government. Mayor Jerry Jennings also continues to fight for a separate set of payments in lieu of taxes on the 330-acre tax-exempt Harriman State Office Campus. Most municipal leaders are not playing Chicken Little and describe plans to make things better. On its own, dipping into reserve funds is not a problem unless a county, city or village gets close to a constitutional tax limit — the total amount raised by property taxes can’t be more than 2 percent of the total assessed value. DiNapoli’s auditors monitor local government financial data and look at how close a municipality comes to this tax ceiling as well as the ratio of cash on hand to the amount of short-term liabilities. Over 100 municipalities didn’t have enough cash to cover three-fourths of their bills, according to DiNapoli’s report. That includes Watervliet and Rensselaer, which was the subject of a series of audits in recent years that found lax spending controls. Rensselaer has about $1.4 million in the bank — roughly 10 percent of its annual budget — and the budget that began Aug. 1 did not dip into the fund balance. It does, however, rely on selling foreclosed properties and a projected increase in sales tax. “We’ve got our finances in line,” said Mayor Dan Dwyer. “It was a hard go for the first four years to stabilize it, but we were very successful.” Watervliet dipped into its fund balance for a projected $290,000. Mayor Mike Manning said his plan is to develop a hydroelectric facility in Oneida County to provide a long-term revenue source and eat into the city’s $1.1 million in reserves until it can be brought online. “That’s a big part of us being self-sufficient in the future. Our main revenue is the property tax, and we can’t expect that to keep going up,” he said. “Our formula is working so far — appropriate it, take the burden off the taxpayer and put it on us to cut costs and run things more efficiently — and bring things in line.” Schenectady hopes to sell more homes in the city, working with KeyBank. It was already in the red by about $5 million at the close of 2011, and McCarthy, whose proposed budget will be released Oct. 1, won’t reveal how he’ll make the numbers work. Auditors reported in May that Schenectady appears financially solvent this year. But if it gets approval from the comptroller’s office to take money from restricted reserves and continues to borrow money, it will go broke in the next couple of years, said its auditors, Cuscak & Co. of Latham. City Council member Vincent Riggi, who was the only Hull-backed candidate to succeed in last year’s election, said he believes Schenectady is on the path to being taken over by a state control board. Riggi said he doesn’t know how McCarthy will come up with a balanced budget for next year, adding, “I don’t know what rabbits he will pull out of the hat.” Share this:EmailCommentsPrint0 « Previous Post Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau Contact: Follow: 17 Comments » From a Laptop sitting in a Field says:

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2509

Bad Driver? That’s OK — If You’re Rich By Martha C. White Jan. 30, 20130 Share Eric Van Den Brulle / Getty Images RelatedWhat Would Make an All-Electric Car Appeal to the Masses?Auto Navigation Systems: Too Complicated, Too Pricey, Just Plain Unnecessary?Get Well Sooner—And Cheaper: Two Medical Insiders Pull Back The Curtain on the Doctor-Patient RelationshipIs Most Personal Finance Advice Useless? Author Exposes Industry’s ‘Dark Side’ Email In its new study of car insurance rates, the Consumer Federation of America reports that lower-income people pay higher premiums, even if their driving is better than that of their rich neighbors. The report, which is the CFA’s third on car insurance premiums, features a mystery-shopping experiment conducted over 12 cities with the nation’s five biggest insurers. Rates were requested for two hypothetical customers: one with a master’s degree and an executive job, the other a receptionist with a high school education. Two-thirds of the time, the wealthy executive was offered a better rate than the middle-class customer — even though the “executive” had caused a car crash and the “receptionist” had a clean driving record. The new study builds on the premise established by previous CFA reports: Poor people are charged higher rates for car insurance. Insurance companies say there are legitimate reasons why this is so. Yet when the watchdog group dug deeper, it found that this discrepancy couldn’t be explained away by the fact that people with lower incomes might live in areas where they’d be more at risk of a break-in, do more driving than their wealthier counterparts, or even have lower credit scores. (The use of credit scores as a predictor of driving risk is a separate issue, and a few states have banned the practice.) “It confirmed what we were beginning to suspect,” says Bob Hunter, the CFA’s director of insurance. “Non-driving related factors can be much more important than accidents and driving-related factors.” (MORE: Study: Poor People Pay More for Auto Insurance) For the CFA’s mystery-shopping study, it made both the “executive” and the “receptionist” 30-year-old owners of 2002 Honda Civics on which they each put 7,500 miles a year. Both hypothetical owners lived in the same zip codes, too; for all cities, the CFA selected zip codes with a median income of about $50,000. Not all of the five insurance companies — Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Progressive, and State Farm — treated the executive and the receptionist the same way. “In every case Farmers, GEICO, and Progressive quoted the safe driver a higher premium than the driver causing an accident,” the report says, or it refused to offer them a quote entirely. “On the other hand, in all 12 cities State Farm charged the good driver less.” Insurance companies aren’t supposed to base their decisions on how much money you make — or what race or religion you are, for that matter — but Hunter says that education and occupation essentially are proxies for income. Robert Hartwig, president and economist for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group, says state-level oversight of the industry is sufficient to make sure discrimination doesn’t take place, but Hunter says only 13 states have to pre-approve the criteria insurers use in their evaluations, and charges that enforcement efforts are weak. Some regulators have thought so, too. “While the use of race as a rating factor was outlawed in Florida, the two factors mentioned above, occupation and education, have emerged in the rating and underwriting of auto insurance and appear to be highly correlated to race and income level,” Florida Insurance Regulation Commissioner Kevin McCarty wrote in a 2007 report. “The industry’s denial of knowing about the statistical correlations between education, occupation, and race and/or income strained credulity.” (MORE: How to Save $23,000 On Car Insurance) Dismissing the CFA’s study as “a press release,” Hartwig says the sample size — 60 scenarios — is too small to be meaningful given the 190 million insured cars in the country. Insurers’ only goal is to price according to a customer’s risk level, he says. “The fact is, the insurer believes this is the right price for both of these individuals,” he says of the CFA’s mystery-shopping experiment. Hartwig points out that there is one difference between the two hypothetical customers — a 45-day lapse in coverage — which could account for higher rates for the receptionist. This is true: A study published in 2011 by Insurance.com found that people who let their car insurance lapse paid an average of 5.7% more for coverage. But the CFA found that in more than 60% of the instances where the receptionist got a higher quote than the executive, the receptionist was quoted a rate more than 25% higher than the executive — a much bigger discrepancy than a lapse in coverage alone would seem to account for. So, what would an insurance company have to gain by charging a safe but poor driver more for the same coverage? Hunter speculates there could be a business motive at work. “We know they are interested more and more in multi-lining as the best way to get revenue,” he says. “Auto insurance is a foot in the door, and we think they’re much more interested in attracting higher-income people than lower-income people.” Rich people might also buy homeowners or life insurance policies, products that could be a harder sell to someone living on a tighter budget — and who might not own a home. (MORE: Car Insurance: Proof It Really Pays to Shop Around) There’s no denying that big insurers are interested in cross-selling and offering policy bundles to their customers. Executives have discussed it as a business driver in investor conference calls when they report quarterly earnings, and there’s a clear financial incentive, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 National Homeowners Insurance Study. “The retention rate among customers who bundle their homeowners and auto policies is significantly higher (95%) when compared to customers who purchase auto and homeowners with different insurers (83%),” it says. Hartwig calls this theory “completely untrue,” but Hunter is unconvinced. “I think it’s market driven, not actuarily driven,” he says.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2513

Notes from a diehard by Russ Roberts on June 16, 2010 in State of Macro, Stimulus, The Crisis, Uncategorized Alan Blinder, writing in the WSJ, argues that the economy is in much better shape than it was when Barack Obama came into office: Of course, that does not prove that the president’s policies caused the unexpected improvement. Maybe our luck just turned, and the economy would have done even better under a laissez-faire approach. (A few diehards still argue that FDR’s policies worsened the Great Depression!) Here is Jonathan Bean, summarizing Robert Whaples survey of economists and historians: In 1995, economic historian Robert Whaples published a survey in the Journal of Economic History asking “Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians?” (Vol. 55, March 1995). Half of the economists and more than a quarter of historians agreed, in whole or in part, that the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression. Why are people so loath to give Obama credit for the improvement in the economy? Blinder answers: Specifically, I would point to three policy landmarks, two of which were and remain terribly unpopular—and which probably account for the negative polling results. The first was the much-maligned Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson persuaded Congress to pass on Oct. 3, 2008. TARP must be among the most reviled and misunderstood programs in the history of the republic. Voters are clearly appalled by the idea that their government spent $700 billion bailing out banks. The only problem is: It didn’t. Even if we count insurance giant AIG as a bank, no more than $300 billion ever went to banks. TARP’s total disbursements, including the auto bailout, never reached the $400 billion mark. The money went for loans and to purchase preferred stock; it was not “spent.” In fact, most of it has already been paid back—with interest and capital gains. When TARP’s books are eventually closed, the net cost to the taxpayer will probably be under $100 billion—far under if General Motors ever repays. Spending perhaps $50 billion of taxpayer money to forestall a financial cataclysm seems like a bargain. Yes, I know it’s maddening to hand over even a nickel to bankers who don’t deserve it. But doing so was a necessary evil to save the economy. Think of it as collateral damage in a successful war against financial armageddon. Hmmm. Only $50 billion? We’ll see if that ends up being the case. But either way, Blinder ignores the incentive effects the bailouts will have on future risk-taking. Those costs are zero in Blinder’s calculus. He also ignores the Fannie and Freddie bailout. It’s not part of the TARP but it’s part of the reason people are mad at Obama. The latest CBO estimate of the cost of taking over Fannie and Freddie is $390 billion. (For those of you who enjoy black humor, here is a story from July 2008 when CBO estimated the cost of rescue of Fannie and Freddie might be as much as $25 billion, though there was a 50% chance that the costs would be zero.) Blinder continues: The second landmark was the fiscal stimulus package that President Obama signed into law about four weeks into his presidency. Originally priced at $787 billion, it was later re-estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to cost $862 billion. A huge waste of money, say the critics—even though most independent appraisals, including that of the CBO, credit the stimulus with sa

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2551

John B. Carlson | Vice President John Carlson is a vice president in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In addition to conducting economic research, he oversees the department’s publications and its support functions. His research interests include monetary policy, money demand, models of learning, and asset pricing. Read full bio Tools Monetary Policy: No Surprise Here by John B. Carlson and Bethany Tinlin As widely anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left the target level of the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25 percent this afternoon. It was the seventh consecutive meeting with no change. The inflation-adjusted fed funds rate remains near 3 percent, or about 400 b.p. above its low of June 2004. Changes in the FOMC’s post-meeting statement language were minimal, largely reflecting information revealed since the March meeting. For instance, in its rationale the FOMC acknowledged the weak first-quarter GDP report, changing the first sentence of the second paragraph to “Economic growth slowed in the first part of the year …” from the March language, “Recent indicators have been mixed ….” The statement maintained its outlook that “the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace over the coming quarters.” The reference to inflation was made more concise, replacing “Recent readings on core inflation have been somewhat elevated,” with the statement “Core inflation remains somewhat elevated.” The FOMC’s assessment of risk was unchanged. It kept the statement “the Committee’s predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected.” This language, which first surfaced in the March statement, seems to have been slowly digested in markets over the intermeeting period. The initial market reaction after the March meeting focused more on the previous meeting’s changes in rationale, which were made to give the Committee greater flexibility when writing its post-meeting statements. At that time, the characterization of recent economic indicators was weaker than markets had anticipated; hence, it seemed to signal to markets that policy easing might occur sooner than they had anticipated. Indeed, the probability of a rate cut in July increased noticeably after the statement’s release. This reaction was quickly reversed, however, and market participants seemed to gradually put greater focus on the inflation risk, especially after a strong employment report. Accordingly, the prospect of a rate hike before summer’s end diminished. Market reaction to today’s statement was limited, consistent with the minimalist approach to today’s changes. Prospects for a rate cut remain very unlikely according to implied probabilities of alternative outcomes for the August meeting.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2626

Division of Administration Office of the Commissioner Contractual Review Facility Planning and Control Finance and Support Services Group Benefits La. Federal Property Assistance La. Property Assistance LaGov ERP Louisiana Tax Commission Medical Review Panel Patient's Compensation Fund Planning and Budget State Mail State Printing State Purchasing and Travel Statewide Reporting and Accounting Policy State Uniform Payroll Louisiana.gov > Division of Administration Text Size Home Contact: Michael DiResto, 225-342-7000 Commissioner Nichols lauds JLCB approval of refunding tobacco settlement bonds that will provide $143 million to TOPS over next three years BATON ROUGE – Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols lauded the passage, without objection, of a resolution today by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB), providing approval for the refunding of outstanding tobacco settlement bonds, a move that is estimated to provide almost $143 million in funds for the TOPS program over the next three years. Due to historically low interest rates, there is overwhelming agreement that now is a good time to take advantage of the savings for the state. “Although the resolution before JLCB today dealt simply with approving the issuance of refunding bonds, it’s important to note that because of out-year risk associated with declining tobacco consumption trends, we strongly believe that the upfront savings approach is the smart financial plan that’s also in the best long-term interest of the state,” said Commissioner Nichols. “By law, tobacco bond proceeds are directed to support the TOPS program, and I’m pleased that today’s vote brings us one step closer to taking advantage of historically low interest rates to help fund TOPS scholarships for Louisiana young people.” Following a previous motion that overwhelmingly backed using an upfront savings structure, last week the Tobacco Settlement Finance Corporation (TSFC) board for a second time voted to approve, by a 9-1 vote, a final bond structure for the refunding. Under the approved structure, the refinancing will realize the savings upfront in order to avoid future risks associated with declining tobacco consumption and other risks – a recommendation made by three of the four finalist underwriting firms who competed to conduct the transaction. However, even under this structure, the savings will not be a one-time event but will be spread over three years, with $67.2 million in savings generated for the TOPS program in FY 14, $57.2 million in FY 15, and $18.3 million in FY 16, for an estimated total of $142.8 million over three years, based on current interest rates. Despite objections to the refunding structure voiced by Treasurer John Kennedy, Commissioner Nichols has repeatedly commended his work on the state’s original sale of tobacco settlement proceeds in 2001, even quoting a column he wrote on January 31, 2002, in which he asked: “What would you do if you hit the jackpot, but your winnings were based on the tobacco industry’s ability to pay you each year for the next quarter of a century? Wouldn’t you want at least some of your money up front?” [emphasis added] In a follow-up column on March 28, 2002, the Treasurer also wrote, among other reasons for the sale, that “We have no assurance that Big Tobacco will be able to meet its obligation to the state…. Moreover, cigarette consumption in the United States is down, and the state's annual payments are tied to consumption figures…. And, of course, there’s a moral dilemma of the state remaining financially dependent upon the tobacco industry’s success, while at the same time, state health officials are promoting anti-smoking campaigns…. It’s too big of a risk! We can’t afford to lose money that could be used for important programs in our state.” [emphasis added] “I think the Treasurer made good points back then, and I think they are still good points now, even if he himself has for some reason shifted his position,” Nichols added. Refunding occurs when an entity has issued bonds that become callable and calls those debt securities from the debt holders with the express purpose of reissuing new debt at a lower interest rate. Since 2001, market interest rates have declined by approximately 2 percent. Because the bonds are currently callable, the TSFC decided to act now to capture as much savings as possible and before a potential rise in interest rates. The TSFC owns 60 percent of the revenues that resulted from the Master Settlement Agreement. In November 2001, the TSFC issued $1.2 billion in bonds backed by this revenue. It issued $283 million taxable bonds and $919.8 million tax-exempt bonds. Since that time, some bonds have been redeemed, and today’s vote sets the stage for refunding the approximately $738.3 million in tax-exempt bonds that remain outstanding. Under state law, any residual bond proceeds from a refunding go to the TOPS fund in the constitutionally-established Millennium Fund. CONTACT US: 1201 N. Third Street, Ste. 7-210 | Baton Rouge, LA 70802 | Local: (225) 342-7000 | Toll Free: (800) 354-9548 ©2008 Division of Administration | Privacy Policy/Disability Statement | Web Site Feedback | DOA Employees: Web Mail

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2635

Unemployment rate dips to 9.7 percent By: Eamon Javers February 5, 2010 11:12 AM EDT The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January even as the economy continued to shed jobs, sending a mixed message to voters eager to see signs of recovery. That’s the first time the unemployment rate has dropped below 10 percent since October, surely welcome news at the White House, where President Barack Obama has declared job creation his No. 1 goal for 2010. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday also contained evidence of just how stubborn the jobless picture continues to be, as the economy lost 20,000 jobs last month and 14.8 million people are still out of work. The new employment figure was slightly worse than analysts had expected, with most forecasting that the economy had added between 5,000 and 15,000 new jobs in January. It is possible for the unemployment rate to decline even as job losses continue because the government measures the data for each figure in different ways. The unemployment rate is based on interviews with individuals, and the job loss figure comes from data from businesses. The White House was eager to look at the bright side on Friday. "While unemployment remains a severe problem, today’s employment report contains encouraging signs of gradual labor market healing," said Christina Romer, the chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. "Even as today’s numbers contain signs of the beginning of recovery, they are also a reminder of how far we still have to go to return the economy to robust health and full employment." The report also sends a mixed signal to jittery global markets already reeling from a massive selloff Thursday. The dramatic drop in stock prices began Thursday on Wall Street and continued overnight in the Asian markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped below the important 10,000 threshold early Friday, as it had for a time in late trading Thursday. On Thursday, it struggled back above the mark to finish at 10002.18. That represented a 2.6 percent decline on the day. Market watchers say Friday's number will likely impact that global market trend, as analysts look for any evidence that growth in U.S. gross domestic product is translating into jobs that will help Americans begin to recover their financial footing. The dip in the unemployment rate gives Democrats an opportunity to say that their economic policies are taking effect. Obama plans to meet with small-business owners Friday at 12:10 p.m., and he will talk about the new job numbers at 12:30 p.m. But Republicans on Friday kept up their attacks on Obama, saying his agenda hasn’t produced job growth. "Washington Democrats promised that the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ would create jobs ‘immediately,’ keep the unemployment rate from going above 8 percent and that 90 percent of the jobs created would be private-sector jobs," said House Republican leader John Boehner. "None of that has occurred, and the Obama administration’s job-killing policies are only making matters worse." In late January, government figures showed that the U.S. economy had grown at a blistering 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the fastest rate in six years. But the number left some economists scratching their heads, wondering how the economy could grow at such a rate without showing dramatic jobs growth. The White House has publicly worried that employers learned during the recession to do more with fewer workers and use technology to get more productivity out of their existing work forces. And the BLS reported that there were 1.1 million "discouraged workers" — those who have given up looking for work — in January, up from 734,000 a year earlier.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2848

U.S. nets thousands in offshore tax dodge crackdown Sep 15, 2011, 1:50 p.m. Women walk out of an Internal Revenue Service office in New York April 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major progress is being made in a crackdown on international tax evasion, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday. In a program that offers leniency in exchange for volunteering information about undisclosed offshore assets and income, the IRS said that as of this month it had collected $2.7 billion from thousands of U.S. taxpayers. "We have pierced international bank secrecy laws, and we are making a serious dent in offshore tax evasion," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a statement. "Not only are we bringing people back into the U.S. tax system, we are bringing revenue into the U.S. Treasury." The IRS and the U.S. Justice Department have also boosted criminal investigations of international tax evasion, he said. The IRS in 2009 launched a disclosure effort giving taxpayers with undisclosed assets or income offshore a chance to get compliant with tax laws and avoid potential charges. About 30,000 voluntary disclosures have resulted, involving "cases come from every corner of the world, with bank accounts covering 140 countries," the agency said. More taxes and interest income to the government is expected to result from the latest disclosures. "This dollar figure will grow," Shulman said. "But just as importantly, we have changed the risk calculus. Americans now understand that if they try to hide assets overseas, the chances of being caught continue to increase." People hiding assets offshore have received jail sentences and have been ordered to pay millions of dollars. Swiss bank UBS AG agreed in 2009 to pay $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. government. The program has yielded a wealth of information on banks and advisors assisting people with offshore tax evasion, which will be used in enforcement efforts, the IRS said. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh) Exclusive: U.S. tax-evasion probe turns to Israeli banks US-USREPORT Summary Marine awarded Medal of Honor believed he would die

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2966

Not a Run on China, But a Brisk Walk Wealthy Chinese are voting with their feet to move wealth abroad. That ought to send a message to investors. By The popular perception is that money is gushing into China, between its burgeoning trade surpluses and the rush to invest in the world's second-largest economy. That perception is sorely out of date. Like most things in China, movement of capital is tightly controlled, and Beijing has sought to offset the influx of money that would naturally push up the value of its currency, the renminbi or yuan, by purchasing foreign currencies....

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/2994

Kiva Blog Mar 1, 2013 Kiva HQ By Camille Ricketts 17 (more) photos that changed my world This is a guest post from Bob Harris, author, adventurer, Kiva super lender, and captain of the incredible Friends of Bob Harris lending team. This is the second in a series of posts from Bob chronicling his travels around the world meeting Kiva borrowers. Read his last piece about traveling on a budget, and start getting excited about the release of his new book The International Bank of Bob, available starting March 5. In the various travels that led to the book, I was lucky enough to bring a camera to more than 20 countries on five continents. Unfortunately, when it came time to publish, there was only room for about 30 pictures to share. Here are a few more favorites that I didn't get to include, roughly following the book's structure. I hope this might add some additional color to my visits to Kiva field partners all over the world, not to mention the strange way this all came about through a brief foray into luxury travel writing. If you read the book, these might make the story feel more real and fun to imagine; if not, I hope you'll enjoy the photos and captions here, at least. Rabat, Morocco, the city where I met Mohammed the bicycle repairman. Beach soccer near the casbah. (If you're curious, yes, we all rocked it later.) The fountains outside the $3 billion Emirates Palace, which at the time was the most expensive hotel ever built. Incidentally, the large office-building-sized-looking structure isn't the hotel. It's the hotel's entrance gate. The actual hotel is so huge that I think the best way to grasp it visually may be from space via Google Maps. (If you click the link, the entrance gate is the tiny square at the right edge of the grounds, near the road. Check the scale of distance and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Walking along the corniche in Abu Dhabi. There should be more signs like this everywhere. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. On my first visit in 2008, buildings were still rising like this 24/7, constructed by immigrant laborers from South Asia and other less prosperous bits of the world. Their days are long and the pay is short. But many of them send as much money home as they can, having taken these jobs to support their families, whom they generally will not see for years. A rural road near in the hills near Urubamba, Peru. A different path. Cusco, Peru. Outside the offices of Kiva field partner Asociación Arariwa. This was my first visit to a microfinance institution and its clients. I stood outside for a couple of minutes, oddly nervous, breathing Tico exhaust in the thin Andean air, realizing I had no idea what to expect, how I'd be received, or if this whole idea would even work as a book. Then I felt stupid just standing there, went in, and got on with meeting some really cool people. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the day before my first visit to Women for Women International. I now believe that breakdancing is probably happening somewhere on our planet at all times. Kigali, Rwanda, while visiting Kiva field partner Urwego Opportunity Bank. The 1994 genocide still quietly echoes, but construction sites abound, mobile communications are extending into banking and microfinance, and the horrific past seems to have a decent chance of becoming only that. San Francisco, California. Jonathon Stalls, accompanied by his dog Kanoa, completes his 3030-mile cross-country fundraising Kiva Walk by triumphantly leaping into the Pacific Ocean. Dude started in Delaware with his feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Imagine walking that far, thriving on hospitality and trust the whole way. Joining him for the last two days was an inspiration. A handwritten loan form in the office of Kiva field partner Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation. Notice the languages. Loan officers in many countries often need to be fluent in three or more. Compostela on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Hanoi, Vietnam. The communist hammer and sickle are still constantly on display. Hanoi again. T-shirts selling both communist and European colonialist imagery — whatever makes a profit. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A giant sack of something that needs to go somewhere, and a driver willing to do what it takes to get the job done. The closer you look, the less comfortable this seems to have been. But honestly, can you look at this and feel anything but affection and respect? Any of us could be this guy, and we'd find a way to get it done, too. Ram and Smita, the founders of Rang De, a microlending platform directly inspired by Kiva, built so that Indians could lend to other Indians. Chennai, India. Kiva now has three field partners in India, too, but I think there should be no concern about overlap. In rough figures, there are about as many people living in poverty in the state of Odisha alone as there are people — period — in the smallest 15 U.S. states combined. Another way to slice the numbers is even more boggling: the eight poorest Indian states reportedly have as many people in poverty as the poorest 26 African countries combined. I will never be able to comprehend those statistics. If I were an Indian trying to help my own country's poor, I think I'd fall into total overwhelm. And yet Ram and Smita aren't daunted. They do the best that they can, accept the limits of our lives but still push forward, and feel excited for the good they can do every day. The numbers I just mentioned about poverty in India may seem impossible fto imagine. Please try, however, while contemplating this steamroller decorated with the symbol for "om." Beirut, Lebanon, from my hotel TV screen. Strange rituals of an indecipherable culture. Beirut, not far from the offices of Kiva partner Al Majmoua. Two kids see me with a camera and decide to hang out, make faces, and goof around. This happened more than once. People like these two young men are part of a world that I would never have imagined when I was their age. These kids are growing up on a planet that, for all its problems, is more interconnected each day, and with a speed that may escape notice because we're all so busy keeping up. When I was a kid, growing up in the world's richest country, a domestic color television signal was a new and exciting thing. Now I can carry a small rectangle in my pocket with which I can video chat with Tanzania while checking stock prices in Germany and the weather in Peru. Even people on the poorer side of the digital divide can't help but look across the fence and feel the world getting smaller. I don't see this commented on enough, but think of how profoundly different the operating assumptions are becoming for a broad swath of humanity: for the first time in history, a large portion of an entire generation is growing up unable even to conceive of a world without instant, constant communication. This generation, worldwide, should be able to see and listen to each other more fully than any generation before, and by orders of magnitude. And in 40 years or so, they'll hold the political and economic levers in the world's most powerful countries. Is it really all that hard to imagine that we might find our way someday? I kinda think so now. Bob Harris has had a diverse career as a TV writer (Bones, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), occasional TV personality (The National History Bee, Mostly True Stories), and AP award-winning radio humorist. An author whose previous books range from a chronicle of his thirteen Jeopardy! appearances (Prisoner of Trebekistan) to a pocket summary of more than 30 conflicts around the world (Who Hates Whom), Bob has also contributed numerous travel pieces to ForbesTraveler.com. He holds an honors degree in electrical engineering and applied physics from Case Western Reserve University. As a Kiva lender, Bob has made more than 5,200 loans. Bob's upcoming book about microfinance and Kiva, The International Bank of Bob, will be released on March 5th. For more, visit BobHarris.com. Tags: kivakiva microfundsloansmicrofinancelendingbob harrisinternational bank of bobbooklebanonsan franciscosarajevoindiabeirutdubaifranceperukigalirwandacuscorabatShare: Email Camille Ricketts Camille brings her passion for storytelling to Kiva, where she helps create and curate online content. A longtime journalist, she started her career reporting on arts and culture for the Wall Street Journal in London and New York. In 2008, she joined San Francisco-based blog VentureBeat, writing about green technology, policy and finance. Most recently, she worked in public relations for electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors. Outside of work, Camille volunteers as a web designer for maternal health nonprofit Saving Mothers. She holds a B.A. in women's history from Stanford University, where she also served as editor in chief of The Stanford Daily. Search Kiva Updates About Kiva Kiva connects millions of people through lending to alleviate poverty. Read about our partners, programs and loans here. Or check out stories straight from the field on the Kiva Fellows Blog. Have questions? Send them our way at [email protected]. Keep up with Kiva Kiva Blog Posts Kiva HQ An Open Letter About Kiva and Strathmore New Field Partner: Empowering women and out-of-... A Piglet Named Kiva: What Grameen Foundation... Kiva Blog Policies

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3228

hide Banks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen on an office building in Zurich July 22, 2013. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - UBS will pay $885 million in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks. European and U.S. lenders such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have set aside money to cover the cost of any losses arising from the dispute with the Federal Housing Finance Agency but estimates vary widely. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland, which had risen by a quarter since July 3 having slumped following the ousting of chief executive Stephen Hester in June, dropped over three percent on Friday after the UBS settlement was revealed. The FHFA said late on Thursday UBS will pay $415 million and $470 million respectively to government-sponsored housing enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to resolve claims related to securities sold to the companies between 2004 and 2007. UBS is just one of 18 banks the FHFA pursued in 2011 for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of the collateral backing securities during the run-up to the financial crisis. The Swiss bank is the third to settle, after Citigroup and General Electric did so for undisclosed sums. UBS said on Monday that its second-quarter profit beat forecasts even after the settlement, which it said then had been agreed in principle without specifying the exact amount involved. The FHFA said it "remains committed to satisfactorily resolving the remaining suits as well" and the deal may lay down a marker for how much it could cost rival banks. Fears it will face a hefty settlement added to uncertainty around RBS, which is striving to attract a replacement for Hester while the government conducts a review into whether it should be broken up. The bank has already paid out $612 million to settle separate allegations that it manipulated benchmark interest rates and the government is anxious that the lender gets back on track so it can start to offload its 80 percent shareholding. Ronnie Chopra, head of strategy at TradeNext, said fears RBS could face a multibillion-dollar payment in the U.S. "puts more negativity on the bank and highlights concerns regarding the finances of the behemoth". Analysts at Credit Suisse earlier this year said European banks could take an $11 billion hit from a raft of mortgage-related litigation costs in the United States. They estimated RBS alone could face an FHFA litigation loss of $1.6 billion, Barclays a $1.1 billion loss and HSBC could take a $900 million loss. But another London-based analyst, Joseph Dickerson at investment bank Jefferies, said he expected RBS's losses to be "sub-$1 billion". Other banks have acknowledged they could incur losses from the suits but few have said how much it could cost. Barclays said in its last annual report if it lost the cases against the FHFA and other civil actions it could incur a loss of up to the outstanding amount of the RMBS at the time of judgment and some additional interest and costs, less the market value of the RMBS. It said the outstanding amount was $2.7 billion at the end of 2012, and estimated the market value was $1.6 billion. Deutsche Bank has set aside 2.4 billion euros for litigation costs after topping that up in March by an additional 600 million euros, mainly related to lawsuits over its role in selling bonds backed by U.S. sub-prime mortgages. HSBC said in its annual report it was unable to estimate reliably the financial effect of any action or litigation, but any claims "could be significant." (Reporting by Margaret Chadbourn in Washington, Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham in London and Philipp Halstrick in Frankfurt; Editing by Jackie Frank and Patrick Graham)

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3305

NEW RELEASE: New Report Looks at Bolivia's Economic Performance Over Last Four Years December 3, 2009 - Center for Economic and Policy Research Download Report (.pdf 33MB) Record Growth Aided by Sizeable Fiscal Stimulus For Immediate Release: December 3, 2009 Contact: Alan Barber, (202) 293-5380 x 115 Washington, D.C.- Bolivia's economic growth over the last four years has been higher than at any time in the last 30 years - with projected growth for 2009 the highest in the Western Hemisphere - due to a series of government initiatives in recent years that have helped Bolivia to cope with the impact of the world recession. This is one of the highlights of a new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research: "Bolivia: The Economy During the Morales Administration," by Mark Weisbrot, Rebecca Ray, and Jake Johnston. The paper looks at how Bolivia's economy has been able to progress despite a number of significant shocks, including falling remittances, declining foreign investment, the United States' revocation of trade preferences, serious bouts of political instability as a result of separatist political opposition movements, and recent declines in export prices and markets, along with other impacts of the global recession. Bolivia's GDP growth has averaged 4.9 percent annually since the current administration took office in 2006. Projected GDP growth for 2009 is the highest in the hemisphere, and follows its peak growth rate in 2008. "Nothing succeeds like success," CEPR Co-Director and lead author of the paper, Mark Weisbrot, said. "The Bolivian economy has done very well under President Evo Morales, and government policy has been key. These economic gains are a big part of the reason he is favored to win re-election by a wide margin." "None of this would have been possible without the government's regaining control of the country's natural resources," he added. Since 2004, government revenue has risen by almost 20 percentage points of GDP. (This is an enormous increase; for comparison, total revenue to the federal government in the United States has averaged 18.7 percent of GDP over the past 40 years). Most of this increase came from an increase in the government's hydrocarbons revenue due to increased royalty payments, the Morales' government's re-nationalization of the industry, and price increases. The paper finds that the Bolivian government used fiscal policy effectively to counter-act the impact of the world recession, going from a fiscal surplus of 5.0 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2008 to a deficit of 0.7 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2009 -- a huge shift of nearly 6 percentage points of GDP. "Bolivia's fiscal stimulus over the past year was vastly larger than ours in the United States, relative to their economy," Weisbrot noted. This is probably the most important policy move that helped Bolivia avoid the worst effects of the downturn, relative to the most of the rest of the region, and included an increase in public investment from 6.3 percent of GDP in 2005 to 10.5 percent in 2009. The paper also notes that in the last three years the government has begun several programs targeted at the poorest Bolivians. These include payments to poor families to increase school enrollment; an expansion of public pensions to relive extreme poverty among the elderly; and most recently, payments for uninsured mothers to expand prenatal and post-natal care, to reduce infant and child mortality.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3537

Dave Boden Named CEO at Hiway FCU July 03, 2013 • Reprints The $918 million Hiway Federal Credit Union in St. Paul said this week that Dave Boden, its current vice president of technology and chief information officer, will be the Minnesota credit union’s new CEO. Boden will succeed Jeff Schwalen, who plans to retire in October after 23 years at the 60,400-member Hiway, the credit union announced Tuesday. Boden became vice president of technology at Hiway 10 years ago and has 25 years of experience in financial services. His experience includes leadership in areas such as IT, card services, facilities management, teller operations, electronic service delivery, business continuity and strategic planning and security. “Dave is well prepared to lead the organization,” said Hiway FCU Board Chair Pam Tschida. “He has demonstrated strong leadership skills and has an excellent working relationship with the management and staff. Dave fully embraces our core values and mission and is focused on optimizing the member experience at Hiway.” Boden also has been active in political affairs with the Minnesota Credit Union Network, and serves on the CIO Advisory Board for Fiserv XP2 core platform users and on the Technology Council at PM Systems, Hiway’s online banking services provider. Boden said, "Hiway has long exemplified the credit union mission, focusing on community involvement and helping our members by offering them an outstanding array of products and services, great rates and truly personal service. “At the same time, we're in an era of incredible technology and social change. Hiway will build on our traditional strengths, while embracing new models of web, mobile and social financial service delivery." He added, “I would like to thank Jeff for his years of service to the credit union and its members, and for his mentorship and support since I started with Hiway. He's been a friend and I wish him well in his retirement.” Show Comments

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3657

She Knows How to Play the Game The startup revolution is as much about the democratization of capital as it is about the creation of new technologies. So why do women-led companies still receive only 4.6% of all venture funding? Katharine Mieszkowski One simple statistic both motivates and haunts Denise Brosseau: Of the roughly $35.4 billion that VCs invested during the first half of this year, Brosseau reports, only 4.6% went to companies that were led by women. Her personal definition of victory is the increase of that figure to 50%. "Twenty years ago, the issue was how to get women into the debt markets, how to get basic loans to them without requiring their husbands to co-sign," Brosseau says. "Today, the issue is how to get women into the equity markets. That is one of the last frontiers." The story of Silicon Valley over the past three decades has been as much about the democratization of capital as it has been about the creation of new technologies. The vast amounts of risk capital entrusted to entrepreneurs to create new companies and to invent new markets have fueled a frenzy of innovation that has reshaped the economy. But democracy for whom? Do men have some kind of monopoly on worthwhile business ideas? If not, what are the obstacles facing female entrepreneurs who are seeking better access to venture funding? As CEO and cofounder of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), Brosseau, 41, heads a kind of nonprofit accelerator for women-led startups. Based in San Francisco, with chapters in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver/Boulder, the FWE serves high-tech and life-sciences companies that are seeking millions in order to get big fast. It is a well-rounded entrepreneurial community that includes first-time entrepreneurs, successful CEOs, venture capitalists, and service providers such as lawyers, who are willing to lend a hand now in hopes of winning business from those growth companies later. The FWE is a network of 1,100 members -- men and women -- that both demystifies the VC process and wires women into it. "Venture-capital funding is like anything else," Brosseau says. "It's a system that you need to figure out. There are a series of networks that you need to be a part of in order to succeed. There's a process

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/3937

Home > Analysis > Banking on misery Banking on misery Atique Naqvi discovers that there are at least some winners in the last two years' financial turbulance: lawyers, thanks largely to property and employment cases. 0 October 3, 2010 3:40 by Samuel Potter Who says you can’t make a killing in a recession? Legal firms operating across the Gulf say they’re not worried about the global economic crisis because their businesses are booming. Commercial disputes and employee claims, both of which increase when the economy turns sour, are driving their billable hours. When everybody is making money, everybody is happy, according to the senior associate of banking and finance at the UAE’s Bin Shabib and Associates Advocates and Legal Consultants, Imran Shafiq. The lawyer, based at the Dubai International Financial Center, says that when times are good, people tend to ignore mistakes or take them with a pinch of salt and move on, but when the times are bad, people want to cling to every single penny. Commercial disputes have increased not only in the region, but all over the world, says Shafiq. Most of the claims at DIFC Courts are employment-related. Shafiq says the problem has gotten worse as more people are being laid off. “There is a popular belief among employees in the UAE that filing and winning a claim against an employer is extremely difficult, but a lot of protection is given to employees at the DIFC Courts.” The registrar of the DIFC Courts, Mark Beer, says the number of cases has increased, but it is hard to link the rise with what is happening in the global financial world. The registrar attributes the rise in the number of cases at the DIFC Courts to the wider acceptance of the judicial system and trust in the courts. In 2007, four cases were filed at the DIFC’s Court of First Instance. There were nine cases in 2008 and 36 in 2009. By the first week of July 2010, 18 claims had been filed. In the Small Claims Tribunal of the DIFC Courts, 55 claims were filed in 2009, and by the first week of this August there were 66 cases. Beer says the usage of small claims is exponential because the parties involved realize that it is easier to get a decision from the DIFC Courts rather than fighting among themselves. The number of commercial claims has gone up at Dubai Courts as well. The law firm Al Tamimi and Co.’s head of litigation, Hassan Arab, says there has been a 47 percent increase in the number of cases filed last year in the Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal, and Court of Cassation. Tags: DIFC, difc busy, difc case, Dubai courts, dubai lawyers, dubai lawyers thrive in recession, economic downturn good for lawyers, gulf courts, gulf courts busier in recession, gulf courts improve, lawyers, lawyers thrive in recession, more legal cases dubai, uae courts, uae lawyers Keeping it real (estate) October 3, 2010 | Analysis Work on Qatar’s Dohaland continuing on schedule October 3, 2010 Keeping it real (estate)October 3 2010 Work on Qatar's Dohaland continuing on scheduleOctober 3 2010

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4022

FGH Anticipates Sale Completion Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. announced that the purchaser has completed financing arrangements for the sale of its Friede Goldman Offshore division based in Pascagoula, Mississippi. On November 15, Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. (FGH) entered into a definitive contract to sell the assets of its Offshore division to ACON Offshore Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership and an affiliate of ACON Investments, in a transaction valued at approximately $61 million (USD). The sale hearing will take place in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division, on December 16, 2002. Court approval is expected, with a year-end closing anticipated. "The FGH Restructuring Committee of the Board of Directors has worked diligently in concert with the Unsecured Creditors Committee to secure this transaction," said Jack Stone, principal, Glass & Associates, Inc. and chief restructuring advisor to FGH. "The sale of the Offshore division represents a determined effort by senior management, our loyal employees, customers and suppliers to complete this process." Friede Goldman Halter has been advised by ACON Investments that ACON is an international private equity investment firm, which manages investments in the United States, Europe and Latin America. ACON's partnerships typically include sophisticated institutional investors from the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Among its activities, ACON is affiliated with Texas Pacific Group (TPG). TPG manages over $5.7 billion worldwide. Friede Goldman Halter is further informed that ACON typically utilizes a thematic investment approach to identify investments at times of inflection points and that ACON's investment philosophy is to identify opportunities in industries with attractive dynamics and to pursue those opportunities in partnership with established management teams. Tweet

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4451

Tom Stevenson Today's market reminds me of working with Jim Slater in the dotcom boom 1.1m older people drowning in debt as credit card generation reaches retirement More than a million older people are struggling to pay off debts as a generation used to relying on credit cards and mortgages reaches retirement, a study shows. Millions of pensioners have seen their incomes fall by £2,400 in the past year as saving rates tumble. Photo: Ian Jones By John Bingham, Social affairs Editor 6:30AM BST 04 Jun 2013 The traditional image of older people as being reluctant to take on debt and determined to live “within their means” has come under strain partly because of a more relaxed attitude to borrowing from the so-called “baby boomer” generation, it concludes. Declining returns from savings after the worst downturn since the Great Depression and the effects of the reliance on interest-only mortgages have also played a part, it finds. Joint research by Age UK and the International Longevity Centre (ILC) found that, while fewer older people are borrowing on credit cards or other means than before the financial crisis, the average amount of debt they run up has risen by as much as two thirds over six years. And the proportion of older people who are classed as having “problem” debt has risen to almost a third of those with borrowings overall. Significantly, they noted that those struggling to repay debts were more than twice as likely to experience the breakdown of a marriage or long-term relationship as those who did not. Related Articles Get 6pc cashback on your Barclaycard Return of free transfers: Tesco 0pc credit card 20m adults concerned about debt British high street giants sue Visa over rip-off card processing fees Elderly people in debt more likely to have mental health problems, study finds Retirement at 70 will be 'new norm' They also found significantly higher incidence of depression among those struggling to stay afloat amid growing debts. Researchers tracked the experiences of more than 1,300 people over the last decade, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), which charts the lives of thousands of over 50s. They found that the equivalent of 400,000 older people in the UK are paying more than £85 a week just to service unsecured debt while some have debts from unsecured lending of as much £15,000. Overall 28 per cent of those older people who had borrowings in 2010 – or 1.1 million people – could be classed as having “problem” debts – defined in relation to the proportion of their income they spend servicing the debt. In 2002 only 23 per cent were struggling to repay. Age UK warned that while older people are still less likely to rely on borrowing than younger people, there is now a small but growing group who are living with “nightmare” debts blighting their lives and putting strain on their relationships. “Debt is commonly assumed to be more of a problem for younger people than for those later in life,” the report notes. “Traditionally, older people are seen as living within their means and very reluctant to use credit or get into debt. “However, low returns from savings, decreasing annuity rates and rising prices for energy and other basic costs are adding to the financial pressures on many in older age. “There may also be generational effects, as those reaching retirement now are more used to credit cards and other forms of borrowing than older pensioners, and financial services have changed over time. “For example recently, the Financial Conduct Authority has highlighted the large numbers of people approaching or in retirement with interest-only mortgages.” Baroness Greengross, chief executive of ILC, said: “Without further intervention, problem debt will continue to blight the lives of older people – impacting on their relationships, quality of life and mental health.” Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK said: “There is a small group of older people who are facing the nightmare of increasingly serious debt problems which doubles their chance of their marriage breaking down and can ruin their quality of life. “While it is good news that overall debt among the older population is falling, this research, supported by evidence from other charities, sends a clear warning that funding for debt and money advice for older people must be protected and expanded.” • Free reader guide offer: Top 10 retirement tips • The best money tips of the week: Sign up for the newsletter Personal Finance Credit Cards » In Personal Finance When will rates rise? Help to Buy map: Where it could work

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4453

| Wednesday , January 29 , 2014 | In Today's Paper RBI presages growth gloom Recovery to start next fiscal Mumbai, Jan. 28: Brace for the bad news: India’s economic growth this fiscal will be worse than last year — which at 5 per cent in 2012-13 was the lowest in the past decade. In 2013-14, GDP growth will “fall somewhat short of the Reserve Bank’s earlier projection of 5 per cent,” the central bank said today in its third quarter review of macroeconomic and monetary developments, a document that was issued for the first time along with the monetary policy review. The report usually comes out a day before the policy review and is heavily trawled by pundits and reporters to glean cues before the Big Day. But the RBI isn’t troubled by the sharp slowdown this year as it expects a moderate paced recovery next year, bolstered by rural demand, a pick-up in exports and some turnaround in investment demand. The report said GDP growth in 2014-15 “is likely to be in the range of 5-6 per cent, with risks balanced around the central estimate of 5.5 per cent”. The forecast was predicated on project clearances translating into investment, an improvement in global growth outlook, and softening in inflation. Growth in the second half of 2013-14 may turn out to be marginally higher than the first half, mainly because of a rebound in agriculture output and improved export performance, the report said. However, industrial growth continued to stagnate and leading indicators of the services sector exhibited a mixed picture. “Inflation risks have to be watched carefully as we enter into the next year,” the RBI said. The report added that headline inflation measured on the consumer price index (CPI) — the inflation gauge that governor Raghuram Rajan has shown a strong preference for over the wholesale price index (WPI) — was expected to remain above 9 per cent in the fourth quarter that ends on March 31. The RBI said headline CPI inflation would range between 7.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014-15 with the balance of risks tilted on the upside. The RBI’s inflation forecast was broadly in line with the goal-setting targets set by the Urjit Patel committee, which outlined the framework for the conduct of monetary policy in a report submitted last week. The Urjit Patel report had said the CPI should be the nominal anchor for the conduct of monetary policy. It recommended a longer-term target of 4 per cent for CPI inflation with a band of +/- 2 per cent. CPI for December 2013 was provisionally estimated at 9.87 per cent, down from 11.16 per cent in the previous month. Given the current elevated level of CPI inflation, the Patel committee had recommended a 12-month target of 8 per cent and 24-month target of 6 per cent, before the inflation target is formally adopted. The RBI’s forecast of a CPI inflation of 7.5-8.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of next year is within half a percentage point on either side of Patel committee’s 12-month target of 8 per cent. One area of major concern last year was the ballooning current account deficit (CAD). The report indicates that those worries have since receded as India’s trade deficit during April-December 2013 has been 25 per cent lower than last year. The trade deficit had contracted because of a surge in exports, which was driven by the impact of a rupee depreciation and improved growth in advanced economies, the report added. The lower trade deficit has led to a sharp decline in CAD from 3.9 per cent of GDP in the first quarter (April-July 2013) to 1.2 per cent in the second quarter. The report said CAD was likely to be below 2.5 per cent of GDP this year against 4.8 per cent last year when the deficit soared to an unprecedented level of $88.2 billion. The central bank isn’t overly worried about another round of Fed tapering with markets anticipating a further cut in bond purchases by $10 billion. It said the December 18 announcement when the Fed cut its bond purchases to $75 billion a month “had a limited impact on global financial markets”. “Going forward, the spacing of the Fed’s tapering moves over the course of 2014 could influence market movements even though some of it seems to have been priced in,” the report added. The report also said that private consumption expenditure, the mainstay of aggregate demand, had stayed low in the face of high inflation that has caused discretionary demand to fall. It added that the investment cycle had yet to turn around. It said that the pick-up in demand in the coming year depended critically on the successful resolution of bottlenecks facing infrastructure and energy-intensive industrial projects. The report also had one advice for the Centre: it said it was important to “create fiscal space” in 2014-15 to support public investment by restraining revenue spending to crowd in private investment.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4524

At Online Trading Academy you'll learn to control your own destiny by mastering the markets. Learn how you can buy and sell stock, and manage investment risk. Learn the unique language and rules of futures trading and how to apply core strategy. Learn to analyze the global market and choose the right currency pairs for your trading. Learn how options trading can be a powerful tool for making profits in the market. Learn to manage your assets in order to grow wealth and mitigate risk. A wealth of tools and information for traders and investors of all levels. Lessons from the Pros Online Trading Academy’s award winning newsletter that contains powerful trading lessons. Power Trading Radio A one hour LIVE and interactive daily webcast with real-time, expert analysis of the markets from experienced professional traders and master instructors. Keep up with recent articles, videos, and social media posts. Financial EducationCenter Free educational content covering all aspects of the markets. Master Instructor Blog Educational posts covering a variety of topics, from financial news to Online Trading Academy updates. Student Lobby Student-only portal that provides access to important information and course material. Exclusive Student Resources Tools and resources to help students further their trading and investing education Online Trading Academy is a world leader in education for traders and investors. Meet our staff of knowledgeable and dedicated professional instructors. Our staff is dedicated to making sure you meet your trading and investing potential. Recent news about the Online Trading Academy community of students and instructors. Students share their reviews of Online Trading Academy courses and instructors. Online Trading Academy partners offer many additional benefits to students. Discover the franchise opportunities available at Online Trading Academy. Enter your Zip Code to find locations: Please enter a valid 5 digit zip code Free Investing and Trading Class Graduate Program (XLT) Mastermind Community Free Online Trading Courses Financial Education Center Exclusive Student Resources Pro Picks Student Lobby Trader's Dashboard Hour with the Pros TradeStation Platform Webinar Archive Snowball Debt Elimination Calculator Compare Investment Fees Instructor Reviews Asset Class Reviews Leadership & Support Affiliate Inquiry Investing Essentials Trading Essentials History of Trading Stock Trade Direct Access Trading and Level II ECNs Order Routing What is Day Trading? 3 Day Trading Strategies for New Traders 5 Day Trading Secrets for Beginners 3 Ways to Practice Day Trading Discipline Are Stop Loss Orders Useless? Trading Desk Showcase E-minis Financial Infographics Investment Resources Securities markets in the United States began with speculative trading in issues of the new government. In 1791, the country's first stock exchange was established in Philadelphia, the leading city in domestic and foreign trade. An exchange in New York was set up in 1792, when 24 merchants and brokers decided to charge commissions while acting as agents for other persons, and to give preference to each other in their negotiations. They did much of their trading under a tree at 68 Wall Street. Government securities formed the basis of the early trading. Stocks of banks and insurance companies added to the volume of transactions. The building of roads and canals brought more securities to the market. In 1817, the New York brokers decided to organize formally as the New York Stock and Exchange Board. Thereafter, the stock market grew with the industrialization of the country. In 1863, the New York Stock Exchange adopted its present name. During the Civil War, additional exchanges were organized, one of them the forerunner of the present American Stock Exchange, the second largest stock market in the country for a long time. Day Trading, as we know it, has been around for more than a century. Today, we have electronics to help, but the concept of buying and selling securities by the public goes back to the late years of the 19th century. Small businesses were set up in major cities across the country where people could go to make “plays” in the market. These were affectionately known as “bucket shops.” The players would all contribute money into the common “bucket.” The pool of money was then used as security for purchasing stocks or commodities with leverage. This enabled the small trader to speculate on otherwise “out of reach” stocks. The action in these shops was fast and furious. One clerk read the ticker tape while another clerk wrote prices on a chalkboard. The speculators were able to quickly buy and sell the stocks as the “ticker” was read. Money was won or lost based on the inherent honesty of the shop operators. Needless to say, most were unlicensed and illegal. These shops died with the Stock Market Crash of 1929. After the crash, they were regulated out of existence. Our modern markets were re-created as strictly regulated exchanges in the 1930’s. Today’s major markets include The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE - the Big Board), American Stock Exchange (Amex- now part of the NASDAQ), Pacific Stock Exchange (PSE), Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system (NASDAQ). The major foreign exchanges (and their respective Indexes) are located in Germany (DAX), France (CAC), Hong Kong (Hang Seng), Japan (Nikkei), and London (FTSE). Equity markets trade stocks (securities) while other exchanges specialize in bonds, commodities, futures, and options. A small exchange fee is paid to the exchange for each share that changes hands utilizing its services. A market is made when similar items are traded or exchanged. Our exchanges of today have their roots in the agricultural marketplaces. Farmers’ markets and coastal city fish markets still exist throughout the country. These marketplaces have given way to retail sales, but not long ago they still traded goods back and forth. The 1929 Crash and the following Great Depression changed our way of doing business entirely. As noted above, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted sweeping regulations to ensure that another crash would not happen. Congress established this U.S. regulatory commission in 1934, after the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency investigated the New York Stock Exchange's operations. The commission's purpose was to restore investor confidence by ending misleading sales practices and stock manipulations that led to the collapse of the stock market in 1929. It prohibited the buying of stock without adequate funds to pay for it, provided for the registration and supervision of securities markets and stockbrokers, established rules for solicitation of proxies, and prevented unfair use of non-public information in stock trading. It also stipulated that a company offering securities make full public disclosure of all relevant information. The commission also acts as adviser to the court in corporate bankruptcy cases. In 1971, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) created a fully integrated, computerized trading system called the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system). This allowed NASD members to post competing bids and offers for a variety of stocks. Thus, the electronic “Over the Counter” (OTC) market was created. This was a major departure from the “auction” markets of old (NYSE, AMEX, etc), with their Specialists. OTC market trading does not take place on physical stock exchanges; such trading is most significant in the United States, where requirements for listing stocks on the exchanges are quite strict. It is often called the "off-board market," and sometimes the "unlisted market," though the latter term is misleading because some securities so traded are listed on an exchange. OTC trading was most often accomplished by telephone, telegraph, or leased private wire. Now the computers, with either Internet access or direct electronic connections are taking over this route of trading. In this market, dealers frequently buy and sell for their own account and, usually, specialize in certain issues. Schedules of fees for buying and selling securities are not fixed, and dealers derive their profits from the markup of their selling price over the price they paid. The investor may buy directly from a dealer willing to sell stocks that he owns or with a broker who will search the market for the best price. A third market has developed because of the increased importance of institutional investors, such as the mutual funds, who deal in large blocks of stock. Trading is done in shares listed on the exchanges but takes place over the counter (OTC); this permits large-quantity discounts not possible on the exchanges, where brokerage fees are fixed. Much of the regulation of the OTC market is affected through the NASD, created in 1939, by an act of Congress to establish rules of conduct and protect members and investors from abuses. Although retail prices of OTC transactions are not publicly reported, the NASD began publishing inter-dealer prices for the issues on its national list in February 1965. NASDAQ, created by the NASD in 1971, is an automated quotation system that reports on trading of domestic securities not listed on the regular stock markets. The NASDAQ is a subsidiary of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and is monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). By opening the NASDAQ system to direct execution by the public, traders were able to increase competition, which has lowered the spread (the difference between the bid price and the ask) on many NASDAQ listed stocks. By the 1990’s, it had grown into the second largest securities market in the United States and the third largest in the world. In 1992, it was linked to the International Stock Exchange in London, forming the first intercontinental linkage of markets. NASDAQ lists more than 5,000 securities. To be a member, a company must register with the SEC, and have at least two market makers; a market maker is a brokerage firm that acts as a principal on either side of an OTC transaction. They have the right to set the prices at which they are willing to sell and purchase the security. Those prices do not have to be at the current market prices. Market makers frequently make markets in multiple securities, and meet minimum requirements for assets, capital, public shares, and shareholders. It publishes two composite price indexes daily and also bank, insurance, other finances, transportation, utilities, and industrial indexes. Level 1 Price Quote As usual, there were “ups “and “downs” over the intervening years until the October 19 collapse of the market in 1987. This downturn was seen, at that time, as a terrible crash. History and hindsight shows a resilient market that bounced back and continued a Bull Run after a few months. However, this “crash” caused a major panic in the investing public. Stockbrokers were overwhelmed by the sell orders. They could not execute them fast enough as the market plunged. As they fell further behind, the phone continued to ring. The result was that many brokers simply stopped answering them as they tried to catch up (or possibly hide out!). The obvious problem is the “falling safe” theory. Imagine a 1000-pound safe falling off a 10-story building. Who is going to “catch” it? In a fast dropping market, everybody would like to sell and close his or her positions – but who is going to buy the stock? The brokers have a difficult time unloading stocks in a major downtrend; it is nearly impossible to fill their customers’ wishes in a crash. Needless to say, as the clients scream into the phone, “Get me OUT!” the reluctance to deal with them builds. The phone rings, the broker swallows hard and says, “May I help you?” That October in 1987, when the market was falling, there were enough brokers that didn’t answer their phones that the SEC implemented a new regulation that required market makers to buy a certain amount of stocks from small investors when the small investors want to sell. The SEC also formed rules that would eventually allow individual investors to buy and sell shares by connecting directly to the markets and make it mandatory for the market makers to handle the transactions. Over the next couple of years, these changes resulted in the updated Small Order Execution System (SOES). SOES was the conduit for the individual investor to escape through. It is this system that allowed the world of “electronic” day traders to start. The next step was the creation of the first Electronic Communication Network (ECN) by the NASDAQ market. It was named Instinet (INCA) and was owned by Reuters. This ECN was originally designed for use by the institutional market and allowed market makers to trade anonymously. It did not take long for the re-emerging day traders to discover the uses of the automatic execution system of the SOES and the growing ECN network. In the 1990’s, we saw the creation of Island, Attain, RediBook, Bloomberg Trade Book and other ECNs. Eventually, the SEC and NASD realized that this platform of trading had to be open to all, not just market makers. The market makers dubbed these new direct electronic traders as “SOES Bandits” because of their quick hits and fast trades. It was a misnomer though, as the “Bandits” did not take from the system as much as they gave. The NASDAQ, SOES and the ECN groups grew very quickly in the early 1990’s. The day traders provided liquidity in the OTC market that was never seen before. Their ability to set their own prices and live off of their trading further reduced the price of brokerage commissions and narrowed the, heretofore, very profitable spread. Currently, there are several ECNs operating in conjunction with the NASDAQ. Day trading firms have sprung up across the country and even internationally. With direct electronic access, speed of light execution, and availability of ECNs, electronic day trading is here to stay. It is no less risky than the bucket shops of old, but it has become a legitimate, regulated and organized profession worthy of competing with the age-old trading houses. Get Trading Lessons from our Experts Delivered to Your Inbox Subscribe to our award-winning Lessons from the Pros newsletter. Read last week's issue. Take the first step in your education! Find a Free Class Near You News Corporate Headquarters 17780 FitchSuite 200Irvine, CA 92614 USA Copyright © 1998 - 2014 Online Trading Academy. All Rights Reserved.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4536

Pension crisis a cash cow JOHN FINNERTY HARRISBURG — While lawmakers struggle to come up with a plan to deal with skyrocketing pension costs, there is one option that has remained off-limits: Tinkering with benefits for the retirees. Some of those collecting pension benefits are the very lawmakers who boosted benefits for themselves and other state employees while approving state budgets that underfunded the pension. In 2001, the Legislature passed a law that changed the funding formula for pension benefits, increasing a multiplier used to determine pension benefits and making the law retroactive to the beginning of each employee’s government career. Then, throughout the following decade, the state repeatedly underfunded its contributions to the pension system while depending on investment earnings to make up the difference. In some cases, retired lawmakers are now collecting more in annual retirement payments than the $83,801 a year their successors are getting paid for serving in the Legislature. Merle Phillips, R-Northumberland, was in the state House for 30 years before his 2010 retirement. He is collecting $120,252 a year in pension benefits. The watchdog group Rock the Capital identified two other lawmakers who were in office for the 2001 benefit boost who get even more in annual pension payments. The top pensioner: Frank Oliver, D-Philadelphia, who collects $286,118 a year. House Republican caucus spokesman Stephen Miskin said current lawmakers have largely determined that trying to go after the benefits of retirees and existing employees is probably more trouble than it’s worth. Some lawmakers think it’s just wrong to try to undo benefits that were promised employees and retired employees. Under this view, the 310,000 retirees in the state’s two main public pension systems made their contributions, it was the government that failed to pay its share. The consensus is that any attempt to tinker with benefits of current employees or retirees would end up in court. The state needs pension relief as soon as possible, so most lawmakers are looking for a solution that can avoid a legal fight, Miskin said. Without changes to the pension system, “The 2014 state budget and school district budgets will have to spend several hundred million more for pensions than this year,” said state Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford. Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan that included tinkering with benefits for existing employees is out, said state Rep. Fred Keller, R-Union. State House leaders have told rank-and-file lawmakers that some form of pension reform bill should take place in Novemb

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4751

This page uses Cookies. Your browser either doesn't support Cookies or you have disabled them. To see this page as it is meant to appear please enable Cookies on your browser. Our Experts Could Have Made You An Extra $250,000 Get Their Secrets to Wealth Today The Financial Intelligence Report is the monthly newsletter bringing together some of the sharpest minds from the worlds of finance, investing, and economics. Containing insights and opinions not found anywhere else, the Financial Intelligence Report (12 monthly issues) gives readers an unprecedented look at how events are likely to unfold in the United States and across the globe over the coming weeks, months, and years, as seen by our panel of experts. This distinguished group comprises individuals from numerous countries with a broad range of backgrounds and fields of expertise, including: James Dale Davidson — author of numerous books including The Sovereign Individual and founder of the National Taxpayers Union. Lord William Rees-Mogg — along with Davidson, co-authored The Great Reckoning, The Sovereign Individual, and Blood in the Streets. Robert Wiedemer — author and economist who accurately predicted the collapse of the U.S. housing market, equity markets, and the private debt and consumer spending bubbles in his 2006 book America's Bubble Economy. Axel Merk — portfolio manager for the Merk Hard Currency Fund as well as the founder and president of Merk Investments, an independent investment advisory service. Hans Parisis — Belgian-born bank economist who has advised global billionaires and governments on the financial markets and international investments. Arnaud de Borchgrave — noted editor and journalist who covered most of the world's major news events, including 18 wars. He was appointed editor-in-chief of The Washington Times in 1985, a post he held until 1991. The Financial Intelligence Report also features a rotating cast of experts, such as investment guru Jim Rogers and renowned financial publisher Steve Forbes, who give exclusive interviews or content to the Financial Intelligence Report on an ongoing basis. The investment recommendations from our panel of experts have thoroughly trounced the markets. Just take a look at this chart: If you had invested $100,000 in the model portfolio of the Financial Intelligence Report in 2003, the end result would have been $405,000. If you had invested in the S&P, the result would be a dismal $155,000 . . . a difference of $250,000. The consortium has put together a track record that is impressive not only for its success, but also for its ability to accurately predict many of the events that have impacted the global economy over the last few years. In our January 2008 report, we stated, "We have long touted investing globally. However, several countries are linked to commodity prices . . . We also believe China's economy is racing for a major fall-off. Continue to look for price opportunities as stock market woes in the United States and Europe may spread to emerging markets." As you can see in the chart below, Chinese shares fell sharply. In April 2008, we gave readers our insight on oil prices. We recommended taking a position in the ProShares UltraShort Oil and Gas ETF (DUG) as a way to profit from a sharp drop in oil prices. In the June 2008 issue we reiterated our stance, telling readers "Continue to hold and buy this position; it is sure to show big returns as oil prices fall." As you can see, soon after our oil call, crude nose-dived from its $147 high to the mid-$20 range as hedge funds fled their oil positions in a panic. Oil oversold and sharply rebounded, of course, but the timely price prediction was dead-on for our subscribers. And finally, in February 2009, one of our experts made this call: "We soon should be in a market rally that lasts anywhere from six months to two years. During this period, the Dow could regain anywhere from 50 to 100 percent of its losses, which would mean a Dow ranging from 10,500 to 12,000 in the coming 24 months." As you know, the market hit bottom the very next month, and went on a historic rally that continues to this day. Having access to this information before these events occurred allowed readers of the Financial Intelligence Report to safely position themselves to avoid the devastating consequences, and profit from the unique opportunities presented by our expert panel. Here is what a few of our members told us about how valuable the Financial Intelligence Report has been to them: I love it! It's been so accurate over the past five years . . . I would definitely recommend FIR to friends, I already do. I just tell them that this has been 100% accurate since I've been following it. — Paul C., Atlanta, GA (Subscriber since Jan. 5, 2007) You are a gem in your clear objective economic overview. You set a base-line perspective and rationale so one can quickly sort out, or phase out, the rambling positions coming to me from the information Internet grid and TV. Don't change a thing — you are so "on target." — Gilbert S., Safety Harbor, FL (Subscriber since Jan. 5, 2009) I have been subscribing to Financial Intelligence Report since 2005. I have read every single edition back to 2003 since it was founded. I found the comments fair, and in fact, all the predictions came true. There is hardly any agency or a guru investor who would be so precise. — Natalia K., Germany (Subscriber since Sept. 13, 2005) Or if you wish to immediately gain access to this valuable information, you can join the Financial Intelligence Report today by filling out the form below. IMPORTANT NOTE: Your subscription to Financial Intelligence Report comes with convenient automatic renewal. This means no chance of interrupted service. Thirty days before the end of your subscription period, Newsmax will notify you that your subscription is ending and will inform you of the low renewal rate then in effect. Unless you cancel, your subscription will renew automatically and your credit/debit card on file will be charged for another year (12 issues) at a low renewal rate then in effect. If you want to cancel, just respond to the notice within 30 days, and you will not be charged. You may also cancel by contacting our Customer Service Center at 1-800-485-4350, or completing our online Customer Service Form. Please remember there is no risk, because you can cancel at any time for a full refund of the unused portion of your subscription. Please Select Your Subscription Term:One year digital subscription to Financial Intelligence Report for only $97.95One year print subscription to Financial Intelligence Report for only $109 Select Your FREE Remaining More Info Add to Order × Billing Address * Fields are required * First Name* Last Name

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/4863

by Taylor Swift hide Wall Street's hot trade: compliance officers Wednesday, October 09, 2013 6:05 a.m. CDT A woman with her luggage and a dog make their way to Wall Street station, to get out of lower Manhattan in New York October 28, 2012. REUTER By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The kings of Wall Street used to be the traders and investment bankers who said yes to big deals and big trades, but today's power brokers increasingly are the compliance officers who quite often say no to risky proposals. As the U.S. government steps up enforcement of anti-money laundering laws, it has created a red-hot market for compliance officers, who oversee a bank's systems that prevent it from violating regulatory requirements and monitor transactions for any suspicious activity. According to recruiters, the demand for compliance expertise exceeds the pool of qualified professionals, forcing banks to poach from each other - sometimes by offering to double salaries and other perks like flexible work schedules. JPMorgan Chase & Co , which has announced plans to improve compliance across the bank as it faces a bevy of regulatory investigations, has more than 300 job openings for anti-money laundering professionals, according to its website. That is the equivalent of hiring an entire compliance department for many other financial institutions. "There are not a lot of high-caliber people left in the marketplace," said legal recruiter Jason Wachtel, who runs the search firm JW Michaels & Co. Wachtel said he knows of a "very big bank" that offered to pay more than $1 million to a potential new director for its anti-money laundering program, a sum that would have been unheard of a few years ago. The candidate ultimately rejected the offer, Wachtel said, in a move that highlights the extent to which experienced officers command the upper hand. Wall Street's focus on compliance has been years in the making. Much of it dates back to October 2003, when a provision of the Patriot Act that required financial institutions to verify the identities of certain customers went into effect. Banks were then forced to bolster so-called AML (anti-money laundering) compliance departments to monitor their customers and transactions. But it was only in recent years - after the 2008-2009 financial crisis - that regulators and prosecutors have intensified a crackdown on the flow of money tied to suspected terrorist activity, drug lords and tax evaders. Enforcement actions have stacked up across the industry, with anti-money laundering settlements, including some sanctions violations, spiking to total $3.5 billion in 2012, from $26.6 million in 2011, according to the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. That jump includes last year's $1.9 billion blockbuster fine on HSBC for its failures to stop hundreds of millions of dollars of drug money routed through it from Mexico. Some compliance officers speculate the increased enforcement was driven in part by the public perception that financial institutions were not held sufficiently accountable in the aftermath of the crisis. "Compliance is very hot," said Jack Kelly, a legal recruiter who specializes in placing such professionals. "It just takes one or two firms to really get hit hard, get very negative media attention and pay heavy fines, and it's a wake up call not just for them but for all the other firms." Recruiters say there has been a hiring spree. TD Bank , which was fined $52.5 million last month over anti-money laundering lapses, hired Michael Bowman from Rabobank to run the Canadian bank's sanctions and anti-money laundering operations. In August, Barclays Plc hired Morgan Stanley's anti-money laundering director, Tim O'Neal Lorah, to head financial crimes compliance. Western Union Co , which paid $94 million to resolve a 2010 money laundering settlement with state authorities, hired senior JPMorgan lawyer Barry Koch in May to serve as chief compliance officer. Other banks are even turning to big names outside the compliance industry. Standard Chartered Plc , which paid $667 million last year on charges it violated U.S. sanctions laws, hired the former top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, David Fein, as the bank's general counsel last month. Fein's experience does not include much banking expertise, but he did spend time at the U.S. Department of Justice and in the White House when Bill Clinton was President. Money-laundering compliance has not traditionally been a hot career path, since such risk departments were often ignored and sidelined when their demands clashed with the parts of banks that bring in business. There are no specialized degrees required for compliance officials, who were typically repurposed from other divisions of a bank. But as demand picked up, candidates with degrees from reputable law schools started moving into the field, recruiters say. At a bank or broker-dealer, a compliance employee with a couple years of experience might make between $65,000 and $85,000 plus a bonus; five to 10 years of experience generally commands a base salary of up to $150,000 per year; and top professionals can expect $1 million or more. In order to lure talent from a competing institution, a standard offer would include a salary that is 20 percent larger than what the candidate currently makes, Wachtel said. Comparable compliance positions at hedge funds can command even larger salaries. Around six months ago, one officer jumped from a $425,000 salary at a big hedge fund in the Midwest, to an $800,000 one on the west coast, Wachtel said. CHARTING A CAREER PATH Compliance officers at big financial institutions, which can face scrutiny from several regulators, sometimes have to juggle a dozen or more exams to stay on top of their field. With no schools to provide specific training in anti-money laundering processes, employers often recruit from their rivals. JPMorgan, for example, hired Pamela Johnson from Citigroup last year to serve as managing director of financial crimes compliance. Johnson then brought over several of her deputies. Citigroup in turn hired William Langford, who formerly held Johnson's job at JPMorgan. "It's hand-to-hand combat to get and keep qualified people," said Ellen Zimiles, who runs the investigations and compliance practice at the consulting firm Navigant. She said clients have hired groups of her consultants as they attempt to staff up. Regulators say they are concerned that smaller banks may not keep qualified professionals because of poaching from big banks. "They will take a good officer ... and leave weaker institutions with perhaps a weaker staff," Lisa Arquette, an FDIC official, said on a panel at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists conference in Las Vegas last month. (Additional reporting by Brett Wolf in St. Louis; Editing by Karey Van Hall, Tiffany Wu and Grant McCool)

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5062

Equity News Circuit via Marketwired News Releases April 08, 2013 at 08:45 AM EDT Free Research Reports on BGMD, BIOF, GEVO and MLNX Issued by the Bedford Report Note to Editors: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by the EQUITY NEWS CIRCUIT NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 04/08/13 -- The Bedford Report has released new equity reports today. As a leading provider of free in depth reports and timely market updates, Bedford is an essential resource for hundreds of thousands of investors across the country. BG Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGMD) shares have declined approximately 25 percent year-to-date. The company in their recent earnings release stated that they expect to launch the CardioSCORE test in Europe sometime in the first half of 2013. Find out more about BG Medicine including full access to the free equity report at: www.BedfordReport.com/BGMD BioFuel Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: BIOF) shares have surged over 30 percent year-to-date. The company has recently engaged Piper Jaffray & Co. as a financial advisor to assist them in exploring strategic alternatives that may include the sale of one or both of BioFuel's plants. Find out more about BioFuel Energy including full access to the free equity report at: www.BedfordReport.com/BIOFGevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) shares have gained approximately 35 percent year-to-date. The company is focused on developing biobased alternatives to petroleum-based products using a combination of synthetic biology and chemistry. Gevo reported a net loss of $13.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to a net loss of 14.2 million in the year ago quarter. Find out more about Gevo including full access to the free equity report at: www.BedfordReport.com/GEVOMellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) shares have gained approximate 8 percent in the past month. The company has announced it will release results for the first quarter of 2013 after market close on Wednesday, April 24th. Find out more about Mellanox Technologies including full access to the free equity report at: www.BedfordReport.com/MLNX Disclaimer: Information, opinions and analysis contained herein are based on sources believed to be reliable, but no representation, expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. The opinions contained herein reflect our current judgment and are subject to change without notice. We accept no liability for any losses arising from an investor's reliance on or use of this report. This report is for information purposes only, and is neither a solicitation to buy nor an offer to sell securities. Certain information included herein is forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements concerning manufacturing, marketing, growth, and expansion. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could affect actual results and cause them to differ materially from expectations expressed herein. A third party, Providence Media Strategies LLC has paid Equity News Circuit five hundred dollars for the publication of this news release. Neither Equity News Circuit, nor the hiring party, has a financial relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this release. Neither Equity News Circuit nor the hiring party are a registered investment advisor, and nothing in this report is intended as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Equity News CircuitEmail Contact Related Stocks: BG Medicine, Inc. BIOFUEL ENERGY GEVO Mellanox Technologies, Ltd.

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5145

Judgment day for the eurozone | The Japan Times Online Monday, Sep. 3, 2012 Judgment day for the eurozone By HANS-WERNER SINN MUNICH — Europe and the world are eagerly awaiting the decision of Germany's Constitutional Court on September 12 regarding the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the proposed permanent successor to the eurozone's current emergency lender, the European Financial Stability Mechanism. The Court must rule on German plaintiffs' claim that legislation to establish the ESM would violate Germany's Grundgesetz (Basic Law). If the Court rules in the plaintiffs' favor, it will ask Germany's president not to sign the ESM treaty, which has already been ratified by Germany's Bundestag (parliament). There are serious concerns on all sides about the pending decision. Investors are worried that the Court could oppose the ESM such that they would have to bear the losses from their bad investments. Taxpayers and pensioners in European countries that still have solid economies are worried that the Court could pave the way for socialization of eurozone debt, saddling them with the burden of these same investors' losses. The plaintiffs represent the entire political spectrum, including the Left Party, the Christian Social Union MP Peter Gauweiler, and the justice minister in former Chancellor Gerhard Schroder's Social Democratic government, Herta Daubler-Gmelin, who has collected tens of thousands of signatures supporting her case. There is also a group of retired professors of economics and law, and another of "ordinary" citizens, whose individual complaints have been selected as examples by the Court. The plaintiffs have raised several objections to the ESM. First, they claim that it breaches the Maastricht Treaty's "no bail-out" clause (Article 125). Germany agreed to relinquish the Deutsche Mark on the condition that the new currency area would not lead to direct or indirect socialization of its members' debt, thus precluding any financial assistance from EU funds for states facing bankruptcy. Indeed, the new currency was conceived as a unit of account for economic exchange that would not have any wealth implications at all. The plaintiffs argue that, in the case of Greece, breaching Article 125 required proof that its insolvency would pose a greater danger than anticipated when the Maastricht Treaty was drafted. However, no such proof was provided. Second, Germany's law on the introduction of the ESM obliges Germany's representative on the ESM Council to vote only after having asked the Bundestag for a decision. According to the plaintiffs, this is not permissible under international law. If Germany had wished to constrain its governor's authority in this way, it should have informed the other signatory states prior to doing so. On the other hand, Germany's representative on the Governing Council is sworn to secrecy, which, the plaintiffs argue, precludes any accountability to the Bundestag. Moreover, the plaintiffs claim that, while the ESM treaty is restrictive in granting resources to individual states, requiring a qualified majority vote, it does not specify the conditions under which losses are acceptable. Losses can result from excessive wages paid by the ESM Governing Council members to themselves, a dearth of energy in efforts to collect debts from countries that have received credit, or other forms of mismanagement. And, because Governing Council and Executive Board members enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution, misbehavior cannot be punished. If losses arise, they must be covered by the initial cash contribution of ?80 billion ($100 billion), which then would be topped up automatically by all participating countries according to their capital shares. If individual countries are no longer able to make the necessary contributions, others must do so on their behalf. In principle, a single country might have to assume the entire burden of losses. Such joint and several liability, the plaintiffs assert, contradicts the Court's previous statements that Germany should not accept any financial commitments stemming from other states' behavior. Worse, according to the plaintiffs, although the liability of any country vis-a-vis external partners is limited to that country's share of capital, this limitation does not apply to other signatory states. It is theoretically possible that a single country could be held liable for the ESM's total exposure of ?700 billion. Finally, the ESM cannot be considered on its own, but must be seen in the context of the total exposure amount, which includes the ?1.4 trillion in bailout funds that have already been granted. In particular, the Target2 credit drawn by the crisis-afflicted countries' central banks, which already totals almost ?1 trillion, should also be taken into consideration. Nobody knows how the Constitutional Court will rule on these objections. Most observers believe that the Court is unlikely to oppose the ESM treaty, though many expect the judges to demand certain amendments, or to ask Germany's president to make his signature subject to certain qualifications. It is good that the Court's decisions cannot be forecast, and even better that the Court cannot be lobbied or petitioned. The European Union can be based only on the rule of law. If those in power can break its rules on a case-by-case basis, the EU will never develop into the stable construct that is a prerequisite for peace and prosperity. Hans-Werner Sinn is Professor of Economics and Public Finance, University of Munich, and President of the Ifo Institute. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5206

Ten Major Italian Cities On Verge of Financial Collapse July 23, 2012 Posted by Rich Hawks Leave a Comment Courtesy of Mish. The economic situation in Italy has reached a critical phase as Ten major cities face risk of crash The word “crash” implies bankruptcy. Milan, Naples, and Turin are among the cities. The Association of Municipalities plans to demonstrate in Rome against new cuts, hoping to sends a clear message to prime minister Mario Monti that will “force his hand”. What follows in blockquotes is an “as is” translation from La Stampa. There are ten major Italian cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, who are a step away from the crash. Naples and Palermo at the top of the “black list”, although a task force for weeks at Palazzo Chigi is doing everything possible to avoid the worst. Then Reggio Calabria, finished in red already in 2007-2008 and is now being investigated by the judiciary. And then so many other governments, large and small (like Milazzo), perhaps far virtuous, could be forced to ask for the “collapse”, which means dissolution of the council, entrance of the Court of Auditors and prefectural commissioner. At risk are at least a dozen large cities’ trust in the government technicians who are monitoring the situation. “The situation is becoming more difficult every day,” confirms the president of ANCI Graziano Del Rio. Pointing the finger at yet another cut in transfers, against the measures introduced by the spending review, and that raises the alarm of many fellow mayors. “By cutting the residual assets of a sudden it is clear that financial statements do not fit anymore.” In itself the principle, Del Rio argues, is not even wrong, “but is more gradual to allow time for the mayors who have used this method to adapt. Why else would even virtuous municipalities, such as Salerno, at this point are at risk.” Based on data available to the Interior Ministry that the phenomenon of Commons have declared bankruptcy in the last two years has literally exploded from 1-2 cases a year has passed about 25, including north-central governments also where this type the phenomenon was unknown until recently. Striking in the case of Alexandria, whose mayor just a few weeks ago, threw in the towel under the weight of 100 million euros of debt. The same fate had previously befallen smaller municipalities like Riomaggiore (SP), Castiglione Fiorentino and Barnsley in the province of Como. There is a problem of keeping budgets and there is an even stronger cash. Often the mayor in office is empty. “At 4 months from the closing of accounts 2012 – Del Rio says – even the 500 million cuts to transfers planned for this year are very heavy. They represent a very significant part of our budgets and delete it at once not only creates other problems of cash but also disrupts the objectives of the Stability Pact.” For this reason the Association of Municipalities, which will return tomorrow to demonstrate in Rome against the new cuts, sends a clear message Monti: “Attention to force his hand, because this step forward the day when common as Milan, Naples and Turin will leave the Stability Pact will this gesture only plows in the accounts of the entire state. ” Del Rio concludes: “We are open to reason, but things should be done wisely. And above all we must take into account that in recent years as municipalities have already given 22 billion euros. ” Eurointelligence sums up the article this way: Over 10 Italian big cities are on the verge of financial collapse. Debts, derivatives and mistakes: the Italian municipalities are in crisis. After the default of Alessandria, a big city in Piedmont (North-Western Italy), there are several risks for Turin, Milan, Napoli, Palermo, Reggio Calabria and other cities with over 50,000 inhabitants. “Too much debts, over 10 metropolitan cities should ask to Corte dei Conti (the Italian Court of Auditors) for an orderly default,” Graziano Del Rio, chairman of Italian Association of Commons, said to La Stampa. In last week the Sicily has asked for a financial support and has claimed over €1bn of credits to Italian government. Mike “Mish” Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Continue Here

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5235

The Rise of China comments China growth slows in first quarter By Charles Riley @CRrileyCNN April 15, 2013: 3:46 AM ET HONG KONG (CNNMoney) China's economy grew at a slower pace to start the year than economists had expected, raising concerns about the speed of recovery in the world's second-biggest economy. Gross domestic product grew 7.7% over the previous year during the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Monday. That's slightly faster than the government's target of 7.5%, but well below the 8% expected by economists. Fourth quarter 2012 growth was 7.9%. Separate reports on industrial production and retail sales also disappointed. Markets around Asia reacted negatively to the news, with most indices falling around 1%. Economists at HSBC said the lackluster report could spur more investment by the government in a bid to ensure growth. "This should prompt a stronger policy response mainly in the format of more fiscal spending in the coming months," they said in a research note. "Once fiscal spending is delivered, growth should be lifted in the coming quarters. But the magnitude of the growth acceleration will depend on the dose of policy response." China has averaged growth of around 10% a year in the past three decades, propelling it up the list of biggest economies, generating wealth for its growing middle class and boosting global trade. Inflation, a problem in 2012, has been tame so far this year. But economists are worried about a rapid expansion in credit and a red-hot housing market. Earlier this month, the Fitch ratings agency warned over excessive debt levels in China and issued a rare local currency downgrade. Credit in China has expanded quickly in the wake of the global financial crisis, with much of it issued to local governments and used to finance infrastructure projects. But local government finances in China are notoriously opaque, and financial partnerships with local businesses are particularly murky. Fitch believes local government debt levels are now so high that Beijing will, at some point, be forced to assume some of the burden. Related story: China misses out on global stocks rally China puts brakes on its housing market The housing market is also heating up, leading some analysts to worry about the development -- and possible deflation -- of a housing bubble. China's central government is already stepping up efforts to cool prices, and Beijing has directed local governments to institute control measures of their own. Several cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have responded by announcing higher taxes and fresh restrictions on property purchases. But the effectiveness of these measures is not yet clear. China's new leadership -- which took the reins in November last year -- is looking to rebalance the country's economy, placing greater emphasis on consumption and reducing the country's reliance on investment in infrastructure, manufacturing and real estate. Related story: In China, a little bit of financial chaos is just fine But President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will have a much harder task if growth remains relatively weak. "There is greater uncertainty around the pace of the recovery -- which will mainly depend on how well Beijing's new economic team can strike a balance between sustaining growth and controlling structural risks," the HSBC economists said. First Published: April 14, 2013: 10:32 PM ET Join the Conversation Most Popular

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5309

The Value Gene Paul Isaac's father helped Mutual Shares founder Max Heine find his first job on Wall Street. And his uncle, Walter Schloss, studied under Benjamin Graham and was praised by Warren Buffett. Why Isaac likes French banks and is down on Amazon.com. Leslie P. Norton This New York-based investor has value investing in his blood. His father, Irving, an arbitrageur, was instrumental in finding Max Heine his first job on the Street. Heine went on to run the legendary Mutual Shares Fund, and Irving Isaac sat on its board for three decades. And Paul Isaac's uncle, Walter Schloss, a student of Benjamin Graham, was praised by Warren Buffett and profiled in Barron's. At his former position leading a fund of funds, Paul Isaac produced high single-digit returns annually. That fund was sold after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. He continues to manage Arbiter, a hedge fund that has returned 21% a year, on average, since its 2001 inception. Isaac, 62, writes nuanced, beautifully reasoned investor letters that magnificently illuminate the financial markets. One fan is writer and investor Jim Grant, who once dedicated a book thusly: "To Paul Isaac, who knows everything." To learn Isaac's take on the world and what Irving and Walter might think, read on. Barron's : How is your style different from Walter's or your father's? Isaac: I'm a value-oriented investor with a preference for tax efficiency. In an ideal world, you want good management with a strong sense of capital stewardship in strong business franchises with good growth prospects at low prices. I like statistically cheap securities trading at appreciable discounts to tangible book, but I will not buy such securities primarily on their discounts from book. Enlarge Image "Larger companies are relatively inexpensive. Some are downright cheap, with strong market positions and good free-cash flows." -- Paul Isaac Brad Trent for Barron's I am much more aggressive than my father, who had as much as one-third of his partnership in T-bills. I invest in foreign securities, which he rarely did. I take short positions, buy stressed fixed-income securities, and invest in financials. Walter rarely did any of that. He was very much a balance-sheet fundamentalist. He didn't have a lot of contact with management and often avoided management. My father and Walter did not agree. My father was even more conservative. He started out as an arbitrageur. His specialty was the breakup of the public utility holding companies in the mid-1930s. He had more of a sense of an internal corporate strategy and was interested in special situations. He was more conscious than Walter of qualitative issues. What would they say about this market? Walter retired [in 2002], in part because he felt the markets had gotten crazy and ebullient, and that there would be a pretty difficult extended period. At his age, what was the point of sticking around? My father graduated from NYU in 1928. When he studied economics, everyone was focused on the very sharp depression at the end of World War I. He would likely have seen the Great Recession as the long-delayed product of a series of palliative measures, starting with the relative lack of a post-World War II adjustment to a peacetime economy. You sometimes describe yourself as a farmer on Mount Vesuvius. Please explain. We have better-quality, bigger companies than we've ever been involved in before. The market tends to have a different curve of valuation for big companies versus small companies, growth companies versus companies that aren't growing so fast. Ironically, a lot of larger companies are relatively inexpensive on a historical basis. Some are downright cheap, with strong market positions, reasonable franchises, and good free-cash flows. In many cases the balance sheets have been improved. All this takes place against the backdrop of an unresolved set of structural economic issues in the U.S. and globally. What ultimately will precipitate a major confrontation with these issues, and how will the financial markets be affected? What is the answer? I lived through the early part of 1994 when you had a bloodbath in the long bond. What happens if U.S. policymakers are forced by external pressures to make hurried and extemporized changes in fiscal policy that affect 2% to 4% of gross domestic product? What kind of administrative measures and capital controls might be parts of such political packages? What might that mean for the ground rules of markets and the free flow of capital? Isaac's Picks Recent Company Ticker Price Bolloré Group BOL.France €180.95 Devon Energy DVN $54.65 Greif Brothers B GEFB $47.50 ...and Pan Amazon.com AMZN $215.36 Source: Bloomberg You could wind up with a liquidation-only situation in which banks are unable to effect foreign-exchange transactions if you want to invest overseas. Given the lack of coherent policy generally, it could get ad hoc and unpredictable. How are you feeling about Europe? The Europeans are generally muddling through. From the point of view of economics, they are actually addressing their problems more than we are. The question is: Are they addressing it sufficiently? The Spaniards have made real efforts to reduce their budget deficits. The question is whether the current Spanish government will exhaust the patience of its electorate before it can really get the job done. We have the same problems, and the Japanese have it worse. These big fiscal deficits have to be funded, and are being funded because the banks have to use a chunk of their balance sheet for theoretically riskless liquid assets. You're building a problem that could ultimately become a major issue in banking systems. In Europe, you could string this thing out for several years. When do we return to prosperity? Define prosperity! We are above the aggregate real economic activity of '07, so by that standard definition, the recession is over. We have slack labor markets. But real global GDP has grown by something like 15% to 20% since the '08 financial crisis. The question is about another boom where there is a generalized feeling that everybody's situation is getting better. That may not occur for a decade. The market is affording you reasonable real returns. The name of the game here is to keep on going in a reasonable low gear, position yourself not to get knocked out of the game if we have an interim crisis like another 1994, or a political breakdown in Europe that propagates more severe fears in the financial system, or a crisis of confidence in Japan's banking system. I'm also in the bear camp on China. I don't think we can assume the authorities can always contain another set of serious problems. But from an investment perspective, a number of European companies have a fair amount of risk, but are extremely cheap and probably immune to failure risk. They present pretty good alternatives in terms of places to invest. For example? Credit Agricole aca.fr +2.62% Credit Agricole S.A. 04/08/14 The BOJ Tie: Light Blue for Op... 03/28/14 France's Ceva Spearheads Riski... 03/27/14 Banks Lead U.K. Shares Lower aca.fr in (ticker: ACA.France) is a federation of French agricultural credit co-ops that own roughly 40 regional banks that, in turn, control what people think of as Credit Agricole—insurance companies, the corporate bank, the investment bank, investment management, brokerage and international operations. The banks have a very large retail network. Roughly 19 have outstanding nonvoting equity shares that are relatively illiquid, but do trade in France. Representative names include Credit Agricole Nord de France cnf.fr -0.06% Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel Nord de France €286.76 Million cnf.fr in (CNF.France), Credit Agricole Sud Rhone Alpes crsu.fr +0.74% Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel Sud Rhone Alpes crsu.fr in (CRSU.France), Credit Agricole Ile de France (CAF.France), Credit Agricole de Normandie-Seine ccn.fr -0.46% Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel de Normandie-Seine S.A. ccn.fr in (CCN. France), and Credit Agricole du Morbihan cmo.fr -1.13% Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel du Morbihan €88.66 Million cmo.fr in (CMO.France). These trade at 20% to 40% of tangible book and three to five times earnings, with dividend yields of 8% to 9%. These are conservatively run regional banks. France didn't have a gigantic real- estate boom. If you don't think the French banking system is completely imploding, these are really cheap certificates, and you are paid a fair amount while you wait. In 2009, two regional banks bought back all the certificates at 80% of book—two to three times the present price. A number have active buyback programs, in some of which the shares are permanently retired and in some of which they are part of "liquidity programs." What else? We have a position in Bolloré Group bol.fr +4.25% (BOL.France), a large European conglomerate. Vincent Bolloré is best-known for active positions in a number of large companies, most recently Vivendi (VIV.France), where he is joining the board. He is a talented guy. The book values of these companies compounded at a mid-teens growth rate for 20 years. Two things are attractive and overlooked. One, a very large ports and logistics operation, primarily in Francophone Africa, that will probably have an operating profit of €500 million this year. Two, the structure of the group is not generally understood. The actual economic float is significantly less than the stated float: Only 40% of the stated share count is outstanding, and they continue to shrink it. We are buying something that is really inexpensive and compounding asset value at a decent rate. This comes back to my initial point. Usually, things aren't cheap if there's a readily visible exit. But given the talent and track record of the group, we hope to realize reasonably fair value. The group has been spending $200 million a year developing automobile batteries and has a venture in Paris with a kind of Zipcar system that uses electric cars, vans, short-haul buses, that sort of thing. They are talking about taking that public. There is some speculation that the business might be worth $1 billion. We count it at zero. The company is probably trading at a 25% to 30% discount to the stated valuation. Adjusting for the true float outside the various quoted companies and affiliates, the discount is 65% to 70%. What do you like at home? Devon Energy DVN +1.72% Devon Energy Corp. 03/31/14 Overseas Earnings Continue to ... 03/16/14 Caracal Energy and TransGlobe ... 03/06/14 Rare Detente: New EPA Chief an... DVN in (DVN). The company has done a great job of capital allocation and managing its capital structure. It has a great long-term track record of growing cash flow. There is still a disparity between natural gas and oil that is probably two to three times larger than the historical average. That is likely to close. The economics of drilling don't make sense at current gas prices. The Street targets in the high $70s to mid-$80s are reasonable. There is considerable upside in a more normal range of sustainable natural-gas prices, and it wouldn't be hard to see the shares at $110 to $125. We have a sizeable position in the B shares of Greif Brothers GEFB -0.18% Greif Inc. Cl B GEFB in (GEFB), a packaging company with a nice long-term track record. The A shares are in a bunch of indexes. The B shares, largely controlled by the founding family, are not only voting shares, but also are entitled to 150% of the earnings and dividends on the A shares. The B shares are nine times earnings and pay a 5% dividend. They trade at a discount because they trade at a fraction of the volume of the A shares. Greif has some interesting growth initiatives in liquid packaging. It is buying back the B shares. What do you dislike? We are short Amazon.com (AMZN). Now that the book and media business is being digitized, their platform is less unique, and at the same time, they're competing in general merchandise, which will be difficult to convert into substantial profitability. I wouldn't be tempted to buy it, even at $100 a share. The nature of its free cash flow is misunderstood. Amazon generates a lot of cash from its negative working-capital cycle, which funds the build-out of physical facilities to support logistics and fulfillment. In a sense, it borrows short from customers and uses that money to fund long-lived capital assets. Rapid sales growth masks this process. Broad-based stock-option compensation requires an appreciating stock. Amazon may need to "buy" sales. It dismounts from that treadmill at great risk to its model. Thanks, Paul. E-mail: [email protected] Email

金融

2014-15/0559/en_head.json.gz/5386

Is this the worst election for Wall Street in decades? By Tim Fernholz @timfernholz Elizabeth Warren voting in Massachusetts AP Photos / Josh Reynolds Bill Clinton and George W. Bush pursued financial de-regulation, Barack Obama bailed out Wall Street in 2008, and 2010 brought in a much more bank-friendly Congress. But 2012? Well, so far, Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard academic and financial regulator, is projected to be elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. That august body filibustered her appointment to run the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the newly-created bank watchdog that she essentially invented, so now she’s now joining the old boys club. Expect her to be a major voice on financial rules, whether or not she ends up on the Senate Banking Committee. And though she worked briefly for President Obama, she’s an equal opportunity populist: As the chair of the committee that oversaw the TARP bailouts, she had plenty of harsh words for Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. Another major critic of the banks, controversial Democratic Representative Alan Grayson, is returning to office after being booted from his seat in 2010, and you can be sure he’ll have plenty of unkind words and laws for unlucky Wall Streeters. Grayson was one of the driving figures who forced an audit of the Federal Reserve as part of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, and his ability to work with bank-skeptical Republicans like Rep. Ron Paul makes him something of a double threat. Expect him to fulminate for new rules on compensation, transparency and bank behavior; even if his party’s not in the majority, Grayson is a media favorite who finds ways to get attention. The final stroke against the banks could be the reelection of President Obama, Wall Street’s best friend in 2008 and public enemy number one ever since. Given widespread political opposition to his campaign from the financial sector, expect it won’t have much say in naming the next Treasury Secretary or the appointees who run regulatory agencies, shaping future housing reforms, or merely protecting the carried interest loophole. Of course there is an important caveat, which is that Wall Street may not know what’s good for it—following the financial sector’s agenda isn’t necessarily a path to growth. After all, historic data shows that the stock market performs better under Democratic presidents, which should provide some solace amid Obama’s win.

金融