london

Nick Jefferson: Bring Back Public Execution in 2012

by Nick Jefferson on January 13, 2012

Huffington Post…

A lot of tough decisions will need to be taken in 2012. In politics, in Washington, Brussels, and in business. Are we ready? I’m not sure we are. And that’s because of the western hemisphere’s obsession with ‘strategy’, and its concomitant eschewal of execution. These days, everybody wants to be ‘strategic,’ to work on ‘strategy.’ Folk are desperate to have the ‘S’ word in their job title, to be seen as a ‘strategic thinker.’ ‘You must be really good at ideas and strategy, Nick,’ they say, ‘because you’re an entrepreneur.’ Well, I hope that I can have (and have had) the odd good idea, developed a half-decent strategy. But that’s not what makes a successful entrepreneur, or a successful anything. Because being successful — in any walk of life — is ultimately about Getting Things Done. It’s about execution. But this simple truth is still not recognised by many people. Why not? ‘Strategy,’ whilst sometimes being intellectually complex, is comfortable. Indeed, ‘doing strategy’ flatters those of us who believe we have been well-educated. It feeds our egos. The education point is particularly germane: ‘strategy’ very often is, effectively, essay-writing; it’s back to school, it’s about showing how clever we are, our ability to develop a line and pursue it, overcoming objections and tying up any loose ends in a neat conclusion. And we, the liberal arts graduates of the big schools of Britain and America, the people who now, in different ways, hold key positions of authority and responsibility, measure each other on our ability to do this. With glee. We love nothing more than an intellectual tussle over a glass of Malbec; it’s how we unwind. ‘Strategy’, and ‘strategic thinking’, therefore have a disproportionate currency among decision-makers. This preference for ‘strategy’ is compounded by the (helpful, if you’re a ‘strategist’) fact that strategy and ideas per se are notoriously difficult to value. It’s a deeply subjective affair. And even a half-decent ‘strategist’ can usually ensure that their ‘strategy’ is sufficiently malleable and flexible to accommodate a total volte-face, if necessary: We have always been at war with Oceania. But as well as being comfortable and deliciously vague, ‘strategy’ — by definition — enjoys the luxurious position of being theoretical. It does not involve sleeves-rolled-up, I’m-ready-to-have-a-difficult-conversation grind. This of course suits a startling amount of many senior people who, as I have written elsewhere , seem to have a cultural ‘allergy’ to such work. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are especially guilty . Time after time, speech after speech, campaign after campaign their behaviour suggests that they believe, consciously or otherwise, that ideas in themselves are good enough. Depressingly, this is doubly so if those ideas capture the attention of the press and dominate tomorrow’s headlines. This is partly because, increasingly, many politicians, of all parties, have never done a ‘real job’ before entering politics. But even on the off chance that they do make a brilliant speech, have a fantastic idea or develop a sensible policy, their ability to actually ‘make it happen’ is directly dependent on the ability of public servants to execute. And this compounds the problem — because public servants, certainly the senior ones, often have very little incentive to execute (execution risking measurement, and measurement risking failure) and every incentive to write more papers, to critique, to hold ‘strategic offsites’ and planning days. Many a latter-day Sir Humphrey might easily have received his or her knighthood for ‘services to displacement activities.’ Anglo-American procrastination however, is nothing compared to what we see across the Channel. The scale of the eurozone crisis, now over a year old, is such that one might have expected even Nero to buckle down. Yet the people of Europe, not to mention the bond markets, still wait to see real action, as opposed to increasingly vacuous words. Tragically, the private sector is often little better. Naturally more predisposed than government to ‘get things done’, through the profit motive, it is surprising just how fatigued Marx’s workers of the world are from years of corporate jargon and management ‘speak.’ Equally, corporations themselves are fed up of consultants who come in and, at extortionate day rates, elegantly and eloquently define the specific nature of a problem — but have no real interest in sticking around to actually make any difference. None of this is to say that strategy has no place. That would be absurd. One has to have a clear idea on one’s direction of travel, otherwise one can very quickly become a busy fool. And we’ve all met plenty of those. Ideas and creative thinking, as I discussed recently on The Huffington Post , are absolutely vital and might just provide the spark to reignite our cooling economies. It is simply that ideas alone do not get the baby bathed. Strategy is, to steal from the language of the MBA (itself long on strategy, short on execution) necessary but by no means sufficient. And that is doubly the case when we are — jointly — faced with the scale of the crisis that confronts us all in 2012. We are not living in ‘strategic’ times. We are living in ‘survival’ times, where the only strategy in town is not to go under; as an individual, a business, a nation. Comparisons of our times with those of war are specious, and insulting to those who know what suffering really means. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from more dangerous times. Particularly when it comes to execution. And in this respect, in 2012 we might do well to remember the pithy words of Lord Nelson, who knew a thing or two about Getting Things Done: “Nevermind about maneuvers, go straight at ‘em”.

See original here:
Nick Jefferson: Bring Back Public Execution in 2012

Find our Weekly Commercial Real Estate, Private Equity and Fund Newsletters at www.WeeklyBrief.net

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , ,

{ 0 comments }

Kanye’s Epic Twitter Rant: Wants To Be New Steve Jobs, Change The World

by Jordan Zakarin on January 5, 2012

Huffington Post…

Forget album sales and glitzy awards. Kanye West’s new goal is nothing short of changing the entire world. The mad scientist tastemaker of hip hop went on an epic Twitter rant on Wednesday night, discussing his new clothing line, his musical plans and, most significantly, his new company, which he says will “pick up where Steve Jobs left off.” Called Donda, after his late mother, West revealed that its goal will be to “make products and experiences that people want and can afford,” “to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel,” and ” dream of, create , advertise and produce products driven equally by emotional want and utilitarian need.. To marry our wants and needs.” It will be comprised, West tweeted, of over 22 divisions staffed by “architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts, app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionists, doctors, scientists and teachers.” Specifically, West wrote that one of Donda’s “projects to be released this year [is] called 2016 OLYMPIC’s … It’s a semi sic-fi since 2016 is only 4 years away,” which presumably means that it will be a movie. West also disclosed that he was in talks to become the creative director of the “Jetsons” movie, and wants to design the MTV Awards, which probably means the VMAs. In addition, West wrote that he wants to help reshape the American school system, which he says was “designed to turn people into factory workers.” That includes starting a summer school with director Spike Jonze. “There are so many broken systems from the economy to school systems jail systems… we need experts for this,” he later said , promising that his creativity and ability to bring experts together would be of service in the effort to solve intractable problems.

Read the original here:
Kanye’s Epic Twitter Rant: Wants To Be New Steve Jobs, Change The World

Find our Weekly Commercial Real Estate, Private Equity and Fund Newsletters at www.WeeklyBrief.net

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,

{ 0 comments }

Regulators Have Missed Three-Fourths Of Dodd-Frank Deadlines So Far

January 4, 2012

When the Dodd-Frank financial reform law became official in 2010, supporters hoped it would herald in a new era of sobriety and transparency for the financial sector — largely through the implementation of hundreds of rules meant to prevent another crisis like the one that rattled the economy in 2008. But for the most part, this has yet to come to pass. Only one-quarter of the rules that regulators were supposed to have written by now have actually been devised. As of New Year’s Day, two hundred deadlines for writing rules based on Dodd-Frank have come and gone, according to a report from the law firm Davis Polk . Regulators have missed 149 of these, meaning they’ve only met about one out of every four deadlines so far. All told, the Dodd-Frank law contains 400 rule-making requirements. Only 286 have time-specific deadlines, meaning that most of those have already passed. The Davis Polk report provides evidence for a common criticism among financial reform advocates — namely, that the government, many of whose members have close ties to the banking sector is dragging its feet on formulating rules that would place checks on financial institutions and force them to adopt safer positions in case of another systemic shock. Financial lobbyists have come out strongly against Dodd-Frank, as have a number of conservative politicians, including virtually all of the Republican presidential candidates . On Wall Street, where profits fell by about $3 billion in the third quarter of 2011, opponents of Dodd-Frank say the planned regulations will further stifle firms’ performance. On the campaign trail, a common refrain for Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and other candidates has been that the rules outlined in Dodd-Frank will discourage lending, smother small businesses and worsen the nation’s unemployment problem. The Hill notes that such strenuous political opposition to Dodd-Frank has probably contributed to the lag in regulators writing rules. Regulatory agencies like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has missed 31 deadlines out of 54 so far, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has missed 59 deadlines of 73, have not gotten the budgets from Congress that the White House has requested for them, largely due to opposition from some lawmakers. In November, Congress approved a budget for the CFTC that was about $100 million less than what President Obama had sought.

Read the full article →

Vivian Norris: Optimism for the Euro and Europe: The Win-Win Situation

December 12, 2011

There are many reasons to be hopeful about the world, even the economy, and especially that of Europe. And I write this as an American who believes we actually can learn something from what is going in the EU. One of the reasons I respect the process of the economic integration (and slower social integration, but it will come) of Europe is that it is here for the first and only time I have ever heard a banker say that we must have “a redistribution of wealth.” Is Jamie Dimon going to say that to Occupy Wall Street anytime soon? I don’t think so. And herein lies the problem with Wall Street, unlike continental Europe (sorry but the UK and Cameron blew it last week by voting against the EU’s best interests to protect the City) they do not see themselves as “of the people,” but somehow removed from the rest of us. This same banker repeated that we must not continue to allow money to be kept off-shore in tax havens. There was a real sense that Europe would go after this potential revenue. One of the primary reasons Greece will not be able to easily get back on its feet is not because there are no wealthy Greeks but because nearly all of that wealth is kept off-shore. Last weekend I attended a fascinating conference, and surely one of the most uplifting, where our common future is concerned. It was here in Vienna that I heard a banker say those words, “redistribution of wealth” and actually mean it. It was a very practical, sane kind of conference, less rushed and more in-depth than many other conferences of its kind. The topics ranged from the Arab Spring, to the future of alternative energy, global governance and the environment, and corporate responsibility, but began with the economy, the Eurozone and the future of the Euro as a currency. With many participants flying in directly from the EU meetings in Brussels (the right hand of the ECB’s Mario Draghi, Peter Praet, answered questions and gave some very uplifting answers, while remaining very realistic about how hard it would be), the banks in Frankfurt, and the bastions of upheaval such as Cairo, the event centered on extremely urgent and timely topics, without feeling pressured, thus not allowing fear to be the focus. Experts included heads of state, potential future heads of state, leaders in the areas of clean energy and traditional energy, present and former ministers and diplomats, and non-governmental organizations alongside leading academics. What I found to be the most important aspect of the conference was the very human nature of the interactions, the questions, the approachability of those who knew they are key players in the world today, and yet spoke about solidarity between people and hope for the future. The World Policy Conference (website: www.worldpolicyconference.com ) was founded by a the multi-talented and very solution-oriented Frenchman, Thierry de Montbrial, who seems to have the knack for bringing together an innovative, thoughtful and diverse group of people and helps to communicate messages which offer concrete solutions for what are sadly often media-driven creations based on insecurity and rumor. We need this kind of slowing down and sanity brought back to the table as markets are driven so much by rumor and even manipulation that a great deal of trust has eroded. The answer is not to horde and close off from the world, but rather to open up even more, integrate even more, get to know one another even better. This is the message I brought away with me from Vienna. The WPC is in its fourth year as a platform for intelligent conversations and information on global governance in an ever-changing world. The undeniable fact that we will not be able to go back to a pre-globalized existence, nor would it be in our best interests to turn in on ourselves, in times of crisis and upheaval, risking the rise of nationalistic border-controlling states, forces us to be optimistic. This is especially true in Europe. There are win-win situations, even in times of crisis, and as has been stated many times before, crisis also brings opportunities. What stood out about this conference was that the answers did not lie in billionaires generously donating their wealth to try to solve problems, but representatives of the people, their institutions, as well as NGOs, the finance sector and academia, putting an approach to the common good first. It felt like the future was shared, as opposed to being decided by those with the deepest pockets. Finally I was able to sit back and listen to what sounded like sane voices sincerely discussing how we as human beings can move ahead and tackle the world’s problems, and also share in the win-win kinds of solutions that do not solely focus on competition, winning in the short-term, but taking the time and putting in place the measures needed to created a more resilient future. One extremely sane, almost professorial European voice repeated, “We need time and interim measures.” Time to consolidate budgets and undergo reforms. The confidence that any restructuring needed could occur as long as they could refinance at acceptable rates. The only lack of optimism was for Greece. But even Greece was to be kept within the fold. Europe has begun a process of integration which will not be stopped, unless one openly admits that we are “at war” and attacks are taking place to keep this integration from happening on its own timeline. The speech given at the dinner the first evening of the conference by that very sane, professorial Herbert Stepic, the CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International, was one of the best I have heard, as well as being practical, coming from someone inside the banking sector. Unlike the bankers in the US who called for emergency stress-filled meetings which resulted in decisions allowing hundreds of billions of tax-payer dollars to be eaten up by banks, because of their less than sane practices, this was about slowing down and facing reality. It takes time to integrate and change and evolve and progress. It cannot be done well if done out of fear alone. Bad decisions come that way. Yet, it is this same fear, the same “crisis” that, if allowed to by the outside, will move Europe forward, helping it to integrate in a stronger way. But it must not be rushed. This is the first and only time I have ever heard a banker say that the reality is that we must have “a redistribution of wealth.” And I realized that if a banker could be saying this, the message had hit home, whereas in the US, with now hundreds of Occupy movements protesting, and the London City Occupy movement well entrenched for the winter, the message had not reached the ears of those who are actually creating a huge part of the crisis, the bankers themselves. This is because in the US, there is not a feeling of a win-win situation as Mr. Stepic stated, should be our end goal. Europeans remember what happened in the past and they do not want to see that repeated. Thus we in the US must also remain optimistic for Europe. It seems that on Wall Street and in the City, they are focused on a win for the financial system alone not caring it is means a loss for most of the rest of us. There is no solidarity between the bankers and the people, the 99%. In Europe, there is more of this, with exception of in the UK, which was demonstrated last week by Cameron’s apocalyptic decision to go against the solidarity of Europe to protect the City, a decision which every person I have spoken to living and owning a company in the UK has told me is a huge mistake. Granted, Mr. Stepic’s bank is extremely exposed to Eastern European countries, and thus he must be optimistic about integration but he is also very realistic in that all but Hungary have both been growing and have less debt than Europe, which has much less debt than the US, UK and Japan. This is the reality. Yet these same Eastern European countries, potentially future strong members and motors of EU economy, are and will have their credit cut back as banks such as Raiffesen will have to slow lending or even stop it completely in order to strengthen their balance sheets due to the new Basel III requirements. Stepic argues that Eastern European countries for the most part are much stronger than they were to the time pre-Lehman and their credit repayment schedules are longer and depend less on cross border financing. These countries are very competitive, and have a well-educated workforce. Central and Eastern European markets are less indebted with the exception of Hungary with less than 50% of the average indebtedness of EU countries. Looking at Central and Eastern Europe, one sees the inherent conversion process of where Europe is heading. As Stepic argues, “If you are still living as a young man of 26 years with your parents and your grandparents in an apartment of 65 square meters you really want to have your own flat. And this is the inherent motor of conversion. You want to have it. You want to see it. You want to make it. And they have the brain to do it.” Central and Eastern Europe are acting as a strong part of the motor for the future of Europe. Strategic growth is only possible through solidarity. Otherwise there will be social unrest and he goes on to actually say the only way to be realistic about the future of the EU is “a redistribution of wealth.” It is not by cutting off loans to parts of Europe that are experiencing bursts of growth. I also spoke this past weekend to a Frenchman who works throughout Central and Eastern Europe who echoed the fact that cutting off lending to these countries was catastrophic, and that many of the banks lending there have been told they must stop lending to meet Basel III requirements. This is pure economic insanity. “Pan-European solidarity, and in a second step, increased European integration is the only way to avoid a lose-lose situation and to reach a win-win situation out of the current crisis for all involved parties.” “First a breakup of the Eurozone or the bankruptcy of large Eurozone members is extremely costly for everybody and therefore very unlikely. Second, we have the means to fight the crisis, but we have just to use those means. Consequently I have little doubts that politicians will continue to go for a win-win situation of stronger integration and solidarity. So far so good. But (pause) but…all reforms requested singularly concentrate on cost savings but, Ladies and Gentlemen, Europe needs both. Europe needs budget consolidation mainly via structural reforms as well as growth. We need to create jobs and provide future oriented programs as social unrest is the biggest threat in case of rising unemployment and ever enlarging social differences. This also means that any EU governance reforms such as the proposed financial union has to take cyclicality into account and avoid pro-cyclical measures and this is what I don’t see so far”. He repeats that Europe needs time and does not need to be forced too quickly because of a post-Lehman fears into targets which must be reached in only 9 months, this in the middle of a debt crisis is counter productive because banks are forced to reduce lending. This will lead to a deleveraging effect up to 2.5 trillion euros during the next 18 months and will have a long term effect on the development of Europe. He adds that the core of the problem is the mistrust of the problems and the indebtedness of a country and the key problem is liquidity and only secondly, capital. Banks go bankrupt not because they do not have enough capital because not enough liquidity. We also know this to be the case as French banks are downgraded, yet they actually have the capital, simply not the liquidity. Stepic continues: “The Eurozone has a relatively low debt level compared to the US and Japan. The budget deficit is 4.1% of GDP in Eurozone v. 9.3% in the US and 10.3% in Japan. And finally when talking about the current EU account deficit-0.8% and comparing it to UK with -2.5 %and US with -2.1%. Also the fundamentals of the Euro is not so bad if I compare it with other currencies.” “Will the Euro hold?” “Hold against what or lose value against what?” I ask you to listen to his entire speech here . The United States, and in fact, the rest of the world, especially the fear-driven crisis-mongering media and markets, could learn a few things by slowing down, realizing it takes time to build healthy economies, especially such a new one as the European Union. I write this as someone who wishes my country would take a wiser path and indeed “redistribute the wealth”. It was taken from us, often in ways which hurt the integration of our own country and its people and we want and need it back. Europe may be providing some solutions, if the craziness of the markets and the regulators let them. Please visit my website for the teaser for the documentary “Financial Fascism: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Economic War”: www.vigilante-vnm.com and follow me on Twitter: vivigive

Read the full article →

Georges Ugeux: The City of London Is Not Worth Splitting Europe

December 12, 2011

What happened last week in Brussels is a division that should not have been tolerated by either party. The summit was supposed to prepare a Treaty that would have introduced fiscal consolidation in the Eurozone. In short, the topic was budgetary discipline including preapprovals and monitoring indebtedness. It was a laudable initiative, even though it failed to address any of the immediate concerns that aroused in the last weeks about the Eurozone debt crisis. How did the issue of financial regulation invite itself at the negotiation table is one of those mysteries of the opaque and convoluted decision processes of the European Union. IT constantly mixes and opposes common and national interests in an inextricable can of worms. The fact is that everybody knew that financial regulation would be put by Britain on the agenda. What is still unclear is why the European Council allowed mixing two fundamentally different issues. Why did they let the British transform a fundamental debate on the future of European stability into a bargaining shop? The reaction in Britain was violent. The sensible politicians and business people blamed the British Prime Minister’s alignment with the City of London. It was not in the interest of Britain as a whole to create rupture with the rest of Europe. Furthermore, David Cameron told the his Deputy, Nick Clegg , who represents the Liberal Democrats, that he used his veto powers against the Treaty by phone at 4 am. Nick had received assurances that there would not be a “take it or leave it” attitude. Only the British tabloids and the Eurosceptic at the right of the Conservative Party applauded. It revives the worst isolationist instincts of the “perfide Albion” as the French name Britain. The fact that it was allowed will not increase the respect that the world has for Britain. Washington is upset: US observers attending the meeting could not believe what they saw. David Cameron knew that Barack Obama had called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to stress the importance that the United States were attaching to this fiscal agreement. But there is also the fundamental question on the regulation of the City of London. Americans do not need to be reminded that AIG Financial Products, the entity that provoked the collapse of the US insurer and needed up to $130 billion cost of taxpayer money, is based in London. It is UK lawyers who delivered the fairness opinion on the (ab)use of accounting tricks by Lehman Brothers. Behind the raging debate, two forces are in action. Frankfurt and Paris aspire to become the European global market, and use all possible attempts to undermine the City of London. While they remain unsuccessful, the use of European summits for that cause is not legitimate. It is ill conceived at a moment when the Deutsche Börse is attempting to take over NYSE Euronext, a move that further undermines the role of the London Stock Exchange. The most worrying force is the fierce resistance of the City of London to accept a common regulation. This resistance is fueled by continental European banks: their operations in London often exceed their teams in their home country in areas such as derivatives, hedge funds, and other activities that they do not want to restrict. They are helped by the same US banks that fight against the application of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. They all love the laissez faire policy of the City, who has its own police. However the City of London is less well regulated than Wall Street. Until the Lehman crisis, it was self-regulated. Government regulation of the fiercely independent square mile is a new world and was decided after the Lehman crisis. Unless the United Kingdom accepts to apply world standards to its financial center, the City will be the first victim of this rupture. Only shortsighted traders do not see the risks for their institutions. All in, the summit of last week has not made any progress in the solution of the European debt crisis. It is astounding that it would end up on a rupture that was unnecessary. It is the collective responsibility of all the European Member States to have lost sight of the issues at hand. The 16th Summit will not have achieved more than their fifteen predecessors. After each of them it is a bit more of the shrinking confidence in the European politicians that vanishes.

Read the full article →

Cyber Attacks Threaten To Wreck World Oil Supply

December 8, 2011

DOHA (Daniel Fineren) – Hackers are bombarding the world’s computer controlled energy sector, conducting industrial espionage and threatening potential global havoc through oil supply disruption. Oil company executives warned that attacks were becoming more frequent and more carefully planned. “If anybody gets into the area where you can control opening and closing of valves, or release valves, you can imagine what happens,” said Ludolf Luehmann, an IT manager at Shell Europe’s biggest company . “It will cost lives and it will cost production, it will cost money, cause fires and cause loss of containment, environmental damage – huge, huge damage,” he told the World Petroleum Congress in Doha. Computers control nearly all the world’s energy production and distribution in systems that are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks that could put cutting-edge fuel production technology in rival company hands. “We see an increasing number of attacks on our IT systems and information and there are various motivations behind it – criminal and commercial,” said Luehmann. “We see an increasing number of attacks with clear commercial interests, focusing on research and development, to gain the competitive advantage.” He said the Stuxnet computer worm discovered in 2010, the first found that was specifically designed to subvert industrial systems, changed the world of international oil companies because it was the first visible attack to have a significant impact on process control. But the determination and stamina shown by hackers when they attack industrial systems and companies has now stepped up a gear, and there has been a surge in multi-pronged attacks to break into specific operation systems within producers, he said. “Cyber crime is a huge issue. It’s not restricted to one company or another it’s really broad and it is ongoing,” said Dennis Painchaud, director of International Government Relations at Canada’s Nexen Inc. “It is a very significant risk to our business.” “It’s something that we have to stay on top of every day. It is a risk that is only going to grow and is probably one of the preeminent risks that we face today and will continue to face for some time.” Luehmann said hackers were increasingly staging attack over long periods, silently collecting information over weeks or months before attacking specific targets within company operations with the information they have collected over a long period. “It’s a new dimension of attacks that we see in Shell,” he said. NOT IN CONTROL In October, security software maker Symantec Corp said it had found a mysterious virus that contained code similar to Stuxnet, called Duqu, which experts say appears designed to gather data to make it easier to launch future cyber attacks. Other businesses can shut down their information technology (IT) systems to regularly install rapidly breached software security patches and update vulnerable operating systems. But energy companies cannot keep taking down plants to patch up security holes. “Oil needs to keep on flowing,” said Riemer Brouwer, head of IT security at Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO). “We have a very strategic position in the global oil and gas market,” he added. “If they could bring down one of the big players in the oil and gas market you can imagine what this will do for the oil price – it would blow the market.” Hackers could finance their operations by using options markets to bet on the price movements caused by disruptions, Brouwer said. “So far we haven’t had any major incidents,” he said. “But are we really in control? The answer has to be ‘no’.” Oil prices usually rise whenever tensions escalate over Iran’s disputed nuclear program – itself thought to be the principal target of the Stuxnet worm and which has already identified Duqu infections – due to concern that oil production or exports from the Middle East could be affected by any conflict. But the threat of a coordinated attack on energy installations across the world is also real, experts say, and unlike a blockade of the Gulf can be launched from anywhere, with no U.S. military might in sight and little chance of finding the perpetrator. “We know that the Straits of Hormuz are of strategic importance to the world,” said Stephan Klein of business application software developer SAP. “What about the approximately 80 million barrels that are processed through IT systems?,” said Klein, SAP vice president of oil and gas operations in the Middle East and North Africa. Attacks like Stuxnet are so complex that very few organizations in the world are able to set them up, said Gordon Muehl, chief security officer at Germany’s SAP said, but it was still too simple to attack industries over the internet. Only a few years ago hacking was confined to skilled computer programmers, but thanks to online video tutorials, breaking into corporate operating systems is now a free for all. “Everyone can hack today,” Shell’s Luehmann said. “The number of potential hackers is not a few very skilled people — it’s everyone.” (Editing by William Hardy) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

Occupy Oakland Protesters Force Halt To Operations At Busy Port

November 3, 2011

By TERENCE CHEA, LISA LEFF and TERRY COLLINS, The Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Several thousand Occupy Wall Street demonstrators gathering in Oakland forced a halt to operations at the nation’s fifth busiest port Wednesday evening, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September. (CLICK HERE OR SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST UPDATES) Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the Port of Oakland by about 5 p.m. PDT. Some had marched from the city’s downtown, while others had been bused to the port. Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said maritime operations had effectively been shut down, and interim Oakland police chief Howard Jordan warned that protesters who went inside the port’s gates would be committing a federal offense. In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast. Military veterans marched in uniform in New York, angry at their dim job prospects. And parents and their kids, some in strollers, formed a “children’s brigade” to join the Oakland, Calif. rallies. “There’s absolutely something wrong with the system,” said Jessica Medina, a single mother who attends school part time and works at an Oakland cafe. “We need to change that.” In Los Angeles, New York and other cities, demonstrators held their own rallies in solidarity with the Oakland protesters, who called for Wednesday’s “general strike” after the city became a rallying point last week when an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police. Protesters, city officials and business leaders were optimistic the strike would be peaceful, and there was little to no visible police presence all day. Although windows at two bank branches and a Whole Foods store were broken and graffiti was painted inside one of the banks, officials described the protests as peaceful and orderly and said no arrests had been made. “It is important to acknowledge the word is watching Oakland tonight,” city administrator Deanna Santana said as demonstrators began to gather at the port. “And we need to ensure it remains a safe place for everyone.” Potentially minimizing any significant disruptions at the port, leaders of the longshoremen’s union said they could not call for members to join the protests under their contract with the port. Organizers say they want to stop the “flow of capital.” The port sends goods primarily to Asia, including wine as well as rice, fruits and nuts, and handles imported electronics, apparel and manufacturing equipment, mostly from Asia, as well as cars and parts from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai. Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said its members were not being called to strike, but that they supported the protesters. The members “are supporting the concerns raised by Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement to speak up for the 99 percent and against the corporate greed that is wrecking America,” Merrilees said. Elsewhere, police in Philadelphia arrested nine protesters who staged a sit-in inside the Comcast lobby. Officers handcuffed them and led into police vans as supporters cheered. One protester, Bri Barton, said she was there because the gleaming Comcast tower represents excessive wealth in a city with many blighted neighborhoods. “It’s hard for me to see this and that existing in the same city,” she said. In New York, about 100 military veterans marched in uniform and stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of NYPD horses carrying officers with nightsticks. “We are marching to express support for our brother, (Iraq war veteran) Scott Olsen, who was injured in Oakland,” said Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq through 2009. The veterans were also angry that returned from war to find few job prospects. “Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Bordeleau, now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries. In Boston, college students and union workers marched on Bank of America offices, the Harvard Club and the Statehouse to protest the nation’s burgeoning student debt crisis. They say total outstanding student loans exceed credit card debt, increase by $1 million every six minutes and will reach $1 trillion this year, potentially undermining the economy. “There are so many students that are trying to get jobs and go on with their lives,” said Sarvenaz Asasy of Boston, who joined the march after recently graduating with a master’s degree and $60,000 in loan debt. “They’ve educated themselves and there are no jobs and we’re paying tons of student loans. For what?” The day’s events in Oakland began with a rally outside City Hall that drew more than 3,000 people who spilled into the streets and disrupted the downtown commute. Protesters hung a large black banner that read: “Occupy Everything, DEATH TO CAPITALISM.” The crowd included students, families with young children and many people wearing labor union T-shirts. “Shut down the 1 percent. We are the 99 percent,” they chanted. Oakland let city workers use vacation or other paid time to take part, and officials said about 5 percent took the day off. About 360 Oakland teachers didn’t show up for work, or roughly 18 percent of the district’s 2,000 teachers, officials said. The district has been able to get substitute teachers for most classrooms, and where that wasn’t possible children were sent to other classrooms, he said. “I came here because the schools are in the (same) boat as everyone else,” said Steve Neat, a fifth-grade teacher. “We have five schools being closed here in Oakland. We have class sizes skyrocketing. We have cuts, cuts, cuts, just like everyone else. And the 1 percent, their share of the wealth is growing, and it’s time for that to stop. It’s time for some of that wealth to be shared out to all of society,” he said. Some protesters broke off from the rally to picket at nearby banks. All three banks located within blocks of the plaza were closed, though that didn’t stop protesters from chanting and waving signs outside. At a Citibank branch, more than a dozen protesters blocked the entrance, some with fake $100 bills taped across their faces. They held signs with messages such as “Share the Billions with the Millions.” About 200 people chanted outside a Wells Fargo branch, where graffiti was scrawled on the wall. The messages read “The 1 percent won’t back down” and “Who’s robbing who?” Further away from the rally, vandals shattered a Chase bank branch and splattered ink all over an ATM. Someone later taped a note to the shattered glass that read: “We are better than this. … Sorry, the 99 percent.” In front of the Oakland Public Library, about three dozen parents brought toddlers and school-age children for a stroller march in a “children’s brigade.” Demonstrators handed out signs written as if in a children’s crayon that read “Generation 99% Occupying Our Future.” People attached the signs to their baby backpacks and their strollers. By the time the group made its way to the main rally, it numbered about 200 adults with their children. Like others, Marisol Curiel, an Oakland residents who brought her two sons, ages 2 and 4, in a double stroller, said there was a need to tax the wealthy to benefit families and schools and to make sure there are opportunities and jobs for children when they grow up. “Normally I would be the type of person who would watch it from the sidelines,” she said. “But being able to have a presence and also a chance to be more educated seemed really important. All of this will affect not just now, but our future.” ___ Associated Press writers Garance Burke and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco, Beth Duff-Brown in San Francisco, Mark Pratt in Boston, JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia, Jon Fahey and Verena Dobnik in New York and Christina Hoag in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Read the full article →

Obama’s Efforts To Aid Homeowners Fall Shorts

October 24, 2011

It was a critical plan to jump-start the economy. President Obama pledged at the beginning of his term to boost the nation’s crippled housing market and help as many as 9 million homeowners avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. Nearly three years later, it hasn’t worked out.

Read the full article →

WATCH: Mayoral Hopeful Talks ‘Occupy SF’ With Keith Olbermann

October 14, 2011

Of the 75 percent of San Franciscans currently running for mayor, John Avalos has most closely associated himself with the Occupy Wall Street movement. The progressive supervisor has not only attended many of the protests held in downtown San Francisco over the past couple weeks, but has frequently stepped up to the microphone giving rabble-rousing words of encouragement to the self-proclaimed “99 percenters” who have regularly gathered to protest the role major banks have played in the economic collapse and our economy’s current anemic recovery. (Scroll down for video) On Wednesday evening, Avalos appeared on Current TV’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” to talk about the Wednesday morning protest that saw demonstrators blocking Financial District traffic and surrounding Well Fargo’s corporate headquarters. “I’ve spoken a couple times at the movement and I think it largely exists without my participation,” said Avalos. “I support it.” When the popular cable news host asked Avalos about the issues driving the protests, the supervisor answered, “We have a large number of foreclosures and a high level of unemployment. People are getting desperate. They’re having a hard time paying the mortgage, having a hard time putting food on the table. There’s a feeling that the band that got bailed out have not done enough to support the local economy and to support households against foreclosures and defaults.” In his role as a city supervisor, Avalos said he is currently looking into the creation of a municipal bank for the San Francisco to use instead of doing business with major financial institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America, “so we can control how we are investing with small businesses and local property owners.” Watch the whole segment below: Interesting note: the photos of the protest displayed onscreen during the segment were cribbed from Huffington Post San Francisco’s very own comprehensive slideshow of Occupy San Francisco photos. Check out all the pictures:

Read the full article →

LIVE UPDATES: Politicians Voice Support For Protests, Even As Demonstrators Face Arrests

October 7, 2011

Occupy Wall Street, a cause that began as a small band of protesters in Zuccotti Park, has gained endorsements from major unions and progressive leaders as well as prominent politicians. It has survived police crackdowns in Seattle and mass arrests in New York. Within a few short weeks, it has come to resemble a movement, with more than 900 meetups in 900 cities across the country. ‘Occupiers’ have erected tent cities in town squares and held rallies in front of city halls. (CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES) It’s unclear just where all these general assembly meetings, Twitter updates and teach-ins are heading. But Democratic leaders including Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi expressed support for the protesters this week and officials such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have said they sympathize with the protestors’ feelings of anger towards big banks’ role in the financial crisis. Organized labor has also backed the protests including during a march this past Wednesday that brought 10,000 protesters to lower Manhattan . Though the demonstration was peaceful, some protesters ended up in confrontations with police and 28 participants were arrested. At least one baton-wielding incident produced mass outrage. These incidents will either become minor distractions or defining moments. Occupy Wall Street has been largely receptive to the support they’ve received from union leaders and politicians, even if the protesters are wary of their hierarchical structures. “We’re very excited to have our union brothers and sisters march on the heart of greed,” spokesman Patrick Bruner told HuffPost’s Matt Sledge before a 10,000-strong Wednesday march organized in coordination with labor. “We don’t necessarily think that the way they’re structured is the best,” Bruner said, referring to the unions’ top-down organizational style. “But we believe the 99% needs a voice, and they’re one of the few remaining.” Despite gaining traction across the country, protesters have been criticized for not having a clear platform. However, they adopted the “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City” last week . Their list of grievances is long, with issues including the foreclosure crisis, work-place discrimination and student loan debt. The protests in New York and other cities focus on income inequality, a theme common in the group’s internet presence, including on a Tumblr that showcases Americans dealing with joblessness and other issues. Even if the protesters were able to narrow their concerns to one, easily defined goal, some organizers say that would miss the point. So what comes next? If you’ve been to an Occupy Wall Street event anywhere in the country, we’d like to hear from you. Send OfftheBus your photos, links to videos or first-hand accounts of what you’ve seen for possible inclusion in The Huffington Posts’s coverage at offthebus@huffingtonpost.com . If you would like to sign up to be a citizen journalist through OfftheBus, sign up at offthebus.org .

Read the full article →

Bank of America to charge debit card use fee

September 30, 2011

By Joe Rauch (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp plans to charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases a $5 monthly fee beginning early next year, joining other banks scrambling for new sources of revenue. U.S. banks have been looking for ways to increase revenue as regulations introduced since the financial crisis limited the use of overdraft and other fees. The Dodd-Frank Act’s Durbin amendment, due to go into effect on October 1, caps fees banks can charge merchants for processing debit card transactions at 21 cents per transaction from an average of 44 cents, potentially costing banks billions of dollars. Banks also face broader operational challenges as low interest rates and higher capital requirements hit profitability, and the sluggish economy depresses loan demand. Other large U.S. banks including Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and SunTrust Banks Inc are testing or planning monthly debit card fees. “The economics of offering a debit card have changed,” Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace said on Thursday. Bank of America is the largest U.S. bank by assets. Senator Richard Durbin, architect of debit card interchange fee reform, bashed the proposed monthly fee. “Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers,” he said in a statement. It’s overt, unfair, and I hope their customers have the final say.” A FEE TOO FAR? Even before introduction of the Durbin amendment’s rules on debit fees, Bank of America’s fee income was dropping at its deposits and card services units. The bank’s deposits unit reported fee income of $1 billion in the second quarter of 2011, down 34 percent from $1.5 billion a year before. Card services, which includes the bank’s credit and debit card operations, reported fee income of $1.9 billion, down 23 percent from $2.5 billion in second quarter 2010. “This might be a fee too far,” said Ed Mierzwinski, director of the consumer program for the U.S. PIRG, a federation of state public interest research groups. Mierzwinski said such fees could push customers to smaller banks that have not introduced checking and debit-related fees. Pace said customers expect certain features for their accounts, like overdraft and fraud protection, and the fee would offset some of those costs. The fee will be waived for the bank’s premium or platinum privileges accounts tied to its Merrill Lynch brokerage. It will also not be charged for using the card to access the bank’s ATMs, Pace said. She declined to say how much the bank expects to earn through these fees or how many customers would be affected. Some banks have pushed back against debit fees. Citigroup Inc said earlier this month that it would not impose debit card usage fees as part of a broader account restructuring. The head of banking products for Citi’s U.S. consumer bank said customers had told the bank that a debit card fee would be “a huge source of irritation.” (Reporting by Joe Rauch in Charlotte, North Carolina, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Read the full article →

Biden Makes Huge Gaffe

September 30, 2011

Vice President Joe Biden told a Florida radio station Thursday that the Obama administration, not the Bush administration, is responsible for the state of the economy. “There’s a lot of people in Florida that have good reason to be upset because they’ve lost jobs,” Biden told WLRN’s Phil Latzman in an interview. “Even though 50 some percent of the American people think the economy tanked because of the last administration, that’s not relevant.” “What’s relevant is, we’re in charge. And right now, we are the ones in charge, and it’s gotten better but it hasn’t gotten good enough. And in states like Florida it’s even been more stagnant because of the real estate market,” Biden continued. “And so I don’t blame them for being mad. We’re in charge, so they’re angry.” Listen to the full interview here . In a Gallup poll earlier this month, a majority of Americans for the first time held Obama to blame for the economy. Biden stressed, though, that while Americans might blame the Obama administration for the economy now, the 2012 election would not simply be a referendum on the current administration, but a choice between Democrats and Republicans. “Right now — understandably, totally legitimate — this is a referendum on Obama and Biden and the nature and state of the economy,” Biden said. “It’s soon going to be a choice.” Asked about Biden’s comments, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that Obama was OK with election being a referendum on his record on the economy. “The president fully expects that when people cast their ballots in November of 2012, that they will be making their decisions based on their assessment of his record, what he’s done, what he’s accomplished,” Carney said. “And obviously comparing that and what his vision is for the future — which is critical as well — for where he wants to take the country going forward, and comparing that to whoever is the candidate for the Republican party. So the answer is, yes. It’s more than that, but, yes.” WATCH:

Read the full article →

Japan factory output disappoints; yen, global slowdown

September 30, 2011

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese factory output rose less than expected in August, in a sign that companies were feeling the pinch from a strong yen and faltering global demand and the economy’s swift rebound from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami was tailing off. Industrial output rose 0.8 percent in August from the previous month compared with a median market forecast of a 1.5 percent increase and a 0.4 percent gain in July, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Friday. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to fall 2.5 percent in September, but climb 3.8 percent in October. A purchasing managers’ survey for September, which marked the first contraction in manufacturing activity in five months, confirmed that the world’s No. 3 economy was losing momentum. “Overall production remains on a recovery trend but the momentum seems to be slowing, partly on weakening external demand,” said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. “I expect factory output will continue its moderate recovery this year as auto makers are still making up for production delays. But there is a chance that production may weaken after this period is over.” CAUTIOUS OVER OUTLOOK Output has rebounded sharply from a deep slump caused by the March 11 disaster as companies made strides in mending broken supply chains and factories. The government said production almost reached pre-quake levels, but voiced caution about the outlook. Both the yen’s strength and sagging growth in major export markets in Europe, which is caught in the throes of a sovereign debt crisis, and the United States have raised doubts about the strength of economic recovery in the months ahead. A bigger-than-expected 4.1 percent annual fall in household spending, weighed down by high energy costs and pessimism about economic prospects, showed consumer spending at home was too weak to pick up the slack. Friday’s data follow a slew of disappointing figures including a smaller-than-expected rise in last month’s exports and a surprising drop in retail sales, as well as downward revisions to July output and second quarter GDP. Japan’s auto industry remained one of the few bright spots as auto makers have maintained output to restock inventories overseas and orders yet to be met due to output delays caused by the earthquake. But the IT sector has been hurt by slowing global demand for personal computers and semiconductors. Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest auto maker, said on Wednesday its exports rose 19.8 percent in August from a year earlier, with output in Japan during the month up 11.9 percent. Japan’s economy has emerged from a post-quake recession this quarter, but the bounce driven by retooling of damaged factories and recovering output is petering out faster than previously thought, prompting economists to trim their growth forecasts for the final months of the year. Fears of a global recession and persistent yen rises have cast doubt on the forecast shared by the government and the central bank that the Japanese economy is picking up, albeit amid heightening uncertainties over the outlook. The Bank of Japan is expected to ponder whether additional monetary easing will be necessary when it meets for a rate review on October 6-7, after it loosened policy in August to forestall risks to the outlook. (Additional reporting by Stanley White and Kaori Kaneko; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Read the full article →

David Isenberg: Name Calling and Double Standards

September 29, 2011

In my last post I wrote about the report, Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors , released by the Project on Government Oversight. The bottom line of the report was that: The current debate over pay differentials largely relies on the theory that the government pays private sector compensation rates when it outsources services. This report proves otherwise: In fact, it shows that the government actually pays service contractors at rates far exceeding the cost of employing federal employees to perform comparable functions. As one would expect those who work in and advocate for private contractors were not pleased. All well and good; everyone is entitled to their opinion. But the way some on the pro-contractor side has responded says more about their own lack of empirically proven facts than any failings on the part of the POGO report. But before going any further let me explain exactly what dog I have in the privatization/outsourcing fight. I started following the issue of the use of private military and security contractors (PMSC) in the early ’90s. Back then, as now, advocates would assert that when it came to doing work traditionally done by the U.S. government that PMSC were the equivalent of the Bionic Man, that they could it do quicker, more efficiently and effectively and at lower cost. It is an appealing argument and on the surface makes a lot of sense. After all, all of us can think of things that we want private sector professionals, and not the government, to do. But what I also noticed was the PMSC advocates rarely pointed to any methodologically rigorous, empirically proven studies that confirmed their view. Either they just said, over and over and over, that it is common sense, or pointed to studies in other areas of privatization that showed cost savings and claimed it would happen in the military sector also, or pointed to something like private contractors mowing the grass or building housing on military bases, as if that was the same as guarding a convoy on Route Irish in Iraq. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that using PMSC isn’t cost-effective, at least some of the time. I am saying that the work substantiating the blanket claim made for them has not been done. And given how much money sloshes around the PMSC industry it is rather telling, at least in my view, that people there, if only for the purpose of public relations, haven’t bothered to hire a couple of economists to do a few studies on the subject. Anyway, back to the POGO report. Shortly after it came out, the International Stability Operations Association , a PMSC trade group, whose motto, to borrow from the classic Superman TV show slogan, can be described as stability, human security, and the private sector way, sent me an email suggesting that I write about an analysis of the POGO report by the Professional Services Council. The PSC is a major trade group for private governmental services contractors. The email called it, “PSCs rather devastating response to the POGO report.” Well, call me cynical if you like but I am not devastated. The PSC two-page analysis — wow, two pages, count ‘em — which you can find here says: An open and honest dialogue about the costs of government operations is important but any such discussion must be based on facts. And the fact is that POGO’s report draws false conclusions by comparing fully burdened contractor rates — which include all costs charged to the government, such as salaries, benefits, overhead, supplies, equipment, materials, rent, and more — to an estimate of just salaries and benefits paid to a similar government workforce. Their analysis ignores the full range of overhead and other non-personnel costs that drive the cost to the taxpayer for federal employee performance,” said PSC President and CEO Stan Soloway. “This also helps to explain why POGO’s conclusions run so contrary to those of numerous other studies by other entities, such as the Commission on Wartime Contracting. Well, that is a rather interesting assertion to make, considering the CWC final report doesn’t actually say that. What it does say is that considerable cost savings are achieved only when using local or third-country nationals. But it also says “For the balance of activities that rely on contractor support using U.S. citizens, the cost advantages of contracting versus performing the function using military or federal civilians is less clear.” (Appendix F, p. 235, CWC final report). Furthermore, it is not true that POGO’s conclusions are antithetical to that of the CWC final report. As POGO subsequently noted : POGO is not alone in finding that contractors can be more expensive than federal employees. Recently, the Commission on Wartime Contracting (CWC) and the Defense Department issued reports that largely support our findings. The CWC found (see p. 226) that money could be saved in certain high-skill positions if the work was performed by federal civilian personnel. And, despite DoD’s recent flip-flopping on insourcing, last week it released a report finding that 50 percent (see p. 5; full report) of its FY 2010 insourcing was conducted because the work could be “more cost effectively delivered by civilian personnel of the Department. Is, in fact, the POGO report, bad analysis? It may not be perfect but I doubt it is as bad as PSC makes it out to be. Consider the first point it makes: By POGO’s own admission, its analysis has gaps. Despite POGO’s efforts to minimize their significance, the gaps are in fact important and relevant. For example, POGO states that its assessment of contractor costs primarily relied on pre-negotiated labor rates from the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules. However, those rates are the maximum a company offers and do not represent what the government actually pays. When contracts are competitively bid, GSA rates are often significantly discounted. So POGO’s study has gaps? Gasp, the horror! Oh, wait a minute. Don’t all respectable, academically sound studies, start with the premise that not all relevant information on the subject being analyzed is known and that there are always gaps and uncertainties. Only those who believe in God, and similar fairy tales, believe that all information is knowable. And I’m pretty sure that neither POGO, nor PSC for that matter, is omniscient. POGO’s subsequent response makes PSC’s critique look weak. ○ Industry Complaint: POGO unfairly used contractor loaded rates — rates that include salaries, benefits, administrative costs, profits, etc. POGO Response: We would love to see contractor cost or pricing data. If they would lay those cards on the table that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, the last seventeen years of so-called “acquisition reform” having been primarily about keeping important data away from government contract negotiators-data that would lead to better negotiation outcomes and more informed contract pricing. If rates are so much lower, as claimed by the Professional Services Council, than GSA should list both the ceiling prices and the actual prices negotiated to ensure that all government agencies are aware of current sales trends. But, what matters for the purposes of the current POGO report, is the cost to the government to contract with the company(ies) for the services studied. And that’s what we analyzed. ○ Industry Complaint: POGO’s analysis was flawed because it did not include all government overhead and lifecycle costs for federal employees. POGO Response: All additional overhead was excluded, including the government’s overhead rate to award, administer, and oversee contractors which would be in addition to the billing rates paid by agencies. If we added the government’s overhead costs for federal employees, we would need to do the same for situations when the government used contractors to perform the work. Even assuming POGO had added the standard OMB A-76 12% “overhead” rate, this would not have changed the results of the study. Incidentally, we intentionally only used billing rates for contractors operating out of federal government facilities to more closely keep our comparison apples — to apples. … However, the PSC, like ISOA is a trade group, not a group of dispassionate, objective academics, so it is entitled to spin the facts anyway it wants. What was more interesting was the mention of the POGO report in ISOA’s Weekly Digest . It mentions both the CWC and the POGO report. On the CWC report it says “The eye-popping $31-60B [fraud and waste] numbers are surely exaggerated,” although it offers no specifics on how and why that might be. It also said, “Thus far the breakdown of the $30 — $60 billion figures have yet to be specifically identified. Evidently ISOA’s crack analysts didn’t bother to read page 90, which said “The Commission’s estimate of a 5 percent to 9 percent fraud rate would indicate that between $10.2 billion and $18.5 billion of the $206 billion in funds spent for contingency contracts and grants has been lost to fraud.” More bothersome, however, is this language, “POGO’s far more partisan attack on contractors focuses more on their domestic utilization but unfortunately they cherry-pick specific tasks that favor their conclusions, annualize compensation for services that are utilized for temporary requirements, and ignore the value of exploiting outside expertise to achieve governmental goals.” Cherry-pick? That is pretty funny. Last time I checked, cherry-picking was more commonly used by neo-cons and free market apostles like past vice president Dick Cheney, former head of Halliburton. Anyone remember the threat of Iraqi WMD? It’s a dead give away that a case is weak when one side calls the other names, instead of disputing actual facts. It is particularly unfortunate for ISOA to do this, as it knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of ad hominem attacks. It has frequently, and rightfully, protested in the past when people call private security contractors mercenaries. As I have noted many times in the past private security contractors may not fit nearly into the existing international law pigeonholes but they are quite clearly not mercenaries. I’ve agreed with ISOA in the past when they have protested such characterizations. It is sad that it weakens its credibility by using a double standard.

Read the full article →

Seriously Delinquent Mortgages Again On The Rise

September 29, 2011

WASHINGTON – Borrowers are making their mortgage payments on time more frequently compared to a year ago, but delinquency rates remain elevated as government efforts to help homeowners fail to keep pace with job losses that push more homeowners toward foreclosure. At the end of the second quarter of this year, 88.0 percent of U.S. mortgages were current, a slight deterioration from 88.6 percent in the previous quarter but an improvement from 87.3 percent a year ago, according to a report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The second quarter reading marks an improvement from the percentage of loans that were current and performing by the end the 2007-09 financial crisis, according to the OCC. The percentage of current loans fell for seven consecutive quarters leading up to the end of 2009, when 86.4 percent were current at that time. Seriously delinquent mortgages that are 60 days or more past due rose to 4.9 percent in the quarter through June 30 from 4.8 percent the previous period, following five quarters of improvement. Seriously delinquent loans were down from 6.1 percent a year earlier. Bruce Krueger, a mortgage official at the OCC, said seasonal factors may have been the reason for the mortgage delinquencies picking up from the first quarter and might not be directly related to weakness in the economy. He said delinquencies are often low in the first three months of the year and show a pattern of inching up by about 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent by the end of the second quarter. “We’re right in line with what we normally see as the increases in the first and second quarters,” Krueger said. He cautioned that the OCC is paying close attention to the pick-up as the year proceeds to gauge if there are economic factors impacting delinquencies, such as high unemployment. The number of borrowers involved in foreclosure proceedings increased by 0.9 percent during the quarter. However, first-time foreclosure filings on the loans decreased 8.0 percent from the first quarter to 287,145, the report said. Regulators caution foreclosures remain high by historical standards. Loans are being modified by servicers to make them more affordable through government programs and industry initiatives. Servicers modified 2.08 million loans from the beginning of 2008 when the housing bubble burst through the end of the first quarter of 2011, the report noted. The modifications were not all successful, with 9.2 percent 30 to 59 days delinquent, and 18.2 percent “seriously delinquent” by the end of the second quarter. The OCC survey covers 32.7 million loans, which have $5.7 trillion in principal balances. These figures represent 63 percent of outstanding U.S. mortgages. (Reporting by Margaret Chadbourn, Editing by Andrea Ricci) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

State Farm pay $5 billion to cover weather damages

September 25, 2011

(Reuters) – State Farm Insurance has paid $5 billion to its customers for weather-related catastrophes — damage to cars, homes and other property so far this year — the largest U.S. insurer of homes and cars said on Sunday. That payout has been increased by wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes during the summer, which came after last spring’s spate of tornadoes and hail storms. The company did not provide a comparable figure for the year-ago period. Through September 23, State Farm has receive more than 970,000 catastrophe claims, stretching from wildfires in western Texas to storm damage in Maine. The company’s catastrophe claims work is in addition to the 11 million to 12 million other auto, home and business claims reported to the company in a typical year. Earlier this month, Allstate Corp said it had lost $500 million on Hurricane Irene, much less than the $2 billion it lost from severe thunderstorms and tornadoes during April and May. (Reporting by Matt Daily in New York; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Read the full article →

Charles Gasparino: What Is the Real Solyndra Scandal?

September 25, 2011

The left wing media loves a good scandal, particularly one that somehow points out how allegedly greedy capitalists rip off taxpayers. If these capitalists are in any way connected to the Republican Party, like defense contractor Halliburton, it’s feeding-frenzy time. But if the scandal involves one of the liberal media’s pet causes like “affordable housing” to the poor, scandals such as the widespread accounting fraud at the government mortgage lender Fannie Mae and the massive pay packages handed out to the agency’s top executives are just not such a big deal. That is until Fannie imploded and taxpayers were stuck paying the bailout bills. All of which brings us to the sad story of Solyndra, and how wasting more than $500 million of taxpayer money on a dubious technology isn’t really much of a scandal, at least according to some of my colleagues in the financial press. Solyndra is a company that was supposed to develop solar panels, and help the US compete with those financed and controlled by the Chinese government, which have cornered the market in these products. The reason it needed the government money was not just to better compete with the Chinese, but also to produce “green” energy and jobs for a Liberal’s wet dream. But the dream was deferred because the Chinese are better than we are at this business (which may not be much of a business in the first place), and Solyndra’s business model made no sense — it was trying to sell solar panels at prices well above the market rate. American taxpayer money was wasted just about the moment the Obama Administration signed over the checks. Joe Nocera of the New York Times points out that the Republicans are now blowing the entire Solyndra mess way out of proportion with Congressional hearings and probes just to embarrass the president as the 2012 election approaches. More importantly, he believes it’s absurd to call any of this a scandal because new technologies like solar power are by nature risky, and it is the government (ie, the American taxpayer) who must shoulder this risk for the sake of a better future because private money for such necessary projects is hard to come by. “But if we could just stop playing gotcha for a second, we might realize that federal loan programs — especially loans for innovative energy technologies — virtually require the government to take risks the private sector won’t take. Indeed, risk-taking is what these programs are all about,” Nocera writes. He doesn’t know it, but Nocera has just identified why Solyndra is a very big scandal. First put aside his lame arguments about the necessity of the government funding stuff for the public good that the private sector doesn’t. The government wasn’t supposed to be taking “risks” with the money that Solyndra was given in the first place. This was “stimulus” money. It was supposed to be spent on “shovel ready” jobs, according to President Obama, then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi and just about every left-of-center economist when they began humping passage of the $800 billion stimulus package back in 2009. The package — sold as a jobs bill to both repair our crumbling infrastructure of roads and bridges and put people back to work — was supposed to keep unemployment initially at around 8%, bringing it down to around 7% or lower by now. At the time, President Obama pointed out that the risk was not spending the money fast enough to boost an economy heading for the deepest recession since the 1930s. This money, he assured us, wasn’t to be spent on risky, albeit, noble ventures that may or may not work, but on projects that produced immediate, and much needed jobs. The same Republicans who Nocera and the left-wing media attack as partisan on the Solyndra matter, doubted the efficacy of such programs, accurately pointing out some notable government-sponsored stimulus failures like FDR’s WPA effort in the 1930s, which failed to make much of a dent in the Great Depression, and George Bush’s own half-hearted stimulus that did nothing to forestall the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession that followed. Put aside the obvious hype that accompanies partisan warfare in Washington (Does Joe really think the Democrats are any less partisan when they get their hands on something like this?) In attacking Solyndra, Republicans are accurately pointing out the wishful thinking Lefties are pinning on green technologies in either creating jobs or products that actually work. After all, when was the last time you saw an electric car power up outside in the Whole Foods’ parking lot? They’re also pointing out a very real scandal: Why the $800 billion stimulus package failed to work in any measurable way as unemployment remains above 9 percent and economic growth appears to have stalled. Some liberals like my friend Arianna Huffington have accurately pointed out that the problem with the president’s stimulus is just how poorly it was administered. “The stimulus package failed because it was all over the map. It was not a targeted, clear jobs creation program,” she told me during our appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” And here in lies the Solyndra scandal. I’m sure some people were put to work building the Solyndra factory that was supposed to make all those solar panels that were supposed to just fly off the assembly line before the company went bankrupt and wasted $500 million of taxpayer funded loan guarantees, but was this the best use of money designed to create lasting jobs and lasting stimulus? The answer is pretty clear: Not even close. If you look at what we know about Solyndra’s failure, Arianna has it pretty much right: The administration rushed the loan through, didn’t give much thought about the company’s ability to create jobs, much less the sustainability of its business model before it became unsustainable and declared bankruptcy. I can’t tell you whether Solyndra will ever live up to the legal definition of a scandal similar to accounting frauds of Enron and WorldCom where senior executives went to jail. The FBI is investigating the matter and the company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer recently asserted their Fifth Amendment rights in front of a House investigative committee. Keep in mind that innocent people take the Fifth all the time and FBI will often investigate issues for the US Justice Department that receive massive press attention without charges being ever filed. But “scandals” don’t have to lead to high crimes and jail terms. They often lead to public disgust and retribution at the ballot box. And President Obama has shown the scandalous proclivity to put ideology over the general welfare of the American people. Why else did he waste so much political capital on passing an unpopular health care law when Americans were losing their homes due to high unemployment? Why else would he divert money that was supposed to employ construction workers to finance a company that builds products no one wants? I suspect there will be many more Solyndras out there, so this scandal will keep getting bigger and bigger, whether the media likes it or not.

Read the full article →

Europe Aiming To Ramp Up Crisis Fund As Other Nations Raise Alarm

September 25, 2011

WASHINGTON (Dan Flynn and Jan Strupczewski) – Europe is working to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund, top officials said on Saturday, as the United States, China and other nations raised the alarm about its debt crisis hurting the world economy. Financial markets plunged last week on fears that Greece’s near-bankruptcy could spread to other euro zone countries, heaping pressure on European policymakers to prevent a repeat of the chaos that swept the world in 2007-2009. The European Union’s top economic official, Olli Rehn, said as soon as the region’s governments confirm new powers for their 440-billion-euro fund, known as the EFSF, attention will turn to how to get more impact from the existing money. “We need to find a mechanism where we can turn one euro in the EFSF into five, but there is no decision on how we could do that yet,” another senior European official said on condition of anonymity. The United States and other nations have urged Europe to leverage up the fund, possibly with support from the European Central Bank. But officials from the ECB and from Germany, the region’s paymaster, remained wary of using the central bank, which has a strict mandate to pursue low inflation. “We should not think of leveraging a public pot of funds as a free lunch,” said ECB Governing Council member Patrick Honohan. Nonetheless, arming the euro zone with a bigger warchest to lend to governments or shore up banks was the focus of top finance officials from around the globe who met in Washington for semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund. The sovereign debt crisis threatens to throw the euro zone into recession and has placed a troubling drag on an already slow U.S. economy. It could come to weigh on emerging economies too. “Brazil’s experience with past crises suggests you have to confront the problems in a fast, consistent manner,” said Brazilian central bank chief Alexandre Tombini. “The longer it takes, the higher the cost, the more contagion spreads. You have to act with overwhelming force.” The IMF’s steering committee said in a statement that the euro zone was committed to whatever was needed to resolve the single currency bloc’s crisis. It warned that the global economy had “entered a dangerous phase, calling for exceptional vigilance, coordination and readiness to take bold action” to cope with Europe’s financial stress and prevent it infecting others. European officials were scrambling to put in place a comprehensive crisis-fighting plan by the time leaders from the Group of 20 nations meet in France in early November. Greece is at the epicenter of the crisis but it has threatened to spread to several other euro zone countries. Italy, the third-biggest economy in the currency bloc, has also struggled to retain investor confidence, but Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said on Saturday its financial house was “in order.” U.S. Treasury chief Timothy Geithner, in his most explicit warnings to date, said the ECB should take a more central role in fighting the crisis. “The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table,” he said. CALMING NERVES Investors took some comfort on Friday from signs of new resolve by European officials, after nearly two years of what many saw as half-hearted action. “It is encouraging that … European officials are signaling a better appreciation of the depth and potential consequences of the crisis,” Mohamed el-Erian, co-chief investment officer of bond giant PIMCO, said on Saturday after further signals that Europe was bolstering its defenses. “Now they need to translate this into decisive actions underpinned by a common vision of what they want the euro zone to look like in five years time.” Some policymakers now talk openly of a possible Greek default and the need to move much more aggressively to prepare for it. “Decisions as to how to conclusively address the region’s problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe,” Geithner said. His warning was echoed by China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, who urged quick action to bring greater financial stability to the Europe. Canada’s central bank governor, Mark Carney, told Canadian radio that the euro area’s bailout fund should be more than doubled to “the neighborhood of a trillion euros.” BATTENING THE HATCHES A default by Greece could cause a domino effect in other highly indebted euro zone countries, putting at risk European banks which hold their debt. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Athens was determined not to default and would stay in the euro zone. “Greece will always be in the euro and Greece will never go bankrupt because this would be destructive for the euro zone and for many other countries beyond the euro zone,” he said. Athens is in tense talks with the IMF and European authorities to secure a new 8 billion-euro installment of its rescue package. In return, it has pledged deep austerity measures but negotiators are frustrated at what they say is Greece’s slow reform pace. A loan payment, however, is still expected to be made in October. The next installment is due in December. Venizelos was quoted by two newspapers on Friday as saying an orderly default with a 50 percent “haircut” for bondholders was one way to resolve the heavily indebted euro zone nation’s cash crunch. European banks have agreed to take a 21 percent loss on their Greek bonds in a restructuring deal. To battle the crisis, Geithner called for more cooperation between European policymakers — who set their own tax and fiscal policy — and their central bank. One option to increase the potency of the EFSF would be for the ECB to commit large amounts of funding, with the temporary bailout fund putting forward money to cover potential losses. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was open to the idea of leveraging Europe’s rescue fund but said that did not necessarily mean the ECB should provide the extra firepower. [ID:nS1E78N083] In another sign of new thinking by Europe, Schaeuble said Germany backed bringing forward the launch of the euro zone’s permanent rescue mechanism, which is currently scheduled for mid-2013. The new mechanism would give policymakers powers to impose losses on private bondholders in a default and could be leveraged more easily than the temporary version of the fund. Germany, as the strongest economy in Europe, needs to play a central role in any effort to curb a debt crisis, but public opinion there has turned against further big bailouts for fellow euro zone countries. Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

Kweku Adoboli Charged With $2 Billion UBS Fraud

September 16, 2011

LONDON/ZURICH (Mike Holden and Emma Thomasson) – British police charged UBS trader Kweku Adoboli with fraud on Friday, a day after the Swiss bank said it had lost about $2 billion in unauthorised trades. UBS was in turmoil as ratings agencies warned lax risk management could prompt downgrades and senior executives cancelled engagements to meet financial regulators. Adoboli, 31, worked as a director of exchange traded funds at UBS. He will appear at City of London Magistrates court later on Friday, police said. UK law firm Kingsley Napley has been hired to represent Adoboli. The firm also advised rogue trader Nick Leeson, whose $1.4 billion derivatives losses triggered the collapse of Britain’s Barings Bank in 1995. Most market speculation has centred on the possibility that the UBS loss resulted from the shock decision by the Swiss central bank last week to impose a cap on the red-hot franc, sending the currency plunging and Swiss shares sharply up. A UBS spokesman would only say that the losses were made in equities. One UBS trader in London said staff were expecting news of more job cuts in the next two weeks as well as zero bonuses. “In my team people are scared and are playing low profile. The idea is to stay there and keep your job. In the current situation, it would be difficult to find another job anywhere else,” the person told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Britain’s Financial Services Authority and Switzerland’s FINMA markets regulator were both in close contact with the bank, spokesmen said. A senior UBS banker said regular meetings and social events involving senior management had been cancelled, which he presumed was because of crisis management or meetings with regulators. “Morale is dreadful… It’s very damaging to our reputation. Equities is one of the businesses where we thought we had got it right,” the banker said. MASSIVE OVERHAUL Analysts said the massive loss, announced on Thursday, was the final nail in the coffin for UBS’ investment bank which has struggled, like others in the industry, against falling markets and tough new regulation as well as the soaring Swiss franc. Reputational damage from the scandal will force a restructuring many had already thought inevitable and analysts and insiders expect UBS may now have to move before November 17, when it was expected to make the announcement at an investors’ day in New York. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a preliminary confirmation of a major scaleback soon, even this weekend. The announcement can’t wait until Q3 results or the investor day,” said Matthew Czepliewicz, an analyst at Collins Stewart. Switzerland’s two biggest political parties, the Swiss People’s Party and the Social Democrats, want UBS to split investment banking from its wealth management arm and pressure for it to take radical action is likely to mount in the wake of the scandal. Ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s put the bank’s credit rating on negative watch, while Fitch said it had put UBS’s viability rating on negative watch. Fitch said the incident “strengthens the arguments for UBS to down-scale its investment banking unit” while S&P added: “UBS is currently undertaking a strategic review of the size and shape of the investment bank division and we consider that the trading loss may influence the outcome of this process.” HISTORY OF MISHAPS UBS had started to see client confidence return this year after it had to be rescued by the Swiss state in 2008 following massive losses on toxic assets held by its investment bank. The bank has had a history of major risk management glitches. The $2 billion that UBS said had been lost effectively cancelled out the first year of savings from a recently-announced cost-cutting plan involving the loss of 3,500 jobs. “We believe that yesterday’s event could have personnel consequences on senior management level,” said Vontobel analyst Teresa Nielsen. “The exit from non-core businesses inside the investment bank could be accelerated.” In the firing line are Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel, himself a former trader who was brought out of retirement in 2009 to try to turn UBS around, and investment bank boss Carsten Kengeter, the bank’s highest paid employee last year. UBS stock, which fell 10.8 percent on Thursday to end at its lowest close since March 2009, was up 5.6 percent at 10.3 francs by 1340 GMT compared with a 2.7 percent rise on the European banking sector index . New losses in UBS’s investment bank risk scaring rich clients and prompting a further flight from its huge private bank, the core of its business that used to be the world’s biggest wealth manager but has slipped to third place. “The concern from the wealth management client’s point of view is that if UBS cannot even manage their own proprietary trading positions, how can the client expect UBS to manage money on his or her behalf,” said Melvyn Teo, professor of finance at Singapore Management University. The suspect’s father, John Adoboli, a retired United Nations employee from Ghana, said he knew finance was a high risk area but he had no doubts about his son’s integrity. “From what the reports are saying, it could be that he made a mistake or wrongful judgment,” he told Reuters by phone from the Ghanaian port city of Tema. Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

Tough Reality For Obama As 2012 Campaign Ramps Up

September 5, 2011

By CHARLES BABINGTON, ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama faces a long re-election campaign having all but given up on the economy rebounding in any meaningful way before November 2012. His own budget office predicts unemployment will stay at about 9 percent, a frightening number for any president seeking a second term. Obama’s prospects aren’t entirely grim, however. The GOP, heavily influenced by the tea party, may nominate someone so deeply flawed or right-leaning that, Democrats hope, Obama can persuade Americans to give him a second chance rather than risk the alternative. Democrats say the man who ran on hope and change in 2008 will have to claw his way toward a second term with a sharply negative campaign. The strengths and weaknesses of his prospects seem clear. Next year’s unemployment rate is likely to be the highest in a presidential election since 1940. But the leading Republican contenders have denigrated Social Security, switched positions on critical issues and done other things that might make them ripe targets for Obama’s well-funded campaign. Democratic strategist Doug Hattaway says GOP candidates, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, may turn off independent voters with their embrace of tea party stands on taxes, spending and program cuts. Obama “should lump them all together and make them answer for their slash-and-burn politics,” said Hattaway, a former top aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. To do so, Hattaway said, Obama must link the candidates to congressional Republicans, blamed by Democrats for the nation’s stalled job growth and recent downgrade of U.S. creditworthiness. Making the connection might not prove easy. Obama’s potential challengers have avoided getting dragged into details of the bitter Capitol Hill fights over deficit spending. At least for now, they can lob criticisms at the president while offering few specific, measurable alternatives. “President Obama oversaw an economy that created zero jobs last month, and that is unacceptable,” Romney said Friday. But the influence of the tea party and other conservative groups may give Obama some openings, by pushing the GOP field so far to the right that the candidates risk alienating vital independent voters. In a debate last month, the top contenders pledged to oppose a deficit-reduction plan even if it cut $10 in spending for every $1 raised by new taxes. Perry, who entered the race after that debate, also has taken a tough stand against higher taxes. Obama’s team says independents, who might pay scant attention to ideologically driven primaries, will find such positions extreme when they compare the eventual GOP nominee and the president. Political aide David Axelrod hinted that Obama will try to sharpen his differences with Republicans who insist on spending cuts in virtually every area and who refuse to let tax cuts expire, as scheduled, for the wealthiest. It’s hard “to create an economy in which people can get decent jobs and raise a family at the same time we’re cutting back on our commitment to spending on education and research and development that will create innovation and jobs,” Axelrod said in an interview. The Republicans’ “essential message is, let’s go back to the policies that helped get us in this mess,” he said, citing Wall Street deregulation and corporate tax breaks. If GOP lawmakers, backed by the presidential hopefuls, continue to thwart Obama’s bid to mix targeted spending cuts with tax increases, Axelrod said, “we’re going to take our case to the American people.” Recent polls underscore Obama’s challenge. A Pew Research poll found that 39 percent of independents approve of his job performance, while 52 percent disapprove. An AP-GfK poll showed a sharp erosion of support for Obama among white voters and women. Less than half of all women and less than half of all men approve of the job he’s doing, and only 50 percent of women say he deserves re-election. But the same polls show that far more voters blame former President George W. Bush more than Obama for the nation’s economic woes. Whether that sentiment lingers for 16 more months could prove crucial. Hattaway said Obama must start by winning back moderates and motivating “millennials,” voters in their 20s and early 30s. “The economy is not going to come roaring back before the election, so he has to give them a vision” for a future with jobs and with social justice for groups, including gays, Hattaway said. Obama also must try to minimize the frustration among his liberal base supporters, many of whom feel he is too quick to compromise. Some complained loudly Friday when Obama yanked a proposal to tighten federal smog standards. Questions about the environment, war and foreign affairs will figure into the 2012 race. But all parties agree jobs are the overriding issue. Analysts differ on what level of unemployment is politically fatal. President Ronald Reagan handily won re-election in 1984 with unemployment at 7.2 percent, which was down slightly from the rate at the start of his term. President Jimmy Carter lost when unemployment was at 7.5 percent and President George H.W. Bush lost with a similar level, but both faced other problems as well. Hopeful Democrats say Obama can survive next year if people feel growth is coming soon. Another way to survive is uglier: admitting the economy is a mess, but pressing the case that the GOP alternative is so unacceptable that the incumbent should stay in office, even with no recovery in sight. Obama’s aides say the election will be “a choice, not a referendum.” That hints at a bruising effort to divert attention from the president’s record and focus on what the Obama campaign believes are the GOP nominee’s chief shortcomings. Democratic optimists feel the GOP nominating process will play into that strategy. The Democratic National Committee issues a steady stream of statements and videos with headlines such as “Romney makes move to embrace Tea Party.” Several Republican candidates, including Romney, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Perry, are proven vote-getters at the state level. Soon they will show whether they can handle the scrutiny and grind of a presidential campaign. Democrats say their records provide much to use against them. Perry, for instance, has called Social Security “a Ponzi scheme,” and said climate change is a “contrived phony mess.” Romney switched his position on abortion, gay rights and gun control after leaving the Massachusetts governor’s office and seeking the Republican presidential nod. He also is criticized for his role in Bain Capital, a corporate takeover firm that eliminated jobs in some cases but expanded them in others. Bachmann has spent only three terms in the House; the last member to go directly to the White House was James Garfield, elected in 1880. If Sarah Palin decides to run, she will be asked why she quit her job as Alaska’s governor with more than a year left in her term.

Read the full article →

Strong End To Trading After Torrid Week On The Markets

August 13, 2011

PRESS ASSOCIATION — A strong finish to trading in London and New York has capped the end of a turbulent week for the world’s stock markets. New York’s benchmark Dow Jones closed 1.1% higher on Friday mirroring a revival elsewhere as as US retail sales came in better than expected and European markets reacted favourably to the short-selling ban. The FTSE 100 Index in London closed up 3%, or 157 points, at 5320, with markets in Europe also higher. The CAC-40 in Paris jumped was 4 European markets started to recover after it was confirmed that French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel would meet next Tuesday to discuss the eurozone’s financial problems. European authorities took further action to bolster financial markets by banning short-selling of financial stocks in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium for 15 days. Markets around the world have endured wild swings all this week sparked by concerns over the health of the US economy, sovereign debt fears and rumours over the financial position of several of France’s leading banks, with Societe General and BNP Paribas especially singled out. Christian Noyer, the head of France’s central bank, was forced to state the rumours were “unfounded” and that the country’s financial institutions were sound. SocGen chief Frederic Oudea added the rumours were totally baseless and clients could have confidence in the bank. Worries about the health of French banks unsettled share prices of UK banks, with fears over the knock-on impact hitting Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC. London’s blue chips, overall, have lost £145 billion in value over the past two weeks even after Friday’s rise. In the US the S&P 500 closed 0.5. US stocks have been very volatile, with the Dow Jones seeing swings of between 4 on a daily basis throughout the week. All three major US stock indexes are more than 10% down from their highs in April.

Read the full article →

Dedrick Muhammad: London’s Calling, But Are We Listening?

August 12, 2011

Last year, on my second day on the job as the new Senior Director of Economic Programs for the NAACP, I went to London with our President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous to attend a conference on Global Youth Employment. Eight months later I, along with the rest of the world, am seeing images of economically disenfranchised youth throughout England rioting and rebelling. The ignition for these rebellions appears to be the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, a young black man, by the police. Youth rioting and rebelling in economically disenfranchised areas in relation to possible racial discrimination and police brutality is something with which most Americans are all too familiar. In a BBC video clip in which Darcus Howe, a black English migrant, is interviewed about the riots, Mr. Howe states that what is happening throughout England is insurrections similar to those throughout the Arab world, where youth have been a leading force in street protests demanding change from their government. Where I agree with Mr. Howe is that these incidents of riots and rebellions from economically disappointed and disenfranchised youth are not something that is limited to the context of London or even England. During the 2010 Global Youth Employment Conference in London, sponsored by the NAACP, CNBC, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, the International Youth Foundation and others, the crisis of global youth unemployment was highlighted. Between the years 2008 and 2009 global youth unemployment increased by almost 7 million. This is about 35 times the increase in global youth unemployment that occurred before the recent global recession. As BusinessWeek wrote in its February 2011 article ” The Youth Unemployment Bomb ,” “[A]n economy that can’t generate enough jobs to absorb its young people has created a lost generation of the disaffected, unemployed, or underemployed — including growing numbers of recent college graduates for whom the post-crash economy has little to offer.” The relationship between youth unemployment and long-term social and economic disenfranchisement coupled with austerity budgeting, which threatens to lessen the opportunities and support provided to the youth of today, reminds me of the words of Dr. King: “The people will rise up and express their anger and frustration if you refuse to hear their cries. A riot is the language of the unheard.” Laurie Penny, in her article ” Panic on the Streets of London ,” writes: The people running Britain had absolutely no clue how desperate things had become. They thought that after thirty years of soaring inequality, in the middle of a recession, they could take away the last little things that gave people hope, the benefits, the jobs, the possibility of higher education, the support structures, and nothing would happen. They were wrong. And now my city is burning, and it will continue to burn until we stop the blanket condemnations and blind conjecture and try to understand just what has brought viral civil unrest to Britain. What is happening in Britain today, like what happened in France in 2005 and 2007, and in Israel with some of its largest demonstrations focused on growing economic insecurity, can serve as a warning to the United States. We must recognize that our current economy is one that can also breed despair that can easily turn to rage. The record-breaking global youth unemployment rate of 13 percent is far below the 2010 youth unemployment rate in the United States of 19.1 percent . Similar to England, youth of color have even worse unemployment numbers. In the U.S., about 22 percent of both Asian-American and Latino -American youth are unemployed. For African-American youth the unemployment rate was 33.4 percent , representing just over a third of all African-American youth in the labor market. There is a consensus as to how to address these types of challenges. In a 2010 report on employment trends, the International Labor Organization notes that comprehensive training, as well as programs that include classroom and on-the-job training, technical and non-technical assistance, financial support for the employer and employee, and job placement services have all been shown to have the most success in advancing youth employment. These type of programs require private- and public-sector partnerships in order to properly function. Recently, such a program was announced in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg announced a $130-million project focused on black and Latino men that will be funded by two private foundations and the New York City budget. This program will invest in job training, educational classes, paid internships, and paid mentorship positions all aimed at young black and Latino men. This type of local initiative is important but must be replicated on the national level and throughout countries across the globe. The global recession must be met by a global investment in our future, and this will mean targeting economically disenfranchised and, often, youth of color. The NAACP and its new Economic Program department is dedicating itself to these type of initiatives, and in this globalized 21st century, we recognize that bridging racial and economic disparities is not a domestic challenge but an international one.

Read the full article →

Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Barefoot With Beer: 2005 Interview Reveals CEO’s Doubts

August 11, 2011

“Should I put the beer down?” Mark Zuckerberg asks. The CEO and co-founder of Facebook , now the world’s largest social networking site, sits on a velour couch in the company’s Palo Alto offices. He is barefoot, dressed in Adidas shorts and a white cotton T-shirt. Movie posters for “Scarface” and “Pulp Fiction” hang on the walls behind him, and an unplugged lava lamp stands to his right. It’s June 2005 and the 15 month-old social networking site is celebrating its three-millionth user with a keg of Heineken. Zuckerberg’s co-founder does a keg stand with help from his co-workers, who prop him up on the keg, legs in the air, so he can drink directly from the tap. Facebook, at this point, has spread to more than 800 schools, is open only to college students and has just twenty employees, including “someone who orders our kegs,” Zuckerberg jokes. This glimpse of Facebook’s early days is afforded by a 40-minute interview with Zuckerberg, never aired in full, filmed by Ray Hafner and Derek Franzese for their documentary about the millennial generation, ” Now Entering ,” released in 2008. Franzese posted a five-minute excerpt of the conversation on YouTube and provided The Huffington Post with access to footage of the entire interview. Facebook spokesman Larry Yu declined to comment on the video. The portrait that emerges from the video is of a young man either still unclear about the possibilities that lie ahead for the explosively-growing company, or playing it coy, hewing to an image as an almost accidental entrepreneur, merely having fun amid college-age antics. He dismisses the suggestion that his business could be poised to become a global behemoth, though that is precisely what is about to happen. In the end, the interview tees up a tantalizing question, while pulling the answer further from view: How much of Facebook’s stratospheric rise was by design, and how much by happenstance? How much randomness helps explain which ventures never transcend the metaphorical garage and which emerge to capture public fascination? Zuckerberg comes off as modest, questioning and openly unsure about what lies ahead for Facebook. There is no hint that he sees himself capable of changing the world or making a fortune through his creation, though he has since done both. He seems slightly clueless as to the potential growth of his company. This changed quickly, however — a year later, Yahoo would offer $1 billion for Facebook, which Zuckerberg refused. “I still don’t know if we have something,” Zuckerberg says of Facebook in the interview. “Whether we have something that will last for a really long time or is just a cool toy for people to play with now, we’ll see. I think it’s actually useful and not necessarily just a fad.” Zuckerberg outlines what now appear to be modest goals for the site, expressing doubt that it would grow beyond college students. In 2011, when Facebook has more than 750 million members, offices in 15 countries and a valuation well over $50 billion, the idea seems nothing short of absurd. Asked what he will do after Facebook expands to campuses it had yet to conquer, Zuckerberg counters, “There doesn’t necessarily have to be more.” “A lot of people are focused on taking over the world or doing the biggest thing and getting the most users,” he continues. “I think part of making a difference and doing something cool is focusing intensely. There’s a level of service that we could provide when we’re just at Harvard that we can’t provide for all of the colleges, and there’s a level of service that we can provide when we’re a college network that we wouldn’t be able to provide if we went to other types of things.” The persona projected by Zuckerberg contrasts sharply with that of two other Silicon Valley legends who built their own Web behemoth: Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google. The duo, who were only a few years older than Zuckerberg when they founded the search engine, became notorious for their ambitious goals, confidence and audacious visions. While investors predicted the company had a shot at being worth $1 billion some day, Page and Brin promised it would eventually reap $10 billion a year. They made it their mission to build a search engine “as smart as you” that would ” organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful .” Zuckerberg offers measured enthusiasm for his project and downplays its significance without any clear indication of false modesty. Sean Parker, who worked closely with Zuckerberg during Facebook’s first few years, recalls in “The Facebook Effect” that Zuckerberg was, at this point, “very rational about the low probability of building a true empire” and would question whether his project “would last.” “I thought it was really cool for awhile, but I don’t know, I mean, other people are doing interesting things too,” Zuckerberg says in the interview. “I’m happy with what I’m doing but I don’t really think it’s that much cooler than what everyone else is doing. College is really fun and all my friends back at school are having a really good time, too.” The twenty-something even admits to having mixed feelings about his company’s growth, which he says has brought with it unwanted attention, the need to manage larger teams and a slower pace of development. “Working with a lot of people at the same time is a task. I really like making stuff and getting stuff done,” Zuckerberg says. “One of the things I really liked about Facebook was that I could always move so quickly. I wrote the original application in like nine days at the end of January. Now with 20 people we have this whole organization … We’re a little less agile now.” Though he famously printed business cards to read “I’m CEO…bitch,” Zuckerberg suggests in the interview that he is open to alternate roles and concedes he might consider hiring someone to be chief executive so he could “focus more on cool ideas,” which he says is “more fun.” He expresses concern that the CEO of a larger company is “really just managing,” but “not necessarily being the guy with big ideas.” David Kirkpatrick, author of “The Facebook Effect,” notes that in the summer of 2005, Zuckerberg was still feeling out Facebook and transitioning away from another project, the file-sharing service Wirehog, which he said Zuckerberg had found more challenging than the social network and incorporated as a company. “He was still in the process of completely committing to Facebook,” Kirkpatrick told The Huffington Post. “He felt quite strongly that what he would do with his life was come up with lots of cool ideas and inventions and launch them, then get other people to run them for him. He viewed himself more as an inventor than a manager.” So how did Zuckerberg go from “I still don’t know if we have something” to turning down a billion-dollar offer? What clicked — and when — to convince him that Facebook was not a fad but a “utility,” as he would describe it just a few months later? The company’s explosive growth in the fall of 2005, when it added another two million members, helped cement its status in Silicon Valley and among students, clues that Zuckerberg was on to something big. Just a few months after the filmmakers’ interview, the company was earning $1 million each month, could boast 230 million page views per day and was visited daily by 70 percent of its users, according to “The Facebook Effect.” High-level executives from News Corp., Microsoft, Yahoo and Viacom began to court Zuckerberg. “Time goes slower when you’re young, and in a year, Facebook did change dramatically as a business,” Kirkpatrick said. “Zuckerberg was capable of changing his approach to it with great rapidity, which is something he continues to do to this day.” Throughout the interview, there are numerous reminders that Zuckerberg is still barely out of his teens. In addition to chatting about campus parties and the ways his new responsibilities have taken a toll on some friendships, he likens the company’s decision to accept funding to picking up girls. “We actually got that money because we didn’t need it,” he explains. “It’s kind of like where you’re probably more likely to hook up with a girl if you go into a party not wanting to hook up with a girl.” Zuckerberg ultimately comes off as camera-shy and committed to coding, more interested in his work than in questions about it. “I like making things,” he says. “I don’t like getting my picture taken.” Additional reporting by Cooper Smith. WATCH:

Read the full article →

Bank Of America Stock Drops 20 Percent Following $10 Billion Lawsuit

August 9, 2011

Bank of America stocks tumbled 20 percent on Monday as investors reacted in part to a $10 billion lawsuit that the insurance corporation American International Group brought against the company. The dramatic single-day drop was reminiscent of market plunges during the financial crisis of 2008, and stood out even amongst a market-wide spate of sell-offs that left the Dow Jones industrial average more than 600 points down on the day. BofA closed at $6.51 on Monday, a 20.32 percent drop from the opening bell, after a day of rapid stock declines that saw the Dow shed 634 points. The Dow closed at 10,809 after dipping below 11,000 for the first time since November 2010, making Monday the sixth-worst trading day in Dow history . Elsewhere in the market, the S&P 500 Index fell by 6.66 percent and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 6.9 percent down. On Monday, AIG announced that it was suing Bank of America for more than $10 billion, alleging that BofA, and its acquisitions Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial, participated in “massive fraud” when they sold mortgage-backed securities to AIG between 2005 and 2007. AIG says that more than 40 percent of the mortgages were presented as being more secure than they actually were. A spokesman for Bank of America has countered that AIG “is the very definition of an informed, seasoned investor” and should be held responsible for any purchases it made. The slide in BofA stocks, the worst since April 2009, was reflected in declines among other major lenders. Citigroup was down 16 percent at the end of the day, Morgan Stanley closed down 14 percent, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo were each down 9 percent and Goldman Sachs fell 6 percent. AIG’s own stock fell 10 percent to $22.58. Bank of America, the country’s largest banks by assets, has seen the value of its stock decline by 54 percent since the start of 2011. Last month, BofA reported losses of $8.8 billion in the second quarter , its worst quarterly earnings report ever. On Wednesday, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan will answer shareholder questions during a 90-minute conference call. A press release from Fairholme Capital Management , a major shareholder with BofA, says that “skeptics are invited to participate.” Monday’s market plunge is seen as a response to Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the United States’ credit rating last Friday, as well as concerns that Italy and Spain could slip into default as part of the worsening European debt crisis. Investors have also seen a series of disappointing economic reports in recent days, raising fears that the U.S. economy may be headed for a double-dip recession.

Read the full article →

Georges Ugeux: Are Rating Agencies Acting in the Name of God?

August 8, 2011

Standard & Poor’s tried to justify its decision of the downgrading of the note of the United States through a press conference run by Ayatollah David Beers , the head of S&P’s sovereign ratings, the supreme judge of the conduct of nations, attending — as Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs — to God’s work. It confirmed the loss of sense of reality and measure of the rating agencies in the sovereign crisis that spread in Europe, as well as the recent debate on the increase of the debt ceiling of the United States. There is something fundamentally wrong in the rating agencies’ approach to sovereign ratings: they unilaterally redefined their role several years ago from doing their job — assessing the ability of sovereign issuers to service their debt — to rating countries. It is that decision that completely changed the impact, and the credibility of the rating agencies. In the name of God, they started to act as judges of countries, their political systems, their social policies and intervened in politics and even the elections in many countries, assessing in a partisan way the programs of the political parties. While doing that, they failed to perform their jobs: they completely neglected their mission to adequately rate complex debt instruments such as structured products and bear a huge responsibility on the financial crisis that led to the collapse of Lehman in 2008. Even their assessment of the debt of financial institutions was wrong. They downgraded them brutally and too late. Are they trying to find a new mission? They should definitely review it, but not the way they did it. The world and investors do not need to now what Ayatollah Freeman considers as a “debacle” ( i.e. , the way Congress handled the debt-ceiling problem). Criticizing the consensus building — or lack thereof — of the U.S. Congress is none of their business. That is a political opinion, not an assessment of the U.S. sovereign debt. Nothing has worsened the situation since their previous warning. Congress actually is now going to prepare a drastic reduction of government expenses. It is the right thing to do. Last weekend’s decision provided an increase of the debt ceiling that will allow the U.S. not to be in default. That restored confidence in the market to the point where the Bank of New York Mellon decided to quote some fees for deposits over $50 million because U.S. treasuries at some point had a negative yield. Some buyers of U.S. Treasuries were prepared to pay to receive what they considered to be a safe placement. They destroyed that in a short and subjective matter that, compound with the fact that they are unaccountable, makes it dogmatic and undemocratic. Rating agencies have indeed acted under the “freedom of press” cover to avoid being sued despite their gross negligence in some matters. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2002 changed that and made them accountable: for six months they refused to allow their ratings to be published, in order to assess their potential legal liability, forcing the SEC to suspend the obligation of ratings for several months. Rating agencies are fundamentally irresponsible and not accountable for their ratings. After the despicable hearings of the leaders of the rating agencies during the financial crisis, it is time for Congress to call them back and make sure they no longer can do what they just did: provide political ratings. They have outlived their usefulness. Underwriters, investors or traders to build their own opinion, assisted by a truly professional country risk analytical firm, are perfectly capable to make that assessment. As Deven Sharma , President of S&P, told The Wall Street Journal , “[W]e are moving in uncharted territories.” The answer from Paul Krugman in The New York Times is unequivocal: On one hand, there is a case to be made that the madness of the right has made America a fundamentally unsound nation. And yes, it is the madness of the right: if not for the extremism of anti-tax Republicans, we would have no trouble reaching an agreement that would ensure long-run solvency. On the other hand, it’s hard to think of anyone less qualified to pass judgment on America than the rating agencies. The people who rated sub-prime-backed securities are now declaring that they are the judges of fiscal policy? Really?

Read the full article →

Simon Dixon: U.S. Credit Rating Downgrades Are a Surprise? Forget AA+

August 8, 2011

When did a credit rating stop becoming a credit rating? So the world and our politicians seem to be surprised with the announcement that Standard and Poor’s have downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. I am sorry, but since when did credit ratings become open to negotiation? I am more amazed by the debate that came before the downgrade, where politicians were trying to prevent it. Credit ratings are pretty simple. If you can afford to repay, you don’t speculate too much with your money and you have more income than your outgoings, you are a good credit risk. If you can’t afford to repay, you speculate heavily with your money and you spend more than you bring in, you don’t deserve a good credit rating. So lets look at the government. They have given the power to create money to banks through debt; therefore, when consumers and companies cannot take on more debt, governments have to. If the government ever tried to repay our debt, we are in a dire depression. Do you think they can afford to repay? They speculate by offering guarantees on bank deposits far in excess of what they can afford. They speculate on workers being able to afford to pay for pensioners. They speculate on bankers’ ability to run our country by giving them their license to create our money. They speculate full stop. They consistently spend more than they bring in — a lot more. Nothing more to be said on point 3. And we give them a AAA credit rating? If we rated our borrowers in BankToTheFuture.com with the same methods used to rate our governments, we would go bankrupt overnight. If I ran any of my business like the government and they gave me a AAA rating, they would be accused of fraud. If I said I could buy my customers all the things that the government promises to us, I would be bankrupt tomorrow and face lawsuits of mis-selling. And yet the market was still surprised that the government got downgraded. The big surprise to me is why people still think that government debt is worth anything. If there is one blessing in disguise from this turmoil, it’s that at least banking reform will happen sooner. When the government no longer has the credit rating to bail out the banks during the upcoming crash, like I have been saying all along, their only choice is banking reform. Bring it on. The world will be a great place. I will tell you why in future blogs. I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Read the full article →

Kelly Dern: Women Entrepreneurs Continue to Hit the "Glass Ceiling" in the Technology Industry

August 5, 2011

Yesterday evening, I was among hundreds of technology start-ups, entrepreneurs and VCs who attended TechCrunch #CrunchUp , an ad hoc gathering of Europe’s entrepreneurs. However, when I looked out at the sea of over 300 of Europe’s technology gurus, I noticed that I looked very different from the majority of the people there: I was one of a handful of women. The lack of women attending this event illustrates how few women work in the technology sector and how even fewer are involved with start-ups in general. I have a master’s degree from the media and communications department at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, a department overwhelmingly filled by women students. However, judging by the number of women representing technology start-ups in Europe, very few are entering these positions, even though most technology start-ups today aim to take advantage of, or build new platforms for social media – suggesting that, if anything, these skills should be in greater demand. If women have the skills and education to enter into a tech start-up, then where are they? The under-representation of women in these industries suggests that despite the distance women have come in achieving equality in the workplace and in universities, that they still aren’t reaching the same level within burgeoning industries. This trend suggests that the “glass ceiling” still exists for women in the technology industry. The question is: why? When working with a tech start-up, there is a certain amount of risk and uncertainty that goes along with being a part of something that is completely new. At the same time, there is opportunity, creativity and excitement that you experience being part of something groundbreaking. Do young women not want to take on the risk? If they are just as creative, hardworking and capable as men, then why are they shying away from these opportunities? I am a member of the ‘digital natives’ generation; I grew up with the Internet and have only known an existence belonging to a networked society. Learning to use new technologies was part of growing up – for both men and women in my generation. However, even within a society that gives both sexes the opportunity to develop their skills, gender socialisation still continues – pushing women away from pursuing maths, sciences and technology studies. There needs to be a change in the messages sent to young women – one that reinforces strong female entrepreneur role models. Instead of idolising pop stars, our heroes should be Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey and Caterina Fake According to a recent study by blur Group that asked 1,000 entrepreneurs who they found most inspiring, female entrepreneurs received only 3% of the vote. Some women may be shying away from the ‘geek’ image associated with tech start-ups. There needs to be positive messages that enforce the importance of entering into the these industries, or even forging one of your own. While there are only a handful of women at the top of the tech pyramid, we must not let this imbalance affect who will become our future business leaders. Female entrepreneurs must be more visible, play an active role in mentoring young women, and recruiting them to join the wonderful start-up universe.

Read the full article →

Applications For Home Mortgages Slip After Sharp Jump

July 27, 2011

Applications for U.S. home mortgages slipped last week after a sharp jump the week before and as interest rates edged up, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 5.0 percent in the week ended July 22. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications lost 5.5 percent after a 23.1 percent jump the previous week. The gauge of loan requests for home purchases was down 3.8 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity dipped to 69.6 percent of total applications from 70.1 percent the week before. Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.57 percent, rising from 4.54 percent. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Leslie Adler) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live The Newspaper

July 6, 2011

As the global news media shifts from pulp to digital, cries of “Stop the press!” seem destined to fade into golden, halcyon twilight. But Newspaper Club , a three year-old London startup, offers a glimpse into a future where paper and presses might just have a place after all. The online company — now more of a cottage industry than a members-only club — bills itself as a place to “help people make their own newspapers.” Users can upload PDFs of their own designs or use a custom web publishing tool to design and create their own papers on the club’s website. Print runs can range anywhere from one black and white 12-page paper (priced at £14) to five thousand colour papers (more cost effective, with copies running at 22 pence a piece). One of the co-founders, Russell Davies, explaines that Newspaper Club began in 2008 when he and some colleagues — all part of the British design partnership Really Interesting Group — came together to make a Christmas present for friends; a one-off newspaper that aggregated interesting writing from the web, called ” Things Our Friends Have Written on the Internet .” The gift was, Davies said, “Insanely popular,” and led the group to wonder whether there might be a business in making custom papers. Some near 600 years since Gutenberg invented the printing press , newspapers have, according to Davies, “Evolved into the right size and format. People know how to touch, use and deal with newspapers.” The group’s goal was make it supremely easy for people to print them — specifically, by brokering with printing presses to arrange for very (very) small runs. “Dealing with printers is not really easy — especially now,” Davies explained. “We wanted to have a minimum run of five newspapers. But if you turn up at the average printer and say that, they’ll just laugh at you.” After doing initial research, the group determined that presses often sit idle during the day, before the traditional broadsheets are ready to go to press. All time during which they’re available to outside jobs, and can print at reasonable rates. “When we started, we had to work really hard to get the printers to take us seriously,” Davies recalled. “We had to pre-pay and demonstrate that we could deliver stuff in the format that they demanded.” If the printers were initially skeptical, Davies said that the Newspaper Club has since earned their trust. “There’s been a change of atmosphere,” he said. “They realise that a lot of their traditional business is going away. I would be surprised if there’s any new newspaper group in the UK that hasn’t wondered out-loud when their last printed issue will be. They realise that they have to find other customers.” These days, Davies says his group represents “a reasonable amount of [the printing press'] business.” By his estimate, in 2010 the Newspaper Group printed 500 different newspapers, ranging from editions of five to 10,000. At present, the club ships globally, although all the printing still occurs in the UK. “If we had tried to start this in the US, we never would have made it,” he explained, owing to the fact that the printing industry in the States is “much more vertically integrated” than in the UK — where the printing and newspaper industries have been decoupled for a considerable amount of time. With the emergence of a new generation of digital printers around the world, Davies foresees a day not far from now when the group will be printing cost effectively from the States, and possibly continental Europe. But as successful as Newspaper Club has been, Davies is not comfortable with the notion that his group might rescue the printed word. “We’re not saving newspapers,” he said. “We’re democratising newsprint, in some ways.” In large part the content printed is not news but personal material (custom wedding and graduation papers), local (sports club gazettes) and niche (limited-edition art and design journals). To the pulp enthusiasts who see the group as nobly resuscitating a format for history’s sake, Davies explained that, “We didn’t want to be a heritage business.” Rather, Newspaper Group and its founders believe in the printed format, “because there are still some things it does better than anything else.” As an example, he recalled a customer who created a paper to protest the closure of a local school. “The organisers were saying that they liked the fact that you could wave a newspaper in front of peoples’ faces,” Davies said. With newspapers, there’s a “physical meaning that an iPad doesn’t have.” At the moment Newspaper Club is working on developing tools to give users more options for layout as well as content-sharing options. Davies says the group is “having initial conversations with particular newspaper groups” to potentially publish content and share revenues — an option that would allow customers to publish papers around a certain news theme, for example. Davies says that the printing press may very well go the route of the denim loom or the vinyl press: both industries that saw a sharp decline as a result of changing habits, but ones that have since rebounded in niche markets — albeit in smaller numbers. “I think with the people who print newspapers, there will be less of them — but the ones that remain will be really interesting businesses,” he said. “And it’s nice to be part of that.”

Read the full article →

SFOs planning to Increase AI allocations, says report – HedgeWeek

June 17, 2011

SFOs planning to Increase AI allocations, says report HedgeWeek Nearly 90 per cent of single family offices (SFO) are planning to place additional money in hedge funds this year, according to a new report published by The Rothstein Kass Family Office Group, a division of global professional services firm Rothstein … SFOs To Raise Hedge Fund, PE Exposure As Mean Assets Rise – Rothstein Kass Report Wealth Briefing (subscription) all 2 news articles »

Read the full article →

Competitor Sues Google For Billions

June 16, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oracle Corp is seeking damages “in the billions of dollars” from Google Inc in a patent lawsuit over the smartphone market, according to a court filing. Oracle sued Google last year, claiming the Web search company’s Android mobile operating technology infringes Oracle’s Java patents. Oracle bought the Java programing language through its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January 2010. In a document filed in court by Oracle on Thursday, Oracle accused Google of trying to conceal the fact that Oracle’s damages claims in the case are in the billions. Google has redacted large portions of Oracle’s damages estimates from recent court filings. Oracle asked the court on Thursday to make some of that information public. Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Oracle America, Inc v. Google Inc, 10-3561. (Reporting by Dan Levine, editing by Dave Zimmerman) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Read the full article →

Seibert: 2011 Presenters and Panels – Track C – Rocky Mountain …

May 31, 2011

Dan Jablonsky practices law at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck where he focuses on international mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures , and securities and corporate finance. Prior to joining Brownstein, Dan led the global legal … JasonHaislmaier is a partner in the Boulder office of Holme Roberts & Owen LLP and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property , Technology & Media Department. Jason represents emerging and established companies in …

Read the full article →

Video: Owen Says ECB Raising Rates in July Would Be ‘Mistake’

May 27, 2011

May 27 (Bloomberg) — David Owen, managing director of Jefferies International in London, talks about the European debt crisis and U.S. fiscal policy. He speaks with Owen Thomas on Bloomberg Television’s “Countdown.”

Read the full article →

CoStar Q&A: Savills Execs Discuss U.S. Expansion, Foreign Investment Opportunities

May 19, 2011

With interest in U.S. real estate continuing to heat up worldwide, Savills LLC has expanded its North American platform beyond New York and Mexico, opening offices in Washington, D.C and Newport Beach, CA, as the London-based firm attempts to expand its role in serving both domestic and foreign investors seeking U.S properties in top-tier markets. But that’s just one of a number of expansion moves by New York-based real estate services provider…

Read the full article →

Commercial Property News – Bitish Land reveal anchor tenant for …

May 16, 2011

It brings global real estate business savvy and access to funds to the partnership , which has reduced the risk to BL in pressing ahead with this development. BL, either solo or in joint venture , has in it’s pipeline a …

Read the full article →

Weaker Dollar Sends Oil Prices Up

May 9, 2011

SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose to near $100 a barrel Monday in Asia, bouncing back from last week’s plunge, as a weaker U.S. dollar made commodities less expensive for investors with other currencies. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up $2.36 to $99.54 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.62 to settle at $97.18 on Friday. In London, Brent crude for June delivery was up $2.52 to $111.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Oil prices fell 15 percent last week as the dollar strengthened and traders worried that slowing U.S. economic growth didn’t justify a 35 percent increase from February to near $115 on May 2. The euro rose to $1.4434 on Monday from $1.4312 on Friday while the dollar was little changed at 80.65 yen. Some analysts are taking heart from a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. jobs last month. Non-farm payrolls rose by 244,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.0 percent from 8.8 percent in March. “The fundamental backdrop in the market remains entirely unaltered, with global oil demand still showing continued strength,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “The general (oil price) trend from here should be higher, rather than lower.” Other analysts expect oil to drop as higher U.S. gasoline prices – up 37 percent from a year ago – undermine crude demand. U.S. gross domestic product growth slowed to 1.8 percent in the first quarter. “We expect oil to fall further as the global economy slows, the dollar continues to rebound, and the risk premium due to unrest in the Middle East eventually fades,” Capital Economics said in a report. In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil rose 6.0 cents to $2.91 a gallon and gasoline added 7.0 cents to $3.16 a gallon. Natural gas futures were up 3.7 cents at $4.27 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Read the full article →

King & Spalding Strengthens Global Competition/Antitrust Practice With Addition of Suzanne Rab, a Cartel, Market Investigations and Merger Control Expert, in London

May 9, 2011

LONDON–(Marketwire – May 9, 2011) – Suzanne Rab, a competition lawyer who worked on some of the highest-profile cartel, market and merger control investigations in Europe and the UK, has joined King & Spalding as a partner in its London office, the firm announced today. She is expected to play a pivotal role in the build out of King & Spalding’s global competition practice in the UK and Europe, complementing its strong base in the United States. Rab joins King & Spalding from Hogan Lovells, where she was co-leader of its antitrust compliance group.

Read the full article →

Richard ‘Skip’ Bronson: After the Sideshow

May 7, 2011

In the early 1980′s, there was a Broadway musical production that had a successful run in London and New York called Barnum, about the life of P.T. Barnum, the famed circus showman. The opening musical number, performed by Michael Crawford for a number of those shows, was entitled “There’s A Sucker Born Every Minute.” It chronicled Barnum’s colorful career and reflected his business strategy, too. One of his great business innovations was, of course, the sideshow, where an unusual performer or physical specimen would entertain the crowd while the real work of the circus was underway, moving elephants and raising tents and the like. That bit of theater, and Barnum himself, remind me of the last couple of weeks with the events of Black Friday and the implosion of the illegal offshore internet gaming operators. It is a story of Barnums and sideshows that has us all wondering what will happen next. Many were stunned by the events that led to the indictments of a number of the offshore moguls, who had been purposefully avoiding U.S. regulation and taxation, even as they were unscrupulously operating here on our shores. Not me — I’ve been warning of this for over a year and suggesting that this is just the tip of the iceberg to the issue. Everybody in gaming and in government knew who these foreign characters and companies were, yet chose to turn an eye toward their presence in our industry. Many in Washington were blinded by their high-priced lobbyists and their campaign contributions. One day, the huddle would want a federal bill, when the influence seemed to point toward victory there. The next day, they’d be hustling into a state where their friends would try to clear the path for a legislative or regulatory win. In either scenario, the efforts were doomed, as the truth was certain to emerge and the lawful, American system would recognize the smokescreen which, it did. So Black Friday comes and goes and has many wondering, does this mean that U.S. Internet gaming is doomed? Did they damage or destroy the opportunity? My answer is no, Black Friday didn’t ruin the emergence of U.S Internet gaming; it actually helped it. Black Friday forced us all to realize four key points. First, there is no role for the illegal operators in the U.S. system, however that ultimately gets structured. Those companies were a dark cloud that would constantly hover over our industry. They needed to be removed to create a clean slate and, they were. Secondly, it reaffirmed that online gaming must be held to the same regulatory standards of all other U.S. gaming, which is the strictest, most professional and effective in the world. I get that and, support it entirely, having been licensed in a number of states from my years with Mirage. And third, it confirms a point that I’ve known all along — there is plenty of American know-how and capability in the online space, with our Silicon Valley technology and world-class financial services platforms and transactional processes. We don’t need the seedy games, the uncertain finances and lax attitudes of many of the offshore operators. We have plenty of know-how and expertise right here and, the tax revenues should remain in the U.S., where they were generated. I know all of this for sure, as someone who has been on the front lines of this industry every day for the last couple of years. And fourth, this tells me once again that it is a state-by-state issue. The feds have tried twice in the last couple of years to do this but, cannot get it right and, they won’t. The states have the infrastructure and know how to create a sensitive balancing act that also protects the bricks, even as they move toward clicks. Black Friday was an ugly set of circumstances for many. But, the sideshow is gone now and, the rest of us can look ahead with optimism on a path that is cleaner than ever and more clear, too.

Read the full article →

Video: Fairfax’s Meyer Says Glencore’s IPO Is `Priced to Go’

May 4, 2011

May 4 (Bloomberg) — John Meyer, an analyst at Fairfax IS in London, talks ab Glencore International AG’s initial public offering. He speaks with Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television’s “Countdown.”

Read the full article →

Chinese Truckers Strike For Third Day, Threatening China’s Exports

April 22, 2011

SHANGHAI – (Melanie Lee and Royston Chan) – Striking truck drivers protested for a third day on Friday in Shanghai’s main harbor district amid heavy police presence and signs the action has already started to curb exports from the world’s busiest container port. The strike is a very public demonstration of anger over rising consumer prices and fuel price increases in China. It comes as the government struggles to contain higher inflation, which hit 5.4 percent in March, fearful that rising prices could fuel protests like those that have rocked the Middle East. A crowd of up to 600 people milled about outside an office of a logistics company near the Baoshan Port, one of the city’s ports. Some threw rocks at trucks whose drivers had not joined in the strikes, breaking the windows of at least one truck. The strikers, many of them independent contractors who carry goods to and from the port, stopped work on Wednesday demanding the government do something about high fuel costs and what some called high fees charged by logistics firms, said the drivers, who clashed with police on Thursday. China is especially wary about threats to social stability following online calls for Middle East-inspired “Jasmine Revolution” protests and has detained dozens of dissidents, including renowned artist Ai Weiwei. As many as 50 police officers were at the area on Friday, and at least two people were arrested after throwing rocks at trucks. Plainclothes officers also briefly detained some foreign reporters and manhandled a Reuters photographer. The crowd thinned out after a policeman said authorities planned to meet representatives of the truck drivers on Monday for talks aimed at ending the strike. “Please disperse and go back,” he said through a megaphone to truckers who had gathered near a road junction. “We are already talking to your representatives. There will be an answer for you on Monday.” But two truck drivers told Reuters that they would continue their campaign for the government to offset the rising cost of fuel. “We are continuing our strike,” said a 38-year-old truck driver surnamed Liu. “There has been no response from the government or anybody else. There’s nothing we can do.” Workers organized the strike using word of mouth, said a driver. China’s tightly controlled state media has made no mention of the unrest, and the city’s government, which is working hard to turn glamorous Shanghai into a global financial hub to compete with Hong Kong and London, has denied knowledge of the strike. “We’re currently not aware of the situation,” a spokesman with the Shanghai city government said. He declined to be identified. EXPORTS SLOW Duncan Innes-Ker, China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the strikes could inspire protests by workers in other transport sectors, given rising fuel prices. “There are strikes in the taxi driver industry on a regular basis in numerous cities across China,” he said. “These are happening and they will continue to happen, and if the oil price continues to rise they will get worse.” China said in early April it would lift retail gasoline and diesel prices by 5-5.5 percent to record highs. [ID:nSGE736009]. An official reached by telephone at Shanghai International Port (Group) Co, which runs the Shanghai port, told Reuters the strike “has not affected operations,” though would not comment further. But one executive said the action was already starting to affect the port’s operations, at least for exports. “The strike has delayed exports and many ships cannot take on a full load before leaving,” said Wei Yujun, assistant to the general manager at China Star Distribution Center (Shanghai) Co. “For example, if one ship carries 5,000 containers en route to Hong Kong and the U.S., now they can only carry 1,000 or 2,000 containers,” Wei said, adding that such containers typically carry goods such as textiles and machinery. Traders said that the strike had caused only minimal disruptions to refined copper flows. Waigaoqiao, together with two other bonded areas in Shanghai, hold about 80 percent of China’s bonded copper stocks. “There is more than enough stocks in the bonded warehouses to offset any short-term impact on supplies,” said Bonnie Liu, a Macquarie analyst based in Shanghai. Shanghai’s most active copper futures contract closed flat at 71,440 yuan at midday. FEW OPTIONS FOR WORKERS Chinese workers have few means of pressing for better wages. The government prohibits unions independent of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, an umbrella organization run by the Communist Party. Historically, the ACFTU tries to prevent strikes. “The most basic issue isn’t simply that fuel prices are rising. It is that when fuel prices rise, the truck drivers don’t have an independent channel to express their interests,” said Li Qiang, executive director of China Labor Watch, told Reuters from New York. The unrest is occurring near at least one of the port’s five major working zones — Waigaoqiao, a massive free-trade zone and bonded storage warehouse. Shanghai overtook Singapore in 2010 to become the world’s busiest container port. The Shanghai port handled 29.05 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in 2010 — 500,000 TEUs more than Singapore . Shanghai’s cargo throughput rose to about 650 million tons in 2010, remaining the world’s largest, up from 590 million tons in 2009. Situated in the middle of the 18,000 km-long Chinese coastline, the Shanghai port is managed by the publicly listed Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd (600018.SS), which is 44.23 percent owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government. Last May, a burst of labor disputes disrupted production for many foreign automakers including Toyota and Honda, which laid bare the rising demands of China’s 150 million migrant workers and raised questions about the region’s future as a low-cost manufacturing base. (Additional reporting by Jason Subler, Jane Lee, Carlos Barria in Shanghai, Ben Blanchard, Sui-Lee Wee, Michael Martina, Niu Shuping in Beijing and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong,; Writing by Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Don Durfee and Robert Birsel) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

Randall Kempner: Building Prosperity Through Small Business Entrepreneurs: An Update

April 21, 2011

As many as 2.5 billion people in the world — 1 in 3 — do not have access to functioning sanitation systems. Not surprisingly, a host of maladies arise for families faced with this situation, ranging from malodorous living conditions to major diseases. Throughout the developing world, diarrheal disease is a top cause of death for children under five years old. In Kenya, one entrepreneur decided a market-based approach could help his fellow citizens. In the face of significant underinvestment in sanitation services by the public sector, David Kuria, decided to launch a business to confront this challenge. With support of a $757,000 loan from the Acumen Fund , he launched Ecotact in 2008. Today, the firm operates 40 pay-per-use toilet and shower facilities in Kenya that received 6 million visits in 2010 by users who pay less than 10 cents per visit. The firm has created 100 jobs and improved health results in 12 Kenyan communities. David is not alone. In developing countries, there are many other firms with good ideas that can both address a social challenge and earn profits. However, the vast majority of small business entrepreneurs lack access to resources they need to thrive. The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs ( ANDE ) is a global network of organizations dedicated to supporting small and growing businesses (SGBs) in emerging markets. One of our core activities is to track the development of the SGB sector, especially of the various intermediaries that provide capital and other services to entrepreneurial firms. In late March, the Shell Foundation in London hosted ANDE’s second anniversary celebration at which we launched our new video and our 2010 Impact Report . The report showed solid growth for the SGB sector. Some highlights: – 31+ new funds launched in 2010 that include SGBs as target investments; 22 of these funds are primarily focused on SGB investments – The total target fundraise for these SGB-focused funds was $1.5 billion. – From 2001 through the first half of 2010, the total target raise for 199 SGB-focused funds was $10.6 billion. We know that ANDE members and the sector as a whole are reaching more small business entrepreneurs all around the developing world; but we also know we have barely scratched the surface of the need for both capacity development funds and investment capital. According to McKinsey and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), small and medium enterprises in emerging markets have an unmet demand for credit of between $750 and $850 billon. Over the past 10 years, the 63 funds managed by ANDE members have only invested about $900 million. Of course, local banks, non-ANDE funds, and especially development finance institutions (DFIs) have been major players in the space and have made billions of dollars in direct investments and capacity building projects. And DFI interest is on the upswing. Earlier this month, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) launched a new $250 million impact investing call for proposals. The G20, through their SME Finance Challenge, has raised $550 million in commitments from bilateral and multilateral donors to fund innovative approaches to unlocking additional private sector finance for these entrepreneurs. Good news to be sure. But many obstacles still remain before every successful small manufacturer in Lahore, solar-cell distributor in La Paz, or IT firm in Lagos has access to the resources they need to grow their companies and their workforce. Access to talent, access to markets and access to capital remain out of reach for most of these firms – even when they have already proven themselves successful. ANDE and its members are dedicated to helping these companies overcome these barriers. We want to be sure that every David Kuria finds the resources he needs to help his fellow citizens.

Read the full article →

PARTNERS: Nokia, Microsoft Ink Major Deal

April 21, 2011

By Tarmo Virki, European Technology Correspondent (HELSINKI) – Nokia Oyj’s earnings fell less than expected in the first quarter and the company signed a final agreement to start using Microsoft Corp software, sending its shares 3 percent higher. But gains were capped by the company’s forecast for profits to fall in coming quarters, due in part to Japan’s earthquake which hit component supplies across the technology sector. Underlying earnings per share fell to 0.13 euros in the three months through March from 0.14 a year earlier, beating analysts’ average forecast for 0.10. Nokia’s market share fell to 29 percent from 33 percent as nimbler Asian rivals ate into its dominant position in cheaper phones and it continued to lose out in more expensive smartphones to Apple Inc and others. To turn around its smartphone fortunes, Nokia’s new Chief Executive Stephen Elop in February unveiled a deal to start using Microsoft software instead of its own Symbian platform. Nokia said the deal enables it to cut annual costs by around 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion). Labour union officials said they expect Nokia to start lay-off talks next week. “Finalization of the agreement with Microsoft means Nokia can now focus on execution, but margin guidance underlines that difficult times lie ahead as it transitions the portfolio,” said analyst Geoff Blaber at CCS Insight. Nokia’s key phone unit reported an operating profit margin of 9.8 percent for January-March, well ahead of analysts forecast of 8.6 percent, but said for the full year the margin would fall to within a 6 to 9 percent range. Analysts on average expected the margin to drop to 8.5 percent. NIL-NIL Shares in Nokia were 3 percent higher at 6.11 euro by 6:57 a.m. EDT, outperforming 1.3 percent gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Technology Index. The stock remains well down on a record 65 euros seen in 2000. “It’s a bit of a no-score draw really. You’ve got a solid set of numbers but guidance is bad,” said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist at Nomura. “You’ve got a little bit of relief going on today but it probably doesn’t have legs in it.” Nokia forecast second-quarter sales at its phone unit would fall to between 6.1 and 6.6 billion euros, well below analysts’ average forecast of 6.9 billion, partly due to component shortages stemming from the March earthquake in Japan. “We expect these factors and their negative impact on our mobile devices volumes to continue not only during the second quarter 2011 but also through the third quarter 2011 at least,” Nokia said in a statement. Despite its bargaining power analysts say Nokia is likely to be among the phone makers worst hit by the disruption to supplies from last month’s devastating Japanese earthquake. It makes 450 million phones a year, which means quick and big changes in component supply are difficult. Nokia’s smaller rival Sony Ericsson said this week there were shortages of displays, batteries, camera modules and some printed circuit boards. Nokia’s telecom network gear arm Nokia Siemens Networks reported a surprise profit for the quarter and said Chinese regulators had approved its $975 million acquisition of Motorola Solutions’ gear business, clearing the last major hurdle for the deal to go through. The deal, which Nokia Siemens expects to close on April 29, will make the venture the second-largest globally and give it better access to the North American market. (Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen in Helsinki, with Georgina Prodhan in London and Mia Shanley and Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.6850 Euro) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Read the full article →

Angela Haines: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Challenge the Barriers

April 19, 2011

Maria Lores-Browne, a Colombian immigrant, began dreaming about her own business during her years working as a laborer on construction sites, doing everything from pouring concrete to laying flooring. She asked herself, “How can I do this when I’m 45 or 55 years old?” So she went to school to learn how to operate heavy machinery though she was repeatedly advised “they don’t take girls.” After taking the requisite courses, she qualified to join the Operating Engineers Union, but “they were always reluctant,” she says, “to send out woman to operate equipment so they only assigned me to jobs as a watchman for construction sites.” Maria persisted because “I love running big equipment; I love the feel of the paint, the fittings, the tires, the same way many women love diamond rings.” Last fall she started Berma Construction Company. The harsh New York winter provided her with her first customer. JFK Airport hired her company to plow snow. Like Maria, who now seeks funds to purchase equipment, the biggest problems most immigrants face is access to capital. What’s particularly hard for them, says Catalina Castano, Director of the Brooklyn Small Business Development Center is that “they are unfamiliar with credit rules. Many have no credit histories, though lenders insist on credit scores. And unlike native born entrepreneurs, they frequently can’t turn to their networks for a ‘friends and family’ first round; they often can’t find a co-signer on a micro loan.” Adds Elisa Balabram, who heads a government-funded Business Center in Brooklyn, “other countries have more informal rules for doing business, so immigrants have to learn about requirements; their language problems can add to their difficulties understanding financial rules and regulations.” The Vinci Tablet Dan’s new Galaxy tablet provides an interactive learning platform with an Android operating system; it features a sturdy red silicon handle, a non toxic tempered glass screen and has no wi fi components to minimize radiation; it will be available in July. These days Dan works mainly with psychologist, educators, and artists as she develops software for her tot tablet, combining her talents in advanced technology with the creative world, a step which presumably her early teachers would have considered a more appropriate arena for women! For more on women entrepreneurs, visit www.wstartup.com

Read the full article →

Gold Prices Hit Record High On U.S. Dollar’s Decline

April 8, 2011

NEW YORK (Frank Tang) – Gold rose to a record high for a fourth straight day and silver surged on Friday, as a weaker dollar, the prospect of a U.S. government shutdown and inflation worries lifted precious metals in a broad commodities rally. Gold was set for its biggest weekly gain in four months, drawing support from renewed euro zone sovereign debt fears amid Portugal’s financial crisis and inflation jitters as crude oil and corn hit new highs this week. Bullion broke above key resistance on technical charts and could target above $1,500 an ounce. The metal has risen more than 10 percent since late January when political unrest began to flare in the Middle East and North Africa. “With the expected future inflation being higher in this low interest rate environment, investors are more inclined to have some contributions to commodities as an inflation hedge,” said Hakan Kaya, commodities portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, which manages about $190 billion client assets. Spot gold rose as high as $1,474.19 an ounce and was later up 1 percent at $1,472.20 an ounce by 12:36 a.m. EDT. Bullion was on track to rise 2.5 percent this week for a fourth straight weekly gain. U.S. gold futures for June delivery gained 1 percent to $1,473.60. Gold remained far below its all-time inflation-adjusted high, estimated at almost $2,500 an ounce set in 1980 as a result of heightened geopolitical pressure and hyperinflation. (Graphic: r.reuters.com/ren88r ) U.S. futures activity was sharply below average for a second consecutive day, but analysts said low volume is not detrimental to the bull run after a strong price rally. Silver rose 2.3 percent to $40.42 an ounce, just off the session high of $40.49. The gold-to-silver ratio — the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold — fell to a 28-year low near 36 on Friday. “One would expect silver to outperform in this environment because it bears a higher risk than gold on a volatility basis,” Kaya said. DOLLAR WEAKNESS UNDERPINS The dollar slide against the euro, supported by widening interest rate differentials after ECB’s rate hike, and crude oil’s surge to 2-1/2 year high added fuel to a rally that has already taken gold to a series of record highs this year. Gold also benefits from dollar weakness as Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said on Friday there was no overall deal on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year that ends September 30, and could not even agree on what disagreements remain ahead of the midnight Friday deadline. The looming U.S. government shutdown was “simply a minor problem of far greater problems,” said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital. The issues with the U.S. dollar are not temporary and the dollar is expected to remain weak this year, she added. On charts, gold breached important technical resistance at $1,466 an ounce near Thursday’s high, said Rick Bensignor, chief market analyst at Dahlman Rose. If bullion could hold above $1,466 early next week, it should next target an area between $1,500 and $1,510 an ounce, Bensignor said. Among other precious metals, platinum gained 1.3 percent to $1,803.74 an ounce, while palladium jumped 2.2 percent to $791.97. Prices at 12:36 p.m. EDT (1636 GMT) (Additional reporting by Julie Haviv in New York, Jan Harvey in London; Editing by David Gregorio) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

Read the full article →

Corporate Partner Martin Hunt Joins King & Spalding’s London Office

April 7, 2011

LONDON–(Marketwire – April 7, 2011) – In the continuing expansion of its global corporate practice, Martin Hunt is joining the London office of King & Spalding, the firm announced today. Hunt is a UK solicitor who also is a U.S. qualified lawyer in Texas and New York. He is the 15th corporate partner King & Spalding has added since May 2010.

Read the full article →

Mongolian Prime Minister And London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSE) CEO Seal Partnership To Develop Mongolian Stock Exchange

April 7, 2011

Mongolian Prime Minister And London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSE) CEO Seal Partnership To Develop Mongolian Stock Exchange

Read the full article →

Video: Police Drummer Copeland Makes Covent Garden Thump

April 6, 2011

April 7 (Bloomberg) — Stewart Copeland, founder and former drummer of the Police, talks about his one-act opera “The Tell-Tale Heart,” based on Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic tale of 1843. Copeland, whose work opens at the Royal Opera House in London tomorrow, spoke with Blomberg’s Warwick Thompson on April 5. (This report is an excerpt. Source: Bloomberg)

Read the full article →

Libyan Opposition Strikes Oil Deal

April 1, 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya — A plan to sell rebel-held oil to buy weapons and other supplies has been reached with Qatar, a rebel official said Friday, in another sign of deepening aid for Libya’s opposition by the wealthy Gulf state after sending warplanes to help confront Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. It was not immediately clear when the possible oil sales could begin or how the arms would reach the rebel factions, but any potential revenue stream would be a significant lifeline for the militias and military defectors battling Gadhafi’s superior forces. Rebel units were pushed back about 100 miles (160 kilometers) this week along the Mediterranean coast, but still held parts of oil-rich eastern Libya and the key city of Benghazi. In recent clashes, rebels displayed more firepower including mortars and rockets, but remain significantly outgunned. Ali Tarhouni, who handles finances for the opposition’s National Transitional Council, said that Qatar has agreed to market oil currently in storage in parts of southeastern Libya. He said one sticking point is how to truck the oil out of the country. Tarhouni said money from oil sales will be put into an escrow account the opposition will use to pay for weapons, food, medicine, fuel and other needs. He said the rebels had asked visiting U.N. and French envoys to have sanctions lifted on the parts of Libya controlled by the rebels. He said that if transport issues are solved, the rebels could immediately start exporting 1 million barrels per week. When asked, he said the rebels would certainly use oil revenues to buy arms. “People are dying,” he said. He said the council was exploring “buying arms, any kind of arms that we can get to. We have a list of the arms we need and we’re trying some different fronts to buy them. There was no immediate comment from officials in Qatar, one of the few Arab states taking part in the international military contingent enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya. Qatar is also assisting a rebel satellite TV operation that began broadcasts this week from Qatar’s capital Doha and has agreed to host a meeting of Libyan opposition groups. A spokesman for Qatar Petroleum, the state company responsible for selling the Gulf nation’s oil, declined to comment. In London earlier this week, Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said Qatar had offered to “facilitate” oil sales that are consistent with international law. Hague did not provide details about who would be supported, how the facilitation process would work, or how Qatar’s offer has been received by diplomats. It has been unclear how exactly such an arrangement would work. The effort to get oil out is hampered by several factors, including the rebels’ ability to hold eastern oil production and export facilities, the departure of skilled foreign oil-field workers and international sanctions that technically apply to the country as a whole. OPEC member Libya produced about output of 1.6 million barrels per day of oil before the conflict, just under 2 percent of world production. Qatar – host of the U.S. Army’s Middle East command hub – has significantly boosted its international profile in recent years with diplomatic initiatives and top-level sporting events, including being picked to host the 2022 World Cup. The 22-member Arab League was critical in winning U.N. Security Council support for the no-fly zone. But only Arab League members Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have contributed aircraft to the mission. Qatar also has agreed to host the first meeting of an international contact group aimed at coordinating political action and opening channels with Libya’s opposition. No date for the meeting has been set. A Qatari aid plane carrying 30 tons of relief supplies including medicine, medical equipment and blankets landed in the Libyan city of Tobruk on Wednesday, according to the official Qatar News Agency. Last month, Qatar sent ground troops to join a Saudi-led force aiding the rulers in Bahrain, which has been wracked by anti-government protests and violence for more than six weeks. In the Arab world, however, Qatar may be best known as the headquarters for the powerful Al-Jazeera broadcasting network, which was founded by the country’s rulers in 1996. A Libyan rebel spokesman, Mahmoud Shamam, said a satellite channel, Libya TV, began broadcasts from Doha earlier this week with financial and logistical support from Qatar. A top rebel official, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, offered a cease-fire Friday if Gadhafi pulls his military forces out of cities and allows peaceful protests against his regime. ___ Associated Press writers Adam Schreck and Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Read the full article →

Video: Lloyd’s Levene Expects `Modest’ Increase in Premiums

March 30, 2011

March 30 (Bloomberg) — Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s of London, talks about the outlook for insurance premiums after the natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand. He speaks from London with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television’s “On The Move.”

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries