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Saturday, August 9, 2014
Top 10 Articles on Morningstar
Investment ideas around top-yielding stocks and investment trusts, and funds due a bounce back, attracted readers' attention last week - catch up on our latest ideas and commentary
Read More... [Source: Morningstar Research and Commentary]
Read More... [Source: Morningstar Research and Commentary]
DAP CEC 2013: One Man To Rule Them All?
First of all, I would like to congratulate YB Dr Ong Kian Ming for a job well done as Returning Officer in the 2013 Central Executive Committee Elections. From the news in papers, I believe it was conducted transparently with no Excel errors this time. Well, it times like this, good to have an experienced "consultant" by your side, right?
Anyway, I found this tweet. Interesting, I must say:
DAP is for all Malaysians, says YB Nga Kor Ming. Now, how true is that? I googled and found the DAP CEC Candidates list here - http://www.therocket.com.my/en/list-of-cec-candidates/
I have to agree with YB Nga Kor Ming when I looked at the racial composition of the candidates. Dia tak tipu kita:
The central delegates of DAP voted on 29 September 2013 in One World Hotel. Let's take a look at the racial composition of the DAP CEC 2013:
Well obviously there are no Malaysian Sabah / Sarawak Bumiputeras in the list, or did my eyes play tricks on me?
I am even more surprised when I compared the 2012 December election results with the 2013 September results. Take a look at the red numbers.
And to answer YB Nga Kor Ming's tweet, out of 7 Malaysian Malay candidates, only one made it to the top and surpassed you and your cousin YB Ngeh. One man to convince us all? Long way to go mate.
Anyone else has better analysis, eg State representations?
Read More... [Source: A Piece of My Mind]
Anyway, I found this tweet. Interesting, I must say:
DAP is for all Malaysians, says YB Nga Kor Ming. Now, how true is that? I googled and found the DAP CEC Candidates list here - http://www.therocket.com.my/en/list-of-cec-candidates/
I have to agree with YB Nga Kor Ming when I looked at the racial composition of the candidates. Dia tak tipu kita:
- 61% Malaysian Chinese
- 10% Malaysian Malay
- 29% Malaysian Indian/Singh
The central delegates of DAP voted on 29 September 2013 in One World Hotel. Let's take a look at the racial composition of the DAP CEC 2013:
- 80% Malaysian Chinese
- 5% Malaysian Malay
- 15% Malaysian Indian / Singh
Well obviously there are no Malaysian Sabah / Sarawak Bumiputeras in the list, or did my eyes play tricks on me?
I am even more surprised when I compared the 2012 December election results with the 2013 September results. Take a look at the red numbers.
- Votes for YB Lim Kit Siang fell by 171. He was ranked 1st in 2012, fell to 2nd now.
- Votes for YB Lim Guan Eng fell by 272. He was ranked 2nd in 2012, fell to 5th now.
- Votes for YB Nga Kor Ming and Ngeh Koo Ham fell by 119 and 15 respectively. YB Nga was ranked 11th in 2012, now 19th. YB Ngeh was ranked 19th in 2012, now 20th.
- Votes for M Kula increased by 104. He maintained his ranking in CEC at 15th place.
And to answer YB Nga Kor Ming's tweet, out of 7 Malaysian Malay candidates, only one made it to the top and surpassed you and your cousin YB Ngeh. One man to convince us all? Long way to go mate.
Anyone else has better analysis, eg State representations?
Read More... [Source: A Piece of My Mind]
AUTO BILD: Deutsche Autowirtschaft weiter im Aufwärtstrend Auto Mobilität
AUTO BILD-Branchenindex AUBIX steigt auf 70 Punkte / Export weiter als Zugpferd / Nachfrage in Großbritannien und Spanien zieht an / Aktuelle Vorabinformation aus Heft Nr. 26, Erscheinungstermin 27.06.2014
Read More... [Source: Communication Consultants: Auto & Mobilität]
Read More... [Source: Communication Consultants: Auto & Mobilität]
Fox News Falsely Credits Rick Perry's National Guard Deployment Plan For Abatement Of Immigration
Fox News misleadingly credited Governor Rick Perry's (R-TX) announcement that National Guard troops would be deployed to the border for reducing the number of immigrants crossing the border -- but experts find that migration regularly decreases in summer months due to dangerous summer weather.
Texas Governor Orders National Guard To Border To Curb Flow Of Migrants To U.S.
FoxNews.com: Rick Perry To Deploy National Guard Troops To Texas-Mexico Border. On July 21, FoxNews.com reported Texas Governor Rick Perry's plan to deploy up to 1,000 National Guardsmen to the border. The article reported that the deployment would cost Texas an estimated $12 million a month, adding that the primary purpose of the Guard would be "referring and deterring immigrants, not detaining people." [FoxNews.com, 7/21/14]
Fox News Falsely Cites Perry's Deployment For The Decrease In Immigration
America's Newsroom: Immigration Has Been Cut By 60% In A 60 Mile Stretch Since Rick Perry Initiated His Border Plan. On the August 6 edition of America's Newsroom, host Bill Hemmer credited Perry's recent border plan, to increase the number of guards on the border, with decreasing border crossings in the Rio Grande area.
HEMMER: Since Rick Perry initiated his border patrol agents going down there, the biggest area where people were coming across, the Rio Grande area, there is 60-mile stretch, it's been cut in half by 60% in just a few days since they started. [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 8/6/14]
Fox Hosts: We See That The National Guard Works, "I'm Glad Rick Perry Is On The Case." On the August 5 edition of Outnumbered, co-hosts Harris Faulkner and Kimberly Guilfoyle praised Perry's plan to use National Guard troops at the border, suggesting President Obama give his own "national, National Guard support" to Perry.
FAULKNER: Why not give the kind of national, National Guard support to this Governor that we see he has been asking for.
GUILFOYLE: Great question, and we see that it works. So adopt the best practices, do something. That type of leadership should come from our Commander in Chief, from the President. I'm glad Rick Perry is on the case. [Fox News, Outnumbered, 8/5/14]
Experts Say Reduced Flow Is Due To Weather And Other Factors Entirely Unrelated To Perry's Stunt
NY Times: Both Honduras And Mexico Have Taken Steps To "Slow The Migrant Flow." In a July 20 article, the New York Times pointed out the many steps taken by foreign governments to stem the flow of illegal immigrants coming to the United States.
Honduras, the source of the largest proportion of recent child migrants, has moved to make it harder for children to leave the country without authorization. It has forbidden the sale to minors of bus tickets to the border and assigned additional police officers, including a specially trained unit, to patrol bus routes and frequent border crossing points."
Mexico has said it will take action to slow the migrant flow, pledging to stop people from stowing away on freight trains, a common tactic to head north, and to increase patrols of its border. [New York Times, 7/20/14]
AP: "Illegal Border Crossings ... Tend To Slow During The Summer." On July 18, three days prior to Governor Perry announcing the deployment of National Guard troops, AP reported a decrease of immigrants crossing the border (emphasis added):
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the latest trends in border arrests, said Friday it's too soon to know what has led to drop in border arrests. They said illegal border crossings along the Mexican border tend to slow during the summer. [Associated Press, 7/18/14]
Arizona Republic: Number Of Children Apprehended At Border Has Decreased Since June. The Arizona Republic reported that since June, at least a month before Perry announced the deployment of the National Guard to the border, the number of unaccompanied minors caught crossing the border has "fallen significantly":
The number of unaccompanied children caught each day in south Texas has fallen significantly over the past few weeks from 355 a day in June to 150 a day for the first two weeks of July, according to the White House. Rio Grande Valley Chief Border Patrol Officer Kevin Oaks said apprehensions dropped as low as 80 kids one day last week. [Arizona Republic, 7/23/14]
Mother Jones: The Decrease In Immigration Is "Entirely Predictable." In a July 24 article Mother Jones explained that the decrease in immigrants crossing the border during the summer months is a pattern that has been seen for many years:
But the slowdown in the number of children picked up over the last few weeks also seems entirely predictable: Since 1999, the overall number of undocumented migrants apprehended by the Border Patrol has peaked in the spring before dropping precipitously during the summer months. In Texas' Rio Grande Valley area--the area seeing the most child migrants--July temperatures reach well up into the 90s, and often higher. Here's a month-by-month look at apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol sector:
[Mother Jones, 7/24/14]
Read More... [Source: Media Matters for America - Research Items]
Fiksu Hits $100 Million in Revenue Driven by Demand for Data-Fueled Mobile Ad Campaigns
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Aug 8, 2014) - Fiksu (www.fiksu.com), a data-driven mobile ad tech company, today announced it has surpassed $100 million in revenue. Fueled by the exploding demand for ...
Read More... [Source: South Korea News latest RSS headlines - South Korea News.net]
Davos 2014: EU needs 'conservative common sense', insists David Cameron
Challenged over a supposed inconsistency between his rhetoric on of freedom of movement and immigration, David Cameron tells Davos that the EU needs "practical, conservative, common sense"
Read More... [Source: Davos 2014: World Economic Forum annual meeting]
Read More... [Source: Davos 2014: World Economic Forum annual meeting]
Rate rise fears prompt surge in borrowers fixing rates
More borrowers are locking into fixed rates, as the chart below shows. We look at the best deals for fixed and variable mortgages
Read More... [Source: Interest rates, savings rates and mortgage interest rates]
Read More... [Source: Interest rates, savings rates and mortgage interest rates]
Complexity and the art of public policy
Roland Kupers, 25 July 2014
Complexity science is changing the way we think about social systems and social theory. Unfortunately, economists’ policy models have not kept up and are stuck in either a market fundamentalist or government control narrative. This Vox Talk argues for a new, more flexible policy narrative, which envisions society as a complex evolving system that is uncontrollable but can be influenced.
Listen: Complexity and the art of public policy
Read More... [Source: Vox Talks: interviews with leading economists]
Complexity science is changing the way we think about social systems and social theory. Unfortunately, economists’ policy models have not kept up and are stuck in either a market fundamentalist or government control narrative. This Vox Talk argues for a new, more flexible policy narrative, which envisions society as a complex evolving system that is uncontrollable but can be influenced.
Listen: Complexity and the art of public policy
Read More... [Source: Vox Talks: interviews with leading economists]
Eric McPhail, et al.
SEC Charges Group of Amateur Golfers in Insider Trading Ring
Read More... [Source: SEC.gov Updates: Litigation Releases]
Read More... [Source: SEC.gov Updates: Litigation Releases]
23 mines in Odisha under the scanner
A mines ministry appointed fact finding committee has noted violations of mining and green laws in the operations of 23 mines in Odisha.Read More... [Source: Ind'l Goods/Svs-Industry-The Economic Times]
Government's reliance on human service nonprofits to provide services has been increasing, expanding the ability of nonprofits to achieve their missions and the ability of government to serve its constituents. This brief summarizes results from human service nonprofits in the second national study of government contracts and grants. We compare results of human service organizations in the 2013 national survey of nonprofits to the results of the survey conducted in 2010. We examine how human service organizations have managed since the recession ended and how their relationships with governments have changed.
Read More... [Source: Urban Institute: Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy]
Read More... [Source: Urban Institute: Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy]
Emami plans further acquisitions of brands; to look for national as well as international companies
"Its a strategic move and we are looking to focus more on the emerging markets," Prashant Goenka, director of Emami said.Read More... [Source: Cons. Products-Industry-The Economic Times]
XSPrisa SaaS Offering
The XSPrisa product is a pay-as-you-go, subscription-based model leveraging the power and agility of the XSP v5 platform, simplifying the Corporate Actions process, instantly and inexpensively. Read More... [Source: Bobsguide Product List: Middle and Back Office Solutions]
SEC Charges Seattle Firm and Owner With Misusing Client Assets for Vacation Home and Vintage Automobile
The SEC charged the owner of a Seattle-based investment advisory firm with fraudulently misusing client assets to make loans to himself to buy a luxury vacation home and refinance a rare vintage automobile.
An SEC investigation found that the owner of the firm used assets from the portfolio of a senior citizen client to fund $3.1 million in personal loans without telling her or obtaining her consent. The loans were not in the best interest of the client and significantly favored the owner, who provided no collateral, had no set pay-off dates, and paid most of the interest at the prime rate (which banks typically provide their most credit-worthy customers). He also improperly directed an investment fund managed by his firm to make more than $4.5 million in loans and investment purchases to facilitate personal real estate deals and fend off claims from disgruntled clients. He diverted more than $500,000 from the fund to pay settlements to disgruntled clients.
The owner and the firm, who eventually paid back the diverted funds and personal loans, agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay more than $340,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to the individual client and the investment fund, representing ill-gotten gains that the owner retained even after he paid back the loans. He and his firm also agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty, and he will be barred from the securities industry for at least five years. The firm will wind down its operations with oversight from an independent monitor.
“Investment advisers have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of advisory clients and disclose all material conflicts of interests,” said Jina L. Choi, director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. “[This man] instead took advantage of his clients and misused more than $8 million of their assets for his own personal gain.”
For more information, visit:
Read More... [Source: The Securities Law Blog]
Bankers' bonuses paid in the UK next year will be subject to clawbacks for seven years under new rules outlined by regulators
Read More... [Source: ]
Read More... [Source: ]
Our man in hawala
I don't know how serious the new government will be about tracking down the estimated $8 billion stashed away by Indians.
Read More... [Source: Columnist Jug Suraiya | Opinion - The Times of India]
Read More... [Source: Columnist Jug Suraiya | Opinion - The Times of India]
RECESSION LOOMING?
Retail Sales Decline: Harbinger of Recession?
The total nominal increase in July 2006 Retail Sales of $368.405 billion was 3.9% from July 2005's $354.414 billion. However, adjusting for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index increase of 4.3%, this reduces the "real" Retail Sales change to -0.4%. However, the figures are even worse if gasoline station sales are subtracted. Subtracting July 2006's $43.918 billion in gasoline sales from the total nominal Retail Sales gives $327 billion. Subtracting July 2005's gasoline station sales from the total nominal Retail Sales (from July 2005) gives $319.53 billion. The difference between the July 2006's retail sales (ex. gasoline station) and July 2005's retail sales is only 2.3% in nominal (non-inflation-adjusted) dollars. Adjusting for inflation using the CPI increase of 4.3% puts the total at a -2.0%. In other words, excluding gasoline station sales, inflation-adjusted Retail Sales declined 2.0% from July of 2005.
This can be seen from the Retail Sales chart copied from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report on Retail Sales
General Merchandise Sales, which make up the biggest component of Retail Sales, showed a nominal increase in dollar sales of 4.3%. (underlined in blue on the chart above.) Again, this is exactly the same as the increase in the Consumer Price Index of 4.3%. Thus, the real change in General Merchandise Sales since July of 2005 is 0.0%. In other words, there has been NO growth in General Merchandise Sales since July of 2005.
The declining inflation-adjusted Retail Sales numbers are an ominous sign for the economy. They're even more concerning when gasoline station sales figures are not included, which leaves the remaining total for Retail Sales at 2% less than the previous July. Even with increased borrowing, consumers spending is declining. Since consumer spending is 70% of GDP growth, it makes further GDP growth difficult, if not impossible. With consumer borrowing ability expected to fall even further, consumer spending will likely decline further as well. Real wages have continued their steady decline since December 2002. Median real family income has declined every year since 1999. With decreasing consumer spending and decreasing consumer demand, labor demand can be expected to decline even further. The declining labor demand will result in further declines in both wages and employment, reducing consumer spending power even further.
Several noteworthy economists are suggesting a recession is on the way. Paul Krugman has discussed this in his most recent article titled Intimations of Recession. Economist Nouriel Roubini, former member of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors, has put the likelihood of Recession at 70% by the end of 2006. Another article from the Daily Reckoning has also laid out a strong case for an impending recession. All of these sources have provided a considerable amount of evidence to support their predictions. It appears that our "faith-based" economy is running out of steam. It can no longer be kept afloat by the hot air from the Housing Bubble and the alternate reality creation of the NeoCon-Artist spin machine.
EconomicPopulistForum
Read More... [Source: Economic Populist Commentary]
Credit Risk Analyst - Securities Lending - New York City, NY
Reference #:W5011Supporting the securities services of a global investment bankResponsibilities:Perform both quantitative and qualitative analyze on debt issuers and monitor their financial performance.Determine appropriate securities/investment vehicles and assist in maintaining an Approved Issuers List in which the Securities Lending team invests cash collateral on clients' behalf...
Read More... [Source: Hound]
Read More... [Source: Hound]
No deal in Gaza talks in final hour, Palestinians could reject - source
CAIRO (Reuters) - No deal has been reached in Egyptian-mediated talks over Gaza an hour before a 72-hour ceasefire is due to expire and Palestinian factions could reject an extension of the truce under the current terms, a Palestinian source in Cairo said on Friday.
Read More... [Source: Reuters: Top News]
Read More... [Source: Reuters: Top News]
Dollar slips after geopolitical tensions spur profit-taking
US dollar hit a one-week low against a basket of major currencies after escalating geopolitical tensions led traders to take profits on the greenback after its recent strength.Read More... [Source: Forex-Markets-The Economic Times]
Hacker Gary McKinnon has set up a search engine optimisation business after winning a 10-year battle against extradition to the US
Read More... [Source: ]
Read More... [Source: ]
A culture of lawlessness at the CIA?
Rep. Mike Rogers: "Somebody needs to be held accountable" for the CIA spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Read More... [Source: CNN.com - Politics]
Read More... [Source: CNN.com - Politics]
Video Director Isaac Rentz Looks Back With New Tumblr, This Day in TRL
Video Director Isaac Rentz Looks Back With New Tumblr, This Day in TRL
Read More... [Source: Security Cameras Are Smart Investments]
Read More... [Source: Security Cameras Are Smart Investments]
The federal income tax system provides substantial benefits to families with children. In 2013, the Tax Policy Center estimates that five major child-related tax benefits the earned income tax credit (EITC), the child tax credit, the child and dependent care tax credit, the dependent exemption, and head of household filing status will reduce taxes and provide credits totaling $171 billion (roughly $3,400 per family) for families with children. Nearly all families benefit, but low- and middle-income families tend to benefit most. This paper highlights who benefits from each major provision and how much benefit is received.
Read More... [Source: Urban Institute: Children and Youth]
Read More... [Source: Urban Institute: Children and Youth]
By: Penny Nickel
Tim: I wish I'd titled the article differently. "Community investing" is meant to indicate investing in *communities*. I used it because it's a commonly-used term for banking options that support low-income communities, but obviously that's a niche term not everyone is familiar with and I can see how people would interpret it differently. The products are really banking products-- savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs-- which are there to hold your savings at minimum risk. Maybe other people do it differently, but I don't usually have "investment goals" in dollars and cents for my savings. My purpose for investing my savings is to find the best balance between earning interest and supporting the causes that are personally important to me. It is a personal balance. Some people might not be willing to give up any interest to have a social/environmental impact, others would be willing to give up 0.5% or 1%, others 2% or 3% or 5%. It depends on people's personal priorities, I just wanted folks to know about the options so they could decide if any of them fit with their priorities.I know that some people feel strongly that making money is one thing, and charitable giving/supporting causes should be entirely separate. But I think there are some good arguments that your impact is stronger if you allow many times more money to be lent out to support your causes than you would by giving directly. If you want to look at it in a making-money sense, you could just decrease your charitable giving by the amount of the opportunity costs you lose, and break even or even come out ahead. So you don't have to lose any money doing it this way (unless you are not making donations in the first place).But sometimes getting rich isn't just about your net worth. I want a rich life and I define that broadly, and part of that is feeling like I'm helping others and making the world a better place. For me that's part of the whole "get rich slowly" approach, and I thought there might be others here who are hoping to get some of that, too, out of this blog. For those who feel this is out of place, I'm sorry...(Thanks again, Brad.)
Read More... [Source: Comments on: Community Investing and Other Socially-Conscious Banking Options]
Read More... [Source: Comments on: Community Investing and Other Socially-Conscious Banking Options]
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Third Eye: Aziz Qureshi next in line
ET brings you the latest buzz from the political corridors.Read More... [Source: Politics and Nation-News-The Economic Times - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Obama signs bill to fix delays in veterans healthcare
FORT BELVOIR Va (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama signed a $16.3 billion bill on Thursday designed to provide veterans with more timely medical care and fix problems in the scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs department.
Read More... [Source: Reuters: Health - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Read More... [Source: Reuters: Health - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Tanker strike may hit fuel supply in Kolkata
Worse, tanker operators affiliated to Trinamool labour wing INTTUC vandalized the site office of the weights and measures wing that comes under the state consumer affairs department.
Read More... [Source: Kolkata News, Kolkata City News | Cities News - Times of India - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Read More... [Source: Kolkata News, Kolkata City News | Cities News - Times of India - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Goldman Sachs Says Alternative Trading System Being Probed
The investment bank said it was being investigated for its U.S. alternative trading system and for the potential misuse and circulation of non-public information related to its corporate developments.
Read More... [Source: FOX Business - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
Read More... [Source: FOX Business - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]
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