http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201115/7066/Trusteer-User-education-can-t-protect-against-social-engineering
by Steve Ragan – Apr 15 2011, 03:40
An experiment by security firm Trusteer has shown that even the most educated user can be fooled by a Phishing attack. By using 100 well-informed participants on social/business portal LinkedIn, Trusteer sent out messages similar to the ones site users would see on a regular basis. Interestingly, almost 70 percent of the test group fell for the con.
Phishing attacks and other scams are constantly explained and cautioned against, and most security professionals can explain what to look for and how to avoid falling victim to these cons. Yet, there is always a victim. No matter how good the education, you can’t reach everyone… and, more worringly, some will simply ignore the advice.
Trusteer, in wanting to test the notion that education isn’t the total solution for avoiding Phishing and other scams (as well as looking to show how easy it is to fall victim) asked 100 people to take part in its experiment. All of them agreed. However, while they knew they would be part of a security test, none of them knew when the test would take place.
Trusteer created a new identity on the LinkedIn site and then used some basic data-mining techniques on the supposedly educated participants, its goal being to collect information on their connections along with any other personal information presented via the site.
Mickey Boodaei, Trusteer’s CEO explains: “We picked a population of 100 users – these are people we know – friends and family and estimated to be fairly educated about security…”
“Since LinkedIn sends an alert when one of your connections has a new job, we decided to use this update method to create a fraudulent email. For each one of our targets we crafted a fictitious new job alert,” he added. “We chose one of their LinkedIn connections, and announced that this person was now working for a company that directly competes with our victim’s company.”
The message came with a large linked button with which to view the friend’s new title, just as LinkedIn does on its regular communications. Included in the email was a photo of the friend alongside their name, again much as it appears on the proper site. By choosing to click the button, users were taken, not to LinkedIn, but to a dummy attack site.
“The website we used was innocuous, but it was a place holder for a potentially malicious website that places malware on the victim’s computer. We released this email to all 100 subjects on the same day – a Tuesday morning – and monitored who clicked the link and reached our landing page,” Boodaei said.
Within the first 24 hours, 41 participants had fallen for the scam. Within seven days, 68 people had clicked the button. If this had been a real attack, those numbers would have marked a high return on a criminal’s investment. In all, Trusteer spent about 17 hours on the study.
As for the other 32 people, Boodaei explained that, when approached: “Sixteen said they haven’t seen this email (it probably went into their spam folder). Seven said they usually don’t read LinkedIn updates. Nine said that the update was not interesting enough for them to click the link.”
The one thing we disagree with is the company’s statement issued at the end of the test, which says that the “solution to this problem must be based on technology and probably using more than one method.”
Technology, while helpful, will not prevent the problem of people falling prey to Phishing scams. Perhaps a better recommendation would have been to blend technology with basic education and awareness. Phishing scams work because they are able to bypass technology and take advantage of human nature.
As mentioned in the Trusteer write-up, the tools that organizations use to train their customers on Phishing scams are “not effective enough” to reach all of them, or convey the message in a way the majority will understand. Mixing education and technology might help, but technology alone will do no better than that which exists today.
The test performed by Trusteer is an interesting one. It would be nice to see a similar test where the participants are told it is a Phishing attack beforehand. Likewise, it would be interesting to see the test done to scale, where several hundred if not thousands of participants are targeted.
It’s frustrating to see people fall for basic Phishing scams, and it’s painful when major companies like RSA are victimized by them. However, there is no single answer when it comes to protecting against or preventing tricks against the human mind. The person who finally solves that riddle will be able to demand any ransom they want for the answer.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: Sprint Nextel Corporation Launches New Mobile Solutions for Green Life Enthusiasts – NYSE:S
http://www.usamarketnews.com/major-business-news/1641/sprint-nextel-corporation-launches-new-mobile-solutions-for-green-life-enthusiasts-nyses.html
Posted by: SuzyCrosno on April 17th,2011
Sprint Nextel Corporation NYSE:S introduces a new mobile solution built just for those who are dedicated environmentalists or just interested in finding some simple yet meaningful ways to begin living a greener life. Company yesterday declared its newest Sprint ID pack – the Green ID pack – which offers an unmatched eco-friendly Android™ experience, delivered right to one’s fingertips, on select Sprint devices.
With mobile content from eco-friendly favorites like Earth911.com, TreeHugger.com, the Green ID pack automatically loads apps, Green America and the National Audubon Society, widgets and shortcuts tailor-made for users who want to live a more environmentally sustainable life and help others to do the same.
Sprint Nextel Corporation is basically a Wireless Communications industry company that holds a portfolio of about 40,000 employees. Company’s stock price is increasing continuously for the most recent quarter as Sprint’s three consecutive months’ share growth is +8.10% with its relative strength index of 71. However on semiannual basis the last six consecutive months growth recorded +4.80% with relative strength index of 63.
Company’s sales have increased 2.51% during last five consecutive years and resulted $32.56 billion for last consecutive twelve months. The company’s growth of its sales in recent quarter vs. year ago quarter recorded 5.50% which is chasing the Industry benchmark of 6.60% and below from Standard and Poor’s benchmark of 11.70%.
Sprint Nextel Corporation NYSE:S on April 15, 2011 decreased $0.15 and settled to the closing price of $4.81. The overall volume in the last trading session was 63.82 million shares. Its fifty two week range was $3.70-$5.31. The total market capitalization remained $14.38 billion.
Sprint Nextel’s current stock price is moving above its 52 week low by 30.00% and moving below from 52 week high price by 9.42%. SPRINT last month stock price volatility remained 3.58%. In its share capital SPRINT has 2.99 billion outstanding shares while company’s float is the same at 2.99 billion shares. Ownership of company is 86.82% institutional while insiders owning 0.22%.
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.
Posted by: SuzyCrosno on April 17th,2011
Sprint Nextel Corporation NYSE:S introduces a new mobile solution built just for those who are dedicated environmentalists or just interested in finding some simple yet meaningful ways to begin living a greener life. Company yesterday declared its newest Sprint ID pack – the Green ID pack – which offers an unmatched eco-friendly Android™ experience, delivered right to one’s fingertips, on select Sprint devices.
With mobile content from eco-friendly favorites like Earth911.com, TreeHugger.com, the Green ID pack automatically loads apps, Green America and the National Audubon Society, widgets and shortcuts tailor-made for users who want to live a more environmentally sustainable life and help others to do the same.
Sprint Nextel Corporation is basically a Wireless Communications industry company that holds a portfolio of about 40,000 employees. Company’s stock price is increasing continuously for the most recent quarter as Sprint’s three consecutive months’ share growth is +8.10% with its relative strength index of 71. However on semiannual basis the last six consecutive months growth recorded +4.80% with relative strength index of 63.
Company’s sales have increased 2.51% during last five consecutive years and resulted $32.56 billion for last consecutive twelve months. The company’s growth of its sales in recent quarter vs. year ago quarter recorded 5.50% which is chasing the Industry benchmark of 6.60% and below from Standard and Poor’s benchmark of 11.70%.
Sprint Nextel Corporation NYSE:S on April 15, 2011 decreased $0.15 and settled to the closing price of $4.81. The overall volume in the last trading session was 63.82 million shares. Its fifty two week range was $3.70-$5.31. The total market capitalization remained $14.38 billion.
Sprint Nextel’s current stock price is moving above its 52 week low by 30.00% and moving below from 52 week high price by 9.42%. SPRINT last month stock price volatility remained 3.58%. In its share capital SPRINT has 2.99 billion outstanding shares while company’s float is the same at 2.99 billion shares. Ownership of company is 86.82% institutional while insiders owning 0.22%.
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Bin Laden’s Death to Boost Pakistan Economy, Stocks:Strategist
Published: Tuesday, 3 May 2011 | 3:29 AM ET
By: Geraldine Tan
CNBC News Assistant
The killing of Osama bin Laden is a positive event for Pakistan’s economy and stock market, despite doubts about whether the country’s military was complicit in hiding the Al Qaeda leader, according to a strategist.
Sajjad Hussain | Getty Images
Mark Matthews, equity strategist at Macquarie, said the positive commentsfrom top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan’s role against terrorism would eventually lead to the release of much-delayed financial aid for the country. That, in turn, would help the government lower its fiscal deficit and boost the economy.
“For about 5-6 months now, the American’s and coalition money have not been released into Pakistan. And Pakistan has a very wide fiscal deficit. It’s 6.1 percent of GDP and it is the major issue overhanging their stock market,” Matthews added.
The aid package worth $7.5 billion over 5 years has been promoted by Democrat Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator Dick Lugar. But it’s been in limbo because of U.S. concerns about corruption in Pakistan.
Once, that’s resolved, Matthews expects the stock market to benefit. “There are lots of gems in that country. There are probably more gems there, stock-wise, than any other country in Asia,” Matthews told CNBC’s Bernie Lo.
The Karachi stock index rallied late last year along with other emerging markets, but so far this year it has dropped 6 percent because of rising fuel prices and a growing budget deficit. According to Macquarie, Karachi’s stock index not only offers value, but also many well-run companies.
For investors looking for stocks with volume, Matthews suggests looking atPakistan Oilfields [PKOL.KA 326.80 -0.75 (-0.23%) ]. He likes this company as it has a daily turnover of $5 million and trades on about 5x earnings, with a 9.5 percent dividend yield.
And for investors who can stomach the illiquidity in the small-cap space, he recommends Askari Bank [ASBK.KA 11.50 -0.25 (-2.13%) ].
“If you annualize that (the bank’s first-quarter results), that is on 4x PE and their asset quality has held up remarkably well, NPLs are very low and its at a 40 percent discount to book,” noted Matthews.
But he also says investors need to be cautious, and he said he was recommending taking only small positions. (Watch full interview here.)
By: Geraldine Tan
CNBC News Assistant
The killing of Osama bin Laden is a positive event for Pakistan’s economy and stock market, despite doubts about whether the country’s military was complicit in hiding the Al Qaeda leader, according to a strategist.
Sajjad Hussain | Getty Images
Mark Matthews, equity strategist at Macquarie, said the positive commentsfrom top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan’s role against terrorism would eventually lead to the release of much-delayed financial aid for the country. That, in turn, would help the government lower its fiscal deficit and boost the economy.
“For about 5-6 months now, the American’s and coalition money have not been released into Pakistan. And Pakistan has a very wide fiscal deficit. It’s 6.1 percent of GDP and it is the major issue overhanging their stock market,” Matthews added.
The aid package worth $7.5 billion over 5 years has been promoted by Democrat Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator Dick Lugar. But it’s been in limbo because of U.S. concerns about corruption in Pakistan.
Once, that’s resolved, Matthews expects the stock market to benefit. “There are lots of gems in that country. There are probably more gems there, stock-wise, than any other country in Asia,” Matthews told CNBC’s Bernie Lo.
The Karachi stock index rallied late last year along with other emerging markets, but so far this year it has dropped 6 percent because of rising fuel prices and a growing budget deficit. According to Macquarie, Karachi’s stock index not only offers value, but also many well-run companies.
For investors looking for stocks with volume, Matthews suggests looking atPakistan Oilfields [PKOL.KA 326.80 -0.75 (-0.23%) ]. He likes this company as it has a daily turnover of $5 million and trades on about 5x earnings, with a 9.5 percent dividend yield.
And for investors who can stomach the illiquidity in the small-cap space, he recommends Askari Bank [ASBK.KA 11.50 -0.25 (-2.13%) ].
“If you annualize that (the bank’s first-quarter results), that is on 4x PE and their asset quality has held up remarkably well, NPLs are very low and its at a 40 percent discount to book,” noted Matthews.
But he also says investors need to be cautious, and he said he was recommending taking only small positions. (Watch full interview here.)
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: FSA guidelines will signal end of staff retention bonuses
http://www.love2reward.co.uk/rewards/feeds/fsa-guidelines-will-signal-end-of-staff-retention-bonuses.jsp
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
The financial services sector will no longer be able to offer staff retention bonuses, as a result of new payment guidelines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).New rules put forth by the FSA attempt to align pay and other staff rewards with jeopardy, so as to avoid a situation where employees are given lucrative incentives to engage in potentially risky activities.
Jon Terry, remuneration partner for PwC, explained that the FSA has effectively “introduced the world’s toughest pay rules to the UK financial services industry” and warned that firms must take steps to comply before the June 30th deadline.
He added that while some measures will be welcomed by workers, but bonus restrictions are likely to be less popular.
“The latest announcements will spell the end of guarantees for existing employees, which had been an important tool for firms to retain talent,” he explained.
Last week, expert Chris Welford told the magazine’s readers that more freedom in the workplace can boost staff retention, which could be an alternative strategy for firms.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
The financial services sector will no longer be able to offer staff retention bonuses, as a result of new payment guidelines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).New rules put forth by the FSA attempt to align pay and other staff rewards with jeopardy, so as to avoid a situation where employees are given lucrative incentives to engage in potentially risky activities.
Jon Terry, remuneration partner for PwC, explained that the FSA has effectively “introduced the world’s toughest pay rules to the UK financial services industry” and warned that firms must take steps to comply before the June 30th deadline.
He added that while some measures will be welcomed by workers, but bonus restrictions are likely to be less popular.
“The latest announcements will spell the end of guarantees for existing employees, which had been an important tool for firms to retain talent,” he explained.
Last week, expert Chris Welford told the magazine’s readers that more freedom in the workplace can boost staff retention, which could be an alternative strategy for firms.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Farm Service Agency offers loan options
http://beta.bryancountynews.net/section/13/article/12677/
POSTED: April 25, 2011 12:11 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has several loans available through its Farm Service Agency for farmers and others, including beginning and limited resource loans, direct and guaranteed loans and rural youth loans.
One program assists beginning farmers and/or members of socially disadvantaged groups to finance agricultural enterprises. Under these designated farm-loan programs, FSA can provide financing to eligible applicants through either direct or guaranteed loans. FSA defines a beginning farmer as a person who:
• Has operated a farm for 10 years or less.
• Will materially and substantially participate in the operation of the farm.
• Agrees to participate in a loan assessment, borrower training and financial-management program sponsored by FSA.
• Does not own a farm in excess of 30 percent of the county’s median size.
Each member of an entity must meet the eligibility requirements. Loan approval is not guaranteed.
Direct and guaranteed loans
The Farm Service Agency provides family farmers with loans to meet their farm-credit needs. For farmers who are having trouble getting the credit they need for their farms or who regularly borrow from FSA, direct and guaranteed loans currently are available.
Farm-ownership loans or farm-operating loans may be obtained as direct loans for a maximum of $300,000. Guaranteed loans can reach a maximum indebtedness of $1,119,000. Producers are encouraged to apply early so that a loan can be processed and funded in a timely manner.
Rural youth loans
The Farm Service Agency makes loans to rural youths to establish and operate income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization’s advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.
To be eligible for a youth loan, a person must:
• Be a citizen of the United States (which includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) or a legal resident alien.
• Be 10-20 years old.
• Comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements.
• Reside in a rural area, city or town with a population of 50,000 or fewer people.
• Be unable to get a loan from other sources.
• Conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above.
• Demonstrate capability of planning, managing and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor. The project supervisor must recommend the project and the loan, along with providing adequate supervision.
The FSA Farm Loan Team located in Statesboro processes loans for Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Bryan, Chatham, Emanuel, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnall and Toombs counties. The team can be contacted by calling (912) 871-2610, ext. 5.
For loan applications and more information, visit your local USDA Service Center or go towww.fsa.usda.gov.
POSTED: April 25, 2011 12:11 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has several loans available through its Farm Service Agency for farmers and others, including beginning and limited resource loans, direct and guaranteed loans and rural youth loans.
One program assists beginning farmers and/or members of socially disadvantaged groups to finance agricultural enterprises. Under these designated farm-loan programs, FSA can provide financing to eligible applicants through either direct or guaranteed loans. FSA defines a beginning farmer as a person who:
• Has operated a farm for 10 years or less.
• Will materially and substantially participate in the operation of the farm.
• Agrees to participate in a loan assessment, borrower training and financial-management program sponsored by FSA.
• Does not own a farm in excess of 30 percent of the county’s median size.
Each member of an entity must meet the eligibility requirements. Loan approval is not guaranteed.
Direct and guaranteed loans
The Farm Service Agency provides family farmers with loans to meet their farm-credit needs. For farmers who are having trouble getting the credit they need for their farms or who regularly borrow from FSA, direct and guaranteed loans currently are available.
Farm-ownership loans or farm-operating loans may be obtained as direct loans for a maximum of $300,000. Guaranteed loans can reach a maximum indebtedness of $1,119,000. Producers are encouraged to apply early so that a loan can be processed and funded in a timely manner.
Rural youth loans
The Farm Service Agency makes loans to rural youths to establish and operate income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization’s advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.
To be eligible for a youth loan, a person must:
• Be a citizen of the United States (which includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) or a legal resident alien.
• Be 10-20 years old.
• Comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements.
• Reside in a rural area, city or town with a population of 50,000 or fewer people.
• Be unable to get a loan from other sources.
• Conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above.
• Demonstrate capability of planning, managing and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor. The project supervisor must recommend the project and the loan, along with providing adequate supervision.
The FSA Farm Loan Team located in Statesboro processes loans for Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Bryan, Chatham, Emanuel, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnall and Toombs counties. The team can be contacted by calling (912) 871-2610, ext. 5.
For loan applications and more information, visit your local USDA Service Center or go towww.fsa.usda.gov.
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: FSA suffers staff exodus as it prepares for split
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/fsa-suffers-staff-exodus-as-it-prepares-for-split-2274569.html
By Sean Farrell
Monday, 25 April 2011
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) lost, on average, one employee a day in the past year, in a near doubling of departures ahead of the planned break-up of the City watchdog.
Figures obtained by The Independent in response to a Freedom of Information request show that 352 employees quit the FSA over the past 12 months, compared with 181 the year before.
The departures came as the FSA prepares to be split into two: by early 2013 a supervisory arm will be transferred to the Bank of England and a separate consumer-protection agency will be created. The rate of attrition raises questions about the FSA’s ability to manage the transition and to hold on to the staff it needs.
The FSA said last month that it expected a tough year and has frozen staff numbers and put initiatives on hold to cope with the workload of the split. Hector Sants, the chief executive, admitted he expected difficulties in hiring and keeping staff.
Peter Snowdon, a partner at the City law firm Norton Rose, said: “The market has picked up a bit and FSA people are always attractive to firms because they have inside knowledge. But this seems to confirm what one hears, which is that people think the chances open to them under the new regime aren’t that great and they are looking at other options.
“It is a concern for [City] firms if the FSA is losing experienced staff because there is an awful lot of change going on and those people can steady the ship.”
The departures have included some of the FSA’s most senior figures, including Sally Dewar, the former head of risk, who left in January.
Jon Pain, managing director of supervision, also left that month before his job was eliminated under the new regime.
Mr Sants was another that was going to quit the watchdog after opposing the break-up, but he was persuaded to stay on and join the Bank of England as a deputy governor to head the new supervisory arm. Between April and September last year, 187 people left the organisation – more than the entire previous year.
That period covers the months either side of the May general election during which the Chancellor attacked the FSA’s handling of the financial crisis and called for its abolition. He finally announced his plan for splitting the regulator in June. Departures peaked at 38 in October but have remained close to the 30 mark each month since. Only 16 people left last month but March is traditionally a quiet period because staff awarded bonuses lose their payouts if they quit before 1 April.
Lindsay Reid, a compliance and regulation specialist at the recruiter Michael Page Financial Services, said the rate of departures was set to pick up as the split gets nearer.
“By this time next year, the FSA will have a clearer idea of the new structures and they are already starting to align people for when the split happens,” Mr Reid said. “Employees are understandably anxious and we have seen a marked increase in the number of candidates enquiring about roles in the new structure and asking for career advice.”
The FSA said last year’s departure rate was comparable with 2006-2007 when 326 staff members left and 2007-2008 when there were 355 departures. In 2008-09, just 206 staff employees quit. The watchdog also pointed out that it has more staff than in those years after it increased employee numbers during the financial crisis.
Kathleen Reeves, human-resources director at the FSA, said: “Staff turnover levels fell during the crisis but are now starting to return to the level you would expect as recruitment picks up in the financial-services sector.”
By Sean Farrell
Monday, 25 April 2011
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) lost, on average, one employee a day in the past year, in a near doubling of departures ahead of the planned break-up of the City watchdog.
Figures obtained by The Independent in response to a Freedom of Information request show that 352 employees quit the FSA over the past 12 months, compared with 181 the year before.
The departures came as the FSA prepares to be split into two: by early 2013 a supervisory arm will be transferred to the Bank of England and a separate consumer-protection agency will be created. The rate of attrition raises questions about the FSA’s ability to manage the transition and to hold on to the staff it needs.
The FSA said last month that it expected a tough year and has frozen staff numbers and put initiatives on hold to cope with the workload of the split. Hector Sants, the chief executive, admitted he expected difficulties in hiring and keeping staff.
Peter Snowdon, a partner at the City law firm Norton Rose, said: “The market has picked up a bit and FSA people are always attractive to firms because they have inside knowledge. But this seems to confirm what one hears, which is that people think the chances open to them under the new regime aren’t that great and they are looking at other options.
“It is a concern for [City] firms if the FSA is losing experienced staff because there is an awful lot of change going on and those people can steady the ship.”
The departures have included some of the FSA’s most senior figures, including Sally Dewar, the former head of risk, who left in January.
Jon Pain, managing director of supervision, also left that month before his job was eliminated under the new regime.
Mr Sants was another that was going to quit the watchdog after opposing the break-up, but he was persuaded to stay on and join the Bank of England as a deputy governor to head the new supervisory arm. Between April and September last year, 187 people left the organisation – more than the entire previous year.
That period covers the months either side of the May general election during which the Chancellor attacked the FSA’s handling of the financial crisis and called for its abolition. He finally announced his plan for splitting the regulator in June. Departures peaked at 38 in October but have remained close to the 30 mark each month since. Only 16 people left last month but March is traditionally a quiet period because staff awarded bonuses lose their payouts if they quit before 1 April.
Lindsay Reid, a compliance and regulation specialist at the recruiter Michael Page Financial Services, said the rate of departures was set to pick up as the split gets nearer.
“By this time next year, the FSA will have a clearer idea of the new structures and they are already starting to align people for when the split happens,” Mr Reid said. “Employees are understandably anxious and we have seen a marked increase in the number of candidates enquiring about roles in the new structure and asking for career advice.”
The FSA said last year’s departure rate was comparable with 2006-2007 when 326 staff members left and 2007-2008 when there were 355 departures. In 2008-09, just 206 staff employees quit. The watchdog also pointed out that it has more staff than in those years after it increased employee numbers during the financial crisis.
Kathleen Reeves, human-resources director at the FSA, said: “Staff turnover levels fell during the crisis but are now starting to return to the level you would expect as recruitment picks up in the financial-services sector.”
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: GOP Begins New Push to Delay EPA Rules on Toxic Power Plant Emissions
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/20/idUS329099830920110420
By Lisa Song at SolveClimate
Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:30pm EDT
Republicans say installing long-overdue pollution controls would harm economic recovery, while advocates claim the rules would create jobs and save lives
By Lisa Song, SolveClimate News
Under pressure from industry, Congressional Republicans are urging the U.S. EPA to further delay long-overdue rules that would limit more than 80 air toxics emitted by coal-burning power plants, barely a month after the agency announced them.
At least one lawmaker, Rep. Edward Whitfield of Kentucky — a state which gets more than 90 percent of its power from coal — has said he will soon introduce legislation to postpone implementation of the regulations.
The rules in question are EPA’s air toxics standards to control mercury and other poisonous substances from power plants, as well as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards that govern hazardous emissions from boilers and cement plants.
EPA released the nation’s first regulations for toxic power plant emissions on March 16. The boiler rules were announced in February 2011 and the cement standards in August 2010. All of the policies are mandated by the 1990 amendment to the Clean Air Act and originally set to be finalized in 2000.
According to EPA, the mercury and air toxics standards alone would prevent up to 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks each year.
Utilities and business groups say the anti-pollution rules would be too costly to implement and would force early shutdowns of power plants, threatening jobs and economic recovery.
During a hearing on the proposed EPA rulemakings last Friday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Rep. Whitfield, the subcommittee chair, said Congress has the right to change the Clean Air Act amendment if necessary. Whitfield declared his intent last week to introduce legislation after the two-week recess ends on May 1 that would delay the regulations.
In an email to SolveClimate News, a spokesperson for Rep. Whitfield said the details of the draft bill are still being finalized and declined to comment on the length of the proposed delay.
“It’s quite clear that EPA…is determined to pass regulations to increase the cost of coal and make other energy sources more competitive,” Rep. Whitfield said at the hearing. “We need a national debate on the direction that the EPA is going and the method that they’re using to get there.”
Others on the subcommittee believe the country has waited long enough for the rules designed to protect public health.
“I’m not a math major,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), “but if these were supposed to be completed in 2000 and it’s now 2011, then plant operators will have an almost 15-year delay in meeting these standards,” given that utilities have up to four years to comply.
‘Far Less Draconian’ than Many Feared
The holdup was due to a series of lawsuits and court orders.
The air toxics standards were designed to control 84 different air pollutants, including mercury, benzene and acid gases. When the Bush administration’s EPA first introduced an alternative mercury cap-and-trade system in 2004, which did not cover the other pollutants, environmentalists sued and won their case. EPA was under a court order to release the draft rule last month.
There was a lot of speculation over the years about how tough the standards would be, and whether utilities would have flexibility in complying with them.
They ended up being “far less draconian than many in the industry had feared,” energy policy expert Susan Tierney told SolveClimate News. For instance, there were concerns that EPA would force all power plants to use the same kind of pollution-control technology. Instead, utilities can choose from a variety of measures.
Tierney is managing principal at Analysis Group, a Boston-based energy consulting firm, and former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. She did not attend the hearing and is not directly involved with the EPA rules or related lawsuits.
GOP Says Not Trying to Repeal Rules
Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the goal should not be “to repeal these regulations [but to] advance them in a reasonable way” without raising electricity prices or reducing jobs.
Of the seven witnesses present at the hearing, five were utility and manufacturing representatives who expressed worry over the regulations. The remaining two — Michael Bradley, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Energy Group, and John Walke, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Clean Air Program — urged the subcommittee to refrain from delay tactics.
EPA representatives were invited as witnesses but did not show up, prompting subcommittee member Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to relabel the agency as the “Evaporating Personnel Administration.”
Rep. Rush countered that the EPA did not receive proper advance notice, and that the agency has very few employees with the expertise to act as witnesses. Friday’s hearing was the third in a week that requested EPA’s presence (an EPA representative attended just one of the three). In each case, the EPA had a week’s notice before the hearings took place.
‘Unreasonable’ Compliance Period
Under the new regulations, EPA would give utilities three years to install adequate pollution-control technologies.
Tom Fanning, chairman of the electric utility Southern Company and one of the panel’s witnesses, said the compliance period is “unreasonable.”
“We are very concerned … [and we] believe it could affect the reliability of power,” Fanning said, citing worries about costs, job losses and decreased capacity from power plant closures.
Bradley of the Clean Energy Group said industry has been expecting these regulations since 2000. “If there was any surprise, it was the degree of flexibility … While not perfect, [the regulations] are reasonable and consistent with the Clean Air Act.”
His comments echo a letter published in The Wall Street Journal late last year by eight utility executives voicing their support for the air toxics standards.
“The electric sector has known that these rules were coming,” the letter said. “Many companies, including ours, have already invested in modern air-pollution control technologies and cleaner and more efficient power plants.”
The EPA will give one-year extensions and possibly longer for plants that need extra time to comply, said Bradley. Some 60 percent of coal plants already have scrubbers so “we are not starting from scratch.”
Most of the control technologies can be installed in less than two years, he added. Companies can also average the emissions from multiple units to reduce the number of overall installations.
Citing a November 2010 letter from the trade group Institute of Clean Air Companies (ICAC), Bradley said the power industry has enough labor to get the job done.
ICAC Executive Director David Foerter composed the letter in response to an inquiry from Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.). In his letter, Foerter assured Carper that “based on a history of successes, we are now even more resolute that labor availability will in no way constrain the industry’s ability to fully and timely comply with the proposed … [air toxics] rules.
“Contrary to any concerns or rhetoric pointing to labor shortages, we would hope that efforts that clean the air also put Americans back to work.”
Pollution Controls Already In Use
Paul Miller, deputy director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), told SolveClimate News that many control technologies are already in use. “This isn’t Star Wars technology … [There's no] testing barrier.”
According to a new report by consulting firm M.J. Bradley and Associates and co-authored by Bradley and Tierney of Analysis Group, some 200,000 megawatts worth of coal plants already have, or are planning to install, adequate pollution controls. That covers about 60 percent of the total U.S. coal fleet, which generates 330,000 megawatts.
Another 20,000 to 30,000 megawatts are headed towards retirement, said Tierney. These plants are small, old and generally inefficient. They’re already under economic pressure due to low natural gas prices and may be “pushed over the edge” by the EPA rules, she said.
(Listen to SolveClimate News podcast episode: Coal Owners Retiring ‘Signficant Components of Their Fleets’)
“It’s like an old car that at some point loses a carburetor and it’s just not worth it to repair,” said Tierney.
In total, about 10 percent of coal capacity may be headed for retirement, said Tierney. Fanning of Southern Company said during his testimony the number is closer to 20 percent.
Bradley said that claim is an overestimate, adding that new pollution controls could limit the number of coal-plant casualties. “When we look at the flexibility included in the proposals along with some of the technologies deployed recently, it’s going to mitigate the number of retirements.”
He pointed to the technology of dry sorbent injection, an acid-gas capturing device designed for small coal plants. It’s relatively cheap, said Bradley, and already used in 43 plants.
While Fanning warned that shutdowns could lead to possible blackouts, Tierney said there is enough surplus capacity on a national scale to make up for lost power capacity.
On a regional level, Tierney said that some older and less efficient plants that might otherwise shut down would remain open to keep up adequate power supplies. In those cases, the EPA would give special extensions to allow them to reach compliance.
Costs of Control Technologies
The EPA estimates that control technologies would cost the industry nearly $11 billion a year, a price tag far outweighed by the up to $140 billion in annual health and economic benefits.
When placed in context, said Bradley, $11 billion is at most 10 percent of the $80 to $110 billion that the industry spends each year on capital and infrastructure projects.
Ratepayers would bear some of the cost of new pollution controls. On average, the EPA projects that retail electricity prices would increase 3.7 percent in 2015 and drop to a 1.9 percent increase by 2030.
Those percentage estimates are a “national average that will vary quite a bit from state to state,” said Bradley. But electricity rates also vary across different regions, so large percentage increases might have little impact in some parts of the country.
In addition to public health gains, maintaining EPA’s current timeline is in the interest of businesses, said Tierney, arguing that utilities need to know what to expect in order to make sound financial decisions.
“It would be terrible to postpone these [regulations] … not just because the toxins have been identified as problematic for a decade … but also from a business point of view.”
See Also: EPA to Release Long-Awaited Rules on Toxic Power Plant Emissions This Week Report: Business Groups Say Clean Air Act Has Been a “Very Good Investment” Coal-Reliant Kentucky Takes First Steps to Solve Energy Dilemma Financial Shortfall at America’s First CCS Plant Highlights Absence of Carbon Price
By Lisa Song at SolveClimate
Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:30pm EDT
Republicans say installing long-overdue pollution controls would harm economic recovery, while advocates claim the rules would create jobs and save lives
By Lisa Song, SolveClimate News
Under pressure from industry, Congressional Republicans are urging the U.S. EPA to further delay long-overdue rules that would limit more than 80 air toxics emitted by coal-burning power plants, barely a month after the agency announced them.
At least one lawmaker, Rep. Edward Whitfield of Kentucky — a state which gets more than 90 percent of its power from coal — has said he will soon introduce legislation to postpone implementation of the regulations.
The rules in question are EPA’s air toxics standards to control mercury and other poisonous substances from power plants, as well as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards that govern hazardous emissions from boilers and cement plants.
EPA released the nation’s first regulations for toxic power plant emissions on March 16. The boiler rules were announced in February 2011 and the cement standards in August 2010. All of the policies are mandated by the 1990 amendment to the Clean Air Act and originally set to be finalized in 2000.
According to EPA, the mercury and air toxics standards alone would prevent up to 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks each year.
Utilities and business groups say the anti-pollution rules would be too costly to implement and would force early shutdowns of power plants, threatening jobs and economic recovery.
During a hearing on the proposed EPA rulemakings last Friday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Rep. Whitfield, the subcommittee chair, said Congress has the right to change the Clean Air Act amendment if necessary. Whitfield declared his intent last week to introduce legislation after the two-week recess ends on May 1 that would delay the regulations.
In an email to SolveClimate News, a spokesperson for Rep. Whitfield said the details of the draft bill are still being finalized and declined to comment on the length of the proposed delay.
“It’s quite clear that EPA…is determined to pass regulations to increase the cost of coal and make other energy sources more competitive,” Rep. Whitfield said at the hearing. “We need a national debate on the direction that the EPA is going and the method that they’re using to get there.”
Others on the subcommittee believe the country has waited long enough for the rules designed to protect public health.
“I’m not a math major,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), “but if these were supposed to be completed in 2000 and it’s now 2011, then plant operators will have an almost 15-year delay in meeting these standards,” given that utilities have up to four years to comply.
‘Far Less Draconian’ than Many Feared
The holdup was due to a series of lawsuits and court orders.
The air toxics standards were designed to control 84 different air pollutants, including mercury, benzene and acid gases. When the Bush administration’s EPA first introduced an alternative mercury cap-and-trade system in 2004, which did not cover the other pollutants, environmentalists sued and won their case. EPA was under a court order to release the draft rule last month.
There was a lot of speculation over the years about how tough the standards would be, and whether utilities would have flexibility in complying with them.
They ended up being “far less draconian than many in the industry had feared,” energy policy expert Susan Tierney told SolveClimate News. For instance, there were concerns that EPA would force all power plants to use the same kind of pollution-control technology. Instead, utilities can choose from a variety of measures.
Tierney is managing principal at Analysis Group, a Boston-based energy consulting firm, and former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. She did not attend the hearing and is not directly involved with the EPA rules or related lawsuits.
GOP Says Not Trying to Repeal Rules
Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the goal should not be “to repeal these regulations [but to] advance them in a reasonable way” without raising electricity prices or reducing jobs.
Of the seven witnesses present at the hearing, five were utility and manufacturing representatives who expressed worry over the regulations. The remaining two — Michael Bradley, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Energy Group, and John Walke, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Clean Air Program — urged the subcommittee to refrain from delay tactics.
EPA representatives were invited as witnesses but did not show up, prompting subcommittee member Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to relabel the agency as the “Evaporating Personnel Administration.”
Rep. Rush countered that the EPA did not receive proper advance notice, and that the agency has very few employees with the expertise to act as witnesses. Friday’s hearing was the third in a week that requested EPA’s presence (an EPA representative attended just one of the three). In each case, the EPA had a week’s notice before the hearings took place.
‘Unreasonable’ Compliance Period
Under the new regulations, EPA would give utilities three years to install adequate pollution-control technologies.
Tom Fanning, chairman of the electric utility Southern Company and one of the panel’s witnesses, said the compliance period is “unreasonable.”
“We are very concerned … [and we] believe it could affect the reliability of power,” Fanning said, citing worries about costs, job losses and decreased capacity from power plant closures.
Bradley of the Clean Energy Group said industry has been expecting these regulations since 2000. “If there was any surprise, it was the degree of flexibility … While not perfect, [the regulations] are reasonable and consistent with the Clean Air Act.”
His comments echo a letter published in The Wall Street Journal late last year by eight utility executives voicing their support for the air toxics standards.
“The electric sector has known that these rules were coming,” the letter said. “Many companies, including ours, have already invested in modern air-pollution control technologies and cleaner and more efficient power plants.”
The EPA will give one-year extensions and possibly longer for plants that need extra time to comply, said Bradley. Some 60 percent of coal plants already have scrubbers so “we are not starting from scratch.”
Most of the control technologies can be installed in less than two years, he added. Companies can also average the emissions from multiple units to reduce the number of overall installations.
Citing a November 2010 letter from the trade group Institute of Clean Air Companies (ICAC), Bradley said the power industry has enough labor to get the job done.
ICAC Executive Director David Foerter composed the letter in response to an inquiry from Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.). In his letter, Foerter assured Carper that “based on a history of successes, we are now even more resolute that labor availability will in no way constrain the industry’s ability to fully and timely comply with the proposed … [air toxics] rules.
“Contrary to any concerns or rhetoric pointing to labor shortages, we would hope that efforts that clean the air also put Americans back to work.”
Pollution Controls Already In Use
Paul Miller, deputy director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), told SolveClimate News that many control technologies are already in use. “This isn’t Star Wars technology … [There's no] testing barrier.”
According to a new report by consulting firm M.J. Bradley and Associates and co-authored by Bradley and Tierney of Analysis Group, some 200,000 megawatts worth of coal plants already have, or are planning to install, adequate pollution controls. That covers about 60 percent of the total U.S. coal fleet, which generates 330,000 megawatts.
Another 20,000 to 30,000 megawatts are headed towards retirement, said Tierney. These plants are small, old and generally inefficient. They’re already under economic pressure due to low natural gas prices and may be “pushed over the edge” by the EPA rules, she said.
(Listen to SolveClimate News podcast episode: Coal Owners Retiring ‘Signficant Components of Their Fleets’)
“It’s like an old car that at some point loses a carburetor and it’s just not worth it to repair,” said Tierney.
In total, about 10 percent of coal capacity may be headed for retirement, said Tierney. Fanning of Southern Company said during his testimony the number is closer to 20 percent.
Bradley said that claim is an overestimate, adding that new pollution controls could limit the number of coal-plant casualties. “When we look at the flexibility included in the proposals along with some of the technologies deployed recently, it’s going to mitigate the number of retirements.”
He pointed to the technology of dry sorbent injection, an acid-gas capturing device designed for small coal plants. It’s relatively cheap, said Bradley, and already used in 43 plants.
While Fanning warned that shutdowns could lead to possible blackouts, Tierney said there is enough surplus capacity on a national scale to make up for lost power capacity.
On a regional level, Tierney said that some older and less efficient plants that might otherwise shut down would remain open to keep up adequate power supplies. In those cases, the EPA would give special extensions to allow them to reach compliance.
Costs of Control Technologies
The EPA estimates that control technologies would cost the industry nearly $11 billion a year, a price tag far outweighed by the up to $140 billion in annual health and economic benefits.
When placed in context, said Bradley, $11 billion is at most 10 percent of the $80 to $110 billion that the industry spends each year on capital and infrastructure projects.
Ratepayers would bear some of the cost of new pollution controls. On average, the EPA projects that retail electricity prices would increase 3.7 percent in 2015 and drop to a 1.9 percent increase by 2030.
Those percentage estimates are a “national average that will vary quite a bit from state to state,” said Bradley. But electricity rates also vary across different regions, so large percentage increases might have little impact in some parts of the country.
In addition to public health gains, maintaining EPA’s current timeline is in the interest of businesses, said Tierney, arguing that utilities need to know what to expect in order to make sound financial decisions.
“It would be terrible to postpone these [regulations] … not just because the toxins have been identified as problematic for a decade … but also from a business point of view.”
See Also: EPA to Release Long-Awaited Rules on Toxic Power Plant Emissions This Week Report: Business Groups Say Clean Air Act Has Been a “Very Good Investment” Coal-Reliant Kentucky Takes First Steps to Solve Energy Dilemma Financial Shortfall at America’s First CCS Plant Highlights Absence of Carbon Price
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Bin Laden’s Death to Boost Pakistan Economy, Stocks: Strategist
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42873041
Published: Tuesday, 3 May 2011 | 3:29 AM ET
By: Geraldine Tan
CNBC News Assistant
The killing of Osama bin Laden is a positive event for Pakistan’s economy and stock market, despite doubts about whether the country’s military was complicit in hiding the Al Qaeda leader, according to a strategist.
Sajjad Hussain | Getty Images
Mark Matthews, equity strategist at Macquarie, said the positive comments from top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan’s role against terrorism would eventually lead to the release of much-delayed financial aid for the country. That, in turn, would help the government lower its fiscal deficit and boost the economy.
“For about 5-6 months now, the American’s and coalition money have not been released into Pakistan. And Pakistan has a very wide fiscal deficit. It’s 6.1 percent of GDP and it is the major issue overhanging their stock market,” Matthews added.
The aid package worth $7.5 billion over 5 years has been promoted by Democrat Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator Dick Lugar. But it’s been in limbo because of U.S. concerns about corruption in Pakistan.
Once, that’s resolved, Matthews expects the stock market to benefit. “There are lots of gems in that country. There are probably more gems there, stock-wise, than any other country in Asia,” Matthews told CNBC’s Bernie Lo.
The Karachi stock index rallied late last year along with other emerging markets, but so far this year it has dropped 6 percent because of rising fuel prices and a growing budget deficit. According to Macquarie, Karachi’s stock index not only offers value, but also many well-run companies.
For investors looking for stocks with volume, Matthews suggests looking atPakistan Oilfields [PKOL.KA 326.80 -0.75 (-0.23%) ]. He likes this company as it has a daily turnover of $5 million and trades on about 5x earnings, with a 9.5 percent dividend yield.
And for investors who can stomach the illiquidity in the small-cap space, he recommends Askari Bank [ASBK.KA 11.50 -0.25 (-2.13%) ].
“If you annualize that (the bank’s first-quarter results), that is on 4x PE and their asset quality has held up remarkably well, NPLs are very low and its at a 40 percent discount to book,” noted Matthews.
But he also says investors need to be cautious, and he said he was recommending taking only small positions. (Watch full interview here.)
Published: Tuesday, 3 May 2011 | 3:29 AM ET
By: Geraldine Tan
CNBC News Assistant
The killing of Osama bin Laden is a positive event for Pakistan’s economy and stock market, despite doubts about whether the country’s military was complicit in hiding the Al Qaeda leader, according to a strategist.
Sajjad Hussain | Getty Images
Mark Matthews, equity strategist at Macquarie, said the positive comments from top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Pakistan’s role against terrorism would eventually lead to the release of much-delayed financial aid for the country. That, in turn, would help the government lower its fiscal deficit and boost the economy.
“For about 5-6 months now, the American’s and coalition money have not been released into Pakistan. And Pakistan has a very wide fiscal deficit. It’s 6.1 percent of GDP and it is the major issue overhanging their stock market,” Matthews added.
The aid package worth $7.5 billion over 5 years has been promoted by Democrat Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator Dick Lugar. But it’s been in limbo because of U.S. concerns about corruption in Pakistan.
Once, that’s resolved, Matthews expects the stock market to benefit. “There are lots of gems in that country. There are probably more gems there, stock-wise, than any other country in Asia,” Matthews told CNBC’s Bernie Lo.
The Karachi stock index rallied late last year along with other emerging markets, but so far this year it has dropped 6 percent because of rising fuel prices and a growing budget deficit. According to Macquarie, Karachi’s stock index not only offers value, but also many well-run companies.
For investors looking for stocks with volume, Matthews suggests looking atPakistan Oilfields [PKOL.KA 326.80 -0.75 (-0.23%) ]. He likes this company as it has a daily turnover of $5 million and trades on about 5x earnings, with a 9.5 percent dividend yield.
And for investors who can stomach the illiquidity in the small-cap space, he recommends Askari Bank [ASBK.KA 11.50 -0.25 (-2.13%) ].
“If you annualize that (the bank’s first-quarter results), that is on 4x PE and their asset quality has held up remarkably well, NPLs are very low and its at a 40 percent discount to book,” noted Matthews.
But he also says investors need to be cautious, and he said he was recommending taking only small positions. (Watch full interview here.)
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: Even Good Economic News Can’t Help the Greenback Now
http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/05/03/even-good-economic-news-cant-help-the-greenback-now/?mod=google_news_blog
By NICHOLAS HASTINGS
Summer may be on its way and Osama bin Laden may be dead, but that doesn’t mean the sun is going to shine on the dollar.
Ben Bernanke made sure of that.
The Fed Chairman’s insistence last week that U.S. ultra-loose monetary policy is here to stay not only indicated his lack of confidence in the recovery but confirmed fears the U.S. Federal Reserve is falling behind the curve.
As a result, not even good news will help the U.S. currency now.
Bloomberg Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
See how the dollar has already fallen against the euro this year.
Commerzbank hit the nail on the head when it noted that the euro reached its high against the dollar Monday after, not before, the publication of the latest manufacturing ISM, which came in above expectations. Surprise good economic news normally helps the dollar as it raises expectations of higher interest rates.
“This episode demonstrates: marginal news on the state of the U.S. economy does not matter at present,” the Commerzbank strategy team said.
This will probably become even more obvious as other major central banks, rather than the U.S., continue to point to higher interest rates.
The Reserve Bank of India kicked off the week with a surprise 50 basis point rate rise. With its manufacturing PMI steaming ahead, China is expected to accelerate its de facto tightening with a stronger yuan.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its rates unchanged earlier Tuesday, but left markets in no doubt that more rate increases are on their way.
Closer to home, the European Central Bank is also expected to leave its rates unchanged later this week, but will more than likely give a signal of another rate rise in June.
As the Bundesbank’s brand new president Jens Weidmann wanted to make clear in his first public utterance Monday, he wants euro-zone policy to be “normalized”.
The Bank of England will also likely sit on its hands at its next policy meeting this week, but that doesn’t mean the debate over whether U.K. rates should rise is dead.
All this means that even good economic news will not save the dollar now.
The true test could well come on Friday with the latest unemployment numbers, data that traditionally should give the dollar direction.
But, if the Fed is saying no change is in sight, even strong non-farm payrolls won’t stop the dollar from floundering.
This whole “good news is bad news” theme was apparent as Osama bin Laden’s assassination by U.S. forces in Pakistan broke.
The initial euphoria that the al Qaeda leader is dead after a 10-year manhunt quickly turned sour as the risk of terrorist reprisals increased.
If that is the case, deteriorating risk sentiment in global markets may give the dollar a little support on the one hand.
But, with interest rate differentials likely to continue moving against the dollar, chances are that the U.S. dollar will extend the decline it has pursued all year, pushing steadily to new lows against other majors such as the euro.
By NICHOLAS HASTINGS
Summer may be on its way and Osama bin Laden may be dead, but that doesn’t mean the sun is going to shine on the dollar.
Ben Bernanke made sure of that.
The Fed Chairman’s insistence last week that U.S. ultra-loose monetary policy is here to stay not only indicated his lack of confidence in the recovery but confirmed fears the U.S. Federal Reserve is falling behind the curve.
As a result, not even good news will help the U.S. currency now.
Bloomberg Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
See how the dollar has already fallen against the euro this year.
Commerzbank hit the nail on the head when it noted that the euro reached its high against the dollar Monday after, not before, the publication of the latest manufacturing ISM, which came in above expectations. Surprise good economic news normally helps the dollar as it raises expectations of higher interest rates.
“This episode demonstrates: marginal news on the state of the U.S. economy does not matter at present,” the Commerzbank strategy team said.
This will probably become even more obvious as other major central banks, rather than the U.S., continue to point to higher interest rates.
The Reserve Bank of India kicked off the week with a surprise 50 basis point rate rise. With its manufacturing PMI steaming ahead, China is expected to accelerate its de facto tightening with a stronger yuan.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its rates unchanged earlier Tuesday, but left markets in no doubt that more rate increases are on their way.
Closer to home, the European Central Bank is also expected to leave its rates unchanged later this week, but will more than likely give a signal of another rate rise in June.
As the Bundesbank’s brand new president Jens Weidmann wanted to make clear in his first public utterance Monday, he wants euro-zone policy to be “normalized”.
The Bank of England will also likely sit on its hands at its next policy meeting this week, but that doesn’t mean the debate over whether U.K. rates should rise is dead.
All this means that even good economic news will not save the dollar now.
The true test could well come on Friday with the latest unemployment numbers, data that traditionally should give the dollar direction.
But, if the Fed is saying no change is in sight, even strong non-farm payrolls won’t stop the dollar from floundering.
This whole “good news is bad news” theme was apparent as Osama bin Laden’s assassination by U.S. forces in Pakistan broke.
The initial euphoria that the al Qaeda leader is dead after a 10-year manhunt quickly turned sour as the risk of terrorist reprisals increased.
If that is the case, deteriorating risk sentiment in global markets may give the dollar a little support on the one hand.
But, with interest rate differentials likely to continue moving against the dollar, chances are that the U.S. dollar will extend the decline it has pursued all year, pushing steadily to new lows against other majors such as the euro.
Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Royal Wedding Boosts UK Tourism Figures
http://www.compareaway.co.uk/news/2011/05/03/royal-wedding-boosts-uk-tourism-figures/
May 3rd, 2011 | Travel News
By Chris Bradley
Many people visited the UK to watch the Royal Wedding, in fact one million took to the streets in London and many more watched on big screens in Hyde Park and around the country and it has been estimated that the UK economy got a massive boost from the event. This would have mainly gone in to the travel and tourism sector of the economy which is great news for a segment of the economy which has been suffering in recent times.
The Royal Wedding passed without a hitch and many were impressed by the behaviour of the crowd. This was mainly due to arrests made before the event where the police made sure that anyone they felt was likely to cause trouble at the event was prevented from being able to attend and also the police presence making sure that the crowd were under control and also carefully put in to position.
This gave a really favourable impression of the country as a whole and is also a great sign for the organisation for the Olympics. This should help people to feel that the UK is a safe place to come and therefore should help to encourage more tourists in. With remaining Olympic tickets going up for sale in June then it may be that more foreigners decide to buy some, having seen a great view of the country when watching Friday’s wedding. It may also encourage people to look in when the Olympic ticket resale website opens next year. Those that missed out on the bidding or have now changed their mind will get a chance to still take part in the event.
May 3rd, 2011 | Travel News
By Chris Bradley
Many people visited the UK to watch the Royal Wedding, in fact one million took to the streets in London and many more watched on big screens in Hyde Park and around the country and it has been estimated that the UK economy got a massive boost from the event. This would have mainly gone in to the travel and tourism sector of the economy which is great news for a segment of the economy which has been suffering in recent times.
The Royal Wedding passed without a hitch and many were impressed by the behaviour of the crowd. This was mainly due to arrests made before the event where the police made sure that anyone they felt was likely to cause trouble at the event was prevented from being able to attend and also the police presence making sure that the crowd were under control and also carefully put in to position.
This gave a really favourable impression of the country as a whole and is also a great sign for the organisation for the Olympics. This should help people to feel that the UK is a safe place to come and therefore should help to encourage more tourists in. With remaining Olympic tickets going up for sale in June then it may be that more foreigners decide to buy some, having seen a great view of the country when watching Friday’s wedding. It may also encourage people to look in when the Olympic ticket resale website opens next year. Those that missed out on the bidding or have now changed their mind will get a chance to still take part in the event.
Fisher Capital Management Corporate News – UK Economy: Private Sector Job Vacancies Drop By 2% In April Compared To March 2011 Says Reed
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/41841
Source: eGov monitor – A Policy Dialogue Platform
Published Tuesday, 3 May, 2011 – 10:36
New analysis of vacanices in 8,000 employers reveal that job opportunities in the public sector has fallen by three points or 2% between March and April 2011, according to Reed recruitment agency.
The data reveals the drop in private sector vacancies was due to recruitment slow down in the banking and tourism sectors which saw a huge surge in recruitment in February. However, the 2% drop is still 22% higher than it was during the same period last year.
However, the job growth comes from increases in the engineering, customer services, estate agency, human resources, information technology and telecoms sectors. But there has been no growth in public sector job market.
Martin Warnes, Reed’s UK MD pointed out that April’s loss was expected due to the Easter holidays and the subsequent bank holiday for the Royal wedding.
“Clearly business growth has been sustained at a higher level than the last quarter of 2010, but continued recovery remains difficult to predict,” he added.
Source: eGov monitor – A Policy Dialogue Platform
Published Tuesday, 3 May, 2011 – 10:36
New analysis of vacanices in 8,000 employers reveal that job opportunities in the public sector has fallen by three points or 2% between March and April 2011, according to Reed recruitment agency.
The data reveals the drop in private sector vacancies was due to recruitment slow down in the banking and tourism sectors which saw a huge surge in recruitment in February. However, the 2% drop is still 22% higher than it was during the same period last year.
However, the job growth comes from increases in the engineering, customer services, estate agency, human resources, information technology and telecoms sectors. But there has been no growth in public sector job market.
Martin Warnes, Reed’s UK MD pointed out that April’s loss was expected due to the Easter holidays and the subsequent bank holiday for the Royal wedding.
“Clearly business growth has been sustained at a higher level than the last quarter of 2010, but continued recovery remains difficult to predict,” he added.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 2
Fisher Capital Management Eight and a half months after riding the Democratic Party of Japan’s
(DPJ) historic lower house victory into office, Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama announced his resignation, having haphazardly frittered
away a chest brimming with political capital.
Major newspapers said that Hatoyama was resigning mainly for
two reasons: his failure to keep his promise to relocate the functions
of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, out of Okinawa
Prefecture, and a political funding scandal that included his mother’s
provision of some ¥1.26 billion to him over years.
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 2: Instead of deregulation and lower corporate taxes, he envisions
increased employment and consumption through focused
government spending in nursing, medicine and other social welfare
fields. But some economists expressed doubts; they say there is no
guarantee that the positive effect of government spending can
steadily outpace the negative effects of tax hikes.
Kan seems to be open to the idea of raising Japan’s consumption
tax from its current level of 5%, though the approach of the upperhouse
election on July and concerns over a political backlash suggest
caution will be the government’s modus operandi.
“Any rise in the consumption tax rate must be offset by lower levies
on daily goods as well as refunds for low-income households”, he
recently said. But he also hopes to reduce corporate taxes from the
current 40% rate to around 25%, in line with other major countries.
In the foreign exchange market, Kan has earned a reputation as a
weak-yen advocate. “The business community says that a yen in
the mid-90s against the dollar is appropriate, so it would be better
if it weakens a bit further”, he said in January, shortly after becoming
finance minister.
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 2: Market observers believe that Kan still supports a weaker yen and
that the Japanese currency could depreciate against the US dollar.
Regarding monetary policy, Kan is generally considered an advocate
of inflation-targeting and quantitative easing. As finance minister,
he has put some political pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to
fight deflation more aggressively, he nudged the BOJ to double a
special bank lending program introduced in December. The bond
market believes Kan is a wise choice to manage the sustainability
of Japan’s government debt.
The DPJ had promised to unveil a long-term plan to improve public
finances. However, “postponement is likely because of the current
political churn, and any real ‘meat’ in the plan will probably not
be disclosed until after the Upper House election” … says Flemming
Nielsen, senior analyst at Danske research.
Kan is a self-made man, ascending into politics after years toiling
in citizen movements and he has a reputation as a quick learner
and a pragmatic politician, with sharp elbows and an aversion to
any criticism.
The country he now leads is facing dire long-term problems that
beg for strong leadership, including a staggering level of public
debt, a stagnant economy, and an ageing population. He has a few
weeks to fix the impression left by nine months of incompetent DPJ
governance.
If he fails, the party will be routed in the elections for the Diet’s
upper house.
(DPJ) historic lower house victory into office, Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama announced his resignation, having haphazardly frittered
away a chest brimming with political capital.
Major newspapers said that Hatoyama was resigning mainly for
two reasons: his failure to keep his promise to relocate the functions
of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, out of Okinawa
Prefecture, and a political funding scandal that included his mother’s
provision of some ¥1.26 billion to him over years.
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 2: Instead of deregulation and lower corporate taxes, he envisions
increased employment and consumption through focused
government spending in nursing, medicine and other social welfare
fields. But some economists expressed doubts; they say there is no
guarantee that the positive effect of government spending can
steadily outpace the negative effects of tax hikes.
Kan seems to be open to the idea of raising Japan’s consumption
tax from its current level of 5%, though the approach of the upperhouse
election on July and concerns over a political backlash suggest
caution will be the government’s modus operandi.
“Any rise in the consumption tax rate must be offset by lower levies
on daily goods as well as refunds for low-income households”, he
recently said. But he also hopes to reduce corporate taxes from the
current 40% rate to around 25%, in line with other major countries.
In the foreign exchange market, Kan has earned a reputation as a
weak-yen advocate. “The business community says that a yen in
the mid-90s against the dollar is appropriate, so it would be better
if it weakens a bit further”, he said in January, shortly after becoming
finance minister.
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 2: Market observers believe that Kan still supports a weaker yen and
that the Japanese currency could depreciate against the US dollar.
Regarding monetary policy, Kan is generally considered an advocate
of inflation-targeting and quantitative easing. As finance minister,
he has put some political pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to
fight deflation more aggressively, he nudged the BOJ to double a
special bank lending program introduced in December. The bond
market believes Kan is a wise choice to manage the sustainability
of Japan’s government debt.
The DPJ had promised to unveil a long-term plan to improve public
finances. However, “postponement is likely because of the current
political churn, and any real ‘meat’ in the plan will probably not
be disclosed until after the Upper House election” … says Flemming
Nielsen, senior analyst at Danske research.
Kan is a self-made man, ascending into politics after years toiling
in citizen movements and he has a reputation as a quick learner
and a pragmatic politician, with sharp elbows and an aversion to
any criticism.
The country he now leads is facing dire long-term problems that
beg for strong leadership, including a staggering level of public
debt, a stagnant economy, and an ageing population. He has a few
weeks to fix the impression left by nine months of incompetent DPJ
governance.
If he fails, the party will be routed in the elections for the Diet’s
upper house.
Fisher Capital Management - Japan Elects a New Premier Part 1
Fisher Capital Management Eight and a half months after riding the Democratic Party of Japan’s
(DPJ) historic lower house victory into office, Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama announced his resignation, having haphazardly frittered
away a chest brimming with political capital.
Major newspapers said that Hatoyama was resigning mainly for
two reasons: his failure to keep his promise to relocate the functions
of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, out of Okinawa
Prefecture, and a political funding scandal that included his mother’s
provision of some ¥1.26 billion to him over years.
Following Hatoyama’s resignation, Minister of Finance Naoto Kan
was elected as the new Prime Minister, the fifth in four years.
At his inaugural press conference Kan proposed a comprehensive
reconstruction of the economy, public finance, and social security
as his priority, in addition to reforming public administration, and
conducting responsible diplomatic and defence policy.
Fisher Capital Management Report- Japan Elects a New Premier Part 1: The biggest question surrounding the once-popular new government
is whether Kan can really turn over a new leaf for the DPJ. In his
first policy speech to the Diet as prime minister, Kan sought to set
his administration apart from the previous one by vowing to build
“a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare”.
Kan stressed the need to jolt Japan out of its currently weak state,
which he attributed to “anaemic economic growth, ballooning
public debt and dwindling public trust in the viability of Japan's
social security system”.
Observers and practitioners believe that the government is unlikely
to announce any significant new policy initiatives, as Kan was
already one of the main architects behind the previous
administration’s economic policy, although some changes have just
been announced in the DPJ election manifesto for the Upper House
election. For instance it drops the promise of doubling monthly
child allowances to ¥26000 next year.
“I hope to carry over the torch of rebuilding Japan passed on to
me by Hatoyama”, he observed at a press conference after his
election. Alan Feldman, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in Japan,
says that “although Kan’s initial speech did include some new
elements, the main message was continuity with Hatoyama’s
economic policies. Investors are likely to welcome the innovations,
but to remain sceptical of the overall philosophy”.
However, economists believe Kan will face a mountain of challenges
both at home and abroad in the near future. First, he needs to
rebuild that political capital ahead of the upper house elections.
Public support for the DPJ has recovered sharply after his
appointment suggesting that voters have, for now, forgiven the
ruling Democrats for the previous leaders’ policy mistakes.
But it remains to be seen whether the initial popularity of the Kan
administration will translate into a strong performance, and whether
Kan will ultimately be given a strong enough mandate to push
through difficult policy decisions.
Major newspaper polls give Prime Minister approval ratings of
between 60 and 70 percent; but such ratings can be very fickle.
The election will be an uphill battle for the DPJ. The DPJ is without
one of its coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party who left
the ruling camp over Hatoyama’s failure to remove the US base
from Okinawa, as demanded by its leader, Mizuho Fukushima.
The two parties that remain, the DPJ and the People’s New Party,
hold 122 of the upper house’s 242 seats, the slimmest majority
possible. Should the coalition lose that majority in the coming
election, it would mean a split Diet — its majority would only
remain in the lower house. And that would make passing bills
extremely difficult.
Fisher Capital Management Report- Japan Elects a New Premier Part 1: Kan will have plenty on the economic front too. In terms of fiscal
policy, as a former Finance minister he has turned into a fiscal
conservative, having been a champion of funnelling revenue from
higher taxes toward government spending in order to achieve
economic growth. “Economic growth, fiscal reconstruction and
social welfare reform will be achieved together”, he told reporters.
(DPJ) historic lower house victory into office, Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama announced his resignation, having haphazardly frittered
away a chest brimming with political capital.
Major newspapers said that Hatoyama was resigning mainly for
two reasons: his failure to keep his promise to relocate the functions
of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, out of Okinawa
Prefecture, and a political funding scandal that included his mother’s
provision of some ¥1.26 billion to him over years.
Following Hatoyama’s resignation, Minister of Finance Naoto Kan
was elected as the new Prime Minister, the fifth in four years.
At his inaugural press conference Kan proposed a comprehensive
reconstruction of the economy, public finance, and social security
as his priority, in addition to reforming public administration, and
conducting responsible diplomatic and defence policy.
Fisher Capital Management Report- Japan Elects a New Premier Part 1: The biggest question surrounding the once-popular new government
is whether Kan can really turn over a new leaf for the DPJ. In his
first policy speech to the Diet as prime minister, Kan sought to set
his administration apart from the previous one by vowing to build
“a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare”.
Kan stressed the need to jolt Japan out of its currently weak state,
which he attributed to “anaemic economic growth, ballooning
public debt and dwindling public trust in the viability of Japan's
social security system”.
Observers and practitioners believe that the government is unlikely
to announce any significant new policy initiatives, as Kan was
already one of the main architects behind the previous
administration’s economic policy, although some changes have just
been announced in the DPJ election manifesto for the Upper House
election. For instance it drops the promise of doubling monthly
child allowances to ¥26000 next year.
“I hope to carry over the torch of rebuilding Japan passed on to
me by Hatoyama”, he observed at a press conference after his
election. Alan Feldman, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in Japan,
says that “although Kan’s initial speech did include some new
elements, the main message was continuity with Hatoyama’s
economic policies. Investors are likely to welcome the innovations,
but to remain sceptical of the overall philosophy”.
However, economists believe Kan will face a mountain of challenges
both at home and abroad in the near future. First, he needs to
rebuild that political capital ahead of the upper house elections.
Public support for the DPJ has recovered sharply after his
appointment suggesting that voters have, for now, forgiven the
ruling Democrats for the previous leaders’ policy mistakes.
But it remains to be seen whether the initial popularity of the Kan
administration will translate into a strong performance, and whether
Kan will ultimately be given a strong enough mandate to push
through difficult policy decisions.
Major newspaper polls give Prime Minister approval ratings of
between 60 and 70 percent; but such ratings can be very fickle.
The election will be an uphill battle for the DPJ. The DPJ is without
one of its coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party who left
the ruling camp over Hatoyama’s failure to remove the US base
from Okinawa, as demanded by its leader, Mizuho Fukushima.
The two parties that remain, the DPJ and the People’s New Party,
hold 122 of the upper house’s 242 seats, the slimmest majority
possible. Should the coalition lose that majority in the coming
election, it would mean a split Diet — its majority would only
remain in the lower house. And that would make passing bills
extremely difficult.
Fisher Capital Management Report- Japan Elects a New Premier Part 1: Kan will have plenty on the economic front too. In terms of fiscal
policy, as a former Finance minister he has turned into a fiscal
conservative, having been a champion of funnelling revenue from
higher taxes toward government spending in order to achieve
economic growth. “Economic growth, fiscal reconstruction and
social welfare reform will be achieved together”, he told reporters.
Boiler Room Equipment: HeatSponge SIDEKICK Eventually Exposed
Boiler Room Equipment, Inc, is very pleased to eventually introduce the SIDEKICK type of condensing boiler economizers for industrial and conventional warm water boilers. Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc, - The Sidekick continues to be in advancement for almost a couple of years and shows an transformative growth of high-proficiency installations in the boiler market. The SIDEKICK is a warning game changer the likes of which have not been knowledgeable since the launch of the very first condensing boilers. The SIDEKICK provides the capability to combine condensing boiler efficiencies to conventional boilers on a new or retrofit basis. The SIDEKICK enables a person with a conventional boiler system the power to recognize condensing efficiency gains that normally would demand the existing boiler to be destroyed and changed with a brand new condensing boiler. Conventional, non-condensing boilers can now realize the efficiency benefits of outdoor air temperature reset controls and lower circulating hot water loop temperatures. Sidekicks also allow for duel fuel condensing applications utilizing conventional boilers. The SIDEKICK features all stainless internal construction, stainless tubes and fins, and an insulated outer casing. Inspection and clean out ports make periodic maintenance and cleaning easy.
The effectiveness of the SIDEKICK moves far beyond simply energy retrieval to the ultra-productive procedure by which it really is chosen and created. Temperature recovery for condensing purposes presents a substantial quantity of variables that creates a catalog-approach to products collection nearly impossible. Boilerroom Equipment has developed a new method of quantifying heat recovery, the Recovery Rate, and integrated this into the design. The development of the Recovery Rate variable permits a customer to customize the level of heat recovery and cost straight to the specifications of each particular application. We establish this fresh idea in heat recovery design as 3D Modularity, for modular construction in three dimensions. Based on a "Mass-Customization" approach to product development, Bruce will consider all of the application design constraints and will design a SIDEKICK enhanced to satisfy the exact overall performance needs at the most reasonably competitive selling price. Bruce has been given the ability to consider all aspects of the heat exchanger design relative to the price of the equipment and generate a fully priced proposal all in real-time; a software and engineering accomplishment that added over one thousand hours of coding and heat transfer modification to Bruce's core program. This means Bruce can handle all inquiries and generate proposals in real time by himself. The near elimination of sales and support overhead and significantly reduced project execution overhead requirements the Bruce software provides allows us to offer a product superior to any before it at pricing and responsiveness levels no conventional competitor could hope to match.
The effectiveness of the SIDEKICK moves far beyond simply energy retrieval to the ultra-productive procedure by which it really is chosen and created. Temperature recovery for condensing purposes presents a substantial quantity of variables that creates a catalog-approach to products collection nearly impossible. Boilerroom Equipment has developed a new method of quantifying heat recovery, the Recovery Rate, and integrated this into the design. The development of the Recovery Rate variable permits a customer to customize the level of heat recovery and cost straight to the specifications of each particular application. We establish this fresh idea in heat recovery design as 3D Modularity, for modular construction in three dimensions. Based on a "Mass-Customization" approach to product development, Bruce will consider all of the application design constraints and will design a SIDEKICK enhanced to satisfy the exact overall performance needs at the most reasonably competitive selling price. Bruce has been given the ability to consider all aspects of the heat exchanger design relative to the price of the equipment and generate a fully priced proposal all in real-time; a software and engineering accomplishment that added over one thousand hours of coding and heat transfer modification to Bruce's core program. This means Bruce can handle all inquiries and generate proposals in real time by himself. The near elimination of sales and support overhead and significantly reduced project execution overhead requirements the Bruce software provides allows us to offer a product superior to any before it at pricing and responsiveness levels no conventional competitor could hope to match.
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