Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Fraud, Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
CBS News SEC says it lacked authority to charge Moody's The Associated Press The warning is the latest step by the SEC to address the conduct of major financial firms that contributed to the Wall Street meltdown. … SEC drops Moody's fraud case Fortune (blog) Credit Rating Agencies In the Crosshairs Brookings Institution Moody's fraud investigation dropped by SEC Bobsguide (press release) Structured Credit Investor (subscription)
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Sony will begin its latest attempt to fight back against Apple’s dominance in the digital media field, when it unveils a new music and video subscription service to run across a range of its devices
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Sony rises to digital-media challenge
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Diversified US manufacturer agrees to buy Israeli monitoring technology company as part of a broader strategy to recast itself as a higher growth company
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3M makes second foray into security sector
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Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the mineral-rich African country, is set to investigate the Toronto and London-listed copper miner for ‘suspected wide-scale misconduct’
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Congo seizes First Quantum Minerals’ assets
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Investors who put up the early ‘seed’ capital for technology start-ups in the US have come up with a novel idea for how to value businesses that in most cases have not started trading: put the issue off until later
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Tech ‘seed’ investors kick valuations into long grass
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Glenn Beck, the talk radio and Fox News commentator, has added a news website to his rapidly expanding multimedia empire, vowing to “pursue truth” through a conservative-leaning site called The Blaze.
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The Blaze joins the ranks of US news platforms
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Here is an interesting snip from August 31 Market Commentary by Art Cashin for UBS. Sorry, no link. Monday’s market evaporated nearly all the gains from Friday’s rally. Despite lighter volume, it was a 90% down day. That means the bears got a lopsided advantage in negative breadth and negative volume. In Friday’s rally, the bulls had had a similar 90% advantage. Robert McHugh of Main Line Investors says 26 of the last 88 trading days have been 90% days – one way or another. Any wonder the public …
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26 of Last 88 Trading Days have been 90% Days (Either Up or Down); 7 More Lean Years in Stock Market?
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Genzyme’s removal of some of its takeover defences – including a poison pill and staggered directors’ appointments – makes the US biotech group more vulnerable to a hostile bid
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Hunger for Genzyme deal grows keener
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Movie attendance is down but increased prices made up the difference for now. Bloomberg reports Summer Movie Box-Office Attendance Falls to Lowest Since 1997Summer movie attendance fell to the lowest level since 1997, while soaring ticket prices produced record revenue for Hollywood studios and theater owners. The number of tickets sold from the first weekend of May through the U.S. Labor Day holiday is expected to drop 2.6 percent to 552 million, Hollywood.com Box-Office said yesterday in an …
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Movie Attendance Drops to 1997 Level; Case-Shiller Home Prices Rise; Last Hurrah for Housing
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Unemployment News | Comments Off
(From USAToday.com) — Flaws in flight simulator training helped trigger some of the worst airline accidents in the past decade, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal accident records. More than half of the 522 fatalities in U.S. airline accidents since 2000 have been linked to problems with simulators, devices that are used nearly universally to train the nation’s airline pilots, the records show. Simulator training is credited with saving thousands of lives. But the problem, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) case files and safety experts, is that in rare but critical instances they can trick pilots into habits that lead to catastrophic mistakes. Read more.
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Simulator training flaws tied to airline crashes
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Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Unemployment News | Comments Off
(From Business Wire) — For mid-sized organizations, performance management may seem like an unnecessary bureaucratic exercise, in part because of manual, paper-based processes. But a solid performance management strategy, coupled with the automation of key processes, can give organizations a significant competitive advantage and help to drive business growth. A new white paper from learning and talent management software provider Cornerstone OnDemand, “Performance Management Solutions for the Midmarket Organization: Why Bother?” examines the business benefits of – and best practices for – creating a performance-oriented culture in mid-size organizations. Readers of Cornerstone’s white paper will learn how the right performance strategy and technology support can help midmarket organizations achieve the following: Improve efficiency and compliance. According to CedarCrestone research, automating the performance management process can reduce operational costs by 20 percent.1 These cost savings are due in part to the reduction of errors inherent in manual processes. Automation also helps managers to provide constructive feedback to employees on a more frequent basis – and in less time. Make performance reviews relevant. Organizations with best-in-class performance management processes are 47 percent more likely to reinforce formal annual reviews, supplemented with informal reviews at least once per quarter.2 Technology can transform performance management from a once-a-year event into an ongoing process that also includes development plans and learning opportunities. Maximize productivity and pay for performance. Top performers almost always exceed the performance of average workers by at least 25 percent – making them valuable assets to an organization.3 Technology solutions can nurture better performance, focus individual efforts on key business strategies, and make it easier to recognize and reward superior performance. Download the complimentary whitepaper here.
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Creating a Performance-Oriented Culture Is Too Important for Mid-Size Organizations to Ignore
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Unemployment News | Comments Off
(From PRWeb) — Today’s workforce is increasingly diverse. Our lean organizations must utilize the unique talents of all their team members to effectively compete in today’s global marketplace. Microinequities, negative subtle messages we send to our coworkers, can restrain workplace productivity and ultimately drive talented employees out of your organization. Today an organization’s brand is largely driven by social media. When employees feel disenfranchised, they frequently voice their complaints in cyberspace. Organizations without a diverse intellectual workforce cannot compete effectively in today’s global marketplace. Many companies support diversity, but diversity does not always equal inclusion. Download the complimentary whitepaper here.
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‘Microinequities — Are Your Team Members Invisible?’
(From Business Wire) — Working Americans are a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to job security, the economy and worker happiness. Short-term job security is improving. Contrast that with more workers who fear losing their job some day in the future. More Americans think the economy is on the upswing. But this is still a minority opinion contrasted against those who fear the worst is yet to come. And amid this uneasy atmosphere, slightly more workers – 61 percent – are happy on the job, up three points from last year. These are some of the findings of the SnagAJob.com Labor Happiness Index, an annual labor study commissioned by the hourly job website, which includes 1,000 employed Americans randomly interviewed by telephone by third-party research firm Ipsos Public Affairs. Thinking about short-term job security, 40 percent of working Americans say they are feeling more secure in their job than a year ago, a marked increase (11 points) over last year. Also good news, the number of Americans citing job insecurity has shrunk significantly to 35 percent, a group that was over 50 percent in last year’s study. Read more.
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4 in 10 Working Americans Say Their Job Security is Improved from a Year Ago
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
The venture capital fund has taken a significant minority holding in members-only fashion website Showroomprive.com and plans to invest $47m into the business, which sells designer brands at discount prices
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Accel buys stake in e-commerce site
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Scams | Comments Off
Fannie Mae is taking a dim view of mortgage borrowers who try to scam the system by taking out new loans while their mortgage is being processed. Typically banks will check your debt to income ration in the beginning of the application …
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Taking Out A Mortgage? Banks Will Monitor Your Credit 24/7 Now
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Downers Grove man accused in Webio scheme talks ABC7Chicago.com Hernandez has spent much of the last year in the den of his Downers Grove home . He has been out on bail but restricted by an ankle monitor to his residence. … and more
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Work From Home Scams | Comments Off
Federal mortgage relief program a bust Las Vegas Review-Journal Needless to say, this was a scam also. I, plus hundreds of others, maybe thousands, had fallen victim to these scam artists who prey upon those in need. … and more
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
People are still emailing me, making a mountain out of a molehill of a Rosenberg statement I quoted in Burning Down the House; New Home Sales Consensus 330K, Actual 276K, a Record Low; Nationwide, Zero New Homes Sold Above 750K I failed to comment yesterday on the huge miss by economists on consensus new home sales, but Rosenberg has some nice comments today in Breakfast with Dave. The high-end market, in particular, is under tremendous pressure. In fact, it is becoming non-existent. Guess how …
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How Many New Home Sales Was That?
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
One of the most significant additions to Gmail service automatically sorts through inboxes to find the messages users will find most interesting or important
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Google to rank e-mails automatically
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Work From Home Scams | Comments Off
Sportsnet.ca News briefs: Raiders QB Campbell returns to practice CBSSports.com New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Travis Jones has been suspended 30 days without pay for his admitted role in a real estate scam involving 40 people … Campbell back on practice field Ventura County Star all 89 news articles
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Miami is bankrupt. Unfortunately the city refuses to admit it. In an enormously foolhardy attempt to make ends meet, in spite of the fact that Miami home prices have been hammered and 1-in-8 are unemployed, the County keeps pouring on the painful tax and fee increases. As you recoil from your tax warning notice today, ponder this: those multiple tax hikes aren’t the only charges set to rise. Besides Miami-Dade County’s plan to raise every taxpayer’s rates 12.2% for operations and an …
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Bankrupt Miami in Fiscal Emergency, Breaks Employee Contracts, Hikes Property Taxes; What You Can Do.
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Thieves prey on seniors abc27 People who work with older residents every day said everyone can help to prevent such scams . “If we see something, we're at home and there's an unusual … and more
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Work From Home Scams | Comments Off
Be skeptical of health-care credit cards Washington Post “I told them they had a nice little scam going on.” New credit card regulations that became effective this month limit the size of late fees and restrict … and more
Posted on August 31st, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Regulators issue final rules for forex Futures Magazine The rules implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which, … CFTC reduces Forex leverage to 1:50 in US NASDAQ all 49 news articles
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Google and the Associated Press have struck a new agreement for the search engine operator to carry the news agency’s content, breaking a stalemate that had seen AP stories briefly disappear from Google News
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AP settles Google News stalemate
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Work From Home Scams | Comments Off
Hard times lead to home foreclosure Petaluma Argus Courier It turned out to be a scam . “Joe” then sought a loan modification from his bank, Chase, which asked him to fax 300 pages of financial documents. … and more
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
CA Technologies to Acquire Online Authentication Firm Arcot Systems for $200M Web Host Industry Review A recent Wall Street Journal article notes that this is the latest in a series of software sector acquisitions that are establishing a consolidation trend. … and more
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
US company chiefs are set to face a fresh wave of unflattering publicity over the many multiples of their average employee’s take-home pay that they deem themselves to be worth.
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Dodd-Frank act presents companies with a PR minefield
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
US companies face a “logistical nightmare” from a new rule forcing them to disclose the ratio between their chief executive’s pay package and that of the typical employee, lawyers have warned.
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US pay law branded ‘logistical nightmare’
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
The ability of those in the hardest hit industry to find work is crucial to the nation’s future, writes James Politi
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Building industry holds key to rebuilding US jobs
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Concerns that the depressed US housing sector will remain a drag on the US labour market have mounted following the loss of nearly 120,000 jobs in construction and related businesses in the last three months for which statistics were available
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US housing woes compound labour concerns
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
As I write this, the answer to these and other questions are being fought out in the trenches, in an out-of-sight but increasingly heated battle involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the law firms that specialize in creditor’s rights, …
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Them Be Fightin' Words: The Fight Over Foreclosure Fees |
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Opponents of a proposed £2.9bn bid for Tomkins, the automotive and industrial parts marker, have their last formal opportunity to speak against the 325p-a-share offer
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Last chance for opponents of Tomkins offer
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
CA, Citrix Continue Software-Consolidation Trend Wall Street Journal On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that ArcSight Inc., a security software maker, had put itself up for sale. CA said the acquisition of Arcot … and more
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
3M has agreed to buy Cogent, a maker of identification equipment, for more than $900m, paying $10.50 a share for Cogent – roughly an 18 per cent premium to its undisturbed share price
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3M agrees $900m deal for ID group Cogent
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Fraud, Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
Reuters (press release) Ohio AG Cordray to press pension claims against Wall St. banks, honchos on … Examiner.com Since becoming Ohio's top cop, Cordray has aggressively sought accountability of Wall Street institutions and executives who violated laws and harmed Ohio … Weekly News Roundup: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) eMoneyDaily (blog) all 69 news articles
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Airline share prices have risen more than 70 per cent from their lowest point at the beginning of last year, as investors bet on a strong recovery in the highly cyclical aviation business
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Airlines’ shares up as recovery gains pace
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
India’s GMR Infrastructure has received “unsolicited” expressions of interest to buy stakes in its US-based power group InterGen
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Offers made for stakes in GMR’s US unit
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Genzyme rejected a takeover offer from Sanofi-Aventis, calling the French pharmaceutical group’s $69 a share bid ‘opportunistic’ and ‘unrealistic’
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Genzyme rejects Sanofi takeover
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Reader “Henry” has a question on the loan loss provision chart I posted in Former Fed Vice Chairman vs. Mish: Is the Fed Out of Ammo? Henry writes … Hello Mish, Thanks for writing and sharing your wonderful column. It has been very informative and educational. Could you please help us mere mortals decipher the ALLL/LLRNPT chart in a follow up post? I have difficulty reconciling the units, and I suspect I’m not the only one. Exactly what does that chart …
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Banks Recruit Investors to Oppose Honest Valuation of Assets; Just how Unprepared are Banks for Major Losses?
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Fraud, Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
Increase in Mortgage Fraud Leads to Rise in Mortgage Hiring FINS Amid reports of the rising incidence of mortgage fraud — the Wall Street Journal recently reported a 17% spike in mortgage fraud cases last year — there … Beware: Mortgage fraud is back big-time WECT-TV6 all 2 news articles
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Silicon Valley company, which supplies microprocessors for four out of every five PCs sold, has been desperate to diversify and break into the larger cellphone market
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Intel acquires Infineon unit for $1.4bn
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Telegraph.co.uk Axa cuts stake in Goldman Sachs: documents AFP Reporting its worst quarter since the height of the economic crisis nearly two years ago, the storied Wall Street firm said earnings were slashed on account … Axa cuts Goldman stake by half Financial Times all 21 news articles
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
YOUR VIEW: Market will not provide efficient health care The Birmingham News – al.com (blog) The previous presidential term clearly shows that the Wall Street schemers and the corporate decision-makers, when left to their own devices, … and more
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Intel, the US chipmaker, has agreed a deal to buy the wireless chip business of Germany’s Infineon
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Intel to buy Infineon’s wireless chip business
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy, Scams | Comments Off
I received a lot of emails in response to Who’s to Blame for Rising Healthcare Costs? Some reader suggestions might save you some money. Overpaying for Generics “Dr. P” a front line working family physician for 30 years writes …. Hello Mish Thank you for exposing some of the many scams on health care insurance. Here is another example of industry wide ripoffs: Many generic medications now cost $4.00 for 30 days or $10.00 for 90 days without insurance. Sadly, many mail in …
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Physicians, Others Chime in on Who’s to Blame for Rising Healthcare Costs
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Wall Street Scams | Comments Off
India Digest: Redouble Commonwealth Games Efforts: PM Wall Street Journal (blog) The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Redouble Commonwealth Games Efforts: PM: Two weeks after Prime …
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India Digest: Redouble Commonwealth Games Efforts: PM – Wall Street Journal (blog)
Posted on August 30th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
The brokerage arm of the news and market data group has reached agreement with operators of ‘dark pool’ trading venues that will allow its customers to see how their trades have been matched
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Bloomberg unit to show real-time trades
Posted on August 29th, 2010 in Scams | Comments Off
A few years ago, I was involved in an investigation of multi-level marketing company (MLM) Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA). One of the allegations that came out during that investigation was that Usana was illegally conducting business in China . China has strict laws against multi-level marketing, making it impossible for the company to do business there under its current MLM model. Usana had legitimate business operations set up in Hong Kong, which does not have laws prohibiting multi-level marketing activities. It was alleged that Usana was using the Hong Kong employees to get access to people from mainland China, and show them how to circumvent the laws to participate in MLM. Oddly enough, Usana’s business in Hong Kong went absolute gangbusters. To the point where it was obvious that something odd was going on. A simple look at the number of active Usana associates per population of any given country shows that things are amiss in Hong Kong. Depending on the country, you might see one distributor for every one thousand to ten thousand residents of the country. In Hong Kong, however, you see one distributor for every 135 residents . Looks a little fishy, doesn’t it? And it would seem to give some credence to the allegation that residents of China are being signed up as distributors in Hong Kong. What other explanation could there be for such an astronomically high rate of distributors to residents? Usana has denied that it was trying to do business in China via Hong Kong. But now it seems that Usana has found a legitimate point of entry into China. The company recently purchased BabyCare Ltd. , based in Beijing, for $45 million in cash and 400,000 shares of company stock. And so Usana would seem to be getting around the multi-level marketing rules in China… You see, China allows “direct selling,” but not MLM. Most MLMs in the United States and abroad like to refer to their business models as “direct selling” (implying that distributors sell the product directly to the customers). This focus on the sale of the product is an attempt to disguise the real business of these companies, which is recruiting new distributors (and recruiting multiple levels of people to sell overpriced products gives us the “multi” in multi-level marketing). In China, direct selling is allowed, but there is a strict licensing requirement. There are apparently only 25 such licenses in Beijing, and now Usana has one of them through BabyCare. The company intends to integrate its nutritional products into BabyCare’s lines as soon as they are approved by regulators. While Usana may still have to be careful with how they structure a compensation plan in China, what really counts is that they’re officially in. How desperate was Usana to get a foothold in China? Usana paid $62,716,000 to acquire this company . And this is a company with only $15 million in annual net sales and $19 million in total assets. The company has not been profitable. Almost $63 million for an unprofitable company with relatively small annual sales. It looks like that direct selling license is worth tens of millions of dollars to Usana. Congratulations to them. They finally can do business legally in China , and they don’t have to funnel people through Hong Kong anymore!
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Acquisition by Usana Health Sciences gets them into China (legally, this time)
Posted on August 29th, 2010 in Economy | Comments Off
Google’s YouTube video site is in negotiations with Hollywood’s leading movie studios to launch a global pay-per-view video service by the end of 2010, putting it head-to-head with Apple in the race to dominate the digital distribution of film and television content
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Google plans pay-per-view films