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City Pension Gone? 18 y
I can't imagine anyone will get anything from this exercise...not even time. And they let one guy retire in December that's last month-so , huh? that means they pretty much knew they were going after indictments for a felony against this dude and he retires while being charged? BTW he retired in the same plan that he was head of and supposedly did some non dicuciarial governing in.
Multiple felony charges include conspiracy, wire and mail fraud
By Kelly Thornton
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 7, 2006
K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Harrigan, who announced yesterday’s indictments, said the actions of the defendants not only jeopardized the pension fund, but ”the financial stability of the city of San Diego.”
A federal grand jury indicted the former top executive of the San Diego pension system, its lawyer and three former trustees on conspiracy and fraud charges yesterday in the opening salvo in the federal government’s latest ... read more $$ and Yuan currency 18 y
Here it comes- I knew someone was smoking something when the $$ was "high"...There is no reason, no reason for a strong dollar....And here is China's weapon -worse if they start selling our debt. And ya know, it is smart to diversify. Whee.........Time to end the war- This is how the war will end $$$$$
As Goes the Dollar?
Bad (if inevitable) news from our banker.
Keep your eye on the dollar. If it starts going down big time, the Fed won’t be able to ease as much as the markets have come of late to expect.
Friday Jan 6 2006 . All times are London time.
China signals reserves switch away from dollar
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai and Andrew Balls in Washington
Published: January 5 2006 20:13 | Last updated: January 6 2006 02:43
China indicated on Thursday it could begin to diversify its rapidly growing foreign exchange reserves away from the US dollar and government bonds – ... read more MSN closes China Blogger 18 y
So china has pull in government quarters- freedom of speech (this used to be in the bill of rights in America for you younger peoples) is not for China- but how and who went to Gates and made their point "governmentally" about his server's blog space and who could use it....Shame on us...I'm pretty sure Bill woulda just as soon as left it up- But of course he has a big sales number in Chima for OS-if they aren't just making copies of the OS for free! Yes, maybe bill said "quit copying my software, and I'll close down blog space for China dissenters" Just Maybe.
Microsoft Closes China Blog
Redmond giant deletes blog on MSN Spaces service kept by New York Times researcher.
January 5, 2006
Microsoft closed down a widely read blog on its MSN Spaces service run by a blogger in China who apparently ran afoul of government censors.
Michael Anti, also known as Zhao Jing, a researcher for The New York Times, wrote the Beijing-based blog, which featured coverage of subjects such as a string of cat murders in Shanghai that attracted the attention of the outside press. The blog was deleted New Year’s Eve.
Former CNN correspondent Rebecca ... read more IBM cancels pension 18 y
Harbinger of things to come. IBM took a look at the airlines and their dilemma, and made the decision to cut the defined benefit pension, and make a nice contribution to their 401K plan (defined contribution plan)- the difference between plans? (so glad you asked)...is that the risk for a defined lifetime benefit is on IBM investing and liability for risk, and it is exactly the opposite for the defined contribution- ya'all will get what you get...Oh boy-this is gonna get interesting! What who's next!?
NYTimes.com News
I.B.M. to Freeze Pension Plans to Trim Costs
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: January 6, 2006
I.B.M., which has long operated one of the nation’s largest corporate pension funds, said yesterday that it would freeze pension benefits for its American employees starting in 2008 and offer them only a 401(k) retirement plan in the future.
The company said that the shift, which is expected to spur still more major companies to move away from traditional defined-benefit pension plans, would save it as much as $3 billion through the next few years and provide it with a ” ... read more Nasdaq, brew of choice? 18 y
Can it be only money? 400k is a drop in the bucket for Schwab, I'm curious to read a posting that hinted some had been asked to leave the NYSE-this is rare unless there has been aggregious offenses of rules and reg's. It usually is not a casual parting!
Battle of the Brands: NYSE and Nasdaq
’’The competition for the attention of CFOs and management should be a big winner’’ for companies, says one observer.
Helen Shaw, CFO.com
January 05, 2006
A half-dozen centuries ago, a competitor who ”entered the lists” was riding onto a mock battleground — the site of jousting and other deeds of arms. Today, a ”listings” battle is being contested not merely between corporate worthies, but between the venues themselves.
The decisions by Charles Schwab Corp. and Cadence Design Systems Inc. to drop themselves from the New York Stock Exchange ... read more $750.00 an hour? 18 y
And considered well worth it UNTIL Abramoff turned "Star Witness". But did he really become the star witness, only one indictment from the whole episode..I think he knows lots more and decided to be a witness to get the powers that be off his back- Most know he knows much more and has decided not to kiss and tell-Now at least.!
Tremors Across Washington as Lobbyist Turns Star Witness
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: January 4, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - As a high-flying Republican lobbyist, Jack Abramoff has long been known as a mover and shaker in Washington. But when he cut a deal with federal prosecutors on Tuesday, he shook up this town as never before.
Not long ago, Mr. Abramoff was perhaps Washington’s most aggressive - and, at $750 an hour, most highly compensated - deal maker, a flamboyant man who moved fluidly through the nexus of money and power. Now his decision to cooperate in a broadening c ... read more Yield Curve 18 y
Nothings for sure, but I glean it will be a long time until they lower rates. The "feeling" is that they stayed low too long as it was ...
"FED RATES FOR 2006 - Some say that they will continue to rise, some say they will stay the same and others believe they may even go down. So, there you have it! Actually, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates for a 14th straight time in January to 4.5%".
ANALYSIS-Economists, traders eye different yield curves
Tuesday 3 January 2006, 1:36pm EST
By Victoria Thieberger
NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Bond traders have been fixated in recent days on the rare dip in long-term Treasury yields below those of short-term Treasuries, an event that has often presaged economic recession.
But while traders in the bond market have focused on the difference between two-year and 10-year Treasury note yields, some economists say a more reliable economic signal is found in a different measure of short-term interest rates.
They prefer using either ... read more CFO blog/China 18 y
The links are very educational, and the idea that China who executes more citizenry than any country in the world- even more than Aarrnnoollddd.
GLOBAL BUSINESS
Executing in China (So to Speak)
Over the holiday week, I received this press release, complete with disturbing photos, alleging the beatings and rape of two Falun Gong adherents by Chinese police last month.
Grassroots organizers are getting smarter and more aggressive about sending this sort of thing to the business press. (The first such release I remember blogging about came from the Rainforest Action Network.)
I expect I’ll see more. We reported in November on ”China’s Growing Appetite,” and I’m writing an article right now about the protectionist sentiment sti ... read more Taiwan/China Next? 18 y
I know that at some point in the economic future of the USA and China we will absolutely use the Taiwan Chip- How many times has the US sent ships to the straits between China and Taiwan to show a stance of solidarity- but I'm thinking if China gives us some preferential corporate treatment we'd likely soften our stance on Taiwan- or look the other way while certain liberties were curtailed (huh! parellel universe)
I'm wondering why we haven't done so already- I mean Britan threw in the Hong Kong connection- We shall see but Taiwan is a major sticking point in US-China politics.
Taiwan Chief Seeks More Arms, Not Better Ties to China
By KEITH BRADSHER
Published: January 2, 2006
HONG KONG, Jan. 1 - President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan called Sunday for increased arms purchases and warned against greater economic ties to mainland China, in a televised speech that silenced months of speculation that he might soon seek to improve relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Patrick Lin/Agence France-Presse
An honor guard at a ceremony before President Chen Shui-bian’s speech on Sunday.
Patrick Lin/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images
President Chen Shui-bian of Ta ... read more Dollar Bill Symbols 18 y
I've heard or read a slightly different interpertation of the symbology of the dollar, but it was sent in an e-mail and I didn't save it.
Take out a one dollar bill, and look at it. The one dollar bill you’re looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in its present design. This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it. It is actually material. We’ve all washed it without it falling apart. A special blend of ink is used, the contents we will never know. It is overprinted with symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.
Note that this is a Federal Reserve Note, a debt note of the United S ... read more usd$$$ 18 y
Dollar is high- on what?
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar looked set on Friday to end 2005 up almost 15 percent versus the euro and the yen and to post its best annual gain in eight years against an index of currencies, boosted by the Fed’s ongoing rate-raising campaign.
The dollar had a shot in the arm this year from a steady stream of U.S. interest rate rises. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates for a 14th straight meeting in January, taking its key rate to 4.5 percent, and more rises are seen possible.
The greenback has rebounded after a three-year, 30 percent decline driven by wo ... read more Recession-When/Why 19 y
No One really knows the whys and wherefores...And often Buffett, and Gates, and Bush, and Greenspan decide to influence by just saying "their truth" -And so it is!- It works for them...Power goes to whom we allow it..The last time we had inflation in fuel-it was stag flation and Jimmy Carter was president
By Mike Dolan, Economics Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Head-scratching over whether this week’s U.S. yield-curve inversion is a true bellwether of recession is merely a new spin on a hoary old problem that has puzzled economists all year.
Rather than some ill omen, the inversion -- an unusual rise in two-year borrowing rates above 10-year rates -- has occurred because long-term rates have remained stubbornly low or fallen as the Federal Reserve has jacked up short-term rates.
While economists have a plethora of theories, few still have a watertight explanation for why 10-ye ... read more Enron's exCFO to help Prosecutors 19 y
35-40 years in jail, well, one becomes more cooperative, no?
HOUSTON, Dec. 28 - The former chief accounting officer of Enron agreed on Wednesday to cooperate with the government in its case against the two leading executives in the scandal over the company’s collapse, significantly shifting the dynamics of a trial that is scheduled to start late next month.
Dave Einsel/Getty Images
Richard A. Causey, a former top Enron accountant, arriving Wednesday at the Houston courthouse where he pleaded guilty to fraud.
In exchange for a guilty plea to a single felony charge of securities fraud and for help in prosecuting Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Sk ... read more 5 smartest things on Wall Street 19 y
Smart because they either dumb down controversy, or they made bucoo bucks..It's the name of the brain game, babe
Mack Attack
Morgan Stanley (MWD:NYSE - news - research - Cramer’s Take) kind of backed in to a smart decision when it hired John Mack as CEO this summer, but no matter. The change has paid off already.
Shares in the big investment bank were stumbling when Mack’s predecessor, Phil Purcell, touched off the boardroom brawl that led to his June departure. Charles Knight, the board member who headed up the search for a new CEO, initially ruled out Mack as a candidate.
But Morgan Stanley’s alumni and its rank-and-file rallied behind Mack, and by the end of June Knight was calling Mack ”th ... read more Exxon 19 y
9.9 Billion 3rd quarter profit- there's the number 9.9M in 3rd quarter-Yikes!
The Five Dumbest Things Lab enjoys a little Christmas spirit as much as anyone. So in place of our traditional dunce cap we’ve donned a cheery Santa hat for today’s countdown of The Five Smartest Things on Wall Street This Year. Let’s get started.
5. Gushing
Some CEOs stick around till they get chased out by an unruly board or fed-up shareholders. But not Exxon Mobil (XOM:NYSE - news - research - Cramer’s Take) chief Lee Raymond.
In a year marked by upheaval in the executive suite -- when Disney (DIS:NYSE - news - research - Cramer’s Take) finally rid itself of Michael Eisner and AI ... read more Horse is Dead- 19 y
If the horse is dead dismount- hehe for some reason I am laughing at that...OK OK I am getting off...Whoa...
There is an old adage that says in essence, ”If the horse is dead, dismount.”
There is a story about Russia in the days of the Czars. In the park of St. Petersburg Winter Palace there was a beautiful lawn, on that lawn a bench, and next to that bench, two guards. Every three hours the guards were changed. Yet no one could explain why these guards were guarding the bench. One day an ambitious young lieutenant was put in charge of the Palace Guard. He started wondering and asking questions. Finally, he found a little old man, the Palace historian.
”Yes,” the old man said, ”I remember.” ... read more History of Viacom 19 y
So there were a coupla other big names involved with Viacom-besides sumner Redstone (is this a real name?)- this is tongue planted firmly in cheek..for the easily riled! Tisch, Paley, Zukor, Simon, Schuster- a rich history of many BIG men..
WHO OWNS WHAT
Viacom Corporate Timeline
1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000-present
1910s
1912 - Adolph Zukor founds the Famous Players Film Corp
1916 - Famous Players becomes Paramount Pictures becomes Famous Players-Lasky Corp.
1916 - Westinghouse engineer Dr. Frank Conrad begins experimental radio broadcasts from his home in Pittsburgh
1920s
1920 (November 2) - Westinghouse’s KDKA in Pittsburgh begins scheduled radio programming with the Harding-Cox Presidential election returns
1924 - Richard L. (Dick) Simon and M. Lincoln (Ma ... read more |