woensdag 11 juli 2012
Hammering the banks won't help business
Telegraph View: Politicians calling for heads to roll amid the rate-fixing scandal won't improve matters
Bill Moyers Responds
Bill Moyers responds to viewer feedback about Gaza.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/z4575L3ZMvg/watch4.html
News Analysis for the Investor on July 11, 2012
U.S. Stocks Take a Dive
U.S. stocks fell sharply Tuesday on investor concerns over disappointing corporate earnings, CNNMoney reports. The energy, utilities and technology sectors joined the decline following warnings from two Fortune 500 companies, Applied Material and Advanced Micro Devices, that revenues would miss expectations. Reporting later this week are JPMorgan Chase and Well Fargo.
Analysts are expecting overall lower corporate earnings compared to the first quarter, according to CNN, which reports that yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.7 percent lower, the S&P fell 0.8 points and the Nasdaq dropped by 1 percent.
Fitch: U.S. Credit Outlook Remains Negative
The negative outlook for America’s AAA credit rating is unlikely to change before 2013, according to Fitch Ratings, which is waiting to assess progress toward reducing the nation’s deficit following the presidential elections in November, Bloomberg News reports.
Supporting the top credit rating are a diversified and productive economy, and the dollar’s status as the reserve currency, while the negative outlook reflects widespread dissent over how to reduce the national debt, reports Bloomberg, citing a statement released by Fitch yesterday.
China Concerns Drive Down Emerging-Market Stocks
Declining hopes for a rebound in China’s economy sent emerging-market stocks lower for the fifth consecutive day yesterday, Bloomberg News reports. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 0.2 percent to 934.25.
Chinese imports rose a lower-than expected 6.3 percent in the 12-months ending in June, while growth in Chinese exports slowed to 11.3 percent in June from 15.3 percent in May, according to Bloomberg News. The data indicates that China, the world’s second-largest economy, is unlikely to strengthen demand for economies in the second half of the year.
Maybe They Didn’t Like “Cajun Justice?”
NBC Universal, a unit of cable operator Comcast Corp, will sell its 15.8 percent stake in History Channel owner A&E Television Networks LLC to the other partners in the venture for $3.02 billion in cash, Reuters announced. Comcast sold its stake in A&E for $1 billion more than it said it was worth only a few months ago. The stake sale comes two months after Comcast said it would exercise an option to sell "a substantial portion" of its holding to its joint-venture partners Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corp.
Google Agrees to Fine in Privacy Case
Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million to settle allegations that it broke a privacy promise by secretly tracking the online activities of millions of people who use Apple's Safari web browser, the Associated Press reports. The FTC has not yet approved the agreement, which would be the largest penalty ever imposed by the agency. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news on the pending settlement, the AP said.
Money Back Guarantee to Drive Chevy Sales?
General Motors announced Tuesday it will allow Chevrolet buyers to return their 2012 or 2013 vehicles for up to one or two months after making the purchase, USA Today reports. The “Chevy Confidence” program comes with several conditions. The cars must be bought “during the program” and have less than 4,000 miles on the odometer with “no damage,” GM said in a statement. The Chevy program echoes Hyundai’s “Hyundai Assurance” program, which allowed customers to return their new cars if they lost their jobs, USA Today noted. Chevrolet reached 4.76 million units in 2011 and is expected to approach the 5 million mark for global sales this year.
Related Content:
News Analysis for the Investor on July 10, 2012
News Analysis for the Investor on July 9, 2012
Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/news-analysis-investor-july-11-2012
JPMorgan AGM punctured by thorny hedge issues
The ability of JPMorgan’s “hedge” to generate such large levels of loss supposedly not offset by some equivalent exposure has raised the question of whether such a position would have been permitted under the Volcker rule.
What’s New Around The Blogosphere: July 6th, 2012
I read an interesting story on Moneyville yesterday about a Toronto home buyer who paid $90,000 over asking price because they thought they were in a bidding war for the house. Turns out they were the only bidder, and the clients’ real estate agent clued in when their offer was accepted immediately without any counter-bids....
Source: http://www.boomerandecho.com/whats-new-around-the-blogosphere-july-6th-2012/
dinsdag 10 juli 2012
Tomorrow’s Conservation Leaders Should Come from Energy Industry, Too
(Washington, DC) Today’s conservation leaders are starting to retire – who will fill their seats? The National Conservation Leadership Institute is calling for industry associated with natural resources to nominate their “rising stars” or individuals with high potential to be considered for acceptance as a Fellow for its 2008-2009 leadership development program.
The Institute is [...]
The Institute is [...]
Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/press/conservation-leaders-energy-industry/
Renewable Energy Marketers Form Trade Association
(Washington, DC) Some of the most influential and competitive organizations in the renewable energy industry have now joined together to create the first trade association for organizations that market renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Marketers Association (REMA) has formed to vigorously promote the economic and national security benefits of domestic renewable energy.
REMA is comprised [...]
REMA is comprised [...]
Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/press/renewable-energy-marketers/
Over-saving is inefficient
So is over-spending. But I won’t get into that here.
I had a question from a reader asking what my Myers Briggs type is – and it’s INTJ.
Despite the rarity of that personality type (aren’t we all such special snowflakes though?), there’s been some anecdotal surveys that determined that INTJ’s are overly represented amongst the early [...]
I had a question from a reader asking what my Myers Briggs type is – and it’s INTJ.
Despite the rarity of that personality type (aren’t we all such special snowflakes though?), there’s been some anecdotal surveys that determined that INTJ’s are overly represented amongst the early [...]
Source: http://singlemomrichmom.com/over-saving-is-inefficient/
Thank you
Thank you to all those who clicked and voted for Karen. She is still currently in first place and we are holding our breath until July 2 closure. She emailed me a thank you. Sorry I didn't thank each person personally who commented that they have voted. We had a massive storm go through here Monday evening, knocking out power for almost 24 hours. A lot of tree and building damage.
THANKS!!!
THANKS!!!
Source: http://shakingthemoneytree.blogspot.com/2012/06/thank-you.html
Sunday Night Chit Chat
hosted by Carla at half dozen daily
Haven't done one of these in a long while. Felt almost normal today so I decided to celebrate :-)
Inspiring picture: when DS1 was in Italy and touring the collosseum he was pumped to turn the corner and find a cat. The cat was, to quote DS, "just chilling in the collo mom". LOL Knowing my love for cats, he bid it a cheery bonjourno and snapped a pic.
What am I reading?
The Klone and I by Danielle Steele
What am I Watching?
The pilot episode of the series Unforgettable
What am I Cooking/Baking?
nothing today. had a bbq at mom and dad's for supper
What am I Happy I accomplished?
I got a big exam marked at school and tonight, after supper I cut the grass. I am so out of shape it is ridiculous.
What am I looking forward to Next week?
Well I am hoping for reasonable health. No fatigue. No migraines. No flares. *fingers crossed*
What am I thankful for today?
Kitty therapy. I went out to my sister's and visited the two batches of newborn kitties. They make my soul sing.
Source: http://shakingthemoneytree.blogspot.com/2012/06/sunday-night-chit-chat.html
Service Sector Inflation Ticks Up
The headline number for this morning's PPI report was an 0.6% decline in the price of finished goods less food and energy ("core PPI"). In fact, core finished goods PPI has fallen for 4 out of the past 6 months. So if we just look at this number, inflation seems like it isn't a problem,
However, I prefer to look at a different statistic in the PPI report--the PPI for traditional service industries. Never heard of it? You are not alone. Starting a few years ago, the BLS aggressively broadened its coverage of the service sector. In particular, the "traditional service sector" includes everything from telecommunications and web search portals to health care to banking to management consulting to fitness centers.
So now the BLS publishes a PPI for these service sector industries (it's at the back of the report, pp 20-21). I wrote about the service sector PPI on my blog in February, in a post entitled "The PPI says: Service Sector Deflation is Almost Here."
Now, we have a really big divergence in the path of the core finished goods PPI and the service sector PPI. Core goods inflation is collapsing. But services PPI is slowly ticking up.
I think the service sector PPI is a better measure of the underlying inflation rate, because it covers a broader swathe of the economy. So this chart tells us that inflation is slowly starting to recover.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2009/11/service_sector.html
What I got for free (almost)
Today was a great day at Shoppers Drug Mart. It was the day I could cash in my optimum points for $200 worth of free (ish) product. I got the card in the mail a couple weeks ago announcing it and after checking my points, I knew I qualified. oh boy!
I have to admit I was looking forward to today. Sad? perhaps LOL
I haven't cashed in my points for awhile....last summer, I think. I've always been a girl who would rather receive a $200 basket of neat items I would like, over one larger $200 gift I would like. The psychology of quantity perhaps.
The flyer came last night and I went through my wish list I'd been creating, to see if any of those items were on sale. Have to get the most for the points, after all. This morning, in the pouring rain, I headed over with my list of musts, my lists of maybes and began to fill in my cart.
At one point, when picking out toilet paper, a gentleman said, they are on sale cheaper at the grocery next door. I thanked him and said I might check it out, but said 'these ones here in the cart, are free". He's never collected optimum points and was surprised.
I get that shoppers is often more costlier than other places and I shop there for sale items mostly and my meds. Still, the points add up. I had a great time shopping.
Here is what I bought in 2011 and here is what I bought in 2010.
Here is what I got:
Something for hungry stomachs:
Something for cleaning:
Something for personal care:
Somethings for treats:
I had a teeny overage and I had to pay the taxes on all items. These 40 items cost me $19.70
I have to admit I was looking forward to today. Sad? perhaps LOL
I haven't cashed in my points for awhile....last summer, I think. I've always been a girl who would rather receive a $200 basket of neat items I would like, over one larger $200 gift I would like. The psychology of quantity perhaps.
The flyer came last night and I went through my wish list I'd been creating, to see if any of those items were on sale. Have to get the most for the points, after all. This morning, in the pouring rain, I headed over with my list of musts, my lists of maybes and began to fill in my cart.
At one point, when picking out toilet paper, a gentleman said, they are on sale cheaper at the grocery next door. I thanked him and said I might check it out, but said 'these ones here in the cart, are free". He's never collected optimum points and was surprised.
I get that shoppers is often more costlier than other places and I shop there for sale items mostly and my meds. Still, the points add up. I had a great time shopping.
Here is what I bought in 2011 and here is what I bought in 2010.
Here is what I got:
Something for hungry stomachs:
- 2 4L of milk
- 2 cereal
- fiber 1 bars
- cat food
Something for cleaning:
- 2 packs of TP
- 1 box of Swiffer Dry cloths
- 1 new Toilet brush
- 4 boxes of tissue
Something for personal care:
- Contact solution
- soap
- shampoo
- body wash
- mother nature items
- facial toner
- 2 hair gel
- razors
- tylenol
- blush
- mascara
- toothpaste
- foundation
- container to keep track of my daily pills
Somethings for treats:
- Magazine (will save this for summer)
- skittles for the boys
- 4 pomegranite votives
I had a teeny overage and I had to pay the taxes on all items. These 40 items cost me $19.70
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
Source: http://shakingthemoneytree.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-i-got-for-free-almost.html
In courting dividend stocks get to know your dates
In the world of courting and finding Mr. or Mrs. Right, a critical part of this journey is dating. Same goes for the dividend investor. Any do-it-yourself (DIY) stock investor, who is planning to live off their stream of dividend income, needs to know their dates. Here are four dates My Own Advisor wants you to [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/myownadvisor/CsCc/~3/mGIMKjDDc44/
Dividend Growth Index 2012 Q2 Update
The Dividend Growth Index is a fun project created by Mike over at The Dividend Guy. The Index is comprised of 8 dividend growth bloggers selecting 3 stocks each, for a total of 24 dividend paying companies in the Index. The Index was established in September 2011 and continues to be a fun initiative to be part [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/myownadvisor/CsCc/~3/KTBeScfs27Y/
Oil Hovers Around 8-Month Lows Near $80
By PABLO GORONDIOil prices hovered around 8-month lows near $80 a barrel Thursday after the U.S. central bank balked at implementing vigorous stimulus measures to boost waning economic growth and U.S. crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for August delivery was down 92 cents to $80.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Earlier in the session, the contract dropped to $79.92, the lowest since October. On Wednesday, it fell $2.90 to settle at $81.45.
In London, Brent crude for August delivery was down $1.13 at $91.56 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended an interest-rate reduction program known as Operation Twist, pledging to sell $267 billion of short-term Treasury bonds and buy longer-term Treasurys through December. However, traders had been hoping for a more aggressive stimulus package known as quantitative easing.
"Bears are on the cusp of smashing through the $80 level," energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report. Schork said the benchmark U.S. crude could fall to $74 and Brent to $82.
Sponsored Links
A surprising jump in U.S. crude supplies also weighed on crude prices. The Energy Information Administration said oil supplies grew by 2.9 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted a decrease of 600,000 barrels."The inventory data ... was sobering," said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, noting that U.S. crude oil stocks had reached their highest level in nearly 22 years. "Given that refinery utilization is close to a 5-year high, one would really have expected to see an inventory reduction. That this was not the case was due to significantly higher crude oil imports and increased U.S. oil production."
Crude has plunged about 25 percent from $106 early last month amid signs of slowing economic growth in the U.S., Europe and China. However, some analysts say investors are too pessimistic about global crude demand prospects.
"Oil prices at current levels are too low and a more a reflection of risk aversion rather than any significant unwinding in demand," National Australia Bank said in a report.
In other energy trading, heating oil was down 0.71 cent at $2.5775 per gallon while gasoline futures fell 2.59 cents at $2.4814 per gallon. Natural gas gained 5.1 cents at $2.568 per 1,000 cubic feet.
___
Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/06/21/oil-hovers-around-8-month-lows-near-80/
Anna Deavere Smith pt 1
While politicians and the media war over "the public option" and "bending the cost curve," acclaimed actress-playwright Anna Deavere Smith and her one-woman play "LET ME DOWN EASY" give voice to questions of life and death, sickness and healthcare.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/-ntgY1mctTI/profile.html
jpmorgan: RT @USMC: VIDEO: Navy Cross recipient Cpl. Farias turned 3-sided ambush into victory http://t.co/DIcxZK1S
jpmorgan: RT @USMC: VIDEO: Navy Cross recipient Cpl. Farias turned 3-sided ambush into victory http://t.co/DIcxZK1S
Source: http://twitter.com/jpmorgan/statuses/205768997281607681
maandag 9 juli 2012
William Greider
Moyers gets perspective from veteran journalist William Greider on the current financial crisis and what he calls "the great deflation of Wall Street."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/hKmquviC6xI/profile2.html
Viewer Mail
You've been talking and we've been listening. THE JOURNAL highlights your comments and suggestions from some of our recent broadcasts.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/9cvrX3bwf0E/watch3.html
Simon Johnson and James Kwak, Part II
How did Big Finance grow so powerful that its hijinks nearly brought down the global economy – and what hope is there for real reform with Washington politicians on Wall Street's payroll? Bill Moyers talks with authors Simon Johnson and James Kwak, two of the nation's most respected economic experts and authors of the new book 13 BANKERS: THE WALL STREET TAKEOVER AND THE NEXT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. Also, a Bill Moyers essay on the true costs of war.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/TLwxO15I8SE/watch2.html
Obama's Tax Plan not Likely to Sway Millionaire Voters
The tax plan championed by President Obama today is not likely to sway Millionaire voters, according to Millionaire Corner research that shows Millionaires consider the economy and national debt to be the most important criteria for selecting the next president, while tax policy ranks a distant third.
President Obama today urged Congress to pass a one-year extension of Bush-era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year, reviving a plan to allow tax cuts for higher income earners to expire.
“It’s time to let the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans -- folks like myself -- to expire,” said Obama in an address televised from the White House.
Though Millionaires carefully consider tax consequences when managing their own finances, on a national level they are primarily focused on the economy and federal deficit, according to a Millionaire Corner survey of approximately 1,300 investors conducted in June. (High net worth investors are likely to shelter their assets through tax-advantaged investment strategies.)
More than 45 percent of Millionaires surveyed identified the national debt as the most important issue in the presidential campaign, while close to 16 percent said the national debt was the most critical issue. Less than 9 percent of Millionaires identified taxes as the most significant issue in selecting the next president.
Tax fairness may be a cornerstone of the Obama campaign, but a Millionaire Corner study completed in the first quarter of 2012 shows that concerns over the prolonged economic downturn have risen to the top of Millionaire investors’ national concerns, and worry over the national debt and political environment remains elevated. Concerns over taxes have actually eased in the past year.
Less affluent investors – those with less than $100,000 to invest - also rank the economy as the most important campaign issues, but cite unemployment as their second most important concern. (Younger investors say their greatest financial fear is losing their job.)
On a personal level, Millionaires worry most about the financial outlook for future generations, maintaining their financial position and health care costs.
Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/obamas-tax-plan-not-likely-sway-millionaire-voters
Essay: Moyers on Greed
A Bill Moyers Essay.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/2gspR20LTmI/watch3.html
Jamie Dimon Quickly Filets the London Whale's Costly Trades
Filed under: Investing, JP Morgan Chase, Market News
After all the media, regulatory, and congressional commotion surrounding JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) $2 billion-plus loss on a massive derivatives bet made in its London office, it now looks like CEO Jamie Dimon's infamous "tempest in a teapot" comment may have been accurate after all. Financial Times is reporting that JPMorgan has already exited 70% of the "London Whale" derivatives positions that had gotten the bank into such hot water.
Such a quick exit isn't what anyone had expected, including maybe Dimon himself, making a case for the superbank being far more nimble than its critics give it credit for.
The London Whale Surfaces
Press reports first surfaced in April that a JPMorgan trader based out of the bank's chief investment office in London had taken such massive positions in the derivatives market that they were "moving the market," causing hedge fund managers there to nickname the then-unknown trader "the London Whale."
Dimon initially wrote off the press reports as "a tempest in a teapot," but a month later he was making the press rounds himself, forthrightly acknowledging that the initial reports had been right and apologizing for what he termed an "egregious" mistake caused by "sloppiness and bad judgment."
Since Dimon broke his own story, hardly a day has passed without him or the bank being somewhere in the news.
On the regulatory side, three separate federal agencies jumped almost immediately into the fray, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And Dimon has now testified twice before Congress on the matter.
Those baying for further regulation of the banks have used this incident as an opportunity to bay for more. Never mind that there's a raft of post-crisis U.S. legislation already coming into effect. Or that the global Basel III banking rules are also making their presence felt domestically. Or that there's a bill currently making the rounds in Congress calling for the outright breakup of JPMorgan, along with five of America's other biggest banks.
Critics say that Dimon should have seen this coming. And that if he didn't, then maybe JPMorgan and similarly sized banks are not only "too big to fail" but also too big to manage.
While They're Zigging, We'll Be Zagging
But at the very least, the speed at which the bank has turned this nagging London situation around is breathtaking.
One of the first things Dimon himself said regarding JPMorgan's positions there was that the bank was going to take its time unwinding them. Dimon himself hinted that JPMorgan might take the rest of the year to do so.
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Everyone in the industry assumed that by moving too quickly, the bank could only exacerbate its losses. But the derivatives index JPMorgan had made its outsize bets on is now reporting that $31 billion was traded on it this past Tuesday -- a record. There were also 238 trades that day, versus a normal daily average of less than 50.So when Dimon said his bank would be moving slowly and taking its time to sort everything out, it's very possible he was just being sly and trying to throw his rivals off. It looks like Tuesday was his big move to get his bank out of trouble.
Of all the Wall Street CEOs, Dimon has argued the most vociferously against the surging post-crisis banking regulation, and Congress has generally given him the berth to do so. JPMorgan came out of the financial crisis smelling the best by far of all the big hybrid banks, and Dimon has consequently enjoyed the reputation of being a top-notch risk manager who can stay on top of a bank even as big as JPMorgan Chase.
We have yet to find out exactly what sort of losses, if any, the bank may have incurred with this big exit. And the bank isn't 100% extricated yet.
But while the London Whale incident has certainly tarnished Dimon's shiny image, the speed with which he and his team have seemingly safely turned things around makes the case that even a leviathan like JPMorgan Chase can move quickly enough, craftily enough, and competitively enough when in skilled hands.
John Grgurich is a regular contributor to The Motley Fool, and holds no positions in JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/06/25/jamie-dimon-quickly-filets-the-london-whales-costly-trades/
RBC Direct Investing Simplifies Administration Fees
If you are a DIY investor who holds a brokerage account, the reality is that your portfolio is split between many accounts – his and hers RRSPs, his and hers TFSAs, joint or his and hers CAD and USD investment accounts and if you have kids, perhaps a few more RESP accounts. Typically, discount brokers [...]
RBC Direct Investing Simplifies Administration Fees is brought to you by Canadian Capitalist -- Helping you to invest & prosper.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ccapitalist/~3/0sbek_nWoAM/
Ship Green, Save Green
Consumers’ growing awareness and rising concern of global warming has certainly pressured businesses to consider more environmentally friendly solutions. While you may be well aware of green packaging, energy saving equipment or reclaiming practices, sustainable transportation is a seldom talked about aspect that deserves attention, especially considering the amount of trucks, planes and trains used [...]
Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/press/ship-green-save-green/
Have Banks Been Manipulating Libor for DECADES?
Industry Veteran Closely Involved in the Libor Process Says that the Rate Has Been Manipulated for 15 Years We’ve previously noted that Libor manipulation has been going on since at least 2005 … and continued long after the manipulation was … Continue reading
Have Banks Been Manipulating Libor for DECADES? was originally published on Washington's Blog
Source: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/07/have-banks-been-manipulating-libor-since-1997.html
This LED IPO May Be the Bright Way to Invest in Smarter Lights
Filed under: Energy, Investing, General Electric , Green
First, there was the lightbulb. Then came the compact fluorescent. Now, the latest improvement in energy-efficient lighting has arrived: "bulbs" built around light-emitting diodes -- LEDs. Anyone who lived through the introduction, consumer acceptance, and eventual widespread deployment of CFLs can predict what will happen next with LEDs. First, a small percentage of the market will adopt them, then production will ramp up, prices will drop, and more people will buy LEDs as they get cheaper. Ultimately, ultra-energy-efficient LEDs take over the lighting market, and anyone who figures out today how to invest in this trend will make a bundle of money when that happens.
But that's just the question: How should we invest in this trend?
Many companies play parts in the LED saga, after all. Rubicon Technology (RBCN) sells monocrystalline sapphires for use in making LEDs. Germany's Aixtron (AIXG) and Plainview, N.Y.-based Veeco Instruments (VECO) manufacture industrial-scale equipment for LED manufacture. Over the long term, General Electric (GE) predicts that LEDs will eventually make up 75% of its lighting business.
Meanwhile, LEDs Magazine calls Cree (CREE) "one of the premier LED chip suppliers," and among alternative energy investors, this LED specialist has always been a favorite. The problem with Cree, however, is that because it's so popular, its stock has always looked expensive -- about $3.7 billion in market cap today, on $1 billion in annual revenues. Isn't there a cheaper way to invest directly in the popularity of LED lighting?
A Future Stock for the Lights of the Future
Not yet, perhaps, but there soon may be. Last week, Siemens lighting subsidiary Osram, another big player in the LED market, announced it's planning to IPO later this year. Osram's been contemplating this for some months, but it's finally getting serious, and targeting an autumn IPO.
Analysts suggest many potential valuations for Osram -- from as high as $11.4 billion when the IPO market is hot to as low as $5.6 billion when the market is not. But here's the thing: Even at its most expensive, Osram looks much cheaper than Cree. Based on the $6.5 billion in revenues it collected last year, an $11.4 billion market cap would only price Osram at about 1.75 times annual sales. Cree, in contrast, costs nearly twice that today -- 3.4 times sales.
Foreign IPOs don't get a lot of press in the U.S. But with stronger sales, and similar profit margins (5% to 6%) to those Cree makes, Osram is one IPO you should pay close attention to.
Motley Fool contributor Rich Smith holds no position in any company mentioned.
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zondag 8 juli 2012
Europe's Effect on the U.S.
For all intents and purposes, the United States represents the most powerful economy in the world. But what must also be realized is that we rely on other countries, as well. If not for them, we wouldn't be as powerful as we are now. Other superpowers, such as Japan and the European Union, have a rather big influence on what happens here. This means that if their economies suffer, so does ours.
Case in Point: Europe
The economy of the United States those of dwarves most countries. In fact, you could combine a number of countries economies together and it wouldn't equal the economy of our great nation. Be that as it may, however, we must realize that some regions, when combined, do overtake us in GDP. That is not a terrible thing, of course. We are allies with all of these countries, and their success often means our success. But unfortunately, their "failures" can spell trouble for us, as well.
Take Europe, for example. Their four biggest economies consist of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. When the GDP of each of these countries is added together, they don't exceed the economy here in this country. However, if you include all the other smaller economies in the European Union, you'll find that their GDP is just a wee bit higher than ours. What does this mean? This means that when the European economy takes a tumble, the United States can be negatively impacted. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/story/2011-10-27/eurozone-crisis-deal/50963370/1).
The Effect of a Financial Tumble
Not too long ago, Europe was on the edge of a banking crisis. Obviously, we are no stranger to such a situation. It seems like just yesterday that the United States was giving out billions of dollars to banking institutions in an attempt to fix our own problem. If such a crisis had occurred within the European Union, there would have been almost no way for them to have avoided a recession.
If such a thing were to happen to such a large economy, this could hurt the United States considerably. As it stands now, Europe buys a lot of goods from the United States. In fact, Europe, as a whole, is one of this country's most sizable trading partners. This means that if a recession was to occur, Europe would cut back on purchasing, which would equal lost money for the United States.
The United States of Europe
No, this is not the title of a revisionist film. This is a suggestion by former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder. He believes that the European Union needs to move toward a more centralized government. He believes that if the countries could come together in a similar form of the United States, a lot could be done to improve the economy. He admits that this would take a great deal of time, but believes such a change would greatly benefit Europe.
Schroeder's opinion isn't shared by everyone. The global director of the Economist Intelligence Unit, Tony Nash, has said that such a movement -- the United States of Europe -- would be difficult to achieve. According to Mr. Nash, this simply isn't a viable strategy because the countries within the European Union are too different from one another. In his opinion, the political structures and cultures of each country are too perse in order to merge all of them together beneath one government. So, at least for now, this doesn't seem like a good way to improve Europe's economy, which means that the United States will still be affected by anything negative that may happen.
Source: http://firstsecurityfinancialshow.com/blog/bid/182659/Europe-s-Effect-on-the-U-S
A free weekend
A rare treat for me today.
DS2 has been gone to his scout camp since last Sunday. DH left last night to join him as they are running programming for a group and adult presence is required.
DS1 is packing up his car as we speak. He is off to join my parents, and a couple of my nieces at the lake, 2 hours from here. It isn't the big family weekend with all the cousins but it is still time away at the lake. I am so pleased both my boys value camping and family time so much. It makes me feel like I did at least one thing right raising them.
My almost 2 year old great nephew will be there. DS1 is beyond awkward and uncomfortable with little kids so this will be a good experience for him. When we hit Walmart yesterday to grab a few munchies for the lake, DS says "does that kid have a fishing rod yet????" I laughed and said, "He isn't even 2". So??? DS replied. "It's time he started".
DS picked out a CARS fishing rod for the boy, lamenting the fact that there wasn't a hockey themed one.
As for me, I have a list of to dos while I stay home and take care of my sister's place, ours and my parents. I need to get to the school too and pick up the items that need to be moved before my floor gets waxed.
Oh boy! me time!
DS2 has been gone to his scout camp since last Sunday. DH left last night to join him as they are running programming for a group and adult presence is required.
DS1 is packing up his car as we speak. He is off to join my parents, and a couple of my nieces at the lake, 2 hours from here. It isn't the big family weekend with all the cousins but it is still time away at the lake. I am so pleased both my boys value camping and family time so much. It makes me feel like I did at least one thing right raising them.
My almost 2 year old great nephew will be there. DS1 is beyond awkward and uncomfortable with little kids so this will be a good experience for him. When we hit Walmart yesterday to grab a few munchies for the lake, DS says "does that kid have a fishing rod yet????" I laughed and said, "He isn't even 2". So??? DS replied. "It's time he started".
DS picked out a CARS fishing rod for the boy, lamenting the fact that there wasn't a hockey themed one.
As for me, I have a list of to dos while I stay home and take care of my sister's place, ours and my parents. I need to get to the school too and pick up the items that need to be moved before my floor gets waxed.
Oh boy! me time!
Source: http://shakingthemoneytree.blogspot.com/2012/07/free-weekend.html
ExxonMobil's Safety Obsession: Inside the Mind of an Oil Giant
Filed under: Energy, Exxon Mobil, Books
ExxonMobil (XOM) is an easy company to hate. As the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, it's hard not to blame it for the pain we experience at the pump -- particularly when you consider how much money it makes. If it were a country, its 2011 revenues of $486 billion would have placed it 20th in terms of GDP, ahead of Poland, Sweden, and Argentina, just to name a few.
Yet, like the bully who mistreated you in primary school, ExxonMobil is widely misunderstood. While many of its unsavory habits are common knowledge, it also has a naive and sensitive side. You just have to get to know the company to understand where it's coming from.
Extreme Events, Extreme Reactions
Aside from the founding of giant Standard Oil in 1870 and its court-mandated breakup 40 years later -- which created the offspring that would become both Exxon and Mobil -- there are two events in ExxonMobil's history that shape its present condition more than anything.
The first was the crash of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989. And the second was the 1992 kidnapping and killing of Sidney Reso, then-vice president of international operations for Exxon.
These two events affected Exxon's internal machinations more than most outsiders ever knew -- until now.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Coll gives us a glimpse into the energy giant's reaction to these events in his recent book, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power.
Time Out for a Safety Minute!
The Exxon Valdez incident ignited a fervent obsession with safety and risk, Coll reports. So focused on safety is the company now that every meeting at every office begins with a "safety minute."
During this "safety minute," a randomly chosen employee speaks about one safety issue or another -- no matter how minuscule. Some examples: the failure to turn off a coffeepot in the employee break room, or the unusually high incidence rate of paper cuts among the office staff.
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Additionally, employees are required to back their cars into parking spaces, a measure meant to speed up evacuations in case of emergency. Even employees conduct at home is eligible for scrutiny. The proper way to use a ladder when cleaning gutters might be discussed, or the dangers of getting too much sun on a beach vacation. The incident involving Reso spurred an equally intense fixation on the security of the company's senior executives.
Anyone who ascends to the top of ExxonMobil's corporate hierarchy now enjoys a personal protection regime similar to that of an American presidential candidate or holder of high national office. Its chief executive officer is prohibited from flying commercial, and is obligated instead to choose among the company's multiple luxurious jets for both personal and professional travel.
Gallery: Fortune 500 Companies
While ExxonMobil makes for a perfect corporate villain, who would have guessed that a swashbuckling energy giant would be obsessed with things such as sunburns, paper cuts, and coffeepots? Perhaps it's true that we shouldn't judge a book, or in this case an oil company, by its cover.
Motley Fool contributor John Maxfield does not have a financial interest in any oil companies, including ExxonMobil.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/05/15/exxonmobil-safety-obsession-valdez-reso-steve-coll-book/
What is the 4th of July ?
Last year I had a post on the 4th of July What does the 4th of July Mean? For some reason that post had a huge readership for the day (not sure why, but what the heck), so with that in mind, here is another fun view of the 4th of July from America’s younger [...]
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An Investment Puzzle: How to Put Your Assets in the Right Places
Filed under: Investing
Obviously, what you invest in can mean the difference between getting rich and losing your shirt. But where you invest can be even more important -- especially if you end up picking winners.
Most people have several different ways to put their money to work. If you have a 401(k) or other retirement plan at work, you can have deductions pulled directly out of your paycheck and put toward your long-term savings. Opening an IRA can give you many of the same benefits with even more flexibility. For goals other than retirement, regular brokerage or mutual fund accounts let you have complete control over your money, and you can take it out or move it without any penalties.
But if you have a diversified investment portfolio with a variety of assets -- such as stocks, mutual funds, bank CDs or other fixed-income investments, and alternative investments -- you may not spend much time figuring out where each investment fits best across all the accounts you have. As a result, you could be missing out on big tax savings.
What should go where?
The right answer depends on your individual situation, but some general rules of thumb apply to many people.
1. Interest-bearing assets belong in IRAs. If you have bank CDs, bonds, or other investments that produce interest income, the best place for them is in a Traditional IRA. The reason is that these assets benefit the most from the tax savings that IRAs provide. Unlike income from stock dividends and capital gains, interest income gets taxed at your higher ordinary rate. Given how low the rates on these investments are right now anyway, the last thing you can afford is to lose a big share of that meager income to the tax man.
2. Save your best ideas for a Roth IRA. A Roth IRA is a special type of retirement account that let's you withdraw all the income it generates tax-free. Therefore, you should put the investments that have the best chance of soaring in value inside a Roth.
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High-growth stocks fit that bill. Think about some of the blockbuster gainers over the years -- stocks like priceline.com (PCLN) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) that have made a bundle for their longtime shareholders. If you'd put those investments in a Roth IRA, you could've enjoyed all those profits without paying a penny in tax. That's why Roth IRAs are so valuable -- but since you can only contribute limited amounts to a Roth, you have to use your Roth money wisely.
3. Invest long-term in taxable accounts. Even though stocks give you the best chance to make significant money over the long haul, that doesn't mean that they aren't suitable for taxable accounts. Until you actually sell a stock you own, you don't pay tax on any gains. So plenty of people are still sitting on big gains from stocks like Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) that they've held for years, letting their profits ride -- and they haven't had to pay a dime in tax along the way.
Moreover, as long as you hold onto investments for more than a year, any gains qualify for a tax break. Currently, the maximum tax rate for long-term capital gains is 15%, compared to up to 35% for regular income. So putting stocks and stock mutual funds or ETFs in taxable accounts can be a smart idea -- especially when you can't afford to lock up that money until you retire.
Think Smart
Figuring out what investments to buy may seem hard enough without worrying about which account to use to buy them. But in your constant fight with the IRS, it can make a huge difference -- and it's worth the effort.
For more on smart tax moves:
- 2012 Tax Changes: What You Need to Know
- The Real Reason to Adjust Your Withholding
- Legally Dodge the Tax Man in Retirement
Motley Fool contributor Dan Caplinger learned a lot of tax lessons the hard way. You can follow him on Twitter here. He doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Amazon.com, priceline.com, Green Mountain, and Apple, as well as creating a lurking gator position in Green Mountain and a bull call spread position in Apple.
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Sony's Outlook on Gaming Gets Cloudy (Finally!) with Gaikai Buy
Filed under: Technology, Microsoft, Sony, Apple, Facebook, Entertainment
Sony (SNE) isn't about to concede that the console and dedicated handheld gaming platforms are dead, but it's willing to bet on a new horse.The Japanese giant is acquiring California-based Gaikai in a $380 million deal that will move it closer to the cloud.
Gaikai provides a platform that lets gamers play its partners' video games on any browser or Web-connected device. As an open-cloud platform, Gaikai serves up the games so players neither need to download them nor install them -- and they certainly don't need to physically bring home a copy.
In other words, a hot new console game may potentially be able to play on someone's smartphone, tablet, and even smart television. The only limitation, really, is the quality of the broadband connection on the player's end.
You've Come a Long Way, Gamer
The past few years have been brutal for the video game industry. Hardware and software sales have fallen sharply over the past three years. Some marquee titles continue to do well. Activision Blizzard (ATVI) manages to break sales records with every installment of its Call of Duty franchise.
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However, gaming companies are largely trading near their lows because the occasional hit with die-hard gamers doesn't make up for missing out on a mainstream audience that has moved on from consoles -- and especially portables.One can't compare the rich gaming experience of Uncharted 3 to Angry Birds on an Apple (AAPL) iPhone or CityVille on Facebook (FB), but easy access to free or nearly free apps and social networking games has eaten away at the masses who would at least play traditional video games casually.
Sony has been feeling the pain, and especially so since its own PS3 has been losing ground to Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360. Its market share is a shrinking pie slice within a shrinking pie.
Hopping on the streaming bandwagon makes sense from a strategic standpoint. Gamers are moving to games that are device-agnostic. Someone can begin a game of Zynga's (ZNGA) Words With Friends on a smartphone, then play later rounds on Facebook or a tablet.
The problem here comes in the monetization. Video game companies that once sold $200 systems and $60 video games will have to adapt to a model that nickels-and-dimes gamers through ads on casual or social games. Die-hard gamers will be willing to pay monthly subscriptions for high-end gaming platforms. But the sum of those profits may not be enough to match what the conventional gaming companies were making during the industry's heyday.
The game of gaming is changing, and it's happening right before our eyes.
Longtime Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple. The Fool owns shares of and has written calls on Activision Blizzard, and has sold shares of Sony short. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple, Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft. Motley Fool newsletter services have also recommended creating bull call spread positions in Microsoft and Apple, as well as creating a synthetic long position in Activision Blizzard.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/07/03/sonys-outlook-on-gaming-gets-cloudy-finally-with-gaikai-buy/
Santa Ana Health Crusade
The Journal profiles public health doctor America Bracho, who serves her Santa Ana, CA community – notorious for crime, poverty and disease – with her organization, Latino Health Access.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/Kt3OxLmYHv0/profile2.html
Lincoln's Legend and Legacy Part 3
Assassinated on Good Friday, Abraham Lincoln was transformed from man to martyr and myth. In this special performance edition of Bill Moyers Journal acclaimed actor Sam Waterston and historian Harold Holzer explore Lincoln's legacy and legend in the poetry and prose by great American writers across the decades who have wrestled to define the true Lincoln through the lens of their own times.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/21ZfCHm2grY/profile3.html
Critical Condition Pt 1
Bill Moyers Journal presents CRITICAL CONDITION, a film by Roger Weisberg that follows families fighting illness without health coverage. The families discover that being uninsured can cost them their jobs, health, homes, savings, and even their lives.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/JGJCmczltCc/profile.html
James Thindwa
The JOURNAL profiles James Thindwa, whose campaign for economic fairness for working people in Chicago has brought him up against the city's powerful political establishment and corporate giant Wal-Mart. For Thindwa, the battle is never over.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/2JVNA0UF7Jc/profile2.html
The Crushing Cost of Care
Adamy & McGinty, Wall Street Journal
Patients themselves rarely make plans for dying, the period that typically costs the most.On Valentine's Day 2009, Scott Crawford, 41 years old, received the break that he thought would save his life. A surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore removed his ailing heart and put in a healthy one. The transplant was a success.But complications put the former tire-warehouse worker in intensive care for almost a year. Surgeons removed his gall bladder, his left leg and part of a lung. And Mr. Crawford soon became one of the most expensive Americans on Medicare.A sliver of the sickest...
Patients themselves rarely make plans for dying, the period that typically costs the most.On Valentine's Day 2009, Scott Crawford, 41 years old, received the break that he thought would save his life. A surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore removed his ailing heart and put in a healthy one. The transplant was a success.But complications put the former tire-warehouse worker in intensive care for almost a year. Surgeons removed his gall bladder, his left leg and part of a lung. And Mr. Crawford soon became one of the most expensive Americans on Medicare.A sliver of the sickest...
Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/07/07/the_crushing_cost_of_care_284147.html
How Obama Can Really Hurt the GOP
Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast
Three years ago, two years ago"”heck, six months ago"”I and a lot of people I know thought: Surely the jobs situation will have picked up as we round the clubhouse turn toward Election Day. I envisioned Barack Obama at the Democratic convention, being able to claim... something fairly modest, but something: three straight months of 200,000-plus-jobs growth. Some kind of hook for an upbeat narrative.
Three years ago, two years ago"”heck, six months ago"”I and a lot of people I know thought: Surely the jobs situation will have picked up as we round the clubhouse turn toward Election Day. I envisioned Barack Obama at the Democratic convention, being able to claim... something fairly modest, but something: three straight months of 200,000-plus-jobs growth. Some kind of hook for an upbeat narrative.
Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/07/07/how_obama_can_really_hurt_the_gop_284148.html
zaterdag 7 juli 2012
Are You Seriously Considering Buying Bonds?
Filed under: Investing, Investing Basics
For many investors, the imperative to own a certain percentage of your portfolio in bonds trumps every other consideration. But the same investors who wouldn't hesitate to pull back on stock allocations when stocks were overpriced don't seem to recognize the same conditions in the bond market.Bond investors have had to make huge sacrifices in recent years. With rock-bottom interest rates, Treasuries pay so little that they're hardly worth investing in. Banks aren't paying their CD customers any better. When you look at the absolute reward and risk involved, buying corporate bonds makes less sense than ever. In comparison, corporate offerings look attractive -- at least in a relative sense.
Giving up every bit of upside potential for a yield that barely covers inflation doesn't make sense for most investors. Bonds are useful tools, but only when they give you returns worth buying them for.
A Snapshot of Bond Land
As some people fear a return of the conditions that brought on the 2008 financial crisis, bond yields have tumbled. That's good news for those who already own bonds, as bond prices move up when yields fall.
But if you're looking put new money to work now, low rates aren't your friend. The iShares Investment Grade Corporate (LQD) ETF has a current SEC yield of just 4% despite having a quarter of its holdings rated BBB, just above junk status.
Of course, it's possible that bond prices could continue to climb from here. Even now that the Fed has stopped making additional bond purchases through QE2, a new economic slowdown could keep interest rates low for some time. Bond buyers could end up looking smart, especially if the stock market responds to economic woes by falling sharply.
News like yesterday's favorable jobs reports put a more positive spin on the future, but then this morning's jobs number brought all that euphoria back into question.
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Still Not Convinced?It's a fundamental truth of investing that any time you make an investment thinking that it will climb through the roof, the person selling that investment to you thinks it won't.
When the folks on the other side of the trade are financially savvy companies taking advantage of historically unprecedented favorable market conditions, investors should think twice before taking the opposing position.
Amid such uncertainty, there's one group that isn't taking any chances: Corporations have once again stepped up in issuing new bonds, locking in attractive low interest rates before the fallout from the end of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program -- along with a more solid economic recovery -- finally take away the low-rate punch bowl.
Some of the companies issuing new debt included the following:
- Early in the holiday-shortened week, Devon Energy (DVN) and General Dynamics (GD) were among investment-grade corporate issuers that combined for $10 billion in new bonds Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Yesterday, Bank of America (BAC) and Deere's (DE) John Deere Capital division successfully sold debt carrying rates of less than 4%, with maturities extending from 2016 to 2021.
- In addition, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) each raised more than $1 billion through a combination of fixed-rate and floating-rate bonds. All of the bonds offered came in with spreads of less than 1 percentage point over Treasuries with the same maturity date.
Don't Allocate Your Assets Blindly
Before you jump out and buy bonds that companies are issuing now, take a step back and consider: Who's getting the better end of the trade? Your better bet may well be to buy shares of the companies who are cashing in on low rates.
Motley Fool contributor Dan Caplinger likes investments that pay you back. He doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Dynamics and Devon Energy and Bank of America.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/08/are-you-seriously-considering-buying-bonds/
What’s New Around The Blogosphere: July 6th, 2012
I read an interesting story on Moneyville yesterday about a Toronto home buyer who paid $90,000 over asking price because they thought they were in a bidding war for the house. Turns out they were the only bidder, and the clients’ real estate agent clued in when their offer was accepted immediately without any counter-bids....
Source: http://www.boomerandecho.com/whats-new-around-the-blogosphere-july-6th-2012/
Microsoft Surface keynote vs. Apple iPad keynote
A video compares the Microsoft Surface keynote to the Apple iPad keynote two years prior. The main difference is that the iPad didn't crash.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/microsoft-surface-keynote-vs-apple-ipad-keynote/13172
Increased Market Value of Wind Energy
Precision Wind, LLC of Las Cruces, New Mexico unveiled its Wind Resource Management Suite™ at the WINDPOWER 2008 Conference and Exhibition, North America’s largest wind energy event organized by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Presenting before a record-breaking crowd of WINDPOWER attendees, Dr. James Stalker, CTO of Precision Wind, participated on a panel discussion [...]
Presenting before a record-breaking crowd of WINDPOWER attendees, Dr. James Stalker, CTO of Precision Wind, participated on a panel discussion [...]
Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/press/market-value-wind-energy/
Women Taking the Wheel
Many women have not realized that now is the time to take control of your finances. For too long, a great number of you have relied on men, be it a husband or whatnot, to control your finances and help you plan for retirement. And the truth is, this line of thinking continues to this day.
Now is the time to put a stop to all that. Now is the time you take the wheel. Now is the time to realize that a successful retirement may very well hinge on your own ability to prepare. Let's take a look at a few facts that every woman should be aware of.
Fact #1: A longer life expectancy can have a huge effect on your retirement.
If you are a married woman, there is a good chance that your husband is older than you. In many cases, your husband may be several years older. More than a decade of difference isn't all that uncommon. Because of this, there is a good chance that when your husband passes away, he will do so several years ahead of you. This can mean a great deal to your retirement, as you will need to prepare for the long haul without your husband's guidance. In many cases, a widow will see her standard of living go down without proper planning.
The same goes for a single woman. The average lifespan is now close to 85, and you may find yourself living many years beyond that. While this is clearly a good thing, you must prepare for at least 30 years of retirement, just to be on the safe side.
Fact #2: A little knowledge can go a long way.
You can't beat a little education to help you get through life. When it comes to retirement planning, this is especially true. Whether or not you've been following your husband's lead and allowing him to control all of your finances or allowing a professional to handle things for you, it's time you educated yourself. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the financial products contained in your retirement portfolio. Ask questions. Maybe even take a few basic classes to help you understand anything you might be having trouble with. Finances can often be a bit difficult to understand for anyone, so never hesitate to educate yourself and stay informed.
Fact #3: Surveys back up the consensus.
If you follow the numerous financial surveys that are conducted each year, you'll find that retirement planning is a huge issue for women right now. One of these was conducted by the Society of Actuaries. Here are some facts that this survey unveiled, and they're not exactly encouraging:
-- Only 8% of female retirees are planning for the long haul, which can translate to a twenty year gap in finances. In turn, this gap translates to a large number of women who simply aren't prepared for their extended life expectancy without the benefit of a spouse.
-- For men over the age of 85, a total of 45% of them are widowed. For women, the number is nearly doubled at 85%. That number may be staggering, but it simply reinforces the need for a woman to know how to handle her finances into her later years.
-- 20% of men at age 65 are expected to need professional care for a number of years after their retirement. For women, the number is 30%. While this isn't a huge difference, it's large enough to be concerned.
Source: http://firstsecurityfinancialshow.com/blog/bid/142483/Women-Taking-the-Wheel
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