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donderdag 4 oktober 2012
ING Direct Lags the Competition
In its early years ING Direct was a pioneer in the high-interest savings accounts space offering an interest rate that was far and away better than any of the banks. But for many years now, the best rates can be obtained not at ING Direct but at one of its new competitors. Take high-interest savings [...]
Obama and Environmentalists
Bill Moyers talks with two environmental activists who are disappointed in Obama's progress on climate change.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/5fG1cRKRzj4/profile2.html
Larry Light's Tips on Taming the Wall Street Beast
Filed under: Economy, Investing, Investing Basics
With the U.S. and European debt crises, concern about a double-dip recession and some lingering numbness from the market woes of a few short years ago, these are uncertain times. And investors are looking for investment strategies that will lead to wealth amid all the uncertainty. Sponsored Links
But to be successful, you should forget the notion of getting rich quick. Fast and furious doesn't work on Wall Street, and neither does putting all your investing chips in one pot. If you want to be a successful investor, think long term and be ambidextrous. At least according to Larry Light, a former editor at The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek and author of the new book, Taming the Beast: Wall Street's Imperfect Answers to Making Money.To "tame the beast" that is Wall Street, savvy investors must be nimble, understand a myriad of investment strategies and know when and how to use them, he writes. His book includes a primer of sorts on the power and pitfalls of value- and growth-investing strategies, as well as of investing in real estate, hedge funds, bonds, currencies, commodities and oversees investments.
It's All About Diversity
Taming the beast is about diversity, Light suggests, which isn't as easy to achieve as you might think. Many strategies must be explored to get to that blessed state where you can say, "I've got plenty of money to sustain me, thank God," he writes. The trick is to be sufficiently flexible to dip into any or all of them, but, by the same token, to know each strategy's limitations.
Light contends that successful investing doesn't require a fancy MBA from an expensive university, "It's not quantum physics," he says. But it does require intelligence and diligence. You have to put in some study time, read everything and watch for trends and opportunities. Figure out what investments appeal to you and under what conditions they thrive, he advises. Ask questions, talk to people and ponder, he says.
What could be the worst move for investors right now? Letting emotions rule. "Don't follow the herd," he says. "If everybody is doing something, it must be right? Wrong."
Check out this video to get more of Light's wisdom on taming the beast:
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/04/larry-lights-tips-on-taming-the-wall-street-beast/
woensdag 3 oktober 2012
Robert Kuttner and Matt Taibbi
Amidst fading hopes for real reform on issues ranging from high finance to health care, economist Robert Kuttner and journalist Matt Taibbi join Bill Moyers to discuss Wall Street's power over the federal government.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/0R2wEiSLwoc/profile.html
jpmorgan: @toddvernon You missed the speeches by Arthur Davis (co chair of Obama's '08 campaign) and Gov Nikki Haley (daughter of Indian Immigr.)
jpmorgan: @toddvernon You missed the speeches by Arthur Davis (co chair of Obama's '08 campaign) and Gov Nikki Haley (daughter of Indian Immigr.)
Source: http://twitter.com/jpmorgan/statuses/240666317856833536
John Lithgow, Part I
He's played heroes, villains, saints, sinners, a ballet-dancing elephant, and a space alien, now actor and children's author John Lithgow - best known as Dick Solomon from NBC's hit show 3rd Rock from the Sun - reveals a new side of himself... poetry lover. The award-winning stage and screen star Lithgow shares his favorite poems, insights into acting, and thoughts on the enduring power of art. Lithgow currently stars in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. He has penned several children's books, as well as compiled poems for The Poets' Corner: The One-And-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/-Mbdt1SCvTM/profile.html
dinsdag 2 oktober 2012
LBJ's Path to War, Part II
As President Obama prepares to announce how many more troops he will send to Afghanistan, Bill Moyers remembers the presidency of Lyndon Johnson and the agonizing decisions that escalated America's involvement in Vietnam. Through Johnson's secret tapes of phone calls and conversations, and his own reminiscences, Moyers recalls the events that plunged us ever deeper into war.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/vODKSRdlp0M/profile2.html
ETFs in 2010: The Winners, the Losers and the Warnings
Filed under: Investing, ETFs, Investing Basics
The investment world's love affair with all things ETF did not wane in 2010, as their share of the market rose to $940 billion in assets, held in more than 1,000 exchange-traded funds. There was plenty of excitement: Nearly 200 new distinct portfolio ETFs were introduced through Nov. 30, according to preliminary data from Morningstar (MORN). "ETF providers seemed ready to adapt Apple's (AAPL) marketing slogan, 'We have an app for that' and say 'We have an ETF for that,' " says Cameron Short, a certified investment management analyst with Stifel Nicolaus.
Then there was the flash crash drama. On May 6, about 20% of ETFs were temporarily snarled in the trading glitches that took place that day. At some point, about 210 of the then 980 ETFs changed hands at prices more than 50% below their ultimate closing price, according to Morningstar.
As for which funds have been hottest so far in 2010, preliminary data from Morningstar, Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, reveal winning categories: US ETF Commodities Precious Metals, up 118.38%; US ETF Equity Precious Metals, up 42.42%, US ETF Real Estate, up 23.75%; US ETF Small Growth, up 23.47% and US ETF Consumer Discretionary, up 23.46%. As for the laggards: US ETF Bear Market was down 29.55%; US ETF Commodities Energy, down 14.78%, US ETF Commodities Industrial Metals, down 5.42%; US ETF Europe Stock, down 3.81%, and US ETF Utilities down 1.12%.
There were a few lessons too. "Not all ETFs are the same," says John Bracket, a partner with BAR Financial. "Some of our MVP ETFs folded in 2010 because they did not have the asset base that would make them viable going forward. Some passive ETFs that we thought would be index trackers did not perform that way. We ran into illiquid ETFs that stunted our ability to get money out when we wanted it."
Tracking Commodities Is Trickier Than It Sounds
This year was all about commodities. "ETFs have become the vehicle of choice for exposure to the commodities market," says Short. But what concerns him is whether investors really get how a particular ETF, selected for exposure to a particular commodity, invests their money. ETFs gain exposure to a commodity by either investing directly in the futures market, or investing in publicly traded companies associated with a particular commodity. "Commodity ETFs rarely correlate exactly with the underlying commodity," Short explains.
"Investors need to determine if by purchasing ETFs they are acting as a trader (for the short term) or an investor (for the long-term)," he adds. Longer-term investors may not want to hold an ETF that invests directly in the futures market because the cost of rolling those futures contracts monthly and the possibility of contagion in future contract prices could hurt long term performance, he adds.
"ETFs that invest directly into the futures market are better suited for shorter-term investors who won't have to worry about the costs of rolling future contracts," says Short.
Beware of Leverage, Autopilot Investing, and Narrowness
Paul Brahim, executive vice president and managing director of BPU Investment Management, sites a couple of worrisome trends from 2010. "We are seeing growth in the number of ETFs being offered in three areas, and in each case, many investors are using ETFs in a way that can be dangerous to the health of their portfolio."
He points fingers at leveraged ETFs, which multiply the risks and rewards of the bets they make by investing on margin. Typically, a leveraged ETF will have as its goal shorting a universe of stocks, such as the S&P 500, and by leveraging, double their bet.
"These ETFs were designed for day-trading, but many small investors are buying them and holding them as a hedge, which is a mistake because when the bet goes wrong, the losses mount up quickly," says Brahim. Leveraged ETFs have caused some investors headaches by not delivering the expected result of double or triple performance versus their benchmark, adds Todd Millay, managing director of Choate Investment Advisors.
Second on Brahim's list are the suddenly popular target-date ETFs, which he says many people have started using in their self-directed 401(k)s, thinking that they are a "no-muss, no-fuss way of investing their money." Not so. "Target-date ETFs have all the disadvantages of target-date mutual funds, including the possibility of inappropriate allocation and the lack of control that the investor has over what's in the fund. Investors who use any target-date fund should remember that there should be no such thing as autopilot when it comes to an investment portfolio," he adds.
Next, he says narrow, narrow and more narrow is a trend is being misused by investors. "Financial companies continue to cut industry sectors into ever more narrow ETF slivers -- for example, ETFs that invest in water or corn, instead of ones that buy a basket of commodity companies. These ETFs are great for placing a bet on a narrow industry like solar energy or nanotechnology, but too many people buy a lot of 'slivered' ETFs and think they have achieved diversification, when in fact they have just placed a bunch of narrow bets," says Brahim.
Know Exactly What You're Investing In
While the proliferation of new launches ultimately should only benefit consumers, says W. Ross Singletary II, managing partner of Arcus Capital Partners, this trend does have the potential to create confusion. Eric Dunavant, president of Dunavant Wealth Group urges investors to be cautious about the type of ETFs they use. "Stick to traditional indexes like the S&P 500, Russell 2000, and MSCI EAFE," he advises. "If you want to diversify with other assets, stick to mutual funds with a longer track record of investing in those areas, especially commodities. These new ETFs may look fun and exciting, but if they are new, no one has any experience with what they will do. I wouldn't buy a mutual fund with less than 3 to 5 years of management experience, and I think the same goes for ETFs," he adds.
"The explosion in the last year has opened up the world of ETFs that can be as dangerous to investors as a loaded gun, especially to someone who has no idea how to handle one," says Dunavant. "Yet the marketplace wants to sell them as an easy way to invest. This overcrowding can also be confusing to financial advisers, many who don't have the time to research the nuances of all the new ETFs."
The first rule of investing, reminds Moulton, "is know what you're investing in. Just because an investment product says it tracks the price of a given commodity, it's very important to understand how it tracks that commodity's price."
As for 2011, the crystal ball gazers predict that ETFs will continue to take market share from traditional mutual funds. "They are cheaper, more liquid, allow access to strategies not possible through mutual funds, and within the equity and fixed income space, ETFs often have superior investment returns as compared to similar mutual funds," says David Roda, CEO of Roda Asset Management. ETF specialization will go further, carving out even smaller nooks and crannies in the investment world. ETFs are still one of the fastest growing investment vehicles, and right now, experts don't expect anything will slow them down.
Beware of Leverage, Autopilot Investing, and Narrowness
Paul Brahim, executive vice president and managing director of BPU Investment Management, sites a couple of worrisome trends from 2010. "We are seeing growth in the number of ETFs being offered in three areas, and in each case, many investors are using ETFs in a way that can be dangerous to the health of their portfolio."
He points fingers at leveraged ETFs, which multiply the risks and rewards of the bets they make by investing on margin. Typically, a leveraged ETF will have as its goal shorting a universe of stocks, such as the S&P 500, and by leveraging, double their bet.
"These ETFs were designed for day-trading, but many small investors are buying them and holding them as a hedge, which is a mistake because when the bet goes wrong, the losses mount up quickly," says Brahim. Leveraged ETFs have caused some investors headaches by not delivering the expected result of double or triple performance versus their benchmark, adds Todd Millay, managing director of Choate Investment Advisors.
Second on Brahim's list are the suddenly popular target-date ETFs, which he says many people have started using in their self-directed 401(k)s, thinking that they are a "no-muss, no-fuss way of investing their money." Not so. "Target-date ETFs have all the disadvantages of target-date mutual funds, including the possibility of inappropriate allocation and the lack of control that the investor has over what's in the fund. Investors who use any target-date fund should remember that there should be no such thing as autopilot when it comes to an investment portfolio," he adds.
Next, he says narrow, narrow and more narrow is a trend is being misused by investors. "Financial companies continue to cut industry sectors into ever more narrow ETF slivers -- for example, ETFs that invest in water or corn, instead of ones that buy a basket of commodity companies. These ETFs are great for placing a bet on a narrow industry like solar energy or nanotechnology, but too many people buy a lot of 'slivered' ETFs and think they have achieved diversification, when in fact they have just placed a bunch of narrow bets," says Brahim.
Know Exactly What You're Investing In
While the proliferation of new launches ultimately should only benefit consumers, says W. Ross Singletary II, managing partner of Arcus Capital Partners, this trend does have the potential to create confusion. Eric Dunavant, president of Dunavant Wealth Group urges investors to be cautious about the type of ETFs they use. "Stick to traditional indexes like the S&P 500, Russell 2000, and MSCI EAFE," he advises. "If you want to diversify with other assets, stick to mutual funds with a longer track record of investing in those areas, especially commodities. These new ETFs may look fun and exciting, but if they are new, no one has any experience with what they will do. I wouldn't buy a mutual fund with less than 3 to 5 years of management experience, and I think the same goes for ETFs," he adds.
Sponsored Links
Then too, not only is the overcrowded market confusing, it at times can be dangerous because it can lead to low liquidity on certain ETFs, adds Dunavant. Low volume often leads to wide spreads between bid prices and ask prices. That can mean that two investors purchasing the same low-volume ETF at roughly the same time, could pay dramatically different prices, points out Don Moulton, director of financial services at Retirement & Tax Planning Specialists. Worse, he says, when trying to sell the ETF, investors might find few buyers, and those buyers might only offer prices far below what most would consider fair market value, especially if you're selling during a market panic."The explosion in the last year has opened up the world of ETFs that can be as dangerous to investors as a loaded gun, especially to someone who has no idea how to handle one," says Dunavant. "Yet the marketplace wants to sell them as an easy way to invest. This overcrowding can also be confusing to financial advisers, many who don't have the time to research the nuances of all the new ETFs."
The first rule of investing, reminds Moulton, "is know what you're investing in. Just because an investment product says it tracks the price of a given commodity, it's very important to understand how it tracks that commodity's price."
As for 2011, the crystal ball gazers predict that ETFs will continue to take market share from traditional mutual funds. "They are cheaper, more liquid, allow access to strategies not possible through mutual funds, and within the equity and fixed income space, ETFs often have superior investment returns as compared to similar mutual funds," says David Roda, CEO of Roda Asset Management. ETF specialization will go further, carving out even smaller nooks and crannies in the investment world. ETFs are still one of the fastest growing investment vehicles, and right now, experts don't expect anything will slow them down.
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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/04/etfs-2010-winners-losers-best-worst-warnings/
Cleanup Boats Sent to Shore After More Workers Get Sick
This post has been updated.
All 125 commercial vessels working to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered back to shore temporarily after four workers on three separate vessels became ill, according to a Deepwater Horizon Response press release.
It's unclear whether the crew members were working with chemical oil dispersants, which have been criticized for their toxicity. Our calls to officials in the region have not yet been returned.
The sick workers said they had headaches and chest pain, and were nauseated and dizzy. One was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Marrero, La., another was taken by boat and two were taken in an ambulance, according to the press release.
The current symptoms mirror those of other fishermen who were hired by BP to help clean up the spill, as we pointed out earlier this week. The dispersants BP is using to break up the oil have many health risks of their own. Earlier this month, the EPA told BP to stop using the chemicals and to switch to something else, but BP says there is no better alternative.
Update, 5/27:
According to Captain Meredith Austin, the Coast Guard deputy incident commander, controlled burns were being executed and aerial dispersants were being used in the vicinity of the affected workers, but no dispersants were being sprayed within 50 miles of the workers.
"It's important to keep in mind there are other factors which may potentially cause these symptoms," Austin told reporters on a conference call this evening. She named the smell of petroleum, heat and fatigue as possible causes for the symptoms.
Workers were not given respiratory protection equipment because according to Austin, prior air sampling performed in the area concluded that the level of chemical exposure was permissible.
Source: http://feeds.propublica.org/~r/propublica/energy-environment/~3/yldMx39xN7E/
maandag 1 oktober 2012
The News is Going Mobile
Author(s):
The growing mobile landscape is producing a “multi-platform” news consumer no longer content to “read all about it.”
Half of U.S. adults—a dramatic increase over last year--are now connected to the Internet through a tablet computer or smartphone, according to a comprehensive new study conducted by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism in collaboration with The Economist Group. And news is an important part of what these users do on their mobile devices. Almost two-thirds of tablet (64 percent) and smartphone (62 percent) owners say they use the devices for news at least weekly.
This brave new world of news consumption has been hastened by the rapid acceptance of tablet computers, the Pew report finds. Twenty-two percent—double the number from last year—are tablet owners, while another 3 percent of adults regularly use a tablet owned by someone else in their home (another 23 percent, who do not own a tablet, plan to jump on the bandwagon in the next six months).
Almost half (44 percent) of U.S. adults own a smartphone, up from 35 percent in May 2011, the survey found.
This new generation of mobile news consumers is delving beyond checking the headlines on their devices, although nearly all use them to check for news updates, Pew reports. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents said they read in-depth articles at least sometimes, including 19 percent who report doing so daily, Sixty-one percent of smartphone news consumers read longer stories sometimes, while 11 percent do so regularly.
The survey of 9,513 U.S. adults finds that most tablet and smartphone users are content with accessing the news on their browsers (60 percent) instead of news apps (23 percent). There is also resistance to paying for content on mobile devices. Only 24 percent of respondents are considering dropping their print subscriptions for a digital one. These users tend to be younger, who are traditionally more tech-savvy).
How does the “multi-platform” user get their news? Fifty-four percent of tablet news users also get news on a smartphone, while 77 percent get news on a desktop or laptop computer, half get their news in print, and one-quarter get news on all four platforms. Among smartphone users, 47 percent also still get news in print while 75 percent get news on their laptop/desktop and 28 percent get the news on a tablet.
Related Content:
American Voters Think Locally for Their News: Survey
Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/news-going-mobile
Spanish budget: what the economists say
Spain has said its 2013 budget will focus on spending cuts rather than tax rises, as its economy minister insisted that the plan exceeds EU expectations. Here's how economists reacted.
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