Friday, November 30, 2012

Drugmaker Ranbaxy halts generic Lipitor production

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Problem-plagued Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has halted production of generic cholesterol drug Lipitor while it investigates how tiny glass particles got into the ingredients used for dozens of batches of the drug that were recalled in November. It was Ranbaxy’s second recall of the drug, called atorvastatin, since August.


The Food and Drug Administration said Ranbaxy won’t resume manufacturing atorvastatin until it determines the cause of the latest problem and fixes it. The recall was due to “possible contamination with very small glass particles similar to the size of a grain of sand,” according to the FDA.


“We know that there was glass in the bulk drug ingredient. That’s how it got in,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told The Associated Press Friday.


She could not say whether the bulk ingredient — binders and fillers that are mixed with the active drug ingredient, crushed and then formed into pills — was produced by Ranbaxy or a contract manufacturer.


But Woodcock said the FDA has determined the risk to patients is very low because any glass that ended up in pills would have been pulverized and would be harmlessly excreted.


After originally recommending that consumers consult with their pharmacist to determine if they received the recalled atorvastatin — and if so, to stop taking it — the agency decided Friday that it’s safe to take the pills.


Several other companies also make generic versions of Lipitor, the world’s top-selling drug for nearly a decade, so patients have alternatives.


A Ranbaxy spokesman did not respond to messages from The Associated Press Friday.


The drugmaker, a subsidiary of India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., since last December has been operating under increased FDA scrutiny because of quality lapses at multiple factories over several years.


The November recall covered 41 lots of 10-, 20- and 40-milligram doses of atorvastatin tablets. Lots, or batches, typically contain tens of thousands of pills.


The August recall occurred after a pharmacist noticed that a bottle of 10-milligram atorvastatin contained a 20-milligram pill, according to the FDA. That recall also was classified as unlikely to cause serious or irreversible harm to patients.


Ranbaxy notified pharmacies and other customers about the latest recall on Nov. 9 but didn’t publicly disclose it until Nov. 23. It covers lots of atorvastatin in bottles containing 90 or 500 tablets. The regulatory agency said it has not received any reports of patients being harmed by the recalled product.


Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor and the generic versions on the U.S. market are taken by millions of patients. The cholesterol-lowering medicine brought Pfizer $13 billion in annual sales at its peak, but it got U.S. generic competition last Nov. 30.


FDA said it does not anticipate a shortage of atorvastatin but it is working with the other manufacturers to ensure there’s enough supply.


Last Friday, Ranbaxy filed a notice with the Bombay Stock Exchange stating the company’s investigation would be completed within two weeks, but that after that temporary disruption to the U.S. supply, the company expected to resume shipments here. That no longer appears to be the case.


Ranbaxy’s manufacturing deficiencies, dating to 2006, led to a lengthy investigation and sanctions by the FDA. During the probe, federal investigators found Ranbaxy didn’t properly test the shelf life and other safety factors of its drugs and then lied about the results.


In mid-2008, the FDA barred Ranbaxy from shipping into the U.S more than 30 different drugs made at factories in India. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged the company lied about ingredients and formulations of some medications.


In early 2009, the FDA said it would not consider any new applications from Ranbaxy to sell in the U.S. any products made at the troubled factories. But last Nov. 30, on the day Lipitor’s U.S. patent expired, FDA granted permission for Ranbaxy to sell a generic version made at a different factory.


A few weeks later, the FDA and the company signed an agreement called a consent decree that requires Ranbaxy to improve manufacturing procedures, ensure data on its products is accurate and undergo extra oversight and review by an independent third party for five years. Ranbaxy at the time set aside $500 million to cover potential criminal and civil liability stemming from the Justice Department investigation.


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Tags: atorvastatin , cholesterol drug , Food and Drug Administration , Health Science , Lipitor , Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc.



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Paul van Eeden on Why Gold is Overvalued


The Gold Report: Paul, your speech at the Hard Assets Conference in San Francisco was titled "Rational Expectations." You spoke about monitoring the real rate of monetary inflation based on the total money supply.


You take into account everything in your indicator that acts as money, creating a money aggregate that links the value of gold and the dollar. You conclude that quantitative easing (QE) is not resulting in hyperinflation and is not acting as a driver for the continuing rise in the gold price. What then is pushing gold to $1,700/ounce (oz)?


Paul van Eeden: Expectations and fear. It's very hard to know what gold is worth in dollars if you don't also know what the dollar is doing. When we analyze the gold price in U.S. dollars, we're analyzing two things simultaneouslygold and dollars. You cannot do one without the other. The problem with analyzing the dollar is that the market doesn't have a good measure by which to recognize the effects of quantitative easing.


Since approximately the 1950s, economists have used monetary aggregates called M1, M2 and M3 (no longer being published) to describe the U.S. money supply. But M1, M2 and M3 are fatally flawed as monetary aggregates for very simple reasons. M1 only counts cash and demand deposits such as checking accounts. M1 assumes that any money that you have, say, in a savings account isn't money. Well, that's a bit absurd.


TGR: What comprises M2?


PvE: M2 does include deposit accounts, such as savings accounts, but only up to $100,000. That implies that if you had $1 million in a savings account, $900,000 of it doesn't exist. That's equally absurd.



"If gold is money, we should be able to look at gold and compare gold as one form of money against dollars, another form of money."



M3 describes money as all of thesecash, plus demand deposits plus time deposits, but to an unlimited size. One may think then that M3 is the right monetary indicator. But the problem with both M2 and M3 is that they also include money market mutual funds, a fund consisting of short-term money market instruments.


That's double-counting money because if I buy a money market mutual fund, the money I use to pay for that mutual fund is used by the mutual fund to buy a money market instrument from a corporation. The corporation takes the money it received from the sale of the instrument and deposits it into its bank account, where it is counted in the money supply. I cannot then count the money market mutual fund certificate as money, as it would be counting the same money twice.


TGR: So there is no accurate indicator.


PvE: M2 and M3 double-count money; M1 and M2 don't count all the money. All are imperfect measurements. That is why I created a monetary aggregate called "The Actual Money Supply," which is on my website at www.paulvaneeden.com.


TGR: How is your measurement more accurate?


PvE: It counts notes and coins, plus all bank deposit accounts, whether they're time deposits or demand deposits. This is equal to all the money that circulates in the economy and can be used for commercenothing more and nothing less.


TGR: How does that separate out gold from the dollar in value terms?


PvE: I'm a goldbug. I believe gold is a store of wealth and gold is money. If gold is money, we should be able to look at gold and compare gold as one form of money against dollars, another form of money.


Changes in the relative value of gold and dollars will be dictated by their relative inflation rates. If I create more dollars, I decrease the value of all the dollars. If I create more gold, I decrease the value of all the gold.


TGR: The relationship is determined by both quantitative easing and mining?


PvE: Correct. Essentially most of the gold that has been mined is above ground in the form of bars and coins and jewelry. We can calculate how much that is. That's the gold supply. That supply increases every year by an amount equal to mine production less an amount used up during industrial fabrication. That's gold's inflation rate.



"If the Federal Reserve starts to see an increase in price inflation or a rapid increase in loan creationmonetary inflationit can sell assets back into the market."



We can also look at the money supply and see how it increases every year. That's the dollar's inflation rate. The value of gold vis-a-vis via the dollar will be dictated by these relative inflation rates.


I have data on both gold and the U.S. dollar going back to 1900 and thus can compare the two. By doing that, I can calculate how the value of gold changes relative to the U.S. dollar and what gold is theoretically worth in terms of dollars.


Keep in mind that the market price is not the same as the value. In the market, price is seldom equal to value. Price often both exceeds and is below value. But it will always oscillate around value.


For example, in 1980, gold was trading much higher than value. By 1995, the gold price had sufficiently declined and U.S. dollar inflation had sufficiently increased to bring the gold price back to value, vis-a-vis the dollar. By 1999, gold was substantially undervalued. By 2007, it was again reasonably valued. But in 2012, it is again substantially overvalued.


Gold price and U.S. dollar inflation (blue) 1970present


TGR: The value of gold is not $1,700/oz?


PvE: No. The value of gold is about $900/oz. Expectations of monetary inflation are keeping gold prices high.


In 2008, after the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Bank announced the first round of quantitative easing. The gold price started to rally because there was an expectation, with the Fed openly engaging in quantitative easing, that we would see massive U.S. dollar inflation. But that didn't happen.



"Whether annual mine production goes up or down, it makes no difference to the price of gold."



When the Fed engages in quantitative easing, it does so by buying assets in the open market, such as Treasury notes or bonds. When the Fed buys a government bond in the open market it creates the money to pay for it out of thin air. The payment is credited against a commercial bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank and is not available for commerce in the economy. It's part of the monetary base, but not the money supply, as the money supply only counts money that can be used for commerce.


Thus, the money that the Fed creates is not in circulation. It's not part of the money supply because it cannot be spent. The commercial bank in whose name it is credited cannot withdraw it. The only thing it can do is to create new loans against that reserve asset. But the bank can only create new loans equal to the demand for such new loans.


Right now, as a result of QE1 and QE2, there is an enormous amount of excess reserves on account at the Federal Reserve on behalf of these commercial banks. These excess reserves in theory could be used to create new loans. The reality is that new loan creation by commercial banks have proceeded at a very normal pace, and not at all at a rate that should cause fear of hyperinflation.


TGR: Is it that there isn't a demand or that the banks don't see creditworthy people to loan to?


PvE: It doesn't matter; the result is the same. The point is that the marketplace is not creating those loans.


Money that is counted in the money supply is created when consumers and corporations borrow money from commercial banks. When a loan is created by a commercial bank, the banking system creates that money out of thin air just as the Federal Reserve created its money out of thin air.


When a loan is repaid, that money is destroyed. The natural increase of the money supply is the balance between loan creation and loan repayment from consumers and corporations to commercial banks. Their ability to create those loans is dependent, to some extent, on their reserve assets in the monetary base that they have on account at the Federal Reserve. Right now, those reserve assets are much, much larger than what is necessary to account for existing loans of banks. So banks have enormous capacity to create loans, but capacity to create is not the same as having created. We are not seeing runaway inflation in the market. The U.S. money supply is increasing at an annual rate of around 7%, which is high, but not high enough to cause the type of hysteria that the gold price is exhibiting.


TGR: The expectation that banks will eventually loan up to their lending capacity is what is causing the fears of hyperinflation and the gold price to go up.


PvE: That is correct.


TGR: When will banks start lending?


PvE: They are lending, which is why the U.S. money supply is increasing. But they are not lending at a torrid pacethe U.S. money supply is increasing only very slightly faster than the average annual rate since 1900, and slower than it was in the period from 2000 to 2009 before quantitative easing started. It is highly improbable that we will see the kind of monetary inflation the market is afraid ofthe fear is misplaced.


The Federal Reserve alone controls the level of money in the monetary base. If the Federal Reserve starts to see an increase in price inflation or a rapid increase in loan creationmonetary inflationit can sell assets back into the market. When those assets are sold back into the market the money that the Federal Reserve receives for the asset is destroyed. It evaporates.


Just as the Federal Reserve created money, it can destroy money. The Fed can absolutely prevent runaway inflation by selling assets back into the market, therefore constricting the ability of commercial banks to make loans.


TGR: If the Fed-created money isn't loaned out, will the inflationary expectation in the market eventually disappear? Will the price of gold go to $800900/oz?


PvE: That's a possibility. The gold price rallied in response to QE1 and QE2 and when QE2 ended, the gold price started falling.


Prior to the announcement of QE3, the gold price rallied again in anticipation, but since QE3 has been announced, the gold price has been falling.


When the Federal Reserve announced QE1, there was a massive increase in the monetary base. When it announced QE2, there was another substantial increase in the monetary base, but much less than with QE1. But there hasn't been an increase in the monetary base since the QE3 announcement. The Fed is "sterilizing" QE3 by offsetting sales of assets at the same time it is purchasing assets.


TGR: So the key is how the Fed implements quantitative easing?


PvE: Correct. The question is whether the gold market is rational in expecting hyperinflation or massive runaway inflation. That expectation is not being supported by the money supply, or by price inflation, or any other data. The only place the expectation is being manifest is in the prices of gold and silver.


TGR: If you look at the supply and demand expectations for gold versus the inflated valuation for gold, do you see more gold producers bringing gold out of the ground? If so, is that going to have an effect on the price?


PvE: If the gold price is high relative to production costs then yes, it does bring marginal mines into production, which increases the supply of gold. Incidentally, the increase in production from marginal mines then causes production costs to increase as well.


Does that have an impact on the price of gold? No. The reason is very simple. Approximately 1,0002,000 tons of gold is traded each day. Annual production of gold is roughly 2,000 tons. If annual gold production increases by 5%, which is a lot, it's 100 tons. We trade that in a couple of hours.


Whether annual mine production goes up or down, it makes no difference to the price of gold. The gold that's trading globally is not just the gold that's being mined; it's all the gold that's ever been mined, that's sitting above ground in vaults and in storage. That's where the price is set. Not on the margin of incremental production.


TGR: As you're looking at the gold companies that are out there, are you seeing that we have some good prospects or are you seeing that the producers aren't able to replace what they're using and the juniors aren't able to get the funding to find new sources?


PvE: I agree with your last statement. Producers are not able to replace their reserves. New exploration is not keeping up with reserve depletion and the juniors are not getting the funding to do the exploration.


The reason juniors aren't getting funding is because the market has become quite risk averse. Junior exploration companies are among the most risky investments you can imagine. When risk aversion increases in the market, the ability of juniors to fund exploration evaporates.


It's also true that the miners, particularly gold and copper, are having a tough time replacing reserves. Is that something that's going to cause a calamity in the next 12 or 24 months? No. But, it is a reason why, over the long term, investing in mineral exploration is an interesting business. Without mineral exploration, there can be no mining industry and without a mining industry, our society does not function.


TGR: The last time we spoke to you, you said that you were very scared and that it was a healthy thing for investors to be scared because it keeps them from making mistakes. Are you still scared?


PvE: I'm definitely concerned that the market is going to look worse in 2013 than it looked in 2012. I think risk aversion is not yet ready to be replaced by risk appetite. The big concern I have for next year is further deterioration of the Chinese economy. In particular, a tipping point is being reached in China where its banking system can no longer sustain the bad loans it has created.


If economic growth in China takes a really big hit at the same time the financial problems in Europe have not yet been resolved, I see more risk aversion creeping into the market. That's not good for junior exploration companies.


What makes me optimistic is that I think the worst is behind us in the United States. I think that slowly but surely the U.S. economy is going to get better and better. With time the improvement in the U.S. economy will bring risk appetite back into the market, but I don't see that happening in 2013. We'll have to see this time next year what the prognosis is for 2014.


TGR: In 2008, you told your investors to sell everything. Is that still your position?


PvE: The end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 was the top of the market for most metals and certainly for mineral exploration stocks. That was the time to sell everything. Now we're very close to the bottom of the market. It could be a long and drawn-out bottom but, nonetheless, I think that we're close to a bottom.


This makes it a very good time to be accumulating mineral exploration assets or junior exploration companies. It assumes an investor has the patience and financial ability to wait for the next bull market and stay with the trades. Remember that junior exploration companies don't generate revenue. If the bear market is protracted, these companies will need several rounds of financings in order to stay alive.


TGR: You also invest in silver, base metals and energy. Are some of these sectors doing better than others?


PvE: Copper, like gold, is very expensive. So is silver. The other base metals, such as aluminum, zinc, lead and nickel, are much more reasonably priced. Oil is also very reasonably priced at $85/barrel. I see less systemic risk in those sectors than I see in gold, silver or copper.


TGR: What specific companies do you like in those sectors?


PvE: I have recently acquired additional shares of both Miranda Gold Corp. (MAD:TSX.V) and Evrim Resources Corp. (EVM:TSX.V). I'm on the board of both of those companies and so I am not at all independent, or impartial.


I also recently acquired shares of a company called Millrock Resources Inc. (MRO:TSX.V). And I continue to scour the market for more opportunities. I intend to be a buyer of mineral exploration companies for the foreseeable future.


TGR: Why do you like those three?


PvE: All three of those companies share one element that is critically important. All have competent, experienced management and they have management that I trust: trust that they're not going to squander the money that we give them and trust that they will use their best efforts to create shareholder value. It is my confidence in management teams that causes me to invest in mineral exploration. Mineral exploration is a business about ideas. It's not about assets. And when you're dealing with ideas, the asset that you're de facto buying is peopleit's management.


TGR: You say that you're doing this for the long term. How long do you think that you'll have to wait?


PvE: Who knows? 5, 10 years? Maybe we get lucky sooner. Maybe we don't.


TGR: Thanks for your insights.


Paul van Eeden is president of Cranberry Capital Inc., a private Canadian holding company. He began his career in the financial and resources sector in 1996 as a stockbroker with Rick Rule's Global Resources Investments Ltd. He has actively financed mineral exploration companies and analyzed markets ever since. Van Eeden is well known for his work on the interrelationship between the gold price, inflation and the currency markets.


Want to read more Gold Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Streetwise Interviews page.


DISCLOSURE:

1) JT Long of The Gold Report conducted this interview. She personally and/or her family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Gold Report: Millrock Resources Inc. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for services. Interviews are edited for clarity.

3) Paul van Eeden: I personally own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: Miranda Gold Corp., Evrim Resources Corp. and Millrock Resources Inc. I am a director of the following companies mentioned in this interview and receive remuneration as a director from these companies: Miranda Gold Corp. and Evrim Resources Corp. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview.


Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theaureport/Ajgh/~3/KJlmy4N2xMY/14790



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3 ETFs that are in strong upward trends


Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Friday, the 30th of November.


THREE COUNTRY ETFs THAT ROCK!


I thought it was interesting to look at some country ETFs today and see what our Trade Triangle technology has to say about them.


The first country ETF that stands out and surprised us was the ETF for Mexico (symbol EWW). This ETF has been doing very well lately, and with a Chart Analysis Score of +100 this market is likely to continue higher.


Next is Spain, can you believe that? With all of the talk of problems in Europe, this ETF for Spain (symbol EWP) is doing very well with a +100 Score.


The ETF for Taiwan is also on our list (symbol EWT) and has also been trending well with a +100 Score.


These three symbols have been doing much better than the S&P 500 index, which is still technically in a sideways mode according to our Trade Triangle technology.


The key lesson here is to remember that the world is your oyster, and you have the tools in the form of ETFs to easily trade in markets you might not have considered before.


THE METALS MARK TIME


Silver, copper, and gold are all in bull trends to the upside. Presently silver and copper have a Score of +100 and are technically stronger than gold. Based on our Trade Triangle technology, we see all three markets trending higher.


IS CRUDE OIL AT THE BEGINNING OF A BIG UP MOVE?


Generally speaking, crude oil is in a trading range between $90 on the upside and $86 on the downside. To really get the market moving to the upside we need to close over the $90 a barrel level. We expect the current trading range will be resolved with the odds favoring the upside.


S&P 500 : Higher for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT $1,409.15.


CRUDE OIL (January Contract) : Higher for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT $88.33.


EURO (Spot) : Higher for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT 1.2970.


GOLD (Spot) : Lower for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT $1,751.55.


COPPER (December Contract) : Higher for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT $3.5290.


SILVER (Spot) : Higher for the week.

CLOSED LAST FRIDAY AT $33.90.


Now, let's go to the markets and see what our Trade Triangles are indicating.


Have a great trading day,

Adam Hewison

Founder & President INO.com and co-founder of MarketClub.com.


Click Here to view today's video



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WHO: 2 more cases of new virus in Jordan





LONDON — International health officials have confirmed two more fatal cases of a mysterious respiratory virus in the Middle East.


The virus has so far sickened nine people and killed five of them. The virus is related to SARS, which killed some 800 people in a global epidemic in 2003.


The two cases date back to April and are part of a cluster of a dozen people who fell sick in Zarqa, Jordan. Officials are investigating whether the 10 other people sick in Zarqa also were infected and how it might have spread. Other cases of the virus have been spotted in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.


WHO doesn’t know exactly how the virus spreads but said it couldn’t exclude the possibility it was being transmitted from person to person.


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Tags: epidemic , Health Science , Middle East , respiratory virus , SARS , Science & Health , WHO , World Health Organization



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How to protect your child from cyberbullies





FROM HATE pages to extreme humiliation on the digital space, cyberbullying has caused severe stress, depression and anxiety among today’s youth.


While it is more prevalent in the United States, cyberbullying has started creeping among Filipino children and teens at an alarming rate.


With the high penetration rate of Filipino kids on the Internet, the risk of cyberbullying is also heightened. Eight out of 10 Filipino children (82 percent) access the Internet weekly while more than a third (37 percent) are daily Internet users. Seventy-three percent of Filipino teens have online social profiles as of 2010.


The thought of your child being bashed and bullied in the cyberspace is a nightmare for most parents.


But it is worse for the child being cyberbullied who could suffer from extreme depression that could lead to fatal consequences, as reported in recent newspaper accounts.


Protecting your child


Here are some ways to protect your child from being cyberbullied:


1 Pay attention to the ‘red flags.’ Kids who suffer from cyberbullying give out signals that they need help. And parents should watch out for these signals. The child may suddenly become moody and constantly angry or begin to distance himself from the family or even his/her friends. Sometimes parents mistakenly see this as a normal growing-up phase not knowing that these sudden changes in behavior are actually cries for help. If the parent is attentive to these red flags, the problem may be resolved at once before it gets any bigger.


2 Level up! If your child is active in the social network scene, you should be too. Create your own Facebook account if you still don’t have one and make sure to add your child as “family.” That way, you’ll be able to see what your child is posting in cyberspace and the response that he or she is getting. Make sure, though, not to be intrusive in your child’s social network activities.


3 Have a one-on-one talk with your child. As soon as your child mentions the word cyberbullying or any Internet threat that tends to bother him/her, sit down with him/her for a serious one-on-one. Listen to what he/she has to say, try to find out how he/she feels and what exactly disturbs him/her. Assure him/her that you are always there to support and help him/her in whatever he/she is going through.


After he/she has done talking, make him/her understand what cyberbullying is and how seriously it affects the victim. At the same time, if your child happens to be the cyberbully, immediately step in and resolve the problem. Make your child understand that it is never right to tease, offend or bash someone, online or otherwise. Make the child understand the consequences of his/her actions.


4 Show support. Take cyberbullying seriously and support them through the next steps. This is a very difficult situation for your child so he/she will be needing your guidance to help him/her get through this. You may also tap professional help to work with you and your child on this problem.


5 Encourage your child. Help your child find safe and better things to do online. By protecting your child against Internet threats, it does not mean that you will stop him from exploring the cyber world where he could also learn and discover new things from if guided accordingly.


6 Take action. Parents who seriously want to protect their precious children from cyberbullying and other Internet threats but do not want to deprive them of the joy of learning and exploring that could be found in the digital space will find an ally in Tattoo@Home. “Tattoo@Home offers not just the best value-for-money offers but also exclusive add-ons including the Surf Safe suite which provides protection for the kids from exposure to adult sites, offensive music and videos, social networking risks and strangers,” explains Jurist Gamban, head of Tattoo@Home.


Filtering tool


Tattoo@Home offers an exclusive bundle of McAfee antivirus and family protection suite that provides protection for kids and the whole family from practically all Internet risks. It has filtering tool that sorts up and block sites deemed inappropriate for kids and regulate the time spent by the children in the computer:


“The McAfee AntiVirus Plus keeps the computer secure with antivirus, antispyware, anti-malware, antibot, real-time safeguards, two-way firewall, and digital data shredder.


“McAfee Family Protection which protects the kids safe and secure from exposure to adult sites, offensive music and videos, social networking risks, and strangers.”


Surf Safe combines both the McAfee Anti Virus and McAfee Family Protection suite to keep the family’s online experience safe and rewarding. A filtering tool sorts up and block sites deemed inappropriate for kids, and it can also regulate the time spent by children in the computer.


Tattoo is the back-to-back winner of the Philippines’ Broadband Service Provider of the Year Award for 2011 and 2012 from the prestigious global business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.


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Short URL: http://business.inquirer.net/?p=95925


Tags: cyberbullying , Infotech , Science



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Stocks end week firmer





THE LOCAL stock market was on holiday break Friday in celebration of Andres Bonifacio day while regional markets were mostly firmer following an overnight rebound in Wall Street.


For the four-day trading week, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange surged 1.56 percent to end on Thursday at 5,640.45, a new record high. An intra-day peak at 5,650.10 was touched also on Thursday. Last Wednesday’s announcement of a higher-than-expected 7.1-percent Philippine gross domestic product growth for the third quarter provided a catalyst to the market.


Across the region, markets were mostly higher Friday, taking their cue from US stocks overnight, which ended higher after choppy trading as some investors bought on dips amid lingering American fiscal concerns.


As the main index hit new highs, however, foreign investors were on a profit-taking mode, resulting in a net foreign selling position of P728 million.


“Next week, the Philippine market may experience profit-taking as it continues to post new highs albeit uncertainties in US and European markets,” BPI Securities said in a research noted.


BPI Securities said the PSEi’s next support was at 5,505 and resistance at 5,700.


The local brokerage said the US economic indicators due next week were ISM manufacturing index, construction spending, productivity and costs, factory orders, jobless claims and employment situation. Doris C. Dumlao


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Tags: Business , stocks



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Public infra spending seen to boost PH growth

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PUBLIC infrastructure spending can be the medium-term “game changer” for the Philippines, with the massive floodworks program alone potentially lifting per capita income to $3,500 within five years, a research from Citigroup said.


As investors reward economies which are undertaking reform initiatives, Citi said this meant that the stock market would be able to accept a higher valuation that could boost the Philippine Stock Exchange index to 6,700 over the next 12 months.


The Citi research paper “The Medium-Term Game Changer—Public Infrastructure” dated Nov. 9 said the below 20 percent investment to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio was being cited by rating agencies as a key constraint for an upgrade to investment grade rating.


With better fiscal health, Citi said the government was in a better position to be more proactive in stimulating the economy. And while the public private partnership (PPP) infrastructure agenda is still seen as the centerpiece program, Citi favorably noted the flood works and drainage projects worth P325 billion—larger than the P233 billion cost of the PPP projects.


“The floodworks program alone, if implemented over the next 10 years, has the potential to lift GDP growth by an increment of 0.7 percent,” Citi said, noting that from a per capita GDP of $2,111 in full-year 2011, per capita income could be lifted to $3,500 within five years (and to $5,200 within 10 years). Citi’s base forecast is it would otherwise take 10 years to hit $3,500.


“Higher per-capita GDP is seen to spawn conditions for generating non-farm employment, stronger discretionary spending and to support fiscal consolidation that strengthens the private investment outlook,” the research said.


Potential setbacks, however, are seen coming from weak government absorptive capacity, any loss of credibility of the present administration as a result of delayed implementation such as PPP and risks that the implementation of the projects would not be sustained by the next administration.


But under a “blue sky” scenario in which the financial markets would accept higher valuations of about 21 times price to earnings (P/E) ratio similar to historical peak ratios, the PSEi could target 6,700 in 12-months versus Citi’s base-case forecast of just 5,750 or 18 times P/E ratio. A P/E ratio of 21 means the market is willing to pay 21 times the amount of money a stock is making in a given year.


Under a blue sky scenario, Citi thinks banks, property, consumer, utilities and conglomerates would benefit from the investment spending dividend.


“Companies that have a first-mover advantage in retail expansion, that support expected growth in industrial production and those whose assets are located in the regional centers are the likely winners. Large cap companies who are in this position and should continue to be long-term winners are Ayala Corp., Ayala Land, SM Investments, Aboitiz Power, PLDT and Banco de Oro,” it said.


For banks, Citi said higher propensity for big ticket spending should continue to sustain robust consumer loan growth amid low penetration. The top banks, supported by their extensive branch network, access to low-cost retail deposits and ability to leverage on the businesses of their parent companies, are projected to continue dominating the consumer lending space over the mid-sized players.


Conglomerates, with their diversified investments across key economic sectors, are seen “best poised for growth opportunities in an investment driven economy.”


On the consumer sector, Citi said higher per capita income could prompt consumers to trade up to branded products and support expansion of modern trade, particularly outside the urban areas.


For this sector, it said branded consumer player Universal Robina and fast-food operator Jollibee Foods would likely continue to be winners while the biggest retailer, SM Investments and its mall developer SM Prime as well as supermarket operator PureGold were seen benefiting from increased penetration of modern retail, particularly outside Metro Manila.


For property, Citi said developers were poised to benefit from sustainability of robust demand for housing, better opportunities for retailers and improved valuations of land bank on better accessibility arising from infrastructure projects. It believes ALI was “still in the best position to benefit from these opportunities, given its extensive land bank and strong brand image of residential projects.”


“While the Philippine telcos had so far been exempt from benefiting from economic growth, we believe telco spending is set to rise with the normalization of the competitive environment with more stable pricing. The dominant operator, PLDT, is our preferred pick,” it said.


For utilities, Citi said the strong correlation between per-capita electricity consumption and higher income bodes well for utilities, more so with the current tight supply being felt in Mindanao. “While all companies in our coverage should benefit, we believe Aboitiz Power is best positioned, given its scale and diversified asset portfolio across the country,” it said.


For gaming, Citi said rising discretionary spending would be key to expanding gaming revenues given the large dependence upon the mass business, comprising 65 percent of total gross gaming revenue in contrast to Macau’s ratio of close to 30 percent.


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Tags: Business , floodworks program , infrastructure spending , `game-changer’



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DOTC turns to legal eagles for help in PPP rollout

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THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is enlisting the help of the country’s top private lawyers to help speed up the rollout of big-ticket infrastructure projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.


Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya said the department already talked to various law firms that could be tapped to hasten the government’s procurement process.


“We plan on outsourcing work to the private sector,” said Abaya, who resigned as Cavite representative last October to fill the DOTC position. “The problem with these projects is that the process is linear. We can’t do different steps simultaneously.”


Abaya added that, with the PPP strategic fund at its disposal, the government agency has enough “flexibility” to carry out the program.


Private firms will be tapped for project feasibility studies, which is the first step in most projects, he said in an interview.


The goal is to have all feasibility studies, which measure the social and financial impacts of specific projects, completed as early as next year, he explained.


“Since the feasibility study is the first step for all projects, then why not do it all now?” Abaya said, adding that the DOTC does not have enough personnel to carry out the studies on time.


Abaya admitted that sudden changes in the government’s policy for PPPs, particularly the introduction of the “hybrid PPP” structure introduced by his predecessor current Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, resulted in delays in the rollout of long-awaited projects.


The hybrid PPP scheme involves bankrolling projects by tapping overseas development assistance (ODA) funds from friendly foreign lenders offering low interest rates. The inclusion of ODA funding meant that the government had to reconfigure many projects.


One priority project of the DOTC is the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1 extension, adding 12 kilometers of new track to the three-decade-old train line to reach Bacoor, Cavite.


Officials are now preparing to bid out the project.


Abaya said the DOTC would accept formal bids for the project in January, and award the P30-billion contract by April.


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Tags: Business , DoTC , infrastructure projects , PPP , public-private partnership



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Chart to Watch - GMCR


We've asked our friend Jim Robinson of profittrading.com to provide his expert analysis of charts to our readers. Each week he'll be be analyzing a different chart using the Trade Triangles and his experience.


Today he is going to take a look at the technical picture of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR).


I hope you are having a GREAT week !


This week let's take a look at a very Hot Stock Chart !!


GMCR put in a low the last couple weeks in July of this year, then made a strong bull swing in which MarketClub put in a monthly green Trade Triangle which was very important and bullish information to have.


Stocks will almost always come back to test the low and when GMCR tested the low MarketClub went on a red weekly Trade Triangle as GMCR made a higher low.


When the test of the low was complete GMCR started on the next bull move higher and MarketClub put in a weekly green Trade Triangle alerting us that all time frames were now pointing up, which again is very important information.


As they say, the rest is history, as GMCR exploded higher in a strong burst of buying which means GMCR is in strong demand.


I think it is safe to say, that GMCR is definitely a Chart to Watch, as GMCR is in an up trend and the MarketClub Trade Triangles are pointing up.



Thanks,

Jim Robinson

Profit Trading.com



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Thursday, November 29, 2012

US stocks gain after GDP growth revised up






In this Nov. 15, 2012, file photo, traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Hopes that US political leaders may be inching toward a budget deal that will avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases have given markets a big boost Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. AP PHOTO/SETH WENIG



NEW YORK—US stocks closed higher Thursday, helped by an expected strong upward revision in the US economic growth estimate for the third quarter.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 38.17 points (0.29 percent) to 13,023.28 in closing trade.


The S&P 500 gained 6.13 (0.43 percent) at 1,416.06, while the Nasdaq Composite added 20.10 (0.67 percent) at 3,011.88.


The Commerce Department raised its estimate for third-quarter growth as expected, to 2.7 percent from 2.0 percent, but the details on consumer spending in the period pointed to a slower fourth quarter.


“The prevailing message is that the economy is growing, but at a rate that is below potential and which is making it difficult to put a major dent in the unemployment rate,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.


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Tags: close , Stock Activity , stocks , US



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French government attacked over threat to Mittal

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Riot policemen surround demonstrating workers from Arcelor Mittal in front of the National Assembly in Paris on Nov. 28, 2012. The head of France’s largest employers’ union on Thursday slammed as “blackmail” a threat by the state to take over a plant owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, amid outrage in Mittal’s native India that he was a victim of racism. AP PHOTO/REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE



PARIS—The head of France’s largest employers’ union on Thursday slammed as “blackmail” a threat by the state to take over a plant owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, amid outrage in Mittal’s native India that he was a victim of racism.


President Francois Hollande has himself dangled the threat in talks with the billionaire, ranked 21st in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people, over the row on the Florange plant in the eastern Lorraine region.


France has threatened to take over the plant if ArcelorMittal goes ahead with plans to permanently close two blast furnaces on the site that the company regards as uneconomic.


ArcelorMittal, which wants to continue to operate the rest of the site, has given the government until Saturday to find a new investor willing to take over the furnaces.


Laurence Parisot, the head of the influential Medef employers’ union, said the proposed move, first unveiled by Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg, was “simply scandalous.”


“If the aim through these statements is simply to exercise pressure, to engage in blackmail in the course of negotiations, it is unacceptable,” she said on RTL radio.


Parisot said it was not up to the state “to start telling each company in France ‘this is our strategy,’” adding that only “an entrepreneur can know if something is profitable or not.”


Former premier Alain Juppe, a heavyweight figure in the right-wing opposition, called for Montebourg to be sacked over remarks he deemed “calamitous” for the image of France.


“It is time to replace someone who is on his way to becoming the minister for industrial collapse,” Juppe wrote in his blog.


The case, a litmus test of Hollande’s commitment to spur growth, create jobs and boost the low competitiveness of French industry, has created outrage in India with messages on social media networks saying Mittal would have been treated differently if he was a white man.


Some of them also recalled the opposition he faced from Arcelor executives and French interests during his contested takeover of the company in 2006.


“This is not socialism, this is racism,” the Indian site Firstpost said in an article.


“ArcelorMittal is not the first to cut jobs in France. Peugeot has announced 8,000 job cuts in France, Sanofi 900 and Carrefour 500-600,” it said referring to blue-chip French companies.


Hollande had dangled the threat of nationalization just minutes before his one-to-one talks Tuesday with the India-born Mittal, which the government spokeswoman said had been “frank and firm.”


ArcelorMittal argues that the blast furnaces at Florange are uncompetitive in current market conditions, partly because they are too far from ports for transportation.


The company has warned that nationalization of the plant would cast doubt on the future of all its operations in France, where it employs 20,000 people.


The French government, meanwhile, wants the company to guarantee the estimated 650 jobs on the line.


Montebourg caused controversy earlier in the week when he said Mittal was not welcome in France, comments that were quickly disowned by his colleagues and from which he subsequently backtracked.


But the minister, widely regarded as a loose cannon whose mantra to promote ‘Made in France’ has even seen him pose in a Breton sailor top for a popular magazine, said on Wednesday that an investor in the business is interested in buying Florange.


“We have a buyer, who is a steelman, an industrialist, who is not a financier, who wants to invest his own money and who is ready to put almost 400 million euros into renovating this plant,” Montebourg told deputies.


A group of socialist members of parliament has objected that Mittal does not have French interests at heart.


The government’s stance is being closely watched by investors and London’s irrepressible mayor Boris Johnson seized upon the row to invite fleeing businessmen to the British capital.


“I see the sans-culottes appear to have captured the government in Paris. The French minister has been so eccentric to call for a massive investment to depart from France,” he said, during a visit to India.


“I have no hesitation in saying here, ‘Venez à Londres, mes amis!’ (Come to London, my friends),” he said. “Come to the business capital of the world.”


The “sans-culottes,” meaning without “knee breeches,” were the most militant supporters of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century.


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Tags: ArcelorMittal , Business , France , politics , Restructuring , steel



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SEC files fraud raps vs Aman top execs

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MANILA, Philippines—Aside from the numerous syndicated estafa charges they are facing, the top officials of Aman Futures have been slapped with complaints by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for engaging in fraudulent transactions and operating without the proper registration.


The Aman executives were charged in the Department of Justice (DOJ) with violating Sections 8 and 26 of Republic Act No. 8799, the Securities Regulation Code.


This as another syndicated estafa complaint was lodged against Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co, his wife and 16 others also in the DOJ, this time by 22 complainants in connection with their alleged involvement in the investment scam perpetrated by Aman Futures.


The SEC complaint was against Aman Futures Group Philippine Inc., Manuel Amalilio and six members of its board of directors for being behind a massive investment scam that duped 15,000 people out of P12 billion.


Aside from Aman Futures and Amalilio, also charged were Fernando Luna, the former janitor and driver turned manager of Aman, Leilan Gan Lim, Eduard Lim, Naezelle Rodriguez, Wilanie Fuentes and Lurix Lopez.


Registration required


Section 8 of RA 8799 provides that securities shall not be sold or offered for sale or distribution within the country without a registration duly filed and approved by the SEC.


Section 26 says that it is “unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of any securities to employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud, obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of material fact… and engage in any act, transaction, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.”


The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), meanwhile, filed Thursday a second complaint against Co, his wife Priscilla Ann Fernandez Co, Gan, Lim, Fuentes, Rodriguez, Lopez, Isagani Laluna, Abigail Pendulas, Paige Yabanez Madarang, Cheryll Mayoll Casinillo, Nimfa Caballero Luna (Luna’s wife), Dhurwin Weceslao, Haidee Alfanta, Cecille Abarquez and several John and Jane Does.


Amalilio and Luna are in hiding while the five directors are in the custody of the NBI after they surrendered last weekend.


The new complaint was filed by 22 persons, some of them agents of the investment firm.


In a related development, four companies allegedly engaged in a multimillion-peso Ponzi scheme have shown up on the police radar after some people complained about the investment firms, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said Thursday.


In an interview, Superintendent Benjamin Acorda Jr., chief of the CIDG’s Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division, said officials of the companies had been able to entice investors by promising them instant cash incentives and quick returns on their investment.—With a report from Marlon Ramos


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Tags: Aman Futures , Business , Crime and Law and Justice , fraud , Philippines , Securities and Exchange Commission , syndicated estafa



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DENR cites 10 ‘green’ companies

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MANILA, Philippines—Multinational firms Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Nestle Philippines, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum and Holcim Philippines led 10 companies that were recognized Thursday as the country’s most earth-friendly in 2012.


The companies were awarded the Official Seal of Approval by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for their efforts in incorporating green policies in their business platforms, officials said.


“The [winners] were chosen because of their exemplary environmental performance and for going beyond mere compliance with existing environmental laws and regulations,” Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said in a statement.


All the winners have not faced a single complaint in the DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board in the past three years.


As reward for outstanding green policies of the winners, the DENR will relax its rules on the submission requirements for their reports, automatically extend the validity of their permits and ease procedures in securing environmental compliance certificates for the expansion of their projects, Paje said.


Environment Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi, along with Director Juan Miguel Cuna and Assistant Director Eva Ocfemia, handed out the awards in simple rites at the DENR main office in Quezon City.


The awards are part of the DENR’s Philippine Environmental Partnership Program (PEPP), which covers public and private industrial and commercial establishments, including agri-industrial facilities, manufacturing companies.


Paje said the program was “a way of expressing gratitude to companies committed to environmental protection through various business practices.”


“Their policies on self-monitoring and self-regulation deserve to be recognized and emulated by other companies,” he said.


The winners were Aboitiz Power Hedcor Sibulan Inc.-Davao del Sur; Coca-Cola plants in the provinces of Isabela, Ilocos Norte, La Union and Pangasinan; Green Core Geothermal Inc.-Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant; Energy Development Corp.’s geothermal power fields in Kidapawan City and Leyte province; and Holcim’s plants in Lugait, Misamis Oriental and Norzagaray, Bulacan;


Nestle’s Cagayan Distribution Center and factory in Pulilan, Bulacan; the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp.-Isabela, Leyte; Pilipinas Shell’s Tacloban Terminal; Batangas Onshore Gas Refinery of Shell Philippines Malampaya B. V.; STEAG State Power Inc.-Misamis Oriental; and Team Energy Corp.’s power stations in Pagbilao, Quezon, and Sual, Pangasinan.


A total of 57 companies have been awarded since the program started in 2009.


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Tags: awards and prizes , Business , companies , Department of Environment and Natural Resources , earth-friendly , Environmental Issues , Philippines



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How to win the Lottery everyday …


Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Thursday, the 29th of November.


POWERBALL WINNERS NEED NOT APPLY!


I consider myself very lucky that I did not win the lottery last night. First off, I didn't even buy a ticket. Secondly, the odds are astronomically against any one person winning. If you are like me, you like to have the odds on your side. That's why I like Trade Triangle technology. If you want to see some great returns, look no further than MarketClub's World Cup Portfolio. Five years of solid double and triple digit returns* in a simple portfolio that anyone can manage. The signals are available the night before for all MarketClub members.


You only have to look at the recent moves in the markets to see that MarketClub's Trade Triangle technology works.


* The results are simulated and not actual market trades which would include commission costs, slippage.


ARE STOCKS A BUY, SELL, OR HOLD?


Listening to the pundits on CNBC and Bloomberg, you have a cup that is half empty or half full. So what are stocks really going to do in the future? For sure they going to be volatile, but they will offer some great trading opportunities both on the upside and the downside. The key, in our opinion, is to go with the line of least resistance, whether that line is up or down. In other words, go with the flow. All too often you see investors trying to fight the tape. One of the keys to successful investing is to have a series of relationships with stocks that can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to a few days. Never get married to a stock forever!! That is the type of market environment that I believe we are currently in, and will be for the foreseeable future.


SILVER SHINES TODAY


There is no doubt about it, silver is leading the way in the metals on the upside. Our Trade Triangle technology gave a near-term buy signal today on silver at $34.28 for short and intermediate-term traders. We still believe this market is going to trade up to $35 an ounce.


CRUDE OIL FLASHES A SHORT-TERM BUY SIGNAL TODAY


Crude oil moved to his best levels in seven days and doing so flashed a short-term buy signal at 88.29. Generally speaking, the crude oil market is in a trading range between $90 on the upside and $86 on the downside. We expect this impasse will be resolved in the not-too-distant future with the odds favoring the upside.


Now, let's go to the markets and see what our Trade Triangles are indicating.


Have a great trading day,

Adam Hewison

Founder & President INO.com and co-founder of MarketClub.com.


Click Here to view today's video



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Asian markets rise on US fiscal deal hopes

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An investor smiles in front of the stock price monitor at a private securities company on Nov. 27, 2012, in Shanghai, China. Asian stock markets mostly tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, as investors following US talks aimed at avoiding a fiscal cliff welcomed positive comments from both sides of the political divide. AP PHOTO



HONG KONG—Asian markets mostly tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday as investors following US talks aimed at avoiding a fiscal cliff welcomed positive comments from both sides of the political divide.


Higher-yielding “riskier” currencies also rose on hopes of progress on a resolution over the package of tax hikes and spending cuts due on January 1 that will likely tip the US economy back into recession.


Tokyo added 0.99 percent, or 92.53 points, to 9,400.88, Sydney was 0.68 percent, or 30.4 points, higher at 4,477.7 and Seoul climbed 1.15 percent, or 22.07 points, to 1,934.85.


Hong Kong also rose 0.99 percent, picking up 213.91 points to 21,922.89 but Shanghai fell 0.51 percent, or 10.04 points, to 1,963.49, a near four-year low.


With the focus now almost entirely on Washington, House of Representatives speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he was optimistic of a deal between his Republicans and their bitter Democratic rivals.


Later in the day President Barack Obama also said he expected a solution would be found before Christmas.


“Our ultimate goal is an agreement that gets our long-term deficit under control in a way that is fair and balanced,” Obama said.


“I believe that both parties can agree on a framework that does that in the coming weeks,” he said. “In fact, my hope is to get this done before Christmas.”


Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s office said he would meet members of Congress on Thursday to discuss “a balanced approach to reduce our deficit.”


“They have a relatively tight deadline to sort this out. I think they will, because it is in nobody’s interests to push the economy off the rails,” said Joe Bracken, head of macro strategies at BT Investment Management in Sydney.


“You will have a lot of ‘he said, she said’ over the next few weeks, and markets will remain volatile,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.


Wall Street was higher Wednesday. The Dow climbed 0.83 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.79 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.81 percent.


The news came as relief to markets, which had been spooked by comments on Tuesday from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that “little progress” had been made in cross-party talks.


On forex markets investors sold the safe haven yen, which has been falling in recent weeks after the man who is widely expected to become prime minister following next month’s polls said he would embark on aggressive monetary easing.


The euro was at $1.2966, compared with $1.2939 in New York late Wednesday, while it was also at 106.56 yen, from 106.14 yen.


The dollar bought 82.16 yen, from 82.03 yen.


Oil prices rose. New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for January delivery, was up 44 cents to $86.93 a barrel in the afternoon, and Brent North Sea crude for January climbed 30 cents to $109.81.


Gold was at $1,724.60 at 1030 GMT compared with $1,740.80 late Wednesday.


In other markets:


– Taipei rose 0.92 percent, or 68.62 points, to 7,503.55.


HTC rose 1.17 percent to Tw$259.0, while TSMC was 0.63 percent higher at Tw$96.5.


– Manila closed 0.12 percent higher, adding 6.73 points to 5,640.45.


SM Investment gained 4.09 percent to 877 pesos while BDO Unibank rose 0.49 percent to 71.45 pesos. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was unchanged at 2,586 pesos.


– Wellington ended 0.12 percent higher, adding 4.62 points to 4,016.77.


Sky Television rose 3.0 percent to NZ$5.22 and Tower advanced 2.6 percent to NZ$1.95.


– Jakarta rose 0.33 percent, or 14.26 points, to 4,319.09.


Bank Permata rose 1.42 percent to 1,430 rupiah, Hero Supermarket gained 3.11 percent to 4,150 rupiah, while Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper fell 7.89 percent to 700 rupiah.


– Bangkok added 0.74 percent, or 9.63 points, to 1,309.57.


Oil company PTT edged up 0.63 percent to 318 baht, while electricity firm EGCO lost 1.57 percent to 125.50 baht.


– Singapore closed 1.13 percent, or 34.13 points, higher at 3,045.90.


Olam International was 4.0 percent higher at Sg$1.56 and SingTel rose 0.62 percent to Sg$3.27.


– Kuala Lumpur ended flat, inching up 0.8 points to close at 1,607.32.


CIMB Group Holdings rose 0.3 percent to 7.48 ringgit, while UEM Land Holdings fell 1.4 percent to 2.09 ringgit.


– Mumbai gained 1.75 percent, or 328.83 points, to 19,170.91 points.


Wind energy giant Suzlon Energy rose 8.8 percent to 18.55 while private bank ICICI Bank rose 4.9 percent to 1,081.75 rupees.


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Tags: Asia , Crude prices , Finance , Forex , oil price , Stock Activity , stocks



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PDIC raises automatic claims payment for small clients





A person whose bank deposit amounts to P15,000 or below need no longer go through the process of filing for an insurance claim in the event of a bank closure, according to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.


PDIC said it recently raised the ceiling for automatic payment of deposit insurance from P10,000 to P15,000.


Automatic payment ensures the release of deposit insurance without requiring depositors to provide documents pertaining to their accounts.


Under the automatic-payment scheme, PDIC will pay the insured amount by mailing a postal money order (PMO) to the concerned depositor.


“Depositors who have valid savings and demand deposit accounts with balances of P15,000 and below will now be eligible for outright payment without the filing of deposit insurance claims,” PDIC said.


This is the second time PDIC raised the ceiling for automatic payment of insurance claims. In March last year, PDIC raised the ceiling from P5,000 to P10,000.


By increasing the ceiling to P15,000, PDIC hopes to spare most small depositors the trouble of filing claims to recover their savings when their bank closes.


As a result, an estimated 75 percent of depositors are now covered, PDIC said.


PDIC officials decided to raise the ceiling after depositors demanded easier means to get their money bank in case of a bank closure.


Prompt payment of deposit insurance claims is one way to help keep the public’s confidence in the country’s banking sector, officials earlier said.


A significant number of rural banks have been ordered closed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and placed under the receivership of PDIC over the past few years. Over 30 rural banks were shut down last year, and over 20 have been ordered closed so far this year.


Most banks were closed due to poor management and capital deficiency, regulators said.


But they stressed that the country’s banking sector as a whole is sound and stable.


And to further strengthen the banking sector, the BSP and PDIC have put up an incentives program to encourage healthy banks to acquire risk-prone rural banks.


Under the “Strengthening Program for Rural Banks Plus,” banks that will serve as white knights may avail themselves of loans from regulators. The financial assistance will be used to help beef up capitalization of the bank being acquired.


Moreover, white knights may also be given regulatory relief and may be allowed to put up branches even in areas where bank branching is restricted. Michelle V. Remo


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Tags: bank deposits , Business , deposit insurance claims , rural banks



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