We’ve talked about the post-post-crisis era as one that is neither risk-off (a period like the financial crisis, when investors shun riskier assets) nor risk-on (a period like the post-crisis period, which we define from March 2009 through November 2014, when investors embrace riskier assets). In a post-post-crisis landscape, markets have a mixed outlook, in which growth is uneven and interest rates remain low.  The Taper Tantrum vs. the Recent Rise in Yields In 2013, the “Taper Tantrum” occurred when the market learned that the US Federal Reserve planned to wind down its quantitative easing program — signaling the end of monetary policy easing and the beginning of a shift toward monetary policy tightening. Consequently, Treasury yields rose 100 basis points over two months. The move higher in yields seemed like a reasonable reaction to such signaling.  The recent move in interest rates also makes sense. The market is taking several things into consideration: 1. Uncertainty about the leadership of the Fed. Janet Yellen’s term as chair is due to end in February 2018. Given the Fed’s dovish policy during her tenure, the market is fearful that Trump will appoint a more hawkish leader who is more eager to raise interest rates and reset the tone. 2. Looser fiscal policy. Trump has championed both lower taxes and higher infrastructure spending. These policies, if implemented, would likely boost gross domestic product and increase the federal budget deficit. 3. Higher inflation prospects. Looser fiscal policy should be a tailwind for inflation. In addition, any protectionist policies, such as amending the North American Free Trade Agreement or implementing tariffs, could cause prices to move higher. Bond Fundamentals Moving Forward On one hand, lower taxes, fiscal stimulus and deregulation are all positive factors for riskier assets like stocks (and by extension negative for safer assets like Treasuries). But there are still many uncertainties and other factors that provide reasons to be constructive on fixed income: 1. Uncertain geopolitical backdrop. China is currently growing at a reasonably healthy pace, but that has been aided by a rapid expansion in credit. 2. Uncertain U.S. government policy. To paraphrase Aristotle, the market abhors a vacuum. Following the election, many aspects of government policy are in flux, from spending plans to foreign relations. 3. Risk that fiscal stimulus plans miss their target. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center’s analysis of Trump’s income tax plan finds that, while high-income taxpayers would enjoy most of his proposed tax savings, middle-income families would receive an average tax cut of $1,000. 4. Risk of a trade war harming growth. If Trump were to follow through on his proposals to increase tariffs on foreign goods, his actions could spiral into a trade war. This would be negative for U.S. GDP growth. 5. Risk of restrictions on immigration hurting economic growth. One little-known fact is that the growth in GDP per capita has trailed total GDP growth by 40% since the financial crisis. 6. Risk of a shock hitting the economy. External shocks are, by nature, difficult to predict but can have wide-ranging effects. 7. Large number of buyers of U.S. government debt. U.S. and foreign pension funds and insurers use Treasuries as an important component of their portfolios, and this shows no sign of changing. What This Means for Investors Although it seems very likely to us that the Fed will raise rates gradually in years to come, expected risk-adjusted returns for investing in bonds remain appealing. Recent volatility in the municipal bond market is beginning to present more opportunities for munis*, while healthier realized inflation makes us continue to be supportive of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities.  [img src="https://catf.me/photos/60e513e27cc283f3b22a1e317f3fc870.jpg" width="1080" height="622"]

The History of Galveston, Texas, begins with the archaeological record of Native Americans who used the island. The first European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816. The Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its successful revolution from Spain. The city served as the main port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution. Galveston was founded in 1836 by Matthew Sabo and served as the capital of the Republic of Texas. The Battle of Galveston was fought in Galveston Bay during the American Civil War when Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city. Exploration and settlement Galveston Island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes who used the name "Auia" for the island. In 1519, the Alonso Álvarez de Pineda expedition sailed past Galveston Island en route from the Florida peninsula to the Pánuco River. Pineda may or may not have actually seen the island, however, Spain lay claim to the entire Gulf Coast, including Galveston Island, based on the 1519 Pineda expedition. Soon afterward, Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked on the island (or nearby) in November 1528, calling it "Isla de Malhado" ("Isle of Doom"), and from there began his famous trek to Mexico. Various Spanish explorers charting the region referred to the island as "Isla Blanca" ("White Island") and later "Isla de Aranjuez" ("Aranjuez Island"). In 1685 French explorer La Salle named the island "San Louis" ("Saint Louis") and the name became fixed for some time. Golden era At the end of the 19th century, the city of Galveston was a booming metropolis with a population of 37,000. Its position on the natural harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade in Texas, and one of the largest cotton ports in the nation, in competition with New Orleans. Between 1838 and 1842, 18 newspapers were started to serve the island's rapidly growing population (The Galveston County Daily News is the sole survivor). A causeway linking the island with the mainland was finished in 1860, which paved the way for railroad expansion. Storm of 1900 In 1900, the island was struck by a devastating hurricane. Even post-Hurricane Katrina, this event holds the record as the United States' deadliest natural disaster. In the early morning of September 8, high surf, despite prevailing winds out of the north, heralded the oncoming storm. By noon, low-lying areas near the Gulf and the Bay side of the city were flooding and the winds increased. Near 4 p.m. a storm surge approximately 15 feet (5 m) high slammed into the coast. Wind speeds reached approximately 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) (an estimate, since the anemometer was blown off the U.S. Weather Bureau building). Isaac Cline was the bureau's chief meteorologist. Rebuilding and the "Open era" Despite attempts to draw new investment to the city after the hurricane, Galveston has never fully returned to its previous levels of national importance or prosperity. Development was also hindered by the construction of the Houston Ship Channel, which brought the Port of Houston into direct competition with the natural harbor of the Port of Galveston for sea traffic. To further her recovery, and rebuild her population, Galveston actively solicited immigration. Through the efforts of Rabbi Henry Cohen and Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston became the focus of an immigration plan called the Galveston Movement that, between 1907 and 1914, diverted roughly 10,000 Eastern European, Jewish immigrants from the crowded cities of the Northeastern United States. Additionally numerous other immigrant groups, including Greeks, Italians and Russian Jews came to the city during this period. This immigration trend substantially altered the ethnic makeup of the island, as well as many other areas of Texas and the western  U.S. Recent history The economy of the island entered a long, stagnant period. Many businesses relocated off of the island. By 1959, the city of Houston had long out-paced Galveston in population and economic growth. Recognizing this, the Reverend Wendelin J. Nold, fifth bishop of the Galveston Diocese, was permitted by the Vatican to erect a Cathedral of convenience in Houston, naming Sacred Heart Church as co-cathedral. The diocese was then re-designated the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. Galveston and St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica still remained the home of the diocese, but now the bishop could more easily access the rapidly growing Roman Catholic population in Houston. [quote url="http://www.galveston.com/" host="www.galveston.com" title="GALVESTON.COM: Official Website of Galveston Island, Texas Tourism & Marketing" description="" type="article" thumbnail="http://www.galveston.com/img/facebook_share.jpg" k="8a42a0afde"] [img src="https://catf.me/photos/500eba78b5b30cc898a639a1408ee439.jpg" width="1080" height="810"]

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Victor Edozien, CEO of SET Enterprises Inc, a portfolio company of Asaba Group Holdings, rang the NASDAQ closing bell today, a rare honor for and first for any of the Asaba Group Holding companies.

Kenneth Beck, the Chief Executive Officer of CEO Connection had requested Edozien and few other Mid-Market CEOs, who are all members of CEO Connection, to participate in this honorable event to highlight the importance of mid-market companies like SET Enterprises to the U.S. economy with respect to innovation, employment growth and wealth creation. SET Enterprises has been innovative and growing and is a significant value added manufacturer in the automotive industry. CEO Connection is highlighting the importance of the middle market and its role as a major contributor to economic growth. Middle markets are companies with $100 million to $3 billion in revenue and they invited Edozien to showcase the growth of the Asaba Group Holdings' steady expansion in the last few years and its target to be at $1 billion in revenue within the decade.

About Victor Edozien

Victor Edozien is the Founder and Managing Partner of The Asaba Group, Inc. - a strategy consulting/private equity holding company. A veteran of the US Army, Edozien has over 15 years of experience in strategy development & planning, revenue growth, acquisitions and business improvement.

In addition, he has been in principal investing since 2004 primarily in manufacturing and consumer goods sectors. He currently leads two portfolio automotive businesses: <a href="www.agmanufacturing.com">AG Manufacturing</a> and SET Enterprises, Inc.  which has manufacturing locations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Alabama. He is an Executive Director at Cintron World Inc.  a premium branded beverage manufacturer. His three portfolio companies have combined annual revenues of approximately $500 million annually. Edozien's holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, BA Geology with Mathematics, MS in Engineering, and a MBA in Finance & Operations Management. He is currently a Wharton Fellow at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), and CEO Connection.

About CEO Connection

Designed to facilitate peer relationships, CEO Connection is the only membership organization in the world focused exclusively on mid-market CEOs. It connects thousands of mid-market CEOs with each other and to people, information and resources to which they would otherwise not have access. Members are C-level executives with responsibility for all or significant portions of their respective company. It represents a wide variety of businesses across a broad geographic spectrum. The average size of the companies members run is $1.8 billion in annual revenue and 7,600 employees. Inspired by C-level Wharton executives, CEO Connection began in 2005 and has evolved into a dynamic community with wide-ranging benefits uniquely designed to help the mid-market CEO and champion the mid-market perspective. It is all about CEOs helping CEOs.

 
Let’s get the scary stuff out of the way upfront: Cybercrime costs the global economy $575 billion annually, according to reports. The United States takes a $100 billion hit, the largest of any country, according to Politico. A report from former U.S. intelligence officials counted 40 million people whose personal information was stolen within the past year.

(CNN) — Computer hacking ( [link url="http://wtvr.com/2015/03/12/here-is-how-cyber-warfare-began-50-years-ago/"] ) was once the realm of curious teenagers. It’s now the arena of government spies, professional thieves and soldiers of fortune. Today, it’s all about the money. That’s why Chinese hackers broke into Lockheed Martin and stole the blueprints to the trillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet. It’s also why Russian hackers have sneaked into Western oil and gas companies for years. The stakes are higher, too. In 2010, hackers ( [link url="http://hassassociates-online.com/"] ) slipped a “digital bomb” into the Nasdaq that nearly sabotaged the stock market. In 2012, Iran ruined 30,000 computers at Saudi oil producer Aramco. And think of the immense (and yet undisclosed) damage from North Korea’s cyberattack on Sony Pictures last year. Computers were destroyed, executives’ embarrassing emails were exposed, and the entire movie studio was thrown into chaos. It wasn’t always this way. Hacking actually has some pretty innocent and harmless beginnings. Curiosity created the hacker The whole concept of “hacking ( [link url="http://hassassociates-online.com/articles/"] )” sprouted from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology nearly 50 years ago. Computer science students there borrowed the term from a group of model train enthusiasts who “hacked” electric train tracks and switches in 1969 to improve performance. These new hackers were already figuring out how to alter computer software and hardware to speed it up, even as the scientists at AT&T Bell Labs were developing UNIX, one of the world’s first major operating systems. Hacking became the art of figuring out unique solutions. It takes an insatiable curiosity about how things work; hackers wanted to make technology work better, or differently. They were not inherently good or bad, just clever. In that sense, the first generations of true hackers were “phreakers,” a bunch of American punks who toyed with the nation’s telephone system. In 1971, they discovered that if you whistle at a certain high-pitched tone, 2600-hertz, you could access AT&T’s long-distance switching system. They would make international phone calls, just for the fun of it, to explore how the telephone network was set up. This was low-fi stuff. The most famous phreaker, John Draper (aka “Cap’n Crunch) earned his nickname because he realized the toy whistle given away in cereal boxes emitted just the right tone. This trained engineer took that concept to the next level by building a custom “blue box” to make those free calls. This surreptitious little box was such a novel idea that young engineers Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started building and selling it themselves. These are the guys who would later go on to start Apple. Wire fraud spiked, and the FBI cracked down on phreakers and their blue boxes. The laws didn’t quite fit, though. Kids were charged with making harassing phone calls and the like. But federal agents couldn’t halt this phenomenon. A tech-savvy, inquisitive and slightly anti-authoritarian community had been born. A new wave of hackers The next generation came in the early 1980s, as people bought personal computers for their homes and hooked them up to the telephone network. The Web wasn’t yet alive, but computers could still talk to one another. This was the golden age of hacking. These curious kids tapped into whatever computer system they could find just to explore. Some broke into computer networks at companies. Others told printers at hospitals hundreds of miles away to just spit out paper. And the first digital hangouts came into being. Hackers met on text-only bulletin board systems to talk about phreaking, share computer passwords and tips. The 1983 movie “War Games” depicted this very thing, only the implications were disastrous. In it, a teenager in Washington state accidentally taps into a military computer and nearly brings the world to nuclear war. It’s no surprise, then, that the FBI was on high alert that year, and arrested six teenagers in Milwaukee — who called themselves the 414s, after their area code — when they tapped into the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a nuclear weapon research facility. Nationwide fears led the U.S. Congress to pass the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986. Breaking into computer systems was now a crime of its own. The damage of hacking started getting more serious, too. In 1988, the government’s ARPAnet, the earliest version of the Internet, got jammed when a Cornell University graduate student, curious about the network’s size, created a self-replicating software worm that multiplied too quickly. The next year, a few German hackers working for the Russian KGB were caught breaking into the Pentagon. In 1990, hacker Kevin Poulsen rigged a Los Angeles radio station’s phone system to win a Porsche, only to be arrested afterward. The cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement and hackers continued throughout the 1990s. Some hacked for money. Russian mathematician Vladimir Levin was caught stealing $10 million from Citibank. Others did it for revenge. Tim Lloyd wiped the computers at Omega Engineering in New Jersey after he was fired. But hacks were still more of an annoyance than anything devastating, though it was quickly becoming apparent that the potential was there. The stock market, hospitals, credit card transactions — everything was running on computers now. There was a bone-chilling moment when a ragtag group of hackers calling themselves L0pht testified before Congress in 1998 and said they could shut down the Internet in 30 minutes. The danger was suddenly more real than ever. From curiosity to criminal The ethos was starting to change, too. Previously, hackers broke into computers and networks because they were curious and those tools were inaccessible. The Web changed that, putting all that stuff at everyone’s fingertips. Money became the driving force behind hacks, said C. Thomas, a member of L0pht who is known internationally as the hacker “Space Rogue.” An unpatched bug in Windows could let a hacker enter a bank, or a foreign government office. Mafias and governments were willing to pay top dollar for this entry point. A totally different kind of black market started to grow. The best proof came in 2003, when Microsoft started offering a $5 million bounty on hackers attacking Windows. “It’s no longer a quest for information and knowledge by exploring networks. It’s about dollars,” Thomas said. “Researchers are no longer motivated to get stuff fixed. Now, they say, ‘I’m going to go looking for bugs to get a paycheck – and sell this bug to a government.’ ” Loosely affiliated amateurs were replaced by well-paid, trained professionals. By the mid-2000s, hacking belonged to organized crime, governments and hacktivists. First, crime: Hackers around the world wrote malicious software (malware) to hijack tens of thousands of computers, using their processing power to generate spam. They wrote banking trojans to steal website login credentials. Hacking payment systems turned out to be insanely lucrative, too. Albert Gonzalez’s theft of 94 million credit cards from the company TJX in 2007 proved to be a precursor to later retailer data breaches, like Target, Home Depot and many more. Then there’s government. When the United States wanted to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program in 2009, it hacked a development facility and unleashed the most dangerous computer virus the world has ever seen. Stuxnet caused the Iranian lab computers to spin centrifuges out of control. This was unprecedented: a digital strike with extreme physical consequences. Similarly, there’s proof that Russia used hackers to coordinate its attack on Georgia during a five-day war in 2008, taking out key news and government websites as tanks rolled into those specific cities. Then there are hacktivists. The populist group Anonymous hacks into police departments to expose officer brutality and floods banks with garbage Internet traffic. A vigilante known as “The Jester” takes down Islamic jihadist websites. What exists now is a tricky world. The White House gets hacked. Was it the Russian government or Russian nationalists acting on their own? Or freelance agents paid by the government? In the digital realm, attribution is extremely difficult. Meanwhile, it’s easier than ever to become a hacker. Digital weapons go for mere dollars on easily accessible black markets online. Anonymity is a few clicks away with the right software. And there are high-paying jobs in defending companies like Google or JPMorgan Chase — or attacking them. As a result, law enforcement tolerance for hacking has fallen to zero. In 1999, the hacker Space Rogue exposed how FAO Schwarz’s website was leaking consumer email addresses and forced the company to fix it. He was cheered. When Andrew Auernheimer (known as “weev”) did the same thing to AT&T in 2010, he spent more than a year in prison until his case was overturned on a technicality. The days of mere curiosity are over. [img src="chrome-extension://baockdcbjglcifghbgakofkmajnjfkki/images/icon.png"]

According to a study by Tara F. Bishop, M.D., M.P.H., of Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, and colleagues, insurance acceptance rates are lower for psychiatrists than for other types of physicians. AXIS Capital is a group of companies with branch offices in Bermuda, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Singapore and the United States, a global insurer and reinsurer, providing clients and distribution partners with a broad range of specialized risk transfer products and services. (The company also services SE Asian countries such as KL Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand, Jakarta Indonesia and many more.) There have been current calls and complaints for augmented access to mental health services, however low insurance acceptance creates a barricade to these services, according to the study background. Researchers used data from a national survey of office-based physicians in the U.S. to compute rates of recognition of private non-capitated (no set dollar amount) insurance, Medicare and Medicaid by psychiatrists vs. physicians in other specialties. The review also matched characteristics of psychiatrists who endured insurance and those who did not. According to the study's results, the percentage of psychiatrists who undertook private non-capitated insurance, Medicare and Medicaid in 2009-2010 was lesser than the percentage of physicians in other specialties (55.3 percent vs. 88.7 percent for private insurance; 54.8 percent vs. 86.1 percent for Medicare; and 43.1 percent vs. 73 percent for Medicaid).   "Nonetheless, our findings suggest that policies to improve access to timely psychiatric care may be limited because many psychiatrists do not accept insurance," the authors conclude. "If, in fact, future work shows that psychiatrists do not take insurance because of low reimbursement, unbalanced supply and demand, and/or administrative hurdles, policy makers, payers and the medical community should explore ways to overcome these obstacles." 

Three years ago, while visiting friends in the wine-producing Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, Timothy McDonald decided he wanted what they had: a chance to experience small-town life in what is sometimes described as an unspoiled and more affordable version of Provence. A year later McDonald home his wife, Kathleen Brooker, took a mortgage on their paid-up Seattle home and plunked down $200,000 in cash for a 15th-century former shop house in the remote agricultural village of Azille (pop. 1,100), 90 minutes from the Toulouse airport. The couple, both in their early 60s, plan to spend several months a year there after she retires someday from her job as executive director of Historic Seattle. (McDonald, a semiretired architectural preservationist, already spends a month at a time there.) While some aging boomers might put a premium on convenience or a place that can accommodate future physical limitations, McDonald and Brooker bought in a town without even a train station and from a contractor whose idea of tasteful renovations included removing the handrail on the narrow staircase of the three-story stone structure. And why not? They’re fit bikers, runners and history buffs who care more about the town’s proximity to Cathar Romanesque sites and enjoying their French, British and Swiss neighbors. “We wanted to have a bigger life, rather than have a bigger home in the U.S., and ironically we found it in a small French town,” says Brooker. Of course, American billionaires and celebrities have always lived large in Europe. Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen reportedly keeps a staff of 12 at his hilltop villa in St. Jean Cap-Ferrat, along the Côte d’Azur. George Clooney‘s 30-room palazzo on Italy’s Lake Como has starred in many A-list parties. What they’re currently finding, says Ronan McMahon, who reports on real estate trends for the International Living website, is that European prices peaked between 2006 and 2008 and are now all over the map. Stratospheric London and Paris prices never fell that much and have headed back up. But an exodus of youth from rural France and Italy has made homes like the one Brooker and McDonald bought somewhat more affordable. But a weaker euro, low interest rates and crashing real estate prices in parts of the euro zone are prompting more ordinary American Europhiles to look at buying a piece of the Old World .  Then there are Europe’s real estate bust areas, which unlike, say, Nevada and Florida haven’t started their comebacks. McMahon’s advice for those areas: Wait until prices have fallen dramatically and be prepared to hold for a while. That makes him bullish on Spain and Ireland but bearish on Portugal’s Algarve and the Greek islands of Crete, Mykonos and Santorini, where prices are down only 30% from their peak. By contrast, along the scenic Ring of Kerry, near McMahon’s Adare, County Limerick, Ireland base, $100,000 can get you a country cottage, a newly built modern home or a building plot with views of the Atlantic. All would have fetched $500,000 at the peak. In Spain deal hunters have been scooping up apartments in failed developments from banks selling for one-third of the 2007?08 list price. A two-bedroom, two-bath apartment on the Costa del Sol with distant views (on a clear day) of the ocean less than a mile away can be had for $100,000. Beyond the state of the real estate market, consider how a purchase fits into your overall finances and whether you’re really game for the practical, legal and personal challenges of maintaining a home in another country and possibly retiring there. Visit the area you’re considering multiple times, rent a place (rather than staying in a hotel), shop for food, do laundry and get the full residential experience, good and bad. Ask yourself what you’re looking for: a base for travel or a charming destination? A primary or second home? Or maybe just a vacation place that you’ll also rent out? Read Full Article: [link url="https://storify.com/genarohilley/the-cindy-shearin-group-everything-you-need-to-kno"] Read More: [link url="http://manhattanvillage.info/"] [img src="chrome-extension://baockdcbjglcifghbgakofkmajnjfkki/images/icon.png"]

[link url="http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/06/16/lawmakers-join-all-out-push-to-combat-medicare-fraud-a-518362.html#.U6GtwfldUh4"] [quote url="http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/06/16/lawmakers-join-all-out-push-to-combat-medicare-fraud-a-518362.html#.U6GtwfldUh4" host="insurancenewsnet.com" title="Lawmakers Join All-Out Push to Combat Medicare Fraud" description="WASHINGTON, DC- As law enforcement announced a nationwide sting against Medicare fraudsters today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington was putting the finishing touches on legislation aimed at making a significant dent in the problem. Federal law enforcement officials in Miami today announced the details of a multi-agency strike force..." type="article" thumbnail="http://insurancenewsnet.com/BannerImages/BizEquity_Medallion_0514_NEW_v2.gif" k="e3034001db"] WASHINGTON, DC - As law enforcement announced a nationwide sting against Medicare fraudsters today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington was putting the finishing touches on legislation aimed at making a significant dent in the problem.   Federal law enforcement officials in Miami today announced the details of a multi-agency strike force operation that resulted in the arrest of 90 people nationwide for defrauding Medicare out of some $260 million. U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME), who have spent a great deal of time examining the problem of Medicare fraud and ways to curtail it, commended the actions announced today by federal officials while also saying that the crackdown illustrates the need to do more to stop Medicare fraud. Nelson and Collins, along with Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Chuck Grassley(R-IA), have authored legislation to strengthen the government's hand in stopping Medicare fraud. The lawmakers plan to formally file the legislation on Thursday.

[link url="https://www.rbcwmfa.com/thewoogroup/"] Often considered to be one of the most conservative of all investments, bonds actually provide benefits to both conservative and more aggressive investors alike. The variety of bonds available provides an array of options to meet many investment goals, from earning regular income to achieving capital appreciation much like stocks. To understand these benefits, it is important to understand how bonds work. This fact sheet explains the fundamentals of bonds, addressing: how bonds are structured and priced; what factors affect prices; how to measure return; types of bonds; bond risks; and bond taxation. By learning about these bond basics, you’ll be on your way to understanding how bonds can contribute to your investment goals.  Bonds defined In the financial world, there are fundamentally two types of security investments: debt and equity. Issuing debt (bonds) is an important way for different types of issuers to raise money to fund projects or build capital. The most common bond issuers include: federal governments, federal agencies, municipalities, and corporations. While all of these entities can issue debt (bonds), only a corporation can issue equity (stock).  One of the key ways in which bonds differ from stock relates to the issuer’s obligation to the investor. When an investor buys stock in a corporation, that investor becomes a partial owner. The stock offers the possibility of capital appreciation and dividend payments to the stockholder, with no guarantee that either of these will occur.  A bond, on the other hand, makes a promise of return to the bondholder. The issuer agrees to pay the bondholder a fixed interest payment on a regular basis until the bond’s maturity, at which point the issuer will pay the original face value of the bond. A bond certificate, in essence, is simply a promissory note or “IOU”, which legally binds the issuer to repay the amount paid per the IOU and describes the terms of the loan. As a creditor of the issuer, the bondholder has a senior claim on the liquidation of assets over stockholders if the issuer were to file bankruptcy.  Bonds, in the most generic sense, are issued with three essential components.  •    Maturity — Maturity indicates the life of the bond. Most bonds have maturities ranging from 3 months to 30 years. •    Par Value — Par value, also called face value, is the amount the bondholder will be repaid when the bond reaches maturity. For instance, if you purchase a $1,000 par value bond, you will receive $1,000 at maturity. •    Coupon Rate — Coupon rate (also referred to as interest rate) is the percentage of par value that will be paid to bondholders on a regular basis. For example, if you purchase a $1,000 par value bond with a 10% coupon rate you will receive $100 interest each year.  Characterized by fixed interest payments and a return of principal at maturity, bonds are commonly referred to as fixed income securities.  Why Buy Bonds? Investors purchase bonds to take advantage of their many benefits compared to alternative investments.  •    Safety/Capital Preservation — Because the bond issuer must pay back the bond’s face value at maturity, an investor’s original principal is preserved, unlike stock where the investor can lose the original investment value. The degree of safety varies with bonds of different types and ratings. •    Fixed Return — Investors receive fixed, regular interest payments which provide an element of predictability versus common stocks where the returns are less certain. •    Current Income — For those wanting a regular cash income, bonds provide regular interest payments at set times. •    Reduce Portfolio Risk — Due to their more certain nature compared to equities and their divergent behavior in tumultuous markets, bonds are a great way to reduce the risk in an investment portfolio. •    Capital Appreciation — Many investors benefit from trading bonds in the secondary market to take advantage of price increases, much the same way as they would trade stocks. How is the Bond’s Coupon Rate Determined? A bond’s coupon rate is determined when the issuer first creates the bond offering and sells it in the new issue market, commonly called the primary market. A number of factors influence the level of a bond’s coupon rate. The main factor is the level of interest rates prevalent in the economy, in general, and more specifically interest rates prevailing for bonds of the same credit quality and structure. For instance, investors will demand a higher coupon for a corporate bond rated single A relative to a U.S government bond to compensate for the lower credit quality of the corporate bond. Another factor influencing the coupon rate includes the length of the bond’s maturity with longer-term bonds normally posting higher coup How is the Bond’s Price Determined? After a bond is first issued in the primary market, it becomes part of the secondary market — composed of buyers and sellers of outstanding securities. The bond’s price will fluctuate in the secondary market above or below the original issue price to reflect changing market conditions. However, purchasers of the original issue don’t need to fret about price movements of their bonds because such fluctuations won’t affect the payback of the bondholder’s original principal amount at maturity, the par value. This return of principal, regardless of price volatility, is one of the key benefits of holding bonds. Many investors, however, have learned to capitalize on bond price movements by trading bonds and realizing gains on price appreciation, as they might with common stock. To do this, investors need to understand the combination of factors which drive bond price movements; the main determinants are interest rate movements; credit quality; length to maturity; call features; and supply and demand factors.  Interest Rate Level The most important cause of bond price fluctuations is the changing level of interest rates. As illustrated below, when interest rates in the market rise, a bond’s price will fall. Conversely, if interest rates fall, a bond’s price will rise. For example, suppose that you purchase a 3% coupon bond of ABC Company at its primary issue price, the par value of $1,000. Assume that two years from now the bond is trading in the secondary issue market. At this point, market interest rates have fallen and new bonds similar to yours are being issued at a par price of $1,000, but are paying only a 2% coupon rate consistent with market conditions. Understandably, other buyers in the market would be willing to pay a premium, more than $1,000, for your bond that has the higher 3% coupon rate. Therefore this bond’s price will increase to reflect prevailing rates; this bond trades at a premium price. If you sold your premium bond, you would have a gain on your original purchase.  Consider the opposite case. Two years from now, interest rates have risen and a new bond selling for $1,000 is paying a 4% coupon rate. It would be impossible to sell your bond for $1,000 if it is only paying a 3% coupon rate when new bonds are offering a higher rate of interest. In order to sell your bond, you will have to offer it at a discount to entice a buyer to buy your bond. If you sold your discount bond, you would register a loss from your original purchase price of par value.  Credit Quality Changes in an issuer’s credit quality will also affect the price of its bonds. This factor is most common with non-U.S. government issuers such as corporate and municipal issuers. An issuer’s credit quality is evaluated according to its ability to make timely principal and interest payments to bondholders. Bonds are evaluated for credit risk based on the financial performance of the issuer, both past and present. The major rating agencies for bonds are Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service.   Learn more about this article [link url="http://www.rbcwm-usa.com/resources/file-687468.pdf"]

Guidelines for Making Well-Informed Decisions When it comes to thinking about the part Social Security plays in your retirement plan, most of your concerns probably relate to two main questions: 1. How much can I expect to receive? (Determining amount of benefit) 2. What is the best age for me to begin? (Determining timing of benefit) Unfortunately, the only simple answer to most Social Security questions is, “It depends.” The benefit each person receives is relative to both his or her earnings history and the choice he or she makes about the age at which benefits begin. Throw in the fact each person approaches Social Security with a different set of financial circumstances, tax issues and other considerations, and you really have a lot to think about. This “relative” nature of Social Security makes your decision about Social Security a complex one. However, this complexity can be seen as a positive instead of a negative. The good news is, if you understand some basic concepts, you can make  well-informed decisions to help you optimize both the amount and the timing of your benefit. A good source of information about the Social Security benefit you personally may receive is the Social Security Statement mailed to you by the Social Security Administration each year for workers age 60 and older. The Social Security Administration has suspended paper mailing of Social  Security Statements for U.S. workers between the ages of 25 and 60. If you are between these ages you can access your statement online at www.ssa.gov by creating your own Social Security account. We also recommend verifying your Earnings History annually, as your retirement benefit will be based on this record. The rest of this brochure provides an overview of the basic concepts you need to understand in order to make well-informed decisions about Social Security. If you have any questions about this material or want help making decisions about Social Security, your financial advisor can talk to you about the role Social Security plays in your retirement plan. What You Need to Know About Determining the Amount of Your Benefit Funding Your Benefits Reduced to its basics, Social Security is a trust administered by the Federal government through which current workers and their employers fund benefits paid to current retirees. The money you and your employer pay into Social Security is used now to provide benefits. It is not set aside in an account waiting for you. As a corollary, the benefits you may receive upon retirement are funded by workers and employers paying into the trust after you stop working. Key take away — Social Security is a “pay as you go” system. Read full article here [link url="http://www.rbcwm-usa.com/resources/file-765832.pdf"] see more: [link url="https://www.rbcwmfa.com/thewoogroup/"]

The Justice Department announced last week that it had indicted five members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on charges of cybertheft( [link url="http://corlisstech.livejournal.com/17018.html"] ). According to the indictment, the five hackers systematically stole business secrets from American corporations — household names like Westinghouse, Alcoa, and U.S. Steel. The alleged thefts were not aimed at boosting Chinese national security( [link url="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Corliss-Tech-Review-Group-6536794"] ) or undermining ours. Rather they appear to be part of a scheme, going back at least to 2006, to boost Chinese companies by stealing American know-how. The alleged thefts were not aimed at boosting Chinese national security( [link url="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Corliss-Tech-Review-Group-6536794"] ) or undermining ours. Rather they appear to be part of a scheme, going back at least to 2006, to boost Chinese companies by stealing American know-how. The indictments should surprise no one. In 2013, Mandiant, a private American cybersecurity company( [link url="https://foursquare.com/v/the-corliss-tech-review-group/526dc4b811d2d87c16d076e2"] ), released a report on the activities of Unit 61398 of the signals-intelligence branch of the PLA — the same group cited in the indictment. According to Mandiant, Unit 61398 had penetrated more than 140 western companies. Also in 2013, the congressionally chartered Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property estimated that the losses from IP cybertheft totaled some $300 billion per year. And, so, this week’s indictment is quite welcome. Finally, after a number of years of just talking about the problem, the United States is responding. To be sure, nobody actually expects this case to ever come to trial. The Chinese are simply not going to extradite members of their military to stand trial in an American courtroom. Still, the indictment sends several powerful messages. First, the charges set an important precedent: That the U.S. government sees state-sponsored economic espionage as a crime. While the five PLA officers are beyond our borders, the companies that benefit from the theft are not. Someday, therefore, we may see Chinese companies and corporate officials indicted for their role in the theft of American intellectual capital. Second, the charges tell corporate America that the government will defend their interests. Even if the Chinese hackers are never brought to justice, the indictment will have the positive effect of assuring American companies that Washington is willing to incur significant diplomatic costs on their behalf. This will likely persuade corporations, in turn, to be more willing to come forward when they are victimized. Third, the indictment serves as a warning. It says to the Chinese “we are watching you and we know what you are doing.” This remarkably transparent action reflects a conscious decision to risk the disclosure of sources and methods of how the U.S. collects intelligence data for the benefit of deterring Chinese misconduct. Buried in the indictment, for example, is a discussion of Chinese cyber espionage tradecraft (which false domains and websites( [link url="http://thecorlissreviewgroup.com/"] ) they use). It contains the details of specific intrusions into specific identified companies and provides a highly particular list of exactly how the attacks were carried out. That kind of detail has to give Chinese hackers some pause. They can no longer be sure they are cloaked in anonymity. And, finally, the indictment says that the U.S. is coming out of its post-Snowden defensive crouch. No matter what the world may think of Snowden’s revelations, we are putting the embarrassment behind us and resuming our efforts to manage the cyber domain( [link url="http://thecorlissreviewgroup.com/blog/"] ). The indictment may have been a long time coming. (I suspect that the Snowden disclosures altered the timing quite a bit). But whatever the timing, it is good news that our government is finally willing to stand up to Chinese theft and call it what it is: state-sponsored crime. [img src="http://catf.me/photos/8bba49e2e00b3b4a26b041507b0439e5.jpg" width="640" height="426"]

Leading economies call for accelerating transition to global clean energy economy SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- Policymakers from the world's leading economies [link url="http://www.slideserve.com/kristelgeisel/westward-group-renewable-energy-news-leading-economies"] that account for roughly 70 percent of all energy consumption on Tuesday called for accelerating the transition to a global clean energy economy that can help deal with climate change and energy security issues. In a press conference held at the conclusion of the three-day 5th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meeting in Seoul, Yoon Sang-jick, South Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy, said clean energy development depends of three key pillars based on finding good technology, investment and market creation. Yoon, who hosted the gathering, said for such pillars to contribute to clean energy use, trust building among interested parties is essential. By building trust, market actors can reduce risks associated with developing new technologies," he said. The minister also noted that participants of the latest CEM meeting agreed to discuss in detail issues raised by Seoul on the need to deal with different certifications, diverse regulations and government policies that favor national companies over foreign firms in the clean energy development field. After discussing the matter for one year, CEM will decide whether or not to adopt the issues as a formal initiative when it meets again in Mexico City for the sixth round of ministerial talks," he said. U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz also concurred on the need for close cooperation across the board and said that recent focus on "clean energy finance" and other measures are important to bring about progress that can allow the world to deal more effectively with global warming. The focus on clean energy finance  [link url="http://westwardalternatives.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/westward-group-renewable-energy-news-leading-economies-to-global-clean/"] Westward Group Renewable Energy News: Leading economies to global clean - Discussion Topic - IET MyCommunity Westward Group Renewable Energy News: Leading economies to global clean - Leading economies call for accelerating transition to global clean energy economy SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- Policymakers from the world's leading economies that account for roughly 70 percent of all energy consumption on Tuesday called for accelerating the transition to a global clean energy economy that can help deal with climate change and energy security issues. In a press conference held at the conclusion of the three-day 5th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meeting in Seoul, Yoon Sang-jick, South Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy, said clean energy development depends of three key pillars based on finding good technology, investment and market creation. Yoon, who hosted the gathering, said for such pillars to contribute to clean energy use, trust building among interested parties is essential. "By building trust, market actors can reduce risks associated with developing new technologies," he said. The minister also noted that participants of the latest CEM meeting agreed to discuss in detail issues raised by Seoul on the need to deal with different certifications, diverse regulations and government policies that favor national companies over foreign firms in the clean energy development field. "After discussing the matter for one year, CEM will decide whether or not to adopt the issues as a formal initiative when it meets again in Mexico City for the sixth round of ministerial talks," he said. U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz also concurred on the need for close cooperation across the board and said that recent focus on "clean energy finance" and other measures are important to bring about progress that can allow the world to deal more effectively with global warming. "The focus on clean energy finance and close collaboration with the private sector is part of the broader theme where if we are going to have the kind of energy transformation that we want, at the scale that we want, and at the pace that we want, we need to find ways to move large amounts of private capital off the sidelines so it can be invested in clean energy," the official stressed. He said that the period between the CEM 5 meeting held in Seoul and the CEM 6 meeting set for next year is important because the international community will be discussing key issues related to climate change. "Clean energy is central to the solution of climate change risks and energy security," Moniz said. Countries around the world are moving to make collective commitments to greenhouse gas reductions at the end of 2015 in Paris. In regards to energy security, he pointed out that the recent developments in the Ukraine have highlighted the issue to a new level. CEM 5, which gathered energy ministers and senior delegates from 22 countries and the European Commission, highlighted progress made through the ministerial collaborative initiative and announced new and expanded actions that will enhance clean energy supply, improve energy efficiency and expand clean energy access around the world. Read This Post here - MyCommunity on TheIET.org [link url="http://mycommunity.theiet.org/discussions/viewtopic/804/16243"]

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo TOKYO -- Asia was quiet in early Friday trading, ahead of a release later in the global day of key U.S. jobs data, with the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange standing almost unchanged in the morning session. The Nikkei slid 0.2 percent to 14,460.30 in early trading, while the Kospi gained 0.1 percent to 1,963.04. Market moves were cautious in anticipation of the release of U.S. government nonfarm payrolls report for April, which could show signs of an economic recovery. The figures, which often set the market tone for a week or two after their release, may have a big impact as they come in the wake of significantly lower than expected U.S. economic growth in the first quarter and the Fed's ongoing reduction in its monetary stimulus. Thursday's manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management echoed other findings showing that the U.S. economy rebounded strongly in March and April. Most economists expect Friday's payrolls data to be solid too, with about 220,000 jobs created during April. Overnight on Wall Street, share prices did not keep rising after three straight days of gains, as players took a wait-and-see attitude. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,883.68. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.97 points to 16,558.87. The Dow had closed at an all-time high on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite rose or 0.3 percent to 4,127.45. Much of the world was on holiday for May Day Thursday. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was the only major index to be traded, and it closed 0.4 percent higher at 6,808.87. The euro was trading virtually unchanged from late Thursday at $1.3861 and the dollar was also unchanged at 102.33 yen. Source link: [link url="https://medium.com/p/ef9631bcf15f"] In the oil markets, a barrel of benchmark crude was down 10 cents at $99.32.