National Action Mesothelioma Day - Friday 5 July Stratford Town Hall

Friday 5th JULY 2013
"You are invited to attend a commemorative event at 12:30pm to remember all those who have died and who are suffering because of asbestos
Speakers
Peter Williams Head of Asbestos and personal injury,
Field, Fisher, Waterhouse
John McClean GMB National Safety Officer

There will be a release of doves, at 1pm, followed by a short seminar, and a buffet will be provided.
The event is organised by London Hazards Centre and East London Mesothelioma Support, ELMS.
All invited but please RSVP to margaretsharkey@lhc.org.uk

5 facts about asbestos

1 Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and there is no safe level
of asbestos exposure.
2 54 countries have banned asbestos. The UK finally banned all types
of asbestos in 1999.
3 Asbestos fibers can cause asbestosis, lung, and gastrointestinal
cancers, and an aggressive cancer called mesothelioma. The average
life expectancy of a mesothelioma patient is six – twelve months.
4 Asbestos-caused diseases have a 10 – 50 year latency period from
initial exposure to development of disease.
5 The World Health Organisation estimates that 107,000 workers
die annually from exposure to asbestos. And in the UK over
3,200 die from mesothelioma each year according to HSE"

Campaign for Fairer Gambling - Latest shocking research into Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

Campaign for Fairer Gambling - Fixed Odds Betting Terminal Research - 7th June 2013

Campaign for Fairer Gambling have commissioned a survey by 2CV Research Ltd with 501 betting shop customers in Newham where PaddyPower recently defeated the Council's licensing committee decision to refuse on application for a FOBT/bookmakers on appeal in court.

No survey like this has been done since the 2010

#UNDC13 Chair of Standing Order's tickling stick

Here we have the Chair of UNISON Standing Orders Committee, Clytus Williams, giving his traditional Friday morning final report to conference with the aid of music and a Knotty Ash tickling stick. 

We were after all in Liverpool and I think his version of the Ken Dodd classic was his best SO report ever. 

How can I ever forget the words  

"Happiness to me is a Group debate,  A Composite that we all rate".

 

#UNDC13 Nothing too good for the workers - Friday am

This picture is of my messy desk on the NEC platform in front of the UNISON NDC conference hall on the Friday morning.

When I arrived that morning I found this bottle of Champagne on it.

There was no message with it so I asked colleagues if they had seen who had left it there? I was told a man with grey hair and glasses had left it for me (which ruled in 90% of male delegates).

I thought that I may have won it in a raffle but have since found out it was a thank you gift from someone who I had helped out when he got himself in a little bit of bother a while ago. It was not needed but a nice gesture. 

DOING RIGHT BY OUR ARMED FORCES

With Armed Forces Day coming up this weekend, I’m giving my support to Labour’s campaign to provide members of the Armed Forces with discounts at health and leisure clubs – ‘Fighting Fitter’.

Whether council-led or privately-run, fitness facilities play a vital role in our community keeping people fit. And that’s essential for members of the Armed Forces who, when away from their base, can often

Smart meters are coming to Haslingden and Hyndburn and could save you £65 a year

I
recently visited a event in Parliament to find out more about smart
meters. Most of you will ask straight away what a smart meter actually
is. They’re a new energy meter that is due to replace your existing gas
and electricity meter. Some of you will have already had one installed.
British Gas has installed 653 in Haslingden and Hyndburn. It’s estimated that they can help you save

The Spending Review shows that David Cameron’s economic plan has failed

This week David Cameron and George Osborne presented a Spending Review in which they were forced to make more cuts because their economic plan has failed.

They have failed on living standards, failed on growth and failed on the deficit. And Britain’s families and public services are paying the price. The scale of the cuts is a direct result of their failure to get the economy to grow.

It

It's Criminal - (Probation Against Privatisation)

Excellent Video by NAPO! "The Government plans to outsource 70% of the Probation Service's work to private companies such as G4S, Serco and Sodexo. This will include supervision in the community of ALL low and medium risk offenders, running treatment programmes, unpaid work and more.

Napo believes these plans are ill thought through, thin on operational detail and, with the planned tight timescale, will be unworkable. But, most importantly, they will undermine the good work the service is doing and pose a threat to public safety.

Ideology first -- community safety last
The true motivation behind these plans is to drive down costs regardless of the impact on service quality. There is also an ideological commitment to privatisation. Currently Probation Trusts are not being allowed to bid for their own work. Napo believes justice and public protection should not be about profit. It should be about public safety, reducing reoffending, rehabilitation and preventing further victims. There is already a successful organisation providing this in England and Wales. It's called the Probation Service. Don't let it be destroyed.

What you can do: Contact your MP to let them know that you oppose the Government's plans

Find out more: http://www.napo.org.uk/about/probatio...

Sign the Probation Service e-petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petit...

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaveProbation

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.

The curious case of GOLD - A Gold bubble?

Gold price has dropped significantly the past few months hitting a low of $1180 before recovering back to $1235. Gold price was at a high of $1837 in 2011. That is a 33% drop till now.

The above shows a 20yr chart of Gold. The recent drop is the worst in 20 years. Back home in Singapore, if you notice, there were already signs that Gold had formed a bubble and a crash is coming. How do i know?

The answer lies with more and more people without financial knowledge are investing in Gold. In Singapore, we saw an increase in the number of  firms who promise a guaranteed return if you invest with them. These firms typically use Gold as a luring point and attract people to put their money with them. As Gold is a rather safe asset and a hedge for inflation, nobody thought that Gold price will go down. The marketing point was that as long as there is inflation and prices are going up every where, then Gold price would go up also.

Before the recent huge fall in Gold prices, some of these firms promising a guaranteed return on Gold investment shut down and the owner disappeared. This left investors stranded and they lost all their money. Examples of 2 such companies in Singapore are Genneva Gold and The Gold Guarantee. With cases like this happening, it gives us a strong hint that Gold prices are at unsustainable levels  and the bubble might burst soon.

Watch this video to find out more on the recent Gold scam in Singapore by The Gold Guarantee:

Family losing close to a million in the Gold scam? It is really happening. 

You'll realise some investors are old people and most likely they do not know anything about Gold. Its quite saddening to see how people lost all their savings and money to firms like this. It is important to have knowledge and educate yourself on the financial instruments before investing. You'll save yourself from all these scams. 

Then the question is why would people invest their hard earned money with these institutions? Most likely is due to greed of having higher returns. These institutions can promise a guaranteed return of more then 10%p.a. In the first year you may get your returns as promised but the next following year, they may disappear along with all your money. 

The next bubble? Maybe housing bubble in Singapore and some parts of Asia. No one knows for sure but i do know that more and more firms are into property investments similar to the Gold case. This is something to be aware of. These firms are promising 12% return PA investing in properties. Watch out for similar scams like this. 

Woodnook - Phase 1 update

PHASE 1 UPDATE
The strip out and partial demolition of Phase 1 properties between Augusta Street and Booth Street has now been completed, with the main refurbishment works expected to commence in the Autumn.

EMPTY HOMES FUNDING
As outlined in the previous newsletter, the Council have secured £3.76m from the HCA Empty Homes Cluster Fund. This funding will be ‘matched’ by Woodnook JVCo, the

A video to share - If the World Was a Village of 100 People

Saw this video and thought it would be good to share with readers of this blog. Its a really meaningful clip. Enjoy!

Secrets to Winning a Scholarship

Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, by Mark Kantrowitz

Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, by self-described author Mark Kantrowitz, is a scholarship book aimed at students seeking scholarships, grants, and financial-aid. I have published a professional review of this book.

I have read this book, cover to cover. I have reviewed the Secrets to Winning a Scholarship book for completeness, ease of use of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, authority of author on the precise subject of "Secrets to Winning a Scholarship", political overtones of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, content of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, layout of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, credibility of souces used by Mark Kantrowitz for his "reviews" of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, and credibility/background of author Mark Kantrowitz ito discuss the topic "Secrets to Winning a Scholarship."

According to Amazon.com, a new Secrets to Winning a Scholarship book will cost about $7.49. For a used copy of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, the cost is $5.46. Let me save you some money. Neither price is worth it. The book Secrets to Winning a Scholarship by Mark Kantrowitz is perhaps one of the most disorganized, deceptive, least articulate, lackluster, and redundant scholarship books that I have ever read.

No Secrets in Secrets to Winning a Scholarship

There is absolutely nothing in his book that even remotely qualifies as a secret to winning a scholarship. Everything in his book is public knowledge, and neither does the background of Mark Kantrowritz qualify him to write such a book. The attempts by Mark Kantrowitz to portray himself as a "Financial-Aid Expert" and therefore share "secrets to winning a scholarship" is like Kurt Rambus trying play forward for the Miami Heat without being exposed as simply an average player.

Despite his notorious background as a government informant who assisted the Ronald Reagan administration's clandestine ProjectScholar$scam against sponsors of scholarships promoted towards African-Americans, Mark Kantrowitz does not fit my perception of a "financial-aid expert." I agree that Mark Kantrowitz has been an expert government informant, an expert government snitch, and an expert promoter of his FastWeb website. However, I disgree with government-sponsored media hype that Mark Kantrowitz is a "financial-aid expert."

After I read the book, I went back to the manager of the book store where it was stocked and asked her: "Why is this crap (Secrets to Winning a Scholarship) on the shelf? when there no legitimate "Secrets" in the book. I did not find a single "secret" to winning a scholarship. She told me that others shared my opinion.

For more of this professional review of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, please click this link and continue...

#UNDC13 Health & Safety Fringe - thursday lunchtime fringe

The NDC health and safety fringe was titled "Safety in Numbers" with presentations on campaigning in hospitals and Glasgow City branch on workplace stress.

There was some disquiet on the perceived lack of emphasis by some delegates on health and safety in conference business and the UNIZONE. While I think we need to do far more on safety issues in recent years it has raised its profile at conference. We, the activists just need to do more to increase this profile further.

One suggestion was that many members do not appreciate "elf & safety" at work but when you ask are they concerned about stress, violence, overwork, bullying...? they "get it". Another was that a set time for conference ought to be set aside to debate workplace health and safety issues.

#UNDC13 Greater London UNISON NDC Social - Wednesday late

I am well behind on my posting on last weeks UNISON NDC conference so will try and catch up over the weekend.

Top UNISON social of the conference was of course that of London Region. The Thistle hotel was an excellent location with a private bar and disco area with a balcony overlooking the Mersey.

We all had a free first drink due to the hotel messing up the regional delegate meeting on the Monday  evening.

Conference is not just about speeches, debates and fringes. Delegates have been known to have the odd drink and to let their hair down once or thrice.

Proceeds from (£5) ticket sales, advertising and raffle went to UNISON Welfare/There for you.

Many thanks to regional staff for running around and organising it. 

Politics & Business In Myanmar 2013

The phlegmatic government (you can try to get rid of the booger from your fingers but it just sticks around) of Myanmar just announced a shocking awardment of foreign telco licenses to build 4G networks in Myanmar. The winners of the 15 year concession were Telenor from Norway (DIGI fame) and Ooredoo from Qatar.

What was shocking was the favourites did not get a mention. SingTel which was easily the hot favourite did not get it. SingTel was bidding as part of a consortium with Myanmar's biggest bank Kanbawza Bank. SingTel with a large footprint in emerging markets, backed by Temasek, not to mention being buddies in  ASEAN loose coalition of neighbours to boot.



It would appear that there are other concerns in the awardment of the concessions. The messages are loud and clear. One, Myanmar still regards ASEAN as not the most important grouping as the memebrs try to make it out to be. Suffice to say, Myanmar has had lingering political issues that earned the ire of many foreign countries. Be it Aung San Sukyi or the dastardly acts towards the Rohingyas. It appears you cannot EVEN say anything negative or try to interfere in any way, even by political suasian or closed door sessions. A hands off and mouth zipped policies are valued.

The other favourite was a consortium led by Digicel, a Jamaica based telco that first invested in Myanmar in 2009 and employs close to 900 people in the country. The consortium also included Goerge Soros and Seung Pun, a leading businessman in the country. This was supposed to be a shoo-in. But no.

Again, that may have a message to George Soros, an advocate of democracy and supporter of many private efforts via NGOs globally. If you want to do big business in Myanmar, be apolitical.Any country that supports sanctions etc... will be "punished".

Ooredoo was ranked 9th out of 11 bids and was unlikely given the tension with anti-Islam violence with the Rohingyas, as the company was Qatari. Still, Ooredoo is 67% owned by Qatar government and provides telco services in Indonesia, Singapore, Laos and the Philippines. It supposedly has over 60mn customers in Indonesia alone. 

Telenor can better explain its cause as it has Norway government support. Plus the Norway government has been one of the more active European countries in Myanmar, supporting and funding various projects in the country.

So, it could be political ... or it could also be corruption. Who knows? It certainly did not look to be fully on merit alone. Though Telenor could win by merit alone as well. Too many questions, the perils of doing business with government. 

My week in Parliament

Summary of this week in Parliament:
• Government Spending Review and Infrastructure Statement
• High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill, Second Reading.
• Opposition Day debate on Lobbying
• Opposition Day debate on the Armed Forces
• Government statement on Undercover Policing
• Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, Second Reading.
• Backbench Business debate on Legal aid reform.
•

I am backing Paul Blomfield's private member bill to regulate payday loan companies

Last week Paul Blomfield introduced his Private Members Bill on High Cost Credit which aims to tackle the problems being caused by payday lenders. Paul has written the Bill in consultation with Citizens Advice, StepChange, Which?, and the Centre for Responsible Credit, as well as other MP's involved in the APPG for Debt and Personal Finance, and it has attracted broad cross-party support for

New research by ABTA – the Travel Association, many UK holidaymakers are travelling uninsured

I am backing ABTA and FCO’s awareness campaign urging holidaymakers not to travel abroad uninsured.

The campaign by ABTA – The Travel Association and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is urging holidaymakers to “pack your policy” ahead of the great summer getaway.
According to new research by ABTA – the Travel Association, many UK holidaymakers are unaware of the costs of medical

Stocks To Watch

Some of you may wonder how is the Murasaki ts system doing. Our subscriber base has been growing  well. The early months were choppy as people did not fully understand how to use the system. Now we are getting back many of our trial users to our Masterclasses (which are free). The weekly crowd is good and its getting to be a big social event and sharing of investing ideas. Below are two examples of how we use the system to pick early movers.


This screenshot was taken at 12.34pm Friday 28 June for LB Aluminum. FQR, M, Live MFI and BRH are our proprietary data. FQR is a measure of the fundamentals based on last 4 quarters. M is the energy index or Murasaki index. If a stock is behaving normally, it should register an M of around 100 or below. If its 400, it means it is 4x abnormal behaviour. 

The bottom right is the last 5 days data on M, MFI and BRH. As you can see, the M index was behaving itself for most of the past 5 days except yesterday, the 1,323 was a big anomaly which was accompanied by a positive uptick in price. Its a signal that let us confirm it is an early mover. It may not go up every day after that, but at least we know the engine has been started. Hence LB Aluminum is a good trade for a 1-15 day period.

The second stock highlighted is Ewein. Again, just by looking at the last 5 day pattern, you can already confirm 3 days back that something is up. The M energy continued, accompanied by positive upticks. As it is still well below the 1,000-2,000 reading on the M, you can conclude that it is early days still. Once it gets very speculative where day traders get in, the M will usually go into the few thousand category.

The other important indicator is the MFI or money flow index. The system is about the only one that has a live MFI. Others usually calculate MFI only at end of day. MFI gives an important read on the status of smart money residing in the stock. If the figure is steady or rising, one can safely continue to hold onto the stock. Once it starts dropping (more than 2%-3% points from the week's high MFI), you can basically conclude the smart money has exited and so should you.

Disclaimer: The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.

Raising the matter of rogue car parking companies in the Commons

Double click to open

Yesterday I raised the issue of rogue car parking companies having unchecked access to the DVLA website.

Last year DVLA were forced to admit and finally take down from its website a statement that said they checked every request for information. The reality was the DVLA's EID computer system is automated and not checked and does not refuse requests.

Last month I

West Ham Labour Party AGM 2013 results

Picture is from the end of tonight's West Ham CLP AGM and of some of the new "dream team" Executive also celebrating the 65th birthday of the NHS.

58 delegates crowded into the Party rooms at 306 High Street, Stratford, E15. Best attendance since 1980s according to one delegate.

Can't think why? :)

For contested positions we had one minute hustings then ballot. It all went pretty smoothly.

From left - Julianne Marriot, new vice Chair Campaigns & Communications; Terry Paul, re-elected Assistant Secretary; Gordon Miller, re-elected Agent and new Vice Chair membership, Charlene McLean, re-elected Chair; Alan Griffiths, re-elected Secretary and Anne Easter, new Women's officer.

Not in photo was John Saunders, re-elected Treasurer; John Whitworth, re-elected political officer;   Winston Vaughan, re-elected as Equalities Officer; Kim Silver, re-elected as Trade Union Liaison officer; Ahmed Noor, re-elected as Social officer. Apologies if I have missed anyone out?

Kim and I were also re-elected to the Executive Committee as 2 of the 4 trade union delegates.

How the rich manage their money that the poor and middle class do not - Part 2

In Part 2, i will show you various scenarios of how a person wealth can increase over time if he invest and also how a person's wealth can decrease if he doesn't invest.

The first scenario: Two person starting with $10000 capital and no extra savings for the rest of 20 years

This comparison shows two person, one who doesn't invest and the other one invests. First person as seen in calculation one has their money eaten up by inflation (3% average inflation rate for Singapore). By the end of 20 years, his money is almost halved. It takes approximately 23 years for your money to shrink by half if inflation rate is 3% on average. Person 2 invests his 10k at a annual return of 10%. By the end of 20 years, his 10k has increased to $73281. That is 7X in 20 years.


2nd scenario: Two 25 year old starting out with a capital of $10000 each and saves $500 monthly.

Person A who does not invest will end up with $95578 when he is 45 years old and person B who invest at 10%p.a ends up with $456,129 at age 45. That is 4 times more as compared to a person who doesn't invest.

3rd scenario: If person A saves double at $1000 but still doesn't invest

Even though person A saves $1000 which is double of person B, he still has lesser money than person B who invest. This shows that even if you save more but don't invest, you will still be worse off. That is the reason why some people who save and spend little are still poor when they are older.

How do you become a millionaire in 15 years?

If you start at 25 years old with 10k, you can be a millionaire by age 40. Just save $2500 every month and invest at a return of 10%p.a. Is it possible to save $2500 every month? I would say its quite hard unless your income is very high which is unlikely if you're in your 20s. The solution? Increase your investment rate of return to more than 20% p.a and you just need to save roughly below $1000 and invest it. 

Conclusion

To be rich, learn to increase your investment rate of return and save more. If you can achieve both at the same time, then you'll shorten the time to be a millionaire. If you do not invest above the rate of inflation which is 3%, then your savings will shrink due to inflation. 

To find out how long it takes your money to double, use 72 divide by the rate of return. For eg, 72/24=3

This means if your investment return is 24%p.a, your money will double in just 3 years compounded.

To find out how long it takes your money to halved due to inflation, use 70 divide by the rate of inflation. For eg, 70/4=17.5. This means your money will devalue by half in 17.5 years if inflation rate is 4% on average.

To read part one of this series, click here: 

How the rich manage their money that the poor and middle class do not - Part 1

All the above calculations are calculated using a compound interest calculator provided by the CPF board of Singapore. You can access it here: http://www.cpf.gov.sg/cpf_info/calculator/Compound_Calc/comp_calc.asp 

UNISON Welfare Bucket and Spade Appeal

"Our Very own Welfare Officer and UNISON steward Mitsy Harmon is doing a sponsored walk in aid of Unison Welfare’s Bucket and Spade appeal this weekend and has created a just giving page to make it easy for people to sponsor her. Can you publicise her page to the membership please as it’s a very worthy cause.

https://www.justgiving.com/Mitsy-Harmon

The bucket and spade appeal has been set up to provide a holiday for low paid members see more details below.

Bucket and Spade Appeal

The Bucket & Spade Appeal aims to raise funds for the family holidays provided by UNISON Welfare - There for You. Although there has been a huge growth in tourism a quarter of the UK’s population, including many families with children, are excluded from taking holidays, mainly because they cannot afford them.

Our family holiday service provides a much needed break to families whose very difficult circumstances mean they have the most to gain from the stress relief that a holiday can bring. Thanks to the many volunteers who have taken part in our sponsored events, and the support of branches, members and staff we have raised over £250,000 so far. All the monies raised for the appeal are held in a restricted fund to be used exclusively for family holidays.

(From Branch)

A professional report on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, Baidu, scholarship search engines

Scholarship searches: A professional report on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, Baidu, scholarship search engines

I have published a professional report entitled Scholarship searches: A professional report on scholarship searches, how to find money for college, and how to rate and use scholarship search engines In writing this report, it is clear that millions of students are still conducting scholarship searches using antiquated scholarship search engines that have not kept pace with technology. Worst yet, the inferior scholarship search engines do not keep pace with, and cannot even locate quality scholarship content!! What is a student, mom, or mother to do? Well, I am here tom help.

Therefore, my latest detailed Scholarship Search Engine report addresses ways to rate Scholarship Search Engines, reduce wasted time in using ineffective scholarship search engines, while providing tips for the effective use of scholarship search engines in finding quality content that reflects scholarships, grants, and financial-aid.

We rate scholarship search engines a similar way that we rate scholarship search servics: We rate scholarship search sngines by the ability of these scholarship search engines to find, and index, quality scholarship content.

More than 95 percent of all scholarship applicants conduct scholarship searches via scholarship search engines via either desktop devices or mobile devices. The other 5% have parents that are extremely rich. This article is aimed at the 95% of Americans, and Europeans, who use search engines to find scholarships, grants, and financial-aid. Thank you for reading this article and please do not hesitate to submit your suggestions or replies via our Scholarship Watch blog.

This article continues on the NAAS.ORG website. This article continues with tables, sample search engine terms, and grade reports for search engines, etc.....
A professional report on scholarship searches, how to find money for college, and how to rate and use scholarship search engines.

Auto-enrolment...the AMNT... and the Video

Why it makes complete sense to autoenrole into your Company Pension Scheme.

#UNDC13 Capital Stewardship fringe - Wednesday Evening

Picture from UNISON NDC Capital Stewardship fringe "time for members to govern their money" with UNISON national officer Colin Meech, Mo Baines from Greater Manchester Pension Fund (Chaired by NEC Jane Carolan in the middle)

Colin spoke about the need to bring the fund management of the local government pension (LGPS) fund "in-house"and stop being ripped off by City fund managers. He briefed us on the new governance arrangements of the LGPS which will probably come into effect in 2015 (we think).

Mo praised Colin for his work on pensions. He had been the first to point out why schools and hospitals use PFI to fund rebuilding when we have money elsewhere?

The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) is worth £10 billion but it only has trade union  observers with no voting rights. The fund is looking into localised investments. It wants to build 240 homes for market rent. If you pay into a pension scheme then the area you live in should also benefit from scheme investments.

Mo said that fish always rot from the top. We should make sure that in the LGPS we change fund management from the top.

My question to both is that UNISON should consider regional networks of LGPS pension reps to encourage and give face to face support to reps? There use to be a national network of LGPS reps who actually sit on pension panels and committees, who could be consulted and give feed back on what they they need to help them carry out their duties.

Colin responded by saying there will be a national consultation forum. He warned us not to underestimate those who feed off your money. Do they want to give this up? There are huge vested interests. The LGPS has high fees plus hidden charges. You could clear pension deficits within 8 years if the LGPS was merged & you cut costs and raise performance.

Take Off The Collars

A fellow business blogger David Koay put this up his blog. Its a remarkable video. One that must be watched by all, especially our leaders. Even though I knew how the whole thing would turn out, it still made my eyes well up because it is so easy to have racism and discrimination instilled in us knowingly and unknowingly. Its powerful too. Kudos to the great teacher Jane Elliot.

Ms. Jane Elliott's "brown eyes, blue eyes" experiment in 1970 (the third one after her first in 1968). This "Eye of Storm" documentary was made by William Peters in 1970 for ABC News and later included in the documentary "A Class Divided" (1985), which included a class reunion (of 1984.)

Why Mining SPACs - Important

If you have listened to the S&M show you will have some idea of what I am talking about. The points I am trying to make:

a) why all oil & gas SPACs, the SC is sending out the wrong signals, telling the markets that they only like oil & gas sector

b) the SC has to be careful as it appears to be blurring the lines of approving based on ability and approving based on personalities

c) it is not SC's task to pick the sectors, you can put in the stringent requirements but not sector picking

We have a huge sector that has been largely ignored by EPU, the Capital Markets masterplan. Why:

1) there is no regional financial center to list regional mining stocks

2) Malaysia's vibrant equity markets have not be proactive to make it the center in terms of fund raising, listing, PE mining centric firms, primary greenfields investing, secondary investing, using of Syariah compliant instruments to promote the sector

3) the ring of fire, we are on a volcanic activity plate which also yields a lot of minerals in the region, including Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia ... though the mines may be smaller, they are still very much viable


4) imagine listing 2-3 mining stocks a year ... 5 years later we have 15 and there will be a vibrant equity market supporting the prospecters, early investors, even fund management and private equity

What we have now are viable mines having to go the long way to get listed or even tapping the capital markets. Why are they not listing on Bursa? There are plenty of local entrepreneurs, having to go the hard way... we are again losing talent, earnings, taxes and other multiplier effects. The following are Malaysian mines currently listed overseas and the market cap:

Gindalbie Metals / ASX / USD340m (RM1.08bn)
Avalon Materials / ASX / USD 30m  (RM96m)
LionGold / SGX / USD880m (RM2.8bn)
Golden West / ASX / USD37m (RM118m)
Peninsular Gold / AIM / USD22m (RM70m)
Besra / TSX / USD 32m (R102m)
CVM Minerals / HKG / USD40m (RM126m)
Monument Mining / TSX / USD103m (RM330m)
CNMC / SES / USD107m (RM342m)

They all could have and should be listed on Bursa!!!

Wednesday S&M Show Podcast

Why so many oil & gas SPACs, why not look at mining ...

http://www.bfm.my/snm-show.html

Topical song pick ... Lazy Ways, Hazy Days by 10cc from one of my top 3 favourite albums of all time "How Dare You". Go and google to find out why they chose the name 10cc.

Match Womens Strike Festival 2013: 125th Anniversary

I have worked near the former Bryant & May Match Makers factory in Bow, East London for 20 years and knowing how difficult it is to organise and represent workers nowadays, never mind 125 years ago, I would take my hat off to the Match Women who led the way and showed us all since what is possible.

Famous Eyeglasses - Artwork by Frederico Mauro

Back Britain's Charities - Campaign Update

Dear Member of Parliament, We are contacting you from the Charities Aid Foundation, a charity that works to improve the charitable giving environment and to ensure that donating money is as efficient as possible.As you may be aware, we recently launched the Back Britain’s Charities campaign, which is calling on people to do their bit to support charities during this difficult economic time. The

Fischer On Market Sensibilities

Finally, someone who talks sense about the current turmoil in the markets. The markets should not behave like a petulant child when candies are taken away from them. One, you cannot live on liquidity pumping forever. Two, the withdrawal will only happens when the global economy is recovering sufficiently. So where is the problem?

Billionaire investor Ken Fisher said the U.S. stock market rally that began in 2009 is only in its “middle” stages because most investors still underestimate the strength of the economy.

“We’re right in that transition between skepticism and optimism,” the founder of Fisher Investments, which manages $48 billion, said in an interview at Bloomberg News’s office in Seattle. “The notion that it’s actually the middle of a bull market and there’s a lot ahead -- that’s a really impossible concept for most people to get.”

Stocks tumbled last week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posting its biggest two-day drop since November 2011, and bonds fell around the world after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed may start reducing asset purchases that have fueled gains in markets. The S&P index has slid 4.9 percent since a record high on May 21.

“I’m always amazed that people don’t marvel at the power of global capitalism and global economies, that they’ve actually done as well as they have,” said Fisher, 62, whose company is based in Woodside, California.

If the Fed reduces the stimulus, known as quantitative easing, the economy will grow faster, he said in the interview hours after Bernanke’s June 19 announcement. That’s because key interest rates will rise, encouraging banks to lend more money to companies for hiring and expansion, the investor said.
“I want QE to end because it’s bullish,” he said.

‘Wildly Optimistic’

Fisher’s predictions proved too bullish six years ago.

“I’m on the wildly optimistic side of things,” he told Bloomberg News at the end of March 2007, as a decline in the U.S. housing market began fueling foreclosures and investment losses that imperiled the financial industry the following year. While the S&P 500 (SPX) went on to rise 10 percent to a then-record high about six months later, it turned and plunged as much as 57 percent through March 2009.

In April 2009, Fisher correctly predicted that the S&P 500 would extend a rally that started in the previous month to between 60 percent and 70 percent by March 2010. In January 2011, he told Bloomberg News he didn’t expect “high equity returns” in 2011. The S&P 500 ended the year virtually unchanged, losing 0.04 point for its smallest annual change since 1947.

Consumer Comfort

Americans’ views on the economy last week were the least pessimistic in five years, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index shows. Its measure of how households view the state of the economy climbed to the highest since January 2008.

Slowing global growth contributed to this week’s stock declines. Manufacturing in China is shrinking at a faster pace this month, according to a survey of purchasing managers released yesterday. Jobless claims in the U.S. surpassed forecasts, climbing by 18,000 to 354,000 in the week ended June 15, according to a Labor Department report last week.

Investors who pushed stocks down this week are overlooking data showing long-term interest rates rising, a positive sign, Fisher said in another interview after U.S. markets closed yesterday.

“It’s Mr. Market doing what it does: It’s trying to see if it can turn you against your better judgment,” he said.

Gold is set for its worst week since April after falling below $1,300 an ounce yesterday to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years in New York. Bullion has slid 23 percent this year through yesterday as the Fed signaled it will taper the debt-buying that has helped the metal’s bull run.

Inflation Translation

“Most of history it loses money,” Fisher said. “Before the 2011 peak, people were still holding their breath for QE to translate into inflation, which would then push gold up. And when you waited too long and that didn’t happen, it backfired.”

Fisher is best known for writing a column in Forbes magazine for almost 29 years, he also has published 10 books, including “The Little Book of Market Myths: How to Profit by Avoiding the Investing Mistakes Everyone Else Makes” (Wiley, 2013).

Murasaki Goes To Kuching

If you reside in Kuching or nearby, do call to sign up for a seat for our seminar this coming Monday. Seats are limited.

AMNT at Pensions and Benefits Show (and pros & cons of fiduciary management)

This picture from the Pensions and Benefits show at the Excel Centre in London earlier this month.

The Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) had a stall during the 2 day event run by AMNT volunteers.

I only managed to pop in briefly during the Wednesday lunchtime to say hello.

Beforehand I went to a presentation on "Fiduciary Management" by MN.

They reported that in June 2007 the average DB pension fund was 124% funded! Now it is only 84%. The Fiduciary Management argument is that they can close this closing gap by pooling investment funds and cut costs and improve performance.

I think there is an argument that scale can achieve this but in the Q&A I questioned why they use the term fiduciary when actually they have no fiduciary duty to pension trustees? Their fiduciary duty is to their owners and shareholders. 

I think that this is a fundamental confusion. On a more positive point I did wonder whether this model could be considered as an option in the consultation currently taking place in the Local Government Pension Scheme? Individual LGPS could remain while they pool fund management?

Best State-by-State Scholarship Searches

When looking for scholarship searches, there is no better place than to start your scholarship searches with a proven leader. Unlike certain scholarship search services, our State-By-State Scholarship Searches are entirely free! Yes, our state-by-state Scholarship Searches are entirely free!! We mean what we say. Free!

Ok. So your asking us again "What do you mean by free"? Do I have to pay a fee to use your state-by-state scholarship searches? Do I have to create a user account to use your state-by-state scholarship searches? Do I have to join your Scholarship Club to use your scholarship searches? Do I have to do all the mess I am required to do with other scholarship searches to use your free state-by-state scholarship searches? The answers to all of your questions regarding our state-by-state scholarship searches are ALL no!

We do charge a fee for our State-by-State Scholarship Searches. Users do not have to create a login account to use our free State-by-State Scholarship Searches. Users do not have to join our Scholarship Club to use our free State-by-State Scholarship Searches. Users do not have to do all the mess required with scholarships.com or fastweb to use our state-by-state scholarship searches. All users have to do is point their browser to our state-by-state scholarship searches web link. Unlike many other scholarship-search based services, our State-by-State Scholarship Search Directory is an optimal scholarship search tool for students, moms, women, and single mothers that are seeking information about scholarships, grants, financial-aid, tuition assistance.

Free State-by-State Scholarship Searches. No login account required.

We consider our State-by-State Scholarship searches to be the best because we list over $1 billion of searchable scholarships, grants, and financial-aid. You simply have to search for what you want or browse each category of our state-by-state scholarship searches. We include scholarships, grants, and financial-aid, as well as information and scholarship links to state scholarship agencies and federal grant agencies. In fact, our State-by-State Scholarship Searches also includes resourceful information about the latest government grants, scholarship search services, scholarship reviews, as well information relating to scholarships for women, single moms, mothers, and adult students seeking important information concerning scholarship, grants, or financial-aid.

Moms, Women, and Students Encouraged to Use our State-by-State Scholarship Searches

We encourage Moms, Women, and Students to browse our State-by-State Scholarship Searches for up-to-date, and ever-changing information and scholarship resources that we feature. Regardless of what state you live, we have valuable scholarships, grants, and financial-aid information regarding your state or demographic location.

Free Link Exchange for Scholarship Sponsors in our State-by-State Scholarship Searches Directory

To insure that our State-by-State Scholarship Searches contain a wide resource of useful and valuable scholarships, grants, and financial-aid information, we encourage scholarship sponsors, scholarship organizations, financial-aid consultants, to include their various scholarships, grants, and financial-aid in our State-by-State Scholarship Searches for free; all it takes is a reciprocal scholarship link. The costs is entirely free as long as you provide a verifed reciprocal hyperlink.

For a continuation of this article, please review these dynmaic scholarschip searches links that discuss in detail who to conduct scholarship searches, as well as information about our own State-by-State Scholarship Searches directory directory that details the features and benefits of our Srate-by-State Scholarship Searches:
How to conduct scholarship searches State-by-State?


Scholarship searches: A professional report on scholarship searches, how to find money for college, and how to rate and use scholarship search engines.