Global Stock Market

Is it Rio Tinto or Rio tainted ?

2011-09-13T04:39:00.001-07:00

Not many know that a Norwegian Pension Fund blacklisted Rio Tinto some time ago. On September 9, 2008, amid the turmoil of the global financial crisis, the Norwegian government announced that it had liquidated its entire $1bn investment in Rio Tinto for "grossly unethical conduct

The Grasberg mine in West Papua on New Guinea, which the fund believed posed the "unacceptable risk" of contributing to "severe environmental damage" if it were to continue funding the Anglo-Australian mining giant.This blacklisitng of one of Australia's blue-chip stocks received only syndicated coverage in the local media.

Some history of Rio Tinto in the black

An ancient copper mine located near Huelva in southernmost Spain changed hands in 1873 and a group of opportunistic Anglo-German investors acquired it from the Spanish government for mining. The mine's copper had polluted the surrounding water to such an extent that the indigenes named the river Rio Tinto - literally meaning "red river".

The mine at Rio Tinto had supplied the Greeks, the Roman Empire and many others. Its copper had paid for Carthage's numerous wars on Rome.We can only assume that these investors, aware of such indelible marks on the environment and history, missed the irony, because they named their company Rio Tinto.

There are still protests by environmentalists in West Papua, one of the poorest provinces of Indonesia

Julia gillard air & hair on national port authority plan

2011-01-06T19:03:00.001-08:00

It's estimated that trade through our nation's ports will triple over the next 20 years.

The Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil the plan in Perth. With an eye to that prediction the Federal Government is launching its National Ports Strategy later today aimed at boosting productivity and eliminating the bottlenecks that held back the last commodities boom

Australian stock market Update

2010-09-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

With the merger war between Dell, Inc. (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) at last drawing to a close with the latest $33 a share offer from HP for 3par, Inc. (PAR), tech stocks have really been in focus lately. A spate of merger and acquisition action has prompted a renewed focus on information technology companies, particularly cloud computing stocks.

However, don't be fooled into thinking that a bunch of big spenders in the technology sector means that all tech picks are doing well. In fact, a number of big name blue chips in the industry continue to face very difficult roads ahead. Here are 5 blue chip tech stocks stumbling right now

Wesfarmers has pulled out of the race to acquire the assets of financially strapped miner Griffin Coal.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

International banking regulators known as the Basel Committee will likely require banks to have a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6 percent, up from 4 percent, said the BdB banking association, whose members include lenders such as Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank.

Regulators are bumping up the amount of capital banks need to hold in an effort to ensure lenders have an array of loss-absorbing backstops that can be used in case of a downturn.

Buffers for capital conservation of an additional 2 percent and a countercyclical capital buffer of 2 percent more are also likely to be applied, the BdB said on Monday.

The Tier 1 ratio and each of the buffers probably would be composed of 80 percent of top quality or "core Tier 1" capital, which consists of equity capital and retained earnings, BdB said.

Global markets this week – Round up

2010-05-08T16:30:00.001-07:00

Well this is what made this week look really weak and dangerous for stock market punters
1. Greece ongoing financial problems
2. Dow jones supporting weak market by slipping as well
3. Weak Australian markets due to double tax faced by big Australian miners
Hers is how the Global stock markets looked this week.

In addition to the Australian markets being down 6.7 percent most of the other markets performed pretty weak as well.

Ipo – greater asia investments

2010-04-22T06:26:00.001-07:00

IPO for Greater Asia Investments

For the first time at Bell Direct, we’re pleased to provide an opportunity for you to participate in an IPO.

Greater Asia Investments established by Atlas Capital Management is aiming to raise $70M which will then be invested in the IOFDragon Peacock Fund (managed by Prudential).

This is an exclusive opportunity for Bell Direct trading clients. Obviously Bell Direct does not provide investment advice so you should consider your own financial situation, particular needs and investment objectives before determining whether this opportunity is right for you. But if you’re keen to know more, read on…

Offer details

Investment of IPO proceeds

IOF Dragon Peacock Fund

This fund is managed by Prudential Asset Management (Singapore) Limited and has achieve 19% (net) annualised growth since June 2006

Offer price

$1.00

Minimum investment

$2,000

Investment strategy

Investment predominantly in listed equity portfolios in China and India (with a focus on large cap stocks)

Value at listing

NTA $0.94 plus Option value plus NPV of distributions

Return on capital

Proposing a return on capital after five years

Committed yearly distribution

Minimum 7%pa for entire life of the company paid half yearly as a dividend and or as a share buy back

Free option

Attached at IPO exercisable at $0.90 by 30 September 2010 with an entitlement to a further option

Management fees

1.50%pa of the value of the fund’s assets

Performance fees

20% of outperformance above an Absolute Return Benchmark of 12.5%pa based on high watermark

(May be taken in shares)

Key dates

IPO closing date

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Proposed issue date of Shares and Options

18 May 2010

Date of shares ASX listing

27 May 2010

How to invest

Go to https://www.greaterasianinvestmentsoffer.com.au/belldirect

If you have questions about the procedure for accepting the offer (including questions regarding the application form) call Computershare (the share registry) on 1300 651 853.

More questions?

Call the Greater Asia IPO Information Line on 1300 795 008 (open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm AEST).

stock market update australia

2010-04-22T03:43:00.001-07:00

Todays australian stock market Update

CBH - CBH RESOURCEST LTD - down one cent, or 4.7 per cent, at 20.5 cents

CBH Resources says one if its suitors, Nyrstar NV, has told the lead, zinc and silver producer it does not intend to change its takeover proposal to it.

BHP - BHP BILLITON LTD - up three cents at $42.83

BHP Billiton has unveiled a mixed third quarter production report, with record year-to-date production in key divisions, but poor output from its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

BHP Billiton says it is cooperating with US authorities in an investigation into possible corruption involving government officials.

CSR - CSR LTD - up 4.5 cents, or 2.7 per cent, at $1.725

CSR says it's still in discussions with Chinese company Bright Food regarding its conditional, non-binding offer to acquire CSR's Sucrogen business.

ERA - ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LTD - up one cent at $17.51

Energy Resources of Australia says the long term outlook for the uranium market remains strong.

IFE - IRONCLAD MINING LTD - down eight cents, or five per cent, at $1.52

TRF - TRAFFORD RESOURCES LTD - up 4.5 cents, at 5.8 per cent, at 81.5 cents

A Chinese entity plans to take a stake in IronClad Mining and form a joint venture with the Adelaide-based company at its Wilcherry Hill iron ore project in South Australia.

MQA - MACQUARIE ATLAS ROADS GROUP - steady at $1.00

Macquarie Atlas Roads says weighted average traffic and revenue have increased across its portfolio of toll roads in the March quarter.

OST - ONESTEEL LTD - down five cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $3.91

OneSteel says its Whyalla blast furnace cannot be restarted and it may take four weeks until it returns to normal operating levels.

PRC - PIKE RIVER COAL LTD - up eight cents, or ten per cent, at 88 cents

Pike River Coal says it has successfully placed $NZ10 million ($A7.64 million) in shares with institutions as part of previously announced plans to raise $NZ50 million ($A38.21 million).

QAN - QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD - up one cent at $2.91

Qantas flights to the UK and Europe will remain grounded, even though London's Heathrow airport has re-opened five days after an volcanic eruption in Iceland forced a shutdown.

QBE - QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD - up 13 cents at $21.81

QBE Insurance Group has appointed Terry Ibbotson as global head of distribution.

ESP’s In Australia – Save for your kids education

2010-04-09T15:18:00.001-07:00

Education can be a costly lesson for people who don’t plan
Educating your children is a major expense — the sooner you start saving for it the better. We all know prices are rising; compare the cost of your shopping trolley now to a couple of years ago. But which part of the Consumer Price Index do you think had the highest growth last year? According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, education topped the list at 5.6 per cent. The CPI rose only 2.1
per cent for the same period.

So it’s little wonder that more people are nominating education as
part of their savings goals. Wanting the best in life for your
children and grandchildren is natural, and a good education can
create the base for a successful career and financial stability.
Whether it’s the public or private school system that will provide
that base, it’s likely the costs associated with education will keep
increasing.

The total cost for a year at primary school can be anywhere
between $5,000 for government schools and $13,500 for private
schools, according to 2010 estimates by the Australian
Scholarships Group (ASG).

These costs include uniforms, extra fees for music, sport or dance lessons, school camps and excursions, and computer and internet access. For senior school, the costs can be as much as $20,000 per year.

For a child born this year, ASG estimates the total cost for a
public school education (from preschool to Year 12) will be
$110,000 while a private school education will cost around
$430,000.*

Only 40 percent of parents and grandparents are saving for education in advance but almost all admit that their savings fall short, with half of the savers putting aside less than $100 a month or $1200 a year.
Having the money available when children start school is a better option than borrowing to pay school fees. Paying interest on the borrowings can sometimes double the amount you would pay if you had saved the money.

A decade of debt and the current low wages growth makes it difficult for families to meet their children’s education costs. The reality is that it’s education that is becoming the least
affordable,”

Tax breaks for education

“Given the economic environment, it’s not surprising that families are cutting down on expenses, but education is not considered a

luxury and it’s important to avail yourself of an important tax break that the government allows for Education Savings Plans (ESPs) to boost your earnings,

An ESP is an investment fund that is able to claim a tax credit if
the funds are used for educational purposes. Some people think they’ll borrow against any equity in their homes to pay school fees but that can be risky and impractical

“Families need a separate investment, quarantined from other
assets, to bridge the major gap between what they aspire to
achieve, with regard to their kids’ education, and their ability to
finance it.”

Education saving plans
A tax-effective way to save that encourages the discipline of regular saving and not spending. The downside is that education saving plans have relatively high fees, particularly for conservative investment options. Also, you must find out what happens to your investment earnings if you withdraw your investment early. Some plans will not pay you any gains.
Education saving plans offer a rare tax advantage. The government does not like to give tax concessions unless it is going to encourage people to save for retirement through superannuation or a child's education through an education saving plan.

Two friendly societies that the tax office allows to rebate all the tax paid on investment earnings at the maturity of the "scholarship plan" are Lifeplan and the Australian Scholarship Group (ASG). The tax benefits vary from plan to plan and are complicated.

Managed funds
If you like regular saving plans, why not try other plans with lower fees? Exchange Traded Funds are listed index funds with fees around 0.28 percent, or Vanguard's diversified balanced funds charge a fee of 0.9 percent. After all, they invest in similar sorts of investments to education plans.
If you choose a diversified fund with investments in fixed interest, cash, property and shares, you can spread your risk and take advantage of long-term growth investments such as property and shares.

Most managed funds do not allow investments to be held in a child's name, but generally they will accept applications if an adult acts as trustee for the child and the trustee provides their own tax file number. Direct shares are also attractive investments for children but, again, the investment may need to be held in the name of a trustee.

Instead of giving their children the extra money and hoping it
won’t be spent on a holiday or new car, grandparents are more
likely to choose an ESP, which is specifically designed to make
the most of the tax benefits available when saving for education.
If you’re thinking of using an ESP, it is important to go through
your options with a financial planner. Be aware that some ESPs
may attract penalties if the investment is not used entirely for
education purposes. Whatever method you decide is best for you, the rising costs show it can never be too soon to turn your plans into action.
Breakout
For more information about Education Savings Plans go to
www.commbank.com.au/personal/youth-students/

Education Fund | Education Plan | Education Savings | Scholarship ...

Australian Scholarships Group - Save for your child's future education costs, enrol them into an ASG education scholarship fund today.
www.asg.com.au/

Education Savings Plans - with no entry fees

Provided the proceeds of an education savings plan are used to fund eligible education expenses, generally no further tax is payable upon withdrawal. ...
www.2020directinvest.com.au/...education/education-savings-plans.aspx

EPAL and Eftpos Looking towards new frontiers in Australia

2010-03-30T04:41:00.001-07:00

The company is EFTPOS Payments Australia Limited and it manages one of the biggest number of financial transactions in australia.

AUSTRALIAN DEBIT CARD SYSTEM and EFTPOS

The formation of EFTPOS Payments Australia marked an historic point in the evolution in Australia’s most widely used consumer payment system. The new company is owned and funded by its members and has commercial responsibility for managing and promoting the Australian debit card system.

There are 14 initial members: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited,Australian Settlements Limited, Bank of Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank,Cashcard, Citigroup, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Coles Group, Cuscal, Indue,
National Australia Bank, Suncorp-Metway, Westpac Banking Corporation andWoolworths.

The Eftpos payments network has been restructured to compete with Visa and MasterCard in the internet payment market. On 29 March 2010, Eftpos Payments Australia Limited (EPAL) will announce the appointment of Bruce Mansfield, formerly of Visa. The aim is to move the network to the internet within two years, which will allow cheaper debit transactions from everyday bank accounts.

EPAL TO FIGHT VISA AND MASTERCARD for Financial transactions volumes

In the past five years as the Reserve Bank's move to regulate credit card schemes led to fee changes which boosted the appeal of debit card transactions via the EFTPOS network.

After spending years arguing against aspects of the RBA's agenda on credit card reform, it came as a big surprise to Fully Frank yesterday that Mansfield had decided to jump ship.From June, he will begin canvassing the virtues of debit cards as the new chief executive of EFTPOS Payments Australia Limited (otherwise known as EPAL).

• APCA began working with participants to enhance the governance structure for the
Australian debit card system in August 2007.
• In its Conclusions of the 2007/08 Review, the Reserve Bank of Australia made the
observation that the Australian debit card system was at a disadvantage when competing
with international card schemes because of its governance arrangements and expected
the industry to make significant progress in addressing this concern by August 2009.
• EFTPOS Payments Australia was established on 14 April 2009.

Links:

[PDF]

Response Cover Sheet

APCA Media Release: New Company to Manage Australian Debit Card System

Global Stock Market on Google

2010-03-14T18:35:00.001-07:00

World Markets - CNNMoney.com

Get detailed information on the world stock markets including stock quote performances, key stats, and the latest headlines.
money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/ - Cached - Similar

Global Stock Market Indices

Global Stock Market Indices featuring Live and historical index prices, quotes, charts and news from more than 40 global markets including the Dow Jones ...

FTSE 100 Index - Bse Sensex - S&P/ASX 200 Index

www.advfn.com/index/StockMarketIndices.asp - Cached - Similar

Australian stock watch

The end of reporting season

| 2010, ANZ, anz bank, anz india, Australia, CBA, Commonwealth Bank, india, Reporting season | 0 comments »

So how was your reporting season ?

Australia has just finished its reporting season and the action is just picking up. judging from the reporting season we will possibly in for a helluva ride looking forward.

Stock Exchanges Worldwide

The number of stock exchanges in the world is growing rapidly, so we maynot be able to track all of their pages. If you know of any stock exchange WWW sites ...

AFRICA - ASIA - EUROPE - MIDDLE EAST

www.tdd.lt/slnews/Stock_Exchanges/Stock.Exchanges.htm - Cached - Similar

Major World Indices - Yahoo! Finance

^GSPC, How Long Will The Market Melt-Up Last?at CNBC (Fri, Mar 12). •, ^GSPC, GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stocks, euro rise, shrug off mixed signalsat Reuters ...
finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=americas - Cached - Similar

Major World Indices - Yahoo! Finance

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Bloomberg.com: World Indexes

SWISS MARKET INDEX, 6836.60, -15.13, -0.22%, 03/12 ... Gloomy U.S. Stock Outlook Fading Away After Year-Long Rally: Chart of Day ...
www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/wei.html - Similar

List of stock exchanges - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE), formerly the Suva Stock Exchange .... NASDAQ Global Select Market; NASDAQ Global Market (formerly NASDAQ National ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_exchanges - Cached - Similar

World Stock Market Index

World Stock Market Index,Global Stock Market Index,REIT,Funds.
www.stockindex500.com/ - Cached – Similar

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World trade falls by lowest 12 percent since economic crisis

2010-02-24T03:31:00.001-08:00

World trade fell by 12 percent last year as the economic crisis caused the biggest drop since 1945, giving new urgency to the need to conclude trade talks, WTO chief Pascal Lamy said Wednesday.

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report on the state of play in the Doha Round to the General Council on 22 February 2010, said that “although some progress is taking place, gaps remain”. He suggested that the stocktaking at the end of March be undertaken by senior officials, adding that “the Geneva process remains ready to translate political movement into concrete and substantive progress”.

The unprecedented reduction in global commerce makes it "economically imperative to conclude" international trade negotiations, which are at a standstill, in 2010, Lamy said.

" World trade was reduced by 12 percent in 2009," he told the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think tank.

It was the "sharpest decline" since the end of the World War II, he said, and worse than the 10 percent fall that the WTO had forecast in December.

The Doha Round of trade negotiations began in 2001 with a focus on dismantling obstacles to trade for poor nations, by aiming for a deal that would cut agriculture subsidies and tariffs on industrial goods.

Deadlines to conclude the talks have been repeatedly missed.

Discussions have been dogged by disagreements, including on how much the United States and the European Union should reduce farm aid and the extent to which developing countries such as India and China should

Lamy said the worst contraction in more than 60 years made it "economically imperative to conclude" the Doha Round of global trade talks, which started in 2001 and remained deadlocked after nine years of negotiations due to lingering disagreements between developed and developing countries on market access for agricultural and industrial goods.

The WTO chief said on Monday that it was too early for trade ministers to meet at the end of March on a new push for the Doha Round, dampening hope that the trade talks could be concluded by the year end as promised by world leaders.

All about foreclosure - Avoid it Now

2010-02-24T03:11:00.001-08:00

What happens during the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure?

In this type of foreclosure, borrower simply has to give deed to the lender and his interests in the property securing the deed will be terminated. If lender accepts the deed, no deficiency judgments can be issued against the borrower afterwards.

How does a foreclosure effect your credit report is a perplexing question. This is because Fair-Isaac Company, who started the credit scoring system, will not share this information. What complicates the issue even further is that all the credit information reported is calculated into the individuals' credit score as it occurs. The credit score is updated instantly whenever there is an inquiry, otherwise it sits waiting for some person or institution to access it.

TAKE FOR EXAMPLE :ILLionois

What is the processing period for foreclosure Illinois?
Processing period is 210 days in Illinois.

Is there any right of redemption in Illinois for foreclosure?
No, Illinois does not offer right of redemption.

Are deficiency judgments permitted in Illinois?
Deficiency judgments are permitted in Illinois.

Which law provision governs foreclosure in Illinois?
It is found in 735 ILCS 5/Art XV.

Your credit score "before and after" the foreclosure is no conclusive answer as to how much the foreclosure has hurt your credit report, but it is an indication. Homeowners tend to believe that once they have had a foreclosure they can never buy a home again. This is absolutely untrue, as we see people buying homes within a year of losing their previous home. They will have to pay a higher interest rate unless their down payment is substantial, usually 15% to 20% of the purchase price. But this sizable down payment is often obtained from friends or family members and carried as a second lien on the property. Also the credit score reduction for the foreclosure is reduced as time goes on, until it settles at a minimal number after a few years.

Buying a foreclosed home relieves him of such tensions and worries and helps you posses a property within an affordable price. Before going into details, I would first like to explain what a foreclosed home actually is. Once a home is being bought by a buyer on mortgage or loan, there may be cases, when the buyer is unable to pay off his obligations due to some financial constraints. In such a case, the home is forfeited by the lender. Once it is taken over, the lender tries to sell it off in auctions and recover the money he had spent on loans

The foreclosure's immediate impact on an individual's credit report is estimated to be about 100 to 140 points. The bigger impact is from the late payments on other bills which quickly mount up. Doing a "deed in Lieu of Foreclosure" with the lender reports the same as a foreclosure. It is generally believed that a foreclosure stays on your credit report for seven years, but it can stay on longer because it is part of the public record, which could be open for 20 years. So make certain when you do your credit restoration you have it taken off, if it isn't removed automatically

What happens during the consent foreclosure?

In this type of foreclosure, court gives a judgment by which lender gets all rights related to title of the property. After this type of foreclosure, lender should not file for a deficiency judgment.
This is legal information; it should not be treated as legal advice.

BRIC economy and the Global stock markets

2010-02-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

BRIC - The BRIC Countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China

In economics, BRIC (typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries") is an acronym that refers to the fast-growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The acronym was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001.[1][2] According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea are the only other countries comparable to the BRICs, but their economies were excluded initially because they were considered already more developed

The BRIC are both the fastest growing and largest emerging markets economies. They account for almost three billion people, or just under half of the total population of the world. In recent times, the BRIC have also contributed to the majority of world GDP growth.

Goldman Sachs argues that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China is such that they could become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. The thesis was proposed by Jim O'Neill, global economist at Goldman Sachs

According to various economists projections, it is only a matter of time before China becomes the biggest economy in the world - sometime between 2030 and 2050 seems the consensus. In fact, Goldman Sachs believe that by 2050 these will be the most important economies, relegating the US to fifth place.

By 2020, all of the BRIC should be in the top 10 largest economies of the world. The undisputed heavyweight, though, will be China, also the largest the creditor in the world.Apart from their growth characteristics, the BRIC countries frankly have little in common. They are primarily an investment category now, although there may some political and economic alliances that develop from that grouping. If they do, it is likely to be temporary - once China has assumed its rightful place, it may have no need for these alliances. A G2 of China and the US may be more important for it unless the 2050 predictions do come true.

The future is definitely in the BRIC nations and an investor who wants to supercharge his portfolio most figure out a way to participate and also be to navigate the wild swings that come from emerging markets which can double one year and fall in half the next.

US based investors have access to several BRIC focused exchange traded funds, such as the BIK S&P BRIC 40, which tracks a basket of blue chip stocks in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. There is also the Claymore/BNY BRIC, which holds 75 companies that trade in the US as American depository receipts.

There are several hundred BRIC companies that trade in the US stock exchanges as ADR's, that US investors can buy. They also can buy directly into BRIC countries through some brokerages, such as Etrade, which now allow their customers to invest in overseas stock exchanges, but for now ADR's are the simplest route to go, because more information on companies with dual listing is available, with full SEC filings.

The results are startling. If things go right, in less than 40 years, the BRICs economies together could be larger than the G6 in US dollar terms. By 2025 they could account for over half the size of the G6. Of the current G6, only the US and Japan may be among the six largest economies in US dollar terms in 2050.

In 2001 and 2002, real GDP growth in large emerging market economies will exceed that of the G7. At end-2000, GDP in US$ on a PPP basis in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) was about 23.3% of world GDP. On a current GDP basis, BRIC share of world GDP is 8%. Using current GDP, China’s GDP is bigger than that of Italy.
Over the next 10 years, the weight of the BRICs and especially China in world GDP will grow, raising important issues about the global economic impact of fiscal and monetary policy in the BRICs.

In line with these prospects, world policymaking forums should be re-organised and in particular, the G7 should be adjusted to incorporate BRIC representatives.

The list of the world's ten largest economies may look quite different in 2050. The largest economies in the world (by GDP) may no longer be the richest (by income per capita), making strategic choices for firms more complex.