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Tracking Scrapers Together Through Trackbacks

A blog post linking to one of my blog posts has been scraped dozens of times. Recently, it was scraped by eight different sites in the same day. The eight trackbacked sites turned out to have a single owner/webmaster using their auto-blogging scraper across multiple splog sites. I’ve let the blogger know – after the second time it happened – and now that it’s happened multiple times, it’s time to change strategies.

It’s now time to work together.

Have you received multiple trackbacks over time from an blog post with a link to yours and the investigation finds that it isn’t the original site but a scraper? What do you do?

When a trackback to a blog post shows up for the first time in my Comments Panel, I check it out to see what they are saying about my blog and blog post. Trackbacks are a great way of learning what others are saying about what you say, connecting us all together within this so called “web” world we live in.

The second time a trackback appears that looks like the first, I’m suspicious. While we are all known to be redundant from time to time, I don’t think we are that bad at it. I check it out and if it is not on the original site, I check the article for intrasite links to the original source. It only takes a few seconds to spot a fake.

An intrasite link is any link to the original blog that the blogger put into their post such as a link to a reference article they wrote or a direct link to their own blog’s URL, which some WordPress Plugins for feeds and copyrights inject automatically into blog feeds. Including at least one intrasite link in every blog post is a good habit to get into, even if it is to reference another of your blog posts and increase exposure of your own blog posts. It also helps track trackbacking scrapers.

If I find an intrasite link, then I assume that the blogger has received a trackback and will take care of the matter of the copyright infringement.

If a third, fourth or more trackback appears from the same or multiple splogger/scrapers, then I notify the blog author that their content is being ripped off and ask if they need help responding to these copyright infringements.

Most of the time, the authors are either working on responding and taking action, or welcome the alert, thrilled to be warned.

When the tenth or more trackback appears over time, then I start responding myself in the comments requesting the scraper remove the copyright violating content and warn them that the original author has been contacted, and forward the new scraper site URL to the original author.

Why Bother Warning Fellow Bloggers?

Jonathan Baliey of Plagiarism Today, my friend and fellow blogger here on the Blog Herald, and I agree that we have to all work together to stop copyright infringement and the abuse of our content by scrapers and sploggers using auto-feed scraping tools to take our blog posts and put them on their income generating sites without our permission – or a piece of the pie. If we all work together to educate and stop the abuse, and to control the usage of our content, the web will be a much nicer place.

I warn fellow bloggers because I know I would want to know. I also warn them because I know we can work together to stop copyright infringement. I also warn them because it’s a great way to get to know fellow bloggers.

By reporting scrapers, I’ve met some wonderful bloggers I wouldn’t ordinarily have time to meet. Over time, some have even become friends. We trade war stories, tips for blogging, and even have guest blogged on each other’s blogs. Overcoming adversity is a great way to build relationships.

It’s also a good practice. It’s nice. It’s kind. It’s also supportive.

Wouldn’t you want to know if someone is abusing your content? Do you?

  1. says

    I have seen this thing before, and even wrote about splogs :) now, we need a collective action, need to form a team , or a group for this…. I am ready to help, as much as possible

  2. says

    If I actually took the time to deal with every Splog scraper, I’d spend all my time e-mailing hosts and issuing DMCA notices instead of blogging. Just not worth it in the big scheme of things.

  3. says

    Since all comments to my blog are moderated, if I spot a scraper’s trackback, I just delete it. He can send traffic my way all he wants, but I won’t reward him by sending traffic back to him.

  4. says

    @ Brian Carnell:

    I do take time to deal with every scraper I can find. Trust me, it doesn’t take that long. :D In the big scheme of things, if everyone thought like you…sigh.

    I applaud those who take the few seconds to help out a fellow blogger by letting them know their site has been ripped off. I cheer for those who take the time to educate their readers and others that it is better to ask first than take without asking. What a world it would be if we all took the time to live by that rule. :D

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September 16, 2009

Make depression work for you

You're depressed. You dislike your circumstances and want them to change. People without depression have problems changing because they fear it. So, here's a few suggestions:
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September 15, 2009

Accept differences

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."
-Dalai Lama

Not everyone agrees on how to do things, you have different ideas than you neighbor.

If someone is doing something differently than you, doesn't make them wrong. Learn to accept that. It will give you one less thing to stress over.

Read rest of entry

September 14, 2009

How many beginnings have you had?

The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings.
-Dave Weinbaum
When beginning life again, there are so many new possibilities, new people, places, experiences just waiting to be discovered.

Life is renewed and you will find you have renewed energy.
Read rest of entry

September 11, 2009

Enjoy every day

"Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different."
-Author Unknown

Everyday that you wake up is a new day. It's a little bit different than the one before it.

Take time out of your day to enjoy. Spend time with your children. Curl up with your significant other and watch a movie. Take a warm bath.

Just make sure you do something to make the day enjoyable and remind yourself that you're alive and living.
Read rest of entry

September 10, 2009

What will you do today?

"Everyone can think of the one thing that would make life better for them.
But people are not so quick to answer the second question:
'What are you doing to make that change come true'."
-Catherine Pulsifer

What could you do today to help change your life?

It doesn't have to be something huge, just some small step that you can take right now.

Walking around hoping and thinking of the change is ok. But taking one tiny step is even better.

Read rest of entry

September 9, 2009

Will it really matter?

"When you make a mistake, ask yourself,

'When I'm 70, will this really matter?'" -Cindy Francis

This is one of my favorite quotes. A lot of people work so hard to be perfect and tear themselves apart when they make a mistake. Why?

As long as you learned something, then it really wasn't a mistake, it was a lesson. And there is no reason to dwell on a lesson.

Read rest of entry

September 8, 2009

Don't be afraid of change

"Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change."
Change can be a scary thing. Many people don't deal well with things changing around.

Just remember, if things don't change, they get stale. With change, comes room for growth and a renewed sense of excitement.

Is it time for a change? What kinds of changes are you dealing with?
Read rest of entry

Hold on to your hope

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."
-Dale Carnegie.

Read rest of entry

Living life

"Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on."
-Samuel Butler
If you expect life to be perfect or everything to always go as you planned, you will find your self disappointed.
Read rest of entry

Stop worrying so much

In this day and age, it's hard to be in the now. There's so many things to worry about, it's hard to stop.

Here's something you can do to clear your mind and help with the worries. It's a great way to help you refocus.

Read rest of entry

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  • Broadcast in Social Networking
Brain Injury Radio

Brain Injury Radio

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If you liked this show, you should follow Brain Injury Radio.

Call in to speak with the host

(424) 243-9540

Lets talk about the bills that need to get passed now, ones that are national and help the surivivors directly many funds go through so many channels they is nothing actually left

"We light the fireworks on the Fourth of July. We pull people out of burning buildings. We teach children not to play with matches. By one estimate, we save taxpayers $37 billion a year.
Few people embody America's ideals like it's 1.1 million volunteer firefighters. Gritty, charitable, self-reliant, we answer millions of calls for help each year

T Michael Nicholson

Public Safety Officers, Police, Firefighters, Volunteer Firefighters etc. answer numerous calls for assistance in our communities all across the United States regardless of the caller's political affiliation. HR-3367 needs to be co-sponsored by all political parties in Congress and there needs to be a 'same as' bill in the Senate, so that those seriously and permanently injured prior to 1990 can collect this Federal benefit.
My message is to those that have a physical disability or are a survivor of a Traumatic Brain Injury, don't ever give up on your dreams. You’re an American. You have rights. Take part in how the laws in your State and Government are written.


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Navigating The Astrological Matrix -- 2013

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Robert Phoenix

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Today, we'll look at the key aspects in store for all of us in 2013, the Chinese "Year Of The Snake" and numerological, the year of "The Devil" in the major arcana.

In the vacuum of 2012, in the void of consciousness, something mysterious awaits us.

I'll break down the next 365 for all signs, and give some predictions too.

As always, I'll do free readings, for the year ahead for anyone that calls in.


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UK Steppers - Twilight C

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Pegasus S. (gr. III)

(gr. III , 9f ,)

MAGNA GRADUATE (DK B/ h, 120 lb) $150,000
Honor Grades —Peacock Alley , by Fast Play
B—Ramon Rangel, KY.; O—Elisabeth H. Alexander; T—Todd A. Pletcher

Crown Point (B h, 118 lb) $50,000
Honor Grades —Runaway Ashleigh , by Runaway Groom
B—Albert Coppola, KY.; O—Albert P. Coppola; T—David G. Donk

Network (B g, 120 lb) $27,500
Pulpit —Broadcast , by Broad Brush
B—Adele B. Dilschneider, KY.; O—Edwin T. Broome; T—Edwin T. Broome

Margins: 1¼, 5¾, ½. Others: Andromeda's Hero 118($15,000) , Tani Maru 120($7,500) , Naughty New Yorker 120 , Golden Man 118 , Doctor Voodoo 118 . Winning Jockey, John R. Velazquez.

At the recent Keeneland September yearling sale, there were 23 offspring of Brahms sold. The top price was $95,000 for a yearling by the Vinery stallion, who stands for $10,000.

The $95,000 colt had to be the best looking of the group, but it didn’t hurt that he is a half-brother to Magna Graduate, a solid stakes performer who the night of Sept. 30 won the Pegasus Handicap (gr. III) on the opening card for the Meadowlands meet.

The yearling colt was bred in Kentucky by Nicole Zitani and Ramon Rangel and sold by Jeff Morris’ Highclere Sales as agent. These are the same connections that bred and sold Magna Graduate.

The Brahms colt was purchased by Casual Run Farm.

Magna Graduate was purchased at the 2003 Keeneland fall sale by trainer Gary Simms for $30,000. He trained the colt for Burr Travis for three starts. After finishing second in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile (gr. III) last fall, Magna Graduate was purchased by Elisabeth Alexander and turned over to Patrick Byrne.

Magna Graduate, by Honor Grades, won the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park in March for his first stakes victory. He hadn’t won another stakes until the Pegasus, but he had been very consistent, finishing second, third, or fourth in five consecutive graded stakes.

Following a fourth-place finish in the Walmac Lone Star Derby (gr. III) in May, Alexander changed trainers, sending Magna Graduate to Todd Pletcher. For Pletcher, he ran second in both the Ohio Derby (gr. II) and West Virginia Derby (gr. III) prior to winning the Pegasus.

The 2-1 favorite in the Pegasus, Magna Graduate won by 11/4 lengths under Pletcher’s regular rider, John Velazquez.

Magna Graduate is the fourth foal and second stakes winner produced from the Fast Play mare Peacock Alley. She is also the dam of stakes winner Gralley, by Mr. Greeley.

Unraced Peacock Alley was bred in Kentucky by Joanna W. Beresford. All of the mare’s foals have been bred by Zitani and Rangel.

The second dam of Magna Graduate is the Alleged mare Anna’s Honor, a stakes winner in France.

Magna Graduate is inbred 4x4 to one of the best broodmare sires ever, Buckpasser. He is the sire of Honor Grade’s second dam, Lassie Dear, and also the broodmare sire of Fast Play, who is out of the mare Con Game. Of course, besides producing Honor Grades, Lassie Dear’s daughter Weekend Surprise is the dam of A.P. Indy. And Con Game, besides producing Fast Play, is the dam of his half-brother, Seeking the Gold.

Magna Graduate is one of 32 stakes winners sired by Honor Grades, who stood at Darby Dan Farm near Lexington until his death in March 2002.—D.M.L.


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Robert Half International Announces Schedule For Second-Quarter Earnings Results And Conference Call

Robert Half International Announces Schedule For Second-Quarter Earnings
Results And Conference Call
MENLO PARK, Calif., July 16, 2013 /CNW/ - Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE
symbol:  RHI) today announced it expects to release second-quarter 2013
earnings results on Tuesday, July 23, at approximately 4 p.m. EDT. Robert Half
International management will conduct a conference call at 5 p.m. EDT on July
23, following the release. The dial-in number is 877-814-0475 (+1-706-643-9224
outside the United States). It is recommended that participants dial in five
minutes before the call begins. The password to access the call is "Robert
Half." A taped recording of this call will be available for replay beginning
at approximately 8 p.m. EDT on July 23 and ending at 8 p.m. EDT on August 23.
The dial-in number for the replay is 855-859-2056 (+1-404-537-3406 outside the
United States). To access the replay, enter conference ID# 95343322. The
conference call also will be archived in audio format on the company's website
Founded in 1948, Robert Half International Inc., the world's first and largest
specialized staffing firm, is a recognized leader in professional consulting
and staffing services, and is the parent company of Protiviti(®), a global
consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology,
operations, governance, risk and internal audit. The company's specialized
staffing divisions include Accountemps(®), Robert Half(®) Finance &
Accounting and Robert Half(®) Management Resources, for temporary, full-time
and senior-level project professionals, respectively, in the fields of
accounting and finance; OfficeTeam(®), for highly skilled office and
administrative support professionals; Robert Half(®) Technology, for project
and full-time technology professionals; Robert Half(®) Legal, for project and
full-time staffing of lawyers, paralegals and legal support personnel; and The
Creative Group(®), for interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public
relations professionals.
Robert Half International has staffing and consulting operations in more than
400 locations worldwide.
M. Keith Waddell, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Financial Officer, (650)
SOURCE: Robert Half International Inc.
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL:
CO: Robert Half International Inc.
ST: California
-0- Jul/16/2013 21:02 GMT
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text:
Terra Firma Capital Corporation Announces Block Trade and Change in Board of Directors

Terra Firma Capital Corporation Announces Block Trade and Change in Board of
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/09/13 --
All amounts are stated in Canadian dollars.
Terra Firma Capital Corporation ("Terra Firma" or the "Company") (TSX
VENTURE:TII) is pleased to announce that Mr. John Kaplan, through a
wholly owned subsidiary, Linden Farms Inc. confirmed today that it
has acquired 6,158,376 common shares of the Company at a price of
$0.50 per Common Share (the "Acquisition") in a private agreement.
After giving effect to the Acquisition, Mr. Kaplan owns 19.997973% of
the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.
As part of the transaction, Mr. Allan Silber, the Company's chairman
and Director Mr. Morris Perlis, have resigned from the Company's
Board of Directors. Mr. Kaplan will be appointed to the Board of
Directors, as chairman, subject to regulatory approval.
Mr. Kaplan was the President of Runnymede Development Corporation
Limited ("RDCL") from 2000-2013. He continues to be a Director of
RDCL and is presently a principal of several real estate concerns
including Metropia, Trademarek Communities and Haber Homes. In
addition Mr. Kaplan is a Director of Talon Metals (TLO) which is
listed on the TSX.
"This is a very exciting development for Terra Firma," commented Y.
Dov Meyer, President and CEO. "Mr. Kaplan has been an investor and
longtime supporter of Terra Firma and has followed our activities
very closely. His wealth of real estate expertise and vast industry
contacts will be a true asset to Terra Firma. I look forward to
working with Mr. Kaplan as he plays a key role in our next round of
The remaining board of directors and I would like to take this
opportunity to thank Allan Silber and Morris Perlis for their years
of service on the board of directors. As founders of Terra Firma, Mr.
Silber and Counsel Corp. were very helpful in bringing Terra Firma to
where it is today."
About Terra Firma
Terra Firma is a full service, publicly traded boutique real estate
finance company that provides customized equity and debt solutions to
the real estate industry. Our focus is to provide financings with
flexible terms to property owners and developers looking for
customized structures. Terra Firma offers a full spectrum of real
estate financing under the guidance of strict corporate governance,
clarity and transparency. For further information please visit Terra
Firma's website at www.tfcc.ca.
The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this
press release. The TSXV does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Terra Firma Capital Corporation
Dov Meyer
President and Chief Executive Officer
416.792.4700 x 301
Terra Firma Capital Corporation
Mano Thiyagarajah
Chief Financial Officer
416.792.4700 x 303
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Commentary: Twilight Of The Hockey Goons? Don't Bet On It

Sports Business

Commentary: Twilight of the Hockey Goons? Don't Bet on It

Time to bring out the blood-splattered jerseys: Hockey season is here. But this year, there will be no slashing, no cheap shots, no plasma-letting bursts of anger. Got it?

Months after Boston Bruins penalty-box warmer Marty McSorley whacked Vancouver Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear with a two-handed stick swing to the head, the sheriff has supposedly arrived to clean up ice town. In a September memo to all 30 teams, the National Hockey League announced its intention to severely discipline players who attack opponents. There will now be two referees at every game, and with the league looking over their shoulders, they will be expected to make more penalty calls.

Players in pre-season games have already been sent to the penalty box for hard slashes to an opponent's stick. New York Islander Oleg Kvasha was fined $1,000 and suspended for three pre-season games for an elbow to the head of a Philadelphia player. And All-Star Paul Kariya of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim was suspended indefinitely for slashing the Minnesota Wild's Aaron Gavey.TOUGH TALK. Once the regular season starts, though, enforcement will soften. Fans and coaches won't be able to endure seeing marquee players like Kariya sitting out too many games. Besides, McSorley's slap-on-the-glove sentence after being found guilty of assault in Vancouver, B.C., on Oct. 6 makes the get-tough-on-violence policy of dubious value. The NHL's tepid reaction to mayhem on skates was one reason Canadian authorities stepped in and charged McSorley. But by granting him probation with the possibility of having his record expunged, the court largely undermined the power of the case as a deterrent.

Still, the judge would have had trouble throwing the book at McSorley after listening to testimony about the integral role of violence in pro hockey. New York Rangers General Manager Glen Sather, the first defense witness, pointed out that so-called enforcers have a role to play. Challenging the other team's tough guys is an expected--and respected--part of the game. "It's never really spoken about, but it's there," Sather said. "There's a lot of grabbing and pulling. The odd time there are broken noses."

A string of witnesses from coaches to linesmen to players also testified at the five-day nonjury trial that punches, slashes, cross-checks, and slams into the boards are standard fare. Even Wayne Gretzky, one of the game's most gracious players, showed up to support McSorley.

McSorley was Gretzky's protector when the Edmonton Oilers dominated the NHL in the mid-to-late '80s (Sather was the coach), and for 17 years in the league, he has known his job. So at 36, with few, if any, seasons left, McSorley understood why he was put on the ice in the dying minutes of a game already lost by the Bruins.

Before the game, Bruins coach Pat Burns stressed how physical a team the Canucks were, reminding his players that some might have to fight. Brashear taunted the Bruins bench and trash-talked his opponents on the ice. After he crashed into goalie Byron Dafoe, Burns shouted: "Are we going to take that?" That's when McSorley hit the ice to savage back some honor for the Bruins.

Canadians complain that Americans have roughed up their sport, and some fans wax poetic about the genteel European style of play. But brawling sells tickets. In fact, according to league research, nearly two-thirds of fans think eliminating fighting would not increase interest. "You can't market hockey as a wimpy sport...," says Joel Cohen of Cohen Marketing Group, a Houston firm that helps hockey teams draw bigger audiences. "No one wants to watch hockey players doing pirouettes."

That's evident in the NHL-licensed electronic game Rock the Rink. Players can choose between nine fantasy teams with names such as Psycho Delics, Demons, and Demolition. One ad for the game has players body-slamming opponents to the ice, feeding them fistfuls of leather, or dropping them with a wicked clothesline tackle. Best of all, the game promises, none of the moves will land a player in the penalty box. Sounds a lot like the real world.By Petti Fong; Vancouver (B.C.)-Based Fong Covered the McSorley Trial.

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MPC Millennia 910a

WHAT'S HOT: Powered with a 2.25-GHz AMD Athlon XP 2800+, this Creative Studio version of MPC's (formerly MicronPC) Millennia earned a score of 127 on our PC WorldBench 4 tests--the second-highest score we've recorded for this processor class. (The fastest was a $5000-plus gaming system from Falcon Northwest, the Mach V 2800+ DV.)

Like the 910a's better-configured (and pricier) sibling, the 910i, this system also has a DVD-RW/-R drive (allowing you to fit up to 4.7GB worth of files on each disc) and comes with Pinnacle Studio 8, a video-editing and DVD-authoring application.

The unit we reviewed sported an old-style beige box, but MPC has since launched a sleek new gray case. It sports six USB 2.0 ports, two of which are up front. It received a score of Outstanding for graphics, impressive for a midlevel NVidia GeForce4 Ti 4200-based board.

WHAT'S NOT: A niggling complaint: The basic Altec Lansing 221 three-speaker and subwoofer set isn't much to hoot about. In our audio tests, they sent out muddled bass notes. We also didn't like the controls for volume and bass levels, which are inconveniently placed on the side of the subwoofer.

WHAT ELSE: Paired with the NVidia GeForce4 Ti 4200-based graphics card (a higher-end Ti 4600 option is also available), the 19-inch Micron CM900 CRT delivered crisp, dark text on typical business documents and vivid colors on a test photo. Its tilt and swivel base also worked better than those on most 19-inch CRT monitors we've reviewed.

Three open drive bays (one for a hard drive only plus two open external bays), an open RAM socket, and three open PCI slots give this Millennia modest capacity for future upgrades. However, an adapter with FireWire ports blocks one of the PCI slots. The system's spacious interior makes getting at the drive bays easy.

In addition to Pinnacle Studio 8, the company also includes Microsoft Works Suite 2002, which is better suited for small and home offices than for mainstream use. The Microsoft Multimedia keyboard feels solid and offers eight programmable hot keys for opening My Computer, Internet-related applications, and so on, plus a six-button control pad for controlling volume and CD and media player functions.

UPSHOT: The Millennia 910a is nicely priced for a system with this level of speed and video-editing capabilities. By Mick Lockey

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GDP: Not Great, but Encouragingly Solid

By Michael Englund and Rick MacDoanld The pace of economic growth has been a point of contention throughout the Presidential campaign, and just in time for Election Day, the government's advance report on third-quarter

gross domestic product (GDP) arrived on Oct. 29. The headline number may have come as a bit of a disappointment to Bush partisans: output of goods and services in the U.S. economy rose 3.7% -- below economists' median forecast of a 4.3% rise -- vs. the 3.3% final growth rate in the second quarter.

But we at Action Economics believe the data were solid, and there is little reason to view the overall report as disappointing. True, the third-quarter gain fell short of expectations. But the downside surprise was largely concentrated in government spending, which grew at only a 1.4% clip in the third quarter, following small back-to-back gains of only 2.5% in the first quarter and 2.2% in the second.

The shortfall will probably prompt economists to boost their government spending estimates for the fourth quarter of 2004 and the first quarter of 2005, so the headline weakness should have little impact on the overall outlook.

ROBUST SPENDING. Most of the remaining data in the third-quarter release was in line with expectations, or even stronger than expected. Perhaps most importantly, real consumption spending posted growth of 4.6% -- exactly in line with expectations and undeniably robust. A stronger trajectory for the service component of the spending figure bodes well for the fourth quarter.

Another positive was fixed investment, which was better than expected, with an 8.5% gain following the 13.9% increase in the second quarter. The upside surprise was in the equipment and software component, which grew at a 14.9% pace, following a 14.2% rise in the second quarter. Commercial construction growth was disappointing, registering a mere 1.4%, but the larger equipment component more than made up for the shortfall. Residential investment posted a 3.1% growth rate, in line with forecasts.

Imports provided another small downside surprise for GDP, though these figures reflect assumptions by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for September, and we will need to see the final goods and services report for the third quarter to really know if this will stick. The official import figure is 7.7%, vs. our prior 5.8% estimate. Export growth was exactly as expected at 5.1% in the third quarter, and net exports were hence fairly close to expected, subtracting $17.7 billion, or 0.6%, from GDP for the quarter.

INFLATION SLUMBERS. Business inventories were only slightly weaker than expected, with a $13 billion subtraction (0.5%) to GDP, leaving an accumulation rate of $48.1 billion. This estimate will also prove sensitive to the September business inventory reports, as inventories may well have been disrupted by the barrage of hurricanes that month.

Finally, the report contained some good news on the inflation front. The overall chain-price index posted a surprisingly small 1.3% growth rate in the third quarter, which actually fell short of already-low market estimates. Clearly, the gain was held back by the absence of "pass through" of oil-import price gains to domestic prices. This was attributable to both energy price restraint at home, and a coincident sharp downtrend in food prices alongside weather-related weakness in apparel prices. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) "core" chain-price index rose only 0.7% -- the lowest growth rate since 1962.

While oil-price strength continues to threaten the outlook, it is impressive how well the economy has held up with oil at $55 per barrel. We continue to assume that oil prices will subside from current highs, thereby providing further fuel to the economy in the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year. Englund is chief economist, and MacDonald global director of investment research and analysis, for Action Economics

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Global Economics

Asia's Best Young Entrepreneurs: Surviving Tough Times

Diminished competition and some cheaper costs might make this an appealing time to be an entrepreneur in Asia, but many challenges remain

The economic outlook is bad, people are being laid off, financial markets are suffering, and credit is tight. It sure seems like a pretty bad time to start your own company, right?

Wrong. At least that's what some of the top young entrepreneurs in Asia believe. "Now is the best time to start a business," claims Patrick Grove, 33, one of the nominees for BusinessWeek's annual search for Asia's best young entrepreneurs. Grove, founder and CEO of media group Catcha and real estate portal, a subsidiary of Sydney-listed IPGA, believes that a lack of competition due to the economic climate, as well as cheaper inputs such as lower rent and wages, make it an ideal time to start a business.

Vivek Pahwa, 27, another nominee, agrees that there will be less competition in every market, but "it's a better time for people who are already in the business to thrive if they have long holding power." Pahwa, who owns matrimonial networking site and car research site, is also optimistic about the online business, which he thinks is relatively untouched by economic downturns.

Despite the opportunities presented by less competition, there are still challenges in entering and staying in the market. "Our margins are getting thinner, and we can't expect employees to accept lower salary packages," complains Leonard Tan, 30, founder and director of Internet search company PurpleClick Media. Yenn Wong, 27, founder of boutique hotels JIA Hong Kong and JIA Shanghai, also thinks that during difficult times, "bigger companies with stronger cash flow will definitely be challenging smaller companies to obtain a bigger market share."

"Take Care of Current Customers"

Tan cautions aspiring entrepreneurs and small startups to be wary of their cash flow and notes the importance of tiding over the bad times. "Once this is over, companies will start looking to spend money again, and it's important that small companies are ready for the opportunity," he says. Tan advises startups to "take care of current customers and keep them happy with value-added services, because once they rebound, they will be good to you if you rode through the crisis with them."

For these experienced entrepreneurs, two main challenges exist: how to find the right talent, and strategies for growth. "Without good talent, it's hard to scale the business further," says Tan. Grove finds that the strategy of spending a lot of time on ideas is the wrong way to go: "Entrepreneurs spend 80% of their time brainstorming and 20% building an excellent team—it should be the other way around."

Once a company is past its initial hurdles, the struggles are different. "The challenge today is no longer survival, but growth," says Pahwa. Wong believes scaling has its own challenges. "New entrepreneurs like us are expanding very carefully to make sure we do not get stuck in a bad financial situation."

One suggestion that remains constant: perseverance. Grove's company endured losses for the first four years. "People told us to shut down," he says. "But when we finally started making money, it was good to be able to justify the painful experience in the early years."

Click through our slide show of Asia's Best Young Entrepreneur nominees for 2008 and vote for your favorite.

Sabrina Chan is a reporter for BusinessWeek in Hong Kong.

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Global Economics

EU Takes Tough Stance Against China

A leading member of the European Parliament wants the 27-member bloc to be more forceful when negotiating with China on investment access

The European Union must toughen its stance when negotiating with China on investment access, according to the newly elected chair of the European Parliament's delegation to China.

Centre-right Italian MEP Crescenzio Rivellini signaled his intention on Tuesday (29 September) to use ongoing negotiations for an upgrade in EU-China relations to step up pressure in this area.

"We will try to use the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement to improve investment access in China for EU companies," he told EUobserver following his election to the post.

Ties between China and the EU are currently set out under a 1985 Trade and Co-operation Agreement but discussions have been ongoing since 2007 to broaden the formal relationship.

While China complains about EU anti-dumping measures that are periodically imposed upon the country's exports, European companies say they are not granted fair access to Chinese markets.

Foreign companies looking to invest in China are frequently forced into joint-venture obligations with local firms, or can run into other restrictions in sectors considered strategic by the Chinese government

However Mr. Rivellini also suggested that further duties might be needed at the European end to restrict the level of shoe and textile imports coming into the bloc from China.

"In the profound crisis that we are going through right now, we should be able to introduce policies that protect European industries," he said.

End the arms embargo

On Thursday (1 October), many of the 1.3 billion inhabitants in Asia's largest nation will turn out to celebrate 60 years since the country's civil war ended and Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.

The government will use the occasion to parade all its latest weaponry through the streets of Beijing, with foreign military strategists keen to assess China's progress in this field over the last ten years.

Following the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989 however, under which the army opened fire on students and other protesters, the EU has held an embargo on selling arms to the China.

Mr. Rivellini says he is in favour of an end to the embargo, which sees European defence manufacturers denied access to the lucrative Chinese market.

"I think we should remember that things have changed somewhat in the last few years. The climate in the relations between China and the rest of the world has changed," he said.

Mr. Rivellini also feels the EU needs to compete harder for influence in Africa and other developing regions, frequently an important source of raw materials.

"The old continent of Europe cannot just stand by and simply look on at an expansionistic policy by China," he said.

Provided by EUobserver—For the latest EU related news

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Altor Gets $370 Million for Swedish Pharmacies Leveraged Buyout

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Altor Equity Partners AB raised 2.64 billion kroner ($370 million) to fund the private equity firm’s leveraged buyout of 208 pharmacies from the Swedish government.

Nordea Bank AB is the sole underwriter for 2.59 billion kroner of senior debt while Ares Management LLC, and Armada Mezzanine Capital provided 50 million kroner of so-called mezzanine debt, which ranks after senior obligations for repayment, Nordea said in a statement today.

Stockholm-based Altor said in November it will rebrand the pharmacy outlets under the Apotek Hjaertat name to create the country’s largest independent pharmacy chain. Sweden is privatizing the pharmacy market after it was nationalized in 1970.

The senior debt includes two term loans, a revolving credit and a capital expenditure facility, according to the statement.

The acquisition debt represents less than 3.5 times the outlets’ earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, Nordea said in the statement. Altor will pay about 40 percent of the acquisition price with its own funds, according to the statement.

In a leveraged buyout, a buyer funds its acquisition with money borrowed in the target company’s name. The financing is graded below Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and BBB- by Standard & Poor’s.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Kuo in London at

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Armstrong at

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Asia, Latin America Drive UPS, Nike Profit as U.S. Growth Slows

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Earnings reports for U.S. companies such as Nike Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. underscore how executives are searching abroad for profits as growth in the world’s biggest economy slows.

For Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike, revenue from Asia, Africa and South America for its brand-name products rose by 47 percent in the quarter that ended May 31, compared with 4 percent for North America. At Atlanta-based UPS, shipments in Asia and Europe are helping push up profit expectations for the year.

“With the weak market here, these firms are forced to look for profitability elsewhere and doing it successfully,” said Edward Leamer, director of the Los Angeles-based UCLA Anderson Forecast, which has produced U.S. economic forecasts for 50 years. “What’s likely for the decade ahead is that the economic energy of the globe will be much more concentrated on emerging markets and much less on the U.S.”

Stock markets outside the U.S. have outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since June as earnings reassure investors that growth prospects in emerging markets remain intact. No fewer than eight U.S. companies in the past two weeks, including Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Electric Co., and International Business Machines Corp., have said they are optimistic about prospects in Europe, Asia and Latin American countries such as Mexico.

Credit-card data released by New York-based Citigroup on July 16 show purchases by U.S. consumers lagging behind counterparts in Asia and Latin America. Purchases by consumers in North America fell 7 percent during the second quarter from a year earlier, while growing 15 percent in Latin America and 17 percent in Asia.

Nike Orders

Nike’s orders for delivery through November also signal emerging market demand will remain strong. Orders for Nike brand athletic footwear and apparel from emerging markets rose 30 percent in the most recent quarter, excluding currency effects, compared with a year earlier. Orders of the Nike brand in China, the company’s second-largest market after North America, rose 16 percent, compared with 7 percent in North America.

UPS’s volume of exports in Asia grew by more than 40 percent during the second quarter, and the package-delivery company is reaching more customers in Vietnam and Malaysia, Chief Executive D. Scott Davis said on a July 22 conference call. Meanwhile, Europe may be shaking off the sovereign-debt crisis that rattled markets this year and is showing “solid” growth in the current quarter, he said.

‘Pleasant Surprise’

“Europe has been somewhat of a pleasant surprise,” Davis said. “All of us are guarded about Europe just because of all the unknown, but I think all of us are seeing pretty good business in Europe.”

Davis’s assessment is backed by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who said Europe’s economy is stronger than some investors forecast. “There is a tendency from the outside to be excessively pessimistic” about Europe, the policy maker said during a July 8 press conference in Frankfurt. “The figures don’t confirm this pessimism.”

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter, less than previously calculated, reflecting a smaller gain in consumer spending and a bigger trade gap, figures from the Commerce Department showed. It probably grew 2.5 percent in the second quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Investing Overseas

Better growth prospects abroad are pushing investors into stock markets overseas. Since June, the Vanguard FTSE All-World Ex-US Index Fund, an exchange-traded fund that tracks developing and emerging markets, has outperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which represents the S&P 500. The gain reverses about six months where the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust outperformed the All-World index, which includes BHP Billiton Ltd. and Siemens AG.

Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar on July 22 raised its full-year earnings forecast on higher demand in developing countries for mining, energy and rail equipment.

“World growth is being led by the developing countries of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa,” said Mike DeWalt, head of investor relations at Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment.

Shares of UPS rose 52 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $63.67 yesterday at the 4 p.m. close of the New York Stock Exchange, while Nike climbed $1.18, or 1.7 percent, to $72.74.

To contact the reporters on this story: Vivien Lou Chen in San Francisco at; Anthony Feld in New York at

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at

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Galderma Agrees to Buy Q-Med to Gain Wrinkle Smoother Restylane

Galderma Agrees to Buy Q-Med to Gain Wrinkle Smoother
Q-Med AB's headquarters in Uppsala, Sweden. Source: Q-Med AB via Bloomberg

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Galderma SA, the Swiss maker of Cetaphil skin creams, agreed to buy Sweden’s Q-Med AB for as much as 7.45 billion kronor ($1.08 billion) to add products that smooth wrinkles and enhance breasts.

Q-Med shareholders other than founder and Chairman Bengt Aagerup will receive 75 kronor a share in cash, the Swedish company said in a statement today. That’s 13 percent more than the stock’s Dec. 10 closing price of 66.25 kronor. The stock rose as much as 15 percent, the most in 19 months, after the announcement. Galderma, founded in 1981, is owned by L’Oreal SA and Nestle SA.

The purchase will add to Lausanne, Switzerland-based Galderma’s roster of cosmetic treatments. Q-Med’s Restylane injection can be used separately or in combination with Allergan Inc.’s Botox wrinkle smoother. The Swedish company also makes Macrolane, a gel that’s injected to give breasts volume.

“The deal makes sense for both L’Oreal and Nestle as they will benefit from cooperation in developing skin-care products and even value-added nutrition,” said Barbara Ambrus, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany.

Aagerup’s Lyftet Holding BV, which owns 47.5 percent of Q-Med, has committed to accept the offer in return for 58.94 kronor a share in cash, according to the statement. The founder may receive additional cash payments if financial and business goals are met, for a total price of 74.96 kronor a share, the company said.

Public Offer

Nestle and L’Oreal will each provide half of the funds used to finance the transaction, Galderma said in a separate statement. The amount won’t require a major charge for Nestle, said Ambrus, who said she expects the company to spend about 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.1 billion) on investments this year.

Galderma will make a public offer for Q-Med shares from about Jan. 4 to Jan. 25, Q-Med said. The Swedish company’s board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer. Aagerup hasn’t participated in the board’s dealings over the offer from Galderma, Q-Med said. The offer is conditional on approval from Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., a business partner of Q-Med’s, the company said.

“It is important from an industrial point of view that we get a strong partner that has muscles to be a bit more resilient than on a quarterly basis, which was our reality as a listed company in Sweden,” Aagerup said in a telephone interview. Q-Med talked to other potential buyers but “nobody else was interested at this level,” he said.

Sensitive Skin

Galderma’s Cetaphil product line includes cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreens for damaged or sensitive skin. It also markets Azzalure, a Botox competitor manufactured by Ipsen SA.

Q-Med rose 8.50 kronor, or 13 percent, to 74.75 kronor at 3:35 p.m. in Stockholm trading. Before today, the shares had returned 40 percent this year including reinvested dividends, compared with a 23 percent return for the OMX Stockholm 30 Index.

Aagerup founded the company in 1987 to bring to market his research on hyaluronic acid, a chemical naturally present in the body that can be used for wound-healing, joint pain and to create volume under the skin.

Q-Med stabilized and patented a form of the acid, according to the company’s website. Its first product, Restylane, won approval in Europe in 1996 to fill out wrinkles and plump lips. The company first sold shares on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1999.

Galderma would gain five products derived from hyaluronic acid including Restylane, which works differently from its own Azzalure.

Azzalure, like Botox, is based on a purified form of the poison botulinum and works by freezing the facial muscles. Restylane, by contrast, creates a cushion under the skin that smoothes out the wrinkles.

Nordea Corporate Finance advised Q-Med, while Credit Suisse Group AG and Swedbank Corporate Finance served as advisers to Galderma.

To contact the reporter on this story: Albertina Torsoli in Paris at

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at

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Islamists’ Victory in Tunisia a Win for Democracy: Noah Feldman

Victory in Tunisia
Illustration by Neil Donnelly; Photo by Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- It’s official: The Islamists have won the Arab Spring. And the result was as inevitable as it is promising.

Last week’s elections in Tunisia gave more than 41 percent of the vote -- a solid plurality -- to the Islamic democrats of the Ennahdha party. The only secularist group that actively campaigned against the Islamists in the race for seats in the constituent assembly, the Progressive Democratic Party, got an embarrassing 17 seats in the 217-member assembly.

On the surface, the Islamists’ success looks like a puzzling disappointment for the forces of democracy. After all, the largely peaceful public uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt were overwhelmingly secular. The Islamists came late to the game in both places, only expressing their support once the movements looked likely to succeed.

Why didn’t the Tunisian public reward the dynamic young secular activists who got rid of the dictator? Why do almost all observers expect a similar result when Egypt holds its planned elections beginning in November?

Part of the answer lies in organization. In both countries, the Islamists have been an organized force for decades, albeit officially banned. Ennahdha, like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere, is a social movement as much as it is a political party, which gave it a substantial leg up when it came to organizing dedicated volunteers to motivate voters. The relatively short period of time between the opening of the democratic process and the elections only increased that structural advantage.

But the deeper explanation has to do with the difference between a popular uprising and a democratic election. Revolutions are made by disaffected elites. Elections -- at least in countries where people care enough to vote -- express the preferences of a much broader public.

Consider who went into the streets in Tunisia. Spontaneous protests in December 2010 following the self-immolation of distraught fruit-seller Mohamed Bouazizi quickly turned into organized strikes by, among others, the union representing Tunisia’s 8,000 lawyers. At the vanguard of the protests that followed were middle-class, educated young people deeply frustrated by the lack of upward mobility available to them under the conditions of autocracy.

A similar dynamic obtained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where the movement’s leaders sometimes coordinated using iPhone apps - - not the medium of the masses in a country with a per-capita gross domestic product of $2,270. Nevertheless, once these young leaders took the brave step of going to the streets, a good chunk of the middle class supported them. Of course there were some poor people involved as the protests grew, as well as some elites to whom new economic doors were opening. And the general public was sympathetic, at least insofar as it, too, shared the sense that the authoritarian rulers were not delivering adequate economic growth.

Yet at no time were the protests in Tunisia or Egypt mass movements of the disempowered. Reliable estimates suggest that Cairo’s Tahrir Square never had more than 300,000 people in it - - this in a wildly overcrowded and sprawling city of some 17 million.

The point is not to denigrate the brave revolutionaries as unrepresentative. Almost no revolution begins as a mass popular movement -- which is why Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed the theory of the revolutionary vanguard in the first place. What is crucial is to recognize that the first leaders of a revolution are rarely a perfect sample of the broader population that gets behind them.

When a revolution leads to a free election, this disparity between the vanguard and the masses can become immediately clear. Unlike the young secularists, many Tunisians see Islam as a defining feature of their personal and political identities. The public also knows that Islamic democrats such as Ennahdha’s intellectual leader, Rashid Ghannouchi, were almost the only voices of resistance to the regime in the last 20 years. Likewise, in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood has been the most important voice of resistance since the days of Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom Brotherhood members tried to assassinate.

Islamists are also highly skilled at reaching across economic and social classes to build support. In poor rural areas, the mosque is sometimes the only gathering place, and Islam can be leveraged to provide a simple, time-tested and powerful political message. Where illiteracy prevails, religion can be especially appealing -- another point that was not lost on Marx.

The upshot is that the broad public that didn’t participate directly in the revolutionary moment in the urban centers is far more sympathetic to political Islam than are the elites who got the ball rolling. Given all this, it isn’t surprising that many revolutionary movements have historically tried to avoid democracy after a successful takeover. But here the leaders of the Arab Spring are to be complimented -- and democracy needs to be given its due.

Although secularists in Tunisia and Egypt didn’t want elections to come too quickly, they haven’t been heard arguing that elections are a mistake altogether. That is, the ideology of the Arab Spring actually is democracy. The proof is in the willingness of the leading revolutionaries to be beaten by social forces they don’t fully trust.

The Islamists, too, reflect the ideals of democracy. This phenomenon goes back 20 years to Algeria’s experiment in democracy, when Islamists realized for the first time that the public in an Arabic-speaking country would support them only if they declared that Islam and democracy were compatible. Since then, in a gradual process, more and more political Islamists have become democrats. Ennahdha’s Ghannouchi, exiled in Europe for decades, was a thought leader in the process of the Islamist embrace of equal citizenship and equal rights -- which makes it especially fitting that his party is playing a primary role in Islamist electoral politics.

Combining pragmatism and principle, mainstream political Islam has undergone an extraordinary democratic transformation. And it has done so in the very years when radical jihadism threatened Islamic democrats with condemnation and murder. From the standpoint of the global ideal of democracy, this is a victory of historic proportions.

(Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and the author of “Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR’s Great Supreme Court Justices,” is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this article: Noah Feldman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at

To contact the editor responsible for this article: Tobin Harshaw at

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GE, Philips Get FCC Approval for Medical Use of Airwaves

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. and Royal Philips Electronics NV won U.S. approval to monitor hospital patients using airwaves dedicated to flight testing by aerospace companies led by Boeing Co.

The Federal Communications Commission on a 5-0 vote today decided medical-equipment makers could employ wireless monitoring that may rid hospital rooms of nests of cables and let patients move out of expensive intensive-care wards.

GE Healthcare proposed the use of new airwaves for patient monitoring in 2007. Aerospace companies said wireless medical data could foul streams of flight-test telemetry from missiles and planes, endangering pilots and people on the ground.

The two sides negotiated a solution they asked the FCC to adopt, and point to it as a model for sharing airwaves to meet increasing demand from data-hungry mobile devices.

Under the rules approved today, hospitals could wirelessly monitor patients using low-power devices that shut off if the patients move outdoors. Hospitals face more restrictions if they are near a ground-receiving station for aerial telemetry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Shields in Washington at

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bernard Kohn at

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Madoff Accountant Konigsberg to Plead Guilty, U.S. Says

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff’s former accountant, Paul Konigsberg, will plead guilty next week to aiding in the con man’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, the government said.

Jim Margolin, a spokesman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Konigsberg will enter the plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on June 24.

Konigsberg was part of the conspiracy from 1992 until Madoff’s Ponzi scheme fell apart with his December 2008 confession and arrest, according to prosecutors. Konigsberg fabricated records to cover up fraudulent transactions by Madoff, prosecutors claimed in a five-count indictment that was made public in September.

Madoff is serving 150-year sentence for his crimes. His fraud cost investors more than $17 billion in lost principal, according to the government. Konigsberg, who was allowed to remain free on $2 million bail, claimed he was a victim.

The charges against Konigsberg include conspiracy, falsifying records of a broker-dealer, fabricating records of an investment adviser and falsifying statements to the U.S. about employee-benefit plans.

“We are finalizing the terms of the plea,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Schwartz told Swain today. “Mr. Konigsberg will enter a plea of guilty, pursuant to the cooperation agreement.”

Five former Madoff employees, Daniel Bonventre, Jerome O’Hara, George Perez, Joann Crupi and Annette Bongiorno, were found guilty in March of aiding the fraud. They’re awaiting sentencing.

The case is U.S. v. Konigsberg, 10-cr-00228, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at Joe Schneider, Andrew Dunn

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Will It Be Another Bad Year for Hedge Funds?

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Joseph Weisenthal, deputy editor at Business Insider, talks with Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle and Pimm Fox about the outlook for the hedge fund market. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. Dollar Is in Process of Making Cyclical Peak: Pedley
22:00 - HSBC Private Bank's Ben Pedley discusses his strategy for investing in global markets, the outlook for currencies and the Greek debt crisis with Bloomberg's Rishaad Salamat on "Trending Business." (Source: Bloomberg)
  • E-Commerce Opportunities Much Larger in India: Murthy
  • Sunac Terminates Proposed Kaisa Takeover
  • Sony Entering Growth Phase, Will Invest Aggressively: CEO


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  • Fund Type: Open-End Fund
  • Objective: Currency
  • Asset Class: Specialty
  • Geographic Focus: U.S.

Columbia Absolute Return Currency and Income Fund

+ Add to Watchlist

11.52 USD 0.03 0.26%

As of 09:29:30 ET on 05/27/2015.

Snapshot for Columbia Absolute Return Currency and Income Fund (RVAIX)

Year To Date: +16.01% 3-Month: +1.05% 3-Year: +4.81% 52-Week Range: 9.51 - 11.96
1-Month: -1.87% 1-Year: +18.03% 5-Year: +2.82% Beta vs SBMMTB3: -

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  • RVAIX:US 11.52
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Fund Profile & Information for RVAIX

Columbia Absolute Return Currency and Income Fund is an open-end fund incorporated in the USA. The Fund's objective to provide shareholders with positive absolute return. The Fund invest at least 80% of its net assets in short-duration debt obligations and forward foreign currency contracts.

Inception Date: 06-15-2011 Telephone: 1-800-345-6611
Web Site:

Fundamentals for RVAIX

NAV (on 2015-05-27) 11.52
Assets (M) (on 2015-05-27) 54.91
Fund Leveraged N
Minimum Investment 0.00
Minimum Subsequent Investment 0.00

Dividends for RVAIX

Dividend Type Omitted
Dividend Frequency Monthly
Last Dividend Net -
Dividend Yield (ttm) -

Fees & Expenses for RVAIX

Front Load 0.00
Back Load 0.00
Current Mgmt Fee 0.89
Redemption Fee -
12b1 Fee 0.00
Expense Ratio 1.26

Top Fund Holdings for RVAIX

Filing Date: 06/30/2014
Name Position Value % of Total
NORTHSTAR GTY LN-1 750 746,499 0.035%
SLMA 2007-2 A2 1,000 210,468 0.010%

Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. Mutual fund NAVs include dividends. All prices in local currency. Time is ET.

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Executive Profile*

W. Don Cornwell

Independent Director, Chairman of Audit Committee, Member of Compensation Committee, Member of Regulatory & Compliance Committee and Member of Science & Technology Committee, Pfizer Inc.
AgeTotal Calculated CompensationThis person is connected to 177 board members in 6 different organizations across 5 different industries.

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Mr. W. Don Cornwell co-founded Granite Broadcasting Corp. in 1988 and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since October 1988. Mr. Cornwell served as the President of Granite Broadcasting Corp. until September 1991. He served as Vice President in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. from May 1976 to July 1980. In addition, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of Corporate Finance Department of Goldman Sachs from January 1980 to August ...

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Corporate Headquarters*

235 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017

United States

Phone: 212-733-2323
Fax: --

Board Members Memberships*

Former Director, Chairman of Management Planning & Development Committee and Member of Compensation Committee
Independent Director, Chairman of Audit Committee, Member of Compensation Committee, Member of Regulatory & Compliance Committee and Member of Science & Technology Committee
Director, Chairman of Finance Committee and Member of Audit Committee
Director, Chairman of Compensation & Management Resources Committee and Member of Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee

MBA 1971
Harvard Business School
BA 1969
Occidental College

Other Affiliations*

Annual Compensation*

There is no Annual Compensation data available.

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Total Compensation*

Total Annual Cash Compensation$182,500
Total Calculated Compensation$345,000
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Meredith M. Parente

Former Vice President and Treasurer, Brown-Forman Corporation
AgeTotal Calculated CompensationThis person is connected to 4 board members in 1 different organizations across 1 different industries.

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Meredith M. Parente serves as an independent financial and business consultant. Meredith M. Parente served as Vice President and Treasurer of Brown-Forman Corporation. Meredith M. Parente has been a Director of National Center For Family Literacy Inc. since September 2011.

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850 Dixie Highway
Louisville, Kentucky 40210

United States

Phone: 502-585-1100
Fax: --

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May 28, 2015 1:12 AM ET

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Company Overview of Continuum Health Partners, Inc.

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Suzanne T. Karpas

AgeTotal Calculated CompensationThis person is connected to 3 Board Members in 3 different organizations across 3 different industries.

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Ms. Suzanne T. Karpas serves as Director of St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Ms. Karpas serves as a Trustee of Beth Israel Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners, Inc.

Corporate Headquarters

555 West 57th Street
New York, New York 10019

United States

Phone: 212-523-2162
Fax: 212-523-5119

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Trustee and Member of Executive Committee

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May 28, 2015 12:30 AM ET

Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels

Company Overview of O'Connell Oil Associates Inc.

Company Overview

O'Connell Oil Associates Inc. sells heating oils in Western Massachusetts. It also offers kitchen products, bath products, toilet seats, shower doors, and tub and shower units; air conditioning systems; and exterior and interior car wash services. In addition, the company owns and operates convenience-plus stores in Massachusetts. O'Connell Oil Associates Inc. was formerly known as R.M. O'Connell Oil Co. Inc. O'Connell Oil Associates Inc. was founded in 1925 and is based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

545 Merrill Road

Pittsfield, MA 01201

United States

Founded in 1925

Key Executives for O'Connell Oil Associates Inc.

Age: 79
Senior Vice President of Convenience Plus
Vice President of Convenience Store Operations
General Manager of Northampton
Compensation as of Fiscal Year 2014.

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Both companies’ common shares are up more than sevenfold this year, in yet another sign the capital markets have gone haywire. Sure, the outlook for the government-backed mortgage financiers has been improving: Each reported billions of dollars of earnings last quarter. But the beneficiary should be the government, not the owners of the publicly traded shares, which by all rights should be worthless.

By failing to wind down Fannie and Freddie, President Barack Obama’s administration and Congress have allowed the perception to fester that someday there might be a chance, however unlikely or undeserved, that the government may do something to compensate holders of the companies’ common and junior preferred stock. In effect, the shares have taken on characteristics of long-dated options.

With a simple stock option, the longer its life span, the more value it has. Even if the underlying stock is almost worthless now, some development that is unforeseeable today might come along and change that. The more time a person has to exercise the option, the greater the chances are that such an event will arise before the option expires.

Feeling Entitled

The government put Fannie and Freddie into conservatorship almost five years ago, and deferred the hard work of creating a new, viable housing-finance market. Now the act of keeping them alive for so long has created a sense of entitlement among shareholders who are demanding to be treated as nicely as those who were bailed out at American International Group Inc.

Ask yourself this: Under normal circumstances, would you buy stock in a financial institution that told you its assets were worth about $177 billion less than its liabilities? That number comes from Fannie’s own disclosures. Each quarter, Fannie and Freddie publish fair-value balance sheets that show estimates for what their assets and liabilities are worth on the open market, as well as a breakdown of how much is attributable to each class of equity holders.

In Fannie’s case, the net assets attributable to the government, which holds senior preferred shares, were $117.1 billion as of March 31. As for common shareholders, Fannie had a $176.7 billion deficit. Yet at $1.99 a share, Fannie has an $11.5 billion stock-market value. Speculation springs eternal.

Freddie’s fair-value disclosures show similarly lopsided figures. Equity attributable to the government was $72.3 billion as of March 31. For common shareholders, the company had a $124.5 billion deficit. Nonetheless, the company’s stock-market value is $6.1 billion, or $1.89 a share. Forget trying to pick promising companies with great businesses. The government, by its inaction, is encouraging the public to take a flyer on Fannie and Freddie.

Some investors hope Congress will write new laws that create long-term value for stockholders. This is understandable. The bailouts of 2008 and 2009 showed that crony capitalism is a great way to make money if you can get in on the action. Buying Fannie or Freddie shares is a bet that some well-connected hedge funds and other moneyed interests can persuade the government to do their bidding, never mind whether it serves the public good.

This week, Bruce Berkowitz’s Fairholme Capital Management LLC issued a news release that said it owned junior preferred shares of Fannie and Freddie with a $2.4 billion face value, and that it is “ready to help with a restructuring.” Presumably the plan entails making as much money for Berkowitz as possible. Paulson & Co., the hedge fund run by billionaire John Paulson, also has been lobbying for a privatization of Fannie and Freddie to boost the value of preferred shares it bought. If they can profit from an act of Congress, it boosts the odds that lower-ranking common shareholders might benefit, too.

New Dawn

Maybe it’s starting to dawn on the markets that such an outcome would infuriate many Americans, in which case Congress might choose not to cooperate. The companies’ common shares have lost about half their value since peaking last week. Much of the decline came after Bloomberg News reported that two senators were drafting a bill under which Fannie and Freddie would be placed into receivership and liquidated.

There would be a chance, although only a remote one, that public shareholders could see some money flow their way under the legislation being written by Tennessee Republican Bob Corker and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner. Proceeds from the liquidation would be paid first to the government, then to junior preferred owners if there’s anything left and last to common shareholders. Whatever the case, the decision of how to divide the proceeds would be up to the Treasury secretary and a new federal agency that would replace Fannie and Freddie.

Here’s a fair approach: The junior preferred and common shares should be wiped out. They would be worthless already were it not for taxpayers’ money. There was never an implicit government guarantee for them, only the companies’ bonds. The investors who bought the shares knew the risks. Let them crash. It’s the right thing to do.

(Jonathan Weil is a Bloomberg View columnist.)

To contact the writer of this article: Jonathan Weil in New York at

To contact the editor responsible for this article: James Greiff at


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Old 01-25-2013, 09:20 AM   #7 (permalink)
tfunkontheradio's Avatar
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 806

Originally Posted by TrueNE_09 View Post
The Browns are an interesting team for the future, I think - between Weeden (is he staying in Cleveland, anyway?) & Richardson, nice solid base.

A guy I work with (another company) was trying to convince me to move to Cincy from Boston. Let's just say I politely declined...
Thank you, sir! With Weeden, your guess, as a Bostonian (is that the correct term?) is as good as mine, someone who follows the team every single freaking year. Richardson, on the other hand, is indeed a good base. I wish defensive players went better card sales-wise, because there are some crazy underrated guys on that squad.

As for the second part, I lived in Cincy for 10 months, and I loved it! I actually think Boston is a wonderful city, I'm just tired of them winning, haha.
FAN OF ALL THINGS CLEVELAND. I'm objective, I swear.
PC Arizona Cardinals RB Stepfan Taylor & Looking Specifically for 2013 Topps Platinum Stepfan Taylor Camo, Red, Printing Plate, and Super autos
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Felted wool sweater blazer with contrast piping, features contrast undercollar and horn buttons.

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Ryan Dempster, what a joker

I think in my subconscious I was hoping that Ryan Dempster would be named to the Team Canada Roster for the World Baseball Classic, because I had a dream about him last night.

I dreamt that I was at a Jays/Cubs game at the Rogers Centre, and I was at field level hoping to get an autograph from one of the players. All of a sudden, I see Ryan Dempster come up, so I ask him for his autograph. He kindly accepts, and signs my baseball as we are chit-chatting about Canadian culture and whatnot. I then shake his hand, and he goes in for a hug (which at the moment, seemed eerily normal).

Anyway, after he leaves I look at my baseball and notice that he has signed it "Ryan Braun". What a joker, that guy.

We'll find out for sure if Ryan Dempster will be on the roster as World Baseball Classic rosters will be announced this evening at 6pm.

In the meantime, I guess I will just daydream about other possible roster spots for Team Canada. Jason Bay, you're next!

  1. You have better dreams than me. Mine always involve being late, lost, and/or livid. Like screaming at my parents from the back seat of their car, "THE GAME STARTED HALF AN HOUR AGO!" (My folks don't even go to games.)

  2. LJ, I also have those dreams where I think I'm late (most of the time it's for work, not a Jays game luckily).

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View Full Version : Whats the difference between meth and speed

11-09-2002, 19:04
Sory if this has already been asked. I did a search and found nothing. Its a stupid question Im sure but where i come from all there are is speed and base.
what is meth? is it just purer crystalised speed or what??

11-09-2002, 19:23
meth or crystalmeth is methyl-amphetamin the strongest amphetamin.
speed is somewhat unclear some think it all substances capable of speeding you up like methyphenidate (ritalin), amphetamin, 4-methyl-aminorex (ice,u4ia) or even ephedrin. while other say it only applyable for the amphetamin family.
here speed means a bag of white powder which tweaks you out. noone knows what they are actually taking, except when you have it tested or are into this shit way to deep.

11-09-2002, 19:33
Actually, its a damn good question considering many people don't differentiate between meth and speed. "Meth" is the common name for the chemical Methamphetamine, also called Desoxyn(brand name i think), whereas "speed" usually refers to Amphetamine(dexedrine a brand name, and adderall is a combination of four salts of amphetamine). These are two different drugs! Unfortunately, meth can be referred to as "speed" as well. The difference chemically is that methamphetamine has an extra methy group attatched to the amphetamine molecule. I would suggest looking in erowid for more information on these two molecules, there is quite a wealth there. The timelines are pretty useful for understanding the history of these drugs(and their military and pharmaceutical uses-apparently soldiers on all sides used both in WWII to increase performance).
Be aware, know your drugs.

placid space
11-09-2002, 20:54
speed doesnt produce euphoria . at least not in europe

11-09-2002, 21:09
this may help (http://www.bluelight.ru/cgi/ultimatebb1.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=19&t=013299&p=)


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