Why 2011 Will Not Be The Easy Year Most Investors Expect

Submitted by: Michael Lombardi

Yesterday came news that Standard & Poor s had lowered Japan s credit rating, as the country failed to cut government spending or raise taxes. But the real news for me Thursday was a report from Moody s Investors Service saying that it may place a negative outlook on the U.S. s credit rating unless the U.S. budget deficit narrows. Could you imagine the havoc a downgrading of the U.S. s credit rating will have on U.S. Treasuries and interest rates?

I ve been writing for months about a homemade bond crisis brewing in the U.S. amid out-of-control government spending. (I don t know why anyone would own U.S. Treasuries right now I don t.) Recently I have also been warning about the municipal bond market and how defaults on debt obligations by U.S. cities, municipalities and states are a serious problem this year.

And reality is starting to hit

New York State took control of Nassau County s finances yesterday, as the county failed to balance its $2.6-billion budget. For those of you not familiar with Nassau County, the county is in Long Island, New York, and has a population of 1.3 million people. Forbes Magazine (2008 survey of richest counties) ranked Nassau County as the second richest county per capita in New York State.

New York, one of the financially strongest states, can take over one of its county s finances, as it obviously has been able to deal properly with its own books at the state level. But how does a state like California proceed to take over a county that can t balance its books, while California itself sits on a $25.0-billion-plus annual deficit? It simply won t take the same action New York has.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gb9v4LI4o[/youtube]

On the other side of the economic picture, moving from large budget deficits to consumers, the U.S. Labor Department said yesterday that applications for jobless benefits jumped 51,000 to 454,000 claims for the week ended January 22, 2011. The spike in jobless claims surprised employment analysts, who expected claims to come in at about 400,000.

What does all this tell us?

The U.S. economy is far from out of the woods. Natural disasters such as storms and tornados leave a path of debris in their aftermath. The 2008-2009 recession has left many countries (not just the U.S.) with a plague of debt. And I don t think most politicians realize how serious the problem has become nor do they know how to deal with it.

The year 2011 it will not be the easy year that most investors and analysts expect.

Michael s Personal Notes:

It finally happened. General Motors Company (NYSE/GM) sold more cars and trucks in China in 2010 than it did in the U.S. the first time in the company s 100-year history that it has sold more vehicles in a country outside of its primary U.S. market.

A staggering 2.35 million cars and trucks were sold in China by GM in 2010. I view this event as more than just middle-class Chinese getting access to vehicles, I see it as a continued symbolic shift in the balance of economic powers from the Americas to Asia.

As sales of autos and trucks continues to rise in China, automakers and auto-parts makers will look at opening more plants in Asia, shifting the geographic sales focus of the carmakers and putting pressure on the remaining North American auto plants unless demand for cars and trucks remain strong here at home.

Where the Market Stands; Where it s Headed:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opens this morning up 3.6% for 2011 and only 10 points away from the physiologically important 12,000 level. When will we get that close around 12,000? Soon, dear reader, soon.

As we close the final full week of January, the stock market has put on a great performance so far this year. But I believe this will be one of those years that the January Effect will not work. The old myth that goes, If the market rises in January, it will rise for the remainder of the year, I do not believe will hold true in 2011.

Immediate-term, I m looking for more gains for the stock market. Short- to long-term I m turning bearish on stocks due to excessive bullishness on the part of investors and stock analysts and rising interest rates.

What He Said:

The Real Threat to the Economy: U.S. retail sales are falling, the producer price index is crashing, house prices, car prices are all falling and no one is talking about deflation but me. Fed governors are still talking about inflation they ve got it wrong. There s no need for me to get into the dangers of deflation, as I ve written about them (many times) before. Let s just put it this way: Deflation is about the worse economic state a country will experience. The risks to the U.S. economy in 2007 are greater than I ve seen in years. Michael Lombardi in PROFIT CONFIDENTIAL, November 15, 2006. Michael was one of the first to warn of deflation. By late 2008, world economies were embedded in their worst state of deflation since the Great Depression.

About the Author: Read more on

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U.S. Housing prices down 9% since February

Sunday, June 26, 2005

The median house price in the United States plunged 6.5% in May to $217,000. In February of 2005, the median price of a home was $237,300.

The Economist newspaper said in its June 16th issue; “In other words, it looks like the biggest bubble in history.” by way of reference to what is happening with housing prices in the USA and much of Europe.

Japan provides an example of how a boom can turn to bust. Property prices have dropped for 14 years in a row (40% from their peak in 1991); and yet, the rise in prices in Japan during the decade before 1991 was less than the increase over the past ten years in most of today’s “housing boom” countries.

The total value of residential property rose by more than $30 trillion over the past five years in developed economies, an increase equivalent to 100% of the combined GDPs of those countries. This increase dwarfs all previous house-price booms and is greater than the global stockmarket bubble in the late 1990s. Much of the recent housing activity is being driven by speculative demand. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that 23% of all American houses bought in 2004 were for investment, not for owners to live in. Another 13% were bought as second homes. NAR also found that 42% of all first-time buyers made no down-payment on their home purchase last year.

Many investors are buying solely because they think prices will keep rising, which is a warning sign of a financial bubble. In Miami, Florida, as many as half of the original buyers resell new apartments even before they are built, and properties can change hands two or three times before somebody finally moves in.

Britain’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported prices have been falling for ten consecutive months. Forty nine percent of their surveyors reported falling prices in May. This was the weakest report since 1992 during Britain’s previous house-price bust.

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Crosswords/2005/March/12

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Feel free to use the Wikimedia sites to solve our Wikinews crossword. Please do not fill it out online as it would spoil it for other people; print it out and fill it in at your own leisure!

< Previous crossword.
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Viktor Schreckengost dies at 101

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Viktor Schreckengost, the father of industrial design and creator of the Jazz Bowl, an iconic piece of Jazz Age art designed for Eleanor Roosevelt during his association with Cowan Pottery died yesterday. He was 101.

Schreckengost was born on June 26, 1906 in Sebring, Ohio, United States.

Schreckengost’s peers included the far more famous designers Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes.

In 2000, the Cleveland Museum of Art curated the first ever retrospective of Schreckengost’s work. Stunning in scope, the exhibition included sculpture, pottery, dinnerware, drawings, and paintings.

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Tips For Buying Cable Assemblies At Low Prices

bytimothyharvard

Buying already put together cable assemblies instead of making your own for a large job or a small project saves both time and money. While it is possible to bundle the wires, attach ends and create your own, it is time-consuming, and you will end up with cables that need to be tested and possibly need to completely reworked.

To save all this, most professionals choose to buy already made cable assemblies. This ensures the cable that arrives is fully operational and has the ends or connectors you need for any electrical, automotive, aeronautic or computer needs you have. Also, the wires are contained within a well-designed harness, keeping them tightly held together and added to their durability.

One of the lowest cost options is to buy cable assemblies online. To get the best deals and to also stay to top quality providers there are some simple things you can do when shopping online.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIiOgb9uIGs[/youtube]

Compare Prices

While cable assemblies aren’t costly, if you are buying for large projects and need more a handful, choosing online retailers offering bulk quality prices is always worth considering.

Typically bulk pricing will vary based on the volume you are buying. If you are buying more than what the bulk pricing lists indicate call the online retailer, you may be able to see even deeper discounts. You can even request an online quote, which saves time over having to deal with people over the phone.

Selection

Many times when you are buying cable assemblies, you need more than one type of electronic part. It is a good idea to check what other inventory the online site offers. There are some outstanding companies online providing everything you will need when it comes to electronic parts, making it easy just to place one order.

Support and Customer Service

If you need specialized types of cable assemblies, you will find some online retailers can offering custom solutions. They can create your cable assembly to your specifications and provide you with a price that is highly competitive with other sites.

Customer service is also important to find out information, clarify information, or simply to confirm your order. Look for companies with the option to talk to representatives online, by phone, or even in person if they offer order pick-up for your electronic parts and cable assemblies.

When you need electronic parts and cable assemblies, visit us online at Gopher Electronics. We have one of the best online inventories as well offer same-day shipping on orders placed before 3:00 pm Monday to Friday. To learn more about us go to www.gopherelectronics.com.

Ahmadinejad sends letter to George W. Bush

Tuesday, May 9, 2006For the first time in three decades, direct and at least partially public diplomatic communication will commence between the United States (US) and Iran. Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the U.S. president George W. Bush proposing “new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world”.

Mr Gholam-Hossein Elham did not say whether the letter mentioned the nuclear dispute, one of the diplomatic problems currently straining relations between Iran and the USA. This information arrived one day after the Iranian parliament announced that it might retract from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Western pressure over its programme was to increase.

Differing reports have been made as to whether or not the letter will be made public, and if so, when. In its online report of 8 May 2006, 09:25 GMT, the BBC quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi as saying that the contents of the letter would be made public once Bush had received it. The updated version of the report of 8 May 2006, 14:52 GMT, quotes Asefi as saying that the contents would be made public “at the right time”. An ABC report quoted Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying “it is not an open letter.”

Iran’s foreign affairs minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, delivered the letter to the United States’ interests section in the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Monday. The United States has not held diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said “this letter isn’t it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort.”

“It isn’t addressing the issues that we’re dealing with in a concrete way,” she added.

John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also read the letter, saying, “I think it is typical of Iran that when major decisions are about to be taken … that they have tried to throw sand in the eyes of the proponents of the action. That’s what this may be.”

The letter has since been put on an official Iranian website, and on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said “the letter to US President George Bush carries the Iranian nation’s views and comments on international issues as well as suggestions for resolving the many problems facing humanity.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Ahmadinejad_sends_letter_to_George_W._Bush&oldid=4583388”

Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis leaves Scientology

Monday, October 26, 2009

Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis declared to Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis that he had decided to leave the Church of Scientology after being a member for 35 years. His letter to Davis was posted Saturday on the blog of former high-ranking Scientology official Marty Rathbun. Haggis received Academy Awards for writing and producing the 2004 film Crash, which he also directed.

Rathbun confirmed the authenticity of the letter by Haggis, and The Hollywood Reporter also confirmed it with a friend of the director. At his blog, Rathbun has been critical of Scientology’s current leader David Miscavige. In the June article “Former Scientology executives say leader David Miscavige abused staff”, Wikinews reported on criticism by Rathbun and other high-ranking officials that was published in a series of investigative articles in the St. Petersburg Times. In his letter to Davis, Haggis wrote that he read the series in the St. Petersburg Times, where these former Scientology officials accused David Miscavige of physically abusing Scientologists. He criticized the manner in which the Church of Scientology attempted to smear the former officials after they spoke out against the organization.

Well-known celebrity Scientologists include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Haggis had not been known to be a vocal public supporter of Scientology prior to his declaration to Davis that he was leaving the organization.

He expressed his disappointment to Davis, son of actress Anne Archer, that the San Diego, California branch of the Church of Scientology supported Proposition 8. Proposition 8 removed the rights of same-sex couples to marry in California. The San Diego Church of Scientology was listed along with other groups on a Proposition 8 supporters website, but it was later removed. Haggis said that Davis initially told him he would do something about the San Diego Church of Scientology’s support for Proposition 8, but in the end Davis did not take action about this. Haggis called the inaction by Davis with regard to the San Diego Church of Scientology’s stance on homosexuality “cowardly”. Scientology views of homosexuality are controversial, and the introductory work to the topic Dianetics by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard describes homosexuality as a form of sexual perversion. Haggis wrote to Davis that he did not wish to stay a member “of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated”, and called such behavior “indefensible”.

Actress Deborah Rennard, wife of Haggis, was introduced to Scientology by her parents. According to Haggis, the Scientology practice of “disconnection” was imposed on Rennard and her husband, and they were ordered to disconnect from her parents because Rennard’s parents had violated a rule of the organization. Due to having undergone a personal experience with regard to Scientology’s practice of disconnection, Haggis was surprised to hear Davis deny the policy existed in an interview with CNN journalist John Roberts.

I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.

He concluded his letter to Davis by noting that his Scientologist friends might disassociate from him due to his words, writing, “…I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me. I will always take their calls, as I always took yours. However, I have finally come to the conclusion that I can no longer be a part of this group. Frankly, I had to look no further than your refusal to denounce the church’s anti-gay stance, and the indefensible actions, and inactions, of those who condone this behavior within the organization. I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”

Haggis has taken an enormous step here, and one that should resonate among all celebrity Scientologists.

Roger Friedman of The Hollywood Reporter described the film director’s decision to leave the Church of Scientology as “a stunning move”. Friedman wrote that “Haggis has taken an enormous step here, and one that should resonate among all celebrity Scientologists.” Tony Ortega of The Village Voice called Haggis’s declaration to Davis “a remarkable letter”, and Gina Serpe of E! Online wrote “True, he was nowhere near the religion’s most famous celebrity practitioner, but he will no doubt now go down as one of its most infamous, thanks to the inevitably viral publication of his resignation letter”. Writing for Movieline, Kyle Buchanan characterized the letter by Haggis as “a candid, confrontational letter to Scientology top brass”, and said “It’s a must-read.” Radar Online observed “In a shock heard-round-the-Scientology world, Paul Haggis has very publicly quit the organization.” Foster Kamer wrote for Gawker that the letter by Haggis was “incredibly damning” to Scientology, and Adam McDowell of National Post called it “a scathing letter about church policy”. Vicki Hyman of The Star-Ledger called Haggis “the most famous name (if not face) to renounce the Church of Scientology”, and Xan Brooks wrote in The Guardian that “the Church of Scientology lost one of its most high-profile members”. According to The Guardian, the Church of Scientology has not yet responded publicly to the statements made by Haggis in his letter to Davis.

Haggis has multiple credits in film, including work as writer-director for Crash, and writer for Million Dollar Baby (directed by Clint Eastwood), Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Letters From Iwo Jima. Both Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2005) won Academy Awards for Best Picture, making Haggis the first film writer since 1950 to pen movies which won Best Picture Oscars in consecutive years. He is highly-regarded for his work as a humanitarian and for his civil liberties work, and his letter includes a list of awards he has received related to his dedication to civil rights. He is currently working on the film The Next Three Days, which includes actors Liam Neeson, Russell Crowe, and former Scientologist Jason Beghe. Beghe previously went public with his own criticism after leaving the Church of Scientology, and described how members must pay large amounts of money to advance in Scientology levels.

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Choosing The Right Wheelchair For You

Submitted by: Raquel Simons

Most people are familiar with prescriptions from a doctor for medications, but not for mobility aids such as wheelchairs or even crutches. The process of choosing the right wheelchair can be especially difficult, because the types of options available are as varied as the types of people in the world and their various lifestyles.

Depending on what you do on a daily basis, you may need a chair with a pressure-relieving cushion, brake extensions, or other special options in order to make it effective. Since a wheelchair is designed to either fully provide or significantly add to your mobility, it s vital that you get the right chair for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKEsYkme79w[/youtube]

Unlike prescriptions for medications, which are very specific, a doctor s prescription for a wheelchair often reads a wheelchair . This is partly because most General Practitioners are not experts in physical medicine and so they are not really qualified to make a suggestion as to exactly what type of chair you ll require.

When possible, it is a very good idea to go through the selection process with a qualified physiotherapist or occupational therapist who knows what your daily routine and lifestyle look like so that they can help you get the chair that properly suits your needs.

Depending on what your requirements are, you may need to have your doctor write a somewhat specific prescription for insurance purposes. If you ll be spending a significant amount of time in your chair, or if you have particular needs in terms of posture or support, these options can represent a considerable expense above a basic wheelchair system for many insurers to provide payment, they require that these options be outlined by a physician, which means that you may need to have the prescription re-written by your doctor after an evaluation with a rehabilitation professional.

Although evaluations are not yet required by all insurers, most rehabilitation personnel consider them an absolute requirement people always test-drive a car before buying it, and in the same way you should get to test-drive your wheelchair and have a professional opinion to ensure that it will do what you need it to.

Getting a professional evaluation before purchasing your wheelchair is the best way to ensure that you get a chair that will support you in doing what you need to do on a daily basis so that you can live comfortably and do the things that you want and need to do, so even if your insurer doesn t demand one insist on it!

About the Author: Raquel Simons has done extensive research on wheelchairs and related topics. She also acts as a freelance writer for

thewheelchairsite.com/

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Iranian International Master Dorsa Derakhshani discusses her chess career with Wikinews

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation announced two teenage chess players, Dorsa Derakhshani and her younger brother Borna Derakhshani, were banned from representing the national team. The federation announced their decision although Dorsa Derakhshani had previously decided and informed the chess federation she did not wish to play for Iran.

Dorsa Derakhshani is currently 21 years old and holds the International Master (IM) as well as Woman Grand Master (WGM) titles. Her brother, Borna, plays for the English Federation and holds the FIDE Master title.

Dorsa Derakhshani was banned since she did not wear a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, while competing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival in January 2017. Under the laws of Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab is a mandatory dress code. Her brother Borna Deraskhsani was banned for playing against Israeli Grand Master (GM) Alexander Huzman at the same tournament. Iran does not recognise the existence of Israel, and previously, Irani athletes have avoided playing against Israeli athletes.

Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the president of the country’s chess federation, explained the decision to ban the players saying, “As a first step, these two will be denied entry to all tournaments taking place in Iran and in the name of Iran, they will no longer be allowed the opportunity to be present on the national team.” ((fa))Farsi language: ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????. He further stated, “Unfortunately, something that should not have happened has happened and our national interest is paramount and we have reported this position to the Ministry of Sports.” ((fa))Farsi language: ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????.

IM Dorsa Derakhshani, who currently studies at Saint Louis University in the United States and plays for the United States Chess Federation, discussed her chess career, time in Iran and the 2017 controversy, and her life in Saint Louis with a Wikinews correspondent.

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