Sunday, June 7, 2009

Bank Profits From Accounting Rules Masking Looming Loan Losses

Bank Profits From Accounting Rules Masking Looming Loan Losses

By Yalman Onaran

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Big banks in the U.S. say they’re on the mend. The five largest were profitable in the first quarter, rebounding from record losses for the industry in the fourth quarter. Share prices have jumped, with the KBW Bank Index doubling since March 6.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, after “stress testing” 19 banks on their ability to withstand a worsening economy, declared in early May that Americans can be confident in the banks’ stability and resilience. Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley were among banks raising $43 billion in new capital since then through share sales.

“With our capital and assets, stressed as they have been, we can go back to focusing all our attention on managing our business and restoring value,” Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said after Geithner’s examinations were completed.

The revival may be short-lived. Analysts who have examined the quarterly profits and government tests say that accounting rule changes and rosy assumptions are making the institutions look healthier than they are.

The government probably wants to win time for the banks, keeping them alive as they struggle to earn their way out of the mess, says economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University in New York. The danger is that weak banks will remain reluctant to lend, hobbling President Barack Obama’s efforts to pull the economy out of recession.

‘Bogus’ Profit

Citigroup’s $1.6 billion in first-quarter profit would vanish if accounting were more stringent, says Martin Weiss of Weiss Research Inc. in Jupiter, Florida. “The big banks’ profits were totally bogus,” says Weiss, whose 38-year-old firm rates financial companies. “The new accounting rules, the stress tests: They’re all part of a major effort to put lipstick on a pig.”

Further deterioration of loans will eventually force banks to recognize losses that their bookkeeping lets them ignore for now, says David Sherman, an accounting professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc. in Chicago, says the government stress scenarios underestimate how bad the economy may get.

The accounting rule changes that matter most for the banks came on April 2, when the Financial Accounting Standards Board gave companies greater latitude in how they establish the fair value of assets. Lawmakers, including Representative Paul Kanjorski, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, had complained that existing mark-to-market standards worsened the financial crisis.

Debt Valuation

Along with that change, FASB also let companies recognize losses on the value of some debt securities on their balance sheets without counting the writedowns against earnings. If banks plan to hold the debt until maturity, they can avoid hurting the bottom line.

At Citigroup, the recipient of $346 billion in fresh capital and asset guarantees from the government, about 25 percent of the quarterly net income came thanks to the debt securities rule change, the bank said.

Another $2.7 billion before taxes came from an accounting rule that lets a company record income when the value of its own debt falls. That reflects the possibility a company could buy back bonds at a discount, generating a profit. In reality, when a bank can’t fund such a transaction, the gain is an accounting quirk, Weiss says.

Citigroup also increased its loan loss reserves more slowly in the first quarter, adding $10 billion compared with $12 billion in the fourth quarter, even as more loans were going bad. Provisions for loan losses cut profits, so adding more to this reserve could have wiped out the quarterly earnings.

Wells Fargo

Without those accounting benefits, Citigroup would probably have posted a net loss of $2.5 billion in the quarter, Weiss estimates. In the five previous quarters, Citigroup lost more than $37 billion.

Wells Fargo also took advantage of the change in the mark- to-market rules. The new standards let Wells Fargo boost its capital $2.8 billion by reassessing the value of some $40 billion of bonds, the bank said in May. And the bank augmented net income by $334 million because of the effect of the rule on the value of debts held to maturity.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Julia Tunis Bernard declined to comment, as did Citigroup’s Jon Diat.

The higher valuations Wells Fargo put on its securities probably won’t last, as defaults increase on home mortgages, credit cards and other consumer and corporate lending, Northeastern’s Sherman says.

Fed’s Optimism

“These changes will help the banks hide their losses or push them off to the future,” says Sherman, a former Securities and Exchange Commission researcher.

The Federal Reserve, which designed the stress tests, used a 21 percent to 28 percent loss rate for subprime mortgages as a worst-case assumption. Already, almost 40 percent of such loans are 30 days or more overdue, according to Tavakoli, who is the author of three primers on structured debt. Defaults might reach 55 percent, she predicts.

At the same time, the assumptions on how much banks can earn to offset their losses are inflated, partly because of the same accounting gimmicks employed in first-quarter profit reports, Weiss says.

“There’s a chance that it might work,” Columbia’s Stiglitz says of the government’s attempt to boost confidence. “If it does, then they’ll look like the brilliant general. But all these efforts also bank on the economy recovering and housing prices not falling too much further. Those are not safe assumptions.”

Indeed, while the government and accounting rule makers try to help the banks look their best, they may make the U.S. economy worse. As long as lenders are stuck with bad loans, they can’t provide new money to consumers or corporations to fuel a potential recovery. The banks may look pretty, but they’ll be zombies until they clean up their books.

Bloomberg.com

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Cancer Killer - Ginger and Barley

Cancer Killer - Ginger and Barley
>
> another remedy for you.
> Cancer Killer in the Kitchen - Ginger
> The powerful healing effects of ginger have been well
> documented. It's a proven remedy for upset stomach.
> Reams of studies show that it inhibits inflammation. And
> there is substantial evidence that it fights cancer too.
>
> For instance, a recent University of Michigan study showed
> that when
> ginger was added to ovarian cancer cells in the laboratory,
> it caused
> the cancer cells to self-destruct (a process known as
> "apoptosis").. In a
> separate study at the University of Minnesota , researchers
> injected
> colon cancer cells into mice that were bred to have no
> immune system..
>
> Half of these mice were routinely fed gingerol, the main
> active
> component in ginger. The researchers found that the mice
> that were fed gingerol lived longer, their tumors were
> smaller, and the cancer did not
> spread as widely as in the control group.
>
> With all these health benefits, you should be using ginger
> as often as
> you can. The best way I've found to get a healthy
> serving of ginger is
> to juice it. (The brand of juicer I use is an Omega.) Two
> or three days
> a week, I juice an apple or two, some carrots, spinach,
> broccoli,
> cabbage, and a big piece of ginger root.
>
>
> The ginger gives the drink a great flavor and a powerful
> anti-cancer kick.
> I highly recommend that you try it.
>
>
> <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>
>
>
> If you have enjoyed this article and know someone who would
> enjoy it, would you kindly share it with him or her?
>
> Healing and cleansing with barley
>
> High in fibre, barley is also a kidney cleanser. Better
> yet, regular intake of it helps prevent heart disease.
> BARLEY water was always a regular drink when we were still
> living at home. Whenever we had to go for a medical exam
> that included a urine test, my mum would make us drink
> barley water a day before it to make sure we got a positive
> result!
>
> My mother was a wise woman. I later found out from an
> Australian
> naturopath that barley is known to be a kidney cleanser,
> and he happily
> downed glasses of it at a meal we had in a coffee-shop
> here.
>
> Barley is good for your intestinal health too. Try to eat
> the barley
> grains you find in your drink or sweet broth with fu chook
> (beancurd skin) and ginkgo nuts.
>
> It's high in fibre which feeds the friendly bacteria in
> the colon and
> helps speed up the transit of fecal matter in it. In this
> way it helps
> prevent haemorrhoids and colon cancer.
>
> The propionic acid and beta glucan from barley's
> insoluble fibre also help lower cholesterol and prevent the
> formation of gallstones.
>
> Eating barley regularly is a preventive step against heart
> disease as,
> besides the fibre content, it is also high in niacin, a B
> vitamin good for
> lowering cholesterol.
>
> Diabetics should eat more barley as the fibre will
> prevent blood sugar
> levels from rising too high. It also provides relief from
> constipation or
> diarrhoea for those suffering from Irritable Bowel
> Syndrome.
>
> Barley is rich in selenium which prevents cancer and
> relieves symptoms of asthma and arthritis. It is a good
> source of manganese, copper and phosphorous.
>
> Malt sugar comes from sprouted barley which, when
> fermented, is an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic
> beverages.
>
> Barley, whose Latin name is " hordeum vulgare" ,
> has been cultivated for more than 10,000 years.
> Since ancient times, barley has been used for healing
> purposes and has
> been known to the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
> Athletes in
> Greece and Rome in those days were known to eat barley
> bread to give them strength.
>
> Besides the usual things we do with barley, I enjoy having
> it in a western soup. The larger pearl barley is used and I
> love the sticky bite of it.
> Here's a recipe for barley soup:
>
> Barley soup with roasted garlic
>
> 1 cup pearl barley
> 5 cloves whole garlic, roasted
> 2 litres chicken stock, steeped from 1 chicken breast
> simmered in three litres water
> 2 tbsps vegetable oil
> 2 large onions, diced
> 2 carrots, diced
> 2 stalks celery, diced
> 150g turkey ham, cut up
> 1 tsp ground white pepper
> 1 tsps sea salt or to taste
> 1 tbsp chopped parsley
> Method
> 1. Wash barley and soak it in a bowl of water for three
> hours. Drain.
>
> 2. Heat oil in pan and fry onions. Add carrots and celery,
> then the barley and fry for three minutes.
>
> 3. Add chicken stock, pepper and roasted garlic and simmer
> over low heat for at least an hour, or until barley is soft.
>
> 4. Add salt to taste and serve the soup garnished with
> chopped parsley .
> < http://www.wretch/ > . cc/blog/sharingp ath
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _____
> check out the rest of the Windows Live™. More than
> mail–Windows Live™ goes way beyond your inbox. More than
> messages > >
> _____
> See all the ways you can stay connected to friends and
> family
> > >
>
> ==============================
> Information in this message is confidential. It is intended
> solely for the person or the entity to whom it is addressed.
> If you are not the intended recipient, you are not to
> disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. Please
> notify the sender and delete the message and any other
> record of it from your system immediately.
> ==============================
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> contain information that is privileged. If you are not the
> intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination,
> distribution or copying of this email is strictly
> prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
> notify us immediately by return email or telephone and
> destroy the original message. Thank you.
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>

Selamat Hari Ibu

Orang kata aku lahir dari perut mak..
>
> (bukan org kata...memang betul)
>
>
>
> Bila dahaga, yang susukan aku....mak
> Bila lapar, yang suapkan aku....mak
> Bila keseorangan, yang sentiasa di sampingku.. ..mak
> Kata mak, perkataan pertama yang aku sebut....Mak
> Bila bangun tidur, aku cari....mak
> Bila nangis, orang pertama yang datang ....mak
> Bila nak bermanja, aku dekati....mak
> Bila nak bergesel, aku duduk sebelah....mak
> Bila sedih, yang boleh memujukku hanya....mak
> Bila nakal, yang memarahi aku....mak
> Bila merajuk, yang memujukku cuma....mak
> Bila melakukan kesalahan, yang paling cepat marah....mak
> Bila takut, yang tenangkan aku....mak
> Bila nak peluk, yang aku suka peluk....mak
> Aku selalu teringatkan ....mak
> Bila sedih, aku mesti talipon....mak
> Bila seronok, orang pertama aku nak beritahu.....mak
> Bila bengang.. aku suka luah pada..mak
> Bila takut, aku selalu panggil... "mmaaakkkk! "
> Bila sakit, orang paling risau adalah....mak
> Bila nak exam, orang paling sibuk juga....mak
> Bila buat hal, yang marah aku dulu....mak
> Bila ada masalah, yang paling risau.... mak
> Yang masih peluk dan cium aku sampai hari ni.. mak
> Yang selalu masak makanan kegemaranku....mak
> kalau balik ke kampung, yang selalu bekalkan ulam &
> lauk pauk.....mak
> Yang selalu simpan dan kemaskan barang-barang aku....mak
> Yang selalu berleter kat aku...mak
> Yang selalu puji aku....mak
> Yang selalu nasihat aku....mak
> Bila nak kahwin..Orang pertama aku tunjuk dan rujuk.....mak
>
>
> Aku ada pasangan hidup sendiri....
>
>
> Bila seronok, aku cari.......pasanganku
> Bila sedih, aku cari......mak
>
>
> Bila berjaya, aku ceritakan pada....pasanganku
> Bila gagal, aku ceritakan pada....mak
>
>
> Bila bahagia, aku peluk erat....pasanganku
> Bila berduka, aku peluk erat....emakku
>
>
> Bila nak bercuti, aku bawa....pasanganku
> Bila sibuk, aku hantar anak ke rumah.....mak
>
>
> Bila sambut valentine... Aku bagi hadiah pada pasanganku
> Bila sambut hari ibu...aku cuma dapat ucapkan "Selamat
> Hari Ibu"
>
>
> Selalu.. aku ingat pasanganku
>
> Selalu.. mak ingat kat aku
>
>
> Bila-bila... aku akan talipon pasanganku
> Entah bila... aku nak talipon mak
>
>
> Selalu....aku belikan hadiah untuk pasanganku
> Entah bila... aku nak belikan hadiah untuk emak
>
>
> Renungkan:
>
> "Kalau kau sudah habis belajar dan berkerja...
> bolehkah kau kirim wang untuk mak?
> mak bukan nak banyak... lima puluh ringgit sebulan pun
> cukuplah"...
> Berderai air mata jika kita mendengarnya........
>
>
> Tapi kalau mak sudah tiada..........
>
> MAKKKKK...RINDU MAK..... RINDU SANGAT....

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

klik iklan je dapat duit...

numenmail.com




http://numenmail.com/pages/index.php?refid=langitsalju

http://numenmail.com/pages/index.php?refid=langitsalju

numenmail.com


Subject: SETIAP EMAIL BERHARGA $80 SERTA BONUS PERCUMA SELEPAS ANDA
SIGNUP !!! x nak ke??? — Free SIGNUP

DASYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAT!! CAM TAK PERCAYA PULAK
Ini percuma tapi kena rajin la klik iklan... Nak duit Rajin2 lah sikit klik
iklannya. Ini percuma tak payah bayar......1 sen pun.Firstly, saya nak
kenalkan ngan satu website yang membolehkan korang sumer dapat extra Money..
x kire la korang student ker, dah keja ker (a) mganggur...sume bleh dpt.

BARU SIGN UP je dah dapat BONUS USD800.. ni dlm nilai USDollar, kalau dlm
Ringgit M\'sia dah RM2000 lebih..cube la korg bygkan sdiri....byk giler!
(Tak perlu keluar MODAL 1 sen pun, TAKKAN RUGI, SIGNUP FREE, dapat BONUS
$800 lagi direct ke account lepas sign up)Korang sumer hanya perlu SIGN
UP!!Kitorg buat ni pon smbil2 je....nak cr duit lebih2 sket dan surf punyer
surf jumpe la website ni Lps sign up, kitorg try2 la tgk account tu..punyela
tkejut beruk.....dlm smggu je dlm account kitorg tetibe dah ade USD$1000
iaitu RM4000..

Korang ikut steps yg kitorg dah translatekan dlm bhs mlayu bg
menyenangkan korg. sbb bhs diorg guna tu bebelit sket..pdahal steps die
mudah je. okeh! X nak buang mase lg.. tgk dulu steps die k..

CARA-CARA NAK DAFTAR?.Steps dia mudah jer...

1. Korg klik dekat link kat bawah ni atau copy dan paste kat browser
korang...

http://numenmail.com/pages/index.php?refid=langitsalju

numenmail.com


2. Klik kat \'Sign Up.\' (Sebelah kiri website tu).

3. Taip alamat email korg.. Nnt diorg akan send kt email korang utk sahkan.

4. Tutup (Close) laman tu.

5.. Pastu..pergi tgk kat email korang. akan ade perkataan ni. \'
numenmail.com. sign up URL\'.. then, \'Click\'.

6. Kat ctu ade 2 link. korg klik je kat link yg pertama tu.

http://numenmail.com/pages/index.php?refid=langitsalju

7. Lepas tu, akan keluar laman . numenmail.com yang mula2 korang taip alamat
email korang tu.

8. Klik dkt \'Sign Up\'..

9. Isi borang dia bagi..HARUS INGAT !!! Jangan padam nama upline anda di
bahagian Referrer. Jika korang padam kemungkinan korang boleh di ban oleh
pihak numen mail. so, biarkan je k..

10. Sampai dkt cara nak bayar..korg pilih je melalui \'Check\'.

11. Lepas isi..klik kat \'Sign In\'.

numenmail.com


12. Masukkan Username ngan Password yg korang tulis dlm borang td.

13. Kat situ korg akan nmpk account korang dlm tu ade $800...haaa, betulkan
kitorg ckp td?

14. Then, klik dkt \'paid2click\ ' .

15.. Kat situ akan ade 7 banner (a) lebih. Stiap 1 banner korg klik, account
korg akan btambah $10.00 (a) RM40.00... utk klik banner ke 2 tggu smpai dia
abis surf (lbh kurang dlm 30 saat.

16. Klik smpai abis.

17. Klik kat \'Earnings stats\'?

18. Tengoklah berape korang dpt dgn hanya klik kat banner.SENANG KAN ??!!

19. Utk tambah duit korg dlm account tu..korang just invite mmber dgn 1st
step korg msk td? Just TYPE /SENT kat member nyer email address

20. Setiap hari pastikan korang klik dan baca iklan yg dia hantar ke email
korang atau pun buka terus akaun korang yg dah berdaftar dgn
numenmail.comdan utk buka akaun, klik kat \"member sign in\" dan masukkan
username dan password korang sebelum ni..Kemudian klik kat \"Your Inbox\"
dan klik setiap iklan yg tersenarai kat situ. Setiap satu iklan/email tu
mengambil masa kira-kira 200saat atau lbh kurang 3-4 minit. Lps tu baru
close dan buka iklan yg lain.Setiap iklan/email tu bernilai US$200 Dollar
atau lbh kurang RM700.00 duit Malaysia ..tak nak ker???...

21.. Utk tahu jumlah duit korang yg terkumpul, klik kat\"Earning Stats\".

faham btol2 yer. numenmail.com. AKAN BYR KORG.Setelah jumlah duit yg
terkumpul sampai had payout *8888, *Kite akan dapat bayaran melalui CHECK
(a) dlm bahasa melayu nyer CEK. Sbb kitorg tau msti korg akan alami prob x
tau nak pilih cara pembyrnkan.. .korg just klik kat \'CHECK\' je mase kat
sign up dan pastikan alamat korg tu betol sbab cek tu akan smpai kat DEPAN
PINTU UMAHKORANG.

numenmail.com


http://numenmail.com/pages/index.php?refid=langitsalju

SELAMAT MENCUBA!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

FOREX ...........Why Have a Trading Plan ?



Reason 1: It keeps you in the right direction

Consistency is very important to have in your trading routine because it allows you to truly measure how successful you are as a trader. If you have a sound trading system but always break your rules, how can you ever really know how good your system really is? Your trading plan will keep you on target. Read it every day and stick to it.

Reason 2: Trading is a business and successful businesses ALWAYS have plans

I have never seen a successful business not start out with a plan. Do you honestly think Walmart was just created on a whim and then magically became successful? Or what about McDonalds? I’m sure almost anyone can make a better hamburger than McDonalds, but the difference between them and the individual is that they have a successful business plan that guides them to success.

Money Management

Risk to Reward


Another way you can increase your chances of profitability is to trade when you have the potential to make 3 times more than you are risking. If you give yourself a 3:1 reward/risk ratio, you have a significantly greater chance of ending up profitable in the long run. Take a look at this chart as an example:

Risk to Reward

In this example, you can see that even if you only won 50% of your trades, you would still make a profit of $10,000. Just remember that whenever you trade with a good risk to reward ratio, your chances of being profitable are much greater even if you have a lower win percentage.


Forex Market Hours

Market Hours

Before looking at the best times to trade, we must look at what a 24hr. day in the forex world looks like. The forex can be broken up into three major trading sessions: the Tokyo Session, the London Session, and the U.S. Session. Below is a table of the open and close times for each session:

Market Hours
Time Zone EST GMT
Tokyo Open 7 PM 0:00
Tokyo Close 4 AM 9:00
London Open 3 AM 8:00
London Close 12 PM 17:00
U.S. Open 8 AM 13:00
U.S. Close 5 PM 22:00

Market Hours

You can see that in between each session there is a period of time where two sessions are open at the same time. From 3-4 a.m. EST, both the Tokyo and London markets are open, and from 8-12 p.m. EST, both the London and U.S. markets are open. Naturally, these are the busiest times during the market because there is more volume when two markets are open at the same time.

Trading Sessions - Average pip range of the 4 majors during each session.
Session EUR/USD GBP/USD USD/CHF USD/JPY
Tokyo 66 79 100 66
London 80 99 121 74
U.S. 67 78 101 60

More Market Hours

 
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