Home add your blog Archives Search Forum Contact RSS FEED

This site is an rss/xml news reader containing our favorite feeds. All articles are the copyrighted material of the blogs that wrote them.

Carrying A Reusable Bag To Save Money

post from AL6400 Blog on 07 November 2009 11:29:52 PM. © AL6400 Blog

While shopping at the mall today one thing I realized is that while it is generally a good thing to[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.al6400.com/blog/2009/11/07/carrying-a-reusable-bag-to-save-money/

Digg this

Why Factoring Companies Must Constantly Verify
Invoices

post from Ozarks Capital Funding on 07 November 2009 04:33:48 PM. © Ozarks Capital Funding

Any invoice factoring company that stays in existence for any length of time constantly verifies invoice totals, legitimacy, and other information related to the relationship. Why is this necessary? Because the only collateral the factor has is the client’s pool of accounts receivable and they have to make sure that collateral is valid and the [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ocflink.com/blog/?p=436

Digg this

The CrankyMiddle Manager Show #214 Inner
Productivity with Chris Edgar

post from TPN :: The Cranky Middle Manager Show on 07 November 2009 01:53:35 PM. © TPN :: The Cranky Middle Manager Show

Today Wayne Turmel talks to Christopher Edgar, author of “Inner Productivity: A Mindful Approach to Efficiencyand Enjoyment in Your Work”. I also try to spit out a couple of words of Mandarin, we salute a prolific writer who couldn’t pass a simple test, and quote Robert Browning. Not a bad day’s work.Chris Edgar looking mindful.Show [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2009/11/08/the-crankymiddle-manager-show-214-inn
er-productivity-with-chris-edgar/

Digg this

Robert P. Smith: Riches Among The Ruins - Author
interview

post from Blog Business World on 07 November 2009 07:21:00 AM. © Blog Business World

Robert P. Smith, Founder and Managing Director of the Boston-based Turan Corporation, was kind enough to take the time to answer some interview questions about his entertaining and insightful book Riches Among The Ruins: Adventures In The Dark Corners Of The Global Economy.

Thanks to Robert P. Smith for his time and for his intriguing answers about his adventures as global bond and debt trader in the early days of globalization. He was often been called the "Indiana Jones" of international debt trading. His exciting globe trotting life has lived up to, and even exceeded. that billing.

What was the background to writing this fascinating book Riches Among The Ruins: Adventures In The Dark Corners Of The Global Economy?

Robert P. Smith: As we grow older it?s natural to try and put our lives into some larger perspective; to make sense of the times through which we lived. In the late 1970s and 1980s when I started trading emerging market debt, I was just trying to make a living. Looking back, I see that I was surfing the early waves of globalization and, in the process, helped create what is now a $5 billion dollar a day market.

You were at the forefront of the international debt market. How did that market work when your career was at its peak?

Robert P. Smith: When I started, the trade in emerging market debt was less than $300 million per year. I was the quintessential middleman, finding buyers and sellers and making my money on the spread. It was a primitive business back then. I made cold calls, advertised in foreign newspapers that I was buying or selling certain types of bonds and physically ferried actual bonds around the globe in my suitcase. Today, of course, all this debt is traded electronically by traders sitting at desks in New York, London, or Paris. In my heyday I had to walk the streets of San Salvador, Lagos, and Guatemala City.

How does the international debt market operate now that was different from your days on the frontier?

Robert P. Smith: The advent of the digital age was transformative. I operated in markets that were completely non-transparent. No one knew, for example, what an El Salvador bond was worth. I sold it for whatever a buyer would pay. Today, anytime such a bond trades hands every trader in the world knows the price paid within seconds. I made money when the market was primitive because I often had information no one else had. Today, everyone has instant access to all the same information. That?s why the spreads in the old days could be huge. Today, they are as thin as a piece of paper.

How was your business career different from the activities of the Wall Street bond and debt traders?

Robert P. Smith: It was far more adventurous than sitting at a trading desk in New York or London. I traveled incessantly, often to countries where there was real physical danger. One morning I was thrown out of bed by a bomb blast near my hotel in San Salvador during the bloody civil war there. Lagos was a violent city where it was impossible for a white man from Brookline to blend in. You can?t get that kind of adventure on the 6:15 from Larchmont.

How important are bonds and debt to fueling the global business economy?

Robert P. Smith: Countries, like companies, need credit to function. Goodness knows the United States of America runs on debt, and at frightening levels. Countries run their armies, infrastructure and services on debt. When debt freezes ? people stop lending ? the economy shuts down. For emerging market countries, debt, carefully managed, can offer way to a more prosperous future.

Robert P. Smith (photo left)

Many people believe that markets behave rationally. You state in your book that markets operate on emotion. Could you please explain what that means?

Robert P. Smith: The notion of rational markets exists side-by-side with the fear and greed side of the equation. Decisions that are rational for any given individual ? wanting to get money out of a bank believed to be failing, for example ? can, if widespread fear sets in, lead to the very result one hopes to avoid. Just as it?s rational for any individual to want to be the first out a burning building, if everyone acts rationally, tragedy ensues. And, of course, people don?t always act rationally. I was in a swoon over Russia?s economic potential after the collapse of Communism and in my exuberance bought millions in Russian bonds that lost most of their value overnight. I held on and recovered, but I wasn?t a happy camper. Markets, in a gross sense, operate rationally even as millions of people playing in those markets make emotional decisions.

Would you say, like some other observers, that American foreign policy is now foreign economic policy?

Robert P. Smith: There?s no doubt that economic issues have gained importance in international relations as the economy becomes globalized. The enormous U.S. debt owed to China, free trade, energy supplies, even climate change ? they all have profound economic implications. But many foreign policy issues are not primarily economic, such as nuclear proliferation and human rights.

Do you ever feel that your international debt business was unethical or was feeding off the misery of others, or were you helping financially strapped nations to clear their debts?

Robert P. Smith: The bonds I was buying and selling were issued by nations that needed capital to run their governments and provide services. Creating a market for these bonds made them more appealing and thus offered a way to improve the national economy. Now, not every country has a virtuous government, but I wasn?t playing games with other people?s money here ? I often had my entire net worth invested in a transaction.

Were you ever at personal risk of physical injury or even death?

Robert P. Smith: I?ve already mentioned the bomb blast in San Salvador. In 2004 I went to Iraq to investigate the opportunities in Iraqi debt. We had a heavily armed security detail and wore flak jackets the entire time. To get to the Green Zone we had to drive at high speeds in armored SUVs down a road fondly nicknamed ?The Highway of Death.?

Would you do it all over again, or have international bond markets changed too much for a repeat of your life's adventures today?

Robert P. Smith: I loved my work. I loved the travel, the adventure, the allure of exotic places, the sound of foreign languages. I loved the risk, physical and financial. However, but times have changed. I am a dinosaur in the industry today. You can find great adventure in the world today, but it probably wouldn?t be in trading bonds.

What is next for Robert Smith?

Robert P. Smith: My 70th birthday is around the corner. I still travel on business, most recently to Syria and Turkey. I still look for opportunities around the world, but now, I take joy in watching my grandchildren grow up and serving on the boards of various non-profits.

****************

My book review of Riches Among The Ruins: Adventures In The Dark Corners Of The Global Economy by Robert P. Smith (with Peter Zheutlin).

My Blog Business Success Radio interview with Robert P. Smith.

Robert P. Smith (photo left) is the Founder and Managing Director of the Boston-based Turan Corporation, which specializes in trading emerging market sovereign debt and evaluating creditor claims against foreign governments.

A graduate of Bowdoin College and Boston University School of Law, Robert P. Smith served as a loan officer and economic liaison for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Brazil. He later joined Deltec Bank of Sao Paulo, Brazil, before returning to the United States in the mid-1970s where he established a law practice specializing in international debt collections.

Turan Corporation was founded as Turam (?Turkish-American?) Corporation in 1978, and soon became one the largest privately held sovereign debt trading firms in the world. The company?s many achievements include purchasing $7 million of Turkish Non-Guaranteed Trade Arrears (NGTAs) in 1980, making it the first company to develop its own debt/equity investment in Turkey. The company forged similar archetype deals in places such as El Salvador, Nigeria and Guatemala.

Bob Smith is a noted authority on developing world debt and has been cited or quoted in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, Africa Economic Digest, The Financial Times, International Business, and various journals of Euromoney Publications of London. From 1986 to ?88 he wrote the monthly column ?Blocked Currency? for Euromoney Treasury Report. Robert Smith is a sought-after speaker and has addressed numerous professional groups on matters relating to emerging markets.

Tags: Riches Among The Ruins: Adventures In The Dark Corners Of The Global Economy, Robert P. Smith, Peter Zheutlin, international finance, globalization, business author interviews.

Read The Full Article:
http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2009/11/robert-p-smith-riches-among-ruins.h
tml

Digg this

The AVC Reader Census

post from A VC on 07 November 2009 07:05:16 AM. © A VC

We (Nathan and me) added a new widget to this blog yesterday. It's on the right sidebar above the Flickr photo widget. The purpose of this widget is to answer a few questions about the people who read this blog....

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AVc/~3/ip91n_PG5nY/the-avc-reader-census.html

Digg this

Saturday Success Story - Dave, Tennessee

post from MarketClub Trader's Blog on 07 November 2009 07:00:00 AM. © MarketClub Trader's Blog

At MarketClub, our mission is to help you become a better trader. Our passion is creating superior trading tools to help you achieve your goals?no matter which way the markets move?we promise objective and unbiased recommendations not available from brokers.

Here’s great news from a member…

“I’m new to MarketClub. I sold DAL at a -100 signal to preserve a nice profit. I am mostly using the site thus far to learn about fibonacci lines, MACD, trading techniques, etc. So far I like what I see at MarketClub.” ~ Dave C., Tennessee

To send your own success story, please email blog@ino.com. We wish all of our members the best and we look forward to hearing your success story.

Read The Full Article:
http://club.ino.com:80/trading/2009/11/saturday-success-story-dave-tennessee/

Digg this

Lighthouse of the World

post from The Global Small Business Blog on 07 November 2009 03:58:00 AM. © The Global Small Business Blog

From far away, a friendly light, a safe haven and place to hang your dry hat.

Hope your weekend shines bright.

Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Lighthouse directory

Read The Full Article:
http://borderbuster.blogspot.com/2009/11/lighthouse-of-world.html

Digg this

#334: Dont waste a nonsense moment

post from Nonsense at Work on 07 November 2009 02:27:00 AM. © Nonsense at Work

Have you heard the one about the 6 year old Cub Scout who was so proud of his scout eating utensil that he took it to use at school? He got 45 days in a disciplinary school all because the practical tool included a little knife.

And then there?s the third grader who was expelled for a year because she brought her birthday cake to school. The problem? Her sensible grandmother had packed a knife to make it easier for the teacher. What did the teacher do? She first cut the cake and then called the principal.

Both were wasted nonsense moments. You see, nonsense moments are opportunities for teaching and learning. Sadly for the little kids, the people in charge don?t understand that. That?s why they turned the teaching moments into punishment moments.

Nonsense is born when places of learning frown upon common sense. And nonsense is perpetuated when you don?t encourage the opposite at work.

I?m James McIntosh at nonsenseatwork.com

Listen to the radio version of 'Don?t waste a nonsense moment'
(10 most recent radio files)
James can be heard on Public Radio: Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA | 89.1 FM WCNV, Heathsville VA | 90.1 FM WMVE, Chase City VA

Copyright: 2009 James Henry McIntosh

Read The Full Article:
http://www.nonsenseatwork.com/blog/2009/10/334-dont-waste-nonsense-moment.html

Digg this

RECESSION NOW BEHIND US!! ---maybe not!

Bob Englehart's Cartoon from mid-September this year

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thebullishbear/~3/Ae7nS9GKfTI/recession-now-behind
-us-maybe-not.html

Digg this

BlueBeats Hank Risan: Thats Not the Beatles, Its
a Virtual Cover Band

BlueBeat

If you thought that was AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles you streamed for free or downloaded this week for $.25 from BlueBeat.com, it?s an understandable error.

The site?s owner Hank Risan tells FastCompany his catalog of music doesn?t include tracks by the original artists, who, of course, own the publishing rights to their music (many have long resisted posting their music for sale online). His tunes aren?t technically Beatles tracks at all but, rather, "psycho-acoustic simulations" of Beatles songs performed and broadcast on BlueBeat and made available for download.

Performances? By, what, some kind of virtual cover band? "Exactly!" Risan says, almost giddily. "Only they don?t eat as much. And you don?t have to pay them union wages!" It was if we?d summed up a concept he?d long been trying to explain to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) general counsel Steven Marks, and lawyers for EMI records, distributor of The Beatles catalog who filed suit against Risan and BlueBeat on Wednesday claiming copyright infringement, and the judge in the case who ordered BlueBeat to shut down until he can hold a hearing on Nov. 20th. Risan has tried to respond to the suit by EMI, which holds exclusive rights to distribute The Beatles catalog, by writing the material on BlueBeat is an "entirely different sound recording." It went over the head of most, but in a phone call late Friday evening, he explained further.

A full disclosure: There?s much more to this story, but it involves a battery of experts and lawyers that just weren?t available at post time, but Risan?s own explanation, even in part, was worth getting to as soon as possible, given the attention we?ve given to EMI?s side of the case.

hank-risan

Here is, in very basic terms, why his site is legal, according to Risan.

First, he obtained necessary licenses to broadcast original works on the web. (Ars Technica has a good summary of the laws involved here). He claims, too, to have paid royalties to all appropriate performing rights organizations since 2003. "That?s going to be very problematic for EMI when the judge hears the case," Risan says. Next, he bought a legitimate copy of each song or album featured on BlueBeat and analyzed it, "We make an analysis of that work that we break down into parametric fields like timbre, pitch, loudness. You create an analytical view of the work."

Sounds an awful lot like ripping a CD. Not so, Risan insists. "It?s done with sophisticated algorithmic, mathematic and artistic ? this is not some kind of mechanical process. This is a trial-and-error artistic endeavor."

The entire analysis, he says, goes into his computers. "Using psycho-acoustic synthetic methods, we synthesize a new sound recording in a new 3-D environment. Like you said, a virtual cover band. Instead of bringing a bunch of guys in that look like The Beatles and sound like The Beatles into a conventional recording studio, we do this all in a virtual 3-D environment."

The disc he bought at the store is then destroyed, lest anyone try to say he?s posting it for download. Rather, his "independent simulated production" (don?t call it a re-recording) is then "broadcast" ? streamed in ?colloquial? terms, as Risan puts it -- on BlueBeat. Those broadcasts, along with new visuals and information are bundled up for what Risan calls "time-shifted audio visual displays" -- they look remarkably like song tracks -- and sold for a quarter apiece. The quarter actually buys you the time-shifted audio-visual display, not, say, The Beatles? "Helter Skelter."

It?s reminiscent of the classic approach whereby a ticket scalper charges $200 for a $25 concert ticket by bundling the face value ticket with a commemorative $175 pencil. Risan insists, though, that he?s doing this to educate people about the coming wave of psycho-acoustic and psycho-visual technology. He points to groundbreaking work being done in this field at Stanford University and says, "The goal was never to make money and that?s why were charging a quarter and not a dollar. To educate and inform and inspire people, that?s what we?re all about."

There are technical and logical problems here. The "if it quacks like a duck" principal surely applies to what sound like other artists tracks, and BlueBeat sure markets them that way. There are some philosophical and structural problems with Risan?s arguments, too. To suspend what logic tells you about BlueBeat, you have to subscribe not only to Risan?s ideas but to his vocabulary. The minute you refer to his "performances? as "tracks" or call them "re-recordings," you run afoul of his theory. And although there might be a value in tools that perfectly, synthetically recreate complex combinations of sounds, why foist upon the public an application of that technology that looks a hell of a lot like piracy? Put another way, if you?re in favor of encouraging creativity, why get behind a tool whose primary purpose is to mimic someone else?s creation so closely it can?t be differentiated from the original?

Risan admits his argument was subject to interpretation, and he?s keeping the money he?s made from BlueBeat aside, he says, in case he loses his legal battle. He won?t say how much that is, but he says it?s less than most might think. "Look what the press was doing. You guys were saying we were all pirates. So people were a little bit nervous going to the site?. When we have our day in court on the 20th, I think that some surprises are going to happen that will open up the public?s eyes to new innovation artistically."

The thing about courts, though, is that they often favor the reasonable perceptions of common people over the challenging mental gymnastics of an academic. Risan has thought this through on a deeply analytical level, applying all sorts of arithmetic to a process others equate with the "import" button on iTunes. And he?s put his money where his math is, gambling BlueBeat?s future on his analytical theories. But even if Risan convincingly lays out his rationale for selling seemingly stolen songs, that doesn?t guarantee a judge on Nov. 20 won?t think it?s a load of bull. Or at least a "psycho-acoustic simulation" thereof.