Clusterstock http://www.businessinsider.com/clusterstock en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:14:07 -0500 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:14:07 -0500 The latest news from Clusterstock http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-was-knighted-2009-12 Julian Robertson Gets Knighted! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/6JrsccvFtqk/julian-robertson-was-knighted-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:10:12 -0500 Courtney Comstock <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4abcfbd1e6d6c05533a67990" border="0" alt="julian robertson tiger" /></p><p>Sadly, he won't be "Sir Julian Robertson," but the retired hedge fund manager has been knighted by New Zealand, which is cool no matter what.</p> <p>It's especially so becase apparently, as an honorary knight, Mr Robertson gets to use the KNZM title and wear the insignia.</p> <p>We're not sure what that means exactly, but it sounds fun.</p> <p><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/business/3199751/American-made-honorary-knight">The Dominion Post</a> has the full details on what led to the hedge funder's knighthood.</p> <p>Among his contributions to the country are: two golf courses, a bunch of major art (by Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, Gauguin...) at the Auckland Art Gallery, college scholarship programs, and investments in several wineries.</p> <p>Being knighted is a huge honor but of course the country has already given Robertson a priceless gift once before. Robertson's third child, Alex, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-talks-about-his-accidental-child-2009-11">was "accidently" conceived</a> in New Zealand.</p> <p><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/business/3199751/American-made-honorary-knight">Read more about Robertson's philanthropy and knighthood in New Zealand.</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-was-knighted-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-talks-about-his-accidental-child-2009-11">Julian Robertson Talks About His Accidental Child</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ny-mag-tells-wrong-son-he-was-an-accident-2009-11">Did NY Mag Tell The Wrong Son Of Julian Robertson That He Was An Accident?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-long-gold-short-dollar-neutral-on-obama-2009-10">Julian Robertson: Long Gold, Short Dollar, Neutral On Obama</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WEgpR8838UHiBhUtTSo-DSqWCqA/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WEgpR8838UHiBhUtTSo-DSqWCqA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WEgpR8838UHiBhUtTSo-DSqWCqA/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WEgpR8838UHiBhUtTSo-DSqWCqA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6JrsccvFtqk:CLRKauIVi5o:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/6JrsccvFtqk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-robertson-was-knighted-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-fabers-predictions-for-2010-2009-12 Marc Faber: Treasuries Are For Idiots, Watch Out For A 10-20% Correction In Stocks Before Another Rally http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/s13yYgS0ero/marc-fabers-predictions-for-2010-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:44:00 -0500 Vince Veneziani <p>Apocalypse aficionado Marc Faber was on CNBC today talking about his house on the beach in Vietnam, among other things. Key points included:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">-A stronger dollar will be positive for equities based on historical market data.<br />-The U.S. market will outperform emerging markets for the first half of 2010.<br />-Stocks and associated indices may have 10-20% correction, followed by another rally.<br />-The worst thing you can do for a long-term buy is purchase Treasuries. <br />-The private sector is de-leveraging while the government levers up. This process is expected to continue.</p> <p>Watch the entire interview below. Thanks to <a href="http://pragcap.com/gloom-doom-and-chances-of-a-boom">PragCap</a> for the video.</p> <p> <object id="cnbcplayer" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="400" height="380" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0"> <param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="best" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1372863771/code/cnbcplayershare" /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="380" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1372863771/code/cnbcplayershare" name="cnbcplayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt"></embed> </object> </p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-fabers-predictions-for-2010-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/faber-dollar-will-rally-10-more-stocks-will-keep-running-higher-2009-12">Faber: Dollar Will Rally 10% More, Stocks Will Keep Running Higher</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-faber-gold-is-never-going-below-1000-an-ounce-2009-11">Marc Faber: Gold Is Never Going Below $1000 An Ounce</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/faber-krugman-just-wants-to-create-another-bubble-2009-9">Faber: Krugman Just Wants To Create Another Bubble!</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byQwtBU0-cRMINEgwNlDB6Cl7lc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byQwtBU0-cRMINEgwNlDB6Cl7lc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byQwtBU0-cRMINEgwNlDB6Cl7lc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byQwtBU0-cRMINEgwNlDB6Cl7lc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=s13yYgS0ero:VnQdjlZAmLQ:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/s13yYgS0ero" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-fabers-predictions-for-2010-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/activist-hedge-fund-loads-up-on-legg-mason-shares-becomes-1-shareholder-2009-12 Activist Hedge Fund Loads Up On Legg Mason Shares, Becomes #1 Shareholder (LM) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/VxTaW_D9h9k/activist-hedge-fund-loads-up-on-legg-mason-shares-becomes-1-shareholder-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:20:23 -0500 Vincent Fernando <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3ba78a00000000009683ba&amp;maxX=400" border="0" alt="Bill Miller" width="400" /></p><p>The activist hedge fund Trian Fund Management became the largest shareholder of fund management company Legg Mason, after picking up two million shares on Monday.</p> <p>The New York firm now owns 5.6% of Legg Mason, ahead of Dodge &amp; Cox's (a mutual fund) 5.5%.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.finalternatives.com/node/10088">FinAlternatives:</a> Peltz&rsquo;s Legg buying spree cannot last forever. As part of the deal that put him on the firm&rsquo;s board, Peltz agreed not to build a stake larger than 9.9% during a standstill period that could run another two years.</p> <p>Regardless, LM appears in play.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/activist-hedge-fund-loads-up-on-legg-mason-shares-becomes-1-shareholder-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/optima-american-farmland-hedge-fund-2009-12">Details On The New Hyperinflation-Beating Farmland Hedge Fund From Optima</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-manager-jonathan-hoenigs-gift-to-us-a-100-trillion-zimbabwe-note-2009-12">Hedge Fund Manager Jonathan Hoenig Bribes Us With 100 Trillion Zimbabwe Note</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-bluegold-the-so-called-sovereign-debt-crisis-is-a-distraction-2009-12">Hedge Fund BlueGold: The So-Called Sovereign Debt Crisis Is A Distraction</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WaqhZdKoOhdUzY7_tjU4q4QHjaI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WaqhZdKoOhdUzY7_tjU4q4QHjaI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WaqhZdKoOhdUzY7_tjU4q4QHjaI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/WaqhZdKoOhdUzY7_tjU4q4QHjaI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=VxTaW_D9h9k:mzfdsx3AFDM:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/VxTaW_D9h9k" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/activist-hedge-fund-loads-up-on-legg-mason-shares-becomes-1-shareholder-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-russians-might-blow-up-an-asteroid-to-prevent-armageddon-2009-12 The Russian Plan To Blow Up An Asteroid To Prevent Armageddon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/6YIHgRcmDcY/the-russians-might-blow-up-an-asteroid-to-prevent-armageddon-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:17:00 -0500 Vince Veneziani <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=e9b9b914818ead491b6d5f00" border="0" alt="asteroid tbi" /></p><p>Russia's space program is considering launching a spacecraft in order to blow up an Asteroid.</p> <p>Apparently, this particular hunk of rock had a 1-in-37 chance of hitting Earth in 2029 - a number both <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/Russia">Russia</a> and the U.S. are none too pleased with.</p> <p>----------------------------------------------</p> <p>AP: Russia's space chief said Wednesday his agency will consider sending a spacecraft to a large asteroid to knock it off its path and prevent a possible collision with Earth.<br /><br />Anatoly Perminov said the space agency will hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis, telling Golos Rossii radio that it would invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project once it is finalized.<br /><br />When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated the chances of it smashing into Earth in its first flyby in 2029 were as high as 1-in-37.<br /><br />Further studies ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when the asteroid is expected to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450 kilometers) above Earth's surface, but they indicated a small possibility of a hit on subsequent encounters.<br /><br />In October, NASA lowered the odds that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 from a 1-in-45,000 as earlier thought to a 1-in-250,000 chance after researchers recalculated the asteroid's path. It said another close encounter in 2068 will involve a 1-in-330,000 chance of impact.<br /><br />Scientists have long theorized about asteroid deflection strategies. Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or using nuclear weapons to hit it.<br /><br />Without mentioning NASA findings, Perminov said that he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet. "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032," Perminov said.<br /><br />He wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.<br /><br />Hollywood action films "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," have featured space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both movies space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent collisions.<br /><br />"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision without destroying it (the asteroid) and without detonating any nuclear charges," Perminov said. "The threat of collision can be averted."<br /><br />"People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people," he added.<br /><br />Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Perminov's statement as a signal that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.<br /><br />"Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous objects we know little about," he said, according to RIA Novosti news agency.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-russians-might-blow-up-an-asteroid-to-prevent-armageddon-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-expensive-environmental-disasters-of-the-decade-2009-12">The 10 Most Expensive Environmental Disasters Of The Decade</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-internet-disasters-of-the-decade-2009-12">The Worst Internet Disasters Of The Decade</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/top-10-international-catastrophes-2009-12">10 Looming Geopolitical Disasters</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_HqVSEdiNg1IqdIUwbimZzFJnQU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_HqVSEdiNg1IqdIUwbimZzFJnQU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_HqVSEdiNg1IqdIUwbimZzFJnQU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_HqVSEdiNg1IqdIUwbimZzFJnQU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=6YIHgRcmDcY:t0VCTXVaq4Y:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/6YIHgRcmDcY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-russians-might-blow-up-an-asteroid-to-prevent-armageddon-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/move-your-money-campaign-aims-to-promote-local-banking-2009-12 Arianna Huffington Behind Campaign To Pull Money From Megabanks And Go Local http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/ejDjmsAQu6E/move-your-money-campaign-aims-to-promote-local-banking-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:01:58 -0500 Vince Veneziani <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3ba133000000000073ad0f" border="0" alt="Move Your Money WWW" /></p><p>Arianna Huffington (of Huffington Post fame) is on a crusade.</p> <p>She wants to bring local savings and loan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/banks">banks</a> back into popularity with a new website called <a href="http://moveyourmoney.info/">Move Your Money</a>. <br /><br />The website features a crafty propaganda-style video that argues in favor of the S&amp;Ls and tries to point out that they're not responsible for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/financial-crisis">the recent mortgage meltdown</a>.</p> <p>Baiscally, it's a way of protesting the Too Big To Fail, bailout-dependent zombies with your dollars.</p> <p>Fair enough, but what Huffington's fans should bear in mind is that during the 1980s, nearly every S&amp;L was engaged in gruesome, dumb practices as engaged in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/11/michael-lewis-wall-street-s-end-is-finally-here">Michael Lewis</a>' "Liar's Poker."<br /><br />That being said, Move Your Money seems to have good intentions.</p> <p>A search bar lets you enter your zip code and find local banks in your area that are rated "B" or higher by the IRA Bank Monitor. It's essentially a financial crusade of sorts mixed with data aggregation. Either way, we wish Ariana the best of luck with her latest venture.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/move-your-money-campaign-aims-to-promote-local-banking-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/huffington-post-wants-to-sell-ads-in-twitter-streams-comments-2009-12">Huffington Post Wants To Sell Ads In Twitter Streams, Comments </a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/huffington-post-has-a-jayson-blair-moment-too-2009-12">Huffington Post Has A Jayson Blair Moment, Too</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arianna-huffington-slams-larry-summers-financial-reform-2009-10">Arianna Huffington: Larry Summers Should Resign</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Q7sobGkDneuZwPkw9LGFNHWytyU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Q7sobGkDneuZwPkw9LGFNHWytyU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Q7sobGkDneuZwPkw9LGFNHWytyU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Q7sobGkDneuZwPkw9LGFNHWytyU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ejDjmsAQu6E:f1f-aXx79OU:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/ejDjmsAQu6E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/move-your-money-campaign-aims-to-promote-local-banking-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-confidence-is-not-gaining-and-thats-a-bleak-sign-for-employment-2009-12 Small Business Conditions Horrible Again In December, And That's A Bleak Sign For Employment http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/bKgARy18Uzw/small-business-confidence-is-not-gaining-and-thats-a-bleak-sign-for-employment-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:44:00 -0500 David Goldman <p>The <a href="http://www.discovercard.com/business/watch/">Discover Small Business Watch </a>index is the most up-to-date poll on conditions in the sector which has accounted for the vast majority of employment growth in all the economic recoveries of the past thirty-five years. The DSBW Index collapsed in November, to 76.5 from 88 in October. December remains unchanged. But fewer small business owners expect the economy to improve.</p> <h3>December Highlights:</h3> <ul class="plain-list"> <blockquote> <li>The number of small business owners who think the economy is getting worse was down to 49 percent from 53 percent in November; while 24 percent of small business owners see the economy staying the same, up from 16 percent in November; <em>25 percent see the economy getting better, down from 28 percent in November</em>; and 2 percent are not sure.</li> </blockquote> </ul> <p><a href="http://blog.atimes.net/?p=1293"><strong>Read the rest at Inner Workings --&gt;</strong></a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-confidence-is-not-gaining-and-thats-a-bleak-sign-for-employment-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-bankruptcies-shoot-up-81-in-california-2009-12">Small Business Bankruptcies Shoot Up 81% In California</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-carnage-shows-the-real-reason-jobs-arent-being-created-in-america-2009-12">The Small Business Carnage That Shows The Real Reason Jobs Aren't Being Created In America</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-optimism-swoons-2009-12">Small Business Optimism Swoons</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zLqg-I6LbPnfePv7YjYsgSu9lKo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zLqg-I6LbPnfePv7YjYsgSu9lKo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zLqg-I6LbPnfePv7YjYsgSu9lKo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zLqg-I6LbPnfePv7YjYsgSu9lKo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=bKgARy18Uzw:qxlIX7GhPws:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/bKgARy18Uzw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-confidence-is-not-gaining-and-thats-a-bleak-sign-for-employment-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/smoker-causes-nearly-three-hour-stoppage-of-chinas-bullet-train-2009-12 China's Stupendously Modern Train System Down For Three Hours Because Someone Smoked A Cigarette http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/U5xmL-d0VwE/smoker-causes-nearly-three-hour-stoppage-of-chinas-bullet-train-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:34:00 -0500 Gus Lubin <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b9c760000000000278d17" border="0" alt="chinese smoker" /></p><p>Just when China seems unbeatable in terms of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-asia-makes-the-west-look-like-the-stone-age-2009-12">technology</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-demand-will-lead-commodities-growth-in-2010-2009-12">growth</a>, something like this happens.</p> <p>A passenger set off an alarm while smoking a cigarette, and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-newest-high-speed-railway-2009-12">world's fastest train</a> stopped abruptly.</p> <p>Authorities spent the next two-and-a-half hours searching the train for the rule-breaker -- and were unable to find him.</p> <p>How long does that three hour trip from Wuhan to Guanzhou take now?</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BT2KK20091230">Reuters</a>: Managers of the bullet train, which debuted on Saturday, were unable to catch the smoker who fled the scene before the alarm sounded, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Smoking is strictly forbidden on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed train, even in the toilet," a spokesman with the Guangzhou Railway Group Corporation was quoted as saying. "It could trigger the alarm and even cause equipment failures."</p> <p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BT2KK20091230">Read the rest at Reuters --&gt;</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smoker-causes-nearly-three-hour-stoppage-of-chinas-bullet-train-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-newest-high-speed-railway-2009-12">China Launches World's Fastest Train That Blows Away Anything We'll Ever See Here</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amtrak-restores-power-to-trains-but-there-are-still-huge-delays-and-some-trains-still-halted-2009-12">Amtrak Restores Power To Trains But There Are Still Huge Delays And Some Trains Still Halted</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/terrorism-possible-in-russian-train-derailment-that-killed-dozens-2009-11">Terrorism Possible In Russian Train Derailment That Killed Dozens</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBrCAUxEEKO5pZGY8_9xUvkZi9A/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBrCAUxEEKO5pZGY8_9xUvkZi9A/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBrCAUxEEKO5pZGY8_9xUvkZi9A/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBrCAUxEEKO5pZGY8_9xUvkZi9A/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=U5xmL-d0VwE:0C8vPjGamtQ:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/U5xmL-d0VwE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/smoker-causes-nearly-three-hour-stoppage-of-chinas-bullet-train-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/opec-will-have-way-too-much-extra-oil-in-2010-2009-12 OPEC Has Way Too Much Oil For 2010 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/0vHVf2ITnHY/opec-will-have-way-too-much-extra-oil-in-2010-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:14:55 -0500 Vincent Fernando <p>According the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest energy outlook, while world energy consumption is expected to grow in 2010, it will only be adding 1.1 million barrels of consumption and will remain below its past peak consumption.</p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b927500000000001a61e1&amp;maxX=550" border="0" alt="eia" width="550" /></p> <p>This tepid demand growth will butt against production increases for many non-OPEC oil producers, which means that OPEC will be under substantial pressure to limit its output, and obviously will.</p> <p>Yet this will require massive discipline for the member nations given that OPEC's surplus crude oil production capacity will actually rise in 2010, after a huge increase is surplus capacity during 2009. 2010 will see the worst OPEC overcapacity situation since 2002, as shown below.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html">EIA:</a> Through the forecast period, OPEC surplus crude oil production capacity should remain in excess of 4 million bbl/d, versus an average of 2.8 million bbl/d seen over the 1998-2008 period.</p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b92fd00000000008a4600" border="0" alt="eia" width="550" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/opec-will-have-way-too-much-extra-oil-in-2010-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stratfor-an-iraqi-oil-rennasaince-may-destroy-opec-2009-12">Stratfor: An Iraqi Oil Renaissance May Destroy OPEC</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iraq-will-rival-saudi-arabias-oil-2009-12">Cash-Hungry Iraq Quadrupling Oil Production, OPEC Fears Price Collapse</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/falling-oil-demand-is-terrifying-opec-2009-12">Falling Oil Demand Terrifies OPEC, Spurring It To Restrict Production</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/QypBprIfJae4DfBrPWaI4Ag1ibQ/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/QypBprIfJae4DfBrPWaI4Ag1ibQ/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/QypBprIfJae4DfBrPWaI4Ag1ibQ/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/QypBprIfJae4DfBrPWaI4Ag1ibQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=0vHVf2ITnHY:H6ag9CnAhAI:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/0vHVf2ITnHY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/opec-will-have-way-too-much-extra-oil-in-2010-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-scare-over-van-posed-no-threat-2009-12 Bomb Scare Over, Van Posed No Threat http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/Db9yELfzyr0/bomb-scare-over-van-posed-no-threat-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:04:18 -0500 Joe Weisenthal <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4af074360000000000449bc2&amp;maxX=366&amp;maxY=244" border="0" alt="verizon-droid-times-square.jpg" width="366" height="244" /></p><p>Phew.</p> <p>The bomb scare is over. A team entered the van, found nothing, and life in New York City is returning to normal.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-scare-over-van-posed-no-threat-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12">Suspicious Vehicle Shuts Down Times Square</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/eroPLWjaeLl1TcOUwMxf7zAdvB0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/eroPLWjaeLl1TcOUwMxf7zAdvB0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/eroPLWjaeLl1TcOUwMxf7zAdvB0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/eroPLWjaeLl1TcOUwMxf7zAdvB0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=Db9yELfzyr0:3g5cEQT2keE:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/Db9yELfzyr0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-scare-over-van-posed-no-threat-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/raj-prosecutors-used-tenuous-evidence-to-obtain-wiretap-2009-12 The Amazingly Thin Evidence It Took To Get A Raj Wiretap Should Have All Hedge Funds Freaked Out http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/E8QMKae03K8/raj-prosecutors-used-tenuous-evidence-to-obtain-wiretap-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:48:00 -0500 Gus Lubin <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4ad8b9b4000000000051f3d4" border="0" alt="Raj Rajaratnam" /></p><p>All it took to persuade Roomy Kahn to rat on Raj Rajaratnam was a text message obtained by the SEC: "[wait] till I get guidance; want to make sure guidance OK."</p> <p>Cryptic, sure. Impressive use of semi-colon, definitely.</p> <p>But hardly a smoking gun.</p> <p>And all it took to obtain a wiretap for Raj was his comment to Kahn (who voluntarily wiretapped her own phone) that Intel revenue would be up about 10%. When Intel reported revenue up 10.5%, prosecutors struck.</p> <p>As <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/30/right-about-earnings-win-a-wiretap/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+felix-all+%28Felix+Salmon+-+All%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">Felix Salmon notes</a> based on today's <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126213287690309579.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESecondNews">WSJ account</a>, the evidence used by SEC investigators was shoddy and could have been drawn against almost anyone on Wall Street. If those are the standards required to obtain a wiretap, then really everyone is at risk.</p> <p>Further analysis at <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/30/right-about-earnings-win-a-wiretap/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+felix-all+%28Felix+Salmon+-+All%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader">Felix Salmon's blog --&gt;</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/raj-prosecutors-used-tenuous-evidence-to-obtain-wiretap-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/assessing-raj-rajaratnams-aggressive-legal-moves-2009-11">Assessing Raj Rajaratnam's Aggressive Legal Moves</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rajaratnam-investigated-decade-ago-2009-12">Rajaratnam Investigated Decade Ago </a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-fbi-is-definitely-targeting-sac-capital-2009-12">The FBI Is Definitely Targeting SAC Capital</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/frp_EqYK3jDpI-N1mtkQCkpGB54/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/frp_EqYK3jDpI-N1mtkQCkpGB54/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/frp_EqYK3jDpI-N1mtkQCkpGB54/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/frp_EqYK3jDpI-N1mtkQCkpGB54/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=E8QMKae03K8:UK_F4CB5qWk:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/E8QMKae03K8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/raj-prosecutors-used-tenuous-evidence-to-obtain-wiretap-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/times-square-van-forces-evacuation-of-the-nasdaq-2009-12 NASDAQ Evacuated http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/KkmYDZZIVVI/times-square-van-forces-evacuation-of-the-nasdaq-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:38:00 -0500 Joe Weisenthal <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=b5b9b91469d57449c9847400&amp;maxX=400&amp;maxY=266" border="0" alt="NASDAQmarketsite" width="400" height="266" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12">The suspicious van</a> in Times Square has prompted the evacuation of the NASDAQ, according to <a href="http://twitter.com/foxnewsradio">Fox News</a>.</p> <p>This is unlikely to be impacting trading however, as the location is not central to trading.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/times-square-van-forces-evacuation-of-the-nasdaq-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12">Suspicious Vehicle Shuts Down Times Square</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-package-forces-evacuation-at-las-vegas-bank-of-america-2009-12">Suspicious Package Forces Evacuation At Las Vegas Bank Of America</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U3jcUJZbpDC2DdA4kxUo5qBcJ6I/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U3jcUJZbpDC2DdA4kxUo5qBcJ6I/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U3jcUJZbpDC2DdA4kxUo5qBcJ6I/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U3jcUJZbpDC2DdA4kxUo5qBcJ6I/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=KkmYDZZIVVI:fY8ZPb3ZJb8:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/KkmYDZZIVVI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/times-square-van-forces-evacuation-of-the-nasdaq-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-package-forces-evacuation-at-las-vegas-bank-of-america-2009-12 Suspicious Package Forces Evacuation At Las Vegas Bank Of America (BAC) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/ui_WNzQ_Wj8/suspicious-package-forces-evacuation-at-las-vegas-bank-of-america-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:35:00 -0500 Joe Weisenthal <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b2935df00000000004df04f" border="0" alt="bank of america atm bofa" /></p><p>Police have evacuated a Bank of America (BAC) location on Freemont Street in Las Vegas after the discovery of a suspicious package, <a href="http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11747716">according to local news reports</a>.</p> <p>Add it to the growing list of security incidents that have dominated the news cycle in recent weeks..</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-package-forces-evacuation-at-las-vegas-bank-of-america-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12">Suspicious Vehicle Shuts Down Times Square</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U1I6CDQ-zNMJar6n3cG4iJb_MXg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U1I6CDQ-zNMJar6n3cG4iJb_MXg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U1I6CDQ-zNMJar6n3cG4iJb_MXg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/U1I6CDQ-zNMJar6n3cG4iJb_MXg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ui_WNzQ_Wj8:4VLsqEEsTAo:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/ui_WNzQ_Wj8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-package-forces-evacuation-at-las-vegas-bank-of-america-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/things-that-were-true-on-this-day-in-1999-2009-12 Crazy, Depressing List Of Things That Were True In 1999, But Are No Longer So http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/1O4urZQYfvQ/things-that-were-true-on-this-day-in-1999-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:24:00 -0500 Annie Lowrey <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=8f7a6c799c90904921f2e500&amp;maxX=310&amp;maxY=232" border="0" alt="alangreenspan closeup tbi" width="310" height="232" /></p><p> On this day in 1999...</p> <p>The Concorde flew between Paris and New York.</p> <p>Osama bin Laden was living with his family in a compound in Kandahar.</p> <p>Something called Inktomi was the world's largest search engine.</p> <p>China's GDP was $1.4 trillion, half of Germany's.</p> <p>Alan Greenspan was widely heralded as the world's greatest financial thinker.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/29/food_for_thought">Read the rest at Foreign Policy --&gt;<br /></a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/things-that-were-true-on-this-day-in-1999-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-internet-disasters-of-the-decade-2009-12">The Worst Internet Disasters Of The Decade</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/top-15-sports-contracts-of-the-decade-2009-12">F To A: Grading The Biggest Sports Contracts Of The Decade</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-huge-ideas-that-flopped-this-decade-2009-12">15 Huge Ideas That Flopped This Decade</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tD9gSQ5F56ZUx_osbyg1rl4kDOU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tD9gSQ5F56ZUx_osbyg1rl4kDOU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tD9gSQ5F56ZUx_osbyg1rl4kDOU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tD9gSQ5F56ZUx_osbyg1rl4kDOU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=1O4urZQYfvQ:M3W6vnoyk9Y:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/1O4urZQYfvQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/things-that-were-true-on-this-day-in-1999-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12 Suspicious Vehicle Shuts Down Times Square http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/-6ZwVrDwZrQ/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:59:00 -0500 Joe Weisenthal <p>Another holiday scare.</p> <p>According to <a href="http://wcbstv.com/local/times.square.suspicious.2.1397171.html">WCBS TV</a>, the NYPD has shut down times square due to the presence of a suspicious van.</p> <p>The van -- parked in the square a day before the big New Year's festivities -- has temporary plates and a tarp covering the windows. The van has been there for two days.</p> <p>(Image via <a href="http://twitpic.com/vw3lp">Twitter user Wanchawancha</a>)</p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b87fe0000000000d49226" border="0" alt="times square" /></p> <p><em>More to come as warranted.<br /></em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-hill-briefly-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-a-man-with-a-gun-2009-12">Capitol Hill Briefly On Lockdown After Reports Of A Man With A Gun</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/GQl6GsCsmJv2nxjuvevavY8cP18/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/GQl6GsCsmJv2nxjuvevavY8cP18/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/GQl6GsCsmJv2nxjuvevavY8cP18/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/GQl6GsCsmJv2nxjuvevavY8cP18/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=-6ZwVrDwZrQ:VmfMbEc2rKI:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/-6ZwVrDwZrQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/suspicious-vehicle-shuts-down-times-square-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-check-out-how-close-american-airlines-jamaica-jet-came-to-plunging-into-caribbean-and-killing-everyone-aboard-2009-12 Check Out How Close American Airlines Jamaica Jet Came To Plunging Into Caribbean And Killing Everyone Aboard http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/aU-AWyB3MU0/henry-blodget-check-out-how-close-american-airlines-jamaica-jet-came-to-plunging-into-caribbean-and-killing-everyone-aboard-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:56:00 -0500 Henry Blodget <p>A commercial jet captain sent us the following photos, which show just how close that American Airlines plane came to landing in the drink.</p> <p>Between this and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-terror-and-heroism-on-airbus-as-nigerian-tries-to-blow-up-plane-2009-12">the Detroit bomb flight</a>, this has been a season of travel miracles.</p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b85190000000000ba3b3c&amp;maxX=655&amp;maxY=436" border="0" alt="AA Jamaica Plane 1" width="655" height="436" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b858200000000000ed132" border="0" alt="AA Jamaica Plane 2" width="619" height="412" /></p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b859f0000000000ec76bf" border="0" alt="AA Jamaica Plane 3" width="619" height="412" /></p> <p><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b3b85b50000000000013dd0" border="0" alt="AA Jamaica Plane 4" width="620" height="414" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-check-out-how-close-american-airlines-jamaica-jet-came-to-plunging-into-caribbean-and-killing-everyone-aboard-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-jet-skids-off-runway-in-jamaica-and-stops-10-feet-from-sea-2009-12">American Airlines Jet Skids Off Runway In Jamaica And Stops 10 Feet From Sea</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-terror-and-heroism-on-airbus-as-nigerian-tries-to-blow-up-plane-2009-12">Terror And Heroism On Airbus As Nigerian Tries To Blow Up Plane</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/A0RgkWWqEkvlcqF6o_Jv7P93UEg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/A0RgkWWqEkvlcqF6o_Jv7P93UEg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/A0RgkWWqEkvlcqF6o_Jv7P93UEg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/A0RgkWWqEkvlcqF6o_Jv7P93UEg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=aU-AWyB3MU0:HF_PYtpSGv4:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/aU-AWyB3MU0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-check-out-how-close-american-airlines-jamaica-jet-came-to-plunging-into-caribbean-and-killing-everyone-aboard-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/and-just-like-that-the-us-amps-up-the-trade-war-against-china-2009-12 And Just Like That, The US Amps Up The Trade War Against China http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/HmMCf7CDbTk/and-just-like-that-the-us-amps-up-the-trade-war-against-china-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:54:26 -0500 Joe Weisenthal <p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12"><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4b1d657a00000000002b3cfd" border="0" alt="Steel Factory" />We were just mentioning</a> how screwed the West will be if in fact the world goes go into "trade war" mode.</p> <p>Well, here we are. The US International Trade Commission has just sided with US steelmakers in favoring duties on Chinese imports. <a href="http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2009/er1230gg1.htm">Their bulletin is here</a>.</p> <p>On what basis are we slapping taxes on imported goods from one of our most important partners (and lenders)? Basically, cause world trade is though.</p> <p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126219101972610403.html?mod=djemalertNEWS">WSJ</a>:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">In the steel case, brought by U.S. steel manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union, the domestic industry has framed its case in terms of potential job losses -- thousands of steel workers have been laid off or had their mills closed. In China, job losses have been few, as Chinese mills continue to operate despite weakened world demand.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Chinese steelmakers don't dispute the losses of thousands of U.S. steel jobs, but they say the U.S. industry could have avoided the problems.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">James Durling, the attorney representing Chinese steelmakers at the ITC hearing, said U.S. steelmakers are feigning injury to protect their market from competition. He said the mass layoffs could have been averted by tapping into the more than $3 billion in operating profits made during the boom, roughly from 2006 to late 2008.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/and-just-like-that-the-us-amps-up-the-trade-war-against-china-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-slams-us-and-russian-steel-with-anti-dumping-tariffs-2009-12">The US-China Trade War Is Here</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12">If The World Ends Free Trade, The West Will Lose The Most</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/albert-edwards-here-comes-a-trade-war-a-yuan-revaluation-and-a-stunning-chinese-trade-deficit-2009-11">Albert Edwards: Here Comes A Trade War, A Yuan Revaluation, And A Stunning Chinese Trade Deficit</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/3GW3-D6jYgP5hk4J89FBfbfwvwc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/3GW3-D6jYgP5hk4J89FBfbfwvwc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/3GW3-D6jYgP5hk4J89FBfbfwvwc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/3GW3-D6jYgP5hk4J89FBfbfwvwc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=HmMCf7CDbTk:lskrrvOYGrI:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/HmMCf7CDbTk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/and-just-like-that-the-us-amps-up-the-trade-war-against-china-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12 If The World Ends Free Trade, The West Will Lose The Most http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/gKZpG9spdxc/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:25:00 -0500 Vincent Fernando <p><img class="float_right" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=ef7a6c79d0d3864996f8a500&amp;maxX=400" border="0" alt="oldfactory" width="400" /></p><p></p> <div style="float: left; padding: 15px 15px 15px 0;"> <script type="text/javascript">// <![CDATA[ tweetmeme_source = 'moneygame'; tweetmeme_service = 'bit.ly'; // ]]></script> <script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </div> <p>The difficult global economy has already created a simmering trade war between nations. The U.S. and Europe have issued a bevy of protectionist regulations in a bid to appease domestic interest groups, while key developing nations have raised their own trade barriers in response.</p> <p>Problem is, while we've all heard the argument that free-trade benefits the entire world in the long-term, there might be another reason for developed nations to worry about protectionism.</p> <p>A global trade war would be worse for the U.S. and Europe than for Asia according to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/6890708/We-are-at-risk-of-a-trade-war---and-the-West-has-most-to-lose.html">Liam Halligan at The Telegraph.</a> 'The West' probably has more to lose from trade barriers than 'The East', going forward.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/6890708/We-are-at-risk-of-a-trade-war---and-the-West-has-most-to-lose.html">Telegraph:</a> Over the last year, the US &ndash; the global "free-trade champion" &ndash; has imposed 46 separate protectionist measures on goods and services crossing its borders. The EU, disgracefully, has implemented 90. The likes of China and India have retaliated, introducing 51 and 29 new anti-trade measures respectively. Little wonder that world trade volumes remain 13pc below their pre-sub-prime peak.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">In 1950, international trade accounted for only 8pc of global GDP. That share has since more than tripled &ndash; with values increasing 24-fold &ndash; due to a relatively liberal global trading regime created by the WTO.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">...</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">A few years ago, Pascal Lamy, the WTO's long-standing director-general, told me that some Western nations retained "neo-colonial" attitudes towards the rest of the world. The man spoke the truth. Having bought into the WTO, many developing economies are furious at what they see &ndash; rightly, in many cases &ndash; as Western intransigence. There's now a real danger they will go their own way, cutting bi-lateral trade deals that exclude the West.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">The bottom line is that "we" as Westerners have more to lose than "they" do. "They" are growing fast, "they" are driving the recovery in trade we're now seeing and "they" will soon account for the lion's share of the global economy. Over the coming decade, such realities will become stark. Western leaders need to bite the bullet and complete the Doha round. The reality is that, from our perspective, the terms can only get worse.</p> <p>Thus if the U.S. and Europe continue along their protectionist path, they could be left behind in the years ahead, achieving lower economic growth due to lower trade. Meanwhile developing nations will create their own separate trade blocs and speed ahead as their exchange of goods and services explodes.</p> <p>Note China is already working on just such a plan, forming the largest free trade bloc in the world, separately in Asia.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpXnq4ZwAW7GXKVSlioPhqrT12EQ">AFP:</a> China and Southeast Asia establish the world's biggest free trade area (FTA) on Friday, liberalising billions of dollars in goods and investments covering a market of 1.7 billion consumers.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Eight years in the making, the ASEAN-China FTA will rival the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area in terms of value and surpass those markets in terms of population.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Officials hope it will expand Asia's trade reach while boosting intra-regional trade that has already been expanding at 20 percent a year. "In 2010 we are sending a strong signal that ASEAN is open,"</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpXnq4ZwAW7GXKVSlioPhqrT12EQ">Read the whole thing &gt;</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-slams-us-and-russian-steel-with-anti-dumping-tariffs-2009-12">The US-China Trade War Is Here</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/european-trade-surplus-spikes-to-record-high-2009-12">Europe's Trade Surplus Spikes</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uh-oh-trade-gap-unexpectedly-narrows-in-october-2009-12">Uh-Oh: Trade Gap Unexpectedly Narrows In October</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w4rp27QOJb5AHKwdbKb6gdF-QN8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w4rp27QOJb5AHKwdbKb6gdF-QN8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w4rp27QOJb5AHKwdbKb6gdF-QN8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w4rp27QOJb5AHKwdbKb6gdF-QN8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=gKZpG9spdxc:1fIKAEsRTz4:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/gKZpG9spdxc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-has-a-trade-war-the-west-would-lose-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-should-have-known-its-gun-was-loaded-and-it-owes-the-public-reparations-2009-12 Goldman Sachs Should Have Known Its Gun Was Loaded, And It Owes The Public Reparations http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/3SIuDn5Lnyg/goldman-sachs-should-have-known-its-gun-was-loaded-and-it-owes-the-public-reparations-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:24:00 -0500 Janet Tavakoli <p><em>(This guest post originally appeared at The Huffington Post and is reprinted with the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/response-to-goldman-sachs_b_403582.html">author's permission</a>)</em></p> <p>The <em>New York Times </em>published a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business/24trading.html?_r=3&amp;ref=business" target="_hplink">Christmas Eve expose </a>of Goldman Sachs's so-called "Abacus" synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). They were created with credit derivatives instead of cash securities. Goldman used credit derivatives to create short bets that gain in value when CDOs lose value. Goldman did this for both protection and profit and marketed the idea to hedge funds.</p> <p><a href="http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/press/viewpoint/viewpoint-articles/response-scdo.html">Goldman responded</a> to the New York Times saying many of these deals were the result of demand from investing clients seeking long exposure.&nbsp; In an earlier <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/treasury-cover-up-of-gold_b_400300.html">Huffington Post article</a>, I wrote about Goldman&rsquo;s key role in the AIG crisis; it traded or originated $33 billion of AIG&rsquo;s $80 billion CDOs.&nbsp; AIG was long the majority of six of Goldman&rsquo;s Abacus deals. These value-destroying CDOs were stuffed with BBB-rated (the lowest &ldquo;investment grade&rdquo; rating) portions of other deals.&nbsp; These BBB-rated portions were overrated from the start.&nbsp; Many of them eventually exploded like firecrackers.<br /><br />&nbsp;Goldman said it suffered losses due to the deterioration of the housing market and disclosed $1.7 billion in residential mortgage exposure write-downs in 2008.&nbsp; These losses would have been substantially higher had it not hedged.&nbsp; Goldman describes its activities as prudent risk management.&nbsp; Many Wall Street firms wound up taking losses. The question is, however, how did they manage to get through a couple of bonus cycles without taking accounting losses while showing &ldquo;profits?&rdquo; <br /><br />&nbsp;The answer is that they sold a lot of &ldquo;hot air&rdquo; disguised as valuable securities.&nbsp;&nbsp; Goldman claims this was prudent risk management.&nbsp; In reality, Goldman created products that it knew or should have known were overrated and overpriced. <br /><br />&nbsp;If Wall Street had not <a href="http://www.tavakolistructuredfinance.com/Fraud.pdf">manufactured</a> value-destroying securities and related credit derivatives, the money supply for bad loans would have been choked off years earlier.&nbsp; Instead, Wall Street was chiefly responsible for the &ldquo;financial innovation&rdquo; that did massive damage to the U.S. economy.&nbsp; <br /><br />Earlier, Goldman denied it could have known this was a problem, yet acknowledged I had warned about the grave risks at the time.&nbsp; If Goldman wants to stick to its story that it didn&rsquo;t know the gun was loaded, then it is not in the public interest to rely on Goldman&rsquo;s opinion about the greater risk it now poses to the global markets. <br /><br />&nbsp;Goldman excuses its participation by saying its counterparties were sophisticated and had the resources to do their own research.&nbsp; This is a fair point if Goldman were defending itself in a lawsuit with a sophisticated investor trying to recover damages.&nbsp; It is not a valid point when discussing public funds that were used to bail out AIG, Goldman, and Goldman&rsquo;s &ldquo;customers.&rdquo;<br /><br />&nbsp;Goldman claims the portfolios were fully disclosed to its customers.&nbsp; Yet at the time of the AIG bailout, Goldman did not disclose the nature of its trades with AIG, and Goldman did not disclose these portfolios to the U.S. public.&nbsp; If it had, the public might have balked at the bailout.<br /><br />The public is an unwilling majority owner in AIG, and public money was funneled directly to Goldman Sachs as a result of suspect activity.&nbsp; The circumstances of AIG&rsquo;s crisis were extraordinary and without precedent.&nbsp; I maintain that the public is owed reparations, and it would be fair to make all of AIG&rsquo;s counterparties buy back the CDOs at full price, and they can keep the discounted value themselves. <br /><br />Some similar CDOs currently trade for less than a dime on the dollar in the secondary market.&nbsp; Goldman&rsquo;s trades amounted to more than $20 billion (albeit Goldman traded or originated $33 billion of AIG&rsquo;s $80 billion of this ilk).&nbsp; If Goldman wants to claim it was &ldquo;only following orders&rdquo; for customers, that is between Goldman and the hedge funds or other &ldquo;customers&rdquo; involved.&nbsp; Goldman can fight it out with them if it wants its money back.<br /><br />&nbsp;Goldman&rsquo;s synthetic deals that are still on AIG&rsquo;s books can be settled at ten cents on the dollar.&nbsp; This is the value at which other bond insurers have settled similar deals.&nbsp; The excess money already paid to Goldman can used to pay down AIG&rsquo;s public debt.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-should-have-known-its-gun-was-loaded-and-it-owes-the-public-reparations-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-libertarians-but-this-buyer-beware-nonsense-is-a-pitiful-defense-of-goldman-sachs-2009-12">Sorry Libertarians, But This &quot;Buyer Beware&quot; Nonsense Is A Pitiful Defense Of Goldman Sachs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/synthetic-cdos-spanish-21-and-sports-betting-2009-12">Synthetic CDO's, Spanish 21, And Sports Betting</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-is-the-goldman-housing-scandal-a-scandal-or-just-inevitable-business-as-usual-2009-12">The Goldman Housing Scandal Isn't A Scandal: It's Inevitable </a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KG7lvMtb50tDV7wu-hRNXSGClAo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KG7lvMtb50tDV7wu-hRNXSGClAo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KG7lvMtb50tDV7wu-hRNXSGClAo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KG7lvMtb50tDV7wu-hRNXSGClAo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=3SIuDn5Lnyg:7khNqZq0Mj0:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/3SIuDn5Lnyg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-should-have-known-its-gun-was-loaded-and-it-owes-the-public-reparations-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hovde-capital-is-completely-wrong-about-general-growth-properties-2009-12 Why Hovde Capital Is Completely Wrong About General Growth Properties http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/ye-43JxKv-0/why-hovde-capital-is-completely-wrong-about-general-growth-properties-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:01:07 -0500 Whitney Tilson <p><em>Ed note: This post was provided to us by the author. It is the latest in an interesting debate between several hedge funds on the value in mall owner General Growth Properties.</em></p> <p>----</p> <p>Hovde Capital yesterday released its response (<a href="http://www.marketfolly.com/2009/12/hedge-fund-hovdes-general-growth.html">www.marketfolly.com/2009/12/hedge-fund-hovdes-general-growth.html</a>) to Pershing Square&rsquo;s rebuttal (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24411287/A-Detailed-Response-to-Hovde-s-Short-Thesis-on-GGP-12-22-2009">http://www.scribd.com/doc/24411287/A-Detailed-Response-to-Hovde-s-Short-Thesis-on-GGP-12-22-2009</a>) (and, to a minor extent, and our rebuttal (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24411287/A-Detailed-Response-to-Hovde-s-Short-Thesis-on-GGP-12-22-2009">http://seekingalpha.com/article/178502-general-growth-properties-rebutting-the-bears</a>)) of Hovde&rsquo;s initial report on GGP (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24411287/A-Detailed-Response-to-Hovde-s-Short-Thesis-on-GGP-12-22-2009">www.scribd.com/doc/24097404/General-Growth-Properties</a>). <em><br /></em><br />Our quick take is that it&rsquo;s more of the same &ndash; like Hovde&rsquo;s first report, there are a few good points (nothing we hadn&rsquo;t already considered) mixed in with many arguments that are either factually incorrect or misleading, or with which we simply disagree.&nbsp; In short, there&rsquo;s nothing new that changes our view regarding the attractiveness of GGP (it remains by far our largest position).<br /><br />Before proceeding, we want to make clear how much we enjoy the debate and think our markets would be much healthier if there were a similarly detailed exchange of viewpoints for EVERY stock!<br /><br />To some extent, the debate is now about different views of the future: Hovde believes that consumer spending will be terrible for an extended period and that bankruptcies among mall-based retailers will continue or worsen, which will translate into severely declining NOI for GGP over time.&nbsp; Pershing believes that the worst is behind us: that unemployment has peaked, consumer spending has stabilized and may even be picking up a bit, and that retailers are in remarkably good shape in light of what they&rsquo;ve been through over the past 18 months, all of which will translate into approximately stable NOI.&nbsp; Whether Hovde or Pershing is right about GGP over time will, to some extent, depend on future macro factors, which are obviously impossible to predict with certainty.<br /><br />That said, good analysis matters and we think Hovde&rsquo;s is sorely lacking, primarily in the following areas:<br /><br />&nbsp;1)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde&rsquo;s most serious mistake is misunderstanding (or misrepresenting) what will likely happen to GGP&rsquo;s unsecured debt.&nbsp; Hovde assumes that it either remains outstanding (throughout its presentation, Hovde calculates GGP&rsquo;s leverage and interest payments assuming that the debt remains outstanding, which is the main reason its analysis differs from Pershing&rsquo;s and ours &ndash; see page 63, for example) or that it converts to equity, which will result in &ldquo;significant dilution&rdquo; (page 72).&nbsp; Hovde makes explicit this assumption when it claims that Pershing &ldquo;does not use consistent assumptions&rdquo; regarding what happens to the unsecured debt on page 35 of its report.<br /><br />Hovde doesn&rsquo;t appear to understand bankruptcy law and what will likely happen to the unsecured debt.&nbsp; There is almost no chance that it will remain outstanding: it will either be refinanced or, more likely, be converted into equity (this is what Pershing assumes &ndash; there is no inconsistency).&nbsp; But here&rsquo;s the key: it will NOT BE DILUTIVE because it will convert AT FAIR VALUE, as determined by the bankruptcy judge.&nbsp; Of course, if the judge determines that fair value is $1/share, then it would be massively dilutive, but that&rsquo;s not going to happen.&nbsp; The judge has a great deal of discretion in determining fair value, but will certainly take into consideration the current stock price, comps and the price of any equity offering(s) GGP might do. <br /><br />For example, as soon as GGP exits bankruptcy and its stock is relisted (it currently trades on the pink sheets, which means most institutional investors can&rsquo;t own it), it will be a must-own stock for every REIT fund (a big catalyst Hovde misses).&nbsp; To meet this demand and pay down some debt, GGP might issue equity &ndash; and the negotiated price at which this stock is sold would likely weigh heavily on the judge&rsquo;s determination of fair value (and would not be dilutive).&nbsp; Of course, if someone like Simon were to buy GGP at, say, $20, the debt would convert at this price &ndash; and again, it wouldn&rsquo;t be dilutive.<br /><br />2)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde takes seven pages (6-12) arguing for its definition of NOI, but there&rsquo;s no right answer here.&nbsp; NOI is like free cash flow: different people calculate it in different ways.&nbsp; But however one calculates it, it&rsquo;s important to be consistent &ndash; which Hovde is not.&nbsp; It uses the most conservative assumptions to minimize GGP&rsquo;s NOI, but then fails to do so for Simon, making its comp analysis deeply flawed.<br /><br />3)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Speaking of comps, Hovde writes: &ldquo;to suggest GGP should trade at the LOWER cap rate than SPG is LAUGHABLE in our view&rdquo; (pages 22-23).&nbsp; Hovde can laugh all it wants, but there are very good arguments for why Simon is, in fact, the best comp for GGP.&nbsp; For starter, both have very similar mall portfolios with a national footprint (unlike Macerich, which Hovde cites as a better comp on page 63; MAC also has debt issues that are more significant than what GGP will likely have post-bankruptcy).&nbsp; In addition, GGP will likely have a BETTER liability profile post-bankruptcy, with no maturities until January 2014.&nbsp; Finally and most importantly, GGP is for sale and Simon isn&rsquo;t, so there should be a premium for GGP reflecting a possible sale of this strategic asset.<br /><br />4)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde&rsquo;s analysis treats GGP as a collection of assets, but it&rsquo;s more than that.&nbsp; The fact that GGP is in bankruptcy has put it into play, so there is a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity for Simon, Brookfield or someone else to acquire a national platform, as highlighted in this quote from the WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704538404574541923917766450.html):<br /><br />The opportunity &ldquo;is a potentially transformational event that doesn&rsquo;t come along very often,&rdquo; says Steve Sakwa, an analyst with International Strategy and Investment Group Inc.<br /><br />5)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde dismisses the likelihood that GGP might be acquired (pages 51-55), focusing only on Simon and not even mentioning Brookfield, which may in fact be the more likely acquirer due to fewer anti-trust concerns and the need for a national platform (which Simon already has).&nbsp; As noted above, Hovde misses the value of GGP as a strategic asset &ndash; no doubt, there&rsquo;s lots of distressed inventory out there, but only one national platform for sale like GGP. <br /><br />Finally, Hovde finds it &ldquo;telling&rdquo; that Simon and Brookfield bought GGP&rsquo;s unsecured debt, but not the equity, even when the equity was at a much lower price.&nbsp; But it&rsquo;s not as telling as Hovde thinks for a number of reasons.&nbsp; First, it&rsquo;s possible that Simon and/or Brookfield do in fact own the equity &ndash; if either bought less than 5% of GGP, it wouldn&rsquo;t have to file (in any case, for anti-trust reasons, they couldn&rsquo;t acquire more than 7.5%).&nbsp; Also, at the time they bought GGP&rsquo;s debt it was very cheap and they might have reasonably concluded that it represented a better risk-reward than the equity.<br /><br />6)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde argues that GGP&rsquo;s rental rates and leasing spreads are very poor and will likely get worse (pages 15-18).&nbsp; They have indeed been under pressure, but Hovde is making the classic investing mistake of projecting the immediate past indefinitely into the future.&nbsp; What Hovde is missing is that GGP over the past year, knowing that it was in a poor negotiating position due to the macro environment and its own bankruptcy, has been renewing leases mainly on a short-term basis.&nbsp; These renewals have indeed been done at low rates, but this isn&rsquo;t likely to be a permanent state of affairs.&nbsp; The macro environment has at least stabilized and may be improving and GGP will soon either be acquired or exit bankruptcy, so its negotiating position will strengthen and therefore rental rates and leasing spreads will likely improve.<br /><br />7)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On pages 28 and 33, Hovde repeats the charts from its first presentation (pages 33-34), showing that &ldquo;Commercial Real Estate Prices Have Dropped 43% Since the Peak&rdquo; and that cap rates are moving higher under the heading: &ldquo;Despite Speculation to the Contrary, Cap Rates for All Property Types Are Moving Higher, Not Lower.&nbsp; Does Pershing Square Believe These Transactions Did Not Happen?&rdquo;&nbsp; But the CRE chart doesn&rsquo;t include mall real estate and the cap rate chart, while showing cap rates for virtually every other type of commercial real estate, is MISSING data for malls!&nbsp; (The cap rate for mall REITs has fallen dramatically from earlier this year.)<br /><br />8)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde paints a very bearish picture of retail sales (page 61), but the latest data contradicts this &ndash; for example, an article in the NYT earlier this week www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/business/28shop.html) noted:<br /><br />Over all, retail sales from November through Dec. 24 rose 3.6 percent from last year, according to SpendingPulse, an information service of MasterCard Advisors that estimates sales for all forms of payment, including cash, checks and credit cards.<br /><br />That number &mdash; which does not include sales of automobiles and gasoline &mdash; was helped this year by an extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adjusting the results for that extra day cuts the retailing industry&rsquo;s sales increase to about 1 percent, in line with what many retailing professionals expected.<br /><br />While the numbers do not suggest a turnaround for the industry, they signal an improvement over last year&rsquo;s 2.3 percent sales decline&hellip;<br /><br />&hellip; &ldquo;Last year was just a storm and retail was all about dropping prices to get rid of inventory,&rdquo; said Mr. Katz of AlixPartners. &ldquo;This year it was much more of a planned strategy: low inventories and tight expenses. And controlled promotions.&rdquo;<br /><br />That means most stores did not erode their profit margins the way they did in 2008, though in the days before Christmas, Mr. Katz said, some chains discounted more deeply than they should have.<br /><br />Perhaps the best news is that the double-digit declines that plagued nearly every retailing category last year are gone.<br /><br />9)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hovde spends many pages (38-43) questioning whether GGP&rsquo;s Master Planned Community Segment has any value &ndash; but Pershing already assigns no value to it so it&rsquo;s not clear who Hovde is disagreeing with.&nbsp; Another note: on page 39, Hovde makes this ominous statement: &ldquo;The heirs of the Hughes estate hold a contingent claim related to the valuation of these assets. If there is significant value in these assets, the resolution of this claim could result in a substantial unfunded liability, which Pershing Square has failed to include in its analysis.&rdquo;&nbsp; This is a red herring: the only claim by the Hughes estate is for half of any profits.&nbsp; Thus, the only way there could be a claim, leading to a &ldquo;substantial unfunded liability&rdquo;, is if there are profits, which would be wonderful for GGP (even if GGP only received half of the profits, this is more than zero, which is what both Hovde and Pershing expect).<br /><br />This is a great debate and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.<br /><br />Happy new year to all!</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hovde-capital-is-completely-wrong-about-general-growth-properties-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p><p><b>See Also:</b></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-bear-case-on-general-growth-properties-is-totally-wrong-2009-12">Why The Bear Case On General Growth Properties Is Totally Wrong</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ackman-is-wrong-on-generalgrowth-2009-12">Bill Ackman Is Wrong On General Growth -- Malls And The US Consumer Are So Screwed</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackman-surprise-im-super-bullish-on-malls-and-the-consumer-2009-12">Bill Ackman: Here's Why I'm Super-Bullish On Shopping Malls And The US Consumer</a></li></ul> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/NrknkFAXKmRf4xp64wWv8RNI6AI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/NrknkFAXKmRf4xp64wWv8RNI6AI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/NrknkFAXKmRf4xp64wWv8RNI6AI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/NrknkFAXKmRf4xp64wWv8RNI6AI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ye-43JxKv-0:fjAL4aFUgrY:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/ye-43JxKv-0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hovde-capital-is-completely-wrong-about-general-growth-properties-2009-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/business-news/dec-30-cs-special-2009-12 2009: The Year Of The Great Reversal http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/ceJC9u_4gGA/dec-30-cs-special-2009-12 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:00:00 -0500 Joe Weisenthal and John Carney <p> <object id="tbiPlayer" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="600" height="396"> <param name="movie" value="http://cdn.livestream.com/events/businessinsider/TBIPlayer.swf" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" />&nbsp; <param name="flashvars" value="channel=tbilive&amp;clipID=flv_7a8ad00a-3d2d-4b7d-a38d-62880feeccde" /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="396" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/events/businessinsider/TBIPlayer.swf" wmode="transparent" flashvars="channel=tbilive&amp;clipID=flv_7a8ad00a-3d2d-4b7d-a38d-62880feeccde&amp;autoPlay=false" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" name="twitcamPlayer"></embed> </object> </p> <p>Deputy Editor <strong>Joe Weisenthal</strong> and Managing Editor <strong>John Carney</strong> look back at the year that was 2009. Here are some of the highlights:</p> <ul> <li>2009: The year of the great reversal</li> <li>"The market proved that everybody's an idiot"</li> <li>Reasons for the turnaround</li> <li>What might happen in 2010?</li> <li>People can NOT predict what will happen in the stock market</li> <li>Big risks in 2010: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-greatest-sovereign-risks-2009-12">sovereign default</a></li> <li>Big risks in 2010: accounting scandals</li> </ul> <p><em>Produced By: Kamelia Angelova &amp; William Wei</em></p> <h4><strong>More Video:</strong> <a href="../tbi-live-calendar"><strong>TBI Calendar Click HERE &gt;</strong></a></h4><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/business-news/dec-30-cs-special-2009-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/RM1O53ZYz5iNItTtvHXbDRcMN1A/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/RM1O53ZYz5iNItTtvHXbDRcMN1A/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/RM1O53ZYz5iNItTtvHXbDRcMN1A/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/RM1O53ZYz5iNItTtvHXbDRcMN1A/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?i=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:cGdyc7Q-1BI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?a=ceJC9u_4gGA:KOcJ26S9-yQ:QXVau8BzmBE"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/clusterstock?d=QXVau8BzmBE" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/clusterstock/~4/ceJC9u_4gGA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.businessinsider.com/business-news/dec-30-cs-special-2009-12