Super Stock Blog

Today: Stock market indexes fall more than 1 percent in very light volume, hurting S&P 500’s chance to turn a profit for the year. also: Google (GOOG) hits a new 52-week high after search, Android and Google+ receive good news; and holiday shopping’s early returns are positive.

Wall Street falls amid light trading, clouding end-of-year prospects

Wall Street broke its run of five consecutive positive trading sessions with losses across the board Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 index back into the red for 2011 and severely damaging the possibility that all three indexes could show positive movement for the year.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News attributed the negative movement — losses of more than 1 percent for all three major indexes — to evidence that European banks are stashing their cash instead of loaning it out, which could hasten the continent’s long fall toward recession.

“The economy is not benefiting from the ECB lending to banks,” Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group, told Bloomberg News. “With Europe likely to lapse into a recession, banks are reluctant to actually lend.”

However, Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at asset-management company Banyan Partners, told the Wall Street Journal that Wednesday’s fall more likely stemmed from the fact that few trades were made. the Journal reported that only 2.3 billion shares traded hands Wednesday, slightly more active than the quietest day of 2011, which was Tuesday.

“It’s a low-volume day with just the skeleton crews around, so small moves are accentuated,” Pavlik said.

With Wednesday’s losses, the Dow Jones composite seems to be the only one of the three major stock market indexes guaranteed positive movement on the year, barring a dramatic drop in the last two days of trading. the Dow closed Wednesday at 12,151, up 574 points — nearly 5 percent — on the year. the S&P closed at 1,250, down 8 points for 2011, or 0.6 percent; and the Nasdaq closed at 2,560, a yearly loss of 93 points, or 3.5 percent.

Google stock hits new high after several positive reports

Google bucked the stock market’s negative trend early in trading and managed to hit a new 52-week high at $645.

The Mountain View-based Internet giant has been deluged with good news this week, even as most employees are home enjoying the holidays. Goldman Sachs was the latest investment firm to increase its price target for the stock in advance of its quarterly earnings report, with Goldman upping its target for the stock from $660 to $685. Analysts at Benchmark and Citigroup increased their Google stock targets last month, setting them at $700 and $680, respectively.

The upgrades follow news that Google is seeing growth in three separate areas of its wide-net approach to technology. the company’s core search business is still dominating the Web, according to a report from the analytics firm Hitwise — Web surfers used Google to perform searches at a nearly 62 percent clip in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, the company reported. the closest competitor was Sunnyvale-based Yahoo (YHOO), which recorded slightly more than 16 percent of the searches in that time period.

Android, Google’s open-source mobile operating system, had a wonderful holiday season as well, according to multiple sources. Andy Rubin, senior vice president for mobile at Google, tweeted that 3.7 million Android devices were activated in just two days last week — Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That’s far higher than the usual daily tally of activations, which Rubin tweeted last week was averaging about 700,000. Mobile analytics firm Flurry seemed to back up that claim, but also give Apple (AAPL) a reason to claim victory in the holiday season, when it reported that 6.8 million Android and iOS devices were activated on Christmas Day alone.

One of Google’s youngest ventures is also reportedly growing at an incredible clip: Paul Allen, Ancestry.com founder and “unofficial statistician” for Google’s social network Google+, said the Facebook competitor is adding 625,000 members a day and has already reached 62 million. In his post — which, of course, appeared on Google+ — Allen predicted that the social network would have more than 400 million users by the end of 2012.

After hitting its new 52-week high early in the session, Google couldn’t maintain its gains, and its stock lost $0.55, 0.1 percent, on the day to close at $639.70. Competitors felt Wall Street’s pain to a greater degree, however: Apple fell 1 percent, and Yahoo declined 1.9 percent.

Holiday shopping hit its target, according to research

Early returns from the full holiday shopping season show retailers have reason to celebrate, as spending rose 4.7 percent between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24 from the previous year, according to research firm ShopperTrak. Sales rose 4.1 percent in November, which included Black Friday.

While more complete data will be available next week, early returns show that retailers found what they were hoping for — a 4 percent increase is considered a successful holiday season. the money came in fits and starts, however, with most of it being spent at Black Friday weekend sales and in the week before Christmas, according to the index, which estimates sales at 24 major stores including Macy’s and Costco.

The effects of holiday sales have not ended, either: according to a different survey, 18 percent of holiday gifts this year were gift cards, and stores do not count that cash until the cards are used.

Silicon Valley tech stocks

Up: SunPower (SPWRA), Gilead

Down: Jive, Zynga, Nvidia, VMware, Cisco (CSCO), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Netflix (NFLX), Yahoo, AMD, LinkedIn, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Adobe (ADBE), eBay (EBAY), Juniper

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: down 35.22, or 1.34 percent, to 2,589.98

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: down 139.94, or 1.14 percent, to 12,151.41

And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: down 15.79, or 1.25 percent, to 1,249.64

Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/mercbizbreak.

<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_19633478tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_19633478Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:55:23 GMT”>Biz Break: Wall Street falls, but Google hits a new high

INTERNATIONAL. Investment gurus Jim Rogers and Marc Faber agree to various degrees on many issues but the one thing separating them this week is the future direction of the Chinese economy and if this could have a devastating impact on commodities around the world.

Both Faber and Rogers have been warning about the effects of monetary and fiscal policies on the US economy, since the recent rally has been mostly based on printed money, a kind of ‘reverse Robin Hood policy’ of governments, to steal from the peasants to give to the rich.

As with Faber, Rogers is mostly to be seen being interviewed on CNBC and Bloomberg Asia or Europe as they both live in Asia now and since their views are to put it mildly, somewhat negative on the prospects of a sustainable US recovery.

The clash Marc Faber, the Swiss fund manager and Gloom Boom & Doom editor, believes a Chinese slowdown is already under way.

In a phone interview with CNBC Friday, he said that a hard landing for China will have a major negative impact on global commodities and risk currencies, before going as far as saying that he is “more worried about a Chinese economic downturn than a recession in Europe”.

For his part, legendary global investor and chairman of Singapore- based Rogers Holdings, Jim Rogers thinks Faber has got it wrong about China.

“Marc still does not understand China. there are going to be several hard landings in the next few years, but China’s will be less hard overall than others such as Greece, U.S…” Rogers told CNBC Friday.

China’s manufacturing activity slumped to its lowest level in 32 months in November, banking giant HSBC said November 23, renewing fears the Asian powerhouse is losing steam amid global economic woes.

HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin said he expected cooling domestic demand and weakening external demand for China’s exports heralded a further slowdown in production in coming months.

“The (Chinese) economy consists of many sectors and I think some sectors are already probably in a recession,” Faber elaborated.

“I think growth will be much lower and it is possible that we could have a hard landing with no growth at all,” he predicted.

The commodities market, in particular, will bear the brunt of a China economic deceleration, according to Faber.

“I think a lot of people will care if china grows only at 5% rather than 10% or 0% in a hard landing case because china is the largest buyer of commodities in the world,” he said.

“If the Chinese economy slows down the demand for commodities slows down and then the economies of brazil, Argentina, everybody is affected and then they can buy less from china and then you have a downward spiral, Faber added.

Rogers agrees the commodity market will have a correction, but rebutted Faber’s view that it would be devastating. “Yes, there will be consolidations in the commodity bull market just as all markets have consolidations,” he said. “In 1987, stocks declined 40%-80% worldwide, but it was not the end of the secular bull market in stocks.”

“If I was always bullish about commodities and completely missed out on the crash in 2008, then obviously, having tied essentially my reputation to commodities, I’d continue to be bullish,” Faber had earlier said about Rogers’ view on commodities.

“I proclaimed repeatedly far and wide that one should not buy commodities in the run up phase”, replied Rogers. “I also explained that I was not selling mine since we were [and are] in a secular bull market,” Rogers stressed.

When one’s shorts decline 90%-100%, it is a good year even when one’s longs decline,” Rogers added.

According to Rogers, Faber is the one who has made many wrong calls, arguing that he “totally missed” the secular bull market in commodities that began in early 1999.

China’s economic growth eased to 9.1% in the third quarter from 9.5% in the second quarter, as government efforts to tame inflation and economic turbulence in Europe and the United States curbed activity.

Vice Premier Wang Qishan, China’s top finance official recently warned that China needed to fix “structural problems” in its financial system to cope with a “long-term” global downturn that threatens the world’s second largest economy. ”For an economy like China that depends heavily on exports, the key is to understand the situation and put one’s own house in order,” the state Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

Speaking in a subsequent interview on Saturday with CNBC’s Simon Hobbs and the Money In Motion traders, Faber reiterated his view: the data can be manipulated, but in general I would say there is an obvious slowdown in the Chinese economy and I think there is a chance for a hard landing.

Faber went on to elaborate on the unintended consequences of easing: “When mr. Bernanke became fed chairman, the S&P was at 1264 – that was on February 1st, 2006. We’re now at 1244. So, the market is lower than it was at that time. In the meantime, gold has gone to US$1,746…the easing may not mean that the economy will do particularly well as the easing can shift money into some sectors of the economy…the stock market in China may rebound, but I don’t think we’ll see new highs, and I think the economy will weaken because we have a very capital goods oriented economy, and capital spending is very volatile.”

We are not selling our gold

But if China and commodities have succeeded in driving a wedge between the two legendary investors, the one investment still uniting them is gold, although they both warn of possible corrections.

Gold prices fell to US$1731 per ounce by lunchtime today in London – 0.8% below where it ended last week.

Faber predicted Friday gold should get some support over the near-to-medium term as he expects central banks in Europe and the U.S. to print more money to prop up their economies.

Gold’s recent rally above US$1,900 an ounce shows no signs of a “bubble” as central banks continue to boost money supply that has helped spur bullion to a record, according to Faber.

“I don’t think that gold is in a bubble,” Faber told Bloomberg in a recent phone interview from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

“When you buy gold, it’s an insurance against systematic failure and problems in the financial markets,” he said.

The Gold price is cheaper today than 10 years ago, although in nominal terms it is up 4-5 times, Faber argues. ”Compared with the monetary base, compared to government debt, compared to the increase of wealth in the world, and compared to the increase in international reserves, the gold price today is low,” Faber was quoted as saying August 5.

Faber says he is staying well diversified with his portfolio divided equally in four parts between gold, real estate, stocks, and cash and bonds. He adds that he is keeping ready cash on hand to scoop up assets should markets correct further.

For his part, Rogers is still long commodities. “Gold went up 600% in the 1970s and then corrected by 50% scaring a lot of people,” he told CNBC Friday.

“It then continued its secular bull market and rose 850%. Corrections are the normal way of all markets.”

In an interview with Investment Week, published today, Rogers reiterated gold may be overdue for a stronger correction. “It is very unusual for any asset to go up for 11 years in a row with no correction. I own gold and I am not selling my gold.”

“It has been correcting for the past three months so it is overdue for a stronger correction, but I have no idea by how much. it is very unusual for any asset to go up for 11 years in a row with no correction. I own gold and I am not selling my gold.

“If it is going down because the world is going bankrupt then it would need to be priced at US$900 for me to buy it. if there is an artificial occurrence then maybe between US$1,200 and US$1,400,” he said.

About Dr. Marc Faber

Dr Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics. between 1970 and 1978, Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Co in new York, Zurich and Hong Kong.

Since 1973, he has lived in Asia. From 1978 to February 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK). In June 1990, he set up his own business which acts as an investment advisor and fund manager.

In 2000 Faber decided to spend more time writing his newsletters as well as growing his advisory business. He moved back to his home in Chiang Mai, Thailand, maintaining only a small administrative office in Hong Kong.

Dr Faber publishes a widely read monthly investment newsletter ‘The Gloom Boom & Doom Report’ which highlights unusual investment opportunities, and is the author of several books.

About Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers has spent a career being one step ahead of mainstream investment thinking. amongst his many accomplishments, Rogers was co-founder with George Soros of Quantum Fund. during his ten years with the fund, the portfolio gained more than 4,000%, while the S&P rose less than 50%.

Rogers retired from Quantum in 1980 and became a guest professor of finance at Columbia University Graduate School of Business and in 1989 and 1990, the moderator of the Dreyfus Roundtable and the Profit Motive with Jim Rogers.

Underscoring his convictions that future prosperity will come from China, Rogers’ two young children speak Mandarin.

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Marc Faber sees substantially higher gold prices over the next 5-10 years, lower purchasing power of paper money

Gold is very cheap in comparison to the money and credit that has been created, says Marc Faber

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<a href="http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=55620&t=1&c=33&cg=4&mset=tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=55620″>Marc Faber, Jim Rogers clash over China and commodities, agree on gold – Business Intelligence Middle East – bi-me.com – News, analysis, reports

JANUARY

New leadership: Newcomers Larry Kramer, Derek Reeve and John Taylor were sworn into office as council members. Larry Kramer is elected Mayor Pro Tem and council member Sam Allevato is chosen to serve his second term as mayor.

Mobile home park fight: Residents of Capistrano Terrace Mobile Home Park are awarded $1.1 million after bringing a failure-to-maintain lawsuit in 2007 listing more than 100 plaintiffs. Residents complained about low water pressure, sewer spills, open electrical wiring and other issues. Owners said the geology and age of the park made repairs prohibitively expensive. Some of the owners of the park are also associated with Advanced Real Estate Services, which is the developer of the planned commercial, residential and equestrian project directly adjacent to the park. they purchased the property in 2003 for $8.3 million and have tried to close the park twice.

FEBRUARY

Smart meters: San Diego Gas and Electric begins the installation of 120,000 smart meters across Orange County at a cost of $500 million. the move was a response to a state mandate calling for utility companies to swap existing electric and natural gas meters with digital versions. the high tech meters record energy use and allow customers to receive alerts about their energy usage via email, text, or phone.

Outsourcing: the city begins to consider outsourcing three positions that offer yearly salary and benefits worth more than $110,000 – historical preservation manager, code-enforcement officer and senior traffic engineer.

Redevelopment: Councilwoman Laura Freese testified before a state committee about the importance of redevelopment agencies in the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to strip them of their funding source. San Juan Capistrano has several projects under way involving redevelopment funds, including millions slated for use by incoming car dealerships and a proposed downtown revamp. the city sent a letter last month to the state describing its disagreement with the governor’s proposal.

MARCH

Interim city manager named: Former City Manager Dave Adams returns to civil service again as interim City Manager, after the incumbent City Manager and Utilities Director Joe Tait attracts unfavorable attention across the state for his salary, which was $324,000. City officials defended Tait’s pay, saying that Tait saves the city more then $100,000 by pulling double duty as utilities director and city manager. Adams serves for three months and a new city manager is selected in August.

City’s second hotel breaks ground: A Marriott Residence Inn on the site of the former Capistrano Ford dealership at Camino Capistrano and Stonehill Drive began construction. Developed by R.D. Olson Construction and a team of investors, the 130-room extended-stay hotel will have more than 91,000 square feet, including an 11,104 square foot storage facility for classic cars. when it is completed, it will become the second hotel in the city, preceded by best Western Capistrano Inn at 27174 Ortega Highway.

Irvine farm on the market: Joan Irvine Smith announces that she’s selling the 20-acre farm, known as the Oaks, for $20 million. the farm housed her horse breeding program since 1985. in its heyday, the farm bred 50-60 sport horses a year, but that number dwindled to just two this past year. Retired at 77, Smith said she’s trying to dial back her commitments and focus on her environmental and philanthropic efforts. Smith’s great-grandfather, James Irvine, was a prominent Orange County landowner and the city of Irvine is carries her family name.

County’s oldest public school celebrates 160th year: San Juan Elementary School, the oldest public school in Orange County, rang in its 160th year by re-dedicating the bell that once signaled the start of class. the elementary school was established in 1850. the bell was dedicated in 1907 by William Strocheim. though the bell survived several renovations and still sits on the front lawn, it’s no longer used to signal the end of class. San Juan Elementary was the only school in Orange County until Santa Ana’s school district was established in 1854.

Chevron pays city $3.1 million for gas station leaks: Gasoline additive Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, or MtBE, was discovered in the city’s groundwater in January of 2008, causing the temporary closure of two of the city’s groundwater wells. Chevron agreed to pay the city up to $3.1 million to cover the costs of the cleanup, on which the city has spent more than $5 million. An audit would later estimate the financial effect of the MtBE leaks at $7.2 million. the leak also restricted production at the city’s groundwater recovery plant, as one the plant’s largest wells was affected.

Juaneno tribe denied federal recognition again: After a three year effort, the more than 400 declared members of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians of the Acjachemen Nation could not satisfy four out of seven criteria for federal recognition of Indian tribes. the Bureau of Indian Affairs said that the group was not recognized as a tribe by the community at large, lacked functioning autonomous government and did not have political influence over its members as an autonomous entity. without recognition, the tribe is not considered a sovereign nation and cannot operate casinos, among other privileges granted to recognized tribes.

APRIL

City’s 50th anniversary: the city was founded by Father Junipero Serra on Nov. 1, 1776, but San Juan Capistrano was officially incorporated as a city on April 19, 1961. the city rang in its 50th year of incorporation with a party at the Historic Town Center Park that featured a talent show, food, games, dancing and other activities. Professional story tellers told stories accompanied by music at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. A series of celebratory historical and cultural events took place throughout the year, culminating in the burial of a time capsule that will be opened on 100th anniversary of the city.

City’s water utility has $8.2 million deficit: A budget update revealed that the city’s water utility was running an $8.2 million deficit. in addition to increased costs stemming from MtBE cleanup, the city saw its lowest water sales in more than 15 years. the discovery of unusual amounts of arsenic in the city’s water supply also contributed to the deficit, reducing the city’s water production by more than 4 million gallons daily. the decline in water production also caused the city to miss out on a $750,000 grant from the Municipal Water District of Orange County, which pays cities to provide their own water.

MAY

Financial trouble: A $6.35 million settlement in a lawsuit with the Scalzo Family Trust took out about a third of the city’s general fund-reserves. the City Council approves the issue of about $3 million in bonds to help pay for the settlement. without the aid of the bond issuance, the city’s general fund reserves would be “dangerously low,” City Treasurer Cindy Russell said at the time. the Scalzo family sued the city in 2006 after the council placed 121 development conditions on the planned Belladonna Estates housing project. Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, downgraded the city’s bond rating to what was called a dramatic weakening of the city’s financial profile. A depletion of cash reserves, costs from water cleanup, decreased revenues overall and a drop in water production were listed as causes. the City Council voted to cut about $7.5 million in spending.

Bra lady: the story of Janice Cleaves, known as the “Bra Lady,” came to light. Cleaves is a corsetiere, or a bra-fitter, and makes a living by training woman about bras. She runs a fitting business in a small office in an industrial part of the city. She spends about 45 minutes with each client, and even helps breast cancer survivors who have had mastectomies find a good fit.

New City Manager: Karen Brust was hired as the new city manager, with council members citing her strong financial background and experience dealing in water issues. She was lured from the city of Del Mar with an annual salary of $218,000. before that, she was the director of finance and treasurer for the San Diego Water Authority and finance director for the cities of Garden and South Gate. More than 80 people applied for the job, which was vacated by Joe Tait in April, who left amid controversy over a $324,000 salary that he received for serving as city manager and utilities director. her employment began on June 30.

JUNE

San Juan Hills High School graduates first class: the school at 29211 Vista Montana opened in 2007 and now has about 2,000 students. More than 4,000 people attended the school’s first graduation ceremony on June 23 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine. Principal Tom Ressler left the graduating class with this: “You have created traditions,” Ressler told the graduates: “Now, after four years, you have become better men and women, and that has been our task.”

City’s third hotel moves forward: the Robert Green Company was named the developer of a 124-room hotel, restaurant and retail complex at Ortega Highway and El Camino Real. Developer Stroscher G3 LLC also built a four Seasons hotel in Jackson Hole in Wyoming and a Park Hyatt hotel in Carlsbad. City officials hope that the hotel, named Plaza Banderas, will be an economic engine that drives commerce in the city’s downtown.

Voters approve Distrito La Novia and San Juan Meadows developments: 55.5 percent of voters approved large residential, commercial and equestrian developments on both sides of La Novia Avenue east of the I-5.

San Juan Meadows covers 135 acres on the south side of La Novia Avenue. Distrito La Novia comprises about 18 acres on the north side of La Novia Avenue. Advanced Real Estate Services purchased the properties in 1999 and has worked with city officials to prepare the land for development for years. the City Council approved the development in November 2010. After the approval, a group calling themselves Citizens for sensible Development began to gather signatures to allow voters to decide on the development in a referendum. ARES raised about $145,000 to fund their referendum campaign, while Citizens for sensible Development raised just $7,000. Council members said they hoped that the project would bring in much-needed revenue for the city. Construction could begin in 2012.

German restaurant opens: Barth’s Continental Cuisine opened at 27221 Ortega Highway, featuring German treats like schnitzel, sauerkraut and a selection of beers. the traditionally decorated restaurant also features a snuff machine, which produces pulverized tobacco that can be inhaled through the nostrils.

Jewelry store robbery is unsuccessful: On the morning of June 24, Robert Earl Avery entered Monaco Jewelers on Doheny Park Road, pulled a handgun from his pocket and grabbed an employee at the rear of the store. Another employee pulled out a handgun and shot Avery. Avery’s collaborators, Desmond Brown and another man, ran into the store. the armed employee fired again, hitting Brown in the torso. Another employee armed himself and shot Brown another time. the third man ran out of the store and got into a light-blue Toyota Camry. Avery and Brown died from their injuries.

Nearby, at the same time, Costco was opening its new gas station with a grand opening ceremony. the station was evacuated as dozens of police cars and a swat team descended on the scene of the shooting.

JULY

Capistrano Terrace fight continues: the owners of Capistrano Terrace Mobile Home Park declare bankruptcy, throwing the millions of dollars in settlements won by residents into question. the announcement came just hours before residents were offered a $4.85 million settlement by the owner’s insurance company, which would supersede January’s $1.1 million settlement. All payments and settlements are currently wending their way through a bankruptcy court.

In-N-Out Burger is out: After two years of back and forth with the city, the Irvine-based burger company abandoned their plans to open a location on Del Obispo Street. the City Council voted 3-2 to lift an 18-year-old ban on new drive-thru restaurants in 2010, but new applications for drive-thru restaurants had to be approved by the City Council. Some council member supported the project, but the company’s interest waned.

AUGUST

West Coast Film Festival: the Regency San Juan Capistrano Theatre hosted the first annual West Coast Film Festival. Inaugural films included “Casablanca,” “Ben Hur,” and award-winning independent films from local filmmakers. Lionsgate Films previewed a major fall release, and programming included tributes to Gene Autry and Mary Pickford. Charlton Heston’s son, Fraser Heston, presented a film about his father’s role in “Ben-Hur.”

SEPTEMBER

Bible studies: After a neighbor complained, city code enforcement officers fined Chuck and Stephanie Fromm $300 for hosting Bible studies in their home that would often draw a crowd of up to 50 people. the couple appealed the fines in Orange County Superior Court. the story drew attention nationwide after some news outlets cast it as an issue of religious freedom. the city was inundated with letters, calls and emails from around the nation. later, the city would refund the fees to the Fromms and the couple would drop their lawsuit. the city is currently examining the code by which the Fromms were fined.

NOVEMBER

St. Margaret’s Performing Arts Center moves forward: Construction on a 44,000 square foot performing arts facility at the St. Margaret’s Episcopal School proceeds on schedule and on budget. when completed in May 2012, the facility will have a main theater that seats 450, a ‘teaching’ theatre with about 130 seats, a dance studio and large rooms for orchestra, band and choir rehearsals, as well as 11 soundproof practice rooms for tutoring and instruction. the center’s final price tag is about $16 million.

Historical manager leaves: Teri Delcamp leaves to take a historical preservation job in the city of Riverside. her departure threw the fate of several historical preservation projects into question, including renovation efforts at the Blas Aguilar Adobe and the Silvas Adobe. Delcamp’s position was one of three the city had looked at for possible outsourcing. City Manager Karen Brust has yet to make a decision on whether to fill the position with a full-time employee or a contractor, and will provide more information next year.

DECEMBER

The Historic Cook Barn Burns: Built in 1898, one of the city’s oldest barns burned down in a fire that caused about $150,000 of damage and left just one wall of the historical landmark intact. the fire was ruled accidental. the fate of the barn is still in question. the Cook family, whose ancestor Rodolphus Cook built the barn, has publically disagreed about whether to sell the property or restore the barn. four different Cook relatives own the barn and three of them want to sell. Teresa Cook, who was living in the barn at the time, wants to restore the barn and turn it into community garden.

New leadership: the City Council reorganizes, with Larry Kramer selected as mayor and John Taylor selected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.

<a href="http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-333210-million-water.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-333210-million-water.htmlWed, 28 Dec 2011 10:13:35 GMT”>San Juan Capistrano year in review

The book, my Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey, is published in separate but similar Chinese and English editions. The 400-page Chinese edition is by Lianhe Zaobao and the 388-page English one by The Straits Times Press.

Each copy of the book comes with a DVD of extracts from relevant speeches made by mr Lee – in English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Malay – over the past 50 years.

The book consists of two parts. In the first part, mr Lee recounts his lifelong quest to learn Mandarin and to get the bilingual education policy right. The second part features essays by Singaporeans on their individual linguistic journeys. There are 18 essays in the Chinese edition and 22 in the English edition. 

my Lifelong Challenge is the story of mr Lee Kuan Yew’s 50-year struggle to transform Singapore from a polyglot former British colony into a united nation where everyone, while knowing English, knows at least one other language, his own mother tongue. The founding prime minister of Singapore tells why he did away with vernacular schools in spite of violent political resistance, why he closed Nanyang University, why he later started Special assistance Plan schools, and why he continues to urge all ethnic Chinese Singaporeans today to learn the Chinese language. 

The reader learns not only about the many policy adjustments but also the challenges mr Lee encountered – from Chinese language chauvinists who wanted Chinese to be the pre-eminent language in Singapore, from Malay and Tamil community groups fearing that Chinese were given too much emphasis, from parents of all races wanting an easier time for their school-going children, and even from his own Cabinet colleagues questioning his assumptions about language.

my Lifelong Challenge is also the story of mr Lee’s own struggle to learn the Chinese language, which began when he was six years old and his Hakka maternal grandmother enrolled him in a Chinese class with fishermen’s children. In evocative detail, the man born to English-speaking parents recounts his own feelings of rebellion and humiliation at different points in his life, when faced with the Chinese language and his own inadequacy in it. this book describes in matter-of-fact yet vivid fashion his steely determination to improve his Chinese and reclaim his Chinese heritage right up to the present when he is well into his eighties.

The persons whose essays appear in the second part of the book include current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, pop star Stefanie Sun, educator Chew Cheng Hai and American-born billionaire investor Jim Rogers, who chose to live in Singapore so that his daughters can receive a bilingual education. The writers recount their own language journeys, giving flesh and blood meaning to policy measures wrought over five decades.

mr Robin Hu, Senior Executive Vice-President of Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Newspapers and Newspaper Services divisions, headed the editorial committee that worked closely with mr Lee on the book. he said: “It was sheer pleasure for the team to have worked on this project over a period of two years.  We learned many things through a series of nail-biting encounters with the author.”  

“What stands out for me is that the bilingual journey is not about arriving at a final destination, but about different points of arrival as we continue to journey amid changing circumstances,” added mr Hu. “Among other things, this book is about a young nation’s destiny as envisioned by a tenacious mind.”

On why there are two separate Chinese and English editions rather than a translation of a single work, mr Hu said: “The readerships of the two editions, particularly those 45 years and above, are different. They attended schools of two different language streams and hold quite different perspectives of the bilingual policy.”

“In order to speak to the two readerships, the author decided that although the content should be similar, the approach would be slightly different. For example, in chapter one on the differences between the Chinese and English school students of the 1950s, the Chinese edition dwells at greater length on the Chinese student riots and the education problems faced by the Chinese community than does the English one."

mr Patrick Daniel, Editor-in-Chief of Singapore Press Holdings’ English and Malay Newspapers Division, said: "this book recounts an important facet of Singapore’s history. It contains insights, borne of experience, about the challenge of ensuring that each community preserves its own language and culture in a multiracial nation, while adopting English as the working language. It comes at an opportune moment too, as the world sees its centre of gravity shifting from West to East. I am glad that The Straits Times has had a part in bringing out this book.”

my Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey has received enthusiastic reviews from both foreign and local luminaries.

Wrote former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, an old friend of mr Lee's: “Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir of his journey toward recognition of the value of state-supported bilingualism for his polyglot nation is a fascinating chapter in the life and lessons of one of the most innovative and successful leaders of our time. Candid and illuminating, it has valuable insights for many countries struggling to absorb an unprecedented flood of new immigrants.”

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand noted that mr Lee’s lifelong experiences and dedication to Singapore shines vividly in the book. A frequent visitor to Singapore, she also wrote that  ”Now that I am studying Chinese, he sometimes prefers to talk to me in Chinese.”

Dominic Barton, global managing director of McKinsey & Company, said: "this book comes at an important time for Singapore, which continues to rigorously examine its language policies as it sets a course for its next stage of development. It also comes at an important time for the rest of the world — as other countries confront their own choices as they overhaul their educational systems to take advantage of a globally connected world.

In Singapore, former senior minister of state for community development Ch’ng Jit Koon said: “To this day, some people do not approve of the bilingual policy as a foundation stone of the nation. this book describes fully, accurately and clearly the background to these policies, helping us to understand why he did what he did. whether the bilingual policy is right or wrong, history will be the judge. But if he had not done what he did, our country would not be what it is today.”

Mandopop singer Stefanie Sun, who had to brush up her Mandarin in order to break into the Taiwan pop music market, said: “As the world gets "smaller", our red dot fights for its mark on the global community. If you ever wondered how we got this far or what makes Singaporeans tick, this book explains a lot through the eyes of mr Lee Kuan Yew.”

Chairman of the United Overseas Bank Group Wee Cho Yaw, who is mentioned in Chapter 3 of the book, wrote: “To many people of my generation Nantah is more than a university.  It represented the aspirations and idealism of the Southeast Asian Chinese.  The Nantah “spirit” of self-reliance and strength in unity cut across social classes and national borders. In the closing line of the Nantah chapter, mr Lee Kuan Yew advised that the spirit which inspired it (the university) deserves to be treasured and embraced by future generations of Singaporeans. I totally agree.” 

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about Singapore Press Holdings Ltd 

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings ltd (SPH) is Southeast Asia’s leading media organization, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms including newspapers, with 18 newspaper titles in four languages; 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region; book publishing subsidiaries Straits Times Press and Focus Publishing; internet and mobile portals; stakes in broadcasting companies MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte ltd, MediaCorp Press Limited and SPH UnionWorks Pte ltd; events and outdoor advertising through their wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte ltd; and other properties including Paragon, The Clementi Mall, and Sky@eleven, developed by SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte ltd. 

about The Straits Times

The Straits Times, the English flagship daily of SPH, has been serving readers for more than a century. Launched on July 15, 1845, its comprehensive coverage of world news, East Asian news, Southeast Asian news, home news, sports news, financial news and lifestyle updates makes The Straits Times the most-read newspaper in Singapore. 

The Straits Times also has an online presence at www.straitstimes.com. The site features top stories, blogs and an online forum threads. also under The Straits Times' umbrella are citizen journalism site Stomp and online television service RazorTV.

about Lianhe Zaobao

Lianhe Zaobao, the Chinese flagship newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings, is the most comprehensive, contemporary Chinese daily that reflects current issues, expert insights, lifestyles and developments in the local and global Chinese community. It is a trusted and respected source of news and opinion for both Singapore readers, as well as the region’s Chinese literate community. with an extensive correspondent network in Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo, Lianhe Zaobao gives readers timely and in-depth coverage of significant events taking place in the region and beyond.

<a href="http://www.4-traders.com/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-6491128/news/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-Launch-of-My-Lifelong-Challenge-Singapore-s-Bilingual-Journey-by-Lee-Kuan-Yew-13899516/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.4-traders.com/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-6491128/news/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-Launch-of-My-Lifelong-Challenge-Singapore-s-Bilingual-Journey-by-Lee-Kuan-Yew-13899516/Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:32:26 GMT”>Singapore Press Hld : Launch of “My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore

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The Warren Buffett stock pick strategy is so easy it is unexplainable why investors worldwide cannot copy it. His philosophy is simple. He looks for value and holds for the long term. The trick to his stock pick is how he places value on a business. He has the ability to look beyond the fiscal reports and view a business in its entirety. He can foresee a steady revenue stream.

From 1997 until 2005 Warren Buffett purchased physical silver through his investment company Berkshire Hathaway. He accumulated silver between $4-$6 per ounce. He eventually owned 37% of the world’s supply of silver. He controlled such a large amount of silver that the monthly lease rate for silver peaked at 1.5%-2%. He was able to lease his silver to manufacturers who were in a bind for physical supply and they agreed to replace the silver in 30 or 90 days for 1.5% to 2% per 30 days. It was absolute genius on his part. Eventually he sold the silver at $7.50. He later apologized to his stockholders that he sold out too early.

This aspect of Warren Buffett shows that he would interested in purchasing mining stocks from Canada. Canadian mining stocks offer value. They do not have the name recognition of the larger companies so they often trade at a price less than their proven deposits. The deposits are located in a stable political environment. Environmental and labor issues are not likely to limit production. Canadian mining stocks offer the stability that Warren Buffett desires and other United States investors should be looking at them closely.

Warren Buffett looks for profit margins that are high and rising. He looks for stocks that are selling at a 25% discount to their intrinsic value. Precious metals prices are rising on the back of a cyclical bull market. The Federal Reserve is determined to keep interest rates low. This will lead to a weak dollar and higher inflation. These are the elements that are fueling the precious metals bull market and which will keep profit margins increasing for Canadian mining stocks. Buying Canadian mining stocks for less than the value of their proven deposits is a true bargain.

Warren Buffett has become one of the richest men in the world with his philosophy to “buy low and sell high”. He has accomplished this by sticking to his focus on value. Canadian mining stocks offer the value that Warren Buffett seeks. Shrewd United States investors should be investing in Canadian mining stocks to follow the famous Buffett stock pick strategy.

Buy low and sell high. Start on the path to building wealth.

Nicolas

Nicolas is Stocktipr.com co-founder, a finance community to share and discover best stock tips through the power of their unique algorithm and social networking.

and is really that good for you

richest men in America. their combined fortune of thirty-five billion dollars is exceeded only by those of bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

from the issue
cartoon bank
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The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. these views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests. in a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. and Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a “kingpin of climate science denial.” The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change, underwriting a huge network of foundations, think tanks, and political front groups. Indeed, the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies—from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program—that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/…

A question for tea party menbers do agree with koch brothers?

“Regular people know that they got done in by excesses on Wall Street, and they see a Democratic administration shoveling trillions of dollars to the same Wall Street banks that caused the mess…. what is overdue is a little bit of populist retribution against the people who brought down the system – and will bring it down again if the hegemony of the traders is not constrained.”

–Economist Robert Kuttner

In the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, Goldman Sachs is having a banner year. According to an October 16 article by Colin Barr on CNNMoney.com:

“while Goldman churned out $3 billion in profits in the third quarter, the economy shed 768,000 jobs, and home foreclosures set a new record. more than a million Americans have filed for bankruptcy this year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. a September survey of state finances by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank found that state governments faced a collective $168 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2010. Goldman, by contrast, is sitting on $167 billion in cash….”

Barr writes that Goldman’s “eye-popping profit” resulted “as revenue from trading rose fourfold from a year ago.” really. Revenue from trading? Didn’t we bail out Goldman and the other Wall Street banks so they could make loans, take deposits, and keep our money safe?

That is what banks used to do, but today the big Wall Street money comes from short-term speculation in currency transactions, commodities, stocks, and derivatives for the banks’ own accounts. And here’s the beauty of it: the Wall Street speculators have managed to trade in practically the only products left on the planet that are not subject to a sales tax. while parents in California are now paying 9% sales tax on their children’s school bags and shoes, Goldman is paying nothing to sustain its gambling habit.

That helps explain Goldman’s equally eye-popping tax bracket. what would you guess – 50%? 30%? Not even close. In 2008, Goldman Sachs paid a paltry 1% – less than clerks at WalMart.

SPEEDING TICKETS TO SLOW DAY TRADERS?

All this suggests a tidy way we the people could recover some of their billions in bailout money. the idea of taxing speculative trades was first proposed by Nobel Prize winning economist James Tobin in the 1970s. but he acknowledged that his proposal was unlikely to be implemented, because of the massive accounting problems involved. Today, however, modern technology has caught up to the challenge, and proposals for a “Tobin tax” are gaining traction. the proposals are very modest, ranging from.005% to 1% per trade, far less than you would pay on a pair of shoes. For ordinary investors, who buy and sell stock only occasionally, the tax would hardly be felt. but high-speed speculative trades could be slowed up considerably. Wall Street traders compete to design trading programs that can move many shares in microseconds, allowing them to beat ordinary investors to the “buy” button and to manipulate markets for private gain.

Goldman Sachs admitted to this sort of market manipulation in a notorious incident last summer, in which the bank sued an ex-Goldman computer programmer for stealing its proprietary trading software. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Facciponti was quoted by Bloomberg as saying of the case:

“the bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways.”

The obvious implication was that Goldman has a program that allows it to manipulate markets in unfair ways. Bloomberg went on:

“the proprietary code lets the firm do ‘sophisticated, high-speed and high-volume trades on various stock and commodities markets,’ prosecutors said in court papers. the trades generate ‘many millions of dollars’ each year.”

Those many millions of dollars are coming out of the pockets of ordinary investors, who are being beaten to the punch by sophisticated computer programs. as one blogger mused:

“why do we have a financial system? I mean, much of its activity looks an awful lot like gambling, and gambling is not exactly a constructive endeavor. In fact, many people would call gambling destructive, which is why it is generally illegal….

“what makes Goldman Sachs et. al. so evil is that they offer vast wealth to our society’s best and brightest in exchange for spending their lives being non-productive. I want our geniuses to be proving theorems and curing cancer and developing fusion reactors, not designing algorithms to flip billions of shares in microseconds.”

Gambling is an addiction, and the addicted need help. a tax on these microsecond trades could sober up Wall Street addicts and return them to productive labor, and transform Wall Street from an out-of-control casino back into a place where investors pledge their capital for the development of useful products.

THE TOBIN TAX GAINS MOMENTUM

Various proposals for a Tobin tax have received renewed media attention in recent months. President Obama gave indirect support for the idea in a Press briefing on July 22, when he recommended that the government consider new fees on financial companies pursuing “far out transactions”. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has resisted pushes for a Tobin tax in the past, said at the G20 meeting in Scotland on November 7 that a tax on financial trading could prevent excessive risk-taking and fund future bank rescues. it “cannot be acceptable,” he said, that banks enjoy the rewards of their successful trades yet leave taxpayers to pick up the cost of their failures. Governments spent more than $500 billion in the past year bailing out banks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner opposed the tax, but the fact that it was being seriously considered was a major development. the French finance minister said, “It’s not so exotic and it even seems reasonable.”

In the U.S., a bill called “let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street’s Bailout Act of 2009″, proposing to tax short-term speculation in certain securities, was introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) last February; and a different bill to regulate derivative trades was approved by the Financial Services Committee in October. Derivatives are essentially bets on whether the value of currencies, commodities, stocks, government bonds or virtually any other product will go up or down. Derivative bets can cause shifts in overall market size reaching $40 trillion in a single day. Just how destabilizing short-term speculation can be — and just how lucrative a tax on it could be — is evident from the mind-boggling size of the market. the Bank for International Settlements estimates that in 2008, annual trading in over-the-counter derivatives amounted to $743 trillion globally – more than ten times the gross domestic product of all the nations of the world combined. another arresting fact is that just five super-rich commercial banks control 97% of the U.S. derivatives market: JPMorgan Chase & co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & co.

Promoters of international development have suggested that a mere.005% tax could raise between $30 billion and $60 billion per year, enough for the G7 countries to double international aid. other proponents favor the larger 1% tax originally proposed by James Tobin. the much-needed income from a U.S. tax could be split between federal and state governments.

Opponents of the tax, led by the financial sector, argue that it would kill bank jobs, reduce liquidity, and drive business offshore. Supporters respond that Tobin tax profits could be used to create new jobs, and that while the speculative market would shrink, the small size of the tax would hardly affect overall cash flows. more than raising money, the tax could be an effective tool for discouraging short-term traders, who often make money on very small margins. Dani Rodrik, Professor of Political Science at Harvard, writes:

“the beauty of a Tobin tax is that it would discourage short-term speculation without having much adverse effect on long-term international investment decisions. Consider, for example, a tax of 0.25% applied to all cross-border financial transactions. Such a tax would instantaneously kill the intra-day trading that takes place in pursuit of profit margins much smaller than this, as well as the longer-term trades designed to exploit minute differentials across markets…. Meanwhile, investors with longer time horizons going after significant returns would not be much deterred by the tax.”

Besides technical questions about how to implement the tax internationally, the offshore argument probably presents the most serious challenge. Should a Tobin tax pass in the U.S., investors would be likely to move to other markets beyond its reach. the U.S. could penalize traders for doing business abroad, but governments in major markets like Germany and London would no doubt need to endorse the tax for any meaningful shift to be seen. some experts have argued that the Tobin tax would be best implemented by an international institution such as the United Nations. but other observers see any international tax as a move toward further strengthening the power of the global financial oligarchs. Just the fact that the United Nations, the G20, and the Bank for International Settlements are discussing this option, however, suggests that we the people need to jump in and stake out our claim, before we lose the proceeds to international bodies controlled by global bankers. the tax needs to be collected by the U.S. Treasury and go into U.S. coffers. it needs to reach Main Street, where it can be used to stimulate local business and investment.

Officials from the International Monetary Fund insist that implementing a Tobin tax would be logistically impossible. but Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and former World Bank leader, disagrees. In Istanbul in early October, he said that a Tobin tax was not only necessary but, thanks to modern technology, would be easier to implement than ever before. “the financial sector polluted the global economy with toxic assets,” he said, “and now they ought to clean it out.”

Economist Hazel Henderson proposes a computerized system for imposing a graduated tax that is designed to kill “bear raids” (organized attacks by short sellers). Bear raids directed at vulnerable currencies have been known to collapse whole economies. She writes:

“Such a currency exchange tax would be simple to collect using a computerized system, which can be installed on trading screens, such as the Foreign Exchange Transaction Reporting system (FXTRS). This system operates like an electronic version of Wall Street’s venerable ‘uptick rule’… to curb naked short-selling. the FXTRS computerized uptick rule would gradually raise the tax up to a maximum of 1% whenever a bear raid starts attacking a weak currency. Such bear raids are rarely to ‘discipline’ a country’s policies, as traders claim, but rather to make quick profits.”

Henderson notes that world economies have become so interlinked that such win-lose strategies are no longer sustainable:

“In systems terms, the global economy, by virtue of its real-time technological inter-linkages, has become a de facto global commons, a common resource of all its users. Such commons require win-win agreements, rules and standards applicable to all users. if normal competitive behavior (win-lose) continues, the result is lose-lose as competition between players leads to sub-optimization and the system itself absorbs risks and eventually can break down, as witnessed in the current crisis.”

The financial rescue operations to date have been win-lose, with Main Street being sacrificed at the altar of Wall Street. some 48 states have faced budget crises in the past year, forcing them to cut libraries, schools, and police forces, and to raise taxes on income and sales. a sales tax on the exotic financial products responsible for precipitating the economic crisis could help level the playing field and put some points on the populist side of the scoreboard.

[For links to sources, see author's website below.]

Ellen Brown, J.D., developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In “Web of Debt,” her latest book, she turns those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust.” She shows how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how we the people can get it back. her websites are http://www.webofdebt.com/ and http://www.ellenbrown.com/. her eleven books include the bestselling “Nature’s Pharmacy,” co-authored with Dr. Lynne Walker, which has sold 285,000 copies.

The Tobin Tax – Making Wall Street Pay Its Fair Share