| CME’s Nymex bid set to trigger battles
The CME Group's $11.3bn bid for energy exchange Nymex is facing opposition from within the derivatives industry over concerns that it will create a dominant exchange with excessive pricing power. The CME could also be on a collision course with some members of Nymex who hold trading rights and feel that the CME's proposal to buy them out for $500m understates the long-term value of the benefits associated with those rights. At least one hedge fund is thought to be looking at the option of threatening to sue the Nymex over the terms of the proposed deal. .
Airlines 'are akin to arms dealers'in ethics stakes
But the decision provoked fury from the airline industry, which highlighted the number of domestic flights between Scotland and London used by investment firms.Neal Weston, of the British Air Transport Association, said: "The financial services industry itself relies so heavily on aviation to conduct its business, and we are sad to see it turn its back on airlines. The government has confirmed that aviation industry covers its own environmental costs and that it is worth £11 billion to the UK economy."Dan Welch, a writer for Ethical Consumer magazine, welcomed Standard Life's move and said other big firms might consider similar policies.But he added that not all airlines were equally to blame."There is a debate to be had here," he said. "We prefer schemes which make a distinction between private charter airlines, where emissions per passenger are much higher, and airlines which carry lots of economy-class passengers and are therefore less inefficient."Aviation accounts for 2 per cent of global carbon emissions and 13 per cent of emissions in the UK.
Police to launch investigation into detective's methods in Masters ...
Fort Collins police on Tuesday said they will launch an internal perjury and wiretapping investigation into Lt. Jim Broderick, the department's Internal Affairs supervisor. Broderick, who is out of state and unavailable for comment, is already under investigation by the Weld County District Attorney for the same allegations. They were made by defense attorneys for Timothy Masters, who was released from a life sentence Tuesday morning after DNA testing revealed a new suspect. .
'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb warns traders to look out for the ...
Market meltdowns that scorch investors, 100-year floods that occur every 10 years and terrorist attacks such as 9/11.
Nassim Taleb, an author, lecturer and big thinker, calls such unforeseen events "black swans," borrowing from a tale about 17th Century European seafarers who landed on Australia and, much to their surprise, learned that not all swans were white.
Such shocks occur, Taleb says, because even experts fail to consider the likelihood of extreme scenarios. That's why his theory, outlined in his book, "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable," is so intriguing to Chicago's trading community, which seeks to lessen risk by exchanging futures and options. His ideas have earned him cachet with investment bankers as well as rock 'n' rollers.
Firm waited to recall rancid baby food
Umm... Toronto from Canada writes: Gavin, you don't have kids, do you? To tell you the truth, most baby food smells absolutely disgusting to me! Perhaps not rancid, but certainly not good. The real question is this: Why did My Organic Baby Foods not properly test the liners prior to putting them on the market? What else do they not adequately test?
I'm still waiting for all the stay at home moms to chirp in and tell the world how great they are because they make their own baby food from oats grown in their living room using only their own breast milk to mix it with... Posted 29/01/08 at 10:38 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
Shining a light on winter depression
Symptoms include sleepiness, carbohydrate cravings and low moods, and typically lift when the light returns in the spring. After years of controversy, the psychiatric establishment is acknowledging that exposure to bright light alleviates these winter symptoms. But now, as stores stock more kinds of special lamps to treat the condition, research is piling up that indicates the most effective kind is a light box emitting at 10,000 lux, a measure of light intensity. A Canadian study found last year that this type of light therapy worked just as well as the anti-depressant drug Prozac, or fluoxetine. The study, conducted over three years, was led by two of the world's experts on winter depression, University of British Columbia psychiatrist Raymond Lam and University of Toronto psychiatrist Anthony Levitt.
Bonds fall on January U.S. consumer price jump
Bonds are selling off because the Consumer Price Index report accentuated the fact that the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates while inflation remains sticky above 'comfort levels,'" said Josh Stiles, senior bond strategist at IDEAglobal in New York. .
Michael Lee-Chin: A portfolio of sun, sand and sea
Perhaps the writer is unfamilar with a major scam that one of Mr Lee-Chin's employees at the Berkshire office in Victoria used to steal many millions from unsuspecting investors. Berkshire appears to be denying responsibility for their Vice President's actions.
This is not something that would support the rosy report in McLean's Posted 27/10/07 at 3:53 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
TSX joins global market rout
Bush for a $145 billion US economic stimulus package. Also weighing on the benchmark Canadian stock index Monday was a big drop in the price of oil. The price of Brent crude fell $1.72 US to end at $87.51 US a barrel. Gold prices also plunged $14.80 to $867.45 US an ounce. The TSX endured a four-day sell-off last week that sliced 961 points from the benchmark index. The 6.6 per cent drop in the index last week was its worst weekly performance since 2000. "This isn't a 'panic', but in a thin market, with the U.S. closed for a holiday, the scale of the decline today may have been exacerbated by illiquidity — simply not enough bargain hunters around," said CIBC World Markets senior economist Avery Shenfeld. "Still, add in the decline last week, and its clear that equity investors are, if not panicky, very worried," he said.
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