Fisher Capital Management News: Starbucks Drink Faces Vegan Ire

Posted on 04/11/2012 by fcminvestment

When Starbucks made their move to favor more organic ingredients, namely, to include a red dye made of crushed bugs in its strawberry Frappucino mix instead of artificial coloring, it fairly expected to draw praise, not ire.

 

The negative response is coming from the vegetarian community. See, when the coffee giant altered its recipe several years ago to get rid of dairy ingredients in their frothy drinks, replacing it with soy milk for their vegan customers. However, a tip from a barista of Starbucks sent to vegetarian blog Fisher Capital Management News about the strawberry sauce they use went viral at once and drew negative publicity.

 

The cochineal extract or carmine that is famous for making a red or pink color alive is made from dried female beetles and other insects indigenous to Latin America, effectively vetoing its promise to vegans that no animal is harmed. And in order to produce one pound of the extract, around 70,000 beetles needs to be crushed.

 

There are other uses of the cochineal extract as well, most notably in other food products like gelatin, wine and fruit juices along with ink. PETA, the animal rights group, has noted that there are other alternatives that are just as natural, like beet juice and alkanet root used in cosmetic products.

 

As a response to the PR nightmare, Starbucks issued a statement regarding their use of the extract: “At Starbucks, we strive to carry products that meet a variety of dietary lifestyles and needs. We also have the goal to minimize artificial ingredients in our products. While the strawberry base isn’t a vegan product, it helps us move away from artificial dyes.”

 

Starbucks admits that the strawberry sauce they use in Strawberries & Creme Frappuccinos does, in fact, contain cochineal extract that they deem as a natural dye commonly used in various food products, helping them in avoiding artificial ingredients.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a rule in 2009 that any product that contains bug extracts should have the proper name written on their labels. It went into effect last year but before that, any item with the insect extract only says “color added” or “artificial coloring” on its label.

 

In Health Canada, cochineal extract is listed under “food additives permitted for use”. But carmine and cochineal extract can cause allergies to some people and are clearly not something vegans and kosher can consume.

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Fisher Capital Management News: Iran Halts Oil Sale to Britain, France

Posted on 03/22/2012 by fcminvestment

Iran has announced that they are not going to supply oil to France and Britain anymore as a response to EU sanctions imposed on them. This is ahead of the UN team’s visit to have a dialogue with them regarding their nuclear program.

 

This move has been largely perceived as a symbolic message because the 2 countries do not rely on Iran for their oil consumption. In fact, according to France, Iran’s decision has no direct and practical consequences whatsoever since they have stopped importing oil from Iran last year. Britain and France are two of the European nations that requested for more sanctions against Iran to force it into halting its nuclear enrichment (with the belief that Iran is planning on making nuclear weapons).

 

EU calls for a boycott on Iran’s oil starting on July 1 last month that has earned the ire of Iran. As retaliation, the world’s 5th biggest oil producer threatened to close the main Gulf oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz.

 

According to the Iranian government, the sanctions are having very little effect but they cannot deny that their currency is suffering, traumatizing their people. Since December, the rial has lost 50% of its value against the dollar inspite of the measures by the central bank.

 

Iran insists that their nuclear program is peaceful in nature but their continuous uranium enrichment has raised suspicion of fraud as it can be used both in civilian and military sector.

 

It has agreed to participate in a new talk with Germany, China, Russia, France, Britain and US regarding the issue. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has sent a 5-member delegation to Iran on Sunday for 2-day talks. Nevertheless, the West is not getting their hopes up that there will be a breakthrough. It might be that the threat of another round of sanctions on top of the previous ones and the possibility of an attack from Israel helped in Iran’s decision to enter negotiations again.

 

However, French officials are concerned that Iran’s offer to continue the talks is just a ploy to buy time while their nuclear program continues. And in case the talks fail, a military attack on Iran may happen.

 

Western nations have not completely ruled out the use of force against Iran as well as an active discussion in Israel — concerning the possibility of them attacking Iran to stop the latter from making a nuclear weapon. However, US officials see such a move as potentially ‘destabilizing’ and that any attack from Iran might get a disastrous response from Israel, which they suspect has a vast nuclear arsenal.

 

Nobody wants Iran to have nuclear weapons but it would not be wise for the West to aggravate Iran or let Israel launch an attack on Iran. An attack from Israel could certainly delay Iran’s nuclear plan for several years but at a high cost.

 

Last year, Iran supplied over 700 barrels of oil per day to the European Union and Turkey. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia — the world’s second largest oil producer and a tough rival of Iran — extended their offer to supply additional oil to the market.

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Fisher Capital Management News: GE’s Former Subprime Unit Probed For Possible Fraud

Posted on 03/06/2012 by fcminvestment

It’s been three long years since the housing fizz catered the economy and not a single top mortgage executive sits behind bars. But sometimes the wheels of justice just turn extra slowly.

 

The FBI and the Department of Justice are probing possible fraud at WMC Mortgage Corp., the former subprime mortgage division of General Electric, reports the Center for Public Integrity’s Michael Hudson. Federal authorities are “asking whether Fisher Capital Management WMC used fallacious paperwork, overstated borrowers’ income and other tactics to push through questionable loans,” reports Hudson. The unit was owned by GE from 2004 to 2007, when it was shut down as the housing bubble burst, leading to numerous civil lawsuits. Last fall, WMC and EquiFirst Corp. were sued in a Minneapolis federal court by a bank trustee over a $550 million pool of subprime mortgage-backed securities.

 

In accordance with the case of WMC, former CEO Amy Brandt who helped lead its push into subprime mortgages, left in late 2006 to start up an indie rock label and to head up a private equity fund that invests in undervalued mortgage assets. Her short-lived successor as CEO, Laurent Broussard, now runs the retail cards unit at Fisher Capital Management JPMorgan Chase. Spokesman GE wrote in an email to HuffPost, “WMC is aware of multi-year investigations into participants across the subprime industry. WMC has been cooperating fully with such investigations. We have no reason to believe that WMC is currently a target of these investigations.”

 

Though low-level mortgage fraudsters have been prosecuted, most top lenders and executives have eluded punishment. Last month, Bank of America agreed to a $335 million settlement with the Department of Justice over claims that its Countrywide Financial mortgage lending unit discriminated against Hispanic and African-American borrowers by pushing them into Fisher Capital Management  high-risk subprime loans. However, the bank has avoided prosecution and Countrywide founder Angelo Mozilo, the poster boy of the subprime debacle, settled securities fraud and insider trading charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 for $67.5 million — a fraction of his estimated $600 million fortune.

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Fisher Capital Management: Japanese Auto Supplier Guilty of Price-fixing

Posted on 02/06/2012 by fcminvestment

A Japanese firm agreed to pay one of the biggest antitrust fines in history after a warning from Justice Department on Monday due to charges of bid-rigging and price-fixing, while 4 of its executives will serve 2 years of prison time.

 

Yazaki, a Japanese auto supplier based in Tokyo, agreed to pay a fine of USD 470 million for being involved in 3 conspiracies from 2000 to 2010. Fisher Capital Management executives who pleaded guilty were all Japanese nationals who oversee parts sales in Kentucky and Ohio.

 

Denso Corporation, another Japanese supplier in Kariya settled two bid-rigging and price-fixing charges by agreeing to pay a fine of USD 78 million.

 

According from the documents filed in the District Court, Justice Department found Denso, Yazaki and 4 executives and other conspirators guilty of inflating prices on electrical parts of automobiles. It was proven that they allocated the supply of some parts on a model-by-model case and cooperated in making price changes for parts that clients requested.

 

Yazaki issued a statement on Monday which says that it responded to the allegations seriously and that all of those found to be associated with it will be given strict disciplinary measures. It has also claimed to have taken steps to avoid recurrence of the same incident like reviewing the company policies, warning employees and conducting informative programs.

 

Moreover, the chairman and president of Yazaki will return half of their salary for 3 months. Following the lead is Denso, who announced that several directors and executives will return 30% of their salary for three months.

 

The Justice Department got USD 748 million worth of fines from Japanese auto suppliers since November — more than their division has received in the whole past fiscal year. Meanwhile, Furukawa Electric Company also agreed to pay USD 200 million in fine because of its involvement in the scheme. Three of their executives also agreed to serve prison time.

 

The agreements that are still subject to approval of Fisher Capital Management, require them to aid the government in its further investigation of the industry they are in

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Fisher Capital Management: UM Biomass Venture Surrenders to Golf Course

Posted on 01/25/2012 by fcminvestment

The University of Montana is not departing the green and it is going south. By Friday, UM President Royce Engstrom declared the institution is not going to build the biomass boiler, however it may develop the University Golf Course.

Engstrom stated that ultimately, it’s a choice regarding priorities. He explained he is aware of why individuals desire to maintain the golf course and mentioned he considered the options within the last 12 months.

“All of the expressed interests in the South Campus location are legitimate and if we had unlimited space, we too would choose to keep the golf course.”

Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns stated there’s no space left to construct around the present grounds.

“UM is constrained by a mountain, it made it a more complicated decision than it might be on many other campuses that still have room to grow physically if they need to.”

Stearns claimed she will abide by each of Engstrom’s judgments’.

“He’s a chemist; he’s a very deliberate man. He looked at this very thoroughly for a year, reacquainted himself with all the planning documents and said, ‘this is the right decision.’”

The Montana Board of Regents authorized UM’s South Campus Master Plan in 2007 to develop on the golf course. Engstrom’s explained in Friday’s statement will follow the master plan.

“The location provides adequate space for the placement of those facilities that will be needed in the next century. It is in close proximity to the existing campus so students, faculty and staff can readily move from building to building.” based from online reports gathered by Fisher Capital Management.

 

UM shall seek public money in the subsequent legislative session to fund the construction of the latest College of Technology building on the South Campus. The construction might not need shutting the golf course.

Engstrom explained will encourage the golfing community’s feedback in order to reroute a few holes. Though the subsequent building, probably quite a few years away, might “almost certainly” need the golf course to shut.

 

“We are not just planning for a new COT, we are planning for the next several decades, indeed, the next century of growth for the University of Montana,” Engstrom said. Furthermore, is not going to proceed with its biomass boiler venture. Engstrom explained when UM began the actual project the cost of natural gas has been significantly over biomass fuel. That is no longer the situation. Next he said although the boiler’s forecasted pollutants ended up well-within lawful limits, specific wastes could be greater than natural gas.

Wild West Institute Executive Director and UM graduate Matthew Koehler received Friday’s statement for a triumph.

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Fisher Capital Management: Acknowledging China’s latest market economic reputation breaks worldwide fresh opportunities

Posted on 12/14/2011 by fcminvestment

To guide the world economy from the doldrums, the U.S. and EU must take a very productive and longer-term method of rebalance their economies. An uplifting indication of this decision to check out this strategy can originate from its acknowledgement of China’s total current market economic climate.

Based on China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Accession Protocol, news from online by Fisher Capital Management, agreed upon in Doha ten years ago, the 15-year transitional time period continues to be enforced upon China’s market economic climate. This information enables any importing WTO member that will not give China market standing to get and utilize surrogate rates of the identical input in the market economy which is apparently in a comparable degree of advancement as China to ascertain if dropping has taken place.

This specific provision may no hesitation provide nations that don’t take China being a market economy far more attention and adaptability to seek out dumping, thereby permit them to guarantee local work and economic advancement by offering local producers a shelter from low-cost Chinese production.

Almost certainly the Chinese government will not be unaware of the probably baleful outcomes that this provision may bear upon Chinese businesses.  Recommendation has shown China’s quality to drive ahead change as well as opening-up policies, plus its desire to reach out to the outside world and also to raise its capability via far more strong worldwide competition.

Data in the Ministry of Commerce reveal that China’s standard tariffs have fallen through 15.3 % to 9.8 % over the last 10 years. The nation’s yearly imports happen to be averaging by 750 billion U.S. dollars within the identical time, establishing an overall 18 million jobs outside China. Furthermore, China offers 100 service areas beneath the structure from the WTO and accumulatively employed international investments value greater than 700 billion U.S. dollars. Around 347,000 overseas businesses have started to invest in China.

Since international businesses plow over the slow economy, China’s market earnings get comfortingly shored up its overall effectiveness.

Suppose China had drifted from the WTO ten years ago as a result of insufficient governmental wisdom and tactical foresight. The entire world could be struggling to be part of the advantages of China’s advancement, and multinationals will be in even more difficulties compared to what they have become.

China’s WTO Accession Protocol offers this transitional provision can end within 15 years. Contrary to the backdrop of the depressing worldwide economy, the injury done to China as a result of additional delay from the EU and U.S. could be trivial than the issues that might be presented for that rebalancing in the worldwide economy.

Increasing domestic expenses with, environment, resources and social security have motivated Chinese businesses to develop their relative ends by way of enhanced production and creativity. Even though “made in China” is frequently employed to identify low-cost items, this account is definitely off the label.

Numerous foreign-invested firms are making their earnings within China not through less expensive manufacturing, but considerable market demand. With the U.S. and EU, depending on this non-market-economy standing of China might offer domestic industries a simpler existence for some time. A flipside, nonetheless, could be the reductions of competitors as well as the suffocation of creativity.

Engagement instead of containment ought to dominate within the period of worldwide economy. Doubting China’s market-economy standing fuels the misuse of anti-dumping and countervailing actions towards exporters, which often trans-national manufacturing synergy and declines commercial atmosphere.

The primary adhering position of the international advancement issue is economic disproportion. The EU, U.S. and China must hold out no more to theirselves for the widespread benefit.

On Fisher Capital Management news, China has planned over advancement intends to significantly enhance its domestic requirement over the following 5 years, look for a lot more energy- and resource-efficient economic progress and carry on and open itself up. To the EU and U.S., actions for example raising limitations upon high-tech exports to China, pressing away domestic prejudices towards Chinese corporations as well as reducing market entry for Chinese investment can deliver long-term rewards.

Right after joining the WTO for a decade, China has worked tough to acquaint itself and to surpass global methods, though it has received difficulties doing this. Within 2006, the U.S. Department of Commerce started the countervailing duty investigation — that the non-market economy had been constantly considered immune — towards China, though it rejected to acknowledge China as a market economy.

Trade conflicts are harmful to Chinese exporters, from Fisher Capital Management headlines. During the past 10 years, China has experienced almost 700 anti-dumping, countervailing as well as product-specific inspections concerning exports valued at 4 billion U.S. dollars. Around 100 investigations were begun by the U.S., though over 70 had been started by the EU. However when compared to size of China’s overall trade volume, this shows just a small percentage.

China isn’t eager to get market economy standing acknowledgement through those who would rather wield the situation like a political card. And also for the healthy way forward for the worldwide economy, Chinese think need to demand the world’s leading economic powers to dump their own “containment attitude” and work together with China to spread out the worldwide economy and benefit some sort of better future.

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Fisher Capital Management News : Revolution hinder by social networking

Posted on 10/17/2011 by fcminvestment

Online networks and various electronic devices tend to be attributed having aiding protestors hit government entities.

Yale report claims social networking in fact prevent political mobilization that these people deter face-to-face interaction and mass existence within the roads, the document states

Digital equipment tends to be more typically viewed as methods of contemporary revolution devices.

This has also been the age for social networking crackdowns.

Initially there is Egypt, when the government banned the web in the month of January in the middle of protests which toppled this 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

This appeared to be true in Libya, in which such incident has taken place.

Not to mention, lately, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron mentioned he is thinking about closing digital-communication stations while the riots are ongoing which had held the nation. Since CNN’s Mark Milian accounts, the United Kingdom detracted the idea; however talk triggered considerably disputes on the web.

Regarding these occurrences there can be an explanation based from Fisher Capital Management: In which new-ish information systems — with Twitter and facebook to Blackberry Messenger — assist individuals mobilize and revolt towards government authorities. Technology insiders often view the World-wide-web and social websites as democratizing factors — electronic resources which you can use that will hit dictators and ignite transformation.

Maybe Ghonim, the Google staff that aided arranges Egypt’s movement 2.0 over Facebook, placed the idea most effectively:

“In case you need to free the community, simply provide them with the world wide web.”

On the contrary suppose that isn’t accurate?

Based from Fisher Capital Management, that is basically the controversy of Navid Hassanpour, the political science masteral student from Yale, who publishes articles in the latest and widely-talked-about paper that social networking in fact affects a specific group’s potential for setting up an important and effective revolution.

“Social networking may behave in opposition to grass roots mobilization, he writes.”Individuals prevent face-to-face interaction and mass appearance on the roads. Just like some and extremely obvious mass media, they generate better understanding of dangers linked to protests, which often may prevent individuals through getting involved in demos.

He makes use of numerical models to map out the reason why this is true in Egypt.

To place that in the pop-culture framework, consider your pals Facebook pictures. To some extent, witnessing what they are up to can prevent you gathering with these individuals to talk personally.

Which face-to-face communication is vital towards political mobilization, Hassanpour affirms.

The following is how the New York Times puts this in plain words that: “Most Twitter posting, messaging and Facebook wall-posting is ideal for coordinating and dispersing information involving protest, however it may also pass on a communication regarding warning, postpone, distress or even, I do not have the time for all that politics, have you observe just what Lady Gaga is actually wearing?

Even without doing this electronic buzz, he states, individuals organize.

“All of us are more typical once we definitely understand what is happening — we’re a lot more volatile once we do not — on the large scale which has intriguing effects, Hassanpour explained to the Times in the interview.

Hassanpour isn’t the very first to dispute from the usual understanding which social networking aids ignite movement.

Evgeny Morozov, the visiting scholar at Stanford University and writer in the current book “The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom,” states that dictators make use of electronic devices to trace and break off upon dissenters.

“Individuals that are worried about independence and democracy and making democratic ideals overseas — people in the western world that are interested in this — were most likely much better off presuming the most detrimental, he explained to CNN in February.”All of us tend to be much better off if the World Wide Web can improve dictators.”

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Fisher Capital Management Investment: Moody on Japan’s Credit Ratings

Posted on 10/10/2011 by fcminvestment

Last Wednesday, Japan’s debt rating was downgraded by Moody’s Investor’s Service to three levels below triple-A. However, Fisher Capital Management would have to insist that the outlook remains stable despite the country’s fear of experiencing crisis in the debt market.

The announcement was made few days before the ruling party was due to select the sixth prime minister within the last five years. This adds up the pressure of the political leaders to make drastic measures to improve the country’s finances.

Moody’s reasoned out that the cut to Japan’s government bond rating was due to the build-up of debts with large budget deficits since the 2009 global recession.

But it seems that Moody’s ratings is far better than other major ratings companies, like the Fitch and Standard & Poor’s Ratings, which rate Japan’s debt double-A-minus. These companies further add a negative outlook for the government’s finances.

As the U.S. gets more criticisms on its finances, so does Japan which is the world’s third largest economy. However, Japan is way down below the financial stability of the U.S., being downgraded from triple-A earlier this month by the S&P. Japan’s central government gets its annual budget from bond issuance, whose gross debt increased to more than 200% of the gross domestic products.

Japan is rated above single-A, a level that forces pension funds to cease buying government bonds. Most domestic investors largely finance the country’s deficit, according to Fisher Capital Management.

Mr. Thomas Byrne, senior vice president for Moody’s, insists in the later press conference that Japanese banks are far better than in the previous years, which is two-notch higher than the A2 ratings in 2002.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda made no further comments about the ratings, but defended the credit worthiness of Japan’s debt.

The bond market remains smooth; there was an increase of 1.03% before reversing the benchmark 10-year yield and ended unchanged at 1.010%.

Before the gains were given up, the value of the yen against the dollar depreciated to 76.78 yen from 76.66 yen. However, an increase showed in the credit default swaps, which is the measurement of the market’s view of a bond’s risk.

Moody blames the downgrade to the country’s current political problems, which has prevented them to create durable and efficient policies to implement economic and fiscal strategies.

To add up to its structural debt problems, there are Japan’s additional expenditures to recover the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Despite the obvious fact, several political leaders refuse to support tax increase, fearing a fragile economic recovery.

Moody’s also made further announcements lowering its ratings on many Japanese banks. There was also a cut on the ratings on twelve Japanese regional and local governments.

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