Rich CriminalsBoko Haram Is 7th Richest Terrorist Group In The World

The Boko Haram sect has been named as the 7th richest terror gang in the world.

Abubakar Shekau's Boko Haram sect is rich

The question of who are the real sponsors of the dreaded terrorist gang in Nigeria, Boko Haram, will not go away in a hurry as a recent report has been placed the Islamiist insurgents as the 7th wealthiest terrorist organization in the world.

According to the report in the current edition of The Richest has it that the terror group is so rich that it will be difficult for the country to dislodge them as they have lots of rich and powerful sponsors, coupled with money they receive as ransom for people they kidnap between 2006 and 2011.
The report put the it this way:

The Boko Haram are a Nigerian terrorist group who fight to overthrow the Nigerian government in order to implement an Islamist regime. They are ranked in 7th position of the richest terror gangs in the world.

They have bombed UN headquarters and most recently abducted over 200 Nigerian school girls in defence of their namesake, “Western Education is Sin”.

Since they’ve remained off the radar since their recent attacks, it’s unclear just how much money they make from their numerous kidnappings and the subsequent ransoms they procure.

It has been determined, however, that between 2006-2011, they collected over $70 million. Apart from these monies, they get millions of dollars from their various sponsors within and outside Nigeria.

The only groups richer than the Boko Haram are:
1. The first on the list is the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with the so-to-say financial benefit received from looted weapons and bank robberies corresponding $2 billion.
2. It is followed by Irish Republican Army (IRA) with over $450 million procured through money laundering.
3. The Taliban of Afghanistan occupies the third place with the sum of $400 million received every year by means of expansive drug trade, human trafficking, extortion, plus donations from foreign organisations that support their ill-gotten empire.
4. Al-Qaeda, being one of the most feared and deadliest terrorist groups in the world, was ranked 4th, with annual $100 million.
5. The Marxist guerrilla group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia-People’s Army, (FARC) setting fear among Colombia residents rakes in an estimated sum of $80-$350 million.
6. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba from Pakistan makes $100 million a year.
So who are the sponsors of Boko Haram?

Photo of the Day!Petite is the New Sexy : The Stylish Chidinma

It's Kedike... Who doesn't love a pretty petite woman?

Chidinma Ekile

Medicine to Terrorism!Twins Set to Train as Doctors Now Training to be Killers in Syria

The above pictured teenage girls who always dreamt of studying medicine are reportedly in Syria, training to be killers.

Just like every typical teenager, the above pictured pair of intelligent Somali-British twins yearned to train as doctors, the wish has disappeared into thin air as they are reportedly training to be killers in Syria.
The twins Salma and Zahra Halane with 28 GCSEs, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border.

According to their Friends, the twins had appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping at Primark – but they are now feared to be training for battle.
Last night a rebel fighter boasted that he was teaching girls as young as 16 how to fight. Yilmaz, a Dutch national who has been in Syria for two years, told Sky News: ‘It’s extremely easy to get here. People go on holiday ... they end up in Syria.’
People who know them well, find it difficult to understand their disappearance. The twins’ parents raised alarm last month, after finding the girls’ beds empty and their passports and clothes missing.

Obama: Paid Leave Basic Need, Not Bonus

d the goal of legislation introduced by lawmakers to change that, but it has stalled in Congress.

"There is only one developed country in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave, and that is us," Obama said. "And that is not the list you want to be on — on your lonesome. It's time to change that."
He also directed federal agencies to expand flexible work arrangements where possible, and Obama chief of staff Dennis McDonough said in a staff memo that includes the White House — a hard-charging environment where long hours are the norm. "I know how hard each of you works to support the president and the nation. Please know that we'll be looking for ways to better support you as well," McDonough wrote.
Obama took four working parents out to lunch at Chipotle before his speech and after met with business leaders with family-friendly policies. He urged Congress to pass legislation requiring employers to accommodate pregnant employees so they can continue to perform their jobs.
The summit included a surprise appearance by a celebrity to echo Obama's criticism of "Mad Men" policies in today's workplace. Christina Hendricks, who plays single mom Joan on the AMC dramatization of a 1960s ad firm, said, "In the 21st century the only place for a story like Joan's should be on TV."

Mrs. Obama closed the summit by encouraging young women not to short-change themselves in career negotiations. And she said she hopes to see a woman in the country's top job as president soon.

"That should happen as soon as possible," she said. "We have some options, don't we?"

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Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson contributed to this report.

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Obama to award Medal of Honor to U.S. ex-paratrooper Pitts

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will award former Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for heroism, on July 21 for gallantry during one of the bloodiest battles of the Afghan war, the White House said on Monday.
Pitts, of Nashua, New Hampshire, will be the ninth living recipient of the Medal of Honor for fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Defense Department said.
Pitts is set to receive the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony for his actions as a forward observer during a July 13, 2008, battle at Wanat, a village in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province.
He was serving with the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rdAirborne Brigade, at Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler when the post was attacked by Taliban fighters who broke through U.S. lines, the Pentagon said.
Pitts was at an observation post that was hit with small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, officials said. Pitts and six other paratroopers were wounded in the initial enemy fire, the Pentagon said.
Although he had grenade shrapnel in both legs and his left arm, he fought for more than an hour to defend his position, officials said.
Pitts' toughness and ability to communicate with officers under fire was crucial to thwarting enemy efforts to take the outpost, the Pentagon said. Capturing the post would have given the Taliban high ground overlooking the base, it added.
Nine soldiers were killed in the fighting and 27 wounded, the U.S. military said. U.S. and Afghan forces withdrew from the base two days later, and the U.S. combat deaths were the most in a single battle since 2005.

An Army review led to recommendations to discipline three officers in the battalion and brigade. The officers were exonerated after an appeal and further review, the Army said in 2010.

Pitts left the Army in October 2009 after being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, officials said. He works in business development for the computer software industry, the Defense Department said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Will Dunham)

Rebels Agree to Abide by Cease-fire in Ukraine

t from the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly threw his weight behind Kiev's peace overtures and urged the separatists to halt fire.

Ukraine's security services confirmed on Monday evening that militia strikes in the two heavily-Russified industrial regions that have been at the heart of the insurgency came to an abrupt halt in the late afternoon.
The self-proclaimed prime minister of Donetsk said his side's ceasefire would match the one earlier ordered by President Petro Poroshenko and last until Friday morning.
"In response to the ceasefire declared by Kiev, we pledge to also halt fire on our part. This ceasefire will last until June 27," Oleksandr Borodai told Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency in Donetsk.
"We hope that during the period in which both sides halt fire, we will be able to agree and begin consultations about holding negotiations about a peaceful settlement to the conflict," he told Russian state television in separate comments.
The White House said Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Monday that Russia would face new sanctions if it fails to stop the flow of weapons into Ukraine.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama used the call to drive home consistent US and Western warnings on Ukraine -- that Russia must stop supporting separatists in the east of the country and halt the flow of weapons across the border.
"Though we believe a diplomatic solution is still possible, Russia will face additional costs if we do not see concrete actions to de-escalate the situation," Earnest stressed.
The Kremlin said only that Putin "stressed that a genuine cessation of fighting and the start of direct talks between the warring sides would have the highest priority for the normalisation of the situation."
While Obama spoke to Putin, US Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Poroshenko for the second time in as many days, and told him Washington would "continue to strongly support" his peace plan.
- 'Tanks being readied' -
Meanwhile, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Washington had new information that tanks were being readied at a site in southwestern Russia to be sent into eastern Ukraine.
Washington said last week that a number of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers had already made the trip across the border.
The rebel's ceasefire announcement delivered a desperately-needed boost to Poroshenko two weeks into a presidency that is scrambling to stamp out both a deadly uprising and an economic meltdown that has been compounded by a cut in Russian gas deliveries last week.
But they also appear to confirm Putin's decisive say in the insurgents' actions -- a point disputed by the Kremlin, and one that appeared in doubt when the two separatist regions declared independence despite being urged by Russia not to do so in May.
Poroshenko has been pressing world leaders to follow through with their threat to unleash devastating economic sanctions against Russia should Putin fail to immediately end his perceived military and diplomatic backing for the insurgency.
The new Kiev leader will also sign a historic EU trade pact on Friday that crowns his May 25 election promise to make the decisive move westward -- one strongly resisted by Russia, and that lies at the heart of the current crisis.
The European Union warned after a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday that it expected to see action from Putin "within days".
Some analysts believe Putin is still smarting from the sudden loss of an ally in Kiev -- ousted by pro-EU protesters in February -- who could have brought Ukraine into a new alliance of post-Soviet nations being assembled by the Russian leader.
The subsequent flow of heavy weapons and gunmen across the porous border into eastern Ukraine seem to indicate that the Kremlin is -- at the very least -- turning a blind eye to local Russian officials and military commanders' efforts to support the insurgents.

And Putin's order on Saturday for Russian forces from the Volga to western Siberia to conduct snap military drills also suggests that he wants to keep Poroshenko's government unsettled in order to maintain influence in the Russified southeast.

But the Kremlin chief seems equally determined to avoid steps that could trigger broader sanctions and deal a further blow to a Russian economy that is already teetering on the edge of a recession.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a Naturalization Ceremony at the National Archives …

By Annika McGinnis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Michelle Obama will not go into politics after leaving the White House, she said on Monday, dismissing rumors she might follow in the footsteps of predecessor Hillary Clinton and run for the Senate after her husband leaves office.

At an event to promote family-friendly workplace policies, the wife of President Barack Obama was asked whether her next move would be political.

“No, it will not be political. It definitely will not be. It will be mission-based, service-focused,” Mrs. Obama told ABC newscaster Robin Roberts.

Her comment may have been aimed at shutting down recent speculation that Mrs. Obama was mulling a future run for the U.S. Senate. President Obama's term in the White House ends in early 2017.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 just as her husband, President Bill Clinton, was finishing his second term. She went on to become U.S. secretary of state under Obama after losing to him in a run to become the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.
During her time as first lady, Michelle Obama spearheaded a movement to make school lunches healthier, a move for which she has come under recent fire from congressional Republicans.

Before her husband went into politics, Obama worked as an attorney, director of a “public allies” leadership-training group in Chicago and as director for community affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

The White House and South Lawn is viewed on April 6, 2011 in Washington, DC. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a secret lunch with President Barack Obama on Thursday, May 29, 2014 — an unannounced meeting sure to fuel extensive speculation at a time when she's widely expected to seek his job in 2016. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a secret lunch with President Barack Obama on Thursday — an unannounced meeting sure to fuel extensive speculation at a time when she's widely expected to seek his job in 2016.
“The president enjoyed an informal, private lunch with Secretary Clinton at the White House this afternoon," a White House official told Yahoo News on condition of anonymity.

The get-together was not on Obama's public schedule. Word of the lunch emerged thanks to People Magazine, which tweeted a photograph of its Washington bureau chief, veteran political reporter Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, standing with Clinton, apparently at the former first lady's home in Washington.

Pressure builds on Obama to fire VA secretary

Obama planned a morning meeting with the retired four-star general just two days after a scathing internal report found broad and deep-seated problems in the sprawling health care system, which provides medical care to about 6.5 million veterans annually. The report prompted loud calls for Shinseki to resign from congressional Republicans and Democrats.
In a speech, Shinseki said Friday that the findings of the report were "totally unacceptable" and a "breach of trust" that he found irresponsible and indefensible. He announced a series of steps, including the ouster of senior officials at the troubled Phoenix health care facility, the initial focus on the investigation.
He concurred with the report's conclusion that the problems extended throughout the 1,700 health care facilities nationwide, and said that "I was too trusting of some" in the VA system.
Treatment delays have been documented in investigative reports, and there also are allegations that there have been as many as 40 deaths in connection with the Phoenix facility.
Shinseki said Friday the last several weeks have been "challenging," but that his agency takes caring for veterans seriously.
"I can't explain the lack of integrity," he told a homeless veterans group. "I will not defend it because it is not defensible." The beleaguered Cabinet officer got a standing ovation and loud applause.
Obama has been under pressure to fire Shinseki, with an increasing number of Republicans and politically vulnerable Democrats pressing for new leadership at the VA.
"I'll have a serious conversation with him about whether he thinks he is prepared and has the capacity to take on the job of fixing it. I don't want any veteran to not be getting the kind of services they deserved," the president in an interview airing Friday on the television talk show "Live! With Kelly and Michael."
A clip from the interview was aired Friday on ABC's Good Morning America.
An inspector general's report found that about 1,700 veterans in need of care were "at risk of being lost or forgotten" after being kept off an official waiting list.

The report confirmed earlier allegations of excessive waiting times for care in Phoenix, with an average 115-day wait for a first appointment for those on the waiting list — nearly five times as long as the 24-day average the hospital had reported.

Kim & Kanye’s Wedding Kiss Photo Breaks Instagram Record

Posted on Friday, May 30th, 2014 at 3:06
KIMYE

Kimye has made history! Mr and Mrs West‘s wedding photo shown above, has the highest number of likes in Instagram’s history. The photo has almost 2 million likes.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’s photo previously held the record for most photo views back in January with 1.82 million likes:

Ukraine to push on with army offensive, row grows over Russian fighters reports

A pro-Russian rebel sniper of the Battalion Vostok takes cover behind a tree near the local administration …

By Richard Balmforth and Sabina Zawadzki

KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine's government vowed on Friday to press ahead with a military offensive against separatists, despite a deadly attack on an army helicopter, amid increasing reports that volunteer fighters from Russia were involved in rebellions in the east.
President-elect Petro Poroshenko, who scored an overwhelming first-round victory in a poll on May 25, swore to punish those responsible for the shooting down on Thursday of the helicopter near Slaviansk, which killed 14 servicemen including a general.
Acting Defence Minister Mykhilo Koval, repeating charges that Russia was carrying out "special operations" in the east of Ukraine, said on Friday that Ukrainian forces would continue with military operations in border areas "until these regions begin to live normally, until there is peace".
Ukrainian authorities have long alleged that the rebellions have been fomented by Moscow among the largely Russian-speaking population, which is especially vulnerable to cross-border propaganda hostile to Kiev's "euromaidan" revolution that overthrew Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich in February.
Reports by Ukrainian border authorities and journalists on the ground now appear to show increasing evidence of direct involvement by volunteer fighters from Russia in the rebellions that erupted two months ago in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
According to these reports, fighters may be coming into Ukraine from former hotspots in Russia and its North Caucasus fringes such as Chechnya whose own troubles in the past 20 years have spawned a proliferation of armed groups.
Ukraine's authorities say Russian border guards are doing nothing to stop fighters crossing the long land border from Russia, along with truck loads of ammunition and weapons.
In the latest such report, Ukrainian border guards said on Friday they had seized a cache of weapons including guns, machine-guns, grenade-launchers, sniper rifles and 84 boxes of live ammunition in two cars they stopped as they crossed from Russia.
A total of 13 people were detained, the border guard service said in a statement on its website.
Reuters correspondents in Donetsk, an industrial city and one of the main separatist centres, saw coffins loaded onto a vegetable truck on Thursday and driven off after being told by rebels that "volunteers" from Russia killed earlier in the week in an army offensive were being repatriated.
BODIES
An official of the Ukrainian border guard service said on Friday that bodies of slain Russian nationals were being allowed to return to Russia for humanitarian reasons.
"We don't need them to fertilise the land of Ukraine," Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the head of the border guard service, said in Kiev in reply to a journalist's question.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says weapons that could only have been brought in from Russia were found at the scene of Donetsk airport after it was cleared of rebels.
The reports have touched off again Russia-West tensions that had eased slightly after Moscow pulled back thousands of its troops from the border with Ukraine in what the United States described as a "promising sign".
The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that Secretary of State John Kerry had pressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end all Russian support for separatists and call on them to lay down their arms.
Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said Russia was clearly behind the violent unrest, though there were no immediately effective steps the West could take to stop it. Poroshenko, a 48-year-old wealthy businessman who has emerged as a national leader from six months of turmoil, will plunge into a hectic round of meetings with world leaders next week with the fate of his country on most people's minds.
He will hold talks on the crisis with U.S. President Barack Obama in Warsaw on June 3-4 when both men attend events marking Poland's emergence from communist rule.
Then later at the end of the week in France he will have the opportunity to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at an international gathering marking the "D-Day" World War Two landings in Normandy.
It was Poroshenko who voiced support for a resumption of the military drive against the separatists as soon as it became clear he had been overwhelmingly voted in as president last Sunday. In the immediate aftermath Ukrainian forces attacked rebels who seized Donetsk international airport, killing 50 of their number in fierce airstrikes.
Poroshenko, who is due to be inaugurated on June 7, vowed to punish the perpetrators of the helicopter attack.
Donetsk, an industrial hub of 1 million where strategic buildings are being held by rebels, was quiet on Friday. But the airport violence brought a subdued air to the last day of the school year when school-leavers usually celebrate in the parks with champagne and ice-cream.

Long lines were forming at the city's railway station following Monday and Tuesday's clashes as many people headed out of the city for safety reasons.

Vita, a middle-aged woman waiting with her daughter and little granddaughter for a train to Moscow, said: "We are really concerned with what is going on, I need to take away my pregnant daughter. We'll leave her with my sister in Moscow and come back to my husband who stayed at home with all our belongings."

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Donetsk and Natalya Zinets in Kiev; Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Will Waterman)

Military Repel Boko Haram Attack In Borno, Kill 33

30 May, 2014

Local

Nigerian military reportedly repelled another attack planned by Boko Haram at Kawuri village, Konduga LGA killing 31 terrorists.
The village is located 40 km away from Maiduguri, capital of the troubled Borno State mostly affected by insurgency.
In the course of the operation carried out according to The Nation 2 soldiers died.
The security source revealed following the successful attack prevention:
"They did not know that we were told by some people that they saw them coming and we prepared for them. We killed 31 and some of them ran away with bullet wound."
The residents are said to be feeling constant menace from the sect.
At the beginning of the week we reported that some locals Kawuri village repelled the attack by suspected Boko Haram members killing several insurgents.

With Gulak out in the cold...

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:00

Wonders shall never end. It was announced yesterday that Alhaji Ahmed Ali Gulak, the rambunctious Political Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan unceremoniously got the sack for reasons that were not disclosed.

Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati merely said Gulak’s appointment was terminated with immediate effect and that the president “wished him well in his future endeavours.”
How can you sack a man who has made so many enemies for himself in your behalf and then turn around and wish him well in his future endeavours? Which future endeavours? Since 2011 Gulak has attacked whoever was attackable in Nigeria. Anyone who showed less than total enthusiasm for Jonathan and his regime got the rough edges of Gulak’s tongue. Any trade union that went on strike under Jonathan’s watch; any member of the ruling PDP that showed less than total enthusiasm for Jonathan’s leadership of the party; any legislator who seeks to rein in the president, not to mention a member of an opposition party who wants to score a point against Jonathan, had to contend with Ahmed Gulak.
Even though the president has an official spokesman [Abati], an official spokesman of government [Maku] and a special “attack dog” [Doyin Okupe], Gulak outshined them all because he was ready to say things that the other three were reluctant to say. Gulak did more than engage the president’s critics and opponents on the airwaves. He engaged them in the streets as well. He floated numerous pro-Jonathan groups, of youths, women, students, traders etc. He retrieved such men as Ibrahim Mantu from obscurity and relaunched them on the wings of his pro-Jonathan groups.
From all indications that was where trouble came for Gulak. In recent days he was engaged in a battle against Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, who accused Gulak of interfering in the affairs of the Akwa Ibom PDP. A few days ago the Akwa Ibom PDP warned Gulak to concentrate on PDP affairs in his native Adamawa State, which it said needs serious help, rather than intervene in Akwa Ibom’s affairs. Ahmed Gulak took on the wrong opponent in Godswill Akpabio, the man who splintered the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Jonathan’s behalf. Now Gulak is out in the cold. Maybe he will soon cross over to APC.

...Diezani takes the fifth
The House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee was supposed to sit yesterday and commence public hearing on the scandal swirling around the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke. The allegation was that since she took over this juicy post at the start of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s acting presidency, Madam has spared no expenses out of the public till to make herself comfortable and fashionable. She goes everywhere in chartered jets and the tab is picked up by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. At the last count, it was alleged that NNPC has paid up to N10 billion to charter these planes.
The public outcry was so loud that the House ordered its public accounts committee to launch a probe. The committee headed by Solomon Adeola-Olamilekan first called upon the minister and NNPC to submit some documents for its perusal, and then appear before its public sitting to answer some questions. No documents came to the committee and, on the day it was to begin the public sitting, a court bailiff sneaked into the National Assembly and slammed some papers on Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s desk.
There were two versions of the papers’ contents. While some newspapers reported that Justice Ahmed Mohamed of an Abuja Federal High Court granted the order ex parte to stop the probe pending the determination of the motion of notice, others said he ordered the court papers to be served on the committee and the House following Diezani’s demand for an ex parte order stopping the probe.
We are not yet sure which is which. The question is, why is Madam Minister reluctant to appear before the House committee and shed light on this serious allegation against her? By running helter skelter to the court to stop the probe, she has done the moral equivalent of what Americans do when they “take the Fifth.” The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution says a person should not be forced to testify and incriminate himself. The trouble with taking the Fifth is that you create the impression in everyone’s mind that you are guilty.

Jet scandal: Diezani probe not over yet, Tambuwal says

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:02

Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke

. Court never ordered halt to probe –Judge

Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal yesterday said the investigation into the alleged N10 billion jet scandal involving Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has not been closed despite a court case over the matter.
A House committee was set to begin the probe on Monday on the chartered aircraft matter when court papers were served to the office of the speaker. Because of this, the committee decided to put the investigation on hold.
Tambuwal, who spoke during yesterday’s plenary session of the House, said: “We have not closed that investigation. When we get legal advice, we will know the next line of action.”
He spoke while ruling on a point of order raised on the propriety of the court action.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja which is sitting on the matter said it never granted an injunction stopping the House probe.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed expressed dismay over media reports yesterday that said he issued a restraining order against the House. He blamed the House for misleading the press.
Lawyer M.C. Maikyau, who appeared for the House, tendered an apology, explaining that the statement did not emanate from the Director of Legal Services.
Justice Mohammed also yesterday ordered the service of hearing notices on the lawmakers to show cause why the order to restrain them should not be made.
The petroleum minister, through her counsel Etigwe Uwa (SAN), had asked the court for an order restraining the House Committee on Public Accounts from requesting her to produce any papers “pending the hearing and determination of the motion.”
The suit has been adjourned to May 5 for hearing.

PDP receives 2 defector Reps

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:00

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday received two members of the House of Representatives, following their defection from their respective platforms.

The two lawmakers: Rep Ezenwa Onyewuchi, elected to the House on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) from Imo and Rep Charles Odedu, formally of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) announced their defections yesterday in a letter to the Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Rep Ezenwa said he decided to dump APGA for PDP after due consultations with stakeholders in his constituency as well as his constituents.
On his part, Rep Odedu said having merged to form All Progressives Congress (APC) his erstwhile party, ACN no longer exists, saying this allows him to take the decision.
He said section 68 (1)g allows him leave his platform, which pave him the way to go “back to where I belong.”
PDP has since reclaimed its control in the House after series of defections of lawmakers from different parties, including the major opposition APC to its fold.

Obasanjo is it, is it not?

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:00

I sometimes sit and ponder on the things that go on in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s mind, a man Nigerians easily admire and just as easily also condemn.

The reason is because the old General is central to virtually every aspect of today’s Nigerian national life, and not quite a few things are awfully wrong, thanks to him. The weekend’s outburst from Diepriegh Alamiesegha former governor of Bayelsa State and at the time the boss of our current President, did it for me and I became thoughtful and imaginative of what President Obasanjo’s conscience tells him these past months in Ota. It pays to think what reflections great men have when they perceive of the impact of their actions on us minions. David in scripture has this long soliloquy in which he considers the heavens, the works of God’s fingers, the moon and the stars. “What is man that you are mindful of him....that you even visit him?” David had asked of God.

With all that President Obasanjo attained in eight years of ruling Nigeria as a converted politician, “what is the Presidency of Nigeria that President Obasanjo felt so much as to determine who succeeded him and not a choice made by the people”? The simple argument is that if President Obasanjo had allowed the People’s Democratic Party to choose his successor by simple Primaries, the late Umaru Yar’adua would not have been President. If Yar’adua had not been the President, now hamstrung (even by Obasanjo’s definition), President Goodluck Jonathan would not have been on the saddle, with Obasanjo frustrating himself in a bid to remain relevant to the necessary change. In 2007, an ailing and unwilling Umaru Musa Yar’adua was made to run and win the election. Not a few people have expressed the view that the country’s face was thus deliberately scarred for former President Obasanjo’s personal whims. In his book ‘Conscience and History: My Story’, Dr. Peter Odili likely besides Bauchi State’s Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu to have won the PDP ticket, wrote that President Obasanjo singlehanded scuttled his Presidential bid and was able to even go further to switch him with Goodluck Jonathan as Yar’adua’s running mate.
Is there a better time than now, to ask President Olusegun Obasanjo what he saw in the protégés he promoted, particularly what he advanced as President Jonathan’s merit over all the potential so evident then? Should we beg to know what Obasanjo thinks of the outcome of his political engineering work?
In contemporary Nigerian political history, President Obasanjo’s thumb prints are smudged all across. From the crude derailment of his Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to Adamawa State’s installation of Governor Murtala Nyako as the Governor and the rancour and contention that Adamawa State has suffered these past 7 years. For the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the legality of Nyako’s election on the grounds that primaries as required by laws of the Party did not take place for him to emerge as running mate. Then across the border is Taraba State, where Obasanjo in Bauchi at the Rally Grounds for the release of flagbearers, rejected the Party’s nominated Danladi Baido of Taraba State, opting for just ANYBODY but Baido. The result: Danbaba Suntai, now ailing and leaving Taraba State, indeed Nigeria, with an intractable constitutional crisis.
In all these instances, the indicators are there that it is not God’s intention that any man plays God in determining what mortals seek of God for the freedom of choice that they enjoy. All those examples I listed leave me no option than to wish for the difference, had President Obasanjo allowed matters to run their course. Hear the late Chinua Achebe, Obasanjo “unfolded a gigantic scheme for staying in power beyond his tenure. He set up agencies with long titles like the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission. It soon became clear, however, that these devices were not intended to curb the crimes they enumerated but to go after people who disagree with the President, especially on his desire to extend his tenure”. The one thing left for President Goodluck Jonathan to utilise are a few readings from Obasanjo’s notes on what to do with those long named institutions to deal with dissent on 2015, which now includes Obasanjo himself. The institutions appear to have served their purpose and are now moribund and ineffective.

I find my thoughts pertinent because it seems to me that our problems in Nigeria emanate from the mortal man in our leaders attempting to tinker with what should be determined by the wishes of the people, God’s people, which democracy is. Our leaders must learn to leave choices to the people, as God willed. We have this aberration extending from this schism, in which the ruling party must win all states, and in the states, all the local government councils. And from the fear of this, State Governors shy away from conducting local government elections, opting instead for caretaker committees with which council resources are pillaged. Leaders break all rules and act with impunity, justifying actions in blatant breach of the constitution with being in power. Obasanjo had a challenge to teach democracy following the many years of Nigeria’s military experience, and his immense interaction with renowned world leaders. But alas! Did he?
Today’s Nigeria, and all its leadership challenges, hangs round Obasanjo’s neck like the albatross in the ancient mariner’s tale. Even as I follow the happenings at the ongoing National Conference, I worry that all the precepts laboriously put forward will amount to naught if the question of future leaders acting within the bounds of the constitution are not ironed out. If that is all the conference settles, it would have done a remarkably good job.

Taraba senator alleges helicopters ferrying insurgents into Wukari

Published on Thursday, 01 May 2014 05:02

Ag. Governor Garba Umar

Helicopters were seen air-dropping insurgents in thick forest around the Wukari local government area in southern Taraba State, which has been witnessing violent attacks lately, the Senate heard yesterday.

This is the second time in two months that Senators would be told of such activities by gunmen operating in the north East of Nigeria.
On March 20, Senator Abu Ibrahim from Katsina State had also informed his colleagues that locals in the areas that were attacked by armed bandits had reportedly sighted helicopters air-dropping armed fighters in forests days before attacks that left over 100 people dead in the zone.
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha representing Taraba south told the red chamber that communities around Wukari have reported suspicious movements of helicopters in the area.
Scores of people have been killed and many others displaced due to violence in Wukari and its environs in the last three months.
“I want to say that our attention has been drawn to a suspicious movements and activities around Dakar in Taraba state and it is believed also that a helicopter is dropping materials and personnel around there and we fear that this may be another Sambisa that is in the making in Taraba state,” Bwacha said.
He requested for the establishment of a military barrack around the flashpoint in Wukari to safeguard lives and property.
Bwacha also recalled that last December, Senator Alkali Jajere from Yobe state had informed them of reports about helicopters suspected to be supplying food and weapons to insurgents in the dreaded Sambisa forest in Borno state.
Ruling on the matter, Senate President David Mark said order 43 does not require any debate and promised to take up the matter with the authorities.

Plot to divide the North and dismember Nigeria

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:00

Northern Nigeria has never had it so bad. The security situation in the region has deteriorated, especially in the last three years.

On a daily basis, the blood of innocent citizens is shed in the name of Boko Haram insurgency. Properties worth billions of naira are destroyed while young schoolgirls are abducted with little or no resistance from Nigerian troops who operate in the region. We should also not forget that those states in the North-East are effectively under emergency rule!
This is the territory that Professor Abdullahi Ashafa has argued was created by “mere arbitrary line of parallels of latitude, not a true division between the North and the South.” This region, the North, had a landmass of 255,700 square miles. The Western Region called the West, and the Eastern Region called the East, collectively, were called the South which had a land mass of 76,700 square miles. This is the greatest thorn in the flesh of the political gladiators, who work tirelessly to change the perceived unfair “advantage” of the “uneducated” North, since the amalgamation of 1914. The central assignment is how to divide and destroy the advantage of the North.
It can be realistically inferred that one of the remote (and direct) causes of the military coup of January 15th, 1966 and the subsequent very destructive 3-year Nigerian Civil War is traceable to preoccupation with attempts to alter this perceived “unfair advantage” conferred on the North by the 1914 amalgamation.
Constant outbursts of denials of the existence of the “so-called North” as epitomized by Prof. Ben Nwabueze’s treaties, the sudden convocation of the “National Conference/Dialogue” – burning billions of naira in a space of just 3 months – and talk of restructuring, resource control, and fiscal federalism are all aspects of the sustained programme and efforts to effect a change in this “historical mistake”—the “gerrymandering of Lugard”, to use Nwabueze’s lexicon! Consistent with this contention, somebody must have knowingly made sure that the National Conference members from the entire North are far less than those from the South.
The persistent attempts by “renowned” academics such as Nwabueze to question the existence of a Northern Nigeria, and conclude that the “divide” has constituted “an obstacle to the creation of a nation and a national front” and, therefore, any references to a “Northern Nigeria” must be discarded, for new, smaller arrangements, confirm the seriousness of this issue, which the North, meaning the leadership of the North, must treat as serious and attend to proactively and creatively, as the late Sardauna of Sokoto did! The North, indeed, existed harmoniously as a Regional Government, with the Sardauna as the Premier, despite our numerous tribes and the different religious persuasions, inclusive of class struggles by the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) in tandem with state-creation agitations by the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) and the Bornu Youth Movement (BYM)!
Returning to Nwabueze’s lead paper presented to the president, and which has influenced significantly the president’s transformation to supporting a National Conference, you will see that the kernel of his arguments rests on the denotative meaning of the term “divide”, which he said is used as meaning not just a twofold division, a bifurcation or dualism; it connotes more than that, viz, a separation, by division, into two or more or less exclusive segments, that is to say, a dichotomy. In other words, the effect of the 1914 Amalgamation, indeed its purpose, is to dichotomize the country from its inception; to keep its northern and southern segments apart by an imaginary, artificially created boundary line, and consequently to disunite them in interest, attitude, outlook and vision. That defines the magnitude, the enormity, of the problem bequeathed to us by Lugard and his 1914 Amalgamation.
Prof. Nwabueze and others like him claim that areas such as the “Middle Belt Region” cannot claim to be part of the “true” North. Therefore, the so-called Northern Nigeria is comprised of heterogeneous entities and cannot be subsumed under the rubric of “Northern Nigeria.”
Can he apply this criterion to the Eastern Region or Eastern Nigeria, with the Ibo, the Bekwarra, the Ishibori of Ogoja, the Annang, the Kalabari, the Ekoi, the Bugumas, the Ijaw, the Ibibio, etc., which he is comfortable with as people of the Eastern Region or Eastern Nigeria? What about the federating region of Western Nigeria or Western Region domiciled by the Yoruba, the Bini, the Ijaw, the Itshekiri, the Urhobo, etc.? Are these homogenous in tribal or ethnic colouration? Do they profess one common religion?
Despite these glaring contradictions and the standing of logic on its head, Nwabueze proceeds to offer six reasons for not recognizing the existence of a “Northern Nigeria”:
“(1) the North consists, not of one tribe, but of various tribes marked apart from each other by fundamental differences in culture, customs and traditions, way of life, traditional occupation, etc, just like the tribes in the South;(2) the Hausa language, though widely used, is not indigenous to many of the tribes; (3) each of the tribes inhabits and lives in its own traditional territory under its own traditional system of rule, separate from the others;
(4) though the tribes in the “True North” (whatever that means), are adherents of the Moslem religion, with a small admixture of Christians, the Moslem religion is not the common traditional religion of the entire North, since many of the tribes in the North Central Region adhere to animism as their traditional religion, with some now converting to the Christian faith; (5) there is no common traditional heritage, cultural or otherwise, binding together the various ethnic communities inhabiting the different territorial areas comprised in the North, such as to set them apart from those in the South; and(6) Northern Nigeria is not one solid, unbroken landmass sharing physical or geographical features.”
It is arguments such as Nwabueze’s, couched in decadent pseudo-intellectualism that seem to represent the thinking of “enlightened” Nigerians outside Northern Nigeria, and even those pseudo-intellectuals living within the same geopolitical area called Northern Nigeria.
These arguments are patently hollow, incontinent, inappropriate, deceitful, and without merit, because the same conditions prescribed by Nwabueze do not hold in the other two regions—Eastern Nigeria and Western Nigeria—and yet, he, after advocating for the dismantling of Northern Nigerian unity, aggressively turns around to call for Southern Nigerian unity!
This has exposed the true intentions of the tremendous efforts being made to disunite the peoples of the North. Can a discerning true leadership from the North arise and see the true reasons why the current dispensation is encouraging all forces working tirelessly to weaken the concept of a unified Northern Nigeria? Is it not the fear of the tremendous clout a united Northern Nigeria will wield in the life of this terribly mismanaged Nigeria that is motivating interested parties to fan the embers of disunity and sponsoring violence across the whole territory of Northern Nigeria?
The Tiv and Fulani of Northern Nigeria, having lived together for over 200 years as brothers, friends, and playmates, are now sold a dummy, that they are “enemies” and must slaughter each other to defend against forceful conversion to the religion of the foreign enemy, the Fulani, we have existed under one administration for over 100 years! Do we have a leadership that can rise to this existential threat to us Northern Nigerians, as the late Sardauna would have arisen as he did in 1953, 1954, 1956, and 1957/1958?
So, should we stray from Sir Ahmadu Bello’s guiding vision of a united Northern Nigeria as succinctly put by my friend Prof. Nwabueze, quoting Sheikh Gumi “. . . the Sardauna had “pledged and dedicated himself to work untiringly for the progress and happiness of the North”, thereby creating in the different peoples of the North and inculcating in them the binding sense of solidarity and unity of the North as one entity with one destiny”? The answer ought to be ABSOLUTELY NOT! We must continuously work to fulfil this vision of balanced development of our people, which has been completely neglected for over 15 years!
With the debacle of Boko Haram now comes the “trumped-up” conflict between Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen. As if to lend credence to Nwabueze’s theory of a separation between the entities that comprise Northern Nigeria, the Fulani are said to be invading and occupying Tiv territory in a quest to Islamize the rest of Nigeria. Consequently, the Tiv farmers and the Fulani herdsmen have experienced devastating losses in both life and property. The campaign of calumny has continued unabated, with pundits claiming that the Fulani are on a mission to “cleanse” the Tiv of their ancestral home. We beg to differ from these opinions. In addition, several war fronts have been created between Fulani and other Northern minorities (in Southern Kaduna, Taraba, Nasarawa) and even between the Hausa Muslims and the Fulani, as in the case of Zamfara and Katsina, where all are realistically Muslim! Or are Katsina and Zamfara states not well Islamized already?
Secondly, if the essence of the Fulani ‘invasion’ is to Islamize Tiv land, Berom land, and “minority” lands in Southern Zaria, and elsewhere in Nigeria, as we are made to believe, is there any Tiv settlement captured by the Fulani where Sharia Islamic law is administered, as it is done by the Taliban in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria? It must be re-stressed that the Tiv and Fulani, for example, have co-existed for over 200 years without any skirmishes of the type we are now forced by our rulers to witness.
The Fulani herdsmen have had unfettered access to Tivland, and indeed Benue State, without the devastating incidents we are now experiencing in the state. The herdsmen have lost hundreds of cows and lives, while the Tiv have been dispossessed of their farmlands, their villages razed, and hundreds killed. An added dimension to the wanton destruction of property in Tivland has been the presence of militias that intermingle with the herdsmen to sack Tiv communities, and help plunder Fulani herds. Guns are being freely distributed to fuel this mayhem by people who pose as agents of government, a government which swore to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerian citizens!
We know that these activities are designed to paint Prof. Nwabueze’s “true North” as the aggressors against the Tiv who are “resisting” the so-called Islamization agenda of the “true North.” Nothing could be farther from the truth! Yet churches are urged to spread this monstrosity and the situation is reaching proportions where Nigerians are pulled out of travelling vehicles and murdered on the basis of tribe and/or religion! THIS MUST STOP!
It is violence-prone, and therefore, no election should be conducted throughout the territory of Northern Nigeria in 2015! This is complete falsehood. The leadership of the North must rise to its obligations and reject this. We, with one mind and voice, MUST resist and reject these assertions because evidence on the ground does not support this monstrous touted lie. A unified, reconciled, progressive, transparent, and prosperous North cannot happen by chance.
The North must work hard and produce within the dictates of democracy and the law, a genuinely national leadership, come the elections of 2015.
•The North must put in place mechanisms/logistics to extol the virtues of a united Northern Nigeria of equal brothers and sisters, as a solution to our endemic crises in the region – strangulating poverty, unemployment, underdevelopment in all aspects of our infrastructure, lack of access to quality educational facilities, lack of meaningful access to economic opportunities, etc.
•The North must work assiduously to correct the current imbalance in our federal civil service sector.
•The North must plan deliberately to create more high value entrepreneurs of international repute, across the whole spectrum of Northern diversity and religious plurality.
•The North must work to ensure that every part of Northern Nigeria is represented equitably in all of our development efforts—planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The “core North” is often accused of using and dumping the Middle belt areas, an accusation used by our detractors to divide the North. Let us embrace the Sardauna Model, where all Northerners are at the baking of the cake, at the sharing, and at the actual eating irrespective of tribe, tongue, and religion. The Sardauna did it and it worked and produced tremendous results which some of us remain till today, grateful beneficiaries.

Abduction of schoolgirls:N/Assembly demands strong military action

Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 05:01

The women pleading with principal officers of the National Assembly to inform the presidency to expedite action on the release of the Borno schoolgirls

. ‘Soldiers ill-equipped despite budgetted trillions’

. Mark: Nigerians need daily progress report

. Wailing Chibok women protest in Abuja

. Ndume calls for foreign support

Women from Chibok, the community where over 200 girls were abducted more than two weeks ago, have condemned what they described as the federal government’s inaction in rescuing the teenage girls.
The women, who came under the aegis of Kibaku Area Development Association, Abuja branch, said this yesterday when they marched from the Eagle Square to the National Assembly in Abuja to press government to take action to free the girls.
Over 200 girls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on April 14.
The protesting women who wept during the rally carried placards bearing such inscriptions as, ‘Nigeria, our children are still missing,’ FGN rescue our girls,’ ‘Our girls held for 15 days now,’ ‘A vacuum created help!’ among others.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Mrs. Naomi Mutah said they decided to hold the protest because more than two weeks after the abduction of the school girls, they have not heard anything from the government.
She said: “It is now the third weeks since these girls were abducted like cows for the slaughter house. We don’t know if they are alive or dead. Nobody from government has spoken to us as a community. We have come here to express our displeasure and probably when they see us for themselves like this; it will propel them to do what they are supposed to do.
“We want the government to rescue our daughters from the hands of the abductors. As far as I am concerned as I am talking to you we are not satisfied. So they should do more. Our people in Chibok are very devastated and hypertensive. We are very worried that we may not see our daughters again,” she said.
An indigene of Chibok, Lawal Aubani whose three nieces are among the abducted girls said: “Government is not doing enough, they should re-strategize if need be to rescue the girls.”
Mary Battah, another Chibok woman said the women are very sad and pained about the abduction saying “women and girls are very vulnerable (and) harmless people. (They have) been abducted for 15 days nothing concrete has been done. All that we see is on the pages of newspaper.”
Highlights of the protest was when Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, came out of the senate session to lead the women in prayer for God’s divine intervention in rescuing the girls.
Fielding questions from journalists, Senator Ndume said government needed to intensify action even if it meant seeking external support to rescue the girls.
“Even if it means seeking external support to make sure these girls are released-the longer it takes the dimmer the chances of finding them and the longer it takes the more traumatized the family and the abducted girls are,” he said.
The protesting women also presented a letter to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Zainab Maina for onward transmission to President Goodluck Jonathan. Speaking separately, Senator Helen Esuene and Senator Zainab Kure told the women to be patient that the government was not relenting in its efforts in finding the girls.

Breaking: Fresh Explosion rocks Nyanya, Abuja

Published on Thursday, 01 May 2014 20:51

Nyanya Blast victims at Asokoro Hospital posted on twitter by @AwesomeBillsam

Another bomb has exploded at Nyanya, Abuja, near the Nyanya motorpark where an explosion killed many commuters recently. Our reporters who saw two police vehicles and one National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) vehicle evacuating victims from the scene described the scence as chaotic.
Many vehicles taking people back to Nyanya road from Abuja were turned back. Those that wanted to trek back home through the road were chased back by security agents at the scene.
According to eye witness account, the bomb was inside a Gulf Two car enroute Abuja city. The bomb exploded while the car was held up in a traffic.
Our reporter said tens of corpses are being evacuated by NEMA and security officials.
Details shortly.....

NZD/USD Rallies as RBNZ Says Rate Hikes To Keep on Coming

April 24, 2014

Baruch Spier

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Talking Points:

The RBNZ raised the Official Cash Rate to 3.00%

The central bank forecasted stronger inflation pressures

NZD/USD rallies despite exchange rate warnings

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its Official Cash Rate for the second consecutive month in April, hiking the rate by 25 basis points to 3.00%, as was expected by all Bloomberg surveyed economists.

Following the initial rate release, the RBNZ announced that the extent of future rate hikes depends on data, and the central bank will continue to raise the Official Cash Rate until they are no longer adding to demand. The RBNZ added that the higher target rate should keep future changes in the Consumer Price Index near the central bank's 2% target, as inflation pressures will increase over the next 2 years. The RBNZ also estimated that the GDP grew 3.5% in the first quarter of this year.

The RBNZ said that the current high exchange rate for the New Zealand Dollar is not sustainable and remains a headwind for exporters. The central bank said it will assess the impact of a high currency exchange rate on inflation pressures.

The RBNZ's comments about further rate hikes and building inflation pressures was perceived by Kiwi traders as hawkish and indicative of further tightening of policy in the future, however the comments about the unsustainable exchange rate may have tamed bullish pressures in New Zealand Dollar trading.

Five ways to teach your kids the value of a dollar

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Financial literacy is one of the most important subjects for a child to learn and carry with them into adulthood, and yet, it is one of the least taught subjects. Kids often learn their money lessons from television, their friends and all of the fractured and unconnected snippets they pick up from their parents. As a parent, you can help your kids start their financial life on the right foot without spending hours every day lecturing them.

Here are five ways to help your children along a fiscally responsible road:

Here are five ways to help your children along a fiscally responsible road:

Play the Grocery Game
There are many versions of the "grocery game," and you can even come up with one that is all your own. You can give your children a fixed amount of money and challenge them to purchase as much food as they can with it at the grocery store. For example, you can give them $5 each and a list of food that your local food bank needs. Your kids will have to put their comparative shopping skills to the test to be able to purchase as much food as they can with the limited amount of money. Another way to teach them to shop is to give them your grocery list and have them work out how much everything will cost and identify places where you could save money by buying alternate items.

Let Them Adopt a Budget Line Item
Older children who understand the concept of a family budget can start being responsible for a portion of it. Begin by giving your children a single budget category for a month and let them manage it. Choose an expense type that is discretionary – meaning that you can control how much or how little to spend. Common discretionary budget lines include groceries, entertainment and vacations. Kids can research online to find the best prices and to allocate the budget in the most effective way. Even if they make mistakes during the month, it will have little impact on your overall finances and they will learn a valuable lesson.

Show Them How to Use Budget Tools
There are several great budgeting and expense tracking tools available on the market. One of the most popular and easy to use is Quicken. If you already use a personal finance software program, show your kids how to use it. They can even set up their own budgets on it. They can plan their spending, savings and charitable giving. Learning to track all expenses is a great way to help them get ready for the time when they will be managing their own household budgets.

Set up a Practice Trading Account
Learning how to invest money and how the process works is critical in order to build an effective savings and retirement plan. Kids can learn how the stock market works by setting up a practice trading account and then "buying and selling" stocks. This is a no-risk way for them to learn to read financial news, see how world events affect the stock market, and practice determining how to diversify an investment portfolio. There are many practice trading accounts available online. Choose one that is directed towards children or that is simple to navigate.

Give Them Room to Make Mistakes
Everyone makes money mistakes at one time or another. Allow your kids to make them when they are young and the dollars involved are small. For example, if they absolutely must have the new toy of the season and spend all of their saved allowance on it, they won't have any money for other things for a while. Let them experience that and re-examine whether their spending choice was a sound one. Give them space to make some monetary decisions so that they learn for the next time.

The Bottom Line
Kids are never too young to start learning money lessons. The more opportunities they have to work with money and manage it, the more money savvy they will be as adults.

Ukraine says it cleared pro-Russia gunmen from eastern town

Russia warns the operation could spark retaliation. A leader of the pro-Russia side in Ukraine says his group has 10 hostages, including an American journalist.

Pro-Russia demonstrators a rally in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey / European Pressphoto Agency / April 23, 2014)

April 23, 2014, 5:14 p.m.

DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian government troops on Wednesday claimed to have swept out pro-Russia gunmen from a town in embattled eastern Ukraine, an operation the Kremlin warned could spark retaliation.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry statement that Svyatogorsk was under government control was dismissed as "a propaganda lie" by a leader of insurgents holding nearby Slovyansk, scene of the most violent and destabilizing clashes of the separatist movement that has been gaining momentum since Russia's annexation of Crimea last month.
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the gunman who has proclaimed himself mayor of Slovyansk, confirmed that his armed group was holding 10 hostages, including an American journalist, and demanding the release of Russian agents and fighters detained by Ukrainian forces trying to reassert Kiev's authority in the turbulent east.
"These Ukrainian guys and this American are not really journalists but provocateurs, and they will stay here until we exchange them for our comrades put in prison by the illegal government in Kiev," Ponomaryov said in a telephone interview. "I am warning that if we are attacked none of [the hostages] survives."
Ponomaryov expressed willingness to exchange Simon Ostrovsky, a reporter for Vice News who was abducted Monday by the Russian gunmen, for Pavel Gubarev, the jailed leader of the separatist forces in the neighboring Donetsk region. Ostrovsky holds both U.S. and Israeli passports.
Armed factions agitating for independence from the Kiev government, and in some cases for annexation to Russia, have taken over key government facilities in a dozen towns and cities across eastern and southern Ukraine.
The Kiev leadership launched its operation to retake control from the insurgents last week but managed to liberate only one small airfield. The armored columns dispatched by Kiev were attacked at some of the roadblocks erected by the militants, who seized six armored vehicles. As many as 300 of the poorly equipped Ukrainians were reported to have defected to the separatist side.
Ukraine suspended the mission last week to recover its seized sites after top diplomats from Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine agreed on steps to "de-escalate" the confrontations. Kiev leaders said the pause was to allow Easter celebrations and time for the militants to contemplate an amnesty offered in exchange for disarmament and release of facilities under rebel control.
None of the occupations has ended, however. The recovery operation resumed Wednesday after the bodies of two government supporters from Slovyansk, including a city councilman, were found in a river, each bearing signs of torture.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of orchestrating the Ukraine crisis for geopolitical gain. He drew a link between the Tuesday visit of Vice President Joe Biden and the interim government's decision to resume efforts to restore Kiev's authority in the seized regions. Lavrov called the sweep "criminal" and warned that it could force Russia to defend its interests. He drew an ominous parallel with Russia's 2008 war with Georgia over its breakaway South Ossetia region.
"Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation," Lavrov said in an interview with state-run Russia Today television. "If we are attacked, we would certainly respond. If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians, have been attacked directly … like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law."
Russian troops fought a brief war against the former Soviet republic of Georgia in support of pro-Russia rebels who had seized South Ossetia in a fashion similar to events in Ukraine.
"There is no reason not to believe that the Americans are running the show," Lavrov said of the unrest that has beset Ukraine since November, when protesters took to the streets of Kiev and other major cities in anger at former President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to abandon an economic association pact with the European Union. His ouster in late February spurred Russia to infiltrate and seize Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which it annexed last month after a vote condemned as illegitimate by most U.N. member states.
Russian officials insist that the militants in eastern Ukraine are locals opposed to the opposition politicians who took power after Yanukovich fled in February. U.S., European and Ukrainian leaders accuse Moscow of having instigated uprisings by ethnic Russians, and sending Russian troops to support and direct them.
The recapture of Svyatogorsk, as claimed by the Ukrainian government, could signal that Kiev is gaining momentum in its efforts to counter the territorial seizures, said Dmitry Tymchuk, head of Kiev's Center for Military and Political Research. "It appears that our law enforcement units in the Donetsk region have finally got their act together."

Obama reaffirms commitment to Japan on tour of Asia allies

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wave to U.S. President Barack Obama after the welcoming ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo (POOL, REUTERS / April 24, 2014)

Mark Felsenthal and Linda Sieg Reuters

4:24 a.m. CDT, April 24, 2014

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama assured ally Japan on Thursday that Washington was committed to its defense, including of tiny isles at the heart of a row with China, but denied he had drawn any new "red line" and urged peaceful dialogue over the islands.

His comments drew a swift response from China, which said the disputed islets were Chinese territory.

Obama also urged Japan to take "bold steps" to clinch a two-way trade pact seen as crucial to a broad regional agreement that is a central part of the U.S. leader's "pivot" of military, diplomatic and economic resources towards Asia and the Pacific.

U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators failed to resolve differences in time for Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to shake hands on a deal at the summit.

The leaders reported progress, but Japan's economics minister, Akira Amari, said later that remaining sticking points could not be resolved quickly.

Obama, on the start of a four-nation tour, is being treated to a display of pomp and ceremony meant to show that the U.S.-Japan alliance, the main pillar of America's security strategy in Asia, is solid at a time of rising tensions over growing Chinese assertiveness and North Korean nuclear threats.

"We don't take a position on final sovereignty determinations with respect to Senkaku, but historically they have been administered by Japan and we do not believe that they should be subject to change unilaterally and what is a consistent part of the alliance is that the treaty covers all territories administered by Japan," Obama said.

"This is not a new position, this is a consistent one," he told a joint news conference after his summit with Abe, using the Japanese name for the islands that China, which also claims sovereignty over them, calls the Diaoyu.

"In our discussions, I emphasized with Prime Minister Abe the importance of resolving this issue peacefully," Obama added.

Whilst his comments amounted to a restatement of longstanding U.S. policy, there was symbolism in the commitment being stated explicitly by a U.S. president in Japan.

Responding to Obama's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a daily press briefing in Beijing that the islands belonged to China.

"The so-called U.S.-Japan security treaty is a product of the Cold War era and it cannot be aimed at a third party and ought not to harm China's territorial sovereignty," he said.

"No matter what anyone says or does, it cannot change the basic reality that the Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory and cannot shake the resolve and determination of the Chinese government and people to protect (our) sovereignty and maritime rights."

INTERNATIONAL RULES

Obama also said there were opportunities to work with China - which complains that his real aim is to contain its rise - but called on the Asian power to stick to international rules.

"What we've also emphasized, and I will continue to emphasize throughout this trip, is that all of us have responsibilities to help maintain basic rules of the world and international order, so that large countries, small countries, all have to abide by what is considered just and fair," he said.

Some of China's neighbors with territorial disputes with Beijing worry that Obama's apparent inability to rein in Russia, which annexed Crimea last month, could send a message of weakness to China.

Obama told the news conference that additional sanctions were "teed up" against Russia if it does not deliver on promises in an agreement reached in Geneva last week to ease tensions in Ukraine.

Obama and Abe also agreed that their top trade aides, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Amari, would keep trying to narrow gaps in their trade talks.

Afghan security guard shoots dead 3 American doctors at hospital

Published April 24, 2014

April 24, 2014: Soldiers secure the area outside a hospital in Kabul where three American doctors were killed by an Afghan guard. (Reuters)

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan confirmed Thursday that three American doctors - including a reported father and son - were killed by an Afghan security guard who opened fire at a Kabul hospital.
The shooting at Cure International Hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital was the latest attack on foreign civilians in the city this year. Two others, including an American nurse, were wounded, according to Afghanistan's Health Ministry.
"With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack at CURE Hospital," said a statement posted on the Embassy's Twitter page. "No other information will be released at this time."
Afghanistan Minister of Health Soraya Dalil told the Associated Press that two of the dead were a visiting father and son. Dalil added that the other victim was a Cure International doctor who had worked for seven years in Kabul.
The attacker was a member of the Afghan Police Protection Force assigned to guard the hospital, said District Police Chief Hafiz Khan, who added that the man's motive was not yet clear.
The attacker was wounded and in custody. The attacker had emerged from surgery Thursday afternoon and was in recovery at the hospital before being questioned, Dalil added.
"Five doctors had entered the compound of the hospital and were walking toward the building when the guard opened fire on them," Torkystani said. "Three foreign doctors were killed and two other doctors were wounded." It not immediately known how the attacker was wounded.
According to its website, the Cure International Hospital was founded in 2005 by invitation of the Afghan Ministry of Health. It sees 37,000 patients a year, specializing in child and maternity health as well as general surgery. It is affiliated with the Christian charity Cure International, which operates in 29 countries with the motto "curing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom of God."
It was unclear whether the Taliban were behind Thursday's shooting, though the insurgents have claimed several major attacks that killed foreign civilians this year, an escalation after years of mostly targeting foreign military personnel and Afghan security forces.
In January, a Taliban attack on a popular Kabul restaurant with suicide bombers and gunmen killed more than a dozen people, while in March gunmen slipped past security at an upscale hotel in the Afghan capital and killed several diners in its restaurant.
The hospital shooting is also the second "insider attack" by a member of Afghan security forces targeting foreign civilians this month.
On April 4, an Afghan police officer shot two Associated Press staff working in the eastern province of Khost, killing photographer Anja Niedringhaus and wounding veteran correspondent Kathy Gannon.

Mon, Apr 14th, 2014

Breaking News / Nigeria |

Over 70 People Were Killed In Nyanya Park Explosion

Spyghana.com is a premier news source that covers daily news of Ghana, Africa and the World over.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror in the wake of the explosions

Not less than 50 people may have died this morning from the heavy explosive at Nyanya park, Abuja
247ureports.com learnt that a bomb exploded at Nyanya bridge, around 7:14 am and Anti-bomb squad just headed to that zone for rescue.
The merchants of deaths who planted the bomb at the park knew how busy the park could be at this Monday morning rush hour.
An eyewitness said “Several people were burnt beyond recognition, just men and women burning as plank of woods. I have never seen such a spectacle in my entire life.
“Confusion now reigns at the site of the bomb blast. Rescue is just coming for victims.
“As we speak, Nyanya General is full beyond the capacity and you know this is the only General hospital around here. Though some of the victims have been taken to the Asokoro General hospital”.
It will be recalled that one Pastor Collins Obi of God city of Joy Church, Abuja had about three weeks ago predicted the bomb blast in Abuja which he said would devastate the city.
Pastor warned that the proposed attack by the Boko Haram insurgent would happen soon if proper security was not in place.
As at the time of filling this report, the whole road in Nyanya has been cordon off by security operatives thereby preventing people from coming or going out of Nyanya.
At the point of cordon and search, another bomb yet to explode was discovered in the area

Agency Report

— April 14, 2014

Eye witnesses in Nyanya, FCT, the scene of Monday’s blast that killed many people, have recounted their sad experiences of the incident.
Mr Romanus Ugwu, an Abuja-based journalist, resident at Nyanya, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he ran to the scene on hearing the blast.
Ugwu said what he saw could be best described as a “gory sight” because many people were burning in some cars and were calling for help that never came to them while some were on the ground, helpless without limbs.
“You have to be hard hearted to look at these things. I saw a woman lying face down without limbs while one, who was surrounded by her children, struggled for life and gave up in their arms.
“These attackers appear to be more proactive than our rescue organisations and security agencies because so many lives would have been saved if help had come in time.”
Ugwu said he counted many bodies littered on the ground in the park, but could not say if all of them were dead.
He, however, commended the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel for their rescue efforts.
Mr Abdulrazak Haruna of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Unit of NSCDC, told NAN that he counted more than 100 bodies, including the injured while evacuating victims.
“It is a sad experience. We counted 20 BRT buses, 14 cars, 24 commuter buses and 13 motorcycles.”
Mr Femi Lawal, a survivor of the blast who could not contain his joy and gratitude to God for sparing him, said he had dropped from one of the green buses from One-man Village and was heading to the park when the blast went off.
Lawal said he fell and was dazed momentarily before realising what had happened.
He said that he heard a loud bang, which nearly blinded him, and saw a thick smoke while people ran in confusion.
The 32-year old man, who was apparently wounded on the wrist and neck, said “it is a day I will live to remember”. (NAN)

Blast in Nigerian capital kills 71

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police say an explosion that ripped through a busy bus station in Nigeria's capital has killed at least 71 people and wounded 124.

Police spokesman Frank Mba says Monday's blast destroyed 16 luxury coaches and 24 minibuses.
There was only believed to be one blast with secondary explosions as vehicle fuel tanks ignited and burned.
Reporters saw rescue workers and police gathering body parts as ambulances rushed the wounded to the hospitals.

There was no immediate claim for the rush-hour blast, though the Boko Haram terrorist network has been threatening to attack the capital.

The Islamic extremists, based in northeast Nigeria, carried out a 2011 suicide car bombing at the United Nations office building in Abuja that killed at least 21 people and wounded 60.

SAN FRANCISCO — An alarming lapse in Internet security has exposed millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive bits of information to potential theft by computer hackers who may have been secretly exploiting the problem before its discovery.

The breakdown revealed this week affects the encryption technology that is supposed to protect online accounts for emails, instant messaging and a wide range of electronic commerce.
Security researchers who uncovered the threat, known as "Heartbleed," are particularly worried about the breach because it went undetected for more than two years.
Although there is now a way to close the security hole, there are still plenty of reasons to be concerned, said David Chartier, CEO of Codenomicon. A small team from the Finnish security firm diagnosed Heartbleed while working independently from another Google Inc. researcher who also discovered the threat.
"I don't think anyone that had been using this technology is in a position to definitively say they weren't compromised," Chartier said.
Chartier and other computer security experts are advising people to consider changing all their online passwords.
"I would change every password everywhere because it's possible something was sniffed out," said Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer for Qualys, a maker of security-analysis software. "You don't know because an attack wouldn't have left a distinct footprint."
But changing the passwords won't do any good, these experts said, until the affected services install the software released Monday to fix the problem. That puts the onus on the Internet services affected by Heartbleed to alert their users to the potential risks and let them know when the Heartbleed fix has been installed so they can change their passwords.
"This is going to be difficult for the average guy in the streets to understand, because it's hard to know who has done what and what is safe," Chartier said.
Yahoo Inc., which boasts more than 800 million users worldwide, is among the Internet services that could be potentially hurt by Heartbleed. The Sunnyvale, California, company said most of its most popular services — including sports, finance and Tumblr — had been fixed, but work was still being done on other products that it didn't identify in a statement Tuesday.
"We're focused on providing the most secure experience possible for our users worldwide and are continuously working to protect our users' data," Yahoo said.
Heartbleed creates an opening in SSL/TLS, an encryption technology marked by the small, closed padlock and "https:" on Web browsers to signify that traffic is secure. The flaw makes it possible to snoop on Internet traffic even if the padlock had been closed. Interlopers could also grab the keys for deciphering encrypted data without the website owners knowing the theft had occurred, according to security researchers.
The problem affects only the variant of SSL/TLS known as OpenSSL, but that happens to be one of the most common on the Internet.
About two-thirds of Web servers rely on OpenSSL, Chartier said. That means the information passing through hundreds of thousands of websites could be vulnerable, despite the protection offered by encryptions. Beside emails and chats, OpenSSL is also used to secure virtual private networks, which are used by employees to connect with corporate networks seeking to shield confidential information from prying eyes.
Heartbleed exposed a weakness in encryption at the same time that major Internet services such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are expanding their usage of technology to reassure the users about the sanctity of their personal data. The additional security measures are being adopted in response to mounting concerns about the U.S. government's surveillance of online activities and other communications. The snooping has been revealed during the past 10 months through a series of leaked documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Despite the worries raised by Heartbleed, Codenomicon said many large consumer sites aren't likely to be affected because of their "conservative choice" of equipment and software. "Ironically, smaller and more progressive services or those who have upgraded to (the) latest and best encryption will be affected most," the security firm said in a blog post.
Although it may take months for smaller websites to install the Heartbleed fix, Chartier predicted all the major Internet services will act quickly to protect their reputations.
In a Tuesday post announcing it had installed the Heartbleed fix, Tumblr offered its users some blunt advice.

"This still means that the little lock icon (HTTPS) we all trusted to keep our passwords, personal emails, and credit cards safe, was actually making all that private information accessible to anyone who knew about the exploit," Tumblr said. "This might be a good day to call in sick and take some time to change your passwords everywhere — especially your high-security services like email, file storage, and banking, which may have been compromised by this bug."

NEW YORK (AP) — The rising cost of child care is among likely reasons for a rise in the number of women staying home full-time with their children, according to a new Pew Research Center report released Tuesday.

Other factors cited by Pew to explain the increase include more immigrant mothers, who tend to stay home with children in greater numbers than U.S.-born moms; more women unable to find work; and ambivalence about the impact of working mothers on young children.
The share of mothers who do not work outside the home rose to 29 percent in 2012, the study found. That's up from 23 percent at the turn of the century, according to the report. At the height of the recession in 2008, Pew estimated 26 percent of mothers were home with children.
The at-home moms include women who are married, single, disabled, enrolled in school or unable to find work.
Pew cited a 2010 U.S. census report that singled out the expense of child care as a factor. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the average weekly child care expense for families with working mothers who paid for child care rose more than 70 percent, from $87 in 1985 to $148 in 2011, according to government estimates. That represented 7.2 percent of the income for such families.
Tricia Williamson, 30, in Liberty, N.C., quit her job as an editor and producer at a TV station after crunching the numbers and realizing her salary after the birth of her son a year ago would go primarily to commuting and child care expenses. Her husband earns about $44,000 a year as an electronics technician.
"We're not rich by any means. We live paycheck to paycheck, but it's completely worth it," she said. "My son wouldn't be getting the attention he needs one-on-one. He's got mom 24-7."
The largest share of at-home mothers — roughly two-thirds of 10.4 million — had working husbands. A growing share — 6 percent in 2012, up from 1 percent in 2000 — said they could not find a job, according to Pew, which relied on U.S. Census and other government data.
No matter what their marital status, mothers at home are younger and less educated than working counterparts, the report said. Most married moms said they were home specifically to care for the kids, while single mothers were more likely to say they couldn't find a job, were ill or disabled, or were in school.
Among all at-home mothers in 2012, 51 percent had at least one child 5 or younger, compared with 41 percent of working mothers.
The researchers said one of the most striking demographic differences between at-home mothers and working mothers is their economic well-being, with about 34 percent of at-home mothers living in poverty, compared with 12 percent of working mothers.
Relatively few married at-home mothers with working husbands qualify as "affluent," at nearly 370,000 with at least a master's degree and a median family income of over $75,000 a year in 2012. That number amounts to 5 percent of married at-home mothers with working husbands.

The "elite" marrieds stand out from other at-home mothers as disproportionately white or Asian. About 69 percent are white and 19 percent are Asian. Only 7 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent are black.

Mothers more likely to stay home are among demographic groups on the rise in the U.S. For example, 40 percent of immigrant mothers were at home with their children, compared with about a quarter of U.S.-born mothers.
Among at-home mothers living in poverty in 2012, 36 percent were immigrants, the report said.
The report points to stagnant incomes for all but the college-educated as a possible factor for less-educated workers in particular who might be weighing the cost of child care against wages and deciding it makes more economic sense to stay home.
While attitudes over the decades toward working mothers have improved, "most Americans continue to believe that it's best for children to have a parent at home," said D'Vera Cohn, a senior writer at Pew who worked on the report.
Since 2008, about 70 percent said when questioned in an ongoing social survey that a working mother is just as capable as an at-home mother of establishing the same "warm and secure" relationship with her children. But 60 percent of Americans in a recent Pew survey said children are better off when a parent stays home to "focus on the family," compared with 35 percent who said children are "just as well off with working parents."
___

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Why this Dow component is poised for more gains

It's make or break time for the financials this week.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will kick off earnings season when they release their recent quarter results.
The financials have been slightly underperforming the overall market over the past week, with the market benchmark S&P 500 down 1.5 percent while the index's financial sector is lower by 2.2 percent. With the financials comprising the largest sector, their health could play a key role in preserving the rally.
CNBC contributor Gina Sanchez, founder of Chantico Global, is hesitant when it comes to investing in the financials based on their fundamentals.
"A lot of how banks have made their money has been on fee income," said Sanchez. "What banks still don't have is a whole lot of net interest margin. So, banks are still waiting around for higher rates."
Where rates go is anyone's guess, but Sanchez thinks that outlook for banks "is very much a question mark."
"It's really hard to look forward and be really excited about banks, particularly after the huge runup that we've seen," said Sanchez. "There are a couple of bank names that are interesting like Wells Fargo. But, generally speaking, I would say that you really need to watch this sector."
With financials up nearly 41 percent in the last two years, Sanchez doesn't believe there is much more room on the upside. "Most of the folks who made money on [financials] have made their money at this point," she said.
Talking Numbers contributor Richard Ross, global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson, is also skeptical of the financial sector. Looking at the ETF tracking the S&P's financial sector, the XLF, Ross sees the makeup of the ETF as a weakness and a reason to sell.
"I'm very concerned here," said Ross. "It’s not just by the chart of the XLF itself but really by the constitution of this rally."
Ross notes that a large portion of the XLF is comprised of banks and brokers. However, slightly more than 31 percent of the ETF consists of four stocks: Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
"Investors once again are flocking to those big banks for that perceived security," said Ross. "You've got Warren Buffett in two of those names, Jamie Dimon in another. This advance is getting very narrow."
(Read: The Oracle of Omaha, lately looking a bit ordinary)
On the other hand, the XLF also has market-sensitive stocks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, all of which Ross points out are down on a year-to-date basis.
"That's telling me the market environment for risk could be in trouble," said Ross.
Ross sees the chart of the XLF as reflecting his concerns, with a bearish triple top forming over the past several weeks with a neckline roughly at around $21.65. He believes the XLF will break below that and test its 200-day moving average, currently near $20.70.
"That's going to be the real test," said Ross. "I think we could see the first break below that 200-day going back almost two years at this point."

"Financials are another sector that I think is giving you a market tell and I think you want to be a seller," Ross said. "In fact, I know you want to be a seller."

To see the full discussion on what's next for the financial sector, with Sanchez on the fundamentals and Ross on the technicals, see the video above.

First we had the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, then 2013’s big star the Nikkei (^N225) got hit. Bear markets are creeping up in global markets, and even among some indivisual high flyers in U.S. like Netflix (NFLX), Facebook (FB) and Priceline (PCLN). While indices that track larger companies like the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is doing much better than high-flying momentum stocks after hitting all-time highs last Friday, our friends from Bespoke are finding that the average stock in the S&P 1500 (which includes small-caps and mi-caps into the mix) is down an average of 12.8%.

Source: Bespoke Investment Group

As a general proposition, varying slides from all-time highs will have investors asking themselves what stage of market downturn stocks are experiencing. In this installment of Investing 101, Erica Coogan of Moss Adams helps us break down and define the differences between a bear market and smaller downward movements like pullbacks and corrections.
Pullback: typically defined as a 5% dip from a recent high, and often times seen as a buying opportunity during an ongoing bull market. For Coogan, a pullback is a “temporary blip of the peak of the market, almost a ‘sigh’ in upward momentum; it’s very short term, and you’re still continuing up in a bull market.”
Correction: usually a 10% move lower from new highs. It’s more severe in nature, but could possibly just be a healthy dip as some investors take profits and others adjust their risk/reward ratios. The question here is whether companies in general still in good shape, or is the stock market a leading indicator of weakness in the overall economy, and will corporate America be the next area to feel weakness in growth.

Despite a correction being jarring for investors, Coogan says for her and other market watchers “it’s still defined as a shorter-term pullback in a bull market, it’s just a little more significant than the pullback that’s less than 10%”

Bear market: a 20% or great tumble in the market. This 20% downturn is “usually something that’s sustained for a couple months,” Coogan says, where from an investor psychology perspective “pessimism breeds pessimism, and you get that continued downward trend, and that can be hard because you don’t know actually when it could stop.” Thus trying to predict the absolute bottom can be very difficult for an investor trying to time the market, but the risk/reward payoff for those that do can be astounding (just look at the run up from 2009 March lows).

Good news: There's a way to work fewer hours and be more productive. Take Denmark for instance. Its 5.6 million people work no more than 37 hours a week, have six weeks of paid vacation (plus an additional 12 paid national holidays) and new parents are given a year's paid leave to care for their newborn. The Nordic country also prides itself on equity in the workplace and even has a government bigwig called the Minister for Gender Equality.
A slacker nation? Hardly. Even though Danes work fewer hours than Americans and take more vacations, Denmark is one of the world's most productive nations. Its economy is one of the most competitive in the world, with little income inequality and a very low unemployment rate. Not surprisingly, Denmark ranks as the happiest nation in the world according to the United Nation's World Happiness Report.
Can Americans be more like Danes? Brigid Schulte, a staff writer at The Washington Post, traveled there to find out and research her new book Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has The Time. LIke many Americans, Schulte struggles to balance work, family, housecleaning, errands, exercise and sleep on a daily basis. Here's what Schulte learned:

1. Being busy doesn't make you more efficient
Schulte cites scientific research showing stress actually shrinks the brain and causes sensations of jet-lag and distraction. "Multitasking makes you as stupid as being stoned," she says. And a pile of work on one's desk is "not a badge of honor."
The U.S. even trails laid-back France in terms of production per hour. "Overwork is not a virtue," Schulte argues. "In many countries long work hours are seen as a sign of inefficiency."
To overcome that, she advises taking frequent breaks, working in short pulses -- no more than 90 minutes at a time -- and unplugging from technology after leaving the office. Such steps often lead to higher, not lower, productivity.
Related: How to get more out of your life by doing less
2. Overwork has personal and health consequences
Americans may think they're impressing the boss by working long hours and evenings -- sometimes even pulling all-nighters -- but they're doing more harm than good. Long hours often cause employees to become sick, depressed and disengaged -- a lose-lose situation for workers and companies alike. Healthier employees translate to lower health care and turnover costs for their employers, along with more innovation and higher profits.

3. Leisure and personal time make us happy

"Studies are finding that happiness actually is a precursor to achievement, not necessarily the other way around," notes Schulte. Leisure time, whether it's cooking dinner with the family, exercising in the park, or reading a new book on the couch, are important ways to relieve stress and clear the mind.

"We feel guilty if we aren’t productive at every moment," says Schulte, who characterizes that as flawed reasoning that undermines our free time and "human experience."

Learning how to work less, be smarter and free ourselves of daily distractions isn't easy, especially in America's workaholic culture. But stepping off the "gerbil wheel" and evaluating the mission of your job can lead to more time spent with people you like, and less time in a cubicle.

Top 10 Best Airports in the World

For travelers weary of long lines at security checkpoints and overpriced fast food, the idea that any airport could be viewed as “best” may seem laughable. However, for travelers lucky enough to have flights that originate or end at any of the airports listed below, the word “best” is totally appropriate. These outstanding airports received the most votes from more than twelve million travelers who participated in a survey administered by Skytrax. Awards for the 2013 World’s Best Airport and nine runners-up were announced at passenger terminal EXPO in Geneva, Switzerland. The winning airports were located largely in Europe and Asia, with only one representative from North America and none from Australia, South America or Africa. The United States was also notably absent from the list of winners.
Best Airports in the World

1. Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore

Singapore Changi Airport claimed top prize for the fourth time since the Skytrax awards were initiated, having last won the title in 2010. In addition to winning the top overall award, Singapore Changi Airport, which served more than fifty million passengers in 2012, was named Best Airport in Asia and Best Airport for Leisure Amenities.

FILE - In this May, 2002 file photo Panera Bread Co. CEO Ron Shaich stands behind a counter at a location in St. Louis. The chain is planning to overhaul its "mosh pit" ordering system at its roughly 1,500 locations nationwide in a project called Panera 2.0. It’s a push that entails letting customers order online or with their mobile devices to have their food ready to go at a certain time. In restaurants, they’ll be able to place their orders at kiosks. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Panera CEO Ron Shaich realizes that ordering at his chain can be chaotic.

First, the bakery cafe's customers are given a buzzer that lets them know when their food is ready. Then they get into a "mosh pit" to fight for their food. Next they play a game he calls "Find Your Food" — collecting a sandwich in one place, drinks in another and condiments in yet another.
The confusion is a problem for Panera Bread Co., which has seen its sales growth slow as customers go elsewhere. Last year, sales at established locations rose 2.3 percent, compared with a 5.7 percent increase the previous year.
Now, the St. Louis-based company is planning to overhaul the way people order in a project called "Panera 2.0" The plan includes letting customers order online or with their mobile devices to have their food ready to go at a set time. Also in the works are in-store touchscreens where customers can more easily customize their sandwiches. Workers will take the food to tables as well.
It's a major undertaking that has been in testing at more than a dozen locations since 2010. The first stage of the national rollout will be the "rapid pick-up" option that lets customers place mobile orders as much as five days in advance. The full rollout to the company's more than 1,700 locations will take several years.
Shaich says the idea is to eliminate the obstacles customers have to overcome to fulfill their "lust" for the company's soups, sandwiches and salads. Eventually, he said the goal is to offer "personalized menus" on mobile devices based on a customer's order history.
____
Q: How did the idea for this come about?
A: As a CEO, I'm paid to figure out where the world is going, not where it is. Today's consumer wants it their way. They want it customized. We have to have the system for that.
We're entering a world where so many consumers are growing up in an omni-channel world. They want it where they want it and when they want it. And the reality is we're either going to have the capability of delivering into that or we're not.
We're three to five years away. You're going to pick up your iPhone and you're going to go, "Yo. Siri. I want a Bacon Turkey Bravo at Panera."
Q: Tell us about how Panera 2.0 is going to work.
A: Like most restaurants, Panera operates with a one-size-fits-all system. But the reality is that's not necessarily how I need it and want it.
I drive my kids to school three times a week. We stop at the Panera by my office. I used to pick up the phone about seven or eight minutes out from the store and I'd call the store and I'd say, 'hey, can you take my order?' I'd always be worried that they didn't get the order right, so I made sure they read the order back.
I'd hand my son my credit card, and he'd run in and we'd be out in a minute. I'd say to myself, 'this is wonderful, but it's only working for the CEO. What about the other 8 million people?'
We began to think about how we change that guest experience. Why couldn't you order food on the Web, order your food in multiple ways and have the food made as you were driving to the store? Why couldn't you walk into the store, walk past the line that's always there? Walk over to a special area where your food is waiting for you?
Q: How does the eat-in experience change?
A: It changes the whole thing. Imagine a world where I could place my order (on a mobile device) as I sat down. And imagine a world where it actually knew what my order was. I order the same latte, two pumps, not three, of caramel. Extra foamy with skim milk. I do it 20 times a week. Why couldn't it remember that?
We began to imagine a world where you could place an eat-in order from the table and have the food brought right to you. Or you could go to a kiosk and place the order. Or yet again, you could go to a register.
Everybody is talking about technology in the restaurant industry. It's the new thing. But technology doesn't matter if it doesn't change the guest experience.
Q: When will customers actually see all these changes?
A: This will roll out to the system in the next 36 months. The first things that will come is the ability to do rapid pickup. You place the order and designate the time you want it to be picked up, walk into that cafe and have it sitting there waiting for you on a specific bookshelf.
You don't have to wait for the food. That will be out within 2014.
Q: Have you seen labor costs go down in the restaurants where you roll out Panera 2.0?
A: This isn't about cutting labor. We're not cutting labor. There will be labor reductions at order input when (orders) go to 30 percent or more digital, which we're already running. But we're taking that labor and we're putting it into production.
We're taking labor and we're using it to do things like deliver to the table. So what we're saying is, let's put labor where it puts warmth and value into your experience.
Q: You talk about the "desire-friction ratio" — tell us what that's about.
A: Everything comes down to desire and friction. How much do I want it, and how painful is it for me to get? Desire is: Do I want to walk across the street? Is it relevant to me? Do I crave it?
The other side of it is friction. One form of friction is dollars. But another form of friction is psychic energy. It's time. It's pain. And so a lot what we're trying to do is reduce the friction while continuing to drive the desire.

Q: The company is doing so much to change the way orders are placed. How is the menu going to change?

A: The underlying deeper trend is a huge movement toward customization and personalization. And ultimately where this whole world of Panera 2.0 leads is to a world where we're able to deliver the experience you want. Today we operated under a one size fits all mentality — the menu board.

Hey, I've got 50 items. But I've got 150 ingredients in my cafe. I can make thousands of different things. But I wait for you to customize it.

I think we're going to continually enter a world of allowing us to address smaller and smaller niches (through mobile ordering), ultimately to niches of one.

Getty Images

After two tough sessions for the market, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit a one-month low on Tuesday morning before turning positive for the day. But technical analyst Louise Yamada says the stock slide isn't over just yet.

"I don't think the pullback is already over," Yamada, of Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors, said on Tuesday's episode of " Futures Now ." "I think that it's an interim pullback, and we've certainly seen what we've expected, in the Internet and biotechs coming off. And I think that although they may bounce, there's probably still a little bit more to go on the downside."
Read More 2 charts tell the whole story of value vs. growth
Worse yet, the selling could spread to other sectors, such as aerospace and consumer discretionary stocks.
"What we're concerned about it whether or not some of the other stocks that have gone straight up are starting to move sideways, either in a consolidation or in preparation for some distribution," Yamada said, referring to a bearish pattern that indicates a market top. "It's a little iffy here."
What would cause real concern is if the S&P trades below 1,750.
"If we break that level, that will be the first lower low that we would have seen all the way back to 2011, really," Yamada said.
Below 1,750, support lies at 1,650, which is "where the 2009 uptrend would be by midyear," she wrote to CNBC.com. That is about 11 percent below current levels.
Yamada says the weakness in stocks lines up well with broader bearish indicators, such as the fact that 2014 started with a weak January, and is a midterm election year.
Read More Why you should totally ignore the 'January barometer'
But it's not all bad.

"The one positive, of course, is that 2015, as a year ending in 5, has a very good record of being an up year," the technician said. "That's the silver lining."

Seven big mistakes couples make in retirement

7:53 p.m. April 8, 2014

Getting ready for retirement? Just salivating at the thought of you and your spouse getting in that RV and roaming around the country? Or is your dream sitting on that deck in the morning with your spouse, a cup of coffee and a good book?
If you and your spouse haven't yet sat down and talked about what you will do in retirement, you'd better do it now. Retirement experts say there are a lot of mistakes couples make in retirement, and many of them involve communication and planning, or the lack of it.
"It's easy to make mistakes because retirement can be complicated, so it's not a rare thing," says Matthew Shafer, economist and author of The Future of Your Wealth. "Most mistakes have to do with not doing planning."
RETIREMENT: Planning for your future
ASK MATT: To live well in old age, invest $82.28 a day
So, here are seven of the biggest mistakes couples make in planning for and living in retirement.
1. They never talked about what each of them expected retirement to be.
"When one stops working or both stop, they spend a lot more time together," says Joe Duran, CEO of United Capital in Newport Beach, Calif., and author of The Money Code. "For most of their lives they are raising kids, and that is their distraction." When kids leave, it is an awkward period — and a time when divorces happen. They stare at each other and ask if they like the person they're with, Duran says.
"If they get close to retirement, if they haven't talked about what they want life (in retirement) to look like, they may find the answer is widely different," Duran says. The spouse who has not been working is comfortable with life. When the other spouse retires, it suddenly cramps the lifestyle of the person who was already home. "They don't know how they should be interacting," Duran says. "Peoples' space and boundaries get trodden on."
Author Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, founder of AskTheMoneyCoach.com, says many people consider retirement to be their "second act," or a time of reinvention. "During this time, retirees or pre-retirees may explore personal interests or even professional goals, such as starting a business, that can lead them to drift apart from their mates and squeeze their finances too," she says.
"It goes without saying that economic well-being is important in retirement. But so is emotional happiness and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, a lot of older couples are getting more dissatisfied with one another — as evidenced by the fact that divorce after age 50 is getting more common. Divorce can sap a couple's retirement assets due to big legal bills, and the process of splitting resources to accommodate two households instead of one."
2. Couples in second and third marriages didn't think to plan for their potentially unique problems.
"A record number of Baby Boomers are in second marriages," says Manhattan estate attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza. "That brings up very specific retirement planning challenges — specifically, how do we deal with adult children who need money?"
A big source of conflict is when you have a blended family, and, for example, one partner's child keeps calling for funds, needing more and more money. You must ensure that the children's needs are not going to jeopardize your own retirement security, she says. "I would caution folks planning for retirement against co-signing loans for children and co-signing grandchildren's student loans," she says.
"The second marriage situation also causes a couple to deal with who gets what at death," Carrozza says. There is often a conflict between providing for surviving spouses and providing for children from the first marriage.
Bradley Zucker, president of Safe Money Advisors in Las Vegas, says full disclosure is also important. "First and foremost, you must fully disclose all debt and financial obligations — car loans, credit card debt, loans to family and friend. And it's important they they get copies of credit reports."
3. They didn't do proper financial planning.
Many retirees aren't realistic about spending related to the amount of money they have, says Shafer. "Either they are not accumulating enough assets for their lifestyle, or the lifestyle they plan to live costs more than what their assets will cover," he says.
"My clients fail to properly calculate the amount of money they will need in retirement," says Carrozza. "There is an idea somehow that expenses will be much less in retirement. In reality we should expect expenses to increase because of greater medical needs. Medical costs go up, especially long-term care. We can also expect to see inflation come back. We would all do well to live below our means as we are embarking on retirement planning."
Only a small portion of retirees have a financial plan, says Duran. Too often, they realize that their money isn't growing, which is fine if they live to 78 or 80, but not if they live to 90. "Unfortunately if you are not working, you have finite level of resources," he says.
4. They haven't planned for emergencies.
"Just because a financial situation looks healthy today, you can't assume you will be ready for an emergency tomorrow," says Zucker. "Illnesses, accidents, home repair — you need to turn to your emergency reserve account. If you don't have one, it could lead to tax implications.You need a liquid account, three to six months of expenses. That takes the stress and burden off the financial nest egg."
5. The couple didn't consider the costs of health care or long-term care.
"If they want to go to any doctor they want, health care may be out of their insurance or Medicaid service system," Shafer says. "They may have to set aside their own assets."
Carrozza says failing to plan for long-term care expenses is a huge mistake couples make. Couples need to consider long-term care insurance, especially the newer hybrid policies that are now being offered as riders to traditional life insurance policies. "Eight out of every 10 couples will have an individual who requires long-term care," she says.
6. Only one partner is handling financial matters.
"A very big mistake to have one partner who is completely in charge of financial and estate planning," says Carrozza. "I see that with clients often — one person is in charge of everything and the other doesn't quite know what is going on. It's important that both parties be fully conversant with estate planning and financial planning, and in habit of sitting down with their planner to make sure life changes and law changes are properly accounted for in the plan," she says.
Zucker said couples need to talk often about finances and financial decisions. "You have to regularly make time to talk about finances," he says. "It's important that both partners actively participate in these discussions. Keep it a conversation. Do not to make it a business meeting. If one spouse dominates finances and becomes ill, it leaves the uninformed spouse without direction."
He says if a couple can't have conversations about money, they need to get the help of a financial counselor."It's about being open about money and having a plan."
7. Do not assume that just because you're married you can automatically act for each other in business and health care decision-making.
"Every couple needs health care proxy and power of attorney over each other," says Carrozza. "Power of attorney will allow them to move assets as needed should one of them become incapacitated."
She says she recently had a case of a couple in which one had a stroke. The other partner discovered too late that she was not able to legally sign for her spouse. She had to go before a judge to become her husband's court-appointed guardian, which took several months and cost several thousand dollars. "That would not have been necessary if they had power of attorney," she says.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp, in its second-largest recall announcement, said on Wednesday that it would call back 6.39 million vehicles globally after uncovering five different faults involving parts ranging from steering to seats.
The world's biggest automaker said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the glitches, which were found in 27 Toyota models including the RAV4 and Yaris subcompact.
Toyota said faults were also found in the Pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia, two models the automaker built for General Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries.
The automaker did not say now much the recalls would cost, and it was not clear if the faults stemmed from Toyota's suppliers or its manufacturing process.
The move by Toyota to announce five different recalls on a single day from Tokyo comes as major automakers face increasing scrutiny in the United States on how quickly they take preventive safety action and how quickly they share information with regulators and the public.
Toyota agreed last month to pay $1.2 billion to the U.S. government for withholding information related to unintended acceleration in its vehicles. That safety crisis had caused Toyota to recall more than 9 million vehicles.
In a high-profile case that has the potential to change U.S. safety regulation, Toyota rival General Motors is under investigation for failing to act on a known ignition switch defect linked to a dozen deaths. The company has recalled 1.6 million vehicles over the issue.
In the largest of the recalls announced on Wednesday, Toyota said some 3.5 million vehicles were being recalled to replace a spiral cable that could be damaged when the steering wheel is turned. That could cause the air bag to fail in the event of a crash, the automaker said.
In total, about 2.34 million of the vehicles to be recalled were sold in North America. Another 810,000 were sold in Europe.
In the second-largest of the Toyota recalls, some 2.32 million three-door models made between January 2005 and August 2010 are being recalled to check for a fault in the seat rails that could cause the seat to slide forward in a crash, risking injury for the driver or passengers.
The other recalls are for faulty steering column brackets, windshield wiper motors and engine starters.
The recall announcement, which came during late afternoon Tokyo trade, knocked an additional 2 percent off Toyota's already sagging shares.
They quickly pared the extra losses, however, and ended down 3 percent at 5,450 yen, reflecting an overall weak tone in the market where the benchmark Nikkei average fell 2.1 percent.
Toyota's 6.39 million vehicle recall is the largest announced on a single day for the company since October 2012, when it called back 7.43 million Yaris, Corolla and other models to fix faulty power window switches.

In the first two months of 2014, major automakers had announced 18 separate recalls in the United States, now the second-largest auto market behind China, according to the latest data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recent wave of large-scale recalls represents a source of revenue for auto dealers who are paid by manufacturers to service defective cars.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer in BERLIN, Laurence Frost in PARIS and Chang-Ran Kim in TOKYO; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Ryan Woo)

If you are like many Americans, you have a variety of investment and retirement accounts. When it comes time to live on that money, how do you decide which ones to tap first?

The goal is to maximize your ability to generate income throughout retirement while keeping your tax burden low. That may not be easy, however, given that many savers have money stashed in a variety of accounts, all with different tax implications, including tax-deferred 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts, after-tax Roth IRAs and taxable investment accounts.

Adding to the complexity, retirees must decide when to claim Social Security. That, in turn affects how much they need to pull from savings.

In the end, the financially smartest choice may not be immediately obvious — or easy to accept.

With that in mind, here is a guide on how to proceed:

First things first

Tax storm has advisers selling some assets

Combine stock gains, exercised options, bonuses and mutual-fund distributions with higher tax rates and disappearing deductions and some investors face whopping 2013 tax bills. Advisers did what they could to prepare, but some are now selling bonds o meet the payments.

If you’re already age 70½ or older, the first income source is a no-brainer: Take your required minimum distributions from IRAs and company retirement plans, or risk onerous penalties. (Some company plans let you wait until you retire if you are still on the job.)

Generally, the next step — which is the first step for those not subject to minimum distributions — is to begin withdrawing income produced in taxable accounts. You are likely to pay capital-gains or qualified-dividend tax rates on this income, which is lower than the ordinary tax rate you would pay on money withdrawn from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. Plus it can be smart to let IRA and 401(k) assets continue to grow tax-deferred. (These are generalizations; all retirees should assess their own tax situation.)

When dipping into taxable accounts, taxes and asset allocation are two important considerations.

One strategy is to withdraw cash flows such as interest, dividends or capital gains that you had been reinvesting in additional shares. These payouts are taxable whether or not you reinvest, so consider having them deposited to a cash account at your brokerage.

Another idea: Pull income first from any asset class where your allocation has grown bigger than you’d like. Investors who are overweight in stocks might tap stock dividends “to keep their asset allocation closer to their target and reduce the need for future rebalancing,” says Colleen Jaconetti, senior investment analyst in Vanguard Group’s Investment Strategy Group.

Next is where it gets uncomfortable for some: dipping into the principal of taxable accounts.

Selling assets can be a psychological challenge for retirees who prefer the old-school method of living off investment income. But in today’s low-interest-rate environment, that can be tough. Some retirees have reacted by shifting into higher-yielding — and riskier — assets.

“We hear all the time, ‘I don’t want to touch my principal,’” Jaconetti says. But ultimately, investors seeking to create sufficient income without touching their savings may “put their portfolio at much higher risk” than if they simply sold some holdings, she says.

Delay Social Security

After depleting taxable accounts, your next income source is likely tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s.

It used to be that people not yet at minimum-distribution age would be advised to delay tapping these accounts to keep them growing as long as possible. But some experts now say that retirees who have a reasonable expectation of living beyond average life expectancy should accelerate withdrawals from these accounts if doing so will enable them to delay claiming Social Security.

Delaying Social Security benefits as long as possible (until age 70) can pay a hefty return in the form of higher benefits and, potentially, a lower tax bill on average over your retirement.

Every year you delay claiming benefits after reaching your full Social Security retirement age (age 66 to 67 for those born after 1942), your benefits increase by about 8% of your full-retirement-age benefit. You can claim as early as age 62, but your monthly benefit will be cut by about 20% to 30%.

Think of Social Security as insurance against living a long life, says Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at the American College. If you delay but then die at a young age, “you would regret having delayed, but at that point it doesn’t matter,” he says. “If, instead, you take Social Security early but live to 100, you may have lost $100,000 over your lifetime. The longer you live, the more costly it is to start Social Security early.”

Millions of credit card holders who bought add-on services from Bank of America may be in line for substantial payments from the company thanks to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The CFPB determined that the bank used deceptive marketing tactics to sell services such as “credit protection deluxe” and then unfairly billed consumers for services they weren’t actually receiving.

According to documents released by the CFPB on Wednesday, up to 2.9 million consumers will split some $727 million in refunds as a result of the consent order the bank negotiated with CFPB.
Related: Colleges Trick Parents on Financial Aid Rewards

“We have consistently warned companies about illegal practices related to credit card add-on products,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Bank of America both deceived consumers and unfairly billed consumers for services not performed. We will not tolerate such practices and will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of companies who wrong consumers in this market.”

The agency says the problems began with the telemarketers who were charged with selling the credit protection programs. Customers were told that if they purchased the product, Bank of America would cancel a portion of their debt in the event of certain adverse events, such as involuntary unemployment or disability.

The problem is that the telemarketers misstated the details of the program in the scripts read to consumers and that in some cases, the telemarketers didn’t bother with the script at all. That failure resulted in misleading sales pitches and leaving out important information.

The agency contends that the bank’s representatives misled customers about a number of things, including whether or not the first month of coverage was free, and exactly what protection was being provided. Other customers were signed up for the product despite being given the impression that they had only agreed to receive more information about it.
Related: Rough Week for an Agency Targeted by the GOP

With regard to other “credit protection” products, the CFPB found that Bank of America had billed customers for services that they did not receive, sometimes causing them to exceed their credit limits and incur fees and increased interest charges.

On top of reimbursing customers $727 million, the agreement requires the bank to pay a $20 million civil penalty to the CFPB. The bank will also face a $25 million civil penalty payable to its primary regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The bank acknowledged the agreement in a press release Wednesday, noting, “Bank of America stopped marketing identity theft protection products in December 2011 and credit card debt cancellation products in August of 2012.” The bank’s release reported a slightly higher amount of money that will be repaid to customers, putting the figure at $738 million.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times

April 10, 2014, 7:31 a.m.

Parents: You’re saving for college all wrong

College savings is up 30% from last year — and it’s still not enough

Shutterstock.com

While American families have more money saved for college than they did last year, it’s still not nearly enough — and they’re saving incorrectly, advisors say.

Only half of all families with children under 18 save any money for college (down from 62% in 2009), but among that group, total college savings are up a whopping 30% from last year to $15,346, according to Sallie Mae’s “How America Saves for College 2014” study released Thursday. The college savings levels of both high- and middle-income families have increased dramatically: High-income families, unsurprisingly, have the highest level of college savings at an average of $27,446, which is up 39% from last year; and middle income families have saved an average of $12,241, up 29% from last year. But low-income families, who have saved an average of just $3,792, down 26% from last year, are struggling with college savings.

Asked why they aren’t saving for college, 58% of non-saving families (more so for middle- and low-income families) say it’s because they don’t have enough money, 22% say they expect their kids to qualify for enough financial aid or scholarships to cover the cost and 21% say they haven’t gotten around to it. Interestingly, significantly more high-income families (21%) than middle- (13%) or low-income (5%) families say that they aren’t saving for college because they think it is their child’s responsibility to pay for college.

When it comes to where families put the money, there is significant variation. More parents use a general savings account (45% in 2014, compared with 42% in 2013) than any other method of saving. A distant second is the 529 plan (29% of parents use this, compared with 27% in 2013) and the checking account gets third place (24% this year vs. 27% next year). A little more than half of parents use multiple savings vehicles to put away money for college.

When advisors and experts review numbers like these, many have the same reaction: Parents aren’t saving enough for college and they’re not doing it right.

Mark Kantrowitz, the senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com , says that parents often underestimate the future cost of college. As a rough rule of thumb, he says that parents of newborns should assume that the average cost of college over any 17-year period will go up by a factor of three from its current cost. So using current pricing data from The College Board , that means it may cost a child attending a four-year in-state college in 2031 (17 years from now) more than $220,000 for all four years and a child attending a four-year private school more than $491,000.

While those numbers seem sky-high, Kantrowitz says that it’s OK to only save about a third of the projected college cost (though if you can afford it, more will make it easier on your children down the road), as you can assume that you can pull the other two-thirds from your current income and financial aid and loans when the time comes.

Still, in looking at the data, few parents have saved even close to that amount, as average savings across all college savings vehicles is only $15,346, the Sallie Mae study shows. As a rough rule of thumb, Kantrowitz says that parents of a newborn should be saving about $250 a month for in-state public tuition, $400 a month for out-of-state-public college tuition and $500 a month for private nonprofit college tuition. “A lot of parents don’t save enough or they wait too long to start,” says Kimberly Foss, the founder and president of Roseville, Calif.-based financial-planning firm Empyrion Wealth Management

What’s more, not only are parents not saving enough for college, they’re saving the wrong way, experts say. By far the most popular college savings vehicle is the general savings account (nearly half of families with children under 18 use this to save for college). But Foss says that the best college savings vehicle is the 529 plan (less than one-third of parents are using this to save). “There aren’t many reasons not to use it,” she says. One of the major reasons these plans are better than general savings accounts is that your investments in 529 plans grow tax-deferred and distributions come out tax-free on the federal level; plus 34 states and Washington, D.C. offer state income-tax deductions, so there’s a “double tax advantage” in these cases.

Furthermore, you can transfer the funds in these accounts to another child if one of your kids opts out of school and 529 plans are treated favorably with colleges’ financial aid offices. General savings accounts can’t compete with the benefits of the 529 when it comes to saving for college, Foss says. However, if you do not use the 529 plan for college expenses, you will likely have to pay a 10% penalty and income tax on the earnings when you withdraw the money.

Deana Arnett, a senior planning consultant at Rosenthal Wealth Management Group in Northern Virginia, says that parents should also look into their state’s prepaid college tuition plan, if they think their child will go to an in-state school. (Only about 14% of parents use these plans, the Sallie Mae study found.) Advisors also say that it’s worth using Upromise , which gives you cash-back that goes towards college savings when you buy certain items, as a supplementary savings vehicle.

Advisors say that while parents rightfully prioritize saving for retirement (53% of total family savings) over saving for their kids’ college (10% of family savings), there are still a significant number of parents who plan to pillage their retirement funds to pay for their kids’ college. Indeed, fully 18% of parents plan to use their retirement account to pay for college, a number that is virtually unchanged from last year. But Foss says this tends to be a big no-no. “Your kids can always find some way to get loans for school, but no one but you is going to finance your retirement,” she says. However, Arnett notes that in some cases, you can take money out of your IRA penalty-free, but parents should make sure they have adequately saved for retirement before doing this.

AP Photo

Last August SumZero, a social research site for investment professionals, launched a new feature dedicated to compensation trends within our buyside-only investment community. We (SumZero) have since collected thousands of salary reports sourced directly from analysts, associates, and portfolio managers working at hedge funds, mutual funds, and private equity funds around the world. A handful of high-level findings from our database are available below.

“Pay” is just one of several information types that we aggregate on an industry-wide level through SumZero, but it also happens to be a controversial, publicly-relevant topic since (1) participants are generally being paid a lot, (2) performance can be quantified relatively easily, and (3) members of the public are, in some cases, the actual customer footing the fees that pay the salaries.

Compensation data is hard to get. Annual surveys are conducted by a variety of outlets, and the results are sold for thousands of dollars per report. But we have elected to make this information much more accessible...and free.
Contributors span the junior-level to executive-level. They are old and young, generalists and specialists. They work at different types of funds in cities all across the world--although, notably, we do not offer access to quant funds and thus receive no data from them. Some take home millions a year in pay. Many others take home $0 over the course of a full year, which is a reality that the media never fails to ignore.

Using the database, permissioned users can construct elaborate searches like “show me how much a Senior Analyst covering Industrials with 5-7 years of experience at a $500mm Private Equity fund in Singapore made on average in 2013.” From there, one could examine each of the individual reports matching that criteria to examine some of the key differences between them. For the purposes of this article, however, we are looking at much broader trends.

A few, important disclaimers before diving into the data:
1. This is not a rigid statistical analysis. I have not controlled for outliers. I am not drawing from a well-balanced population from within the buyside, i.e. we are heavily NYC-biased, slant a bit younger, and are dominated by hedge funds. Take it all with a significant grain of salt.

2. This is user-generated information. There’s no reason why someone would or should provide misleading information (since the information is collected anonymously), but people do mysterious things.

3. Some results are not statistically significant.

4. Some data points we collect include estimates which are inherently subject to significant margins of error.

5. Our database has not been around long enough to be sensitive to the natural realities of full market cycles.

Over time, we expect the dataset to become much richer, increase in significance, thus become far more actionable. This is merely the beginning.