Friday, July 24, 2009
Morgan Stanley sets aside 72% of revenue to pay bonuses
Morgan Stanley is setting aside a huge sum to pay out bonuses despite posting its third consecutive quarterly loss and admitting it is disappointed with key departments.
The US bank's latest results show it is allocating $3.9bn (£2.36bn) for paying out to staff, 72% of its net revenues. That dwarfs the percentage of revenue set aside by arch rival Goldman Sachs, where workers are on track for large bonuses after record results last week.
Morgan Stanley extinguished the tentative flames of optimism among US banks today when it posted a loss of $159m for April to June and said it was not satisfied with its performance in fixed income trading and in asset management.
News of the bank's loss unsettled traders on Wall Street, whose view of the banking sector's prospects was brightened last week by Goldman's surge in profits and further upbeat news from JP Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America.
Goldman said last week that it was dedicating 49% of its revenue to paying its staff, amounting to a compensation fund of $6.65bn.
Further reading of Morgan Stanley's results showed its compensation pot was not only much bigger as a percentage of net revenues of $5.4bn, but that it had jumped 26% from $3.1bn a year ago.
"It was a very good quarter to be a Morgan Stanley employee," said analyst Brad Hintz at Sanford C Bernstein & Co. "I'm not so sure it was so good to be a Morgan Stanley shareholder."
Although big bonuses to bankers are arousing controversy in the wake of the credit crunch, bumper payouts seem here to stay as firms continue to battle to attract the most talented staff.
The hefty bonus pot at Morgan Stanley echoes its comments that it needs to woo more top performers to its trading floors.
John Mack, chairman and chief executive, said that it was one way the loss-making bank was "taking steps to deliver better results" in its underperforming departments.
"These initiatives include hiring to add key trading and investment management talent," he said.
The bank was hit in the latest quarter by a charge related to repaying government loans known as Tarp. The disappointing performance from Morgan Stanley was accompanied by downbeat news from San Francisco-based Wells Fargo and tempered optimism about a recovery in the financial sector.
Botched Surgery Costs Airman His Legs, Possibly His Job
In new developments, FOX40 News has learned a doctor-in-training was performing a gallbladder surgery when something went medically wrong, leading to the double-amputation of a military cadet.
Former Israeli Minister - "It's a Trick, We Always Use It, calling people anti Semitic"
Check this link ..... http://tinyurl.com/lpwnhf
U.S. Based Revolution Muslim Website Spreading Messages of Hate
NEW YORK, N.Y. — On any given day, log on to RevolutionMuslim.com and a host of startling images appear:
— The Statue of Liberty, with an ax blade cutting through her side;
— Video mocking the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, entitled "Daniel Pearl I am Happy Your Dead :) ";
— Video of a puppet show lampooning U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq;
— The latest speech from Sheikh Abdullah Faisal, an extremist Muslim cleric convicted in the UK and later deported for soliciting the murder of non-Muslims.
Even more surprising is that RevolutionMuslim.com isn't being maintained in some remote safe house in Pakistan. Instead, Yousef al-Khattab, the Web site creator, runs it from his home in the New York City Borough of Queens.
And, because al-Khattab enjoys the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, all the authorities can do is watch.
Formerly known as Joseph Cohen, al-Khattab is an American-born Jew who converted to Islam after attending an Orthodox Rabbinical school, which he later described as a “racist cult.”
The 39-year-old New York taxi driver launched RevolutionMuslim.com with the mission of “preserving Islamic culture,” “calling people to the oneness of God” and asking them to “support the beloved Sheik Abdullah Faisal, who’s preaching the religion of Islam and serving as a spiritual guide.”
In 2003 Faisal was convicted in the U.K. for spreading messages of racial hatred and urging his followers to kill Jews, Hindus and Westerners. In sermon recordings played at his trial, Faisal called on young, impressionable Muslims to use chemical weapons to “exterminate unbelievers” and “cut the throat of the Kaffars [nonbelievers] with [a] machete.”
Authorities believe Faisal’s sermons have influenced 2005 London transport bomber Germaine Lindsay and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who attended mosques where Faisal preached.
At times, al-Khattab's postings are farcical, such as a picture of him holding the book "Nuclear Jihad" with a wry smile on his face. Other messages call for radical Muslim rule worldwide.
Al-Khattab claims the Sept. 11 terror attacks were an “inside job,” and he blames U.S. foreign policy for spawning the terrorism that carried out the attacks.
He calls Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002 by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, “a convicted spy.”
“I could care less about Daniel Pearl,” al-Khattab said in an interview with FOXNews.com. “I’m happy to see that he’s gone.”
Click here to view RevolutionMuslim.com.
The content changes constantly. One reason is that the fast flow of information allows messages to spread through cyberspace quickly. Another, terrorism analysts say, is to make it difficult for law enforcement to monitor the site.
Despite his radical anti-Western views, al-Khattab says he does not support terrorism of any kind.
Yet, RevolutionMuslim.com claims to be the official site of “North American representatives” for Sheikh Faisal, and it appears dedicated to spreading his radical doctrine.
He says Faisal “never said to kill innocent people” and was unjustly imprisoned. He says the real terror organizations are the U.S. Army, the CIA, and the FBI — and the National Coast Guard, “to a lesser extent.”
According to RevolutionMuslim, Faisal — who was deported to his native Jamaica in 2007 — is now receiving donations solicited on the site, including money for a new laptop and DVD burner to spread his message.
It's not illegal to post these messages or collect money for Faisal, but it would be if Faisal were designated a terrorist by the U.S. government. He currently is not listed on any government terror list; a Department of Justice spokesman could not confirm or deny if Faisal is being investigated for any terror related activity.
RevolutionMuslim may look amateurish when compared with other extremist Web sites, but it is no less of a threat, says Mia Bloom, political science professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.
“It may lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other, more dangerous Web sites,” such as those run by terrorist organizations, she said.
Bloom characterized al-Khattab’s message as “narrow” and “misinformed” and said he is attempting to “proselytize or radicalize people who share some of these same ideas.”
“[He] has obviously been duped or is duping others because that’s not what Islam preaches,” she said.
On his site al-Khattab appears to condemn the very democracy that guarantees him the freedom to express himself — a freedom he cites in a disclaimer on his homepage:
“We hereby declare and make absolute public declaration that revolutionmuslim.com operates under the first amendment right to freedom of religion and expression and that in no way, shape, or form do we call for war against the U.S. government or adhere to the enemies of the United States elsewhere.”
Under the law FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said it is difficult to bring criminal charges against the operators of Web sites like RevolutionMuslim.com unless specific threats are made against an individual or individuals.
Kolko while not speaking directly about RevolutionMuslim said radical sites like these are not often prosecuted.
"It's usually a First Amendment right if they don't cross the threshold of making any threats," said Kolko. "There's nothing we should or could do."
“Until the rhetoric reaches the point in which it’s no longer protected speech under the first amendment, it’s hard to stop it,” said security expert, Harvey Kushner.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
台6月失業率5.94% 無業遊民64.7萬人
台灣主計處今天(22日)公佈，受部分應屆畢業生投入職場影響，6月失業率為5.94%，較上個月的5.82%又上升0.12個百分點。失業人數為64萬7千人，較上月增加1萬4千人。
主 計處表示，上半年平均就業人數為1,024萬3千人，較上年同期減少14萬7千人，平均失業人數為62萬3千人，較上年同期增加20萬5千人或 49.00%，平均失業率為5.73%，較上年同期上升1.86個百分點。上半年平均勞動力參與率為57.80%，較上年同期下降0.42個百分點。
世界主要國家最新失業率為：美國9.5%，加拿大8.6%，德國8.1%，英國7.6%，香港5.4%，日本5.2%，韓國4.0%，新加坡3.3%。在亞洲主要國家中，台灣仍然「敬陪末座」。
經濟衰退 英女王也遭殃 資產縮水逾1/5
（中央社記者黃貞貞倫敦22日專電）經濟衰退持續重創英國，女王伊麗莎白二世也遭池魚之殃。據最新公布的報告，女王所屬的私人資產因經濟不景氣，2008-2009會計年度共減少7500萬英鎊，減幅達23%。
管理女王土地、不動產與資產的單位The Duchy ofLancaster指出，女王2008-2009會計年度資產總值下跌7500萬英鎊（約新台幣40.5億元），達3億2200萬英鎊。
Duchy's council總裁夏特沃思（LordShuttleworth）指出，去年女王資產大幅滑落，以商業大樓、金融投資受創最嚴重，農業方面的投資受創較輕，商業大樓損失3700萬英鎊，金融投資則減損160萬英鎊。
夏特沃思悲觀表示，展望未來一年，前景仍十分艱難，空盪的商業大樓，企業租戶因生意失敗退租，都使來年收入增加更困難。
不過，雖然資產總值縮水，但是女王從The Duchyof Lancaster所獲得支付私人與公務的經費增加5.4%，由前年的1260萬英鎊，提高到1330萬英鎊。
報告同時顯示，2008-2009會計年度，皇室共使用納稅人4150萬英鎊，較前一個會計年度增加150萬英鎊。
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