TGIF
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
What is the best way to get rid of Win32:kuang 2?
It keeps appearing at every AVAST check even though I put it in the VIRUS CHEST as recommended by AVAST.
It does not appear with Windows Defender and SpyBot.
Thanks
ou
ps I did find this that may indicate a false positive, but I would rather hear from you on this.
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=2761.0
Liberals propose non-confidence motion, governing coalition
57 minutes ago
By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - The Liberal Opposition plans to introduce a motion in the House of Commons on Monday declaring non-confidence in the minority Conservative government and proposing a governing coalition.
The motion comes as emissaries from the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois hold talks about forming a new government should Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority fall.
But Harper could still avert the immediate defeat of his weeks-old government through procedural tactics.
The Liberal motion, which has the approval of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, reads:
"In light of the government's failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada's economic situation and its failure in particular to present any credible plan to stimulate the Canadian economy and to help workers and businesses in hard-pressed sectors such as manufacturing, the automotive industry and forestry, this House has lost confidence in this government and is of the opinion that a viable alternative government can be formed within the present House of Commons."
A source says the opposition parties have agreed that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion would lead the government for the next few months.
Copyright © 2008 Canadian Press
Restaurateur tracks down bill dodgers on Facebook
By Reuters staff
An Australian restaurateur left holding a hefty unpaid bill when five young diners bolted used the popular social network website Facebook to track them down -- and they got their just desserts.
Peter Leary from seafood restaurant Seagrass on Melbourne's Southbank was fuming when the diners ate their way through the menu, pairing oysters, trout and red emperor with some expensive wines, slipped out for a cigarette -- and never returned.
But Leary, left with an unpaid bill of A$520 ($340), remembered one of the diners asking about a former waitress, whom he then contacted and she suggested they check through some contacts on Facebook.
"We searched a few names and there in front of us his face came up," Leary told Reuters, referring to one of the diners.
"He was pictured with his girlfriend who was the only girl in the group. We also knew where he worked, at a nearby restaurant, which was handy. It'd been clear they were in the trade."
Leary contacted the manager of the other restaurant, where both the man and his girlfriend worked, and explained the situation.
Within hours the diner returned to apologize and paid the bill -- and left a generous tip for the staff.
Leary said the fellow restaurateur called him later to inform him that both the man and his girlfriend had been sacked.
"On this occasion I guess you could say that being on Facebook backfired for them," said Leary, who has no intention of taking the matter any further or contacting the police.
Facebook, which began in 2004 as a socialising site for students at Harvard University, has seen its growth zoom to 90 million members from 24 million a little over a year ago, overtaking rival MySpace to become the world's largest online social network.
Chretien, Broadbent brokering possible coalition
52 minutes ago
By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien and one-time NDP leader Ed Broadbent met on Parliament Hill on Friday to discuss the possibility of a coalition government.
A senior NDP official told The Canadian Press the talks began Thursday soon after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered an economic update that threatened to bankrupt the opposition parties.
The official said NDP Leader Jack Layton asked Broadbent to call Chretien with the idea that the two elder statesmen could finesse a deal to defeat the minority Conservative government and form a coalition with support from the Bloc Quebecois.
The NDP and the Liberals together don't command a majority of the Commons seats.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says the two former leaders spoke at least four times.
The opposition parties all say Flaherty's mini-budget, which puts strict limits on federal spending, bans public-sector strikes through 2011, and denies federal parties $30 million in annual funding, is ideologically driven and offers no stimulus package to deal with the economic crisis.
It also contains a potentially lethal poison pill - a vow to scrap public subsidies for political parties that would financially cripple every party except the Tories.
Flaherty insisted the party financing changes are part of the fiscal framework and will be considered a matter of confidence in the Commons. He said an accompanying bill will be put to a vote Monday.
The government's hard line set off another round of political chicken just five weeks after the Oct. 14 election returned Prime Minister Stephen Harper to power with a strengthened minority
The Liberals are taking the prospect of a coalition so seriously that some MPs are privately discussing ways to dump Stephane Dion as leader without waiting for their party's scheduled May 2 leadership vote.
Copyright © 2008 Canadian Press
Copyright 2008 © Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Looking at double short and double long situations for gold in next few days with HBD and HBU.
Speed of recent change breathtaking - November 26, 2008
By Peter G. Hall, Vice-President and Chief Economist, Export Development Canada
Listen to the Weekly Commentary podcast.
The adage “one month does not a trend make” was shattered in October. The speed of change in key economic indicators was breathtaking, and wasn’t confined to single economies, industries or ideologies. Analysts’ views on the economy’s near-term path, disparate just weeks ago, now vary only on the severity of the downturn. The dust kicked up by the rapid change and resulting post-October volatility has clouded the economic line of sight significantly.
How swift were the changes? Consider stock markets. Octobers in the past would be hard to beat on the decline scale, but this one made the grade. To exceed the 17% beating the S&P 500 took last month, you have to go back to October of 1987, and prior to that, only May of 1940 and the Dirty Thirties compare. Indexes for most other large economies yield similar results. The TSX index, more influenced by commodities, has seen just three October-style drops since 1940.
Consider also commodities. They are well known for their volatility, but October was a standout. Oil prices have only experienced a one-month tumble greater than last month’s once in the past 25 years – when prices were in freefall in 1986, unwinding the oil price shocks of the 1970s. Base metals also had a rough month. Nickel prices were battered yet again, but the drops in zinc, and more alarmingly in copper–the most prescient base metal–were unprecedented in recent years.
Currencies also shifted radically. The trade-weighted US currency – which measures the greenback’s fluctuations against key trading-partner currencies, rose by 6.7% in October, the largest monthly gain recorded in at least 38 years. The jump reflects global flight to quality US assets during the month, rapid covering of short US dollar positions and foreign bank recapitalization activities. The drop in the Canadian dollar was likewise without precedent, and was even more pronounced at 11.7%, given the additional effect of lower commodity prices.
Other yet-unreleased October indicators will likely tell a similar tale. Confidence, which usually reflects concurrent economic behaviour, tumbled badly in the month. Pundits aren’t waiting for all the data, though. Forecasts are being revised downward swiftly. For example, the IMF has taken the highly unusual step of revising its October 2008 World Economic Outlook just days after its release. Most others are also scrambling to adjust their outlooks downward.
Speaking of speed, governments have vaulted into action. From bailouts of the financial sector to provisions of liquidity, interest rate cuts, statements of confidence and intent, and massive stimulus packages, governments around the world have wasted little time crafting and enacting policies to meet the challenges head-on. And more is expected before the dust settles.
The bottom line? The speed of change seen in October was alarming, and the effects are continuing. Further bad near-term economic news is almost a certainty, and as such, market volatility is likely to persist. There are no models that pinpoint economic behaviour in today’s environment, adding considerably to the challenge of forecasting. The current economic tumble is bad – but not bottomless. And we know we are now nearer to the economy’s true floor than we were two months ago. When October’s dust settles, the path to recovery will become clearer.
Speed of recent change breathtaking - November 26, 2008
By Peter G. Hall, Vice-President and Chief Economist, Export Development Canada
The adage “one month does not a trend make” was shattered in October. The speed of change in key economic indicators was breathtaking, and wasn’t confined to single economies, industries or ideologies. Analysts’ views on the economy’s near-term path, disparate just weeks ago, now vary only on the severity of the downturn. The dust kicked up by the rapid change and resulting post-October volatility has clouded the economic line of sight significantly.
How swift were the changes? Consider stock markets. Octobers in the past would be hard to beat on the decline scale, but this one made the grade. To exceed the 17% beating the S&P 500 took last month, you have to go back to October of 1987, and prior to that, only May of 1940 and the Dirty Thirties compare. Indexes for most other large economies yield similar results. The TSX index, more influenced by commodities, has seen just three October-style drops since 1940.
Consider also commodities. They are well known for their volatility, but October was a standout. Oil prices have only experienced a one-month tumble greater than last month’s once in the past 25 years – when prices were in freefall in 1986, unwinding the oil price shocks of the 1970s. Base metals also had a rough month. Nickel prices were battered yet again, but the drops in zinc, and more alarmingly in copper–the most prescient base metal–were unprecedented in recent years.
Currencies also shifted radically. The trade-weighted US currency – which measures the greenback’s fluctuations against key trading-partner currencies, rose by 6.7% in October, the largest monthly gain recorded in at least 38 years. The jump reflects global flight to quality US assets during the month, rapid covering of short US dollar positions and foreign bank recapitalization activities. The drop in the Canadian dollar was likewise without precedent, and was even more pronounced at 11.7%, given the additional effect of lower commodity prices.
Other yet-unreleased October indicators will likely tell a similar tale. Confidence, which usually reflects concurrent economic behaviour, tumbled badly in the month. Pundits aren’t waiting for all the data, though. Forecasts are being revised downward swiftly. For example, the IMF has taken the highly unusual step of revising its October 2008 World Economic Outlook just days after its release. Most others are also scrambling to adjust their outlooks downward.
Speaking of speed, governments have vaulted into action. From bailouts of the financial sector to provisions of liquidity, interest rate cuts, statements of confidence and intent, and massive stimulus packages, governments around the world have wasted little time crafting and enacting policies to meet the challenges head-on. And more is expected before the dust settles.
The bottom line? The speed of change seen in October was alarming, and the effects are continuing. Further bad near-term economic news is almost a certainty, and as such, market volatility is likely to persist. There are no models that pinpoint economic behaviour in today’s environment, adding considerably to the challenge of forecasting. The current economic tumble is bad – but not bottomless. And we know we are now nearer to the economy’s true floor than we were two months ago. When October’s dust settles, the path to recovery will become clearer.
lol ... does that mean I should peek at ....????
GM up 40% ... bailout in the air tonight?!!
November 24, 2008
Citigroup to Halt Dividend and Curb Pay
By ERIC DASH
As part of a rescue agreement with federal regulators, Citigroup will effectively halt dividend payments for the next three years and will agree to restrictions on and review of certain executive compensation, it was announced on Monday. The bank will also put in place the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s loan modification plan, which is similar to one it recently announced.
Federal regulators announced late Sunday night that the government had approved a radical plan to stabilize Citigroup in an arrangement in which the government could soak up billions of dollars in losses at the struggling bank. President Bush said on Monday that more such rescues could be arranged if they became necessary.
In pledging similar assistance, President Bush said, “We have made these kind of decisions in the past, made one last night, and if need be we’re going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future.”
Speaking from the steps of the Treasury Building with Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. beside him, the president said Mr. Paulson was working closely with the transition team of President-elect Barack Obama, and that the new president would be kept informed.
“It’s important for the American people to know that there is close cooperation,” Mr. Bush said.
The complex rescue plan calls for the government to back about $306 billion in loans and securities and directly invest about $20 billion in Citigroup. The plan, emerging after a harrowing week in the financial markets, is the government’s third effort in three months to contain the deepening economic crisis and may presage other multibillion-dollar financial rescues.
Citigroup executives presented a plan to federal officials on Friday evening after a weeklong plunge in the company’s share price threatened to engulf other big banks. In tense, round-the-clock negotiations that stretched until almost midnight on Sunday, it became clear that the crisis of confidence had to be defused now or the financial markets could plunge further. Citigroup shares were up 66 percent on Monday, to $6.26.
Whether this latest rescue plan will help calm the markets is uncertain, given the stress in the financial system caused by losses at Citigroup and other banks. Each previous government effort initially seemed to reassure investors, leading to optimism that the banking system had steadied. But those hopes faded as the economic outlook worsened, raising worries that more bank loans were turning sour.
Mr. Obama was also working over the weekend to shore up confidence in the rapidly faltering economy. Mr. Obama signaled that he would pursue a far more ambitious plan of spending and tax cuts than he had outlined during his campaign and planned to announce his economic team on Monday. Some Democrats in Congress, meantime, were calling for the government to spend as much as $700 billion to stimulate the economy over the next two years. The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, was involved in the discussions.
Mr. Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, played a crucial role in the negotiations on Friday but took a less active role once news of his appointment was circulated. While the initial focus of government officials was to help the embattled company, they may also seek to draw up an industrywide plan that could help other banks.
The plan could herald another shift in the government’s financial rescue. The Treasury Department first proposed buying troubled assets from banks but then reversed course and began injecting capital directly into financial institutions. Neither plan, however, restored investors’ confidence for long.
“By intervening, they are giving the market some heart to temporarily stave off some fear — but you can only push that so much,” said Charles R. Geisst, a financial historian and professor at Manhattan College.
Banking industry officials said the decision to support Citigroup, while necessary, could draw a firestorm of criticism from institutions that were not so big that their potential failure was considered a threat.
Under the agreement, Citigroup and regulators will back up to $306 billion of largely residential and commercial real estate loans and certain other assets, which will remain on the bank’s balance sheet. Citigroup will shoulder losses on the first $29 billion of that portfolio.
Any remaining losses will be split between Citigroup and the government, with the bank absorbing 10 percent and the government absorbing 90 percent. The Treasury Department will use its bailout fund to assume up to $5 billion of losses. If necessary, the F.D.I.C. Corporation will bear the next $10 billion of losses. Beyond that, the Federal Reserve will guarantee any additional losses.
In exchange, Citigroup will issue $7 billion of preferred stock to government regulators. In addition, the government is buying $20 billion of preferred stock in Citigroup. The preferred shares will pay an 8 percent dividend and will slightly erode the value of shares held by investors.
The government said it was taking the step to bolster the economy while protecting taxpayers. “We will continue to use all of our resources to preserve the strength of our banking institutions and promote the process of repair and recovery and to manage risks,” the regulators said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Inside Citigroup’s Park Avenue headquarters, the mood was tense. Through the weekend, Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary and an influential executive and director at Citigroup, held several discussions with Mr. Paulson.
Vikram S. Pandit, Citigroup’s chief executive, spoke to regulators and lawmakers. Mr. Pandit also met with Citigroup’s board on Saturday, and there was no indication that they would seek to replace him.
Once the nation’s largest and mightiest financial company, Citigroup lost half its value in the stock market last week. Although Citigroup executives maintain the bank is sound, investors worry that its finances are deteriorating. Citigroup has suffered staggering losses for a year now, and few analysts think the pain is over. Many investors worry that it needs more capital.
With more than $2 trillion in assets and operations in more than 100 countries, Citigroup is so large and interconnected that its troubles could spill over into other institutions. Citigroup is widely viewed, both in Washington and on Wall Street, as too big to be allowed to fail.
Citigroup executives reached out to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury last week as they sought to stabilize the company’s stock price. All major bank stocks have been battered in recent weeks, including those of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.
Citigroup’s shares have been hit particularly hard. A year ago they were trading at about $30; on Friday they closed at $3.77.
The plan under discussion is reminiscent of the one that Citigroup and the F.D.I.C. worked out in October with Citigroup’s proposal to buy the Wachovia Corporation. That deal fell through, however, when Wells Fargo swept in with a higher offer.
Under that plan, Citigroup agreed to bear a certain level of Wachovia’s losses, with the federal agency absorbing the rest. In exchange, Citigroup agreed to give the F.D.I.C. preferred stock.
It is also similar to an effort orchestrated by Swiss financial regulators for UBS, another big global bank. Last month, the Swiss central bank and UBS reached an agreement to transfer as much as $60 billion of troubled securities and other assets from UBS’s balance sheet to a separate entity.
Gretchen Morgenson, Louise Story and David Stout contributed reporting.
VRS distresed but a gamble worth watching
GGN on radar!
Thanks, good advice!
"The secret of sucess is to get up early, work late and strike oil."
--J. D. Rockefeller
Jilted lover accidentally blows up building
Wed Nov 12, 2:00 PM
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German charged with murder for causing a gas explosion that destroyed half an apartment building and killed his neighbor, told a court Wednesday he was only trying to kill himself because he was lovesick.
The 22-year old on trial in Moenchengladbach, western Germany, said he had opened the natural gas taps in his apartment intending to commit suicide after his girlfriend broke up with him by phone.
When the 17-year old later arrived to pick her belongings up from his flat, she unwittingly lit a cigarette which ignited the gas and blew up half of the building, injuring 15 people and killing a 45-year old neighbor.
The 22-year-old man and his ex-girlfriend survived the blast. Ralf Wolters, a court spokesman, said the man said he did not realize there was a risk of explosion.
Wolters said the 22-year-old was charged with murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
(Reporting by Josie Cox; Editing by Matthew Jones)
Cheap Is Cool TheSpec.com - living - Cheap Is Cool
Discounts. Second-hand. Even free. Everyone is shopping for bargains these days -- even the Queen
Jeff Mahoney
Rebecca Penty
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 31, 2008)
Randy Henderson scored his 52-inch rear-projection plasma TV for $50. And he spent only $100 on used parts for his kitchen cabinets, selling some leftover doors for $50.
"Just about everything I get is a bargain," says the east Mountain resident who scours newspaper ads and websites for finds, visiting garage sales nearly every weekend for deals.
Thrift is in. And those trying to save a buck could take a lesson from Henderson, who's been a bargain hunter for years.
"People have dropped their inhibitions about shopping at inexpensive stores," says Jane Furnival, the British author of three books on saving cash and host of the BBC's Smart Spending.
"Suddenly, it's trendy to shop at the cheaper places. People boast about their thrift shop finds," Furnival says.
She credits the growing social approval of bargain shopping to higher worldwide food prices, examples set by public figures and an environmental movement that preaches consuming less.
Furnival says that even royalty is giving cues that paying less is OK.
"The Queen and the Royal Family play a game at Christmas which is, 'Who can buy the cheapest gift.'"
Hollywood star Sarah Jessica Parker made headlines last year with the launch of her inexpensive clothing line, Bitten. Parker was famous for her pricey shoes as Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, but in real life she reportedly often shops at second-hand stores.
The numbers say discount shopping is not only in, but people are buying into it. Sales are up at discount stores, but mid- to high-end joints are struggling.
An International Council of Shopping Centers report on 38 stores found that shopping at discount stores in the U.S. was up 5.1 per cent in June, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. performed its best that month since 2002.
Oakville retail analyst Kevin Graff says that while Canadian companies report public results only quarterly, he knows that in recent months discount clothing stores in Canada have been doing exceptionally well.
"There's a huge proportion of Canadian consumers who want fashion and want it cheap," Graff says, listing H&M and Giant Tiger as companies that are shining while higher priced retailers suffer.
McMaster University marketing professor Marvin Ryder says consumers are spending less as gasoline prices skyrocket and stores mark up items across the board to account for high transportation costs.
Since the loonie outshone the U.S. dollar last fall, Ryder says shoppers have been bartering more with store managers for high-ticket items such as TVs and beds.
"This is a new thing in Canada and the United States," Ryder says. "Haggling or dickering in other parts of the world has always been considered fair."
Says Henderson: "For the most part, if you want to get a bargain, all you have to do is ask, and all they can say is no."
If an item has to be bought new, Furnival says, offer less and pay in cash. The store manager has quotas to fill, and it's cheaper to process cash transactions than credit.
Henderson's how-to guide for finding deals starts with finding the cost of an item new, so he knows its value.
He then looks in newspapers and websites such as kijiji.ca for what locals may be selling.
Stoney Creek local Julie Volcansek recently started looking for deals and is remodelling her kitchen -- for peanuts.
She got hand-me-down cabinets and a sink from her parents and found a cheap kickplate to connect the cabinets to the floor from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore on Nash Road North.
Second-hand clothes are all the rage with teens who want unique duds at a fraction of the price, says Value Village spokesperson Kaitlin King.
Owner Louis Leonowens of vintage shop Deja Vu on King Street West, says sales are up this summer.
Those riding the environmental wave are also shopping second-hand to reduce their carbon footprint.
A handful of Hamiltonians formed a local branch of the worldwide online network freecycle.org, which connects people who have items to get rid of and those who are looking for things.
rpenty@thespec.com
905-526-3283
Some discount retailers
* Discount Emporium (180 Locke St. S.) in Hamilton and in Dundas (99 King St. W.) offers reduced prices on Fitz and Floyd home decor, and tableware and giftware from places such as the Bay.
* End of the Roll (1510 North Service Rd.) in Burlington has discount carpet and flooring.
* Fashion Max (686 Queenston Rd.) has low-cost women's apparel featuring in-house designs.
* Habitat for Humanity's ReStore (285 Nash Rd. N.) has cheap donated supplies and furniture for home renovations at less than 50 per cent of the original price. Proceeds go to its not-for-profit Christian housing program.
* Len's Mill Store (41 Brockley Dr.) in Stoney Creek has great prices on yarns, fabrics and needlework accessories. Shoppers can also find deals on clothing, toys and other gizmos in the large warehouse.
* Leon's Furniture (1599 Stone Church Rd. E) has a scratch-and-dent warehouse where scuffed furniture sells for a fraction of the cost.
* Pet's Choice Warehouse Outlet (45 Nebo Rd.) offers discount pet food, toys and other products.
* Value Village (530 Fennell Ave. E.) carries inexpensive second-hand clothing, accessories and furniture.
* Winners (1508 Upper James St.) has a wide variety of clothing for men and women.
* Talize Thrift Department Store: Offers thrifty second-hand clothing and household items
1400 Upper James St., Hamilton
talize.com
* Decor On a Dime: Offers stylish home furnishings and decor on consignment
1205 Rymal Rd. E., Unit 5 Hamilton
decoronadime.ca
* ReStore Burlington: Sells used and surplus building materials, with proceeds funding local Habitat for Humanity housing
1800 Appleby Line, Units 10-11
habitathalton.ca/web/restore_locations.aspx
* St Vincent de Paul Retail Outlets: Offers value-priced furniture, clothing and household items
200 Parkdale Ave. N., Unit 1 969 Upper Ottawa St. 480 Parkdale Ave. N.
696 King St. E.
Makes sense .. I think!?
Cheers!!
ou
Anybody here see any serious risk in installing apps like Bloomberg or poker games available from the Apple Store for an iPOD Touch 16GB? I am just concerned in case apps screw up POD or maybe has a virus (no virus checker on my POD), and I would not know how to fix it.
TIA
ou
Oil is a long?
Gold is now a long?
CitiGroup on watch!
Cons Beacon ordered to pay debenture holders $554,000
2008-11-20 12:10 ET - Street Wire
by Mike Caswell
Consolidated Beacon Resources Ltd. must pay $554,000 to three debenture holders, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered. The debenture holders, Christopher Vorberg, Ramona Vorberg and Nazinin Jamshidi, claimed that the company failed to pay their debentures, despite demands.
They filed a motion on Nov. 13, 2008, asking for an order that the company pay the debentures without a full hearing. A judge agreed, and granted their request on Nov. 17.
Vorberg's statement of claim
Mr. Vorberg and the other plaintiffs sued the company on July 30, 2008. They claimed that they purchased convertible debentures on March 6, 2006.
The debentures bore interest at 8 per cent per year, and were convertible at 40 cents, at the option of the holder, according to the suit. They matured on Sept. 6, 2006.
The company was unable to repay those debentures on time, so it issued amended debentures to the plaintiffs on Jan. 22, 2007, the suit states. The amended debentures reduced the conversion price from 40 cents to 10 cents, and had a maturity date of Feb. 23, 2008.
(The stock was at 51 cents when the original debentures were issued, eight cents when they were amended and is now at three cents.)
When the new maturity date came up, the company was still unable to pay, the suit alleged. On May 16, 2008, the plaintiffs demanded repayment of the $500,000 in principal plus $37,890 in interest.
"Since February 23, 2008, the Defendant has failed, refused or neglected to pay the sum due on the three amended convertible debentures," the suit stated.
The suit sought $500,000 in principal plus $46,000 in unpaid interest. The suit was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by Rod Anderson of Harper Grey LLP.
Consolidated Beacon's statement of defence
The company filed a two-page statement of defence on Aug. 29, 2008, that contained few details. Consolidated Beacon "denied that it entered agreements to sell the alleged debentures or any debentures ... at all."
The company said that even if it did enter agreements to sell the debentures, it did not owe the plaintiffs any money.
The statement of defence also said that there was "no consideration to support the alleged contract" and if there was "the alleged consideration is a past consideration and is not sufficient in law to support the alleged contract."
The company asked that the claim be dismissed with costs. It was represented by Paul Miller of Boughton Law Corp.
Change of management
Consolidated Beacon is under different management than it was when it issued the debentures. On July 31, 2007, it appointed Richard Hawes as its president and chief executive officer. He replaced Nathan Hansen. The company also appointed Norman Johnson as its chief financial officer.
In its June 30, 2008, second quarter financials the company acknowledged that it owed $575,000 to debenture holders. It said it was negotiating to settle the debt, but should the negotiations fail it "would have a serious impact on the Company's ability to continue operations."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VRS new lows today
"Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."
--Count Leo Tolstoy
I may be wrong, but I sense a reversal soon in the price of oil. Is $20 a bottom or do we have to collapse to $25 first?
HOD unbeal!
If the government gets involved they might get something, otherwise if they just sink with no rescue package, I doubt if they will get any corporate pension.
jmo
lol
lol
GM new low
Really
Really!
NT new low
Kent Exploration sells Flagstaff barite to MMIL
2008-11-18 09:37 ET - News Release
Mr. Graeme O'Neill reports
KENT ENTERS INTO BARITE SALES AGREEMENT
Kent Exploration Inc. has entered into a barite sales agreement with Matovitch Mining Industries (MMIL), whereby MMIL will purchase approximately 20,000 tons per year of 4.1 specific gravity barite from the company's Flagstaff property.
The price to be paid is that published by the United States Geological Survey in its annually updated mineral commodity summary -- currently quoted at $40.00 (U.S.) per ton. The company projects a gross annual revenue of approximately $800,000 (U.S.) from this agreement.
The initial term of the agreement is for 10 years, renewable for an additional 10 years on substantially the same terms. MMIL paid $10,000 (U.S.) upon signing and must pay $30,000 (U.S.) into escrow, of which $10,000 (U.S.) is paid out upon mine plan approval, and the balance paid out on issuance of the mining permit.
MMIL is required to make annual minimum payments against barite purchases as follows: $35,000 (U.S.) on the first anniversary of the agreement, $40,000 (U.S.) on the second anniversary, $45,000 (U.S.) on the third anniversary, and $50,000 (U.S.) on the fourth and subsequent anniversaries.
Don't worry we have our own serious problems too!
Murder Suspect Has Witness: A MetroCard
By BENJAMIN WEISER
When Jason Jones was arrested in a fatal shooting in the Bronx in May, he told the police that he had been nowhere near the scene. He said he had left work, ridden the bus with some co-workers and cashed his paycheck, and later had taken a subway to see his girlfriend.
Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Jones and his older brother, Corey, in the shooting, saying they had killed the victim because he had been a government witness in drug and gun cases. Both men could face the death penalty if the government decides to seek it.
But in recent weeks, the case has taken an extraordinary turn — because of Jason Jones’s MetroCard.
Months after the arrests, a retired detective working for Mr. Jones’s lawyers drove to a city jail located on a barge moored in the East River in the South Bronx, where Mr. Jones had been held after his arrest, and retrieved his wallet. The MetroCard was still inside.
Mr. Jones’s lawyers then asked New York City Transit to use the card to trace his movements the night of the shooting. The results supported his account, showing that the card had been used on a bus, and later on a subway roughly five miles from the shooting, just as he had described.
With that, and a photograph snapped of Mr. Jones, 26, as he cashed his paycheck, his lawyers argued that it was impossible for him to have committed the crime. Both brothers have been released on bond for now, an unusual step in a federal murder case, while prosecutors say they are continuing to investigate.
Mr. Jones’s turn of fortune might not have been possible before the modern era, where the plastic MetroCards, along with E-ZPass and surveillance cameras, have become ubiquitous.
Critics have said that the devices, for all their convenience, have ushered in an era of Big Brother, but they have nonetheless become useful in legal proceedings, whether to prove or undermine an alibi, find a missing person or even track a cheating spouse.
The MetroCard, used when boarding New York City buses and entering subway stations, has a magnetic strip that records the amount of money or time left on the card. Centralized computers also store data on where and when the cards are used, retrieving the information from buses and subway turnstiles.
The transit agency said that it receives requests from time to time to trace card information from the police, prosecutors and defense lawyers, but that it does not follow up on how those cases turn out.
In at least one instance, a MetroCard helped lead to a conviction. In 2002, on Staten Island, a man was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend after the police used his MetroCard to prove that he was not on a bus when the killing occurred, as he claimed, but had in fact boarded it shortly afterward.
“Electronic evidence has become almost as important as DNA evidence,” said James B. Dowd, the retired detective who recovered the MetroCard from jailhouse storage.
The Jones brothers were arrested after a witness identified them as being involved in the murder of a man shortly after midnight on May 24, at Ogden Avenue and West 165th Street in the High Bridge section of the Bronx.
The witness, who has not been identified, said Corey Jones was arguing with the man and accused him of being a “snitch.” A short time later, the witness said, Corey handed Jason a gun, and Jason fired shots, killing the man. A call to 911 was made at 12:21 a.m., records show.
The Jones brothers already had a spotted past. Corey had convictions in two drug cases, Jason in a drug case and for stealing a car.
But both brothers have denied any involvement in the shooting, and Jason Jones said in an interview that when he was taken for questioning, he made it clear to the police that he could not have been involved.
“I told them they had the wrong person,” he said. “I was not there.”
During the interrogation, he said, it occurred to him that he had used his MetroCard on the bus and the subway, and he asked the police to check it. A detective took the card briefly, and then gave it back to him, and there was no further discussion about the card, he said.
The MetroCard came up again when Mr. Jones’s own lawyers debriefed him.
“Jason, from the outset, had a very good memory of where he had been,” George R. Goltzer, one of his lawyers, recalled.
The lawyers asked Mr. Dowd, the private investigator, to check out Jason Jones’s story.
Mr. Dowd drove to a manufacturing plant in Yonkers, where Mr. Jones had a temporary job as a forklift operator. A printout of his hours showed that on May 23, the night of the killing, he had punched out at 11:01 p.m.
Mr. Jones had said that he and several co-workers then boarded a No. 20 Bee-Line bus near Central Park Avenue and Tuckahoe Road and rode into the Bronx, where they stopped at a check-cashing outlet, Pay-O-Matic, near Montefiore Medical Center.
When Mr. Dowd visited Pay-O-Matic, he learned not only that it had a copy of Mr. Jones’s check, but that it took photographs of customers.
“Everything was time stamped,” Mr. Dowd recalled. A photograph shows Mr. Jones cashing his check at 11:39 p.m.
Mr. Dowd said Pay-O-Matic also had a photo of one of Mr. Jones’s co-workers cashing a check, in which Mr. Jones was visible in the background. That further corroborated his story that he had had been with his co-workers that night.
But Mr. Dowd still needed one more piece of evidence — the MetroCard.
Mr. Jones said that after cashing the check, he and his co-workers had walked to a friend’s apartment for a drink, and that he had then entered the 205th Street station on the D Line, less than a mile from the check-cashing outlet and about five miles from the shooting scene. He rode the train to 182nd Street to visit his girlfriend, he said, stayed with her until about 2 a.m., and then took a subway home.
After the investigator retrieved the MetroCard from the jail, Frederick H. Cohn, Mr. Jones’s other lawyer, called New York City Transit and asked to have the card’s history traced. “I said, ‘Well, how long is this going to take?’ ” Mr. Cohn recalled.
He said the employee said it would take three months. “She said, ‘We’re very busy. We’ve got all these requests.’ ”
Mr. Cohn said he pleaded: “We’ve got a guy who’s sitting in jail, and this is critical evidence.”
The request came back within days. Using the serial number of Mr. Jones’s seven-day unlimited MetroCard, the transit agency was able to report that Mr. Jones’s card had been used three times that night — on the No. 20 bus (the Bee-Line, the Westchester County bus system, accepts MetroCards) at 11:12 p.m.; at the 205th Street station at 12:30 a.m.; and at the 182nd-183rd Street station at 2 a.m. — all as he had said.
Mr. Jones’s lawyers say it would have physically impossible for him to commit the crime and be where his MetroCard was used. They say the card was in his possession the whole time.
Once presented with the new information, prosecutors agreed that Mr. Jones could be released on bond.
But they objected strenuously when lawyers for his brother made a similar request. The prosecutors said that their witness might have been wrong about Jason, but had correctly identified Corey.
The judge, Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan, earlier had refused to grant bail to Corey Jones, even after several witnesses said he had been with them at the time of the shooting. But, in a hearing last month, Judge Marrero suggested the new information could not be ignored.
“It seems somewhat implausible,” he said, that the government’s witness saw the event and was “right about one and mistaken about the other.”
The judge granted Corey Jones bail. Prosecutors have not dropped the charges, and said in court last month that their investigation was continuing. They declined to comment about the case outside court.
In his ruling, Judge Marrero paraphrased a saying about change by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. The judge wrote: “The river now flowing by is not the same river that passed by yesterday.”
Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales of crime
Tue Nov 18, 10:57 PM
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for "organized criminal activity" related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.
The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.
The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is "profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty," according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.
The indictment cites a "money trail" of Cheney's ownership in prison-related enterprises including the Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in south Texas.
Former attorney general Gonzales used his position to "stop the investigations as to the wrong doings" into assaults in county prisons, the indictment said.
Cheney's office declined comment. "We have not received any indictments. I can't comment on something we have not received," said Cheney's spokeswoman Megan Mitchell.
The indictment, overseen by county District Attorney Juan Guerra, cites the case of Gregorio De La Rosa, who died on April 26, 2001, inside a private prison in Willacy County.
The grand jury wrote it made its decision "with great sadness," but said they had no other choice but to indict Cheney and Gonzales "because we love our country."
Texas is the home state of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Bush and his Republican administration, which first took office in January 2001, leave the White House on January 20 after the November presidential elections won by Democrat Barack Obama. Gonzales was attorney general from 2005 to 2007.
(Reporting by Chris Baltimore and JoAnne Allen, Editing by Frances Kerry)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright 2008 © Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.