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To: mishedlo who wrote (51253)1/25/2006 12:19:56 AM
From: shades  Respond to of 110194
 
Mish I used to play this game called - The Bard's Tale II - the destiny knight -

images.google.com

and when you needed the future predicted - you went and talked to the wise sage in the woods who was your friend - well at the end of the game - that damn sage was really an evil archmage that was causing all the chaos and a great battle ensued between good and evil for the fate of the universe - hehe.

There was a spell in that game called disrupt illusion - hehe - made the band of illusionists tricks go away.

home.flash.net

If you're tired of waiting for morning to come enter and exit the guild. Find a band of illusionists and kill off the front line, have your caster conjure DISRUPT ILLUSION, you will keep disbelieving and gaining experience.



To: mishedlo who wrote (51253)1/25/2006 12:29:27 AM
From: shades  Respond to of 110194
 
The evil archmages are popping up everywhere - cast disrupt illusion!

DJ South Australian State Govt Revises Down 2005/06 Surplus

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SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--The government of the Australian state of South Australia almost halved the size of its estimated budget surplus in the financial year ending June 30, 2006 in its midyear review published Wednesday.

The state government's surplus is projected to narrow to A$27 million from A$224 million in the previous 2004/2005 fiscal year, a major revision from the initial budget estimate of a A$51 million surplus for 2005/2006 handed down Treasurer Kevin Foley in May 2005.

Projected surpluses in the next three financial years have also been sharply cut in the midyear review from the May 2005 budget forecasts.

The 2006/2007 surplus is estimated to narrow to A$9 million from the previous A$78 million forecast, the 2007/2008 surplus forecast is reduced to A$77 million from A$109 million and the 2008/2009 surplus is cut to A$58 million from A$75 million.

Estimates for revenue for the current fiscal year were increased to A$10.86 billion compared with the budget forecast of A$10.72 billion.

But they were outpaced by increases in spending with estimates of expenses rising to A$10.84 billion from the initial forecast of A$10.67 billion prompting the sharp deterioration in the state government's financial position.

The midyear review cites increased operating and investment spending for the deterioration in the budget position.

Revenue forecasts were also revised with increased collections from conveyancing duty and payroll tax offset by downward revisions in revenue grants from the national goods and services tax, or GST.

In Australia, the Commonwealth Government collects the GST on behalf of the states with the revenues dispersed based on a formula that takes into account contributions and the relative differences in population.

The review said the updated forecast reflects the Commonwealth's revised GST pool estimate for 2005/2006 and anticipated losses from future changes to the revenue sharing formula.

In its midyear economic and fiscal outlook published December, the Commonwealth advised that total GST revenue was expected to be A$627 million lower than its initial estimate.

Since the 2005/2006 budget, increased spending has been approved by the South Australian government in a number of priority areas, the review said.

Major priority decisions include funding for hospitals, additional student needs, disability accommodation and transport safety and security, it said.

In its economic outlook, the review predicts the backlog of housing construction activity will dissipate coupled with a moderation in building work throughout 2006 and 2007.

House price growth, a key driver of spending in the past few years, has slowed considerably through the middle of 2005 and is unlikely to contribute significantly to consumer spending, the review said.

The state's economy is forecast to remain growing at 2.75% annually in 2006/2007 while employment growth is tipped to ease to 1% from a revised 1.75% growth rate in 2005/2006.



To: mishedlo who wrote (51253)1/25/2006 1:45:44 AM
From: shades  Respond to of 110194
 
More ARCHMAGES - time to bring in Merlin and cast Greater Disrupt Illusion - hehe

DJ BOJ Dec 15-16 Minutes: Discussed Various Price Data -2-

Board members also actively debated the accuracy of various price data in gauging trends, touching on the core consumer price index, which is the BOJ's current benchmark for monetary policy, and the gross domestic product deflator, the government's preferred price indicator.

BOJ officials have recently been signaling that a policy shift could be near, as the core CPI looks set to sustain gains and that conditions for ending the current quantitative easing policy are falling into place.

One BOJ member pointed out that if the BOJ were to use the GDP deflator in gauging price trends, "it should take into account that it might be revised frequently and substantially with revisions of GDP statistics.

On the CPI, one BOJ board member said that excluding components which tend to show a lot temporary fluctuation would make it easier to grasp the underlying trend. The core CPI currently excludes volatile prices of fresh foods.

But many members, while noting that energy prices could be considered as one volatile factor, concluded "it was not appropriate to exclude (energy prices) because the recent rise in energy prices has been largely caused by an increase in the demand of emerging economies and thus was not necessarily a temporary factor."

The comments came at a time when the government, in a thinly veiled move to slow the BOJ's hand in ending its current ultra-easy policy, said it was working to compile a new set of CPI data minus food and energy prices. The data was released later that month and showed prices fell in November, even though the core CPI turned up.

Govt Insists Deflation Persists

But representatives from the government present at the December meeting continued to keep pressure on the BOJ by stressing deflation continued.

An official from the Cabinet Office said he hoped the central bank would look at price indicators other than the core CPI, such as the GDP deflator, when judging price trends.

"Furthermore, the government would like the Bank to consider presenting a desirable price level," to stabilize market expectations and contribute to overcoming deflation, the Cabinet Office official said.

The official from the Ministry of Finance said that the ministry "would like the BOJ to carefully explain to the market and the public that it will persevere with the current quantitative easing policy."

Members Discuss Stocks, Forex

Central bank policymakers also discussed developments in financial markets, namely the rise in domestic share prices and the yen's decline.

Members agreed that financial market conditions now were "extremely accommodative," as can be seen by the stock price gains, yen falls and declining real interest rates.

Many members also said that recent stock and foreign exchange market movements "reflected domestic investors' increased risk-taking capacity and inclination to take risks," as well as speculation over growing interest-rate differentials.

But in a sign that some saw dangers in keeping monetary policy too accommodative in the face of improving economic and price conditions, one member said there may be risks if market players' expectations for low rates are too strong.

"If market participants expected too strongly that extremely low interest rates would be prolonged, the possibility of destabilization of price formation in foreign exchange markets and other financial markets could not be ruled out," one member said, according to the minutes.

But a few members said that recent gains in share prices "didn't indicate that an asset price bubble was emerging," as they were based on upward revisions in corporate profits."

The minutes also showed Fukuma and Mizuno repeated their joint proposal to lower the amount of liquidity the BOJ pumps into the economy to a range of Y27 trillion to Y32 trillion, from the current Y30 trillion-Y35 trillion range, but were voted down by rest of the board.