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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (437037)	11/27/2008 9:08:34 PM
From: steve harris	Respond to of 1573941

now only if Obama can figure out how to get anyone else to understand how he gets it...

To: Road Walker who wrote (437037)	11/27/2008 11:38:52 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573941

From Down Under......some good news...I guess: The real numbers look better than false optimism Article from: Herald Sun Terry McCrann November 28, 2008 12:00am AND now for the good news. Yes! There really is good news. A number of people from Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens down have said we should beware of talking ourselves into a recession. While that is certainly true. Nothing destroys confidence more than, well, a lack of confidence and its replacement by prognostications of gloom and doom. Yet at the same time we also want realism and honesty. So rather than well-spun and plain shonky false optimism, just tell the - good news - truth. There were a few important examples yesterday. First the capex figures. Business has never been investing more. Yes, the total investment in building, structures, plant and equipment levelled off in the September quarter. But across Australia it was still up 16 per cent over the year in both nominal money and real inflation-adjusted terms. And it wasn't all just in mining. Even investment in manufacturing was up year-over-year, although it had been slipping slightly from quarter to quarter this calendar year. Even New South Wales -- yes, even the deadbeat state -- recorded a year-over-year increase in investment. Although with Victoria it took quite a hit in the latest three months. Now investment by business is good news on two levels. First the direct stimulus it gives the economy. Second because it builds the production and wealth and jobs of tomorrow. The strong level of investment through 2008 is one side of a double-sided economic picture that the RBA wanted to see unfold. Which it precisely set out to achieve by raising rates. To on the one hand slow consumer spending, to make way for continued very strong investment on the other. 'Allowing' both in the booming economy would have unleashed serious inflation. Before everything of course changed in September when the global financial crisis suddenly turned seriously bad. Thanks to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The other good news was that despite the devastation wreaked on share prices, the hit to super is much less. Because less than half of total super assets are in the local share market. The ABS data on Managed Funds showed that super fund (unconsolidated) assets fell by $59 billion to $949 billion over the year to end-September. The real pain is actually much worse than that. Because that doesn't allow for inflows through the year; and of course we've taken a bigger hit since the end of September. But it could have been a lot worse. Local share investments dropped $79 billion. Although some of that would have been switching into especially cash. So where exactly is the good news? Super funds had a massive $147 billion sitting in the bank at the end of September. Able to snap up bargains at these low prices. Many companies, even those with some issues, are finding it very easy to raise big lumps of fresh equity. QBE pocketed $2 billion yesterday. I hasten to add that QBE doesn't have any 'issues'. It's using its cash to do exactly what I describe. Snapping up bargains. At least we and QBE hope they are. A few weeks back the National Australia Bank put its hand up for a similar $2 billion. It got swamped and so decided to accept $3 billion. ConnectEast has got a pretty sizeable $400 million of new equity lined up. And there are plenty more examples. This is good news on at least two fronts. It shows investors are still prepared to invest. And it keeps businesses, well, in business.

To: Road Walker who wrote (437037)	11/28/2008 2:31:47 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1573941

Barack Obama's Random Act of Kindness By David Emery, urbanlegends.about.com ÅSGÅRDSTRAND (VG): Mary was a newlywed and ready to move to Norway, but was stopped at the airport because she didn’t have enough money for the trip. Then a stranger turned up and paid for her. Mary Menth Andersen was 31 years old at the time and had just married Norwegian Dag Andersen. She was looking forward to starting a new life in Åsgårdstrand in Vestfold with him. But first she had to get all of her belongings across to Norway. The date was November 2nd, 1988. At the airport in Miami things were hectic as usual, with long lines at the check-in counters. When it was finally Mary’s turn and she had placed her luggage on the baggage line, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness. -You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said. Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call. -I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary. Although she explained the situation to the man behind the counter, he showed no signs of mercy. -I started to cry, tears were pouring down my face and I had no idea what to do. Then I heard a gentle and friendly voice behind me saying, That’s OK, I’ll pay for her. Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before. -He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man? Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man. -He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary. She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her. The piece of paper said ‘Barack Obama’ and his address in Kansas, which is the state where his mother comes from. Mary carried the slip of paper around in her wallet for years, before it was thrown out. -He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling. She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university. In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier. In a letter to Mary’s parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped ‘United States Senate, Washington DC’, Barack Obama writes**: ‘I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help back then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States senator’. The parents sent the letter on to Mary. This week VG met her and her husband in the café that she runs with her friend Lisbeth Tollefsrud in Åsgårdstrand. -It’s amazing to think that the man who helped me 20 years ago may now become the next US president, says Mary delightedly. She has already voted for Obama. She recently donated 100 dollars to his campaign. She often tells the story from Miami airport, both when race issues are raised and when the conversation turns to the presidential elections. -I sincerely hope the Americans will see reason and understand that Obama means change, says Mary. leishacamden.blogspot.com