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To: Mannie who wrote (156235)	12/19/2008 4:00:56 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361725

Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, an early investor in Amazon.com and founder of online ad firm aQuantive, is boosting his stake in local search and advertising company Marchex, where he's a board member. An SEC filing today shows Hanauer purchased more than 2.1 million shares of Marchex Class B common stock between Nov. 13, 2007 and Dec. 9, 2008, for more than $23 million. He now holds more than 8.7 percent of the company's Class B common stock... techflash.com

To: Mannie who wrote (156235)	12/19/2008 4:34:57 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361725

Vietnam Cuts Rate to 8.5% to Avert Economic Slowdown (Update1) By Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam cut the benchmark interest rate to 8.5 percent, the biggest reduction this year, to avert an economic slowdown amid a worsening global financial crisis. The State Bank of Vietnam lowered the key rate from 10 percent, effective Dec. 22, according to an e-mailed statement from the bank today. Policy makers also reduced the refinancing rate to 9.5 percent from 11 percent, and trimmed the discount rate to 7.5 percent from 9 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Nomura Holdings Inc., and the Asian Development Bank have slashed their forecasts for the Southeast Asian nation’s economic expansion as slowing demand lowers exports. Vietnam’s fifth rate cut in two months suggests it is concerned about economic growth decelerating further. “The rate cut will help lower borrowing costs both for companies and for individuals, so it will help stimulate production and consumption,” said Do Ngoc Quynh, Hanoi-based head of currency and debt trading at Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam, the second-biggest lender by assets. Benchmark bonds had the biggest gain in almost two weeks. The yield on the five-year note dropped 21 basis points to 9.95 percent, according to a fixing price from nine banks compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Yields have more than halved in the past six months. The government has let the dong, little changed today at 16,987.5 against the dollar, weaken 6 percent this year to protect exporters’ earnings. The currency is heading for the biggest yearly drop in a decade. Worldwide ‘Deterioration’ Vietnam joins countries from the U.S. to Malaysia in lowering borrowing costs to try to kick start lending and economic growth. Japan’s central bank today cut its benchmark rate to 0.1 percent. “The pace of economic deterioration worldwide is accelerating,” said Adrian Cundy, head of research at VinaSecurities Joint-Stock Co. in Ho Chi Minh City. “That’s forcing a more aggressive response by central banks worldwide than what might have been expected.” The State Bank also cut the amount of reserves that lenders have to set aside by 1 percentage point to 5 percent, the statement said, freeing up extra cash for banks to lend. Vietnam Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development, the country’s biggest lender, is required to keep 2 percent of its reserves aside. The rate cut “is aimed at helping companies access bank loans easier to enhance businesses,” the statement said. “Lenders shall increase lending to exporters, as well as importers of essential products.” ‘Strong Prescription’ “Vietnam wants to give a strong prescription to the ailing economy with the hope that immediate positive effects will kick in,” said Nguyen Khac Quoc Bao, senior lecturer in corporate finance at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics. The Manila-based ADB cut its forecast for Vietnam’s growth to 5 percent next year, the slowest pace in a decade, from 6 percent projected earlier, due to the global financial crisis, Ayumi Konishi, Hanoi-based country director, said yesterday. Nomura, Japan’s biggest brokerage, also expects 5 percent expansion next year. JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, says growth may decelerate to as little as 5.5 percent next year. “Loosening monetary policy is one of the key measures” for maintaining economic growth next year, State Bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau told journalists on Dec. 17 in Hanoi. To contact the reporters on this story: Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen in Hanoi at uyen1@bloomberg.net Last Updated: December 19, 2008 04:31 EST