Saturday, 27 October 2012
Equity
Equity – The ownership interest of common and preferred stockholders in a company. Also refers to excess of value of securities over the debit balance in a margin account
Formula investing
Formula investing – An investment technique. One formula calls for the shifting of funds from common shares to preferred shares or bonds as a selected market indicator rises above a certainpredetermined point - and the return of funds to common share investments as the market average declines
Equipment trust certificate (ETC)
Equipment trust certificate – A type of security, generally issued by a railroad, to pay for new equipment. Title to the equipment, such as a locomotive, is held by a trustee until the notes are paid off. An equipment trust certificate is usually secured by a first claim on the equipment
Earnings report (ER)
Earnings report – A statement, also called an income statement, issued by a company showing its earnings or losses over a given period. The earnings report lists the income earned, expenses and the net result.
Free and open market (FaOM)
Free and open market – A market in which supply and demand are freely expressed in terms of price. Contrasts with a controlled market in which supply, demand and price may all be regulated.
Funded debt (FD)
Funded debt – Usually interest-bearing bonds or debentures of a company. Could include long-term bank loans. Does not includeshort-term loans, preferred or common stock
Friday, 26 October 2012
Silvio Berlusconi sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion .
former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for tax evasion, but is very likely to appeal the Milan court's ruling.
His trial, which also involved executives from Berlusconi's Mediaset television group and the head of a Swiss bank, concerned the purchase of TV rights for films which were then resold within the group at inflated prices.
Prosecutors said the scheme, involving about 3,000 American films, allowed those involved to avoid a major tax bill. They may have to pay a fine of up to ?10 million ($12.9 million), if the court's ruling is upheld.
Under the Italian legal system, Berlusconi and his fellow defendants have theright to appeal their sentence twice, in the appeal court and a higher court.
Also, because the case dates back to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire next year, meaning there is a good chance that none of the defendants will serve any prison time.
Berlusconi, 76, resigned as prime minister last November amid his country's debt crisis, bringing to an apparent end an 18-year era in which he dominated Italian politics.
He had survived a series ofpolitical, corruption and sex scandals over the years,involving allegations of embezzlement, tax fraud and bribery.
He also currently faces trialon charges that he hired an underage prostitute andlater tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when shewas arrested for theft.
The woman involved in thelong-running case is the Moroccan dancer Karima elMahroug, nicknamed"Ruby the Heart-stealer."
American movie star George Clooney had been expected to appear Friday as a defense witness in thatcase but did not show up. The actor's representative said he would not now be serving as a witness for Berlusconi.
His trial, which also involved executives from Berlusconi's Mediaset television group and the head of a Swiss bank, concerned the purchase of TV rights for films which were then resold within the group at inflated prices.
Prosecutors said the scheme, involving about 3,000 American films, allowed those involved to avoid a major tax bill. They may have to pay a fine of up to ?10 million ($12.9 million), if the court's ruling is upheld.
Under the Italian legal system, Berlusconi and his fellow defendants have theright to appeal their sentence twice, in the appeal court and a higher court.
Also, because the case dates back to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire next year, meaning there is a good chance that none of the defendants will serve any prison time.
Berlusconi, 76, resigned as prime minister last November amid his country's debt crisis, bringing to an apparent end an 18-year era in which he dominated Italian politics.
He had survived a series ofpolitical, corruption and sex scandals over the years,involving allegations of embezzlement, tax fraud and bribery.
He also currently faces trialon charges that he hired an underage prostitute andlater tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when shewas arrested for theft.
The woman involved in thelong-running case is the Moroccan dancer Karima elMahroug, nicknamed"Ruby the Heart-stealer."
American movie star George Clooney had been expected to appear Friday as a defense witness in thatcase but did not show up. The actor's representative said he would not now be serving as a witness for Berlusconi.
Analysts are surprised with Apple's weak margin outlook.
(Reuters) - At least three brokerages cut their price targets on Apple Inc by up to $50 a share after theiPhone maker surprised analysts by forecasting lower gross margins for the current quarter.
Apple shares edged lower 0.1 percent to$608.85 in premarket trading.
For the December quarter,Apple forecast revenue of$52 billion, below estimates of $55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It expects margins of 36 percent, far lower than analysts' expectations of 43 percent.
Analysts focused on the decline in margins and played down the significance of a fall in iPad sales in the last quarter, as users waited for the iPad mini, and they did not expect this tocontinue.
Apple's forecast decline ingross margin, even assuming it was deliberately aiming low, still pointed to an unusualdecline, Evercore Partnersanalysts Rob Cihra and Edison Yu said in a research note. Evercore cut its price target on the stock to $775 from $800.
Nomura Equity Research said it expected production costs to rise in the current quarter, after Apple redesigned so many of its products at once.
"The iPhone 5, iPod Touch, iPod nano, iPad mini and iMac all feature new form factors and our checks with the supply chain indicate that many of these are very complex to manufacture and are likely resulting in reduced production efficiencies," Nomura analysts said in a note as they lowered their price target to $660 from $710.
Apple heads into the current quarter after refreshing almost all of its product lines, including introducing a lower-priced 7.9-inch "iPad mini" and an upgraded fourth-generation full-sized iPad.
Apple said it expects 80 percent of revenue in the current quarter to come from new products but did not increase the product prices to offset higher costs and maintain its margins.
Analysts, however, expect gross margins to recover by June next year as rising volumes trim manufacturing and component costs.
When the iPhone 4 was launched, Apple suffered a 480 basis point decline in corporate gross marginsbut it recovered entirely within two quarters, Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt said.
He cut his price target on the stock by $30 to $700.
ORDERS OUTSTRIP SUPPLY
Apple had struggled to deliver large quantities of the iPhone 5 since its launch in late September, with waiting times stretching at times to threeweeks in some regions.
This week, AT&T Inc blamed its disappointing subscriber growth in the third quarter on a shortage of iPhone 5, highlighting its dependence on Apple.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call that there was a heavybacklog for the latest iPhone but the company had mostly worked out kinks in its supply chain.
Apple shares edged lower 0.1 percent to$608.85 in premarket trading.
For the December quarter,Apple forecast revenue of$52 billion, below estimates of $55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It expects margins of 36 percent, far lower than analysts' expectations of 43 percent.
Analysts focused on the decline in margins and played down the significance of a fall in iPad sales in the last quarter, as users waited for the iPad mini, and they did not expect this tocontinue.
Apple's forecast decline ingross margin, even assuming it was deliberately aiming low, still pointed to an unusualdecline, Evercore Partnersanalysts Rob Cihra and Edison Yu said in a research note. Evercore cut its price target on the stock to $775 from $800.
Nomura Equity Research said it expected production costs to rise in the current quarter, after Apple redesigned so many of its products at once.
"The iPhone 5, iPod Touch, iPod nano, iPad mini and iMac all feature new form factors and our checks with the supply chain indicate that many of these are very complex to manufacture and are likely resulting in reduced production efficiencies," Nomura analysts said in a note as they lowered their price target to $660 from $710.
Apple heads into the current quarter after refreshing almost all of its product lines, including introducing a lower-priced 7.9-inch "iPad mini" and an upgraded fourth-generation full-sized iPad.
Apple said it expects 80 percent of revenue in the current quarter to come from new products but did not increase the product prices to offset higher costs and maintain its margins.
Analysts, however, expect gross margins to recover by June next year as rising volumes trim manufacturing and component costs.
When the iPhone 4 was launched, Apple suffered a 480 basis point decline in corporate gross marginsbut it recovered entirely within two quarters, Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt said.
He cut his price target on the stock by $30 to $700.
ORDERS OUTSTRIP SUPPLY
Apple had struggled to deliver large quantities of the iPhone 5 since its launch in late September, with waiting times stretching at times to threeweeks in some regions.
This week, AT&T Inc blamed its disappointing subscriber growth in the third quarter on a shortage of iPhone 5, highlighting its dependence on Apple.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call that there was a heavybacklog for the latest iPhone but the company had mostly worked out kinks in its supply chain.
Adoboli now stands accused of two counts of fraud by abuse of position and four of false accounting.
Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was charged on Friday morning with two additional counts of false accounting as he took the stand to give evidence in the London trial against him.
In an unexpected twist on the 27th day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court, theCrown Prosecution Service added the two additional charges to his existing indictment.
Adoboli now stands accused of two counts of fraud by abuse of position and four of false accounting.He denies all of the charges.
The Ghanaian-born trader, 32, is alleged to have caused a $2.3bn loss at UBS last year from unauthorised trading.
The two additional counts offalse accounting against himrelate to the so-called"umbrella" - a device allegedly used by Adoboli to conceal his trading profitsand losses.
The use of the umbrella had previously formed part of the two original counts offalse accounting against Adoboli. These two counts have now been amended inorder for the two new counts to be added.
Mr Justice Keith explained this morning: "It's not to add to the allegations against Mr Adoboli. It's been inserted into the indictment in order to clarify the allegations being made."
The original counts - two of fraud and two of false accounting - now solely refer to the alleged bookingof fictitious hedges to conceal Adoboli's true risk position.
The former ETF trader is accused of having booked fictitious trades to superficially reduce the exposure to the bank from potential losses on real trades he had made.
The jury heard earlier in thetrial that Adoboli had allegedly booked real trades that exposed UBS to losses that may have risen to$12bn in the summer of 2011. He allegedly hid this exposure through fake ETF trades, the court heard.
In an unexpected twist on the 27th day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court, theCrown Prosecution Service added the two additional charges to his existing indictment.
Adoboli now stands accused of two counts of fraud by abuse of position and four of false accounting.He denies all of the charges.
The Ghanaian-born trader, 32, is alleged to have caused a $2.3bn loss at UBS last year from unauthorised trading.
The two additional counts offalse accounting against himrelate to the so-called"umbrella" - a device allegedly used by Adoboli to conceal his trading profitsand losses.
The use of the umbrella had previously formed part of the two original counts offalse accounting against Adoboli. These two counts have now been amended inorder for the two new counts to be added.
Mr Justice Keith explained this morning: "It's not to add to the allegations against Mr Adoboli. It's been inserted into the indictment in order to clarify the allegations being made."
The original counts - two of fraud and two of false accounting - now solely refer to the alleged bookingof fictitious hedges to conceal Adoboli's true risk position.
The former ETF trader is accused of having booked fictitious trades to superficially reduce the exposure to the bank from potential losses on real trades he had made.
The jury heard earlier in thetrial that Adoboli had allegedly booked real trades that exposed UBS to losses that may have risen to$12bn in the summer of 2011. He allegedly hid this exposure through fake ETF trades, the court heard.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
China blocks New York Times Web site after report about PM's wealth
An explosive story on the massive wealth accumulated by the family of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao caused the Chinese government to block the Web site of the New York Times early Friday morning, just days before asensitive once-a-decade transition of power from Wen and others to a new generation of leaders.
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