Here’s another great article on the brewing pension crisis . In fact, the article is so eye-opening that you should read it in its entirety…this has debacle written all over it. From The New York Times by Mary Williams Walsh entitled: Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns “States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement. But states and other bodies of government are seeking higher returns for their pension funds, to make up for ground lost in the last couple of years and to pay all the benefits promised to present and future retirees. Higher returns come with more risk. “In effect, they’re going to Las Vegas,” said Frederick E. Rowe, a Dallas investor and the former chairman of the Texas Pension Review Board, which oversees public plans in that state. “Double up to catch up.” Though they generally say that their strategies are aimed at diversification and are not riskier, public pension funds are trying a wide range of investments: commodity futures, junk bonds, foreign stocks, deeply discounted mortgage-backed securities and margin investing. And some states that previously shunned hedge funds are trying them now. Government pension plans cannot beef up their bonds that mature many, many years from now without dashing their business models. They use long-range estimates that presume high investment returns will cover most of the cost of the benefits they must pay. And that, they say, allows them to make smaller contributions along the way. Most have been assuming their investments will pay 8 percent a year on average, over the long term. This is based on an assumption that stocks will pay 9.5 percent on average, and bonds will pay about 5.75 percent, in roughly a 60-40 mix. The problem now is that bond rates have been low for years, and stocks have been prone to such wild swings that a 60-40 mixture of stocks and bonds is not paying 8 percent. Many public pension funds have been averaging a little more than 3 percent a year for the last decade, so they have fallen behind where their planning models say they should be. A growing number of experts say that governments need to lower …

See the article here:
Public Pension Funds Head to Vegas

Contrary to what some naysayers of outsourcing are saying, the industry is alive and well, and it seems that it’s going to stay for a long while yet. As mentioned in a previous article, competition in outsourcing is becoming very stiff now, what wi…

Read this article:
2010 Trends on Outsourcing Strategies

$11 bn in the balance, a no-show by Gripen fighter The high-voltage $11 bn contest to sell India 126 Medium Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MMRCA) is reaching the end of the trials phase Ajai Shukla / New Delhi March 9, 2010, 0:43 IST The high-voltage $11 billion contest to sell India 126 Medium Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MMRCA) is reaching the end of the trials phase in a blaze of potential controversy. Today, the last of the six contenders being evaluated by the Indian Air Force — the Swedish Gripen — will fly into Bangalore for trials. But Business Standard has learnt… Original Article: Forum: News/Activism

Continue reading here:
$11 bn in the balance, a no-show by Gripen fighter

Goldcorp Growth StrategyAccording to Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) CEO Charles Jeannes, the company could grow the company quicker than he is planning at this time, but lessons from major rivals like Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) give him a check on that, and he’s look at a more modest doubling of gold production from now through about 2018.From there, Jeannes said it’ll be hard to

Read more:
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Growth Strategy

Lihir Gold Sells Ballarat ProjectLihir Gold (ASE:LGL) has sold its Ballarat project to Castlemaine Goldfields (ASE:CGT) for A$4.5 million. Based in Victoria, Australia, the Ballarat Gold Mine sale will be subject to meeting certain conditions; a major part being the issuing of stock to raise A$20 million. Terms of the deal, along with the sales price, includes Castlemaine keeping a 2.5 percent

See the article here:
Lihir Gold (NASDAQ:LIHR) Sells Ballarat Project

Ellen StevensRay EsallyGary ThomasTommasino ConitoLibby JohnsonAllen NineSend email to raesally@comcast.net to contact any of us.

View original post here:
Everything Gold Authors

India’s government is likely to sella 10 percent stake in Engineers India Ltd. in the three-monthperiod beginning July, the Business Standard reported, citing asource it didn’t identify. The company will file for a follow-onpublic offer with the mar Engineers India Share Sale From July Business Standard Reports

More here:
Engineers India Share Sale From July Business Standard Reports

Buying penny stocks can pay off extremely well when it succeeds but, in addition to the business odds against success, it’s much easier to launch and promote a stock than it is to find a mine, for example, or invent a new battery. That’s why penny stocks are so common, even though profit-making companies are rare. It’s also why we think penny stocks should make up only a very small part of your portfolio. Words: 449

See more here:
7 Keys to Greater Profits in Canadian Penny Stocks

Whether you are bullish , bearish, or somewhere in between , the odds are that when Warren Buffett talks… you will be listening. A real life E.F. Hutton, the grandfatherly Buffet is still the best brand in the business. But then again, there aren’t many investors in the world that can turn $1200 from a paper route into one of the greatest fortunes of all time. In that regard, Buffett’s reputation came the old fashioned way: he earned it. The reasons behind this iconic image, however, are two-fold, since Buffett is not exactly your run-of-the-mill billionaire. Instead, he’s an American everyman that not only exudes common sense, but dines primarily on hamburgers, chips, and Cherry Coke. But buried beneath that cuddly, down-home exterior is something else entirely: the cold and calculating mind of man who is quick to make decisions and has a serious nose for money — a market shark if there ever was one. And the larger truth is that if you really want to know something about the road ahead, it pays to listen to someone that has been there before. That’s true now more than ever as investors wrestle with the ghosts of the Great Depression and ponder the possibility of a double-dip recession. Advertisement Uranium is Old News The future of the nuclear industry is beryllium. One company has just pioneered a new nuclear fuel additive – called beryllium oxide – that can …

See original here:
Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter to Shareholders

_________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My Pick for for Wednesday March 03, 2010 is: ************************************************************** BWIH, BWI Holdings, Inc., BWIH.PK BWIH is a waste solutions company in Western Canada providing complete waste and recycling services to commercial, industrial, construction, homebuilding, oilfield and residential clients. BWIH operates in four business segments: solid waste, liquid services, water hauling

See the original post here:
BWIH – It Projects Revenues of Over $10,000,000 – DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Wednesday March 03, 2010, BWI Holdings, Inc.

Wireless chipmaker Qualcomm, Inc. ( QCOM ) said Tuesday that it would increase its quarterly dividend by 12%, and has initiated a new $3 billion share buyback program. The company said its board approved a quarterly dividend increase from 17 cents to 19 cents per share, effective after Mar. 28. On an annualized basis, the new dividend will pay 76 cents per share to shareholders each year. Effective immediately, the company has also begun a new $3 billion share repurchase program, which follows $1.7 billion in recent share repurchases. The program has no expiration date. CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs said that “The strength of our business model is enabling significant investments in our strategic business initiatives while returning capital to stockholders.” Qualcomm shares rose $1.17, or +3.3%, in premarket trading Tuesday. The Bottom Line We had removed shares of QCOM from our “recommended” list back on Sept.25, when the stock traded at $46.54. The company has a dividend yield of 2.14%, based on last night’s closing stock price of $35.56. The company has technical support in the $33 price area. If the shares can continue to rebound, we see near-term overhead resistance around the $40-$42 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now. Qualcomm, Inc. ( QCOM ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list

The rest is here:
Qualcomm Boosts Dividend, Announces Share Buybacks (QCOM)

As the recognized global leader in event news release distribution, Business Wire hosts news archives for hundreds of events worldwide at www.tradeshownews.com. In addition, Business Wire allows you to create free, custom Web, RSS, and email-based Breaking News Distributed by Business Wire for Tradeshows and Conferences Taking Place March 1 2010 thru April 4 2010

More here:
Breaking News Distributed by Business Wire for Tradeshows and Conferences Taking Place March 1 2010 thru April 4 2010