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After a “life of splendor” Madoff’s wife is sued to turn in $45 million

7/30/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

A trustee representing the victims of the notorious Ponzi artist Bernie Madoff sued the swindler’s wife Ruth. Irving Pickard, the appointed trustee of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, claimed Madoff’s wife who led a “life of splendor” got $44.8 million in six years prior to her husband’s financial downfall. He wanted the money to be seized for the benefit of the scam victims.

"While Madoff's crimes have left many investors impoverished and some charities decimated, Mrs. Madoff remains a person of substantial means. The inequity between Mrs. Madoff's continuing financial advantages and the economic distress of Madoff's customers compels the trustee to bring this action."----CNNMoneey.com (07/29/09, Smith, A.)

After federal authorities seized the assets of Bernie Madoff, his wife who was not charged of a crime, was left with $2.5 million. Her swindler-husband who pleaded guilty of bilking his trusting clients in a decades-long $65 billion pyramid scheme is serving a sentence of 150 years in the Butner Federal Correctional Institution in North Carolina. The huge financial fraud left thousands of investors in financial ruin.

The money involve in this Madoff crime reminds us that America has become dishonest and extravagant in its spending. There are many US citizens who live a high life way beyond their means at the expense of others. They are not used to simple living. It augurs badly on their adaptability in the face of financial hardship.

One can just point to the billions and trillions being spent by the government that many cannot fully understand. With mismanagement and lack of accountability, it is likely to compromise the financial future of taxpayers and the next generation.

The budget deficit of the country is at an alltime high that even China is starting to question USA's ability to pay. The extravagant spending of the Obama administration doesn't match his rhetoric of belt-tightening and cost-cutting---his campaign promise during the election. There is a time when America is thought to be too big to fail, but in times of economic crisis, even the strong can slump down on his knees. (Photo Credit: NY Post) =0=

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Labels: bankruptcy, Bernard Madoff, financial, fraud, investments, Ponzi, prison, Pyramid scam, Ruth Madoff, swindler, Totie Mesia

Warren Buffet decries the dismal future of US newspapers

5/05/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

In last week’s shareholder's meeting of Berskshire Hathaway Inc.,attended by 35,000 people, Warren Buffet, the “Oracle of Omaha” decried the waning of readership of newspapers in America. The rich billionaire-investor together with his business partner 85-year old Charlie Munger spoke of the dismal future of newspapers which had been predicted even before the Newspaper Association of America disclosed the decline newspaper business.

In 2007, total print advertising revenue dropped 9.4% ($42 billion,) a huge fall in revenue since 1950. Newspaper revenue losses continued during the past 16 months of recession as readership contracted 4.6 percent in the April-September 2008. The drop in sales prompted newspapers to reorganize, cut down on jobs and lessen circulation.

Fewer readers are buying newspapers these days. They now depend on alternative sources of news which are available in online, internet, radio, and TV. Many are disappointed by the increasingly partisan stance of US newspapers, raising doubts on the truthfulness and reliability of their contents.

“Some readers instead are shifting to the free versions of newspapers that most publishers post on their Web sites. That trend helped increase the traffic on newspaper Web sites by 10.5 percent during the first three months of the year, according to a Nielsen Online analysis conducted for the Newspaper Association of America.”---- Yahoo News Finance / AP (04/27/09, Liedtke, M)

About 15 to 30% of major newspapers's revenue comes from subscriptions and copies sold at newsstands. The main source of income still comes from advertising, a money source that is now in danger of drying up. (Photo Credit: Maud77; photoburst)

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Labels: business, Charlie Munger, investments, Newspaper, recession, USA, Warren Buffet

Obama psyches the Americans of grim economic times

1/09/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t been affected by the financial crisis caused by the meltdown of business in America. The most pitiful are the people who honestly saved and invested only to find out their portfolio has failed. They don’t have the luxury of youth and time to recoup the loss.

Those who rely on fixed income may find themselves without money if retirement and pension don't pay. The jobless and hungry are easily agitated. Economic hardship is a perfect recipe for social unrest. With the public's high expectations on the new administration, it's dangerous if Barack Obama fails.

Barely two weeks before Obama is to be inaugurated as president, his campaign promises don’t jibe well with the gloomy realities of the times. His dire warnings prepare the spooked public of the bumpy road ahead. Spending is needed more than what the government originally told the people.

Obama can only say in grim and gray terms on how he'll solve the economic problem, but he doesn't give specifics. The cost of the stimulus package he asks the congress on Thursday, January 8, 2009 hasn't been determined, but experts say it should not be more than $1 trillion dollars. The federal budget deficit is huge and critics warn of deeper pain if the government shoulder the money woes of private entrepreneurs.

There's no guarantee that the bail-out of the banking system, the auto manufacturers, and housing industry will work. The economy is rife with dreary predictions of worsening unemployment, bankruptcies,and unrelenting housing slump. Americans are confused and want transparency in the transactions which put their life savings and taxes in line.

At a Glance, January 8, 2009:

540,000 unemployed projected for Jan. '09 (up from 492,000 in Dec. '08)
4.5 million workers on unemployment aid
2.4 million jobs lost in 2008
1.2 trillion dollars Federal Budget deficit
1 trillion dollars---estimated stimulus package needed

As of January 8, 2009, the joblessness is expected to have risen from 492,000 to 540,000 based on the number of newly-laid off people seeking state unemployment aid. The approximate number of workers taking unemployment benefits is at 4.5 million, many of whom are finding hard to get jobs.

Assuming that 500,000 additional jobs have been lost last month, it is estimated that at least 2.4 million jobs disappeared in 2008. Business downsizing and closures continue. The trend will be more elucidated on Friday, January 9, 2009 when the Department of Labor releases the most current employment report. The federal budget deficit is expected to reach $1.2 trillion this year, about 3X bigger than the previous year.

Like most Americans, I want Obama to succeed. Casting away politics, I feel it's in our interest that the economy bounces back on its track. Yet, the public is suspicious and worried; their confidence is at its deepest low. In spite of bipartisan support, many aren’t optimistic that a quick recovery will come. Obama is asking for more government infusion of money, a stage for a possible run-away spending that isn’t in his "change" and "yes, we can" campaign plan.

The uncertainty which fuels this lack of confidence is magnified by the ugly economic picture. Even if the public keeps quiet, the cultural and social environment which made the people endure and outlast the Great Depression in the 1930's might be slipping away--- at worst, it might be nonexistent. Today's Americans belong to a different generation of innovators. Whether the values of trust, honesty, and fair play have been eroded to impair recovery, nobody seems confident to answer.

There's real fear as there's hope. But many are shocked that the rules of governance and citizenship are quickly being changed to suit a social agenda whose end they don't know. They aren’t used to live in poverty or be dictated upon on how they will use their money. Even if they pride themselves of resiliency, industry, and independence, the overall picture isn't good. (Photo Credit: bscott2007)=0=

RELATED BLOG: "Dr. Doom’s economic crystal ball & the need to say the truth"
Posted by mesiamd at 10/30/2008

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Labels: Barack Obama, business, economy, employment, financial, investments, joblessness, jobs, recession, Totie Mesia, USA

Dark Knight's Blockbuster Bonanza, Zimbabwe's $100 Billion Dollar Note, & GMA's Dismal Popularity Rating

7/22/2008 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

$155.34 million
-Hollywood’s popular record-breaking block-buster entertainment “The Dark Knight” is Christopher Nolan’s dark sequel to “Batman Begins” which drew excited fans and profits in tinseltown on the first week of showing. Recently deceased actor Heath Ledger acts as the Joker. There are those who think the movie is too violent and may not be appropriate for kids below 12.

$100 billion note
-To cope with a hyperinflation of 2.2 million percent, Zimbabwe’s Central Bank issued this latest huge bank note in a series of high money denominations, to deal with cash and food shortages leaving 80% of its people below the poverty line.

(-) 38%
-Social Weather Station (SWS) revealed the dismal approval rating of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo on July 18, 2008, making her the most unpopular Philippine president since 1986. It’s lower than her (-) 33% approval rating in May 2005, prompting Bishop Deogracias Iniguez, head of CBCP to advise the president to take her unpopularity “seriously.”

4,124
-The number of US military troops who died in the Iraq War since it started 5 years ago, according to a recent count by the Associated Press on July 20, 2008.

0
-No one has lost money in FDIC-insured savings of up to $100,000 in the last 75 years, said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who cautions anxious Americans of harder times ahead, but assures the soundness of the US banking system.

30 days
-The expected time to retrieve the estimated 200,000 liters of industrial fuel and 10 metric-ton toxic endosulfan trapped in the sunken Princess of the Stars (threatening to pollute the Sibuyan Sea.) The projected cost of retrieval is $7.5 million (P318 million.)

87 drums
-Number of missing drums of toxic toluene diisocyanate (apart from the hazardous 10 metric tons of endosulfan and ship fuel in the Princess of the Sea) that need retrieval from another ship, M/V Ocean Papa, also grounded by Typhoon Frank.

2,167
-Central Luzon’s number of dengue fever cases, a rise of 273% from last year’s number with two reported deaths as of July 21, 2008.

$1.42 billion
-Total remittance of OFW’s in May 2008, a 15.5% increase from last year’s. This is accompanied by the exodus of 533,945 Filipinos, a 39.5% rise in the first five months of 2008 who seek jobs abroad.

$145.59 million
-The amount of foreign investments withdrawn from the Philippines in June, 2008---a reversal to last year’s inflow investments totaling $871.41 million which entered the country. A total of $417 million from foreign investors left the country since Jan. 2008. =0=

Labels: business, Dark Knight, dengue, endosulfan, entertainment, environmental stress, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, investments, OFW, overseas worker, Philippines, ship capsizes, toxic chemicals, USA, Zimbabwe

UP Ibalon Bicol

After a “life of splendor” Madoff’s wife is sued to turn in $45 million

Warren Buffet decries the dismal future of US newspapers

Obama psyches the Americans of grim economic times

Dark Knight's Blockbuster Bonanza, Zimbabwe's $100 Billion Dollar Note, & GMA's Dismal Popularity Rating

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