Rising Tomato Prices Attract Vegetable Thieves

 The high price of produce, especially for tomatoes after the deep winter freezes, has attracted more than heightened attention from consumers. A ring of sophisticated vegetable bandits was watching, too.

Late last month, a gang of thieves stole six tractor-trailer loads of tomatoes and a truck full of cucumbers from Florida growers. They also stole a truckload of frozen meat. The total value of the illegal haul: about $300,000. 

The thieves disappeared with the shipments just after the price of Florida tomatoes skyrocketed after freezes that badly damaged crops in Mexico. That suddenly made Florida tomatoes a tempting target, on a par with flat-screen TVs or designer jeans, but with a big difference: tomatoes are perishable.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42607118/

Standard & Poor’s put a“negative” outlook on the AAA credit rating of the U.S.

Standard & Poor’s put a“negative” outlook on the AAA credit rating of the U.S., citing a “material risk” the nation’s leaders will fail to deal with rising budget deficits and debt.
“We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policy makers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium-and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013,” New York-based S&P said today in a report. “If an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation does not begin by then, this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer ‘AAA’ sovereigns.”

Longer-term Treasuries fell, reversing earlier gains, after S&P lowered its outlook to negative from stable. The cost to protect against a default by the government and the nation’s banks jumped and stocks declined after the New York-based ratings firm’s action, which assigns a one-in-three chance that it will lower the U.S. rating in the next two years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-18/standard-poor-s-puts-negative-outlook-on-u-s-aaa-rating.html

* 18 Apr 11: 15:02 GMT (LDN) - FX NOW! EUR/USD, USD/JPY Flows-Client/corporate flows stimulated by debt news, EUR gets hurt
Debt has been the only issue of real note today. Finish complaints eurozone rescue funds, Greek restructuring rumors and finally S&P's decision to lower its projections for the US due to lack of agreement amongst lawmakers about how to cut spending/deficits. While there have been some intraday reversals, the "risk off" momentum build up has given JPY a bid across the board, which cements it as the "safe haven" currency. USD, surprisingly, has taken back the knee jerk losses seen in reaction to the S&P downgrade news and it is outperforming everything, including CHF, except for JPY. Retail and corporate order flows are generally limited on Mondays. Today's constant news noise, has stimulated greater activity than usual, and so far the added flows are just adding to the advances in JPY and USD, while ensuring that EUR continues to suffer under a cloud of growing uncertainty. Uncertainty has apparently sent sovereign buyers to the sidelines, which is not an unfamiliar place for them to be when the eurozone debt malaise gets more attention. M.B.

Other sources related to this topic:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/stunner-sp-revises-us-outlook-negative

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-18/euro-falls-versus-dollar-yen-on-concern-sovereign-debt-crisis-worsening.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42643384

Fresh Leak fears as 5.9 aftershock rocks Japan

Fresh leak fears as Japan rocked by ANOTHER earthquake

by Lesley Yarranton, Sunday Mirror 17/04/2011

RADIATION levels around Japan’s stricken nuclear plant soared after another earthquake jolted the ­country yesterday.
Engineers fear the 5.9 quake may have caused fresh leaks at ­Fukushima Dai-ichi, north of Tokyo.
Levels of radioactivity rose sharply in seawater near the plant. It happened shortly after the Tokyo Electric Power Company had beefed up safety ­systems. TEPCO has been fighting leaks at the plant since it was crippled by a tsunami on March 11.
Politicians – reportedly considering breaking up the ­company – think the ­problems will get worse. A government adviser said yesterday: “We are far from the end. There will be mountains to climb.”

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/04/17/fresh-leak-fears-as-japan-rocked-by-another-earthquake-115875-23066249/#ixzz1JojGOkE7

Morgan Stanley first to default on Japan property investment

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110415/bs_nm/us_morgan_stanley_real_estate

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Morgan Stanley property fund failed to make $3.3 billion in debt payments by a deadline on Friday, handing over the keys to a central Tokyo office building to Blackstone (BX.N) and other investors, the largest repayment failure of its kind in Japan.

It marks the latest fallout from a series of highly leveraged investments by Morgan Stanley (MS.N), one of the most aggressive investors in worldwide property markets before the global financial crisis.

http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=27919

http://sherriequestioningall.blogspot.com/2011/04/morgan-stanley-defaulted-on-loan-and.html 

Dollar Exchanges populate Venezuelan - Columbian Border

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-14/chavez-policy-sends-venezuelans-on-cross-border-exodus-for-cash.html
“I have to change money here because in Venezuela it’s not allowed,” Posse said in an interview at his hotel in Cucuta, northeastern Colombia, last month. At home, “I apply for official dollars for my business but they never approve it.”
Exchange houses in Colombian border towns like Cucuta have become the only “liquid market” in trading of bolivars for dollars after President Hugo Chavez banned currency trading last May and required banks to use a state-run market, said Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University.
“It’s a desperate situation for businesses, especially in Venezuela where everything is imported,” said Juan Pablo Fuentes, Latin American economist at Moody’s Analytics in Philadelphia. “These currency controls are like a game. The government looks to fence you in and you are always looking to find the exit.”

Internet Poker sites charged with fraud

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/internet-poker-entrepreneurs-charged-with-fraud-money-laundering-by-u-s-.html 
Founders of Internet gambling companies PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were among 11 people charged by the U.S. in a case that seeks at least $3 billion in forfeitures and penalties.
A revised indictment issued yesterday includes charges of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. It is the latest in a series of criminal cases against Internet gambling companies brought by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan.
PokerStars, based on the Isle of Mann, Ireland’s Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker of Costa Rica are the leading online poker sites doing business with U.S. customers, according to the indictment. The charging documents name two principals from each company and others who allegedly worked with them to illegally process payments.

Professor Chris Busby Fukushima Meltdown Could Trigger Atomic Explosion!

Banks face 3.6 Trillion "Wall of Maturing Debt" according to IMF

Many European banks need bigger capital cushions to restore market confidence and help reduce the risk of another financial crisis, according to the IMF's report, published on Wednesday.

Banks around the world are facing a $3.6 trillion "wall of maturing debt" coming due in the next two years, and the rollover requirements are most acute for Irish and German banks, the report said.

"These bank funding needs coincide with higher sovereign refinancing requirements, heightening competition for scarce funding resources," the IMF said.

However the IMF said Spain's efforts to control its budget deficit have increased investor confidence and make it unlikely the country will follow Portugal in calling for a bail-out.

"The actions that have been taken in Spain recently have managed to decouple in the views of markets the fortunes of Spain relative to those of Portugal" and Ireland, said Jose Vinals, director of the IMF's monetary and capital markets department.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8448169/Banks-facing-3.6-trillion-wall-of-maturing-debt-IMF-Global-Financial-Stability-Report-says.html

New Regulations Spark Investor Interest in Europe

New Regulations Spark Investor Interest in Europe

Over the past four months, the BHA analyst team has seen an increase in the number of mandates for funds of hedge funds, especially from European investors. The analysts have also noted a change in these investors’ liquidity requirements: it seems they have become more comfortable with having their money locked up for a longer period of time.

The increasing interest in funds of funds can be traced to a change in European investment regulations. On November 11, 2010, the European Parliament adopted the Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM). The directive will not only harmonize the marketing rules of alternative products but also radically modify the regulatory framework for non-UCITS funds. This will have an enormous effect on all alternative markets and provide greater transparency and protection for investors.

BHA analysts have also documented a change in liquidity requirements for fund of hedge funds investors based in Europe. During the first quarter, the number of investors that required quarterly redemptions increased by 10% when compared with data from the third quarter 2010. This is a sign that investors are feeling more comfortable with the market and the new investment regulations.
Recently, a BHA analyst spoke to a London-based consultant representing family offices, pension funds, charities, universities, and large institutional investors. The advisory firm has intentions to allocate to funds of hedge funds in the second half of 2011. The firm used to require monthly redemptions, but now it feels comfortable evaluating funds that provide quarterly liquidity.
As new regulations begin to take effect, and as funds of funds and other non-UCITS funds monitor systemic risks and implement investor protection policies, interest from European investors should continue to increase.

http://www.brightonhouseassociates.com/investor-monitor/2011/04/new-regulations-spark-investor-interest-in-europe/

NFA Use of Social Media interpretive notice

9063 - USE OF ON-LINE SOCIAL NETWORKING GROUPS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC
(Board of Directors, November 19, 2009; effective December 24, 2009)
INTERPRETIVE NOTICE
On-line social networking groups have changed the way people make trading decisions. A number of NFA Members sponsor blogs, chat rooms, and forums (also called message or bulletin boards), and some use sites like Facebook or Twitter for business purposes. Associates may also sponsor or participate in these groups. Unfortunately, these on-line communities provide opportunities for posters to spread unsubstantiated rumors and intentional misrepresentations. The form of communication does not change the obligations of Members and Associates who host or participate in these groups, and electronic communications must comply with Compliance Rules 2-9, 2-29, 2-36, and 2-39.
NFA’s interpretive notice entitled NFA Compliance Rule 2-9: Supervisory Procedures for E-Mail and the Use of Web Site,” (NFA Manual, ¶ 9037) provides guidance on how NFA’s promotional material and supervision rules relate to e-mail and web sites but does not specifically address other types of electronic communications.¹ This notice discusses a Member or Associate’s responsibilities in connection with on-line social networking facilities such as blogs, chat rooms, forums, Facebook, and Twitter.
Obviously, any electronic content that can be viewed by the general public, or even by a more closed community that includes current and potential customers, can be promotional material. For example, blogs dealing with commodity futures or options are promotional material when written by an NFA Member or Associate, and forex blogs are promotional material when written by a Member or Associate subject to the forex rules. Therefore, content generated by the Member or Associate is subject to the requirements of NFA Compliance Rules 2-29, 2-36, or 2-39. The same is true for futures, options, or forex content written by a Member or Associate and posted on a third party’s site.
The issue becomes more complicated for user-generated comments responding to a Member or Associate’s blog and for Members and Associates who host chat rooms or forums. What is their responsibility for posts from customers or others over whom the Member or Associate has no direct control? When inadequately monitored, social networking sites may contain misleading information, lure customers into trades that they would not normally make, or be used in an attempt to manipulate prices.
If a Member or Associate hosts a blog, a chat room, or a forum where futures or forex are discussed, the Member or Associate is required to supervise the use of that community. This requires, at a minimum, that the Member or Associate regularly monitor the content of the sites it hosts, take down any misleading or otherwise fraudulent posts, and ban users for egregious or repeat violations. Not only are these actions required by NFA’s supervision rules, they are both common sense and common practice. Similar requirements apply to Facebook and other sites that allow others to post to the Member or Associate’s “wall” or other assessable area.
Audio pod-casts and videos on the Internet—whether on the Member or Associate’s Web site or on an independent site such as You-Tube—are similar to radio and television advertisements. If they make specific trading recommendations or refer to profits that have been obtained in the past or can be achieved in the future, NFA Compliance Rule 2-29(h) requires the Member or Associate to submit them to NFA for approval ten days prior to use.
Members should have policies regarding employee conduct. These policies could require employees to notify the employer if they participate in any on-line trading or financial communities and provide screen names so that the employer can monitor employees’ posts periodically. Alternatively, the policy could simply prohibit participation in such communities. The Member must, of course, take reasonable steps to enforce whatever policies it adopts.
http://www.nfa.futures.org/nfamanual/NFAManual.aspx?RuleID=9063&Section=9

Barclay Inflow data shows record investment in equity hedge funds

Monthly Hedge Fund Asset Flow Data by Strategy

We estimate the hedge fund industry hauled in $34.9 billion (2.0% of assets) in February, the heaviest inflow on record. February’s huge inflow alongside steady performance - the Barclay Hedge Fund Index increased 1.1% in February, the sixth straight gain - lifted hedge fund assets to $1.7 trillion, the highest level since October 2008.

Funds of hedge funds took in $7.3 billion (1.3% of assets) in February, their heaviest inflow since March 2008, after redeeming $2.9 billion in January. Clearly, investors are not rewarding performance. The Barclay Funds of Funds Index increased only 6.4% in the past 12 months; it underperformed most asset classes. Commodity trading advisors (CTAs) are faring much better. CTAs raked in $7.5 billion (2.5% of assets) in February, the heaviest inflow since June 2009, and the Barclay CTA Index increased 7.4% in the past 12 months.

Source: http://www.barclayhedge.com/research/asset-flows.html

Stiglitz calls for Global Currency at Bretton Woods 2011

The world economy needs a new global reserve currency to help prevent trade imbalances that are reflected in the national debt of the U.S., said Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

A “global system” is needed to replace the dollar as a reserve currency and help avoid a weakening of U.S. credit quality, said Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University in New York. The dollar fell to an almost 15-month low against the euro last week, and the U.S. trade deficit widened more than forecast in January to the highest level in seven months.

“By taking off the burden of any single country, we don’t have to have trade deficits,” Stiglitz said in an interview in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. “Things would be much worse if it were not the case that Europe was having even more of a problem, but winning a negative beauty pageant is not the way to create a strong economy.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-10/stiglitz-calls-for-new-global-reserve-currency-to-prevent-trade-imbalances.html

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Gold & Silver now legal tender in Utah

http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/markets-mainmenu-45/6894-gold-silver-now-legal-tender-in-utah

With Gov. Gary Herbert’s signature on March 25, the state of Utah became the first in recent times to officially accept gold and silver coins as legal tender at their true value, prompting praise from sound-money advocates warning about the future of the Federal Reserve System and its fiat money. The "Utah Legal Tender Act," as the new law is known, “recognizes gold and silver coins that are issued by the federal government as legal tender in the state and exempts the exchange of the coins from certain types of state tax liability,” according to the bill. The law does not force anyone to accept or pay in precious metals, but rather provides the option for those who wish to do so voluntarily.

In essence, the bill legalizes currency competition in Utah by removing punitive state taxes on individuals and businesses trading in precious-metal coins. Among the taxes that federally minted gold and silver coins are now exempt from are state sales and capital gains. Federal taxes, however, still apply — despite the U.S. Constitution’s clear language stating that no state shall make anything except gold or silver a tender in payment of debts.

Massive Cyber Attack affects millions of sites

PC World - Hundreds of thousands -- and possibly millions -- of websites have been hit with a cyberattack that some are calling "one of the biggest mass-injection attacks we've ever seen."

The attack was discovered on March 29 by security firm WebSense, and the injected domain was called lizamoon.com -- thus, the name of the mass-injection is "LizaMoon." According to WebSense, LizaMoon uses SQL Injection to add malicious script to compromised sites. While the first injected domain was lizamoon.com, additional URLs have since been injected in the attack (WebSense has a full list here).
The method of using an injected script redirects users to a rogue AV site, which tries to get people to install a fake anti-virus program called Windows Stability Center.
When WebSecurity discovered the attack on March 29, 28,000 URLs had been compromised. The number quickly grew to 226,000, including many iTunes URLs (though the malicious code is neutralized by Apple).

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215428/Millions_of_sites_hit_with_mass_injection_cyberattack