background preloader

2012_0914 - cybercrime - changing Bank profitability

Facebook Twitter

Innovate for Asian success, says Boston Consulting Group. BCG Australia Asia PDF. Wheat Farmers desperate for rain. The man behind Mad Men.

Wheat Farmers desperate for rain

Warning that QE3 could spur food crisis. Will the 2012 U.S. Drought Trigger Another Global Food Crisis? FAO food price index, 2008-2012.

Will the 2012 U.S. Drought Trigger Another Global Food Crisis?

Credit: United Nations FAO This post was originally published on the Union of Concerned Scientists in their series on the financial and environmental impacts of the 2012 Drought in America. The U.S. drought is hitting harder than most realize. This is an important update on the U.S. drought of 2012, the combined record-setting July land temperatures, and their impact on food prices, water availability, energy, and even U.S.

The U.S. drought is hitting harder than most realize

GDP. Even though the mainstream media seems to have lost some interest in the drought, we should keep it front and center in our minds, as it has already led to sharply higher grain prices, increased gasoline costs (via the pass-through of higher ethanol costs), impeded oil and gas drilling activity in some areas (due to a lack of water), caused the shutdown of a few operating electricity plants, temporarily reduced red meat prices (but will also make them climb sharply later) as cattle are dumped in response to feed- and pasture-management concerns, and blocked and/or reduced shipping on the Mississippi River. Les prix alimentaires pourraient doubler d'ici 20 ans. Les prix des aliments de base pourraient doubler dans les 20 prochaines années - par rapport à 2010 - avec le changement climatique et la multiplication des événements extrêmes qui l'accompagnent (sécheresses, inondations et ouragans), prévient l'organisation Oxfam.

Les prix alimentaires pourraient doubler d'ici 20 ans

Dans un rapport publié mercredi, Oxfam juge que les effets du réchauffement sont "sous-estimés", car "les changements à évolution lente des températures moyennes et des schémas de précipitations", globalement défavorables à l'agriculture, se doubleront de "pertes de cultures causées par des événements météorologiques extrêmes, plus fréquents et plus intenses". En 2030, estime l'ONG, le risque accru de sécheresse, semblable à celle qui sévit depuis juin, notamment aux États-Unis - la plus grave depuis un demi-siècle - pourrait ainsi faire grimper le prix du maïs de "140% par rapport au prix moyen des denrées alimentaires" à cette date. India endures devastating drought. Weather key to world’s food price volatility. ‘Hunger riot’ fears as soybeans hit record price. Flinders Ranges' farmers desperate for rain.

Posted Wed 15 Aug 2012, 1:19pm AEST Farmers in the southern Flinders Ranges are worried they will lose this season's crop if they do not get rain soon.

Flinders Ranges' farmers desperate for rain

Melrose grain grower Tom Shanahan says there are patches on his property which are starting to show signs of stress. He says weather patterns this year are similar to those of August and September last year, which killed off part of his crop. Andy Murray puts US Open pain to rest after fairytale in New York. Scot overcomes Novak Djokovic in five sets to become first British male to win a grand slam since 1936 This fairytale of New York written by Andy Murray was more than just an achievement to savour for itself.

Andy Murray puts US Open pain to rest after fairytale in New York

Few sporting voyages have carried such baggage, and Murray's alone has resembled a flea carrying a piano up a mountain. Is Joe Hockey Australia’s most misunderstood politician? Joe Hockey’s positions on emissions trading and refugees has put him at odds with some Liberals.

Is Joe Hockey Australia’s most misunderstood politician?

Labor’s $120bn budget blowout. Jacob Greber Economics correspondent Future governments may need to raise $120 billion – or almost $20,000 for the average four-person family – by the end of the decade to pay for Labor’s spending commitments.

Labor’s $120bn budget blowout

Analysis by The Australian Financial Review of future demands on the budget supports recent warnings by Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson and his predecessor, Ken Henry, that the tax system will be unable to cope with new spending promises. Even as China’s economic boom shows signs of cooling, potentially torpedoing the federal government’s revenue projections, political parties continue to raise expectations about costly future policies. These include the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which is expected to require an extra $10.5 billion a year within six years, a $4 billion dental care scheme, announced on Wednesday, as well as $5 billion a year for education recommended by the Gonski schools review.

Queensland Budget Protest Set To Attract Thousands In Brisbane. Jobs will come in the future: Newman Premier Campbell Newman assures protestors Wednesday that he's creating a Queensland "where there are plenty of jobs" but workers are left wondering "where am I going to go?

Queensland Budget Protest Set To Attract Thousands In Brisbane

" 13, 2012. Where the jobs are going. Fitch downgrades Qld’s credit ratings. Queensland's long-term foreign and local currency ratings have been downgraded by one of Australia's top ratings companies.

Fitch downgrades Qld’s credit ratings

Sydney's Fitch Ratings downgraded the ratings for Queensland and Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) to AA from AA+. Fitch says the state's fiscal position and debt matrix have deteriorated over the past four years and a recovery is not expected for at least two more years. Treasurer Tim Nicholls blamed the downgrade on the former Labor government, saying Fitch's judgment was based on the local economy's past performance, not its outlook. "This report clearly condemns the actions of the previous Labor government and their debt and deficit binge," he said in a statement. APRA needs a bigger tool kit. Since Lehman Brothers was allowed to collapse with disastrous consequences in 2008, bank regulators have been grappling with the reality that some banks may simply be too big to be allowed to fail.

In Australia, when authorities believe a financial institution is threatened, a merger or takeover is hastily arranged behind the scenes. The Treasury questions this mostly undeclared method of dealing with the failure of banks in its consultation paper Strengthening APRA’s Crisis Management Powers, released this week. The paper recommends a host of changes to the legislation under which the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority operates, to ensure it has sweeping power to swiftly intervene when needed.

APRA can already give directions to banks and insurance companies, appoint administrators and forcibly transfer businesses. Treasury pushes sweeping new powers for APRA. George Liondis and Patrick Durkin Financial regulators would be given sweeping new powers to step in and take control of Australia’s banks, insurers and superannuation funds in the event of a crisis, under new federal government laws. Foreign banks operating in Australia have also been targeted as part of the changes amid concerns they would siphon money out of the country if they ran into problems at home.

APRA Discussion-Paper PDF. Goldman Sachs’s key investment themes for 2012. China projects and a loose Fed will get us there. Staying high: Aussie dollar rallies again. It’s a great time for Australians looking to travel overseas or shop online at US stores, with the Australian dollar currently buying more than 104 US cents. Overnight the dollar rallied three quarters of a cent to US 104.2 cents, despite worries about the resources industry, our major export, and a slowdown in our biggest trade partner, China.

It’s hard to believe the Aussie was trading at just US 64 cents back in March 2009. Since that time the currency has taken off and has rarely traded under parity against the US dollar since January 2011. Any hope of a decline in the value of our currency appears to be futile as the growing status of the Aussie dollar as a safe-haven seems likely to provide support for the currency. Australia’s AAA credit rating, our relatively low level of country debt, relatively high interest rates and the high currency liquidity all add to our safe-haven status. ECM gloom, but debt capital markets rise and shine. The big guns: US Fed launches QE3.

Insurers ‘face more benign outlook’ Is it time to dive back into shares. Credit Suisse strategist Damien Boey says rates and yields in the US are low enough and will start to rise. Junk bonds in big demand. Big banks wise up to bonds game. CBA joins global corporate bond rush. CBA to print $1.5 billion hybrid. BIII hits ANZ’s Asian returns. BoQ freezes pay, culls jobs in overhaul. Online deposits draw new customers to RAMS. Reserve Bank breaks with Basel pack. Don’t fiddle with super, says Cooper. Jeremy Cooper: There is a sort of inevitability about this. You have the dental scheme, Gonski, the national disability insurance scheme, commodity prices going down and new promises being made, so something has got to give. Photo: Jessica Shapiro Patrick Durkin and Sally Patten The head of the federal government’s superannuation review has warned Labor against making a cash grab for $1.4 trillion in retirement savings, ­saying it would undermine confidence in the system. Jeremy Cooper said cutting tax concessions from self-managed super funds, which invest $440 billion, would drain money from the share-market into riskier and less productive investments.

The Weekend AFR revealed that the government is considering cutting tax breaks, particularly for self-managed funds, to bolster its budget surplus. Telstra Super aims to be retention centre. Ruth Liew One of Australia’s largest corporate superannuation funds, Telstra Super, is turning to business intelligence technology to map out strategies aimed at enticing more members to remain with the fund. As super funds seek to increase assets under management, member retention has become increasingly critical for growth. The $11 billion Telstra Super, with more than 100,000 members, is using Tableau software to monitor members with large account balances, who are also the most likely to depart and set up their own self-managed funds. Super changes stop seniors working: IAG. MySuper initiatives miss mark: survey.

Duncan Hughes Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten says business is embracing the planned MySuper default superannuation despite a new survey that finds 60 per cent of employers do not know or care about the reform. The same number of employers pleaded ignorance, or apathy, about the government’s reform flagship SuperStream, for which they are expected to pay more than half the $1 billion cost of introduction. Political cowardice on ‘self-funded’ super. Super changes stop seniors working: IAG. Calls to raise super access age. A question for all: how will you pay? 'The less your ability to save, the smaller incentive you are given, and vice versa.' Call to bridge super gap with technology. Les compagnies d'assurance s'emparent du marché de l'angoisse scolaire. LE MONDE | • Mis à jour le | Par Mattea Battaglia Confiants, les parents d'élèves et les enseignants en ces temps de rentrée ? Si l'inquiétude se mesurait au nombre de contrats d'assurance souscrits, et aux garanties que ceux-ci proposent, la réponse serait sans doute nuancée.

La Matmut a enrichi son offre scolaire, lancée fin juin, d'une couverture... contre le racket. Le petit sketch du duo d'humoristes Chevallier et Laspalès, complices de l'assureur, diffusé sur les ondes de Radio France, a fait mouche semble-t-il. "Tu sais qu'il y a du racket à l'école ? Banks ‘earn more from less well-off’ John Kehoe. Latest iPhone to squeeze Telstra’s profit margin.

John McDuling. New iPhone design to cost consumers. Brian X. 2012 Norton Study Cybercrime. Mountain View, CA – Sept. 5, 2012 – Norton by Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) today released the findings of its annual Norton Cybercrime Report, one of the world’s largest consumer cybercrime studies. 2012 PDF cybercrime report. 2011 Data sheet cybercrime report. Internet Threat Trends 2011 (apr 12) Cybercrime hits Aussies for $4.6b a year – more than burglary, assault combined. Industry fraud line saves insurers $700,000 in six months - Analysis - Insurance News - insuranceNEWS.com.au.

ICA to tackle organised insurance fraud - Local - Insurance News - insuranceNEWS.com.au. CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY PDF. Www.ag.gov.au/Documents/AG Cyber Security Strategy - for website.pdf. French Shool Bullying Insurance.