Monday, April 18, 2011

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions News Updates

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Number of victims hacked by News of the World may be ‘substantially higher’

Posted on : 16-04-2011 | By : Fisher Capital Management Investment News | In : business, finance, investing, investment, latest news

Tags: fisher capital management, fisher capital management fraud updates and tips, fisher capital management investment, fisher capital management investment scam news and prevention, fisher capital management investment solutions news update

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8454311/Number-of-victims-hacked-by-News-of-the-World-may-be-substantially-higher.html
By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 9:15PM BST 15 Apr 2011

The number of victims who had their phones hacked by the News of the World may be “substantially higher” the Metropolitan Police has admitted after it began trawling through nearly 10,000 records of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

Sienna Miller, who has been named as a hacking victim. Number of victims hacked by News of the World may be 'substantially higher'

Image 1 of 2

Sienna Miller, who has been named as a hacking victim. Photo: PA

By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 9:15PM BST 15 Apr 2011Follow Mark Hughes on Twitter

Previously Scotland Yard had said that information found in records kept by Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper, showed that he had 91 voicemail PINs – suggesting 91 potential victims.

But the High Court has heard that the new police investigation expects to find many more victims. And that could open the door for more celebrities to take legal action against the News of the World.

The disclosure came as it emerged that the actress Sienna Miller may have had her emails hacked into. Ms Miller has been offered £100,000 to halt her case against the News of the World. She is yet to accept or reject the offer.

But while the News of the World waits to hear whether Ms Miller will settle, they could now have to defend themselves against scores of other claims.

The High Court heard that 40 detectives working on the new investigation – codenamed Operation Weeting – are currently trawling through 9,200 pages of records seized from Mr Mulcaire.

Phone-hacking: four test cases given go-ahead 15 Apr 2011
’100 victims’ of phone hacking 09 Apr 2011
Senior News of the World reporter arrested 14 Apr 2011
George Galloway: ‘Phone hacking cancer must be removed’ 15 Apr 2011

Specifically they are looking for direct dial numbers (DDN) – the number dialed by a mobile phone user to access voicemails.
Jason Beer QC, acting for the Metropolitan Police, told the High court: “There are, within the Mulcaire archive, records of DDNs where, on the face of it, there is no good reason for these to appear. That is strongly indicative of interception.”
Asked about whether the number of numbers is larger than the 91 PINs, Mr Beer added: “The number of DDNs is substantially higher than that.”
The New of the World issued a public apology over phone hacking last Friday, offering to pay damages to anyone who could prove that their phone was hacked by one of its journalists.
Mr Beer said that since then a host of people have been in touch with the Metropolitan Police attempting to discover whether they were a victim of phone hacking.
“Since the admissions last Friday, the Metropolitan Police has been flooded with enquiries. The number of people beating a path to the Met’s door has increased very substantially.”
The court hearing also heard that the News of the World had offered to settle the case with Sienna Miller, one of the celebrities who is suing the newspaper over fears that her voicemails were intercepted.
The court heard that the actress has been offered £100,000 plus her legal costs to settle the case. She has neither accepted nor rejected the offer.
There was also a suggestion that Ms Miller may also have had her emails hacked into as recent as 2008.
The documents seized from Mr Mulcaire had Ms Miller’s email password and her legal team claim that a journalist could have known this in 2008, despite the fact that by then the Mulcaire documents were in the hands of the police.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, her barrister, explained: “The hacking in 2008 is separate from the phone records. We have linked that to the Mulcaire archive because she used the same password on her mobile phone and on her email and that was recorded on Mr Mulcaire’s notes. We infer that that password was used to hack her email.”
The civil cases against the News of the World are being brought by 20 people, including Jude Law, Paul Gascoigne, George Galloway, Tessa Jowell and the jockey Kieren[CORR] Fallon.
But yesterday the judge Mr Justice Vos ruled that there should be four test cases which will determine how much damages should be paid to future claimants. The tests cases, the court heard, are likely to be those of the football pundit Andy Gray, football agent Sky Andrew, Sienna Miller and Kelly Hoppen, the interior designer.
Glenn Mulcaire and the News of the World’s royal correspondent Clive Goodman were jailed in 2007 after they admitted hacking into voicemails. But the Metropolitan Police was criticised for ending their investigation when, it was alleged, the practice of hacking at the paper went further.
In January this year a new investigation was launched. So far three News of the World employees have been arrested. Chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, former news editor Ian Edmondson and assistant James Weatherup have all been bailed to return in September.

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April 16, 2011 – 12:22 pm

By Fisher Capital Management Corporate Latest News Updates | Posted in business, corporate news, investment, Latest News, world news | Comments (3) Tags: Tags: fisher capital management, fisher capital management corporate news, fisher capital management investing solutions, fisher capital management latest headlines, fisher capital management research, fisher capital world news

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704495004576265124008297558.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 As of 6:42 PM EST

Libya Rebels Build Parallel State

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703648304576265021509675668.html

By CHARLES LEVINSON

Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesLibyans held Friday noon prayers in Benghazi on Friday. The opposition’s authority, based in the eastern city, have taken steps to show they are committed to equality and democracy.

BENGHAZI, Libya—Rebels here have drafted a constitution that calls for full equality regardless of gender, race or religion, part of their effort to convince the world they are committed to democracy and deserve international support.
The document represents a milestone in the rebels’ effort to move rapidly from a grass-roots uprising to a government with all the trappings of statehood.
The progress in Benghazi contrasted with the rebel fighters’ struggle to make gains in the military battle against Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. President Barack Obama, in an interview with the Associated Press, said the fight was at a stalemate, but that Col. Gadhafi was under growing pressure to quit.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s civilian chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday echoed an op-ed statement by Mr. Obama and his French and British allies that NATO’s mission would continue until Col. Gadhafi was gone.
Col. Gadhafi’s forces continued to shell the contested city of Misrata Friday—though during a respite there, several ships were able to dock, deliver aid and evacuate some of the thousands of migrant workers trapped there, according to rebels and aid organizations. But Human Rights Watch said it had evidence that Col. Gadhafi’s forces have fired cluster munitions in the city. Most countries have banned the use of such weapons, which can endanger civilians.
Rebels seeking stronger aid in their fight have reached out to show their commitment to Western values and allay concerns about the role of Islamist fighters in their military.
The temporary constitution, drafted by a group of intellectuals for the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, is one of the many signs of the rebels’ effort to build a new Libya.
In recent weeks, the rebels have received foreign envoys and visiting heads of state as a sovereign government would. They have taken steps to govern their borders, such as making a new exit and entry stamp for visitors, and recording arrivals and departures. They have formed parallel leaderships and new headquarters for critical government institutions, such as the central bank and the National Oil Company. They are in the process of re-creating a tax authority.

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Alongside these steps, rebels see what they consider to be growing signs of international recognition, including proclamations of support at a conference in Doha this week.
“Our friendship is slowly developing with the U.S. and the Europeans,” said Gen. Ahmed al-Ghatrani, a rebel military commander in Benghazi.
The constitution’s preamble says its aim is a Libyan society based on “freedom, justice, and equality, and a democratic government based on political pluralism, peaceful transition of authority, and an independent judiciary.” The document also enshrines freedom of speech, media and peaceful assembly.
A senior rebel official said the document won’t be officially adopted until eastern Libya is reunited with the west after Col. Gadhafi’s ouster. At that point it will only serve as a temporary constitution until a more expansive formal document is drawn up with broader popular input.
“It tells the world who we are and what we want,” said Abdel Moneim Bendardf, a senior adviser to rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil.
The constitution was drafted by a group of advisers to the rebel governing council that first proposed Mr. Jalil to be president of the rebel governing body and which drafted a list sanctions on Col. Gadhafi’s regime that the rebel government submitted to the United Nations.
Rebel leaders appeared to be succeeding in their bid to impress Western powers, many of whom, including the U.S., U.K., France, Italy and the European Union, have sent envoys to Benghazi in recent weeks.
“We are ready to open a consulate here for the long run,” said a Western envoy, who said he was “impressed” with what he had seen of the rebels.
In most cases, those envoys have been empowered to speak on behalf of their home governments, an authority usually reserved for ambassadors serving in the capitals of sovereign states.
When a delegation of African heads of state and officials visited the rebel capital to present a peace proposal on April 11, the full contingent of diplomats and international press was on hand for the event. The rebel leadership appeared more stately than ragtag.
They smoothly executed customary diplomatic and ceremonial procedures for state visits. They provided Mercedes cars and black-suited security escorts for the visiting dignitaries, red carpets, and even newly minted diplomatic VIP plates adorned with the tricolor flag of Libyan independence.
The new interim chiefs appointed by the rebel leadership say they will step down once the country is reunited.
“Once we kick Gadhafi out, there are many younger people who should take the lead in running the national oil company and other companies,” said 74-year-old new chairman of the rebel-run National Oil Company, Wahid Bugaighis. “We are too old for that.”
—Sam Dagher and Stephen Fidler contributed to this article.
Write to Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Number of victims hacked by News of the World may be ‘substantially higher’

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8454311/Number-of-victims-hacked-by-News-of-the-World-may-be-substantially-higher.html
By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 9:15PM BST 15 Apr 2011

The number of victims who had their phones hacked by the News of the World may be “substantially higher” the Metropolitan Police has admitted after it began trawling through nearly 10,000 records of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

Image 1 of 2

Sienna Miller, who has been named as a hacking victim. Photo: PA

By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 9:15PM BST 15 Apr 2011Follow Mark Hughes on Twitter

Previously Scotland Yard had said that information found in records kept by Mulcaire who was employed by the newspaper, showed that he had 91 voicemail PINs – suggesting 91 potential victims.

But the High Court has heard that the new police investigation expects to find many more victims. And that could open the door for more celebrities to take legal action against the News of the World.

But while the News of the World waits to hear whether Ms Miller will settle, they could now have to defend themselves against scores of other claims.

The High Court heard that 40 detectives working on the new investigation – codenamed Operation Weeting – are currently trawling through 9,200 pages of records seized from Mr Mulcaire.

Phone-hacking: four test cases given go-ahead 15 Apr 2011
’100 victims’ of phone hacking 09 Apr 2011
Senior News of the World reporter arrested 14 Apr 2011
George Galloway: ‘Phone hacking cancer must be removed’ 15 Apr 2011

Fisher Capital Management Corporate News: FinCEN Warns Financial Institutions On Transactions From Separatist Moldovan Region

http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2011/04/15/fincen-warns-financial-institutions-on-transactions-from-separatist-moldovan-region/?mod=google_news_blog
APRIL 15, 2011, 5:25 PM ET

By Samuel Rubenfeld

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s agency tasked with policing money laundering issued an advisory Friday warning banks and other financial institutions about transactions coming from the region of Transnistria in Moldova.
Transnistria operates as a separatist, unrecognized area of the Eastern European country, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, said the area “may still present a vulnerability” to U.S. financial institutions offering services or maintaining correspondent banking relationships there.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a warning in August 2009 concerning entities doing banking activity unauthorized by the National Bank of Moldova.
“Currently, the anti-money laundering laws of Moldova are not being enforced against banks operating within Transnistria because financial institutions within this specific region are not under the supervision of the Moldovan government,” FinCEN said in the advisory.
Despite previous warnings by the Moldovan central bank, “large wire transfers are still being routed out of the Transnistria region and into financial institutions in other jurisdictions,” FinCEN said.
The National Bank of Moldova provided a list of entities it said were operating as unauthorized financial institutions in Transnistria.

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Novices, take Trio Capital Funds as a warning

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/novices-take-trio-capital-funds-as-a-warning/story-e6frg8zx-1226039900616

Glenda Korporaal

From:The Australian

April 16, 2011 12:00AM

THIS week’s $55 million bailout of the Trio Capital funds — which did not apply to investors in self-managed superannuation funds — is not an argument against having a self-managed superannuation fund.

But it is an argument that those who do not have the interest or the skills to take an active interest in the management of their money would be better off opting for their employer’s default fund, an industry superannuation fund or a major reputable fund.
Those considering taking their money out of an established super fund and putting it in a self-managed superannuation fund — who are being convinced to do so by a “friendly” financial adviser offering to take on the hassle of handling paperwork and annual tax returns — should think again.
Having a self-managed superannuation fund can offer a considerable degree of flexibility and control for those who know what they are doing.

But those who don’t know what they are doing, and take the self-managed super option, are highly vulnerable to the skills and integrity and the judgment of their financial adviser in a way which would not occur if they opted for a no-fuss conventional option.
This week’s bailout was a timely reminder that the levy system that benefits investors in APRA-regulated funds does not apply to self-managed super funds. “Trustees of self-managed superannuation funds have to be aware that there isn’t any form of compensation for which things go wrong, except for remedial action through the courts,” Sharyn Long, the chairwoman of the Self Managed Super Fund Professionals Association (SPAA), said yesterday.
“If a financial adviser is involved they can take action, but there is limited remedy for them in cases where fraud occurs.”
The bailout is based on the fact that APRA-regulated funds will be levied to cover the cost of the fraud involved. The system does not apply to self-managed super funds. The logic is that why should the trustees of some 400,000 small funds, often operated for only two or three beneficiaries, have to pay up for the investment mistakes of a handful of other small funds (in this case 285 SMSFs) who would have quite happily reaped the upside if the funds had delivered the superior performance?
There may be some change to that situation but this is what is prevailing at the moment.
The collapse of Trio does reinforce the need for all investors to do their homework on the type of funds they invest their money in, particularly funds offering higher than normal returns or which may have unknown international links. “The basic principle is that the higher the return, the higher the risk,” says Long. “One of the main tools to mitigate that risk is diversification.”
No investor should put all, or the bulk, of their investments into one fund or one associated group of funds. And the more exposed one is to a fund, the more need for detailed homework.
It is also a general warning that anyone who uses a financial adviser should not regard this as a reason to suspend all judgment — no matter how competent they appear or how much they offer to take over the burden of financial life.
There is no excuse for not asking questions about where and how the money is being invested.
In the case of Trio, the situation was made worse by the fact that there was a wrap situation where fund managers handed over their clients’ funds, with those funds invested in Trio-related funds such as Astarra.
In the case of wraps, it is vital that the investor has complete confidence in the operator of the wraps — and only after doing some basic homework.
If the fund itself or the wrap provider is not well known, the investor should ask what is it and who are its principals.
The Trio funds were based out of Albury, which is not exactly the funds management capital of the world. Warren Buffett, of course, is based in Omaha, which is not the fund management capital of the world either. But he and his Berkshire Hathaway organisation are well known and have a track record of integrity.
With the ready availability of search engines such as Google, investors can easily do simple online searches from the comfort of home.
The searches should be done on the funds and the principals of those involved to see if there is any “form”, or any questionable activities.
The fact that the fund is offering investment in exotic products using offshore tax havens should also be a red flag for investors to do some extra homework.
In the end there will always be fraud — which is the reason that the default option for anyone with little financial knowledge should be to go with the plain, vanilla-type of investments with plain, vanilla-type managers.
John Hempton of Bronte Capital, who raised the alarm on the Trio funds, also raises other issues of concern about the lack of regulation of broker-dealers and how they are still allowed unrestricted pledging of client assets.
This is another area which needs some government attention. But in the meantime the Trio collapse should be a wake-up call for investors that there is no excuse not to be aware of exactly how their funds are invested and who is handling their money. When it comes to handing over your money to anyone, all questions are good questions.
There are no dumb questions.

fisher capital management

Monday, April 18, 2011

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions News Updates

Fisher Capital Management Investment Solutions: Number of victims hacked by News of the World may be ‘substantially higher’

The number of victims who had their phones hacked by the News of the World may be “substantially higher” the Metropolitan Police has admitted after it began trawling through nearly 10,000 records of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

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