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Friday, December 25, 2009

America's Money Crisis

Government bonds resume rise in short session after two days of record auctions did little to stymie demand. Bond investors bought up Treasurys after government reports on jobs, durable goods, consumer spending and personal income confirmed continued economic weakness and a poor labor market.Dour economic news is expected to persist well into 2009 and Treasurys will continue to rise for at least several more months, pushing yields even lower.Lending rates between banks remained near record low levels.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Forex rates


The Japanese Yen roared higher in overnight trading as the US Senate failed pass a vote that would have led to a decision on a bailout plan for America’s top three automakers. Japanese Yen Soars to 13-Year High against the US Dollar.The Euro posted its best single-week performance in eight years, as an outright tumble in the US dollar left the Euro Zone currency as the prime beneficiary of a turn in market sentiment. Currency traders seemingly lost their patience with the US dollar, opting to sell the American currency on dismal developments out of the US economy.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Installing PHPUnit on Windows/WAMP

PHPUnit is used for unit testing of PHP code.Inorder to install "PHPUnit in Windows/WAMP" perform the following steps

  • Move to the directory where WAMP Server or PHP is installed using the command prompt. For example C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.2.3\>
  • Then run "go-pear.bat" file for complete installation of PEAR. Once you run this command it will ask for some confirmation like
    "Are you installing a system-wide PEAR or a local copy?
    (system|local) [system] :"...... If you are not sure what to use then just go with the default selection by hitting "Enter".
  • Once done you will see an information like this....[I have provided only the part] *WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES *
    For convenience, a REG file is available under C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.2.6\PEAR_ENV
    .reg .This file creates ENV variables for the current user.
    Double-click this file to add it to the current user registry.
    Press any key to continue . . .
  • Next run the "PEAR_ENV.reg" file which has just been created. This file is used to create the environmental variable.
  • To register the phpunit channel with pear run the command "pear channel-discover pear.phpunit.de". Once done you can install all the necessary packages.
  • Next step is to install the following inorder for phpunit to be installed >pear install pear/benchmark >pear install pear/console_Getopt
  • Then run the command "pear install pear/phpunit2"
  • Once all done correctly you will be able to see the "PHPUnit" folder inside the PHP folder
Now PHPUnit is installed and ready to use.........

Monday, December 7, 2009

$12B drained from mutual funds

$12.1 billion was withdrawn from stock-based mutual funds in the previous week. Investors had put $10.4 billion into these funds.In addition to the drainage of stock-based mutual funds, bond funds had an outflow of $6.8 billion.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Ubuntu 9.10 dell wireless / Wifi problem

When I installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala in my Dell laptop, the wireless did not get detected. I searched through the web and found a solution. I did the following things to make wireless in my dell to work.

  • Insert Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala cd into your CD ROM
  • Goto System->Administration->Software Sources
  • Make sure that CD ROM Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is checked
  • Next goto System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager and type "bcmwl" in the search box
  • Choose install bcwml-kernel-source and then click apply
  • After installation reboot and you are done. Your wireless will be working.
For more information visit Ubuntu 9.10 wireless problem
.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Venezuela, Russia drill first gas well

Venezuela and Russia Friday began drilling the first gas well in the Gulf of Venezuela, an area abound with natural gas resources. Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA and Russian Gazprom jointly launched the project called Rafael Urdaneta near the state of Falcon, on the west coast of Venezuela.Chavez proposed that Russia should build a gas pipeline of 50 km for the people and industries in Paraguana in Falcon, northwest from the gas field.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

General Motors out of cash???

Auto industry is facing a huge quarterly loss that was much worse than expected and General Motors warned it is in danger of running out of cash in the coming months.The nation's largest automaker reported that it lost $4.2 billion. Shares of GM fell 9% Friday to $4.36, a nearly 60-year low.Bankruptcy for GM is a very real risk.Meanwhile Ford has said that it has lost 2.7 Billion dollars.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc reported a 77% drop in third-quarter earnings hurt by declining insurance profits and a $1.05 billion investment loss.Berkshire began the year with an unrealized $1.67 billion loss on its futures, options and other derivative contracts. Berkshire and Buffett have made several deals over the past two months including a $5 billion infusion in Goldman Sachs and a $3 billion stake in General Electric.Those deals aren't reflected in this quarter's results.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Top 10 airlines in the world


Skytrax had conducted a world airline survey. It had ranked the top 10 airlines as:

1.Singapore Airlines
2.Cathay Pacific
3.Qantas
4.Thai Airways
5.Asiana Airlines
6.Malaysia Airlines
7.Qatar Airways
8.Air New Zealand
9.Emirates
10.Etihad Airways


The world is facing a economic blockade and bad news from all sectors.But finally Exxon Mobil the leading U.S. oil company posted a net profit of $14.83 billion.The company's prior record was $11.68 billion in the second quarter of 2008.Analysts had expected Exxon to report a 40% jump in earnings to a net income of $12.2 billion, but it had made the expectations false.Despite the surge in profit oil production was down 8% in the third quarter.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Anglo Irish bank woes

Anglo Irish Bank has hired Morgan Stanley to advise on capital issues with the Irish group seeking to raise billions of euros. Anglo Irish Bank and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the report.Morgan Stanley had approached a number of unnamed private equity groups with a view to securing a capital injection in Anglo Irish Bank.Analysts see it as inevitable that Irish banks will have to raise billions of euros in fresh capital to match the higher equity ratios of UK peers after a government bailout there.

Oil prices fell to their lowest point since May 2007 as investors were unimpressed by a decision from the world's largest oil cartel to slash production targets.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose member nations control about 40% of the world's oil, said it would cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day.U.S. crude for December delivery settled down $3.69 to $64.15 a barrel in New York. It was the lowest close for oil in more than 17 months. Prices hit an intraday low of $62.65 after news of the cut.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Halliburton posts loss on debt settlement

Halliburton Co. had swung to a net loss of $21 million in the third quarter, due largely to a nearly $700 million debt settlement. But the oilfield services provider said operating income topped $1 billion for the first time.The company's loss amounted to 2 cents per share in the July-September period, in contrast to a profit of $727 million, or 79 cents a share, a year ago.The year-ago results included a favorable income tax benefit of $133 million, or 15 cents a share.Oil companies hire service providers like Halliburton and Schlumberger for a variety of well-site jobs that can include seismic tests, directional drilling and reservoir management.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

UK injects 37 billion pounds into banks

The UK government announced that it would inject up to 37 billion pounds of cash into major banks - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).RBS will receive 20 billion pounds from the government, while the merging Lloyds TSB and HBOS is to get 17 billion pounds. The UK government will take a 63 percent stake in RBS and 41 percent in the merged Lloyds TSB and HBOS, indicating that the government will become the major shareholder of the two banks.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Aeon posts ¥16 billion loss

Major retailer Aeon posted a group net loss of ¥16.01 billion when compared to a net profit of ¥23.81 billion logged last year.Aeon aims to close about 60 stores by February 2010 instead of the 40 projected as of July, admitting it expected tougher conditions ahead amid the global financial turmoil.It also said sales dropped particularly for clothing items.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Google, Yahoo ad partnership delayed

Internet giants Google and Yahoo have agreed to delay implementing an advertising partnership to give the United States' Department of Justice time to finish investigating the proposed deal.The two companies are now in an indefinite holding pattern, raising more questions about whether the government plans to try to prevent the No. 1 and No. 2 search engines from cooperating. Google and Yahoo have vigorously defended the partnership, saying that it will have no impact on prices and that it is structured in a way to avoid antitrust concerns.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Crude oil continues sliding

Crude oil continued to fall as the ongoing financial turmoil and economic slowdown exacerbated concerns that energy demand would drop.ight, sweet crude for November delivery fell 4.56 U.S. dollars to settle at 93.97 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar gained strongly against the euro on Thursday, which also helped to push down the oil prices.In London, Brent crude for November delivery dropped 4.80 dollars to 90.53 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Wachovia looking for merger partner

Wachovia Corp has begun early merger talks with several suitors.Wachovia, the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, began preliminary talks with Citigroup Inc.Wachovia has entered preliminary merger talks with Citigroup, Banco Santander SA and Wells Fargo & Co.The market value of Wachovia was about $21.6 billion.JPMorgan Chase & Co's decision to write down $31 billion of loans it took over when it bought much of Washington Mutual Inc banking operations on Thursday for $1.9 billion may foreshadow greater losses at Wachovia

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ameribank -12th Bank Failure This Year

Regulators shut down a 102-year-old West Virginia bank on Friday and sold all deposits to Pioneer Community Bank Inc. of Iaeger, W.V. and The Citizens Savings Bank of Martins Ferry, Ohio.The closure of Northfork, W.V.-based Ameribank Inc. was the 12th U.S. bank failure this year, making it the latest victim of the nation's worst banking crisis.

Friday, September 18, 2009

America's largest bankruptcies

1. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc-$639 billion

The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, is without a doubt, the largest bankruptcy ever: the size is estimated between $613 billion and $639 billion!

2. Worldcom Inc; $103.91 billion

Worldcom became America's second-largest long-distance company and the largest handler of Internet data. It is also the US's second largst bankruptcy ever at $103.91 billion!

3. Enron Corp; $63.39 billion

Fortune named it 'America's Most Innovative Company' for six consecutive years. It was on the Fortune's '100 Best Companies to Work for in America' list in 2000. It remains US's third largest bankruptcy till date: $63.39 billion.

4. Conseco Inc; $61.39 billion

Conseco became one of the largest US home lenders and personal insurers by the late 1990s. Unfortunately, it collapsed under the weight of debts caused by it ambitious expansion and mounting bad loans. At $61.39 billion, Conseco filed for what is US's 4th largest bankruptcy petition.

5. Texaco Inc; $35.89 billion

For many years, Texaco was the only company selling gasoline in all the 50 states of America.Texaco filed for bankruptcy, but continued to function under protection of US bankruptcy laws.

6. Financial Corp of America; $33.86 billion

7. Refco Inc; $33.33 billion; Oct. 17, 2005,

8. Global Crossing Ltd; $30.19 billion

9. Pacific Gas and Electric Co; $29.77 billion

10. UAL Corp; $25.2 billion

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Hong Kong stocks close 0.19 pct lower

Hong Kong stocks fell 35.82 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 19,352.90 on Friday.Turnover fell to 57.77 billion HK dollars (7.42 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday's 69.60 billion HK dollars (8.93 billion U.S. dollars).Hong Kong's benchmark Hang SengIndex plunged 3.06 percent to a near 18-month low below a key support level Thursday, following Asian stock markets.Hang Seng Index fell 611.06 points.Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the sole market operator, was down 2.95 percent to 93.85 HK dollars.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

World's 10 biggest banks

The world's biggest banks are given here:

1.UBS AG , Zurich, Switzerland

2.Barclays PLC

3.BNP Paribas

4.The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Edinburgh, UK

5.Credit Agricole SA

6.Deutsche Bank AG

7.The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd

8.ABN AMRO Holding NV

9.Societe Generale

10.Bank of America

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Richest Royals in the world

Here is the list of richest Royals in the world:

1. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
Sultan/Brunei $22 billion Age: 61

2. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President/United Arab Emirates $21 billion Age: 59

3. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz
King/Saudi Arabia $19 billion Age: 83

4. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler/Dubai $16 billion Age: 5

5. King Bhumibol Adulyadej
King/Thailand $5 billion Age: 79

6. Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein
Prince/Liechtenstein $4.5 billion Age: 62

7. King Mohammed VI
King/Morocco $2 billion Age: 44

8. Prince Albert II
Prince/Monaco $1.2 billion Age: 49

9. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani
Emir/Qatar $1 billion Age: 55

10. Prince Karim Aga Khan
$1 billion Age: 70

11. Queen Elizabeth II
Queen/U.K. $600 million Age: 81

12. Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah
Emir/Kuwait $500 million Age: 78

13. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said
Sultan/Oman $500 million Age: 66

14. Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard
Queen/Netherlands $300 million Age: 69

15 King Mswati III
King/Swaziland $200 million Age: 39

Monday, August 17, 2009

Top 25 mutual funds in India

Here we list out the top 25 mutual funds based on the annualised returns from them:

Reliance Mutual Fund

+ Reliance Liquid Fund - Treasury Plan - Institutional Option - Dividend-Monthly

87.24

UTI Mutual Fund

+ UTI Gold Exchange Traded Fund - Growth

29.10

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund

+ Kotak Gold ETF - Growth

29.00

Benchmark Mutual Fund

+ Gold Benchmark Exchange Traded Scheme - Growth

28.98

Taurus Mutual Fund

+ Taurus Libra Taxshield - Growth

28.92

Reliance Mutual Fund

+ Reliance Diversified Power Sector Fund - Growth

25.07

Reliance Mutual Fund

+ Reliance Diversified Power Sector Fund - Bonus

25.07

DBS Chola Mutual Fund

+ DBS Chola Monthly Income Plan - Regular - Growth

24.96

Benchmark Mutual Fund

+ Benchmark Split Capital Fund - Capital Units - Dividend

21.94

Reliance Mutual Fund

+ Reliance Regular Savings Fund - Equity - Growth

20.69

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

+ ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund - Institutional Option - I - Growth

18.84

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

+ ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund - Growth

17.85

JM Financial Mutual Fund

+ JM Healthcare Sector Fund - Growth

17.69

JM Financial Mutual Fund

+ JM Healthcare Sector Fund - Dividend

17.66

DBS Chola Mutual Fund

+ DBS Chola Monthly Income Plan - Regular - Dividend-Monthly

17.62

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund

+ Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus - Growth

16.53

DBS Chola Mutual Fund

+ DBS Chola Monthly Income Plan - Regular - Dividend-Quarterly

16.43

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund

+ Sundaram BNP Paribas Value Plus 3 Year Plan - Dividend

15.55

IDFC Mutual Fund

+ IDFC Premier Equity Fund - Growth

14.79

IDFC Mutual Fund

+ IDFC Premier Equity Fund - Dividend

14.79

Baroda Pioneer Mutual Fund

+ Baroda Pioneer Growth Fund - Growth

14.41

Baroda Pioneer Mutual Fund

+ Baroda Pioneer Growth Fund - Dividend

14.34

Deutsche Mutual Fund

+ DWS Investment Opportunity Fund - Dividend

14.15

Deutsche Mutual Fund

+ DWS Investment Opportunity Fund - Growth

14.04

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund

+ Kotak Dynamic Asset Allocation Scheme - Growth

13.92

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Places where homes are affordable

With real estate prices soaring..Here are some places where the real estate rates are affordable

1.Nicholasville, KY
Median home price: $70,000
Median family income: $53,505

2.Watauga, TX
Median home price: $117,040
Median family income: $73,203

3.Redan, GA
Median home price: $115,000
Median family income: $71,466

4.Franklin, IN
Median home price: $103,000
Median family income: $63,555

5.Clay, NY
Median home price: $124,000
Median family income: $72,488

6.Plainfield, IN
Median home price: $124,000
Median family income: $72,282

For more detailed information please visit Best places with good cost