Apr30

“I hope that this is sincere,” Republican Congress to President Obama

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“I hope that this is sincere,” Republican Congress to President Obama

President Obama’s effort on his invites for lunch and dinner to congressional Republicans for three weeks regarding the next budget battle, party leaders are conveying watchful buoyancy about the president being sincere and far from being just leading a so-called charm offensive.

The invitations emerge to be an adjust in political tactics for Obama, who from the time being elected in 2008 has largely shun pursuing Congress, preferring as of late to as a substitute make his case to the public with campaign-style events.

He moreover plans to maintain the exertion this week with three planned trips to Capitol Hill to visit Democrats and Republicans in both chambers. This will in turn a likely effort to broker a “grand bargain” on tax and spending as a replacement for another short-term fix.

“I hope that this is sincere,” Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, who had lunch Thursday with Obama at the White House.” “We had a very good, frank exchange. But the proof will be in the coming weeks as to whether or not it’s a real, sincere outreach to find common ground.”

Obama’s evident courtship follows $85 billion in payments for cuts this year that kicked in March 1 and earlier than the next deadline, March 27, when the existing short-term budget extension expires and a government shutdown becomes visible.

Ryan, R-Wis., also said his proposal for 2014 would balance the federal budget in 10 years, but is based in part on repeal of the president’s Affordable Care Act, which appears unlikely.

They also articulated concern that the president’s second-term efforts might be too late though Republicans materializes as optimistic.



“I think he is sincere,” said Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, who attended the hotel dinner with 11 other Republican senators Wednesday night.

“But you know, you’ve got a lot of scabs and sores on people,” Coburn told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And it’s going to take a while for that to heal.”

Considering Congress is scheduled to depart town March 22 the president will have to work fast to accomplish even a shorter-term deal.

They already have a spending measure ready for passage that would pay for day-to-day federal operations through September said the Senate Democrats. The measure would impose automatic cuts of 5 percent to domestic agencies and 7.8 percent to the Pentagon.

Leaders of the Democrat-controlled Senate also are working on full budget for passage, the first in four years. And he expressed optimism about an eventual Hill deal, said Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine Sunday.

“The two (chambers’) budgets will be different,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’re going to have to find a balanced solution, and it will involve all elements. It will involve talking about revenues, talking about expenses, talking about entitlements. We have to do that.”

Still, some Republicans seem unconvinced about the president’s recent efforts.

“I hope that he’s genuine,” Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., told NBC. “But I don’t think we’re going to be doing the Harlem Shake any time soon together.”

Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy question whether Obama’s efforts were about winning over the Republican-controlled House or “governing for all of America.”

“Only time will tell,” the California congressman told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Apr9

Shinzo Abe on Japan’s Financial State this 2013

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Shinzo Abe on Japan’s Financial State this 2013

2012’s biggest surprise has been the robust rally in the Nikkei 225 Index (NKY)- stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a promise to light a fire under the economy with a massive fiscal effort and pressure the Bank of Japan to set a 2% inflation target and accelerate bond buying, he made the promise when he was an incoming prime minister last year.

December 19 last year, the Nikkei broke through the 10,000 mark in early trading in Tokyo and is up about 10% on the year. The strong yen still remains a worry up to today. Due to Japan’s world-class debt mess, now clocking in at about 220% of GDP and so is it’s rapidly aging population, now the third world’s biggest economy are in slow lane at the moment.

But this is not what prominent analysts see, James Hunt of Tocqueville Asset Management, see better times ahead for Japan and its stock market. According to Hunt, in a recent note to clients points out that over the last 12 years, Japanese corporate profits, cash flow and return on equity have all increased even as stock prices have stagnated. As a result, ‘the price to earnings ratio for profitable Nikkei 225 companies has gone from 24x to 15x, while the price/book value has compressed from 1.7x to 1.1x and the dividend yield has increased from 0.8% to 2.3%.” Now, the question is, is this prediction correct at the moment. It is too early to say though, anyway 2013 just started.



Japanese stocks are a bargain at least for the next couple of years, says Jim Rogers, Singapore-based investor. He argues that the Nikkei trading is in the same range as it did in 1983. Last year he recommends looking for Japanese stocks that can serve as a proxy play for China and other faster growing economies in Asia because Japan has massive debt problems. And he also suggested Japan must have a quick exit in middle of this decade.

Like every country is going trough the past years, Japan has had some difficulties. Despite the problems caused by the earthquake and tsunami, its economy is still important to many businesses especially to Americans. So this year will be a good one for Japan, what does the future hold for other countries businesses if Japan will no longer export to them.

Japan’s economy sure did dive because of the natural disasters that had happened. Right after the disasters Japan made a good bounce-back as soon as they could and for the rate that the country is going on 2013 is the perfect year to regain Japan’s economy. Japan’s issues like earthquake/tsunami rebuilding, electricity reliability, export markets, value of the Yen and Thailand floods are slowly but surely being covered by Japan and hopefully by this year all issues are resolved. Well anyway, a promise is a promise. Let see what Shinzo Abe could do in his second reign as prime minister. Let us all hope for the good.

Feb26

The Significance of Budget Cuts

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The Significance of Budget Cuts

It’s been a third decade when Americans witnessed economic success with the prism of cooked books and lofty promises – $85 billion in abrupt budget cuts would be an uncouth arising.

The government owes $16.5 trillion, borrows another $1 trillion each year and must satisfy the will of voting populace intent on receiving $1.8 trillion in annual tax breaks for buying a house, medical insurance or saving for retirement.

There is, however, a silver lining to it all: Americans might rediscover the things that really matter in life.

Marketing like television ads, shopping malls and product placement defined the success; credit cards only allowed people to buy it. Sure enough, consumer debt as a percent of disposable income jumped by 75 percent from 1980 to 2010, just as the economy became increasingly addicted to consumer spending, growing from 62.5 percent of GDP to 70 percent during the same period.

Despite being the richest nation on earth, the United States is also the most anxious, with nearly a third of Americans likely to suffer from an anxiety problem in their lifetime. If one were to ask patients with a terminal illness what they regret not doing, it’s doubtful that anyone would mention a bigger house, a nicer car or a walk-in closet. With few exceptions, the luxury cars don’t make them happy; it’s the person in the passenger seat.



In some ways the Congress has the difficult task of tempering material expectations without dampening the will to be great, to be responsible and to build something for their children at the expense of themselves. What a delicate balance to maintain, to foster innovation and full employment while also satisfying debts accumulated over the last five administrations.

These things are imminently possible. Domestic industries are destined to evolve and workers will become better trained, but it takes time and it requires patience and it demands sacrifice and it means that some will not have as much stuff in the meantime. Petulant free market panderers may argue in favor of laissez faire economics, noting its many favorable qualities, but if capitalism were more than just a caricature of itself people wouldn’t be so concerned about these budget cuts in the first place.

Prehistoric humans lived shorter lives in part because younger generations, in dire need of shelter and lacking the requisite knowledge to build a house, ultimately displaced their elders. The American taxpayer, having demanded its cake and austerity measures too, is once again faced with a scripted day of reckoning.

Jan29

Features and Specs of Cheap Model said to Resemble iPhone 5 and iPod Touch of Apple iPhone 6 Rumors

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Features and Specs of Cheap Model said to Resemble iPhone 5 and iPod Touch of Apple iPhone 6 Rumors

“Low cost” iPhone is indeed set to be released later this year according to a reliable
source. This is in relation with the reports that Apple has three different phones in
development.

Since early January rumors have been circulating about a cheaper iPhone that will be
possibly called as “iPhone 5S” or “iPhone 6”. The rumors began when a lot of reports
from supply chain sources and even major US news sites like The Wall Street Journal
and Bloomberg had an eye about the new iPhone development. The development is
said to be targeted towards lower-income, emerging markets like China and India.

This next-gen iOS were detailed by iLounge editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz followed
up on his last exposé of what he calls the “budget iPhone”, allegedly it will look like the
iPhone 5 but feature several new design elements and tweaks.

“Yes, it will be made substantially from plastic,” Horwitz wrote, echoing an earlier report
from DigiTimes that said the iPhone 5S or 6 would feature a hybrid chassis made of
both plastic and metal. “No, it won’t just be a Retina- and Lightning-equipped refresh of
the iPhone 3G or 3GS, Apple’s last plastic iPhones, nor will it look just like an all-plastic
version of the iPhone 5. This new model is actually a cross between the iPhone 5, fifth-
generation iPod touch, and… wait for it… the iPod classic. Yes, really. It will have a 4”
screen, like the iPhone 5, a bottom like the latest iPod touch, and a shape that’s most
similar to the iPod classic.”

The new iPhone’s internal parts could “be seen from the outside through a special
design; if this turned out to be true, the finished design for the “iPhone 6″ might look
like an iPhone 5 mixed with the plastic enclosure of the iPhone 3GS from 2009, mixed
with the final design for the “Bondi blue” iMac in 1998, which was characterized by its
brightly colored, translucent plastic casing, letting users see the inside of their desktop
computer for the first time, according to the original DigiTimes report.

The new low-cost iPhone 5S or 6 is said to feature nearly identical specs to the iPhone
5, but “a half-millimeter taller and a half-millimeter wider,” according to Horwitz, as well
as a full millimeter thicker. But iLounge noted that the biggest design change in this
cheaper iPhone will be the curves.

“Apple’s budget housing looks closest to the iPod classic in shape, though not in
materials,” Horwitz said. “Unlike the plastic iPhone 3G/3GS, which featured soft curves
on all sides, the budget iPhone’s curves start and end at flat surfaces, so each side and
the back are flat. This seems like a trivial change, until you realize that it allows Apple
to use flat rather than curve-matched parts: the right side has a flat, centered SIM card

tray just like the iPhone 5’s, while all of the buttons and ports are on flat rather than
curved surfaces. A flat-backed iPhone won’t rock on a flat surface when it vibrates,
either.”

Adding up to the new form factor the iPhone 5S or 6 will have very similar features
to the iPod Touch, including identical proportions and locations for the camera,
microphone, and rear flash, this is in accordance with Horwitz belief. The new phone is
said to have an extra microphone on the bottom, as well as four individual holes for the
speaker grill, rather than the 26 speaker holes at the bottom of the iPhone 5 but other
than this the headphone jack, Lightning dock, bottom microphone and speaker are in
the same location as the iPhone 5.

“In summary, the budget iPhone will look a lot like an iPhone 5 from the front, an iPod
classic from the side, and an iPod touch 5G on the bottom—only made from plastic
rather than glass or metal,” Horwitz concluded. “It won’t make any bold departures from
past Apple designs, but then, it’s supposed to be an inexpensive iPhone, and achieves
that goal pretty much as expected.”

Why Apple Needs This Low-Cost iPhone

Apple’s Q1 2013 income was still not enough to alleviate the concerns of investors
and analysts, and its retreating stock is a reflection of that regardless of breaking all
previous quarterly earnings records held by the company. And to aid this poor stock
fortunes, they need to prove that it can still expand and they thought that this cheap,
low-cost iPhone is the solution to the problem.



Horwitz wrote in his Friday report, “One of our sources claims that Apple’s iPhone
prices remain too high for most mainland Chinese customers—the iPhone 5 hardware
alone starts at $849 there, versus the iPhone 4 at $500, in a country where the average
annual salary is around $3,000 per person). The source has said that mainland
Chinese iPhone 5 sales are already tapering off as a result of the pricing, which is
higher than in Hong Kong. A budget iPhone model would help sales in populous but
underdeveloped countries to grow.”

Either bigger like Samsung Galaxy S III or smaller than iPhone Nano, Apple can now
afford to build an entry-level to mid-range smartphone on top of the current iPhone.
This is now possible because of the newer, smaller, cheaper and more efficient
chipsets. This is done to charm the market that cannot quite afford Apple’s most
popular product, including many in China. And now that small devices are chic and
trendy to Asian markets it smaller iPhone will appeal to them.

Apple is eager to make it with China. As a matter of fact, there had been reports that
the company is trying to strike a deal with China Mobile. China mobile is the largest
telecommunication carrier in the world with 703 million active subscribers, to build a TD-
LTE version of the iPhone to work on the carrier’s high-speed networks. According to

the report, on Jan. 10, Apple CEO Tim Cook stopped by China Mobile headquarters to
meet and discuss “matters of cooperation” with Xi Guohua, the company’s chairman.

Together with DigiTimes Topeka Markets analyst Brian White also believes that Apple’s
working on a newly sized, low-cost iPhone, he said on Jan. 2 that Apple is likely to
release its next iPhone in more colors and screen sizes, implying Apple might sell an
iPhone smaller or larger than the current iPhone 5, or even previous-gen iPhone 4S or 4
units.

“Although Apple offers a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 and a 3.5-inch screen on the
iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, the company has never offered multiple screen sizes for a
single model,” White said. “We believe this is about to change with the next iPhone
offering different screen dies that we believe will allow Apple to better bifurcate the
market and expand its reach.”

There is a big chance that we could see a cheaper iPhone 5S or 6 that will be launched
later this year. Judging from Apple’s urgency to strike a deal and in addition to rising
number of rumors saying that 2013 would be its release date it is really pointing to one
conclusion.

iPhone 6: What We’ve Heard So Far

to add to the anticipation of the market, aside from the all-new, low-cost iPhone , Appple
is also expected to release an updated iPhone 5 this year. And depending on what
else Apple is yet to release, whichever they decide the new iPhones will earn the labels
iPhone 5S or iPhone 6.

“The iPhone 5S is still months away from mass production, but our source suspects
that the star feature will be an upgraded rear camera—perhaps featuring Sony’s 13-
Megapixel sensor, plus the aforementioned flash upgrade—along with a processor
bump,” Horwitz said last week. “Current prototypes are codenamed N51 and N53, with
July mentioned as the target date.”

The one rumor that may charm the market to this new iPhone is said to include
an integrated fingerprint sensor to replace the need for usernames and passwords on
the phone. Horwitz’s report may be accurate but based on what we heard the biggest
focus of the iPhone 5S or 6 will actually be the home button.

The iPhone has only unlike other smartphones with multiple bottoms on the bottom.
The one mechanical button on its face makes it exceedingly easy and intuitive for users
to find and use this feature making the fingerprint sensor great logical sense to be
an iPhone 6 feature. And as noted in the company’s own filing to the SEC, Apple is
acquiring Floroda-based AuthenTec last July, given this fact there’s an excellent chance
that we’ll see this unique feature in the iPhone 5S or 6.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – one of the best at the business at
predicting Apple’s product pipeline – the iPhone 5S or 6 will also feature a number of
notable upgrades besides the fingerprint sensor, including a new A7 processor from
Apple, and a new f2.0 aperture on the rear side camera with an advanced “smart LED
flash” for enhanced photo-taking.

There is also rumor roaming that Apple is investing a great deal of time, energy and
money on the display for its next-gen iPhone 5S or 6.

Apple might switch to a “Touch On Display” panel currently in development at Taiwan-
based Innolux Corp., which has reportedly been licensed to use Sharp’s proprietary
IGZO display technology, a Jan. 3 report released by the China Times.

Apple is most likely going to feature Sharp’s ultra-thin IGZO display technology in its
next iPhone but it is yet to find out whether or not Apple chooses Innolux to make the
next iPhone’s screens.

Apple analyst Horace Dediu and DigiTimes both mentioned in late December that
Apple’s alleged investment in the ultra-thin IGZO displays produced by Sharp. Apple
is calculating the addition of technology in Apple’s next batch of iOS devices, including
iPhones and iPads. Dediu also pointed to Apple’s recent $2.3 billion investment in
“product tooling, manufacturing process equipment and infrastructure,” believing the
cash was used to help bail out Sharp, which had been in financial straits in 2012. Sharp
is reportedly going “all in” on IGZO technology, so it’s possible Apple saved Sharp to
leverage its investment in the next generation of displays.

IGZO display technology can handle higher screen densities than Apple’s Retina
display aside from being thin and tough and before anything it is visually stunning on its
own. The new iPad 4 can only achieve 264 ppi but IGZO displays can reportedly handle
display densities north of 330 ppi.

Apples main concern to its devices are they all seem to be power-hungry this is
because current-gen Retina displays are extremely power hungry and one of the
advantages of IGZO display technology is its lower power consumption. IGZO seems
to be the way to go for the next generation of iOS devices if Apple wanted its iPhone 6
to not only last longer during the day but also charge faster when plugged in.

To give credibility to these rumors, Taiwan-based AU Optronics (AUO) reportedly plans
to develop a Retina display for the next-generation iPad Mini, which may require IGZO
technology to make such a Retina display feasible.

Moreover, aside from the rumors about the display, we have noticed a few interesting
patents although there haven’t been too many other legitimate reports on the iPhone
6: A patent filed in March but published last September described tactile keyboards,
flexible displays and laser microphones and speakers built into an iPhone, designed to

conform to the user’s needs. Flexible displays would allow for easier holding and typing,
while the highly advanced tactile screens would create buttons when needed so users
can feel “keyboard” letters as they type, or touch the topography on Apple’s Maps.

Just thinking about it makes it fun, we could just wish for Apple to include all these
technologies in this year’s iPhone 5S or 6 rather implement them over time, one by one
to every new model they produce.

Original article:

http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-iphone-6-rumors-features-specs-cheap-model-said-resemble-iphone-5-ipod-touch-1043712

Dec28

Economy to rise in 2013, but fiscal cliff drags down development

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Economy to rise in 2013, but fiscal cliff drags down development

Before the New Year hoping to reach a compromise on the fiscal cliff, members of congress and President Barack Obama are hurrying back to Washington.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, going over the fiscal cliff—a series of spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect in 2013—would strip $600 billion from the U.S. economy, sending America back into recession. But according to economic analysts and money managers sent via email of Bradley Associates, the fiscal cliff is only the first in a series of challenges the U.S. economy will face in 2013. Even as the fiscal cliff looms, there are encouraging signs that the economy is poised for continued slow growth next year.

“There are tailwinds that are very exciting that are happening broadly speaking within the economy, but there are also headwinds that aren’t going away,” says Henry Smith, chief investment officer and director at the Haverford Trust Company in Pennsylvania. “When you add it all together, we look at 2013 and say we’re expecting more of the same. For the past two years, we’ve been stubbornly stuck in a below-average gross domestic product [GDP] growth environment. We’re going to be in the same position in 2013.”
These headwinds are well-known, and have been dragging down economic growth since the start of the Great Recession. The tailwinds, however, are new and gaining speed. According to Jeff Layman, principal and chief investment officer at BKD Wealth Advisors, the economy should be able to recover from a rough few months at the beginning of 2013 and build strength as the year progresses.

“We expect more of the same in terms of sluggish growth in the first part of the year. But we do see potential to see things improve as the year goes on,” Layman says.



The headwinds. The fiscal cliff is still the biggest challenge facing the economy, according to Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. But he adds that even if the fiscal cliff is resolved, the inevitable timing of the agreement—just days before the deadline—gives investors little confidence in Washington’s ability to govern effectively.

“It’s not likely that the solution to the fiscal cliff will be the grand solution that addresses short- and long-term deficit reduction,” Snaith says. “The failure to get a timely deal done only increases uncertainty about the economy … You have a horizon that has a high level of uncertainty [about Washington's ability to govern]. We’re still stuck in that in 2013, and it’s going to be hard to shake that burden.”

Smith says this uncertainty adds to concerns about other policy debates. “There are also regulatory headwinds, from the Affordable Healthcare Act, to Dodd-Frank Financial Reform, to a more active Environmental Protection Agency,” he says. “Businesses are unsure of how these policy debates will unfold and impact the economy.”