Sunday, January 25, 2009

The "New" Money Manager's Investment Vehicle still tainted by its past

Even though Money Managers-the former pyramid scheme seller or what the yanks call a Ponzi Scheme-headed by Doug Somers-Edgar (pictured inset), is trying to turn over a new leaf and reinvent itself the First Step trustee Edward Russell is still talking bullshit:

"While some of the shortfall is sadly an uncontrollable inevitability in the current economic climate, where we have seen and have experienced a period of unprecedented wealth destruction across all investment sectors...

And:

Trying to put a brave face on the losses, Russell said: "This is nothing anyone here is expecting any recognition for, but the high proportion of capital returned to date does underline the correctness of the swift action we took with the First Step Trusts to close them early and liquidate in a controlled and managed fashion. "The effort in this has been huge and the result, despite the losses, has been significantly better for investors than if early action had not been taken." Stuff.co.nz, Jan 23, 2009

Now call me a thicko if you like but should investors have been told when initially putting their hard earned into Money Manager's First Step scheme that it was not only going towards lending for vehicles but the vehicle used (pun intended) to lend that money to punters was siphoned through a related party, Club Finance, where Doug Somers-Edgar was a director?

Of course they should have, because the vehicle financing business is very risky and it didn't fit the risk profile that First Step investors were informed about.

The extent of the "distancing" of the "new" Money Managers from Somers-Edgar is a little hazy.

Back in February 2008 the Sunday Star Times reported that the company was being sold to the Chief Executive at that time, Alasdair Scott, its franchisees, and NZ Funds Management, owned by Somers-Edgar business associates Gerald Siddall and Russell Tills.

At that point the majority ownership still lay in Somers-Edgars hands through trusts directly involved with him and his wife.

There was to be be an announcement regarding ownership but nowhere can it be found, either on the Internet or the Money Managers website.

When the new Chief Executive, Derek Young, was questioned in December about Somers-Edgar's current involvement in Money Managers readers got this answer:

Has Somers-Edgar entirely exited the business?

Yes... almost, is the answer, but his shadow is long. He still owns Heritage, a trustee company which administers the family trusts of thousands of Money Managers' clients. But that is a transitional arrangement, and it will change, Young says. Stuff.co.nz, December 21, 2008

This is pertinent to the issue of First Step and a number of other Doug Somers-Edgar owned related parties because they are being wound up, investors have lost their money and Doug is running for the hills with it because he is selling up!

How clever.

So the issue over his current involvement in Money Managers is unclear as is the outcome for investors in its various related parties.

What is clear however is that the "New-Improved" version of Money Managers still cannot be fully trusted.

Many of the same people still work there, as franchisees and in management, either directly, through trusts or related parties.

Current Chief Executive, Derek Young seems like a thoroughly appropriate person to be heading up a change of direction for Money Managers but you cannot expect an ailing leopard to change its spots overnight when there is a shadow of a hyena lurking in the background.

Come clean Dougy.

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c Share Investor 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

MarketWatch: Contact Energy

The slump in the Contact Energy [CEN] share price on Tuesday due to a 23% profit downgrade is really of little concern to the long-term investor already owning shares in the company.

It does provide an opportunity for those of us who would like to buy Contact shares though !

The downgrade had nothing at all to do with the global recession but was due mainly to bad luck, government red-tape and a gas shortage.

That doesn't mean the end of the world though.

Contact Energy still makes alot of money and will continue to do so long into the future and is a monopoly in various areas of its business

In fact it has been one of the better performers, profit and share price wise than any other stock listed on the NZX and it will do well during the recession.

The downgrade simply made the company a more attractive buy on Tuesday because the share price dropped by 10%.

The share price closed today at NZ$6.76, 16c up on yesterday's close and around 10% less than a week ago.


At a 52 week low of $6.29 this makes Contact Energy an essential on anyone's watchlist at the current share value.

Buy on weakness for a good long-term return.


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c Share Investor 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cancelling gab-fests sends a good message

The fuss made by Annette King today by trying to score meaningless political points over Tony Ryall for putting the kibosh on yet another expensive taxpayer funded talk fest, again shows why Annie and her free spending ilk lost the last election.


This is the second expensive meaningless talk fest to be stubbed out by National since November 2008.

Labour just don't get it.

We need to tighten our belts and every dollar counts, especially in these uncertain economic times.

The message that National are sending is that your hard earned money is important to us and we will not waste it on pointy headed useless bureaucrats.

These free spenders of taxpayer money from the Labour Party just don't care.

The money saved from cancelling just these two pointless talk fests-that rarely achieve anything except get clipboard toting bureaucrats drunk and randy on our money- would be enough to create the salaries for 6-7 well paid jobs.

Really Anette, isn't that what we really need right now.


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c Political Animal 2009


FULL-LENGTH VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT: President Barack Obama's 2009 Inaugural Address



Barack Obama's FULL Inaugural Speech













President Obama being sworn in





The full Inaugural Address and swearing in videos are above and the full transcript of the Address is below.






The full transcript of President Obama's Inaugural Speech.

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.



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As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

  This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. 



Affiliated Links


Political Animal - The Inauguration from a New Zeland perspective
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