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For the first time ever Panther Airboats is releasing its patented gear-to-gear counter rotator for sale to the general public. The counter rotator comes with over 20 years of tried and proven technology. You will enjoy up to 30% more thrust, up to 20% less fuel consumption, up to 25% noise reduction and complete rotational torque cancellation! Make your boat a quieter, more efficient, and most important, a safer ride!


An abridged version of my interview with local exorcist Barry May.
Father Barry May is a local Perth exorcist. He held Anglican ministry for 45 years, retiring in 2007. He worked as an army chaplain for 14 years and spent another 14 in the police force. I sat down with Barry to talk to him about his exorcism work.
Barry has Hindu customers as well.
Barry told me he believes practicing witchcraft can cause a person to be possessed by demons.
"There are witches covens in Perth" he tells me "there are people who on outward appearance are respectable, might be a doctor, or a lawyer or your next door neighbour, or teacher. And they practice witch craft by night time, at a full moon and dance around in the nuddy, and (in) the next day they put on their clothes and go to work and become your GP.
Barry had this warning for amateurs thinking of taking up exorcism.
"I'd be very, very careful. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't do it (exorcism) but do a lot of study on it. And if you had for the right reasons, not for your own reasons, I don't do it for my reasons.


The KETO Craze - Is it for you?
I have been amazed by how much interest there is in the KETO or Low-Carb Diet over the past couple of years. When someone has success in their weight loss program people start asking questions. The same thing has happened to me... Let me tell you my story about KETO.
In September of 2017 I noticed my son Charlie had lost a lot of weight and I started asking questions. He told me about the low carb plan he had been using to shed the pounds. Over a short 3-4 month timeframe he had dropped nearly 35 pounds. This success not only got my attention, but it also got me thinking.
As I contemplated my need to lose weight, I thought that if my son could do it, I could do it as well. But, as usual, I put it off till Monday, then the next Monday and the next Monday. What was the breaking point? On October 24, 2017 I came face to face with a bowl of Halloween candy sitting on a table awaiting any possible trick or treaters we might have. The good thing was Halloween was a week away. This gave me plenty of time to replenish the bowl of candy should something happen to our current stash. This gave me a logical reason to grab a handful of tiny treats and retreated to the couch to watch TV. After three trips later I became so disgusted with myself and realized enough was enough. To make things even worse, I reached over to untie my shoe and suddenly realized I was struggling to bend over. This was the final blow and I actually became mad. Not only was I mad at myself for not taking care of my body for the past 15 years but also mad at myself for not being able to pull the trigger and do the right thing. That Tuesday night I said STOP! At that moment I changed my mindset and replaced my craving for food to a craving for health.
Immediately I started searching the internet for the KETO diet and Low Carb Diet plans. I suddenly realized that I could do it. As I began to read the many success stories and saw the actual plan of action I put my game plan together. To make a long story short, as of June 12th, 2018 I have lost 62 lbs. and 3 pant sizes. My energy level is back like it was 30 years ago and my overall health has made a drastic turn around. My Cholesterol level has dropped over 50 points and my blood pressure is nearly perfect. My chronic snoring problems have decreased tremendously. This can happen to you as well.
My typical day always starts with a cup of black coffee (to go) as I leave for work. I continued this tradition but I added a little twist to provide some protein in the coffee by adding about one ounce of Atkins chocolate shake stirred into my coffee. This added a nice touch of chocolate and provided me with a shot of protein into the mix. Protein has been a key ingredient to my success using this diet plan so this added little treat to my coffee added a small bit of protein that I wasn't normally getting.
During the mid- morning I will eat a small Atkins nutrition bar as a snack to satisfy any cravings I have. Most of these bars are tasty and only have 3-5 grams of net carbs. Lunch has been typically a salad (less carrots) with turkey, ham or chicken added for protein with cheese added for fat intake. When you reduce your carb intake you need to increase your fat intake to fuel your body. One thing about the diet is the fact that you can eat most any kind of meat or fat (within reason) and still take off the pounds. Other lunch items I found to be satisfying are: Sandwich meats with cheese and throw in a pickle or other vegetables like cucumbers or tomatoes. There are lots of choices you CAN eat. Focus on what you CAN eat rather than what you CANNOT eat. A list of CAN EAT items are on the side of this page to use as a guide.
In the afternoon I would eat or drink another Atkins product for the protein. Sometimes a hand full of nuts were nice just to change things up.
Tip: Drink plenty of water or other fluids to stay hydrated like most other diets.
Dinner consists of eating a nice portion of whatever meat we had on the menu along with adding green beans, cabbage, cauliflower or asparagus. There are lots of veggies available that are on the CAN EAT list to pick from. Pick your favorite and eat till you are satisfied.
Nightime has been the biggest challenge. This is where I really had to work hard. My favorite is to treat myself with popcorn. NOT Microwave Popcorn, but real popcorn like my mother popped when I was a kid. I use a pot on the stove with a small amount of vegetable oil and add real melted butter as a topping.(two tablespoons) Most of the time I will eat about 3 cups or less, but this is enough to help me get out of the habit of eating junk food until bedtime. (Which has been my real weakness).
This plan may not work perfectly for you, but it has for me. The key to the KETO - Low Carb diet is figuring out what works for you. One thing for sure is that eliminating all of those excessive carbs from your diet will eat away all of that stored fat. Your body begins converting fat into carbs instead of consuming the carbs you have been feeding it. Its chemistry! It works!
Before you dive into this type of plan I would highly recommend that you consult your doctor first. There are thousands of resources online that give advice, diet plans and explanations of the KETO - Low Carb diet. Do your own research and come up with a plan. BUT, you must GET MAD, GET COMMITTED and stick with it. Don't wait till MONDAY… MONDAY never comes.
Do you have a success story? Please share yours with us.
Here is a list of what you CAN eat on KETO and be successful.
Fats & Oils: Animal Fats, Avocado Oil, Butter (real), Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Hemp Oil, Lard, Mayonnaise, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Peanut Oil, Sesame Oil, Tallow, Tea Seed Oil, Walnut Oil.


text:
Q: Append Multi-Dimension Arrays Horizontally in Blocks I have several Multi-Dimension Arrays, that I wish to concatenate horizontally. Thinking of the Multi-Dimension Arrays as tables, I want to append each by stacking them horizontally.
I have tried to use map and nested map, but I cannot get it work exactly as described.
var arr1 = [["A1","B1","C1","D1"],["A2","B2","C2","D2"]]
var arr2 = [["E1","F1","G1","H1"],["E2","F2","G2","H2"]]

how can I merge these into a single array where the output would be
var arrMerged = [["A1","B1","C1","D1","E1","F1","G1","H1"],["A2","B2","C2","D2","E2","F2","G2","H2"]]

A: Here's a version with map.

const arr1 = [["A1","B1","C1","D1"],["A2","B2","C2","D2"]]
const arr2 = [["E1","F1","G1","H1"],["E2","F2","G2","H2"]];

const out = arr1.map((arr, i) => {
  return arr.concat(arr2[i]);
});

console.log(out);

A: You can use Array.push and spread syntax to achieve your solution.

var arr1 = [["A1","B1","C1","D1"],["A2","B2","C2","D2"]]
var arr2 = [["E1","F1","G1","H1"],["E2","F2","G2","H2"]]
const output = []
// if you know the maximum length you can provide yourself instead of Math.max(arr1.length, arr2.length)
for(let i =0; i < Math.max(arr1.length, arr2.length); i++){
    //This will work even with different lengths of array
 output.push([...(arr1[i] || []), ...(arr2[i] || [])])
}
console.log(output)

P.S.: You can use other methods like map and reduce, but i am using for loop because in case of map the length of all arrays should be same.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


LOUISVILLE, Ken. — New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez highlighted the 18 players named to the 2008 Silver Slugger team, which was announced Thursday.
A three-time American League MVP, Rodriguez was honored for the 10th time, which is tied for second most all-time with Mike Piazza. Only Barry Bonds has more with 12.
The award, which is determined by a vote of major league coaches and managers, is given to those players who are felt to be the best offensive producers at each position.
Rodriguez is joined by fellow Yankee Derek Jeter, who won his third straight award at shortstop.
Catcher Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins collected his second award, also winning in 2006.
Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and designated hitter Aubrey Huff of the Baltimore Orioles are all first-time honorees.
All three of the top offensive outfielders for the American League are first-time honorees. They include Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox and Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians.
In the National League, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals won his fourth award overall at first base, and his first since 2004.
Second baseman Chase Utley of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies and outfielder Matt Holliday, who earlier this week was traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Oakland Athletics, each won their third straight Silver Slugger awards.
Third baseman David Wright of the New York Mets, catcher Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves and pitcher Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs are all second-time winners. Wright won the award in 2007, while McCann and Zambrano both won in 2006.
Shortstop Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins and outfielders Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Ryan Ludwick of the Cardinals each won the award for the first time.


text:
package org.apache.pulsar.broker.stats;

import static org.testng.Assert.assertEquals;
import static org.testng.Assert.assertTrue;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.UUID;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import org.apache.bookkeeper.mledger.impl.LedgerOffloaderStatsImpl;
import org.apache.pulsar.broker.service.BrokerTestBase;
import org.testng.annotations.AfterMethod;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class LedgerOffloaderMetricsTest  extends BrokerTestBase {

    @Override
    protected void setup() throws Exception {
    }

    @AfterMethod(alwaysRun = true)
    @Override
    protected void cleanup() throws Exception {
        super.internalCleanup();
    }

    @Test
    public void testTopicLevelMetrics() throws Exception {
        conf.setExposeTopicLevelMetricsInPrometheus(true);
        super.baseSetup();

        String ns1 = "prop/ns-abc1";
        admin.namespaces().createNamespace(ns1);
        String []topics = new String[3];

        LedgerOffloaderStatsImpl offloaderStats = (LedgerOffloaderStatsImpl) pulsar.getOffloaderStats();
        for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            String topicName = "persistent://prop/ns-abc1/testMetrics" + UUID.randomUUID();
            topics[i] = topicName;
            offloaderStats.recordOffloadError(topicName);
            offloaderStats.recordOffloadError(topicName);
            offloaderStats.recordOffloadBytes(topicName, 100);
            offloaderStats.recordReadLedgerLatency(topicName, 1000, TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
            offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadError(topicName);
            offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadError(topicName);
            offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadIndexLatency(topicName, 1000000L, TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
            offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadBytes(topicName, 100000);
            offloaderStats.recordWriteToStorageError(topicName);
            offloaderStats.recordWriteToStorageError(topicName);
        }

        for (String topicName : topics) {
            assertEquals(offloaderStats.getOffloadError(topicName), 2);
            assertEquals(offloaderStats.getOffloadBytes(topicName) , 100);
            assertEquals((long) offloaderStats.getReadLedgerLatency(topicName).sum, 1);
            assertEquals(offloaderStats.getReadOffloadError(topicName), 2);
            assertEquals((long) offloaderStats.getReadOffloadIndexLatency(topicName).sum ,1000);
            assertEquals(offloaderStats.getReadOffloadBytes(topicName), 100000);
            assertEquals(offloaderStats.getWriteStorageError(topicName), 2);
        }
    }

    @Test(priority = 1)
    public void testNamespaceLevelMetrics() throws Exception {
        conf.setExposeTopicLevelMetricsInPrometheus(false);
        super.baseSetup();

        String ns1 = "prop/ns-abc1";
        String ns2 = "prop/ns-abc2";

        LedgerOffloaderStatsImpl offloaderStats = (LedgerOffloaderStatsImpl) pulsar.getOffloaderStats();
        Map<String, List<String>> namespace2Topics = new HashMap<>();
        for (int s = 0; s < 2; s++) {
            String nameSpace = ns1;
            if (s == 1) {
                nameSpace = ns2;
            }
            namespace2Topics.put(nameSpace, new ArrayList<>());

            admin.namespaces().createNamespace(nameSpace);
            String baseTopic1 = "persistent://" + nameSpace + "/testMetrics";
            for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
                String topicName = baseTopic1 + UUID.randomUUID();
                List<String> topicList = namespace2Topics.get(nameSpace);
                topicList.add(topicName);
                offloaderStats.recordOffloadError(topicName);
                offloaderStats.recordOffloadBytes(topicName, 100);
                offloaderStats.recordReadLedgerLatency(topicName, 1000, TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
                offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadError(topicName);
                offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadIndexLatency(topicName, 1000000L, TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
                offloaderStats.recordReadOffloadBytes(topicName, 100000);
                offloaderStats.recordWriteToStorageError(topicName);
            }
        }

        for (Map.Entry<String, List<String>> entry : namespace2Topics.entrySet()) {
            List<String> topics = entry.getValue();
            String topicName = topics.get(0);

            assertTrue(offloaderStats.getOffloadError(topicName) >= 1);
            assertTrue(offloaderStats.getOffloadBytes(topicName) >= 100);
            assertTrue((long) offloaderStats.getReadLedgerLatency(topicName).sum >= 1);
            assertTrue(offloaderStats.getReadOffloadError(topicName) >= 1);
            assertTrue((long) offloaderStats.getReadOffloadIndexLatency(topicName).sum >= 1000);
            assertTrue(offloaderStats.getReadOffloadBytes(topicName) >= 100000);
            assertTrue(offloaderStats.getWriteStorageError(topicName) >= 1);
        }
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Practically everyone drinks soda and if you are someone who prefers 2 liter bottles, you may have mounds of plastic to throw away at the end of the month. Instead of throwing out those bottles, why not do something creative? People are increasingly creating different ways of reducing the damage we are causing to the planet bringing intelligent ideas about recycling and reusing daily objects.


A bear market is generally defined as a decline in a widely followed stock index, such as the Dow Jones Industrials or the S&P 500 index, over a greater than 2 month period, by 20% or greater from its most recent high price.
This definition, however, ignores the important valuation component, and as such, must be viewed as faulty, simplistic and perhaps even naive.
For example, a share of stock which previously sold at a hundred times free cash flow, meaning its owners can expect to receive no greater than a 1% return on their investment, declining in value so it now sells at 80 times its free cash flow ( or 1.25% yield), would meet the simple, but generally accepted bear market hurdle.
But should this firm now yielding 1.25% (or less, if it doesn't generate free cash at all), be considered to be in bear market territory merely because its stock now reflects reality rather than a previously exaggerated valuation.
All we need to do is take a look at the late 1990's, when technology stocks frequently sold at greater than 100 times their revenues, to say nothing about the return investors could expect .
Bringing it down to the individual security level, you might recall JDS Uniphase, which during that time sold at over $1100 a share, split adjusted. Could one rationally posit when its stock fell to $880, it placed the security in "cheap" territory," or more realistically, simply less ridiculous? When viewed this way it is obvious one should look toward valuation aside from drop in value. If so, JDSU would not have reached bear market territory until it dropped to below $10 per share, given it produced negligible amounts of free cash flow during 1997-1999.
Common sense would mandate market pundits should consider not only a fall in the price of a security but also whether the prior valuation made sense in the first place. While we all like simplicity, the connotation of a bear market is the value of an asset has dropped to an unfairly low level given undue pessimism. But if the current valuation level were indeed somewhat fair, one should hardly consider the price to be that of a bear market value.
A bear market occurs when the value of a large grouping of equity securities, believed to be reflective of the general economy both falls in value by 15% and has a free cash flow yield of twice that of the 10 year treasury yield, based on the firms normalized free cash flows.
Using this definition, the last bear market would have been declared on February 6, 2008, not June 27, or almost 5 months sooner than recognized. This could have allowed congress and the treasury to perhaps save many tens of thousands of jobs, and investors and creditors much grief.
The exception to my 2x treasury yield definition would be during periods of hyper inflation, during which time less than a doubling would be necessitated to trigger a bear market; a sliding scale that would work its way from 2x up until a 10% yield to just 10% greater should the treasury yield approach 15%. Thankfully, in the U.S. at least, such instances are extremely rare, having been there just once. As seen in the following 130 year chart, the only period when 10 year yields pushed over 5% resulted from the oil embargos impact on the general price level and wages. Thus, a required 10% free cash flow yield would likewise be rare.
While many would suppose the distinction between the suggested and generally accepted definitions are inconsequential, it is not borne in reality. And for stock market historians, investment strategists, investors, and yes, politicians, the need to know if a bear market exists is important in everything from asset allocation to policy.
So, given my suggested definition, where would the S&P 500 need to fall to enter bear market territory, and how would that differ from the generally accepted definition?
The S&P 500 began its current bull market in March 2009 and reached its most recent closing high on May 2 at 1361.22. A 20% decline would therefore take that index to bear market territory at 1088.97, or a little over 14% from yesterday's close of 1267.64. Stocks dropping to that level would, in my estimation, be well into, not at the cusp of, a bear market.
Ten year treasuries currently yield 2.93%. The S&P 500 currently has a normalized free cash flow yield of 5.22% ( or a 19.15 multiple), which includes both corporate overspending and misclassification errors, such as taxes, payments to non-controlling interests, payments on guarantees, factoring, underfunding pension, and the like. If the free cash flow yield on the S&P 500 were to provide a return twice that of treasuries, stocks would need to yield 5.86% or treasury yields would need to fall. Stocks would therefore need to decline another 10.9%, given their current free cash flow yield and the requirement to permeate the 15% barrier. This combination is considerably smaller than today's thinking would have it, as generally recognized by the simple 20% definition, and is due to the spread between the treasury rate and the free cash flow yield. In other instances, the barrier might be considerably larger or smaller than the naive bear market definition.
Intuitively, I believe most investors would agree another almost 11% fall in the general level of equity prices would constitute a bear market, not 30% greater than that. And in this case, their perception would be correct, as would be borne out from the fundamental underpinning of equity investing-a firm is worth the present value of its free cash flows. In conjunction with a severe drop in stock values, these two metrics form the basis.
A recent report out of McKinsey in Co.(McKinsey Quarterly, May 2011) stated European and U.S. companies hold excess cash on the order of $2 trillion. The general point of the article is how companies' should begin paying back its shareholders given the large excess funds they both hold and will continue to produce.
1- The cash does not account for funds held in geographies which, if pulled would result in a large tax, in perhaps two countries. In fact, certain countries would not permit such payments at all.
4- It does not take into account funds needed for expansion, or business combinations, R&D, or additional hiring.
5- The desire to hold excess cash may be needed for other obligations, such as pensions, employee buyouts due to restructuring, commitments, or guarantees, both legal and moral.
6- The authors do not explain why firms must distribute cash back at all, even if several years have passed awaiting opportunities. Capital gains has always proved the better after-tax reward.
7-The authors defined excess cash as the amount of cash outstanding over and above operating cash, which is defined at 2 percent of revenue. This is clearly a poor definition of excess cash.
What the article does correctly point out, however, is the net effect on the firm value of share repurchases is zero. This is a subject I have long ago pointed out. Share buybacks improve accounting metrics, but do nothing to improve ROIC.
My point is the amount of excess cash is not nearly that amount claimed. I strongly believe a secondary reason for the US economy and stock market free-fall just a few short years ago were the massive buy-backs, which, by eating up capital, only served to deepen the credit crisis while driving some pretty large institutions out of business. I believe shareholders would have earned greater than 3% over the past five years had companies acted more prudently, and invested in assets and projects earning a safe spread between ROIC and cost of capital than depleting cash and equity.
Buybacks have not proved to be a "reward" to shareholders, as managers and too many investors and stock analysts, claim the programs to be.
The most implicit building block of security and company valuation is use of the risk free rate.
Whether undergoing a fairness opinion, a discounted cash flow model, or any number of other on-going concern valuation estimates, the starting point is the rate attainable with an investment in a risk-free security. It is the initial yield from which other elements of risk are added to arrive at the cost of equity capital. Simply stated, the higher (lower) the cost of equity, the lower (higher) the fair price investors would be willing to pay, given a set level of free cash flows.
Since the formulation of the capital asset pricing model, the risk free rate used has been the US government bond.
At CT Capital LLC, we use the 10 year Treasury bond, as that security best matches long-term asset programs, whether they be the building of a factory or a merger partner, from which a return on that invested capital is demanded.
Of late, as talk has gathered momentum, led by House Majority leader Eric Cantor, that politicians are willing to allow the U.S. to default on its obligations, analysts must now carefully appraise whether a defaulted security is, in the truest sense, a risk-free instrument.
For this reason, should the U.S. Congress not come to its senses, CT Capital LLC will, if, due to QE2 or other Fed intervention, the 10 year Treasury bond not reflect economic reality, utilize an additional penalty being the cost of a credit default swap, currently 53 basis points. Thus, a current risk-free rate 10 year Treasury bond yielding 3% would in effect be raised to a 3.53% risk free rate.
Another alternative would be utilizing the 10 year rate on a liquid AAA corporates, currently 3.42%. However, even a basket of the cash instruments could present liquidity constraints and thus may not, for the time being, present a realistic alternative compared to the $9.7 trillion of U.S. debt in the hands of the public.
The brunt of a raise in the risk free rate is to force lower valuation multiples for the equity market in general, as would always be the case when the cost of capital rises. Investors demand a higher return for committing their risk-based capital as prospective free cash flows are attached to greater uncertainty reflective of the new higher rate.
Even if U.S. Government securities were to escape a default and credit downgrade in August, the tea leaves indicate it remains a matter of time before that inevitability occurs.
And when that time comes, investors, company stock analysts, and buyers and sellers of businesses, would feel a swift and powerful jolt to their reward expectations, as pronounced by the cost of equity beginning with that new risk free rate of interest. And they will act and invest accordingly.
Google Inc. -Security Analysts and Many Investors Show Their Mettle-Tin!
Tin, while not ranking as high as mercury, is still a weak metal. And many investors continue to exhibit its malleability, over-reacting to a single quarter's financial results, even for firms which have growing cash flows, have added value during the quarter, and possess strong financial structure and flexibility.
Investors must understand that firms do not operate with the smoothness of a well-crafted tool. They are not machines- yet enterprises that are well managed will continue to build value, even during periods when planning, rather than providing actual results, take place. For example, smart managers acquire during recessions, and aren't afraid to do so, a time when weak firms are forced to sell assets.
This leads me to Google.
Google disappointed investors during its first quarter due to a perceived lack of financial discipline, as operating expenses rose over twice as fast as its 27% revenue growth; the company hired over 1900 new employees, handed out large salary raises while boosting other discretionary expenses, especially marketing. While GAAP based income disappointed, normalized free cash flow growth clearly exceeded our model's metrics. Revenues represent a lofty model weighting as discretionary expenses can typically be controlled, while product acceptance reflects the quality of and demand for the product or service. This is not to downplay expense control, as efficiencies including improvements to supply chain and other direct expenditures have the same effect as boosting cash flows and hence, market valuation. Clearly, Google's products are being very well received in the marketplace with collections from customer receivables growing at a near 24% rate.
With Google selling at 6.1% yield on enterprise value, we view its stock quite appealing, and can point to any number of lower quality companies selling at considerably higher valuations. Although Google shares are currently fair valued at $604 a share, that estimate would jump if managers keep expenses and margins in line and revenues grow as expected.
Obviously, if Google needs to continue to write $500MM checks to settle lawsuits, its fair value will fall and cost of capital will rise. However, its very strong and predictable near-term free cash flows can fight off these legal issues assuming they can indeed be put to an an end. Given the sensitivity analysis below, using our free cash flow model (please refer to Security Valuation and Risk Analysis), current fair value for Google is sufficiently above its current price. The 18.5% tax on repatriation represents the company's five year average cash tax rate, based on Google's net cash of $32 billion.
Note: Google shares are held by clients of CT Capital LLC.
As if we needed additional evidence large share buybacks are almost always a waste of corporate resources , I present a list of all companies having current market values of greater than $500MM that have repurchased at least 15% of their current market values and placed into treasury. As seen, the list includes many well known firms, including several that have bought back over 50% of their current market values. The average of these large firms have repurchased an astounding 36% of their current market value – yet, as opposed to their helping their shareholders-they have done the opposite-as their stocks have underperformed the return on the S&P 500!
As seen, stock buybacks have proved no refuge in a flat and falling equity market. The latest example is the current year, as the current quarter to date, with the S&P slipping 36 basis points thru last night's close, the average of these firms has seen its stock fall by 52 basis points. Care for a longer time horizon?
For the past 5 years, the names on the list have returned 2.4% versus a return on the S&P 500 of 3.77%. To make matters worse, the list excludes those bankrupt or merged firms which repurchased large amounts of their own shares prior to their demise such as Bear Stearns, Lehman, and many, many others.
For the current quarter, Big Lots, Brunswick, Ferro,, Lamar Advertising, , Lenox Int'l, , Lexmark, Terex, Timberland have each fallen by greater than 20% this quarter.
I am not implying these firms will meet the same fate as Lehman, but rather time has proven again and again share repurchases, other than to perhaps offset stock based compensation, do not improve the lots of shareholders or bondholders. And for sound economic reason.
Share buybacks, like dividends must be rubber-stamped by Boards of Directors. They should understand that share repurchases, despite improving GAAP-based metrics do nothing to improve cash based return on invested capital. On the contrary, by altering the financial structure, it often raises risk and hence, the cost of capital to the firm whose value they are entrusted to enhance. Value is created by adding to the capital base, joint ventures, increasing revenues, and by running the firm more efficiently-not by shrinking the equity cushion.
One lot whose fortunes share buybacks does improve are high paid executives whose bonuses and stock options are often based on GAAP accounting.
Warren Buffet recognizes this, and has never bought back a share of Berkshire. Adding to the capital base assets whose cash based return is safely and consistently above ROIC is a proven method for share outperformance over the long-term.
While part of the problem lies with shareholders themselves, as they continue to believe share buybacks "support the stock", history has again clearly shown otherwise.
Over 90% of security analysts and companies which file with the SEC define free cash flow as cash flow from operating activities minus capital spending. This is incorrect. Of course, many firms tailor-make their own free cash flow definition.
It ignores the important misclassifications, one-time items, and areas of overspending as well as required spending (underpayments to pension plans, claims, etc.) that firms have not made, but need to.
A rather obvious example is that of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which a simple investment screen would show as selling for 4x free cash flow. The reason is the recording as an operating cash flow activity one-time nonrefundable cash payments of $900 million from PepsiCo and $715 million from Coca-Cola, both recorded as deferred revenue.
Unfortunately, at CT Capital LLC, we come across a large number of less obvious and even "hidden" within footnote and income statement items, activities which most analysts may not consider and which beefed up operating (therefore "free") cash flows. For instance many firms bury asset sales and collections on insurance within broad classifications. Including these and other such items provides for a faulty appraisal of fair value.
For a complete discussion on this topic see Security Valuation and Risk Analysis..
In Microsoft's 10-Q filed today, it was revealed that for only the second quarter in at least 10 years, the firm did not buy back net shares (repurchases minus new issuance). In fact, shares outstanding actually increased over the prior quarter. Is management learning, or does it represent an anomaly? Over the past decade, MSFT has spent over a third of its current market value on its repurchase program, when it initially had a market value of $325 billion, or 46% higher than today.
In the past 20 years, Microsoft repurchased a net $93.5 billion of its outstanding shares, surely to go down as a landmark waste of corporate cash.
When Microsoft announced its two $40 billion buyback authorizations, analysts were out front hailing the acts as "bold" and predicted they would be cheered by investors.
Quite obviously, shares in Microsoft have been a subpar investment, yet, to date, its largest shareholder continues to endorse the failed programs. If Mr. Gates would like to have more capital for his foundation, I would recommend he make better investments in technology, including joint ventures. Imagine if someone at Microsoft had the foresight to invest in Facebook, or in one or several of the hundreds of successful internet based enterprises, at reasonable values, when such was possible. They didn't see the tablet revolution, which one would think would have been "in their wheelhouse" given the billions they spend each year on R&D.
During the past 12 months MSFT spent almost $11 billion net, or 4.8% of its current market value to repurchase 3.8% of its current market value, continuing to prove the folly of share buybacks.
Share buybacks do nothing to improve return on invested capital, serve to bump up the cost of capital due to the shift in financial structure, and most often, are a reflection of managerial ineffectiveness in deploying the firm's capital. Microsoft has certainly proven the latter to be true.
CT Capital LLC is an investment advisory firm based in Alpine, New Jersey, specializing in the detailed analysis of free cash flow, cost of capital, and return on invested capital.
Last month I sat down with David Larrabee, CFA, of the CFA Institute to discuss how investors and analysts should define and measure free cash flow, cost of capital and return on invested capital.
While I have written on the subject of sovereign or country risk before, the tragic earthquake in Japan again forces us to revisit the topic.
Prior to the disaster, at CT Capital, we had marked-up all Japanese based firms by 35 basis points over Canada, and 10 basis points over the U.S. This mark-up is now 90 basis points over Canada and 65 basis points over the U.S. The additional mark-up reflects the stepped-up exposure to disasters and the current impact on of the disaster on the general economy. There is also some exposure to terrorism in Japan, but not at a level greater than the U.S.
Companies that are subject to certain jurisdictions may be riskier (political, currency, taxes) for investors than U.S. – based companies. This was acutely reflected during the fiscal crises in Greece during 2010, with almost immediate repercussions throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. The resultant weakness in the euro impacted US entities with operations in Europe or sold into that market with the US dollar based goods. On the other hand, the price of oil dropped since its price is quoted in dollars. During the period the crisis was at its peak, many entities which had planned to enter the debt markets to raise capital were not able to do so.
The conditions under which a company operates and has major facilities or markets will thus influence cash flows, consistency measures and leverage. As we have seen, energy exploration companies have had their operations nationalized, while many companies have been harmed by high inflation outside the United States. If an entity receives a significant portion of its cash flows from a non-US geography, the risk to those cash flows must be assessed, with a mark up to cost of capital, where appropriate. This is especially true for companies operating in emerging markets, where a mark-up to cost of capital is always made, even if the cash flows from those areas are currently strong and without incident.
All possible threats and the entity's sensitivity to any related factors must be considered, including sanctions, tariffs, threat of retaliation of US Government actions, stability of currency, exchange control, inflation, threat of its neighboring countries, restrictions, etc.
At CT Capital, we evaluate 19 factors in our cost of equity capital model, including, in addition to the above, form of government, natural disasters, energy dependence, corruption and commitment to markets and business.
The decision by Ford to eliminate its tax liability valuation reserve represents financial engineering in its truest sense. While, according to Bloomberg, the act will add $10 billion to $13 billion in net income this year, it has no impact on free cash flows.
Given the volatility in the automotive sector, there is little assurance that Ford will remain a tax paying entity, given it has received refunds (a negative tax rate) in four of the past 10 years.
Consistent tax rate companies at any level normally also have cash flows that are more predictable- Ford, it cannot be argued has been a historically consistent generator of free cash flows.
Owing to losses occurring during 2008, many entities were forced to establish or increase their valuation reserves based on their historical taxable income and projected future taxable income, including the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences. If the entities operated at a loss for an extended period of time, were unable to generate sufficient future taxable income, or if there was a material change in the effective tax rates or time period within which the underlying temporary differences become taxable or deductible, these entities could be required to record a valuation allowance against all or a significant portion of their deferred tax assets, which could increase their effective tax rate for such a period substantially. This could affect cash flows for those firms that used a simple definition of cash flow as net profit plus depreciation.
Obviously, Ford management wished to avoid a continuation of this scenario.
Mergers, Importance of Factoring Stock Based Compensation, and Are Analysts Too Top Line Oriented?
Capital deploying investments typically have a negative effect on their current period's cash flows. If viewed as projects which safely add to ROIC above cost of capital, such investments can be expected to benefit shareholders, even if the short-term cash flows are impaired. As firms ramp up production or go through the common but expensive integration costs, investors should not lose sight of longer term benefits. Unfortunately, this is often not the case, and so, for investors who can spot and take advantage of the market's skepticism, superior returns await.
» Read more: Mergers, Importance of Factoring Stock Based Compensation, and Are Analysts Too Top Line Oriented?
If you really want to know what will happen to stock prices, look no further than the cost of equity, also known as the discount rate.
Put simply, this arcane-sounding metric is a stock investor's return requirement for making a particular investment. The more the risk, the higher the expected return.
But the real question is: How should investors measure risk?
Academics believe it should generally be tied to the risk-free rate like the 10-year Treasury yield plus a mark-up for the volatility of the stock.
A change in perceived risk significantly alters a firm's fair value, even when current free cash flow and growth rate remain unchanged.
For example, a one percentage point rise in a company's cost of equity to 9% from 8% equals a one percentage point rise in risk. That one percentage point rise in risk, in turn, translates into a staggering 25% decline in fair value. If the company's risk rises further – to, say, a 12% cost of equity — the fair value should be expected to fall by 57%.
That's why the cost of capital is so important. If a company's cost of capital rises, its share price, must, by definition, fall until it reaches its new lower fair value, as shown in the following table.
In general, risk is measured by the uncertainty of the firm's future free cash flows. Free cash flows are, in essence, the income to the investor; they represent the maximum amount of cash the firm could distribute without impairing its growth.
Sure, analysts use other measures to arrive at fair value, including market value of the individual parts, liquidation value, price/sales, price/earnings, or price/book. Book value has proven to be an unreliable metric if the book consists of assets where buyers at fair market prices are absent. What is the value of an asset for which there are either no buyers or buyers at unreasonably low prices?
It is the free cash flows, which must then be discounted. But at what rate?
In order to arrive at a fair value estimate for an equity security, an analyst or investor must discount the firm's free cash flow by a rate equal to the perceived risk. And the risk is a reflection of the uncertainly of the free cash flows. Treasuries will be discounted at the risk free rate plus a small mark-up for the loss of its investment grade status. The amount of the markup is up to the analyst.
That's why estimates of free cash flow and earnings are called estimates! And because they're estimates, they're at the whim of such risks as the loss of patents or customers, volatility in input costs, litigation, inadequate insurance (e.g., BP (BP) was self-insured), foreign government-related issues and rollover of debt, whatever. These risks must be captured by the cost of equity. The fewer and less serious these risks are, the more certain we can feel about the free cash flows. For such an enterprise with above average normalized free cash flow and moderate leverage, lower cost of equity will normally place the entity in a position to add value-adding projects with more facility than its competitors.
The ability to assess risk to the free cash flows through the adjustment of the cost of equity (discount rate) will provide you with a tool which will place you head and tails over just about every securities analyst you see on CNBC or elsewhere. I can also assure you that over the coming years you will be hearing and reading a lot about the appropriate setting of the cost of capital.
According CT Capital LLC's comprehensive credit model, and, as outlined in my text, "Security Valuation and Risk Analysis," (McGraw-Hill), the fall in yield spreads, sovereign risk, improvement in credit strength, and rise in free cash flows, have reduced the cost of equity capital to 7.9% for the S&P Industrials from 8.3% a year earlier. Thus, one should expect a 7.9% return for the S&P over the next year, based on the current level of risk.
So, next time your hear during a company presentation or read in an analyst's report a cash flow estimate, make sure you understand all of the potential risks to the forecast, made possible through a thorough reading of all SEC filings, for in so doing, your expected return will not only shift, but be more realistic.
Kenneth S. Hackel is president of CT Capital LLC, an institutional investment advisory firm. An internationally recognized expert in security analysis, he has managed the nation's leading mutual fund, a large investment advisory firm, and has consulted and written on mergers and acquisitions and fairness opinions. He is the author of the leading textbook on cash flow based security analysis,"Security Valuation and Risk Analysis." To read more visit his blog,www.credittrends.com. You can contact Ken here or request additional information on institutional US Equity advisor, CT Capital, here.


text:
Malware affects 71 percent of computers, mobile devices
ABO/VNA – Up to 71.38 percent of computers and mobile devices in Vietnam are getting infected with malicious viruses, but only 11 percent of the users are aware they have been victims of cyber-attacks, according to the Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Director General of the Authority Nguyen Thanh Hai said that shortage of vigilance from individuals and organisations is the main cause of over 90 percent of cyber-attacks. Information security is throttling the country as many people refuse using legal software and other copyright materials.
More than 4.77 million IP addresses in Vietnam were added to the network of "zombie" computers, or botnet. Some 1,020 websites have been hit by malware, which is capable of stealing private information of users. In addition, 12,685 addresses have sent out spam emails to countries worldwide.
The Authority said that mobile devices have become the leading targets for cyber-criminals for the purpose of wiretap, fake news, financial attack and data breaches.
Trend Micro, an information security and network safety firm, recently announced that Vietnam is listed among the top 20 countries in the world affected by blackmail ransomware. It also leads the Southeast Asian nation in cyber-attacks with more than 86 million spam mails detected in the first half of this year.
95 students presented "For students love learning" scholarship
TechDemo 2018 to showcase nearly 500 technological products
Vietnam's leading IT companies announced
TechDemo 2018 to be held in Can Tho next month

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Let these pregnant celebrity OOTDs inspire you to create your own preggy glam style!
7 Comfy Pang-Buntis Looks You Can Wear After Baby and Beyond!
Some of these seven outfit ideas are highly recommendable for breastfeeding moms.
The key is to own your bump -- don't hide it. And you'll see your partner's jaw hit the floor.
Pregnant and got nothing Christmas-y to wear? Take your cue from these celeb moms.
Are you pregnant and having trouble finding nice clothes to wear? Heed their tips!
See the beautiful gowns expectant celebrity brides wore on their weddings!


text:
Q: How to use CallFuncND in cocos2d for android I want to call a method thrice with different parameters and need to have some delay between calling them,inorder to this i want to use CCCallFuncND,but i unable to implement it in my code, please help me do that by giving a simple example of how to call CCCallFuncND.
My Code is :
this.runAction(CCCallFuncND.action(this, "shift_sec", "1"));

public void shift_sec(String v) {
    System.out.println("Coming into this method. : "+v);
}

A: I will illustrate with example:
CCCallFuncND.action(this, "hitCallback", data)

here
   this--> is target  i.e sender
"hitCallback"------->  is the string which being called.
data ----------->  is an object to be send
public void hitCallback(Object sender,Object data){
        CCSprite hitSpotSprite = (CCSprite)data;
        hitSpotSprite.removeFromParentAndCleanup(true);
        hitSpotSprite = null;
    }

in your case
shift_sec(String v){}  being modified to
shift_sec(Object sender,Object data){}


text:
Big Shot Comics was an American comic book series published  by Columbia Comics during period in the 1940s that fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of comic books. An anthology title, the series included a mix of superheroes, costumed crimefighters, crusading district attorneys, heroic magicians and others, both in original stories and in reprinted newspaper comic strip  from the McNaught Syndicate, including Dixie Dugan, Joe Palooka, and the movie-series spin-off Charlie Chan.

Publication history
Big Shot ran 104 issues, cover-dated May 1940 to August 1949. With issue #30 (Dec. 1942), the title was shortened to simply Big Shot.

Overview
Original characters included The Face, Sparky Watts, Skyman, Brass Knuckles, Marvelo and Spy-Master.

Although the character Skyman was intended to be the leader of the title, the character did not have the star power that the publisher hoped for. Sparky Watts, a superhero parody character created by Boody Rogers, started in issue 14, and judging by the number of covers and solo books, had the highest popularity.

References

Comics magazines published in the United States
1940 comics debuts
1949 comics endings
Magazines established in 1940
Magazines disestablished in 1949
Golden Age comics titles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Shenzhen Open may refer to:

ATP Shenzhen Open, a men's professional tennis tournament
WTA Shenzhen Open, a women's professional tennis tournament
Shenzhen Longhua Open, a professional tennis tournament


"Grey's Anatomy" goes out with a soapy bang.
The last few episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," including the 2-hour finale on Monday, have been pretty breathtaking, thanks in no small part to the numerous soapy moments along the way. As melodramatic as it got, though, we'd take the love-struck tears of "Grey's Anatomy" over the restrained anguish of "E.R." any day of the week.


text:
Keyword: #events
HBAF 2021 - Che Fu and the Kratez: Return of the Navigator: POSTPONED
Che Fu and the Kratez: Return of the Navigator
[Due to Covid 19 disruptions we have had to FURTHER reschedule this performance to Saturday 26th of March, 2022. Any ticket holders will automatically have their tickets transferred to this new date and will receive communication about this soon.]
Che Fu is one of the best-selling hip hop acts to ever come out of Aotearoa, but his commercial success is only part of his achievement. When he arrived as a solo act in the mid-90s, local hip hop and R&B survived within a small underground scene and there seemed little chance of it crossing to the mainstream. Che Fu broke through with a run of massive hits and effectively paved the way for the golden years of local rap that would follow in the mid-00s.
Che Fu's second album Navigator in 2001 featured tracks that have become Kiwi classics, crossing genres and bringing hip hop to the masses. Mixing Polynesian sounds with reggae, soul, and hip hop, the singles 'Misty Frequencies' and 'Fade Away' are still some of the most played tracks on local radio. A landmark album that was certified triple-platinum, won five national music awards and had a cultural impact that rings out into the present day, which music writer Nick Bollinger calls "not just a beautiful album, but an important one."
Navigator is a bona fide classic, and we celebrate its twentieth anniversary with Che and his band, the Kratez playing the album in its entirety. Don't miss this concert honouring one of Aotearoa's most eloquently soulful vocalists.
« Back Buy Tickets »
View event on Eventfinda
Saturday 26 March, 8:00pm to 9:30pm
Restrictions: All Ages
A Reserve Adult $59.00
A Reserve Concession $54.00
B Reserve Adult $49.00
B Reserve Concession $44.00
Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre, Hastings, Hawke's Bay / Gisborne
101 Hastings Street South, Hastings, Hastings, Hawke's Bay / Gisborne
Fill out the form.


This site is the collective work of a graduate English course entitled The Literature of 9/11 that was taught in the Spring 2014 semester at the University of Maryland in College Park, just outside of Washington DC. The course was devoted to reading a small sampling of the wide range of literary responses (mainly novels, but other genres and forms too) that have emerged in the decade plus since the events of the day. The full syllabus is available as a PDF.
The students in the class--Masters or doctoral candidates in literature, comparative literature, and creative writing, as well as one intrepid undergraduate--are responsible for the content, which comes in a variety of forms. In the Titles section, each individual work we read and discussed has an introduction detailing aspects of its publication and reception history, as well as questions for discussion, character studies, close readings of specific episodes, and interviews with individuals not part of the class. Some of this material is written, and some of it takes the form of short videos. In addition, we have prepared an exhibition entitled Mapping the Literature of 9/11 which keys locations and place names as given in the various works to a map for purposes of comparing the literary geographies different authors have limned for 9/11.
We present this material in the hopes that a wide range of readers--from College Park and beyond--will find it timely, relevant, and engaging. It is an exemplar of what is increasingly called public humanities, whose ethos may be explored further here.


A quick stop at Michael's for snail ended with me taking advantage of a 60% off all Recollections stickers and washi tape. This will definitely be a great addition to the kiddos scrapbooks. And the washi tape will be great for my planner.
And my Stampin' Up! preorder arrived! Look at all the fun new goodies I got!


text:
Pascual Duarte (1976)
Twelve-year-old Lily lives with her father, who has been suspended from the police force, and her stepmother. Her parents sell Lily's aging dog to Mr. Teban for dog meat. Lily convinces Mr. Teban to return her dog, and the she begins a friendship with the dog meat seller, much to the disgust of her friends and family. Mr. Teban becomes her surrogate father, and supports Lily against her abusive father and ineffectual stepmother.
SKU: DP-MOVIE-17805 Category: Drama Tags: 2000, Alessandra de Rossi, Anjanette Abayari, Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Dante Rivero, Drama, Glydel Mercado, Philippines, pinoy, Released, Reyna Films, Ricky Davao
Twelve-year-old Lily lives with her father, who has been suspended from the police force, and her stepmother. Her parents sell Lily's aging dog to Mr. Teban for dog meat. Lily convinces Mr. Teban to return her dog, and the she begins a friendship with the dog meat seller, much to the disgust of her friends and family. Mr. Teban becomes her surrogate father, and supports Lily against her abusive father and ineffectual stepmother.
Original Title: Azucena
Vote Count: 1
Production Countries: Philippines
Production Companies: Reyna Films
Alternative Titles: Dog Food
Ricky Davao – Tomas
Dante Rivero – Teban
Alessandra de Rossi – Lily
Glydel Mercado – Sonia
Anjanette Abayari – Lily's Mother
Tony Mabesa – Tomas' Boss
Romy Romulo – Mario
Mon Confiado – Policeman
Allen Dizon – Policeman
Richard Joson – Policeman
[EX-RENTAL] Fault In Our Stars (Original)
Title: [EX-RENTAL] Fault In Our Stars
Label: Deleted
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.
The Tales of Para Handy
The Tales of Para Handy is a Scottish television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Gregor Fisher as Captain Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, Sean Scanlan as first mate Dougie Cameron, Rikki Fulton as engineer Dan Macphail and Andrew Fairlie as Sunny Jim. These four made up the crew of the puffer 'Vital Spark' which was employed by the Campbell Shipping Company, headquartered in Glasgow and run by Andrew Campbell


text:
Haxey
Public meeting to be held tonight to discuss concerns over the future of the Haxey Hood
Fears for the future of the historic event have been raised after plans to demolish one of the participating pubs were submitted
A public meeting is set to be held tonight to discuss concerns over the future of one of North Lincolnshire's most historic annual events.
It has been called after proposals were submitted to demolish the Duke William pub in Haxey.
The pub is one of four which currently contest the annual Haxey Hood game and concerns over the game's future if the plans go ahead have been raised.
Plans have been submitted to flatten the pub with a view to building nine detached homes in its place.
The Haxey Hood is contested every year on January 6 and sees villagers battle it out to sway a leather cylinder, known as the hood, to one of four competing pubs in Haxey and Westwoodside.
Scunthorpe mum takes campaign for more accessible disabled toilets to Downing Street
Planners at North Lincolnshire Council have been told the Duke William is no longer viable and losses have been accumulating over the last few years.
The Kings Arms in Haxey has already ceased trading, leaving The Loco in Haxey and the Carpenters Arms in Westwoodside as the only two pubs involved in the Hood which continue to trade.
Fears have been raised over the future of the historic Haxey Hood game (Image: David Haber)
After the plans to demolish the Duke William were revealed, former North Lincolnshire Council leader Alan Holgate was among those to raise concerns.
He claimed the Hood, which dates back to the 14th century, would be put at some jeopardy if the Duke was flattened.
Speeding drink-driver approached junction too fast and crashed into cottage
And he called on owner Paul Chapman to reconsider his plans and either sell off the Duke or redevelop part of the site for housing.
Haxey Parish Council will host the meeting at Haxey Village Hall at 7.30pm on Wednesday, February 21 and all residents are welcome to attend.
North Lincolnshire Council
Westwoodside


text:
First NFT-based Insider Trading Case Tees Up Important Questions for Digital Asset Fraud Prosecutions | Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
This summer time, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York broke new floor in its oversight of fraud involving digital belongings when it introduced fees towards Nathaniel Chastain associated to an insider buying and selling scheme involving non-fungible tokens ("NFTs").[1] NFTs are digital belongings which can be saved on a blockchain, which is a digital, decentralized transaction ledger. Each NFT is usually related to some digital object, reminiscent of a chunk of digital art work or a meme. An NFT supplies proof of possession of the digital object.
Chastain labored as a product supervisor at Ozone Networks, the guardian firm for OpenSea, which is the most important on-line market for the acquisition and sale of NFTs.[2] Since May 2021, OpenSea has positioned "featured NFTs" on the homepage of its web site.[3] According to the indictment, the worth of featured NFTs, in addition to different NFTs by the identical creator, usually appreciated considerably after being featured on the homepage.[4]
One of Chastain's tasks was to decide on the featured NFTs, which means that he knew which digital belongings can be displayed on the homepage earlier than any members of the general public.[5] The indictment alleges that on quite a few events between June and September 2021, Chastain profited off of this proprietary info by buying NFTs shortly earlier than they have been featured after which promoting them shortly after their characteristic went dwell.[6] He tried to hide these gross sales through the use of nameless OpenSea accounts, relatively than his public account listed in his personal identify, and by routing the cryptocurrency proceeds via a number of Ethereum blockchain accounts.[7]
Interestingly, the indictment fees Chastain with wire fraud and cash laundering,[8] relatively than securities fraud, which is the standard statute for insider buying and selling legal responsibility. This method implies that the Government could not must show that the NFTs are actually "securities" or "commodities." Additionally, the indictment notes that Chastain signed a written confidentiality settlement as a part of his employment during which he acknowledged his obligation to "preserve the confidentiality of confidential enterprise info acquired in reference to [his] work" and "to chorus from utilizing such info, besides for the good thing about OpenSea,"[9] suggesting that the Government is prepared to look to conventional employment agreements to kind a vital a part of its insider buying and selling circumstances. This prosecution can be according to the Department of Justice's elevated give attention to cryptocurrency and digital asset markets underneath the Biden administration.[10]
Chastain lately moved to dismiss the indictment towards him.[11] He argues that insider buying and selling fees, even underneath the wire fraud statute, can't lie the place the securities or commodities markets aren't implicated. Specifically, he emphasizes that the misappropriation idea of insider buying and selling, which activates using confidential enterprise info as alleged right here, includes a "breach of obligation and using materials personal info in a manner that undermines the integrity of the securities or commodities markets and victimizes the general public."[12] Because the NFT transactions at subject right here didn't have an effect on securities or commodities markets, the argument goes, a wire fraud cost can't stand. He additionally argues that the enterprise info at subject right here—the NFTs to be featured on the OpenSea homepage—shouldn't be "property" for functions of the wire fraud statute and that, even whether it is, OpenSea was not disadvantaged of something because of the alleged scheme at subject.[13] That is, the knowledge had no inherent market worth to OpenSea.
This line of reasoning is predicated on the Supreme Court's choice in Carpenter v. United Statesthe place the Court held that the Wall Street Journal had a property proper "in preserving confidential and making unique use, previous to publication, of the schedule and contents" of a selected column relating to the inventory market, and that the defendant violated the mail and wire fraud statutes by "go[ing] alongside to his co-conspirators confidential info belonging to the Journal, pursuant to an ongoing scheme to share income from buying and selling in anticipation of the [] column's impression on the inventory market."[14]
Chastain argues that permitting the federal government's case to go ahead right here would develop wire fraud properly past the confines of Carpenter to succeed in what would usually be business disputes. Chastain supplied two eventualities as examples of how this case would impermissibly broaden insider buying and selling wire fraud:
An artwork gallery worker decides to advertise one portray as a "gallery characteristic" on a distinguished shelf on the entrance of the gallery. She notices that promoted work typically promote quicker and at a better value than un-promoted work. As a end result, she decides to advertise one among her personal work because the "gallery characteristic" throughout a extremely attended silent artwork public sale. One day after the public sale, the best bidder is knowledgeable that they efficiently bid on the worker's piece and the acquisition is formally transacted and finalized on-line.
A coffeeshop worker decides to advertise a selected bag of espresso beans within the storefront window. Before the promotion, he personally bought a big amount of beans. Immediately after the promotion, he notices a pointy improve in demand. He then sells his baggage on-line at a revenue.[15]
The New York Council of Defense Lawyers lately filed an amicus transient in help of Chastain's arguments, asserting that the prosecution would "criminalize a broad swath of conduct by no means earlier than thought prison," together with "just about each occasion worker utilizing inner employer info for non-work functions."[16]
In his movement to dismiss, Chastain additionally highlights the novelty of the cash laundering fees towards him. He argues that that cost must be dismissed as a result of the Government didn't sufficiently allege concealment or that there was a "monetary transaction."[17] First, Chastain asserts that his transactions weren't "hid," as a result of all transactions on OpenSea—and all transactions utilizing the Ethereum blockchain—are inherently "recorded and visual to the general public."[18] Second, he argues that the Government doesn't allege—and there's no precedent discovering—that the motion of cryptocurrency from one digital pockets to a different impacts interstate commerce or is in any other case a "monetary transaction" for cash laundering functions.[19] The movement due to this fact raises key questions for blockchain-related circumstances going ahead.
Chastain's movement to dismiss stays pending earlier than Judge Furman within the Southern District of New York. We will proceed to observe this case for its implications throughout the digital asset house.
[1] See Indictment, United States v. Chastain, no. 22-cr-305 (SDNY May 31, 2022).
[11] See ECF Nos. 17-19, United States v. Chastain (SDNY Aug. 19, 2022).
[12] ECF No. 19 at 9, United States v. Chastain (SDNY Aug. 19, 2022).
[14] 484 US 19, 26-27 (1987); see additionally id. at 28 (noting the "impact on inventory costs" and "chance of benefiting from the knowledge leaked").
[15] ECF No. 19 at 10, United States v. Chastain (SDNY Aug. 19, 2022).
[16] See ECF No. 20, United States v. Chastain (SDNY Aug. 24, 2022).


text:
package v7

import (
	"code.cloudfoundry.org/cli/command/v7/shared"
	"code.cloudfoundry.org/cli/resources"
)

type SpaceQuotasCommand struct {
	BaseCommand

	usage           interface{} `usage:"CF_NAME space-quotas"`
	relatedCommands interface{} `related_commands:"space-quota, set-space-quota"`
}

func (cmd SpaceQuotasCommand) Execute(args []string) error {
	err := cmd.SharedActor.CheckTarget(true, false)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	user, err := cmd.Actor.GetCurrentUser()
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	cmd.UI.DisplayTextWithFlavor("Getting space quotas for org {{.OrgName}} as {{.Username}}...", map[string]interface{}{
		"OrgName":  cmd.Config.TargetedOrganizationName(),
		"Username": user.Name,
	})
	cmd.UI.DisplayNewline()

	orgQuotas, warnings, err := cmd.Actor.GetSpaceQuotasByOrgGUID(cmd.Config.TargetedOrganization().GUID)
	cmd.UI.DisplayWarnings(warnings)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	var quotas []resources.Quota
	for _, orgQuota := range orgQuotas {
		quotas = append(quotas, resources.Quota(orgQuota.Quota))
	}

	quotaDisplayer := shared.NewQuotaDisplayer(cmd.UI)
	quotaDisplayer.DisplayQuotasTable(quotas, "No space quotas found.")

	return nil
}


Distance to the nearest airport Naples International Airport - 47 km. That is ideally suitable for a family and budget/backpackers weekend.
Distance to the nearest airport Naples International Airport - 50 km. It is good for a beach/seaside and family getaway.
Distance to the nearest airport Naples International Airport - 51.7 km. That is truly appropriate for a spa/relax and business vacation.
Distance to the nearest airport Naples International Airport - 46.5 km. That is all that you need for a shopping and city trip getaway.
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text:
Sunny-Side Up
By Mary Lanctot
Though he'd only ever had the meal once in his life, the most memorable breakfast Rook had ever eaten was eggs done sunny-side up.
He'd been four then, nearly a decade and a half ago, yet he still remembered his mother singing softly in a language he didn't know. She'd been waltzing around their dirt hut, her sallow, hairless skin glowing in the sun that shone through their hole-in-the-wall door, and at the time Rook had thought she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. Granted, she was one of the mere three people he'd ever met.
And she was elated that she'd found an egg for her young son while she'd been out scavenging. It was an occasion to celebrate and to introduce him to her favorite breakfast.
His mother brought him the eggs done sunny-side up on a small sheet of scrap metal that she affectionately called a plate, and handed him their only battered fork.
"Here you are, love," she'd smiled. "Eggs done sunny-side up."
Fifteen years later as Rook stood atop a pile of rubble, wondering which direction he needed to go to reach Beggar's Alley, it was the perfect way to describe the sky.
Eggs done sunny-side up.
"Ah shit!" he cursed, swiping at a blackbug that had landed on his exposed bicep and began searching for a place to burrow. The long sleeves of his tattered shirt had been sacrificed weeks ago as bandages. A run in with a Mute had seen to that. They were still tied tightly around his claves. The way Rook figured it, he could sew them back onto his shirt when they were done being bandages. It'd add to his shabby appearance, sure, but that was better than damn blackbugs laying eggs in him.
Rook adjusted the straps of his old brown rucksack and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His sun-bleached hair was getting long again and it wasn't helping with the heat.
"Damn sunny-side up sky," he muttered, shaking his head before he carefully began picking his way down off the rubble pile.
"Sunny-side up?"
The sudden sound had Rook jumping out of his skin before he spun around, knife in hand, and found a girl standing quite far behind him. She was his age, He could see that as she stepped closer, fingers laced in front of her and apparently oblivious of the knife in his hand. The straps of her rucksack were sliding off her shoulders and her clothes hung off of her like curtains.
"What's sunny-side up?" she asked. "You're thinking it quite loudly."
Rook let out a sigh and shoved the knife back in the waistband of his pants. She was just a Mutation. A gentle one. Not a Mute. One of those that's a little empty in the head and occasionally picks up on a thought or two from a brain that isn't their own. Though they unsettled Rook a bit, they weren't much of a problem. And besides that, it wasn't like they could do much about being Mutations. It mostly happened when their mothers came into contact with radiation while pregnant.
"It's a way to cook eggs," he answered, turning away from the girl and her buzzed off black hair.
"Where are you going?" she asked, jogging a few steps until she fell in place beside him. Her thumbs were now hooked through her rucksack straps, and she gave Rook a sideways glance with hazy brown eyes.
"It's not really your business," he sighed, picking up his pace. He knew there was no way to outrun a Mutation so his only chance at getting her to leave was to bore her. And he needed to manage to do that without getting lost. Because he had no idea how to get to Beggar's Alley.
"I'm going to Beggar's Alley. You can follow me if you want. I'm Noa by the way," the girl said. Rook stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She was so tall he almost didn't have to look down to meet her gaze.
He did need someone to help him get there. He wasn't going to make it at this rate. Until now he hadn't even been sure he was going in the right direction.
"How much further?" he asked.
"It's a two day walk from here," Noa shrugged. "You don't have to follow me if you don't want to. I just thought you might need help."
Rook's eyes narrowed. He puffed out his chest.
"What'd you want?"
"Nothing," the girl smiled. "Just some company."
That didn't sit well with him. He'd never run into anyone in the wastelands who didn't want something from him. But getting to Beggar's Alley was important. Grandpa had made sure he was damn well aware of that.
"Walk in front 'a me," Rook muttered gruffly. The girl shrugged again, her eyes glassy and not quite focused on his. She turned and set off, Rook trailing behind under the sunny-side up sky.
Noa had a problem. It'd been following her for a while now.
Four days had passed since she'd left Jericho and after several instances of getting attacked by blackbugs and desert rats she'd realized that she was not cut out for fighting. She was going to need someone to watch her back if she wanted to make it to Beggar's Alley. At the time her problem had been that no matter how long she wandered there was no way to know if she'd stumble across anyone. Most people stuck close to civilizations, though it rarely saved them from a gruesome death.
Of course, the problem was different once she met Rook.
He'd seemed like the type of person who could handle himself in the wastelands, broad shouldered, thick muscled, and seemingly well fed. Plus he had a knife.
How was it that after all the miles she'd walked, day and night and day, she had to run into the most unfriendly person in the whole of the god forsaken earth?
Noa closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the scorching, dusty air. It carried Rook's thoughts with it.
I don't like this one bit.
"Neither do I," she muttered, doing her best not to trip on the rocks and rubble that littered the nearly non-existent path she was following.
"What'd you say?" Rook snapped.
"It's not really your business," she smiled. Her brother's had always teased her like that whenever she was grumpy. And Rook wasn't anything but grumpy.
"Very funny," he grumbled. He backed off from her a few feet and Noa's smile faded. She couldn't believe she'd decided to enlist this stupid young man and his bleached-out eyes. Everything about him, from the way he dressed to the way he spoke, said he had never spent more than a week at a time in civilization. Her best guess was that he was a farmer.
"Isn't there a civilization closer to your farm?" she asked without thinking. Noa could have punched herself. In Jericho there were a lot of people like her. Mutations that put two and two together without anyone saying anything. It was normal to ask abrupt questions. She had a feeling Rook didn't appreciate that.
"Would ya stop reading my thoughts?" he frowned.
"Sorry. I wasn't. I just figured by the way you talk and dress…"
"Whatsa matter with the way I talk?" Rook glared. Noa stopped and turned around to face him, scanning the area as she did. Nothing but dirt, dust, rubble, and scrappy plants as far as she could see.
The hazy sun was swan diving towards the horizon, and she thought about her brother, Tommy. He'd take her outside when she was little and carry her to the roof of their home. There he would draw pictures -in his school notebook- of the sun setting with the few colored pencils he had. Noa would watch him, mesmerized by his eye for detail, and Tommy would tell her stories about before Jericho's government crumbled. Stories where Mom was still alive and Dad's museum hadn't been burned to the ground.
"There's nothing wrong," Noa assured Rook. "It's just not the way we speak in Jericho."
He stared at her silently. She knew what he was going to say. Noa didn't need to be able to catch his thoughts for that.
"Jericho's locked down," he stated. "They guard that place with radguns."
She knew that. She knew that well. It was why Tommy wouldn't ever draw another picture of the sunset in his school notebook.
"You must've got out before-" Rook started.
Something moved beneath his foot, knocking him off balance.
Rook cursed loudly, arms pinwheeling for balance.
The thing rose from the ground. It had been covered in dust and rubble. Neither of them had noticed it. On gaunt, gray limbs it struggled to its feet. Its spine was horribly compressed and twisted, its ribs were exposed, and its belly was swollen. Strings of matted gray hair sprouted from its liver spotted scalp and its eyes were yellow.
Noa froze. The creature was headed towards her on two knobby kneed legs.
Rook regained his footing and scrambled for the knife in his waistband. It wasn't much against a Mute, but he'd done this once before.
But the Mute wasn't coming towards him. It was stalking towards Noa at an unnatural speed, and she wasn't so much as blinking.
"Noa!" he yelled.
She didn't move. Her eyes were hazy, locked with the Mute's, and her hands balled in tight fists on the straps of her rucksack.
"Noa! Move!" Rook shouted, scrambling towards the Mute as it continued tripping towards Noa.
It grabbed her ankles and wrestled her to the ground. She still wasn't moving. Rook sprinted towards her as her head cracked on a rock and red started spilling from her scalp.
He grabbed the Mute by the back of its neck, yanking it away from her. It let out a strangled shriek as Rook tossed it to the ground. The Mute flipped onto its stomach and scrambled to get up. He kicked it before it could.
The Mute grabbed his calf in its bony hands. Rook could feel his skin turning black and blue as its fingers clenched harder and harder. He didn't want to imagine the bruises that would be left after this. Letting out a frustrated slew of curses and plunged the knife into the Mute's neck. Blood oozed out in a slow trickle. The Mute didn't budge.
Rook stabbed it again and again, screaming in pain as the creature sunk it's few jagged teeth into his flesh.
His gaze flashed to Noa. She was sitting on the ground, her scalp bleeding, eyes tracking the Mute. She wasn't doing a damn thing.
He stabbed it again.
His knife sank into the creature's skull and neck and back until Rook's arm screamed in protest and at long last the Mute's jaw and hand loosened and its yellow eyes met his one last time before they rolled back in its head.
Rook stared down at his bleeding, bruised, and swollen leg. He looked from it to Noa who was still staring at the dead Mute.
"What… the hell was that?" he bellowed. "Ya just sat there!"
"I saved you and you didn't do a damn thing to help me!"
"I'm sorry," Noa whispered.
Rook stared at her, eyes burning.
Noa couldn't find a trace of forgiveness on his face. Fear gripped her heart. She needed to think fast. If he decided to abandon her here, she wouldn't make it to Beggar's Alley alive.
Rook squashed down the softness he was feeling. Noa's eyes were so wide and frightened he was almost ready to forgive her. But this was the wasteland. Rook knew there was little reward for softness.
"Get us to Beggar's Alley. As soon as we're there yer gonna leave me alone," he snapped, reaching down to haul her to her feet.
Noa lifted a hand to the cut on the side of her head for the first time. Her fingers came away sticky with blood. It hurt. Rook untangled one of the makeshift bandages that had been wrapped around his leg when they first met, tore it in half, and handed her one piece before he rewrapped his fresh wound.
She stared at it, distaste welling in her stomach. Bandages were supposed to be sterile. This one was a map of dirt, grime, and dried blood.
"Gonna use it or not?" Rook demanded. Noa ducked her head. Her eyes met the dead Mute's. She could feel her face heating up as her eyes welled with tears.
"It's just a Mute," Rook commented, following her gaze. Noa wondered what it would have been if its mother hadn't been exposed to quite so much radiation. She wondered how much more radiation it would have taken for her to meet the same fate.
"Hey. If yer not gonna use the bandage, give it back. This shirt used to have sleeves and that was one of 'em," Rook said, holding out his hand.
It took courage for Noa to press the filthy piece of fabric against her wound.
"Thank you," she forced herself to say, meeting his stony gaze. For some reason Rook looked away. His mouth tightened and he looked angrier than he had been before.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get moving."
Rook had never been to Beggar's Alley before and after a first glance, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to come back. It was a shanty town that clung to the edges of what the town's folk called 'Lake Leftover'. It wasn't much more than a dirty pond with two large bridges built over it. Signs at the entrance to the place boasted that before the nuclear war that'd killed off almost everyone and everything on earth, there'd been an actual lake there. One so big they'd called it Lake Superior. Rook was pretty sure that was a crock of bull.
"No. It's true," Noa piped up from behind him. They'd hardly said a word to each other for the last day and a half it took to reach Beggar's Alley and Rook wasn't complaining. He was still fuming about the Mute attack.
"Dammit to hell! Would ya stop that?" he cursed, turning to face her. "And why are you still following me? We're in Beggar's Alley now. Scram!"
"I just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you again," Noa shrugged. Her face was as blank and emotionless as it had been since Rook met her. "Oh. And here's your shirtsleeve."
"Don't want it. 'S got your blood on it," he frowned, waving her away. Noa refrained from commenting on the irony of his refusal. "Now goodbye."
Rook turned away and set off into the bustling town, the back of his neck burning under Noa's watchful gaze and the sunny-side up sky.
Posted by Mary Lanctot on December 12th, 2022
Category: Featured, Fiction, SNHU Creative Writing, SNHU online creative writing, SNHU Student
Mary Lanctot is an aspiring author currently working towards a bachelor's degree in English and creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University. She is 20 years old and lives in Wisconsin with her parents, siblings and dog. Having written since she was eight years old, this is the first time she has attempted to publish any of her work. Aside from reading and writing, Lanctot is an avid crocheter and video game player.


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Bethel's dates are Friday, June 2; Friday, June 16; and Thursday June 22. You can sign up for anytime, any day, but we especially have the goal to cover every hour from 6AM to 11PM on those dates.
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