text:
"It Was Stupid Of Me" - 'Mrs.Watanabe' Battered By Turkey's Meltdown
It was not just Barclays bankers that took on the chin from Turkey's turmoil, Japan's infamous 'mom-and-pop' investors who snapped up high-yielding lira-denominated bonds "because of the yield" have been destroyed.
Thanks to the ever-present foot of the Bank of Japan on the throat of yields in Japan, small investors "reached for yield" around the world in an effort to 'safely' invest their hard-earned yen for a 'decent' return.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, Individuals have snapped up so-called Uridashi, high-yielding bonds marketed to households that are frequently denominated in foreign currencies like the lira, Brazilian real and South African rand. These aren't highly leveraged instruments, but usually regular bonds. However, they offer juicy returns thanks to elevated interest rates in emerging markets.
The appeal is obvious after years of rock-bottom rates. A recent online offer from Rakuten Securities touted a 23.1% yield on lira debt issued by the European Investment Bank. That echoes the 10-year yield on Turkish government bonds of 20.9%, and is far above the yields available on benchmark Japanese government debt.
That army of punters often dubbed "Mrs. Watanabe," after the stereotypical Japanese homemaker, piled $7.6 billion worth into Turkey... and that has become a bloodbath of paper (or realized losses) for those JPY-based investors as bond prices collapsed along with the Lira relative to the yen...
Retail traders using margin made roughly 1.45 trillion yen ($13.1 billion) of Turkish lira-yen trades in July, according to Financial Futures Association of Japan data. That sum is less than 1% of yen-dollar trading volumes, but has more than tripled in a year. But as The Wall Street Journal reports, many of those involved in these lucrative-for-your-broker trades, have lost fortunes.
Yasuyuki Tokue, a 49-year-old legal professional who lives near Osaka, said he bought lira bonds with a face value of 7.5 million yen ($67,500) between 2015 and 2017.
"I was attracted by the high interest rate," Mr. Tokue said. However, he said he ended up losing 1.2 million yen when he sold some bonds back to his broker in April, and his outstanding holdings have fallen in value.
"I made a mistake," in failing to hedge currency risk, Mr. Tokue said.
We suspect few of them realized (or cared) that there is no market for trading Uridashi, brokers can buy them back at face value in the local currency for a fee, and sell them back to the underwriter or to another investor. In Mr. Tokue's case, he said he paid fees equal to between 3.2% and 8% of the total on the different bonds he sold.
Another investor in Yokohama said he had lost about 300,000 yen on lira bonds bought in 2012, or about 65% of his original outlay including commissions.
"I've learned a lesson," said this investor, who declined to be named. "It was stupid of me to invest in a single emerging-market bond."
Of course, when all else is lost, there's always hope... Mr. Tokue said the damage to his overall portfolio wasn't that serious and his remaining position could regain some value.
"You never know - the lira may not be that cheap in the distant future," he said.
We wonder if Mr.Tokue would be interested in some Tesla bonds, we here they are offering great yield advantage and upside potential.


Evelyn learned how to stand up free style this week. Monday I found her wobbling upright in the middle of the living room, no support near by. Tuesday she got on her knees, stuck her bum in the air, then straightened her torso. Since then she learned it is easier to go for leg presses over bending up from the middle. She looks so darn cute with her stubby legs barely clearing her skirts. I've tried all week to get a video of her standing, but she is not cooperating. Her binky is constantly near her this week, her teeth must be coming on. At 14 months she still only has two teeth!
The three younger kids and I went to Walmart on Monday. I hate dragging them all, since we usually buy more with the kids around. Phillip was the only kid with no costume so we quickly drove down that aisle. He nabbed an awesome Silver Power Ranger costume for himself. Then he escaped me and went back to get a Red Ranger costume for Everett. I found a green ranger costume for Everett a couple weeks past at the thrift store for a dollar, he was set. That is until his brother put a shiny packaged new costume into his hands. We picked up pumpkins for the kids to carve for FHE as well. Our weekends were packed the last month so did not make a trip to the pumpkin patch (frown face). The kids waited in torturous suspension as I cleaned up the kitchen and dining room (and waited for Justin to get home). I loved Phillip's reaction to the slimy pumpkin guts. Everett would not touch the seeds. Justin helped Everett carve a gnome into his pumpkin, and helped Amelia finish her carving of a minecraft princess. I helped Phillip carve a Daniel Tiger pumpkin. Evelyn was not happy so mostly cried and whined as we enjoyed our FHE.
My turn came up for teaching Joy School this week. I had the letter B, Butterfly, and color blue this week. Tuesday we read a book on the butterfly cycle, then made some crafts focusing on learning the cycle. We had butterfly snacks and spent some time outside wearing tissue paper wings and running around the yard. Thursday I picked the Very Hungry Caterpillar as the theme. Oh man, I was so excited. Once again something Amelia said a couple weeks ago made total sense: mom, sometimes it seems so much more exciting in my mind, when we do the activity the boys make it not so fun. It was chaos! Not quite what I had in mind of kids happily stringing caterpillar necklaces, carefully eating snack then taking turns in the cocoon and turning into butterflies. Phillip ripped the cocoon right off the tree branch before school even started. Still, I enjoyed the theme and bore in mind that the kids are only 3. I am grateful for Justin's help cutting out paper shapes for me and cleaning up more than usual. Check out our Joy School blog if you want!
Tuesday evening was Amelia's first parent-teacher conference of the school year. Mrs Belieu is so amazing. She poured raving reviews about our little Amelia Jean. We felt so buoyed as parents, Mrs Belieu told us some amazing stories. There are some cliques forming in her grade. Amelia decided to befriend all the kids, if a kid in class has a hard day, Amelia goes out of her way to be friendly. She has friends regardless of cliques. Course, she is acing all her academics, like out the water! I told Mrs Belieu the story of when Amelia corrected the tooth fairy for not writing a friendly letter correctly.
Phillip and his class earned a PJ party at school. The Sunflower class has a hard time picking up their play things at the right time. Mrs Cassie and Angie started a brownie point jar, working towards the party. He was very excited to wear his PJs all-day-long. So, so silly. Wednesday I directed the boys to go play in the yard so I could get dressed. Soon I heard hysterical laughing and knew nothing good was happening. I found Phillip and Everett with a rogue box of matches setting leaves on fire. At least Phillip had the forethought to burn the leaves on a piece of plywood (?). I questioned him: Mom: Phillip what are you thinking? What did the firefighters tell you about playing with fire? Phillip: mom, it is dangerous.
Mom: then why are you playing with matches?
Phillip: ???Eh, the box was just sitting there, I had to burn leaves to warm up my hands.
Indeed, the boys had their chubby hands over the wisps of smoke getting their chilly fingers warm. I was hoping for a few more years before dealing with pyro tendencies.
Amelia had the day off on Friday. We enjoyed her presence as we went thrifting that morning. I totally scored 5 handmade, vintage dresses from the 1940-50s, some soakers, leather baby shoes, and 4 adorable bonnets. Cabela's hosted Trick or Treat street later that afternoon from 2-4 pm. The kids were very excited to finally wear their costumes. I finished Amelia's Elsa hat moments before we left. I had all the hair attached but needed to braid it. We went to an awesome little copse of trees I found the day before to take a couple photos of their costumes. Evelyn was a fox, I thrifted the costume but added a bow and eyelashes to the fox to make it more girly. We stopped first to visit Justin at his new office. He moved down to the downtown office for the time being. The office is quite spacious! He even had room to store a huge tumbleweed on his filing cabinet. We left him there to finish some stuff. We never know what to expect at Cabela's. Some years it is over the top, other years are quite lackluster. This year only 4 rooms were decorated instead of 10-12. The rooms were pretty amazing! First was TMNT, then a room showing off the pumpkin contest candidates, then a Frozen room, a Mincraft room, and a scary room with bats. We had cookies after then went home. Justin raked up a large pile of leaves for the kids to play in. I love watching the kid's faces while they play in the leaves. It is like watching a slice of heaven!
Saturday morning Justin was able to calibrate his new rifle scope at the range in Potter. As soon as he got home we jumped in the van and drove to Cheyenne for a wedding. My good friend Candice married her sweetie, Brandon. They were married in the Lion's Park amphitheater. On the last leg of the drive we talked about how temple marriages are different. The reception was right next to the wedding site. The kids played on a nearby playground for a while. Candice lucked out weather wise! The weather was ah-mazing! At the reception we surprised the bride and groom with Halloween masks provided by her Mom! That was fun. Justin came down with a high fever on the way home. He stayed home from church today with a fever and general yucky germs.


text:
package org.slf4j.impl;

import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;

import org.slf4j.ILoggerFactory;
import org.slf4j.Logger;

import pony.log.PonyLoggerAdapter;
import pony.log.PonyLogger;

public class PonyLoggerFactory implements ILoggerFactory {

	// key: name (String), value: a PonyLoggerAdapter;
	ConcurrentMap<String, Logger> loggerMap;

	public PonyLoggerFactory() {
		loggerMap = new ConcurrentHashMap<String, Logger>();
	}

	/*
	 * (non-Javadoc)
	 *
	 * @see org.slf4j.ILoggerFactory#getLogger(java.lang.String)
	 */
	public Logger getLogger(final String name) {
		Logger slf4jLogger = loggerMap.get(name);
		if (slf4jLogger != null) {
			return slf4jLogger;
		} else {
			PonyLogger ponyLogger = new PonyLogger(name);

			Logger newInstance = new PonyLoggerAdapter(ponyLogger);
			Logger oldInstance = loggerMap.putIfAbsent(name, newInstance);
			return oldInstance == null ? newInstance : oldInstance;
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Retirement product providers are split down the middle on whether RDR is having a positive effect on their businesses right now according to a comprehensive survey of providers that was completed last month by retirement solutions provider Dunstan Thomas. Half (50%) said that RDR was already having a positive effect on their company's bottom-line while the other half said they were unsure or felt it was negatively impacting their sales today.
A third of providers (33%) believe RDR will increase compliance overheads and reduce margins. More positively, nearly a quarter (22%) recognises that RDR will provide much greater transparency around charges to the consumer. A slightly smaller group (15%) believes that longer term these changes will make for a healthier market in which they will thrive.
Nearly a third of providers (31.5%) see disclosure changes associated with aligning Key Features Illustrations (KFIs) with Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPIs) as the most difficult to implement this year. While disclosure of 'retention of any interest payments on pension funds held in cash' is seen as the second toughest new disclosure requirement to implement (by 18.75%). Implementing best practice layout changes on KFIs (in line with CP12/29) was the most difficult change for 12.5%.
Enabling Real Time Information (RTI) was seen as the most costly process change to implement in 2013, according to a qualitative pilot study Dunstan Thomas carried out, while enabling RTI ranked alongside enabling auto-enrolment (AE) in the linked quantitative study of provider views (both RTI and AE projects got 31.25% of the vote). Meeting capital adequacy (CA) requirements emerged as the most costly change this year for a substantial minority of the audience (18.75%). The impact of higher CA requirements on SIPP operators has been well publicised in recent weeks.
The largest group of providers (37.5%) believes that enforcing CA requirements of SIPP operators will be the FCA's central focus in the retirement market in 2013. A quarter of respondents thought that disclosure associated with SIPP investments, including tighter definition of non-standard assets, was top on the regulator's to-do list.
Nearly a fifth of providers (19%) felt that the FCA was likely to level its ire on demanding deeper unbundling of investment charges (i.e. investment management, distribution and custodianship charges). A smaller group (12.5%) felt that regulation of Execution Only (XO) offerings would fall under the regulator's brightest spotlight this year.
When asked what would be their prediction of the most likely trend created by RDR, more than two thirds (68.75%) thought that RDR would prompt an increase in the number of XO platform offerings. Nearly half (44%) thought that it would force an increase of specialisation by IFAs to counter Adviser Charging; while nearly as many (38%) said that it would increase the number of discretionary investment management offerings as investment performance comes increasingly under the microscope and strong growth stories remain rare. Increased transparency is already having an impact on charges according to most providers. Some 41% of providers thought retail investment product providers' charges were already falling, while nearly a quarter (22.2%) said pension providers are reducing prices and 26% reported fund manager charges falling.
Views around charging are not consistent however: more than a quarter (26%) of providers believe platforms' annual management charges will rise in 2013 and a third (33%) think that outsourced third party charges will rise. Nevertheless more than a tenth (11%) thinks the increased transparency will drive down charges across the board.
The largest growth opportunity for wrap platforms this year is in SIPPs according to nearly 30% of the sample. Second to this is income drawdown products voted as the biggest opportunity by 22% of providers; while annuities and ETFs received equal billing - voted as the key growth opportunity by 18.5%. Interestingly a comparative study of IFA views found them favouring annuities and ETFs before other on-platform product group opportunities.
Most believed that platforms would continue to grow Assets under Management (AuM) in a healthy way post RDR. A third of providers thought all types of platforms would secure 6-10% growth in AuM this year; while 48% of providers believed 6-10% growth is likely for fully open wrap providers. Turning to politics, nearly a third of providers (29.6%) think the EU has been bad for the UK retirement market. Commentary indicated that 'gold-plated' regulation like Solvency II only served to increase costs of providers and reduce margins. Half that number (14.8%) thought the EU was still good for the UK retirement market.
On Auto Enrolment, half of all providers surveyed said AE would lead to improved standards in workplace pension schemes generally. But more than a third (37%) felt that it would lead to falling employer contributions as they 'level down' contributions to help manage costs. While 19% (and the largest weighting in the qualitative study) felt AE would force a reduction in pension product charges. Closure of smaller scheme providers was looking likely for 31%, as greater scrutiny exposes them.
The action seen as most effective for reducing the UK pensions crisis is 'stopping the Government tinkering with the pensions tax regime' (for 33.3%). Over a quarter believe that the Government needs to increase the state retirement age still further and the same percentage (25.9%) favoured a complete rethink to establish 'an entirely new savings framework' not yet tabled.
Others thought that cross-party agreement on pensions needs to be agreed to stop it being raided at will, with policies influenced by the vagaries of politics and the mostly dire state of the public purse.


text:
"Australian" Identity and Dual Citizenship
By Isabella Royce
Human beings are constantly forced to recreate, reimagine and readjust their personal identities.
They can be gradually redefined as we grow older and realise a more definite sense of "self", forcibly reshaped during times of war as territorial boundaries change, or adopted in order to assimilate to existing circumstances. In Australia, we like to think of ourselves as a culturally diverse and inviting nation, a "melting pot" of different nationalities, faiths and traditions that are celebrated as part of our multicultural national identity.
It is hoped the dark relics of our collective past such as the White Australia Policy and One Nation Party stay precisely there. But we only have to look to the immigration policies of our current government or the grossly xenophobic reactions targeting innocent Muslim communities following the uncovering of the recent Sydney terrorist plot to realise that we are still grappling with the subject of race relations.
Becoming an Australian is the aspiration of so many asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. Our "Lucky Country" offers promises of democracy, safety and security, and a "land of plenty". Yet even amongst those fortunate enough to navigate through the politics and legal requirements, naturalisation does not give rise to an automatic feeling of "being Australian".
According to citizenship.gov.au, "becoming a citizen represents a commitment to Australia and its people. It gives a sense of belonging because you can fully participate in all aspects of Australian life." But what about those with dual citizenship? To what extent do Australians who possess more than one understanding of national identity feel this sense of belonging?
For many Australians, national identity is a cross-generational hybrid of factors, including but not limited to: family history, personal experience, community, spirituality, belonging, prejudice, ethnicity, politics, and citizenship. For some dual citizens, balancing their national identities may not actively play on their consciousness or affect their day-to-day goings-on; their citizenship was achieved by a previous generation and enjoyed by the present. Yet for others, the link to their family heritage and cultural diaspora is not relinquished upon "becoming Australian."
When asked about how strongly he identifies with his Australian national identity, dual citizen Nicholas* explained his difficulties with accepting the Anglo-Australian perception of identity, which he feels he was conditioned to believe is synonymous with true "Australian-ness." As both a Greek and Australian citizen, Nicholas is a second-generation Australian on his mother's side and third on his father's. He describes his strong cultural ties with Greece, which he feels are in a sense "easier" to recognise given the clearly forged Greek national story that comes from a distinct language, religion, mythology and philosophy.
Yet this does not mean one must draw a line between their dual nationalities. Nicholas says:
Both Australia and Greece are important elements of my identity. Australia is a great place to live, full of economic opportunity, respectful of the rule of law, and gives many people the chance to live a good life. However there are many aspects of my Greek identity which are also very important. I have always spoken Greek with my grandparents, I was baptised as a Greek Orthodox Christian, I have travelled to major soccer tournaments to follow the Greek national team, and have a much stronger sense of family. My Greek heritage means that I show a lot more affection, I place a strong emphasis on the value of family.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Article 15 establishes the universal right to a nationality. As there are no international conventions that govern how nationality is determined, we must look to domestic laws as well as self-identification. Granting of Australian citizenship comes with the recognition of basic human rights and liberties such as non-discrimination and equality. The Australian citizenship test resource booklet outlines a core democratic belief in the respect of all individuals regardless of background and recognises the different cultural heritage, beliefs and traditions that come with those who settle in Australia from other countries. It states:
In our democratic society, we are all free to follow and share these beliefs and traditions as long as they do not break Australian laws … We value this freedom and expect all Australians to treat each other with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, country of origin, gender, sexual preference, marital status, age, disability, heritage, culture, politics, wealth or religion.
"Instead of judging how "Australian" a person is by using a contrived Anglo-Australian story,
we must embrace the cultural differences brought with each new citizen."
Given this social model of multiculturalism that forms our national narrative, to what extent is it even possible to "assimilate" in Australia? Can it be said that the perception of "Australian" is still the white Anglo-Saxon identity? Are the aforementioned dark historical policies of Anglo-centric identity truly a thing of the past?
These questions are perhaps tied up in broader arguments of indigenous recognition issues, asylum seekers and resistance to non-European migrants and can be further discussed here. It is interesting to consider, however, the argument of historian and philosopher Justin E.H. Smith, who draws comparisons between the French and American models of immigration – and by extension, Australia.
He contends that many European countries see themselves as the historical "natives" and thus perceive immigrant "outsiders" as a threat to the fabric of their national identity. In contrast, America has had to accept its so-called constructed identity and hybrid of cultures, as the Native American population are recognised as the only people to "plausibly lay claim to native status."
Instead of judging how "Australian" a person is by using a contrived Anglo-Australian story, we must embrace the cultural differences brought with each new citizen. As comedic duo Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman of Fear of a Brown Planet have noted, "all of our cultural exports are white. People don't know how culturally diverse Australia actually is."
Reconciling multiple identities does not mean immigrants must relinquish their cultural heritage. Becoming Australian should not require the casualty of other identities.
As Irish-Australian, Phillip Moore, explains, "to discover myself as an Australian, I need to understand what my heritage is because that's from which we come."
[*]Name changed to protect anonymity
Isabella Royce is a staff writer for Right Now.
Comments Off on "Australian" Identity and Dual Citizenship
Racism Refugees & asylum seekers
Isabella Royce is an editor at Right Now.
Right Now is back
We've been taking a breather.
In that time we've witnessed the game changing federal election roll out in the shadow of the pandemic.
A wave of results across the country sent an unambiguous message to Canberra that Australians want action on climate change.
Trashed: the neighbourhood made sick by Melbourne's landfill demands
By Marilyn Tan and Xinyi Li (Violet)
Sunshine Avenue in the Melbourne suburb of Kealba is lined on one side with brick houses with well-tended gardens. At first glance, the western suburbs street looks little different from other post-war suburbs in this city. Except the houses are just metres away from a burning landfill site. A gentle breeze blows odour from the […]
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest and best from Right Now

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


People may face different charges that require the services of the attorneys. When people are accused of engaging in criminal activities, they will be required to hire a criminal defense lawyer to represent them in courts. People who need the services from the attorneys should research well on law firms that will meet their needs. It is advisable to take some time and identify law firms that have lawyers who will offer quality services. When looking for suitable lawyers from a law firm, people should shortlist different lawyers from various law firms and conduct an interview of selecting a suitable. Below are some guidelines which may be useful when choosing suitable criminal defense law firms.
One of the requirements that suitable criminal defense lawyers must have is expertise in the field. Experienced criminal defense law firms will know how to handle different criminal charges that their clients are facing since they have been exposed before. One should confirm form the lawyers the period they have been representing clients in criminal defense charges. Law firms that have been offering the services for many years will be more suitable for the work compared to new ones. It is also crucial to find out if the criminal defense law firms and the lawyers are licensed to offer their services. The licensed law firms will ensure that their client receive better services because they can lose their licenses if they fail to observe the professional code of ethics.
When looking for criminal defense law firms, people should also consider the reputation of the law firm. It is important to read the comments that have been made on the review column as they may be useful in decision making. People may also get recommendations from friends who might have benefited from services of a specific criminal defense e law firm. Suitable criminal defense lawyer will be ready to give out testimonials of their past clients for verification purposes. The past clients will play a crucial role in offering advice to people who may need similar services since they are beneficiaries.
One should find out if the criminal defense law firm has been rated by trusted sources. People that need the services from the criminal defense law firm should find out if they work with other paralegal team or individually. By knowing in advance the number of lawyers that are involved in the case, the client is able to plan his or her finance s in good time. It is essential for the lawyers to be persuasive to the members of the jury and translate the legal terms to their clients for easy understanding. Different law firm shave their rates so it is crucial to agree on the amount before the case if filed in the courts . It is important for the two parties to be in agreement so that the proceedings can go on as planned. People should also check out for the customer care services form the criminal defense law firm before hiring the services.