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Not long after acquiring FleetBoston and MBNA, Bank of America has now added Countrywide Mortgage to their fold, making them the nation’s largest bank with $1.5 trillion in assets. BOA’s CEO, Ken Lewis, stated, “Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation’s premier lender to consumers,…”. Lewis has also helped out the industry as a whole by rescuing the nation’s previous largest mortgage lender.

The government will be getting tougher on the growing numbers of unregistered investment clubs, echoed on Tuesday morning by Senator Don Wehby at a press briefing. “… in the USA an investment club members are limited to a hundred and every member of the club must participate in the investment making decisions and I think that is critical and is something we need to look at,” said Senator Wehby.

Quaris Corp, a software company, announced that it raised $7.1 million in its first round of venture capital funding.  BerkeleyVC and its chairman, Arthur Trueger, specialize in later stage VC funding.

Software company Quaris Corp. raised $7.1 million in its first round of venture funding and named a new CEO who replaced its founder.

Thomas Perry, Quaris’ founder and CEO, was replaced by Brian Kelly, according to a Quaris press release dated Jan. 9, 2008, which said, “Brian Kelly will replace Mr. Perry as CEO,” although Kelly actually took the top job in March 2007.

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Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC announced the appointment of their new managing partner, Stacy M. Dutton. Ms. Dutton brings a strong and diverse background to her new role, overseeing day to day operations and serving on their Executive Committee.  Brandywine has over $47 billion in assets, offering equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios focused on value investing.

Aeon Co. Ltd. posted its first annual profit decline in a decade, hurt not only by local sluggish retail sales and a new venture into a banking service, but also drastically affected by Talbots’ business losses as its largest shareholder. Talbots announced last week that it will close over 75 store locations, which encompass their mens and kids divisions which have not contributed profitability to the company overall.  “Talbots is indergoing drastic reform that includes altering its business model”, said Masaski Toyoshima, Aeon executive vice president. “Talbots is in a much tougher position than we originally thought.”    

The first employment report of the year has surfaced, and investors’ fears about the fate of the US economy are growing. ING Bank’s Rob Carnell wrote, “Continuing employemployment growth is about all that is preventing us from thinking that the US slowdown will be a recession,”. The US private sector added 40,000 jobs in December, and planned 2007 job cuts were 805% lower than in 2006, which is hopeful.

Ameritrade recently released results of a survey they conducted to Americans about their New Year’s resolutions. Almost 70% said they intended to save more money in 2008, 57% want to pay down debt, and almost 50% want to cut back on spending.  What’s the problem? Roughly half of all resolutions are abandoned by month-end, with over 75% breaking them by year-end. The biggest problem that stands in the way of these solid goals also came out in this survey: fear.  Most people think investing is scary, and that is caused mostly by the lack of financial education available to most.

Vinsi SA purchased 3.3 percent holding of Aeroports de Paris, sending shares up for Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports the most since listing 18 months ago.  ADP said “…through this financial investment, Vinci is reaffirming its long-term interest in airport infrastructure.” German competitor, Hochtief AG, has been investing in airports for the past 11 years.

The Pak China Investment Company Limited will provide complete investment banking services to specialized industries. It is the largest joint venture investment company in Pakistan, with initial capital equivalent to $200 million. Pakistan has an extremely competitive economy to invest in and to make huge profits, as explained by Mr. Guo Yonghong, CEO of China Mobile Pakistan.

Mortgage applications have sank to the lowest level since the end of last year, despite the falling cost of borrowing. Michelle Meyer, economist at Lehman Brothers said “…I would say the housing shock is about half-way over, I think we still have a big correction ahead of us”.

Saturna Capital is led by Nicholas Kaiser, who since 1984 has managed two highly rated socially resposible funds that are compatible with Islamic Law. Devout Muslims follow strict rules about money, including a prohibition against interest earned with businesses that don’t line up with their religious convictions; Mark Schwanhausser talked with Kaiser about this delicate balance of principles and profit recently. Unacceptable areas of investment, he says, would be “…If companies make money from interest – that’s primarily the financial sector, like banks but even things like brokerages. Then there are some basic screens like no pornography, no alcohol.” He became involved in this aspect of his business when approached by Muslim investors over 20 years ago.

Running around trying to add yet another gift under the tree? Don’t let the opportunity slip by to give them a head start on saving and investing. Especially for the over-12 set, there are some good books aimed at teens and preteens specifically, written by Streetwise, The Idiot’s Guide, and the Motley Fool. To add even more substance, open up an investment account for your child, or dividend reinvestment plans that allow you to buy stocks and reinvest without commissions. Buy stocks your children will be interested in such as Disney, Mattel, or another stock that would fit their interests.  

Morgan Stanley lost $3.61 per share in the fourth quarter, which is much steeper than the anticipated loss of $.39 per share by most analysts. John Mack, the chairman and chief executive at Morgan Stanley called the results, “embarrasing”.  The firm will cut back on its mortgage business and take fewer investment risks while they plan for the future. Mack stated that he will not accept a bonus this year…last year he raked in more than $40 million for his bonus. Where have they turned for help? Morgan will sell a $5 billion stake in the firm to a sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Fund. At this time, the China fund will remain a passive investor with no management role.

Despite all the turmoil in the financial markets, Goldman Sachs topped fourth-quarter estimates. Net income increased 2%, and EPS rose 6%, while profits for the year rose a full 21%.  Their success is attributed to increased client activity, strong commodity results, and the sale of a majority interest in 14 power generation facilities that netted $800 million.

These days, kids in their teens and early twenties are more highly economically influential than any generation before them. Many retailers aimed at this segment of the market have seen marked gains in the last five and more years, and Social Media is teeming with opportunity for large corporate giants. By the time this influential segment leaves college, though, they have on average $3000 in credit card debt, and up to three times that much in student loans. But here’s the real concern: fewer than 20% of workers age 21 to 24 chose to invest in their workplace retirement plans, even with matching contributions. This cycle is reflected in the current conditions for all Americans, with 20% of credit cards maxed out and over $1000 a year paid in interest fees. Forty-two percent of workers cash out their 401K‘s rather than transfer the assets to an IRA or other retirement plan, with only a paltry 1.8% savings rate.  

Many young entrepreneurs of today look to their logical first choice for their initial invesment: their parents.  Before you jump to assist your children, make sure you consider all implications including loan terms, alternatives, and legal implications. First, make sure your child’s business plan is a sound one. “Without taking away from their ideas, try to understand how serious they are about starting a business, says Paul Kedrosky, senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., and venture partner at Canada’s largest venture-capital firm, Ventures West Management Inc.” Make sure to put your deal in writing, with specific terms, interest, and a repayment schedule.

Since 2002, the U.S. dollar has lost much of its power dropping more than 39% against the Euro from $0.88 to $1.45, and over 64% against gold.  These statistics clearly illustrate that any notion of protecting your cash in savings accounts or CD’s can be very high risk. In comparison, overseas investments have risen dramatically over the same time period; the best way to protect yourself is to invest in foreign stocks and bonds, as well as Hard asset stocks which are investments in natural resources. The latter stock sector, which can be tracked with Goldman Sachs Natural Resource Index,  has seen annualized returns of over 30% in the last five years.

Two days of economic talks with China did little to solve massive trade deficits, at a rate of $256 billion annually. The record levels of imports from China are led by products in the toy, game, and television sectors. This growing deficit has triggered a backlash in Congress, with pending bills aimed at penalizing China for what is seen as unfair trade practices.  The US has lost 3 million manufacturing jobs since the year 2000. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez cautioned, ““It’s a tremendously complex relationship, and to think somehow that could be solved with a simple act of protectionist legislation I think is a mistake,”

Some companies are offering new 401K options that take your retirement needs into account.  Devon Energy is a company offering a “Super 401K” that is geared towards your specific retirement date; the employee simply determines their contribution rate, and the fund managers do the rest, selecting funds with time that best meet the needs of their expected retirement dates.  Called “target date” funds, The U.S. Labor Dept. recently approved their use for accounts established under automatic enrollment programs. Devon is, “one of th few coming close to what’s required to compensate employees for the loss of a pension”, said EBRI’s VanDerhei.  These super 401K’s can earn as much as 22% return, as long as you don’t mind relinquishing having control over your 401K investments.

Venture capitalists have long been investing in the technology industry, and with the explosion of social media their investing has only increased.  Some of the biggest success stories are facebook, myspace, and youtube, facebook and myspace are social networking sites and YouTube is a site allowing users to upload their own videos (see Gorilla Trades‘ video tutorial).  These interactive sites needed funding when they were just gaining popularity, and within a few short years they have all sold at least some of their shares for hundreds of millions of dollars.  These were obviously great investments for their respective venture capitalists.  With the exponential growth of the internet you can bet that there will be continued VC investments, all looking for the next facebook or YouTube.

A.G. Edwards released their annual Nest Egg Index, ranking the top 500 metro areas in the U.S. for investing and savings habits.  Americans on average only save 0.4% of their annual income, down drastically from 12% only 25 years ago.  “The U.S. as a whole is not doing very well saving money,” says Sophie Beckman, financial planning specialist at investment brokerage A.G. Edwards, a unit of Wachovia“. There are some cities, however, that are doing a much better job than average.  Los Alamos, N.M., ranks highest in the Nest Egg Index for the second year in a row, with the highest ratings for 401K participation, income, net worth, retirement plans, and personal savings habits.  The Los Alamos National Laboratory is one of the largest employers in New Mexico, and a large contributor to the outcome of the ranking. Other cities that ranked well include San Jose and San Franicisco; most of the largest metro areas in the country did not rank well due to the high cost of living in those areas.

Kansas companies received $6.7 million in venture capital in the third quarter of 2007 according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Financial.

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(RTTNews) – Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Wednesday reported that Stephen Vineburg has been appointed as Chief Executive of its new infrastructure investment business.

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Venture capital trusts provide a wide range of investments – including marketing pop events, says Paul Farrow

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Starting a business with your better half can reap huge rewards–and unique problems.

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Whether you use the newspaper, the TV, or an online service, like Gorilla Trades, you will notice that some stocks keep growing no matter what the economy is doing.  The rate at which they grow may speed up or slow down but they keep moving in one direction – up. One great example of this is McDonald’s.  Even with all of the volatility and concern with the fleeting economy, the Golden Arches’s shares have increased 32% this year.  Many analysts have said that this is a good stock with which to “ride out the storm”.  Stocks like this that have a strong brand awareness usually are strong enough not to be deterred too much by any failings in the market.

At an extraordinary general meeting held on December 1, 2007, at IBN RUSHD headquarters in Yanbu industrial city, the SABIC affiliate, the Arabian Industrial Fibers Company (IBN RUSHD) approved the General Investments Fund (GIF) as a partner in IBN RUSHD.

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Other investors also join financing round designed to accelerate growth (PRWeb Dec 3, 2007) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/U3VtbS1Ib3JyLUVtcHQtU3VtbS1UaGlyLVplcm8=

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VENLO, The Netherlands / SINGAPORE, December 3, 2007 – QIAGEN (Nasdaq: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA), a leading provider of sample and assay technologies, and Bio*One Capital, one of the largest dedicated biomedical investment management companies in Asia, today announced that they have entered into a joint venture to establish Dx Assays Pte Ltd (“Dx Assays”).

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Seisma Oil Research, LLC, Of Boca Raton FL, has Retained The Consulting Services Of 4G Companies of Dallas, TX. 4G Companies is co-directed by Mr. Brian Guinn and Mr. Christopher Griffin, and their expertise lies in analyzing, creating, retaining and building assets for its clients and partners. A combination venture capital and brokerage business makes for a perfect fit between 4G Companies in …

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