Top 6 Stock Picks - Oil and Gas

Energy and Natural Gas Stock Picks

Energy Prices have got got sored over the past few old age and most recently oil terms have reached a new all clip high. While this ralley in oil terms have got got occured natural gas terms were deflated and have be resting near their low points.

Rencently many big energy companies have announced their involvements in buying natural gas producing properties. Examples of some of these companies include Suncor Energy, Amulet Energy, etc. The leadership of these companies must cognize something the norm investor makes not--natural gas is about to undergo a boom. Here are my best stock choices to net income from the approaching natural gas bull market.

1) Cyries Energy: Formed in July, 2004 as a consequence of the amalgamation between CEQUEL Energy Inc. and Advancement Energy. The company is a high-growth junior geographic expedition company and runs in the greater Peach River Arch Area of Alberta and marks medium-depth, multi-zone prospects mainly. Management currently have about 19% of the shares.

Rating: Strong Buy

For more than information about this company chink the nexus in the Resource Box to andrewjohns.ca

2) Duvernay Oil Corp: Trades a insurance premium hard cash flowing multiples compared to its direct competitors. This company is a high-growth intermediate company that focuses on boring multi-zone Wells targeting Triassic Period and Cretaceous sandstones in nor'-east B.C. and northwest Alberta. Management commands about 20% of the stock.

Rating: Strong Buy

For more than information about this company visit chink the nexus in the Resource Box to andrewjohns.ca

3) ProEx Energy: Just like Cyries Energy, ProEx formed in July 2004 from the amalgamation of Advancement Energy and CEQUEL Energy. ProEx Energy runs mainly in northeasterly British Columbia River and is focused on full-cycle geographic expedition and development. Management commands roughly 30% of the stock.

Rating: Strong Buy

For more than information about this company take a expression on Google Finance under ticker: PXE.TO

4) Suncor Energy: Suncor is a big Canadian incorporate Energy company operating in the Oil Littoral of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The company is focused on Oil Sands, Natural Gas, Energy Selling and Refining. This company have experienced a great upward terms tendency linked to its ability to grow.

Rating: Buy

For more than information about this company chink the nexus in the resource box to andrewjohns.ca

5) Amulet Energy: Amulet Energy is an independent Canadian based oil and gas company involved in exploration, development, production, transportation system and selling of petroleum oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. This company runs throughout North America, the UK, Europe, South East Asia, and North Africa.

Rating: Buy

For more than information about this company chink the nexus in the resource box to andrewjohns.ca

6) TriStar Oil & Gas: Was formed in 2006 word form the amalgamation of StraPoint Energy Trust and Acclaim Energy Trust The company is focused on acquiring producing places and boring to work the undeveloped land. TriStar runs in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Rating: Buy

For more than information about this company visit google finance and hunt TOG.TO

You should not purchase any of these pillory without first consulting a fiscal professional to find whether the hazards associated with each would be good or resonable for your ain portfolio

Bonuses on Wall Street Threatened for First Time in Five Years

The credit-market freezing that's paralyzing leveraged buyouts, amalgamations and countless computer-driven trading schemes may cut Wall Street bonuses for the first clip in five years.

``There's a batch of pessimism out there,'' said Gary Goldstein, main executive director military officer of executive-search house Eli Whitney Group in New York. ``Looking at the human race today as we see it and the impact the crunch is likely to have, it looks like fillip pools will decline.''

Bonuses, the fiscal industry's yearly religious rite of compensation that typically is a multiple of salary, probably will worsen as much as 5 percentage from 2006, according to Options Group, the New York-based house that have tracked wage and hiring tendencies for more than than a decade. While the payouts often far exceeded the norm of $220,650 at the greatest U.S. securities houses last twelvemonth and increased as much as 20 percentage from 2005, the subprime-mortgage collapse already have drained the poke bowl.

Hardest hit will be employees who make and sell securities backed by mortgages or pools of debt, Options Group said. One out of every three people in those functions may lose their occupations unless concern choices up by the end of the year, the house estimates. Bonuses may fall as much as 40 percent.

Hedge Funds

Hedge-fund investing managers, whose norm payout climbed as much as 15 percentage last year, may see a driblet of 5 percentage to 10 percentage in 2007. Bonuses for employees in fixed- income units of measurement may fall as much as 10 percent, compared with a 10 percentage addition last year, Options Group estimates.

Except at the most junior levels, bargainers and bankers have most of their yearly wage in year-end bonuses that are determined in portion by the gross produced by the individual, their division and the house as a whole. The norm fillip per employee at Wall Street's five greatest houses rose 18 percentage in 2006, according to Bloomberg computations based on company reports.

Person bonuses vary, with some administrative staff receiving nil and executive directors such as as Harold Lloyd Blankfein, Emma Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s CEO, getting more than than $50 million on top of his $600,000 salary. Even Blankfein's pay, which is based partly on the firm's operating consequences and stock performance, may be lower. Goldman's stock, after climbing 56 percentage last year, have dropped 12 percentage in 2007. Revenue, which gained 49 percentage in 2006, rose 11 percentage in the first one-half of 2007.

George Lucas avant garde Praag, a Emma Goldman spokesman, said Blankfein wouldn't be available for comment.

Time for Turnaround

Recruiters, who are seeing a pickup truck in sketches from hedgerow finances and leveraged buyout firms, cautioned that it's too soon to cognize what will go on by the clip Banks begin fillip discussions, typically in October. They also short letter that bargainers involved in equities, trade goodss and hard-pressed debt are having a good twelvemonth and are likely to harvest bumper payouts.

``This is the one-fourth that is going to find whether compensation is going to be less or not,'' said Michael Karp, chief executive officer of the Options Group, which establishes its estimations on interviews with senior industry executive directors and information gathered by the firm's web of consultants.

The crisis that started with the mortgage loans to the riskiest borrowers have sent equity and chemical bond terms worldwide on a rollercoaster ride. The marketplace for mortgage-backed securities have dried up, hurting those who trade the chemical bonds or sell them to investors. Investing Banks haven't been able to happen purchasers for leveraged-buyout loans. Prime agents may see fees driblet as some hedgerow finances stopping point and others cut down borrowing.

Funds that have got already close or failed this twelvemonth include two recognition pools managed by Bear Stearns Cos., UBS AG's Dillon Read Capital Management LLC and Sowood Capital Management L-P of Boston.

Resumes Arrive

``We're already seeing a batch of sketches from hedgerow funds, and we're seeing them at the more than than junior level, a batch of these children that defected to fudge finances for more money or a better lifestyle,'' said Deborah Rivera, laminitis of the Sequence Group, a New York-based executive-search and consulting firm. ``We're seeing sketches from private-equity finances that have got also allow some people go.''

Hedge-fund bargainers with at least 10 years' experience, who made an norm of $580,000 last year, probably will see wage rise 8 percentage to 9 percentage this year, according to Adam Zoia, laminitis of New York-based Glocap Search LLC and co-editor-in- main of the Hedge Fund Compensation Report. That's about one-half of the charge per unit he was expecting before the market's decline.

``We have got just sharply cut our compensation forecasts,'' Zoia said on Aug. 17.

Outsize Paydays

The hedge-fund industry, where assets almost tripled to $1.7 trillion since 2002, takes Wall Street when it come ups to oversize paydays. The 25 best-paid hedge-fund managers earned an norm of $570 million in 2006, an addition of 57 percentage from the former year, according to Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine. Hedge finances typically complaint fees of 1 percentage to 2 percentage of assets and 20 percentage of investing gains.

At the top of Alpha's listing was Jesse James Simons, laminitis of East Setauket, New York-based Renaissance Technologies Corp., World Health Organization was paid an estimated $1.7 billion. Chicago-based Citadel Investing Group LLC's Kenneth Gryphon placed 2nd with $1.4 billion. Officials at both houses declined to comment.

Simons's personal net income may drop from 2006 as his greatest monetary fund struggles. The $29 billion Renaissance Equity Opportunities Fund is small changed on the twelvemonth through last week, according to investors, while last twelvemonth it returned about 21 percent. Gryphon should again rank among the top-paid managers. Citadel, which supervises $15 billion, have returned about 15 percentage this year, investors say.

``The rippling personal effects of hedgerow finances are more than than widespread than they've ever been,'' said Henry Martin Robert Discolo, caput of hedge- monetary fund schemes at AIG Global Investing Group in New York, which pulls off more than $8 billion.

Competition for Endowment

Big wage bundles at hedgerow finances and leveraged buyout houses have got driven compensation higher at Wall Street firms, as they seek to vie for the best bargainers and bankers. Last year, the five greatest U.S. securities houses paid about $36.5 billion in bonuses, up 32 percentage from a twelvemonth earlier as the figure of employees rose 7 percent.

Since last falling in 2002, entire fillip payouts at the five houses rose 6 percentage in 2003, 19 percentage in 2004, and 18 percentage in 2005. Securities houses typically put aside about one-half of their gross to pay compensation and benefits. Of that, about 60 percentage is paid in bonuses at twelvemonth end.

Recruiters don't anticipate decreases to be as drastic as they were in the bear marketplace of 2001 and 2002, when the norm payout for New York-based securities-industry workers declined 26 percentage and 18 percent, according to the state deputy sheriff comptroller's office.

Positive Sign

The fiscal crisis have been profitable for bargainers who wager mortgage chemical bonds would fall or whose schemes addition amid swings in the markets. One index proposes the image isn't as desperate as it was in 2002: Analysts are estimating yearly net income will lift at least 11 percentage at the top four Wall Street firms. Bear Stearns, the fifth, is expected to describe a driblet of about 6 percent.

``The sentiment right now is pretty rough because in the past two hebdomads it wasn't difficult to see people who lost a batch of money,'' said John, 29, an equity-options bargainer at a Wall Street bank, who declined to give his last name because he's not authorized to talk to the media. ``But on bonuses, it's too early to say. It was a good marketplace before this, and I don't believe people believe yet that this volition endanger pay.''

The bankers who counsel LBO houses and the underwriters, salespeople and bargainers who assist make and sell the loans and chemical bonds to finance them are likely to see their charge per unit of wage additions slow, recruiters said.

Bankers Squeezed

Last year, investing bankers saw bonuses leap 20 to 25 percent, the Options Group said. This twelvemonth the charge per unit of additions for bankers who function buyout houses will probably slow to 5 percentage to 10 percentage and could worsen further, Options Group said. That's because the Banks are having trouble merchandising the loans they've already made to finance coup d'etats and the gait of trades is likely to decelerate amid higher funding costs.

``The leveraged finance countries are likely to be impacted,'' said Eli Whitney Group's Goldstein.

The success of hedgerow finances in former old age helped bring forth demand for premier brokerage, the sections at investing Banks that impart to fudge finances and supply them with services such as as trading software. Last year, bonuses surged 20 percentage to 25 percentage in premier brokerage, Options Group estimated. This twelvemonth they may lift 5 percentage to 10 percent, said the Options Group's Karp.

To reach the newsmen on this story: William Le Baron Jenny Strasburg in New House Of House Of York at
; Christine Harpist in New York at
.

Ford's Hydrogen Vehicles

On July 10, John Ford released a fourth estate statement that discussed their advancement and the hereafter of H vehicles. Are their release believable or just a fume and mirrors maneuver to acquire people excited about the company?

Ford rolled out a 12-passenger parking batch shuttlecock bus, which is powered by a 6.8-liter internal burning H engine.

Ford is speedy to point out that the engine isn't ready for general consumer use just yet. According to the release, it will take five years—or longer—before John John Ford can legitimately entertain the thought of putting H autos in the marketplace.

While this mightiness be a measure in the right direction, H vehicles powered by combustible cells won't be seen until at least 2015, said George C. Scott Staley, main applied scientist of Ford's H and combustible cell engineering department.

So, the inquiry remains. Are this really an environmental-friendly development or just another fourth estate release of a troubled company?

Every major car maker is testing gas alternatives. Toyota and Honda are additional along than Ford. Both companies have got hydrogen-powered cars. Toyota have a H version of the Prius.

How about the underside line?

According to the release, these new hydrogen-powered buses cost $250,000, which is $180,000 more than than Ford's typical gas-powered bus. These costs are expected to drop if mass production were engaged.

The vehicles have got got a max scope of 150-200 miles, which is good for parking batch shuttles, and they're only showing to be up to 13% More fuel-efficient.

On the bright side, these H vehicles have fewer emissions.

When you look at the technological spectrum, John Ford is dragging its feet and that's 1 ground why I don't like the stock. If you're looking to put in a "best of breed" company, John Ford isn't the stock play.

How To Make Free And Easy Money With GPT Sites

Since joining Associated Content, I've been spoiled by making money online by writing articles such as this one. But I've become more anxious to make even more money online, which is why I clicked on a link in the forums about Cash Crate. Cash Crate is one of many GPT sites on the internet. GPT stands for Get Paid To and at these sites you can make money to click on ads, fill out surveys, sign up for free trials and samples, etc. Some of the offers cost money, but a lot of them don't cost any money at all, and personally I stick to the ones that don't.

To make money online, all you need is some free time and an extra email address, and we all have about fifty of those laying around, right? If not, they're free and easy to set up. I recommend G-mail because you can add the little dots in your email address and it looks like a whole new email address. A good rule of thumb for making money this way is if you want to try to the service/product anyway, sign up through a GPT site and get some money back in your GPT account. But personally, I'm not signing up for anything I don't already want or haven't had before.

You can make more money if you choose the offers which require a trial or shipping and handling costs. But you don't have to choose these offers in order to make money. To risk nothing, stick to the freebie offers. There are plenty of them, and not all of them confirm but lots do. Here's how to work these GPT sites to make some extra spending cash.

First sign up using real information, including an email that you check frequently. They'll use this email to confirm your membership, send out newsletters (if you opt for them) and email you when an offer is confirmed. Some of the sites will use your real address to send you a check for the money you've made. For those sites that use paypal, be sure to include your paypal email address.

Once you've registered, have a look around the site. Some sites list the most recent payout offers at the bottom of the page. These are the easiest money on the site, which makes them good offers to start with. Find the freebie stuff and click. Maybe you may like to try some of the higher paid offers later. Maybe not. It's completely up to you.

When you click on an offer, fill it in with real information and your spare email. If you don't wish to use your real phone number (because they will call you) you can get a private number at privatephone.com Carry on through the entire offer until you get a message that says your information has been accepted, or you're registered, etc. It usually comes with a thanks. But keep an eye on your spare email because sometimes these sites and sign up deals want you to confirm your registrations and contest entries. And until you click on the confirmation email your offers at the GPT site will not go through and you cannot make the money offered you.

Between offers, it's very important that you clear your cookies. If you don't do this, you won't make nearly as much money. In Microsoft Internet Explorer to clear cookies you must click on tools, then internet options, then delete cookies. In Firefox, you need to click on tools and then options. Then you can clear whichever cookies you want, or all of them at once. But keep in mind, if you clear all of your cookies, you're going to have to re-log into the GPT site and your email again.

There are all sorts of GPT sites to choose from, and here are my favorites. They're all pretty much running the same philosophy, and the same tricks and tips apply to all. They vary in website interface and payout/payment methods. But these are my favorites because I've made money with all of them. Try them out and tell me which ones you like.

Treasure Trooper is the funnest GPT site because as you click on offers to make money, you also can accumulate gold and silver coins and pearls. When you complete an offer, you typically get a gold coin, and you can use these coins to buy pieces of a map and journal in order to solve a scavenger hunt game, in which you could win a hundred more dollars. After a completed offer (whether or not it confirms) you can also play the shell game. If you guess the clam holding the pearl, you win the pearl. When you've accumulated eight pearls, you can buy two referrals. Then you can make more money with your referrals. If certain offers don't confirm, you can try them again, and if you've already won a pearl, you needn't find it again. You can just try the offer again and if it confirms you still win the pearl. Treasure Trooper requires that you have twenty dollars in your account before you are paid.

Cash Crate is also a well known GPT site that's been known to pay out a lot of money to a lot of people. There is no fancy game to go along with the offers, but I've had good luck at getting offers to confirm. Cash Crate requires that you have twenty dollars in your account before being paid. But as with Treasure Trooper, you can make that amount in just a couple hours.

Fairy Tale Treasures is a smaller GPT site run by two sisters who have a Disney fascination. Every day they post a trivia question relating to Disney. If you guess the right answer you can win a magic lamp. Magic lamps can be cashed in for referrals, which means more money for you. Fairy Tale Treasures also boasts a more frequent pay cycle for their money making members. They currently pay twice a month and the best part is they pay by paypal. No need to wait on a check or going to the bank to cash it for your money. Payment is automatic and prompt. It only takes ten dollars to be eligible for payout.

This site is very similar in layout to Fairy Tale Treasures but it seems that the offers are confirmed a lot more easily. With completed offers you win signs, which can then be used to play games and/or buy prizes. You can also upgrade your membership if you have enough signs. I'm fairly new to this site but I like it a lot so far. It also pays via paypal, but you need twenty dollars to cash out.

Another thing GPT sites offer is the ability to shop online and receive a kickback from stores the GPT sites are affiliated with. For example, you can order something from Walmart and receive a percentage of your purchase back in your GPT account. That's a nice added bonus if you do a lot of online shopping. You'll buy the items anyway. Why not get a little of the money back when you do?

Mortgage Acclerators in the News

A Las Vegas man was featured on NBC News 3 recently, where he explained how he was using mortgage acceleration software to rapidly pay down his mortgage. The 4 minute piece was shown on the "Saving You Money" segment and has generated quite a buzz.

The man was clearly excited about the way things are going with his customized software, and states that he will paying off his mortgage in a little over 5 years. He states that it is simple to use and when asked to explain how it works he said, "It is easier to do than it is to explain. It just works."

The software he is using is a new way of managing your money. You "merge" your typical checking account with a Home Equity Line Of Credit, or heloc as they are called in the banking world. This heloc then drives the proprietary software which instructs you as to when and how much money to apply to your first mortgage. Rapid paydown occurs at various times based on your specific financial rhythm.

Mortgages charge you compounded interest based on the balance at month's end. You pay mostly interest and very little principle for many years at the beginning of the loan term, resulting in huge gains for the lender. So, if they are winning big by you paying more than double for your home, that means you are losing.

A heloc has an "open ended" interest stucture which is very different than a mortgage. Helocs can only charge you interest on the average daily balance in the account. You can effect the average daily balance in a substantial way by depositing your income into your heloc. You may be just beginning to understand how this new account can create financial leverage. As your income cancels interest in your heloc, it becomes possible to borrow money from the credit line and pay very little interest on it. When this money is applied to the principle on the mortgage, amazing things begin to happen.

The software knows exactly when and exactly how much money to apply to the debt. You don't have to adjust your budget or lifestyle either. You don't refinance or compromise your debt. You pay it off. It's not magic, it's math. It is math that most people don't have the time or talent to do. All you do is update the program with your deposits and expenses, and it does all the rest.

This guy in Las Vegas was quite happy about the prospect of being out of debt in about 5 years instead of twenty to thirty. Both the mortgage and the heloc will have zero balances. Who wouldn't be happy with that?

At the end of the news segment, the reporter claimed that indeed the program was for real and that it DID work, and in fact three of them in the studio have been on the software since February and were very happy with the results.

The company that developed the software is trying to get authorization from NBC to place the news spot on their websites, but for the time being the spot can be shared by independent agents via email.

When contacted, a Branch Manager with the company said that thousands of Americans are now using the software and paying off their mortgages and other debts in ½ to 1/3 the time as compared to the traditional payoff methods. "It's been a Godsend for me, and I have had clients break down and cry when they see what we can do for them. They can finally see financial freedom within their grasp."

KVBC News 3 in Las Vegas is now working on a special report where they will go in depth to this rapidly growing area of mortgage accelerators. Stay tuned.

Japan Current Account Surplus Widens to Record (Update4)

Japan's current account surplus widened to a record in March, as exports to Asia and Europe helped counter slower growth in shipments to the U.S.

The surplus expanded 36.9 percent to 3.32 trillion yen ($28 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo today, more than the 2.95 trillion yen median estimate of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Today's report supports comments made this month by Asian finance ministers that growth in India and China will help the region withstand a slowdown in the U.S. and Europe. Japan's exports to China, which overtook the U.S. as its largest trade partner last year, surged 15 percent to a record in March.

``Strong growth in Asia proves Japan's economy can withstand a U.S. slowdown,'' said Mamoru Yamazaki, chief Japan economist at RBS Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo. ``The current account surplus will keep expanding as exports and overseas investments remain solid.''

The yen traded at 120.19 per dollar at 1:37 p.m. in Tokyo compared with 120.11 before the report. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1 percent, led by exporters such as Sony Corp.

The trade surplus surged 62.1 percent, the fastest pace in three years, to a record, the Finance Ministry said.

Exports rose 9.6 percent, as a weaker yen increased the value of shipments. Japan's currency has fallen 8.5 percent against the dollar and 13 percent per euro in the past 12 months.

Weaker Yen

``Yen depreciation has been a major support for Japanese corporations and, together with gradually strengthening domestic demand, is helping to underpin Japan's economic expansion,'' said Takuji Aida, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

Imports fell 1 percent, the first drop in three years, as oil prices were lower than a year earlier and Japan received fewer shipments from countries that observe the Lunar New Year.

The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income between Japan and its trading partners. It includes trade not shown in the customs-cleared trade balance, which the Finance Ministry also compiles.

Exports to China and Europe rose to a record in March on a customs-cleared basis, the ministry said last month. Shipments to Europe climbed 14 percent, while those to the U.S., Japan's largest export market, rose 2.4 percent, the slowest pace in two years.

The U.S. slowdown will probably begin to bite more later this year. Toyota Motor Corp. last week forecast the smallest profit gain in a decade because of waning demand in the U.S.

Income Surplus

The income surplus, or the difference between money earned abroad and payments made to foreign workers and investors in Japan, increased 13.2 percent to a record in March, today's report showed.

Revenue from direct investment rose to a record as Japanese companies' overseas units distributed dividends at home at the end of the fiscal year, Masami Oka, special officer for balance of payments, said at a press briefing today.

``Companies are investing overseas because of a low interest rate in Japan,'' said Noriaki Haseyama, an economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research in Tokyo. Revenue from foreign equities, bonds and debt securities accounts for about 80 percent of the income gap.

The Bank of Japan will keep the overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent at a two-day meeting ending on May 17, according to the median estimate of all 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The key rate is the lowest among major economies.

Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated in April as the cost of oil and other commodities rose, the Bank of Japan said today. An index of energy and raw materials prices paid by companies climbed 2.2 percent in April from a year earlier after increasing 2 percent in March, the Bank of Japan said.

Bank of Japan

``We are starting to see signs that price pressures are slowly emerging,'' said Seiji Adachi, a senior economist at Deutsche Securities Inc. in Tokyo. ``There aren't any major hurdles for the Bank of Japan to raise rates. They will probably move in August or September.''

The current account surplus rose to a record in the 12 months ended March 31, a fifth straight year of gains, the Finance Ministry said. The income surplus exceeded the trade surplus for a second year.

``Japan's economy depends more on revenues from overseas investment than earnings from exports,'' RBS's Yamazaki said.

To contact the reporter on this story Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at

Softbank Default Swaps May Drop, Morgan Stanley Says (Update2)

Investors may make more bets on the
improving finances of Softbank Corp., Japan's third-largest
mobile-phone company, by selling credit-default swaps, Morgan
Stanley Japan Securities Co. said.

Sellers of the derivatives, which provide buyers with
protection from a firm's inability to repay debt, are attracted
by a price that overstates the chance Softbank will fail to meet
its obligations, said Hidetoshi Ohashi, a Morgan Stanley credit
analyst in Tokyo. The extra yield investors demand to hold
Softbank bonds over Japanese swap rates has halved in the past
year. Spreads on Softbank credit-default swaps fell by a quarter.

Softbank said on May 8 its fourth-quarter operating profit
more than doubled, helping allay concern that it would be unable
to repay loans that funded its 1.66 trillion yen ($13.8 billion)
acquisition of Vodafone Group Plc's Japanese mobile-phone unit.
The purchase in April last year extended billionaire Masayoshi
Son's challenge to market leaders NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp.

``The company's earnings showed the mobile phone businesses
are doing better than anticipated,'' said Ohashi, the third-
highest-ranked credit analyst in Japan, according to a survey by
Nikkei Bonds and Financial Weekly. ``Investors are selling
Softbank CDS to earn income because cash bonds are expensive
relative to the CDS premium.''

Narrowing Spreads

Credit-default swaps based on 1 billion yen of Softbank debt
closed in Japan at 25.8 million yen from 26.3 million yen
yesterday, according to prices from JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading
volume today between dealers was about 8 billion yen, more than
five times the normal daily amount, said Mana Nakazora, chief
credit analyst at JPMorgan Securities Japan in Tokyo.

The cost of the contracts was as much as 39.6 million yen
in March 2006, the highest since Bloomberg began tracking the
contracts in February 2005. Sellers of the five-year contracts
receive quarterly payments because they agree to pay buyers the
face value of the notes in a default in exchange for the
underlying securities.

The cost of the five-year contracts is equivalent to 258
basis points, or 2.58 percent of the amount protected. The cost
may fall below 200 basis points in the next six to 12 months,
Morgan Stanley's Ohashi said.

The yield spread between the company's 40 billion yen in
1.98 percent bonds due in September 2010 and similar-maturity
swap rates narrowed to 166 basis points yesterday, from 333 basis
points a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Operating profit rose to 73.8 billion yen in the three
months ended March 31 from 34.4 billion yen, and sales more than
doubled to 721.9 billion yen, Tokyo-based Softbank said on May 8.

BBB Rating

Softbank's debt carries a BBB ranking from Japan Credit
Rating Agency, the second-lowest investment grade. Moody's
Investors Service and Standard & Poor's assign the company high-
risk, high-yield ratings of Ba2 and BB-, respectively.

``The earnings showed that Softbank's risk is equivalent to
a BBB rating,'' Ohashi said. ``People paid too much of a premium
to compensate for Softbank's risk.''

Shares of Softbank yesterday fell the most in almost two
months as UBS Securities Japan Ltd. recommended selling the stock
after fourth-quarter net income slid 83 percent. The shares,
which declined 3.2 percent yesterday, dropped another 0.8 percent
today to 2,595 yen.

Excluding gains from the former Vodafone subsidiary,
operating profit would have declined, UBS analysts Makio Inui and
Kei Takahashi wrote in the May 8 report. The focus on the mobile-
phone unit ``led to some stagnation'' in other businesses such as
fixed lines, the analysts said.

Softbank has the worst financial health in Japan among 129
companies tracked by Morgan Stanley, credit-default swaps show.
The company said it booked taxes of 60.4 billion yen, partly
because of goodwill relating to the Vodafone purchase.

`Good Overall'

The telecommunications group is betting it can add to its 17
percent share of Japan's $75 billion mobile-phone market by
offering lower subscription fees than rivals. Growth in the
number of subscribers, which rose a net 163,600 to 16.1 million
in April, may help the company offset declines in per-user
revenue.

The chance of Softbank failing to meet its debt obligations
within the next five years has declined to 21 percent from 28
percent last year, based on a JPMorgan Chase & Co. valuation
model that takes into account swap prices.

``Softbank's earnings looked good overall,'' said Kiyotoshi
Yasuda, chief risk manager of the credit trading department at
JPMorgan Securities Japan Co. in Tokyo. ``Softbank credit-default
swaps showed little reaction to the announcement because the
market has already priced in an increase in sales.''

Credit-default swaps are the fastest-growing part of the
$370 trillion global derivatives market. They allow investors to
speculate on shifts in a company's credit quality without paying
money up front, as would be required when buying bonds.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Keiko Ujikane in Tokyo at

Oliver Biggadike in Tokyo at
.

Alma tourism committee tables proposed lodging tax

.

A proposed 5 percent lodging tax on bed and breakfast and motel rooms in Alma was tabled after business owners opposed it.But the Alma Parks and Recreation Committee said the business community needed to work together with the city council to help the city attract tourists.A room tax was viewed as a method of raising revenue from tourists to help pay for upkeep of parks and public recreation services.The city council says it is spending too much compared to other small cities. Most of the money comes from property taxes.Peggy Jost, owner of the Hillcrest Motel in Alma, said she received a “mixed response” from business owners she approached about giving donations to the city as an alternative to the tax.Jost said a room tax would drive away visitors. She said guests would look for lodging elsewhere.She said several people told her it is the city’s obligation to have money set aside for maintenance of parks and recreation.Some suggested Alma charge a citywide sales tax, but City Administrator Linda Torgerson said Wisconsin law doesn’t allow a small city to impose a municipal sales tax.The only alternative tax available to the city for raising revenue to help support tourism is a room tax.The law provides that a majority of room tax revenue must be used for tourism-related promotions, Torgerson said.Alma Mayor Lois Balk and city Alderman Larry Farl, a local business owner, said a change in mindset would be necessary if the city and businesses were going to do a better job of working together to solve funding problems.Farl said the Alma Chamber of Commerce and businesses might have to do more to improve fundraising activities in cooperation with the city to help fund local tourism.Balk recommended the community talk about tourism and come up with new ideas for raising revenue.
.

Investors Taking the Path to Self Destruction, Happily Line up for the Great Financial Slaughter!

The International liquidity crisis will soon create a mess too big for anyone to easily recover from.

When our Strategic Oil Reserve System wants more oil we merely grind up some trees and rags to make paper to print lots of greenbacks, so we can trade a ton of them to the Arabs for a tanker full of oil! Surely someone gets burned in that deal - no wonder they hate us!

Both oil and gold are traded in the US dollar, so everyone needs to keep some on hand but gold and oil are essentially available "free" to us, so long as we have green ink to print with. The problem is that all Countries have now caught on to our "Ponsi like scheme" so everyone is burning their neighbor by printing fresh cash as more goods are needed!

Cash has become such a free commodity that investors are willing to accept stupidly low return rates for very risky paper assets, as if in a self destruct mode!

China is clearly in a bubble. Shanghai stocks are up 250% since 2005 - and 35% this year alone. Still, investors are so eager to get in at these prices that they take up Chinese bank IPOs at twice the PE ratios of banks in developed countries. And what do they actually get when they buy a share? No one knows what a bank chartered and regulated by communists is actually worth!

China is expected to accumulate more than half a trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves - twice as much as last year. How does it get that money? It prints up currency of its own to buy the foreign currency from businessmen and investors - who are selling Chinese made goods (including stock certificates) to foreigners at a breakneck pace.

Investors not only take up but scramble to buy Hugo Chavez's paper Venezuelan bonds! They do so at less than 7% yield…barely 200 basis points more than the sovereign debt of the United States of America.

Officially, the Venezuelan Bolivar is quoted at 2,150 to the dollar. On the black market it trades for 3,750 to one. And it's sinking fast - down 15% so far this year, so where is their justification?

Even long-dated dollar-denominated bonds issued by Iraq, trade at less than 10% yield.

From its recent high of 83.10 on April 9th, the US Dollar Index has fallen to 81.53, a 1.9% decline. That may not sound like much, but it works out to a 32.7% decline on an annualized basis. Given that one presently earns only about 5% per annum in interest income on their dollars, the loss in purchasing power is very obvious. You thus need to find assets that will rise at a 32% annual rate to keep up with the dollars rate of fall!

If our interest rates drop by 1/3 we would be OK but then who would finance our National Debt when Hugo pays so much more! The whole International financial mess must fall like dominos some time very soon, as all other Nations in the past financed with fiat money have failed, without exception!