Globalization & the Insurance Industry (The Perfect Storm Update) – June 20, 2006

Blog - Paper No. VIII - Insurance Industry p1 06-20-06

 

Blog - Paper No. VIII - Insurance Industry p2 06-20-06

Globalization & the Insurance Industry

(The Perfect Storm Syndrome) – June 20, 2006 Update

On June 3, 2005 in an e-mail to a friend in the Philippines I discussed the Perfect Storm  Syndrome.

The Actual Perfect Storm E-mail
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 22:46:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bienvenido Macario <laspinassja@yahoo.com>,
Subject: Re: new development here
To: macario@stanfordalumni.orgb_macario@hotmail.com
CC: Las Pinas <laspinassja@yahoo.com>

What’s important is the formulation of a national economic blueprint based on instituting the needed reforms. I’d say 6 to 9 months to prepare a draft and for the first two years it will be reviewed every 6 months or whenever certain domestic or international event would dictate a review or re-assessment of the national- regional economic program based on the economic blue print.

I hope I am wrong but your region is quite vulnerable to three things that’s on the global economic horizon:

Components of the Perfect Storm – International Edition

1.) Dollar appreciation (strong dollar/currency).
2.) Interest rate fluctuations. (it could only go up.)
3.) Oil price hike.

Of these three (3) managing the dollar is the most complex and challenging.

Components of the Perfect Storm – Domestic Version

1.) Health Care
2.) Pension / Retirement
3.) Education (in general including the next work-force generation, present generation, retiring generation)

Of these three, education would be or should be the main focus and would be the most interesting.

However remote there is a possibility that all three could hit you in close succession. It is quite difficult to see how any country in Asia could be spared from this contagion.~

=====================

~ – HSBC sees Asian ‘bubbles’

By Jimmy C. Calapati – Monday, July 20, 2009

http://www.malaya.com.ph/jul20/busi2.htm

Excess liquidity and record-low interest rates in Asia raise the specter of asset bubbles, especially in the property sector, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) Global Research said. As a crisis erupts, the markets panic, and policy-makers, reading the news along with everyone else, slash interest rates to pump up growth, says Frederic Neumann, HSBC economist.

“In principle, this is perfectly all right. The trouble is, however, that if policy stays too loose for too long, it will blow bubbles,” Neumann said.

In Asia, Neumann said liquidity is far too abundant, keeping interest low. Yet, it appears unlikely that the region will strike out on its own and tighten while everyone else is stuck in the emergency room.

“In short, the seeds are being sown for Asia’s next bubble+. The world has not changed, it just moved places,” Neumann said. 

==============================================================

Later on June 20, 2006, I wrote to another friend the impact of globalization it being the beings of the Perfect Storm Syndrome and how it will affect even the insurance industry. This is the forecast I made regarding the insurance industry using Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.  whose main business is insurance, as an example.

At this juncture the roots of the financial crisis of 2008 has started to take hold but it was still possible to do something to mitigate the impact of the crisis. Unfortunately like 2010 and probably 2014, the mid-term election politicking will remove any chance of resolving the most pressing issues.

Short Paper – Perfect Financial Storm
3 messages


Ned Macario <ned.macario@gmail.com> Tue, Jun 20, 2006 at 11:04 AM
To: Bert ArevaloCc: macario@stanfordalumni.orglaspinassja@yahoo.com,Bcc: Ned Macario <ned.macario@gmail.com>, Ned Macario , b_macario@hotmail.com

June 20, 2006

Bert,

My position is simple.  Because of globalization brought about by the collapse of the Berlin Wall^ and the end of the Cold War, anything we do must be taken in global as well as domestic terms.  I say it is simple because I think no business or economic undertaking could escape the direct and indirect effects of these developments.

My papers almost always consider global and national implications.  To make this e-mail brief, I will concentrate of my paper of June 3, 2005 “Perfect Financial Storm” – International edition and domestic version (dated May 21, 2004).

As you will see, oil price hike is one item, why I want Elena and myself to be involved with energy and geothermal industry again. Mortgage, real estate and even the insurance industry**will definitely be affected by dollar appreciation and interest rate fluctuations.

So no matter what business, field or work you and Chona are in, even if one is working for the state or local government, this paper could be of use.

Components of the Perfect Storm – International Edition

1.) Dollar appreciation.
2.) Interest rate fluctuations. (it could only go up.)
3.) Oil price hike.

Components of the Perfect Storm – Domestic Version

1.) Health Care
2.) Pension / Retirement
3.) Education (in general including the next work-force generation, present generation, retiring generation)

Of these three, education would be or should be the main focus and would be the most interesting.

Ned

 

 

 

Halloween 2012: Nightmare on Wall Street – Redux Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 23, 2012 – The scare continues on “Nightmare on Wall Street – Redux”

MARKET SUMMARY, Tue. Oct. 23, 2012 “Hope is not an investment strategy”

Dow                 13,123.82        -222.07            -1.66%

Nasdaq              2,999.24          -17.72            -0.59%

S&P 500            1,414.95          -18.87            -2.79%

10 Yr Bond(%)  176%               -0.04             -1.32%

Oil                         88.30             -0.43             -0.48%

Gold                1,713.60            -16.70             -0.97%

EUR/USD       1,2977                -0.01              -0.68%

Earnings, Europe Pummel the Markets

BreakoutThe market got smacked Tuesday as the third quarter earnings season continues to come in even worse than expected. From high tech darlings the selling has moved into Blue Chips often sold as safe alternatives.

=============================

October 19, 2012

In the “Paper No. VIII 05/21/04”,page I’ve listed several industries including 5.) Banking; 6.) Investment/Finance and 7. technology (Silicon Valley). No. 1 is Publishing. The order being bad news comes to banking, the investments the technology. And the whole cycle begins with 1.) Publishing.

Last week bad news from banking and technology came guess what? Here’s the news:

Thriving ‘Onion’ Puts Another Print Edition Out Of Business

OCTOBER 18, 2012 | ISSUE 48•42 | MORE NEWS IN BRIEF

http://www.theonion.com/articles/thriving-onion-puts-another-print-edition-out-of-b,29977/

I’m going to provide the calls on each of the industry listed like the retail industry separate and distinct from the clothing/apparel. On another topic, there are photos that would say a lot more that would be posted as soon as possible.

For today, Friday, October 19, 2012, the market closed as follows:

Dow      13,343.51        -205.43            – 1.52%
Nasdaq   3,005.62         -67.24              -2.19%
S&P 500 1,433.19         -24.15              -1.66%
Oil               90.14            -1.96               -2.13%

10 Yr Bond(%)  1.77        -0.06              -3.18%

Eur/Dollar  1.3023          -0.00              -0.36%

Gold          1,721.6         -23.10              -1.32%

This figures are eerily similar to Nov. 2, 2007. For 10/19/2012 the catalyst for the market drop is:

Earnings from McDonald’s, Microsoft sink stocks – Oct. 19, 2012

Weak earnings reports from McDonald’s, Microsoft and others drive stocks lower on Wall Street

By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer | Associated Press – 7 hours ago Friday, October 19, 2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/earnings-mcdonalds-microsoft-sink-stocks-141915111.html;_ylt=AgXbPkLi.B25pycXvNE93rKiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTNydGg2dHU0BG1pdANGUCBUb3AgU3RvcnkgTGVmdARwa2cDYWZjM2I4YWUtYjQyNi0zMDVkLWI3YTUtYzJkYjRjMDE2M2MxBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2Q5ZmM4OGQwLTFhMDktMTFlMi1iYmRmLTNiNTg5MTY0NGMxOQ–;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

But the main concern is the fiscal cliff that could bury the economy deeper into recession.

‘Fiscal Cliff’ May Be Bigger Threat Than You Think – Oct. 19, 2012

By Jeff Cox | CNBC – 4 hours ago Friday, October 19, 2012

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fiscal-cliff-may-bigger-threat-191938563.html;_ylt=AvyWTCx0y9ARN.U.m2VZKgKiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4MGg2ZWM3BG1pdANDTkJDIFRvcCBTdG9yaWVzBHBrZwM5MDI3MWIxNi04NzQwLTNjYTctYjViNC0zMDE5MTk2N2JiN2YEcG9zAzEEc2VjA01lZGlhQkxpc3RNaXhlZExQQ0FUZW1wBHZlcgMzMWMyOWE2OC0xYTI3LTExZTItOGZlZi04MGZiNmIyNWMyNWM-;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

As the deadline for fiscal peril in the U.S. nears, Wall Street is worried that the impact could be much worse than anyone thought-while investors remain nearly oblivious to the danger.

Looming tax increases and spending cuts — which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has labeled the “fiscal cliff” — would send the economy into a deeper recession than many have predicted, according to economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

========== news abbreviated ==========

Big Banks Blast Washington: Fix the Fiscal Cliff Now!

By Matt Nesto | Breakout – Thu, Oct 18, 2012 10:58 AM EDT

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/big-banks-blast-washington-fix-fiscal-cliff-now-145803404.html

From routine check-ups to subsidized gym memberships to diet counseling and more, the practice of preventative care has reshaped the way we think about and spend money on staying healthy. Aside from the obvious physical benefits, the overwhelming fiscal benefits have proven that it’s a whole lot cheaper to keep people healthy than it is to make them well after they get sick.

And so it is with the country’s own financial health. This morning the Financial Services Forum — a group of the nation’s top bankers — sent a letter to the White House and Congress warning that our country is facing grave consequences if nothing is done to address the fiscal cliff that’s set to inflict over a trillion dollars of automatic budget cuts and tax increases on January 1st. 15 bank CEO signatories along with the group’s president & CEO are not only calling on Washington to “negotiate a bi-partisan agreement as quickly as possible” to address the cliff, but are also urging lawmakers to ”restore the nation’s long-term fiscal soundness.”

========== news abbreviated ==========

Why ”Nightmare on Wall St. – Redux”? Because this month could be like 2011, a repeat of 2007 as posted on WAIS: US: Presidential Candidates on Nuclear Weapons (Bienvenido Macario, Philippinesposted on Fri, Nov 2, 2007 at 4:52 AM and also on 2011.

Excerpt:

“Now the scare continues in “Halloween ’07 – Nightmare on Wall Street”: These are the figures for November 1st (2007)”

Dow     13,567.87        -362.14            -2.60%
Nasdaq  2,794.83         -64.29              -2.25%
S&P 500 1,508.44        -40.94              -2.64%
10 Yr Bond(%)            4.3610%          -0.1140

Nov. 1, 2011: Déjà vu?

Now the scare continues in “Halloween ’11 – Nightmare on Wall Street”: These are the figures for 1st November 2011

MARKET SUMMARY, Mon. Oct. 31, 2011

Dow                 11,955.01        -276.10            -2.26%

Nasdaq              2,684.41          -52.74            -1.93%

S&P 500            1,253.30          -31.79            -2.47%

10 Yr Bond(%)  2.1750%       -0.1310

Oil                         92.68             -0.64             -0.69%

Gold                1,724.00          -22.20             -1.27%

 

MARKET SUMMARY, Tue. Nov. 01, 2011

Dow                 11,657.96        -297.05            -2.48%

Nasdaq              2,606.96          -77.45            -2.89%

S&P 500            1,218.28          -35.02            -2.79%

10 Yr Bond(%)  2.0010%       -0.1740

Oil                         91.64              -1.55            -1.66%

Gold                1,720.10              -4.10            -0.24%

WAIS: US: Presidential Candidates on Nuclear Weapons (Bienvenido Macario, Philippinesposted on Fri, Nov 2, 2007 at 4:52 AM and also on 2011.

http://waisworld.org/go.jsp?id=02a0&objectType=post&objectTypeId=12297&topicId=1

 

Bienvenido Macario responds to David Krieger’s post of 30 October (2007):

I am thankful that David Krieger Founder and President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation brought this topic up.  We are dealing with three questions here:

1.)  What is on the mind of Presidential Candidates on Nuclear Weapons during the campaign period?

2.) What’s on the mind of a newly elected or re-elected President?

3.) What would the US Congress allow the President and Chief Executive
(no. 2) to do?

It does not always follow that a pro-_______ (fill in the cause for example: nuclear disarmament) president would be able to carry out his/her campaign promise. Sometimes those who never said anything about troop withdrawal or made pro-environment statements end up acting on it.

A case in point is Nixon, who got the US Troops out of Vietnam and created the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).  It was Pres. John F. Kennedy who got the US in Vietnam and Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson who later escalated and micromanaged the war.  JFK and LBJ were both Democrats. Also it was Eisenhower a GOP who stopped the Korean War that started under Truman, a Democrat.

Now the scare continues in “Halloween ’07 – Nightmare on Wall Street”: These are the figures for November 1st (2007):

Dow     13,567.87        -362.14            -2.60%
Nasdaq  2,794.83         -64.29              -2.25%
S&P 500 1,508.44        -40.94              -2.64%
10 Yr Bond(%)            4.3610%          -0.1140

Fed Pumps $41B Into US Financial System–AP

The Federal Reserve pumped $41 billion into the US financial system Thursday, the largest cash infusion since September 2001, to help companies get through a credit crunch.

Chrysler to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs–AP
Oil is pegged at $96.00 and analysts believe the cuts in interest rate
have stopped.

JE comments:  A question for WAIS speculation:  when (day and date) will oil hit the century mark ($100) a barrel?  Besides bragging rights, the winner will receive the first-ever WAIS coffee mug–as soon as we design it and have it manufactured (in China?).  Which gets me thinking:  what should the WAIS coffee mug look like?


For information about the World Association of International Studies (WAIS), and its online publication, the World Affairs Report, read its homepage by simply double-clicking on: http://wais.stanford.edu/

John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

Zero Sum Game of Global Finance 4th Edition & the Calif. Budget Deficit

By Eric Bellman October 12, 2012, 1:28 AM SGT

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/10/12/hunger-plunges-everywhere-in-southeast-asia-except-the-philippines/?KEYWORDS=philippines

JAKARTA – The total number of chronically hungry people in Southeast Asia has plunged by close to 70 million in the last two decades thanks to economic growth and policies to feed the poor, but the number of people that regularly go to sleep with their stomachs growling in the Philippines has actually grown.

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Non-sequitur: Is it possible California is a colony of the Oligarchic Philippines & Sacramento just doesn’t know it?

News: British royal family worth more than $1 billion, report says

By Ron Recinto | The Lookout – Wed, Jun 6, 2012

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/british-royal-family-worth-more-1-billion-report-152930722.html;_ylt=Au4v.mfL61NGgvI7Ilvigh.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNtNjA5dmRyBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBGUARwa2cDOGRlZGYwZjQtZGI2Yy0zODE4LWFjNWMtZDk4NGZhYjc5NGE0BHBvcwMxMARzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgM0MjEyMWVhMC1iMDBlLTExZTEtYmVmOS1kNTFiNmU2ZmQ3YzM-;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Also in June Forbes magazine published the 40 richest Filipinos whose combined net worth totaled $47.43 billion. See:

Forbes 40 Richest Filipinos total networth  

 http://www.forbes.com/philippines-billionaires/list/

While the British Royal family goes back hundreds of years, twenty-five (25) years ago, there wasn’t a single Filipino on Forbes list of the richest men.

Unless there is a reasonable and acceptable explanation, this makes the wealth of the richest Filipinos “unexplained” and ill-gotten.  Maybe the IMF, World Bank, ADB and the UN have an explanation.

Below is  Zero Sum Game of Global Finance-4th Edition showing that despite the financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession, the 40 richest Filipinos continue to accumulate unexplained wealth. Thanks to the World Bank, IMF, ADB and the UN.

Zero Sum Game of Global Finance 4th Edition 12-29-10, updated 03-29-11 and 04-21-11

California Budget Deficit                       $16.0 Billion* as of 02-20-08

40 Richest Filipinos–Total Net Worth      $16.2 Billion+ as of 10-18-07

 

California Budget Deficit                       $20.0 Billion@ as of 03-17-10

40 Richest Filipinos–Total Net Worth      $20.4 Billion^^ as of 07-31-10

 

California Budget Deficit                       $26.6 Billion++ as of 03-29-11

40 Richest Filipinos–Total Net Worth      $26.2 Billion~~ as of 03-09-11

+ ^^ ~~ – From Forbes Magazine

 

WAIS Posts on Zero-Sum Game of Global Finance

Ivy League Endowments Shrink by $26 Billion 2008-2009 (Bienvenido Macario, 04/26/11 4:48 am)

http://waisworld.org/go.jsp?id=02a&objectType=post&o=61503&objectTypeId=55753&topicId=111

Cuba: Obama to Allow Travel, Money Transfers (Bienvenido Macario, Philippines/US  04/14/09 4:13 am)

http://waisworld.org/go.jsp?id=02a&objectType=post&o=37081&objectTypeId=31331&topicId=1

 

US: on the Financial Crisis and Bailout+ (Bienvenido Macario, Philippines)

Posted September25, 2008

http://waisworld.org/go.jsp?id=02a&objectType=post&o=24935&objectTypeId=19185&topicId=1

Final comment: If the overseas aspect of this financial crisis is not contained by reforming, replacing or rivaling the World Bank, IMF and the UN, we’d be lucky to enjoy three years of recovery from this crisis before we are plunged to a deeper and more desperate downturn.

If this crisis happened between elections, it would have been crystal-clear to our leaders in Congress, the government, the private sector, investors, the media and the public that it was the collective fault of the World Bank, IMF and the UN that brought the crisis deep into this level.

Even as recently as Dec. 14, 2007, the World Bank continued to seek funds for debt forgiveness and in fact secured $16.5 billion~ in cash for the purpose. The  California State budget deficit did not add up to $16 billion+ until Feb. 20, 2008.

======================

RivCo: Next Budget is About $23m in Red – May 1, 2012

Economists says the 2012-13 County budget pushes the deficit even higher than expected.

By City News Service – May 1, 2012

http://palmdesert.patch.com/articles/rivco-next-budget-is-about-23m-in-red

 

Enrile says US $30-M military aid an ‘insult’ – May 7, 2012

http://www.tribuneonline.org/20120507/headlines/20120507hea4.html#.T6fojGx0GkE.facebook

Washington’s offer of $30-million foreign military financing (FMF) to the country made during a high-level meeting between the Philippines and United States’ Foreign and Defense officials is an insult.

That’s how Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile viewed the military aid promised to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, adding that it need not be sought by the government considering that such is a commitment made by the US under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Malacañang, Enrile said, should not accept such offer.

“They should provide military equipment. (They should comply) not only with the MDT. They signed a military assistance agreement with the Philippines, so they should comply with it.

While Enrile would not highlight the fact that the US government opted to stay neutral in the Philippines’ tension with China over territorial dispute in the Scarborough Shoal, the reported offer to boost the country’s military capabilities came as an “insult.”

“If I were the Aquino government, I would say ‘thank you,’ I do not need your $30 million. We can provide that $30 million for ourselves.”