In order to make it as easy as possible for investors to find the help they need quickly, the 21-member Alliance For Investor Education (AIE) today launched an updated version of the “one-stop information shopping” site at http://www.HelpForInvestors.org to pull together 16 key links into a single Web page.
The easy-to-use list shows investors where to check out financial professionals, how to report investment fraud, the best help for dealing with other major problems – including broker bankruptcies, identity theft and 401(k) claims – and filing arbitration and mediation claims.The content featured in the updated http://www.HelpForInvestors.org cuts across the entire investment community represented in AIE’s membership ranks.
Founded in 1996, the Alliance for Investor Education Web site at http://www.InvestorEducation.org provides investors with access to a full range of information they need to make wise investment decisions.
The 21-member Alliance for Investor Education is dedicated to facilitating greater understanding of investing, investments and the financial markets among current and prospective investors of all ages.
The United States will not provide a safe haven for money stolen from Africa by its corrupt leaders, US President Barack Obama said yesterday. Addressing at least 23 African leaders attending the African Union summit in Munyonyo, Obama’s Secretary General Eric Holder said Washington would seize money stolen by corrupt leaders and hidden in America and the West.
Mr. Holder is part of the American delegation to the Kampala summit led by Mr. Johnnie Carson- America’s top diplomat on Africa. In a wide-ranging speech, which touched on the terror attacks and America’s help to Uganda in Somalia, Mr. Holder delivered a stinger on the touchy issue of corruption.
The Kleptocracy recovery effort, he said, would target large-scale corruption perpetrated by foreign nationals. “I have assembled a team of prosecutors to deal exclusively with this” he said adding that the US was also willing to support the development of African judiciaries to deal with the monster of corruption.
International cooperation over money leaving national treasuries and entering tax havens and western banks- has long been a sticking issue.
[A Better sub-head might have been “One-Stop Un-Shopping for the Remorseful. Ed]
Consumers have a new, easy-to-use, Consumer Help Center that puts them within one click of all the information they want from the Federal Communications Commission.
The new portal launched today at www.fcc.gov/consumers will allow consumers to learn about different issues in telecommunications, make it easy for consumers to find out what’s going on at the FCC, get tips for making the best choices in purchasing communications devices and services, have their voices heard by filing comments on issues that interest them, and file a complaint when there are problems.
The FCC’s Consumer Task Force, an inter-bureau group established by Chairman Julius Genachowski at the beginning of 2010, produces the Consumer Help Center.
The Task Force has led several recent initiatives on major consumer issues. The Consumer Help Center includes:
Everything consumers need to know about Bill Shock and Early Termination Fees — two common issues that affect wireless customers, plus:
Savvy Traveler tips — advice on making phone calls when travelling abroad.
Broadband Speed Test — consumers can test the speed of their broadband service.
Fact Sheet Library – more than 150 consumer Fact Sheets on telecom subjects.
·Links to additional resources on a range of issues, including privacy
·Links to file a complaint to the FCC or comment on our rulemakings.
·Blog posts about consumer issues — with consumer comments welcome;
·News releases, statements, and FCC actions.
The site will be updated to include new FCC consumer initiatives as they are launched. [Lobbyists permitting. Ed]
It is just a website the real test will be their response time.
Will they keep you hanging on the telephone?Just like the near monopoly Telco’s?
ALEXANDRA PELOSI’s latest for HBO Documentaries premieres at 9 p.m. 7/26/10:
In the Emmy-nominated filmmaker’s sixth documentary, Pelosi chronicles the lives of children living on the poverty line in one of the nation’s richest counties.
Rep. Judy Biggert and Sen. Chris Dodd introduced the film in Washington last week.
The Internal Revenue Service may be preparing to revisit whether certain types of nonprofit sponsorship revenue should be considered taxable unrelated business income. While the IRS has taken no definitive steps in that direction, experts say nonprofit organizations and their corporate partners should be alert to the possibility of a review of the safe harbor for some sponsorship benefits and, more immediately, be aware of the government’s recent heightened scrutiny of sponsorship activity
Do you cherish a secret desire to serve the armed forces? But scared of the early morning drills ?
Want to see yourself close to the jungle vardi, but cant get out ofyour night pyjamas?
Well, now you can HAVE your tawa roti and EAT it too !
eFarm has been invited by the South Zone Army HQ located at Chennai to set up and run a vegetables & fruits outlet for the jawans of ATNK&Kregiments (that’s andra, tamilnadu, karnataka & kerala).
Well, though we technically dont get into retail side, but the command coming fromnone less than a Major General , we had to gladly oblige. It is great honour and a prestigious account for us.
And to further extend our social obligations we have agreed to operate this on a non-profit basis so that the jawans who fight on our battefields and the farmers who toil in the farm fields are linked with minimal intermediation costs.
In this context, we thought we would extend this to some of our otherwell wishers too to join in this unique venture. We are trying to set up a storefront ,and any reduction in the setup/operational costs would be passed on as savings to the jawans. These are some items we are in process of purchasing .
If you work in a company which makes them and would like to donate a piece ororganise it through a csr grant , or even work out a factory rate would be a great value add:
Point of sale station ( 1 number)-PC, digital scale,- A refrigerator ( 200+ L , double door)- A 1.5 tonne split AC (300 sq feet store area)- A deskphone + cordless unit (store phone)- Insurance for the store (fire, theft etc ?)So, recruiting all facebook farmvilleans, playstation rambo’s, here’s a chance to proudly proclaim ‘
I TOO serve the Indian army’..You can reply to :venky@matchboxsolutions.inor contact us at044-43577236 with your options…<author is an IIT alumni heading a agri supply chain startup called efarm. more details at :www.efarm.in>
The Dodd-Frank bill, like all major pieces of legislation, is tailor made for politicians. The rhetoric rains down like ticker tape, from supporters and detractors alike. Some might call this the “toughest restrictions on the financial industry since the Great Depression,”as the Washington Post did.
Others might lambaste it as a gross regulatory overreach that will kill American jobs and send the banking business overseas.The truth of course is obscured somewhere in the middle. You could take every major plank and argue it to death.
The Volcker Rule sounds good in theory, but even Paul Volcker notes it was significantly watered down.
So all in all, we’d have to sound two cheers for financial reform. Here areseven reasonswhy it can’t be three cheers. The big winners really are the lobbyists. They fought hard for the industry, and won more than a few victories. They will stay employed as they work to influence regulators over the long haul, as the bill leaves much to be decided. Some of the most important protections will not kick in until thecurrent administration is long gone. When the spotlight dims, the lobbyists might really have their way. And we might never hear about it.
Three days after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, the Netherlands offered the U.S. government ships equipped to handle a major spill, one much larger than the BP spill that then appeared to be underway.
“Our system can handle 400 cubic meters per hour,” Weird Koops, the chairman of Spill Response Group Holland, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide, giving each Dutch ship more cleanup capacity than all the ships that the U.S. was then employing in the Gulf to combat the spill.
Why does neither the U.S. government nor U.S. energy companies have on hand the cleanup technology available in Europe?
Ironically, the superior European technology runs afoul of U.S. environmental rules.
The voracious Dutch vessels, for example, continuously suck up vast quantities of oily water, extract most of the oil and then spit overboard vast quantities of nearly oil-free water. Nearly oil-free isn’t good enough for the U.S. regulators, who have a standard of 15 parts per million — if water isn’t at least 99.9985% pure, it may not be returned to the Gulf of Mexico.
The international Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) has certified Concern Worldwide, the aid and development agency, in recognition of the agency’s adherence to and application of the highest international standards in all of its work.
Concern is one of just 8 International Non-Governmental Organizations to receive such certification.
Concern specifically applies theHAP standardsto both its emergency and development work. This provides independent certification to disaster survivors, staff, volunteers, hosting authorities and donors that Concern will deliver the best humanitarian service possible in each situation and that the organization and its partners are answerable to the beneficiaries of their work.
The certification from the Geneva-based organization came as a result of an extensive, independent audit and verification of high standards in transparency and excellence in management.
The HAP Standard in Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management certificate is valid until 2013, at which time Concern will re-apply to the body for re-certification.
Paul O’Brien, Concern’s Overseas Director, said, “the certification reflects recognition of a commitment to excellence throughout the organization. In a time when the principle of being open and transparent is given utmost importance, I am delighted we can highlight our ongoing commitment to improving and strengthening our accountability towards all stakeholders of Concern.”
The HAP report stated, “the auditors were extremely impressed with the dedication and experience of the staff and recommend that Concern Worldwide has achieved a sufficient level of compliance against the HAP Standard.” Concern draws on a number of international codes and standards to influence and shape its work. Seecodes and practices.
Concern works in 28 of the world’s poorest countries, including 17 sub-Saharan African nations, and reaches some 25 million people. The organization’s goal is the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty and the reduction of suffering. The organization’s programs focus on emergency relief and long-term development work in the areas of health, HIV and AIDS, livelihoods and education.
Is the big retailer now taking a definitive step in that direction? Last week, it emerged that the company had taken an ownership stake in Green Dot, which manages the retailer’s prepaid debit cards. Green Dot is currently seeking regulatory approval to acquire a small Utah-based bank for $15.7 million, notesFortune.
Wal-Mart has tried and failed on several occasions to garner a banking license, always in the face of noisy opposition from the industry. In 2007, it dropped plans to gain an industrial-bank charter in Utah. Most people assume it is only a matter of time before Wal-Mart takes the plunge, damn the opposition. The marketing advantages would be awesome, and banks are right to fear such a move.
The time would appear to be ripe. Americans are generally dissatisfied when it comes to credit and debit card practices, not to mention mortgage practices. Wal-Mart has the kind of heft that would allow it to make a huge, consumer-friendly splash.
But the industry will not take this sitting down. If you thought local retailers in many areas fought hard, just wait until national banks train their sights on the firm.
