All news logging blog

By James P. Miller | Chicago Tribune reporter
August 30, 2008

Motorola Inc. disclosed Friday that it has reworked co-Chief Executive Greg Brown’s contract, adding millions of dollars in new incentives that kick in only if the company successfully completes the planned spinoff of its handset unit.

The agreement contains a number of new stock-option arrangements, which pay out over three years, an arrangement that appears designed to entice Brown to stay with the company through the coming changes and beyond.

Under the contract, if Motorola’s mobile phones unit becomes a separate public company and is valued by the stock market at a minimum of $2 billion, then Brown, who will be head of the non-phone business, will receive a grant of at least $1.67 million in restricted Motorola common shares, as well as potentially lucrative options to buy at least $3.33 million in stock. They vest, subject to Brown’s continued employment, in three installments.

Motorola’s current market capitalization is $21 billion.
“The all-inclusive compensation package is designed to align Mr. Brown’s interests with the interests of Motorola’s stockholders,” the convention said in its filing.

Brown’s earlier employment agreement was signed in January, when the Schaumburg-based communications-materiel manufacturer promoted him to succeed Edward Zander as CEO.

Soon after taking the reins, Brown announced plans to split off the giant but struggling cell phone business into a free-standing company. Those plans took a major according with forward this month when Motorola signed Qualcomm Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Jha as co-CEO and head of the unfixed phone business.

The pay package for Jha, who will be head of the phone business once the separation is completed, was spelled out in a Securities and Quid pro quo Commission filing three weeks ago. Among other things, Jha received Motorola stock valued at the time at roughly $35 million and options to come by an additional 16.6 million shares.

Read full article: Motorola sweetens incentives for co-CEO

  

Winnings are not necessarily paid out in a lump sum, contrary to the expectation of many lottery participants. In certain countries, such as the USA, the winner gets to choose between an annuity payment and a one-time payment. The one-time payment is much smaller, indeed often only half, of the advertised lottery jackpot, even before applying any withholding tax to which the prize may be subject. The annuity option provides regular payments over a period that may range from 10 to 40 years.

In some online lotteries, the annual payments can be as little as $25,000 over 40 years, with a balloon payment in the final year. This type of installment payment is often made through investment in government-backed securities. Online lotteries pay the winners through their insurance backup. However, many winners choose to take the lump-sum payment, since they believe they can get a better rate of return on their investment elsewhere.

In some countries, lottery winnings are not subject to personal income tax, so there are no tax consequences to consider in choosing a payment option. In Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom all prizes are immediately paid out as one lump sum, tax-free to the winner.

In the United States, federal courts have consistently held that a lump sum payments received from third parties in exchange for the rights to lottery annuities are not capital assets for tax purpose. Rather, the lump sum is subject to ordinary income tax treatment.

Article source: Lottery - Payment of prizes

annuities, annuity option, annuity payment, backed securities, balloon payment, canada australia, capital assets, federal courts, installment payment, lottery winnings, lump sum payment, lump sum payments, lump sum tax, payment option, personal income tax

  

August 28, 2008: The sharp drop in Kenya’s earnings from tourism and a sluggish growth in commodity prices is stacking up through the hub of the US dollar to a bonanza for Ugandan buyers of Kenyan goods.

With most of the world’s currencies driven by their central value against the dollar, the Kenyan shilling’s slide against the dollar has seen it lose ground against every currency that is holding its dollar value, including that of its biggest export market, Uganda.

The Ugandan shilling, supported by buoyant dollar-denominated aid flows, is suddenly looking a lot more valuable compared with the Kenyan currency.
While a Kenyan shilling in April would buy 27 Ugandan shillings, today it buys just 23, a tumble of some 15 per cent.

The cause, say traders, is the Kenyan shillings retreat against the dollar, while the Ugandan shilling has held its dollar ground: thus the two now buy different amounts in the world, even though Kenya’s exports to Uganda have been robust, after the first quarter setback.

For Kenyan exporters, the depreciation against the Ugandan shilling comes at a hard moment. Kenya supplies many of Uganda’s manufactured goods and particularly those made from oil.

This means that Kenyan producers are being hit in the marketplace from two sides. Just as they are being squeezed on one side by rising oil prices, they have to take a beating of lower revenues in their biggest export market.

This latest impact of the decline in foreign exchange earnings highlights the potential scale of secondary impact from the knock-out of an important export earner such as tourism, even as the industry gears itself back up, with bookings returning and money moving once again.

Yesterday, the Kenya Shilling weakened against the greenback to exchange at 69.09, a level that was last seen in February 2008 at the height of political turmoil that rocked the country in the wake of a disputed outcome of December’s presidential poll.

Read fuull article: Uganda importers reap from shilling’s fall in forex market

  

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan hope to play a one-day series either in South Africa or Australia after the postponement of the Champions Trophy they were scheduled to host next month.

Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told Reuters on Monday the board had opened discussions with South Africa and Australia after the tournament was postponed for 13 months.

“We feel that our team is in dire need of exposure in foreign conditions and, with the postponement of the Champions Trophy, we believe we can now have an offshore series with the cooperation of other boards,” Naghmi said.

Pakistan hope to play in South Africa or Australia

  

The history of poker is a matter of debate. One of the earliest known games to incorporate betting, hand rankings, and bluffing was the 15th century German game Pochspiel. Poker closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, though there is no specific description of as nas prior to 1890.[1][2] In the 1937 edition of Foster’s Complete Hoyle, R. F. Foster declared: “the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of as nas.”[3] [4]. By 1990s some gaming historians including David Parlett started to challenge the notion that poker is a direct derivative of As Nas.[5] There is evidence that a game called poque, a French game similar to poker, was played around the region where poker is said to have originated. The name of the game likely descended from the Irish Poca (Pron. Pokah) (’Pocket’) or even the French poque, which descended from the German pochen (’to brag as a bluff’ lit. ‘to knock’[6] ). Yet it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time).[7] It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.

English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards and four players betting on which player’s hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green’s book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime. As it spread north along the Mississippi River and to the West during the gold rush, it is thought to have become a part of the frontier pioneer ethos.

Soon after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). The spread of the game to other countries, particularly in Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.

The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. Such phrases and clichés as ace in the hole, ace up one’s sleeve, beats me, blue chip, call one’s bluff, cash in, high roller, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday conversation, even by those unaware of their origins at the poker table.

Read full article: Poker: History Of Poker

  

The first possession you should make sure it has is a reasonable price. I would not pay anything over $150 for forex trader software of any kind-hearted. I ponder around $100 is what you should aim for. I have heard of products that charge hundreds of dollars per month just for their service! Earnings can be very zenith with forex trading, but that is a lot of money to pay. 

The second thing that I can tell you to check out, as an experienced trader, is narcotic enthusiast testimonials. Scroll through the product page and make sure that people are posting positive reviews of the saleslady software. If people are happy with it, you can feel comfortable that you are getting a quality product.

Full article source: Forex tradings

  

Deriving loans without any hassles is now a possibility. This has been made possible with the introduction of online personal loans. These loans not only provide the best offers, but also are designed to offer feasible terms and conditions. You just have to click a few buttons and the loan amount is by your side in an instant.

As compared to the personal loans offered by the traditional lenders, there is no basic difference in between the two. These loans too are broadly classified in the regular format of secured and unsecured loans. The secured form of the loans is protected against an asset and can be used to avail a bigger amount in the range of £5000-£75000 for a period of 5- 25 years. On the other hand unsecured form of the loans can be obtained without pledging any collateral. The amount granted is usually in the range of £1000-£25000 and has to be repaid over a period of 6months- 10 years.

The finances derived through these loans can be used to execute a number of personal demands such as home improvement, debt consolidation, education financing, meeting wedding expenses, purchasing a car and so on.

Read full article: Online Personal Loans - Prompt Finances With the Best of Terms

  

One of the friend of mine noted that July 2008 auto sales have been no better than they were in June 2008, when they plummeted down at lest for 50 %. The first half of the year was the worst sales level in Southern Africa in 5 years, and used car sales for the year are off for at least half. The event was held just days before One of a vehicle manufacturer is expected to post significant 2nd quarter losses and further restructuring of its unprofitable. He has said it will bring fuel-efficient models from Europe.

He also delayed addition of a third shift. Dealers have lost a degree of independence, says my fried. And a risk finance may increasingly come under the direct control of manufacturers, finance houses with their objective of selling their own cars, and banks and building societies where the agenda is lending finance rather than tailoring a loan to satisfy a would-be car buyer’s exact requirements.

 He says at 4×4 in Namibia, used-car sales clerk noted that he has three SUVs headed to Namibia this month. Sales manager said the dealership had exported about one car a month, but this year, they average roughly 10. And he also said that nationally, its overseas shipments were up slightly, but not in double digits. It did not disclose specific figures.

  

In casual play, the right to deal a hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a ‘dealer’ button (or “buck”). In a casino, a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but the button (typically a white plastic disk) is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting.

One or more players are usually required to make forced bets, usually either an ante or a blind bet (sometimes both). The dealer shuffles the cards, the player one chair to his right cuts, and the dealer deals the appropriate number of cards to the players one at a time. Cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down, depending on the variant of poker being played. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins.

Read full article here: Poker: Game play

  

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Thousands of South African workers are expected to down tools in a national strike on Wednesday, bringing Africa’s biggest economy to a standstill in a protest against rising electricity, food and fuel prices.

The nearly 2 million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), an ally of the ruling ANC party, says the one-day walkout will be a warning to employers who may want to sack workers because of a downturn in profits due to a power supply crisis.

In the mines sector, workers are particularly fearful of job cuts after a five-day power cut in January and the rationing of electricity to mines slashed output and earnings in this top precious metals producer.

“We are adamant that workers should not be asked to pay for government’s failure to invest in electricity,” Cosatu’s spokesman Patrick Craven said.

Mines, refineries, car makers, textile factories, businesses and construction of stadiums meant for the 2010 Soccer World Cup could halt for a day, while workers and students are likely to stay at home if public transport is disrupted.

Full article: One-day strike could bring South Africa to a halt