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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
QNB Group announces financial results for three months ended 31 ...
Key indicators of the financial results for the three months ended 31March 2013 are shown below. These results do not include financial results of NSGB- Egypt. QNB Group has recently concluded the acquisition of a controlling stake in NSGB amounting to 97.12%. It is anticipated that the incorporation of the financial results of NSGB will be completed during the second quarter of 2013.
- Robust balance sheet growth
Total assets increased by 22.2% from March 2012 to reach QR380bn, the highest ever achieved by the Bank. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 28.7% in loans and advances to reach QR259bn, while customer deposits increased by 28.2% to QR280bn.
- Maintenance of an outstanding assets quality
The Bank was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.4%, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group's loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group's conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 119% in March 2013.
- Increased revenues with improved efficiency
Total operating income, including the share of results of associates, increased to QR3.0bn, up by 5.5% compared to March 2012, demonstrating QNB Group's success in achieving strong growth across the range of revenue sources. Net interest income increased by 4.7% to reach QR2.4bn, with net fees and commissions and net gain from foreign exchange reaching QR350m and QR172m, respectively, reflecting success in diversifying sources of income.
The Group's prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 17.7%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.
- Robust capitalisation
Total Equity increased by 9.3% from March 2012 to reach QR46bn as at 31 March 2013. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 20.5% as at 31 March 2013, far higher than the regulatory requirements of QCB and the Basel Committee. The Group is keen to maintain a strong capitalisation in order to support future strategic plans.
- Significant expansion of international presence
During the first quarter of 2013, QNB Group has successfully completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in NSGB amounting to 97.12%, which included the full stake of Soci?t? G?n?rale - France amounting to 77.17% along with 19.95% acquired from other shareholders.
This acquisition is considered one of the largest in the Middle East and is in line with QNB Group's strategy to expand its presence in selected markets in the region that have a strong growth potential. This acquisition is an important step for QNB Group to realise its vision of being a Middle East and Africa Icon by 2017.
NSGB has a solid financial position and a strong standing in Egypt's banking sector, with operations throughout the country.
The announced results of QNB Group do not include financial results of NSGB, which are anticipated to be incorporated during the second quarter of 2013.
- High credit ratings
QNB Group has maintained its credit rating, which is considered as being one of the highest in the region, with various rating agencies affirming the Bank's rating during the first quarter of 2013. This is as a result of QNB Group's strong financial position, high quality of its assets and leading position in the financial sector.
As a result of the Bank's high credit ratings and outstanding asset quality, it was selected as one the world's 50 safest financial institutions by Global Finance.
Based on the Group's continuous strong performance and the expanding international presence, the bank is currently ranked as the most valuable brand in the MENA region, with a world ranking of 120.
- Innovative products and services
In line with ongoing efforts to expand the range of products and services, QNB First was launched across all five branches in Oman. The introduction of this elite and exclusive service for affluent customers is designed to meet their high expectation, which is provided by a dedicated and highly experienced team. The Group aims to roll out this service during this year to a number of countries in the region where it operates.
- Staff development remains a key priority
With the addition of NSGB, QNB Group's presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies increased to 25 countries providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of staff exceeded 13,000 operating from over 560 locations, with an ATM network exceeding 1,150 machines.
The Bank continues to place high emphasis on recruiting Qatari nationals and provide them with dedicated training programs to further enhance their capabilities. This has resulted in the Bank having a Qatarisation ratio that exceeds 50%, the highest among financial institutions in Qatar.
Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/qnb-announces-financial-results-months-31-336623
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Monday, April 8, 2013
No map, no problems for monarchs
Apr. 8, 2013 ? Monarch butterflies have long been admired for their sense of direction, as they migrate from Canada and the United States to Mexico. According to new findings from a team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Guelph, the winged insects fly without a map, and use basic orientation and landmarks to find their way to their wintering sites, thousands of miles away.
Recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study examined the insects' flight patterns and whether those patterns changed when the butterflies were displaced.
The team, which included researchers from Queen's University, Germany and Denmark, also analyzed more, also analyzed more than 50 years' worth of migration data to learn how monarchs find their way for the first time to their wintering habitat in Mexico.
A monarch flies the full migration route just once during its life cycle.
The flight patterns and data suggest that, when butterflies are blown off course, they likely use major geographic landmarks to funnel them to their destination.
Looking at the distances that these insects fly each year, scientists had long thought that monarchs were "true navigators."
"To be a true navigator, you need both a compass and a map," explained Prof. Ryan Norris, Department of Integrative Biology. "We've know for some time that monarchs use external cues, such as the sun and magnetic field, as a built-in compass that can indicate their latitude. But having an internal map requires knowledge of both latitude and longitude."
To test whether monarchs could detect longitude displacements, the team, led by U of G undergraduate student Rachael Derbyshire, examined the butterflies' flight patterns in a funnel on the University of Guelph campus. They then tested the same monarchs in Calgary.
"The monarchs we tested in Guelph flew southwest, in the general direction of Mexico," said Derbyshire. "When we tested them in Calgary, they flew in the same general direction as if they were in Ontario, suggesting that they did not know they had been displaced 2,500 kilometres."
Studying data from monarchs tagged and recaptured throughout North America from 1952 to 2004, the team found that migrating monarchs do not use an internal map to reach Mexico. Instead, they use landmarks, such as coastlines and the Rocky and Appalachian mountains.
"Given the challenge of this migratory journey and the fact that these insects are less than a gram, it is a remarkably simple system they used to travel thousands of kilometres to a site they have never seen," said Norris.
Monarchs use the same sites in the highlands of central Mexico each year. One mystery remains: how do they pinpoint these exact locations in Mexico?
Derbyshire said, "One possibility we think is likely, and would need to be tested, is that they -- like some other migratory animals -- use smell to guide them to their final destination."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Guelph, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Henrik Mouritsen, Rachael Derbyshire, Julia Stalleicken, Ole ?. Mouritsen, Barrie J. Frost, and D. Ryan Norris. An experimental displacement and over 50 years of tag-recoveries show that monarch butterflies are not true navigators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1221701110
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Sunday, April 7, 2013
Jim DeMint's fresh message for the conservative movement
Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Jim DeMint has played many roles over the years: U.S. senator. Kingmaker. Advocate. Lawmaker. Mentor. Rabble-rouser. In his newest iteration as president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative movement's preeminent think tank, he wants to transform the way conservatives craft and package their message. Chiefly, he sees a need to dispel a criticism he hears constantly: that Republicans simply don't care about some Americans.
He thinks he can accomplish this more effectively as an activist at Heritage than he ever could as a Republican in the Senate.
DeMint, who gave up his seat in the Senate last year, started his new, higher-paying gig at Heritage this week. As a former ad man for private marketing firms before he entered politics, DeMint acknowledges the power of a strong presentation.
"We know that lawmakers are not going to push, promote and pass conservative ideas unless people understand and support them," DeMint told Yahoo News in an interview on his second day at Heritage. "So what I want to do is use my career and advertising and marketing to figure out how to connect with the American people in a way that inspires them and shows them that they can achieve the things they want in their lives if they support the right public policies."
During his tenure in the Senate, DeMint quickly made a name for himself as a lawmaker willing to buck his own party. He opposed all bailout measures during the financial meltdown in 2008, for example, even as many fellow Republicans warned that Congress must act to avoid an economic Armageddon. He became known as an uncompromising figure in a chamber that cherishes the art of deal making. In the four years he spent in the Senate before the rise of the tea party in 2009, DeMint's positions often put him in a lonely place.
But he wasn't alone for long. DeMint began using his political action committee to boost Senate candidates who, at the time, establishment Republicans wrote off as long shots without a chance. While some of DeMint's picks lost their races, many succeeded, giving rise to a new era of conservatives in Congress who have since become household names: Rand Paul. Marco Rubio. Ted Cruz. After a string of successes in 2010, candidates actively began seeking DeMint's blessing. For many Republicans, the DeMint seal of approval was a must. Although DeMint didn't hold traditional positions of power in the chamber, he built himself up as the Senate's Republican kingmaker.
Eight years after he joined the chamber, DeMint now says "there's no question" that the Senate is a different place from the one he encountered when he was first elected.
"I feel like my efforts to bring in some new blood are going to pay off, even though it was pretty unpopular at the time," he said. "I'm proud of the role that I played, but these folks now are leaders on their own."
From his perch at Heritage, a group that has a member base in the hundreds of thousands, DeMint can simultaneously feed policy ideas to his former colleagues in power while spreading their message outside Washington.
DeMint plans to continue investing in the policy work that has built Heritage into the Washington powerhouse it is today, but he will also seek to expand efforts to spread that message to voters. DeMint made the decision that before he could put together a fresh messaging strategy, he would need to root out weaknesses in the current one. For several months before officially joining Heritage, DeMint sat in on a series of listening sessions with voters focused on finding out why conservative messages have fallen short. The most prominent complaint he heard, particularly from black and Hispanic voters, was that they "don't believe Republicans care about them."
"The only way we're going to connect with people is to connect our ideas with the things that they really want in their lives," DeMint said. "I don't think the Republican Party has done a good job of carrying the ideas in that sense and folks need to know we care about them. I think Heritage is in a better position as being outside the partisan framework to actually connect with people."
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Loan Education Becomes Prerequisite As Student Debt Balloons
College loan debt isn't easing up, and students are struggling to navigate a plethora of obligations.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesCollege loan debt isn't easing up, and students are struggling to navigate a plethora of obligations.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesFor students now sprinting toward the end of their college days, the finish line may not be much of a relief. More than ever, their gait is slowed by the weight of impending debt.
Thirty-seven million Americans share about $1 trillion in student loans, according to Federal Reserve data. It's the biggest consumer debt besides mortgages, eclipsing both auto loans and credit cards. And on it grows, an appetite undiminished by the recession.
Learning What To Ask
There are signs that students are catching on to the dangers, however. Dawit Lemma learned his own lessons about loans and is now passing them on to others. He's the associate director of operations at the University of Maryland's Office of Student Financial Aid.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, in 2004, years before the recession hit. At the time, Lemma says, he considered student loans another form of financial aid.
Now, he says, students are starting to ask questions he had never considered when he took out loans.
"They know more about the loan process. So they want to know about not just [the] interest rate, they want to know about repayment options, consolidations, forgiveness options," Lemma tells Jacki Lyden, guest host of weekends on All Things Considered.
'I Was Very Naive'
Emmanuel Tellez wishes he had been more inquisitive. Tellez graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2008. He majored in English, and on graduation day, he owed about $50,000. That debt has ballooned to more than $70,000 with interest and collection fees.
He says it wasn't a responsibility he was ready for when he applied for school.
"When I signed my promissory note, I was 17-and-a-half. I was very naive with regard to my expectations," he says. "I knew early on I wouldn't be living high off the hog being an English major. I didn't know the explicit terms."
Tellez says he would have been more wary of the kinds of loans he took on if he had known, for example, that he would not be able to discharge the debt in bankruptcy or that the federal government could garnish his wages if he defaulted.
What Can Congress Do?
There is a legislative effort to ease some of the potential burdens, as the interest rate for some federal student loans is set to jump to 6.8 percent from 3.4 percent in July.
Congresswoman Karen Bass is proposing to cap student loan interest rates at 3.4 percent. A bill the California Democrat has introduced, The Student Loan Fairness Act, would also require the federal government to forgive loans up to $45,000 if the borrower has been paying back loans consistently for 10 years.
Bass says the bill is not an overall fix, but it's a necessary step.
"There are a lot of problems that we're facing in our country. We really need to rethink how higher education is paid for ? period. But until then, we really shouldn't pass this debt on to future generations," she says.
Moreover, she says, investing in education is essential for staying competitive with other countries.
A Bit Of Advice
Meanwhile, five years after graduating, Tellez is just trying to keep up. He has hired a lawyer to help him navigate what he calls the "labyrinth" of his private loans and has successfully consolidated his federal loans. Now he's chipping away at the total, paying about $500 a month.
Tellez, now a legal assistant/administrative assistant at a Boston law school, hopes future students can learn from his struggles.
"I tell my sister, who's now at [University of California, Berkeley], to be far more frugal than she imagines she has to be," he says. "One thing that I kind of had to learn the hard way is to scan all the documents you get and make sure that you have electronic copies because ... young people move a lot."
Today, Tellez is back in school part-time, pursuing a master's in public administration. This time, he says, he's learned his lesson: He's not borrowing. Instead, his employer is picking up the tab.
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
The 53rd annual Kiwanis Music Festival of London opens Monday and runs until April 26
The king of instruments is ready to sound a majestic chorus of praise at the 2013 London Kiwanis music festival.
Sixteen-year-old Kennedy Kimber-Johnson is among those ready to make the glorious 1908 Casavant pipe organ at Wesley-Knox church sing festival-style once more.
?It was fun. It was a lot different from ?piano Kiwanis,? ? Kimber-Johnson said this week, reflecting on her Kiwanis 2012 experience and the ?masterclass? touch to the competition. ?They showed you ? to help you play it.??
That harmonious combination of instruction, feedback and nicely played adjudication is a sweet sound likely to be heard again and again after the festival?s 53rd edition opens Monday.
Thousands of participants ranging from solo performers, like Kimber-Johnson and the few other pipe organists, to choirs and orchestras have entered. Organizers have adjudicators, 18 in all, going to schools in a scaled-down fest because of a teacher protest that?s left bands and choirs without conductors. The fest is facing a possible $20,000 deficit because there are thousands of fewer participants with missing school entries.
As the fest faces that music, there is still many sounds to brighten April ahead.
For the first time, pianists will compete for an award honouring the late Phyllis Anderson, a fine London pianist and longtime Kiwanis volunteer. Donations made to the festival in Anderson?s memory fund the award.
Also new are commercial contemporary vocal solos, a category shaped by ace London singer and activista Gina Farrugia.
Among the attractions for 2013 are two $1,500 awards for aspiring organists. One honours the late London composer Gerald Bales. The other honours an American professor and organist, Paul Westermeyer, an acclaimed American professor and organist.
Bales was composer-in-residence at Wesley-Knox church, where the Kiwanis pipe organ solos competition will be held April 17.
It?s where Kimber-Johnson studies with Wesley-Knox music director Karen Schuessler. The Grade 11, South Collegiate student will likely be heard at her church on Sunday playing prelude and postlude solos in part as Kiwanis preparation.
While singing in the choir, she noticed how ?cool? and ?challenging? that pipe organ seemed to be. So Kimber-Johnson, then 15, brought her keyboard skills as a piano student of Leigh Walter to Schuessler.
?She likes challenges and she likes complexities,? Schuessler said of her student. ?She has very good hand and foot co-ordination.?
A former youth soccer player, Kimber-Johnson has the strength and length to work the pedals.
Schuessler began studying the organ when she was 14 and is happy to see Kimber-Johnson start early, too.
Kimber-Johnson was fourth at Kiwanis last year. Her presence in the 2013 competition has been noted by one of her friendly Kiwanis rivals, London pianist and educator Mitch Rowat who studies with Paul Merritt.
?I would encourage you to contact a young member of the competition, Kennedy Kimber-Johnson,? Rowat e-mailed this week. ?(She) is much more photogenic than myself . . . (her) story, I?m sure, would be much more interesting to your readers. Why oldies like (me) are pursuing organ studies is perhaps much less mysterious than why a teenager would be.?
Mysterious? Just listen. The organ at Wesley-Knox can be played, well, ?loud? and it?s perfect for Bach at volume, too. That sonic world of loud-and-Bach is right for Kimber-Johnson.
The mystery to Schuessler is why more teens aren?t starting to fall in love with all those stops. The organ has the sweetest and most powerful roar and loud beauty of any majestic instrument. It also has computers. In the wired world of teens, wouldn?t the six computers in that 1908 Casavant reach the youth demographic, she wondered.
?I didn?t know it had six computers. I knew it had two,? her pupil responded.
Computers. Bach. The king of instruments, and ready to be heard at its mightiest and most tender. Played by a teenager who likes challenges and is undaunted by the prospect of competition with older souls.
Must be time for Kiwanis.
james.reaney@sunmedia.ca
Twitter.com/JamesatLFPress
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IF YOU GO
What: 53rd annual Kiwanis Music Festival of London, presented by the Kiwanis Music Festival of London Inc., assisted by community, corporate and city hall support, and three Kiwanis clubs of London and one in Tillsonburg. Hundreds of volunteers help the fest.
When: Opens Monday, continues to April 26.
Where: About 20 London venues
Selected events: Tuesday, 10 a.m. ? Class A secondary school choirs, Tuesday, 11 a.m. Challenge class secondary school choirs, both at Dundas St. Centre church, 482 Dundas St. (at Maitland); April 17, 1 p.m. ? pipe organ solos, Wesley-Knox church, 91 Askin St.
Special events: Kiwanis fest piano competition, April 24, 8 p.m., Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas St.; Rose Bowl, April 26, 8 p.m., First-St. Andrew?s church, 350 Queens Ave.; Pipes and drums ? May 11, 8:30 p.m., London Central secondary school, 509 Waterloo St.
Tickets: A $10 pass, good for all events except for the Stars of the Festival concert; single tickets, $3; admission is free for kids 12-and-under; programs, $5; Stars of Fest concert, May 28, 7:30 p.m., at Centennial Hall, $10, children 12-and-under, free.
Info: Call 519-432-5183; visit www.kiwanismusicfestivallondon.com
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ROSE BOWL PARADE
What: Details on the London Kiwanis fest Rose Bowl, where solo competition peaks at the traditional fest finale.
Prizes: The Kiwanis Club of Forest City-London awards $1,000 to the winner and Rose Bowl replica. The Festival awards $500 to each finalist, who are the winners from open solo classes. Rose Bowl winners perform with Orchestra London.
On the calendar: Pianist Denise Jung, the 2006 winner, guests with the Orchestra at its Pops concert on May 5, 2:30 p.m. at Centennial Hall. Soprano Karine White, the 2012 winner, plays the Pops series on Jan. 19, 2014. White?s Western Don Wright music faculty grad student recital is Saturday, 2 p.m. at von Kuster hall. It?s free.
Coming up roses: ?The evening of the 2012 Rose Bowl competition will always be a special memory for me! After a full week of class participation in the Kiwanis Music Festival of London followed by a night of performances by several talented musicians in competition, it was truly an honour to be have been announced the winner of the 2012 Rose Bowl. This win has opened many doors for me, as I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to perform as a soloist with Orchestra London in January 2014. With the bursary awarded me, I was able to pursue summer program opportunities to further my skills. I will be attending Opera NUOVA, a six-week Opera program in Edmonton where I will be performing the role of Gianetta in Donizetti?s L?Elisir d?Amore. This experience has also enabled program opportunities for me in Toronto for the coming fall. I look forward to participating in London Kiwanis again this year in the speech arts and voice categories.?
? Karine White
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Finance Friday: Personal finance resources to stash - Reynolds ...
Each Friday in April we'll share tips for tackling personal finance stories on any beat.
April is National Financial Literacy Month, and venues ranging from Congress to the local credit union will be featuring a variety of educational events aimed at improving consumers? money savvy.
In honor of the month, we?ll be dedicating this blog to ?Finance Fridays? throughout April, offering helpful hints and story ideas for reporters who want to tackle the myriad personal finance angles on any beat.? To kick off the first Friday of the theme, here?s a roundup of resources ? from non-profits?to statistical repositories to online primers ? that you might want to bookmark.
Locating experts.?I like the? non-profit?Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy; it offers a national and state-level perspective and experts.? For women?s finance issues, check out the Women?s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER),? while the federal government?s MyMoney.gov site includes primers on a variety of consumer finance issues; scroll to the bottom for links to programs for specific demographics such as military families?and parents.
The?National Association of Individual Investors can be helpful if you are seeking basic stock market and investing information for consumers as well as individuals in the markets; also check with the North American State Securities Administrators for market experts in your area.? When it comes to finding an advisory voice for stories, I prefer the credentials issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, and use can use a ZIP code search function at their site to find local experts.? The national Financial Planning Association also offers education resources and its numerous local chapters are another source of voices for your stories.
Don?t overlook area social service agencies, credit unions and even churches, many have budget counselors (or personal finance ministries, in the case of churches) that can help you locate real consumers to illustrate a specific story.
By the numbers. You likely already use the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis data on consumer spending, wages, income, wholesale & retail prices,?and the like.? If you?ve never called their analysts for personal assistance, bear in mind that they generally are helpful and can really help refine a story by suggesting data you?ve never heard of.?? And branch out to other agencies; the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Economic Research Service is a trove of data on everything from current commodity prices to how much of their income people spent on food in 1928.? The U.S. Census Bureau?is another gold mine; check out for example this statistical abstract page on banking systems; you can click on tables to find out how families historically used credit cards.
Bankrate.com is probably in your bookmarks already but if not, check out its array of financial calculators, very useful for running hypothetical examples to use in your stories.
Trade groups often are a source of consumer spending information; check out this Mental Floss roundup,??By the Numbers: How Americans Spend Their? Money,???which cites statistics from a range of groups like the American Gaming Association and the Romance Writers of America.
Loose change.??Call me crazy but I love curling up with the Internal Revenue Service?s Publication 17 - it?s the annual tax filing guide for consumers and aside from roundups of tax law changes, a thorough read?can produce stories from quirky or little-known tax law.? Loss of property due to damage caused by the family pet is not deductible, for example, and nor is the progressive deterioration caused by termites and moths?? Who knew?? But loss due to theft or being victim of a Ponzi scheme may well be a write-off, as would the cost of removing trees and even restoring your landscaping after a catastrophic weather event.
NPR?s Planet Money is bursting with useful and original finance-related story ideas you can localize.? And I adore? the Journal of Consumer Research from the Association?for Consumer Research; it?s a scholarly publication with?fascinating articles about topics like ?How credit card payments increase unhealthy food purchases,? branding, celebrity endorses & consumer behavior and other interesting research; lots of good story seeds in there.
Source: http://businessjournalism.org/2013/04/05/finance-friday-personal-finance-resources/
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