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HBAs: Why some are better than others

The storage chain is only as strong as the weakest HBA. Here's how to spot the strong ones.

This article can also be found in the Premium Editorial Download: Storage magazine: Are your data storage costs too high?:

The host bus adapter (HBA) is the Rodney Dangerfield of the storage area network (SAN). It gets no respect. An...

often unconsidered part in the deployment and adoption of enterprise SANs is the ubiquitous Fibre Channel (FC) HBA found in servers and storage arrays alike. But buyers beware: All HBAs aren't alike, and they are starting to incorporate some pretty sophisticated technology and features.

SAN connectivity
While SAN deployments today are frequently associated with fiber optic, the Fibre Channel (FC) specifications don't require fiber optic cabling. All HBA vendors support and provide copper connector kits that generally cost up to $200 less than their fiber optic HBA counterparts.

While copper connectivity may seem like a small detail, it permits an organization that lacks the finances or personnel with fiber cabling expertise to enter the SAN space. While copper is a robust solution, a copper deployment does have its limitations. First, copper has a 100MB/s limitation and there doesn't appear to be a current upgrade path for this technology. Second, it can only cover a maximum distance of around 100 ft., so it won't provide the same flexibility in distance that comes with a Fibre solution.

With the increased emphasis in today's environment to do more with less, HBAs provide a logical, cost-effective place to start. Every device on a SAN--absent the switch--requires an HBA. With most HBAs now sporting a retail price between $1,000 and $3,000, the value one vendor's HBA may offer to your organization over another may well justify the additional investment or savings, depending on what functionality you may need or want. But before we get into how they differ, and what features HBA vendors plan for the future, it's important to list what all HBAs have in common.

Most HBA buyers know they offer either 1Gb or 2Gb speeds (see "Decoding conventions"). They know that the HBAs have to work with the existing bus architecture on their servers and have to support some common FC protocols. Additionally, they realize that HBAs use an unconventional naming scheme, have an onboard I/O processor and understand how HBAs physically connect to the SAN.

Bus speeds
Another commonly understood design fact relates to the bus architecture of the server the HBA fits into, which is a prerequisite to buying the HBA because it has to be either SBUS, PCI or PCI-X. But what are you truly getting--or not getting--when you buy one of these architectures and what are the advantages of each?

The SBUS architecture was designed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in 1989 and was the standard I/O interconnect for Sun computers for nearly the next decade. Beginning in July 1997, Sun moved to the more commonly accepted PCI bus starting with its UltraSPARC computers. SBUS HBAs now primarily exist to support the many older Sun servers and their underlying SBUS architectures.

Currently, three vendors--Emulex, Costa Mesa, CA, JNI in San Diego, CA, and QLogic, Aliso Viejo, CA--support this technology, and none of the vendors contacted appear to have any plans for further development of this technology. In fact, the underlying SBUS architecture won't support the higher throughput inherently offered in the 2Gb FC protocol due to the architectural design limitations in SBUS, therefore additional development is pointless.

This contrasts with the current PCI architecture. While initially designed as a 32-bit 33MHz PCI bus, many cards now offer 64-bit 66MHz speed. The capabilities of this bus--even with the higher bit count and speeds--began to be stretched by the late 1990s by the increasingly high bandwidth needs of many of today's applications. While still prevalent, the PCI bus has rapidly been giving way to the newer PCI-X technology.

The PCI-X bus technology currently addresses many of the needs of today's high bandwidth, high performance environments. It's a 64-bit solution that can perform at up to 133MHz/s with effective throughput of over 1Gb/s on the server bus. As a result, it delivers nearly a 10-fold performance increase over the standard PCI bus. All HBA vendors included in this article offer a product that supports this architecture and should be backwards compatible with the older PCI interfaces.

Yet QLogic's vice president of marketing, Frank Berry, cautions potential buyers of PCI-X technology that this backwards compatibility with PCI isn't necessarily a given. He says there are two voltage levels which the PCI-X architectures operates at. If the voltage at which the PCI-X HBA differs from that of the PCI bus architecture on the server, the PCI-X HBA won't work.

A feature you'll find on every HBA and what gives an HBA its intrinsic value is its onboard I/O processor which offloads the block-level storage I/O from the server's CPU onto the HBA. This is the primary value of an HBA because block-level storage I/O activity is extremely CPU-intensive.

LSI Logic, Milpitas, CA, believes its adapters have an edge in this space, by providing interrupt coalescing, which can be tuned per system and application environment. By offloading the server I/O processing to the HBA, it permits almost any servers--regardless of its CPU capabilities--to join the SAN. This CPU offloading differs from network interface cards (NIC) which primarily rely on the server's CPU for processing the network traffic. While NIC manufacturers are currently working on what is called a TCP/IP Offload Engine (TOE) to simulate this functionality in HBAs, HBAs currently provide the most proven method for deploying this CPU offload technology.

Decoding naming conventions
For a newcomer to the SAN environment, HBA naming conventions can quickly become confusing. For example consider the 1Gb and 2Gb naming convention. Paul Spagnolo, an IBM field engineer, says it's critical to distinguish between gigabit (Gb) and gigabyte (GB). Fibre Channel (FC) protocols, he explains, measure their performance in gigabits, not gigabytes. Yet FC speeds are referred to in megabyte (MB)/sec. Why?

The current FC transfer speeds of 100MB/s and 200MB/s are arrived at in the following manner: FC uses a common encoding scheme call 8B/10B encoding. In this way, two extra bits are added to the 8-bit packet making the packet 10-bits in length. The 100MB or 200MB performance numbers are arrived at by dividing the 1Gb and 2Gb speeds by the 10-bit packet. Half duplex 1GB with the 8B/10B encoding scheme now becomes 100MB and full duplex 1Gb FC links could potentially support 200MB, if the application could support and sustain that speed.

While this may seem like a small point, this knowledge comes to bear when sizing performance throughput on the SAN. If one begins with the false design assumption that you have 1GB or 2GB throughput as opposed to 1Gb or 2Gb, you may be setting yourself up for bottlenecks to appear in your SAN design.

A more confusing concept in the SAN space is the naming schema used by HBAs, the World Wide Name (WWN). While it may sound confusing, it corresponds almost exactly to the Media Access Control (MAC) address found on every network interface card (NIC). The WWN is a hard-coded 16 character hexadecimal address that's unique to--and appears on--each HBA which is similar to the MAC address that uniquely identifies each NIC.

So why do you hear so much about WWN and so little about MAC? Simply because SAN technology has not yet matured to the point that LAN/WAN technology has. What happened in the LAN/WAN space is network protocols, and specifically TCP/IP, overlaid and virtualized the embedded MAC address to allow routing and a more intelligent, manageable network design. The MAC address still exists but TCP/IP masks the underlying hard coded MAC address and makes it transparent to the end user. While this sort of technology may emerge in the SAN space, it has not yet occurred. So the WWN term--when used--still does more to confuse the topic of SANs than clarify it.

So, what's the best HBA for your environment? The first key area of functionality where HBAs diverge is in their current ability to provide dynamic load balancing across multiple HBAs. One of the key areas of concern within SANs is high availability. To achieve high-availability requirements, redundant paths to the storage are deployed using either two HBAs or two HBA connections in a server.

Until recently, the only way to dynamically load balance the storage traffic across HBAs was to use a proprietary HBA driver supplied by the storage array vendor. While this isn't a problem if the server only utilizes storage from only one storage array vendor, it becomes an issue if the server has access to storage from vendors of different storage arrays concurrently.

How HBA products compare
Dual Port Cards
Quad Port Cards
SBUS Architecture
PCI Architecture
(32- or 64-bit)
PCI-X Architecture
Context Switching
Dynamic Pathing
Dynamic Pathing
Copper Connectivity
Fiber Optic Connectivity
Maximun 2Kb
Buffer Credits
4 64 16 16 32
Fail-over Software
Switched Fabric Protocol
Arbitrated Loop Protocol
Point-to-Point Protocol
*QLogic offers Active-Active but not by default

Load balancing
There's one critical question regarding HBA load-balancing capabilities: Is their dynamic load-balancing driver software designed to support an Active-Active or an Active-Passive configuration? In an Active-Active configuration, the I/O traffic is equally shared down both paths into the SAN. In an Active-Passive configuration, one card-the Active card-carries the brunt of the I/O traffic to the SAN while the passive card waits for either busy times or the other card to fail before it carries traffic. Although not every HBA vendor currently offers this feature, Emulex, JNI, and LSI Logic offer this functionality in an Active-Active configuration. Emulex released this functionality in late October 2002 in its MultiPulse technology. In addition to load balancing, the MultiPulse technology also offers instantaneous rerouting of traffic around a failed element and protection of application availability. JNI offers this function with their FibreStar and Zentai line of HBAs and LSI Logic's driver has the unique ability to actively load balance across as many of its cards as the host system can populate without restrictions.

Atto Technology Inc., Amherst, NY, plans to offer this feature in Q1 of 2003 though they're still debating between an Active-Passive or Active-Active deployment. QLogic offers the Active-Passive option as the default driver install though the Active-Active driver is available as an optional driver install.

The result of deploying this technology from the HBA vendor is that it may help to reduce or eliminate your reliance on your a single storage array vendor for your storage and their proprietary driver to deploy a dynamic load-balancing solution on the SAN.

Yet deploying the vendor's HBA load-balancing solution has at least two downsides. One, it may result in some loss of functionality that a storage array vendor's load-balancing driver may provide, such as Oracle database awareness on the storage array. The other is the lack of standards.

Another feature closely associated with dynamic load balancing is failover functionality. It differs slightly from dynamic load balancing because if one HBA or its path to the storage should fail, the other HBA transparently takes over without interruption to the application. This functionality is a requirement in any high availability environment, and should be considered a prerequisite prior to deploying any SAN solution in these environments. Again, when choosing an HBA for this functionality, exercise some judgment.

Currently most HBA vendors including Emulex, JNI, LSI Logic, and QLogic offer this functionality in their driver software for some of their HBA product line. Atto Technology will begin to offer it in early 2003. However, not all vendors necessarily offer this for all OS platforms.

Veritas probably has the most hardware-storage or HBA-vendor-neutral solution with their Dual Multipathing (DMP) software. It works on most major operating systems with any storage array and with a combination of different vendor's HBAs. However, in order to utilize this piece of software, you need other Veritas software running on that server, possibly diminishing some of the desirability of their solution.

For the OS side of the house, both Novell and Microsoft have a failover driver for the current releases of their respective platforms. The major Unix players--Sun, AIX, Linux, and HP-UX to name a few--vary on their ability to offer a native failover driver so administrators need to check on the version of their Unix OS if they desire to use this feature natively in the OS. For the hardware side, most of the major storage vendors--EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Xiotech--also ship HBA drivers that provide this failover capability, but the availability of these drivers varies by OS and only works when connecting to their storage solution.

In analyzing all of the solutions that failover and dynamic load-balancing offer, the hardware vendors seem to have more robust solutions than the ones provided by either the software or HBA vendors. The hardware vendors frequently offer the dynamic load balancing as well as the failover, plus some other nice extras for troubleshooting SAN and application performance problems.

Right now, no one source currently exists where you may obtain a driver that provides failover capability that works regardless of the OS, storage or HBA. You'll need a good understanding of the environment into which you are deploying it, so you can select the correct HBA driver to get the functionality you desire.

The ABCs of HBAs
A is for Adapter Fibre Channel (FC) HBAs support both 1Gb and 2Gb speeds. The main bus architecture today is PCI, although it appears PCI-X will replace it in 2003 while SBUS is history. Almost without exception, all HBAs shipping today support the main FC protocols. The HBA naming convention of using World Wide Names (WWNs) is usually initially misunderstood until one realizes that it's the unique identifier of the HBA. And when it comes to connecting to a SAN, HBAs may use either copper or fiber optic cabling for connectivity.

B is for Bias HBA vendors try to differentiate their products mainly by features and price. For example, Atto Technology Inc.'s HBAs generally lack cutting edge features, but cost less. Emulex places a high emphasis on HBAs that have features supporting the increasingly higher speeds and distances SANs cover. JNI places more emphasis on intelligent switching within the HBAs, while LSI Logic touts Interrupt Coalescing, which allows you to tune for system/application performance while lowering server CPU requirements. Meanwhile, QLogic has built more functionality into their HBAs to better manage the new protocols that already run on FC such as FC Tape and virtualization.

C is for Conceptual Some new technologies are emerging within the SAN space while others are fading into the background. InfiniBand is one technology that glitters but is no longer gold in the eyes of the vendors. WWN spoofing appears headed for prime time in 2003 which will likely prompt the rise of more security in the SANs as well. Adding standards-based SAN management capabilities also hits close to home with all of the vendors. Their customers are no longer just asking for this functionality but are in some cases demanding compliance with emerging open standards. Yet without exception every vendor sees this as a positive as they view this opening more markets for their products.

Data buffers
Another feature that's built into all HBAs but at different capacities is data buffers and the related buffer credits. Emulex believes the importance of data buffers has risen for three reasons: The speeds of the HBAs have increased, the distance data must travel on SANs has increased and more environments have more heavily loaded PCI buses. Emulex says that without a large data buffer, a heavily loaded PCI bus could force the FC link to stop delivering data until the congestion clears.

Since one of the driving reasons for FC-SANS was FC's ability to handle large block transfers, factors such as distance or speed increases and both need to be weighed if the HBA is deployed into such an environment. Here's where Emulex claims they have an edge over their competitors. They have built a buffered architecture into their cards that supports up to 64 buffer credits of 2Kb each, which is significantly more compared to another vendor such as LSI Logic, whose PCI-X chips only contain 16 2Kb frame buffers.

As SANs move to 2Gb/s, Emulex alleges twice as many buffer credits are needed to achieve the same link utilization since the data transmit time is cut in half. They believe this will only be further amplified as FC speeds move to 4Gb, and then 10Gb. In long-distance SANs, higher buffer credits are also needed to accommodate the longer latency periods between the time the data is sent and received. In these circumstances, buffer credits on an HBA may become a deciding factor in the selection of one HBA over another in these environments.

Context switching
JNI is the primary vendor promoting this context switching. They define context as "the processing state and data memory structure used to execute a SCSI or FC protocol command." This means that the header information of the FC protocol carries information about the FC frame and its content. This becomes important if the HBA is to intelligently recognize the frame header information and act on that information.

According to JNI, you don't have a SAN-ready adapter if it can't perform this function. JNI defines a SAN-ready adapter as one that can route a FC header within five to 10 microseconds. In order to route this header in that time frame, it actually has to act on the FC packet prior to receiving the entire packet off of the FC link. For an HBA to do this, it must intelligently recognize when a context switch takes place.

Emulex and LSI obviously see merit in this approach as their cards also utilize this technology. LSI's chips optimize inbound frame data flow by doing context switching in the hardware. Their firmware completes processing of the current inbound frame while the hardware reads the FC frame header and establishes the context for the next inbound frame. Emulex believes they have an advantage here because they feature the largest hardware context cache in the industry enabling the processing of up to 2,048 simultaneous I/Os immediately. By using their onboard HBA cache as opposed to the server cache, their HBAs minimize server interrupts, CPU utilization and PCI bandwidth consumption.

Future directions
What features can customers expect HBA vendors to ship next? At Storage Networking World in Orlando, FL, Brocade and Emulex announced they would be working together to deliver centralized SAN management and enhanced security by extending the intelligence in the SAN fabric to include both the switching infrastructure and the HBAs. The two companies also plan to integrate joint functionality into the switch and HBA and architect and implement the Fibre Channel Authentication Protocol (FCAP) to include HBAs. In addition, third-party software developers will be able to write to the switch and HBA through the Brocade Fabric Access API, instead of developing for the HBAs and switches separately.

QLogic says it will have multiple announcements about HBAs and virtualization as well. InfiniBand connectivity has been relegated to the back burner for now--QLogic said other (albeit unnamed) projects have been put in front of InfiniBand.

As opposed to InfiniBand, a hot topic for HBA vendors is the spoofing of World-wide Names (WWNs), which is similar to assigning a network or IP address to a NIC card. QLogic already provides this spoofing functionality on a custom basis and anticipate spoofing to be a routine part of their standard driver package sometime in 2003. Atto would only say they were working with OEMs on this technology, and LSI Logic said that if it did deploy this technology it would be at the chip firmware level.

While WWN spoofing has management and routing benefits, it also opens up a Pandora's box on the SAN, similar to what has occurred in the IP networked world. Since WWNs would be assigned with human intervention, a logical question to ask is what happens if a server attempts to connect to a SAN where it's using the same WWN as another server and, in so doing, gains access to another server's data? Depending on how your SAN is set up and what security measures are deployed, the results could vary from nothing to losing data.

When the vendors were asked about data encryption and what security was being built into the SAN to prevent this from happening, they all essentially pleaded the industry's version of the Fifth by saying they're bound by nondisclosure agreement. Atto Technology said they view security as very important and are trying to sort out what security should reside on the HBA. QLogic's and LSI Logic's answer was equally as vague, almost echoing Atto's words. All vendors except Emulex did cite it as important, and indicated they saw it as a feature, though QLogic primarily envisioned it as a feature in their iSCSI cards.

A role HBA vendors were more willing to discuss was their part in SAN management. The major open initiatives are SNIA'S common interface model (CIM), which is heavily sponsored by Sun, Microsoft's Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) and the Bluefin initiative being heavily driven by EMC and Hp. All of these forums are being supported and participated in by the HBA vendors contacted. But more important than just participation, the HBA vendors are adhering to customer demands to deploy these standards in their products. With the next generation of SAN management and security rapidly evolving, companies can expect to find more ways to manage and improve their SANs through the HBA: this seemingly unspectacular component of the SAN.

Web Bonus:
Online resources from SearchStorage.com: "Ask the Expert: Multiple HBAs," by Chris Poelker.

This was last published in December 2002

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New rules, new game for compliance and ediscovery

The updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure set new standards for electronically stored information, and may have a significant bearing on how your company manages its digital documents. Some of the country's top legal experts weigh-in with suggestions on how to create retention policies that can keep your company on the right side of the law.

This article can also be found in the Premium Editorial Download: Storage magazine: New rules change data retention game:

In light of the revised FRCP compliance rules, you may need to change your document-retention policies or face...

the consequences in court.

The updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) make electronically stored information (ESI) as important in litigation matters as paper-based documents. The rules now explicitly designate ESI as discoverable in a federal legal proceeding. "With 40% of corporate information spending its entire life in electronic form, ESI has become very important in litigation," says Tom Russo, a member of the Corporate Counsel Technology Institute at Widener University School of Law, Wil-mington, DE, as well as a faculty member at the National Judicial College in Reno, NV.

In addition, the updated rules state that data should be in the form in which it was created with its meta data. "We're now teaching lawyers all about meta data," says Fred Lederer, chancellor professor of law and director of the Center for Legal and Court Technology at William & Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, VA.

With paper documents, usually only the final version was filed and saved. Not so with ESI. "You might have 15 copies of the same document stored. Casual conversation [in email or voice mail] is now stored electronically and is considered a corporate document for litigation purposes," says Russo. "Suddenly, all this data is sitting there. The risk of discovery during litigation is great." Due to that litigation risk, adds Russo, a retention system that gets rid of data as soon as there's no business or regulatory reason to keep it is one of the most important things you can have.

"Our retention strategy can be summed up like this: Preserve data for the appropriate amount of time," says Robert Gerbrandt, senior project manager/legal at TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto. "That means keeping the right information in the right place for the right amount of time and not a moment longer." The bank has set up a cross-functional working group composed of members from the compliance, HR, legal, audit and business units to define its retention policies.

Retention policies are critical, but litigation changes everything. As soon as a lawsuit has been filed against a company or could be anticipated, the company is obligated to preserve all pertinent data. "At that point we have to preserve all the data. That means freeze everything," says Gerbrandt. "The destruction component of the retention policy gets interrupted."

"The biggest mistake companies make is to not store data [in the face of] a litigation hold or regulatory requirements," says Ronald Hedges, a former U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and currently counsel, litigation and dispute resolution at the Nixon Peabody LLP law firm in New York. Multimillion dollar litigation awards have been won due in large part to the failure of a company to produce the required documents.

Even when confronting litigation, companies can selectively follow normal retention policies. "If the litigation involves an employment issue and focuses on the actions of a few key players, you can still destroy other data according to your retention policy," says Martha Dawson, partner, co-practice chair, ediscovery analysis and technology group at K&L Gates in Seattle.

Cost of accessing data
The federal rules are fairly clear about making data available for litigation. But Rule 26(b)2(b) provides some wiggle room if the data is inaccessible or the cost of accessing the data is unreasonably burdensome. "The big question here is whether accessibility is reasonable or not," says Hedges.

There are no guidelines as to what constitutes unreasonable accessibility or burdensome costs; a judge makes the call for each particular case. Bruce Radke, partner and co-chairman of the ediscovery practice at Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz PC in Chicago, suggests three factors judges will use:

  • Size of the case. A multimillion dollar case absorbs higher accessibility costs than a small case.
  • Who's incurring the cost. Judges will feel large corporations can absorb much higher costs than individuals or small companies.
  • The relevance of the information being targeted. If the data is likely to be central to the case, cost probably won't be a barrier.

The interpretation of what constitutes accessibility or burdensome cost varies widely. "One judge told us that it will be four to five years before we start to see consistency and predictability in applying the new rules," says Radke.

CIO meets general counsel
The federal rules, particularly Rule 26(f), require that the parties to litigation meet early in the process to discuss issues regarding discoverable information. Furthermore, the parties, according to Rule 26(a)(1), must provide a description by category and location of all electronically stored information and its accessibility.

If nothing else, these rules will force a company's CIO and general counsel (GC) to meet and talk about ESI, storage systems and storage processes in general and then again whenever specific litigation arises. Radke recalls arranging one such meeting at a Fortune 100 client and then walking away with the distinct feeling that "the CIO and GC had never met before."

IT in the dock
In litigation, an IT person can be called to testify in one of two ways: as an individual with knowledge based on their direct experience or as a representative of the corporation. According to Rule 30(b)(6) of the FRCP, just about anybody (described in the rule as "officers, directors, or managing agents, or other persons") can be required to give a deposition on behalf of the corporation.

In that case, you're expected to represent the total knowledge of the corporation on the issue at hand. "The CIO and CTO have always been called into court to describe how information systems are designed and how the data is stored," says Radke. "Now you can expect to see more of it because of the importance of electronic data. IT people need to be ready." Specifically, IT people will be called on to explain:

  • Where, when and how data is stored and accessed
  • The safeguards in place to back up or otherwise protect the data
  • The structure, format and type of data stored
  • The cost of accessing the data
  • Policies and procedures related to data storage, access, retention and destruction

Key ediscovery terms

Adverse inference: The judge instructs the jury to infer that destroyed evidence would have been harmful to the party responsible for the destruction. This can frequently result in the sanctioned party losing the case. You can lose the case simply by losing data, not on the merits of the case.

Custodian: A person who has documents.

Document request: This is the basic tool used to take documentary discovery. Basically, the other side gives you a list of the documents they want to examine. To the extent that they're relevant and not privileged, you'll generally have to give these documents to the requesting side.

Document retention: This term covers the process of maintaining and destroying documents according to retention periods that were assigned based on the document content.

Litigation: This generally covers not only lawsuits, but government or internal investigations and other related compliance efforts. When a company gets sued or sues someone, or receives a subpoena or other official request for documents, there's an obligation to preserve and produce responsive documents.

Litigation hold: When litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable, the company must preserve all relevant data. A litigation hold is imposed on relevant information to prevent its deletion. Violation of this duty to preserve can result in a claim of spoliation and, ultimately, loss of the case.

Privilege: Protects a document from discovery or being used as evidence. The most common form of privilege is that of attorney-client communications. This can be a tricky subject, so you should discuss any potential privilege issues with counsel as soon as possible in the process.

Sanction: Penalties imposed by the courts or the governing body, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Spoliation: Deleting, destroying or withholding material relevant to a legal proceeding. Sometimes auto-delete policies can cause records to be destroyed without any affirmative action on your part. Spoliation can be subject to criminal sanctions or an adverse inference.

Rank-and-file IT people are often asked to educate the CIO or some technically clueless VP required to be deposed under Rule 30(b)(6) on behalf of the corporation. In that case, you'll have to bring the person up to speed fast because lawyers report that the initial meeting in which the discoverable data is scoped out usually takes place about a month after notice of litigation has been received. "The goal is to have this meeting as early as possible," says Lederer at the Center for Legal and Court Technology.

The revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also applies to existing mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and various Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. "The new rules [FRCP] are concerned with the preservation of evidence [and] ... about the access to data in the event of litigation," says George Paul, partner and chair of the ediscovery and data management group at Lewis & Roca LLP, Phoenix. "It is fair to say that the rules have raised awareness tenfold, 1,000%, among litigators," he adds.

Charlotte Bahin, partner, corporate department and financial services group, Lord Bissell & Brook LLP in Washington, DC, specializes in the banking sector and banking regulations. "Banks have a long record of good, robust records management. They have been storing and reporting data for check clearing laws, HMDA [Home Mortgage Disclosure Act], CRA [Community Reinvestment Act] and more," says Bahin. "The new federal rules are really an overlay of ediscovery rules. It might cause some people to rethink policies. It certainly has sparked discussion between IT, legal, compliance and audit, but banks are so regulated to begin with it doesn't have much impact."

Tom Gesell, IT director, TruWest Credit Union in Tempe, AZ, agrees: "The HMDA data storage requirements are minimal; same with CRA. We capture loan application data at application origination. It really is a very small amount of data," says Gesell. "Because we also sell insurance and investments, we do have to save email, which has big storage requirements. Both the SEC and Sarbanes[-Oxley] require us to keep records of correspondence with these clients. The federal rules don't change things much for us."

Basically, the revised FRCP have forced companies to figure out how to keep what they're supposed to keep and throw out what they no longer need. In addition, in litigation, companies need to be able to:

  • Identify potentially relevant material
  • Preserve that data and keep it from being deleted
  • Produce that data for attorney review and production to other parties
  • Release that data once the litigation is over; allow documents to be returned to their default document-retention status

No single solution fits all
There isn't a single solution that addresses the unique requirements of every firm because each company's needs and regulatory situations are unique. However, the first requirement for success in any corporation is to build a strong relationship between the processes of IT and the needs of legal counsel. With the revised FRCP, this best practice has become compulsory for most companies. IT and legal need to speak each other's language so that characterizations of the processes under which records are retained electronically, their locations and how to access them are understood.

"For organizations, the big change imposed by the amendments to the FRCP is its requirement of early meet-and-confers on ESI," says Jon Neiditz, attorney and risk management expert in the Atlanta offices of Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. "For organizations, this means either you have to be ready with this information or risk outsourcing its collection at substantial cost and substantial risk of missing some information store, with potentially disastrous consequences."

Unfortunately, it's rare in any company to have clear ownership of structured and unstructured data. When no single employee has information mapping as the central part of their job, it's doubtful that there's an established retention method or location for select types of records. This costs the company in several ways:

  • Time to respond. If your lawyers can't make representations based on a solid document-retention process, every case will become a full-blown data discovery exercise. Instead of knowing there are no documents on a particular subject because your policy states they're deleted after three years, you'll have to look in every nook and cranny in the company for documents that may relate to that subject.

  • Mistakes. A poorly implemented document- retention policy could cause you to inadvertently mislead the court when responding to a document request. If you don't recover from this, you can be subject to sanctions by the court, which can result in very bad (and expensive) things happening.

  • Trustworthiness. If you get the reputation as a company that can't do this well, you run the risk that every case will turn into a big forensic exercise because you'll have squandered the trust of the courts.

Clearly, there's a need for a joint venture between legal and IT to protect the corporation by implementing employee-awareness campaigns, and creating/ repairing/documenting data-retention, litigation hold and data destruction processes.

Getting it done
To change your company's current state of document- retention compliance, you'll need to brush up on your ability to influence others. The General Electric Company uses the following basic process, called "Change Acceleration Process," to not only turn the direction of the company, but ensure that the new path selected is strong enough to last.

  1. Prepare the management team or initiator of change to effectively lead. Many company directors and officers have short attention spans, so the best way to make an initial good impression is to use 30-second sound bites of critical information that matters the most to them. Be specific about the topic; for example, say "Regarding implementing the record- retention guidelines. How much can the business save? What is the risk of doing nothing?"

  2. Pick a sponsor with visible, active public commitment and support of the change. Try to get the sponsorship of your chief legal counsel or CFO; they're the best company representatives for activities associated with litigation preparedness and compliance. If this isn't reasonable, then find your champion based on their ability to influence the organization.

  3. Create a shared need and develop a vision and strategy for the company's forward direction. A high-impact method to change behaviors is to provide actual vignettes with painful outcomes to validate the importance and consequences related to the management of information and records. A daily scan of the front page of The Wall Street Journal often nets the best results.

The revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have only been in place since December 2006, so the precedent-setting cases that will set the direction for plaintiff and defense attorneys in the early stages of discovery regarding the determination of accessibility and authentication of documents are yet to be played out. The first case on authentication that attention is focused on is Lorraine v. Markel American Insurance Co., a relatively innocuous case about an insurance claim resulting from a lightning strike on a boat that would otherwise not merit a 101-page opinion from the judge; however, it establishes the first review of admitting electronic evidence and the following five evidence standards to be satisfied, according to a LexisNexis summary:

  • If the electronic evidence is relevant (Rule 501)
  • The authenticity of the information (Rule 901(a))
  • Whether the information is hearsay, including relevant expectation, if the document is offered for its substantive truth (Rule 801)
  • The original writing rule (Rules 1001-1008)
  • Whether the probative value of the document is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or other considerations (Rule 403)
  1. Monitor key process measurements. Most of us have a natural resistance to change. Far too often, great processes migrate back to less-efficient methods because no one is watching. Metrics have to be easy to access and understand. You'll know you've succeeded when the memory of the previous state is a bit of an embarrassment.

This was last published in September 2007

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Storage arrays: Avoiding integration problems

Storage arrays can bring huge storage capacities to a data center. Critical corporate data is protected by allocating some array disks for RAID tasks, and tiered storage matches drive cost, reliability, and performance against the value of corporate data. But the choice of storage array is not easy. Capacity and performance are still the most obvious considerations, but lower-end systems are rapidly expanding to include high-end features. When it's time to upgrade an array, or add another system to the data center, some advance planning can significantly ease your acquisition and integration issues.

Storage arrays: Avoiding integration problems

Selecting a storage array is certainly an important milestone in any data center upgrade or expansion plan, but acquisition is only part of the process -- you'll still need to take possession of the new system, get it installed in the data center, then provision the system and migrate any affected data. Try the storage array in your lab environment and identify any glaring compatibility or interoperability issues before purchase. Even when test results are positive, getting a new storage array up and running can sometimes become a daunting challenge for even the most seasoned IT manager. However, some forward thinking can make the installation as painless as possible:

Look ahead to necessary facilities changes. IT managers often forget that their new storage array will actually need a suitable place in the data center. This usually involves more than just "shuffling equipment". The new array must actually fit through the door, and have a spot in the data center that provides adequate power and network connectivity. An additional storage array may demand more cooling in the data center. It's vital to prepare a spot for the new array and implement any facilities changes needed to accommodate the system in advance. Changes may involve reinforcing the elevated floor where the array will be located, updating electrical service (e.g., more plugs or higher amperage), or adding ventilation for supplemental cooling (if necessary). Communicate with the array vendor and leverage their experience to ensure that you're fully prepared for a successful installation.

Don't forget about related IT tasks. Any infrastructure that supports your storage systems must also be scaled or reconfigured to accommodate the new storage array. "As capacities grow, the time to backup increases," says James Dobson, systems architect at Dartmouth College. He notes that a new storage array may require additional backup equipment (e.g., tape libraries) to protect the system with a reasonable backup window, RPO and RTO. Dobson also points to underpowered UPS (uninterruptible power supply) equipment as a common oversight, suggesting that a UPS may need to be replaced or upsized to support another storage array.

Anticipate the day of installation. Users and analysts all agree that advance planning is the key to a successful installation. It's important to communicate with your deployment team and understand who is responsible for each phase of the installation process. The trickiest part of this process is to recognize the role of your vendor, and have a clear picture of their participation. Know every step of the installation process -- including who uncrates the unit and moves it into place, who connects it, who powers it up and tests it, and who verifies its operational status. "One of the biggest errors is 'assumptions'," Schulz says. "You 'assume' that the vendor was going to include something, but the vendor 'assumed' that you were going to take care of something." This lapse of communication can easily cripple an installation. Schulz says that both you and the vendor must understand and agree on the meaning of "installed".

Don't oversimplify the provisioning and configuration. It's important to establish an array configuration that fits your environment. Dobson sees many users over-simplifying the configuration of their large arrays, often leading to unexpected problems. "You make one big volume out of an entire array, and then you find afterwards that the operating system (OS) may not support something that large," he says. Such over-simplifications often result in unusable space, wasting space on active drives, RAID drives and hot spares. Getting the configuration right at the start can reduce the disruptions involved in reconfiguring the array later. "Reconfigurations tend to affect the entire array," Dobson says, resulting in profound implications for the users sharing the array. Arrays also require an investment of effort once they're installed and configured. For example, corporate data must often be migrated to the new array, and it may take time before the array's value is fully realized. "Features like replication can be extremely difficult and time consuming to integrate," Foskett says. It may take time and effort to see the benefits promised by the vendor.

Make long-term plans for service. Consider how any new array acquisition will be maintained once it's installed. Know when to call for service, what you can expect from the service organization, and whether service is coming from the vendor directly or from a third-party service provider (some enterprises have serious concerns about third-party service providers working in their data center). Understand what knowledge your internal IT staff should master, and take the steps to provide them with that knowledge. James S. Tarala, CIO/CTO of Schenck Business Solutions, says that it's a bad idea to let the vendor "own" their equipment once it's bought. "Anything we bring in, I expect to have ownership of," he says. Tarala's array vendor worked with his staff, provided training on management utilities, helped with flash upgrades and performed setup tasks. Go to the next part of this article: Storage arrays: What is the best storage array?

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Case-Shiller Tiers: All Three Tiers Dipped in December

Let’s check out the three price tiers for the Seattle area, as measured by Case-Shiller. Remember, Case-Shiller’s “Seattle” data is based on single-family home repeat sales in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

Note that the tiers are determined by sale volume. In other words, 1/3 of all sales fall into each tier. For more details on the tier methodologies, hit the full methodology pdf. Here are the current tier breakpoints:

  • Low Tier: < $256,154 (down 0.7%)
  • Mid Tier: $256,154 – $408,283
  • Hi Tier: > $408,283 (down 0.9%)

First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through December 2012.

Case-Shiller Tiered Index - Seattle

Here’s a zoom-in, showing just the last year:

Case-Shiller Tiered Index - Seattle

All three tiers dropped slightly in December, following the typical seasonal trend for this time of year. Between November and December, the low tier fell 0.1%, the middle tier was down 0.2%, and the high tier lost 0.5%.

Here’s a chart of the year-over-year change in the index from January 2003 through December 2012.

Case-Shiller HPI - YOY Change in Seattle Tiers

The middle tier was the first to mark double-digit gains in December. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of December – Low: +5.2%, Med: +11.1%, Hi: +8.2%.

Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.

Case-Shiller: Decline from Peak - Seattle Tiers

Current standing is 38.5% off peak for the low tier, 28.4% off peak for the middle tier, and 22.4% off peak for the high tier.

(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 02.26.2013)

About The Tim

Tim Ellis is the founder of Seattle Bubble. His background in engineering and computer / internet technology, a fondness of data-based analysis of problems, and an addiction to spreadsheets all influence his perspective on the Seattle-area real estate market.

  1. 1

    Tim, I Like Your Blog Limit of 5 On Articles

    It contains the long convoluted “in-fighting” blogs and limits their inputs….great idea!

    And yes, the end of the year slump was 4.4% drop nationally…a month to month trending, but irrespective, such an unusually sizable deterioration, that its impact can’t be mitigated. I think it may be linked to the Sequestration fears last Dec; now hitting us again this month too….

  2. 2
    David Losh says:

    I got my redfin update about how great prices are doing in Charlotte North Carolina, and I was stunned by the price, and price per square foot.

    I understand the wage base there is very high due to medical research money, kind of like what Microsoft does for the Eastside, however $399950 for a median price seems high to me.

    redfin is quoting the Triangle area of Charlotte which contains most of the research facilities, but North Carolina is a big State with several economic issues, kind of the same as Washington, or any State that has a golden economic hub.

    Shiller has been making rounds on the talk shows about the economy to caution people about the exhuberance we are seeing due to low inventory. From what I read he is still saying that the foreclosure market is driving down prices in some areas, like for here it would be Renton, while areas like North Seattle see these multiple offers.

    So I can see how prices could show a decline the same as I can see how prices show double digit rises. In Phoenix they are comparing distressed property sales of last year to this year where short sales, and foreclosures are getting much better prices, so it shows a 20% increase in pricing, but it’s for the same crap properties.

    I don’t know what I would do really if I was a buyer with a family who had waited all of this time to buy something. What I do know is that I wouldn’t get too excited by the sales data, or what Case/Shiller was showing me.

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Thumbnail image for google-chrome-logo.jpgFrench vulnerability research firm VUPEN Security has demonstrated full compromise of the current version of Google Chrome on Windows, including the bypass of the sandbox, DEP and ASLR.

The attack was created by VUPEN and based on unpatched vulnerabilities found by them; they are not present (as far as we know) in the wild. VUPEN will share the code and the technical details of the underlying vulnerabilities exclusively with their government customers as part of their vulnerability research services (and, we would assume, with Google).

It works on all 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows. See the video below for a demo.


text:
Better Investing Through Leverage

 |  Includes: BOND, PRF
by: Morningstar

By Samuel Lee

In the years before 2007, there were two common attitudes toward fast-rising debt levels: complacency or greed. Many central bankers mistook what was really a symptom of illness as a sign of innovative fever, a new-era financial system that could slice, dice, and disperse risk to those who could best bear it. Banks, hedge funds, and households were borrowing oodles of money to bet that housing prices nationwide would never fall much. Lenders tried to eke out extra yield by investing in complex mortgage-related securities, and in doing implicitly made the same bet. Perhaps you remember what happened when house prices did fall. Unsurprisingly, many investors, brutalized by the financial crisis, see debt as an unmitigated bad thing.

It is not, and it never was. Investors are acting like a hungover frat boy who swears off alcohol forever after binge-drinking the night before. Like alcohol, leverage, in moderation, can make life a lot more pleasant, with few ill effects.

It's difficult to make a good asset-class-based portfolio without resorting to leverage of some form. By "good," I mean a portfolio that has both high returns and low risk. Phenomenally talented investors can produce results without leverage through brilliant security selection, but we mortals constrained to index funds cannot. This may seem odd. Leverage, after all, is supposed to make portfolios riskier--how could it reduce risk?

Start with the fact that the assets with the best risk-adjusted returns often have fairly low volatility. The most common measure of risk-adjusted return is the venerable Sharpe ratio (named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe):

S = (R – Rf) / σ,

where R is the annualized asset return, Rf is the annualized risk-free rate of return, and σ is the annualized standard deviation of R (more technically, R minus Rf). The ratio measures the excess return for each unit of risk borne.

In Exhibit 1, I've computed the Sharpe ratio of corporate bonds with different credit quality. As quality goes down (and yield up), the Sharpe ratio declines.

This is a near-universal pattern within asset classes: Higher volatility usually accompanies lower risk-adjusted return.

In theory, if you identify a high-risk-adjusted-return asset class, you can lever up that asset's absolute return to something more to your liking. Few investors do this for fear of blowing themselves up. Mutual funds can only borrow money up to the point where each borrowed dollar must be backed by three dollars in assets. Even then, most mutual funds choose not to borrow except in extraordinary circumstances. Many pension funds also choose not to apply leverage.

Modern Portfolio Theory prescribes that investors should first find the highest Sharpe ratio portfolio possible (the tangency portfolio), then leverage or deleverage it to achieve their return targets.

Of course, few investors do this. In order to achieve their return targets, most investors simply choose to own more risky assets. An aggressive investor is supposed to own more stocks and lower-quality bonds; a more conservative investor is supposed to do the opposite.

As a result, low-volatility investments tend to offer attractive risk-adjusted returns. There just aren't enough investors out there willing and able to short-sell high-volatility assets and buy low-volatility assets.

So what? No one reading this is going to go out and borrow money to invest in their portfolio (I hope!). However, investors can exploit leverage aversion by investing in funds that can safely lever up their portfolios.

Before we can talk about "safe" leverage, we need to talk about what makes leverage dangerous. It's actually not investing in something that goes bust. Most leveraged investors are aware of the danger and therefore tend to apply leverage to sure bets. What kills them is when they need to post collateral (that is, meet margin calls) at inopportune times, and when they can’t, they need to liquidate their positions at fire-sale prices.

In the late '90s, Long-Term Capital Management used a veritable mountain of borrowed money to juice many different "sure" bets. But when financial contagion infected Asia in 1997, and Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on its debt in August 1998, LTCM's positions moved against it, and the hedge fund found that its finely balanced portfolio, a labyrinthine construct of thousands of offsetting positions in all variety of markets, was knocked slightly off its fulcrum, leading to unexpectedly large losses. Sensing blood, traders took advantage of LTCM's distress by pushing prices in the opposite direction of the fund's bets, until LTCM was near insolvent and had to be bailed out by a consortium of banks. Ultimately, many of LTCM's bets ended up being profitable. If LTCM didn't have to meet margin calls, its partners would still be billionaires (assuming they didn't blow themselves up later on).

Other than cost, leverage is distinguished by its term and whether it's collateralized (backed by the borrower's assets). Hedge funds tend to borrow with daily financing that must be backed by collateral. Unfortunately, such loans are most likely to be withdrawn when the borrower needs it the most, such as during, say, a financial crisis. In late 2008, many funds pursuing generally safe arbitrage strategies, such as merger and convertible arbitrage, had to liquidate their positions at the same time to meet margin calls. This depressed the prices of their positions, which in turn spurred more margin calls.

The poster boy for leverage done right is none other than Warren Buffett. Yes, the man who said, "A long, long time ago a friend said to me about leverage, 'If you're smart you don't need it, and if you're dumb you got no business using it.' " He makes extensive use of a special kind of leverage, the prepaid premiums, or "float," from Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRK.B) insurance operations. Float can never be called away at the whim of a nervous counterparty. Even better, the timing of the payouts is unrelated to market conditions, so Berkshire doesn't have to stump up a mountain of cash just as the markets are going to hell in a handbasket.

Float is so valuable that many insurance companies will write policies expected to lose money overall simply for the privilege of getting their hands on it. The firms turn a profit as long as the investments they make with their float earn more than the losses arising from insurance claims. If you maintain rigorous underwriting standards, as Berkshire's operations do, float can be very cheap. If you turn an underwriting profit, the float's cost is negative--you're being paid to borrow money.

Buffett is quite the fan of free leverage. Another example was when he wrote put options on a variety of broad indexes. For large up-front lump-sum payments, he insured the puts' owners against long-term losses. These weren't your average puts. They, on average, expired 10 or more years out, and most importantly, had minimal collateral requirements and could only be exercised at expiry.

What has the maestro done with all this leverage? Invest in high-quality, low-volatility stocks and bonds. In short, high-quality leverage is cheap, doesn't require much collateral, and isn't subject to big margin calls at bad times. Obtaining it is a big edge and a big reason I like and invest in Berkshire Hathaway.

I think investors underappreciate good leverage. In the eyes of many, leverage is leverage, and it's bad. I agree that most forms of leverage are bad and that many leveraged investors are figuratively driving cars with a knife aimed at their hearts attached to the steering wheel. However, there are firms not named Berkshire Hathaway that can use leverage intelligently, and PIMCO is one of them.

PIMCO is a sophisticated user of leverage, obtaining it through swaps, futures, options, reverse repurchase agreements, and direct borrowings. Although PIMCO obtains favorable financing terms because of its built-up infrastructure and size, much of its edge is analytical. It has a Minskyan view of the world: Rising systemic leverage begets growth, optimism, and stability, begetting even more leverage, all the while making the inevitable unwinding of leverage more violent. An appreciation of Hyman Minsky's financial instability hypothesis allowed the firm to avoid taking on stupid risks before the financial crisis.

Leveraging PIMCO
How can one benefit from PIMCO's leverage edge? An indirect way is to invest in PIMCO's Total Return (NYSEARCA:BOND) strategy, which makes full use of leverage to make lots of spread bets. A more direct route is PIMCO's IndexPLUS funds. The funds use total return swaps, which require only a modest outlay of collateral, to obtain economic exposure to their target equity indexes and invest the rest of their assets in a clone of PIMCO Total Return. For each $1 of investor capital, the funds offer $2 of economic exposure ($1 in the index and $1 in Total Return), creating interesting portfolio construction opportunities.

The IndexPLUS funds can potentially be risk-reducing to a portfolio if 1) PIMCO's Total Return strategy produces positive returns and 2) those returns are relatively uncorrelated to the rest of the portfolio. Consider two portfolios, each rebalanced monthly. One is split evenly between PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 (NYSEARCA:PRF) and PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX). The other is split evenly between PIMCO Fundamental IndexPLUS (PXTIX) (which uses swaps to track a slightly modified version of the RAFI US 1000) and PIMCO Total Return. The only big difference between them is that one has twice the economic exposure to PIMCO Total Return. Here are their performance records, from January 2006 to May 2013.

Surprisingly, adding 50% leverage only boosted volatility by little over a percentage point while boosting return by 2.37 percentage points. What about risk reduction? Because the leveraged strategy's Sharpe ratio is higher, it can be deleveraged with cash to a lower volatility and still remain higher-returning than the unleveraged strategy.

This little bit of magic is the power of diversification. Over the period I looked at, PIMCO's Total Return strategy earned positive returns that were largely uncorrelated to the RAFI US 1000's. Assuming these conditions hold in the future (a big if!), the IndexPLUS funds' Total Return exposure can enhance a portfolio's risk-adjusted return.

Aside from the portfolio benefits, the leveraged funds create a tax arbitrage opportunity. Stuffing your IRA or 401(k) with one of these funds effectively doubles your tax-sheltered dollars. You'd want to keep the funds tax-sheltered anyway because they throw off a lot of income.

The institutional share classes can be a pain to invest in, requiring various tricks to get around the high minimums. And you are taking on a lot of PIMCO-specific risk. And they are a tad expensive. However, on balance, I think the funds are worth it.

Bad Leverage
I point to the PIMCO funds because I don't think there are many high-quality sources of leverage for individual investors, other than the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is still a steal at 4.5%. The leverage accessible to individual investors is almost invariably the bad kind: margin loans, leveraged exchange-traded products, high-beta stocks, deep out-of-the-money options, and the like. If you're buying something because it offers you leverage, chances are it's a bad idea.

A version of this article appeared in the June 2013 issue of Morningstar ETFInvestor.

Disclosure: Morningstar, Inc. licenses its indexes to institutions for a variety of reasons, including the creation of investment products and the benchmarking of existing products. When licensing indexes for the creation or benchmarking of investment products, Morningstar receives fees that are mainly based on fund assets under management. As of Sept. 30, 2012, AlphaPro Management, BlackRock Asset Management, First Asset, First Trust, Invesco, Merrill Lynch, Northern Trust, Nuveen, and Van Eck license one or more Morningstar indexes for this purpose. These investment products are not sponsored, issued, marketed, or sold by Morningstar. Morningstar does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in any investment product based on or benchmarked against a Morningstar index.


text:
Oil and Natural Gas: Ratio Explodes in 2009

 |  Includes: APA, APC, CVX, IEO, IXC, XOM
by: EconMatters

Theoretically, based on an energy equivalent basis, crude oil and natural gas prices should have a 6 to 1 ratio. However, due to various market characteristics, the price of oil has been following a pattern of 8-12X that of natural gas since 2006. Now, with oil spiking to its highest level this year and natural gas plummeting to a 7-Year low to below $3/mmbtu, the current ratio of WTI/Henry Hub price is close to 25 to 1, a historical high. (Fig 1)

Natural gas tends to be regionally based and is typically less impacted by external sources. Oil, on the other hand, is a commodity with global demand drivers; and along with gold, trades as an inflation hedge against a weakening US Dollar (click on chart to enlarge).

Natural Gas Prices Rooted in Supply & Demand

The domestic natural gas price weakness is rooted in supply and demand. Factories and power plants have slowed production because of the weak economy. The Energy Department reported that consumption of natural gas was down about 5% year-over-year in May. (Fig. 2, click to enlarge) On the supply side, a boom in domestic production has followed improvements in recent years in drilling technology, opening immense shale gas fields across Appalachia, the Great Plains, Northern Texas and Louisiana.

The industry is laying down gas rigs at a record pace over the first half of the year. Based on the latest Baker Hughes rig count, the number of gas rigs in the U.S. has been reduced by about 45% since last August. But production has remained high partly because many of the shale wells are new and just beginning to flow. In addition, there is typically a 3-6 month lag for production to really shut in due to the complexity of unconventional shale gas operations. In fact, natural gas output this year has been slightly higher than last year despite the sharply declining rig count. (Fig. 2, click to enlarge)

Demand & Inventory

U.S. crude and gasoline inventories are at the top of the five-year range. However, the current lofty crude price at around $72 a barrel has a lot more down side risk than that of natural gas in the near term, given the recent sluggish demand forecast by the IEA. The IEA forecasts oil demand growth next year to be 1.6% after declining 2.7% this year.

Natural gas inventories are also at 15-year high in any August month. The latest EIA Short-term Energy Outlook projects that total U.S. natural gas consumption will decline by 2.6% in 2009 and increase by only 0.5% in 2010. That means natural gas prices are not likely to rebound to the previous trading range of the last 5 years between $6-$8/mmbtu anytime soon, assuming no hurricanes or other events taking produtions off line.

Nymex Natural Gas Futures

The recent lows in the $2.70s is far from the projected price at the start of 2009 by most analysts of around the $5 level for the second half of the year on increased demand due to an improving economy. Currently, the December Nymex natural gas contract is the only month trading at the $5 level. October & November contracts have already been adjusted down along with the recent 3-week slide in the front month contract. (Fig. 3, click to enlarge)

It should be noted that things can change fast in the natural gas market. But still this weakness in natural gas prices due to poor fundamentals has caught many poorly positioned. And the losses have been severe for all with unhedged exposure to the commodity.

Ratio Tightening to Come from Oil

The total divergence between oil and natural gas prices, which is reflected by the unprecedented 25 to 1 ratio is unsustainable based on the factors discussed here. We should expect the ratio to narrow with most of the tightening likely coming from the retracement of oil prices to the downside. While it is difficult to expect a 10 to 1 ratio, some tightening towards 15 to 1 level could be in the cards by next year, depending on the pace of the global economic recovery.

Investment Strategy

For long-term investors, now is a good time to add some natural gas related holdings. However, since most of the commodities ETFs, in addition to market risks, will likely face the regulatory overhaul as discussed in “Natural Gas ETF Suspends New Shares: Are There Alternatives?”, a better strategy would be to invest in the natural gas E&P equities as well as ETFs.

Here are some ideas: Natural gas and LNG producers with international operations such as Apache Corp. (APA), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron Corp (CVX) are all solid companies worthy of a seat in any portfolio. And iShares Dow Jones US Oil & Gas Exp. (IEO), and iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (IXC) are two good examples for your ETF considerations.

Disclosure: No Positions


text:
A More Profitable Semiconductor Company Than Intel

Aug. 6.13 | About: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is a widely owned and followed stock that has engendered itself into the hearts of many. INTC was highly successful in capitalizing on the PC revolution showering investors with outsized returns. INTC, teamed up with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to form the famed Wintel combo that basically owned the PC market, much to shareholders delight. Alas, this is no longer 1998, and a new wave of competitors has emerged knocking INTC of its once mighty perch. The article below, will detail why Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) is a far better play in the semiconductor space.

INTC Total Return Price Chart
(Click to enlarge)

INTC Total Return Price data by YCharts

TSM is the first dedicated semiconductor foundry run since inception by Dr. Morris Chang. Dr Chang managed to grow sales from roughly $310 million in 1998 to over $17 billion in 2012. Notice the reference to 1998, a time where the Wintel dynasty was dominating the PC world. TSM taking advantage of its low cost operations in Asia consistently grew the business in spite of the fierce competitive backdrop.

TSM, as a pure play manufacturer doesn't actively compete against its customers. To me, this is a tremendous advantage since it allows them to service the widest range of potential customers. If we look at the roster of some of its clients we will see that it is basically some of the most dominate names in the industry. The list contains over 600 clients including Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Broadcom (BRCM, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). As a pure play foundry, TSM has captured 45% of the total semiconductor market as of 2012. To say the least, the market share number is very impressive. Dr Chang and his staff should be commended for their excellent performance.

I wanted to highlight a few excerpts from the July 2013 conference call that illustrate the difference between where TSM is and INTC. The following excerpts are courtesy of Seeking Alpha.

"Next, I want to talk about high-end, mid-end and low-end mobile product world and TSMC's position. Mobile products have been important in driving the demand in recent years. And we'll continue to enjoy robust growth in this year, as well as in coming years. High-end year-on-year growth this year was 18% -- or is 18%, we estimate, from 361 million last year to 428 million this year. Mid-end grows from 167 million units to 227 million units, a 36% growth. Low-end rose from 202 million to 341 million, 69% growth. So this year, we will see high-end units to grow 18%; mid-end, 36%; low-end, 69%, for a total smartphone year-to-year growth of 36%. We are uniquely -- as a foundry, we are uniquely positioned."

The above paragraph probably summarizes the huge divide that has opened between the two companies. INTC is desperately trying to gain traction in the smartphone market to offset the rapid decline being experienced by its largest market. The PC division makes up over 60% of INTC sales and is declining at over 6% a year. Not the most enviable position to be in. Notice, TSM is certainly not suffering from this affliction as sales are up quite briskly. To further illustrate how crucial the smartphone market is, INTC total sales in 2011 where 53,999 million versus 53,341 in2012. TSM had no problem powering sales higher as their sales jumped from 14,543 million to 17,116 in2012. The INTC bulls will counter with TSM doesn't have proprietary technology so their margins aren't as high as INTC. Let's examine the margin picture further. INTC produced a fabulous operating margin of 42.4% in 2011 and 39.9% in 2012. Excellent numbers indeed, however they are woefully inadequate when compared to TSM's operating margins of 60.6% and 61%. Simply put, for each sale that TSM makes they derive a roughly 50% higher profit than INTC. The next quote examines the capital expenditures that are made by both companies.

"Eric Chen - Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co. Ltd., Research Division

Okay. And actually, the follow-up with a question regarding to the CapEx, I just really want to know exactly why are you so confident for the demand. Yesterday, Intel announced they are going to cut their CapEx by...

Morris Chang - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Why am I so confident of the -- of what demand?

Eric Chen - Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co. Ltd., Research Division

The market demand and then your CapEx.

Morris Chang - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

I'm confident because I have usually been right."

Some might be put off by the brashness of Dr Chang's response, however it's not bragging if you can back it up. Dr. Chang's stellar track record speaks for itself. During the call he mentioned that capex spending will be roughly the same next year. This leads me to believe that TSM forecasts demand for their products will remain strong. The final quote expands on the capex and demand issue a bit more. The quote below is from Dr. Morris Chang.

"I think that we will have a much higher utilization in our capacity than those competitors, much higher. And this has happened before. When -- this impact has been happening all along in the last 15 years or so. While we always build capacity when we knew who our customers would be and at least -- we knew at least approximately, what they're demand would be, real demand, while we build our capacity on that kind of knowledge, our competitors often, often build capacity on speculation."

I interpret the above quotes as Dr Chang basically telegraphing a ramp up in demand for his company's products over the next couple of years. INTC by cutting capex and lowering third and fourth quarter guidance is simply not that confident in their prospects going forward.

TSM in my view has an additional advantage over INTC. The advantage is experienced proven leadership. Dr. Chang has been at the helm since the company's founding in 1987. He is intimately aware of the industry and has proven himself to be a strong leader. INTC has just appointed a new CEO in Brian Krzanich. This is Mr. Krzanich first shot as a CEO and he will undoubtedly have a steep learning curve to contend with. For the sake of the INTC bulls let's hope he has a short learning curve.

INTC does offer an advantage to the income seeking investor in the form of its higher dividend. TSM pays out a yearly dividend of roughly 3% which is certainly acceptable. I believe a significant portion of the investors that hold the shares do so for the quarterly check and maybe loath to switch to TSM for this reason. Both companies aren't consistent in raising their dividends with INTC going 5 quarters without a hike and TSM 3 years. Neither would be a suitable candidate for dividend growth investors.

In my opinion, TSM offers a superior total return potential than its rival INTC. I believe the oncoming steep ramp up in demand for TSM end products make it a compelling semiconductor play. Dr Chang's steady leadership should continue to shine through well into the future. Thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Disclosure: I am long AAPL. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Investors are always reminded that before making any investment, you should do your own proper due diligence on any name directly or indirectly mentioned in this article. Investors should also consider seeking advice from a broker or financial adviser before making any investment decisions. Any material in this article should be considered general information, and not relied on as a formal investment recommendation.


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Rubble Stocks - Cramer's Mad Money (6/6/08)

 |  Includes: CPRT, GFA, HEV, IART, IR, KO, WMT, XIDEQ
by: Miriam Metzinger

Stocks discussed in the in-depth session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV program, Friday June 6.

Rubble Stocks: Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Brown-Forman (BF-B), Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) and Integra Lifesciences (NASDAQ:IART)

When the going gets tough Cramer tells investors to get going and to look for bull markets. Friday’s action was the worst since March 2007, when he recommended four “rubble stocks”: General Cable, Chemed, First Solar, and Akamai. These picks increased an average of 16.4% a month after the drop. Cramer thinks picking rubble stocks will work again, and he choose Wal-Mart, Brown-Forman, Copart and Integra Lifesciences. Wal-Mart is still a great play on the declining economy and is cheap, falling 2.3% on Friday after the steady rise following its earnings report on May 13. Brown-Forman is a buy on a 1.7% dip, and the company’s international exposure protects it from domestic weakness. Copart is doing good business salvaging cars, and the company beat estimates by 8%. Copart continues to grab market share, to benefit from rising steel prices and is opening 10 to 15 new locations. Cramer would buy Copart on its 1.5% dip. Integra Lifesciences had a 22% upside surprise on Wednesday, and Cramer thinks it has further to go. The stock dipped 10 cents on Friday.

IR Makeover: Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR)

Ingersoll-Rand has been liberating itself from the vicissitudes of the domestic economy by getting rid of its cyclical businesses and making the strategic secular acquisition of heating-ventilation and air-conditioning company Trane. As a result, Cramer says “This company is almost completely unrecognizable from where it was a year ago.” IR is now a “new tech” name with solutions for food spoilage (which is at a shocking 40% in Asia) and energy conservation. Its new heating and cooling systems will be in great demand domestically and abroad, and Cramer declared IR a “triple-buy” even in this dismal market.

Speculation Friday; Exide Technologies (XIDE), Ener1 (NASDAQ:HEV)

Energized by the 4.6% rise in his May 21st battery pick, EnerSys, Cramer decided to recommend other stocks in the sector, but admitted they are a bit more risky. Initially Cramer was worried about recommending Exide Technologies because of its exposure to the auto industry, but the stock is up 10%, and Cramer thinks it has farther to go, especially since only one analyst covers it. Cramer says Exide’s lithium ion batteries are the future of the industry, and likes its overseas growth, particularly in India, where it has doubled production. HEV is more speculative, and has no products yet on the market, but should make an announcement by the end of the year. The company is currently producing lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars and has a deal in the offing with a Norwegian car company. Cramer urged viewers to do their own research before buying.

Mad Mail: Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Gafisa (NYSE:GFA)

A viewer asked Cramer if he should be bullish on KO because of the Olympics and Cramer says he wouldn’t use the Summer Games as a catalyst. Instead, Cramer likes Coke because, “They have the raw costs under control, and it’s a huge international company with a big buyback.” While Cramer is still bullish on Brazilian stocks he notes they have been punished lately but adds they are usually the first to recover. He would continue to buy GFA and other Brazilian names.

Seeking Alpha publishes a summary of Jim Cramer's stock picks every day including: Mad Money Recap, Lightning Round and his Stop Trading! Picks.

Get Cramer's Picks by e-mail -- it's free and takes only a few seconds to sign up.

Seeking Alpha is not affiliated with Jim Cramer, CNBC or


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  • NETFLIX REVIEW MARCH 22ND 0 comments
    Mar 22, 2012 4:07 AM | about stocks: NFLX

    I got a question about NETFLIX, so lets take a look.

    This is a one month chart looking at volume by price support. The largest volume/price range was tested numerous times, $105 per share. This level thus can be considered solid support allowing upside calculations.

    Stocks typically move in these intervals: Base x 1.15%, 1.25% and 1.40%. Currently, NFLX has moved 1.15% from base. It is a 1/3 probability that this move, from the base, is now completed; leaving open the resumption of the downtrend.

    If NFLX can take out 1.15xbase or $120, it becomes probable that the shares will reach $131, then $147. The daily candles have not given any sell indicator to this point, nor have we seen any volume resistance.

    Looking at a 1 year cycle, NETFLIX has just moved past FIB week 13, counting from the high in July. The next FIB ending date will be Fib week 21, week of July 20th. We can expect what ever trend NETFLIX is in, to continue into Fib week 21.

    Question: What trend is it in?

    Technically NETFLIX is in an UPTREND. Not pictured on this chart, but If you look at a 3 year chart and run a 200 day mva on it, NETFLIX has retaken the 200 day, thus it's in an UPTREND until proven otherwise.

    Now, here is where it gets tricky. Because NETFLIX moved from the high above $300 a share, almost nose diving to the most recent low of $65-this leaves 2 unresolved problems.

    Problem: 1--We are not able to count with any certainty, the typical EW 5 wave bear move into completion; there just isn't enough time lapse and distinctive waves.

    Problem: 2--Even though the shares have retaken the 200 day average (which is technically an uptrend), the retrace of the $300 to $65 range is well within normal BEAR MARKET retraces.

    We would expect the retrace to be able to do 38%, which would be $147, or 50% from the low, which would be around $170.

    Given that the retrace HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO the first target of 38%, $147, this is a fairly weak retrace. The current up move could be a 5 mini wave move to complete a standard 38% retrace, not a NEW BULL MARKET MOVE.

    In this light, IF THIS IS ONLY A RETRACE, it points to much, much lower share prices.

    The bounce off the $105 level with volume support was an easy set-up catch. The stock bounced 5-7xs before making its move, giving plenty of time to enter. The upside targets of 15%, 25%, 40%, again are easy figures to trade into. Which means 1/3 of the easy trade has now passed, maybe all of it.

    Was $65 the multi generational low of a lifetime or just the 1st leg down in a 5 wave bear move? This is the question that has to be confirmed beyond doubt, in order to take a long term investment into shares of NETFLIX. Right now, I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWER to that question.

    Given my expectation of a broad market pull back, the fact that we went into FIB week 13 declining, and the shares have not been able to retrace above 50%, which is $170, there is not enough clear direction evidence to risk being long, without proper PUT OPTION protection or trailing stops.

    I'm willing to set this out until the completion of FIB week 21, ending week of July 20th, before considering a position. This gives both the broad market indexes and NFLX time to sort out direction.

    RISK/REWARD ratio of possible $20 higher from here, verses $100 possible DOWN is just not favorable. The are better odds to be had somewhere else.

    Tim Kathlina

    Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

    Stocks: NFLX
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WSJ: Citi considering sale of retail ops in Japan

Amid a continuing push to pare back its sprawling operations, Citigroup (C +0.8%) is mulling a sale of its retail-banking business in Japan, reports the WSJ. The move would still leave the bank with its corporate and investment banking divisions there.

Since Michael Corbat became CEO in late 2012, Citi has exited retail operations in a number of countries, most recently agreeing to sell units in Greece and Spain.

Citibank Japan currently has 33 branches with deposits of $39B.

From other sites
Comments (2)
  • mphill47
    , contributor
    Comments (605) | Send Message
    This is great news. Going from "too big to manage" to a slimmed down ver is going to be a winning strategy for C.
    19 Aug 2014, 12:50 PM Reply Like
  • june1234
    , contributor
    Comments (4504) | Send Message
    Might as well. In 04 citing money laundering violations Japan ordered CITI to shut down its private banking operations in that country, CITI was also fined in 2010 and 2011 for doing the same thing there.
    20 Aug 2014, 02:56 AM Reply Like
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« General Haterade | Main | Adding Insult To (Very Poorly Acted) Injury »

March 12, 2009

All He Needs Is A Handlebar Mustache To Twirl

Let me preface my question by saying that I already know that the answer is "because the writers are incapable of depth, layers and quality" and, further, that I am aware that looking for reason in the choices that the All My Children powers-that-be make is a futile exercise that will only cause me pain in the long run, but I have to ask, just for discussion's sake: what the hell is the deal with David?

David Hayward has always been bad. At his core, he's a scheming bastard, but his schemes and his cruel quips and the fact that he is generally just a dick were always tempered by the fact that he was capable of being a caring human being I loved his relationships with Greenlee and Bianca, before hebetrayed Bianca by keeping the Bess/Miranda secret? Now I half expect him to start tying characters to train-tracks, because he is being written as THAT cartoonish and over-the-top (and also because being tied to train-tracks is one tragedy that has not yet happened to Kendall and, really, it's only a matter of time before the writers go that route).

He drugs Krystal and uses her grief over Babe's death to isolate her and keep her dependent solely on him, he pays Amanda to push JR off the wagon in some elaborate plan to get custody of Little Adam (and don't you love how the people who claim to love Dixie think nothing of ruining her son's life whenever it suits their needs? Funny how that happens), he forced Joe Martin to resign as Chief of Staff for some trumped up reason that I barely remember and probably didn't make any sense at all, he has deluded himself into thinking that he and Babe had any sort of real relationship that justifies him, like, setting Pine Valley on fire because of his powerful grief,he makes mean comments about Opal (!!!) and he's disgusting on top of it all

Tad:What did you do to Krystal?

David: Everything you couldn't. And even more.

Vom! I apologize for not being able to be more eloquent than that, but it's seriously all I can come up with for his story as a whole. Vom. Vom. Vom.

don't worry he is the new jerry he cause some problems and then get blown up. never to be seen again.

It's so frustrating because there's no logic to any of his actions or to the actions of people he's tormenting. Every time he smarms into Amanda's hospital room I wonder why she doesn't bring charges against his and demand another doctor? It's her right and she could have had his medical license 12x over by this point.

And maybe Amanda wouldn't testify against David but JAKE could easily testify as to his conversations with Amanda and her confession. Or Amanda could (and should) claim duress after David double-crosses her. It's just so STUPID.

I'm a big time Dr. Hayward fan from the past, but this latest incarnation is revolting and impossible to enjoy.

That being said, I got a HUGE laugh when he told Tad it was only a matter of time before he comes after Jenny. That was hilarious, and a tiny glimpse of the dastardly dr. Dave that I know and love.

They have ruined David. He is a joke and all I can seem to do is cringe whenever his smug face appears on the screen. He and KWAK are the most disgusting couple ever paired on daytime. I wish they would grieve themselves into a coma and never wake back up.

Wow! I just ranted this very thing over on another site. The truly sad part is when David first came on, he was arrogant and really full of himself and his standing as most cardiologists are. The really see themselves as gods in certain circumstances. In the hospital setting he was a bastard to Jake and Ally. He held smething over her and used it. He was mean but not mustache twirling evil. David was awesome in so many stories for so so long. He hated Vanessa for constantly taking rich schmucks for all they were worth and for tormenting his dad until he committed suicide. He loved his brother and even Maggie and Trey and anyone related to him in someway. He always loved Erica and Bianca and would do anything for them. The Anna Devane story gave him real huminization and then the libidizone story turned Dr. Dave into the evil mad scientist he is today. It was ONE concoction that he had worked on for forever and used it to screw up Tad's life. Soon after, Dr. Dave started sliding down a very convienient slope as the evil genius willing to do anything to get revenge. The writers could never come up with anything more clever than, David made a secret potion. Then the Babification happened. Yuck! It ruined any nuances the character had left. Then they bring him back and THIS is the best they could come up with? Really sad. This was never David.

This is just another example of how Babe ruins everything. I used to love David, he was one of those awesome villans who was evil but had a heart, then out of nowhere that skank was his daughter and he betrayed Bianca. His storyline is truly awful.

I have to agree with all the comments. Did you all hear his dialogue the other day with Krystal about all the fucked-up things he's done? It was something like "Sure, I forced Amanda to get JR drunk. Was it cruel? Yeah. Malicious? Sure. But that little twit is going to ruin everything." Anyway, it was something like that and it even SOUNDED awful. The David who took care of Bianca during her pregnancy wouldn't do that. There are remnants of the old David in his minor scenes with Kendall, but those are few and far between. Again, this show sucks!

I think one thing could save David: Kendall. As the previous poster pointed out, he's had glimmerings of humanity with her - and that's it. Now, I realize Alicia Minshew's awesomeness has been subverted to the ongoing need to give Ryan Lavery a story, but I think David needs some of her TLC, too - and I could actually WATCH the two of them without wanting to throw things or poke out my eyes with a spork.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Icon be Simple

I'm working on a YA book entitled "The Unibrow Underground." Throughout the book, the main character sees these cryptic signs of a solid line over the word 'eye'. These turn out to be signs from 'the Unibrow Underground." I've been playing around with the image, keeping in mind Saroyan's famous 'eyeye'. Also, Jenny Sampirisi's great Other Cl/utter site has some new work by Meredith Quartermain playing with reversed e's which got me to thinking.

I don't know if the urge toward minimalism or toward elaboration has a positive correlation with the Apollonian/Dionysian duality. Lately, I've been aspiring to create very simple iconic visual poems. Perhaps they have a relation to Asian calligraphy -- one single mark created with a single impulse, though in reality, my pieces are often not so 'of the moment', but are the result of tinkering. Not that there's anything wrong with tinkering. What is democracy but tinkering...

Chris said...

URGENT AND KEY: The Spanish for "eye" is:

Which always carries the sort of pun your first "eye" there goes for, the two eyes and nose.

gary barwin said...

ojo: like two eyes, a nose, and a bindi.

and in Polish it's oko, two eyes, and a nose with some nostril issues.

Chris said...

Ah! In Esperanto, it's okulo, which is... doable, but trickier.


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SETO offers guidance and consultation to Australian and New Zealand organisations wishing to enter the Chinese market by means of trade, investment, technology, innovation, commercialization and startups.

Shenzhen, your gateway to China

Welcome to Shenzhen

Read more
17 Oct 2016

China to launch Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft on October 17th,2016

THE Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft is expected to be launched at 7:30 a.m. today, which will take two male astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong into space.     The mission will be carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket, said Wu Ping, deputy director of China’s manned space engineering office, at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch C...

17 Oct 2016

Cutting-edge products grace innovation week

      A SELF-PLAYING smart piano drew a crowd at the Shenzhen Bay Inno Park in Nanshan District during the National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week that kicked off Wednesday.     The FindPiano developed by Etango, an information technology company in Shanghai, can be controlled by a phone app to play as if there is an i...

17 Oct 2016

Student innovations shine at carnival

      WITH the action of literally grabbing the words “2016 Shenzhen Student Maker Carnival” from a computer screen to a mega LED screen, a student opened this year’s maker festival for Shenzhen students by using VR (Virtual Reality) at the launch ceremony Thursday.     It is the second time that Shenzhen...

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Report from SBS

SZ companies among top 10 most admired companies

18 Oct 2016

THREE Shenzhen-based companies were on the 2016 list of “China’s Most Admired Companies” compiled by Fortune magazine (Chinese version) recently.     Huawei Technologies, a Shenzhen-based technology conglomerate, ranked 2nd, Tencent Holdings Ltd., a major Chinese Internet company, ranked 4th, and BYD Co. Ltd., a major Chinese n...

2016 1 Dec

Shenzhen’s bid to attract high-skilled talent

Shenzhen Municipal Government is currently adopting policies that will see the city be a leader in innovation for decades to come. In particular there is currently in place a range of incentives to attract and retain overseas entrepreneurs, inventors, and other professionals to Shenzhen. Incentives include rental subsidies, R&D funding, research transfer funding, innovation team funding as well as family related support.

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text:
Report: Boko Haram destroys 50 Catholic Churches in Nigeria

According to a Catholic priest in Nigeria, Boko Haram has successfully targeted dozens of Catholic churches for destruction.

Via UPI:

Boko Haram militants in Nigeria destroyed 50 of Borno state’s Catholic churches, a priest charged.

Is it good enough just to be informed? Consider being a partner in saving the lives of Christians in Muslim countries, click here for details.

The Rev. Jerome Ituah of Christ the King Catholic Parish in Kurudu, a populated area of the Abuja Capital Territory, made the accusation Saturday, saying he witnessed the destruction, Leadership Newspapers reported.

Look for the Islamic persecution of Christians in Nigeria – courtesy of Boko Haram – to increase.

, , , ,


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