text:
Malaria Fever

Malaria is a febrile illness characterised by fever and related symptoms. However it is very important to remember that malaria is not a simple disease of fever, chills and rigors. In fact, in a malarious area, it can present with such varied and dramatic manifestations that malaria may have to be considered as a differential diagnosis for almost all the clinical problems! Malaria is a great imitator and trickster, particularly in areas where it is endemic.

All the clinical features of malaria are caused by the erythrocytic schizogony in the blood. The growing parasite progressively consumes and degrades intracellular proteins, principally hemoglobin, resulting in formation of the ‘malarial pigment’ and hemolysis of the infected red cell. This also alters the transport properties of the red cell membrane, and the red cell becomes more spherical and less deformable. The rupture of red blood cells by merozoites releases certain factors and toxins (such as red cell membrane lipid, glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol anchor of a parasite membrane protein), which could directly induce the release of cytokines such as TNF and interleukin-1 from macrophages, resulting in chills and high grade fever. This occurs once in 48 hours, corresponding to the erythrocytic cycle. In the initial stages of the illness, this classical pattern may not be seen because there could be multiple groups (broods) of the parasite developing at different times, and as the disease progresses, these broods synchronise and the classical pattern of alternate day fever is established. It has been observed that in primary attack of malaria, the symptoms may appear with lesser degree of parasitemia or even with submicroscopic parasitemia. However, in subsequent attacks and relapses, a much higher degree of parasitemia is needed for onset of symptoms. Further, there may be great individual variations with regard to the degree of parasitemia required to induce the symptoms.

The first symptoms of malaria after the pre-patent period (period between inoculation and symptoms, the time when the sporozoites undergo schizogony in the liver) are called the primary attack. It is usually atypical and may resemble any febrile illness. As the disease gets established, the patient starts getting relapse of symptoms at regular intervals of 48-72 hours. The primary attack may spontaneously abort in some patients and the patient may suffer from relapses of the clinical illness periodically after 8-10 days owing to the persisting blood forms of the parasite. These are called as short term relapses (recrudescences). Some patients will get long term relapses after a gap of 20-60 days or more and these are due to the reactivation of the hypnozoites in the liver in case of vivax and ovale malaria. In falciparum and malariae infections, recrudescences can occur due to persistent infection in the blood.

Manifestations of acute malarial illness

clinifeaturesWhile most of the the clinical manifestations of malaria are caused by the malarial infection per se, high grade fever as well as the side effects of anti malarial therapy can also contribute to the clinical manifestations. All these may act in unison, further confusing the picture. In some cases, secondary infections like pneumonia or urinary tract infection can add to the woes. All these facts should always be kept in mind.

Typical features: The characteristic, text-book picture of malarial illness is not commonly seen. It includes three stages viz. Cold stage, Hot stage and Sweating stage. The febrile episode starts with shaking chills, usually at mid-day between 11 a.m. to 12 noon, and this lasts from 15 minutes to 1 hour (the cold stage), followed by high grade fever, even reaching above 1060 F, which lasts 2 to 6 hours (the hot stage). This is followed by profuse sweating and the fever gradually subsides over 2-4 hours. These typical features are seen after the infection gets established for about a week. The febrile paroxysms are usually accompanied by head aches, vomiting, delirium, anxiety and restlessness. These are as a rule transient and disappear with normalization of the temperature.

In vivax malaria, this typical pattern of fever recurs once every 48 hours and this is called as Benign Tertian malaria. Similar pattern may be seen in ovale malaria too (Ovale tertian malaria). In falciparum infection (Malignant tertian malaria), this pattern may not be seen often and the paroxysms tend to be more frequent (Sub-tertian). In P. malariae infection, the relapses occur once every 72 hours and it is called Quartan malaria.

Atypical features:

In an endemic area, malaria often presents with atypical manifestations

Atypical features are more common in the following situations:

  • Falciparum malaria
  • Early infection
  • Patients at extremes of age
  • Patients who are immune-compromised (extremes of age, malnourished, AIDS, tuberculosis, cancers, on immunosuppressive therapy etc.)
  • Patients on chemoprophylaxis for malaria
  • Patients who have had recurrent attacks of malaria
  • Patients with end stage organ failure
  • Last but not the least, pregnancy

Atypical fever: In an endemic area, it is rather unusual to find cases with typical fever pattern. Some patients may not have fever at all and may present with other symptoms listed below. Many present with fever of various patterns – low grade to high grade, with or without chills, intermittent to continuous, or even as cases of prolonged fever. In the initial stages of the illness, fever may be quotidian, with more than one spike per day and this is due to the development of multiple broods of the parasite. As the disease progresses, these broods get synchronised and the fever tends to be more uniform. However in cases of P. falciparum malaria and mixed infections, this pattern of multiple spikes may continue.

Headache: Headache may be a presenting feature of malaria, with or without fever. It can be unilateral or bilateral. Some times the headache could be so intense that it may mimic intra-cranial infections or intra-cranial space occupying lesions. It may also mimic migraine, sinusitis etc. Presence of projectile vomiting, papilloedema, neck stiffness and focal neurological signs would suggest other possibilities.

Body ache, back ache and joint pains: These symptoms are fairly common in malaria. These can occur even during the prodromal period and at that stage these are generally ignored and diagnosis of malaria is impossible owing to lack of peripheral parasitemia. They are also common accompaniments of the malaria paroxysm. Sometimes, malaria may present only with these symptoms, particularly in cases of recurrent malaria.

Dizziness, vertigo: Some patients may present with dizziness or vertigo, with or without fever. They may also have associated vomiting and/or diarrhoea. This may mimic labyrinthitis, Menniere’s disease, vertebro-basilar insufficiency etc. Rarely patients may present with swaying and cerebellar signs. Drugs like chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and halofantrine can also cause dizziness, vertigo, and tinnitus.

Altered behaviour, acute psychosis: Patients may present with altered behaviour, mood changes, hallucinosis or even acute psychosis, with or without fever. Malaria may be detected accidentally in such cases and they improve completely with anti malarial therapy. Altered behaviour may also be due to high grade fever or drugs. Antimalarial drugs like chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and halofantrine can cause restlessness, hallucinations, confusion, delirium or even frank psychosis.

In a study of 118 cases of malaria in Mangalore, Nagesh Pai, Satish Rao and B.S. Kakkilaya found varied psychiatric manifestations. Most of these patients were already on antimalarial treatment at the time of referral to the psychiatric service (unpublished data).

Feature (n=118) Feature (n=118)
Delirium 22 Organic hallucinosis 12
Organic catatonic disorder 4 Organic delusional disorder 9
Organic mania 7 Organic Depressive disorder 13
Organic anxiety 26 Organic dissociative disorder 2
Mild cognitive disorder 4 Multiple vague complaints > 7days 8
Headache >7 days 11

Altered sensorium: Patients with P. falciparum malaria may present with altered sensorium due to severe infection, hypoglycemia, electrolyte imbalance due to vomiting or diarrhoea (particularly the elderly), hyperpyrexia, subclinical convulsions etc. Differential diagnosis will include acute encephalitis, meningitis, metabolic encephalopathy etc. As a rule of the thumb, malaria should be considered a possibility in all cases of acute neuropsychiatric syndromes and in cases of proven malaria, other possibilities should be considered in the presence of papilloedema, increasesd ICT, neck stiffness and focal deficits.

Convulsions, coma: Patients with cerebral malaria present with generalised seizures and deep unarousable coma. Sometimes one single fit can precipitate deep, unarousable coma. These could also be due to hypoglycemia and all patients presenting with these manifestations should be administered 25-50% dextrose immediately. Drugs like chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and halofantrine may also trigger convulsions.

Cough: Cough may be a presenting feature of malaria, particularly P. falciparum infection. Patient may have pharyngeal congestion and features of mild bronchitis. Patients who have persistent cough and/or fever even after clearance of parasitemia should be evaluated for secondary bacterial pneumonias/ bronchopneumonia and bronchitis.

Breathlessness: In severe falciparum malaria, patients may present with history of breathlessness, due to either severe anemia or non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. Secondary respiratory tract infections and lactic acidosis are other rarer causes for tachypnoea and/or breathlessness in these patients. Patients with pre-existing cardio-vascular or pulmonary compromise may deteriorate or even die if they suffer from severe malaria.

Chest pain: Acute retrosternal or precordial pain may be presenting feature of malaria. It may radiate to the left or right shoulder tips or arms. It is due to rapid increase in the splenic size and perisplenitis. This pain may mimic acute myocardial infarction, pleurisy, neuralgia etc. Coupled with breathlessness, sweating and hypotension (algid malaria), the picture will very closely resemble that of acute MI.

Acute abdomen: Patients can present with acute abdominal pain, guarding and rigidity, mimicking bowel perforation, acute appendicitis, acute cholecystitis, ureteric colic etc.

One such patient presented with pain abdomen and vomiting with low grade fever, and on examination had tenderness in the right lower abdomen. He was posted for appendicectomy. Pre operative blood test revealed P. falciparum malaria and he recovered completely with anti malarials!

Weakness: Sometimes patients may present with history of weakness, malaise and prostration. On examination they may have significant pallor, hypotension, dehydration etc. Algid malaria may present like this and the patient may not have fever at all. Chloroquine is also known to cause profound muscular weakness and a new disease called macrophagic myofaciitis has been described in patients receiving chloroquine.

Vomiting and diarrhoea: Malaria can present as a case of acute gastroenteritis with profuse vomiting and watery diarrhoea (Choleraic form). Vomiting is very common in malaria and is due to high grade fever, the disease itself or even drugs. Vomiting may pose problems in administering antimalarial treatment. These could also be due to drugs like chloroquine and due to secondary bacterial or amebic colitis.

Jaundice: Patients may present with history of yellowish discoloration of eyes and urine. Mild jaundice is fairly common in malaria and may be seen in 20-40% of the cases. Deeper jaundice with serum bilirubin of more than 3 mg/dL is seen in severe P. falciparum malaria and is associated with anemia, hyperparasitemia and malarial hepatitis with elevated serum enzymes. Malaria must be considered as a differential diagnosis for all cases of jaundice in a malarious area.

Pallor: Severe anemia can be a presenting feature of malaria. It is usually normocytic normochromic. It may pose special problems in pregnancy and in children. Pre-existing nutritional anemia may be aggravated by malaria.

Puffiness of lids: Occasionally patients may present with puffiness of lids, with or without renal dysfunction.

Secondary infections: Malaria produces significant immune suppression and this can result in secondary infections. Common among them are pneumonia, aspiration bronchopneumonia (in the elderly), urinary tract infection, colitis etc. Meningitis and enteric fever have also been reported. In falciparum malaria, severe infection can lead to septicaemic shock (algid malaria). Persistence of fever, neutrophilic leucocytosis and focal signs of infection should always alert the clinician to this possibility of secondary infections.

Hepatosplenomegaly: Patients can present with enlargement of liver and/or spleen, tender or non-tender, with or without fever. Rapid enlargement of spleen or liver in malaria can cause acute pain in the abdomen or chest. Generally, organomegaly is noticed in the second week of malarial illness. However, in cases of relapse or recrudescence, it may be present earlier. Also, in immune compromised patients splenomegaly may be absent. In pregnancy, particularly second half, splenomegaly may be smaller or an enlarged spleen may regress in size due to immune suppression. Although splenomegaly is a cardinal sign of malaria, absence of splenomegaly does not rule out the possibility of malaria.

Combinations of the above: Patients can frequently present with various combinations of the above mentioned symptoms and signs, further confusing the picture.

This list is not exhaustive and malaria may present in many other ways. In all the above listed situations, patients may not have associated fever, thus confusing the picture. In some, fever may follow these symptoms. Therefore, one should not wait for the typical symptoms of malaria to get a blood test done; it is always better to do a smear whenever reasonable doubt exists.

Clinical features suggesting P. falciparum infection:

  • Presence of any of the complications of P. falciparum malaria viz. altered sensorium; convulsions; coma; jaundice; severe anemia; hypotension; prostration; hyperpyrexia; renal failure etc.
  • Atypical presentation
  • Not responding to chloroquine therapy within 48 hours.
  • Recurrence within 2 weeks.

Differential diagnosis:
Malaria can be offered as a differential diagnosis for a big list of diseases.
General: All other causes of fever, migraine, sinusitis, tension headache etc.
Respiratory system: Pharyngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, pleurisy.
Cardiovascular: Acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, left ventricular failure, pericarditis

Abdominal: Hepatitis, liver abscess, splenitis, splenic abscess, other causes of splenomegaly, subdiaphragmatic abscess, acute abdomen, cholecystitis, cholangitis, gastroenteritis, amebiasis, appendicitis, etc.
Central nervous system: Acute encephalitis, meningitis, intra-cranial space occupying lesions, stroke, metabolic encephalopathy etc.
Psychiatry: Acute confusional states, acute psychosis, mood disorders
Renal: Acute nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, acute renal failure
Haematological: All other causes of anemia; blood dyscrasias, hemoglobinopathies, hemolytic anemias, intra vascular hemolysis, bleeding diathesis, DIC etc.

Now you know!

Malaria can mimic anything and everything!

© ©BS Kakkilaya | Last Updated: Mar 9, 2015

Tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Malaria Fever

  1. Manuel De Oliveira says:

    Can low grade malaria be present years after supposedly cured, with no visible effect except low platelets?

  2. Jill says:

    Hi I suspect daughter of having malaria traveled to Punta Cana in DR in mid May. Live in CO having a X terms difficulty getting proper and timely testing 4 dr visits and 2 ER’s. ID Dr on call said without fever won’t find parasites will get net result. Suspect p. Falciparum. ID won’t see her until he has lab results won’t talk to us about time by of testing. Called multiple clinics, same story. Can we get reliable results without a fever? Sick 14 days thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
• H1 exports dip by 4.4% to $25.6B

    PHILIPPINE merchandise exports for the first half of the year went down by 4.4 percent to $25.6 billion.

    Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that aggregate exports from January to June were lower compared to the $26.7 billion recorded in the same period in 2012.

    For June alone, export earnings reached $4.5 billion, or 4.1 percent higher from the $4.314 billion recorded in 2012.

    Receipts from merchandise exports on a monthly basis, however, dropped by 8.2 percent from $4.9 billion posted in May 2013.

    “The positive growth was supported by four major commodities out of the top 10 commodities for the month. These are woodcrafts and furniture, other mineral products, metal components and other electronics,” the NSO stated.

    On the other hand, despite the 2.2-percent decline in the exports of electronic products, it remains the country’s top export accounting for 44.7 percent of the total exports revenue in June. Compared to last year’s figure of $2.051 billion, it went down to $2.006 billion in June 2013.

    Month-on-month, electronic products managed to pick up by 15.6 percent from the $1.7 billion posted in June.

    Furthermore, the NSO data also showed that exports of other manufactures followed as the second top export earner in June with revenue valued at $321 million; ranked third was woodcrafts and furniture with earnings amounting to $281.12 million; other mineral products ranked fourth with value posted at $184.47 million; and machinery and transport equipment with export revenue of $177.37 million was the fifth top export earner in June 2013.

    Other top exports earners for June were metal components; chemicals; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships consists only of electrical wiring harness for motor vehicles; other electronics export; and articles of apparel and clothing accessories.

    By commodity, the NSO data showed that exports of manufactured goods accounted for 82.2 percent of the total export receipts, and estimated at $3.716 billion in June 2013, a decrease of 0.02 percent from the $3.717 billion recorded a year ago.

    Other top commodity exports were: total agro-based products, $322.46 million; mineral products, $262.54 million; special transactions, $93.99 million; petroleum products, $89.37 million; and forest products, $5.40 million.

    The data further showed that Japan continues to be the top exports destination in June 2013 with revenue amounting to $985.15 million.

    Meanwhile, the United States was the second top market of the country with export earnings worth $633.05 million; China came in third with shipments amounting to $613.92 million; Singapore ranked fourth with $389.01 million; and fifth in rank was Hong Kong with export earnings worth $386.79 million.

    Other top markets for June 2013 were, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.

    Please follow our commenting guidelines.

    Comments are closed.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-143-241-238.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-39
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for September 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
• Hong Kongers oppose Snowden extradition

    HONG KONG: Half of Hong Kongers believe the city’s government should not extradite former US spy Edward Snowden, according to a poll published on Sunday a day after hundreds protested in his support.

    The poll in the Sunday Morning Post found 49.9 percent of respondents thought Snowden, who has dropped out of sight in the city after exposing vast US surveillance programs, should not be sent back if Washington files for extradition.

    The survey, carried out by the Center for Communication and Public Opinion Survey at Chinese University, found that only 17.6 percent of 509 respondents favored the move, while 32.4 percent were undecided.

    The poll results come after Hong Kong’s first major demonstration on the issue saw hundreds turn out in wet weather Saturday to rally in support of 29-year-old Snowden outside the US consulate and government headquarters.

    Hong Kong, a former British colony that retained a separate legal system when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has a long-standing extradition treaty with the US, but Beijing has the potential to veto any ruling.

    Analysts said public sentiment could play a role in the city’s final decision.

    “Public opinion in Hong Kong seems to be against the American government because of Snowden’s revelation of possible American intrusion into the computers of some Hong Kong people,” analyst Sonny Lo said.

    “This public opinion includes, at this stage, both democrats and pro-Beijing activists,” said Lo, head of Social Sciences Department at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. “If so, the politics of preventing Snowden from being extradited back to the US has already begun.”

    Following Saturday’s rally, the city’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying said his government would “follow up on any incidents related to the privacy or other rights of the institutions or people in Hong Kong being violated.”

    Snowden told the South China Morning Post last week that there have been more than 61,000 NSA hacking operations globally, targeting powerful “network backbones” that can yield access to hundreds of thousands of individual computers.

    There were hundreds of targets in mainland China and Hong Kong, he was quoted as saying.

    Robert Mueller, director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation vowed last week to take “all necessary steps” to prosecute Snowden, who has vowed to fight any extradition attempt.

    Hong Kong prides itself on its independent judiciary and rights not enjoyed on the mainland, and its public has successfully pushed back against unpopular policy in the past.

    In September, the government was forced to back down on a plan to make Chinese patriotism classes mandatory in schools, after thousands took to the streets in protest ahead of legislative polls.

    Beijing has not so far commented on the Snowden affair.

    Please follow our commenting guidelines.

    Comments are closed.


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Community Search
Member Sign In
Sign In securely
Spatially Speaking
MAPPS Events

1/28/2018 » 2/1/2018
2018 Winter Conference

3/13/2018 » 3/14/2018
MAPPS Federal Programs Conference

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorships Available for the 2017 Summer Conference.

Independent Consultant Member Application
Independent Consultant Member Application

Registering Your Firm onto the MAPPS Website

Thank you for your interest in membership in MAPPS.

To enroll, follow these simple steps.
1) Create a master account for your firm. On the next page, you will be asked to enter a username for the master account and to provide the first name and last name of the person who will be responsible for updating information about your firm. That person will be known as the firm administrator and will be given full access to your firm as it relates to MAPPS. The firm administrator will be able to add contacts within your firm and register them for MAPPS events. Suggestion: use part of your firm's name when creating the username. If the firm administrator is someone other than yourself, you will need basic contact information about the firm administrator. Not sure who will be the firm administrator at this point? Simply enter your contact information. Changes can  be made once membership has been processed.

2) Complete membership application.

If you have any difficulty or need assistance completing your application, please call the MAPPS office at (703) 787-6996 during normal business hours.

Continue to Next Page


text:
The Real Meaning Behind Olenna Tyrell's Confession to Jaime Lannister on Tonight's 'Game of Thrones'

The burn goes DEEP.

Warning: Spoilers about Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 3, "The Queen's Justice" ahead.

Fans were prepared for a death on tonight's Game of Thrones, but the one we got was not the one we were expecting. Grey Worm survived the siege on Casterly Rock, but only because the bulk of the Lannister forces were at Highgarden to take out the last of the Tyrells: Olenna.

Nana Tyrell has long been a fan favorite. She's always the smartest person in the room and she was always ruthless when it came to defending her family. One of her most ruthless acts of defense was regicide.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Back in Season 4, she conspired with Littlefinger to take out King Joffrey Baratheon, a crime Tyrion was accused and later convicted of. Cersei was convinced that Tyrion was behind the murder and their father, Tywin Lannister, oversaw his trial and sentencing. Jaime was the only Lannister to maintain any sympathy for Tyrion, helping him escape (on the way out, Tyrion did kill Tywin).

Basically, the whole situation was devastating for the Lannister family and the final nail in the coffin of Tyrion and Cersei's terrible, terrible relationship.

Most Popular

Jaime comes in to finish off the Tyrell line himself, with a poison that he promises won't be painful (much nicer than the alternatives Cersei had proposed). After she guzzles the poisoned wine, Olenna confesses to Jaime that she was the one behind Joffrey's murder and tells him to pass that news along to Cersei.

On the surface, this is the last of many burns from a woman who spit more fire than all three of Daenerys' dragons combined. But, more importantly, Olenna used her dying breath to plant a seed with Jaime, who now knows that Cersei's crusade against Tyrion was unfounded. Their relationship is already strained, now that she's gone full Mad Queen and basically betrothed herself to Euron Greyjoy—this could be the push Jaime needs to turn on Cersei.

Maybe that Mad Queen fan theory about Jaime taking Cersei out will come true after all.

Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.

More from Marie Claire:


text:
Best of the Week
Most Popular
1.US Paving the Way for Massive First Strike on North Korea Nuclear and Missile Infrastructure - Nadeem_Walayat
2.Trump Reset: US War With China, North Korea Nuclear Flashpoint - Video - Nadeem_Walayat
3.Silver Junior Mining Stocks 2017 Q2 Fundamentals - Zeal_LLC
4.Soaring Inflation Plunges UK Economy Into Stagflation, Triggers Government Pay Cap Panic! - Nadeem_Walayat
5.The Bitcoin Blueprint To Your Financial Freedom - Sean Keyes
6.North Korea 'Begging for War', 'Enough is Enough', is a US Nuclear Strike Imminent? - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Hits All-Time High and Smashes Through $5,000 As Gold Shows Continued Strength - Jeff_Berwick
8.2017 is NOT "Just Another Year" for the Stock Market: Here's Why - EWI
9.Gold : The Anatomy of the Bottoming Process - Rambus_Chartology
10.Bitcoin Falls 20% as Mobius and Chinese Regulators Warn - GoldCore
Last 7 days
BREAKING NEWS - United States Galloping Towards Nuclear War with China Proxy North Korea - 26th Sep 17
Here’s Why Turkey Can’t Stay Out Of Syria - 25th Sep 17
Hidden Gems Shows A Foreboding Stock Market Future - 25th Sep 17
10 Reason You Should Use Ridesharing To Save Money - 25th Sep 17
Commodities King Gartman Says Gold Soon Reach $1,400 As Drums of War Grow Louder - 25th Sep 17
Stock Market Mixed Expectations, Will Stocks Continue Higher? - 25th Sep 17
22 charts and 52 questions that will make you Buy Gold - 25th Sep 17
Speculation Favors Overall Higher Silver Prices - 25th Sep 17
The Advertising Breakthrough Revolutionizing Gaming - 25th Sep 17
Stock Market Forming a Reluctant Top - 25th Sep 17
Grid Forex Strategy - All You Need to Know - 25th Sep 17
Catalonia, Kurdistan, Patriotism, Flags and Referendums - 24th Sep 17
Two Key Indicators Show the S&P 500 Becoming the New ‘Cash’ - 24th Sep 17
The Felling of Sheffield's Big Street Trees 2017 - Dobcroft Road - 24th Sep 17
Advantages of Forex Trading - 24th Sep 17
Stocks, Gold, Dollar, Bitcoin Markets Analysis - 23rd Sep 17
How Will We Be Affected by a Series of Rate Hikes? - 23rd Sep 17
Fed Quantitative Tightening Impact on Stocks and Gold - 22nd Sep 17
Bitcoin & Blockchain: All Hype or Part of a Financial Revolution? - 22nd Sep 17
Pensions and Debt Time Bomb In UK: £1 Trillion Crisis Looms - 22nd Sep 17
Will North Korea Boost Gold Prices? Part I - 22nd Sep 17
USDJPY Leads the way for a Resurgent Greenback - 22nd Sep 17
Day Trading Guide for Dummies - 22nd Sep 17
Short-Term Uncertainty, As Stocks Fluctuate Along Record Highs - 21st Sep 17
4 Reasons Gold is Starting to Look Attractive as Cryptocurrencies Falter - 21st Sep 17
Should Liners Invest in Shipping Software Solutions and Benefits of Using Packaged Shipping Software - 21st Sep 17
The 5 Biggest Bubbles In Markets Today - 20th Sep 17
Infographic: The Everything Bubble Is Ready to Pop - 20th Sep 17
Americans Don’t Grasp The Magnitude Of The Looming Pension Tsunami That May Hit Us Within 10 Years - 20th Sep 17
Stock Market Waiting Game... - 20th Sep 17
Precious Metals Sector is on Major Buy Signal - 20th Sep 17
US Equities Destined For Negative Returns In The Next 7 Years - 3 Assets To Invest In Instead - 20th Sep 17
Looking For the Next Big Stock? Look at Design - 20th Sep 17
Self Employed? Understanding Business Insurance - 19th Sep 17
Stock Market Bubble Fortunes - 19th Sep 17
USD/CHF – Verification of Breakout or Further Declines? - 19th Sep 17
Blockchain Tech: Don't Say You Didn't Know - 19th Sep 17
The Fed’s 2% Inflation Target Is Pointless - 19th Sep 17
How To Resolve the Korean Conundrum  - 19th Sep 17
A World Doomed to a Never Ending War - 19th Sep 17
What is Backtesting? And Why You Need Backtesting System? - 19th Sep 17

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

3 Videos + 8 Charts = Opportunities You Need to See - Free

The Money Panic - US Banks Huge Exposures To Credit Risk

Stock-Markets / Financial Crash Dec 04, 2007 - 02:26 AM GMT

By: Money_and_Markets

Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleMartin Weiss writes: With credit markets sinking into deeper turmoil ...

With more severe losses spreading to a wider range of financial institutions ...

And with the Fed's rate cuts thus far failing to stem the crisis ...

We are coming dangerously close to a money panic.

Few Wall Street analysts are talking about this in public. Fewer still understand its potential consequences. Many don't even know what a money panic is. But historians do. They realize that ...

A money panic is a stampede from greed to fear, risk to safety, buying to selling. Once set into motion, it can spin out of control, feeding on itself, wrecking havoc in financial markets.

Moreover, the data I'll share with you in this in-depth issue shows that, if not averted, a money panic could ...

  • Threaten the solvency of major Wall Street firms like Bear Sterns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley.
  • Increase the risk of future failure among large banks like Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase or Wachovia.
  • Even force certain kinds of money market funds to break their solemn process of preserving your capital.

No one can predict the future. But right now, the panic is already spreading from big brokers and banks to local governments and a few money market funds. Just last week, for example:

  • Florida's Local Government Investment Pool , a fund for local Florida governments, was frozen to stop a rush of withdrawals by panicked investors. Until recently, the fund had $27 billion. Last month, it fell to $15 billion due to mortgage-related losses and mass withdrawals. And on Thursday morning alone, before Florida slapped the freeze on withdrawals, the fund lost $3.5 billion!
  • Montana's school districts, cities and counties withdrew $247 million from the state's $2.4 billion investment fund after officials said the rating on one of the pool's holdings was lowered to "default" level.
  • Countrywide Financial caused more shock waves. One week ago, I explained why I believe the company is on a collision course with bankruptcy. ( Click here for the details. ) Now, we learn that state funds like Florida's may have substantial investments in the company's banking subsidiary, downgraded in August and likely to be downgraded again.

Even certain money funds, thought to be safe from the turmoil, have felt repercussions. Bloomberg's David Evans puts it this way:

"Unbeknownst to most investors, some of the largest money market funds today are putting part of their cash into one of the riskiest debt instruments in the world: collaterized debt obligations (CDOs) backed by subprime mortgage loans ...

"U.S. money market funds run by Bank of America Corp., Credit Suisse Group, Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley held more than $6 billion of CDOs with subprime debt in June, according to fund managers and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Money market funds with total assets of $300 billion have invested in subprime debt this year."

Some examples cited by Bloomberg:

  • The Credit Suisse Group Institutional Money Market Fund Prime Portfolio held 8% of its $22.8 billion of assets in commercial paper secured by subprime home loans as of June 30.
  • Two AIM money market funds owned $2.64 billion of CDO commercial paper that was invested in subprime debt, also in June.
  • Fidelity Investments , the world's biggest mutual fund company, owned $2.3 billion in CDO-issued commercial paper in two money market funds as of May 31.
  • Fidelity Cash Reserves Fund , the biggest money market fund in the U.S., had 1.5% of its $98.2 billion of assets invested in CDO commercial paper backed by subprime debt.
  • The Fidelity Institutional Money Market Portfolio had 2.3% of its $32.3 billion in assets such as commercial paper.
  • Federated Investors , the third-largest U.S. manager of money market funds, had seven money market funds with a total of more than $1 billion of commercial paper issued by Bear Stearns-managed CDOs at the end of June.
  • Bank of America's Columbia Cash Reserves and Columbia Money Market Reserves funds owned more than $600 million of Bear Stearns' CDOs. And ...
  • Wells Fargo runs three money market funds which held a total of $1.5 billion in CDO commercial paper, also on June 30.

To their credit, some of these funds have since trimmed their riskier holdings. But the above list barely scratches the surface. Looking ahead, money funds like these will either ...

(a) have to dump their mortgage-backed securities, driving down the market value of those investments even further. Or worse ...

(b) get stuck with these sinking investments and let their own shares break below the $1-per-share price that's mandatory for a money fund's survival.

Right now, the companies that manage the money funds are stepping in to inject capital and prevent this potentially disastrous break-the-buck scenario. But they are under no legal obligation to do so. And if they don't ... that's when you could see a full-fledged money panic unfold.

In a moment, I'll name some money funds that are not vulnerable. But first, let me explain why I believe this particular panic is so unique.

Close Encounters with a Panic of the Third Kind

I first began studying the history of financial panics nearly four decades ago, when I was an undergraduate at New York University.

I learned about the panics of 1833, 1837 and 1857, which were the result of speculative land booms stimulated by the westward advance of the nation's first railroads.

I studied the panic of 1901, the outcome of a battle to corner the stock market and take over the Northern Pacific Railroad.

I delved into the "rich man's panic" of 1907, which followed a boom in corporate mergers ... the 1920-21 panic precipitated by the liquidation of excess business inventories ... plus the 1929 panic that came with the unraveling of a huge stock market pyramid built by brokers, banks, industrial tycoons and speculators.

And from my graduate student dorm at Columbia University, I even published a book dedicated to this subject.

I found that history has brought us two kinds of panics:

1. Panics brought on by a collapse of assets with liquid markets — such as stocks, bonds and certain commodities.

2. Panics caused mostly by the collapse of assets without liquid markets — such as business inventories, land or locomotives.

Today, there's no evidence that these 19th or 20th century-type panics will be repeated. Too much — especially the active intervention of central banks — has changed since then. But there is abundant evidence that we are now experiencing close encounters with a money panic of a third kind.

Indeed, according to banking regulators, there are three kinds of assets in the world:

Level One assets are actively traded. You can know exactly how much they're worth based simply on their price in the open market.

Level Two assets are not actively traded. But they're similar enough to actively traded assets to give you a reasonable estimate of their value.

Level Three assets are the most slippery. In addition to having no active market, they're so unique, there's no reliable way to estimate their true value. Instead, all that banks and regulators can do is guess. And the only tools they have to support their guesswork are unproven mathematical formulas.

Here's the key:

The money panic brewing today is driven largely by this third kind of asset — derivatives of questionable value that were artificially created by Wall Street brokers, officially sanctioned by Washington regulators, and falsely rated by Wall Street rating agencies .

These are the sinking assets that are hitting the big Wall Street firms ... panicking investors in Florida and Montana ... even threatening some money market funds.

The irony:

Everyone finally recognizes that these assets are collapsing. But since there's no way of measuring their value until after they're dumped on the market, no one can possibly know how bad that collapse really is until it's too late.

Think of it this way: You own General Motors. You check its share price daily. And you see it's sinking in value. You may decide to tolerate the loss and continue to monitor the situation closely. Or you may decide to cut your loss and get out. Either way, at least you know how much damage it's doing to your portfolio.

But now, let's say you own some of these hard-to-name, impossible-to-value CDOs that are causing so much grief to investors today. You can't find it on the Web. You can't ask your broker what's happening. The only way you can determine its value is to take the plunge and dump it on the market at whatever price it'll fetch.

That's the situation investors are facing with level three assets right now:

Thousands of local governments, banks and individuals have no idea of exactly when, where or how much they're losing. And it is this unusual level of uncertainty that's creating the conditions for a money panic.

What about the Treasury's efforts to freeze that rate of interest on these investments in order to help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure? That just adds still more uncertainty, throwing not only the value but also the yield on these securities into question.

Look. I've been screaming "Bloody murder!" about these assets since they were first created. My father did the same before me. But no one would listen. And now, I'm concerned that it could be too late.

Some of Wall Street's Largest Firms Have More Level Three Assets Than They Have Capital

Specifically, according to data compiled by the Financial Times :

Merrill Lynch has $27.2 billion in level three assets, the equivalent of 70% of its stockholders' equity. In other words, for each $1 of its capital, Merrill has 70 cents in assets of questionable and uncertain value.

Goldman Sachs has $51 billion in level three assets, or 130% of its equity.

Bear Sterns has sunk its balance sheet even deeper into the level-three-asset hole, with $20.2 billion, 155% of its equity.

Lehman Brothers is in a similar situation — $34.7 billion, or 160% of its equity. And ...

Morgan Stanley tops them all with $88.2 billion in level three assets, or 250% of its capital. That's an unwieldy $2.50 cents in level three assets for each dollar of capital. It implies that, in the absence of new capital infusions, all it would take is a 40% loss — and Morgan Stanley's capital could be 100% wiped out.

Bottom line: The huge Wall Street write-downs you've heard about to date — among the largest in history — could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Major U.S. Banks Are Also Overloaded With Derivatives

Derivatives are bets — sometimes good bets, sometimes bad ones. And the mortgage-backed securities that are ground zero of this crisis are also derivatives. But they're not the only derivatives that could be vulnerable.

My forecast: There are two kinds of derivatives that I believe could be directly impacted by a money panic:

  • Interest-rate derivatives. If you think interest rates are going down, you could use these to take one side of the bet. If you think rates are going up, you could use them to take the other side.
  • Credit-swap derivatives. If you think a particular borrower is relatively secure, you'd use these to take one side of the bet. Or if you think the borrower is likely to default, you'd take the other side.

The worrisome reality, according to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC):

The rate of growth in these derivatives has been explosive.

At the end of 1994, the total "notional" value of interest-rate and credit derivatives held by U.S. banks was $9.9 trillion. And at the time, I thought that was a lot.

But as of the latest reckoning (June 30, 2007), it was $135.1 trillion, or 13.6 times more!

That's a growth of 1,260% in a huge-but-esoteric investment area that I think could be at the core of a money panic.

And it gets worse:

All told, there are 968 U.S. commercial banks that invest in derivatives. But among them, 963 banks hold a meager 1.5% of all the interest-rate and credit derivatives in America.

In contrast, just five banks hold an amazingly large 98.5% of all the interest-rate and credit derivatives.

From all my studies of history, I find that to be the worst concentration of risk of all time.

The five banks: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wachovia and HSBC. How much risk are they taking? No one knows for sure. But therein lies one of the primary problems.

Yes, we know that not all derivatives are risky.

And yes, we know that the huge "notional" values of the derivatives can overstate their size.

But we also know that the formulas and models used to evaluate their risk levels may not hold up under panicky market conditions.

So although most derivatives can be accurately priced right now, they may be impossible to price in a money panic, much like level three assets.

Huge Exposures To Credit Risk

Helping to cut through some of the uncertainty, the OCC evaluates the credit exposure of each U.S. bank holding derivatives. In other words, it asks the question:

Regardless of whether the bet is a win or a loss, what happens if the investor on the other side of the bet doesn't pay up?

In normal times, such payment defaults are rare. So this is largely a theoretical question. But in a money panic, when markets can go haywire and available cash financing can suddenly dry up, a chain reaction of defaults could make this a very urgent and practical question.

Here are the answers, according to OCC data:

Overall, including all types of derivatives ...

Wachovia has credit exposure that's equivalent to 89% of its capital. In other words, if all of its counterparties defaulted on their bets with Wachovia, nearly nine-tenths of its capital would be wiped out.

Bank of America is exposed to the tune of 99% of its capital. Assuming no capital infusions, it could be virtually wiped out in an extreme money panic scenario.

And at three banks, the panic would not have to be quite that extreme:

  • Citibank has 292% of its capital exposed to this kind of credit risk.
  • JPMorgan Chase has 387% of its capital exposed.
  • HSBC beats them all with an exposure of 388% of its capital. That means that even if its counterparties defaulted on just 26% of their bets, its capital could be wiped out.

Now, remember what I told you about level three assets — that they don't have a regular place to trade.

Well, we could say something similar about the overwhelming majority of derivatives: They are not traded on regulated exchanges. Rather, they are traded over the counter, based on individually negotiated contracts.

In other words, if there's a default, the parties have to work through it directly, one on one. Exchange authorities are not going to step in to help manage the crisis for them.

And currently, four of the five U.S. banks I named earlier trade over 90% of their derivatives in this way — outside of regulated exchanges.

At JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank and HSBC, the derivatives they trade outside of exchanges represent 94%, 93%, 97% and 97% of their total, respectively. Only Wachovia has a somewhat lesser amount in this category — 77%.

End result: Still more uncertainty, still more vulnerability to a money panic.

Coming Tuesday, December 11: The Fed's Next Belated Response

Fed Chairman Bernanke and his colleagues don't talk about a panic in plain daylight. They dare not even utter the word. But I have little doubt that, behind closed doors, they're talking — and thinking — about it long past the bedtime of most investors.

They know all about last week's panic withdrawals from the Florida and Montana funds.

They know about the surprisingly large losses at some money funds.

They are aware of the collapsing and uncertain value of level three assets ... the big exposure to these assets at major Wall Street firms ... and the grave uncertainty revolving around trillions of dollars in derivatives.

They're not going to let the financial markets slide into a money panic without a fight. Quite the contrary, next Tuesday, December 11, the Fed is going to:

  • Slash the discount rate by a quarter or even a half point ...
  • Cut their target rate for short-term interbank borrowings (Fed funds), also by a quarter or a half point ...
  • Restate, even more firmly, their readiness to do whatever it takes to avert a money panic, and ...
  • Even come up with some new, creative ways to pump desperately needed cash into institutions likely to suffer the brunt of a money panic.

For the U.S. economy, already sinking into recession, I think it will be too little, too late.

But for the U.S. dollar, it will be too much, too soon. Its value will plunge anew. Foreign currencies — especially crisis currencies like the Japanese yen — will surge still further.

Three Ways to Escape A Money Panic

There is no investment that is absolutely safe from all dangers. But in this flammable environment, there are three you should consider very seriously:

Money Panic Escape Vehicle #1. Treasury-only money funds such as:

These funds have never owned — and never will own — level three or even level two assets. They invest exclusively in the highest level, most secure assets in the world — short-term U.S. Treasury securities or equivalent.

When my father, J. Irving Weiss, founded the precursor to today's money funds in the early 1960s, this is precisely the kind of money fund he had in mind. And today, I'm pleased to see there are quite a few still following that model.

The only risk, as I see it: The sinking value of the dollar itself. But you can offset that risk with ...

Money Panic Escape Vehicle #2. As Jack and I explain in our free 50-minute video online right now , the world's paramount "crisis currency" is the Japanese yen. And now, you can conveniently buy Japanese yen through ETFs or even options, aiming for returns of as much as 28 to 1.

Money Panic Escape Vehicle #3. Gold. The daily market price is bound to fluctuate sharply. But with the threat of a money panic ... and with central banks rushing to counter that threat by printing more paper money ... the yellow metal is likely to make the $800-per-ounce level a floor and head for much higher levels.

Good luck and God bless!

This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets . Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com .

Money and Markets Archive

© 2005-2017 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.

25 Sep 08, 15:45

dated dec last year, quite prescient!

Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

Catching a Falling Financial Knife


text:
IEA Reports Lower Shale Output From US

Oil production from U.S. shale in August is expected to fall by the most since at least 2007, according to the U.S. agency tasked with tracking oil output, the latest sign a price rout will shrink the nation’s crude output.

Oil production from the largest U.S. shale plays will plunge in August for a fourth consecutive month, forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.

Output was expected to decline by 91,000 barrels per day, 12 percent over July’s forecast production decline, to 5.4 million bpd, the lowest level since November for the seven shale plays tracked in EIA’s productivity report.

Energy firms fired thousands of workers and cut back on new drilling after U.S. crude futures collapsed 60 percent from over $107 a barrel in June 2014 to near $42 in March on oversupply concerns and lackluster world demand.

Despite the cuts, however, overall U.S. production averaged 9.6 million bpd during the week ended July 3 for a seventh week in a row, its highest level since the early 1970s, according to the most recent government data.

via Reuters

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza


text:
10 Things Daily Deal Sites Won't Say

Published: Mar 29, 2011 9:42 a.m. ET

Last Updated: May 11, 2011 4:12 p.m. ET

KelliB. Grant

1) "50% off? Not really."

Steep discounts are the cornerstone of the pitch for daily deal web sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial, which promise 50% off or better at a local restaurant, spa, fitness center or other shop – if enough people sign up (and pre-pay) before the limited-time offer expires. But the discount may be much less once you factor in taxes, tip and any un-covered portion of the bill.

In February, more than 3,000 Groupon users paid $10 for a $20 FTD voucher before Valentine's Day, only to find prices at the special voucher-redemption page $5 to $10 more expensive than what other visitors to the site saw. Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler says the price discrepancy was unintentional, and that customers got refunds.

But critics say these kinds of price discrepancies may be an unintended consequence of the business model. Because businesses recoup so little -- often just 25% of the voucher price after fees – there may be an incentive to price deals to the merchant's advantage. "We're starting to see some price manipulation going on, so the discount doesn't hurt their margins as much," says Greg Sterling, a senior analyst with Opus Research.

To avoid bill shock, check the voucher restrictions for excluded dates and any extra charges the voucher doesn't cover, and the business's site to calculate the total tab. Then ask yourself if it's still a deal, even at a higher price (or smaller discount), suggests social and behavior psychologist Matt Wallaert of digital strategy firm Churnless.

2) "Good luck cashing in."

digits: Five Things Daily Deal Sites Won't Tell You

Did you know that daily deals are dwindling? Or that 40% of vouchers purchased don't ever get redeemed? Kelli Grant from SmartMoney.com takes digits through a few things that daily deals sites won't tell you. (Watch video)

After selling nearly 700 vouchers for fire-dancing classes, Isa Isaacs of Temple of Poi in San Francisco knows the pattern: most customers wait until a week or two before the voucher expires to redeem it. "I cap my classes at eight people -- what do you do when all the spots have already been filled?" says Isaacs, who decided to use the expiration date as the last date to schedule instead of attend. Even so, people who had trouble redeeming slammed her with negative Yelp reviews.

Problems also crop up when deals oversell, as in the case of Salon 505 in Austin, which made local headlines after it sold 5,000 half-day spa packages on LivingSocial -- more than enough to book every open appointment for the yearlong redemption period. "Sometimes a deal is so extremely popular that scheduling can be difficult," says a LivingSocial spokeswoman. The site is working with Salon 505 to accommodate buyers by extending the expiration date. Spa owner Sharon Baldeschwiler did not respond to requests for comment, but said in a statement to local media that the spa is committed to honoring the deal. ("Legal counsel has advised no further comment at this time," she wrote.)

If scheduling early doesn't help, check the refund policy. Zozi chief executive TJ Sassani says the site hasn't heard about any redemption problems from its customers, but that the broad money-back guarantee covers refunds if they are unable to cash in on a deal.

3) "We're in legal limbo."

It's unclear whether deal site offers are more coupon or gift card, says Gonzalo Mon, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm specializing in advertising law. And that leaves them in a legal netherworld. If you buy a $15 gift card, federal law requires that it can't expire for at least five years. But pay $15 for a $30 voucher, and at least part of that can disappear in as few as six months, according to deal sites' terms and conditions. The difference has led to three class-action lawsuits this year -- two against Groupon, in California and in Illinois, and another in Washington against LivingSocial -- that allege the companies' policies run afoul of federal and state gift card laws. The LivingSocial suit also alleges that the site does not adhere to Washington state law requiring cash refunds for cards valued at $5 or less. LivingSocial and Groupon say they ask merchants to honor the price paid for up to five years, in accordance with the law. All three suits are pending.

In any event, that's good reason to scroll through your "expired deals" queue, Mon says. That money is still on the table for a purchase or possibly a refund. And expect to see more retailers getting more specific, too: A recent Groupon offered $20 at BKS, +6.90% and expires mid-April, but the $10 buy-in price never expires, says John Foley, Barnes & Noble's president of e-commerce.

4) "We may not stick around."

Largely unknown before 2010, group-buying sites now number more than 600 and counting. "Without exaggeration, we hear from at least one new site a day," says Dan Hess, the founder of DealRadar.com, which aggregates local deals. Sites have expanded to smaller cities and gone after narrower, more specific audiences, including new parents, dog owners and Jewish people. The technology behind deal sites makes them easy to start, but sustaining them requires a steady stream of interested businesses and consumers, says Opus Research's Sterling. And many sites don't survive. Since Hess began tracking the space last year, sites including PriceWave and FunDailyDeal have closed, he says, while big-name sites have gobbled up more than a dozen other small competitors. Currently, just 75% of the sites Hess monitors actually have a new deal every day.

Deal sites typically offer a refund or credit if you buy a voucher from a business that folds. But if it's the deal site itself that goes under, it's largely the business' choice to honor the voucher -- or not. Most will, Sterling says. Still, the churning market is good reason to check the background of the site as well as the business when buying a big-ticket deal, Sterling says. Paying with a credit card also gives you recourse if the site goes belly-up before you use the voucher.

5) "You won't use this coupon."

Businesses say about 40% of vouchers purchased don't get redeemed. Sometimes it's as simple as buyer's remorse, says Eran Davidov, a co-founder of Lifesta, a secondary market for deal vouchers. Or it's a bad gift idea, as in the case of a liposuction voucher made out to "my darling wife," currently up for sale on the site. Or busy schedules. Or forgetfulness. In any case, consumers' wasted money is actually a selling point for the deal sites, which pitch it as an incentive for the businesses they're wooing, says Chris Treadway of Lasso, which develops software to help companies offer coupons and deals online. "It's free money for the business," he says.

The silver lining for consumers: there's a growing secondary market on sites like Lifesta, CoupRecoup and DealsGoRound, where sellers unload their unwanted deals and buyers can grab them, often at a steeper discount than the deal site originally offered. (A $300 NYC boot camp package that sold for $59 on Groupon is now $45 on CoupRecoup.) Site sellers typically pay a small fee (10% of the selling price on DealsGoRound, 99 cents plus 8% on Lifesta). But it's up to the buyer to verify that the deal is legit, and the price fair.

6) "The 'deals' may be dwindling."

Even with all those unredeemed vouchers floating around out there, running a Groupon promotion was unprofitable for a third of businesses in a 2010 study from Rice University, though Groupon says 95% of merchants who have worked with them once would do so again, or recommend it to another merchant. As companies get used to the daily deal model -- and get tired of losing money -- consumers may see more limits on the number of vouchers that can be purchased. Businesses did best when they sold between 600 and 1,000, says Utpal Dholakia, an associate professor of management at Rice University, who conducted the study. They might also restrict deals to new customers, target the promotion to push a specific product (say, a new spa service) or pull in business during slow times (weekday morning yoga classes instead of an all-access pass). Groupon's Mossler says the site lets merchants make such restrictions when necessary, but tries to limit them so that subscribers get "a great deal without 'gotchas.'" Both Groupon and the business must agree on a deal's terms for it to run.

With more fine print to trip you up, be sure to check exclusions and limitations, like first-time customers or Tuesday nights only, before you buy, Dholakia says. That extra fine print could make a deal decidedly less convenient.

7) "You're a cheapskate…"

Each day, The Fresh Diet delivers three meals and two snacks to thousands of customers on monthly plans, says chief executive Zalmi Duchman. But company customer service reps spend a surprising amount of time coddling deal-site customers who have bought a one-day trial. "The customers are definitely more difficult to deal with," he says. "They don't listen to the rules." Consumers often buy a deal running in one city to redeem in another, or buy more than the three-voucher maximum, despite rules listed in the deal that prohibit doing either. Some call in to complain, trying to finagle an extra day or two of free food. And they rarely come back – retention rates average 12%, compared with 40% or better on the company's more targeted promotions, Duchman says. (But the potential to gain new customers makes the hassle worthwhile, he says. The Fresh Diet has offered more than 60 city-specific offers on Groupon alone since 2009.)

Dholakia from Rice University says such gripes are common. "Price-sensitive people are going to gravitate to these promotions," he says. They are unlikely to spend more than the voucher amount if at all possible, and tend to be stingy on tips. They're also unlikely to come back, thwarting the business' goal of attracting repeat customers. Groupon, LivingSocial, Zozi and other sites say they remind users to tip on the full amount, but there's no requirement that they do so. In the future, deals may include a mandatory tip, Dholakia says. (The terms of every deal must be agreed to by the merchant and the deal site.) Corner Burger in Brooklyn, N.Y., added a 20% gratuity to the bills of consumers who took advantage of its recent Groupon charging $8 for $16 worth of food.

8) "… but you're still overspending."

San Francisco magician Dan Chan leads a daredevil's life, piloting planes, taking glider lessons, skydiving indoors and out, and even spending time in a sensory deprivation tank. "It's a half-off economy right now, and they're irresistible offers," says Chan, who has spent more than $500 on 40-odd deals in the past two years. That's exactly the problem for many consumers, who end up with a queue of expensive experiences and purchases made on impulse, says behavioral psychologist Wallaert. Single deals with a limited time frame force consumers to constantly assess whether they want to buy. They also introduce consumers to experiences they might not otherwise consider if they weren't deeply discounted. "There's a reason you haven't signed up for a pole-dancing class, and it's not usually cost," he says. "But when you make it about money, like these deal sites do, it makes you think you haven't done it because price was a factor." Consumers also tend to focus on the savings, which makes the purchase price seem more reasonable.

9) "Limited-time offer? Not really."

Miss out on the latest daily deal? "You can get a similar level of discounts if you dig for it," says Jack Vonder Heide, the president of Technology Briefing Centers, which tracks daily deal sites. Odds are good the exact same offer, or one like it, will soon turn up on a competing daily deal site or the secondary market, or both. Fire-dancer Isaacs, for example, took her introductory class deal ($15 for a $30 class) from Groupon to SocialBuy, Zozi, Savvy Avenue, LivingSocial, Joffer and a handful of other sites. Sites typically restrict how soon a business can offer a similar deal at one of their competitors, but the lag time can be as short as a few weeks -- and doesn't usually prevent them from offering a similar deal on their own site, Facebook page or Twitter feed immediately after.

10) "Our merchant checks aren't foolproof."

The $65 price for a one-hour photo shoot and extras, valued at $500, from Atlanta studio Dana Dawes Photography seemed like a steal -- until a handful of Groupon users, including other photographers, began alleging that the photographer was claiming others' photographs as her own. Groupon cancelled the deal, and issued refunds to all buyers. "It's not our place to determine whether she stole the images," says Groupon's Mossler. "What's important is that our customers didn't feel confident purchasing the deal and we felt it was necessary to cancel it." Dawes did not respond to requests for comment.

Businesses with a bad rep are a pitfall all deal sites face as their numbers grow and they hunt for companies to feature, says consultant Treadway. "There's a finite number of interesting businesses in any market," he says, leaving each site to weigh negative reviews or other problems against the need for a deal to run tomorrow. Deal sites say they put businesses through a rigorous check – Groupon says it turns away seven for every one it accepts – but it's still worth checking Yelp and the Better Business Bureau for reviews and complaints before buying. Sites may offer a refund if you had a bad experience.

Correction: This article and its headline have been updated. An earlier version incorrectly implied that the "10 things daily deal sites won't say" referred exclusively to Groupon. In addition, other details have been added and language has been changed in the article to clarify how certain deal sites operate. Also, a previous version of this story incorrectly reported the expiration date on a recent Groupon offered at Barnes & Noble.

Quote References

  • BKS
    +0.50 +6.90%

MarketWatch Partner Center

We Want to Hear from You

Join the conversation


text:
Published: Sept 4, 2012 12:10 p.m. ET

Vodafone Group shares drop after broker downgrade

Markets reporter

LONDON (MarketWatch) — An unexpected drop in U.S. manufacturing activity drove European stock markets deeper into negative territory on Tuesday afternoon, with drug makers and resource firms feeling the most pressure.

Markets opened on a weak note after Moody’s Investors Service warned that the European Union could lose its Aaa debt rating, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to activate stimulus measures.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (SXXP) tumbled 1.1% to close at 265.43, pulling back after the index on Monday posted its best performance in a month.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday, as they worried that ECB President Mario Draghi would fail to outline details of the bank’s proposed bund-buying program.

“I believe he will say nothing Thursday and wait until the verdict from the German Constitutional Court” on Sept. 12, said Christian Tegllund Blaabjerg, chief economist at FIH Erhvervsbank in Copenhagen. “`Never provoke a sleeping giant’ seems to be his way of thinking, and I agree.”

Blaabjerg does expect, however, the ECB to cut its key lending rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 0.5%.

Among notable movers on Tuesday, shares in Dutch supermarket company Royal Ahold NV (AH) rose 2.5% after the firm said it’s exploring strategic options for its 60% stake in ICA AB. See: Ahold explores alternatives for ICA venture

Drug makers were the biggest decliners on the pan-European index. Sanofi SA (SAN) SNY, -0.74% lost 3%, as its Genzyme unit settled a U.S. lawsuit with Impax Laboratories Inc. IPXL, -0.87% granting Impax licenses to sell generic versions of two kidney disease drugs.

Roche Holding AG (ROG) RHHBY, -0.06% gave up 1% and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) GSK, +0.17% fell 1.6%.

For the broader stock markets, an unexpectedly weak reading of U.S. manufacturing activity dragged bourses lower in afternoon trading action. The Institute for Supply Management factory index fell to 49.6% in August, from 49.8% in July, marking a third straight month of contraction. Economists expected an increase to 50.2%. See: ISM factory index contracts for third month

U.S. stocks were lower on Wall Street. Read more about U.S. stocks

All eyes on the ECB

The European Union’s credit rating also got attention after Moody’s overnight cut the outlook on the region to negative.

The credit-rating firm said it needed to adjust its outlook on the EU due to “the likelihood that the large Aaa-rated member states would likely not prioritize their commitment to backstop the EU debt obligations over servicing their own debt obligations.” See: Moody's warns on European Union debt rating

“Moody’s timing of the warning two days ahead of the ECB’s interest-rate decision is by no means coincidental,” said Blaabjerg from FIH Erhvervsbank.

“There are increased expectations that the ECB will save the euro zone with measures to ensure permanent, low yields in Italy and Spain, in a way to allow them economic space to reconstruct their economies,” he said. “And Moody’s wants to maintain that pressure because confidence that European policy makers will come up with the right solutions in time is limited.”

Draghi and bond buying

Late Monday, ECB President Mario Draghi indicated in closed-door testimony before the European Parliament that a new bond-buying program could include bonds with maturities as long as three years without violating the ECB’s mandate, according to media reports. See: Draghi remarks fuel Italy, Spain bond rally

The reports spurred a rally in Spanish and Italian bonds. The yield, which moves inversely to prices, on 10-year Italian government bonds (10YR_ITA) fell 11 basis points to 5.66%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb.

Spain’s 10-year yield (10YR_ESP) dropped 28 basis points to 6.55%. Yields fell more sharply at the short end of the Spanish and Italian yield curves.

The IBEX 35 stock index (IBEX) gained 0.7% to 7,488.20.

Banco Popular Español SA (POP) picked up 4.8% as it said it is considering taking over smaller peer Banco Mare Nostrum. See: Banco Popular mulls takeover of Banco Mare Nostrum

More movers

Shares in wireless-telecom firm Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) VOD, -0.14% fell 2.6%.

Bernstein Research cut the stock to market perform from outperform, citing “an increasing number of negative operational risks.”

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index (UKX) posted the biggest drop in more than a month and lost 1.5% to 5,672.01. BP PLC (BP.) BP, +1.11% BP, +1.11% slipped 1.6% and miner Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) RIO, -1.55% (RIO) gave up 2.6%. Read more about U.K. stocks

Oil prices fell, while metals prices were higher across the board.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) RBS, -1.26% gave up 2.6% after Investec Securities cut the stock to hold from buy.

In Germany, Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) fell 2.3%, weighing on the DAX 30 index (DAX), which slid 1.2% to 6,932.58.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) fell 1.3% after a strike called by the German labor union UFO caused the airline to cancel more than half its short- and medium-haul flights, and some long-haul flights, at Frankfurt Airport. See: Lufthansa halts some Frankfurt long-haul flights

France’s CAC 40 index (PX1) dropped 1.6% to 3,399.04, marking the worst daily performance in a month.

Heavyweight oil group Total SA (FP) TOT, +0.31% lost 1.6%.

Quote References

Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.

MarketWatch Partner Center

Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.

We Want to Hear from You

Join the conversation


text:
Facebook says SEC has dropped inquiry into IPO

Published: July 25, 2014 1:58 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Facebook Inc. FB, -4.50% said the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its probe of the social network's controversial initial public offering. Facebook's May 2012 IPO became one of the most closely-watched public trading debuts in recent history, but the launch was marred by technical glitches and allegations that the company did not properly disclose the state of its business. In an SEC filing this week, Facebook said the federal agency has "notified us that it had terminated its inquiry and that no enforcement action had been recommended by the SEC." Among the issues that came up in the SEC inquiry were concerns related to Facebook's ability to grow its mobile business, which has emerged as one of the company's key strengths.

Quote References

  • FB
    -7.67 -4.50%

MarketWatch Partner Center


text:
Gold settles higher after private-sector jobs data

Published: Feb 5, 2014 2:26 p.m. ET

Markets/commodities reporter
Social-media editor

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures settled higher on Wednesday, finding support as U.S. equities traded mostly lower following a weaker-than-expected report on private-sector employment.

Gold for April delivery US:GCJ4  rose $5.70, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,256.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold gained “after the under-whelming ADP employment number,” said Jeffrey Wright, managing director at H.C. Wainwright.

Last month the private sector added 175,000 jobs — the lowest result in five months — down from 227,000 in December, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported.

“While not bad was less than anticipated, the ADP number puts a lot of pressure on the official U.S. employment number, another key indicator will be labor participation rates, released on Friday,” he said. “If this data point does not meet expectations, there is speculation the FOMC could examine the rate of ‘tapering’ or delay the next step down of $10 billion” to the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program.

“Any delay or reduced impact of tapering would be a positive for gold in the coming weeks,” said Wright.

AFP/Getty Images

Still, some upbeat economic data caused gold to briefly pare some of its earlier gains and prices for silver, an industrial metal, to move up. The ISM services index rose to 54% in January, as expected, from 53% in December.

Against that backdrop, March silver US:SIH4  added 38 cents, or 2%, to $19.805 an ounce.

‘Sell strength, buy weakness’

For now, David Govett of Marex Spectrum told clients to stay the course on gold and that this isn’t a trending market.

“I am sure that at some point, it will break one way or the other and will catch most of us unawares, that is the way of the gold market,” he wrote. “But for the moment, stick with what works. Sell strength, buy weakness.”

On Tuesday, gold prices closed 0.7% lower as the dollar edged higher and as stocks rose. Still, gold is up nearly 5% this year after being down 28% last year, as the stock market continues to wobble its way through the early part of 2014.

Elsewhere in metals trading, April platinum US:PLJ4  gained $5.90, or 0.4%, to $1,379.30 an ounce, while March palladium US:PAH4  rose $7, or 1%, to $707.10 an ounce. High-grade copper US:HGH4  shed less than a half cent to $3.19 a pound.

Metals-mining stocks fell Wednesday afternoon as U.S. equities traded mostly lower.

The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index XAU, +1.58%  was down 0.3% and the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs index HUI, +1.96%  lost 0.5%.

Gold-mining stocks trade at the lowest levels since 2008 but they’ve reached a point where “upside potential now far outweighs downside risks, making this a compelling entry point for investors with medium-term time horizons,” said Simona Gambarini, associate director at ETF Securities, in a research note dated Tuesday.

“With global growth finally starting to gain momentum, we expect the correlation between miners’ shares and gold to reduce and gold miners to start to outperform gold,” she said.

The SPDR Gold Trust exchange-traded fund GLD, +1.05%  inched up by 0.3% in afternoon dealings.

Other must-read MarketWatch stories:

Why the ISM index is an indispensable economic gauge

CVS to stop selling cigarettes, tobacco products

Will Twitter ease worries of overvalued stock

Quote References

  • XAU
    +1.36 +1.58%
  • HUI
    +3.92 +1.96%
  • GLD
    +1.29 +1.05%

MarketWatch Partner Center

We Want to Hear from You

Join the conversation


text:
November 27, 2012 06:00 ET; Revolutionizing the Way You Shop

Compare Prices and Find Deals

SOLON, OH--(Marketwire - Nov 27, 2012) - Today, Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM®), a leader in business innovation and technology, is proud to debut their first consumer focused website;, a free service, aims to level the playing field for shoppers across the country with nonbiased price comparisons and easy to use tools that let shoppers explore local deals.

To help save time and money makes all of the weekly sale ads available online so shoppers don't have to shuffle through the paper in search of the latest deals. Shoppers can browse the circulars from the comfort of their own home and create shopping lists that display the promoted price of each item at different stores in the area. For instance, when a user adds milk to their shopping list, they can see the promoted milk prices at the stores where they shop the most. Now, anyone can easily find the store with the best milk deals each week. To make more accessible, users can download the Ad Comparisons application for iPad so they can compare prices on the go. Includes the Following Services:

  • The weekly sale ads are available as soon as they are released. Users can browse right away or later at their convenience.
  • The shopper's location is used to ensure only the store ads within a 15-mile radius are displayed.
  • The latest deals and coupon offers are automatically flagged and sorted.
  • Shoppers can print or email shopping lists to friends and family with the click of a button.
  • Share deals with popular social media sites so others can take advantage of a great offer. helps consumers weed out unnecessary information and uses special deal badges to sort all of the weekly ads by deal type. The deal badges make it easy for shoppers to compare coupon offers or buy one get one deals at each retailer in the area.

Additionally, anyone who registers for an account will be entered to win a $500 gift card. The contest ends at 12am on 12/2/2012. The winner will be announced on the Facebook page;

About is a comparison shopping website geared to help consumers save money by comparing retail prices in their area. Users can find deals on products of all kinds; from electronics to groceries even clothing; is the ideal place for smart shoppers.

About ECRM:
ECRM® is a global leader in retailer promotional data syndication and analysis. ECRM provides business solutions by integrating process, vision and technology. ECRM has revolutionized the sales and marketing process by uniting buyers and suppliers of the consumer packaged goods industry at Efficient Program Planning Sessions, or EPPS® events.

Contact Information

  • Contact Information:
    Rachel Shultz
    Email Contact


text:
September 12, 2016 10:22 ET

Honk's Parking Payment Technology Launches at the University of Lethbridge

LETHBRIDGE, AB--(Marketwired - September 12, 2016) - Students, faculty and staff at the University of Lethbridge now have a superior option for parking on campus, one that enables users to search, pay for and extend parking from their phone or tablet.

Honk, North America's fastest and most convenient way to find and pay for parking, is now available at five lots on U of L's Lethbridge campus. The app simplifies the parking process by eliminating the need for drivers to search for parking lots and spaces, affords users the ability to pay for parking from their mobile device and reduces the occurrence of tickets by sending reminders before parking expires.

Parking Services has partnered with Honk to allow drivers at the U of L the convenience of managing parking from the palm of their hand.

"Honk's unique functionality enables users to first find and then pay for parking on their way to or at school," says Al Hill, parking coordinator at U of L. "Once they arrive on campus, drivers can simply hop out of the car and go. The 15-minute reminder before parking expires, coupled with the ability to top-up parking in the app, is a huge benefit and saves drivers time and virtually eliminates parking violations."

Honk has launched in municipalities across North America, and at universities across Canada, including UBC, Wilfrid Laurier, Western and the University of Windsor. The company is on a mission to maximize the ease of parking for all drivers, while also benefitting cities by reducing congestion, pollution, driver frustration and wear on roads.

"The last thing students and staff should be worrying about is parking," says Honk founder & CEO Michael Back. "We strive to making parking a smooth and positive experience for our users and we're excited to bring the Honk app to the University of Lethbridge."

Using a single account, motorists can pay for parking anywhere Honk is accepted across North America.

To download the app or learn more visit

About Honk

Honk is North America's leading provider of on-demand mobile payments for parking. Honk's cloud-based technology streamlines parking by allowing users to search, pay for, and top up parking from their mobile phone, tablet or any Internet connected device. Honk is already accepted at over 550 locations and 50,000 parking spaces across Canada and the United States.

The Honk app can be downloaded for free on both iOS and Android at or via the App Store or Google Play.

For information, interviews and images, please contact:

Contact Information


text:
July 10, 2016 23:40 ET

ICMD -- Reputation Management -- Experts at ICMediaDirect Reveal Key Features of Online Reputation

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - July 10, 2016) - Public relations and online reputation management agency, ICMediaDirect is transforming the way companies manage brand information. The award-winning firm recently revealed the key pillars of managing online reputations while many organizations are struggling to formulate viable, responsive digital media campaigns. The company's strategic efforts not only suppress unfavorable publicity in search engine results, but they have given hope to hundreds of companies and individuals who wish to project a positive message online. See your Online Reputation Report now, by visiting

Reputation experts at ICMediaDirect recommend that companies monitor online activities regularly so that a reputation management plan can be implemented as quickly as possible. By keeping a close eye on brand mentions and online reviews, brands, individuals, and agencies can be proactive in their approach to online reputation management. Using a variety of monitoring tools will make the task easier and more efficient. Google Alerts allows users to receive email updates on the latest Google results featuring brand mentions. To monitor activities connected to a brand on various social media platforms, entities should use the Social Mention tool that keeps track of selected keywords.

Managing information appearing on the internet is a key pillar of online reputation management. Professionals at ICMediaDirect recommend claiming all online listings connected to the brand on various platforms, including local directories, Google Places and other locations that provide such information. Although companies have little control over what other people say on social media, they can influence the conversation by focusing on proactive brand messaging. ICMediaDirect team advocates the incorporation of the latest marketing technologies, such as storytelling techniques and videos. A combination of innovative photography and building a coherent narrative raises engagement creates an opportunity for businesses to build trust and the right image.

ICMediaDirect is an online reputation and content marketing agency with offices in New York City and Washington, DC. A leading firm in the industry, it has helped clients all over the world improve their brand's potential with online reputation management since 1996. It was awarded the New York Excellence Award by the SBIEC yet again this year due to its knowledge and experience in SEO and creating compelling content. ICMediaDirect attends a variety of marketing conferences and events throughout the year, including Affiliate Summit, SES, and LeadsCon, often sharing its expertise and marketing methods with individuals and corporations from all over the world. To see your Online Reputation Report, visit

IC Media Direct -- PR and Marketing News: -- 100% Reputation Control:

ICMD -- Reputation Management -- ICMediaDirect To Attend Affiliate Summit East 2016:

Image Available:

Embedded Video Available:

Contact Information


text:
September 20, 2016 09:00 ET

IQN Unveils Next Wave of Advanced Analytics for Industry Benchmarking of Contingent Workforce Data at CWS Summit

New ATOM Cognitive Intelligence Engine Reveals Previously Unachievable Business Insights by Enabling Non-Employee Labor Programs to Compare Bill Rate and Time-to-Fill Data Against Industry Benchmarks

DENVER, CO--(Marketwired - September 20, 2016) - IQN, the leading, independent provider of non-employee workforce management solutions, is unveiling new advanced analytics capabilities at the 2016 Contingent Workforce Strategies (CWS) Summit on September 19-20. With industry experts spotlighting advanced analytics as "the next wave of technology to bring process efficiency, speed and heightened visibility into workforce sourcing and management1," IQN is leading the industry in innovation with the release of ATOM, the first and only cognitive intelligence engine for non-employee labor programs.

ATOM, which stands for Automated Talent Ontology Machine, delivers previously unachievable insights on rates, time‐to‐fill, labor demand modeling and industry benchmarking -- all driven by scalable data visualization and real‐time predictive analytics.

"Technology and globalization are transforming the way we work, giving rise to the gig economy," says Joe Juliano, President and Chief Executive Officer, IQN. "Business leaders want to leverage contingent workers to cut costs, boost flexibility and fill specialized needs. ATOM enables our customers and MSP partners to win the war for valued talent by elevating the speed, quality and relevance of the business insights that IQN provides."

IQN Presents New ATOM Capabilities at CWS Session, Tuesday, September 20

First previewed at IQN's national customer event in April, ATOM combines advanced data science methodologies with multiple years of contingent labor data. IQN will demonstrate its months of enhancement to ATOM's capabilities at the CWS Summit in Las Vegas. Speaking on September 20 from 11:30 to 12:15 pm (PDT), Anne Zelenka, PhD, IQN's Vice President of Data Science and Data Products, will highlight how ATOM empowers procurement officers to proactively manage non-employee labor by comparing bill rate and time-to-fill data against industry benchmarks for more than 130 standard job titles in 260 United States metro areas.

"What makes ATOM such a game-changer is how it combines innovative machine intelligence with extensive human understanding of talent management needs," says Zelenka. "ATOM learns from every user interaction so we are continuously 'teaching' our engine how to delve deeper into non-employee labor data to uncover hidden patterns. As a result, our proprietary solution dynamically advises decision makers by automatically adapting to their unique and evolving talent management needs better than any human expert or system alone."

With its broad understanding of occupations, ATOM will tag an assignment with the occupation that best fits its job description; using natural language processing to map client specific job titles to standards. IQN customers and partners are able to explore patterns for exactly the jobs that are most important to their contingent workforce program. They can see, for example, the bill rate and time to fill in a particular metro area, and then compare how their programs are performing against ATOM benchmarks.

About ATOM Cognitive Intelligence Engine

Driving better, smarter contingent workforce program performance, ATOM enhances the user experience and data output offered by providing:

  • Standardized job titles and skill sets across multiple industries and geographies
  • Job, rate and time-to-fill benchmarks measured across industries, suppliers, job titles, geographies and time
  • Labor and talent trends, predictive models and forecasts related to company spend and job demand
  • Structured data that can be visualized and analyzed by IQN's or any data reporting platform of choice

To learn how ATOM is elevating non-employee workforce programs with advanced analytics, visit IQN at CWS Summit North America from Sept 19-20 or at Collaboration in the Gig Economy from Sept 21-22 in Las Vegas.

About IQN

IQN is the leading independent technology provider of Vendor Management System (VMS) software for Global 2000 companies. IQN's products enable enterprises to intelligently manage and optimize complex services procurement and contingent workforce programs. Since 1999, IQN's products have been delivering procurement visibility and predictability, helping corporate leaders around the globe increase profitability, mitigate risk and compete more effectively. For more information, visit

1Source: VMS is Dead, Long Live VMS! Why VMS is More Important Than Ever, Spend Matters, September 7, 2016

Contact Information


text:
SOURCE: NTT Innovation Institute

NTT Innovation Institute

September 21, 2016 10:30 ET

NTT Innovation Institute Establishes Executive Advisory Board

Global Technology Leaders Aim to Accelerate Impact of Open Innovation, Applied R&D, Platform Development and product Commercialization

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 21, 2016) -  NTT Innovation Institute Inc. (NTT i3), the prestigious Silicon Valley-based innovation center for NTT Group, one of the world's largest ICT companies, announced today that is has formed an Executive Advisory Board (EAB) comprised of esteemed global technology experts and business leaders from various industries. The Executive Advisory Board's goal is to exchange ideas on key insights and industry trends, while providing external perspectives that challenge the status quo which is critical to NTT i3's success as a global innovation center. The EAB will work closely with NTT i3's executive leadership team.

"The creation of an Executive Advisory Board is essential to our future successes and NTT i3 is honored to welcome Cindy Padnos, Brian Spector, Dr. Stuart Evans, Wilf Russell and Gokul Rajaram as board members," stated Nina Simosko, CEO and President, NTT i3. "Each advisor provides diverse perspectives and vast experiences from their years of dedication and work in the technology industry that will contribute greatly to our innovation exploration in the world of the enterprise. This compilation of industry stalwarts joining our Executive Advisory Board is a testament to our company's commitment to 'being innovative' in ways that really matter -- for individuals, society and business."

NTT i3's Executive Advisory Board members include:

  • Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures.
    Leveraging 25 years of high tech industry experience, Cindy focuses primarily in the Enterprise/B2B cloud and mobile computing sectors, with a particular emphasis on SaaS applications and platforms, solutions leveraging big data for business impact and new business models that accelerate customer acquisition. She is an investor and board member for Bedrock Analytics, BrightEdge Technologies, ChannelEyes, Hoopla Software, Litbit, Peerlyst, Xactly Corporation and Yozio and is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

  • Brian Spector, CEO and co-founder of MIRACL.
    Brian Spector is the CEO and co-founder of MIRACL, a distributed cryptography company that guarantees the identity integrity of the people, apps, and things needed to run a digital business. Brian began his information security career more than 20 years ago in cryptographic development at Silicon Valley's first full disk encryption software company and has held leadership positions in development, product management and sales at Thales, RSA Data Security and McAfee.

  • Dr. Stuart Evans, Director of the Emirates/CMU i-Lab, Silicon Valley.
    Dr. Evans is a Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Integrated Innovation Institute. He teaches "Innovation & Entrepreneurship", "Commercializing IP", and "Enterprise Innovation". His professional career spans research (SRI International, Stanford Graduate School of Business,), teaching (The Judge Business School, Cambridge University), consulting (Bain & Company, Menlo Park, California), investing (Sand Hill Venture Group, Menlo Park, California) and executive management (Shugart Corporation, a Xerox subsidiary, Sunnyvale, California).

  • Wilf Russell, Formerly VP, Consumer Technology Officer, Nike Inc.
    A technical visionary and change agent, Wilf brings 25+years of experience and business acumen providing a competitive edge to companies ringing from enterprise organizations to SMBs. At Nike, Wilf helped shape the digital future for the global brand, by managing the strategy and execution related to all consumer-focused technology, working with the Digital Commerce, Brand and Nike+ teams.

  • Gokul Rajaram, Product Engineering Lead at Square.
    Gokul is Product Engineering lead at Square. Prior to Square, Gokul was Product Director for Ads at Facebook. In that role, he drove the product roadmap and execution for Facebook's advertising products, which account for the bulk of Facebook's revenues. Earlier, Gokul was Product Management Director for Google AdSense, where he helped conceive and crystallize the product in early 2003, and played a key role in its launch and growth from 2003 onwards into a multibillion dollar product line.

About NTT Innovation Institute Inc. (NTT i3)
NTT Innovation Institute, Inc. (NTT i3) is the Silicon Valley-based innovation center for NTT Group, one of the world's largest ICT companies. Focused on fostering strategic innovation, NTT i3 works with established enterprise companies to investigate new approaches to evolving into technology-first, digitally-driven businesses. Likewise, NTT i3 partners with early stage digitally-native businesses looking to expand their presence and challenger advantage. Accelerating the movement of innovation from initial idea to marketplace implementation, NTT i3 combines access to the significant global infrastructure resources, investment fund, research knowledge, and trusted long-standing customer relationships of NTT Global with its own software startup expertise and deep enterprise relationships.

For more information, please visit NTT i3 at or on Facebook and Twitter

Contact Information


text:
Select Sands Corp.

Select Sands Corp.

September 14, 2016 17:42 ET

Select Sands Files Early Warning Report

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 14, 2016) - Select Sands Corp. ("Select Sands" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SNS)(OTC:CLICF) announced today that it has filed the early warning report in respect of its acquisition of 20,000,000 common shares of Comstock Metals Ltd. pursuant to its sale of assets to Comstock as set forth in the Company's press release issued on September 14, 2016. The 20,000,000 shares were issued at a deemed price of $0.29 per share for total deemed consideration of $5,800,000. After giving effect to the acquisition by the Company of the 20,000,000 common shares, the Company representing approximately 35.4% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Comstock.

The Company reviews its holdings from time to time and has no intention of increasing or decreasing its position in Comstock.

This news release is being issued in accordance with National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues in connection with the filing of an early warning report dated September 14, 2016. The early warning report respecting the Transactions has been filed on System for Electronic Document Analysis and Review ("SEDAR") at under Comstock's issuer profile. To obtain a copy of the early warning report filed by the Company, please contact Darren Urquhart at (604) 639-4533 or refer to the SEDAR at under Comstock's issuer profile.

For more information about Select Sands Corp., please visit

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.

Contact Information

  • Rasool Mohammad, B.Sc. (Mining)
    President & CEO.
    Phone: (604) 639-4533

    Investor Relations
    Arlen Hansen
    Phone: (604) 684-6730