BWS Capital Partners, LLC

Another presentation for one of the portfolio co.: CONEKTINC at Cal Tech Pomona this Thursday…exciting.

Monday morning test - doesn’t matter what you have…what you will do now matters most!

More rescue?

The European Monetary Fund, patterned after the International Monetary Fund, is a key part of an initiative backed by Germany and France to strengthen cooperation and surveillance of public finances across the eurozone, government officials said. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble revealed details of the plan during the weekend.

Supertax

The U.K.’s supertax on bankers’ bonuses is expected to yield more than £2.5 billion for the Treasury, but concern that the tax will hurt London’s position as a global financial center likely will prevent the levy from being made permanent. “London has to retain its global position, and the key element is that you have to have predictability and proportionality” in taxation as well as regulation, said Rob McIvor, a representative of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. “What we would like is a commitment not to apply the bonus tax in the future, that it is a one-off.” Meanwhile, Junichi Ujiie, chairman of Nomura, said the U.K. needs to avoid such taxes and over-regulation to maintain its reputation and position.

Another government criticizing speculators

German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded additional control on the derivatives market, saying speculators are exploiting credit default swaps to profit from Greece’s debt crisis. “We must succeed at putting a stop to the speculator’s game with sovereign states,” she said after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

France reaping benefits for quick action

As other European countries struggle with debt, unemployment or both, France finds itself in a much more comfortable position, according to The New York Times. The nation was the first European country to emerge from recession, and it posted surprising growth at the end of 2009. France moved quickly at the beginning of the downturn to save employers, including small ones, and preserved jobs. It also stepped up infrastructure spending, with a focus on job creation.

Jive Turkey

A resolution characterizing the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide passed in a U.S. House committee in a 23-22 vote, spurring anger from Turkey, with which the U.S. has an important economic and security relationship. “The American vote will anger Turkey further and perhaps make it even more inclined to turn away from Europe, America and Armenia in favour of its Islamic neighbours,” according to The Economist.

Buy it back!

Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other lenders reported a large increase in the volume of troubled loans they bought back last year. Barclays Capital estimated that banks repurchased about $20 billion in such loans, with half of the total written off. “Most investors haven’t really focused on this issue and are surprised on how much impact this could have, including on earnings,” said Ajay Rajadhyaksha, head of U.S. fixed-income and securitized strategy at Barclays Capital.

More money for homeowners

The Obama administration is preparing to take another approach to helping owners of underwater homes avoid foreclosure. The U.S. government will make cash payments to borrowers and lenders to go along with short sales. Homeowners can also qualify for an additional $1,500 to help them move.

No more guarantees

China’s next big move to tighten lending will be an across-the-board nullification of loan guarantees that were made by local governments, said Yan Qingmin, head of the Shanghai branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The Ministry of Finance will also prohibit future loan guarantees by local governments and legislatures, he said. “By striking the fear of God into lenders, regulators hope to get them to turn off the tap,” said Patrick Chovanec, a professor at Tsinghua University.

Sending a message

China’s budget proposal, particularly its modest military spending, might be intended as a conciliatory message to the U.S. and Taiwan, according to The Economist. “The budget submitted to the legislature calls for the lowest rate of growth in defence spending since 1988, a period in which almost every budget has called for double-digit increases,” The Economist notes. “This year it proposes a mere 7.5%, quite a plunge from last year’s growth of 17.8%.”

No benefit yet

The European Commission enacted the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive in 2007 to increase competition among exchange platforms and to reduce the cost of dealing in shares. However, retail investors have yet to see much benefit from the reform. “Things have got cheaper but not necessarily because of MiFID. I would not be able to say what difference it has made,” said Kirsten Meyer-Witting, who performs trades for herself. Groups representing individual investors also said the change has failed to deliver what was promised.

That won’t help

A planned limit on bank leverage does not take into account the riskiness of financial transactions and would not make the sector safer, the Association of German Banks said. “The introduction of a leverage ratio won’t help to stabilize the financial system — on the contrary,” said Dirk Jaeger of the association.

Snoopy

The boards of American International Group and MetLife approved a deal to sell AIG’s American Life Insurance to MetLife for about $15.5 billion, sources said. AIG had called Alico one of its “crown jewels.” MetLife will pay about $6.8 billion in cash, with the balance paid in preferred and common stock.

Avoiding haircut

Banks holding Dubai World’s $26 billion in debt might be able to avoid a “haircut” under the company’s latest restructuring proposal, bankers involved in the negotiations said. The company, owned by the government of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will ask for extra time before beginning payments, the bankers said. One of them said that lenders accepting the proposal might receive a formal government guarantee of payment.

No!!!

Iceland’s voters overwhelmingly rejected a deal to repay the U.K. and the Netherlands for debt growing out of the collapse of Icesave. Only 1.8% of voter supported the deal, while 93.2% opposed it. “The referendum was not about refusing to pay back the money; the referendum was about doing it on fair terms,” said President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.

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