The Woo Group Hong Kong USA: Royal Bank of Canada bekjentgjør ansvarlig debenture problemet

RBC Wealth Management Newsroom Review

Royal Bank of Canada (RY på TSX og NYSE) kunngjorde i dag et offer av $1 milliard av ansvarlig gjeldsbrev ("notater") gjennom kanadiske Medium Term Note Program.

Notatene bære renter med en fast rente på 3,45 prosent per år (betalt tidsskriften) til September 29, 2021, og tre måneders Bankerens aksept Rate pluss 1.12 prosent deretter til deres modenhet på 29 September 2026 (betalt kvartalsvis). Forventet avsluttende dato er 29 September 2014. RBC Capital Markets opptrer som agent på problemet.

Banken kan, etter eget valg, med forhåndsgodkjenning av kontoret til Superintendent av finansielle institusjoner Canada, løs notater på eller etter den 29 September 2021 til pålydende, helt til enhver tid eller delvis fra tid til annen, på ikke mindre enn 30 dager, og ikke mer enn 60 dagers varsel til registrerte eiere.

Lånene denne transaksjonen vil bli brukt til firma.

Notater vil er ikke og ikke bli registrert i USA under den amerikanske verdipapirloven av 1933, som endret ("Verdipapirloven"), eller lovene i noen stat i USA og kan ikke tilbys, selges eller levert, direkte eller indirekte i USA eller til eller for kontoen eller fordel for, en "amerikansk person" (som definert i forskriften S under Securities Act) fraværende registrering under Securities Act eller gjeldende unntak fra slik registrering. Denne pressemeldingen innebærer ikke et tilbud om å selge eller en oppfordring til å kjøpe verdipapirer i USA eller i andre jurisdiksjoner hvor slikt tilbud om eller oppfordring vil være ulovlig.

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo| Insurance make sure you are covered: Great tips and tricks to get the best deal

HOME insurance prices can vary widely depending where and even when you buy it, so it makes sense to take the time to shop around to ensure you get the best deal and the right cover.

Comparison sites are a great place to start, but the cheapest deal might not give you the right cover and leave you high and dry when it comes to making a claim.

My insurance survival guide should give you some great tips and tricks which you should always consider when buying your insurance cover. 

1. Don’t make assumptions. You might think some features of home insurance are standard but you should always ask the right questions and even read the small print, for example:

•        accidental damage – fewer than one in five home insurance policies automatically cover you for damage you cause yourself, by accident

•        home emergency cover – fewer than one in five home insurance policies automatically provide help for home emergencies, and more than half don’t offer this as an option at all

•        Items over £1500 aren't always covered automatically, anything costing over this amount is usually classed as a valuable item and needs to be listed separately, so not just jewellery,  you will need to list that expensive new TV and possibly that designer handbag too.

2. Comparison sites. Around eight out of ten people use these to search the market for the cheapest home insurance quote. If you use at least two sites you’ll see many of the best options, but each site has pros and cons so make sure that you look at the details, don’t buy insurance just because a Meer Cat in a smoking jacket told you it was a good deal.

3. Increase Home security. You might get a reduction for joining your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme with some providers. Some insurers will only insure you if you have BSI approved locks on all outside doors and windows, and a good quality alarm system always makes good sense.

4. Build your no-claims discount. If you don’t claim for a few years you might get a discount, It’s not just car insurance that offers this so it’s always looking to see where you can do this, not everywhere does so check before you buy.

5. Do you have kids at university? If you do its worth checking to see if they are covered too in their accommodation, if they are this can work out much cheaper than buying a separate policy, but watch that no claims bonus if you have a clumsy teenager.

6. You can cancel your home insurance any time within the first 14 days, this is the cooling off period that all insurance companies must give, according to the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority. But there might be a penalty. A lot of people don’t realise this when they buy, but many insurers charge a fee for cancelling within the 14 days. However, this fee should only reflect the cost of the service that you've received. They also deduct the days of cover you’ve already had before giving you a refund.

If you cancel after the 14-day cooling off period you may not get the full amount of money back for the days of cover you haven’t used yet.

Cancellation terms and conditions vary by policy – always read the terms before you buy.

By: Richard Fenton

SOURCE: http://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/475520/Insurance-make-sure-you-are-covered-Great-tips-and-tricks-to-get-the-best-deal 

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo | Color of Money: ‘Good Advice from Bad People’ and the Financial Tips ‘they’ Give

By Michelle Singletary

  

Who are “they”?

That’s the question I often ask people when they want my opinion about some financial advice they’ve heard. Here are some of the things “they” say:

● Getting student loans is a good thing because it’s an investment in your future.

● Now’s the time to get a home because interest rates are low.

● Never pay off your mortgage, or you should keep a mortgage for the tax break.

● It’s better to pay off the debt by borrowing from your 401(k) retirement savings account because you will be paying yourself back.

My question about who “they” are often solicits chuckles because people realize that in their effort to help themselves, they’ve picked up pieces of advice from biased individuals or without doing the work to figure out if it’s prudent.

Millions of consumers have been duped by people — many once touted as icons — who turn out to be charlatans or who gave advice that they themselves didn’t follow, says Zac Bissonnette, a personal finance writer.

Time and again, we learn that self-help authors have become wealthy not by following their own advice but by selling the concept of a certain life or financial enriching strategy. We’re reminded that politicians, corporate and religious leaders, entrepreneurs, sports figures and relationship experts are not practicing what they preach.

It’s these folks that Bissonnette criticizes in “Good Advice From Bad People: Selected Wisdom from Murderers, Stock Swindlers, andLance Armstrong” (Portfolio/Penguin, $15). It’s my pick for this month’s Color of Money Book Club. The murderers include cult leader Jim Jones and Gary Shawkey, who was given a life sentence for killing a 71-year-old investor he bilked out of $1.2 million. Shawkey’s self-published book was titled “If I Can . . . Anybody Can . . . ”

I couldn’t stop shaking my head as Bissonnette took me down memory lane, starting with the financial arena.

Remember the Beardstown Ladies?

They were part of an investment group from Beardstown, Ill., who wrote the bestselling “The Beardstown Ladies’ Common-Sense Investment Guide: How We Beat the Stock Market and How You Can Too.”

Along with some recipes for stew and chicken, we were told that from 1984 to 1993, the ladies had an average annual investment return of 23.4 percent. Their book sold almost 800,000 copies.

But some number-crunching from journalists and an eventual audit found the ladies hadn’t beaten the market or most money professionals. Their actual return during the time period had been 9.1 percent, compared with the 15.7 percent average annual return on the Dow Jones industrial average.

The women said it was a miscalculation. Their publishing company was sued. There was a settlement and now we have a good lesson about the importance of vetting people’s investment claims. While you can learn a lot in an investment club, “the ladies would probably be better off if they’d just put their money in time-proven mutual funds,” Bissonnette writes.

In the not-so-distant past, we had the falling of another “they” in Bernie Madoff. The once-prominent member of the securities industry and former chairman of Nasdaq is serving a 150-year prison term for bilking investors out of billions.

“And yet, when he actually took a moment to give personal finance advice after his fall from grace, he provided wisdom that everyone should follow: low-cost index mutual funds are the best option for most investors,” Bissonnette writes.

Bissonnette also introduces Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide Financial. Although the company was approving risky home mortgages, in an e-mail that Bissonnette points out, Mozilo wrote that the no-money-down subprime loan is “the most dangerous product in existence and there can be nothing more toxic.”

But many borrowers listened to the “they” who said homes would increase in value exponentially so that they could refinance out of the risky loans Mozilo and others were peddling.

Then there is the story of Jesse L. Jackson Jr., the former Democratic congressman from Illinois who is serving prison time for using $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use, including buying Michael Jackson memorabilia.

Bissonnette pulls out this quote from a book Jackson wrote with his father, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson: “Living above your means is financial sin.” Their book was titled “It’s About the Money! How You Can Get Out of Debt, Build Wealth, and Achieve Your Financial Dreams.”

Says Bissonnette, “All too often, America’s smiling, inspirational prophets turn out to be comically — and sometimes darkly — horrible at following their own leads.”

I’m sure plenty of people might take issue with some of Bissonnette’s selections of “bad people.” But his book will at least make you pause before you start a sentence with, “They say.”

I’ll be hosting a live online discussion about “Good Advice From Bad People” at noon Eastern on May 29 at washingtonpost.com/discussions. Bissonnette will join me. Let’s talk about the advice you took that turned out to be bad.

Readers may write to Michelle Singletary at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or singletarym@washpost.com. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless otherwise requested. To read previous Color of Money columns, go to http://wapo.st/michelle-singletary.

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo: 5 Investing Tips from Hedge Fund Titans

Some of the world's most successful hedge fund managers gathered in Manhattan on Monday to share their investing strategies on everything from the U.S. housing market to when to do business with Vladimir Putin.

Many attendees at the 19th AnnualIra Sohn Investor Conference plopped down $4,000 a piece to hear tips from these titans of finance. Here are five top tips you can follow in case you weren't able to swing that ticket price.

1. Einhorn still hates tech stocks

Billionaire David Einhorn isn't backing off from his recent claim that soaring tech stocks are in bubble territory.

The founder of Greenlight Capital sought to illustrate his point by focusing on athenahealth (ATHN), whose shares have skyrocketed 120% since November 2012.

The provider of technology services for medical practices is "caught up in a bubble and could easily" plunge 80% or more from its recent peak, Einhorn said.

The hedge fund giant draw laughter by showing a series of video clips that poked fun at Jonathan Bush, the animated athenahealth CEO and a cousin of former president George W. Bush.

Einhorn said athenahealth's lofty valuation doesn't match up with its disappointing financial results, and he knocked Morgan Stanley for overly optimistic expectations for the stock's performance.

"This is what passes for conservatism during a bubble," Einhorn said, whose call sent athenahealth tumbling 12%.

2. There's money to be made in Russia

While many investors are slashing their exposure to Russia, James Grant believes there's good reason to kick the tires of Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy behemoth.

In a decidedly contrarian call, the founder of Grant's Interest Rate Observer told the crowd: Gazprom "may or may not be a bad company," but low valuations suggest its "many imperfections seem to be priced in."

Geopolitical concerns have hammered Russian assets, with investors fearing punishing sanctions from the U.S. and an escalation of violence. But Grant quoted from Baron Rothschild, who famously said "the time to buy is when there's blood in the streets."

Related: 3 Risks from the Ukraine Crisis

Grant knocked Gazprom's corporate governance structure, which gives Russia's government control of 50% of the London-listed company.

"There is no more reviled business than Gazprom," Grant said, calling it "Herbalife without Carl Icahn" and suggesting it's the "polar opposite investment" of Tesla Motors (TSLA).

Still, he noted Gazprom is the world's largest gas producer, it owns 17% of global gas reserves and trades at a hefty discount to average analyst price targets.

3. Oil prices are heading South

Surging U.S. oil production should send crude oil prices sharply lower in the coming quarters.

That was the message from Point State Capital's Zach Schreiber, who believes U.S. crude will continue to trade at a sharp discount to global prices.

"U.S. crude oil is being drilled for by the same cast of characters that oversupplied the U.S. natural gas market. We just saw this movie. Why should we expect a different outcome," said Schreiber.

He noted the bullish oil bet has become awfully crowded, with a $33 billion net long position in U.S. crude contracts.

"If you're long, I'm sorry for you. Maybe this makes you comfortable. At least you've got friends," Schreiber said. "Or it could make you feel scared. I'm sure it will be a very smooth exit when all these clowns get out of the Volkswagen."

Schreiber said he's bullish on Valero (VLO) and Marathon Oil (MRO) because refiners should benefit from the wider spreads between U.S. and global crude prices.

4. Housing market bouncing back? Think again

Jeffrey Gundlach believes housing prices are set to tumble to new lows because affordability is a myth, borrowing costs will spook potential home buyers and young people may continue to rent instead of buying.

"This is a generational preference. Young people were shocked and scarred by the housing collapse," said Gundlach, founder of Doubleline Capital.

He pointed to the high percentage of people who moved back in with their parents amid the poor job market and high levels of student debt.

"The kids aren't alright," he said. "There are no first-time buyers. Where are they?"

Related: Housing still a Weak Investment

Gundlach also cited the large amount of homes that have been purchased with cash by investors and other speculative buyers.

"This is not exactly indicative of organic growth in the market from real buyers," said Gundlach.

Gundlach urged investors to short the SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund (XHB), which he believes "looks very tired." He said this ETF should correlate very closely with lumber prices, which have tumbled.

5. Ackman's still likes Fannie and Freddie

Bill Ackman took a break from his campaign against Herbalife (HLF) to make the case for keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac alive despite their enormous crisis-era losses.

Related: Bill Ackman takes another swing against Herbalife

Instead of unwinding Fannie and Freddie, Ackman believes it would be far wiser for Congress to reform them. He suggested jacking up required capital ratios, forcing the entities to exit risky businesses and improving corporate governance.

Fannie and Freddie have an "80-year track record, global market acceptance for their paper, a workforce that knows the business and earnings stream that generates capital even in bad times," he said.

Ackman said Fannie and Freddie are conservatively worth $23 and could be valued at as much as $47, compared with just $4 now (these two do trade, but only "over the counter," not on a national stock exchange).

"It's time to get off our fanny," said Ackman, whose hedge fund owns about 10% of Fannie and Freddie's common stock.

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo : Could 'fire ice' fuel the future?

During their three-day meeting last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe again asked US President Barack Obama to speed up exports of American natural gas to help his beleaguered and energy-poor economy. But the big energy revolution that could ride to Tokyo's rescue may not come on tankers from US ports, but rather from deep underneath the sandy seabed off Japan's own shores.

Methane hydrates, which are chunky packets of ice that trap huge amounts of natural gas in the form of methane, are looming ever larger in Japan's plans to meet its needs for energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and skyrocketing bills for imported fuel.

Other Asian countries facing an energy crunch, including South Korea, India and China, are also hoping to tap into the apparently abundant reserves of methane hydrates, also known as "fire ice." That could help fuel growing economies - but it could also fuel further tensions in regional seas that are already the stage for geopolitical sabre rattling and brinkmanship over natural resources.

Totally unknown until the 1960s, methane hydrates could theoretically store more gas than all the world's conventional gas fields today. The amount that scientists estimate should be obtainable comes to about 43,000 trillion cubic feet, or nearly double the 22,800 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable traditional natural gas resources around the world. The United States consumed 26 trillion cubic feet of gas last year.

That raises the possibility of an energy revolution that could dwarf even the shale gale that has transformed America's fortunes in a few short years. It could also potentially have big implications for countries, including the US, Australia, Qatar and even Russia, which are banking on unbridled growth in the global trade of liquefied natural gas. The trick will be to figure out exactly how to profitably tap vast deposits of the stuff buried inside the sea floor.

Enormous potential

"There's no doubt that the resource potential is enormous," says Michael Stoppard, managing director, global gas, at energy consultancy IHS. "I think it's the ultimate rebuttal to the peak oil and peak gas concept, but of course that's not much good unless you can develop it."

To that end, this month a 499-tonne survey vessel nosed out of the port of Sakai, once home to fabled gunsmiths and the finest makers of samurai swords in medieval Japan and today the prospective launching pad for a new technological revolution.

For the next two months, the Kaiyo Maru No 7 will survey the sea floor off Japan's west coast, the first step in a years-long process that could end with significant production of natural gas in Japanese waters. A promising methane hydrate site off the southeast coast was the subject of earlier surveys.

Japan is the epicentre of methane hydrates today not because it has so much of the resource - quite the opposite, most methane hydrates appear to be in North America - but because it needs the resource so badly and is working faster than any other country to make fire ice a commercial proposition.

The US and Canada are awash in methane hydrate resources, found both under the seabed such as in the Gulf of Mexico and in sub-Arctic permafrost. But both countries also have huge reserves of conventional and shale gas, dampening industry enthusiasm for a complicated, lengthy research process.

Although some companies, such as Chevron, work alongside the US government on methane hydrate research, "there's a little less space in the industry for enabling field experiments and data collection than there was 10 years ago," says Ray Boswell, technology manager for methane hydrates at the US Energy Department's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Not so in Japan. This spring, researchers in Japan reached a technical breakthrough, figuring out exactly how the gassy bundles of ice release 160 times their volume in methane as they are taken out of low-temperature, high-pressure environments. That could make commercial extraction, which experts estimate is at least 10 to 15 years off, an easier proposition. Continue reading…

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo on continues aging of Japan's population

Japan's population continues to age as number of children hits new low

The number of children in Japan has fallen to a new low, while the amount of people over 65 has reached a record high as the population ages and shrinks, the government said.

There were an estimated 16.33 million children aged under 15 as of 1 April, down 160,000 from a year earlier, the internal affairs and communications ministry said on Sunday. It was the 33rd straight annual decline and the lowest level since records began in 1950.

Children accounted for 12.8% of the population, the ministry said. By contrast, the ratio of people aged 65 or older was at a record high, making up 25.6% of the population. Jiji Press said that, of countries with a population of at least 40 million, Japan had the lowest ratio of children to the total population – compared with 19.5% for the United States and 16.4% for China.

Last month, the government said the number of people in the world's third largest economy dropped by 0.17% to 127,298,000 as of 1 October 2013. This includes long-staying foreigners.

The proportion of people aged 65 or over is forecast to reach nearly 40% in 2060, the government has warned.

The Woo Group RBC Wealth Management Tokyo on Asian early trading ahead of US jobs

Asian early trading subdued ahead of US jobs data

TOKYO -- Asia was quiet in early Friday trading, ahead of a release later in the global day of key U.S. jobs data, with the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange standing almost unchanged in the morning session.

The Nikkei slid 0.2 percent to 14,460.30 in early trading, while the Kospi gained 0.1 percent to 1,963.04.

Market moves were cautious in anticipation of the release of U.S. government nonfarm payrolls report for April, which could show signs of an economic recovery.

The figures, which often set the market tone for a week or two after their release, may have a big impact as they come in the wake of significantly lower than expected U.S. economic growth in the first quarter and the Fed's ongoing reduction in its monetary stimulus.

Thursday's manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management echoed other findings showing that the U.S. economy rebounded strongly in March and April. Most economists expect Friday's payrolls data to be solid too, with about 220,000 jobs created during April.

Overnight on Wall Street, share prices did not keep rising after three straight days of gains, as players took a wait-and-see attitude.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,883.68. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.97 points to 16,558.87. The Dow had closed at an all-time high on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite rose or 0.3 percent to 4,127.45.

Much of the world was on holiday for May Day Thursday.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was the only major index to be traded, and it closed 0.4 percent higher at 6,808.87.

The euro was trading virtually unchanged from late Thursday at $1.3861 and the dollar was also unchanged at 102.33 yen.

In the oil markets, a barrel of benchmark crude was down 10 cents at $99.32.