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luni, 23 ianuarie 2012

What would you ask President Obama?

Monday, January 23, 2012

What would you ask President Obama?

Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m. ET. During that speech, he’ll lay out his vision for an America where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for what they do.

There is a range of ways to get involved with this year’s State of the Union address.

Immediately following the President’s speech on Tuesday, be sure to stay tuned to WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU for a live panel featuring senior White House advisors answering your questions about the speech. Then, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, a group of policy experts and advisors to the President will sit down for Office Hours on Twitter -- discussing the issues that matter to you and your community.

Finally, on Monday, January 30, President Obama will join the conversation in a special Google+ Hangout, a live multi-person video chat, from the White House.

Participating in the Hangout is easy -- just visit the White House YouTube channel to submit your questions and vote for your favorites between now and January 28. A few participants will be chosen to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to ask their questions of the President live!

Check out WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU to learn more about watching the enhanced State of the Union online and all the ways you can ask questions this week:

WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU

Here’s the full lineup -- all times are ET.

Tuesday

9:00 p.m.: Watch the enhanced version of the speech that features graphics, data and stats that highlight the issues the President is discussing on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU. Use the Twitter hashtag #SOTU to discuss the speech live.
10:00 p.m.: Immediately following the speech, pose your questions to a live panel at the White House. Senior advisors will answer your questions about the President’s address submitted via Twitter (use #WHChat and #SOTU), Facebook, Google+, and an in-person audience of Tweetup participants.

Wednesday Office Hours Schedule

All Day: Josh Earnest, Principal Deputy Press Secretary, answers your questions on Twitter (@jearnest44)
1:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Mark Zuckerman, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
3:00 p.m.: Office Hours with Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44), White House Communications Director

Thursday Office Hours Schedule

10:00 a.m. Veterans: Matt Flavin, White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy
11:00 a.m. LGBT: Miriam Vogel, White House Senior Policy Advisor and Gautam Raghavan, White House Associate Director for Public Engagement
12:00 p.m. Women: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity and Avra Siegel, White House Deputy Executive Director for the Council on Women and Girls
1:00 p.m. Seniors: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
2:00 p.m. Latinos: Felicia Escobar, White House Senior Policy Advisor, Julie Rodriguez, White House Associate Director of Public Engagement and Luis Miranda, White House Director of Hispanic Media
4:00 p.m. Small Business Owners: Christine Koronides, Senior Advisor for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
5:00 p.m. African Americans: Danielle Gray, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
6:00 p.m. Asian American Pacific Islanders: Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
TBD Youth: Administration official to be announced

Friday Office Hours Schedule

11:00 a.m. Foreign Policy: Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
12:00 p.m. Education: Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy
1:00 p.m. Health: Jeanne Lambrew, Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy and Nick Papas, Assistant Press Secretary
2:00 p.m. Energy: Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change and Dan Utech, Deputy Director for Energy Policy
3:00 p.m. Consumer Protections: Brian Deese, Deputy Director National Economic Council
4:00 pm The Economy: Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director National Economic Council
5:00 p.m. Job Opportunities: Portia Wu, Senior Policy Advisor for Mobility and Opportunity Policy
6:00 p.m. Urban Issues: Racquel Russell, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility and Opportunity

Monday January 30

President Obama participates in a Google+ Hangout from the White House

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Seth's Blog : The pricing formula (S&S)

The pricing formula (S&S)

Years ago, my bosses and I needed to finalize the pricing for a new line of software I was launching. In the room we had MBAs from Harvard (2), Stanford, Tuck and, I think, Wharton. We had three prices in mind, and the five of us couldn't agree. So we did the only scientific thing: we flipped a coin (two out of three, just to be sure).

Pricing your product is actually simple, as long as you consider it from the buyer's point of view. How much it costs you to make something is irrelevant. They don't care (of course, you can't price something at a loss and hope to stay in business for long). The two keys to the analysis:

Substitutes: Every purchase is a choice, and that means the buyer can choose to do nothing or buy something else instead. If there are easy and obvious substitutes to what you sell, that has to be built into your pricing. If you make something rare and unique, you still might not be able to charge a lot--because people can always choose to buy nothing. A 42 carat diamond, for example, might be hard to replace, but it's not worth $100 million unless someone actually chooses to buy it.

Part of the work of design and marketing is to help people understand that there are no good substitutes for what you have to offer, meaning, of course, that you can happily charge more.

Story: The other half of the pricing formula is the story the price itself tells. A Prius at $40,000 or a Prius at $10,000 is the same car, but the price becomes a dominant part of the story. You can tell a story of value/cheapness/affordability, or a story of luxury. If you price your product or service near the median, you're telling no story at all with the price, giving you the chance to tell a story about some other element of what you sell.

If you're not happy with your pricing options, focusing on your costs might not be the right path. Instead, focus on how the design or delivery change the availability of substitutes, and how the price becomes part of the story of your product.

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duminică, 22 ianuarie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Limits of Voluntary Deal Hit as Greek Bondholders Draw Line in the Sand; Separating Fact from Fiction in Selective Reporting
Australia Roundup: Oceanfront Homes for 65% Off; Chain Sales and Contingent Offers; Retailers Brace for More Job Cuts; Cusp of a White-Collar Recession
Irish Journalist Hounds ECB Official Regarding Irish Taxpayer Bailout of French and German Banks
Gingrich Blows Away Romney 40% to 28%; Victory Horrifies Republican Establishment; Looking Ahead, Who is the New Torch Bearer of Freedom?

Limits of Voluntary Deal Hit as Greek Bondholders Draw Line in the Sand; Separating Fact from Fiction in Selective Reporting

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 11:01 PM PST

The bickering over a half percentage point reduction on the discount rate continued over the weekend as Greek Bondholders Draw Line in the Sand

Private owners of Greek debt have made their "maximum" offer for the losses they are willing to accept, the bondholders' lead negotiator has said, implying that any further demands could kill off a "voluntary" deal and trigger a default.

One banker said Friday's demand by official creditors, led by the International Monetary Fund, for a further interest rate cut of 50 basis points on new long-term bonds to be swapped for existing Greek debt "may have put a voluntary deal out of reach".

Mr Dallara said the IIF's position tabled with Greek authorities on Friday night – believed to include a loss of 65-70 per cent on current Greek bonds' long-term value – was as far as his side was likely to go.

"I think it's clear we are at the limits of a voluntary deal," Mr Dallara said, recalling that eurozone heads of state had committed to keeping the restructuring voluntary at a high-stakes EU summit in October. "It is clear to me we are at a crossroads."

The IMF wants to put Greece on a path for a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120 percent by 2020. Anyone remember the original proposal a year or so ago? The idea then was austerity measures would put Greece at an 80 percent debt-to-GDP ratio by 2013-2014.

That Fantasyland proposal was soon followed by haircuts of 21% on Greek debt which I said would not work, then 50% which I said would not work, and now 65-70% which once again I suggest will not work.

Greece is in a depression and things are going to get worse. Portugal and Spain are also in depressions.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard thinks Italy is headed for depression as well. Please see Money Supply Figures Suggests Italy Headed Into Depression; Non-Performing Spanish Loans Hit 134 Billion Euros, 7.51% of All Loans, Highest in 17 Years; Eurozone Unemployment Charts for a discussion.

Granted, 2020 is a long way off, but recall the Maastricht Treaty requires a debt-to-GDP ratio of no more than 60%.

European Debt-to-GDP Ratios

CNN has a nice interactive map of European Public Debt at a Glance.

Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Greece are all in violation. In fact, 13 out of 17 nations are in violation of the treaty. Estonia, Slovenia, Finland, and Luxembourg are the only exceptions.

The map is from 2010 and some countries such as Spain that were on the edge before are no longer on the edge.

Greek Talks Hit a Snag Over Rates

The New York Times reports Greek Talks Hit a Snag Over Rates

Greece's private creditors, which hold about 206 billion euros, or $265 billion, in Greek bonds, are resisting accepting a lower rate. They argue that they are already faced with a 50 percent loss on their existing bonds and that the lower rate would increase the hit they would take.

It would also make it more difficult to describe the deal as voluntary. A coercive deal, bankers warned, could lead to a technical default and the initiation of credit-default swaps, or insurance, an outcome that all sides were trying to avoid.

[Mish: No - not ALL sides are trying to avoid that]

With the Greek economy forecast to shrink by 6 percent this year and 3 percent next year, the ultimate goal of Greece's lowering debt to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 is seeming more and more unrealistic. With G.D.P. plummeting, the International Monetary Fund is insisting that Greece's debt load — currently 160 percent of G.D.P. — be reduced more quickly and that the private sector pay its fair share.

A majority of the funds the monetary fund has disbursed so far has been paid out to Greece's bondholders as opposed to helping Greece itself. Of the close to 20 billion euros that the fund has disbursed, two-thirds has gone to repay bondholders — an increasing number of which have been hedge funds betting that this trend will continue.

CDS Holders Have Vested in in a "Credit Event" Not a Deal

Hedge funds that have plowed into Greek debt did so with credit default swaps. Those CDS holders would be made whole on any "credit event".

They have no vested interest in reaching a deal. So not "all" sides want to reach a deal as stated in the article.

Other creditors are upset that the ECB itself will not partake in haircuts. The ECB holds 55 billion of the 206 billion euros of Greek debt. The rest of the EMU according to fixed percentages are on the hook for that debt.

The Times reports ...

The [ECB's] refusal to take a loss has been regularly cited by investors as unfair, and many have said that they will sue Greece if they have to take a loss while the bank does not.

To get around this, officials are now discussing the possibility that Europe's rescue fund might lend money to Greece to allow it to buy the bonds back from the European Central Bank at the price the bank paid for them — thought to be about 75 cents on the euro. The central bank would then not have to take a loss on these holdings. By selling them back to Greece, it would remove itself as an obstacle to a broad restructuring agreement.

Separating Fact from Fiction in Selective Reporting

The proposal is for the ECB to sell its bonds back to Greece so that Greece will then take a hit.

With that in mind, look at this preposterous claim by a senior official "The bonds' rate "is the only issue," said a senior official directly involved in the negotiations. "We have to accommodate the needs of the Greek economy."

I see two sentences and two lies. Indeed the entire article is crammed pack with lies made by various IIF and EMU officials.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Australia Roundup: Oceanfront Homes for 65% Off; Chain Sales and Contingent Offers; Retailers Brace for More Job Cuts; Cusp of a White-Collar Recession

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 11:20 AM PST

Reader "Brisbane Bear" from down under sent potpourri of links on the dwindling prospects for the Australian economy.

Oceanfront Homes for 65% Off

In apples, rot starts at the periphery and spreads to the core. In real estate, rot starts in condos and vacation homes, then slowly encompasses city after city.

Please consider Investors snap up coastal property bargains in Queensland.

While prices soar in some coastal towns close to mining centres, astute buyers are managing to secure ocean- front homes in traditional tourist locations for $500,000 or more off peak prices as vendors cave after years of trying to sell.

One buyer scored an oceanfront unit in a marina development at Cardwell, halfway between Cairns and Townsville, for $157,000 - almost $300,000 less than it sold for in 2006. The unit had been on the market for three years.

A penthouse with ocean views in the same development sold for $570,000 less than its 2007 sales price.

RP Data senior analyst Cameron Kusher said buyers of the most affordable seaside holiday homes needed to be prepared for a long commute. But he said coastal market values had fallen across Queensland, meaning bargains could even be found in popular locations.

Chain Sales and Contingent Offers

When all else fails, buyers accept any offer they can get including contingent sales as noted by The Age in Risky ride on the vendor-go-round.

SELLING a home is stressful at the best of times. Failing to sell at auction in the midst of a property downturn can be its own kind of nightmare.

But imagine if it turned out that the only way to sell your home depended on the buyer having to sell theirs first.

It is a scenario Gavin and Verity Carson never considered when their Abbotsford terrace house went to auction and was passed in.

After later negotiations with a bidder broke down, they were left at a loss about what to do next. Looming was the threat of a lengthy wait in the private sale market, already flooded with thousands of unsold homes.

"All the people that had been interested were no longer interested - we had to really start the campaign from scratch," Mr Carson said, adding that they already faced a $10,000 advertising bill for the auction.

"Ideally, we would have sold at auction," Mr Carson said. "We did end up taking a lower value than we were expecting but that's really just indicative of the market at the moment. We're glad that it's over - put it that way."

In Britain, subject-to-sale transactions can often evolve into "chain" sales involving multiple properties that must all settle on the same day.

Retailers Brace for More Job Cuts

Following a dismal Christmas selling season, Retailers brace for job cuts

THE battered retail industry is bracing for a fresh wave of job cuts, with the crucial Christmas shopping season failing to deliver a much-needed surge in sales.

Analysts predict a clutch of struggling retailers will fall into administration in March, joining a list of failures over the past year that includes the booksellers Borders and Angus and Robertson, and the clothing retailers Colorado and Fletcher Jones.

At the same time as they slash costs in their stores, retailers are pouring resources into information technology - pinning hopes of a return to growth on tightening the link between physical and online shopping.

In November, a month when typically volumes rise in the run-up to Christmas, retail sales fell from a 0.2 per cent growth in October to no growth in November, while department store sales in trend terms fell 0.2 per cent.

"You've seen the Bureau of Statistics retail sales for November, and it's pretty dismal," said a David Jones spokeswoman, Helen Karlis.

"There's no sugar coating, it's just what's happening. Flat growth is probably a good thing in this environment."

The Australian National Retailers Association's chief executive, Margy Osmond, said retailers looked at the flat November retail sales with disappointment ''and concern''.

"At this stage, many retailers have chosen to reduce staff hours rather than lose valuable people, but there is a real concern in the sector about keeping jobs," she said.

Cost cutting would continue in the retail area, said the Commonwealth Bank's retail analyst, Andrew McClennan.

"But also there is no doubt there are going to be significant layoffs through further business failures," he said.

Cusp of a White-Collar Recession

Please consider Bank on white-collar crisis

AUSTRALIA is on the cusp of a white-collar recession with insiders warning that thousands of jobs are at risk in the finance sector, after it emerged yesterday that ANZ planned to cut 700 jobs.

But The Saturday Age has established the job cuts will total as many as 1000 by the end of this year, which will be more than the bank shed at the height of the global financial crisis.

They come a day after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced plans to close its investment banking business, leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs in Australia.

Economists have warned Australia is vulnerable to a recession this year with a wholesale funding squeeze in Europe raising debt costs for banks such as ANZ.

Experts say thousands of jobs will be lost from the industry this year as banks scramble to adjust to an era of low credit growth and higher funding costs.

This comes on top of cuts of 2150 jobs between March 2009 and last September in ANZ's Australian division. "We have run a policy of shedding jobs through attrition since October last year," an executive said.

"Temps have not been rehired once their contract has expired. Secondments have been stopped. We have outsourced two whole floors of operations staff from a [Melbourne] office to Manila [in the Philippines]. If you count all those jobs since October, along with what will be announced in the next week … we will lose more staff than we did as a result of the GFC."

Australia is not on the "Cusp of a White-Collar Recession", Australia is smack in the midst of a general recession affecting nearly all aspects of the economy but mining. As China slows, mining will slow as well.

Expect the real estate rot to spread to the core, sooner rather than later. The collapse in commercial real estate values, condos, and homes will be stunning.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Irish Journalist Hounds ECB Official Regarding Irish Taxpayer Bailout of French and German Banks

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 10:16 AM PST

The video below is from a European Central Bank press-conference in Ireland. Journalist Vincent Browne demands that the ECB representative explain why the ECB required the Irish people to bail out a bank's uninsured creditors. The bureaucrat mouths bland reassurances, then asserts (despite all appearances to the contrary) that the question has been answered. Browne doesn't let up.

Link if video does not play: Irish journalist humiliates EuroBank technocrat who won't stop ducking hard questions

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Gingrich Blows Away Romney 40% to 28%; Victory Horrifies Republican Establishment; Looking Ahead, Who is the New Torch Bearer of Freedom?

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 03:11 AM PST

In spite of a carefully timed announcement by Newt Gingrich's ex-wife Marianne on an "Open Marriage, Mistress Proposal", Gingrich rallied from a 16 point deficit on January 3 to a stunning 12 percentage point slaughter of Mitt Romney less than three weeks later.

South Carolina Primary Results

The Associated Press announces these South Carolina Primary Results.

This goes to show you that "It ain't over until it's over."

Dog Whistle Politics

The Financial Times reports Victory Horrifies Republican Establishment

Gingrich didn't just win the primary. He crushed Mr Romney, by more than ten percentage points, and that after the former Massachusetts governor had a lead of similar dimensions over Mr Gingrich just a week before the poll.

At least among Republicans, Mr Gingrich is so battle-scarred that no matter what dirt is thrown at him – even the fact that his ex-wife said he wanted an "open marriage" – it no longer sticks.

Mr Gingrich is also twice the natural politician that Mr Romney is, and was able to tailor his message on the campaign trail in South Carolina to rouse that state's voters.

Although he denied it, his continuous references to Barack Obama as a "food stamp president" was called out by some commentators as classic dog whistle politics in a state with a long history of racial tension.

Mr Gingrich will be thrilled with his victory. The Republican establishment, however, will be horrified, because its members think he is unelectable and tarnished in a general election.

If Mr Gingrich wins Florida, expect a huge campaign against him, not from the White House, but from within the Republican party itself.

Who is the New Torch Bearer of Freedom?

I will take flack for this but it's all over for Ron Paul. He finished a disappointing 4th. I do not like the news but I cannot ignore it.

This will not stop me one bit from pointing out the flaws of Gingrich, the flaws of Romney, and the flaws of the Republican and Democratic parties in general. Indeed I hope and expect Ron Paul to carry his message to the end in an attempt to change the Republican platform.

The Republican party needs a new torch bearer. New Jersey governor Chris Christie walked away from the opportunity. Christie was not the perfect candidate, rather he was an acceptable candidate.

Nonetheless, one thing is certain. Neither Gingrich nor Romney is the future of the Republican party. Both are failed politicians of the failed past.

A new torch bearer will not come from the existing Republican establishment. My eyes turn towards Rand Paul.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

How To Get The Equivalent Of $100K in PPC Ads For Free

Posted: 21 Jan 2012 02:48 AM PST

Posted by scanlin

This post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.

We launched our site in July 2010. By the end of 2011 we ranked on page one organic results for 108 relevant phrases. During 2011 we went from four phrases in the top three results to 44 phrases in the top three. Here are the SEO tactics we used to get the equivalent of $100K in PPC ads in 2011 for free.

Starting in early 2009, we took 18 months to build a subscription-based information service for investors. Half way through that process we started thinking about marketing and joined SEOmoz to learn about SEO. (First and foremost, thanks to the SEOMoz team and community for educating us on how to do SEO, as we were total novices!) Based on what we learned we made changes to our site architecture, URL naming conventions, image naming conventions, and content strategy before we launched.

Because we are a self-funded startup we knew we wouldn't have a big (or any, really) PPC budget. In our sector (financial services) many of the phrases we wanted are $10/click because we are bidding against well funded competitors (online brokers mostly). Given our conversion rates and lifetime customer value we can't make money by buying visitors at $10/click. We had to rely on organic traffic and SEO.

SEO Results

We made solid progress with our SEO in 2011. We are analytical types and like to graph the number of phrases we have in Top 3 and Page 1 organic results each week.

For Page 1 results we went from 14 phrases at the beginning of 2011 to 108 phrases at the end of 2011:

For Top 3 organic rankings in 2011 we went from four at the start of the year to 44 at the end of the year:

The impact of these ranking improvements was significant. We quadrupled our Google referred organic traffic during the year. At the start of the year we were getting 2000 visitors per month from Google organic visits. By the end of 2011 we were getting 8000 visitors per month from Google organic visits:

For us, this increase in organic search traffic helped us grow our business nicely during 2011.

Over $100,000 Of PPC Ads Equivalent

We wanted to know how much that organic traffic was worth to us in terms of equivalent PPC ad spend. So we went to the Google Keyword Tool and looked up the Exact Match estimated CPC for each phrase where we ranked. Then we multiplied that number by the actual visits we received for that Exact Match phrase.

For example, we rank for "call option" which has an estimated CPC (for Exact Match) of $13.66. We got 286 clicks from that phrase in 2011, which would have cost us 286 x $13.66 or $3907 if we had purchased those clicks via PPC. Do that same exercise for all of the phrases that sent us organic traffic during 2011 and you get a number in excess of $100,000. Those are visits we got for free because of our SEO. (Did I mention how much we appreciate our training from SEOmoz yet?)

Cool. So How Did You Get Those Rankings?

Ah, yes. The secret sauce. Because we are grateful to the community here, we are going to share our tactics. None of this is rocket science or breaking new ground. But rather than vague assurances, we can say for certain these tactics worked for us.

On-page optimization. We created an Excel file and mapped our site so we knew which phrase was mapped to which URL. We limited ourselves to one phrase per URL (okay, maybe two phrases if one was the plural of the other). Then we used the Report Card feature of the On Page tools here until we got an 'A' grade for every phrase/URL pair. We did this for about 200 phrases we care about. Yes, it took a while (a little bit of time each day spread over six months).

Internal linking. If a blog article on one concept mentions a concept we have another blog article for then we make sure the first points to the second with appropriate anchor text. We also interlink our Tutorial with our Blog. We actually repeat this process about once every 90 days, so to make sure that older content is referring to newer content (and vice versa) as we add more content pages.

New content. We add at least one page of unique content per week to the site (300-500 words written by us and relevant to our audience). We have a list of phrases we'd like to rank for that we don't currently rank for and tend to create content around one of those phrases each week.

Link building. We build deep links to every page. For some pages, optimized for long tail phrases, it only takes 1 or 2 links with appropriate anchor text to get a decent ranking. But for most of our phrases it requires many more links than that. We wrote a ton of guest blog articles and article marketing articles (non-spun, non-spammy) and posted them on themed (investment related) blogs and sites. An example is this guest post on a PR5 site.

BLU. Blogger Link Up is a free email list where people post requests for articles every day (there are a few of these kinds of sites). If you write something they will give you a link back. Before spending time creating new content for someone else we always check their traffic stats and look at their site. If their site is spammy looking then forget it. But many of them are quality, well-curated sites that will provide a decent link in exchange for quality content.

HARO. If you aren't using HARO you should be. It stands for Help A Reporter Out. You sign up (free) and then get a daily email from journalists looking for sources on articles. If you are relevant to the article they are working on and offer them some expert answers or content they may cite you in their article (and give you a link back). Major publications use HARO and we have successfully gotten links on sites like American Express's OpenForum (PR6 site) through this process. It's not the same as having an expensive PR firm, but it will give you at least some access to the same kind of publications a PR firm would.

Press releases. Never underestimate the links you will get if you issue a press release. We use PRWeb but there are others. Make sure the release is SEO optimized (put in a few links to deep pages on your site). Seems like no matter what you issue at PRWeb there are dozens of sites that will republish your release, creating dozens of new links. Yes, you have to pay for the releases. Do it a couple times a year, minimum.

Forum participation. This does not mean posting spam in forums. This means find where your audience hangs out and provide meaningful participation. After you've established yourself as credible (posted a certain number of non-spam postings) then most forums will let you have a do-follow link in your signature line for each post. Yes, it takes time to read and participate in the forums. You will not only get some link love (for the bots) but eventually but you will also get human visitors who just like what you're saying in the forums and come check you out.

YouTube videos. We weren't sure about this one until we did it, but it's totally worth it. Create a channel on YouTube (which will get you one do-follow link from a PR9 site) and post some videos. We saw a noticeable increase in rankings once we did this. We think that PR9 link really helped.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+: Set up profiles and every time you write a blog entry post it to these outlets.

You Had Better Like To Write

The bottom line is we spend a ton of time writing. Writing for our own site, writing guest blogs and articles for other sites, writing to answer HARO requests, answering questions in forums, etc. We probably spend half our time on new content creation and writing in general. Yes, you can outsource the writing but (1) it costs money, and (2) much of what you get back won't be of high enough quality to use (at least, within our financial niche that has been our experience). Better to write it yourself.

We've definitely come to realize that SEO is not a sprint; it's a marathon. Even though we made good progress in 2011 we have another hundred phrases we want to rank for in 2012. That's over eight per month. Time to get back to writing!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

Seth's Blog : Trading favors

Trading favors

Now that everyone has a media platform, look for even more of the mutual back scratching that comes from tracking favors.

The most corrosive sort of this network amplification goes like this: I do something for you unasked. Then I do something again. Perhaps I even tout you or your work a third time. Then I come to you, point out how generous I've been and ask for you to do something for me. Or I network my way to one person and then use that platform to reach three more, and repeat until I've worked the entire digital room.

Humans have a natural openness to reciprocity. It's a time-honored survival technique, one that allowed us to live together in villages for millenia. Someone who doesn't reciprocate is less likely to be protected by his peers, right? Not only have we been taught reciprocation since birth, but it feels right. It's baked in.

The problem occurs when the trading of favors become mercenary, when alert individuals start manipulating the system for personal gain. Suddenly, every favor is suspect, measured and not at all generous. Suddenly all the likes and links and blurbs become nothing but currency, not the honest appraisals of people we can trust. It means that bystanders have trouble telling the difference between honest approval and the mere mutual shilling of traded favors.

Yes, you can trade your way up, but at some point, the very people who were influenced by all your trades start to realize that you can't be trusted.

Mutual funds deserve to be rigorously measured and relentlessly traded. Favors and taste and allegiances, though, not so much. Like is too important to be something you do because you have to.

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sâmbătă, 21 ianuarie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Sarkozy Dumps Financial Transaction Tax After Pressure From Banks
Greek Debt Talks Stall, More Negotiations "By Phone" Later Today; IMF Germany Think 4% Coupon Too High; Greek Haircut Calculator
Is Ron Paul an Isolationist as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum Claim?

Sarkozy Dumps Financial Transaction Tax After Pressure From Banks

Posted: 21 Jan 2012 03:58 PM PST

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is once again setting himself up to look like a fool, this time over his pledge to implement a tax on all financial transactions, popularly referred to as the "Tobin Tax".

Just days after pledging to proceed with a tax on all financial transaction tax in France if the rest of the Europe would not go along, he walked away from the "Tobin Tax" idea completely after receiving pressure from French banks.

Via Google Translate, please consider Sarkozy waiver of the Tobin Tax by pressure from the banks, according to the German press

The French government had abandoned its demand to impose a tax on financial transactions, also called Tobin Tax, after pressure from the country's largest banks, which have threatened to relocate their businesses in other territories, as confirmed by sources in the banking sector Germany's Handelsblatt.

According to newspaper reports, Paris would replace the tax on financial transactions by a "tax on stock negotiations", similar to that established in the UK, after having held talks with French banks.

Earlier this week, the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, expressed his support for the imposition of a tax on financial transactions, but admitted to be studied "some details".

Not only does it look like Sarkozy caved under pressure from French banks, it appears the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy caved in as well.

Will this flip-flopping by Sarkozy, especially after being adamant that France would go it alone if necessary help his election chances?

For a discussion of Sarkozy's dwindling election chances please consider Le Pen Inches Closer to Bumping Off Sarkozy in First Round of French Elections; Interesting Crossover Vote Opportunity for Hollande Supporters to Dump Sarkozy

Never before has a sitting French president been dumped in the first round of elections. That outcome is now a strong possibility.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Greek Debt Talks Stall, More Negotiations "By Phone" Later Today; IMF Germany Think 4% Coupon Too High; Greek Haircut Calculator

Posted: 21 Jan 2012 09:28 AM PST

For weeks we have been hearing "agreement soon" on Greek bond haircuts. The theme for the day today as it was yesterday and as it was a week ago is "tomorrow".

One problem with all of these "deal is close" announcements is none of them have included an agreement from those who stand to benefit if there is a credit event. Until those CDS holders are made whole, or at least the CDS holders are satisfied, there is no deal, just noise.

The Wall Street Journal reports UPDATE: Greek Debt Talks Appear To Stall Saturday

Talks between Greece and its private sector creditors over a debt writedown plan appeared to stall Saturday as the banks' top negotiator left Athens amid signs of fresh disagreements over how much Greece would pay its bondholders in the future.

Institute of International Finance chief Charles Dallara, who has been negotiating with Greek officials on the bond swap plan for the last two days, left Athens Saturday as hurdles remained over the interest rate the new bonds would pay private sector creditors.

"Right now there are no talks. There will be consultations with the EU and the IMF to determine where we stand and then we'll see. It (negotiations) has again become complicated with the new demands over the coupon," said a person with direct knowledge of the talks.

Earlier, people familiar with the matter said that the IMF and Germany don't believe Greece's debt would return to sustainable levels if the average coupon on the new bonds is around 4%, pushing for a lower coupon.

"We were discussing technical and legal issues having agreed in principle to an average coupon of 4%, but the IMF insists this won't be enough to bring (Greece's) debt back to sustainable levels," said another person with knowledge of the talks. This is the second intervention by Germany and the IMF in debt talks in the last eight days over the coupon rate.

IMF Germany Think 4% Coupon Too High

It's hard to say whether it's the CDS holders who are the only holdouts here. Rather it's possible, there is no general agreement at all. Interestingly, both German and the IMF think Greece cannot recover with a 4% or higher coupon rate. Germany had been arguing for a 2% rate.

At a 2% coupon on new debt, assuming a 10% Greek haircut rate, existing bondholders (except the ECB) would suffer 76% losses plus whatever losses it would take to make the ECB whole on the garbage it is holding on its balance sheet.

Reuters has an interesting "Greek Haircut Calculator" to see what losses might be at varying rates on new debt.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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Is Ron Paul an Isolationist as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum Claim?

Posted: 21 Jan 2012 12:41 AM PST

Both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have accused Ron Paul of being an isolationist. Is that really the case? Ironically, I propose that Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum are the isolationists.

However, before one can make a case for or debate anything, there must be an agreement on terms and an understanding of what isolationist means.

The best place to start is a compelling article written by Sheldon Richman on the Future of Freedom Foundation website.

Opposing Imperialism Is Not Isolationism

I am going to take liberty and post Richman's Opposing Imperialism Is Not Isolationism in entirety. If he objects, I will condense it down. Here goes.

When pundits and rival politicians call Ron Paul an "isolationist," they mislead the American people — and they know it.

They know it? How could they not: Ron Paul is for unilateral, unconditional free trade. He believes any American should be perfectly free to buy from or sell to any person in the world. In that sense — the laissez-faire sense — he favors globalization, which, applied consistently, would require a worldwide free market. He's such a strong advocate of free trade that he objects to the world's governments, led by the U.S. government, setting up international bureaucracies, such as the World Trade Organization, to manage trade. He thinks trade should be a totally private matter. That's a solid classical-liberal, or libertarian, position.

So why is Paul repeatedly called an isolationist?

Apparently in today's political world, being an isolationist means opposing the U.S. government's policing the rest of the world through invasion, occupation, and war — that is, militarism. The word "isolationist" has always suggested a fear of foreigners, and no doubt those who apply the word to Paul want to cash in on that sense. So we are left with the daffy conclusion that Ron Paul is a xenophobic, head-in-the-sand isolationist precisely because he prefers peaceful trade with foreigners rather than invasion, occupation, and demolition of their countries.

If that's what it means to be an isolationist, count me as one too.

It's easy to understand why this inappropriate label is stuck on Paul. Establishment conservatives and progressives are terrified by him and desperately want him to go away. They're terrified because he has done the worst thing imaginable: he has held up a mirror and reminded them of what they are.
He has shown establishment conservatives and even so-called Republican moderates (such as Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman) that they are, and long have been, apologists for empire and therefore betrayers of the republican (small-r) ideals they say they embrace. When Paul condemns past, present, and future aggressive wars (such as the one being planned for Iran); when he calls for closing America's 900 military installations in over 40 countries and removing America's troops from 130 countries; when he advocates an end to all economic and military aid to foreign governments (including Israel's); and when he opposes wholesale violation of the Bill of Rights (see the PATRIOT Act and the National Defense Authorization Act), he is saying to his Republican rivals, You have helped destroy individual liberty by shamefully supporting the U.S. global empire, which brutalizes foreign populations, fosters an exploitative military-industrial complex, violates civil liberties, and burdens the American people with obscene debt, taxation, and Federal Reserve monetary manipulation.

That charge must be hard to take from a fellow Republican. So his rivals strike back in the way they know best: they smear Paul. The thought of a staunch antiwar, pro-Bill of Rights candidate running against Barack Obama scares the daylights out of them, because they know only one way to run against a Democrat: accuse him of being an appeaser and a socialist.

This is absurd, however, because Obama is neither. He has steadfastly carried on the empire's program of global militarism and corporatism. If you doubt it, look at his foreign-policy record and the long list of Wall Street people who advise him and give him money.

Which brings us to the progressives. If you think establishment conservatives are scared of Ron Paul, imagine how Obama and his supporters must feel. Can you imagine their having to run against a staunch antiwar, pro-Bill of Rights opponent? This is the same Obama who has maintained Guantanamo, launched more deadly drone attacks than George W. Bush, signed into law the authority to detain individuals indefinitely without charge or trial, claimed he may kill even American citizens without due process, cracked down harshly on whistle-blowers, protected torturers from legal consequences, invoked state secrets to quash lawsuits by torture victims, and on and on.
Most progressives live in a fantasy world where they are champions of peace, tolerance, and the rule of law, when in fact they support — and refuse to criticize — a man who has mimicked George W. Bush in virtually every way.

How can they tolerate a man — Ron Paul — who reminds them of that?

Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation in Fairfax, Va., author of Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State, and editor of The Freeman magazine. Visit his blog Free Association at www.sheldonrichman.com. Send him email.

Is Ron Paul an Isolationist?

I was going to title my post "Is Ron Paul an Isolationist?" but after perusing the Future of Freedom Foundation website that I just discovered this evening, I noticed that title was already taken.

Here are snips from The Future of Freedom article Is Ron Paul an Isolationist? written by Laurence Vance.

Speaking in South Carolina just before Christmas, Newt Gingrich "sharply criticized Mr. Paul for what he said were his isolationist views on foreign policy."

While stumping in Iowa the week before the Iowa caucuses, Rick Santorum "urged Republicans to carefully study Mr. Paul's isolationist foreign policy views."

Tune in to the leading conservative talk-show hosts or read the comments posted by their followers on right-wing websites and you will hear and see Ron Paul regularly described as an isolationist.

Okay, so what would an isolationist America look like? What if the United States really retreated from the world stage, avoided engagement with the rest of the world, and actually did isolate itself from every other country?

Under a real foreign policy of isolationism, the United States would refuse to participate in the Olympics, refuse to make treaties, refuse to issue visas, refuse to allow foreign goods to be imported, refuse to allow U.S. goods to be exported, refuse to allow foreign students to study at American universities, refuse to allow American students to study at foreign universities, refuse to allow foreign investment, refuse to extradite criminals, refuse to exchange diplomats, refuse to allow cultural exchanges, refuse to participate in disaster-relief efforts, refuse to allow travel abroad, refuse to engage in diplomacy, refuse to deliver mail to or receive mail from foreign countries, refuse to allow emigration, and refuse to allow immigration.

Here is Rick Santorum on Ron Paul's "dangerous" foreign policy: "One thing he can do as commander in chief is he can pull all our troops home. He can shut down our bases in Germany. He can shut down the bases in Japan. He can pull our fleets back." According to Santorum and his fellow conservative and Republican warmongers Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and the Weekly Standard, Ron Paul is an isolationist, not because he wants America to be isolated from the rest of the world, but because he wants to terminate the empire, stop fighting foreign wars, close the foreign military bases, cut the bloated military budget, end foreign aid, halt all offense spending, bring all the troops home, limit the military to the actual defense of the United States, and stop being the policeman of the world.

A noninterventionist foreign policy is a policy of peace, commerce, travel, cultural exchange, diplomacy, neutrality, and free trade.

A noninterventionist foreign policy means no preemptive strikes, invasions, occupations, bombings, threats, sanctions, embargoes, foreign aid, assassinations, imperialism, meddling, bullying, regime changes, nation building, entangling alliances, spreading democracy, NATO-like commitments, peacekeeping operations, forcibly opening markets, policing the world, and no foreign military bases.

It is a sad day for America and Americans when not supporting an aggressive, belligerent, interventionist, and meddling foreign policy means that you are an isolationist.

Is Ron Paul isolationist?

Is France isolationist because its navy doesn't patrol our coasts? Is Canada isolationist because it doesn't have military bases below the 49th parallel? Is Germany isolationist because it doesn't have tens of thousands of troops stationed in the United States? Is Brazil isolationist because it doesn't kill Americans with drone strikes? Is Russia isolationist because it doesn't build military bases in scores of countries? Is Moldova isolationist because it doesn't send its soldiers to fight foreign wars? Was Ronald Reagan an isolationist because he pulled U.S. troops out of Lebanon?

Noninterventionism is not isolationism. It is practical, sane, moral, just, and right. It is the foreign policy of the Founding Fathers — and Ron Paul.

Laurence M. Vance is a policy advisor for the Future of Freedom Foundation and the author of The Revolution That Wasn't. Visit his website: www.vancepublications.com. Send him email.

That was a lengthy, yet incomplete snip.

With those two compelling articles, I added a link to The Future of Freedom Foundation under the category "Taxpayer Friendly Sites" on the left hand side of my blog.

Mission Statement

I wholeheartedly endorse the Mission of FFF.ORG as follows.

Mission

The mission of The Future of Freedom Foundation is to advance freedom by providing an uncompromising moral and economic case for individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government.

Please give the site a good look and help spread the word.

Who are the "Real" Isolationists?

The irony of the Ron Paul "isolationist" accusation is the other republican candidates, especially Mitt Romney, are the true isolationists. Mitt Romney has come flat out and said he will increase tariffs on China which would likely start protectionist trade wars much like the Smoot-Hawley Tariff act that intensified the downturn of the great depression.

Republicans who campaign on the basis of "small government" and "constitutional principles" yet support troops in 140 countries, manipulation of interest rate by the Fed, and isolationist tariff policies are nothing but enormous hypocrites.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

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