luni, 26 mai 2014

How to Be More Creative in Your Online Campaigns

How to Be More Creative in Your Online Campaigns


How to Be More Creative in Your Online Campaigns

Posted: 25 May 2014 03:30 PM PDT

Posted by ShellShock

The SEO landscape has changed so much in the last few years in the wake of the Penguin and Panda apocalypse that the discipline is now considered in the broader terms of online marketing or digital marketing. The one element that is common is the requirement for new skills such as PR, classic marketing and most importantly: creativity. Agencies and freelance individuals who can't adapt, evolve and embrace the new mode of thinking/operating are vulnerable with nowhere to hide behind mediocre work and outdated tactics.

Be more creative, is a phrase often used within business and marketing with little consideration given to its meaning. But, what does it mean to be creative?

There is much confusion about what creativity is and a general misconception of mistaking style for creativity. Most designers are stylists: they make things look good. Creativity is about concepts, ideas and innovation. In art school, I was always taught that being able to justify the concept was the most important element of creativity. You had to argue your reason for why the design piece was a solution to the problem. I can still recall how nervous I used to get before a group critique session (the phrase blood bath comes to mind) even though it was over 20 years ago. It's not about how good it looks - it's how well it answers the questions.

Creativity is a skill we can all access. Everyone has the capacity to generate ideas. Admittedly, some people are more inclined towards creative thinking, just as some are able to figure large maths calculations in their head or swim like Michael Phelps. But anyone can increase his or her level of creativity by learning the skills of thinking and exercising their idea muscle.

I recently published a free ebook called 'What is Creativity?' and the following are six ideas extracted and expanded from the book to increase your creative thinking and improve your online campaigns:


"Creativity is not a talent, it's a way of operating." John Cleese



Learning to switch into open mode
Ex Monty Python, John Cleese understands and defines the creative process as learning to switch between two states or modes: open and closed. When we are under pressure and stress to deliver, such as in our everyday working lives, we are in closed mode. When we are relaxed, detached from problems and playful, we are in the open mode. Open can be considered playful (lateral thinking) and closed logical (vertical thinking). Just as we need both lateral thinking and vertical thinking, we need open and closed states to solve a problem: the open state allows us to develop creative ideas and then the closed state to plan and implement the idea. These are similarly aligned to vertical and lateral thinking processes.



1: How to achieve an Open state
Schedule time to avoid being distracted and remove the pressure to instantly generate ideas; your brain needs time to open up. The optimum amount of time is 90 minutes, it takes a minimum of 60 minutes for the brain to focus on a task and after 90 minutes will be prone to distraction and need a break.

Place of work is essential for creatives to get into state - most writers and artists will follow a routine and often have isolated spaces such as garden offices to minimize distraction. Some artists need to be surrounded by ephemera such as the collection of memorabilia that Paul Smith surrounds himself with for inspiration. Others, like Maya Angelou, prefer minimalism and, like myself, need an uncluttered desk and space for an uncluttered mind to be able to think.

Agatha Christie preferred to work in a large Victorian bath whilst eating apples. Benjamin Franklin would work naked for an hour every morning. Maya Angelou preferred the isolation of a hotel room and requested everything removed from the walls; she would bring her own sherry and ashtray. The eccentric poet Dame Edith Sitwell would lie down in a coffin finding inspiration in the claustrophobic and restrictive space.

You don't need to go to the extremes of a coffin but find a space which is conducive to relaxation and without distraction, anywhere that removes you from association with work or pressure (preferably not home). Try a coffee shop (JK Rowling famously wrote Harry Potter in her local coffee shop), the library, a hotel or even a camper van (Breaking Bad style). Removing yourself from the usual place of work will remove yourself from distraction, help the brain to break pattern which in turn will switch into a more receptive state for ideas.

To access open mode if you are in a group:
The open state thrives in humor and play so try the dinner party technique: create the dream dinner party guest list, such as Einstein, Da Vinci, Churchill, Kennedy or even fictional characters such as Don Corleone, Jack Sparrow and Luke Skywalker. Each person should take a persona and become their character - they must answer questions and think like they would imagine that character to think. The perfect warm up exercise; it is huge fun, encourages humor, it breaks awkwardness and forces the brain to break pattern from your normal style of thinking. Keep this game going for a minimum of 20 minutes before your brainstorm.

To access open mode if you are alone:
Research has shown a correlation between increased dopamine and creativity. Dopamine is a pleasure chemical which the brain releases to signal success but this chemical is not as straight forward and predictable as a reliable tool. The increase of endorphins will elevate our mood and help us achieve our open state: physical exercise is one of the easiest ways to access a rush of endorphins although, spicy food, sexual activity and pain can also trigger release - so whatever gets you going!

Try a walk, swim or bike ride to stimulate feel good. You want to ensure a careful balance of feeling exhilarated but also avoiding energy depletion. Opt for a route that you haven't been on before to break any automatic behavior patterns. Walking in a new part of town and observing the unfamiliar territory or running backwards will stimulate new thought and movement patterns thus putting you into a more creative and receptive state.


"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while." Steve Jobs



2: Make connections with an ideas wall
The ability to make connections and see relationships between seemingly random elements is the secret to creativity. Combining old elements to create something new.

Idea walls solve crimes
It's no coincidence that you see examples of ideas walls on TV dramas and movies such as: Homelands, Sherlock Holmes, A Beautiful Mind and Three and a Half Days Later. Detectives have long used this technique to assist solving crimes. Placing photographs of the known or suspected perpetrators, victims, crime scenes and evidence on a wall enables items of evidence to be repositioned and grouped; string can link items together for visual affect. A detective can then stand back and mentally take in a great deal of information at once. The brain begins to process and use its natural ability to seek the connections between the items, find the clues and answers to the case.

images from Crazy Walls

When the BBC conducted a site redesign in 2010 they printed out the entire site and mounted on a wall affectionately known as 'the wall of shame'. To enable them to better visualize what they had and to unify the visual and interaction design of the desktop and mobile sites.

How to create a content strategy ideas wall
Tools needed: paper, colored pens, highlighter pens, print outs of all reference material, colored string and push-pins, post it notes, blu tack or tape, and a large wall space, pin board or sheets of foam board.

  • Organize your reference material into themes or groups and pin/stick to the wall.
  • Devise a color code system for your different groups with the pen color you have and use the colored pens and highlighter and mark and highlight relevant pages and sections of information. (Homelands style, see above)
  • For example, if you are working on content strategy for your site group into:
    • Influencers - list influencers who could help to broadcast your content and sub group in different social media channels, newsletters and authority sites (eg Guardian, Huffington Post, Fast Company)
    • Audit - audit current site content
    • Idea sources - places to mine ideas from such as offline periodicals, online Q&A sites like Quora, social media channels and Google trends
    • Host Locations - potential sites to target for exposure, shares and links: authority hub sites, bloggers, online magazines/publishers, email newsletters and social media sites

  • By grouping related themes we start to see patterns. If you have a piece that doesn't fit into a group this 'outlier' could in itself give ideas.
  • Stand back from the wall and look for potential relationships or connections between the information. Using push pins and colored string make a visual link between the two. (See photos above)
  • The key here is flexibility: move pieces of paper round, create new string links, devise new groups - by repositioning, regrouping and relinking this is where your ideas will start to form and generate as you begin to make the connections.


If wall space is an issue or you prefer a digital version, Mural.ly is an online alternative to creating an ideas wall; describing itself as "an online whiteboard designed to visually organize ideas and collaborate in a playful way." Mural.ly allows collaboration of team members and you can drag and drop your reference material onto the white board and reposition items and make notes. I have only just begun to play with this tool and it has huge depth and potential to assist in creative projects.

image from Mural.ly


Pinterest is one of my favourite scrapbook tools for collecting visual information as an alternative. I use Evernote extensively for collecting information and research material. Quora is my favourite site for finding ideas for content.


4: How to brainstorm the right way:

Generating ideas for content, marketing strategies or even creative use of data can all be more productive if tackled in a group - the synergy from more than one person will bring fresh perspective, new ideas and energy. But, brainstorming is such a common term that most people don't consider how to undertake a session effectively.

One of the most important elements within team idea generation is trust and harmony. The group must be able to work well together through respect for each others' opinions and ability and a general air of amiability. Any disagreeable personalities, critical individuals or large egos are not conducive to successful creative brainstorming and should be excluded from the group.

image from Atomic Spin

The following rules should be set to deter any fear or negativity that can squash creativity so that you can encourage a safe space to open up:

  • A diverse range of skills present in the group works well in bringing alternative approaches, as does varying levels of experience, age, gender and personality.
  • Allocate enough time to warm up and to focus. Between an hour and 90 minutes is preferable - after this the brain loses focus and needs a break. I recommend the 'dinner party' game above or another icebreaker to create an open state.
  • Allow the most junior person in the room to speak first and in turn to most senior. This removes any pressure from a junior member who may be intimidated to follow an experienced authority.
  • Stay focused on the topic. It is natural in group discussion to lose focus and drift into other subjects. The moderator must be vigilant in this area.
  • An experienced moderator is essential to the process and should be able to direct and manage the group without obstructing and keep the group on track and focused and ensure everyone follows the rules (such as not being negative or overbearing). The moderator will take notes (on a white board) and assist as an objective opinion to draw connections between ideas.
  • Above all else no judging, criticism or rejection of any idea – anything is valid and can be considered.

"Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value." Sir Ken Robinson



5: Change your thinking, change your life
If your natural disposition is not creative a creative thinker you can become more creative through repeated action, discipline and learning new ways to think.

Repetition and discipline
The more the brain processes a routine or skill, such as a new language or driving a car, the deeper the synapses physically carve a channel in the brain. Which explains to some degree why when we first learn a skill we have to concentrate intensely; it takes a great deal of energy, but through applied discipline it eventually becomes almost automatic and we don't appear to think about what we are doing, the subconscious takes over.


Ten ideas lists
One of my favorite exercises to train your brain and develop your idea muscle is to generate lists of ideas everyday. I have to credit James Altucher and I recommend his article on how to become an idea machine here:

The concept is simple but challenging: think of ten new ideas. These can be for anything such as ten new business ideas, ten new ways to obtain quality earned links, ten new ways to improve conversion on a page or ten new ways to save energy, ten new ways to make a better cup of coffee or ten new ways to travel to work. For example:


Ten new ways to travel to work for free:

  1. Walk
  2. Push bike
  3. Run
  4. Roller blades
  5. Hitchhike
  6. Horse
  7. Skate board tied to a car (do I need to explain why this is a bad idea?)
  8. Get a job next to a canal and kayak to work
  9. Move to the Caribbean, live in a beach hut and swim to work
  10. Move to the top of a hill and go kart - makes the home journey a challenge (next list?)


The purpose is not to create ideas you will act on or even sensible, rational or reasonable ideas. This is gym training for the mind only so don't get precious with your lists. Your first few lists may appear deceptively easy but as you begin to run out of obvious ideas you have to work hard just to think of list ideas and ten new ideas for my ten new ideas list is going to make your brain work for it. Don't make the mistake of underrating this exercise; everything improves and becomes easier with practice and repetition.

6: Garbage in: Garbage out
My advice above all else is to read as widely as possible as I believe this feeds a creative mind more than any other activity. Just as athletes can only achieve their personal best if they eat a highly optimized diet, creatives need quality brain food and mental stimulation on a regular basis to operate at their creative best. You get out what you put in.


This article is an extract from 'What is Creativity?' a 76 page free ebook which offers an introduction to creativity with actionable tips to improve your thinking skills. The second part of the book is dedicated to thought leaders interviews who were posed the question: "what does creativity meant to you?". Contributors include: Rand Fishkin, Bas Van Den Beld, Paddy Moogan, Neil Patel, Dave Trott, Lee Odden and Chris Brogan. You can download a free copy at creativity101 here...


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Seth's Blog : Three kinds of advertising

 

Three kinds of advertising

Direct response ads pay for themselves (at least they do when they work). Socially acceptable paid-for interruption leads to response, and the response (a sale, generally) generates revenue and you can run the ad again. Google's business is driven by direct response advertising.

Trust ads are generally unmeasurable. "I've heard of these guys, somewhere." Without consciously realizing it, we often choose to do business with the familiar, and ads increase familiarity. Particularly the right ad that runs in the right place. This is old school advertising, the first kind that appeared on TV. This is advertising that tells a story, advertising about belief, not necessarily action.

Demand enhancement ads remind us that on a hot day, we'd like a cold drink. They are ads designed to tickle and provoke, to increase the number of people in the market for what it is you sell. This is the best kind of billboard, the one that says, "next exit."

Every once in a while, an ad does all three things, but that's a foolish thing to hope for. Budget appropriately, because the very worst thing you can do with an ad is spend too little--it will get you the same results as spending nothing.

       

 

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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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Fun Night for the Eurosceptics: UKIP and Front National Storm Brussels; Infighting Begins

Posted: 25 May 2014 11:04 PM PDT

It was a fun night for the Eurosceptics.

  • Nigel Farage's UKIP was the top vote getter in the UK with about 29% of the vote
  • Marine Le Pen's Front National party was the top vote getter in France with 26% of the vote
  • The Danish People's party is the largest party in Denmark with about 25% of the vote
  • Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement is a likely second-place finisher in Italy 
  • Alexis Tsipras' Syriza part is the top vote getter in Greece with about 26% of the vote

Eurosceptic Earthquake

The Financial Times reports Ukip Leads Populist Earthquake.
The UK Independence party and France's far-right Front National stormed to victory in European elections on Sunday night, as populist and nationalist parties across the continent dealt a heavy blow to the European project.

Nigel Farage, Ukip leader, said the result represented an "earthquake", while Marine Le Pen, the FN leader, said that there had been a "massive rejection of the EU"; mainstream politicians struggled to come to terms with what had happened.

Manuel Valls, the French socialist prime minister, called the FN victory "a shock, an earthquake that all responsible leaders must respond to", as President François Hollande prepared to convene his cabinet to discuss the result.

In Britain, Labour was battling with Tories for second place , with the opposition party expected to just edge it. Nick Clegg, the pro-European Liberal Democrat leader who confronted Mr Farage in two televised debates on Europe, was set to lose most of his 12 MEPs. By 2am the Lib Dems had won just one seat, with London results delayed. Danny Alexander, Lib Dem Treasury minister, said the results were "pretty awful".
Eurosceptics Storm Brussels

Also consider Eurosceptics Storm Brussels
France's far-right Front National stormed to victory in European elections on Sunday night, leading an unprecedented surge in support for anti-EU parties across Europe that was set to reverberate far beyond Brussels politics.

The FN, led by Marine le Pen, claimed victory against both the centre-right UMP and President François Hollande's ruling Socialist party for the first time in a nationwide vote, a stunning defeat for the mainstream parties in Europe's second-largest economy.

Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, called the FN victory "a shock, an earthquake that all responsible leaders must respond to".

Ms Le Pen said the victory for the fiercely anti-EU and anti-immigration FN was an "immense honour", declaring: "What has happened tonight is a massive rejection of the EU."

She said it was the "first step in a long march" to the "recovery of our identity" from the EU and the end of austerity policies.

The FN was expected to take 25 of France's 74 seats in the European parliament, up from the three seats it won in the last election in 2009. It was the most dramatic result achieved by the party since Ms Le Pen's father Jean-Marie Le Pen won through to the final round of the presidential election in 2002.

In Germany, the neo-Nazi party was expected to win one seat in the assembly for the first time. The anti-euro Alternative für Deutschland party was set to get 7 per cent.

Jean-Francois Copé, president of the UMP, conceded defeat in France, saying the FN vote was a sign of "gigantic anger" among the French electorate against the policies of Mr Hollande. The Socialist party, also hammered in local elections in March, was beaten into third place in one of its worst election defeats in France.

The gains of the populists could be sufficient for Ms Le Pen to form an anti-EU group with other like-minded parties. That would give them extra funds and speaking rights to destroy the "Brussels monster".

According to exit polls released by the European Parliament, the European People's party centre-right grouping in the assembly is set to win the elections with 212 seats, followed by the Socialists with 185; the Liberals with 71; and the Greens 55. Eurosceptic and anti-establishment parties from both left and right won 228 seats.
Congratulations for a well-deserved victory for the Eurosceptics.

That said, don't expect much change. As noted before, the center-left and center-right parties will act in union to block any anti-euro measures.

Race for Commission Presidency

The EU Observer reports Juncker Declares Victory in Race for Commission Presidency.
Jean-Claude Juncker declared victory in the European elections on Sunday (25 May), and staked his claim as the first man in line to claim the European Commission presidency.

With partial results and exit polls suggesting that the centre-right EPP had claimed 212 seats in the European Parliament to 185 Socialists, Juncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg, was presented as the next president of the EU executive by jubilant party supporters.

"As lead candidate of the largest party, I have won the election," he told reporters in the Parliament hemicycle. "The EPP has got a clear lead, a clear victory."

He also insisted that he would not stand aside for another EPP candidate and issued a warning to EU leaders not to "ignore" the results by opting to "select the President in corridors".

Leaders of the Parliament's political groups will meet on Tuesday morning to begin the process of allowing a candidate to build a majority in the EU assembly. EU leaders will then gather in Brussels on Tuesday evening to have their first discussions following the elections.

Following nomination by EU leaders, a successful candidate will need the support of at least 376 deputies in the 751-member Parliament.

But Juncker stated that he would seek to build a broad majority of pro-European forces, including the Green and Liberal groups as well as the Socialists.

"I will not be on my knees with the Socialist party … but even party No 1 has to make compromises," he said, adding that he had "a lot of sympathy with Greens and friends in the Liberal group".

But Socialist candidate Martin Schulz refused to concede defeat and insisted that he, as well as Juncker, would try to form a majority.
Infighting Begins

And so the coalition infighting begins. The Euroscpetics will not vote for either Juncker or Schulz so it is going to be a difficult process coming up with 376 votes.

Should Juncker ultimately prevail, he will not be willing to bow down to UK prime minister David Cameron's proposed rule changes.

The whole setup is messier than it appears at first glance. Significant rule changes which Cameron has promised before an up-down vote on the UK staying in the EU seems highly unlikely, at best, no matter who triumphs as EC president.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Driverless Cars Legally Hit Roads as California Issues Licenses; The Last Mile

Posted: 25 May 2014 09:59 AM PDT

In August of 2013 I wrote Message to 5.7 Million Truck Drivers "No Drivers Needed" Your Job is About to Vanish.

The key word in that sentence is "about". I did not mean immediately, but I did mean a lot sooner than truck drivers and the general public expect. Most protested. I received many emails saying this would not happen for decades.

Many truck drivers thought it would never happen. Most mentioned insurance issues. Yes, there are problems, but time has marched on even quicker than I thought.

TechCrunch reports California Will Start Granting Licenses For Driverless Cars In September.


Come September, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will begin granting licenses to select driverless cars and their human co-pilots, which will make it a bit less legally iffy as to whether or not they're actually allowed to be on a public road.

The good news: The license will only cost $150 a pop, and that covers 10 vehicles and up to 20 test drivers.

The bad (but probably actually good) news: You probably can't get one, so don't go trying to make your own Googlecar just yet.
Stiff License Terms

Yes, the terms of the license are stiff including $5,000,000 insurance against personal injury, death, or property damage. And a test driver has to be able to take immediate control of the car at all times.

Nonetheless, the licensing is a big step forward. Totally driverless cars are but a single step away. All that needs to happen is for California to eliminate the requirement that someone has to be in the car at all times to take control.

A big issue is that radar can detect size and shape of objects, but it does not have human judgement regarding danger. For example, a balloon blowing across the road is a much different thing from a hunk of metal the same size sitting in the road.

Such difficulties will be overcome.

Incentives and Implications

The implications on the shipping business are staggering. A full-time truck driver might cost as much as $100,000 a year. The incentive to get rid of millions of full-time drivers is massive.

A July 2013 Truckers Report headline reads ATA: Self-Driving Trucks Are "Close To Inevitable"

However, the article itself dismissed the idea totally.
"People come up with these grandiose ideas," says Bob Esler, a commercial trucker for almost 50 years. "How are you going to get the truck into a dock or fuel it?"

And then there's loading and unloading. Pre-trip inspections. Signing for drop-offs and pickups. Making sure cargo is properly secured. Making sure the cargo that's being loaded actually gets loaded. The list just keeps going on and on.
The Last Mile

Many of the objections in the above article have to do with the last mile. Let's assume someone has to load the truck. Let's also assume an actual skilled driver has to dock the truck and make the final delivery (arguably a bad assumption).

Yet, even if those assumptions are true, nothing stops a trucking company from having distribution facilities right off an interstate near major cities, where local drivers deliver the goods the last mile.

Why can't all but the last few miles be driverless even if a skilled driver is needed some step of the way for safety reasons?

Technology marches on at a breathtaking pace. We might actually see commercial driverless vehicles on the roads within a few years.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

duminică, 25 mai 2014

Seth's Blog : Asking or announcing...

 

Asking or announcing...

When you ask someone if they would use your new product, buy your new widget or participate in your new service once it's ready, you will get a lie in response.

It might be a generous lie ("sure, I love this") or it might be a fearful lie ("here are the six reasons I would never use this"). The fearful lies cause us to scale back, to shave off, to go for mediocre. And the generous lies push us to launch stuff that's just not very good.

People don't mean to mess you up, but you've made the error of asking them to imagine a future they have trouble imagining. It's incredibly different than asking them to justify what they already do. "Why did you buy that particular car?" queries a completely different part of the brain than, "would you buy this new kind of car?"

Imagine the early focus groups for an early modern car. "Why does the transmission say 'd' instead of 'f'? F means forward!" "Why doesn't the window work the way the windows in my house work?" "There should be a lot of warnings on this thing, it could kill someone." "There's a radio? Why don't you make the car good at just one thing..."

It's one thing for someone to explain why they read and liked a particular book. It's another to ask them if they would read it, or even publish it. Almost everyone is horribly bad at this sort of explanation.

Steve Krug has written a really useful book about this. The takeaway is to never again run an amateur focus group, never ask an investor to help you think about what the market wants. Instead, we have to show, not tell, must create environments where people choose, then ask them why.

       

 

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sâmbătă, 24 mai 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


Former Bundesbank Vice-President Recommends Gold, Says Current Economic System is "Pure Fiction"

Posted: 24 May 2014 09:43 PM PDT

Anyone who is thinking clearly knows the economic system fostered by central banks is totally and completely out of control.

Repetitive rounds of QE, competitive currency debasement, interest rates at zero, and sponsorship of the internet bubble followed by the housing bubble, followed by the current stock market bubble is proof enough.

So, what I am about to report is really nothing but common sense, except for the fact that it comes from an unusual place, where one does not normally hear such discussions.

Jürgen Stark, former vice president of the Bundesbank, and also former chief economist of the ECB (unofficial title) says "The System is Out of Control". Via translation from Libre Mercado, here are a few snips.
Stark, until recently one of the big hawks central bank of Germany for his fierce defense of monetary orthodoxy, resigned in late 2011 for his outright rejection to the purchase of government bonds by the ECB launched the president of the institution Jean Claude Trichet. Since then, Stark has used his rare, but valuable public appearances to warn of the risks associated with the current policy of central banks to the crisis.

In a conference organized by the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Germany, recommended to protect the attendees directly against a probable collapse of the global monetary system. Stark spoke openly.

Stark noted that central banks, including the ECB, "have completely lost all ability to control and perspective on the economic situation."

The monetary system was saved in 2011 through concerted action by major central banks worldwide. But, according to Stark, the whole system is "pure fiction". The monetary authorities have been groping since 2008 to avoid a second Lehman Brothers, but if happen, "the system will not survive," he warned.

The problem is the monetary model itself. That is, the printing of paper currency without real backing and the multiplier by which the commercial banks can expand credit-uncontrolled without prior savings. Stark recommended allocating part of this fictional savings to investment in traditional "safe havens" such as gold or silver.

Also, in another lecture delivered last week in Paris, Stark noted that the fragile recovery in Europe is not due to the absence of monetary and fiscal stimuli (low rates, debt purchase, etc..) and (more government spending) but the slow deleveraging and lack of structural reforms.

Far from helping, the loose monetary policy of the ECB is hampering the recovery, as advanced free market on multiple occasions. The key to growth, create jobs and end the crisis on solid foundations, as Stark, is to increase competitiveness. And to do so, "we must continue gaining flexibility. Progress has been made, but still not enough. The situation has improved, but the crisis is not over."

"the probability of default, as is reflected in the markets are too low," he added. The expert was critical of the downside risks caused by the fall in spreads and insurance against default (CDS), as attributes, especially the artificial ECB action.

"Capital appreciation has grown stronger euro. But the crisis markets are distorted. We should not be too happy with what happened," he mused.
System is Pure Fiction

Stark is preaching to the choir, but it is appreciated. One does not normally hear such statements from central bankers or even ex-central bankers.

That said, his statements would carry more weight if he was still with the Bundesbank. I wish Stark never left.

Supposedly Stark Left for Personal Reasons but it's easy to discern he was fed up with being the only member of the ECB with a clue.

You can only beat your head against the wall so many times before you lose all sense of hope and finally your mind.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Regulator Fines Barclays for Gold Manipulation: Permanent Price Suppression?

Posted: 24 May 2014 09:30 AM PDT

A couple of readers asked me to comment on the news Regulator Fines Barclays Over the Pricing of Gold.
A British financial regulator has fined Barclays $43.9 million after accusing a former trader at the bank of improperly influencing gold prices at the expense of a customer.

The F.C.A. also fined the former Barclays trader, Daniel James Plunkett, £95,600 and barred him from participating in any regulated financial activity. The authority said Mr. Plunkett, who settled with it, had profited at the expense of a customer, who was later fully compensated by Barclays.

Mr. Plunkett's improper conduct occurred on June 28, 2012, the day after the regulator and United States authorities announced a $450 million fine against Barclays for improperly influencing global benchmark interest rates, including the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, the regulator said.

"A firm's lack of controls and a trader's disregard for a customer's interests have allowed the financial services industry's reputation to be sullied again," Tracey McDermott, the F.C.A. director of enforcement and financial crime, said in a statement. "Traders who might be tempted to exploit their clients for a quick buck should be in no doubt — such behavior will cost you your reputation and your livelihood."

The process of setting the benchmark price for gold in London dates to 1919. It is set twice a day by five banks that serve as market makers, according to the London Bullion Market Association. Those banks are Barclays, Société Générale, Deutsche Bank, Scotiabank and HSBC.

The silver fixing process in London, which has only three participating banks, is set to end in August after Deutsche Bank leaves the panel.

Deutsche Bank said this year that it would withdraw from fixing gold and silver prices as part of its plan to exit some commodities businesses because of regulatory concerns.

On Friday, the F.C.A. accused Mr. Plunkett, a director on the Barclays precious metals desk, of placing orders intended to drive down the price of gold during the 3 p.m. fixing period in London on June 28, 2012. Doing so allowed Barclays to avoid a $3.9 million payment to customer on an options contract that was tied to the price of gold during that period, the regulator said.

As a result, Mr. Plunkett's trading book, excluding hedging, recorded a profit of $1.75 million. Mr. Plunkett was responsible for pricing products linked to the price of precious metals and managing Barclays's exposure to those products.
Gold Manipulation Details

ZeroHedge has specific details of what took place in "I Am Hoping For A Mini Puke": Details Of Barclays' Gold Manipulation

LIBOR Manipulation, Euribor manipulation

Barclays was the first to admit guilt in manipulating LIBOR, but numerous banks were guilty. The BBC has an interesting article on the Timeline of the Libor-Fixing Scandal.

The Financial Times notes Euribor manipulation involving HSBC, JPMorgan and Crédit Agricole. For details, please see Brussels Charges Banks for Euribor Fixing.

Surprising?

No one should be shocked by this. Manipulation occurs all the time, in both directions, by all the big players, in numerous markets.

Guess what would have happened if Plunkett's client had $10 million in PUTs betting the price of gold would have declined. Does anyone think Plunkett would not have done what he could to force the price of gold up?

Although the recent spikes at illiquid times have been to the downside, details of how that "fixing" occurred, still support my two basic theories.

  1. The Fed is not behind the manipulation
  2. The motive is profit, not a permanent price-suppression conspiracy

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Paying Tribute to Our Fallen Heroes this Memorial Day

 
Here's what's going on at the White House today.
 
 
 
 
 
  Featured

Weekly Address: Paying Tribute to Our Fallen Heroes this Memorial Day

In this week's address, President Obama commemorated Memorial Day by honoring the brave men and women in uniform who have given their lives in service to our country. As we stand with our veterans and military families this weekend, the President underscored our commitment to uphold our nation's sacred trust with our veterans and ensure they get the benefits and opportunities they deserve and have earned.

Click here to watch this week's Weekly Address.

Watch: President Obama delivers the weekly address


 
 
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President Obama Nominates Julián Castro as Next HUD Secretary, and Shaun Donovan as OMB Director

Yesterday, in the White House State Dining Room, President Obama nominated San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to serve as the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

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West Wing Week 05/23/14 or, "Straight A's? Whoa!"

This week, the President spoke on the importance of raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure, and bringing jobs and tourism back to America; invited the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks to the White House; and designated a new National Monument. The First Lady honored Brown v. Board of Education, and the Vice President and Dr. Biden traveled to Romania and Cyprus.

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The President Talks Tourism at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Thursday afternoon, President Obama became the first sitting President in U.S. history to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. After taking some time to enjoy the baseball history and memorabilia at the Hall -- which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this summer -- he talked about the impact that travel and tourism has on our country.

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