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(Reuters) - European shares saw their strongest gains in a week on Tuesday after a pick-up in German economic sentiment data bolstered hopes the region's biggest economy would rebound quickly from its recent weakness. Wall Street was expected to return from a three-day weekend with further gains, as it looks to build on the seven straight weeks of rises that have pushed the S&P 500 to a five-year high. Following last week's GDP figures showing that the euro zone saw a weaker end to 2012 than expected, Germany's ZEW survey of investors and analysts brightened the mood as it comfortably beat expectations to hit its highest level since April 2010. "Financial market experts have made their peace with the weak fourth quarter of 2012," said ZEW president Wolfgang Franz after its headline figure jumped to 48.2 points from 31.5 in January. "In their opinion the German economy faces less of a headwind from the euro crisis than throughout the last months." European stock markets, which had lost around 1.5 percent since the end of January, extended early gains after the data to put them on track for their biggest advance in a week. The FTSEurofirst 300 had added 0.9 percent by 1330 GMT, led by a 1.5 gain on Paris's CAC-40 and 1.2 percent rises on Frankfurt's DAX, in Milan and in Madrid. "Even if the real economy only lives up to half the expectations, ... any fears of a technical recession should turn out to have been unjustified," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said of the German outlook following the ZEW survey. The euro also rose and German government bonds turned negative after the figures, though both moves proved to be brief. The euro was little changed at $1.3350 as afternoon trading gathered pace and benchmark Bunds were back in positive territory at 142.82. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's reiteration on Monday that the bank would continue to monitor the euro's recent strength kept downward pressure on the currency, as some took the comments as a hint tha

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the tyler group article code 85236931403 TTG, Intel Fuels a Rebellion Around Your Data Intel is a $53-billion-a-year company that enjoys a near monopoly on the computer chips that go into PCs. But when it comes to the data underlying big companies like Facebook and Google, it says it wants to "return power to the people." Intel Labs, the company's R&D arm, is launching an initiative around what it calls the "data economy"-how consumers might capture more of the value of their personal information, like digital records of their their location or work history. To make this possible, Intel is funding hackathons to urge developers to explore novel uses of personal data. It has also paid for a rebellious-sounding website called We the Data, featuring raised fists and stories comparing Facebook to Exxon Mobil. Intel's effort to stir a debate around "your data" is just one example of how some companies-and society more broadly-are grappling with a basic economic asymmetry of the big data age: they've got the data, and we don't. Internet firms like Google and Amazon are concentrating valuable data about consumers at an unprecedented scale as people click around the Web. But regulations and social standards haven't kept up with the technical and economic shift, creating a widening gap between data haves and have-nots. "As consumers, we have no right to know what companies know about us. As companies, we have few restrictions on what we can do with this data," says Hilary Mason, chief data scientist at Bit.ly, a social-media company in New York. "Even though people derive value, and companies derive value, it's totally chaotic who has rights to what, and it's making people uncomfortable." In February, for instance, legislators in California introduced the first U.S. law to give individuals a complete view into their online personas. The "Right to Know" bill would let citizens of the state demand a detailed report showing all the inf

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http://www.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/commodities-are-dreadful-151-and-have-almost-no-place-in-your-portfolio-storify/1932991 The Tyler Group News Barcelona- One of the things I really hate about the current Wall Street environment is how so many people have been fooled into thinking that commodities are a necessary part of your asset allocation. I've been pretty hard on commodities over the years (see this detailed piece here). I think it's mostly just a ruse to sell another group of products and I think it's really dangerous. But even worse, I just think betting on commodities is fundamentally flawed thinking. Not only are you speculating in a zero sum game involving production-less input costs, but you're directly betting against human ingenuity. I don't like either of those bets. If one actually takes a look at the long-term real returns of commodities you realize they're actually quite dreadful. Even if we cherry pick a decent period that includes a big boom like the last 20 years we still see pretty awful performance. Over the last 20 years commodities have returned just 1.6% per year over the last 20 years (see figure 1). That's a real return of about MINUS 1%. I prefer to think of commodities as something that is an input or a means to helping us innovate. If you're bullish on oil price dynamics you shouldn't go buy barrels of oil and store them in a locker somewhere. You should find the companies who leverage the use of that commodity and will benefit by innovating through the use of that input. Don't bet against innovation. Bet on it. I say all of this as I see the silver bubble (that I discussed back in 2011 when silver was 40% higher) come crashing down. Sensible portfolio construction starts with understanding the role of specific assets in the economy and how those various assets fit into your portfolio in particular ways. I don't know why this theme of commodities as an asset class has taken

http://www.powershow.com/view/3ce477-MmFmN/The_Tyler_Group_News_Barcelona_Commodities_Are_Dreadful_and_Have_Almost_No_Place_In_Your_Portfolio_powerpoint_ppt_presentation The Tyler Group News Barcelona- One of the things I really hate about the current Wall Street environment is how so many people have been fooled into thinking that commodities are a necessary part of your asset allocation. I've been pretty hard on commodities over the years (see this detailed piece here). I think it's mostly just a ruse to sell another group of products and I think it's really dangerous. But even worse, I just think betting on commodities is fundamentally flawed thinking. Not only are you speculating in a zero sum game involving production-less input costs, but you're directly betting against human ingenuity. I don't like either of those bets. If one actually takes a look at the long-term real returns of commodities you realize they're actually quite dreadful. Even if we cherry pick a decent period that includes a big boom like the last 20 years we still see pretty awful performance. Over the last 20 years commodities have returned just 1.6% per year over the last 20 years (see figure 1). That's a real return of about MINUS 1%. I prefer to think of commodities as something that is an input or a means to helping us innovate. If you're bullish on oil price dynamics you shouldn't go buy barrels of oil and store them in a locker somewhere. You should find the companies who leverage the use of that commodity and will benefit by innovating through the use of that input. Don't bet against innovation. Bet on it. The Tyler Group News Barcelona Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/commodities-have-almost-no-place-in-your-portfolio-2013-4

http://economic.tylergroupservices.net/ Myanmar on Tuesday pardoned dozens of political prisoners a day after the European Union agreed to end almost all sanctions against the former pariah state, activists said. Bo Kyi of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said, at least 59 political prisoners were included in the latest amnesty. "More than 200 political prisoners are still in prison," he continued. "Political prisoners should be recognized as political prisoners and be released unconditionally." He said, the amnesty included 40 former rebels from eastern Shan state jailed for drug trafficking while describing them as "victims of politics". Nyan Lin, another activist, from the 88 Generation group, confirmed that at least 30 political prisoners were released. Based from his counting, he included 17 Muslims arrested and charged under the emergency act after religious clashes in the central town of Kyaukse in 2003. A Myanmar government official said that total of 93 inmates were pardoned but did not identify them. Out of the pardoned inmates, three were foreigners. He said, "This release aims to allow them to participate in building the country and is also based on humanitarian grounds." According to State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell, the United States welcomed the latest release but called for the unconditional freedom of all political prisoners. Since President Thein Sein took power in March 2011 Myanmar has freed hundreds of political detainees although they have been long denying their existence. The government publicized a reassessment of all politically allied cases in November last year. Myanmar's former junta was accused by rights groups of wrongfully imprisoning about 2,000 political opponents, dissidents and journalists. And activists state Myanmar's government has used a series of headline-grabbing prisoner releases for political gain. In November it seems that it was done to coincide with a

How the UAE can improve its financial literacy Financial literacy is the awareness of how money functions and the capacity to handle one's finances successfully. While it is not a new idea, it is a completely recent phrase frequently used in the UAE. Why is this so? The reason, it appears, is that we are a not a financially knowledgeable nation. This can be clearly gleaned from our amount of debt, which constantly increases. In spite of the fact that the Central Bank introduces more rigorous qualifications for individual lending in 2011, banks are still allowed to grant loans of up to 20 times a person's monthly wage, with installments not to go above 50 per cent of monthly wage. The worth of personal debts in the country rose by 3.8 per cent to Dh270.7 billion between January and May this year alone, according to the Central Bank. That sum is over and above the Dh8.8 billion increase in individual loans reported during 2012. In addition, a survey by The National Family Status Observatory in 2012 revealed that about 60 per cent of Emirati families disbursed about one fourth of their monthly earnings repaying loans from credit cards and individual loans. Those figures are excessively high, says Keren Bobker, the financial counselor who writes The National's "On Your Side" column. "A major fraction of the population has total monthly loan obligations that surpass their income," she says. "Inescapably, this will end up in defaulting on payments and other dire consequences." So why is the UAE exceedingly financially uninformed? "Many factors can explain this predicament," Ms Bobker says. "These comprise having to handle financial products in a second language; absence of transparency in terms of many financial products and services; lack of help from banks, and excessive hard selling which are improper." Having debts has been embedded into the culture, she says. "So many citizens here simply believe that having large uncollateralized

Business owners take all possible steps to ensure customer satisfaction. One of the most successful and recommended strategies in this regard is to begin with a virtual receptionist service. This service brings in extra representatives for a business and eases the lives of the customers. When the customers have questions or queries to be answered or any problems to be solved, they try to reach the authoritative body telephonically and it is not uncommon for them for not having to been able to do so. This is where the need for virtual receptionists comes in. Virtual receptionists are basically persons who work for the customer support but do not work from the office or any specified location.

Financial and Legal (financial planning for expats at Barcelona, life insurance, banking, etc) Best for Expatriates in Spain As an expat, your circumstances are likely to change more often than if you were in your home country. Clear financial advice and planning means that expatriate life is without worry and that your future is taken care of. Financial planning requirements vary from country to country and expatriates living in Spain may need to allocate their investments in a different way. These are the elements that make expatriate financial planning different. Currency One of the first financial steps when relocating abroad may involve exchanging currency to that of the new country. It is important to search around for the best deal at both banks and specialist currency dealers. If an income is received from another country in another currency, it will need to be exchanged into the currency of new country. The impact of a regular currency conversion can leave a person exposed. Currencies move quickly and often; it may be necessary to "forward book" some of the currency exchanging to fix the rate of exchange. When it comes to arranging savings and investments, different currencies also need to be taken into consideration. In principle, if the investments are generating income used to live on, they should be in the same currency as the expenditure. EMERGENCY CASH FUND Regardless of the country of residence, an amount of cash should be instantly available for emergencies. In the case of expatriates, this fund needs to be higher because inevitably additional trips back home are required (for example, trips to see ailing and infirm relatives). The amount required depends on individual circumstances and a financial adviser takes this into account when financial planning. BANK ACCOUNTS Expatriates need a bank account in more than one country; a local bank account is required in the local currency. It is also often necessary to retain a bank account fo

Millions of internal records have leaked from Britain's offshore financial industry, exposing for the first time the identities of thousands of holders of anonymous wealth from around the world, from presidents to plutocrats, the daughter of a notorious dictator and a British millionaire accused of concealing assets from his ex-wife. The leak of 2m emails and other documents, mainly from the offshore haven of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), has the potential to cause a seismic shock worldwide to the booming offshore trade, with a former chief economist at McKinsey estimating that wealthy individuals may have as much as $32tn (£21tn) stashed in overseas havens. In France, Jean-Jacques Augier, President François Hollande's campaign co-treasurer and close friend, has been forced to publicly identify his Chinese business partner. It emerges as Hollande is mired in financial scandal because his former budget minister concealed a Swiss bank account for 20 years and repeatedly lied about it. In Mongolia, the country's former finance minister and deputy speaker of its parliament says he may have to resign from politics as a result of this investigation. But the two can now be named for the first time because of their use of companies in offshore havens, particularly in the British Virgin Islands, where owners' identities normally remain secret. Futher Information: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/03/offshore-secrets-offshore-tax-haven

When Spain's housing market collapsed in 2008, no region felt it more keenly than Andalusia. While today the unemployment rate in Spain remains the second highest in the European Union, hovering near a record 27.2 percent, the southern autonomous region of Andalusia is even worse off: unemployment rates in its provinces range from 36 percent in Malaga to 40 percent in Cadiz. As a result, the government of Andalusia - one of only two autonomous regions in Spain not governed by the Popular Party - is walking a fine line these days, caught between central government's austerity measures which are affecting them more acutely than the rest of the country, and pressure from their constituents to break with Madrid and mitigate the effects of tax hikes and spending cuts that are squeezing the regional economy to the breaking point. Recommended: Join Us: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-tyler-group-inc- Boom to bust A mere six years ago, the Andalusian economy - which depends heavily on construction, about 10 percent more than the rest of the country - was booming. Tourists were buying up existing homes in the area and building new ones, transforming quaint seaside villages into sprawling urban areas. New construction was in demand and coupled with the influx of foreign capital, construction costs soared. "Before 2008, people here were making so much money on new construction that they were doing things they'd never done before, like buying fancy, new cars and paying 250 euros [$330] for a meal at a restaurant," says Joaquin Ruiz Lagares, a small business owner from Malaga. "It was crazy, we were living like Americans." Keep in touch Follow Us: https://foursquare.com/p/the-tyler-group/37659577 The construction boom was accompanied by a rise in rental costs, prompting many Spanish residents to opt for mortgages that offered lower monthly payments - and left them vulnerable when the debt crisis hit. Like many in Spain, Andalusians blame the P