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Instituto Cultural Minerva
Institute of Brazilian Business and Public Management Issues
The George Washington University
Washington, DC
By Hosmidio Soares
Minerva Program, Fall 1996
1 - The International Capital Markets
2 - The Euromarket
2.1 Concepts and Historical Evolution
2.2 The Eurobond Market
3 - The Developing Country External Debt Crisis
3.1 The Brazilian External Debt Renegotiation
4 - International Market Conditions in the Early 1990's
4.1 Industrial Country Economic Growth
4.2 Industrial Country Interest Rates
4.3 External Debt Agreements
4.4 Investor Confidence
5 - Brazil's Return to the International Bond Market
5.1 Domestic Environment
5.2 The Return
5.3 Subsequent Eurobond Issues
5.4 Brazilian Eurobond Buyers
The aim of this paper is to discuss some aspects related to the return of Brazil to the international capital market. The approach will focus on euromarkets and, more specifically, on eurobond market.
In order to provide a better understanding of the issue as a whole, mainly by readers not directly linked to this subject, the first two chapters present an overview of the market, its instruments and its participants.
Perhaps the first questions raised by the readers are "why Brazil lost access to the market" and "which events provided the conditions to return to the market." Chapter three makes a brief summary of the developing countries external debt crisis in the early 1980's, and how it was dealt with, under the several debt agreements, culminating in the Brady Plan which brought the indebted countries back to the securities market.
Chapter four focuses on international market conditions in the early 1990's. This section provides some industrial country economic indicators, examine the role of the developing country external debt agreements, and discuss some aspects involving investor confidence.
In sequence, the last chapter makes an overview of the domestic environment in 1991/1992, and analyzes some selected Brazilian eurobond issues.
The domestic capital markets around the world are quite developed nowadays. They embrace a lot of specific markets involving transactions in all kind of securities such as bonds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, equities, derivatives, commodities, mutual funds and investment funds.
The international capital markets basically consist of the same transactions made internationally.
Hereafter, for the purpose of this paper, the text will concentrate upon the international market for fixed-income securities in order to differentiate them from the stock market.
A fixed-income security can be defined as a debt instrument whereby the issuer promises to pay the amount specified (principal or face value of the securities) at a stated future date (the maturity date). The repayment of the principal can occur in one lump sum at maturity (amortization bullet) or through periodic installments.
Moreover, when applicable, the issuer promises to pay a periodic (usually on an annual or semiannual basis) fixed or floating rate of interest (coupon) until the maturity date to the holders of the securities. Normally, the floating rate coupon, when used, is based on LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) plus a spread.
The return on investment (yield) offered to the securities holders may be settled through the coupon or on a price discount basis, or in a combination of both.
The main features shared by fixed income securities issued abroad are:
Graaf mentions that the classification used in the financial press in connection with internationally distributed debt securities is often confusing or inconsistent. Although, a large number of market experts classifies the several kinds of fixed income securities by their maturity.
The short term debt instruments are supposed to mature in less than one year and are closely linked to the money market. The most widely used short term debt instruments are:
The medium term to long term fixed income securities are called "notes" or "bonds". The most common ones are:
The bonds issued internationally are divided into foreign bonds and eurobonds.
In a foreign bond issue, an issuer from one country issues debt securities in the domestic market of another country. The issue is denominated in the currency of the host country and with assistance of a syndicate from that country. The potential buyers are domestic investors.
Market practitioners have given foreign bond odd nicknames. The most famous one is the so-called "yankee bond" (denominated in US dollars and issued in the US market). Similarly, other foreign bonds are: "samurai" (Japanese market), "bulldog" (British market), "matador" (Spanish market), and "navigator" (Portuguese market) which are denominated in Japanese yen, pound sterling pound, Spanish pesetas and Portuguese escudos, respectively.
Eurobonds are bonds (or notes) issued in the international market (also called "euromarket"). The main differences usually cited is that eurobonds are intended for international investors and syndicated internationally while foreign bonds are for domestic investors and syndicated domestically.
The participants in any securities market (domestic or international) are issuers, dealers and investors.
The issuers are the entities that issue the securities in order to raise money to finance their investments, or, in the case of financial institutions, to re-lend the funds to other borrowers.
The dealers are financial institutions, usually large and traditional investment banks, responsible for arranging the operations and selling the securities to investors.
The investors are the buyers of the securities. The most important investors are pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds and mutual funds (institutional investors). The private investors around the world also represents a significant portion of the potential buyers in the market.
It is important to mention that there are large amounts of money deposited abroad (mainly in off-shore centers) owned by private investors. These funds are the so-called flight capital (money that ran away from a country searching for better yields or due to economic and/or political instability).
First of all, at least two basic definitions need to be introduced:
Eurocurrecy - it is a monetary deposit denominated in a currency other than the currency of the country where the deposit is maintained. Therefore, eurodollar is a US dollar deposit held by a bank outside the United States. Currently, the main eurocurrencies are eurodollars (estimated around 80% of the total market), euromarks (German mark) and euroyen (Japanese yen).
The prefix "euro" is due to historical reasons in that the eurocurrency market was first developed in Europe. In fact, the market has grown beyond its European origins and has now become worldwide. Nonetheless, London was (and still is) the central marketplace for eurocurrency transactions.
Eurobanks - it is a generic term used to name the banks that make transactions in the eurocurrency market. For example, the London or Paris branch of a US bank engaged in the eurodollar market is an eurobank. In the same way, the Singapore branch of a Brazilian bank taking deposits in euroyen can be called a eurobank.
Geisst mentions that, in a world free of restrictions on capital movements, the euromarkets would not exist.
According to Graaf, the historical origin of the eurocurrency markets may be traced to shortly after World War II. At that time, the Soviet Union, the Eastern European countries and China choose to protect their dollar balances against "freezing orders" or other US governmental interference by transferring them from US banks to banks under their control in Western Europe.
During the early 1950s the US dollar supplanted sterling as the primary reserve currency used in international financial transactions and as the primary currency used in international trade. At the same time, the United States developed very substantial deficits in its balance of payments. Therefore, non-US corporations, central and other banks, and financial entities inevitably acquired large amounts of US dollars.
According to Bell the eurobanks (including the foreign branches of US banks) succeeded in offering competitive interest rates vis-à-vis the domestic banks in North America and Europe. It happened because the eurobanks were not required to observe US banking regulations regarding mandatory non-interest bearing reserves and the maximum interest payable on time deposits.
Consequently, dollar holdings were transferred to interest-bearing accounts with overseas branches of US banks and with European and other banks. Those accounts were maintained in dollars rather than in local or other currency because, due to avoidance of regulatory costs and extra risk, the eurodollar deposits paid higher interest rates.
In that environment of capital movement, a significant number of US residents also transferred deposits to banking institutions outside the USA, providing another source of foreign dollars.
Over time, the eurodollar market rapidly expanded to become an important, low cost and easily accessible source of funds. Other eurocurrencies have developed next to the eurodollar and share the same characteristics.
The eurodeposits generated interbank euroloans and commercial euroloans to end-users. These transactions were not necessarily short term loans; medium and long term loans (syndicated or not) were available as well. These loans were generally made at a floating rate of interest; the benchmark for pricing the overwhelming majority of eurocurrency loans was the six-month LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate).
The activity of the eurobanks through the intermediation of funds denominated in eurocurrencies was called euromarket.
Until the early 1960s, foreign borrowers raised money by issuing securities in the US market (foreign bonds). However, the American Monetary Authority, in order to reduce the flow of funds out of the USA and, thereby, to redress the balance of payments deficit, imposed several controls in the mid-1960s upon both domestic and foreign borrowers. As a result, many US and foreign borrowers turned to the euromarkets. This shift led to the creation of the eurosecurities market. Some examples of fixed-income eurosecurities are eurobonds, eurocommercial paper and eurocertificates of deposit.
This first eurobond issue was arranged in 1963 for an Italian issuer, denominated in US dollars and lead-managed by a British merchant bank.
Since then, the eurobond market has grown rapidly. As an indication of its present size, eurobond quarterly trading volume well exceeds US$ 1.2 trillion according to the Association of International Bond Dealers (AIBD).
Eurobond is a specific type of bond. An eurobond is understood as a bond issued outside of the country in whose currency it is denominated.
Geisst adds that eurobonds are usually denominated in one of the major eurocurrencies or, in some cases, a virtual currency such the European Currency Unit (ECU).
The main eurobond features are as follows:
Graaf emphasizes that in the eurobond market the buyers of the bonds, in the first instance, are exclusively financial institutions (the syndicate). Usually, eurobonds are not offered directly to the public, but are offered mostly to banks and other financial institutions for placing with central banks, insurance companies, investment funds, multinational corporations and private investors.
As any kind of activity (economic or not), investing in eurobonds implies in some kind of risk for all the parts involved.
Usually, the market measures that risk in terms of spread (premium) over the yield paid by the comparable notes/bonds issued by the United States Treasury (worldwide considered the lesser risk fixed-income securities available). Even the eurobonds denominated in a currency other than US dollar are compared to the US Treasury securities in a swap (exchange) basis.
In the issue process, the investors estimate their spread requests to taking the risk. The banks compile that information, set a spread range and discuss the subject with the issuers. The objective is to adjust the premium toward some equilibrium point that matches (as close as possible) issuer's fund necessities and investors requirements, vis-à-vis the market conditions.
The spread is expressed in basis points (100 basis points means 1%, for instance).
World economic conditions were deeply affected by the second international petroleum crisis between 1979 and 1980, when oil prices rose 50%.
As inflationary pressures accumulated, the industrialized countries raised interest rates sharply. In connection, for example, six-month LIBOR rose from about 9% in 1978 to more than 16% in 1981.
The immediate impact of the anti-inflationary policies were:
Because of their global magnitude, that events caused a retraction in international credit, reducing capital flows to developing countries and raising doubts about their repayment capacity. The combination of these effects had disastrous consequences for those countries' balance of payments, specially the Latin-American countries which had a high level of indebtedness.
According to Paula, the developing countries were particularly vulnerable to changes in world economic conditions in the early 1980s because most of their external commercial bank debt carried floating interest rates basis. Thus, the higher interest rates caused an unexpected change in cash flow, making the previously- accumulated debt excessively large and burdensome.
In August of 1982, the international financial community experienced a crisis when Mexico's Finance Minister announced that his country was unable to meet its foreign debt payment on time. Thereafter, more than two dozen countries followed Mexico's example in the next 18 months, undermining the world financial market's confidence. Thus, the capital inflows used to finance interest payments and trade deficits dried up.
The developing-country external debt crisis produced strong effects for a long period. In fact, the decade was marked by a successive restructuring of debt agreements between commercial banks and developing countries. However, considering the extreme fragility of the developing-country economies, most of those agreements failed.
Finally, creditors and debtors reached a satisfactory agreement under the so-called Brady Plan, which began started in March 1989. According to Neira, by 1994 eighteen agreements with indebted countries had been signed under the Brady Plan, involving approximately US$ 191 billion.
Mexico completed its rescheduling agreement in February 1990, Costa Rica May 1990, Venezuela June 1990, and Uruguay November 1990.
Brazil reached a preliminary understanding with its creditors in April 1991, but, the country did not conclude its agreement until April 1994.
All the bonds issued by the developing countries in exchange for debt under the Brady plan are known in the market by the nickname Brady bonds.
At the end of 1982, with a balance of payments deficit of US$ 8.8 billion and foreign reserves of US$ 3.9 billion, Brazil reached an agreement with the IMF, opening the doors to negotiations with the international banking community.
Since then, negotiations were delayed several times because did not meet previous agreements. In fact, all the agreements reached by the country prior to 1994 just postponed the external debt problem.
In 1986, due to the economic difficulties of the Cruzado Plan and to the large capital account deficit caused by substantial current account shortfalls, the level of reserves dropped sharply. This decline led the government to declare, in February 1987, a moratorium on principal and interest payments to commercial banks.
The creditors reacted immediately. The US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker decided to stop negotiations with Brazil, but to go on with the other indebted countries (Chile, Philippines, Mexico and Venezuela).
In 1989, again due to internal economic problems, Brazil did not fulfill all the covenants under an agreement reached in 1988. In July 1989, the country declared a new principal and interest moratorium for medium and long-term operations.
Such actions delayed the Brazilian external debt solution for more than two years.
The relationship problems with the international community, the lack of credibility of its stabilization programs and the ineffective policies to stop inflation were reflected in the prices of Brazilian debt the secondary market. The discount rates reached more than 70%, meaning that credits were sold for less than 30% of their face value.
In fact, all the developing-country debts traded at high discount rates. It was one of the factors that led the external debt problem to a voluntary market-oriented approach implying in true debt reduction. That idea was implemented by the Brady Plan, starting in March 1989.
Mexico and Venezuela rescheduled their debt before the Brady Plan was introduced and returned to the international bond market in 1988. Mexico raised US$ 339 million and Venezuela US$ 256 million. In spite of this, those countries joined the Brady Plan and completed their agreements in February and June 1990, respectively, as already mentioned.
Argentina returned to the market in 1990, raising US$ 21 million.
Brazil began in October 1990 the last attempt to reschedule its debt. Under the Brady Plan, the country reached a preliminary agreement with its creditors in April 1991. In the same year, Brazil returned to the international bond market raising US$ 1.837 billion.
Brazil completed its bank debt restructuring package in July 1992, the Brazilian Senate approved the agreement in December 1992. The agreement became operational in April 1994 with the issue of bonds in exchange for debt.
4 - INTERNATIONAL MARKET CONDITIONS IN THE EARLY 1990's
The debt crisis virtually ended commercial banks new lending to developing countries. In the United States, for instance, the Inter Agency Sovereign Credit Risk Committee (ICERC) kept setting higher provisions for new commercial bank loans to those countries.
Besides that, the banks were reluctant to tie-up capital by making new loans to developing countries due to the uncertainty about the latter repayment capacity. Therefore, the euromarket was the only source of new money available. It was not just a question of willingness, but one of cost.
Thus, market re-entry by developing-country borrowers was typically through the international securities market (equities and fixed income instruments), and the source of funds was dominated by nonbank investors. This pattern reflected global trends toward both disintermediation and securitization.
International equity issues by companies from developing countries totaled US$ 9.3 billion in 1992 (41% of the equity issues in international equity market), compared with US$ 5.4 billion in 1991 (35%), and US$ 1.3 billion in 1990 (15.5%).
Some estimates suggested that secondary market purchases amounted to some US$ 12 billion in 1991 and US$ 14 billion in 1992, and that 28% of the total international equity flows went to emerging markets in 1992 (up from 12% in 1991). For instance, net foreign investment in the Brazilian stock exchanges increased from US$ 0.6 billion in 1991 to US$ 1.7 billion in 1992.
Nonetheless, the international bond market was the main avenue for market reentry by developing countries. Their international bond issues totaled US$ 5.5 billion in 1989, US$ 6.2 billion in 1990, US$ 12.4 billion in 1991 and US$ 23.5 billion in 1992.
Basically, the market re-entry was through sovereign borrowers (Argentina and Chile, for instance) or high profile state-owned companies (Brazil and Mexico).
The modalities of developing-country market re-entry observed in the late 1980s and early 1990s reflected, in part, the particular international environment of that time. The main favorable factors were: the economic growth in industrial countries, the level of interest rates (mainly in the United States), the external debt agreements, and investors' receptiveness to noninvestment grade securities.
Beyond that, the market re-entry depended on particular country circumstances and on market conditions. For instance, the existence of a large pool of flight capital facilitated market re-entry by the main Latin American borrowers (mainly until 1991).
The inflationary phenomenon in industrial countries was controlled in the middle-1980s. Nevertheless, expecting new inflation pressures, those countries maintained real high interest rates in order to kept the economic growth under control. The chart below shows inflation and economic growth rates for the industrial countries:
Source: IMF - International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1995
The prolonged period of slow economic growth in industrial countries dampened the demand for investment funds in many of the major markets and contributed to declining interest rates. The global environment of low interest rates and weak activity in the industrial countries encouraged financial flows to developing countries.
The nominal industrial-country interest rates declined slowly during the second half of the 1980s, following the downward trend in US interest rates. The US Treasury Bill Rate (average) dropped to 7.51% in 1990, down sharply from the record level of 14.08% observed in 1981. At the same time, the average six-month London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) on US dollar deposits dropped to 8.35% in 1990 (from 16.72% in 1981). The chart below shows the evolution of these two rates:
Source: IMF - International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1995
The medium-to long-term rates also dropped. The chart below shows the evolution of the average yields provided by US Government Bonds:
Source: IMF - International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1995
In connection with interest rate reduction, international capital started seeking high-yield investment alternatives in order to increase its short-term performance goals.
According to data from the IMF, by 1992, 16 countries (accounting for about 80 percent of the bank debt of developing countries) had restructured, or reached agreements to restructure, their bank debt under the Brady Plan. A number of other countries were actively negotiating with bank creditors on debt packages.
The amounts of medium and long-term bank debt restructured were US$ 80.2 billion in 1988, US$ 50.7 billion in 1989, US$ 28 billion in 1990, US$ 17.8 billion in 1991 and US$ 80.5 billion in 1992.
Given that the market-oriented negotiations concluded under the Brady Plan implied significant debt reduction (compared with previous failed agreements), the market was optimistic about the process providing a definitive solution for the developing countries' external debt.
Another element that facilitated re-entry in the wake of debt operations was the fact that restructurings involved securitization of old debt. This fact laid the basis for the emergence of a liquid secondary market for high-yielding instruments and attracted new investors not previously interested in developing-country securities.
Moreover, to the extent that securitization has contributed to an upward trend in the prices of existing debt on the secondary market, the yield on new debt instruments required to attract investor interest may be reduced, thus facilitating market re-entry.
The number of new issues on the international bond market reached record levels in the early 1990s, confirming the appetite for high-yielding sub-investment grade debt at that time. Improvements in the economic performance of developing countries were of key importance to this sharp turnaround in international investor sentiment
Reestablishing credibility with foreign investors hinged critically on a combination of sound macroeconomic policies centered around fiscal consolidation and market-oriented structural reforms in the developing countries.
The resulting trends toward more stable macroeconomic environment and increasingly dynamic private sectors persuaded investors that developing-country borrowers were in an improved position to service their new debt and, in the case of private sector debt, to obtain the foreign exchange needed for debt service.
Investor interest in the high returns offered by developing countries was also encouraged by the demise of other high-yielding sectors, such as the junk bond market in the United States and real estate markets more generally.
Also, the implementation of extensive privatization programs created new opportunities and helped attract large investment flows from abroad, exposing investors to emerging market securities. As a result, the institutional investors (mutual funds, pension funds and insurance companies) entered the market.
Finally, the successful experience of early re-entrants, including Mexico, contributed to improving investor confidence levels, facilitating re-entry by other developing countries.
Brazil returned to the international bond market on July 10, 1991.
Since the beginning of the external debt crisis in 1982, Brazil experienced erratic growth and stagnant per capita GDP. Weighed down by its foreign debt and a bankrupt public sector, and cut off from international capital, it failed to make the investments needed for sustained growth. During the 1980s, the country alternated between large GDP growth rates (9.2% in 1980 and 7.6% in 1986, for instance) and extreme recession (-4.4% in 1981, -3.4% 1983 and -4.0% in 1990).
In 10 years (1981-1991), the cumulative inflation was about 540 million per cent, the country had four different currencies and devaluation against the US dollar was about 259 million per cent.
In March 1990, Fernando Collor de Mello was sworn in as Brazil's first directly elected president since 1960. At that time the private sector was financing the government at high interest rates, on an overnight basis, and the inflation was approaching 100% per month. The new Government quickly introduced the Collor Plan, promising radical reforms like shrinking the role of the state, opening the economy to foreign competition, restoring fiscal integrity, and controlling the inflation.
The Collor Plan was the most audacious one ever implemented in Brazil. It froze all prices and wages and adopted extremely restrictive monetary (drastic reduction of the money stock by freezing 80% of the private sector's financial assets) and fiscal policies (raising taxes, increasing prices of state-produced goods and cutting subsidies).
Such measures precipitated a deep and widespread recession that shrunk real GDP by 4% in 1990.
The Collor Plan also initiated a pronounced reversal in Brazilian trade policy. The government announced its commitment to remove import restrictions and to reduce tariffs in order to minimize price pressures by stimulating competition and economic efficiency.
The stabilization measures produced some results against the inflation, but they were temporary. The monthly rates dropped at the beginning but soon they started to accelerate again. In November of the same year the monthly rate came back to 20%.
The much-promised structural reforms did not happen, mainly because the government did not have a strong political base in the Brazilian Congress, which had to approve most of the proposed reforms.
The positive effect of the first year of the Collor government was the reduction on the highly protectionist imports barriers. The fact marked the beginning of the Brazilian economic opening, promoting an impressive development in international trade over the next few years. This important process of economic opening bore fruits from 1992 on.
In 1991, the year started with another economic plan. On January 31, the Government announced the second phase of the stabilization program - the so-called Collor Plan II, including a temporary price freeze and the end of the overnight interest-bearing deposits for individuals and for non-financial companies .
In May, the Economy Minister Zelia Cardoso de Mello resigned. The Euromoney magazine mentioned that Zelia Cardoso, although well-intentioned, had adopted a confrontional style, creating friction, making enemies and undermining the government's credibility.
The economy minister Marcilio Marques Moreira, a former banker and diplomat, led the new economic team. His appointment was greeted with relief, at home and abroad and his two main priorities were to reduce the inflation and resolve the country's foreign debt problem.
Under the command of Marcilio Marques Moreira, the Brazilian stabilization measures came back to an orthodox strategy. The monetary and fiscal policies remained restrictive, with a substantial increase in interest rates and a new adjustment on the prices of state-produced goods. The Government also promised a rigorous fiscal discipline. As a result, the real GDP only 0.2% in 1991 and shrank by 0.8% in 1992 as shown in the chart below:
Source: IMF - International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1995
The inflation, after a record level of 2,937.8% in 1990, dropped to 440.9% in 1991. However, as the stag-inflation process was not contained, the price level accelerated again to 1,008.7% in 1992. It increased even more during the following years and was not controlled just until 1994/1995 by the Real Plan.
Another strategic objective of the Collor government was privatization (complementing the objective of reducing the role of the state), which could greatly improve public finances and thereby help to control inflation. The privatization program aimed at reducing the public deficit to 2,5% of GDP. However, due to strong domestic opposition, the government sold just one company in 1991 (USIMINAS - the major steel firm). The performance improved in 1992 when thirteen companies were privatized. By late 1992, the privatization program helped to reduce government debt by US$ 3 billion.
About the external performance, in July 1991, the total reserves reached US$ 9 billion (mainly due to non-payment of external debt) and the forecast for the international trade surplus that year was between US$ 13 billion and US$ 15 billion.
At the same time, the country was proceeding with its external debt negotiation with the IMF and foreign creditors.
In fact, at the end of 1991, the trade surplus was US$ 10.6 billion and total reserves were US$ 5.7 billion. These figures improved significantly in 1992 when the trade surplus reached US$ 15.2 billion and reserves totaled US$ 16.5 billion in December.
The chart below shows the evolution of Brazilian trade balance and total reserves in US$ million:
Source: IMF - International International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1995 and Brazilian Central Bank (trade balance of 1994).
An optimistic economic climate greeted 1992. At the beginning of the year, the government made a large ministerial reform suggesting enlargement of its political base in the Brazilian Congress. However, in May 1992, a serious political crisis emerged in Brazil blocking any economic recovery in that year. Charged with large corruption, President Collor was dismissed in October 1992 by an impeachment process.
The economic recovery started in 1993. Since then, Brazil has reached reasonable economic growth rates (4.1% in 1993 and 5.7% in 1994).
Brazil returned to the international voluntary bond market arena on July 10, 1991 (launching date) through an eurobond issued by Petrobras, the state-owned oil company, led by Chase Investment Bank Limited.
The main characteristics of the issue were:
Euromoney magazine considered the PETROBRAS issue to be the main event of the year related to Brazil.
Bittencourt reported the sentiment expressed by Jorge Jasson, a vice-president of Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, about the operation just one day before the launching date. Jasson said: Tomorrow, Chase will be launching the first Eurobond for PETROBRAS in more than a decade. It is really a bond, no hedging, no guaranty, no collateral or receivable attached. It is not a commercial paper but a real Eurobond. It is not a Brazilian CD, not an interbank corporate deposit, but really a corporate issue. And the good news is, we were thinking about US$ 100 million deal, but given the institutional investors' appetite, we are moving up to US$ 200 million".
The above comments show the importance of the operation to all the parts involved (issuer, lead-manager, investors and Brazil). A real straight eurobond meant that the international market was accepting the Brazil risk again, providing new voluntary money without any credit enhancement.
The deal surpassed the expectations. When the Petrobras eurobond came out, it was a US$ 250 million deal.
The company paid a premium of 659 basis points over the comparable US Treasury Note. Three months earlier, the Mexican equivalent of Petrobras, Pemex, was able to issue a US$ 125 million bond for two years, paying just 316 basis points over the comparable US Treasury Note.
Thus, the market considered Petrobras bond as an alternative investment in Latin America. According to sources from Chase Manhattan Bank, the bond reached global distribution. That was not an issue targeted for retail. Rather, Chase placed the notes with institutional investors in several countries in Europe, in the Far East and in Latin American countries other than Brazil.
At this point, it is important to record that, when Mexico returned to the international bond market in 1988, it had to offer around 800 basis points spread, implying in yield to maturity more than 17% p.a.
Another evidence about the success of the deal was the price performance in the secondary market. Chase established a fixed reoffer price to assure stability at the beginning of the secondary market transactions. After a short time, the lead-manager confirmed its confidence in the deal by bidding the notes at the reoffer price.
The term of the issue (2 years) reflected the maximum term accepted by the market in order to take the risk. The investors looked at the company (size, core business, managing, etc.), but they also considered the country economic instability and the next presidential elections in 1994 (within 3 years).
Robinson added that the investors bought the Petrobras bonds because they realized that a default by the largest Brazilian company would cut the country's access to the market for more 20 years. Thus, the Brazilian government would care to protect Brazil's interest in the international bond market.
Besides Chase Manhattan (the lead-manager), 10 other traditional banks joined the syndicate. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and JP Morgan acted as co-lead managers. Bear Stearns, Salomon Brothers, Swiss Bank Corporation, S.G. Warburg, Banque Indosuez, First Interstate, Banque Bruxelles Lambert and Deutsch-Sudamerikanische Bank were co-managers.
By mid-1991, Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina were already back in the euromarket. Thus, considering Brazil's return, the 1980s - that lost decade for Latin American countries that began with Mexico's moratorium in August 1982 - finally started to look like a thing of the past.
5.3.1 - 1991: The state-owned company wave
Including the first Petrobras deal, Brazilian companies issued 23 euronotes between July and December 1991.The issues totaled US$ 1.84 billion and the state-owned big companies raised most of those funds (US$ 1.36 billion - 73.64%). The most important issues were:
Petrobras 10% due 1996 - it was a 5-year deal launched on August 10, 1991, by JP Morgan. This time, Petrobras raised US$ 200 million, paying a spread of 505 basis points over the 5-year US Treasury Bond.
The issuer included a 2-year call option and a 3-year put option. Thus, the market perceived that as a 3-year bond. Nonetheless, the term was longer while the spread and yield (to maturity: 12.25% and to put: 12.375%) were lower than the first Petrobras issue. It meant improvements in the investors' risk perception and lower costs to the company.
The operation was a success. Roland Wogenodski, chief of Latin American operations at JP Morgan, said this second issue was all placed within a few hours of launching. Unlike the first deal, via Chase, the "Morgan bond" had a 144-A tranche, which allowed it to be sold in the United States, hence broadening the investors' base for Brazilian issues .
According to JP Morgan, the US buyers were institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies.
The syndicate was the same as the first issue (Chase acted as co-lead manager), minus First Interstate Bank.
CVRD 10% due 1994 - the state-owned mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) issued a US$ 200 million bond, launched by Citicorp on September 9. It was a 3-year deal carrying a 11.45% yield to maturity (spread of 491 basis points over the 3-year US Treasury bond).
The syndicate had 19 banks. Some traditional institutions, like Lehman Brothers, UBS and Banque Paribas, participated in their first Brazilian issue by joining this syndicate. It also included Unibanco, the first Brazilian bank participation in a syndicate to place eurobonds.
The operation was set originally to US$ 100 million. It doubled to US$ 200 million due to strong market demand.
The issue had a 1-year call option and a 2-year put option paying a 11.42% yield to put (approximately 518 basis points over the 2-year US Treasury Note). Thus, the investors were comfortable in taking the risk for, at least, 2 years. Nevertheless, the premium was 141 basis points lower than the first Petrobras issue (same term) that had been launched just 2 months earlier.
It is true that CVRD was considered (and it still is) by the market as the better Brazilian risk company. However, as CVRD and Petrobras are very similar companies, the comparison is valid.
Finally, it is important to emphasize that both companies were able to return to the euromarket paying much less than Mexico had to in its comeback three years earlier.
According to the lead-manager, besides institutional investors in Europe and in the United States (through 144-A tranche), private investors in Latin America also bought the bonds.
TELEBRAS 10% due 1996 - the telecommunication state-owned holding issued US$ 200 million for 5-years. Merrill Lynch brought the issue to market on September 18. The principal repayment was made by installments reducing the average life to 3.5 years.
The yield to maturity was 11.5%, or a spread of 497 basis points over the interpolated 3.5-year US Treasury Bond. It represented a slight premium reduction (compared to the previous state-owned company issues) for six-month longer term.
This issue broke the reluctance of investors about principal repayments set for dates after the presidential election foreseen to 1994.
The secondary market liquidity for this deal was lower. Perhaps, the main reason was that there was no syndicate placing the securities. Merrill Lynch alone was able to underwrite all the bonds.
5.3.1 - 1992: The banks wave
The state-owned companies paved the way for the consolidation of Brazil's presence in the international bond market in 1991.
All the issues totaled US$ 3.66 billion in 1992. The Brazilian commercial banks dominated the country's issuance that year, launching 53 out of 76 issues raising US$ 2.45 billion (67%).
Brazil has faced (for a long time) a chronic lack of medium to long term resources in order to finance a sustainable economic growth. The domestic funds, when available, are very expensive or, rather, prohibitive. Thus, as external funds usually are cheaper and longer-term, foreign capital is always welcome in the country.
In 1992 it was not different. The year was marked by deep economic and political instability. The most recent economic stabilization plans had failed, inflation resurged strongly and the government kept the domestic interest rates at high levels. Therefore, companies demanded external funds to make their investments viable or just to lower their indebtedness.
In this environment, and considering Brazil's re-entry into the international market, the Brazilian commercial banks decided to take advantage of the difference between external and domestic interest rates by borrowing funds abroad and re-lending them domestically. By this mechanism, the banks were able to provide funds at lower costs to the Brazilian companies.
Most of the eurobond issues in 1992 happened during the first semester because the second half of the year was very confused due to political instability. Some issues among the largest ones in 1992 were:
Banco Frances e Brasileiro (BFB) - the subsidiary of the French bank Credit Lyonnais raised US$ 110 million for 2 years. Credit Lyonnais, the mother company, brought the issue to market on March 13. The issuer paid a 11% yield to maturity (spread of 516 basis points).
According to the lead-manager, institutional investors in Europe, particularly investment funds, bought most of that securities.
CVRD 9% due 1995 - in its second issue, CVRD was able to raise US$ 150 million for 3 years. The bonds carried a 9.06% yield to maturity and were launched on April 5 by Chase Manhattan Bank .
The premium was the lowest one up to that point and the lowest one of the whole year: 318 basis points. Compared to the first Brazilian issue, the cost was 341 bps less. Undoubtedly, it reflected a significant improvement in investor perception of the Brazilian risk.
Banco do Brasil 9% due 1995 - the state-owned bank raised US$ 200 million for 3 years. CSFB brought the issue to market on April 14 brought. Banco do Brasil paid a 9.57% yield to maturity, meaning a spread of 395 basis points over the 3-year US Treasury Bond.
This one was the first 3-year straight eurobond issued by a 100% Brazilian commercial bank. Once more, a state-owned company contributed to expanding the maturity for Brazilian issues.
Unibanco 10.5% due 1995 - launched on April 22 by Citicorp, it was a US$ 100 million deal for 3 years. Unibanco paid a 10.65% yield to maturity (spread 475 basis points).
Unibanco was the first Brazilian private bank to issue a bond maturing in 3 years.
Others important private banks that came to the market in 1992 were: Bradesco, Banco Bamerindus, Banco Economico, Banco Nacional e Banco Real.
This is the most difficult issue to track, for several reasons. The banks in the syndicate were sometimes the buyers, either because they manage their own portfolio with some Latin American high-yields risks, or because they buy securities on behalf of private clients and/or companies.
Thus, the banks normally do not discuss details about their client base, out of fear that this would help their competitors.
Another reason bankers have to be careful about naming buyers is that the bonds are mostly issued in bearer form in order to protect investor identities. With bearer bonds it is much more difficult for an issuer to identify the buyers, and so to try reschedule payments. In the eurobond market, any default means default to all the market instead of specific lenders (like in the bank loans). Therefore, the consequences for issuers are much more serious because the access to the market may be blocked.
Given such set of constraints, maybe the banks do not tell the truth.
When asked about the types of investor or distribution of the bonds by region, the banks frequently provide similar answers. One example of standard information is: "most of the bonds were placed with institutional investors in Europe and United States (when the issue has a 144-A tranche). Some portion was placed through retail sales in Europe, Latin America and Far East".
Bittencourt researched Brazilian eurobonds destination, by interviewing syndicate members. Focusing on bonds issued in 1991, he interviewed 40 syndicate members. The results were: 37.5% mentioned institutional investors (pension funds, insurance companies, and country funds), and 7.5% cited financial institutions. The largest part (55%) was divided among: private bank, money managers, retail and flight capital.
Concerning the bonds issued in 1992, Bittencourt expanded his research by interviewing 202 syndicate members. The results were: 27.3% mentioned institutional investors (including mutual funds, high-yield funds, and others funds), 10.9% cited financial institutions and companies. Again, the largest portion (61.8%) included private bank, retail, flight capital, money managers, fund managers and private investors.
In fact, all the buyers last mentioned (private bank, retail, flight capital, money managers, fund managers) can be classified as private investors. And private investors can be related to flight capital.
Bittencourt also mentions a study by an European bank saying that 70% of Latin American issues ended up bought by the flight capital. In the case of Brazilian eurobonds, some market sources estimates that flight capital accounted for as many as 80% of all buyers.
The estimates for Brazilian flight capital overseas in the early 1990's varied widely, from a minimum in the US$ 20 billion range to a maximum of around US$ 80 billion. Bittencourt concludes that, if flight capital buyers indeed took as much as 80% of Brazilian euroissues, the second figure seems more plausible. But nobody really knows the precise figure.
In spite of uncertainty about Brazilian bond buyers, there is no doubt that capital flight represented an important role in the process of Brazil re-entry into the international bond market.
Andima. Relatorio Economico MERCOSUL. Rio de Janeiro, 1993.
Banco Central do Brasil. MERCOSUL Informacoes Selecionadas. Brasilia, 1995.
Banco Central do Brasil. Brasil-Programa Economico. Brasilia, 1992.
Bell, Geoffrey. The Euro-dollar Market and the International Financial System. London, Macmillan, 1974.
Bello, Maria Teresa Lisita. International Capital Flows. Washington DC, The Minerva Program, Spring 1996.
Bittencourt, Getulio. Brazil in the Euromarket. New York/Sao Paulo, Gebam Editora e Producoes Ltda, 1993.
Brazil. Euromoney Supplement. August 1991.
Brazil puts its cards on the table. Euromoney. September 1991.
Camillotto, Luis Fernando Goncalves. A Atuacao Mercadologica do Banco do Brasil no Mercado de Eurobonus. Sao Paulo, Dissertacao de Mestrado, FGV/EAESP, 1993.
European Bond Commission. The European Bond Markets. Cambridge, England, Probus Publishing Company, 1993.
Freire, Marta Maria de Alvarenga. Brazilian Stabilization Programs (1986-1995). Washington DC, The Minerva Program, Spring 1996.
Geisst, Charles R. Raising International Capital. London, Saxon House, 1980.
General News 1982. The Wall Street Journal Index.
General News 1991. The Wall Street Journal Index.
Graaf, Frank. Euromarket Finance. London, Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers, 1991
IMF. Private Market Financing for Developing Countries. Washington DC, 1993.
IMF. International Financial Statistics Yearbook. Washington DC, 1995
Ministerio do Planejamento. Brazil on the move. Brasilia, 1996
Neira, Leonardo Borba. Brazil's Foreign Debt - An Overview. Washington DC, The Minerva Program, Spring 1996.
Paula, Adriano Pereira de. Brazil - The Reabilitation in The International Capital Market - New Perspective for Financiang. Washington DC, The Minerva Program, Fall 1995.
Pinto, Celso. Acabou a euforia no euromercado. Gazeta Mercantil. Sao Paulo, 03.03.1993.
Robinson, Danielle. Brazil's Day of Redemption. Euromoney. March 1992.


text:
Hello All - I just purchased my first WRX a few days ago and I have an inquiry with regard to premium fuel. I have an '08 WRX (Not-STI). I went to the pump today and was kind of (embarrasingly) confused.
They had:
Regular (87)
Premium (89)
Supreme (93)
The dealer I bought the car from told me 89 is fine but then again, it wasn't a Subaru dealer so W*F do they know.
What is the recommended octane for the WRX? I read through the manual, searched this forum and google and all I could come up with is; The WRX needs Premium Fuel. Can someone define "Premium Fuel" for me?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
60 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2003
Date Written: August 2003
This paper exploits variation in health outcomes among middle-age men and women to better understand the "production function" by which cigarette smoking transmits harm. In short, the harm done depends on who does the smoking. Outcome is not randomly determined, but rather varies predictably according to height, own and family education, body weight, and gender, among other things. The results point to the underlying importance of starting stock of good health, its maintenance (for example, through diet), and its depreciation (for example, through smoking). Selection effects are apparent. Smoking is taken up disproportionately by those most likely to incur the greatest harm. And there is a "smoker type" effect, particularly evident in males, who die in alarming numbers compared to smoking females. If cost of hazardous consumption depends importantly on the user's health human capital, then models of optimum exposure, and the public health guidelines they spawn, need to be reconsidered.
Keywords: consumer economics, consumer protection, health & nutrition, mortality, morbidity, substance abuse and addiction, human capital, occupational choice, labor productivity, on-the-job training, environmental law, health and safety law
JEL Classification: D12, D18, I12, J24, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Ippolito, Richard A., Health Human Capital and the Cost of Smoking (August 2003). George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 03-37. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=433920 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.433920


text:
I remember Notch saying that people who bought it back then would get all versions of Minecraft for free?
maybe I'm not remembering it correctly... anyways.
Do you guys know if I get the Xbox 360 and mobile versions for free?
Game » consists of 30 releases. Released Nov 18, 2011
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text:
Gulf Stream Aids Storm Victims
September 1, 2005
Filed under Trailer News
Elkhart, Indiana-based RV manufacturer Gulf Stream Coach is preparing to help provide
temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The company has been in contact with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is trying to determine how many units
will be needed for the storm victims. There is speculation that Gulf Stream and other
manufacturers may need to hire additional temporary laborers to assist current employees in
meeting the demand.


text:
It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our uncomplicated sign up form and login to the site.
This step is noncompulsory but will drastically multiply your chances of your profile being viewed by others. Type a little about yourself, your interests and upload your nicest photo of yourself.
Use our website's advanced search to uncover members who match your desired criteria. Or just look through listings and uncover members that appeal to you.
Located someone who you find interesting? Drop them a line or just a wink and see what they say. With a little luck you'll be on your way to locating your proper date.
It's quick and simple


text:
commentary or accusations you read on a blog. Where is the evidence that they have not done their job?
Printable View
Now, FBI/NSA background checks for things like Government Security Clearances are required to disclose who they are conducting the background check on with those they are interviewing as it is absolutely necessary to confirm that the person they are talking with in fact knows the person they are collecting background information on, or the harvested/collected information would be worthless. But that does not permitted them to disclose anything more than what will achieve that goal.
Inquiries to determine the validity of a lodged complaint at any Office be it Government or Corporate are required to comply with US Code when it comes to Whistleblower protections. Remember that whistleblower protections are there to protect lower level employees from retribution of superiors and a potential of abusively applied coercion from peers at the behest of supervisors. These complaints are generally not criminal in nature but require extremely greater confidentiality than even a criminal prosecution would because of the Whistleblower protection act. Example: Sexual innuendo in the work place is an illegal act as it is considered as being sexual harassment. But is not a criminal act that the police could be called in on to make an arrest of the offensive party.
I'm sorry but if you are not intentionally trying to twist the issue, then the only result left is that you must be trying to justify wrong doing.
EDIT: That was probably a poor choice of putting my final statement there. As there is not evidence in what we were discussing of wrong doing being a fact.. I should probably say that it appears to be justifying a potential for wrong doing in that it is giving a wrong impression of what can and cannot be done in a whistleblower case.
Sorry, LkWd, I'm not following you at all. If you are trying to assert that the IGs lack credibility or
investigatory power, we'll just need to disagree.
Resurrecting this thread with a little media update:
Exclusive: Five ATF officials found responsible for Fast and Furious - latimes.com
In all fairness, the fact that these are Republican congressional investigators, investigating a known democrat should raise some questions in and of itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Republican congressional investigators
Far too often if one party is doing something wrong and then is investigated by itself.. no wrong doing will be found (example Newt Gingrich 1999).. Likewise, far too often even if a party is not doing anything wrong and is investigated by the opposing party, wrong doing will be found.
This shows why the Political Parties should be banned from Public Lime-light, stripped of all their power, funding and influence. That our system of Government should negate/repeal all laws designed to give preferential treatment to any political party while returning our Electoral College System back to the way our Founding Fathers authored it.
House Oversight moves on civil action v. Eric Holder
Congressman Darrell Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ramped up its effort to get thousands of documents from Attorney General Eric Holder Monday when a civil action was filed in Washington, D.C. federal court to force Holder to hand over the papers.
House Oversight moves on civil action v. Eric Holder - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com
After all that political noise congress is reduced to suing in federal court.
Grassley, Issa zero in on dual employment of F&F figure
Three weeks after this column first revealed that a major figure in Operation Fast and Furious was likely to retire soon, the two men leading Capitol Hills investigation of the scandal are now asserting that he is working in the private sector while still drawing a government paycheck.
Grassley, Issa zero in on dual employment of F&F figure - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com
Inspector General report on Fast & Furious should be released
The long-awaited Inspector Generals report on Operation Fast and Furious is now in the hands of Justice Department officials, but because President Barack Obama promised his would be a transparent administration, that report should be turned over to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and to the American people.
Inspector General
Oh, drat. Another delay.
:mad: :wink:
IG appearance before House Oversight delayed to Sept. 19
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced Monday that a long-anticipated appearance before that body by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has been put off to Sept. 19.
IG appearance before House Oversight delayed to Sept. 19 - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com
Looks like the sacrificial lambs have already been cut from the flock and are, even as we speak, being marinated. Gents, we are never, EVER going to know the depth of incompetency or the lofty heights of accountability that Fast & Furious truly represents. The powerful will throw loyal underlings to the wolves while disavowing any knowledge or responsibility. Supporting documents will strangely vanish. Careers will be MADE by careful misdirection & skillful deceit. Careers will be RUINED by hints of honesty & good character. The very guys we most WANT in the seats of government power will be quietly vanquished into obscurity. The very guys we most NEED to go to prison will laugh at our simple gullibility. Good men die so rotten men can prosper. It's not intelligence that's lacking, there are triple-sharp players in this game. What's lacking is anyone with a combination of both the courage to tell us the truth & the evidence to prove it. If that person can wade the swamp of serpents and get to dry ground, I'll support HIM or HER...for President! :blackeye:
Well said ghost tracker, I'm with you.


text:
Men who are most prone to rage and violence have significant deficiencies in a brain region that enables most people to learn moral sensibilities and exercise self-restraint, researchers at the University of Southern California have shown.
The study joins a growing body of findings that may force society to rethink how it regards violent crime, blame, punishment and the scope of free will.
"Our previous research had shown that convicted murderers -- really violent offenders -- have poorer functioning in the brain's prefrontal cortex," said USC psychopathologist Adrian Raine. In a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, Raine and colleagues demonstrate that a physical abnormality may underlie the poor functioning in these violent, antisocial men.
Neurologists have long been aware of a strong link between damage to the prefrontal cortex and the acquisition of antisocial, psychopathic-like personality changes. Raine's study bolsters this link by taking people with lifelong antisocial tendencies and showing that they have prefrontal damage.
The prefrontal cortex is the brain's foremost outer portion, located right behind the eyes. Vital in the orchestration of emotion, arousal and attention, it seems to house the mental machinery that enables people to restrain themselves from acting on all of their impulses. The prefrontal cortex is thought to be central to a child's ability to learn to feel remorse, conscience and social sensitivity.
The 21 men studied were all diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), which is characterized by irresponsibility, deceitfulness, impulsiveness, irritability, lack of emotional depth, lack of remorse, and life-long antisocial behavior. All of them had psychopathic personalities and had committed serious, violent crimes.
Using brain-imaging techniques, the researchers measured tissue volume in the prefrontal cortex. They found that the antisocial men had an 11 to 14 percent reduction in the volume of nerve cells in the prefrontal cortex compared to normal males -- a deficit of about two teaspoons' worth.
Raine suggests three reasons why prefrontal deficits may cause antisocial personality:
First, the region appears to be critical for self-restraint and deliberate foresight. "One thing we know about antisocials is that they do not think ahead," said Raine.
Second, it's crucial for learning conditioned responses -- essential, for example, to a child's linking the thought of a misdeed with anxiety over punishment. "Unconscious mental-emotional associations such as these lie at the core of what we call conscience," Raine said.
Third, if prefrontal deficits underlie the APD group's low levels of autonomic arousal, these people may unconsciously be trying to compensate through stimulation-seeking. "For some kids," said Raine, "one way of getting an arousal-jag is by robbing stores or beating people up."
Reduced prefrontal volume and lower autonomic responses predicted APD with an accuracy of 76.9 percent. In fact, Raine explained, the prefrontal and autonomic deficits were just as good at predicting whether a subject has APD as were the 10 "psychosocial risk factors" -- including poverty, parental criminality, and physical and sexual abuse -- also considered in the study. Combined, biological and social factors were 88.5 percent accurate in predicting APD.
This new study is the first structural brain-imaging study of any antisocial group, Raine said, and is significant because the subjects come from the general community rather than prisons, and because the study was controlled for some important factors, such as substance abuse and mental health problems unrelated to APD, that could have been directly associated with the brain deficit.
Clinical, functional and structural findings like Raine's are adding up to a persuasive case that antisocials, growing up from birth or early childhood with prefrontal deficits, have the deck stacked weightily against them.
"We are talking about a predisposition to antisocial behavior," Raine stressed. "Some people who have prefrontal deficits do not become antisocial, and some antisocial individuals do not have prefrontal deficits. It's important to make clear that biology is not destiny."
Even so, Raine's findings raise important ethical questions about culpability and free will. "To what extent," he asked, "should we take disordered brain functioning into account as part of the reason for certain types of crime? Assuming these people are not responsible for their own brain damage, should we hold them fully responsible for their criminal acts?"
At present, there is no way to repair large-scale brain damage or deficits. Still, Raine said, society could move to address the problem of biologically based violence. "Let's not forget the physical and sexual abuse or the poverty. That's very important. But I think one reason we have failed to provide effective treatments and interventions is that we have ignored the biological side of the equation.
"We need to focus resources on that small group of kids, the 5 percent, who will commit 50 percent of the crime and violence later in life," Raine continued. "Tackling imprisoned adults is almost a waste of time. Tackling kids when they're juvenile delinquents is far too late. We have to get to these kids much earlier in life, when the brain is more plastic."
Raine suggested a number of interventions that could be applied. Cognitive and behavioral therapy and drug therapy have potential. Biofeedback -- training children or adults to control their own arousal levels -- could be a useful tool. And children could be channeled into safe activities that might satisfy their natural stimulation-seeking and aggressive proclivities, steering them clear of the antisocial, criminal lifestyle into which they are otherwise likely to fall.
"Studies in England show that army bomb-disposal experts have low resting heart rates," Raine said. "That's very interesting, because it makes me wonder whether biological predispositions to antisocial behavior could be adaptive, too. Society needs fearless people, after all, people who might contribute to society as bomb-disposal experts, firefighters and test pilots if they could be identified and helped in time."
Raine, a professor of psychology in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, is first author of the journal article and author of a book titled "The Psychopathology of Crime: Criminal Behavior as a Clinical Disorder."
Co-authors of the journal article are Todd Lencz, Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System; Susan Bihrle and Lori LaCasse, department of psychology, USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; and Patrick M. Colletti, department of radiology, USC Keck School of Medicine .
This study was supported by grants to the first author from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Wacker Foundation.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University Of Southern California. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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Dear Jared:
I don't expect you to read this, and you have every right not to. After all, I did refuse to receive the note you wished to send me, by way of your publicist, in response to my admittedly bitchy Village Voice review of Chapter 27. But given the patience and urgency with which you've responded to those who've taken umbrage with your flat-at-best, grossly-oblivious-at-worst performances on the awards circuit this year, suggesting that your ears are very much open to the concerns of the ostracized group that you represent in Dallas Buyers Club, perhaps you'll drape those fabulous arms of yours around my neck and let me try and clear the air.
Lest I give you the wrong impression, I'm not a member of the Church of Vito Russo of Latter Day Saints. Maybe I would feel differently if Dallas Buyers Club were more than just Lifetime-grade pablum, and as such worth the trouble, but you shouldn't feel any compulsion toward ambassadorship during this journey toward the Oscar podium. After all, as an actor, you're not jockeying for a position within the United Nations. And to anyone, straight and un-straight alike, who absurdly tells you that Rayon should've been played by someone who's transgender, remind them that, again, you're an actor—then flash them your "tiny Brazilian bubble butt."
While I don't doubt your sensitivity toward the issues that plague the transgender community, that you face a backlash regarding your performance as Rayon speaks to my long-standing belief that you treat the profession of acting like you do your music: as stunt work. Maybe I've allowed my bemused ambivalence to the dull straight camp of Thirty Seconds to Mars, makers of the most egomaniacal-as-to-seem-overcompensating music video in the history of the medium, to cloud my judgment, or maybe I just have eyes and recognize that, on a very fundamental level, your performance reveals that you lack the insight into the real lived experience of the character you play. (As if this ironically objectifying photo you took prior to shooting the film wasn't already an indication.) In Dallas Buyers Club, you deliver a passable performance as a drag artist, but only someone who's never known a transgender person would say you convincingly play one.
So, while I may agree with this bozo in regard to your performance and the false impression it gives of transgender experience, and with who should really take the award for Supporting Actor, in the the grand scheme of things, there have been many actors who've won Oscars for giving far more dubious performances than yours. No hard feelings, then? Let your corny freak fly on Sunday night. Enjoy the booze, hope the body hair is growing back okay, and may your Oscar serve as incentive to move on to much greater and more substantial things.
Ed Gonzalez
Will Win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Could Win: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Should Win: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips


text:
If you are on Kmeaw and don't want to use nathan_r32_69's spoofer, then Nightbird has his spoofer available for use. Nightbird's enabler easily allows you to switch between spoofing to firmware 4.31 and having PSN access and the regular unspoofed 3.55 firmware. Nightbird's Spoofer is also compatible with reactPSN for those who have that in their setups. Here are the release notes for the spoofer:
- If you are using any other spoofers, disable and uninstall them
- If you have been using Fuckpsn, put your original 'CA27.cer' back. Also put your network settings back to normal if you have altered them for connecting via a PC PSN app.
- This is for Kmeaw users only.
It is possible that Nightbird will make a version compatible with the REBUG custom firmware. You can download both the enabler and disabler packages for the spoofer below.
Nightbird's Spoofer [Enabler | Disabler]
Source: PSX-Scene
Tags: enabler, nightbird, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, PS3, PSN, sen, Spoofer


text:
Must-See Sights on the Karakoram Highway
Note: The following is the second part of a guest post by Vivian Ngo. If you haven't already, it is recommended that you first read Part 1: Introduction to the Karakoram Highway before continuing.
The geological sights along the Karakoram Highway were varied and contrasting: Rugged mountainscapes, sand marshes, crystal clear lakes, glaciers, green marsh lands. Although I'm not an expert on geology, it certainly piqued my interest to research more about what I saw along my journey.
After downloading all the photos I took along the way, I retraced my journey in Google Earth to help me appreciate and understand the geography I saw at eye level.
On the way to the first check point on the Karakoram Highway, we passed by the Red Mountain. The distinctive red tint of the mountain sandstone was from the oxidization of iron. The Karakoram Highway runs in-between the ridges on the valley bed next to the Ghez River.
You could see many mines in this area with all the infrastructure to support a major mining operation. It has been said that during heavy rain the river turns red. There were a few spots where we had to detour around minor landslides on the road. At the first check point in Ghez they recorded our passports and reasons for passing. There was also road side refreshment stands run by Kyrgyz. That day was so amazingly clear we were able to snap pictures of the snowy Kongur Peak.
We stopped at the base of Kongur Peak to take in the views of this strange but beautiful landscape. It seemed like as far as we could see there were white sand dunes and a river bed that projected a mirror image of the horizon.
There was a Kyrgyz family there trying to sell us some polished stones as well, but we managed to convince them to take a photo with us instead. The white giant snow peak on the left of the photo is a part of Mount Kongur.
This place along the Karakoram Highway makes you feel like you have just arrived in heaven. The lake at 3700m above sea level is surrounded by two Pamir peaks, 7546m Muztagh Ata to the south and 7718m Mt. Kongur to the north-east. We walked along the boardwalk along the lake and we could see all the way to the bottom of the lake because the water was so clear.
We could also see the open green grassland in a distance where live stock fed. We were going to stay in the yurts around the lake, but we didn't bring enough warm clothes. I heard it could get below freezing even in August!
We arrived in Tashkurgan around sunset. It was really the best time to see the Stone Fortress bathed in golden sunshine. We first walked around in the wetland area, which is part of the Tashkorgan's flood plain. What can't be seen at eye-level but can be seen only on Google Maps is the geological form called an alluvial fan (highlighted in blue). It is created by melting glaciers flowing down from mountain peaks.
The Stone Fortress was high up on the hill that required a bit of a hike. We had to pay a small entrance fee to get access. It was well worth the hike and the fee because it was in a very surreal setting against the snowy peaks during sunset and hardly anyone else was there. About 1 km north of Tashkorgan is the check point post where we purchased a permit to drive up to the Khunjerab Pass on the Karakoram Highway.
There is also a sign that says something like "Khunjerab Pass is not a tourist spot, but an important military posts. We reserve the right to refuse permit to any travelers." I was worried we would be refused, but we just had to show them our passports and paid about 50 RMB per person for the permit.
We arrived at the final point in our journey along the Karakoram Highway at the border of China and Pakistan after a long drive through breathtaking valleys, running rivers and clear skies. We noticed on the switchbacks leading up to the pass a torn up big rig that must have had better days. Just before we reached the pass, we obtained a military escort up the final few hundreds of meters to the border.
There was a three story gateway structure that couldn't have been more than a few years old that was awaiting us at the top of the pass. The Chinese Military guard told us it took three rotating construction crews to complete the structure. The road pavement then abruptly ended with a marker signifying Pakistan on one side and China on the other.
A Pakistani guard representing the Kashmir Security Force rode up from his post to greet us on his motorcycle. His English was very good and he said his rotation keeps him in this location for about the length of a season. We managed to snap some pictures of some friendly foreign relations taking place from this most unique site. The mountain peaks seemed so close; almost at eye level. The 4700m altitude seemed to be getting the better of us after some time, so we decided to head down the mountain and get closer back to earth.
This is Part 2 of a guest post was written by Vivian Ngo (click to read part 1). Vivian is an architect living in Los Angeles. Her trip to Xinjiang gave her a new perspective in what it means to be "Chinese".
- Living in Xinjiang | One Foreigner's Perspective - February 16, 2017
- Xinjiang Street Food | Karamay Fried Yellow Noodles - November 3, 2016
- 10 Years in Xinjiang | CCTV Documentary - October 27, 2016
- FarWestChina's Josh Summers on CCTV - October 19, 2016
- Travel Kuqa | What's Worth Visiting? - October 13, 2016
- Prehistoric Porn in Xinjiang (Hilarious Petroglyphs!) - September 29, 2016
- Travel Kashgar | What's Worth Visiting - September 19, 2016
- Learning the Uyghur Dutar in Xinjiang - September 9, 2016
- What Should I Eat in Xinjiang? 10 Best Uyghur Food - September 2, 2016
- Kashgar Sunday Bazaar | Photos & Video - August 25, 2016


text:
Don Khong (21st to 24th January)
Trip Start Jan 01, 2008
87Trip End Dec 29, 2008
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Where I stayed
Pons Guesthouse
We rented a couple of bikes to cycle around the island and also did some trekking up the mountain in the centre of the island to see the "Buddha cave" - the walk was great but the cave was more of a small hole in the rock. Also worth seeing awere the nearby waterfalls close to Don Deth and Don Khone.
There is a "car ferry" - which is more of a large raft, with ropes to haul the thing from one side of the river to another.
Lovely countryside all around and beautiful river views. Saw lots of local houses on stilts with the family animals running around\d underneath. Many baby piglet tethered to keep out of the sun. Also lots of chickens.


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Stand Alone Complex
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MORETOWN, Vt. (AP) — Vermont's governor is asking anyone who owns a second home in the state to let displaced Irene flood victims use it temporarily.
Citing preliminary assessments that show about 700 homes were damaged or destroyed in the Aug. 28 flood, Gov. Peter Shumlin says he hopes second homeowners will step up to fill the need for temporary housing.
He says assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency won't go all the way to getting most people who lost everything to flooding situated in their own housing.
He made the comments Tuesday in Moretown, flanked by a couple whose mobile home was destroyed.
According to FEMA's preliminary damage estimate, about 125 Vermont homes were destroyed by Irene and about 570 suffered major damage.


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Scientists say that we are more attracted to larger people when we are hungry because we judge that they have easy access to food.
The claim is made by Dr Viren Swami of Westminster University, who showed 266 men cartoons of women and asked them to rate how attractive they were.
Hungry men selected larger women with bigger breasts.
Dr Swami, speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, said: "Hunger can change your perception of who is attractive.
"If a man is hungry they prefer slightly larger breast size in women. They also prefer slightly larger women in general.
"For women they generally prefer a slightly heavier man.
"In [previous] studies, they (the women) hadn't eaten for about six hours and you could see a real difference in their preferences."
Women with large breasts and wide hips have been considered more desirable in times of economic depression, with psychologists claiming they promise strength, control and wealth when such traits are at their most sparse - and hunger more prevalent.
However there could be a neurological explanation for the phenomenon, says Professor Gareth Leng of the University of Edinburgh.
The same part of the brain which controls appetite also controls sex drive. The hormone oxytocin is used to develop the craving for food, leading to us choosing someone who could feed us - then when hunger is assuaged, the chemical then begins to develop libido and we revert to our usual preferences in a potential partner.
"There is a good piece of science behind it," he said. "Sex and hunger are two fundamental drives.
"It probably explains why we go for dinner and then want to have sex."


text: Next Story > Photo Journal The Great Lawn Sprinkler In The Sky By Gautam Naik Nov 8, 2013 10:20 am ET Astronomers have observed a puzzling object in the asteroid belt that some say looks like a rotating lawn sprinkler. Take a look at photos of the mysterious object in space. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In Previous Photos of the Day: Nov. 7 Next Photos of the Day: Nov. 8


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Farina to coach on the fly
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Socceroo coach Frank Farina yesterday outlined his strategy of moving to Europe on a part-time basis to closely monitor his players in what everyone involved in Australia soccer believes is a crucial year for the game in this country.
Farina will be based in Britain and will stay in Europe for blocks of four or five weeks at a time so he can keep tabs on the form and fitness of his key men on the run-up to the Confederations Cup and the World Cup qualifiers next November.
He will also look to strengthen relationships with the coaches and officials at clubs where his players are based and provide support and encouragement for up-and-coming players who are on the fringes of the national team set-up.
"You would like to think it's about building relationships, but it's more about looking at players and keeping track of them," he said.
"The next 12 months is vitally important. It's going to be done four or five weeks at a time. It will be based around the FIFA dates (for international matches) and games scheduled with the national team."


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What Can An Orphaned Wild Bird Eat?
1 Answer | Add Yours
A young soft-billed bird, such as a warbler or catbird, may be given grated carrots, chopped hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, or custard. A young hard-billed bird, such as a sparrow or finch, may be given the same food or a mixture of dry baby cereal and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg moistened with milk. Rape (a plant that's a member of the mustard family), millet, and sunflower seeds should be added to this diet when the hard-billed bird becomes well developed.
An orphaned songbird needs to be fed every 20 minutes during daylight hours for several weeks. The food should be placed deep in its throat.
Sources: Cruickshank, Allan D. 1001 Questions Answered About Birds, p. 274; McElroy, Thomas P. The New Handbook of Attracting Birds, p. 194.
Source: UXL Science Fact Finder, ©1998 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
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ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
Citizens BankNationwide USA
Citizens Bank Excessive overdraft!!! Total rip off!! Nationwide
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Fix it the right way.
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This bank is a complete fraud!!!! They hit you with fees for things that did not overdraft!! I had one check overdraft an they charged me for 4!!!! I check my account multiple times daily and am always aware of my charges and they had no right to charge me overdraft fees for things that did not overdraft my account!!!! I am closing my account and moving to a new bank this one sucks!! There is no regulation on how they practice business! They shoul have legal action brought against them!!! Crooks!!!! Oh and it doesn't matter if thou turn overdraft protection off they just yes you to death and charge away!!!
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 04/17/2014 08:48 AM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/citizens-bank/nationwide/citizens-bank-excessive-overdraft-total-rip-off-nationwide-1139595. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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#1 Author of original report
Excuse me but
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, May 06, 2014POSTED: Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Please don't assume that I do not keep a check register!!!! I in fact keep extremely detailed registers for all my accounts!! I have never had a problem with other banks and in fact only switched to this one after I got married To suit my husband! I am no novice!! I check my balance multiple times per day to make sure everything is coming out on time so I can check it off my registry! This bank throws fees around like crazy! Which is why I am upset! I have since switched back to my old bank an have no problems! I even showed them my statement and they could not even figure out why I was charged so many times the same fee! If I didn't keep an accurate register I wouldn't know exactly when I'm being ripped off!! You sound like someone who works for a bank! Some people should ask questions before making accusations!
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#2 REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tricks Citizens bank uses to steal you money!
SUBMITTED: Monday, May 12, 2014POSTED: Monday, May 12, 2014
after many years dealing with this bank I have decided it is time to
go and find a credit union. many thing the employees told me about
how the bank handles charges when they come in.
First if you allow overdraft on your personal account or have a business account, as the business cards are not covered by the
law that was pasted. Either way all your charges for the day come
in doesn't matter what order they arrive in, near the end of the day
they look and if there is more debit than money they will allways take the largest amounts first. this way they can steal more OD fees
from your account. now I have business account and personal to
stop the OD fees on my Business acount. I didn't opt in on the
OD for the personal account so tat I can stop giving the all my money. so the bank recieved a direct withdrawl from my personal
account and then to debits on the card. they held the direct payment until the end of day and once the 3 debit charges came in the then put it though as it is not covered under the OD rules.
Personally I am taking all my accounts and all the people I brought to their bank and an going to find some credit union or bank that does not steal their customers money.
Just think of all the banks that are gone due to the way they operate and I see citizens bank will be joining them.
if you work for this bank I would start looking for another job
as this bank does not understand that a business depends on having happy customers and I can't see anyone banking there
that would want to stay and have their money stolen when ever
the bank wants to take it.
One more example I deposted a check and on the reciept it showed
a large direct deposit that had come in. so I paid the bills with the money from the direct deposit and got like 8 overdrafts.
I stopped by the local branch and handed the the slip showing the
money after the lady spent hours on the phone she say ok I can
split the OD fees with you. Yeah sure just what I wanted to hear.
they are crocks so if you bank there some day when you in the bank you will feel like the comercial were the customers are being held up by the people that run the bank!
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#3 Consumer Comment
A couple of things....
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 17, 2014POSTED: Thursday, April 17, 2014
"I check my account multiple times daily and am always aware of my charges and they had no right to charge me overdraft fees for things that did not overdraft my account!!!!"
It is OBVIOUS you do NOT keep an accurate, up to date check register. When you check your balance online, it does NOT reflect pending transactions, such as the gas you just purchased on your debit card and the other checks you just wrote and haven't even been sent to the bank, let alone processed. You should also check online to be SURE any deposits have been credited and the funds are available.
"This bank is a complete fraud!!!"
"There is no regulation on how they practice business!"
"They shoul have legal action brought against them!!! Crooks!!!!"
First, all this is totally preventable and YOUR fault for NOT keeping an accurate, up to date, written check register. Since you are sure they're a fraud and are crooks, you can report your FACTS to your states banking commissioner.
Oh, and BTW, banks ARE regulated by NUMEROUS Federal and state banking laws.
You sound like a person fairly new to a checking account and should visit your banker for help in maintaining your account in a manner that will benefit YOU. If you decide to continue as you are, those of us who don't incur those pesky little NSF fees thank you for helping keep other banking costs lower to OUR benefit.
Also, if you maintain the status quo, please come back later on this site to let us know how your new bank is Ripping you off. It's entirely YOUR choice. I've been banking for over 50 years and NO nsf fees, EVER. See, it can be done. Good luck to you.
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#4 Consumer Comment
Good Luck!
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 17, 2014POSTED: Thursday, April 17, 2014
You gave yourself away! You stated you "check your balance" several times a day. Let me see, you do it on line or via phone. So let me ask you this: On the days the bank said YOU overdrafted YOUR account, what was the running balance in your CHECK REGISTER??? Check register??? "What's that?", you ask. The on-line account activity or phone report of the same is NOT accurrate. The MOST accurrate balance in the universe is obtained by YOU writing down EVERY use of the ATM card, doing the subtraction right then and there and as such, keeping a running balance. YOUR failure to do this with this bank is what costs you overdraft fees. Your failure to do this with the new bank will cost you overdraft fees. Sorry, there is no grand conspiracy to "get" you by the banks. Its YOUR FAILURE to keep accurrate records!
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Leighton Meester & Adam Brody Engaged!
People has confirmed that Leighton Meester and Adam Brody are engaged!
The two stars have been very hush-hush about their relationship, but have reportedly been dating since the beginning of this year.
They met while working on the movie The Oranges in 2011.
Read more about the story here.
Photo by Getty Images


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The C continue Statement
The continue statement passes control to the next iteration of the nearest enclosing do, for, or while statement in which it appears, bypassing any remaining statements in the do, for, or while statement body.
- jump-statement:
The next iteration of a do, for, or while statement is determined as follows:
Within a do or a while statement, the next iteration starts by reevaluating the expression of the do or while statement.
A continue statement in a for statement causes the first expression of the for statement to be evaluated. Then the compiler reevaluates the conditional expression and, depending on the result, either terminates or iterates the statement body. See The for Statement for more information on the for statement and its nonterminals.
This is an example of the continue statement:
while ( i-- > 0 ) { x = f( i ); if ( x == 1 ) continue; y += x * x; }
In this example, the statement body is executed while i is greater than 0. First f(i) is assigned to x; then, if x is equal to 1, the continue statement is executed. The rest of the statements in the body are ignored, and execution resumes at the top of the loop with the evaluation of the loop's test.


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Be More Like Edward
Dating: Be Like Edward
who is edward anyway?In short, Edward is every woman's fantasy. He's handsome, he has a rock-hard body, he's wealthy, he's smart, he's articulate, and he's kind. He's perfect — except for one teeny problem. He's a vampire and desperately desires the blood of his human girlfriend, Bella.
Of course you're thinking, "So what? I don't get it. Why do women love him so much?" Everything just described isn't too far off from the latest Hollywood A-lister and seems more like something your 13-year-old niece would be obsessed over, not a grown intelligent woman. Well, you're right. The superficial things listed above aren't really it. The real reasons women love Edward go much deeper, and are things you can do even better than him.
Edward chooses BellaIn the story, the characters are in high school. Edward could have easily had his choice of any of the girls in school, even the ones deemed absolutely perfect by anyone's standards. Bella is a typical girl and only sees her shortcomings (sound familiar?). She doesn't think she is in his league, yet for some reason, one she can't quite figure out, Edward chooses to be with her.
Be even better than Edward: Make sure she knows you chose her. This is not to say you want to flaunt your desirability in her face (chances are she, like Bella, is well aware), but rather ensure she knows you chose her. No girl wants to think you settled with her or that you're only with her because there's no one better right now. She wants to feel special, so let her know that even if you were given any option in the world you'd still choose her.
If you want to be more like Edward you'll want to follow our advice...


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Welcome to my little corner of the internet. My name is Alex, and I'm a tweed-wearing coffee-enthusiast who spends an ridiculous amount of his time writing, reading and generally being a bit of a geek.
This blog hasn't really got a point – and for that, I apologise. Instead, it is my personal rambling way of documenting my travels and travails through my own life of geekdom, chronicling the things I enjoy most. Who knows? Maybe it'll even be interesting.
The Evening Room is in its early stages, for now, so all I can offer up at the moment is my blog – found here. Over the coming months or so, however, I will be adding lots of original and I'm going to be doing my best update regularly.
And, of course, do feel free to get in touch. We're better connected (apparently) – it would be great to hear from you.
I hope you enjoy your stay!


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I think there is something we can all agree to dislike, people who park like assholes. It's not that we are trying to police the world, but it never ceases to amaze us just how selfish people can be when taking up 3 spots in the front at your local grocery store.
Don't you want to just let those douchebags know you feel? Well now you can with these 'You Suck At Parking Business Cards.' The message is clear and concise across the front of the card, and it will certainly help you feel better knowing you did your part.
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text: I got a Dynomax Super Turbo 2.5" I/O from a friend who had it on his V6 for about a week and went back to stock. I just did a muffler swap and have about $75 invested with install included. Sounds pretty good IMO. It does have some interior drone but I'm going to be experimenting with that to see what I can do about it. Here's a link to a sound clip I made today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y-TYK3zONU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqjC_foTqds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Ow2X_trg0