The man making a fortune out of a crisis

As stock markets plunge and banks collapse, one man is rubbing his hands with glee.

Simon Cawkwell, nicknamed the "King of the short sellers" in London, made 250,000 pounds ($650,000) in less than an hour this month by betting on the market when it was down.

"I love a crisis because that's when people are stupid," he said with a broad grin.

"I've always liked fast-moving markets because the fools make more mistakes so I'm able to profit by it."

In the sumptuous surroundings of his flat-cum-office in the upmarket London district of South Kensington, Cawkwell gazes at four computer screens filled with stock prices and makes a confident prediction.

"I'll probably make three million pounds profit this year," he said.

With a personality as big as his considerable frame, 61-year-old Cawkwell is not, by his own admission, a modest man.

"I work on the assumption that I'm intellectually superior to 99 people out of one hundred and I'd give the other man a good run for his money," he said.

"I think very quickly and carefully. The fools panic and I don't panic."

Short-selling is typically the term by which investors, often hedge funds, pay a fee to borrow but not buy shares, and then bet on them falling.

The practice has been blamed for contributing to volatile stock markets.

But when the British authorities banned short-selling on about 30 companies, Cawkwell simply transferred his attention elsewhere.

"I'm still short-selling, on other companies," he said.

Cawkwell is happy to offer his opinions on the looming recession.

He may be a gambler through and through, but he says even he would never have attempted the "mad gamble" of the British government over the past decade.

He reserves particular criticism for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's actions in his time as a finance minister, blaming him for making cheap credit too easily available.

"People have been deceived on a massive scale," he says. "Brown knew about all of this. It was a mad gamble to keep on expanding credit forever but you cannot expand credit forever."

He foresees deep problems ahead.

"I expect massive unemployment. There will be deep impoverishment and bankruptcies," he says.

"I really think it can lead to a civil unrest. It is really very serious, we're talking about people whose lives are shattered."

But, if the worst comes to pass, Cawkwell can see only one outcome for him personally.

"I shall make a good deal of money," he says.

ninemsn 7 Oct 2008

What ??? !!! ??? He's THE ONLY ONE doing this ?? !!

There are MANY who are. Approx 5 years ago, colleague was told by a minority in the 'know' to be cashed up, as there will a time soon to by up CHEAP. This minority is a specific group of people in the finance industry.

JUST LIKE THE STOCK MARKET CRASH, that began in the 20's THIS IS AN ORCHESTRATED EVENT, THAT A SELECT FEW MAKE AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY !

THE ROTHSCHILDS (who initially inbred, to keep the fortunes within the family),

THE BILDERBERG GROUP are amongst the ones who steer us FINANCIALLY

McKew aide in conflict of interest row

A senior adviser to federal Labor MP Maxine McKew has been accused of a conflict of interest after it was revealed she held shares in a company awarded big government contracts linked to her boss' department.

Kathleen Forrester had worked previously for Allen Consulting Group, which two months ago was awarded a contract from the Education Department worth $112,000, the Seven Network reported.

Three weeks ago, the company won a second Education Department contract, worth almost $300,000.

Under the Ministerial Code of Conduct, Ms Forrester was required to divest shareholdings related to Ms McKew's responsibilities.

Ms McKew is the Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Childcare.

Ms Forrester said in a written statement that she did get rid of the shares, but admitted she did so only after the contracts had been awarded to her former employer.

The government said Ms McKew did nothing wrong ( of course not, because they're behind it ) and that her department was not involved in awarding the contracts.

The opposition has demanded an investigation.

ninemsn 15 Oct 2008

Just another example of how FACTUALLY, white collar crime IS supported in Australia.

RARELY if ever does anyone get done for INSIDER TRADING (which is a crime).

NO SLAPS ON THE WRISTS here, but rather a PAT on the BACK.

CORPORATE FRAUD in AUSTRALIA PAYS !!! (if you're part of the 'club')

Vet seasonal workers: rape victim's mum

An Australian woman whose eight-year-old daughter was raped by a former Papua New Guinean boyfriend is urging the Australian government to carefully vet candidates for a pilot seasonal workers' scheme.

Single mother-of-four Lynda Ridgeway formed a relationship with PNG student Raphael Eso after taking him in two years ago when he was studying at a Brisbane TAFE on an AusAID-funded scholarship.

She later discovered he was abusing her youngest child.

Eso, 32, was sentenced two years ago in a Brisbane court to five years in jail for one count of rape and two counts of attempted rape.

He was deported on September 1 this year, and banned from returning to Australia.

Ridgeway said Wednesday the Australian government must carefully vet candidates for a scheme that will let Pacific workers come to the country to do seasonal work.

"There needs to be a sex-offender list in PNG so they can be screened before coming here," she said.

"I know a lot goes on that doesn't get reported but if PNG workers are coming here we have to be sure none are like Eso."

But she admitted PNG's poor record keeping could pose a problem.

"Eso had been in Australia previously and run into trouble with police, so he put his name backwards and got in again," she said. (so the country lets him in again, because he did not do a good enough job the first time!!! )

Ridgeway said she was unhappy Eso had been deported before serving his full term.

"The Australian legal system has let me down, I feel cheated, they gave him parole after 22 months. It is ridiculous," she said.

A spokesman for PNG's Foreign Affairs Ministry said only PNG's finest workers would be put forward for the seasonal workers scheme.

In August, Foreign Minister Sam Abal said PNG officials would weed out louts who might spoil the opportunity for access to seasonal work in Australia.

"We will set stringent criteria for those who would be involved to take part, including that their character and behaviour would be acceptable," he said.

Up to 2,500 workers from Kiribati, PNG, Tonga and Vanuatu will participate in the three-year pilot scheme.

Starting from later this year, participants will work for up to seven months a year in regional Australia's horticulture industry, where there is a labour shortage.

ninemsn 15 Oct 2008

You DO NOT NEED to be a superpower to catalogue people, e.g Hitler, IBM USA (the same). All you need is a bit of ink (Hitler), and maybe a few reams of paper (IBM - the more civil way) .

This is DELIBERATE politics to create upheaval.

IDEA : Why don't we import this TRASH and place it in CANBERRA, so the law makers can see how this effects society, and not some poor defenceless single mother.

Hurricane again threatens Puerto Rico

Hurricane Omar became a category one storm as it swirled toward the Virgin Islands just east of Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) reported.

"Omar is a Category One on the Saffir-Simpson Scale," it said. "Additional strengthening is forecast in the next 24 to 36 hours."

The hurricane - packing maximum sustained winds of near 120km/h - was on a northeasterly track churning forward about 9km/h.

With Omar packing a new punch and its centre around 500km southwest of Puerto Rico's capital San Juan, hurricane warnings were issued for the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Anguilla and Saint Kitts.

"A hurricane warning could be required for Puerto Rico Wednesday morning," the NHC said.

15 Oct 2008

Full Story at :

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=647674

Just waiting for the excuse (by who else but the government) that this natural occurrence will case a rise in the price of fuel. Just about most other hurricanes are responsible for a spike in fuel prices !!!

Electric Porsche may be offered in 2009

A powerful Porsche sports car, minus the marque's unmistakeable bad-boy engine roar, may go on the market next year, with a German company to install nearly silent electric motors in the cars, a magazine reported.

The adapted Porsche 911 cars will be a product of the Alois Ruf customising company in Stuttgart, the weekly Wirtschaftswoche said.

While recharging the batteries will be a lot cheaper than filling up the tank of a regular fuel-guzzling Porsche, the price to drive the electric model out of a showroom will be a painful 150,000 to 180,000 euros ($A300,000 to $A360,000).

Though the electric cars will weigh a leaden 1.72 tonnes - the lithium ion batteries alone will weigh 550kg - the hush Porsche will have be able to reach 225km/h on Germany's no-speed-limit superhighways.

Ruf also told the magazine the car would accelerate from standing to 100km/h in less than seven seconds.

Luxury electric cars have attracted attention among the environmentally conscious rich, who wish to travel without carbon dioxide emissions.

money.ninemsn.com.au 12 Oct 2008

The majority of people DO NOT fall into the category of environmentally conscious rich.

What should be investigated should be the contents of the film WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?.

Fielding flags changes to Fuel Watch

A key senator wants state premiers and motoring bodies to give their approval before a national Fuel Watch scheme is established.

The federal government is hoping the seven balance-of-power senators give their support to the scheme when the upper house debates enabling legislation on Tuesday.
One of the senators, Family First's Steve Fielding, intends tabling an amendment to the government's bill.
If accepted by the Senate, it would require each premier and motoring body to sign-off on Fuel Watch before a one-year trial was introduced in each state.
"The Rudd government initially told us Fuel Watch would put downward pressure on petrol prices and save motorists 1.9 cents per litre at the bowser," Senator Fielding said in a statement.
"The government has since backed away from that claim, saying instead the real benefit of the scheme is to help motorists compare prices between petrol stations.
"That backflip concerns Family First."

aap 13 Oct 2008

The Fuel Watch Scheme is nothing more than a farce as it will NOT reduce the price to any significant extent at the pump.

EVEN if it does motorists WILL pay for it in another way.

The government HAS to been seen as if it is doing something, BUT the people at the top know it's implications are meaningless.

The Petro-Chemical industry is BEYOND the reach of any Australian inquiry.